Monday, January 27, 2020

Yo-Yo Progress


The little princess was tucked neatly into the bed.



This is how I found her in the morning. She must have found the pea. Or maybe Zeus decided he wanted to sleep on the bed.

Where we left off in making the yo-yos:


I used up all of the reproduction fabric Wendy gave me to make yo-yos (pillows) and mattresses. Or maybe they are coins and billion dollar bills.

I used up all of the English Garden fat quarter pack.

I used up the parts of the other fat quarter pack I had bought for this. It was designed to give the feel of the 1930s although I don't think it was reproduction fabrics.  I didn't add the whole pack because there were some fabrics I put in a scrap quilt. At the time I had a different idea of what colorway I was using for this coverlet.


This is where we are now:

 


This is what 700 yo-yos look like together, minus a few that were too shy to get in the group shot. Only a few left to go.

I also went through my stash to find other fabric to use. Mostly micro-floral, dots and checks. A lot of these are calicos from the 80s and 90s so I am happy to finally give them a place to shine.

This coverlet uses a lot of fabric because the front and the back of the coverlet is being made at the same time.  And there is more fabric waste in cutting circles instead of squares. I don't understand how yo-yos were a depression era pattern because it is wasteful.


The additional fabrics were more saturated colors and darker that were added that changed the direction of the colorway I was using. In my defense, it is winter. And let's face it, I wouldn't have been able to make a pastel quilt in the spring either, unless I chose all the fabric at once and stuck with them throughout the making. I love the look of it, but like a minimal quilt, it is hard for me to do.

The last few (56) yo-yos have mostly pinks in them.

While the resulting yo-yo pile looks like a mishmash of everything, I was very selective in what I was adding.  I let intuition be my guide and can't really tell you why a particular fabric was selected or rejected. Hopefully they all play together nicely. What do you think? Do you see any fabric that doesn't belong?

2020:  Week 4 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

I spent this week making  yo-yos and mattresses for a yo-yo coverlet I am making to reproduce the one I saw in New Orleans. That one was all one color (cream).

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7 days
15 minute days this year -- 7 out of 26 days
Success rate  = 100%

Linked with:
Life in Pieces: 15 Minutes to Stitch 
Put Your Foot Down - Linky Party Thursday 
Peacock Party 
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop

13 comments:

Kyle said...

OH, my, that is a ton of yoyo's. I think you should have a prize for being persistent. Your little princess must have discovered a pea under all those mattresses.

Wendy Caton Reed said...

I don't see a single fabric out of place! WHat a heap of yo yos! I started sorting fabrics last week for the squares (yes, I have decided to do squares instead of my original thought of rectangles). I love your variety of fabics. I have decided to make my squares all the same fabric on the front and all different on the back. I am so excited about this project. Thanks again for the inspiration. And, if you need more 30's fabric ANYTIME, just let me know. I still have quite a pile!

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I can't see anything that doesn't belong; the mix looks wonderful to me. You are to be commended on your tenacity with this project! I agree about the wastefulness... hard to reconcile. Your pea was discovered!

Robin said...

I wouldn't change a thing. Put all those yo-yos in a big gallon jar to store because it would make a cute display while you are sewing away.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

In the depression era they were probably using scraps from dressmaking which had all kind of curves and angles. Actually it would have been harder to cut a square from those scraps than circles. I was a dressmaker for many years and I loved my odd shaped scraps.

Nicole said...

That is impressive! Because I'm new here, what size are the yo-yos?

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Great job on the yo-yos! They sure make a colorful yo-yo mountain!!!

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

The yo-yo's look great! I'm all for pink - love it. Will you go through a mourning process once the last 56 are made? You may miss making them!

Tanya said...

Look at all those yo-yos! Great for using up fabric that's for sure so I guess I wouldn't worry about waste. I was making quite a few last year (80?) and they do keep the hands busy. I was thinking I'd could make a few more and construct a wiener dog from them... I've seen that somewhere..

Kate said...

Your Yo-Yo's look great. You've got a nice variety of colors and shades, nothing seemed to scream "I don't belong". Congrats on all the stitching time. Hope this week was as good on that front.

PaintedThread said...

Whoa! What a pile of yo-yos!

Kim said...

Just look at all those yummy yo-yos! Why, I think every little one looks as if it belongs. Gosh, that is a lot of stitching. I cannot wait to see them all dancing together.

For the love of geese said...

They all look wonderful to me. I never thought of the waste created by cutting circles, you are correct. Perhaps they used up the small scraps and had minimal waste. Just the corners which wouldn't have been so wasteful. That is a lot of yo-yo's. I hope you'll come back and share its finish to Put your foot down. Thank you for linking up Thursday.