Welcome to July

Right end of our mantel 

(the half-gallon canning jars were my maternal grandmother's)

Center of the mantel

This sign encapsulates so much of my Michigan childhood

from herds of holsteins grazing in the fields,

frequent family outings to regional ice creameries, 

my maternal grandfather's stories of life on the farm,

and so much more . . .

. . . including the sign on September's barn

in my book's cover quilt See Rock City. 

Left end of the mantel

Left end of the hearth

Right end of the hearth

Fourth of July (2021) on one living room rocker

Hello July (2021) on the second living room rocker

The cedar chest's orphan block runner

The Kitchen Door Quilt (2016) on one side chair

with a pillow made from Finnish linen purchased 

the summer between my junior-senior year of college 

while I was part of an all-Michigan orchestra tour 

that criss-crossed Finland.

Inspi(RED) (2020) on the second side chair

with a second pillow made from another piece

of that well-aged Finnish linen.

Gotta Love It (2011) on the back of the couch

And Moments in Time (2016) on the back of my recliner

* * *

Wishing each of you a safe (!!) 

and satisfying Fourth of July weekend. 

Quiltdivajulie

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“Purer colors…have in themselves, independently of the objects they serve to express, a significant action on the feelings of those who look at them.”

Henri Matisse

InspiRED - the Quilt

inspiRED aka Inspi(RED) aka InspiRED is finished.

(I used multiple variations of spelling along the way)

Finished size 48" wide x 60" long. 

The colorful inserts were trimmings from the making of

LUMINOUS, my 2018 NOT a Mystery quilt project.

Design inspired by Amanda Jean Nyberg's Bright Birch Trees.

Quilted with liberated baptist fans and Glide thread in Apple Red.

Backing - Cassandra by Robert Kaufman.

Binding - Moda Bella solid red.

This finish absolutely counts for the early-2019 

RED challenge over on the Ad Hoc Improv Quilters blog.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Listen to your own voice, your own soul.  Too many people listen to the noise of the world instead of themselves.  Deep inside you know what you want; let no one decide that for you.”

Leon Brown

Quilting Prep Work

My goal is to get BOTH of these quilted yet this month.

Circumspect on the left

inspi(RED) on the right

Circumspect started in 2018 with a stack of gifted

broken dishes blocks plus more shirting pieces and parts.

Thanks, Cherie!

This is the backing for Circumspect.

Purchased on Small Business Saturday 2019

from Bernie' shop - Needle and Foot.

(after I decided not to go with the original plan

for a scrappy backing)

inspi(RED) is my quilt for the early-2019

Ad-Hoc Improv Quilters RED challenge.

And this is the backing fabric for it.

Both backs have been pieced and rolled onto pool noodles.

In fact, after this photo was taken

Circumspect was pin basted and

the top and batting for inspi(RED)

were prepped and rolled onto noodles

to pin baste as soon as Circumspect is quilted.

Threads and quilting designs have been decided upon.

Stay tuned.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Let me listen to me and not to them.”

Gertrude Stein

Inspi(red) - The Flimsy

The idea for this quilt arrived in February of this year

as I trimmed the strip-pieced center panels for Luminous.

I've always wanted to make my version of

Amanda Jean Nyberg's Birch Trees design -

and this was the perfect opportunity.

I could combine the already-pieced skinny insert strips

with reds from the stash and count this project

 towards the AHIQ Red is a Neutral challenge.

I've also always wanted to make a RED quilt -

so the collision of timing with all these elements

was absolutely perfect for me.

The finished top measures 48" wide x 60" long

and features 20 different red fabrics from my stash.

I found a very red reproduction print in the stash 

that will work beautifully for the back -- 

another bit of fortunate timing.

Inspi(RED) makes me VERY happy!

And I have another empty project box.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Think and wonder, wonder and think.”
Dr. Seuss

Optic Strings and Conundrum - Week Five Recap and More

These are Week Five's seven blocks for Conundrum Optic Strings.

(click HERE for the introductory post)

Blocks 1-4 up close.

Blocks 5-7 and the rescued triangles 

ready to make 14 more geese blocks.

(35 string blocks made / 45 yet to go)

As some of you can tell, I have been on a mission

to move several stalled projects forward this month.

Lagniappe now has all of its HSTs sewn.

Next I need to trim the corners and

pin the HSTs into pairs for flying geese blocks.

For the Birds - I simplified my layout,

trimmed the blocks to the same size,

and counted/sorted 1.5" (finished) HSTS

to use for sashing and borders.

(those will be leader-ender sewing)

Birds free pieced using Lynne's Liberated Birds tutorial.

And because there were still more HST parts leftover,

(originally cut for Mosaic which morphed into this little quilt) 

I labeled their project box Pinwheel Economy blocks.

