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.

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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

Macnas - the Quilt

Macnas (Irish for playfulness) is finished and I LOVE IT!

After quilting it measures 48" wide x 69" long.

Quilted with my liberated all-over free motion spiral fans using Glide thread in Willow.

(I used a total of 468 rectangles cut 2.5" x 4.5" then laid out 26 wide by 18 long)

Backed with Kaffe Fassett's Oriental Trees from his December 2022 collection named "85 and Fabulous."

(Macnas was started in early 2022)

I took this picture just after the binding (Jason Yenter's 2020 Urban Jungle) was finished . . . Who knew that in my effort to use up a big pile of leftover scrappy green and light neutral 2.5" strips would evolve into such a terrific quilt!

p.s.  The dryer is fixed - it was the thermal fuse.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye."

Dorothy Parker

This, That, and Flowers

I chose this thread for Macnas.

And here is the first portion quilted.

Hooray!

Several years ago we adopted this azalea plant when elder son re-did his backyard.

It has never bloomed this profusely - we're thrilled.

And this year we have flowers on a plant that was given to us by a friend of DH.  

Honestly, when we planted it we weren't really sure what it was - now we know it is an iris.

And this is the state of our laundry room . . . 

The dryer stopped heating on Tuesday so DH is in the process of cleaning out the nooks and crannies while he waits for repair parts to arrive.

I'm so grateful he knows how to do things like this!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art is everywhere you look at it."

el greco

Two Finishes

Finish No. 1 - some of you may remember the Smile Journal cover from last year (shared in THIS POST).

Since then I've made no less than three sets of paper signatures for the inside, doubting my decision each time resulting in the condition known as "stalled" (all too common to both quilters and paper artists).

Last week I made up my mind to "get it done" and empty that project box - so I did.

I used white sulphite paper with colorful signature wrappers, light pink waxed thread, and the five-hole pamphlet stitch. 

This is the interior front cover and first page.

And this is the back interior cover and final page.

I'm going to use this journal for my "In the Mailbox" project instead of the Rolodex (previously mentioned HERE) -  especially given the substrate for this cover is a small USPS Priority Mail box.

Finish No. 2 -- earlier this year I signed up for the Scrappy Journal Challenge with Ali Manning of Vintage Page Designs.

I made the cover, embellished it, and created my three signatures (photos below).  But I stalled when it came to the fancy chevron binding stitch. 

Like the Smile Journal, I decided this Luckyday journal (named inspired by the vintage button card hand stitched to the front cover) had waited long enough and that I did NOT have to use the prescribed binding stitch.

I used the five-hole pamphlet stitch with a darker pink waxed thread and I love the results.

Inside front cover with a patterned vellum first page.

An interior view (younger son created the black and white sheet a long time ago - I rescued it from one of his now-discarded sketch journals). 

Another inside peek - gotta love the eclectic mix of papers.

Young Man did the artwork on the right page back when he was in the Toddler Two preschool class (tracing around plastic cookie cutters).  I'm happy to have found a forever home for that precious sheet of paper.

Old handwriting, marbled copy paper, a page from one of my grandmother's vintage craft books, along with sheet music, random emails from unknown people found inside thrifted books, grid/graph paper, kindergarten 3-line learning to print paper, and so many others make up the signatures.

Inside back cover.

This particular journal may never be filled - the papers alone make me happy when I flip through it and the tall skinny shape is not as appealing to me for working in.

I've added both journals to the bookshelf in my sewing studio - and, if you look on the lower shelf in this photo, my completed doodle-a-day journal is on the far left.  

* * *

Macnas is now fully pin basted and ready for some FMQ action this week.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"Make stuff.  Keep making stuff.  It will feed your creative spirit. Just.  Keep.  Making."

Deb Taylor

Green, Green, Green

The rows for Macnas have been sewn together and the top has been pressed.  

I am really happy with how such a simple arrangement of rectangles is so very pleasing.

Here is the whole top on the floor of my studio.  

