Three Finishes to Share

Like my fabrics, I've been working over the past month or so to USE a lot of the accumulated paper stash.  Finished journals take up much less space than their array of raw materials.

This first project involved a purchased accordion (concertina) journal, items harvested from two different magazines, a few postage stamps, and woodcut images from my favorite next-to-the-computer calendar.

This is the front cover.

You can see here how I used vintage rice paper book pages to cover each of the accordion's pages.

This is a sample of the way I finished out the interior.  

One set of "sides" feature winter images from the calendar and compatible magazine cut outs.  

The other "sides" feature non-winter calendar images and magazine cut outs.

Making this was quietly satisfying and the end result is very restful to flip through.

The next finish has been a long time in process.  A thrifted book had its pages removed so I could insert new pages using vintage ledger papers.

The first pages acknowledge the inspiration for the genesis of SQUIRREL!

The rest of the pages contain all manner of squirrely items.  Text from a North American animal handbook, greeting cards, stickers, drawings, comic strips, and so much more.

This spread shows the squirrel/nut-themed washi tape I found and some old squirrel postage stamps.

I used pages from a thrifted kid book for the front and back interior covers and facing pages.  I cut more images from that book and another to use throughout the altered book.

I deliberately left open spaces and lots of envelopes so I can tuck in additional items as they are found; but for now I'm calling it done.

The third small finish (literally) was to add my bits to a Bricolage Factory "tiny journal".

This photo shows the scale and one cover.

I worked my way through one set of pages before turning the journal over and working back through the pages with text, etc. facing the opposite direction; much like viewing an accordion journal.

A scrap of painted piano roll and a snippet from a larger design . . . it was fun to work on such a small scale.

This is the other cover featuring a bit of washi tape saved from an envelope that came in the mail.

* * *

I've decided that Nimiety and its scrappy pieced backing are going to Many Hands Many Hearts organized by Cynthia Brunz of Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  I had fun making Nimiety and used up a lot of strips and leftovers in the process, but I think it has a better life ahead as a comfort quilt (or two should they decide the back would make a good top).  

Holus Bolus and its back have been rolled on to pool noodles.  I'll get the batting cut and rolled onto the third noodle so pin basting can happen in this week.

One stitch, one scrap, one thing at a time.

Quiltdivajulie

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"You can do it like it's a great weight on you, or you can do it like it's part of the dance."

Ram Dass

Scrumdifferous - Bits of Progress

I spent much of Thursday prepping pieces and parts for a scrappy quilt to be named SCRUMDIFFEROUS (an adjective for something that is excellent or first-rate).

This is a photo of the un-prepped scrappy leftovers laying on top of yardage that will be used as backing.

This is what all of that was turned into.  

There are 65-70 rectangles (2.5" x 4.5") in each of the five color groups.  Some were left after making the four bonus Macnas quilt tops and others were cut from an array of abandoned 2.5" strips.

The roughly 350 2.5" squares were cut from light rectangles left after making the four bonus quilt tops plus several shorter pieces of yardage that were begging to be finished off.

The plan is to turn these into a quilt in the style of CAIM and COMFORTABLE and Githerments.

At the end of the day all of the rectangles and squares were sorted and paired, ready to be used as leader-ender or mindless evening sewing.  

(Scrumdifferous is the first of 3-4 projects sorted from my overflowing box of gathered leftovers)

* * *

This is what the 35 sewn WOF strip sets from the last post looked like after being pressed.  

This is what they look like now.  

The shorter lengths (18") will be used to piece top slabs and the longer lengths (20" plus) will be used to piece backing slabs for September's set of six placemats.  

(The extra strips on either side are to be used along a side edge if any of the strip sets aren't quite wide enough - I make my top slabs 17" x 24" and the backs 21-ish" x 28")  

Once quilted  the slab sandwiches will be trimmed to 14" x 20" before binding.

Onward . . . 

  

Quiltdivajulie

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"You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining."

Shirley Chisholm

Digging Into New Projects

Over the weekend, that stack of fabrics for a set of September placemats was transformed into lots and lots of 2.5" strips.  There are a few WOF but most are shorter since they were cut from scraps.  

(The small stacks outside the plastic boxes are the 2" wide leftovers)

The 2" strips were sewn together end to end (pinned to design wall).

Using some of the shorter pieces of 2.5" reds, I made six test blocks using the Duckworth Quilt approach (6" irregular/liberated/improv log cabin blocks).  The blocks are not for this project, but just because I've wondered about using that kind of approach for a future scrappy quilt.

Once I got that out of my system, I sorted the rest of the 2.5" strips into WOF and shorter before sewing the shorter ones into WOF lengths.

Yesterday after attending a funeral mass for the wife of our 30-years-plus next-door neighbors, an afternoon and evening power sewing session ensued resulting in 35 WOF yellow/red strip sets ready for pressing.

Over the weekend, I had also pulled out the stack of fabrics for December's set of five utility mats for our living room and cut these many 6" squares.  I also saved the end cuts and not long after this photo was taken, they were turned into 35 bonus scrappy 6" blocks that will be part of the mix when construction happens later in the fall.  

The best part?  There were far fewer pieces of yardage put back into the stash than what I had pulled out, and I didn't even feel guilty about using the last of several fabrics.

And on a non-fabric note, someone very special turns TEN years old today - it has been an amazing journey so far, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Quiltdivajulie

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"By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before."

Edwin Elliot

July Recap

Last month I spent time sorting and restacking the yardage in my stash.

There was also considerable editing done, along with culling scraps in the resource boxes.

This photo shows just how much space was cleared as a result.  The right half of the third shelf down is no longer filled with fabric.  

