Reciprocity Pt. 1 - How It Happened

In late 2017 I gathered all the random 2.5" strips 

from various spots in the studio and put them into a big box.

(strips cut for bindings but not used,

projects that were started but abandoned, etc.)

Some of those strips were cut into rectangles/squares

 that became this quilt top originally called Mercyful One 

but now known as Comfortable.

It waited in the to-be-quilted closet for almost a year

but is now bordered and paired with a three-fabric  

pieced backing - all of which has been pin-basted for quilting. 

More of the 2.5" squares were used to piece 

a double four patch table topper named Reciprocity

that would later become one of my

Kitchen Table quilt projects.

More of the low volumes were cut into squares

that became four patches in Squares Aplenty.

(top donated to Covered in Love)

Last December I used still more of the low volume 

strips and squares in the scrappy back of Zephyr.

(Zephyr is hanging out in the to-be-quilted closet)

The last of the 2.5" strips were used 

to piece the top for Bemused -

our Kitchen Table Quilt for January 2020.

* * *

After almost a year of waiting,

the blocks for Reciprocity's top and back 

were finally sewn together last month.

The quilting is done and on Wednesday, 

I'll share photos of the finished quilt.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Listening is not a reaction, it is a connection.  Listening to a conversation or a story, we don’t so much respond as join in – become part of the action.”

Ursula K. Le Guin

January Kitchen Table Quilt - Bemused

The first of my twelve kitchen table quilts is finished!

Bemused measures 64" x 64"

(shown here on our back yard patio table)

This is Bemused's reverse side.

Quilted with unmarked liberated oversize 

orange peels using Glide thread in a soft pink.

Full view laying on our drab khaki January grass.

And a full view of the reverse side.

I'm so happy with the scrappy binding.

Looking forward to putting this one on the kitchen table

so we can enjoy it for the rest of the month.

(Bemused's top/back reveal post is HERE)

UPDATE:

For those who have asked, this is a full-fledged quilt

with a pieced top, scrappy/pieced back,

sandwiched with Hobbs 80/20 binding.

Bemused will be used on the kitchen table this month

and then enjoyed elsewhere in the house

until the next January rolls around.

* * *

I've already started piecing February's quilt -

but that deserves a post of its own

sometime in the next week or so.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.”
Frank Tyger

Bemused - the top and the back

This tray held 64 sets of four strips,

each strip comprised of four 2.5" squares.

One set a time, I worked my way through the stack.

As each sixteen patch was sewn,

I attached it to the previously sewn blocks.

(arranged in rows of 8 blocks)

Since this was a scrappy postage stamp style project,

there was no great need to lay out the blocks

prior to sewing them together;

in fact NOT laying them out

probably gave me a scrappier look

than I could have achieved any other way.

Row by row the design wall began to fill up.

Eight rows of eight blocks or 

1,024 squares cut at 2.5" from the scrap stash.

The sewn-together top measures 64" x 64"

Bemused will be one of my monthly toppers

for the kitchen table in the coming year.

(Bemused: "to occupy the attention of; absorb or engross")

Here's a detail shot of some of the many fabrics.

The back was pieced using four different 

well-aged Yuwa 30s collection prints.

(purchased during a deep discount online sale)

Since these remind me of my 

grandmother's kitchen table cloths,

it seemed fitting that they back 

one of my kitchen table toppers.

I pulled out the long leftover strip

of border segments from Sea of HSTs, 

pressed that 3" strip to be used for binding, and

trimmed it to equal my usual 2.5" binding strips.

I'd like to get Bemused quilted before month end,

but if it happens in mid-January I'm okay with that.

(my knee and leg have felt better this past couple of days

with only minor twinges when going up or down stairs . . . 

hopefully this means I can start working with Max

in the coming week or two)

* * *

And to all those no-reply bloggers 

who left comments on the previous two

For the Birds posts - thank you!

Quiltdivajulie

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“The most important work we will ever do is within the walls of our own homes.”
Harold B. Lee

Short Term Goals

These three placemats are first on my list

of projects to complete sooner instead of later.

(younger son has been waiting patiently

for quite a while . . . )

I haven't quilted much of anything since 

early October due to the painful left knee

(which is doing better - 

not like new, but definitely improved)

so these were my first sit down with Max since the injection.

Given the way things felt that night and the day after,

I need to quilt in short sessions 

with plenty of stretching and time in between.

(I use my left foot for Max's foot pedal -

I've tried working him right-footed 

but my finesse and control aren't as good -

I think I need to work on that)

Dumpster Diving 7 - Respite is ready for 

the purple width-of-quilt sections to be sewn together 

and attached to the green/turquoise bands.

(I'm doing my piecing sewing using my right foot)

And then there are borders to add

and a scrappy squares back to be

laid out and sewn together.

There's no big rush to quilt this one,

thankfully.

Feliz Navidad is rolled onto the pool noodles

ready for batting and pin basting.

I really want to quilt it before 

the end of the month or sooner

if at all possible.

Eira is now ready to be rolled onto pool noodles

and pin basted - another one I would love

to finish by the end of December.

Bemused is the table topper planned for January.

These clipped strips are ready to be sewn into

sixteen patches for a 64" square postage stamp top.

I'm pretty sure I can get it pieced by the end of the month

but I don't know if I'll get it quilted before January 1st.

If Bemused is finished by mid-January, I'll be happy.

For the Birds is still ready for 

the blocks to be sewn together.

The pieces and parts are ready to assemble the borders.

I'd like to move this one along 

so I can empty the design wall

before it is time to lay out Bemused's blocks.

Maybe Santa will bring me 

a few extra hours this month?

