Scrappy Improv QUILTING Book Blog Tour:Flutter

Today is the second stop of the Blog Tour and I am so excited to finally share my project from Kelly’s book. This is the first time participating in a book blog tour and even made more extra special because I am a big fan of Kelly’s patterns having made five quilts and at least two more in the planning stage. I already have her Stash Statement book and have been looking forward to this book and I will tell you it was worth the wait.

All of the participants in the Blog Tour were able to chose their projects from the 22 mini quilts featured in the book and I was happy with my choice of Flutter which is in the Single Block Beauties section. The description for this section is sew apropos:

“If you’re new to the improv game, single-block quilts are a great way to start playing with the process. Whether the improv pieces are color-controlled designs or multi-color explosions, whether they’re in the background or featured in the block units, a single focal point is a great way to make a big impact with just a little effort.”

The only improv piecing I’ve done was making Scrap Vortex quilts but never made improv panels specifically to make pieced blocks so I was up for this new challenge, especially with all of the scraps I keep on accumulating.

Before I started making Flutter, I had to decide on a color so I did some research on this website: https://www.color-meanings.com/butterfly-color-meanings-and-symbolism/.

As I read the symbolic means of Butterfly Colors section, I knew my Flutter needed to be Blue:

“A person who sees a blue butterfly is believed to be very lucky. It is thought to be our departed ones speaking to us. It can also be viewed as a divine intervention of God or higher power”

I lost a very, very dear friend, Nancy, this year, whom I worked with for many years and stayed in touch with after I left the company in 1997. To say she was one of the most loveliest and kind hearted person I’ve every known is nowhere near how I feel about her and am just very grateful she was once part of my life. What saddens me the most is that with all of the traveling and happenings of  last year, I missed our annual catching-up call of which I feel so guilty. Even if I knew she was ill, I wouldn’t have been able to see her because of COVID restrictions but how I wished I could have spoken to her to hear her sweet voice again. My Flutter Quilt is perfect for my remembrance of Nancy and the joy she brought to my life and others and will be hanging it in a spot where I will be reminded of her everyday.

Kelly gives very clear and concise instructions on how to make the improv panels. I made sure none of my patches, mostly C+S and Carrie Bloomston scraps, were less than 1”wide. Even though these panels can easily be made with just strips and squares, I knew I had to add an angled strip which you can see on the left side since I planned on using it for the wing patches.

Unfortunately, there was a problem once I cut the two patches since both of them were angled in the same direction and it needed to be opposite in order for the wings to be emphasized. I may have broken the que’ sera, sera rule of this improv technique but you can see what I did by reworking the left patch which may be a little controlling but I knew it would look better.

Once the patches were cut, assembling was fast and easy thanks to paying close attention to the instructions. Can you see the stain glass effect this improv technique has especially using Kim Schaefer’s Black and White Pick Up Sticks for the background?

I liked that I was able to quilt Flutter with my latest favorite way to machine quilt—quadrant straight-line and it’s so easy once you draw the X across the block. 

Having already made several mini or small quilts this year, Flutter was a quick, easy and satisfying make. I have to mention that Flutter was a Finally Finish more than a month before the start of the blog tour for several good reasons:

• In 2018, I participated in Kelly’s Classic Meet Modern QAL and towards the end of the year, I fractured my left knee while on vacation, so I was unable to keep up with the monthly blocks for several months. Not to tempt fate or a repeat of another “trip” while hiking, I wanted to make sure Flutter was ready for the Book Blog Tour before we left for Steamboat Springs at the end of August
• I knew we would be visiting Yampa River Botanic Garden while on vacation which would be the most perfect setting to take photos of Flutter

Flutter measures 14”x20” and the perfect size to hang it from a tree or trellis, lay it on a rock or by a sculpture. I even found a spot where there was a sign which included the name “Nancy”.

My most favorite photo of all from the Botanic Garden is this one which the Master Quilt Holder demonstrated his agility of hiding behind the sculpture named “The Joy of Life”. Those fingers you see holding Flutter, I’m saying they are golden butterflies which magically appeared to hold the quilt up.

