Quilt Reveal: One Tree

 

 

I was minding my own business, thinking about what fabric to use for the binding for the camel quilt that I didn't manage to finish last year. It is a small quilt and a thought occurred to me that I am so glad the Project Quilting challenge helped motivate me to finish a bunch of small quilts early last year. Then, I wondered about when they would start a new challenge. I looked up the blog and see that a challenge has already been announced! It is The First One. This was on Thursday, which means my time to complete it is even more limited than usual. But it should be an easy challenge since you can just use one of something. 

Before I could even decide whether I am willing to do the challenge with such limited time, I clicked on a YouTube video of Irene of Sugaridoo showing her WIPs. One of them was her One Two Tree quilt that was a part of a quilt-along that I wanted to join but was too busy at the time. The pattern is free if you click on the link. 

Did you notice the word One in the title? What if I just make one tree and use that as my challenge? It looks like a very simple tree and looks like it will be quick to make.

Zoey, cancel all my plans. I need an emergency quilt retreat!

Then I got the bright idea that I could use one color - all greens - to really use the "One "rule. Of course it makes it harder to match the fabric. No, just add a beige and a brown and it will be fine. I found two other greens that will be fine with it. The good thing about Project Quilting is that because the deadline is so short, the first decision has to be the one I run with. There is no time for indecision when I have to get the quilt made on time.

 This Debbie Mumm acorn fabric has been sitting in my stash for a long time. One year, when I was trying to reduce the amount of fabric I had, I thought about giving it up. There is something about the shade of green that didn't really seem to match any other fabric. So I decided to use it for this project. I had been thinking about reducing the size of the tree, but once I found this fabric, I figured I could use up more if I made it full size.

I didn't take any in progress photos so now you can see the finished quilt photos. If any of you are complaining that there is black in the acorn fabric and white, yellow and pink in the background fabric, don't be hating on the fabric designers. They didn't know I would want to make an all green quilt in 2023. Besides, since I usually buy fabric on clearance, they wouldn't cater to my needs even if they did know.

Here it is, my family tree.

 

The original pattern calls for paper piecing, but I used improv to make the corners of the tree. The video makes it look easy, but I decided I didn't have the patience to learn it in a day. It worked out well. I had to piece the batting. I quilted a grid on it, like one of the quilts Irene made. Even though I used a walking foot, it did form a couple little tucks. Since I was just making some organic lines, some of the lines look like I missed the ditch, but I wasn't aiming for the ditch.

I was able to use the acorn fabric for the back as well.

Usually, to join the binding, I tuck it into the other part of the binding and applique it. This time, I sewed it properly. So I don't have the lump I get in some of my quilts, no matter how small I try to make the overlap.

So I made a modern quilt using Debbie Mumm fabric. It is mighty tempting to add some embellishment, but I will resist.

 For its glamor shot, I tried to find a stuffed animal, but I don't have a squirrel. I do have this applique template, but now I am tempted to add a squirrel.

2023: 15 Minutes to Stitch Week 1

I am so happy that Kate is hosting the 15 Minutes to Stitch again this year. She made a beautiful button for it too. 

I have a strong finish to start off the year, working on the camel and the tree.

 

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 7 out of 7 days

Success rate  = 100%

Edited to add: I couldn't resist.

It doesn't look as lumpy in real life as it does in the photo.

A Recap of My Quilting Life for the Year 2022

 

Image by Harisankar Sahoo from Pixabay.

In this post, I go over my posts during the year and give you a summary. of the quilts I made, and any big events. I make a yearly recap every year.  Like last year, I did not have any rules - I could start and finish as many quilts as I wanted without any guilt. The key was just to enjoy the journey. This lead to some fun finishes in 2022. Then I created a rule to finish more quilts than I started. Let's see how that affected my quilting.

January

 I started the year in problem solving mode. I wanted to find a better storage solution for me to keep my sewing space organized and bought two of these sets of drawers.

 I made Pink and Other Colors as a part of the weekly Project Quilting challenge. I made this in one week!

I made Flight in another weekly Project Quilt challenge.

Also in January, I worked on a UFO called Lansing Leaves. I finished the migrating geese borders by adding solid pieces and attached them to the center. I also pieced the backing with the scraps. Then I put it away. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

February 

 

In February, I made Orange 2-22-22 for another Project Quilting challenge. These challenges really help with my productivity. The fact that I could have a quilt finish on a fun date helped with the motivation too.

 

I also started the Aunt Daisy quilt. It is a traditional, full size bed quilt. It is fun to make these types of quilts, but although I have to be more productive to make the many pieces, there isn't a lot to show for it. I am calling it Jazzy Blues because of the colors I am using.

I made some postage stamp blocks. This is a long term leader / ender project.

March

 

In March, I picked up a different UFO, and tried to come up with different fixes. I finished quilting the body of Olympics Twist. I still need to finish quilting the borders. I also kept making blocks for the Postage Stamp and Jazzy Blues quilts.

 

April

 In April, work got really busy, to make up for the slow years and to accommodate different political decisions made by our customers. Zeus passed away during this crazy time.

May

 

Work continued to be busy in May with overtime, but I was able to devote a few minutes every day to finish Be YOUnique.

June

I didn't get much done in June, as work was even more busy than April and May. Why do two projects at a time when you can do four?

