Quilting the 2016 Starburst!

I ought to find something to knock on, but so far 2017 has been a great year for accomplishing stuff!

I basted quilt.

And quilted it.

And although I don't have a new photo -- I even got it bound!

It hardly took any time at all. Once I jumped in and got going.

It's just the getting started that is hard.

Unless the nearly-toddler is around. Then it's all hard. No matter how little it is.

(Except I'd much rather hang out with him. But I can't do both things at once -- four hands are too many for quilting, and one isn't enough!)

The two above photos kind of show the pattern, but I'm not sure they show the colors...

I quilted it in some colorful thread -- a little reddish pink, a little yellow, and a little green. I really just doodled a pattern, then echoed it out so that the edges were more densely quilted and the center wasn't too densely quilted. I had envisioned trying my hand at some smaller doodles -- maybe more like swirls and circles -- but I need more practice before that's something I'm ready to pull off!

The above shows the colors a little more. In life, the photos show up a lot better but still aren't distracting from the top in any way.

I'm really excited to see how this photographs under better lighting (assuming there will be better lighting). It's spent the better part of the year being worked on in very slow bits and pieces, and I'm very glad that it is finally finished. Finishing this is kind of the... final icing on 2016 being behind me. That's great new. It wasn't the worst year, but it simply seemed like everything was extra frustrating, and extra challenging. I'm hopeful that 2017 will be a less challenging year... and that if it is just as challenging, that I'll be better equipped to rise to meet the challenges!

Playing with Layouts

Truthfully, I've never thought of myself as someone who likes scrappy, chaotic quilts. I'm usually attracted to the more perfect, the more specific. If I'm picking a pattern or purchasing a quilt, that's what I want.

But nothing makes me happier than the absolute puzzle of fitting together totally unmatched, strange sized blocks -- either with each other or adding in lots of excess background.

I had a blast doing that in 2015 when my group made a wonky star quilt. Starting with something more or less like this group of blocks:

 And turning it into a quilt that looked like this:

It's the most strange, freeing yet precise puzzle I have ever done. And I utterly love it.

So, you know I'm having a blast doing it again with my current scrappy quilt.

After looking at the pictures from the other day, I did decide to move the dark brown zig zag quilt into the approximate center of the quilt, and I am more or less working out from there. Right now, it looks kind of like this:

There are a couple of 'blanks' that still need filled (bottom center is most noticeable) but I think it's coming together nicely.

For me, putting this all together is mostly about putting together blocks into bigger and bigger blocks, all while keeping the seams as square and easy as possible. So, I'm going from a couple dozen small blocks in random sizes towards the eventually goal of three super blocks (a left, center, and right) that should go together into a full top in 2 quick seams.

That's the plan anyway.

Right now, the right column super block is in 3 large blocks, and the center column super block is done except the blank spot, which will be built from any trimmings I have left when the left super block is completed (there's some overlap you can't see in the photo, so I know there's some excess). I haven't started putting the left column together yet -- though I know the order and have a plan.

All that said, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to need a bottom row super block (although it could go on top too). I'll have to see how the 'top' measures when I'm finished with the 3 column super blocks, but the quilt is shrinking faster than I anticipated (seam allowances).

I could also just add a solid colored border to size it up. I have been drooling over this all-grey scrappy quilt with a solid border addition (Lauren Hawley, via Pinterest). I'm not sure it would be nearly as appealing with so many colors.

Obviously just a quick mock-up. I kind of like it in the browns (because brown? because tones of a single color? because it goes with the center block?), but it's not quite as appealing as the inspiration.

Well, no reason to get too stressed yet -- we'll just have to see what happens when what I have is finished and how the size turns out. But the more I look at the brown one there, the more I like it.

I'm headed into a short week -- and really need to focus on a different quilt right now -- so I'm thinking this one should take a back seat for a while. But I'm not sure it will. It's still a good size to pull out and work on over breakfast and the few little breaks I get. Basting, not so much. But once I get that basted, I can quilt it in the same times and spaces, so... decisions, decisions!

But it feels really, really good to be back at the machine. Hopefully this suggests 2017 will be a more creative year than 2016.

Whoops

You know what that means...

Yep, even though it is the last thing I really need, I started a new project.