That same right half on the bottom four shelves no longer houses fabrics but a few magazines waiting to be harvested for my journal making adventures.

(the stacked drawer unit and Raskog cart were also cleaned up/out since the paper stuff accumulates even faster than fabric does)

I pulled out these fabrics to make a set of six reversible placemats for September.  

These fabrics were set aside to make a set of five utility mats for our December living room.

And these greens from the stash/resource boxes will become a set of six placemats for use next March.  The reverse side will be made using blocks Lynne sent after finishing her Field of Dreams quilt.

Ruska, a gift quilt, was quilted and finished.

Paint Party, no. 12 of 13 in the Macnas series, was quilted and finished.

And Yutori, no. 13 of 13 quilts in the Macnas series was quilted and finished.

There was also a squirrel invasion in July that led to this quilt top named Nimiety.

I also created Nimiety's scrappy pieced backing.  Both the top and backing are currently rolled onto pool noodles to be pin basted and quilted sometime this month.

No photos for this but I also emptied and sorting the overflowing box of leftover quilt backings and assorted other bits and pieces into six different project boxes for future quilts inspired by designs/patterns I've stashed but never used.   I don't plan to dig into any of these until next year aside from some cutting of pieces and parts as time permits.  But after staying so focused on finishing, it felt good to make plans for new scrappy adventures.

I also moved the two studio plants outdoors for the summer and changed the lower curtain fabric (the other yardage had faded over its 3 year life in that window).

The nearly 5-week month and lots of hot steamy weather that kept us indoors clearly made for more studio time than usual.

* * *

And because today is August 1, here's the monthly photo of our back yard.  The grass is the greenest it will get this summer, the neighbor's crape myrtle adds a big pop of color, our black eyed Susans are at their peak, the azalea bush has grown and filled in so much in the last month, the coleus in the large pot are thriving, but the in-ground hostas as struggling with the intense heat and hot sun but they'll recover later in the year when the weather moderates.   

(The temporary fence is there because we've had the grand-dog for the last two weeks.  Keeping her out of the dirt makes life much easier, especially when the dirt turns to mud.) 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Clutter is the enemy of clarity."

Julie Cameron

Yutori - the Quilt

Yutori, number 13 in the baker's dozen series of Macnas quilts, is finished.

(Yutori - Japanese word meaning intentionally slowing down to simply be, breathe, listen, and appreciate)

The rectangles for this quilt were cut out in April 2026 and final binding stitches were taken July 28, making it the quickest start to finish of the thirteen quilts.

The alternate fabric is Sweet Stripe by Loralei Harris.

The Kaffe Fassett rose backing was part of the February 2026 release as was the binding named Echo Stripe.

Quilted in my liberated all-over free motion nested spiral fans using Glide thread in Peacock (top) and Willow (bottom).  It took three tries to find the right green for the back, but thankfully I found Willow in the back of my thread drawer.

* * *

I need to take some time to contemplate the making of this series of quilts before I write any kind of wrap-up post.  And besides, there are four bonus quilts from the series that are still in the waiting-to-be-quilted closet, although I don't have as much sense of urgency to finish those aside from my stated goal for end-of-the-year.

I'll be back on August 1 with July's wrap up post.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"After nourishment, shelter, and companionship; stories are the thing we need most in the world."

Phillip Pullman

Ruska - the Quilt

Ruska is now a finished quilt.

(Ruska - a Finnish noun for the time of fall foliage)

Young Man created his ottoman-topper layout for this one in February during one of his Camp Sefton adventures.

You can read about that HERE.

I pulled more stashed pieces to create a scrappy backing.  I failed, however, to note the information of the selvages - none of these are "new" fabrics so they might be online but more likely are not.

This is a view of the entire scrappy back.  The filmstrip fabric along the sides is by Mars Auslander for Ink & Arrow by QT Fabrics, 30434-X (another older fabric).

One corner flipped . . . 

. . . and the opposite corner flipped.

Quilted using my liberated all-over nested spiral fans with Glide thread in Dijon (top) and a mix of warm browns in the bobbin.

52" x 68" 

* * *

Now it is time to pin baste Yutori if I'm going to meet my goal of three finished quilts in July.

Quiltdivajulie

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"The act of creating for children is about the process, not the outcome.  Children need to explore, take risks, make their own choices.  This is the richness of creativity.  This is the groundwork for future problem solvers."

Meri Cherry

Where Things Stand

This is a photo of Ruska, a Camp Sefton collaborative quilt from earlier this year, laid out over my drafting/cutting table; but the photo was taken from the back side.  

I had to clean up my paper art table so the top and later the back could drape overtop and stay flat for rolling onto the pool noodles.

Ruska is now fully pin basted and I've chosen the thread color.  This is going to be a very hectic week with a lot of coming and going but I hope to fit some quilting time in the gaps.

Meanwhile, Nimiety is now a quilt top - 52" wide x 72" long.

And after a bit of a tussle, the scrappy pieced back has been pressed.  

This is the center section that shows all the different fabrics.   

Here is the top for Yutori, no. 13 in the series of 13 Macnas quilts, laid over the drafting table ready to be rolled onto the pool noodle.

This is a BEFORE photo of the backing for Yutori . . .  

And this was taken after the finished back was pressed.    

At this point, both Nimiety's top and back AND Yutori's top and back are rolled onto pool noodles, ready for pin basting . . . I just couldn't stick Nimiety in the waiting to be quilted closet when the top and back were freshly pressed, so I'm going to quilt it before I start on the four bonus quilts from the Macnas series.

Quilting these 3 will be a breeze compared to all this prep work.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Dwelling on negative thoughts is like fertilizing weeds."

Norman Vincent Peale