Don't Make Me Break Out the Flying Monkeys

Who remembers the flying monkeys

 from The Wizard of Oz movie?

I was afraid of them when I was a child.

Honestly, they still creep me out.

* * *

In 2008 I was part of Tonya Ricucci's online Summer class

where our challenge was to make a two color quilt.

I struggled for weeks to come up with an idea.

On July 11th during a perfectly awful day at work

I realized exactly which phrase I would create

with free pieced letters on my class quilt.

It didn't take long to decide on my two colors

(a multi color dot on black and a collection of yellows)

and get the first few words pieced.

I also started testing potential border ideas.

By July 21 all of the words were pieced.

I shared this photo of a sketch showing 

my asymmetrical border plan on July 24th.

The inspiration for my borders 

came from Collaborative Quilting

by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran.

I had made lots of piano key borders 

but this was the first time I'd added 

one of Gwen's serpentine strips.

This photo of another border's design

shows the black background print really well

as well as some of the many yellows.

I had nearly 6 yards of that background when I started

and only very small scraps when I finished.

So typical for liberated free pieced quilts -

ALWAYS buy more background

than you think you'll need.

At least twice as much and more if you can.

A double row of broken dishes blocks

created an interesting secondary design

for the quilt's top upper edge

and it helped balance out the large 

monkey wrench blocks at the bottom.

I debated about adding a third color

since it was a two-color challenge

but since the quilt NEEDED the pops of red

and we all know I'm not all that good

about sticking to "the directions or the plan" . . . 

I shared the finished flimsy on August 24.

It measured 61" wide x 86" long.

I then handed the top and back off 

to my good friend Chris

for custom free motion quilting.

I shared the completely finished quilt on October 1, 2008.

(that's just under three months from idea to completion)

Here's how Chris quilted the serpentine border.

And here's how she quilted the broken dishes border.

The custom work she did on this quilt

was light years ahead of what she had been doing . . .

I don't know which of us was the most thrilled!

In November, I shared the quilt during the 2008 edition

of the annual Davies Manor Quilt and Fiber Arts show.

And in December, DH hung the quilt 

in our newly-painted foyer.

(the door trim wasn't even installed at this point)

* * *

Fast forward a year or so . . . 

Tonya Ricucci was in the process of writing a book

about liberated letter making.

She had already asked to include my quilt

from her 2007 First Ever Online Class

AND SOMETIMES Y.

(you can see "Y"in this photo

taken during AQS Nashville 2008)

Tonya sheepishly asked if I would be willing 

to also let her include The Flying Monkeys

and, of course, I was happy to say YES.

Both quilts were shipped to her publisher in January 2010.

In October of that year, The Flying Monkeys

traveled to the Houston Quilt Show where 

it made an appearance in the Martingale booth.

Look closely and you can see Tonya holding the quilt.

(she was so surprised at how large the quilt was)

The quilt also travelled to The Quilt Show

when Tonya made an appearance there

to promote her book's upcoming release.

(episode 907)

My quilt was too large for the stage set

so this impromptu photo was taken

of Tonya (and someone else) 

holding up the quilt backstage.

Both of my book quilts came home on December 9th,

eleven months after leaving Tennessee, and

my copy of WORD PLAY QUILTS arrived on December 14.

What a happy day for liberated letter makers everywhere.

(this photo really illustrates the scale of the letters)

* * *

So I'm sure you're wondering why 

I am sharing this particular post today . . . 

Lynne has been telling the long and winding story

 of our friendship in a series of posts on her blog.

(look for Julie and Lynne - Our Story in the sidebar

below the SSOBB logo and before the Labels list)

Last week she shared her 2013 photo 

of The Flying Monkeys hanging in our foyer 

and we both discovered that I'd never 

put together a comprehensive post for the quilt.

This post was the closest I'd come.

The oversight has now been corrected.

Enjoy!

(and you can see more of my liberated letter quilts HERE)

Quiltdivajulie

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“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.”

Karl Menninger

Tutorial Notes for my Dumpster Diving Quilts

To begin at the beginning,

CLICK HERE to read Tonya's original 2011 tutorial

from the international legos craze inspired by 

her quilt named Ellis Island.

* * *

Now CLICK HERE and scroll down 

to see photos of my four previous Dumpster Diving quilts.

(embedded links take you to each quilt's reveal post)

* * *

Back in the present moment . . .

Last year I started gathering strips of greens 

and purples and grays,

not knowing exactly how I would use them.

When I agreed to teach a Dumpster Diving workshop

for Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter,

I knew I could use those saved strips and strings

to make my next Dumpster Diving quilt

as a work-in-progress to share with the class.

(that class unfortunately had to be cancelled

because I was too sick to travel)

The purples and turquoise bits were 

cut to uniform 1.5" widths

then chopped into varying lengths

of 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", and 3.5".

The grays were handled the same way.

As were the greens.

(Those longer strips in the foreground

were cut from backing leftovers -

they'll be used in Dumpster Diving 7-Copacetic)

Limited only by the number of pins I had to work with,

I created pairs of grays, pairs of greens, and pairs of purples.

These were chain stitched one after the other

until all of my pins were available to be used again.

The newly stitched pairs were then pinned into new pairs

and chain stitched into sets of 4 segments.

