Farmland - September’s Kitchen Table Quilt

Farmland is finished!

64" x 64" 

September's kitchen table quilt was quilted 

with Glide thread in Military Gold (top)

and a wide variety of neutral Glide threads

in bobbins leftover from previous FMQ projects.

I used multiple FMQ motifs including organic lines,

both straight and wavy, my liberated all-over fans, and

a lot of letting the fabrics inspire the quilted lines.

(a single all-over design just did not

suit the inspiration concept of patchwork 

farm fields as seen from the air . . . )

The quilted texture is wonderful on the front -

but hardly shows at all on the back.

I am very happy with the way Farmland came together.

After a trip through the washer/dryer 

to enhance the quilted texture,

Farmland will take up residence 

on our kitchen table later today.

Quiltdivajulie

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

“The colour with which nature has tinted the background of all her pictures, green, is the most suitable ground for other colours. It unites wonderfully well with the yellow and blue which have produced it; it heightens red, and there is no flower or ripe fruit which it does not set off to greater advantage... it is both gay and modest, bright and tender. Green can only awaken amiable and gentle thoughts, remembrances gracious as those of spring, and other promises of nature: green gives repose to the mind, as it does to the sight.”

Charles Blanc

Farmland - the Flimsy

This was the assortment of fabrics I pulled last January

for September's kitchen table quilt.

(for those who might not know about my 12-quilt project,

click HERE for the "introductory" post)

After the pieces were pressed, 

I grouped them on the design wall

by approximate size so I could

better visualize what I had to work with.

It was at this point that I decided to make 

a slab quilt for September.

By the end of February

there were nine slabs

laid out on the design wall.

After each slab was assembled

it was put back in the project box.

Now the nine slabs have been squared to 20" 

and sewn together with a 3" all-around border.

(I'll square those corners after quilting)

The fabric hanging on the left will be

used to back Farmland.

(Cotton and Steel yardage from 2018)

I have a rough idea of how I want to quilt Farmland.

Time will tell if that plan sticks around.

Quiltdivajulie

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

“I'm grateful for everything that's green.”

Audrey Hepburn 

About Those Kitchen Table Quilts

These are the squares for my February kitchen table quilt.

And these are the blocks made from those squares.

(Amy Ellis's Day Hike pattern 

was used for block construction -

but this layout is my own)

The 49 blocks are now clipped 

to be webbed together into a 63" x 63" top.

(hopefully this weekend)

And happily, I found some fairly outrageous 

Tula Pink yardage in the stash for the back.

I've named February's table quilt AWAKEN.

Squares cut from yardage for the top of Farmland - September's table quilt

So WHY am I making a series of twelve

64" x 64" (ish) quilts to be used on our kitchen table?

There are several reasons . . . 

USING the stash ranks very, very high on the list.

That means working with only the fabrics in the stash

and not running out or going online to buy more.

That limitation encourages me to work more creatively

and generates quilts that are much more interesting.

Final fabric selections for the top of Trick or Treat - October's table quilt

Our current table quilt has been in near-continuous use 

for the past two years and it is past time 

for it to be retired from daily use.

(it will become the quilt in our grand-dog's kennel)

I enjoy making utility quilts (see definition in sidebar)

and I can't think of a more utilitarian function

than a quilt serving as a table cover.

(the top of our table is dark slate - 

cold, hard, and noisy under the dishes)

A different quilt for each month will 

definitely make the table more inviting.

Final fabric selection for the top (center section) of Sweater Weather - November's table quilt

When I started thinking about this project late last summer,

I realized it was the perfect way to reinvigorate several

 projects/fabric pulls in my design studio closet.

Some of them retained their original design plan

but their layout has been adjusted 

to fit the 64-ish" square plan.

Others were fabric pulls waiting for their purpose to be defined -

and after culling through my books and other resources,

I've chosen low-stress multi-directional designs that allow 

the colors and the fabrics to be the focus.

Still other months were an excuse to pull semi-seasonal colors

from the stash and decide how best to showcase them.

(Farmland, Trick or Treat, and Sweater Weather 

shown here fit this approach)

Stop border, outer border, and binding for Sweater Weather

Making utility quilts like these 

creates a variety of surfaces on which to grow

my liberated free motion quilting skill set.

(much better than boring practice sandwiches)

Short lengths of yardage to make a scrappy back for Sweater Weather

I make these quilts just like I make my lap quilts --

with a properly pieced top, Hobbs 80/20 batting, 

backing, free motion quilting, and binding.

At this point, they are all cut out

and ready to be sewn . . . 

one month at a time.

* * *

For those who are concerned about stains,

we have used a quilt on our kitchen table 

for nearly 10 years now and even with occasional spills, 

none of those quilts have been permanently damaged.

(a quick spray of spot treating spray and

a trip through the washer/dryer has worked every time)

* * *

I've created a tabbed page here on the blog

for this series of quilts -

click here if you'd like to check it out.

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
“Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the thing you can't hear, and not bothering.”

A. A. Milne

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

-----------------------------------------------
“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