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.

* * *

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

Reverie - the Quilt

Reverie is finished.

(Reverie - noun - a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream) 

In January 2024, I made the decision to create a series of quilts inspired by MACNAS - the fabrics for Reverie (no. 2/12) were pulled in May 2024.

Quilted using my free motion liberated nested spirals and Glide thread in Royal (blue).

Binding is Brandon Mably's Jumble and the backing features squirrels.  

(Sweet Oak by Striped Pear Studio (pattern 51305) / Windham Fabrics - I've had it for a while so I don't know if it is still available)

There are 37 different blues and at least that many different black on white prints in the quilt top.

The finished quilt measures 52" x 72" and is already on the back of a chair in our living room.

* * *

Next under the needle will be another in the Macnas series -  Tuxie-Tude (as soon as I get the backing pieced).

Quiltdivajulie

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"We don't stop playing because we grow old.  We grow old because we stop playing."

George Bernard Shaw

Every Step Counts

Now that the seasonal decor items for June are finished (photos of them in use are pending), I went ahead and pin basted the noodle-rolled parts for July's "red white and MOO" themed wall quilt.

Originally a 2006-vintage horizontal panel, I cut it apart and reconfigured it into a vertical arrangement.  This is next in line for quilting (after Reverie) so it gets finished and out of the studio sooner instead of later.

With Reverie under Max's needle, it was time to pin baste the long-ago-noodle-rolled parts for Haru so I could prep another quilt for basting.  

(Haru is a Japanese word for spring)

Haru will be an anniversary gift early next year.

And with the double-length pool noodles empty, I pulled out Tuxie-Tude (another of my Macnas series - see links in sidebar or the dedicated page HERE).

I've measured the three main fabrics for the back so I know what I have to work with, cut the binding strips, and measured the 8" (fin.) insert strip at nearly 3.5 yards long - I will have just over 40" of it leftover after making the pieced backing.

Once I decide how I want to design the backing, I'll get it pieced and onto one of the empty noodles (the other noodle will hold the batting).  And then it will be time to pin baste since my goal is to have Tuxie-Tude ready for July.  

In the background, I'm piecing the rows for Rubricate (another Macnas series quilt) and if the planets align I'll have it quilted and finished before July ends.   

(Rubricate -  to mark or color with red)

It does feel good to see progress happening. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"We live in a rainbow of chaos."

Paul Cezanne

Lots of Progress to Share

As I work towards having things ready for the month of June when our seasonal decor theme will be blueberries and daisies, I have gotten Reverie (Macnas series No. 2) pin basted.  It has only been waiting for eleven months now . . . 

To clear off the sewing machine table, I finished up Young Man's journal cover.

He finishes second grade next week so I'll give it to him when he spends the first day and a half of summer vacation with us.

In the background I've been quilting the slabs for June's placemats and utility mats.  This is the final (largest) slab and I need only another hour or so before it will be ready to trim out four more placemats and four utility mats (end tables and hearth mats).

A few days ago I prepped the binding for all 11 mats (shown escaping from the green basket - I set it on the floor beside my machine when I'm attaching the binding).

The cedar chest mat (left) and the first two placemats (right) are cut to size and waiting to be bound.

The new wall quilt for June is pin basted and its thread chosen.  I had originally thought I'd use light blue but the soft amethyst actually suits the quilt better.

While the cutting table aka pin basting station was clear, I went ahead and cut batting for the new July wall quilt.

And, since the top and back for Haru have been on the noodles for a while now, I cut and rolled batting for that quilt as well.  (Haru will be gifted early next year)

* * *

One step at a time . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."

Voltaire

Reverie - the Flimsy

The row pairs for Reverie made assembly of the quilt top so much easier.  

It also helped with the final pressing of the flimsy since I only had half as many horizontal seams to deal with.

Ta - Da!  

This Macnas-inspired quilt top measures 52" x 72" and used a lot of fabric scraps no longer stashed in the resource boxes.

So many different blues . . . 

And so many different black on white prints.

Scrappy happiness abounds.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I never get tired of the blue sky."

Vincent Van Gogh

Mish Mash Monday V2

This is our new (replacement) mailbox - we love it!

The box itself is larger than the destroyed one and we can now put a Large Priority Mail box inside with room to spare.

This is the side we see from our front porch.

Indoors in the studio - All 450+ scrappy red and neutral rectangles for Rubricate are cut and pinned into pairs.

I'll use yardage to back Rubricate - sale-priced Kaffe Fassett 85 and Fabulous line's Beach Balls.

The 450+ rectangles for Tuxie-Tude are also cut and paired, meaning I can now use my empty cutting table to pin baste Hoppipolla.

Even better, all 900+ rectangles (for BOTH Rubricate and Tuxie-Tude) came out of the resource boxes!

I plan to piece a backing for T-T using a mix of these glorious bright-on-black prints.  

Here are the first eight of the eighteen rows for Reverie on the design wall.

Here's a detail showing just some of the fabrics.  

