Rident - the Quilt

Rident has also had its turn with Max . . . 

Made with the leftover Dr. Seuss fabrics from Little Man's Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz quilt, Rident measures 53" x 67" and is the Big Brother quilt for the new baby's sibling.

Quilted with rows of Baptist Fans using Affinity variegated thread in  Rainbow (top) and Glide thread in Shadow (bobbin).

This is the happy, scrappy pieced backing.  

For those who might want to know: 

On the right are Timeless Treasures hearts and Game Day by Katie Pasquani Masapust.  

On the left, from the bottom up are Swirls by Dela Payne for QT Fabrics, Big Geo by Free Spirit, polka dots (no selvage), and Kaffe Flower Dot by Free Sprit.  

The sashing strips are Bias Stripe Bold by Loralei Harris.

You can read more of Rident's back story by using the link below today's quote.

* * *

Word has it the wee baby might need to be delivered early . . . so I am very glad I now have all three of the family's gift quilts ready!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Today you are you, that's truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."

Dr. Seuss

Moving Forward

The top for Rident has been sewn together, borders added, pressed, and rolled onto a pool noodle for pin basting.   

53" x 67"

I changed the plan for Rident's backing.  Instead of the Seussical scrappy back, I chose a group of brights on black, some of which are shown here.  

The one fish-two fish strips will be used as binding.

These are the two WOF back panels (folded in half for now) with the center strip not yet sewn in place. 

Now, you may be wondering why I changed the backing plan for Rident.

It was entirely the fault of Flash, my newest studio squirrel.

(as in flash of inspiration)

Keep reading and you'll understand.

The first three panels of off cuts and leftovers sewn together measure roughly 44" wide x 55" long.  

When younger son spotted this on the design wall he exclaimed "that would be perfect as my chair quilt."

And just like that, another Dr. Seuss quilt was born.

The two long sections of strip set end cuts from Rident will make excellent full-length inserts for the back.

After a bit of pondering, the latest in what has become a series of three Seuss quilts has been named BON MOT ("a witty remark or comment; clever saying; witticism).

Moving ahead, one seam at a time. 

* * *

p.s. The birthday presents did get finished in time and were well received.  I'll share photos later this week.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes."

Oscar Wilde

Decisions

For a long time I've been planning to use the leftover 2.5" strips and bindings to make a very scrappy utility/comfort quilt.

Earlier this week I decided that the color mash-mash was just TOO scrappy since I love controlled chaos but despise the "pull it out of the brown paper bag and sew it no matter what" approach.

SO . . . I am going to use this group of strips, bindings, and short bits from the resource boxes to make a set of six "beachy" placemats.

I'll use the pieces of Marcia Derse blues (left) for their reverse sides and I'll use a narrow turquoise stripe from the stash for binding.

Ideally these would become a Christmas gift come December but realistically they may not be ready by then.  Time will tell.

These strips and more short pieces from the brown and gold resource boxes will become a second set of six placemats to be used here during the autumn season - beginning in 2023.

The group in the foreground will be used for backing / binding while the upper group will be used to piece the tops.

There are still plenty of strips still in the drawers, but I am relieved to remove the worry about finding a way to have so many different and unrelated colors play together nicely.

I mentioned a while back needing to make another "new big brother" quilt for next Spring so . . . I pulled out the leftover Seuss fabrics from Little Man's Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz quilt plus the remaining pieced bits from Ohana to assess what I had to work with.  

The photo above shows a mock up for the pieced insert I'll add to the backing (under the name tag).

(Rident means "laughing, smiling, cheerful")

These are the two newly-pieced side columns (they're each twice as long as what shows here).  I added the 2.5" strips of black and white stripe to the mock up above as a nod to the planned clown stripe binding.  

The other leftover pieces of Seuss yardage have been cut into 2.5" strips for Rident's top so I could see what was available to lengthen the backing's scrappy coin-style column (more than enough).  

Yet another situation where I can stop wondering how to make the pile of scraps into a coherent quilt.

I'd like to get that coin column pieced and the three columns attached to each other before Rident is set aside so I can work (without so many wandering worries) on things with a more pressing deadline.  

We shall see how that goes.

Another major decision was to set aside Spots and Dots and use Ferhoodle for October's baby girl newborn quilt.  I plan to add a 2.5" outer border from the pink/black polka dot before this one gets pin basted for quilting.

I really do need to get on this one soon.

And Ferhoodle's name is also changing to Penelope Rose, which seems much more fitting than a word that means "to confuse or mix up."

Quiltdivajulie

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"A good artist has less time than ideas."

Martin Kippenberger

More Shopping of the Stash

Planning ahead, I have spent some time generating two more fabric pulls for comfort quilts to be donated in 2023.  

This is one grouping of paired fabrics (one darker, one brighter) that will become 6" finished HSTs.  

As time and energy permit, I'll get these die cut and into their project box.  It helps so much to have some pre-cut projects that allow me to just start stitching.

I have also set aside and labeled backing fabric for this project I've named SHAGGY (the backing fabric's name) so it will be ready to go when the time comes.

This is another color palette that has been cut into paired sets of 2.5" strips for a zig zag rail fence.  

They are already in a labeled project box with their chosen backing fabric labeled and waiting.

I've named this one TAKMEEL (which means "completion")

I like these combinations so much that a second quilt of a different design will be cut out before any remaining yardage returns to the stash. I chose several smaller pieces of complementary yardage to create a pieced backing (again, set aside and labeled).

I've heard a rumor that there may well be another baby in 2023 within my sister's family.  So Ferhoodle (shown here prior to the blocks being assembled) will have a destination, if indeed the rumor proves to be valid.

