turkish interlude

i've been away! i was actually away for most of june, but i had some posts done ahead of time so i didn't think it would even be noticed in this space. but when i did come home - to grandbaby no. 3 - i got too busy to post even though i was sewing most mornings.

we went to turkey this summer. my husaband plans a great 3-4 week travel adventure for us each summer. this year was turkey. i didn't run into any quilters or quilts in turkey, but there were three things somewhat related:

first: rugs! we went to a turkish rug weaving facility in efes where we saw ladies at work weaving, had a go at making the knots, saw a demonstration on how they harvest and prepare the silk, viewed so many rugs, and bought a few to bring home. rugs are textiles and always remind me of quilting because of the color choosing and pattern decisions involved. different, but related, and i can very much appreciate the artistry even more as a quilter.

second: apparently muslims invented quilting? i saw this sign at the beautiful blue mosque in istanbul. at first i was a bit taken aback. i'm thinking, "no they didn't! there's nothing here in this country that's like the quilts i make." but as i read the sign and considered what it said, i understood. it's just semantics and the way we use terms differently that caused my confusion. muslims invented the process of quilting materials together, the "quilting" part of our quilting hobby. the interchangeableness of those two uses frustrates me sometimes as it is. so muslims weren't claiming to have invented patchwork, but rather the process of layer fabrics and sewing them together. well, thank you muslims! what a great contribution. i wonder who added the patchwork part of quilting as we know it today?

third: tile patterns = quilt patterns

the geometrics in tiles always say "quilt pattern" to me. it's a different art medium, but the same idea. we saw several mosaic floors in the excavations in the ancient city of ephesus.

then granna flew home to this! and his older brother and sister.

quilt posts will resume shortly. i am once again so busy with house planning, finishing the current renovation projects, and, of course, babies. but i am getting some quilt time each morning, mostly before the sun comes up. i love coming back from europe (east of me) and being on an earlier schedule. it really helps me make that big switch to being up with the sun. last year, coming home from australia (far to the west) was the opposite for me. i have enjoyed all the locations we've been blessed to see, but i like the way the timing works for me coming from the other direction best. getting up early means quilt time in the quiet morning hours, my favorite.

happy sewing and happy summer, all!

more pinwheel decisions

i'm still refining my fabric combinations for individual pinwheels in my "groovy liberty" quilt. i had the above combo picked out as one of my paler sets, but i needed to swap that bottom print into another set, so i ended up with this combo instead:

this one works, too. actually, looking at these photos they both seem to be good combinations, but i needed the art deco print from the top set in a different place. i needed it here: 

this swapping around of fabric in sets isn't a problem. what was a problem is i cut some of the chambray pieces too small. yikes. 

i discovered this when i sewed it to a tana lawn piece. every now and then i have pieces that don't match in size and i have to pull out a ruler to determine which is the cultprit, the larger or smaller one.

the ruler says it's the chambray. this probably happened because the under layer of fabric wasn't lined up when i was cutting. i do try to be careful, but these things do happen.

i used all the chambray to cut these pieces, so my only option was to make-do the best i could. i unpicked the set and moved the chambray piece over so that there would be a shortage in both seam allowances. spreading it out like this means there won't be a large discrepancy on one side or the other. if i do have a piece that's short in the seam allowance, i usually add another seam just inside the seam allowance for extra security to guard against unravelling.

i had two pieces that turned out this way. all fixed up. this wasn't such a big deal and was easily dealt with. i was having a good time piecing the pinwheels until . . .

i started joining sets the wrong way. oopsie.

apparently i wasn't paying as close attention as i thought to the direction i was sewing pairs together. i had to fix a couple of those. 

this first half of this set looks great.

then i realized i turned half of them the opposite way. and i did some of my test blocks in the opposite orientation, as well. oh, dear. i sized up how many i have going each direction to determine which way was less unpicking. looks like the top pieces are getting redone.

there was a time when i considered doing the dark chambray pieces one direction and the light the opposite direction. but when i completed more blocks and laid them out together, the bigger picture of the secondary pattern emerged and i changed my mind. but then i didn't pay attention to which way i was turning the pinwheels. it's alright. it can all be corrected pretty easily.

here's the last decision i need to make right now. i was considering sashing and cornerstones so the pinwheels could be separated and stay pinwheels. i was thinking of using the "capel" print in black as the sashing and this red "summer blooms" print for the cornerstones. that's been my plan for days.

but i finally laid it out together (before cutting, thank goodness) and i don't think i like it. the chambray background effect is lost and the color story changes. so now i'm rethinking what i could do instead all over again.

this photo shows the sashing/cornerstone look with the fabrics i was considering and the way the different block orientations looks together. yeah, i don't think this is what i'm going for. thank goodness for unpicking and more ideas.

this is one of the challenges of quilting - getting my vision to come alive in fabric. sure, it's frustrating sometimes, but its also fun and rewarding when it works out. when i know what i'm doing, i'll report back.

