Abendrot - the Quilt

Abendrot (German noun translated as "the color of the sky while the sun is setting") is a finished quilt.

54" x 72"

In late 2023/early 2024, I cut a stack of 2.5" strips from my yellow stash to make a sixteen patch; but when I cut the second batch of strips I mistakenly cut them at 3.5" - the earliest post is HERE.

OOPS - time for a plot twist.

I ended up using both widths to create this version of Amanda Jean Nyberg's Candy Coated design from her Sunday Morning Quilts book.  

The quilt top was finished in February 2024.

Quilted with my liberated all-over nested spirals using Glide thread in Cornflower, I used Brandon Mably's Mad Plaid for binding.

The backing is one I would use again - P&B Textiles 108" Mod Plaid (at the time I bought mine, it came is several color ways).

And now this sunny, summery quilt is on its way to my sister in Michigan.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul."

Alice Walker

A Pieced Backing and Jumping Ahead

From the very beginning, I planned to piece a scrappy pink backing for Trouvaille.

When I found the 4 x 4 panel of vintage sewing machines, I fell in love with the idea of including it in that backing.

I narrowed the panel to 3 x 4 and proceeded to create three scrappy columns.  

But then things stalled.

Finally, I tried covering the panel with some of the remaining yardage and laid the quilt top on the floor so I could see the two together.

This unfinished backing feels "dull" and it is overly saturated in the wrong direction in relation to the quilt top; which means my original plan did not work.

I've folded the three columns and put them back in the stash in case they work for some future project.

Instead, I'm thinking I'll use this yardage and create a single fabric backing that better suits the quilt top.  

Time to set this one aside for the time being.  

As for the "jumping ahead" part of the post's title - I've been accumulating the leftover rectangles and sewn pairs from the entire series of 12 Macnas quilts.  That box would no longer close, so I went ahead and made these 27 blocks (3 in each color grouping).  There will be three more color groups to work with as I move forward with the remaining quilts.

HOLUS-BOLUS which essentially means all together, will be a smaller quilt.  The blocks finish at 8" wide x 10" long and with a layout of 6 wide x 6 long (36 blocks) I'll have a top measuring 48" x 60" which would work well as a future baby quilt.

There are still a lot of leftover rectangles in the 'darker' colors but no light neutrals, a very few cream, and a big pile of black and white prints.   

I'll use them to create RASTRO (but only after all of the quilt tops are sewn and I know what I have to work with).  I'm thinking about some kind of coins quilt but I refuse to make any plans until later.

That said, I did realize this backing (not used for a previous quilt) could work well for Holus-Bolus.  But of course, even that can and likely will change between now and the finish line.

* * *

For now, it is time to design and sew the final rows of Vellichor (the brown and cream one) . . . and to start quilting Abendrot.

(you can see more about any of these projects using the labels below my signature)

Quiltdivajulie

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"I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else."

Pablo Picasso

Trouvaille - the Flimsy

Trouvaille, the transformed squirrel project that just couldn't wait, has become a flimsy.

54" wide x 72" long - the colors above are very close to real life.

Fabrics for the pieced backing are waiting to be cut and sewn . . . 

While I finished piecing the top for Trouvaille, the remaining pairs for Wallaroo (Macnas-inspired no. 6) were sewn together - ready for their turn on the design wall.

The first 12 rows (of 18) for Vellichor (Macnas-inspired no. 5) have been sewn.  

Only six more rows and I'll have another flimsy reveal post to share.

As I'm sewing the top for Vellichor, I'm leader-ender sewing the pairs for Fandango (Macnas-inspired no. 7).

Fandango will be the first of the Macnas-inspired series to have rectangles made of scrappy strata.  Time will tell how that approach works out.

On the other side of the studio, Abendrot is pin basted and ready for FMQ action.  

(I had forgotten that Abendrot's backing yardage was in fact a wide back - that certainly helped things move forward more quickly)

Finally, the Bluey pillowcase laid out here is now finished and in use by its happy new owner.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Go to your studio and make stuff."

Fred Babb

Elsewhere in the Studio

With Rubricate pin basted, I pulled Abendrot (started in August 2023) from the waiting-to-be-quilted-closet and rolled it onto the pool noodles. 

(speaking of pin basting, check out the new dedicated blog page titled "Pin Basting My Quilts" with info on my process - there's also a permanent tab in the blog's header for future reference)

I've pulled this yardage as potential binding.

Abendrot (the color of the sky when the sun is setting) will be gifted to my sister once it is finished and ready to travel.

The prompt for Week 25 of Full Deck Challenge 3 is "two favorite colors."

I have so many favorite colors . . . I started by going through my drawers of painted papers.  Included in those are pieces torn from abandoned project journals.  Using the random pieces made more sense than storing a stack of partially-filled journals.

I came across this blue/green alcohol marker doodle from my foot surgery recovery period and knew it would make a perfect tag.

