Hanabi is Finished

Hanabi, number 10 in my Macnas series, is finished and it happened before the end of May - yes!

I quickly took the quilt outdoors to get these photos since it had stopped raining earlier this afternoon and the next cloudburst isn't expected for another hour or so.  It's been like this for over a week now - intermittent thunderstorms, heavy gray skies, brief patches of sunshine with blue skies and puffy white clouds, and then more rain.  I'm not complaining because in a few short weeks we will wish we had some rain.  

Here's a detail showing more of the fabrics and a bit of quilted texture.

The backing is from the Writing on the Wall collection by Seth Apter for Free Spirit.  I knew the instant I first saw it that it would be perfect to back Hanabi - a Japanese word that means fireworks.

I used a bit more of my Rollicking Robots stripe by Patrick Lose (an elderly fabric from the stash) for binding and I love how it interacts with the scrappiness of the quilt top.

Quilted with my liberated all-over spiral fans using Glide thread in Mulberry.  Not pink, not purple, but a heavenly blend of the two that worked well across all the colors in the quilt.

* * *

Be back in a day or so with my month end recap for May and the June first backyard photo.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Quilt fabrics aren't purchases, they're investments in happiness."

Kristine Art 

(edited slightly by yours truly) 

Making Progress

Hanabi, Macnas series no. 10, is pin basted at last.

With so many colors in the fabrics, it was a bit of a dilemma deciding which Pinmoors to use . . .  Pink? Blue? Green? White?  

Ahh --the yellow ones will be the easiest to spot while quilting.

After that dilemma was resolved, the lingering "what color thread should I use" was no longer avoidable (that's been the biggest hang up getting this quilt over the finish line).

I deliberately did not look at color names, only how the threads played across the top and backing.  I even consulted the binding to make sure the chosen thread color had some connection to that fabric.

You can see the base of the winning spool above.  Thursday's project is to get the bobbins wound and the free motion quilting underway.

In the other studio, I have finished adding backgrounds onto the 100+ index cards for my "whenever-I-need-to-sit-and-glue" collage project.  

The white baskets are the result of an evening spent sorting through stashed ephemera.  Having a jumble of items in a basket for each of the nine color groups helps spark ideas/generate results with much less pondering time needed.  

(my ulterior motive is to define some boundaries and keep me from searching endlessly for that 'perfect' something)

* * *

Hope to have a finished quilt to share in the next few days.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Perfection is shallow, unreal and fatally uninteresting . . . "

Anne Lamott

Yutori - the Flimsy

Yutori, no. 13 in the Macnas series, is now a flimsy measuring 52" x 72"

(Yutori - the beautiful concept of creating space in your life to breathe, to think, to simply be; slowing down to take in the world around you with no rush, no noise – just presence)

The decision to make this thirteenth Macnas series quilt was made in March of this year, the pairs were leader-ender sewn in April, and now Yutori has become a finished top in May - a very quick turnaround compared to most of the other Macnas series quilts.

Here you can see the quilt top with the planned backing and binding fabrics.  

And like so many other quilt tops on the design wall, the colors change dramatically depending on the light (natural light from the window, electrical lighting daytime v. nighttime, etc).

The first photos are quite cool and this one is much closer but also a bit on the warm side - once the quilt is finished and outdoors for its photo shoot, hopefully the color balance in my photos will be more accurate.

* * *

No. 10 of 13 in the Macnas series, Hanabi's top, backing, and batting are rolled onto pool noodles ready for pin basting, to be followed shortly by quilting/finishing.

It feels so good to see these quilts moving forward instead of staying stuck in the waiting closet.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task project."

William James

Two More Flimsies and January's Monthly Recap

Belatedly, here is a full photo of Hanabi's quilt top (Macnas series no. 10).  

(earlier not-yet-pressed reveal post is HERE)

Hanabi has a wide back waiting in the closet with its binding already made.

