Another L-O-N-G Runner

In the spirit of moving things along that are nearly finished, I decided to quilt the second long runner made with scraps from Esperance and Haru (first one is HERE).

(I was tired of moving the not-yet-pinbasted-quilt-sandwich bundle)

It seems that Fluffy, the newest member of the studio squirrel clan, is a curious fellow.  He had to get up close when he heard Max working.

And then he insisted on quality testing the freshly quilted runner.

The runner on my studio floor.

12.5" wide by 75" long.

Quilted using Glide thread in Amethyst (top) and an assortment of partially-used bobbins (which emptied three of them).  

I will bind the runner using the backing fabric.

Meanwhile, Fluffy decided to rest in/on the newly pin-basted Trouvaille quilt sandwich.  That's Mischief looking on from the bookshelf and the plate-sorted blocks for Hanabi (Macnas series No. 10) in the green basket.

* * *

Ah yes, the studio squirrels apparently took me seriously about getting things done.

Quiltdivajulie

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

"open your day like a squirrel opens the misplaced acorn with purpose curiously ready to devour."

Joey Doherty

The Tale of Trouvaille - a Squirrel Story

Back in January I decided to make an all-pink quilt using fabrics in the stash - squirrel alert.

My initial plan was to use the Happy Strips pattern by Quilty Love like I used for Brumous.

A few weeks later, that plan changed to making another Maggie Pearl quilt (same design as I used for RUTH - which was donated as a top to Many Hands Many Hearts to become a comfort quilt).

And in mid-June Lynne decided to use green scraps and make another Deco quilt from the book Colorful Quilts for Fabric Lovers - see her post HERE.

Well - THAT got the squirrels in my studio all excited.  

The photo above shows my array of pink strips ready to be sub cut into rectangles to make a Deco quilt of my own.  

(Later on I pulled out the dark pink with black dots and substituted another fabric in its place - ditto for the strip with blue polka dots)

Thursday evening, after all of the segments were cut and prepped, I sorted them into groups of three and then stacks of ten blocks.  My layout will be 9 blocks wide by 12 blocks long - 56" x 72" ish.

It doesn't show well in the photos, but my accent square's fabric has just a touch of iridescence and dimensionality.  That fabric has been in the stash and I've resisted using it because so I don't run out - silly me.  There's always more fabric!

Why did I choose that fabric for my accent squares?

The photo above might help explain my reasoning.  The panel will be part of Trouvaille's pieced backing.

(Oh - and I forgot to add that Trouvaille is a French noun meaning something lovely discovered by chance)

As of Friday evening, here are the first five rows of pressed blocks on the design wall.

By Saturday noon-time, the rest of the blocks were sewn together and ready to be pressed.

Like so many other places, it is V-E-R-Y H-O-T here (heat indexes predicted to easily top 100 several days this week) so I need to use the iron early in the morning and not late in the day.

* * *

The squirrels and I are very happy about this design change.  The previously stalled project is now moving forward quickly and should become a top soon. 

I've even had a Eureka kind of idea for the backing - stay tuned for that.

(That's an older photo of Flash and Mischief - you can read more about my studio squirrels and the Ad Hoc Squirrel Club using the links below and in the blog's sidebar)

Quiltdivajulie

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

"You are trying to understand madness with logic.  This is not unlike searching for darkness with a torch."

Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland

Binding Results

Binding the latest set of placemats is finished - finally.

Mischief is sitting on one of the two bonus mats in this photo.

Here are the six placemats  - all have dragonflies on one side and peacock feathers on the other.

These are the two bonus mats - not quite as large as a Raskog tray but larger than a typical mug mat.

This is the reverse of the two bonus mats.  My hope that there would be enough binding to include both of these came up one mat short so I used a length of scrappy binding leftover from a previous quilt.

* * *

Yesterday (DH's birthday) I sorted out the leftover pieces of batting so I can piece Frankenbatts for June's blueberry-themed placemats and utility mats.  My goal is to get the yardage pressed and get the slabs pin basted so I can quilt them next week.  

