Dumpster Diving 7 - Respite - the Quilt

Dumpster Diving 7 - Respite 

51" x 63"

Made with bits and pieces leftover after 

making two previous quilts:

Dumpster Diving 5 - Catharsis

and

Dumpster Diving 6 - Lagniappe

The top was completed in December 2019.

Quilted with my liberated all over fans

using Glide thread in Lilac.

This is the gloriously scrappy back . . . 

These colors have been such a joy to work with

which is a good thing since there are THREE quilts 

made from too many over-enthusiastically cut 1.5" strips.

The wind was not very helpful . . .

especially since it blew the quilt off the fence

onto the soggy ground right after I took this photo. 

You can read more about my Dumpster Diving quilt series HERE.

* * *

Some of you might remember the challenges I made to myself

back in January with regard to free motion quilting.

Nearly three months later, I have a major update to share.

I've done a lot of doodling, reading, and 

watching of video tutorials since January 

and completed seven quilts during that same time period.

Something I read along the way really resonated with me -- 

I wish I had written down where I found the article, but I didn't.

In short, in order to reduce the "how should I quilt it" stress

one longarm quilter decided to simply 

choose one of her five favorite motifs 

rather than trying to find or develop something new 

for each of her waiting quilt tops.

Wow.

I absolutely love my all-over fans with their many variations

and the marvelous texture they create.

I have several other favorite all-over designs 

documented in Max's Stitch Library .

So I'm going to stop worrying with 

feathers and swirl hooks, meandering, vines, 

and those pesky leaves that refuse to cooperate.

Decision made - keep it simple (and fun).

* * *

I won't be posting again until Monday so

I'll share this "studio upgrade/update" photo now.

DH helped me recover my pressing table - SO much better.

And I hung Someday is Now on the wall.

(the pink and green quilt was made by Wanda Hanson)

Here's a closer look at the framed item in the corner.

When I saw it on Etsy, I just couldn't resist . . . 

* * *

Finally - a question for you.

I have been posting using Blogger's MEDIUM font size.

This post is done with the LARGE font size.

Is one easier for y'all to read than the other?

 

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------

“Whether the flower or the color is the focus I do not know.  I do know the flower is painted large to convey my experience with the flower – and what is my experience if it is not the color.”

Georgia O’Keefe

Updates Galore

Let's start these updates with this initial fabric pull for a future quilt

that has (at least for now) been named Scintillating.

This one will feature larger pieces to show off the fabrics

and hopefully come together in less time

once I get done pondering the fabrics themselves.

Dumpster Diving 7 - Respite has been pin basted.

With the excess pieced backing from DD7

and some stashed purple stripe for backing/binding,

I'll be able to make another runner for my sister.

Younger son has laid out the 4" (fin.) blocks for his 

upcoming milestone birthday quilt named Namaste.

He's letting it rest for a day or so and then he'll do 

some rearranging before it is ready to clip and web.

Here's a better in-process view with more accurate colors.

The KF Geode in blue will make a fabulous back.

(this is standard KFCollective yardage -

I don't really like the wide back sateen versions)

Moving on to my ongoing AHIQ challenge project,

this is one sewn-together string pieced tulip for Forty-Six.

Heres' a look at some of the 12.5" (cut) background squares

and backing fabric that has finally found its quilt.

(and each of the yellow tulip petals contain at least one text print

as a nod to Amanda Gorman being a poet)

At this point all twenty tulips are pinned with their backgrounds.

Next step will be stems and leaves but for now it is 

time to let this rest for a bit while I work on other things.

These are my March blocks in scrappy greens for Hoppipolla.

There are 31 of them and they'll each finish at 3 inches.

(Reminder - for any of these quilt projects

you can click on the labels at the end of this post

to see all related posts for that project OR

you can use the labels in the blog's sidebar) 

Wanda posted a photo of herself after thirteen months without a haircut.

It has been six months since I've had mine cut 

and this is the longest my hair has been in over 40 years.

(unlike Wanda's "curl" - mine is fine and not curly)

The whole family likes it - a lot.

My second dose of COVID vaccine is set for this coming Friday

so maybe by late April I will feel comfortable enough

to schedule an appointment for a gentle trim.

If not, I'll let it continue to grow.

And through it all, Little Man continues to bring joy to our lives.

He has grown so much taller and none of us

want to believe he is already four-and-a-half . . .

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Enough is Enough - Decisions Made

At some point in time I decided I would make 

a series of twelve Dumpster Diving quilts.

Since then I've made myself dizzy with ideas.

This past week I decided enough was enough.

