River of Light, Beautifully

 

This is the River of Light quilt. It's a wonky rail fence inspired by Sujata Shah in her book Cultural Fusion Quilts (?). The blocks are designed to be sixteen blocks four by four. I thought, why? Then I rearranged them in long diagonals, and had a lot of fun making them crazy, irregular and over-the-top. It's definitely over the top, but when something heads in that direction, you'd best let it go. (In the photo above the quilt is sideways.)

This is such a fun quilt.

I made the backing with leftover bits from the front and from my stash. I love the back too.

This is an example of a beauty shot that didn't look like it was going to work when I saw it in my camera. I took only one photo. I figured I'd need to come back earlier in the day to get the shot I wanted, but the more I looked at it afterwards the more I liked it.

After I take beauty shots of my quilts outside I always bring them home and run them through the washer and dryer to make them soft and wrinkly. More than once I have discovered a tick on a quilt, so I never put this off. At any rate, the photo above is the three Color Catcher sheets that came out of the washing machine AFTER I washed the quilt. Now I wash every single piece of fabric that comes into my house before I bring it to the studio, so that this happens ought to be reason enough for everybody to wash their fabric first, and then when the quilt is finished, use Color Catcher sheets whenever a quilt gets washed. While these used to be easy enough to find at the grocery store, in the last few years I have bought mine on Amazon.

ReNamed

 

I've just finished sewing the binding on the blue and yellow quilt formerly known as Stairway to Heaven. The name just didn't sit well with my son. So he asked my DGD to take a look at the quilt and tell us what SHE thought the name should be. 

She came running in from the next room, where she was coloring with my niece, took one look at the quilt and said, "River of Light."

Everybody looked up. "That's great!" And so, the quilt has a new name.

This is a wonky rail fence inspired by Sujatah Shah's book, Cultural Fusion.

Sujatah wanted readers of her book to play around with her ideas, and I have certainly done that. Traditionally these pieces are arranged in a square four blocks in each of four rows. But I decided to follow the color - or river.

The photo above shows Janet-Lee's Santeusanio's terrific quilting.

I put together another of the lined drawstring bags. I really like this one and it might not ever leave my house.

His Quilt

 

The Black Abacus quilt is all finished. Here it is reclining on a park bench.

And here it is in its new home with its very proud owner.

Here is why you should use color catchers when you wash a quilt. Even though every piece of fabric I buy gets run through the washer (on warm water) and then the dryer before it ever gets into the studio, fabrics still shed excess dye. I washed the Black Abacus quilt twice! The color catchers from the first washing are on the left. The color catchers from the second are on the right. I actually washed the quilt a third time, and the color catchers from that one came out a medium gray. I could probably have washed the quilt two or three more times, but enough was enough. M is very happy with his quilt and had waited a long time for it.

I made the binding for the Stairway to Heaven quilt, and will sew that on next.

Stairway to Heaven Quilted!

 

I picked up the Stairway to Heaven quilt from Janet-Lee over the weekend. We picked a slightly more complex, tight, quilt pattern for this quilt, and I love it.

My pal Julie loves to take pictures of her quilts crumpled up, so this is a homage to that.

I had a lot of fun using the leftover bits from the pieces on the front and other yellows from my stash and the quilt itself. Julie gave me a quilt years ago with a pieced backing, and that has really influenced me. This quilt will have a yellow binding.

I brought Janet-Lee the PRIZM quit, and she also has Greensleeves to quilt as well. I'll pick them up at the end of next month. I have lots of binding in my future!!

In Which Lynne Changes Her Mind

 

I knew the Stairway to Heaven Quilt needed a border, so I sewed a selection of yellow fabrics all around the quilt. All the yellow fabrics in the border are in the quilt itself.

The more I looked at the blue Marcia Derse fabric that Julie sent me the less I liked it. Rummaging through my stash I found bits of the yellows that were in the quilt itself, and sewed them together. 

I used more yellow fabrics and the long strips of the leftover blocks to the sides of the center panel.

Because I added a border to the quilt itself, the backing had to be still bigger, so more fabric on the sides.

I should probably have sewed two of the long pieced strips to either side of the center panel, but I didn't quite have enough. Oh well.

But I like this backing a lot better than my original concept.

The Stairway to Heaven

A year or so ago, Julie sent me a box of fabric she was no longer in love with. In it was five of these Marcia Derse fabric rectangles, each about 20" x 32". I hadn't known what to do with them at the time, but as I was rummaging around my stash it occurred to me that these would make a good backing for the Yellow and Blue rail fence quilt, which I am now calling "Stairway to Heaven," after the song.

Actually, there were six pieces, but one of them had a chunk taken out of it. No matter, I can work with that.

