Since My Last Post

Let's start with the weekend first - Young Man was here for an overnight so little else was done beyond enjoying him.  

That said, while he was busy playing video games on DeeDah's computer I was able to take some better outdoor photos of Kefi:

I really do love this happy, scrappy quilt!

Late last week I was able to get the backing sewn together for Shirts and Such which is next up for quilting.

And as soon as Shirts and Such is quilted, Trouvaille will be ready for its turn with Max.  

The Kaffe yardage on the left will be the backing.  The bias stripe will become binding.

I hope to get both of these quilted and finished by early December.  

Time will tell!

Quiltdivajulie

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"A stash should not be a museum with everything behind glass forever - but a restaurant with revolving door and changing menu."

Amanda Leins

KEFI - the Quilt

Kefi was born during the summer of 2022 in Lynne's New Hampshire quilt studio.  

Kefi is a Greek noun meaning "the spirit of joy, enthusiasm, high spirits in which good times and passion [for life] are expressed with an abundance of excitement, happiness, and fun."

My first blog post for Kefi with the back story of its beginnings is HERE.

Two of the update blog posts with photos and more fabric stories are HERE and HERE.  

(you can find others using the KEFI label at the end of this post)

Kefi's quilt top blog "reveal" post is HERE.

I really don't know why Kefi then moved into my 'waiting to be quilted' closet aside from the fact that I only had 3 yards of the floral backing I planned to use and I wasn't keen on piecing the scrappy panels to border it. 

Based on that decision, in early 2023 I purchased an additional 3 yards of the same backing fabric; but still Kefi continued to wait.

In October 2025, I realized that the leftover piano key border pieces/segments from Young Man's Dragon Fyre quilt would make an excellent insert strip for Kefi's still-unsewn backing.

I guess that was the reason why Kefi hadn't been finished - the back was stalling, waiting for me to figure it out.  (hint - always listen to your quilts!)

And now, Kefi is finished.  This group of crumpled photos was taken at my sewing machine as I added the binding.  I couldn't resist when the morning sun made the scrappiness practically sparkle with joy.

I finally put on my coat and took the quilt outdoors . . . 

[Inspired by Lynne's series of Scrap Slab Triangle quilts.  Quilted with Glide thread in Pink Rose using my free motion unmarked nested spiral fans.  The tossed teacups/flowers border and binding fabric is by Loralei Designs.]

It was 29 degrees (before wind chill) and windy so I didn't spend a lot of time fussing to get the "ideal" shot (I'll try again later in the week when it is warmer and less windy).

Sadly the wind was sucking the lower part of the quilt tight against the fence so it looks bowed.  In reality it lays wonderfully flat.

This is absolutely another quilt I will use and enjoy, revisiting all sorts of memories via its many, many fabrics.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced."

Leo Tolstoy

Moving Things Forward

Coddiwomple has been pin basted and is partially quilted.

The top was finished in August 2023 so it's about time that I get this one finished, especially since the colors are perfect for November.

I pieced the backing for Kefi using the insert strip of leftovers from Dragon Fyre in the not-in-the-center seam.

Again, the top has been finished for a too-long time - summer of 2022 in fact.

I want to get this one quilted and finished in November.  

I've sewn the first four rows for Enchanted, number 9 in the Macnas series.

Here it is pinned across Incandescent's quilt top, which needs to come down off the design wall and move to the waiting-to-be-quilted closet.

Interesting how the colors are quite similar but still very different, especially with Incandescent featuring warm neutrals and Enchanted using black on whites.

After Coddiwomple was pin basted, I went ahead and pin basted Wallaroo, Macnas series quilt number 6.

I also changed my mind on the planned binding (second change so far).  I'm going to use the same fabric as the backing and the strips have been cut, sewn, and pressed.

That is unless I change my mind again once Wallaroo is quilted . . . 

* * *

Making progress feels really good. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"I believe in the ability of art to heal the spirit."

Colleen Gray

So Many Odds and Ends (and Beginnings)

I'll start this run down with the backing for Kefi (link below). 

Earlier this year, I kept a basket of leftover strata after making Young Man's quilt named Dragon Fyre.  

Now I have found the perfect way to use them - I sewed the segments end to end and created a long insert strip for the back seam in Kefi's backing.  

I posted Kefi's flimsy finish HERE along with a bit of the quilt's back story. (July 2022)

(Note - for any of the quilts shown here, you can click on their label at the bottom of the post to see all posts for the projects)

Incandescent is now two horizontal seams shy of becoming a finished quilt top.

