Shift Happens - August's Kitchen Table Quilt

I made the original top in late 2017.

You can see it HERE.

In March 2018 I took that top apart

so I could make the top you see above.

You can read about that process HERE.

(design info - Artfully Arranged by Amy Walsh from

a late 2018 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting)

I used Brassica by Philip Jacobs for the backing.

Before pin basting the quilt sandwich,

I decided to add a 3" border to the top using

a much-loved Marcia Derse blue.

Binding - navy blue Moda Bella solid.

Quilted with my liberated all-over fans

using Glide thread in Sienna.

Here is the front of the quilt . . . 

. . .  and here is the back.

On Sunday I'll take Fruit Smoothie off 

the kitchen table and replace it 

with Shift Happens.

* * *

You can read more about (and

visit links to the other quilts in) my

kitchen table quilt project HERE

Quiltdivajulie

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

“For me, people are color, flowers are color, food is color – and all of this [gesturing to her home] is my canvas.”

Rosy Strazzeri-Fridman

Shifting Gears

Since plans call for me to do a three-day

Dumpster Diving demo during our annual

Davies Manor Quilt and Fiber Arts Show

on November 1st, 2nd, and 3rd,

I need to get the two waiting Dumpster Diving tops 

quilted and finished in the next two weeks.

This photo shows Dumpster Diving 6 - Lagniappe

in the process of being pin basted.

This is  Dumpster Diving 5 - Catharsis.

I know how I want to quilt Lagniappe 

(fans of some sort) but I'm still waffling 

about how to quilt Catharsis.

Diagonal cross hatching comes to mind . . . 

I went ahead and pin basted Conundrum

and will quilt it first to get myself

back into the free motion quilting groove.

I also pulled out this sample block that I used 

when teaching at The Folk School.

The too-strong black and white strip and the

pale tips of the brights-on-black and purple wedges

have annoyed me for months now.

Problem resolved

thanks to a new set of Sharpie markers.

NOW I'm willing to quilt this square table mat.

* * *

Hoping to have some finishes to share

in the not-too-distant future.

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder."
E.B. White

Redefining my Focus . . .

As typically  happens after a week away at JCCFS

(and a long weekend away with family)

I need/want to re-visit my project list

and waiting fabric pulls.

The biggest decision is that I'm going to take

several projects already underway and

re-design them to become 60" x 60" table toppers.

That way we'll have a different one to use each month

AND 

I have a year-long-date-oriented project list 

to help  keep me on task.

 (see list at the end of this post)

* * *

This revised approach meant that

I needed to change my plan for Halcyon 

(my Granny Cabin qal project)

 from a 48" x 60" lap quilt to

the designer's 58" x 58" throw design.

A new coloring sheet was completed and 

a few more squares of certain colors were cut.

Now I'm ready to sit and sew.

I also pulled a scrappy assortment from the stash 

that suits Halcyon's color palette.

I'll go with the 10.5" square approach

so I can mix these colors around.

* * *

Shifting gears for a moment --

Some of you may have seen this photo on IG.

When we met up with my sister and her husband,

I delivered these four bags filled with 17 quilts.

(and four recently-turned walnut bowls)

One bag for each of the nephews and their family

and one for my sister and her husband.

They all love quilts and live where it is cold.

(except one family that now lives in FL)

It makes me so happy to know these

 will be appreciated and enjoyed.

After all, isn't that the real reason we make quilts?

Back to my revised game plan --

I came up with a way to incorporate

all three of the JCCFS strata leftovers into

ONE quilt instead of three smaller projects

Meet FAUVE (adj:  Vivid in color)

The former wall quilt will became the center 

and I'll use the long columns as borders.

I need to play with the inner stop border

and the outer border fabrics - I like 

this BOB but these strips are too narrow.

And in the Squirrel Club department,

I've been cutting 1.5" squares 

for several weeks now --

Wanda and Lynn D. and so many others

are making 1" postage stamp blocks

using solids as the alternate squares --

and we already know I have a thing

for scrappy 1.5" strips.

When I found this 2012 tutorial online 

I knew I would go this route instead. 

I will need to make 48 of these 12" blocks

with 144 1.5" squares in each one

for a lap quilt that measures 48" x 60"

At this point I have cut about 1/4 

of the tiny squares that will be needed.

But since I am delighted to have found

 a plan that works for me,

I've named this one BONHEUR 

which means "happy."

* * *

There's a lot of other pondering 

and planning going on in the background;.

In between cutting out pieces and parts

for a number of waiting projects

and stitching the blocks for Halcyon,

I want (need) to spend some time quilting with Max.

* * *

One stitch at a time.

* * *

Recap of My Table Topper Game Plan for 2020

January - Squares Aplenty

(minimal redesign needed for sewn top - 

back pieced - ready to quilt)

February - TBD

(waiting project not yet shared)

March -  Bemused

(2" scrappy postage stamp ala Red Pepper Quilts - 

sewing started - not yet shared)

April - Reciprocity (side one)

(top sewn - ready to quilt this two-sided project - 

formerly known as the Double-Sided Four Patch)

May - Reciprocity (side two)

(back sewn - ready to quilt this two-sided project -

formerly known as the Double-Sided Four Patch)

June - Halcyon

(Granny Cabin QAL project - work in progress)

July - Frabjous

(fabrics pulled for coins style design - not yet shared )

August - Farmland

(another waiting project - 

Crazy Quilt design from CFQ book - 

not yet shared here on the blog)

September - Shift Happens

(top and back sewn - ready to quilt)

October - Sweater Weather (side one)

(waiting project not yet shared)

November - Sweater Weather (side two)

(waiting project not yet shared)

December - Merry and Bright

(waiting project not yet shared - 

Christmas fabrics cut and ready to sew)

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.  It is the only true guide you will ever have.  And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.”  

Howard Thurman

Bits and Pieces Rescued

These are all but one set of the leftover HSTs

from making the back strips for Sea of HSTs.

They are now a 13.5" x 13.5" reversible mat.

This is the back - pieced with leftover border strips.

Quilted with my well-loved liberated free motions fans.

And this is the final set of HSTs.

A single reversible mug rug at 4.5" square.

I almost like the back better than the front.

And then there were more leftover pieces

from other projects to be dealt with.

A single mug rug backed with pink and orange bits

and a double mug rug that is the same on both sides.

Two larger mats pieced with leftovers from Epicenter 

and the double four-patch table topper.

Three small reversible mats 

- shown here are the front sides -

made with sections from a border print 

that was part of a swap bundle.

And these are the backs

pieced with leftover strip sets

from Shift Happens.

* * *

Some of these will be used in the studio

and at my computer desk.

Others will become gifts when a need arises.

* * *

The best part?

These are NOT orphan bits lollygagging in the studio!

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
“Do not worry that your life is turning upside down.  How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?”  

Rumi

18 in 2018 - October Recap

On the PIECING list,

I completed my Shibori do-over 

which is now known as Shift Happens.

I've also started working on

Someday is Now -- the last project 

from my 18 in 2018 Piecing List.

On the QUILTING front --

I completed Tea Party,

my challenge quilt for our 

rapidly approaching local quilt show.

(I've also prepped six more of my quilts

to hang in the show Nov. 2-3-4)

AND I finished sCRUMBtious.

The squirrels in The Squirrel Club

 encouraged me to make thirteen autumn pillows 

and a new table runner.

I am participating in

 Wanda's Colorwash 360 class.

My own version is currently stalled 

on the design wall until after the local quilt show 

is set up, held, taken down, and the quilts returned.

I really want to work on this,

but there just aren't enough hours in each day.

I taught two two-session classes on

Sujata's Peppermint Pinwheels

at my local quilt shop.

You can read about that HERE.

I've washed, ironed, and cut into blocks

the many yards of donated white fabric

for the 70273 Project block drive

that will happen during our local quilt show.

I've also sliced and diced a lot of different reds,

and gathered a goodly assortment 

of red trims for the pairs of red XXs.

I even did my first-ever podcast 

with Jeanne Hewell-Chambers,

the woman behind the 70273 Project.

I wrote and shared three more posts

for the mapping of my own quilting journey

as part of the current AHIQ 

maps and mapping challenge.

Years 5 and 6 are HERE

Years 7 and 8 are HERE

Years 9 and 10 are HERE

And while you are visiting

the AHIQ group blog,

be sure to check out the other posts

to see how others are handling

this particular challenge.

* * *

And finally, since today is Halloween,

HAPPY and SAFE Trick or Treating 

to all those who will be out tonight.

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap 
but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson

Shift Happens - The Flimsy

And we have a flimsy! 

This is where the finished quilt 

will be used and enjoyed daily.

(the window glass has UV protection in it

so there have been no fading issues, 

especially since the toppers are changed frequently)

This is the back side on my ironing table upstairs.

Pressing the seams open made for neater and flatter.

These three photos show fabric details.

The shibori fabrics are rich

and the paired fabrics are saturated.

I'm delighted with the results

and I will likely use this design again.

And MANY thanks to Paulette who commented

that she would call this SHIFT HAPPENS.

What a perfect name for oh, so many reasons.

And this is how I used the too-bright orange strata.

I backed and bound it with this rich brown KF print.

(think leather belt with favorite jeans and an orange shirt)

The 12" x 36" runner was quilted with Glide Bark thread.

And the texture with sunlight across the surface is wonderful.

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
"How difficult it is to be simple."
Vincent van Gogh