I can justify it all I want -- it's all scraps, I'm using up stuff that was taking room in my storage, it's going so fast, I couldn't have worked on any of the others anyway -- but while those are all true, it really boils down to this: I needed something a little more brainless.

I've got great projects going on. I really do want to be working on them. Even if basting is the worst.

But everything else I'm working on -- or working towards -- requires a lot of attention to detail. Measure twice, press once, measure again, then cut or sew. That's great for a more perfect outcome.

But right now, I need something messy and fast and just plain fun.

So, I'm scrap busting. I'm sewing fast. I'm not even looking at colors or patterns -- only sizes.

I pulled 4 orphaned blocks I've had for 5+ years out of storage, then pulled all the greens, blues, yellows, and a few creams and oranges from my 'too big to be a scrap but too small to be really useful' pile (does anyone else have one of those?). Then, I just matched scraps together in increasingly bigger blocks.

When I took a break because I needed to iron -- and the ironing board was in with the sleeping baby (technically not a toddler for a couple more weeks) -- I whipped out a quick draft layout to see how my progress looked:

There are still a few blank spots to fill in, and the layout will almost certainly change as I keep working, but, it's fun and a little wild, and I kind of love it. You can easily pick out 3 of the 4 blocks, but I think the 4th blends right in (left most, approximate middle). The dark brown zigs stand out, but not as much as I thought they would. I might move them more towards the center -- if they can't be disguised, might as well feature them! -- but I might not. I might keep on with my 'don't look, don't think' plan. 

Of course, I've had help. Any moment the baby is away, the help comes out of hiding: 

His nap on the creams and yellows might have led to the color choices so far, but I'm not too worried about it. I've honestly not paid any attention to that yet, and I don't intend to. I need a total vacation from thinking -- or over-thinking -- and this is it. It might not look great (although, I actually kind dig it) but I feel great, and that's what really matters right now.

Quilt #31 -- The Scrappy X Plus Quilt

Whew! I kind of raced to finish this one in the little free time I had, but I think it turned out great -- especially for having been forgotten about for so long!

 Maybe it doesn't look much different to anyone else, but there is something about that final step of washing and drying a quilt that takes it from 'eh' to 'oh yes!' for me. I was feeling pretty 'meh' about this one for a long time -- probably part of why it was left to languish under other projects until I completely forgot about it -- but here it is freshly washed and I am in love again!

Oh, I did remember a photo of the back this time:

I was so close to finishing the whole back in yellow -- but I used up every scrap of yellow flannel I had and was just that short! That's okay. I think the dark green goes well with the top.

Actually, that dark green piece of flannel and the dark green/pine tree scraps on the front of the quilt were the two very first fabric purchases I made when I started quilting about 6 years ago. Walmart fat quarters. I worked with them until I was ready to try bigger, more precious pieces. And that memory made them precious to me. So, it's kind of nice to see the last of them (aside from tiny, tiny scraps) turned into a project -- and nice that they got to go together. No one else will ever know, but that's one of the fun things about working in scraps!

While I love the crazy colors, it is obvious that I pulled these together a block at a time with no thought for how they would all work together. I wish I'd been a little more specific about where the different intensities of colors would go -- like all brown/dark plusses with the mid tones on the x parts. But, this was a more or less 'blind' scrap assembly, and not the most exacting piecing either, so let's call it a scrappy little learning curve quilt and know that I'll be coming back to this quilt pattern when I have a little more time in my life.

Scrappy and wonky? Yes. But it turns out I do love it after all. And that roller coaster ride of will it or won't it is part of what I like about the way I quilt. I like the artistic freedom of not having to be perfect, even if I think I might like perfect results too.

When I started this top, I had my baby in mind, but he's got more quilts that I know what to do with -- and I bet he gets more before he's much older! At this point, it's going into the stash for a baby shower (though as always, with a little mental note as to who I'm hoping it'll end up with).

Back at the Machine (for now)

It's been a long time since I've really had a chance to sit down and do a long haul at my machine. My lovely husband got an afternoon off recently and took the baby toddler out for a couple hours so I could actually work on something. We've tried letting them play in the other room while I work on quilting or sewing, but the toddler comes running the moment he hears the machine whirring. He likes to sit on my lap while I try to sew -- which is challenging at best and impossible at other times. 

During my time off, I made a quick patchwork flannel back for my scrappy x-plus quilt. 