My studio squirrels have been busy suggesting new projects but so far I've resisted their chatter. I'm doing my best to stay focused on the many in-process projects already on my radar.

Time will tell if I can maintain that focus . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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

"You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page.  You can't edit a blank page."

Jodi Picoult

We Interrupt This Program to Introduce ...

Meet Lady Red Squirrel.  She goes by Scarlett with her family and friends.

The artist shares a backstory for each of his animal portraits and includes it on his Etsy site and on a lovely card that comes with the order - here is Scarlett's:

"Lady Red Squirrel - Fed up with being patronized by human park goers, this redhead founded the internationally renowned club: Never Underestimate Tree Squirrels [N.U.T.S.]. She now serves as the group's president and chief party planner."

And this is Gentleman Squirrel who goes by Douglas.

This is his backstory as told by the artist:

Gentleman Squirrel - Tragically this squirrel has a vicious peanut allergy. He is researching antidotes using rare wild mushrooms but in the meantime, he luckily lives in an area with an abundance of nutritious berries.

Douglas and Scarlett sitting on my pressing table . . . 

. . . and at home on the wall in my sewing studio where they can hang out with Hunter, Lady Violet, and Flash (Mischief's cousin) as members of the Ad-Hoc Squirrel Club.  

Quiltdivajulie

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

"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men."

Roald Dahl

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day

As my regular readers know, I have a lot of fun with the squirrel concept including the Ad Hoc Squirrel Club.

First there was Chase.  

Then there was Hunter.  

Then there was Flash.

Then there was Mischief.

And more recently Violet joined the scurry.

(and it is all Dug's fault - you know, the dog in the movie UP who frequently stopped mid sentence to exclaim "Squirrel!")

This  photo was sent to me by Louise  who noticed this winter-season-dressed squirrel during her recent visit to Montreal.  

Thankfully I am not alone in my chasing of squirrels.

There are lots of you out there who are self-identified members of the Ad-Hoc Squirrel Club (linked above) and probably a lot more who haven't actually ID'd themselves yet. 

(remember, it is never too late to join the party)

Mari (on a blogging hiatus) sent me this fun photo a while back.

(Fair warning - squirrels can be very convincing!)

And here's a fun vintage graphic that Louise discovered while doing research on a completely different subject.

You can see lots of other posts featuring my studio squirrels by clicking on the different labels at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy! 

Quiltdivajulie

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

Double click the image below to enjoy one of my all-time favorite Non Sequitur comic strips --

SO Many Possibilities

Mischief (the squirrel) has been hard at work . . . 

He cheerfully led me down the path of pulling out my stash of thrifted flash cards and playing cards so I was ready to jump on the bandwagon and participate in the June-July ICAD 2024 challenge.

And then I remembered that no matter which kind of  quilt-along or other challenge I've ever started, I never actually make "one thing a day" or even stick to the overall challenge's model or timetable.  I'm just not made that way, I guess.

SO . . . I spent most of this week doing a lot of background things like getting three three small journals ready to bind, getting Moxie's layers rolled onto the pool noodles, dealing with stacks of papers in the studios and home office, sorting and filing, taking out the trash, and generally allowing myself time to think about what I most enjoy doing.  

On the paper side that would be (1) collage without all the extra layers of acrylic paints, alcohol or other inks, gesso, or distress-type sprays, (2) creating eclectic, scrappy glue books, and (3) making my own journals.

On the quilting side that would be (1) fondling fabric, (2) creating fabric pulls for projects that may or may not ever get made, (3) dreaming about what I "could" make if I had unlimited time and energy,  (4) sitting and sewing and/or free motion quilting, and (5) actually finishing and then using/gifting quilts.  

In other words, using paper or fabric, a lot like this quote from my sidebar -- 

"I love to quilt. I love to piece on them. I love to wash them. I love to look at pretty quilts. I got to make me another one." -- Lucy T. Pettway in The Quilts of Gees Bend

For me it is all about the process of making.

In the days ahead there will be (1) less screen time on any or all devices, (2) continued forward motion on Moxie since our friends' baby is due soon and I really want to have his quilt ready when he gets here, (3) getting the fabric pulls for Rubricate and Reverie cut out and the remaining yardage put back onto the shelves, and (4) continuing the forward motion on my ABC aka Abecedarium project.