Quiltdivajulie

Catching Up and Moving Forward (Slowly)

It has been a busy week so my studio time

has come in short scattered bursts.

I pressed the seams open on all 300-plus HSTs 

that will be used in the border of For the Birds.

I also pressed these pink HSTs and framed in

the "St. Louis" sample bird for insertion

into the back of For the Birds.

I pressed all 95 strip sets for Bemused

(a kitchen table topper for the month of January)

and sliced them into 2.5" segments.

These will be mixed up and sorted into 64 non-matching

groups of four for a postage stamp quilt top.

(inspired by a tutorial shared by Red Pepper Quilts)

The extras will be pieced into slabs to make

a set of six postage stamp placemats.

(not necessarily for January)

I sewed together the four bands of  die cut 

scrappy triangles in squares and edged each set 

with four strips of greens leftover from 

Dumpster Diving 5 (Catharsis) 

and Dumpster Diving 6 (Lagniappe)

for what will become Dumpster Diving 7 (Respite).

The scrappy purple strips will come next . . . 

And I combined two planned projects into one

by using the 2.5" strips cut from a buyer's remorse layer cake

with a 29 different medium to light purples from the stash.

(design inspired by Debbie Jeske's Quarter Cut Baby Quilt)

* * *

In addition to daily life and

leading a board meeting on Wednesday,

I had an MRI of my left knee on Tuesday.

(I've been in significant pain for a while now)

The results came back on Thursday: "severe arthritis"

with no visible cartilage in the front of the knee

and only minimal cartilage on the sides.

No wonder I hurt!

First step was an injection of Orthovisc gel

that will hopefully last for at least six months.

(that's when I will be eligible for the next injection)

If it doesn't work as expected then

I'll be a candidate for a knee replacement.

After a day or two of rest,

and as the pain eases, 

I hope to be able to get back to

more focused stitching.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live.  
Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.”

Albert Einstein

Redefining my Focus . . .

As typically  happens after a week away at JCCFS

(and a long weekend away with family)

I need/want to re-visit my project list

and waiting fabric pulls.

The biggest decision is that I'm going to take

several projects already underway and

re-design them to become 60" x 60" table toppers.

That way we'll have a different one to use each month

AND 

I have a year-long-date-oriented project list 

to help  keep me on task.

 (see list at the end of this post)

* * *

This revised approach meant that

I needed to change my plan for Halcyon 

(my Granny Cabin qal project)

 from a 48" x 60" lap quilt to

the designer's 58" x 58" throw design.

A new coloring sheet was completed and 

a few more squares of certain colors were cut.

Now I'm ready to sit and sew.

I also pulled a scrappy assortment from the stash 

that suits Halcyon's color palette.

I'll go with the 10.5" square approach

so I can mix these colors around.

* * *

Shifting gears for a moment --

Some of you may have seen this photo on IG.

When we met up with my sister and her husband,

I delivered these four bags filled with 17 quilts.

(and four recently-turned walnut bowls)

One bag for each of the nephews and their family

and one for my sister and her husband.

They all love quilts and live where it is cold.

(except one family that now lives in FL)

It makes me so happy to know these

 will be appreciated and enjoyed.

After all, isn't that the real reason we make quilts?

Back to my revised game plan --

I came up with a way to incorporate

all three of the JCCFS strata leftovers into

ONE quilt instead of three smaller projects

Meet FAUVE (adj:  Vivid in color)

The former wall quilt will became the center 

and I'll use the long columns as borders.

I need to play with the inner stop border

and the outer border fabrics - I like 

this BOB but these strips are too narrow.

And in the Squirrel Club department,

I've been cutting 1.5" squares 

for several weeks now --

Wanda and Lynn D. and so many others

are making 1" postage stamp blocks

using solids as the alternate squares --

and we already know I have a thing

for scrappy 1.5" strips.

When I found this 2012 tutorial online 

I knew I would go this route instead. 

I will need to make 48 of these 12" blocks

with 144 1.5" squares in each one

for a lap quilt that measures 48" x 60"

At this point I have cut about 1/4 

of the tiny squares that will be needed.

But since I am delighted to have found

 a plan that works for me,

I've named this one BONHEUR 

which means "happy."

* * *

There's a lot of other pondering 

and planning going on in the background;.

In between cutting out pieces and parts

for a number of waiting projects

and stitching the blocks for Halcyon,

I want (need) to spend some time quilting with Max.

* * *

One stitch at a time.

* * *

Recap of My Table Topper Game Plan for 2020

January - Squares Aplenty

(minimal redesign needed for sewn top - 

back pieced - ready to quilt)

February - TBD

(waiting project not yet shared)

March -  Bemused

(2" scrappy postage stamp ala Red Pepper Quilts - 

sewing started - not yet shared)

April - Reciprocity (side one)

(top sewn - ready to quilt this two-sided project - 

formerly known as the Double-Sided Four Patch)

May - Reciprocity (side two)

(back sewn - ready to quilt this two-sided project -

formerly known as the Double-Sided Four Patch)

June - Halcyon

(Granny Cabin QAL project - work in progress)

July - Frabjous

(fabrics pulled for coins style design - not yet shared )

August - Farmland

(another waiting project - 

Crazy Quilt design from CFQ book - 

not yet shared here on the blog)

September - Shift Happens

(top and back sewn - ready to quilt)

October - Sweater Weather (side one)

(waiting project not yet shared)

November - Sweater Weather (side two)

(waiting project not yet shared)

December - Merry and Bright

(waiting project not yet shared - 

Christmas fabrics cut and ready to sew)

Quiltdivajulie

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“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.  It is the only true guide you will ever have.  And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.”  

Howard Thurman