Strip Pieced Top

This top went together really quickly; it was satisfying that there was no drama piecing the blocks together. They were all pretty much exactly the same size.

That makes 17 tops finished this year. My lack of social interaction has meant lots of completion in the sewing room.

I went through the project boxes to see what else I might work on. I started this star quilt last November, and have hardly touched it since. I'd packed away everything these blocks needed, so it wasn't difficult to pick it up again.

A couple of sewing sessions saw 14 blocks completed, and I really enjoyed them, so I will continue working on them. I'll have to work out what size quilt I can make with the limited background fabric I have. It's from Connecting Threads, and I could order more, but I'm trying not to look at that site. It usually turns out to be expensive.

There are some very strange fabrics involved, and often this is the first time they've been used, so it's good to see them out of the stash at last.

While I'm sewing blocks I'm also making Split 9Patches; they aren't strictly leader-enders because I have several bursts of making 10 or so at a time, so now I have finished 3/4 of the top. 

I'm such a failure at leader-enders. I'm also a failure at using up what I've already got. That box of squares has scarcely been touched, because I want to choose the colours I use. I really think that I'll have to send them back to the op-shop.

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Some Strip Piecing For A Change Of Pace

I started these strip pieced blocks in December last year.

Accuquilt had been showing me ads for this block, so I went and had a look. I was a bit aghast that the die was based on the third block (Mosaic 4); all trapezoids and triangles. 

I can strip piece that with far fewer seams, I exclaimed, and did so. I blame Accuquilt for inspiring me to start these blocks.

I'm having fun playing around with colours, experimenting with finding fabrics with the right value to do justice to the design, It's a lot of mindless sewing until the final block construction, which is no harder than a pinwheel,

It's all done with 2" strips, and ends up as a 12" block. 

There's a light purple strip joined to each mid and dark purple strip. Then the darker purples are joined.

Seams are pressed like this so that they'll nest later.

I used the 6" line on the triangle ruler on the edge of the strip. Then the seam is pressed open.

I made 2 strips like these, one seam pressed to the cream, one away from it, and cut with the 6 line along the edge. 

So long as I pay attention to the pressing of the seams, it all goes together really well.

I have a few more blocks to make, and I'm not tired of them. I think there will be more like this in the future.

I've loved strip piecing from the first mention of it, after the invention of rotary cutters. All that straight line sewing, then a few cuts, and it magically forms new blocks and amazing colour effects.

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Mission Accomplished

Mission accomplished; the cutting table has been cleaned up. I still have a little box of scraps to trim up for the scrap drawers, but that shouldn't take long.

I could clear it all away because the Trail Mix top is complete.

I like it a lot more than I thought I would. It's very mid-toned and blendy, which is not my usual style, but I like how the colours flow into one another. I've picked a couple of fabrics for small borders, but it will wait until I go down the shop. There's a lot more room to deal with borders down there.

While I was trying to decide what to work on next I contemplated the Split 9-Patch blocks.  I seem to have just started them, but when I counted I had enough for the first quarter. 36 blocks went up on the wall, and I was rather pleased with how they look.

I need a lot more HSTs, and the go cutter is down in the shed, so I made a heap using the 8-at-a-time method. 6" square, draw diagonals, stitch 1/4" either side.

Cut in half vertically and horizontally, and there you have it; 

8 HSTs that just need a sliver of trimming. It was really quick to do, and in no time I had 80 ready to trim. It was nice mindless sewing.

I spent some time in Adelaide recently, but it wasn't a successful trip. Thomas and Isla started dreadful colds with hacking coughs the first morning of my visit, so I had to stay away from them. Luckily Finn, Seonaid and I didn't get it, but we couldn't go anywhere or do anything while those two were so sick. After 4 days they were well enough to be bored, so I taught all three of them to play Solitaire. That was a raging success.

This is a poignant moment for me; my Mum loved playing cards, and she would play Solitaire (which we called Patience) for hours. Watching her great-granddaughter lay out the cards as she had done so many times almost made me tear up.

Thomas showed me a card he made for me in school. It was so sweet, but the portrait of me was a bit grim.

Finn also drew his version of me. What's with the eyebrows? I asked. They show how happy I am, apparently.

Sheesh. My self image is a bit dented.

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Time For A Tidy Up

 I desperately need to tidy my cutting table and the area all around it. 

I've been cutting scraps, and pulling out fabric for more cutting, for weeks, without taking time to put things away afterwards. It breaks my concentration to have to fit yardage back onto shelves, and squeeze FQs back into drawers, so I just let it pile up around me, until I can't work anymore. I no longer try to break myself of that habit; after all this time, I'm not going to change. The time between cleanups changes, as sometimes I'm more conscientious if I'm not in such a fever of creativity, but I always end up back in the mess.

I pulled out a lot of fabric to try with the Courtyard blocks, auditioning for the setting triangles and the borders. 

So many choices.

I'm stuck as far as deciding. There are several choices I like; one fabric has 7 yards on the bolt and I'd dearly love to use up a chunk of that, but I'm doubtful. Maybe it's not The One? That perfect one, that speaks to me straight away. If there's one habit to break, it's that search for perfection. Over and over again, when I'm caught between 2 choices, it's because both would look nice, and one isn't better than the other. Sigh. I'm going to put the pieces on the design wall down the shop and see if the natural lighting helps me make a decision.

And I may have started another leader-ender, this time with my 2.5" squares and HSTs.