As I was walking through the garden, I thought it would be a wonderful setting to showcase  all of the mini quilts featured in the book. There are so many places I could see them hanging or lying around. I’m even thinking of using a garden flag stand holder to hang future minis on my front porch. BTW, my tour cohort for today is Diann, Little Penguin Quilts and will be featuring her quilt Botanics, (which is the one of the quilts I want to make), lives in Colorado. I thought it would be fun for us to meet up to take a photo of our quilts together, but didn’t, because I didn’t want to put any pressure on Diann in case she wasn’t ready—she already knows me as being a little crazy when it comes to taking photos of quilts outside.

Thank you Kelly for inviting me to participate in this fun blog tour and for writing another wonderful quilt book—the “teacher” in you really shines in this book and may I say that the size of it reminds me of the workbooks I used when I was once a wee little schoolgirl. Thanks for stopping by to read this post and hope you read the other Participants’ posts on their scheduled days. Also, if you already haven’t, I hope you will be inspired to purchase Scrappy Improv QUILTING (not an affiliate link). I can truly say there will be more than one mini quilt you will want to make for your home or office to remember a special day or holiday or even a special person in your life.

Linking up with:

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/2021/09/ntt-september-kind-of-project.html?m=1

Dear Tula With a Twist Quilt

My Dear Tula with a Twist (DTWT) quilt is my September finish for Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge but more importantly is the last of the three Dear Tula Pink quilts started in 2013. I posted about the Dear Tula Pink Quilts in 2017 in which my two Quilt Peeps (Mary and Linda, my 21st Century Bulls-Eye QALers) and I all made and exchanged quilt blocks from Tula Pink’s 100 Modern Quilt Block book. To make a long story short, neither of us made all 100 blocks and since we all used such different fabric combinations, there was no way one quilt could be made so I decided I would make three separate quilts. The first quilt comprising of Linda’s blocks was made in 2014 and my quilt was made in 2017.

Mary’s blocks were made mainly from a 2010 Sanae OZ fabric line from Moda which I loved and intended to purchase but never did. I was happy to see Mary used it for these blocks except for one thing; she also used a Thimbleberries print with is the cinnamon brown floral print which is also one of my favorite prints but wouldn’t use it with the Oz prints. I will say it did closely match with one of the colors in the print. When I describe Mary’s quilt style, I always say it’s mostly traditional but with a twist, thus the reason why I named this quilt Dear Tula With a Twist. I received her blocks in 2014 and later when I was in Arkansas and visited a small quilt shop by the resort, I was happy to find fat quarters and yardage of the focus print of the OZ collection. I still, though, was undecided with what to make but knew that strips and squares were going to be involved.

One of the challenges with making this quilt was to finally decided on the quilt design and the DTWT quilt is what I called making do with what I had; a two yard piece of the lovely focus print, yardage of the green and brown stripe, various fat quarters with twenty-one of Tula/Mary blocks. Not to throw Mary under the bus, but I will, before I could do anything, the blocks needed to be trimmed to a consistent size since they were not the 6.5” size as in the book and you know I hate making anything with increments that are not whole or half inch.

I’m quite pleased with what I came up with, a vertical row quilt with three rows of seven each of the Tula/Mary block offset with four rows of plain blocks made from the fat quarters. All of the blocks were sashed with the green and brown stripe fabric. Sadly, I only had enough fabric to make a quilt measuring 40”x52”.

The 40”x52” size turned out to be the perfect size because I only had two yards of this lovely focus print which I may have wanted to use for the front of the quilt. I could not bear to cut it and thought it would be best to save it for the backing.  This is really a big print, the flowers almost measure 12” tall and could be one of those quilts you want to show off the back.

Quilting was going to be tight since there was only a little more than an inch on each side and thankfully there were no problems.

I decided to machine quilt wavy lines, 1 inch apart, with #6001 Yellow Aurifil thread and love  the way it looks and feel.

Here’s another pic; I just love how this quilt turned out.

The size of this quilt is what I call a nice size for it to be a leg warmer or car quilt and I won’t have any problems using it for this reason. I am finding that during short/capri season my legs do get cold sometimes. As for the OZ scraps I have leftover, I promised them to Linda since she still hasn’t made anything with the Tula/Mary blocks yet. I’m pretty sure Mary has fabric for her quilt if she decides to ever make her quilt.