Rastro, one of the four Macnas series bonus quilts, is now a flimsy.  

52" x 72"

I need to seam the backing for Rastro and choose binding fabric.

Motley, another of the four Macnas series bonus quilts, is also now a flimsy (corners to be squared after quilting).

48" x 64"

I need to seam the backing fabric but the binding is already made.

* * *

We're still essentially housebound although DH has ventured out twice.  Our driveway is still only partially uncovered and after Thursday's high in the low 40s, we're back in the below-freezing zone until sometime next week.   

(local schools and  most city offices/services ended up closing for this whole week)

* * *

For my own 2026 record keeping, these were my January "finishes"

Quilt tops

• Enchanted, Macnas series no. 9 
• Hanabi, Macnas series no. 10
• Githerments, Macnas series bonus quilt
• Githerments scrappy pieced backing 
• Rastro, Macnas series bonus quilt (above)
• Motley, Macnas series bonus quilt (above)

Finishes

• Trouvaille
• Esperance long runner no. 2

Other

• Bindings made for six waiting quilt tops
• Fandango, Macnas series no. 7 pin basted
• Prepped fabric/batting for set of 6 reversible placemats

My goals for February

• Quilt and finish Fandango
• Pin baste, quilt, and finish Incandescent (to be gifted in April)
• Pin baste Grandiose, Macnas series no. 8
• Camp Sefton - Young Man to lay out top for their new autumn ottoman quilt RUSKA (noun-the time of fall foliage). This will be an after school/weekend project which will likely end up including some sewing.

We shall see how things go . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"The most effective way to do it is to do it."

Amelia Earhart

Odds and Ends

Thanks to Winter Storm Fern, I have spent quite a bit of time in the studio since Friday.  The photo above shows the very long runner after the binding was applied.  

(We were fortunate in that we were spared the very worst of the freezing rain, so our power thankfully stayed on.  That said, we are not going out anytime soon.  DH has managed to chip away enough of the drift in front of our frozen down garage door to get one car out in an emergency but the rest of the driveway and the neighborhood streets are solidly covered in layers of ice-coated snow and frozen sleet.   The city is valiantly trying to clear the main roads but it is very slow going with the snow/ice/very low temperature combination.)

The finished runner is now living on the back of the rocking chair in my studio.  

I also had enough uninterrupted sit-and-sew time to sew the top together for Hanabi, Macnas series 10.    Having the second flimsy of this year so quickly behind the first was an unexpected bonus.  

(My focus was helped a lot because I had the sunshade pulled down on my studio window to keep me from looking outside very few minutes to repeatedly check on the weather)

Again, no beauty shots of the finished flimsy (photo taken before pressing). 

Hanabi - a Japanese word for fireworks

As I stitched the rows for Hanabi's top, I used the segments for Rastro, one of the four Macnas series bonus quilts, as my leader-enders.  By the time Hanabi's top was finished, so were all of the segments for Rastro.

Rastro is short for RASTROPHILIOPUSTROCITY is a noun meaning a spontaneous combustion of creative spark that is followed by action in order to manifest and bring into existence.  

Instead of putting the segments (not yet pressed in the photo) back in the project box, I decided to play with a layout on the design wall.  If life cooperates, I'll get this top sewn together before the end of the month.

(Six 6-rectangle segments per column x 13 columns, made with 2" x 4" finished rectangles leftover from previous Macnas quilts, yielding a top measuring roughly 52" x 72")

I'll close with a photo of the drift that formed across the back of our house.  I wonder if any of it will still be visible when I take the next monthly backyard photo on February first?

Quiltdivajulie

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"When the creative pulse sweeps over you, grab it.  You grab it and honor it and use it, because momentum is a rare gift."

Justina Chen 

Enchanted - the Flimsy

Enchanted, Macnas No. 9, is now a flimsy. 