Stay tuned . . . 

All the leftover trimmings and such from Esperance, Haru, and several other projects have been sewn together into a piece that measures 14" wide x 115" long.

I plan to use part of it to make an Easter/Spring runner for the buffet in our dining room.  Once I know how much is left, I can decide how I want to use the remaining section.

(no rush on this one)

I have pin basted and chosen quilting thread for Thankful, the new November wall quilt for our dining room.

This will be the next project under Max's needle, to be followed by Vellichor and Coddiwomple.

My goal is to have all three finished by month end.  

Time will tell.

The box of rectangles leftover from the 12 Macnas-inspired quilts has been staring at me from the closet shelf.

This batch will become Rastro (although the segments will have 6 rectangles and not 8 as shown above).

I chose to leave out the dark browns and aboriginals (of which there weren't very many of either one).

Here are Rastro's 78 6-block segments sorted out for eventual piecing - not until next year.

Once Rastro was sorted and put away, I still had a pretty large pile of rectangles along with 20 pairs from Grandiose.

I decided it was time to make 20 seemingly-everywhere-online potato chip blocks using the Grandiose pairs as the consistent (but scrappy) centers.  Since taking this photo, I've also sorted the light rectangles onto these plates. 

I found the KF yardage (top of photo) that was set aside for a someday backing that will work perfectly for this 48" x 60" ish quilt that I've named MOTLEY (adjective - a mixture of often incongruous elements). 

Only a few rectangles left now - not sure what I'll use them for but I'll figure that out next year.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Getting organized is a sign of self-respect."

Gabrielle Bernstein

Introducing Pretty in Pink

I had a big pile of leftover side triangles after making the blocks for Kefi.

I also had a big pile of pink side triangles that were meant for Luciferous but were voted off the island.

I really didn't want to store them for "someday" so I turned them into half-rectangle-triangle blocks (HRTs for short).

But then what?

I had 96 facing in one direction and 89 facing in the opposite.  You can see above what I decided.

(just ignore the scribbled out areas - those ideas didn't fly)

I sorted the HRTs into sets of four to make forty blocks to be laid out eight wide x five long.

(each HRT finishes at 3" x 6" so each block finishes at 6" x 12")

And yes, I was planning to work on Luciferous (plates in the background) but I clearly got distracted.

Here are the first eight blocks on the design wall with one of the yellow columns for Luciferous on the right.

And I even have the perfect yardage to back this quilt that will be named Pretty in Pink (hmmm - obviously the name of the fabric somehow became the name of the quilt).

I will get these blocks sewn together, laid out, and clipped for webbing after I get back to work on Luciferous.

* * *

He's officially six years old.

(photo taken at the neighborhood playground when he and his class took their daily walk)

And if you supersize the photo, you can read at least most of the very cool text on his birthday shirt.

 

Oh my, how far he has come since that very first day of preschool . . . 

. . . Kindergarten starts on the 15th.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Children naturally live in the moment, and they allow that moment to be what it is; magical and beautiful in every way.”

April Peerless

Kefi - the Flimsy

Kefi is now a quilt top (aka flimsy).

58" wide x 70" long

Created using Lynne's Scrap Slab Triangles tutuorial (link to her Etsy shop in my sidebar).

So many amazing scraps - from Lynne's stash and from mine.

Started in New Hampshire early June.

Finished in Tennessee mid-July.

Bits of dinosaurs, hedgehogs, birdhouses, and seaside scenes . . . 

I used Loralie's tossed teacups for the 2.5" surround strip to stabilize the many, many seam ends.

Butterflies and buttons, flying pigs, ice cream cones, cats, bras, flowers, and typewriters.  

So much to look at.

It will take some time to piece the scrappy back so it may be a while before Kefi is ready for FMQ action.  

In the meantime, I'm delighted with the way this gloriously scrappy quilt top came together!

(Kefi - "the spirit of joy, enthusiasm, high spirits, and frenzy, in which good times and passion for life are expressed with an abundance of excitement, happiness, and fun")

Quiltdivajulie

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“Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.”

Ben Okri

Kefi - Blocks Completed

All of the blocks for Kefi are now made.   

Next step will be to sew each row of blocks together.

At that point, I'll be able to rotate Kefi into its actual layout (shown here on its side).

One seam at a time . . . 

P.S.  I apologize profusely but I am seriously behind on responding to comments - I read and appreciated each one.  But this is a "group thank you" for your responses to Razzle-Dazzle and ADQD, my 15th blog-iversary, Kefi's incremental progress, and especially for being as delighted by Little Man's radio spot as we are.  