Just a reminder that next week is Kelly Young’s Blog Tour for her latest book Scrappy Improv Quilting and I am so excited to finally reveal my project on Wednesday, 9/15. I hope you visit my post as well as the other participants on this tour. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this book; the projects, instructions, the section organization, etc. and I bet you will find a project you will be inspired to make. You can check out the blog tour schedule Here.

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation, NTT

The Ernie Express Quilt #2

It’s been almost four months since I posted the first Ernie Express Quilt at the end of April but it seems like it was just last month. I’ve been dropping my buzz phrase for this summer’s posts of “Freakishly Fast” or “Jiffy” and thats what August has been. There are several reasons why I wanted to finish EE#2 (Ernie Express #2); 1.) these fabrics sing Summer and it wouldn’t have the same impact if I were to post this in the Fall or early Winter), 2.) joining the Linky Party for Kathleen McMusings” Tips and Tutorials on the 22nd which my first tip for this post is to be careful what you post because it may taunt you in the future, and 3.) I’ll explain later in this post and is the best reason why EE#2 needed to be a Finally Finish.

In my Ernie Express (EE#1) post, I mentioned that I wasn’t loving this quilt at first which may have been due to using four different fabrics on one of the blocks. I also mentioned that if I were to make another one of these quilts, I would only use two fabrics for each block and I would use my collection of Allison Glass fabrics purchased this year. Also, I mentioned that if I did make another quilt, I would write instructions on how to make these blocks faster and easier than the way I made them for EE#1. In another post afterwards, I posted a set of the two blocks which were going to be used for the EE#2 quilt and I said I would do a “sort of tutorial” which is how Kathleen hooked me into joining her Linky Party this month. Tip #2-always use the word “instructions” and not “tutorial”—way less pressure. I apologize if my tutorial is not as detailed as other tutorials you may have seen and may seem short and quick like a member of a younger generation explaining to you on how to use a TV remote or showing you something on the computer.

Before I give you the instructions for Blocks A & B, the layout for EE#2 is different than EE#1 which I alternated Blocks A & B for each horizontal row. I did this because I didn’t like the look of the four patches or checkerboards in Block A running up and down the quilt which is the reason why I came up with Block B as an alternate block. Well, surprise, surprise, after seeing something similar on Pinterest, I decided I did like this look after all. However, I did alternate vertical rows of Blocks A & B as you can see above.

The decision to use the Allison Glass fabrics for EE#2 was perfect because I had just the right amount and variety for the blocks. I have a bundle of fat eights of 16 prints each of the wovens and cross stitch to make the sixteen Blocks A and twelve fat quarters of Sun Print 2021 to make the twelve Block B. Both of these blocks use only two different fabrics and contrast can be made either by color or the type of print, ie., geometric, floral, etc.

It is important to note these following points:

• After choosing your two fabrics for each block, decide and remember which fabrics are going to be your #1 and #2
• For Block A, Fabric #1 was a woven and #2 was a cross stitch print
• For Block B in which prints were used, Fabric #1 was the darker of the two prints
• Press all seams according to the direction of the arrows and be sure Fabric #1 in both blocks is always on the top, left corner. If the blocks are pressed correctly, all the seams will nestle, whether the blocks are arranged like EE#2 or like EE#1
• Instructions are for either fat quarters or fat eights with 21” of useable fabric (no selvedge)
• All seams are 1/4”
• I am not affiliated with any of the products mentioned or featured in this post
• These blocks really are fun to make

Block A (these directions make only one block)

From each fat eighth or fat quarter combination, cut:

• (1) 4.5” x wofe/fq strip
• (1) 2.5” x wofe/fq strip

Arrange and sew according to the above photo and press seams up or towards Fabric #1

After the strip set is sewn, cut (8) 2.5” segments and arrange them by flipping the even rows as shown in the photo above.

After all the segments have been sewn together, first two segments together, then four and then the final two segments, press all row seams going up. This block should measure 12.5” x 16.5”.

(If  you want to make two of the same blocks, then you will need a fat quarter and cut twice the number of strips)

Block B (This will make two blocks)

From each fat quarter (fat eighths are not enough) combination, cut:

• (1) 4.5” x wofq strip
• (4) 2.5” x wofq strips

Sew two strip sets as shown above and pressed according to the direction of the arrows. Cut  (8) 2.5” segments from each strip set.