(I'm coming up on 9 months post-surgery and the residual swelling is still going away just as the doctor told me it would)

Blue and green were the colors I used in my first pillow project - I kept things small after my beginner quilting class - and I still love the combination.

This is the back side of the tag featuring another rescued watercolor/ink doodle focal point.

(note - the gel printed papers in my stash like this background were purchased through sellers on Etsy)

Finally, I pulled this eclectic pile of previous backings from the resource boxes.  I'll use them (and more if needed) to create a pieced backing for RASTROPHILIOPUSTROCITY - or RASTRO for short.

It will be the scrappy quilt made with the multitude of leftover rectangles from the Macnas series and Holus-Bolus (bonus quilt no. 13) - I guess that makes Rastro bonus quilt no. 14.

I'll do something along the lines of the photo above - no guarantees, of course (grin).

And in case you can't decipher the definition in the photo above: (n) a spontaneous combustion of creative spark that is followed by action in order to manifest and bring into existence.

Honestly, rastrophiliopustrocity now ranks right up there with one of my all time favorite words - supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (minus Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke).

* * *

Hope to have finished photos of Rubricate for my next post.

Quiltdivajulie

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"You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you."

Andy Warhol

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

Abendrot - Almost

Abendrot did not want to wait . . . the nine rows are pieced, pressed, and on the design wall.

There are several spots where I will be changing out pairs (some replacements are already pinned over the offending pair).

In that first photo, there are two rows with the same pair reversed above and below each other.

Here I have pinned a replacement over one of them.

* * *

I'll let this sit for a bit and then make those corrections and get the rows sewn together.

If all goes as the math showed it would, the top will be 54" wide x 72" long.

Quiltdivajulie

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"You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page.  You can't edit a blank page."

Jodi Picoult

Abendrot - Decisions Made

Once all 35 WOF pairs were pressed, it was time to make a decision on Abendrot's design.

I have always loved the Candy Coated design from Amanda Jean Nyberg's book Sunday Morning Quilts.

So much so that I've made two scrappy quilts using that design - Metamorphosis and Groundhog Day.

Now Abendrot will be the third.

Step one was to calculate the sub-cut length - after some time with the calculator I decided to go with 8.5" (8" finished) segments.

Step two was to sort all those segments onto nine plates in order to evenly distribute the fabrics amongst the rows.

I have at least 2 extra segments on each plate so I'll be able to edit as I stitch each row.

Once the rows are created, I'll arrange them on the design wall.  

I'm not in any particular hurry to get Abendrot done (which is a good thing) but I do want to get the first row sewn to satisfy my own curiosity.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Finding your unique style . . . it's following the breadcrumbs of the things you like."

Grace Chon

Abendrot Resurfaces

I first posted about my Abendrot project HERE.

Since then, I've spent far too much time pondering what to do next.

Turned out I cut 35 WOF at 3" and the second 35 WOF at 2.5"  

Oops!

Friday night I hit upon an idea and Saturday I made sure I followed through.

Each of the 3" WOF strips was paired with one of the 2.5" WOF strips.

Here are the first 25 pairs of WOF strips sewn together.

There's a pressing marathon ahead.

 (I plan to do a few at a time - definitely NOT all in one standing)

Here are those same 25 pairs with the remaining ten sets laid on top.

Once pressed, I'll sub-cut segments from each WOF pair.

Then I'll have options - I can lay them out ala Metamorphosis.

Or I can turn them into some sort of four-patch arrangement.

Or I could lay them out into some sort of vertical columnar coins design.

I want to wait and see what the sub-cut segments look like before deciding.

And yes, I have three projects sitting on my sewing machine table.

I stalled on DD 12-Confetti after I did the Zoom presentation but I know better than to put it where I can't see it.  

Ruth is ready for the rest of the blocks to be assembled (each block is on its own styrofoam plate).

And now Abendrot has joined the mix - if my plan works, I'll be able to leader ender the segments as I stitch the blocks for Ruth.  

Time will tell.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Don't dance for the audience.  Dance for yourself."

Bob Fosse

Abendrot - Early Decisions Made

Quite a while ago, I picked up this backing yardage.  I originally thought about making a pink and yellow quilt but eventually decided to go with a "yellow-gold" approach.

Here is the name I've chosen for this project.

These were the first half of the 2.5" strips needed for my sixteen-patch plan.

But as you can guess from the right-hand edge of the photo, there were more strips to be cut.

This was the stack pulled for the second half of the strips . . . 

It was challenging to get a "true color" photo of these lovely yellows.  None of these images show how pretty the colors are in real life.

I need to get these strips cut so the yardage can be re-shelved before Little Man arrives (tomorrow!) for his extended stay.

Once time permits (most likely after the first of the year), I'll get busy and piece the top for Abendrot.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Mother Nature has the best box of crayons."

Nature Hills Nursery