(Hint:  crank up your favorite music -

it makes these power sewing sessions more fun)

Once the sets of four segments are sewn,

pinning the groups together is no longer needed.

Just pair two together, stitch,

then bend the free end around to the front

so you can place the next short strip in position

and continue sewing the short 4-strip segments

into one very, very long strip.

(again, music makes this time pass more enjoyably)

At this point, how you work with those long strips

will depend on the design of the quilt you are making.

For the blocks I'm using in Dumpster Diving 5

(diagonal string block style)

I cut the long strips into 14" lengths

and sorted the lengths by color.

Each block requires thirteen strips

as shown in the photo above.

When sewing these together,

I work top to bottom and left to right.

I wait until all thirteen strips 

are sewn together before pressing.

I then press from the back 

and press all seams in one direction.

Then I turn the block right side up

and press again from side to side

to make sure the seams are flat.

(I use steam - being careful not to twist the fabric strips)

Once the block is pressed flat,

I lay my 8.5" square ruler in place.

Hint:  make sure the corners

do not fall on a seam in the outside strips.

This makes sewing the blocks together easier

and results in far less bulk.

I cut off the top right corner first,

then the upper left

followed by the lower right,

and finally the lower left.

I don't know that the sequence really matters

so long as you are consistent

from one block to the next.

You could also use a rotating turntable

for cutting and trimming these blocks.

The four cut-away corners are then set aside -

in this case to be used in Lagniappe.

Here is the back of the newly-squared block.

(no dangling threads, seams pressed flat and straight)

And now there are six rows of blocks on the design wall.

Only twelve more blocks

and this top will be ready to sew together.

* * *

If you need more specifics about

my earlier Dumpster Diving quilts,

there are labels in the blog's sidebar.

Clicking on the label will pull up

the posts shared during the making

of each of the quilts.

* * *

Here's to the fun of making quilts

with lots and lots of small scraps!

Quiltdivajulie

Ready to Add Binding!

WOO HOO!!

Alpha Palooza is ready for binding!

Chris and I met up over the weekend . . .

I LOVE the free motion Baptist fans she quilted!!!

(C is for Chris, after all)

More photos soon!

Quiltdivajulie

Chain of Events . . .

Photo credit



Remember back in early January

when I went to the warehouse sale

at Delta Patchwork?

I took along an extra copy of Tonya's Word Play Quilts

for Delta's owner, Arlene Blackburn.

New fabric bolts at Delta Jan. 2010 

As I wandered about,

absorbing the fabric colors,

and searching for pieces to go into Lynne's quilt,

the book sparked a conversation

with Phyllis and Teresa.

Contact info was exchanged and the shopping continued

(although each of us were smiling to ourselves).

A week or so ago,

I found an e-mail in my Inbox

and an electronic conversation was begun.

Now that things have been approved . . .

I'll be doing a trunk show for the September retreat
of the Quilting in the Grove quilt guild

 in Southaven, MS!

Woo Hoo! 

Quiltdivajulie

It's Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My copy of Tonya's new book is HERE! 

 WOOOOO HOOOOOOOO !!!

After a long busy day, it was AWESOME 

to curl up under And Sometimes Y 

with my very own copy of WPQ . . . 

Of course, Flying Monkeys also needed some time with WPQ . . . 

(photo taken this way to help show the quilt's actual size)

And how cool is this?!?!?!?

So much good stuff inside the covers of Tonya's book . . . 

Here's a big SHOUT OUT to everyone involved in its creation/production!

Quiltdivajulie

Home Again, Home Again

After eleven months,

Flying Monkeys and And Sometimes Y

have returned from their adventures with Martingale Publishers,

their visit to the Houston International Quilt Show,

and their special appearance in Tonya's new book . . .

For now, they are resting on the recliner 

with Dancing Star and Sing the Sun Down

keeping close watch from their quilt rack on the wall.

And, while we all wait impatiently for Word Play Quilts to arrive,

click here to check out my post on Sujata's Basket Full of Scraps blog.

Quiltdivajulie

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

Flying Monkeys 

and

And Sometimes Y

Original designs created and pieced by Julie Sefton

Custom Quilting by Chris Ballard

Congratulations, Tonya!!

Today is THE day . . . FINALLY!

Today is the long-awaited release date for Tonya's book!!!

WOO HOO!

Tonya and her work,

 especially her free-pieced, liberated letters,

have been a BIG part of my quilting journey ~

so it seems that today is the perfect day

to share my most recent lettering efforts.

Thanks, Tonya ~ for everything!

Can you guess what these will spell?

I won't bore you with each and every letter in the words . . .

but you can see that they are definitely wonky and full of character.

Here is the assembled name panel that will become

the center of the back of my still-under-construction spiderweb quilt

The lower two rows of blocks of Impact Zone are stitched together

(I took it to work last week to see how

 it will look/fit where I'm planning to hang it).

Three more blocks and I'll be ready to start on the borders . . .

I have copies of Tonya's book on pre-order with both Amazon and Barnes & Noble ~

I sure hope one of those orders arrives SOON!!!!!

Here's to all the friendships and inspiration 

within the free-pieced liberated quilty-community!!!!!

Quiltdivajulie