Arrange segments as shown, to make two blocks and  remembering Fabric #1 on the left corner should be the first row.

After all the segments for each blocks are sewn together, like Block A, press all row seams down.

BTW, cutting the 2.5”segments using my Creative Grid Stripology XL ruler was very helpful especially placing arrows at the 2.5” marks. It helped making these blocks go/sew fast.

And this is where the instructions or sort-of tutorial ends because depending on the layout you want will reflect the number of Block A and Block B are needed. For EE#2, I made fifteen Block A and ten Block B to make a 60”x80” quilt which is a generous lap size quilt. For EE#1, with alternating blocks on each row, I made thirteen Block A and twelve Block B, also the same size as EE#2.

These blocks sew fast-Freakishly Fast. As mentioned before, the seams will nestle no matter which layout you chose, even if you just make Block A or B-just be sure to follow the pressing arrows. I started cutting and sewing the blocks on Friday evening, all twenty-five blocks were sewn on Saturday, quilted on Sunday and bound and finish this past Monday. When I first started sewing the blocks, I would cut and sew only one at a time and gradually as I got into a rhythm, I would make cut and sew three or four at a time.

Another Tip, it never hurts to make extra blocks. I made sixteen Block A and only needed fifteen and made twelve Block B and only needed ten. It turned out these blocks were going to be rejects because the yellow Block A looked faded compared to the other blocks and the two Block B also looked wrong with the other blocks. Plus, these two blocks were the only ones that I had problems with the seams matching which I think Quilt Karma was making sure they didn’t make it in EE#2 because they would have stuck out like a sore thumb. 

And here are some deets on the finishing of EE#2:

• I did not follow my tip of buying yardage for binding whenever precut bundles are purchased. I feel sort of bad or being unfaithful by using yardage of a multi-color Timeless Treasure print called Day Dreaming which had the same colors as the Alison Glass fabrics. I thought of ordering yardage of one of the Woven print but then again I needed this quilt to be finished now and not later.
• As a way of justifying the binding used, I did use another fabric line, Whistler Studio 108” backing print called Medallion for the back.
• I machine quilted straight horizontal and vertical lines with two different #50wt Aurifil threads; #2105 Light Yellow for the top which blended well with all of the different colors and glad I didn’t used the variegated which would have added more color which EE#2 didn’t need and a Dark Gray for the bottom which I also liked how it blended with the colorful backing.
• My quilting stitches looked more nice and even than usual and I attributed it to quilting slower and not as quick as when I piece. You may already know this but this is the first time I should have realized this.

My last tip for this post is after sewing the binding down the first time, I had a lot of threads to trim before finally sewing the binding down the second time. I used a Clover Clip to mark where I started the clean up because there have been times I may have gone around one and a half times doing this.

And now for the final and best reason as to why Ernie Express #2 needed to be a Finally Finish before leaving for our road trip at the end of the week. It’s because we’re going to be stopping by to see Ernie, the American Farm Tiger who resides at the house where Mary Etherington, Country Threads also happens to live for a quick visit. I wanted Ernie, the Quilt Muse for all of the Ernie Quilts made in his name to bless my EE#2 quilt. As long as I bring him treats, he will bless anything. I wanted to include a photo of him sitting on EE#2 in this post but since we’re traveling and sometimes the WiFi is iffy, I rather post now than later. I’ll be sure to post a photo on Instagram and maybe a sort of sneak peek of my secret sewing project which would look good hanging in Mary’s garden.

I think Ernie Express #2 is a fitting quilt to end the month of August. I apologize for some of the graphics/photos in this post, I’ve just become reacquainted with PicMonkey and it’s a little different using it on an IPad versus my Mac computer. And if you’re reading this post from Kathleen’s Linky Party, I hope my instructions/sort-of tutorial was understandable and enough tips were shared so you don’t think I’m being a party crasher.

Linking up with: Tips and Tutorials on the 22nd and My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

Innocent Crush Patchwork Throw

My Innocent Crush Patchwork Throw is my August finish for the Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. Like my July Finish, my August UFO was finished early and involved HSTs waiting to be assembled into a quilt. I knew once I decided on a layout for the blocks, I wanted this to be a quick and easy finish, so the plan was to make it a Patchwork Throw by only adding a plush backing and no batting.

