Quilt Reveal: Pinwheels

I have finished my latest quilt. It is relatively small 12" x 36" so it a mini quilt or a table runner.  It is my mini quilt of the month for the month of July.

The blocks were started in October 2010. While some quilts are delayed because of some problem, this one was delayed because I thoroughly enjoyed making the blocks. Once the components are made, they can be switched around and placed in different ways to form blocks that look very different from each other. I planned on making even more components to find more ways to form these blocks.

In May, I pulled out the blocks again. I decided to finish these blocks off into a quilt and experiment with more blocks at a later date.

The original plan was a 2 x 2 layout, but once I saw that a 1 x 4 layout let each block shine on its own, everything fell in place and it was easy to make the quilt top.

Then some things happened and this quilt top waited for me to finish it.

Sandwiching it was easy, since the backing fabric and the batting were already cut to size.  I haven't used the sewing machines in a while, and I still had post traumatic shock from the last time I used them. I broke needles, and a needle holder, and when I took the one machine to the shop, it got waylaid in the coronavirus store closing, and then I had to pick it up from another town quickly. "Come today because we might shut down tomorrow and then we don't know when you will be able to get your machine back."

The quilting is simple to let the quilt blocks shine, and since the busy border wouldn't show the quilting much anyway.  Straight lines to avoid any trauma.  I was originally planning on quilting horizontal lines on the longer borders, but I was afraid that there might be some puckering where the lines crossed, and I wanted this quilt to be as stress free as possible. Straight vertical lines did mean more turning (since I didn't quilt through the pinwheels), and more rows to quilt, but it is a small quilt so it wasn't a big deal.

I didn't have enough of the backing / border fabric for a separate double fold binding, but I did have enough for a fold over binding. I haven't done that very often, but I did write a tutorial the last time I did it.  Since it wasn't planned, I did have to rip out some parts where I had sewn past the quilt top, but it wasn't very much. Since I quilted all the way to the edge, I trimmed the quilt slightly past the quilt top to avoid cutting the backing and kept the binding wide enough to cover that gap. Since it is the same fabric as the border, it looks great!

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Finished or Not Friday

Week 30 Already

There was a sudden change of circumstances for my employer last week. My last day of work this time around last Friday, so I have been out of work this week.  This meant I should have more time for quilting, but I spent my newfound time working in the basement, not 40 hours, but a few minutes a day. I am bringing up one box at a time to process it.

It is starting to look better and I am optimistic that I will be able to go through everything and make it better.  I am not going to give myself a deadline, but just keep working on continual progress.

2020:  Week 30 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

Don't be shocked by my timely post. This week, I decided to turn on the sewing machine. I am quilting the mini quilt I have been thinking about for months. The blocks were started in October 2010, and I was hoping to finish them as a mini of the month for May. The quilting will be simple, and I would love to be able to present it as a mini for July.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 154 out of 208 days
Success rate  = 74%

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Kate's Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 Minutes to Stitch

I am a couple of days late with my 15 minutes to stitch recap.  To my credit, it is much better than my lateness in some other weeks. I stitched this dog a few weeks ago.

2020:  Week 29 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

During this week, which was chronologically last week, I stitched the tea cup.

I also thought of ideas for the memorial block.  Right now, I think that instead of making a block with headstones with names on them, I might make a little booklet instead. I really like the idea of a cemetery gate, and a booklet will let me do that without taking up a lot of space. Also people can look into the booklet when they are ready to do so, or just walk by the pretty gate when they aren't ready. There are about a dozen names I want to include (a few of them are out of the 2002-2020 range, but it seems remiss to not include them) so they possibly would need more than one cemetery block if I made headstones on the quilt itself unless I wrote really small.

There were a few births in this time period too, but I haven't counted how many they were. But statistically they were probably about a dozen of those too. I hadn't thought about adding those, but that would also be more fair.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 147 out of 201 days
Success rate  = 73%

Motif Planning

When I select motifs for the inspirational quote quilt, I look for designs that are simple to stitch. Designs that are calming or whimsical, that potentially bring a smile or a sigh of contentment or peace to the viewer. But since it is made during a long time frame 2002-2020, I considered adding some historical reference. Since I had added the corona-virus block, maybe some references to other things that happened during this time period.

I immediately thought about 9/11, but that happened before 2002.  It was something that probably affected the fabric and the quotes that were chosen, but didn't happen in the 2002-2020 time range. Thinking about the other things that happened in this time range, the biggest thing that popped to mind are the deaths that have happened in the extended family. There have been several uncles and an aunt who have passed away in this time period. The more I thought about more I thought I should add their names to the quilt.