51" wide x 72" long

Macnas now goes into the 'waiting to be quilted' queue for a finish later this month.

I have also sewn together enough dumpster-diving slabs to cut out the diamonds for our March dining room wall quilt. 

On the left is the latest fabric being auditioned for sashing.  

There is one more session left in the Lancaster Diamond Sampler Zoom class with a focus on "finishing it up."  I'm pretty sure what I want to do (again, not like the original) but I also want to wait and see what the leaders share.

My plan to make reversible placemats for February/March was discarded in favor of two unique sets.  

This set will be for March - liberated organic cross hatch quilting using Glide thread in Mocha.

I'll use this Moda Grunge for binding.

* * *

I've ordered a couple of yards to make the whole cloth tops for February's placemats - might as well finish up the March set while I wait.

Quiltdivajulie

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"When every day seems the same, that is because people have stopped noticing the good things that appear in their lives."

Paul Coelho 

Macnas and More

Macnas is growing on the design wall.

I am working on this with sets of two rows sewn into one unit.

So there are three more sets of two rows each yet to piece and press.

Several people have mentioned the size difference between the original KF prints and their newly re-done versions - part of his 85 and Fabulous line.

I happened to have this length of the original Oriental Trees in the stash.

And here is a section of the new yardage purchased for the backing of Macnas.

On the left is the new yardage.  

On the right is the older-original yardage.

As you can see, the newer yardage is larger in scale but honestly not as much as I expected.  

I don't know if this size relationship is typical for all of the re-done designs, but if push came to shove I think I could strategically use both versions of this particular print in the backing and very few people would notice.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes.  Break rules.  Leave the world more interesting for your being here."

Neil Gaiman

Moving Forward Once Again

Do you remember my Pretty in Pink project?  

These blocks have been clipped and waiting since August.

Now (at last) they are sewn together into a quilt top complete with borders.  

I have pieced the backing and both top/back are rolled onto pool noodles ready to be pin basted.  

I want to use this quilt with our February seasonal decor, so you can expect this one to move forward soon.

On another front, I've chosen a different backing fabric for Macnas.

 (Macnas - an Irish word for playfulness) 

The minute I saw the updated Oriental Trees in green (from Kaffe's 85 and Fabulous Collection) I knew it was "the one."  

I've cleared the design wall and completed rows five and six . . . 

My goal is to have Macnas finished and ready to use with our March decor. 

As soon as Macnas is done I have a big brother quilt to make for a baby due in early April.

* * *

As a side note - I have responded to several comments from the last two posts only to have my emails "bounce back" after the commenter's server rejected them as "spam."  Some of these are bloggers I've emailed with for years which is even more frustrating. 

Especially if you use Gmail, please add my email address as a "safe sender" in your online Gmail system.  Adding it on your desktop, phone, and/or tablet is no longer sufficient - it now needs to be done at the online level. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Your home [studio] should be the antidote to stress, not the cause of it."

Peter Walsh

Studio Time

Anytime I'm away from the studio for a period of time, my brain does a lot of background pondering for projects/fabric pulls that are waiting for a clear sign to move forward.

Such is the case with these long-time leftover green rectangles.

Ultimately I decided to go very scrappy with both the greens and the neutrals using this approach.

Here you can see my notes to myself along with the name I've chosen for this project.

I have yardage in the stash (KF Paisley Jungle in green) that I'll use for backing when the time comes.

This is how my design wall looks - three projects in various stages.

Macnas at the top left, six of the twelve over-size slabs needed for a set of two-sided Christmas placemats, and the current crop of blocks for Tree Farm.

These were the sorted squares for the second set of six slabs along with strips for binding which . . . 

. . .  are now sewn and ready for pressing. 

Next step will be to cut batting and get the six 'sandwiches' ready to quilt.  I really want to get these done so they can be used this month.

* * *

I have to say it felt VERY good to spend some quality time in the studio this weekend.

Quiltdivajulie

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Little Man is loving this book . . .  and there's a new second book about Winston waiting on my shelf for next December 1.