TUXIE-TUDE, the Flimsy

Tuxie-Tude is a full-fledged quilt top / flimsy.  

Measuring 52" wide x 72" long, it contains 468 rectangles.

I mentioned in an earlier post that the only colors in this top are the flashes of color in the Tula Pink zebra print.

Here you can catch a glimpse of turquoise and pink.

Pink ears . . . 

Purple and aqua . . . 

Splashes of yellow and a hint of lime green . . . 

Along with orange and a bit more purple.

The top has been pressed but I need to go over it with a lint roller and make sure I remove all the marker pins (like the 6 in this photo) before I fold/hang it in the "waiting to be quilted" closet.

* * *

At one point on Sunday, I realized I had several missed calls and texts on my phone -- turned two were from Dr. Foot and the others were from the hospital where I was scheduled to have my surgery today.  

There was a pipe break Saturday night with water damage to the OR areas and the staging rooms for OR equipment; meaning that all of today’s elective surgeries were cancelled (including mine).  

I'm now waiting to hear from Dr. Foot's most-excellent assistant regarding rescheduling.  

This was NOT expected, to say the least. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Black and white photography erases time from the equation."

Jason Peterson

Tropical Canyon - the "Flimsy"

Remember I mentioned "visual shrinkage" in the last post?

Before the vertical strip sets were sewn together, the entire width of the design wall was completely covered.

Now there are roughly eleven uncovered inches on the left side.

The top currently measures 64" wide and more or less 78" long.

I will gently trim the very uneven bottom edge before quilting, but all other trimming/straightening will happen after the quilting is completed.

Here's a closer-up flat photo . . . 

And here's a crumpled view taken while finishing up the last long seam.

Oh, YES!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Color has got me.  I no longer need to chase after it.  It has got me forever. That is the meaning of this happy hour."

Paul Klee

Blossoms - the Flimsy

When the layout for Blossoms began, this was the plan for backing and binding.

(these are the first fourteen of eighteen rows)

I sewed the first ten rows together (pinned on the lower part of the design wall above) then laid out/assembled the bottom eight rows.

(shown here on my sewing table prior to final pressing)

And then there was a delightfully scrappy quilt top!

Approximately 54" wide x 72" long.

As so often happens, along the way the backing plan changed and in this case so did the binding.

I used the last seven blocks and the previously-intended scrappy binding to create an 84" vertical insert strip.

The "new" starry mottled binding had been skipped over for a previous project but works perfectly here.  And this backing had been set aside for my low volume tumblers but it was just too perfect for this quilt.

All in all, I'm very happy with the way Blossoms has come together.

Wait until you see what is next up on the design wall . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Sometimes the difference between a terrible day and a pretty good day is finding one small stupid thing to be nerdily excited about, even (especially) if no one else cares or gets it."

Nanes Hoffman

Reverie - the Flimsy

The row pairs for Reverie made assembly of the quilt top so much easier.  

It also helped with the final pressing of the flimsy since I only had half as many horizontal seams to deal with.

Ta - Da!  

This Macnas-inspired quilt top measures 52" x 72" and used a lot of fabric scraps no longer stashed in the resource boxes.

So many different blues . . . 

And so many different black on white prints.

Scrappy happiness abounds.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I never get tired of the blue sky."

Vincent Van Gogh

Fire and Ice - The Quilt

Fire and Ice finished at 55" wide x 66" long.

I do believe this quilt set a new studio record -- from inspiration to photo shoot in seven days!

(see this post for the back story)

I honestly don't know whether I love the top or the back more.

It had rained earlier in the morning so the tree and crape myrtle bush kept dropping water on me as I attached the quilt to the fence using my giant clothespins.

The sunlight and shadows created some extra interest.

Quilted with all over liberated spiral fans using Glide thread in Persian.

All from the stash, I used Young Man's choices for the borders and binding.

(The very last of my Philip Jacobs' Agate in ochre for the outer/binding and Brandon Mably's Jumble in blue for the inner) 

The back features leftover squares from the front plus end cuts Young Man had carefully flattened and set aside for me - all sashed with more blue Jumble.

I used four of his six chosen fabrics for the rest of the back:

1. Calypso by Jason Yenter for In The Beginning 2018 (warm / grid design);
2. “Bravo C1300” by Chong-A-Hwang for Timeless Treasures (warm / bubbles);
3. Floragraphix V by Jason Yenter for In The Beginning 2020 (cool /swirls); and
4. North American Wildlife No. 14246 by Jody Bergsma for Kaufman Fabrics (cool/water)

And best of all, HE LOVES IT!   

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art is simply the language of the soul."

Robert Redford

Haru - the Flimsy

Once the top for Haru was sewn together, I laid my version of Tussie Mussie on the studio floor.

It is always such fun to see a top all together after spending so much time with the many pieces and parts.

