The Value in the Umbrellas - Off the Wall Friday

 I'm so happy to be sewing regularly again.  I try to get in a couple of hours a day which goes a long way at getting a quilt done...go figure!  Progress Report on the Umbrella Quilt....40 Umbrella Blocks done ... 40 Fussy Cut Little Girl Blocks Done ... 10 Pin Wheel Blocks Done. (For the record I literally had to take out my first quilt book I ever used to remember how to do quilt block math and get my half square triangles to come out right .... how soon we forget!! )

I stopped right there and looked at all these little 6 in blocks I had amassed.  A lot of blocks considering I had  no set in mind.  I do know what I didn't like in the original pattern set.  It was #1 the lack of Underlying Value  & #2 Not Enough Whimsy for the Cute Fabric.  Now this isn't a criticism of the original designer.  The pattern was suppose to be for a beginner quilter who wanted to get her feet wet in EPP and applique.  But my obsession with the Abbie fabric line has moved well beyond THAT.

The original Quilt Pattern

I have been  brainstorming some ideas.  I found plenty of more of the Abbie fabric line to play with so that was no problem, but one thing I've noticed.....a lot of the prints read the same value.  With so many middle medium values, it's hard to put together a quilt design.  Luckily there are some really nice lights around those little girls, but nearly enough darks for my taste.  So I started there.

Since a good idea is to ALWAYS MAKE VISUAL DECISIONS VISUALLY....up the blocks went for a quick mock up.

The pinwheels are working ...with more of them they are adding some much needed movement and whimsy to it .... but they are still sorta all medium-medium.

See how just a little black makes everything around it pop?!  Now the question is how much black and where.  One thing I did not like about this collection is only one dark-dark - a black - sighhhhhhhh.  EVERY COLLECTION needs some really good light - lights and some good darks-darks!

There is this idea hmmmmmm but I don't know ....I'm thinking these blocks are too big - they would have be way littler if I do it!!

Anyways that's where I'm at......

Since I'm finally heading to go see my parents this weekend ... yes across state lines...Call Gov Cuomo and Gov Wolfe....I'm making a jail break.... the umbrellas will have to wait a bit.  I have some good ideas though to add a bit more whimsy to it and some scrappy bits.  Every little girl's quilt needs some scrappy bits.  

Honestly with my own princess turning 23, this might just have to get done waiting for her first daughter.  OMG did I just say that?!?!?!  These Abbie prints ARE getting to me.

So What Have Been Up to Creatively?!

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The Boredom of the New Normal on Off the Wall Friday

 I truly want to just slap the person who coined the phrase, "The New Normal".  There is nothing normal about what the country is going through right now .  Not to mention when your days are filled with social distancing nothing "New" ever really happens.  A trip to get groceries feels like your big day out!

I blame this for the reason I broke down this week and pulled out a new project without really finishing any of the ones I have going.  This spring I saw on ebay where a widowed husband was auctioning off

the over 200 quilt kits of his late wife.  (Yes...200....!!!!)  Of course, I had  to help the gent out, saw Sue Daley's Rainy Days and bought it for myself.  Don't ask me why I fell in love with it.  Must have appealed to the little girl in me!!  Not to mention, it was a stroke of genius to put it all in this nice little suitcase that can be repurposed later!  So there that suitcase sat in my bedroom for months just tempting me to start it.  Since I was bored.....I did!!

Wow....I've said it before but doing kits really is a good idea.   It not only to helps you learn how to think like the pattern designer but it also gets you to  create in a way you wouldn't normally create in. The quilt combines beginner piecing with beginner English Paper Piecing.  Easy right????  Well,  I don't think in my 28 years of quilting have I ever used a plastic template to rotary cut around something over ....and ...over.....and....over. (I knew I bought that tiny rotary cutter for something!)  Sue also shows how to glue baste her her pieces instead of thread baste which I plan to try.  I like the planned layout but I still think there can be more to the quilt so I think I'm going to hunt down more fabric and add a bit more piecing to it.  I mean ...well... more is more...right?!  

Anyways, I spent the week trying to figure out exactly what Sue wanted me to do.  Then I spent hours cutting everything out and hopefully next week I'll have more to show!

Under this week's things I like.....

I taught myself how to order progressive glasses online and I'm all proud.  For years, I've been too scared to try and I honestly didn't think it would work.  Well, what better time to try it than during a global pandemic?!  A few hours later...and  for about $100 I have an excellent pair of new glasses.  I would say I save myself $200 but since I plan on buying a couple of pairs more...it would be a lie.  But gosh, I always wanted to have glasses to fit my moods and now I can!!

I got them at EyeBuyDirect probably because they were the cheapest and have a great reputation.  But there are a lot of perfectly good sites out there to try.  I highly recommend you get brave and give it a try! 

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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Traditional Quilting - Off the Wall Friday

So the couple of weeks, I've gotten back to my roots and have been working on a block of the month quilt.  No matter how much art quilting I do, I still love traditional quilting.  It might be because it always reminds me of the first years when I learned to quilt and how excited I was to have finally found my passion.  Or it might be that it has its roots so solidly in American history.  Or it might be that it usually doesn't take a lot of brain power to make something beautiful.

Well usually. . . . . but maybe not this time.  I've been working on block of the month quilt that I got

This is what is suppose to look like when finished!!

for my birthday last summer from Craftsy.  It was such a super deal (and its even gone cheaper now- $53 for the material kit, pattern AND class) that I couldn't resist it.   One of the things that drew me to the quilt is that it contained some techniques that I wanted to hone so I could use them in my own work.  This quilt has a TON of them.

The first one is paper piecing.  Now, I know how to paper piece and even draft my own patterns.  But, it always takes a lot of brain power to get it just right.  The first part of the quilt is the center medallion with a lot of sharp precisely paper pieced points (say that three times fast!).

First thing I learned - Paper Piecing Sheets are worth the money

I love how they easily sew up and how easily they rip off.

Also if you need to rip out, they can be easily sewn again

 

The quilt comes with its own craftsy class to help guide you through the quilt.  The camera work is

excellent so you can really tell what he is doing and watching how he gets all his points so sharp.  The teacher also teaches you how to keep your paper piecing nice and neat.

Second thing I learned - Fold and Cut Seam allowance

You fold along the seam line and trim a quarter inch seam.

This makes your paper piecing as neat or neater than traditional piecing

plus helps you piece your points just right

With all the paper pieces blocks done, I'm now sewing them together.  With this I'm remembering something that I've seemed to have forgotten.

Getting all your points to match is not as easy as it looks

Ohhh yeah, I knew there was a reason I don't do a ton of traditional quilting.  I've spent a lot of time ripping out and getting the points just right because with this quilt it makes a big difference.  

Still  I'm having a lot of fun doing this and it reminds me why I fell in love with quilting in the first place.  Still after I ripped out the same seam - 4 - yes - 4 times I was reminded of Jenny's comment to me last week. . . . .

"Sometimes you just need to sew somewhat mindlessly to get back in the groove."

Ohhhhh yeah......that's right mindless........sighhhhhhhhh 

I'm Linking to  Finish or Not Friday

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?