Candy Corn - the Flimsy

The Luminescent Leaves print (Ann Lauer for Benartex) used in the backing for Ludiosis was released in multiple color ways.  

Tuesday morning as I put away the remaining fabrics from making Ludiosis, I realized that this purple, green, orange, and black version of that print would be perfect for an October/Halloween ottoman quilt for Young Man's Family (a wish quietly thought out loud by elder son back when Ruska was gifted).

The purple (Alluring Butterflies, also by Ann Lauer) and orange (Button Mosaic, Kaffe Fassett Collective) yardage have been stashed for too long.  The too-perfect binding was already made having been abandoned from some previous project.

So YES, this quilt NEEDED WANTED to be made NOW.

By Thursday afternoon the top was sewn, pressed, and pinned on the design wall.

I used the 3-Hour Baby Gingham Quilt free download from Fat Quarter Shop and altered the tutorial's approach to suit the size I needed (55" x 70").

Straightforward cutting, lots of paired strip sets pressed to the dark, 14 very long sub-cuts, followed by ten long nested seams.

(I previously used this tutorial when making Merry and Bright)

This on-sale backing is on order and due here early week so there's a pretty good chance I will have Candy Corn quilted and ready to gift by the end of September.  

Candy Corn (named by younger son) most definitely qualifies as a total squirrel project.  

Plus there are three extra long vertical columns to play with - yet another seasonal squirrel waiting in the wings.

Rastro has been pin basted and is about to be quilted.  The pin basting pool noodles are empty and ready for Candy Corn as soon as the spiderweb backing arrives.

And slowly, a few at a time, I've been fusing these smallish pieces of sari silk onto tricot interfacing so they're ready for action when their time eventually comes.  The wide backing the un-fused silks are resting on is a 2025 print by Alison Glass for Andover.   

I've named this project Silfira (noun meaning "silent fire - an inner, quiet confidence that doesn't need to be loud to be powerful").

 

* * * 

Looking back over this post I realize once again how true the opening words from my profile in the sidebar really are:   "Liberated. Eclectic. Colorful. Scrappy. These four words encompass who I am as a quilt maker."

Quiltdivajulie 

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"Creative people don't relax. We just change projects."

Jaya Lakshmi

Where Things Stand

This is a photo of Ruska, a Camp Sefton collaborative quilt from earlier this year, laid out over my drafting/cutting table; but the photo was taken from the back side.  

I had to clean up my paper art table so the top and later the back could drape overtop and stay flat for rolling onto the pool noodles.

Ruska is now fully pin basted and I've chosen the thread color.  This is going to be a very hectic week with a lot of coming and going but I hope to fit some quilting time in the gaps.

Meanwhile, Nimiety is now a quilt top - 52" wide x 72" long.

And after a bit of a tussle, the scrappy pieced back has been pressed.  

This is the center section that shows all the different fabrics.   

Here is the top for Yutori, no. 13 in the series of 13 Macnas quilts, laid over the drafting table ready to be rolled onto the pool noodle.

This is a BEFORE photo of the backing for Yutori . . .  

And this was taken after the finished back was pressed.    

At this point, both Nimiety's top and back AND Yutori's top and back are rolled onto pool noodles, ready for pin basting . . . I just couldn't stick Nimiety in the waiting to be quilted closet when the top and back were freshly pressed, so I'm going to quilt it before I start on the four bonus quilts from the Macnas series.

Quilting these 3 will be a breeze compared to all this prep work.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Dwelling on negative thoughts is like fertilizing weeds."

Norman Vincent Peale

Miscellaney and Beyond

Xanadu has been pin basted, the thread has been chosen, the bobbins have been wound, and the quilting has begun.  

And since the pool noodles were empty, I went ahead and rolled the top and back for Morning Fog, the next in line to be quilted.  I have Frankenbatting pieced using end-cuts from previous Macnas series  battings ready to roll onto the third noodle.

Evening playtime updates:

MISCELLANY, my 5" x 5" scrappy paper nine-patch journal is 'done' with 58 unique nine-patches comprised of 522 one-inch squares.  