What to do to fill up the spaces in between? 

I thought you'd never ask! 

I had been sewing all my leftover blocks together.

I had six long strips about 62" long.

I'll add my other strips to the top and bottom, and I might fill in the empty space with some of them. I haven't got that far yet, because once I saw this on the wall I liked it. I'll also have to add fabric all around so there will be enough for my longarm quilter, but oh, gee, darn. Like that's even hard.

So guess what I'll be doing this Fourth of July weekend?

 

Blue Zig Zags

I have finished sewing the blocks together for the blue and yellow zigzag quilt. One of my readers suggested the name "Lightning Strike." 

I mention this because..

In 2015 I made this version of Sujata Shah's Rail Fence quilt for my nephew's high school graduation. He chose the colors - purple and orange - and I would choose the design. When working with purple and orange - two strong vibrant colors - it seemed obvious to make them electric. My friend the Selvage Fairy gave me the name for it - Lightning in the Night Sky. My nephew loves the quilt and still sleeps under it every night.

So Lightning is out. But maybe such a kooky quilt needs a name like "The Electric Blue ZigZag."

Maybe.

Anyway I think the Electric Blue Zigzag will get a yellow border and then be bound in blue. I'll have to think about it.

One Plus One Equals Two...

 One and one is two.

Two and two is four.

Four times four is sixteen.

That's how I'm sewing the blocks together. And then when they are done, I'm pressing the seams open.

And yes I use pins. Lots and lots and lots and lots of pins. Like I say, if I want something to stay exactly where it is supposed to go, a pin will help make that happen. Since this way of making blocks means a lot of slightly curved seams, and blocks that aren't exactly on the straight of the grain, using pins helps keep everything straight and keeps things from stretching.

The right half of the quilt is all sewn together. Now I am working my way down from the top on the left side.

Each unit finishes out at 4".

This quilt needs a name. Suggestions, anyone?

Sewing Units Together

 

I've started sewing the units of the blue and yellow zigzag quilt together. As you can see it looks really good. I am quite happy with it.

A Sassy ZigZag

Here is the first go-round for the blue and yellow quilt. If you click the photo to enlarge it, and look closely, you will see that the blocks are not arranged as predictably as you might expect. There are several shades of blue, and also of yellow. While the blues are the predominant element, I have tried to arrange the blocks so the yellow zigzags are not too choppy. Yes, I am playing with your head.

As I have said, this is the first go-round, which means that now the blocks are up on the design wall, it's time to tinker and fine-tune. What I love best about Sujata's method of cutting the blocks is that the zigs are all wonky and fun and not at all regular. I want to emphasize that as often as I can.

The lighter blue zig that goes from the upper left corner down to the right, and the two darker zigs along either side of it show that off.

Yes, this is a totally crazy quilt. I can imagine some viewers thinking it is WAY TOO MUCH, but that is what is so much fun about this. Because Yellow and Blue are primary colors, they are very intense and bright. There is no yellow in blue, and no blue in yellow, so they stand out. Yes Linda S, blue and yellow is a very traditional French combination, but not quite this intense. Because blue is darker than yellow (because yellow is the lightest color) there is also a strong Light/Dark contrast here. I knew that was going to happen when I chose fabrics for this quilt. And as I always say, if you're going to go for it, go all out. Don't lose your nerve halfway through and don't complete the thought.

My son said something to me once that I just love. "You know what I love about you Mom? When you go over the top, you just keep going."

If sewn together right now with all the blocks on the design wall the quilt would be about 60" x 72". It will need a border (probably a blue one) to hold it all in and calm in down a bit (a tiny bit), but I think this is fun as hell and makes me smile every time I look at it.

Blue & Yellow

 Late last year I bought some blue and yellow fabrics, intending to make a wonky rail fence quilt. I cut the strips, but didn't get much farther.

In the last few days I sewed the rest of the strops together and cut the blocks.

This is the way they are supposed to be fitted together, but I had an idea to rearrange the pieces.

That was a good idea, but as soon as I started moving the blocks together, I got another idea...

Which was instead of arranging the small units into larger 16-unit blocks, just arrange them in long diagonal lines from one side of the quilt to the other. Of course, this required a little thinking...

To create one long diagonal row, as in my drawing above, requires 32 unit blocks. When I conceived the original quilt, it was 20 blocks - each block having 16 units. I had cut enough fabric for 20 unique blocks.

As if that would stop me!

So I'll be having more than just a little bit of fun with this!

Now that I know where I am going, I took the blocks off the design wall so I would know how many different pairs I had. Turns out I have 26. Since the design wall isn't wide enough for the full quilt design (it's two units too narrow) I need to figure out how I'm going to arrange them. 