The partially-constructed top was set aside at the end of November and after taking most of December away from the sewing machine, it was time.  Even though I wasn't planning to finish it immediately after Githerment's top, when I moved the stack and realized there were only a few more rows to add I decided to just go on and get it done.

Detail photo of Enchanted's top after pressing.

Here is another perspective - so many interesting fabrics, both the yellow-oranges and the black-whites.

The top measures 52" x 72" 

Before Enchanted goes into the waiting-to-be-quilted closet, I will stitch the single seam in the backing so E will be ready to pin baste when its turn comes up later this year.

(and yes, I've created a planning/tracking spreadsheet with all the back-logged quilt projects so I spread them out throughout the year and still get the four gift quilts finished for timely gifting -- I know a spreadsheet seems excessive to many of you, but it helps keep my head from exploding.  Between the studio squirrels staying on my case and the printed out spreadsheet, I'm hopeful.)

In the background, as I finished the tops for Githerments and Enchanted, I started leader-ender stitching the strip sets for Rastro, another of the Macnas bonus quilts.  

This is one group . . . 

And this is another.  When all is said and done, there will be strip sets featuring colors from all of the Macnas quilts.  

In the process of cleaning up the studio, I sorted the blocks for Macnas No. 10, Hanabi.  

(again, I moved the project box and realized it was time to prep this for piecing the top)

I will finish L-E Rastro's segments as I stitch Hanabi's rows.

I can tell that progress is happening with all these newly-emptied sorting plates!

* * *

Even though I'd rather keep piecing, I need to get Trouvaille quilted along with the second long runner pieced with fabrics from Esperance and Haru.

It feels good to see things moving forward again after the recent lull.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Later is the best friend of clutter."

Peter Walsh

Bits of Progress

The first few rows of Fandango (Macnas series no. 7) are sewn with row six pinned to row 5.

I'm building the top one row at a time using the previously sorted-onto-plates blocks, and the narrow table behind my machine's table is there for extra support as the quilt top grows towards row 18.

I also discovered that by angling my portable cutting mat off the end of the machine's table, I can lay the top out full width as I determine placement for the 4" blocks in each additional row.  

I am working on a how-I-do-it post with my progression of steps for these quilts.  Hopefully sometime next week I'll have it ready to share.

Next - in the lower left you can see Fandango's first few rows. 

In the project box are the 300+ leftover/extra rectangles for Githerments (a Macnas series bonus quilt) with end-squares pinned in place, ready for leader ender action when the time comes.

All 300+ 2.5" squares were harvested from leftover Macnas quilt black/white rectangles and/or trimmings from previous projects.  No yardage was needed - it is truly remarkable the possibilities that lurk within those leftover bits and pieces.

Next - these are the sewn/pressed blocks for Hanabi (Macnas series no. 10).  They were leader-ender sewn while I created the top for Vellichor.

Next - these are the sewn/pressed blocks for Morning Fog (Macnas series no. 11).  They were leader-ender sewn while I pieced the top for Wallaroo (Macnas series no. 6).

And finally - these are the first batch of sewn/finger pressed blocks for Paint Party (Macnas series no. 12).  I'm sewing these pairs as leader-enders while I assemble the top for Fandango.

(I realize leader-enders aren't for everyone but for a series of quilts like these, the method works amazingly well with my own process) 

* * *

To see more on my Macnas series of quilts, click HERE.

Quiltdivajulie

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

Alice Walker

The Rest of the Series

I've finished the first three quilts in the Macnas series (Macnas, Reverie, and Tuxie-Tude).

This set of sewn pairs will become number 4 - Vellichor (the beautiful wistfulness of used book stores; the strange romance evoked by the smell of old books and paper).

As soon as these are pressed, they'll be sorted into 18 rows and sewing of the quilt top can begin.

This set of pinned pairs will become number 6 - Wallaroo (Common name for species of Australian macropods intermediate in size between kangaroos and wallabies)

I'll use these as leader enders as I sew the top for Vellichor.