Dumpster Diving 9 - Blue Springs Road

will feature these blue and white strips cut from

an impulsively purchased fat quarter bundle.

I'll mix in some yellows and possibly bits of gray

and use the free Spring design 

by Valori Wells for Kaufman Fabrics.

I'll use this yardage for DD-9's backing.

The color palette for Dumpster Diving 10 - Do Tell

was inspired by the thought of 

a bouquet of full blown pink peonies in 

one of my grandmother's vintage aqua mason jars.

(name inspired by an award-winning

 lush pink peony variety from the 1940s)

I've gathered these pieces from the resource and crumb boxes

ready to be run through the die cutter when the time comes.

This is the yardage I chose for DD 10's backing.

Dumpster Diving 11 - Mischief Maker

is underway as one of my RSC 2020 projects.

January's blocks are here.

February's blocks are here.

March's blocks are waiting to be made.

The yardage above (right) will be DD11's backing

and the yardage on the left will be it's binding.

Dumpster Diving 12  - Journey's End

will feature black and white and red.

I have a design in mind

but need to do a bit more planning

between now and the time this one begins.

EDIT ADDED LATER -

DD 12 - Journey's End did not happen.

The red and black strips eventually became

an Etcetera Quilt known as Drama Queen,

which was donated to Mercyful Quilts 

during Hands2Help 2022.  

You can use the Drama Queen label at the end

of this post to see the posts for that quilt.

And this will be the backing for DD 12.

* * *

Meanwhile . . . 

Dumpster Diving 7 - Respite 

is still waiting to be quilted

and

Dumpster Diving 8 - Bella

is ready and waiting for block construction.

* * *

It will obviously be a while

before the rest of this series is worked on

but at least I can quit thinking about how

I'm going to finish out this series of 12 quilts.

Decisions made.

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
“There will be a few times in your life when all your instincts will tell you to do something, something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may seem crazy to others.  When that happens, you do it.  Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else.  Ignore logic, ignore the odds, ignore the complications, and just go for it.”
Anonymous

Dumpster Diving 7's Scrappy Back

This is the photo I shared the other day

as the beginning of a scrappy back

for Dumpster Diving 7 - Respite.

And this is the now completed scrappy back.

You really didn't think I could throw away

those 700+ inches of leftover scrappiness did you?

(only one horizontal seam ended up without the insert -

that will be at the top of the quilt's back

and may very well end up being cut off as excess)

I used Wanda's webbing technique once again,

adjusting it to allow for the insertion of the scrappy lengths.

I'm quite pleased with the results.

And I'm even happier with the almost-perfectly-lined-up

vertical lines of the back.

The fabrics include leftovers from the backs of

Dumpster Diving 5 (Catharsis) and 6 (Lagniappe)

as well as the turquoise squares previously cut for

a long-ago abandoned project

and a few other pieces from the resource boxes.

Yes!

And this 22" length was all that was left

after the back was completed.

No - I didn't throw it away.

I added it to the growing collection for 

the still-in-the-gathering-stage project

known as Dumpster Diving 9 - Feisty.

(clearly the squirrels are still alive 

and thriving in my studio . . . )

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
“Art is living stopped for a moment of wonder.”  
Kenneth G. Mills

Dumpster Diving 7 (Respite) - The Flimsy

One row at a time

I started stitching the long

previously-sewn-together-length-of-purple-scraps

to the bands with turquoise, green,

and the die cut triangle in square blocks.

After so many hours of sewing 1.5" scraps end to end,

it was a joy to stitch the long lengths together

and see the top begin to appear on the design wall.

Auditioning inner and outer border options.

(at least six inner borders had already been voted off the island

by the time I pulled this one from the stash)

And then there was a finished quilt top.

52" wide by 64" long (plus or minus)

(and if you're wondering, I had roughly

700 inches of purples left after finishing the top)

Another view of the top . . .

(you may recognize the border fabric

from the back of Grape Pansy Caper No. 2)

I found this fabric in the stash to use for binding -

turned it out was also designed by Chong-Ahwang.

So now the 12.5" squares for a scrappy back

are pinned to the design wall

waiting to be sewn together.

* * *

For those who have commented that I am on a roll,

it does indeed feel good to move these projects forward.

They've been in various stages of near-completion 

for weeks (some for months)

and I'm delighted to have them ready

 (or nearly ready) for quilting.

Working in short bursts is definitely paying off.

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
“You should love turning points.  They’re called edges.  
That’s when the magic happens.  That’s the space you’ve been waiting for.”
Victoria Erickson

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