I made a blue and yellow/cream Split 9 Patch many years ago (and sold it), 

and it obligingly used up lots and lots of fabrics that I just didn't want in my stash anymore.  I want to attack this box of squares; 

a lot of them came in scrap bags from the op-shop. They're not horrible, but I won't cry about using them all up.

The HSTs are always available, I cut hundreds of them with the Accuquilt die years ago. It's time to use them up and cut new fabrics to fill the triangle box.

That's a lot of projects, all concentrating on my repro, or sort-of repro fabrics. I'm starting to miss my nice modern pretties. Now that spring is here, I might make something light-hearted and happy. But not until I've cleared up.

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Trail Mix Progress

 The Trail Mix blocks I'm making are harvest colours; orange and peach and gold and green, with the occasional blue thrown in. I'm liking it, but now that I'm putting rows together it's becoming obvious that it's not going to have nicely nested seams. My pet peeve is having to mash seams together and press them into submission; I go out of my way to avoid having to do this. So the top is going to be only 60" square, and that will be enough to clear out a lot of those fabrics from the scrap and strip drawers. I don't  even like those warm colours particularly, I'm much more drawn to blue/green combinations, so I won't mourn the passing of these scraps.

A lot of them are from a wholesale mystery order from about 2010, when we could order boxes of 1800s repro bolts for a ridiculous price, sight unseen. Some of those fabrics were truly awful, but most were last season odds and ends and we were glad to have them. If only we'd known that that category of fabric was losing popularity, and would almost disappear in the future, maybe we wouldn't have sold so many in our shop. We're still using up what remains, and saying goodbye to some favourites, and there's not a lot to replace them. The stash comes into its own....

I don't know what I'll work on next. I only need another 10 blocks to complete this project, so I had better start thinking about what will be the focus after this. UFOs? A new project? Adding to the boxes of blocks that are ongoing? Assembling some of those blocks into an actual top? I'm still in the mood for something easy, that doesn't require a huge amount of attention. I might have to go back to the Log Cabin blocks while I decide.

 

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More Scrappage

 I've been very busy in the sewing room lately; I have an irritating cough if I try to do things like talk, or walk around, so it seems safest to just sit by my machine and push lots of fabric pieces through. When I move the cough makes me breathless, and I have to resort to using my oxygen, which makes my nose run, and is noisy. Much better to just not move.

I'm going to have to stop soon and take note of what my strip drawers look like. I've been pulling 2" and 3.5" ones for the Courtyard blocks for weeks, but then I started on the 1.5" strips as well. It's getting to the stage where I don't particularly like what's left, or they just aren't long enough for what I need. In a brilliant move, I've decided to start another scrap project that will use up the dregs.

One of my favourite blogs is In The Desert; she's one of those quilters who achieve so much, in small amounts of time, while still having time for her 5 children, hubby and grandchildren. She must sew like a maniac. In one post she talks about her Trail Mix blocks, and included a link to the pattern, which I duly followed. Hmm, I thought, those blocks would make short work of all my bits and pieces.

I've seen Trail Mix around for years, but I was off doing other things and didn't give it much thought. It seems to be just the thing I need now though, so I started with a  couple of blocks, and a rummage through my 1.25" strips.

That was fun, and I remember a box of leftover pieces from a Burgoyne Surrounded top I made years ago. Those pieces were already the right measurements, and would probably fit in to these blocks. This pattern could be a real clean up operation. 

Some of these pieces are from my Antique 9Patch top, which is still shamefully unfinished. Must decide on a border for it.

These are for 9patches, but I could turn them into 4patches easily, or find a way to work them into a 6" block. Must clean up leftovers.... 

Because these are all 6.5" unfinished, they go together pretty quickly. I don't have enough to get a proper idea about what it will look like yet, but I'm following the layout in the pattern so far. I need more large 4patches, but they're pretty boring, so I'll leave them till last.

Of course,  once I make about 100 of these blocks I would have to replenish the strip drawers, but seeing as I have Accuquilt dies for 1.25, 1.5 and 2" strips, that would be enjoyable. I think my stash drawers are overdue for a shake up.

Mostly neutrals in the 2" drawer, and mid tones in the 1.5" drawer. This badly needs dealing with. I want to weed out the unlovely strips that have been there for years, and replace them with freshly cut newer fabrics that will make me happy.

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Courtyard Blocks

 I have been working on the Courtyard blocks, which I still love. I drew up the block in EQ8 to see how I could arrange them, without the hassle of sewing them edge to edge.

This was the one I really liked.

70 " x 84"

But this was nice too.

67" square

I really like the idea of a 1" frame around all the blocks, so that sent me back to the cutting table to find the original fabrics and see if I could get enough 1.5" strips. Some of the fabrics were completely used up by this, and I felt a pang. I know the aim of the game is to get rid of every last scrap, but some fabrics are hard to let go of.  Oh well, it's done now.

I'm laying out the larger design, even though it will be awkward for me to finish. Those big triangles and borders will need a sizeable chunk of fabric, and I would love to use up 2 of my longer lengths. I'm great at scraps and nibbling away at FQs, but it would be wonderful to use actual yardage for a change. Even though the triangles only require three quarters of a yard, and a yard for the borders, it will still be a chunk of fabric.

EQ8 puts the total yardage at 7.45 yards, which is gratifying; that's quite a lot out of the scrap bags once and for all.

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