I loved working with these colors when I made Gotta Love It  and its backing in 2011 and I'm still loving them today.

* * *

Young Man was supposed to spend this week with us in order to attend Mud Camp just down the road from our house.  But he's had a high fever for the past week and everything is on hold until after he sees his pediatrician again Monday morning.   We'll see how things evolve.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"Release harsh, critical judgment and just play.  Life's too short to stress over art."

Lanie Smith

Let the Row Building Begin

Once the rest of the pairs were sewn and pressed, it was time to sort all of them onto 18 plates.

And then it was time to piece the first two rows.

Ta - Da !  

There are 26 rectangles (13 pairs) in each row.

I'll continue piecing pairs of rows until all of them are on the design wall.

Then I can rearrange the row pairs if needed.

I pinned the backing and binding on the design wall as yet another double check that I like the new backing plan.

Oh, yes - indeed I do!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Stay loyal to your creativity because it's a gift."

Pharrell

That Magical Spark

The enhanced fabric pull for Rubricate (another Macnas-like quilt) has been moved to the end of the cutting table.

I hope to work on the cutting a bit each day this week instead of wearing myself out doing it all in one go.

The piecing has begun for Reverie. 

So far, there are 37 different blues.  I'm sorting as I press to make life easier later on when it comes time to work on the layout.

But while I was stitching/pressing, a random thought lodged in my brain.

WHAT IF . . . 

I used the beautiful blue backing I had chosen for Hoppipola (which is still waiting to be quilted) for Reverie?

A quick visual check told me all I needed to know. 

YES!

Which left Hoppipola without a backing.

But WHAT ABOUT the backing I had originally chosen for Colsie?

Another quick visual check left no doubt in my mind - absolutely YES!

And now I'm excited about moving Hoppipola forward after its nearly three year wait.

* * *

About Colsie (see previous post) - thank you to all those who offered condolences and/or shared suggestions/photos for possible ways to deal with the initial fail.  I cut those strips in January of 2022 and somewhere between then and now I truly fell out of love with the original idea.  Instead of pushing forward with the project, I've packed the blocks and they're headed out to Linda S. to be transformed into a comfort quilt.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"From a little spark may burst a flame."

Dante Alighieri

Mish Mash Monday

THIS happened Thursday afternoon . . . 

Even though their training teaches NEVER back up, a two-week employee did just that and her U-Haul-substitute-Amazon van knocked over our mailbox.

We've found a contractor and the supplies are at the curb waiting for the weather to cooperate.  They had planned to start work on Saturday but, despite the forecast, it rained.  

And yes, Amazon has agreed to reimburse us or pay the contractor directly.

I had a bonus chance to choose some new annuals for our yard last week.  The selection at this point offers mostly full sun plants and a lot of hanging baskets so I picked out these Lantana and three more dracaena spikes.

In early spring DH planted three 'cherry' tomatoes in the grow boxes. We later learned they were "determinate" plants meaning all the tiny tomatoes arrived at once.  

The plants looked more like undersized shrubs but the real kicker was the yucky taste of the fruit - mealy with tough skins and zero flavor.

Needless to say, those plants are gone and the empty planters that sit outside our sunroom window are now home to those new Lantana plants.

In the studio I got busy and cut up the blues pulled for Reverie along with a stack of black and white fabrics from the resource box.  The two stacks in the rear contain enough rectangles to make the planned quilt top ala Macnas.

The black and whites in the front will go towards another planned top named TUXIE-TUDE where they'll be paired with a scrappy mix of white on black fabrics.

The excess blue 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles will be counted, labeled, and set aside as seeds for "someday." 

* * *

Elsewhere in the house, younger son has been sick since early last week with a big-time summer cold /horrendous cough.  Our doctor talked with him late Friday and prescribed some precautionary meds due to our son's history of viral pneumonia. We're to call the office Monday morning and make a follow-up in-person appointment.

(Covid tests continue to be negative)

Sadly, Dr. W. will be able to check me at the same time as I'm now coughing and have the early-stage runny nose and bleary head.

DH is staying outdoors or in his workshop/studio as much as possible and we don't blame him a bit for avoiding us.   

Sigh . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Creative people need time to sit around and do nothing."

Austin Kleon

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

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"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

Also in the Pipeline

I don't think I've ever mentioned Colsie (finding comfort and warmth in life's simple pleasures), a low volume project for use in January each year.  I'm planning to make this one in the same manner as Koselig (gifted to my sister).

All of the strips are cut and waiting to be sewn.

These are the leftover HSTs from Haru, my Tussie Mussie project.  

I'm not sure yet if I'm going to follow through with this idea or not but Audrey's introductory quilt number two post as part of her Bramble Blooms quilt series got me thinking.

This is a new project - one patterned after Macnas.  

I've named it Reverie (the state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts).

And this is another new project, again inspired by Macnas.  

I've named this one Rubricate (to mark or color with red).

All in good time . . . 

Quiltdivajulie