scrap organizing continues

i have yet to sort and store all my scraps. this basket is leftover from the pile i was working through at the beginning of the year. 

but . . .

i am making progress and have a good system in place now, which feels really good. and while i may be backlogged on old scraps (i recently uncovered a few more baskets of them), i am doing much better at putting scraps away as i make them.

my new scrap drawer tower was working really well, but it was not letting me sort as thoroughly as i would like to. so i decided to get two more towers. i now have one each for solids, prints, and low-volumes. it takes up some space, of course, but i really like it! ideally, someday, i would like to have drawers like these built in under a custom cutting table. that would be so convenient!

here's the top of the towers, which sit side-by-side in front of my design wall, just to the right of my cutting table. i have a few baskets of various collections on the top, as well as some of my rulers. this is in easy reach of my cutting table, so its a good place to keep the rulers and makes it a snap file away scraps when i cut them.

the baskets on top contain old scraps waiting to be sorted, my small bonnie lass block pieces, my bigger bonnie lass pieces, and i think that bottom one is more scraps of some sort that need to be put away. i'm still finding things hiding here and there in my sewing room as i tackle different areas. the bonnie lass blocks are longterm, on-going scrap projects that i use for leaders-and-enders. it's really nice to have them accessible on top of the towers so i can drop new pieces in when i cut them, and i can grab them to put by the machine when i want them there for leaders-and-enders.

the top drawer of each tower is dedicated to my liberty + chambray scraps: (left to right) binding and chambray pieces in the solids tower, low-volume pieces, colored pieces. 

below the liberty top drawers, i have a drawer each for scraps in width sizes from 1" to 5", in increasing increments by each half inch, a total of nine sizes. i know this is more sizes than other scrap quilters keep, but i have my uses for each width and this is how i want to do it. it definitely takes up more space and requires more drawers, which is a deterrent for some.

2.5" wide low-volume scraps, mostly from "edna"

in each drawer i sub-sort pieces of the same width into these categories (left to right in the photo):

• crumbs - smaller than a square, but the right width for the drawer size
• squares
• chunks - longer than a square, but not a strip
• strips - length of the drawer or longer, so folded

 there are different uses for each type and reasons why i keep them as i do:

• crumbs can be pieced into scrappy strips
• squares are useful for patchwork and corner triangles
• chunks can be subcut into squares or pieced into scrappy strips
• strips can be subcut into squares, made into binding, and are useful for a variety of patterns, such as log cabins or courthouse steps

larger pieces can always be cut down to smaller ones when needed. storing them by size lets me know what i can get out of them in addition to finding specific sizes for use. pieces that are not in exact increments are rounded down and get stored with the closest smaller size. ex: 2.75" falls between 2.5" and 3", so would go in the 2.5" drawer. i'll cut as needed later.

as i begin to use these scraps for true scrap quilts, i may find my ideas about categorizing and sorting change. maybe i won't need certain sizes or categories. but for now, this is what i'm trying. i'm willing to be flexible and change course later on.

the solids scrap drawers, top to bottom: chambray, 1", 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", 3.5", 4", 4.5", 5". 

in the smaller sizes, i'm able to put the strips in separate color piles. when they can no longer fit like this in the larger sizes, i separate the warm from the cool colors.

in the low-volume drawers i try to have the pieces with colors separated from the pieces that are neutral. i do this because i often sew with one or the other in a project.

these skinny 1.5" wide strips are thin enough i can sort by color family.

the 2.5" drawers have the most pieces, by far. it's just such a common, versatile size. 

more scraps that showed up

my room is so crowded that i was at a loss at first where to put these towers. but i stacked all of my project boxes in a corner, clear to the ceiling, which opened up some floor space for the scrap drawers. i need to clean out those cubby shelves next, which should make more room for further condensing the messes stored items in here. actually, i think maybe i'll move all my solid yardage and/or my low-volumes into these cubbies. note to self. 

this is where all of my solids scraps have been, mostly leftover from my kids' stella grande quilts. i just kept stacking them here on this shelf in loosely organized piles by similar sizes and shapes. but they don't look good here and aren't in a useful, accessible format. i have long wanted to make some scrappy solid quilts from them, but have been unable to wrap my mind around how to use all these various sizes. they're too overwhelming this way. this is one reason i decided to do a whole tower of solids. i think it's going to help me see what i have and decide how to use it.

i'm still not used to taking "before" photos of my messes so i can see the improvement as dana white suggests, but i did think of it once i got started with this shelf. if i had the real "before" photos from january, you'd see i've actually made a lot of progress in this space. it's still not pretty and is visually overstimulating, but it's a lot better than it was.

i was hoping to get the whole pile put away in one sorting session, but it turned out there were a whole lot of cuts too big for my scrap drawers. so, the biggest pieces are still here, but only in one pile now. and i was able to spread out some other crumb/mini scraps that were hiding in the back in the cleared space where they can be seen. i hope to get to these soon, too. looks better, right?