In other words, I am PRETTY SURE I know where I am going, but not 100% sure, so I need to do a bit more thinking and tinkering.

Stay tuned!

What I Did Last Weekend

                                       

I spent some time working on the blue and yellow rail fence quilt. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s getting there. I have an idea of mixing up the blocks but I need to make more of them before I can play with them.

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I spent Friday afternoon with my friend P. We had planned to take a drive up north to look at the fall foliage, but we had to postpone our trip due to Covid concerns. We went out to eat at one of her favorite restaurants and we did some shopping at the same time. I bought a new purse, and because I got a new purse, I made a new lanyard for my work keys.

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I also made a trip to the Apple Store for some instructions on how to use some of the applications (Write, Keynote & Numbers, the equivalent of Word, Excel & PowerPoint). It’s enough to get me going. While at the Mall I bought two sets of bedsheets, because that morning I work up with my lower leg in a hole on my bottom sheet. Sigh.

But the biggest thing I did this last (4 day weekend) was visit a local crematorium and make my own final arrangements. It was one of the things on my list of things I wanted to get done this year.

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This and That and That and That

 I confess I have been spending a lot of my time lately lying on the couch, reading. But I haven't been a total sloth.

The last of my blue and yellow fabric arrived, and it has been washed, ironed and cut into the strips I need for my next project. I hope to be sewing later today.

I'm going to make a wonky rail fence quilt, from Sujata Shah's book Cultural Fusion Quilts.

Earlier this year I was walking through the house in the middle of the night and I tripped on something and fell. I knew where I was and what was where, but that could have been bad. In my trips to the hardware store I discovered small motion sensitive lights, and have since installed them in strategic places around the house. Now no midnight trips to the bathroom or anywhere else in the house will be made in total darkness. I've also installed a couple in some of my kitchen cabinets so their contents are no longer in the dark. These also mean I no longer have to leave a light on all day so I won't walk into a darkened room.

Flowers are nice, but watching them wither and die isn't much fun. Since the guest bathroom is filled with light (but not direct sunlight) I decided to buy these small succulents. They satisfy my desire for plants in that room and fill the corner in an interesting way.

I have tried to bring stuff to Goodwill twice in the last four weeks and been stymied each time. The fist time the place was roped off and there were no less than SEVEN police cars with their lights flashing nearby. Turns out there was a bomb threat. I'm just speechless. Who would do that? The world has become a very scary place. I went by again yesterday and the drop off was closed. I'm hoping to make a return trip later today. I still have lots more stuff to donate.

I went clothes shopping. The last time I bought clothes in a store was in 2019. Since then I've bought a couple of pairs of jeans and some nightgowns, but I really needed things, so I made a list. I bought turtleneck shirts, pull over and cardigan sweaters, and some tops. Everything was on sale so I was a very happy camper.

After days of phone tag, I finally have an appointment for a colonoscopy. It's in February. (sigh)

Lastly, I went to the Apple Store. My iPad is over six years old and is showing signs of age. I wanted to update it. While there I talked about possibly getting a slightly more robust one than the one I have now, but using it to replace my Windows laptop. I'm paying for backup software, antivirus software, security software as well as other applications. All those costs go away if I make the switch to Apple. So I am considering it.

And I'm trying to get rid of Comcast.

 

Retail Therapy

 

I measured my table and realized I needed four more blocks, so I didn't have enough fabric, even after I ordered some. So I went to Quilted Threads and bought some more blues and yellows.

And I also bought four yards of this. Not quite sure what I'm going to do with it, but it was too good to pass up.

It's leaf peeping season here in New England, and it was a lovely drive looking at the fall foliage.

Yellow Too

 

I've always known that I wanted some yellow to play with the blue. Blue and yellow is a very French color combination, and it's really pretty. Last night before I went to bed, I went into the studio and grabbed some yellows and paired them up with some of my blues.

 

Tonight, when I started cutting them into strips I realized I didn't quite have enough, so I placed a small (for me) online order for three more blues and five yellows.

These are the pairs I have so far. Some of the yellows I really liked I didn't have enough of, and some looked too dark.

With these yellows, some of the lighter blues wouldn't work. For what I have planned I need the blues to be the darker fabric in the pair, and I need some good contrast between the two. Some of the pairs in the photo directly above seem a bit forced, like the one on the lower right - birds and cats. The colors are OK, but the scale of the prints seems to me to be too much the same, and the  orangey-yellow to the left of it is almost to bland a design, and perhaps a bit too orange.

At any rate, none of this is carved in stone, but I like what I have so far, and yes, I do have a design in mind. This blue and yellow quilt will be primarily for my dining room table, but I also want it to be useful as a couch quilt.