     

Quiltdivajulie

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“A little magic can take you a long way.”

Roald Dahl

Kefi et al Move Forward

Two more rows of Kefi's blocks have been sewn - the darker greens and the blue greens.  

Here is a view of all the colors - only four more rows of blocks to finish.

Since the blocks are laid out on their sides on the wall, I rotated that last photo to show ("more or less") how the actual layout of the quilt top will look.

The row of  blue blocks is read to piece, press,  and trim.  I have found that if I can prep the next row before I leave the studio, it is so nice to walk back in and just sit down and sew.

I cut a few more triangles from the slabs for Razzle-Dazzle.  And after looking at the sideways layout for Kefi as I sit and sew, I have decided that R-D will be laid out like this.  

Nine columns by eleven rows - one triangle at a time.

And now that I see the triangles laid out like this, I am seriously rethinking my idea for the side pieces, which is why I didn't share it earlier.  I figured it would change and it already is (grin).

(reminder - I am using Lynne's Scrap Slab Triangles tutorial for these projects.  There's a permanent link in my side bar to her Etsy shop)

And . . .  each time I have pressed a row of blocks for Kefi or a set of slabs for R-D, I have pressed a handful of the HSTs for Flaneur.

I'm delighted to report that ALL of them are now pressed and ready for layout, when the time comes.

* * *

Tomorrow marks the fifteenth anniversary for my blog, with over 2,800 posts and 25,000 comments along the way.  

I am so grateful to all of you for being part of this journey!

Quiltdivajulie

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“Imagination is the true magic carpet.”

Norman Vincent Peale

Kefi Continues to Grow

Friday was a good day for stitching.

Here are the nine scrap slab triangle blocks in yellow-orange.

(reminder:  the center and side triangles are a combination of pieces cut from the scrap bins at Lynne's house and from my own stash)

One commenter mentioned that I am using a lot of color in my side triangles.  

Yes, I am.  

Initially I was unsure but with the first few rows done, I can see that by trusting my eclectic scrappy nature, Kefi will be full of things to investigate.  

Just this one group of side triangles includes fabrics from some of my gift bags, Millie's winter tent, Lynne's bra and cat scraps, typewriter fabric from eons ago that we both have in our stashes, and a few of Lynne's flying pigs that were part of a many-years-ago story.  

The yellow blocks are also sewn, pressed, and squared.

And so are the yellow-green blocks.  

Of the three photos above, this one has the most accurate color.  All three were taken in the same place under the same lights but at different times of day (meaning the natural light influenced the first two while the third was taken after dark without any natural light from the window).

Oh, yes - I am definitely liking this happy scrappy vibe.

(Reminder: Kefi is being laid out on its side on the design wall)

* * *

You can read previous posts for this project by using the KEFI label at the end of this post.

There is a permanent link in the sidebar for Lynne's Etsy shop and her Scrap Slab Triangles tutorial.

And for those in the USA (or US folks abroad), have a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend.  Our long-weekend's festive menu includes grilled steaks, fried chicken, catfish with hushpuppies, and finally DH's infamous deep dish pizza. What's on your menu?

Quiltdivajulie

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“There is no magic to achievement.  It’s really about hard work, choices, and persistence.”

Michelle Obama

Kefi Moves Ahead

I played around with my scraps and made enough slabs to cut nine red triangles (the others leaned too far towards red-orange for this ROYGBIV layout).

Then I did the same with my red-oranges and mixed them in with some of the ones I made last month at Lynne's house.

I also dug about in the triangles that came home from NH and filled in some of the other rows.

I have scraps pulled to make slabs for the final three rows (blue-violet, red-violet, and pink).

I added side triangles to my reds . . . 

I also added side triangles to the red-oranges . . . 

(note: side triangles are a mix of prints from Lynne's scrap stash and mine)

After straining a muscle in my side trying to reach the top row in that first photo, I re-did the layout on my design wall so that the quilt top is on its side.  

So . . . much . . . easier . . . 

The side triangles have been chosen for the nine yellow-orange triangles.  

I'm not sure but I think it takes longer to choose the sides than it does to sew the blocks together, press, and square. 

* * *

P.S. There's a permanent link in the sidebar to Lynne's Etsy shop where you can find all of her tutorials, including the scrap slab triangles like the ones I'm making. 

Quiltdivajulie

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“When you tell your own fairy tale, you create your own magic.

Terry Guillemets