Again, if that rumor is true, the scrappy leftovers from Little Man's Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz (Dr. Seuss) quilt will be combined with the leftover pieced strips from Ohana to become a quilt for the baby's big brother.  I've named this quilt project RIDENT (which means "laughing, cheerful, smiling")

Quiltdivajulie

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"There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people."

Vincent Van Gogh

Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz- The Quilt

The Dr. Seuss quilt is finished.

And the weather even cooperated

for outdoor photo taking.

Nineteen 4-inch tumblers wide

by eighteen tumblers long,

the finished quilt measures 54" x 70"

Quilted using Glide thread in Basil

and lots of horizontal organic wavy lines.

Backing - Jumble (in green) by Brandon Mably

Binding - Michael Miller's Clown Stripe

The insert in the back was made from

lots and lots of end cuts that were

just too good to throw away.

(you can read all of the previous posts for this project

by using the Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz label below)

Why the random "Sam I Am" patch?

I found a weak spot (aka hole) in the yardage

so I added a 'band aid' to cover the boo-boo.

Now . . .  about the quilt's forever name.

This is a "yawning yellow yak with Yolanda on his back."

And right above Mr. Yak are three ZZZs.

Mr. Yak was in the row of my 

last FMQ pass across the quilt and . . . 

. . . those ZZZs made me think 

of THIS character from that same book . . . 

(Dr. Seuss's ABC - an Amazing Alphabet Book)

And lo and behold, there he is in the quilt.

I always knew I wanted the quilt's forever name

to be more interesting than just the Seuss Quilt, and

this combination of thoughts was just too good to ignore.

* * *

Little Man is going to love having this

as his sleepover-in-the-tent quilt.

And I'm going to love watching him enjoy it.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Children see magic because they look for it.”

Christopher Moore

The Seuss Quilt - a Flimsy

And then there was a quilt top all sewn together.

It still needs a final pressing 

but it is 100% off the design wall.

Nineteen 4-inch tumblers wide x eighteen rows long.

That's 342 tumblers die cut from 

approximately fifteen different Seuss prints.

(most from a recent line by Robert Kaufman)

Once quilted with the side edges trimmed 

The Seuss Quilt should measure in the 56" x 72" range.

My goal is to get this quilted before year end.

Time will tell . . .

Quiltdivajulie

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“Where yellow dives into red the ripples are orange.”

Derek Jarman

Where Things Stand

Little by little, between rest breaks,

things are being moved forward.

(at least some things anyway)

I've stopped working on RUSKA  INGLENOOK(my Gridlock project)  for now but you can see the first six blocks the design wall.

The ten Size L (Project) 

lined drawstring gift bags are waiting for me 

to stitch their casings and insert the drawstrings.

(pattern link in my sidebar)

And Merry and Bright has been pin-basted.

(it needs to be ready for action on Dec. first)

A couple of days before my COVID booster,

Optic Strings was pin basted, but having lost 

a full week of focus, the FMQ will have to wait 

until after Merry and Bright is quilted/finished.

(this is the reproduction binding I made

back when the top was completed but

I'm now leaning to a solid pink instead)

The remaining Dr. Seuss fabrics arrived late last week.

The additional tumblers have been cut 

but I don't feel energetic or focused enough yet

to adjust the layout and add the two rows.

I did have enough energy one afternoon

to trim up the big stack of 6" strip ends left

after die-cutting the original batch of tumblers.

Those strips made for an evening of mindless stitching

resulting in a long strip to insert into the seam

of the quilt's backing (the green Jumble).

Meanwhile, Mother Nature continues to thrill us

with some of the best leaf color we've had for several years.

These are the two Japanese Maples in our back yard.

Glorious!

Quiltdivajulie

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“Everyone knows that yellow, orange and red suggest ideas of joy and plenty.”

Eugene Delacroix

Dr. Seuss - the Layout

The Dr. Seuss tumblers are laid out on the design wall.

19 wide x 16 long / 4" finished tumblers

Here's a closer look at some the many fabrics . . . 

. . .  and here are the others.

Truth be told, a 64" quilt isn't going to be 

long enough to sleep under so I've ordered a few more

Dr. Seuss fat quarters to make enough tumblers 

for two more rows and a 72" quilt.

(I'll make a scrappy reversible placemat

with the miscellaneous leftovers)

And this is where the Dr. Seuss quilt will be used

whenever Little Man spends the night at our house.

(Tent by Privacy Pop, twin mattress by EnerPlex)

***

And while I wait for the "foggy brain" after-effects of my 

COVID booster shot to subside, I'll be unstitching the 

annoyingly-perky-and-far-too-bright-yellow borders 

from Hoppipolla so I can replace them with this

delicious version of Brandon Mably's Jumble.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Whether you color the world or light it up blue, you are making a difference.  So keep being you.”

Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel)

The Dr. Seuss Quilt Begins

Here and there along the way,

I've been gathering Dr. Seuss fabrics

to make a quilt for Little Man.

Many of these are fat quarters.

Some are half yards

and a few are one-yard cuts.

In all there are 26 different fabrics.

Earlier this week I had a brain flash 

on how to use them so I decided to go ahead

and pull yardage for backing 

(Brandon Mably's Jumble in green)

and the leftover black and white

 Clown Stripe by Michael Miller binding.

If I counted the squares correctly

before running them through the die cutter . . . 

. . . there should be 318

4" finished tumblers in these stacks.

I'll need 304 but it will be nice to have a few extras.

* * *

My goal is to have this pieced, quilted, and bound

in time for Little Man's many-sleeps visit 

in early January.

But first I need to sit down and work on those

nagging lined drawstring gift bags.

Quiltdivajulie

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“What I need most of all is color, always, always.”

Claude Monet