Maybe if I could think of a way to add the information, I could decide whether to do it.  I thought about adding a name of the family members near the each sprig of flowers. Maybe a cemetery block so they could be together and a name doesn't get hidden in all the embroidery. Headstones with names on them. With a cemetery block, people could avoid that one block if they were feeling especially vulnerable.

While I was debating whether I wanted to add these sad reminders in a quilt that was designed to be comforting, there was another death in the family. My brother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the end of June.

I haven't been sewing since then, but I do plan to get back to it soon.

2020:  Week 25-28 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last update. I stitched a dog the first week in this time period, but haven't done any stitching since then. I have chosen more designs to add to the quilt though.

15 minute days this week -- 1 out of 28
15 minute days this year -- 140 out of 194 days
Success rate  = 72%

Linked with:
Life in Stitches, 15 Minutes to Stitch

Additions to the Quote Quilt

It is amazing how much quilting you can get done when you are procrastinating cleaning out the basement!  I had a week of evenings working on the quote quilt while listening to an audiobook while keeping Zeus company as he fretted over fireworks or thunderstorms, depending on the day.

This space was supposed to be filled with a scene but I kept thinking of motifs I wanted to add so it became that instead.

This guy was sitting in the inspiration photo but standing seemed better for the quote so I am leaving his legs like that. Plus I don't feel like drawing the legs.
 

I keep saying how excited I am about putting the dates of this quilt on the label. I couldn't wait so I went ahead and put the dates on the quilt. The squirrel will subtly help explain the long time period of the quilt's process. Now I really have to get it done this year. I don't think it can wait until 2200!

2020:  Week 24 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

This was cleanup week for the project that didn't happen at work.  The current job is expected to continue for several weeks.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 139 out of 152 days
Success rate  = 91%

Two More Weekly Stitching Reports

I joined a food delivery service for the adventure of it.  Just a couple of weeks worth to see how it was and try out different foods. It is fun, but the dishes have a lot of calories, and there is a lot of the cost is in the packaging and delivery. It was a nice change of pace though.

 

2020:  Week 22 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

I didn't do any stitching this week.  We had a lot of rain last week, and a tiny trickle of water in the basement.  Although there wasn't any damage in our basement, there was a big flood in the backyard.  To avoid a future disaster, I have moved up the decluttering schedule of the basement. I wanted to wait until the sewing room and guest rooms were done since they are more public than the basement, but I haven't let anyone in the house since the coronavirus situation, so they are all private spaces anyway. My visitors talk to me on the porch, six feet away from me.

The progress in the basement has been going well. It is also a few minutes at a time so it will take a long time to get through, but so far, the decision-making has been fairly easy and it has been easy for me to remove a lot of things out.

15 minute days this week -- 0 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 125 out of 138 days
Success rate  = 91%

Somehow, the days I don't sew affect the success rate more than the days I do sew. I just dropped from 96% to 91%.

2020:  Week 23 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

I did more enjoyable stitching on the quote quilt this week.  I added the two things shown in these pictures and added the dates on the squirrel.  It explains to the quilters why it took so long to make the quilt. "2002-2020". Now I really HAVE to finish the quilt this year.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 132 out of 145 days
Success rate  = 91%

See what I mean? I stitched 7 days this week but the success rate stayed the same. That's all right, it is still an A based on my grading scale!

Two Weeks of Stitching

I skipped my stitching report last week because I didn't have much to show for my work, and not much photographic evidence. It is nicer this week since I have pictures to share now.  I'll share the mini quilt when it is finished, hopefully by the end of the month, so these photos are of the quote quilt.

2020:  Week 20 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

Last week, I managed to work on my mini quilt every day, but they were tiny pieces of time. I don't clock my time since I generally pass 15 minutes, so even though I am not sure if it was actually 15 minutes a day, I am counting them anyway.

A lot of of the time was choosing and debating the sashing fabric. After debate, I went back to the original choice, which means I spent a lot of time without forward motion, but at least now I know I am satisfied with the choice of sashing. Also there were days when my work was just cutting and pinning and no sewing, which feels like it is not noteworthy but it does move the progress forward.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 125 out of 131 days
Success rate  = 95%

 

2020:  Week 21 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

This week, I added the borders to the blue and white pinwheel mini quilt.  I've decided the border is too wide but trimming it down should be easy. I also picked up the quote quilt and enjoyed adding some more stitches to it. I decided to draw the girl on the swing instead of embroidering her.  The draft looked better than the drawing, but I think she adds a nice whimsy to the quilt.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 132 out of 138 days
Success rate  = 96%

Linked with:
Kate's Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch 
Design Wall Monday