I left the last few blank pages in case I punch out enough more squares to create those additional nine-patches.

This floral group is one of the last few in the book . . . 

. . . as is this one featuring people and security envelopes.

One evening was spent collaging the 12 red index cards using bits from the ephemera boxes. IF I find more tiny items, I may add those additional elements on some of these.  If I don't, then these are good just the way they are.

And while red things were out, I went ahead and filled the two-page RED spread in my DIY Wreck That Journal project.  

I'm contemplating names for this journal so I can stop using the author's inspiration book title.

Again, if I find red things that fit, I'll continue to add to these pages.

* * *

The predicted rainy weather missed us so the driveway repairs are happening today as planned.  The crew started at 7am and most of the damaged concrete and buried tree roots have been removed.  The mixer truck is scheduled to arrive later this morning . . . 

I hope to spend much of today in the studio quilting Xanadu.

Quiltdivajulie

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" The pessimist complains about the wind.  The optimist expects it to change.  The realist adjusts the sail."

William A. Ward

Making Progress

Hanabi, Macnas series no. 10, is pin basted at last.

With so many colors in the fabrics, it was a bit of a dilemma deciding which Pinmoors to use . . .  Pink? Blue? Green? White?  

Ahh --the yellow ones will be the easiest to spot while quilting.

After that dilemma was resolved, the lingering "what color thread should I use" was no longer avoidable (that's been the biggest hang up getting this quilt over the finish line).

I deliberately did not look at color names, only how the threads played across the top and backing.  I even consulted the binding to make sure the chosen thread color had some connection to that fabric.

You can see the base of the winning spool above.  Thursday's project is to get the bobbins wound and the free motion quilting underway.

In the other studio, I have finished adding backgrounds onto the 100+ index cards for my "whenever-I-need-to-sit-and-glue" collage project.  

The white baskets are the result of an evening spent sorting through stashed ephemera.  Having a jumble of items in a basket for each of the nine color groups helps spark ideas/generate results with much less pondering time needed.  

(my ulterior motive is to define some boundaries and keep me from searching endlessly for that 'perfect' something)

* * *

Hope to have a finished quilt to share in the next few days.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Perfection is shallow, unreal and fatally uninteresting . . . "

Anne Lamott

Touching Base

Shirts and Such has been pin basted and the free motion quilting is nearly complete.

This photo shows the top and backing with the thread I'm using.

I've also decided to start using the two vintage Rolodexes I found in a thrift store.

The first one (black base) has cards measuring 2.25 " x 4" so I'm calling it The Tiny Things Rolodex.

This section will feature bits and pieces of packaging.

This section will feature things related to TEA.  

Clearly this one will be a longer term, background kind of project as I find bits and bobs to add.

The second rolodex (light gray/tan base) contains cards that measure 3" x 5" - I'm going to fill it with a variety of non-valuable postage stamps from a wide variety of sources, most free or at very little cost.  Its very non-original name will be the Postage Stamp Rolodex unless I come up with something more clever.

This particular section will feature stamps related to architecture and buildings.  (Do any of you know where Helvetia is?  Switzerland!)

Another section will feature sports and the Olympics.

Other sections I've already decided on are Christmas, Women, Men (including former presidents), Planes-Trains-Automobiles, Nautical, and Flowers.  There will be lots more topics added as I work through the stamps I have in hand.

(and if any of you have cancelled or unused stamps that you no longer want, I'll be happy to re-home them and add them into this motley mix)

I've also discovered this project, and given my love of Happy Mail I've taken their pledge to write one letter (or more if the muse strikes) each week.  

If you're curious, their website is here: https://www.thesundayletterproject.com/

* * *

Family Dinner Sunday, Dentist on Monday, Grandparents Day at Young Man's school on Tuesday followed by a sleepover visit,  Thanksgiving on Thursday (not a big production as there are only 3 of us plus the grand-dog), and then take-down of November's seasonal decor and put-up of December's.    

After a couple more rainy days, our temps are forecast to drop into the freezing zone once more.  Even so, as soon as S&S is finished I will bundle up and get outdoor photos to share here later in the week.