The yardage on the right (from the stash)

will become a scrappy back.

I'll decide later what to use to surround the scrappy pinwheels.

And so yet another "give a mouse a cookie" 

aka Squirrel project begins.

Maybe someday I'll learn not to over-cut

when starting a new scrappy project.

Right . . .

Inspi(red) took a big step forward this week.

All twenty blocks are pieced and the 

last three 1.5" inserts have been thrown away.

(this one is a squirrel project

designed to use those skinny insert strip

from another AHIQ project - now named Luminous)

The clipped blocks now join five other tops

that are waiting to be webbed together.

One day soon . . .

The stacks of snowball blocks from last week

now have their corner triangles pinned in place

ready to be sewn leader-ender style in the coming weeks.

And Sea of HSTs even back out to play.

I've started sewing the twelve 16-patch blocks 

together and hope to get the scrappy sashing strips cut

so this one can be laid out and sewn together

in the coming week(s).

And, of course, there were leftover HSTs 

beyond those needed for the 16-patch blocks (sigh) . . . 

What's a scrappy quilter to do but sew them into pairs

(leader-ender style)

to be used as insert strips for the quilt's scrappy back.

Sadly, I also sent another comfort quilt this week -

this time to another former law firm co-worker 

whose husband has metastasized cancer.

(Meet Me in the Rose Garden was made 

using Bonnie Hunter's Sister's Choice design.)

* * *

I'll be back again next Monday with another recap post.

(my goal is to resume posting 

2-3 times a week starting August first)

Quiltdivajulie

Optic Strings and Conundrum-Week Four and More

These are this week's seven strip sets

for my Optic Strings/Conundrum project for the

Unconventional and Unexpected QAL.

Week Four's seven blocks for Optic Strings.

28 blocks done / 52 more to make

And Week Four's flying geese blocks for

the quilt I've started calling Optic Geese Conundrum.

(another "if you give a mouse a cookie" project)

* * *

In other studio happenings last week . . . 

Squares Aplenty is now webbed/ready to assemble 

including a scrappy pieced backing

for Kevin's SSSSQ (not a mystery for me) quilt.

I have finally started working on Inspi(red) 

(my variation of Amanda Jean Nyberg's Birch Trees design)

for the AHIQ Red challenge from earlier this  year.

This is yet another

 "if you give a mouse a cookie"

project because the inset strips are 

cut offs and scraps from piecing Luminous.

(also for the Red is a Neutral challenge)

My local Build a Barn 101 classes have been 

scheduled with Fabric for the Flock for 

August 15 and 22 (day and evening sessions).

I will have the Pink Barn (above) quilted 

and finished in time to share with the students.

I will also have the Cows and Balloons barn

quilted and finished to share during class.

There are four sample barns at the shop now:

the Hay Bale barn, the Minimal Barn in solids,  

the Yellow Barn, and

my SSOBB gallery quilt Flying Lessons.

Months and month ago, I pulled fabrics

to make Sunset from Cultural Fusion Quilts.  

That plan fell through and I used the fabrics 

to die cut snowballs / multiple shades of purple corners.

The project box has sat and sat - waiting.

I pulled it out this week and grouped the sets

of four snowballs with their corner triangles.

(future leader-ender sewing)

I also designed a scrappy back using 

an abundance of purple squares

and end cuts from the top's WOF strips.

All in good time - but I think I know where it's headed.

* * *

And - there were FINISHES this week!

First is the Instructor Display Case sample for

my September class at John C. Campbell Folk School.

Quilted with liberated matchstick-style quilting 

using 8 different colors of Glide thread.

I love the way the backing and purple binding

tie in with the scrappy colorful front.

Second is this 24" x 30" chair back quilt

made with leftover blocks from the 

pink and green strata quilt top.

Quilted with liberated free motion (unmarked)

multi-directional fans using Pink Glide thread.

And my big finish for this week is Flower Garden.

I made the Lattice quilt top earlier this year

when I taught the design from

 Sujata's Cultural Fusion Quilts

at Fabric for the Flock.

When I learned last week that 

one of my two primary attorneys from the law firm 

was going into hospice care for an aggressive 

and no longer responding-to-treatment cancer, 

I knew this quilt was meant to be his.

Quilted with Glide thread in Mocha

(as a nod to his love of coffee)

using free motion liberated Baptist Fans.

I truly hope it brings color and comfort to him.

* * *

I took Wanda's advice and ordered an 8.5" square

felted pressing mat for the small end table

that fits under my sewing table.

(I already had the iron and the two-sided turntable)

* * *

Be back again next Monday

with another weekly recap.

Quiltdivajulie

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