And I even managed to get it basted! That's usually where I bog down these days, so even though I wanted to do something more fun, I pushed myself through. Pin basting is just not my favorite -- and I have yet to find a replacement that is any better!

I'm going to try to get through this one as quickly as I can. Yes, "quickly as I can" is not the recipe for a beloved quilt. But, as much as I do like this one, I think we missed 'beloved' quite a while ago. I seem to have that moment with almost all my quilts though, so maybe after quilting and/or washing, I'll feel differently.

I hope so. I like to love all my projects.

Can't wait to see how it looks when I'm done!


Later:

Well, it doesn't look much changed yet -- though I love the way the perfect binding really sets off a quilt top!

I was able to do almost all of three sides in the same brown (leftover) binding, and finished up with two more scraps of brown binding. I had envisioned using black and white -- but there's no black in the whole quilt top! With brown already playing a prominent roll in the top, and just enough brown bias tape left over, it seemed like the perfect solution!

The back is comprised of three different yellow flannels and a tiny patch of dark green flannel. I'm a little worried about the shrinkage when it gets washed... At the moment it is only quilted in one direction (lines between the blocks and a line on either side of the center of the plus). I had intended to quilt the same in both directions, but obviously I didn't. It seemed well quilted when I finished the first direction. We'll see if I'm right or sadly, sadly wrong!

I'm about to pop it in the wash and find out. I'm so excited to have a finish -- and so looking forward to seeing it all done. I really think a quilt isn't finished until it is washed at least once.

Quilt #30 -- Purple and Black Modern Baby Quilt

Okay, so I think of this one as the "Motor-cross Princess" quilt. Because if all goes as planned, it is intended for a child whose parents once called her that. Then again, because of the size of the planet, by the time I have a chance to give it to her, she might be far, far too big for a baby quilt!

 It's not a very large size for the toddler she will probably be before I get to meet her -- or a chance to mail this overseas -- so there's a chance this will end up going to someone else between now and then. Life is tricky that way sometimes.

It's really too bright outside to get good photos of this one. The colors are so much more powerful than this photo makes them look -- though not too loud for a nursery with all the grays and neutrals in there. It certainly isn't what I'd call a typical 'baby girl' quilt, and that was exactly the point. The colors are a little unusual for 'baby girl' (purple, grey, black, and yellow) and the prints are all quite neutral and sophisticated. 

I quilted it quite simply with mostly echo or in the ditch quilting. To add a little bit of jazz, I did swap over to some dark purple thread for some extra quilting in the black fields. You can kind of see that in the photo of the backing and binding -- but it turned out much more subtle than I expected.

Now to sit back and see if I get a chance to give it to the motor cross princess before she's far too old to appreciate it!

Welcome Baby Packages...

Welcome Baby C #2!!

Two of my favorite people just welcomed their second child -- a little bit ahead of schedule, but apparently fit as a fiddle. I haven't quite finished her 'welcome' package, but I've asked for a lot of help this weekend so I can wrap it up and get it in the mail as soon as possible!

I'd still like to add a thing or two... more on the book/toy scale than the hand made or hand-me-down end of things, but here's the beginning:

Recognize the quilt? My wonky star sampler seemed perfect for this little one, so I didn't bother making her a quilt all of her own.

Or... maybe I did. The other quilt/blanket isn't much to talk about, just some scraps of flannel quilted to a scrap basket piece of fleece, but experience has taught me this is a great combination (the much nicer looking quilt like this a friend gave us is a favorite). Experience has also taught me that it is handy to have a blanket or two you don't care about -- for picnics, use in strollers, or those late night baby can't stop puking trips to the ER.

Of course a hooded towel, a couple of toys, and some clothes -- some new, some hand me downs.

Not pictured, there's a sleep sack, a couple more toys, and two terry cloth backed bibs.

I had hoped to make a new quilt for this baby -- but when she turned out to be a she, I let myself take the easier way out. I'll have to make another for the planned upon baby #3 (no matter the gender), but hopefully by then I'll be able to take a little more time to work on projects!



I've been working on a couple other welcome baby packages as well. All these new babies are keeping me busy, and emptying my stash of baby quilts! I'm also making lots of bibs, including some extra large ones for my house!

Here's hoping I can get one more hooded towel done asap -- I want those other welcome baby packages in the mail before the babies arrive!