This Patchwork Throw has been in the makings for over ten years when the Innocent Crush fabrics designed by Anna Maria Horner was released in 2010. I purchased a Fat Quarter Shop Designer Bundle of twelve fat quarters along with a yard cut of the red Mixed Signal print which came in handy once I decided on the layout. Whenever I purchase pre-cuts, I always try to remember to buy yardage of one of the prints for binding.  Since this project was started before I began blogging and using an iPhone to record my quilting activity, the best I can remember is the HSTs were probably made after the fat quarter bundle was sitting around for at least five years and I decided to use these mostly large prints for HSTs after I purchased an 8” HST die. To the best of my recollection and forgetting to look through my old quilt planners to verify the dates, these HSTs were made at least five years ago and the last time I looked at these HSTs was almost four years ago. Along with the twelve fat quarters from the bundle, I also cut a fat quarter from the red Mixed Signal print since it was not included in the bundle so fifty-six HSTs were sewn. I only needed fifty-four for the top.

When I started working with the HSTs, I couldn’t remember the name of the fabric collection and spent some time online searching the many Anna Maria Horner fabric lines to determine which one it was and of course had I looked at the yard cut of fabric I had, the name was was on the selvedge. (And then again I could have also found it had I look through my old planners.) This lovely group of fabrics has lovely shades of teal, lavender, pinks, blue and rusty reds so I decided to make flying geese blocks with the boldest colors which were mostly reds and blues for the points. These blocks measure 8”x16” (finished).

When I first started laying out the flying geese blocks point side down on my design board, my initial plan was not to match the sides but decided I liked the look of the flying geese blocks linking although some of the same prints are too close together for my liking. When the blocks were originally laid out with the points down, I thought of naming the quilt Half Hearted but decided I like the layout better with the points up. The remaining yardage of the red Mixed Signal print which I intended for the binding was used instead to add a four-inch pieced border on the sides so the top would measure 56”x72”.

Since my plan was to make a Patchwork Throw, the layout wasn’t too important and not so noticeable because once the plush backing was added,  it would look nice scrunched up on a chair or sofa. My favorite plush Chenille backing was used along with a black and gray mini check for the binding.

My first Patchwork Throw was made around five years ago when I wanted to make a quick quilt for my Godmother who had knee surgery from an accident and was going to be recovering in a convalescence home. I had HSTs already made with Amy Butler fabric, which were made the same time as the Innocent Crush HSTs, and some apple green Minky. It turned out great. The lessons I learned with this throw is to use sewing machine needles for knits, ball points, polyester thread and baste well. Also, you only need to do simple quilting since there is no batting in between and I find when I do too much quilting, it makes the throw too puffy. This is the only Patchwork Throw I’ve self bind with the Minky and I am wondering why I decided to start binding them. BTW, I made quite a few of these Amy Butler HSTs and have enough left to make another Patchwork Throw which I added to this year’s Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge so you may see it sooner or later.

Patchwork Throws really are quick and easy to make, especially if you already have a flimsy made. We’re in the midst of a heat wave as well as other parts of this U.S. so I’m thinking in around sixty days, my Innocent Crush Patchwork Throw will be very much appreciated and snug worthy. I’m hoping I will be able to see my friend by then so I can give her this very belated gift.

And speaking of gifts, this quilt formerly known as the Jolly Jinny Jungle Quilt has now been renamed as the Wetland Quilt and given to my favorite nephew, Jim, in celebration of his recent marriage and his new position as the Director of the James Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center in South Carolina. I’m so glad I had just the right quilt to give him and although I miss it, I can always make another quilt with these fabrics since I still have some leftover fabrics and blocks.

Before I end this post, I thought a share a peek of the secret sewing I’m doing in preparation of an upcoming Blog Hop in September for a new quilt publication to be released on August 23rd which is absolutely wonderful. More details and peeks to follow.

I’m glad my August commitment  is finished because the rest of the month we will be busy traveling to and from the Grandparent House and looking forward to an upcoming road trip to Colorado. Hoping to stay healthy and for you too, as well as having an Awesome August.

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation/NTT