Quiltdivajulie

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

"ART is not something we do BUT instead is a search to uncover and express that which already exists within all of us.  We are the ART."

Dan McGraw

Ottoman Quilt Moves Forward

Somehow I chanced upon this gloriously scrappy quilt online - part of THIS POST on Barbara Brackman's blog - and the fuzzy dots in my head connected it with the box of scraps that Little Man had gathered/curated for his placemats project Ottoman quilt.  

I decided to sort through his box, just to see if the idea was worth pursuing before I showed him the photo.

Sorting like sizes with like sizes led to . . . 

. . . a grand way to use up miscellaneous leftover die cut 3" triangle halves . . . 

. . . and leftover binding bits, HSTs, etc. in the 2" finished range.

The longer strips and chunks were sorted as well.

In Little Man's absence, studio squirrels Mischief and Chase held an impromptu discussion on how to proceed.

The decision was to forge ahead and create the top - knowing that there were plenty more scraps to play with should Little Man want to when he stays with us in July. 

Here are the long strips pinned to the design wall in no particular order.

(the serape stripe on the right is what Little Man had asked me to use for the binding)

At this point there are five groups of strips sewn together and pressed.  

I need to do some measuring before I attach these groups just in case another bit of width is necessary.

Target size is 48" x 66" but I'm making this slightly larger to allow for shrinkage due to quilting and because this quilt will be laundered frequently.  

. . . which also means the back must be larger than the array of squares Little Man laid out, so I need to talk with him to see what he thinks about the options I've pulled from the stash.  

To be continued later this week.

Quiltdivajulie

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

"Finding your unique style . . . it's following the breadcrumbs of the things you like."

Grace Chon

The Boy Who Loves Color

It began innocently enough.  

Two stacks of 5" squares purchased long ago PLUS one boy who loves color did NOT equal the backs for a set of six placemats.

After one set of squares was on the design wall he was off with more ideas than a few about how to turn those slabs into a quilt.

After more conversation he told me they don't use placemats that much (may or may not be so) and that they would "use a quilt a lot more."

Who can argue with THAT logic?!

I suggested a new quilt for their ottoman and he happily agreed that would be a "GREAT" idea.

Here he is with his layout.

I am to sew this together sometime before he comes to stay with us in July when we will create the other side of this quilt.

Then he wanted to "make triangles" using the die cutter. 

He organized them into pairs . . . 

. . . and I sewed them together (he does love my thread snips).

Then he decided HE should sew some scrappy bits of binding together (gleaned from my sew-on, sew-off bowl).

By lowering my chair he could "finally!" reach the foot pedal (see photo) and, with my guidance, he did some straight line sewing (but tired of it pretty quickly since it was "hard work to not go too fast").

Those sewn together bits turned into a "pirate headband" which he wore for several hours (and plans to wear on the plane going to his other grandparents' house for Spring Break).

While I webbed the boy-designed HST top for his stuffed tiger's quilt, he worked on a design for its back using some leftover HSTs (3" and 4").

Inspecting the back of the new top before it was pressed while  sucking on one of my sanded lemon drops (who knew he liked lemon drops?!).

More design decisions were made. 

He is leaving Tiger's quilt with me to make a back using the blue geode print and random HSTs. He also picked out the diagonal stripe for the "edges" (aka binding).

And then he was off to feed Mischief some "quilt clip acorns."

* * *

He and Dee Dah spent some time at the skate park with his bike, he watched a couple of Ice Age movies, rode his bike around our block over and over, made a few dozen paper airplanes, played outdoors with the boy who lives next door, and spent time in the shop with Dee Dah where he made and painted two wood cars and colored a set of six wood Easter eggs on the lathe. 

BUSY boy!!

(p.s.  And as much as I 'd love to work back through the stack of comments waiting in my Inbox, I need to request comment amnesty.  I DO appreciate your thoughts and kind words and hope to not get so far behind again any time soon.)

Quiltdivajulie

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

"The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things."

Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh