November Kitchen Table Quilt - Sweater Weather

November's kitchen table quilt is named Sweater Weather.

(no full shots because of the gusty wind and

 the fast moving sun/clouds)

The quilt top's reveal post is HERE

and the earlier "backstory" post is HERE.

Finished size is 65" x 65"

I am so glad that I went with this backing.

It couldn't be more perfect.

Quilted with liberated all-over fans

using Glide thread in Sienna.

(our first frost is likely by the weekend -

then the leaves will really start coming down

and it will be time to clean up the fading plants)

* * *

You can read about the other quilts

in the KTQ series HERE.

Only one more to go . . .

that top is ready and waiting for FMQ.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Everything utilitarian needs a little red edge.”

Reno Dakota

Sweater Weather - the Flimsy

November's Kitchen Table Quilt has reach flimsy status.

(back story and inspiration pattern link in this post)

The top currently measures 67" x 67" 

not including the not-yet-squared-corner-extras.

Once FMQ is completed sometime in October,

 I'll square the quilt to 64" x 64"

* * *

September's Kitchen Table Quilt is up for FMQ this week.

October's Kitchen Table Quilt is ready to FMQ in September.

And now November's KTQ is ready for its turn in October.

December's KTQ will feather a whole cloth top

and a giant four-patch backing - 

I hope to work on both during September/October

so it will be ready to FMQ in November.

* * *

For those who want a look-back at the KTQ series,

click HERE or use the tab below the blog header.

Quiltdivajulie

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“The brown pigments are:  earth brown, burnt umber, burnt ochre, burnt sienna; all earths cooked to red hot. Cooking is present in brown. The names of brown dyes are sweet and edible; you can buy a coat in caramel, toffee, almond, coffee, chocolate or curry. There was once a color called toast."

Derek Jarman

Sweater Weather Takes Shape

Sweater Weather now has twenty-five blocks 

laid out on the design wall.

Inspired by Lemon Squeezy / Piccolo Studio,

the unfinished blocks should measure 12.5" -

but mine were squared to 12" (fin. 11.5").

I also didn't follow her layout to the letter.

My blocks are more about color distribution within

the A and B blocks and not so much

about the orientation of the sewn strips.

It's all good,

even that one rogue orange strip.

I had planned to add a border so the top would finish at 64" x 64"

but with the slightly smaller blocks, I'll also insert a stop border

before adding the wider outer border.

The dark brown stop border will be cut from the last 

of the 2002/2003 Thimbleberries yardage used to back 

one of my very earliest  quilts - Decadent Dreaming.

The wider outer border is from the Van Gogh line by RJR -

based on "Wheatfield with Crows" from 1890.

I'll use that same fabric for binding.

After I do a bit more tweaking of the layout,

I hope to have this sewn together 

in the next few days - life notwithstanding.

Be back again on Monday.

Quiltdivajulie

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“I meant to do my work today, but a brown bird sang in the apple tree, and a butterfly flitted across the field, and all the leaves were calling me.”

Richard LeGallienne

Each Step Forward Counts

This is the new fabric pull for November's

kitchen table quilt that I've named Sweater Weather.

My original fabric pull looked too much like

the palette for Farmland and I wanted something

that felt warmer / more like Thanksgiving.

I've started cutting strips . . . stay tuned.

I also put together this fabric pull for a new project

that I have named BLITHE.

(adjective - carefree and happy; lighthearted)

Instead of a 16-patch, Blithe will be an 18-patch.

I'm in no huge rush - at least I don't think I am.

(part of me wants to turn Blithe into a squirrel project -

but the practical part of me is resisting / time will tell)

* * *

I finally broke down and bought this for my sewing studio.

I don't like pulling out the big canister vacuum

and unless I move several things out of the way,

the Roomba cannot get into some of the tight spots.

Now I have a quick and easy way to clean up 

those pesky threads and bits of fabric.

(this model is super easy to empty

and I love the round flat charging base)

Ridiculous that I've waited so long to resolve

what has been a long-time frustration.

I picked up 3 clear 5-compartment organizers 

that were being marketed for make up.

 Instead of using them for their intended purpose,

I gathered my colored pencils,

Flair markers, Sharpies, and highlighters

and put them all within easy reach.

(I use them when I'm sketching ideas,

working out layout designs,

making notes for my project files, etc.)

This way I'm also making much better use of

the Raskog cart that sits to the right of my Bernina.

Again - such an easy solution to a nagging issue.

(Contemplate - Fabricate - Ruminate - Recreate

-- courtesy of something Sarah Bond shared

in one of her virtual classes)

I also took the time to make a proper mat

to line the bottom of this well-worn tray 

that lives at the end of my ironing table.

Why do I wait so long to deal with

something like this that is so simple?!

* * *

I haven't worked on Pandemonium for a while now

because my brain cells have been used up dealing with

another significant hassle involving an insurance program.

I've finally reached out to an advocacy group for help

and after the initial conversations, I'm hopeful

they can take over much of the heavy lifting. 

One step at a time.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Brown is neither one of the basic color perceptions nor a primary color used in color mixtures, but for human beings it is constantly present both in nature and in their everyday surroundings. It is the color of the earth itself — of rocks and sand, of the bark of trees, of the fur of animals. In that sense, at least, it could be called the basic color of everyday life.”

Kunio Fukuda

About Those Kitchen Table Quilts

These are the squares for my February kitchen table quilt.

And these are the blocks made from those squares.

(Amy Ellis's Day Hike pattern 

was used for block construction -

but this layout is my own)

The 49 blocks are now clipped 

to be webbed together into a 63" x 63" top.

(hopefully this weekend)

And happily, I found some fairly outrageous 

Tula Pink yardage in the stash for the back.

I've named February's table quilt AWAKEN.

Squares cut from yardage for the top of Farmland - September's table quilt

So WHY am I making a series of twelve

64" x 64" (ish) quilts to be used on our kitchen table?

There are several reasons . . . 

USING the stash ranks very, very high on the list.

That means working with only the fabrics in the stash

and not running out or going online to buy more.

That limitation encourages me to work more creatively

and generates quilts that are much more interesting.

Final fabric selections for the top of Trick or Treat - October's table quilt

Our current table quilt has been in near-continuous use 

for the past two years and it is past time 

for it to be retired from daily use.

(it will become the quilt in our grand-dog's kennel)

I enjoy making utility quilts (see definition in sidebar)

and I can't think of a more utilitarian function

than a quilt serving as a table cover.

(the top of our table is dark slate - 

cold, hard, and noisy under the dishes)

A different quilt for each month will 

definitely make the table more inviting.

Final fabric selection for the top (center section) of Sweater Weather - November's table quilt

When I started thinking about this project late last summer,

I realized it was the perfect way to reinvigorate several

 projects/fabric pulls in my design studio closet.

Some of them retained their original design plan

but their layout has been adjusted 

to fit the 64-ish" square plan.

Others were fabric pulls waiting for their purpose to be defined -

and after culling through my books and other resources,

I've chosen low-stress multi-directional designs that allow 

the colors and the fabrics to be the focus.

Still other months were an excuse to pull semi-seasonal colors

from the stash and decide how best to showcase them.

(Farmland, Trick or Treat, and Sweater Weather 

shown here fit this approach)

Stop border, outer border, and binding for Sweater Weather

Making utility quilts like these 

creates a variety of surfaces on which to grow

my liberated free motion quilting skill set.

(much better than boring practice sandwiches)

Short lengths of yardage to make a scrappy back for Sweater Weather

I make these quilts just like I make my lap quilts --

with a properly pieced top, Hobbs 80/20 batting, 

backing, free motion quilting, and binding.

At this point, they are all cut out

and ready to be sewn . . . 

one month at a time.

* * *

For those who are concerned about stains,

we have used a quilt on our kitchen table 

for nearly 10 years now and even with occasional spills, 

none of those quilts have been permanently damaged.

(a quick spray of spot treating spray and

a trip through the washer/dryer has worked every time)

* * *

I've created a tabbed page here on the blog

for this series of quilts -

click here if you'd like to check it out.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the thing you can't hear, and not bothering.”

A. A. Milne

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

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“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