Sunday, February 28, 2016

Sewing "Therapy" Quilt

I've been working on this simple HST quilt for a while between more complicated projects. You can see the previous posts HERE and HERE. Today, I finished it!


The HSTs on the front finish at 4".




The back is pieced of 7" squares cut from scraps.






It's simple, but I think it is pretty and bright (and it used lots of scraps!).


Time to consider my next sewing "therapy" project!

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 49 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Jamestown Landing--Part 4

Back to the landing--Jamestown Landing, that is.


I've got the top together now, but I haven't yet decided how I want to do the borders. Bonnie Hunter's has a narrow cream then a wider string-pieced border. I'm not sure if a red string-pieced border will overwhelm the top, so I'll do a bit of thinking and experimenting with it.





This has been a fun project so far, and I'm looking forward to the next step!


I'm linking to A Quilted Passion's "Whoomp, There It Is!" Linky Party.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Old Tobacco Road--A Bonnie Hunter Quilt

I'm starting the units for another Bonnie Hunter quilt--Old Tobacco Road. This was a mystery quilt in 2005, but the pattern can now be found under the "Free Patterns" tab at Quiltville's Quips and Snips.



Here is Bonnie's finished quilt. (Click on the photo to go to her posting.)


http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/old-tobacco-road-part-5.html



I'm planning a couple of differences. Because I have trouble seeing the pinwheels clearly when I'm looking at the whole quilt, I've decided to do them in constant colors--I hope they will stand out a bit more for me that way. I also plan to use a constant cream in the four-patches. I want to follow the colors in this photograph of a tobacco field that Bonnie posted.

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/old-tobacco-road-intro.html



The four patches will include lots of golds, but I'll also throw in some orange, coral, yellow, etc. to echo the photo. I think using a constant cream will create more play among the other colors.



My sewing area is very small, and I like having things to do that I can complete without having to move things to get to my machine. This quilt takes nearly 400 HSTs, so I have sewn them and now have cutting, trimming, and pressing to do on those days I don't want to move things around.


I'm doing eight-at-a-time HSTs.












I'll show more of this process in a later post. Here are a few I finished sewing, cutting, and pressing today. (They still need to be trimmed to size.) I wanted to make sure I liked the fabrics together, and I do. (The color of the green is a bit off in the photos--it is darker than it looks here).







This is a "no hurry" project. I'll keep you up-to-date as I work through it--around my other projects! 

I'm linking with Sew Fresh Quilts: Let's Bee Social #113.






Sunday, February 21, 2016

Life Imitates Art?

...or the other way around?


I saw a picture on Facebook last week, and I was surprised at how much it reminded me of this quilt I made last year. You can see the full post about the quilt HERE.




When I visualized the quilt, I thought of flowers flowing through water. This picture, on the other hand, has flowers flowing through flowers.


Photo credit to Ryan Euler, titled "River of Blue Armeniacum" (Keukenhof, Holland)


Enjoy a restful (and colorful) day.

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 48 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Another Therapy Session

Since I finished Allietare (YAY!), I'm back to working on this HST quilt.



I got the top put together.





The pile on top of it is a chain of pieced squares I plan to use for the back as I did with this quilt. I'll cut them apart, press, make four patches out of them, and then join them for my backing.





I don't think I'll border this quilt; it seems to be finished as is--just a binding should complete it well.

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 47 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Completed Allietare!

I finished the Bonnie Hunter Mystery, Allietare! This has been a fun journey beginning the day after Thanksgiving 2015 and ending today, Valentine's Day 2016.


Allietare





Allietare (detail)




Allietare (detail)




Allietare (detail)




Allietare (detail and flannel back)




Thanks, Bonnie--it's been a blast!

My journey with Allietare is documented below. Note: Sizes and numbers of units are not given. This Bonnie Hunter pattern is available for digital download on her website HERE.

Choosing Fabric
First Clue
Second Clue
Third Clue
Fourth Clue
Fifth Clue
Sixth Clue and Reveal
Layering It Up










Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Sewing Therapy

I decided to sew some HSTs together today--nothing like mindless piecing to relax.












I have many 4.5" HSTs already made and stockpiled, so I sewed some of them together into four-patches. I'd like to do a quilt with them all going the same way (neutral top left, color bottom right).



Sewing is good for the tired body and soul.


I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 46 at The Quilting Room with Mel.


Saturday, February 6, 2016

Allietare--Layering It Up!

I'm layering and basting my Allietare--Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery quilt.


I chose to go with a red border; I like the "notched" look it gives to the edge when placed beside the red setting triangles (a little like the silhouette of the Tower of Pisa). I've decided not to do the scalloped edge--since the quilt it heavy on angles, I'd rather not introduce curves--I think the notches add enough interest.
















I'm using a wool batting and a flannel back. The grey of the flannel goes well with the grey on the front.








I do glue basting, so a little drying time, and it will be ready to quilt. I hope to get to it next weekend, since Presidents' Day offers an extra day off work to quilt.



I have loved this mystery--thanks, Bonnie!

I'm linking with Quiltville's Mystery Monday Link-Up.






Monday, February 1, 2016

Stringing Along

This has been a physically challenging week, so I haven't done too much sewing.


I did, however, work on a few 4.5" string blocks. I don't have a specific plan for them, but they are very versatile--plus, they are fun!




Hope to get a bit more done this week--I need to border Allietare and continue assembly of Jamestown Landing. Here's hoping for a productive week!


I'm linking with Monday Making and Oh Scrap!