(number 5 - Rubricate (to mark with red) is nearing flimsy status with only 7 more long horizontal rows to be sewn)

This set of pinned pairs will become number 7 - Fandango (Fandango is a vibrant and lively shade of purple with pink undertones, often associated with a lively and energetic feel. It falls within the spectrum of magenta tones, offering a bold and eye-catching hue that can evoke a sense of creativity and fun.)

I'll use these as leader enders as I sew the quilt top below.

These sewn pairs will become number 8 - Grandiose (name inspired by the Philip Jacobs backing fabric's selvage).

Once pressed and sorted into rows, I'll use Fandango (above) as leader enders as I sew the top for Grandiose.

These sewn pairs will become number 9 - Enchanted (adj. – utterly delighted or captivated; fascinated; charmed or under a spell; bewitched; magical).

Once pressed and sorted, I'll sew these into a quilt top using the pinned pairs for Hanabi (below) as leader enders.

These pinned pairs will become number 10 Hanabi (Japanese word meaning fireworks).

They will be used as leader enders as I sew Enchanted's pairs into a quilt top.

These pinned pairs will become number 11 - Morning Fog (name inspired by an early morning waterfront photo).

I'm very happy with the softer assortment of scrappy neutrals - the evicted grays simply did not play well with the light blues.

And finally these pinned pairs will become number 12 - Paint Party (inspired by photos of Young Man helping paint a restaurant's patio fence).

The planned alternate gray rectangles from Morning Fog were also a fail here - instead I used Tula Pink's Fairy Dust (white) which totally supports the inspiration's "happy" vibe.

For all of these projects, you can click on their name labels at the end of the post to see their individual back stories/progression posts.

* * *

Now that all the planning, cutting, pinning, and pairing is out of the way, let's see if I can find enough time to sit and sew/quilt so these are finished by year end.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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Do something.  If it works, do more of it.  If it doesn't, do something else."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Background Efforts

I didn't feel like spending time with Max so I pulled out Hanabi (Macnas series no. 10) and sorted the 31 brights on blacks and 18 neutrals by fabric so I could create a wide mix of scrappy pairs.

(Hanabi is a Japanese word for fireworks)

Later in the day, I had 240 pinned pairs ready for future leader-ender sewing.

I decided to go ahead and do the same thing with the rectangles for Wallaroo (Macnas series no. 6).

I didn't count the unique fabrics on this one - sigh.

But now all 240 pairs are pinned and ready for future action.

Some of you may remember THIS POST.  

Since April, my plans for this inspiration have evolved.

This backing is simply beyond perfect (and the originally planned backing is now set aside for a scrappy silk quilt that has been lurking in the stash for many, many months).

I will use the bright colors from this Tula Pink True Colors 2022 jelly roll (gasp) along with a few supplemental fabrics from the stash.

I've cancelled the plan for April's Painting a Fence project and moved the inspiration photos, backing, and fabrics for the top to the box for Macnas series no. 12 - now named PAINT PARTY.

(I love it when two projects turn into one)

I'll pair the colors with these scrappy grays (think fence boards).

That said, the group of gray rectangles was originally planned for  Morning Fog (Macnas-inspired project No. 11) but every time I thought about the pinned/paired sets I felt sad instead of excited.  

That recurring feeling told me I needed to unpin the 240+ sets, lose the too-dark grays, and use a different neutral that felt better with the light blues but still fit the inspiration photo's vibe (from Google Images, no credit shown).

Accordingly, an assortment of fat quarters from the Zen Chic Even More Paper line are on order to supplement my own seriously reduced stash of low volumes.  

While I wait, it really is time to go get Tuxie-Tude quilted!

* * *

p.s.  If your head is spinning with all the different references to Macnas series quilts, check out the dedicated blog page that hopefully reduces confusion.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Consistency is an underappreciated form of intentional magic disguised as mundane doing."

Victoria Erickson