inspired #3

this fabric stack, all pulled from my stash (except the feather print at bottom) is a color palette that's been bouncing around in my head for a while now. i love the vibrant, deep jewel tones. so much color. i feel like that one touch of golden brown grounds the whole set, keeping it from being too bright. i'll have to add one or two more.

i wasn't sure where i was getting the idea from, so i went back over my saved posts in instagram and found some similar ideas.

this strip set is from a bundle made by jennifer at penelope handmade. i can definitely see the tones here with the addition of some hot pink. i might have to add that. my pull has more green in it. i'm kinda wishing i'd bought this bundle, too, but i think i didn't because i have most of the fabrics already.

this quarter log cabin quilt is from jolene at blue elephant stitches. it has a similar vibe to what i want. i must have seen it as i was reading her old posts in the spring. i think i'd really like to make a log cabin with these colors, but i've made a lot of log cabins lately. i'd have to switch something up somewhere.

this checkerboard nine patch from jolene is similar in colors, too, but they're solids. this might be a good setting for my fabrics. if not these, i'd like to do something similar anyway. this quilt may have been what inspired me to add the deep gold color to my fabric pull. i might add some of the other browns, too, now that i'm looking at this again.

these flying geese in strips would be good. rachel made them from a tutorial by andy at a bright corner.

from coreen cottam

this strip set is really cute, but i actually think i'll be doing this with another set of fabrics i have. not that i couldn't do both, but might as well not.

star lake quilt pattern from the blanket statement by made just sew

 this star-like configuration looks like a good way to mix a bunch of colors.

this little pincushion studio "picnic in the park" quilt from sew jen quilts is really good, too. this pattern is a log cabin with specific value placement of strips that looks great.

a granny squares style quilt from jennifer at penelope handmade that she never made a pattern for.

stars are always good

diamonds from ruby star society

i haven't done triangles in a while. this could be fun.

checkerboard by maechen marie

i like this idea of using greens for every other square and then mixing the other colors in for the rest. ooh - i bet i could strip piece it for ease and speed.

a moda "galway" block made by amanda at graccieone

i have to stop now. every time i get into my saved posts on instagram, i want to make about 20 quilts asap! there's just so much inspiration out there, so many good things to make. i want to make all of these ideas whether with these fabrics or not.

i think i'm still leaning toward a log cabin of some sort after all.

what would you make with these fabrics?

stashing, a lot

bundles from penelope handmade - jennifer makes the cutest bundles

when i get sewing a lot, i also start to order fabric. it just goes hand-in-hand. if i spend a lot of time in my sewing room around my stash, i begin to notice things that are running low or that i don't have. 

or, when i'm working on a project, often i'll feel the need for some additional fabrics to round out what i'm making. like these bright liberty tana lawn pieces (below) that fit the vibe i wanted for the new "groovy liberty" quilt.

duckadilly fat quarters of liberty

i didn't realize when i ordered that yellow colorway of d'anjo that it was actually a larger-scale version of d'anjo, called d'anjo sky. i really like it! i'm going to use it in my "suny yellow crossroads" quilt, too.

while i was looking for these bright and groovy pieces, i found some others i like and a few that fit other current projects.

the pink capel is a backing for "lemonade at sixes."

joel dewberry classics

i recently discovered that hawthorne supply company has on-demand printing for many designers. i was thrilled to find some classic joel dewberry designs i've used a lot over the years in new colors. that green! the "quilting cotton" substrate these are printed on is thick and a little rough, not exactly what i was expecting. but i really like the colors of these great prints.

ruby and bee blenders by heather ross

i'm actually a little unsure about these. they're really bright! and the style is kinda different than heather's typical prints. but i'm going to trust heather knows her fabrics and will see where they work in my stash. i didn't get the whole set, just the ones i thought would fit my stash best.

 low volume blenders from lori holt's new americana collection

these are perfect low-volume blender prints. they are so useful. when i saw lori had a new collection, i looked it up specifically for these type prints. winners!

i got some other nice blender pieces from lori's "bee vintage" and "bee dot" collections. i like the ditsy little prints. i was a little surprised that most of her low-volumes i got have a soft, cool grey undertone to them. they're not white or cream, they are a barely-there grey. this affect how they read in a quilt and it's overall mood, which is something to keep in mind.

i got half yards of heather bailey's "pop sweet" blender set. yes, more blenders. i truly believe good blenders are what makes quilts work. they play the supporting role that allows feature fabrics room to shine. there is a range of soft and bright fabrics, classic basics and more modern, punchy prints in this set. it has a little of everything.

bundles for "bonny" and "pretty things"

 i've had my eye on denyse schmidt's newest collections for a while. i finally decided to get bundles of each collection. i've already broken in to them for the greens to use in "lemonade at sixes."

goodness, that's a lot of fabric! some of it i'm already using and the rest is going in the stash.