After the top was pressed, I hung it over the balcony to let the Best Press finish drying.

(the colors in this photo are very true to life)

I pinned the 60" x 72" top on the design wall so I could get a full photo.

And finally, I added the backing fabric along one side.  

Oh, YES!

* * *

Since the photos were taken, said backing has been cut and sewn together, pressed, and hung to finish drying.  I need to get the baby quilt (Moxie) quilted next since our friends' baby is due in early summer.  

But once Moxie is finished, I'm pretty sure Haru is going to jump ahead of the other eleven quilts waiting to be quilted.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"Be brave enough to live creatively.  The creative is a place where no one else has ever been.  You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition."  

Alan Alda

Moxie - the Flimsy

Moxie, the baby quilt for a June arrival, is now a quilt top.

Approx. 49" wide x 63" long.

You can read Moxie's back story HERE.

One corner of the top plus the lower portion of the backing fabrics pinned to the design wall.

I think Moxie looks good crumpled, too.

(top was sewn but not yet pressed in these photos)

I need to play around with these fabric leftovers and get the backing pieced.  I want to get the rainbow fabrics as well as the tropical prints oriented in the same direction.  I'm also thinking about creating two alternating columns with the fabrics to the left.

All in good time.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I have way too many ideas to follow up on most of the time, so the hardest thing is to focus."

Kristen Shields

Dumpster Diving 12 - Confetti - the Flimsy

A little while ago I shared the center portion of this quilt top (click HERE).

But now the quilt top is really, truly, finished with its inner and outer borders.

Dumpster Diving 12 - Confetti, the flimsy, measures 56" wide x 69" long.

Here is the upper right hand corner detail . . . 

and here is the upper left hand corner.

The inner border is Brandon Mably's 'Brollies" fabric.  I tried the green from the abandoned sashing strips but it did nothing.  Then, at Lynne's suggestion, I tried a bright orange.  I loved the energy but the single color stopped the riot of color cold.  

When I tried this busy, bright, slightly wacky fabric I knew it was absolutely 'the one' to keep Confetti's party going.

* * *

Next up will be getting the blocks for Moxie laid out on the design wall. 

They can then be clipped for webbing and I can continue sewing the HSTs for Tussie Mussie in the process of creating Moxie's quilt top.

(poor Macnas is still rolled on the pool noodles waiting for me to do its pin basting . . .)

Quiltdivajulie

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"My mission with my art is really quite simple.  I seek to inspire joy in the viewer."

Laurie Russian

And Then She Changed Her Mind - DD 12 the Flimsy

For those of you who may have lost track, this was one of my Nov. 2022 inspiration photos for the twelfth Dumpster Diving quilt named Confetti.

When it came time to finally sew DD 12's blocks together yesterday, the sashing shown in previous posts was left behind.

It wasn't needed and it actually detracted from what I've always loved most about the DD quilts, namely the way the colors crash into and collide with each other.

Here's another of the inspiration photos . . . 

And another of the freshly pressed quilt top.

(too windy for outdoor on-the-fence photos)

* * *

I'll add a 2" border of the backing fabric all around to contain the many, many seam ends, but that will be trimmed back once I get to the point of binding (much like I did on No Ugly Flowers).

And if you want to see the previous eleven DD quilts, click over HERE and follow the links.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I want to access the part of my brain that is willing to surrender control and learn new things.  Play allows me to do this."

Sarah Gardner

Abendrot - the Flimsy

Once the substitutions were inserted (see previous post HERE), it didn't take long to sew the nine rows together.

Abendrot's top measures 54" wide x 72" long.

Abendrot (meaning the color of the sky when the sun is setting) makes me very happy.

I've had this 108" backing in the stash for a while and now it has found its intended purpose.

(Mod Plaid by P and B Textiles DSN No. 04775)

I snapped this photo earlier in the process when the top was sewn together but not yet pressed.  The colors are so true here.

The crumpled look gives a hint of how wonderful this future quilt will be when in use.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I just go with the flow, I follow the yellow brick road. I don't know where it's going to lead me, but I follow it."

Grace Jones

Ruth - the Flimsy

Ruth is now a completed quilt top -- 56" wide by 72" long.

I had planned to take the top outside for photos because the colors are less stark that my photos show, but it super windy again today so indoor photos were the only workable option.

Here is a close up of some of the fabrics.

My long insert strip was exactly long enough for the backing - hooray!

(Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements Rue le Peltier)

Here is the quilt top laid over the end of the pressing table and backing.

I'm delighted with the way Ruth finally came together - I confess to having my doubts along the way but trusting the process paid off once again.

(and since someone will ask, the quilt in the background is named Someday is Now - inspired by a Sujata Shah design)

Quiltdivajulie

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"The act of sewing is a process of emotional repair."

Louise Bourgeois