Moving Things Forward

I've had a couple of very productive days in the studio.

I've sewn together the first two rows for Rubricate, one of my Macnas series quilts (number 4 of 12).

I've also sewn the binding on June's new dining room wall quilt (left) and the first of the June utility mats (namely the runner for the cedar chest and two of the six placemats).

I went ahead and got the fabrics for Night Owl cut so the yardage could be re-shelved.

While I was cutting these rectangles for Night Owl's Crossroads design . . . 

. . . I cut squares from the leftover strip sections.  I'll use them to make yet another aboriginal fabric quilt top following the design used for Spoondrift (inspired by a free download - click HERE).

I've named this new project KOMOREBI (the effect of sunlight filtering through the trees).  The green aboriginal dot by KFC will be used for the corner triangles - at least that's the plan for now.

Nann asked that I share a photo of the leftover aboriginals - I will but not just yet since I plan to make a scrappy aboriginals backing for Komorebi.  

(When I bought fabrics to make Coddiwomple, I majorly over purchased; so I'm making Wallaroo (below), Night Owl (above), Komorebi (this photo), and Digideroo (coins not shown) from that excess.  Sheesh.)

I pulled out the project box for Wallaroo - another one of the Macnas  series (number six of twelve).  The aboriginals had been cut into strips a while ago but now they've been turned into rectangles.  And after far too much waffling, I decided to use every last bit of leftover backing fabric from Hoppipolla for the alternate light rectangles.  

(photo includes the black/white binding strips and the steampunk-ish backing fabric).

Yet another lingering pile of fabric, this time pulled for Trouvaille, has been dealt with.

A while back I decided that instead of a mash-mash of too-many-not-quite-right pinks for the top, I would sort out the pinks I liked the most and pair them with unique lights that feature pink.  That fabric pull of lights has now been cut into and the remaining yardage returned to the shelf.

And finally, I have cut the fabrics pulled for Hanabi (Macnas series quilt number ten of twelve).

Hanabi's palette features brights on black paired with whites with colors instead of the originally planned black on whites.  I think this combination will be much more playful.

* * *

After all that work, the horizontal surfaces in the studio are far less cluttered than they were a few days ago.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Find joy in every day."

Saint Philip Nevi

Busy Days

Young Man, now a rising third-grader, spent Thursday at our house.  

Here he's explaining the technical details of his new Bey Blade set to me.  

Later he helped Dee Dah hang up his new swing.  Using the same rope as his other swing (video at the end of the link), there is now a mountain climbing certified carabiner on the rope that allows switching from this new swing back to his old one.

He spent a lot of time testing out new ways to swing, some of which were pretty creative.  All in all, this discounted unit that Daddy found has proven to be worth every penny.

Thursday evening he and his parents met up with a classmate and her parents to attend a pre-release screening of the new live-action Lilo and Stitch movie at Graceland.  They had a fabulous time.

I changed my plan for Night Owl, one of the quilts designed to use up my aboriginal stash.

I'm going with the Crossroads design from Treehouse Textiles.  The cheddar aboriginal by KF will be the corner stones and the scrappy neutrals will become narrow sashing strips.

The immediate goal is to get these fabrics cut so the table can be cleared off because the fabric pull for Hanabi (Macnas series No. 10) is sitting on the counter waiting to be cut, and until those two projects are dealt with, my cutting/drafting table is essentially out of commission.

Meanwhile, I'm busy writing out my 20 postcards and getting them addressed to mail early next week.  This has been my first year to participate in iHanna's Postcard Swap - it has been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to receiving swapped postcards in my mailbox over the next weeks.

* * * 

The coming week has obligations on the calendar but not as many and minus so many logistics.  I'm hopeful I can get back into the studio and finish up June's wall quilt and utility/placemats.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Do not get caught up in the comments section of life today.  Make, do, create the things.  Let others tussle it out."

Lin-Manuel Miranda

An Aboriginal Fabric Saga

In August 2023, I finished the quilt top for Coddiwomple (which is still waiting to be quilted).

This was my first foray into Aboriginal fabrics and the stash enhancing aspect got a bit out of hand.

In late September 2024, Lynne started sharing posts about what became her Nightingale tutorial and I offered to be a tutorial tester.  

I didn't want to use brights on blacks like Lynne (and later Susan) did, so I pulled out the darkest of my aboriginal fabrics.

A week later, when my foot surgery was delayed due to the hospital's water damage, I went on a cutting spree.

I cut way too much fabric - as in WAY too much fabric.

I even had backing chosen along with a name for my quilt - NIGHT OWL.

But after the foot surgery happened and I lost three months of studio time,  I lost interest in making these into a Nightingale quilt.

Sigh.

Since then, I've been sifting through ideas for how to use all those cut up fabrics.

Decision One - I'll use the widest strips to make a four patch quilt top using these warm camel tones as alternate squares.

I'll keep the NIGHT OWL name and backing fabric as originally conceived.

But then there were the rest of the aboriginal fabrics staring at me . . . 

DECISION 2 - I decided to use a stack of 2.5" strips to create another Macnas series top (number 6) named WALLAROO.

(click here for the name's background info)

I'll pair the aboriginals with a mix of scrappy grays, use this long stashed steampunk yardage as backing, and use the black/white aboriginal print on the left as binding (eventually).

But even after two quilt projects, there was still more aboriginal fabric to be dealt with . . . 

DECISION 3 - I cut the smaller pieces into 7.5" long random width strips to eventually make a scrappy coins quilt top (actual design TBD once the sewing process begins).

I've named this one DIGERIDOO (click here for the name's background info).

When the time comes, I'll use any remaining fat quarters to piece a scrappy aboriginal backing/binding.

And if there are aboriginal fabrics leftover at that point . . .  

* * * 

HUGE REMINDER TO SELF - I am a liberated, eclectic, scrappy quilt maker and running out of a given fabric is a good thing that forces me to use the stash in ways I might not have expected.  

NOTES ADDED SHORTLY AFTER POSTING:

I found most of my aboriginal fabrics online, especially through Etsy sellers - notably DarkStarFabrics.

And yes, Grace - these fabrics are indeed an embarrassment of riches.

ADDITIONAL NOTE added mid-2025:

1.   Night Owl's pieces and parts were gifted to a friend (who may or may not ever make them into the Crossroads design).

2.  Wallaroo was made, although not as shown above.

3.  The remaining aboriginals were gifted to another quilt maker after I realized I was never going to actually make Digideroo or any other aboriginal quilts.

And so the saga ends.

Quiltdivajulie

Night Owl - the Beginnings

I've had a fabric pull of leftover aboriginal fabrics sitting on my shelf ever since I finished the top for Coddiwomple.

They've been waiting for a good idea to come along -- and it has in the form of  Lynne's new Nightingale quilt top seen here.

I know I won't get any further than cutting these strips before my rescheduled surgery (as of now it is set for Monday the 14th), but it makes me feel good to have forward momentum for Night Owl (the future quilt's name) and that the long design pondering process is over.

Here you can see the strips with the backing (top of photo).

And here's another look at the many different fabrics.

Eye candy at its finest.

Quiltdivajulie

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"As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life."

John Lubbock