Quiltdivajulie

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"So here's the thing:  unused art materials are of ZERO value.  Enjoy them.  That is why they exist in the world - to bring joy.  Go create something!"

Daisy Yellow

Catch Up Post

Grandiose (Macnas series no. 8) now has its first 8 rows sewn and pressed.  Only ten more rows to go. 

The three-strip blocks for Incandescent are my leader-ender project whilst stitching the top for Grandiose.

For every two rows of Grandiose, I get thirteen finished blocks for Incandescent. 

Slow and steady.

Esperance is finally pin basted . . . 

. . .  and ready to be quilted.  

I have been thinking that I'll use the same amethyst thread used for Haru, but I am also wondering about a soft pink?

I finished cleaning up some odds and ends on the paper play table.  These four book covers have been updated and repurposed.

Two of them have papers bound inside using a three-hole pamphlet stitch.  

The other two have three-ring binders.  

The reproduction Country Diary book is filled with an eclectic group of papers while the postage stamp cover has a single sheet with notes to myself for the time I am inspired to fill it with papers.

(you may remember the postage stamp cover from this past spring's Postcard Swap - I ended up storing the postcards I received in a small wood box which meant the cover was fair game for a future project)

The prompt for Week 34 of Full Deck Challenge 3 (Shanouki Arts You Tube channel) is "happy scraps."

This is the front of my tag . . . 

. . . and this is the back.

I've considered several other approaches to this challenge for next year but I keep coming back to how much I enjoy working on these shipping tags.

Creating these tags, I've surprised myself since this is the first year-long (or any other) challenge I've continued for more than a few weeks.  

* * *

I've also just realized we are nearing the end of August and I had intended to make a set of six new placemats for September. 

I've pulled the fabric, pressed it, and will get it pin basted shortly.  I won't have them done by the first of the month, but they will be finished and in use before September ends.

 

Quiltdivajulie

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"If living life is an art, then only you can be the artist to make it colorful."

Sagar Gosavi

Trouvaille - the Flimsy

Trouvaille, the transformed squirrel project that just couldn't wait, has become a flimsy.

54" wide x 72" long - the colors above are very close to real life.

Fabrics for the pieced backing are waiting to be cut and sewn . . . 

While I finished piecing the top for Trouvaille, the remaining pairs for Wallaroo (Macnas-inspired no. 6) were sewn together - ready for their turn on the design wall.

The first 12 rows (of 18) for Vellichor (Macnas-inspired no. 5) have been sewn.  

Only six more rows and I'll have another flimsy reveal post to share.

As I'm sewing the top for Vellichor, I'm leader-ender sewing the pairs for Fandango (Macnas-inspired no. 7).

Fandango will be the first of the Macnas-inspired series to have rectangles made of scrappy strata.  Time will tell how that approach works out.

On the other side of the studio, Abendrot is pin basted and ready for FMQ action.  

(I had forgotten that Abendrot's backing yardage was in fact a wide back - that certainly helped things move forward more quickly)

Finally, the Bluey pillowcase laid out here is now finished and in use by its happy new owner.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Go to your studio and make stuff."

Fred Babb

Lots of Things

Here are the promised glimpses of our "blueberries and daisies" decor for June.

First off is our mantel.

The finished dining room wall quilt - Meadow Flowers.

Three of the placemats in action on the dining room table where we eat lunch and dinner every day as well as our weekly family dinners.

Week 23's prompt for the Full Deck Challenge 3 is "repeat."

The front of my shipping tag features rows of repeating numbers on a vintage 

computer card, repeating zig zags on the washi tape strips, and words from The Little Engine that Could.

The back of my tag features the infamous repeating phrase from Dr. Seuss's book.

I have finished piecing the scrappy backing for Tuxie Tude (shown here hanging over the stairway balcony before I sewed the final top-to bottom seam).

And now the quilt sandwich is pin basted and hanging out with Max - I'm hoping to start quilting very soon.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"Creativity is contagious.  Pass it on."

Albert Einstein