July

I spent my holiday weekend in the hospital getting my gall bladder removed.  I kept working on the Postage Stamp blocks and on the Jazzy Blues blocks.

August

In August, I finally had a small finish, USA, using the scraps from the Jazzy Blues blocks.

September

 I continued with making a Mini of the Month with Be a Peacock in a World of Ducks. The name is just to distinguish it from the other peacock quilt I made this year.

 

In September, I adopted a dog. I call her Zoey. She is very affectionate and energetic and requires a lot of training and attention so she has slowed down quilting progress.

October, November and December

Work got busy again, but without the overtime, I was able to make more Jazzy Blues blocks. I also played around with different layouts for this quilt. I also worked on moving the sewing room to another part of my house. 

 

I also spent a few minutes here and there continuing with my years-long Konmari project, where I touch everything in the house and decide whether I want to keep it. It's a big project because it is a big house but I've made lots of progress without burning out over the years by working on small areas at a time.

On the last week of the year, the lineup finished with Stand Tall.  I quilted the camel that is part of the same series, but alas, I did not have time to add the binding and embroidery on it.

Recap

 

So how did I do with my finish more than you start goal? Depends on how you do the math. Officially, I do not have more finishes than I have starts. I started seven quilts and finished seven. But I did make a lot of progress on the Jazzy Blues quilt - almost all of the blocks are made. I also made progress on three UFOs -  Olympics Twist, Postage Stamp, and  Lansing Leaves. I also quilted the camel quilt.

 

I am satisfied with the results. Having rigid rules would have meant that I shouldn't have started Jazzy Blues, knowing that it will be a big time commitment that will keep me from making other quilts. I enjoy it too much to follow that rigid rule.

 

I want to thank Wendy for her small quilt of the month challenge and Kate for 15 minutes to stitch challenge. They helped motivate me and gave me "permission: to enjoy myself and spend time quilting. I also want to thank all of my blog readers for coming and reading my ramblings. Your support means a lot to me.

Quilt Reveal: Stand Tall

 In September of 2019, I posted a tutorial of how to make some fabric collage animals. I made several different animals for the tutorial. When I put them away, I hadn't decided whether to put them all together in one quilt, or to make lots of little quilts. 

 

After all, how  meta is making a collage of blocks that are made with collage of fabrics. That would be fun, but that would require figuring how to join different size blocks and make them look cohesive. Also since the collaged animals will use a lot of quilting, and I wasn't thinking about doing a lot of quilting in the background, I am not sure whether the inconsistent quilting will cause any trouble.

Making them into individual quilts would be great to give me a head start on the small quilt of the month.

 

As we come to the end of 2022, I was thinking about the end of the year post.

Although I didn't have any rules for the year, I did have an idea that I could have more finishes than starts. A low key, low pressure goal. I just had to finish one more quilt than I started. How easy is that?

Earlier in the year, I had even pulled out some almost finished quilts that should have helped me reach the goal early so I could skate free the rest of the year. Well, as you can see, I haven't pulled it off yet. It is fine, since I started a big time, intensive quilt, I can forgive myself for reaching my goal. But still, I still have to admit defeat. I haven't had much success this year in quilting for 15 minutes a day. So a win on the quilting front would be nice.

I looked in the Cave of Wonder for quilts that would be quick to finish. Not a big, lap quilt, but a really small one. I pulled out the box of collage animals to see if I could make some more progress on them. And as you can tell by the pictures, a small quilt won out and here is the result. I quilted the markings on the giraffe and added a bead for the eye before binding it. I might add a three-dimensional tail but I am calling it finished it for now.

Rearranging

 I didn't realize its been so long. It's been a month since I last posted, but I have been thinking about you the whole time. This picture is supposed to be the original Aunt Daisy design, but I think I have the quarter square triangles turned in the wrong direction to match the original quilt..

 

I did some rearranging. I rearranged my sewing space. I have always sewn in the first floor of the house, and set up a station in my living room where I could sew.  Last week, I decided that I was at a place where I could stop using my family room as a family room and convert it to the sewing room. This means the living room can actually be used as a living room and my sewing mess can be out of view for the most part. There is better lighting in the new sewing room and I am really going to like it.

 

Even though I didn't sew a lot during this month, I spent a lot of time rearranging the Aunt Daisy blocks to see what layout I want to use. This is probably the last time I am going to have this combination of blocks and I want to take advantage of making lots of virtual quilts. 

 

The result is a kaleidoscope of quilts, where each picture looks slightly different than the previous one. There are actually about three blocks that I have switched around to make the changes - the half square triangles, the quarter square triangles have been kept in the same place but turned in a different direction. The tri recs and flying geese have been switched in the edges of the block.. I also alternated the direction of the tri recs.

They make a pretty kaleidoscope of patterns, but I have to decide on a layout in order to make a finished quilt. 

The photos make it hard to compare because the lighting keeps changing and I wasn't as successful of keeping the blocks properly lined up, getting a proper photo and cropping well. I am doing my best to compare the layouts and mentally correcting the issues.

 

 

Another person who made this quilt saw that it could make stars.

 

I am trying to decide what main block I want - a star, a diamond, etc. All the blocks above have a different block.

Then make changes in the edge to see what kind of alternate block and overall design it makes at the end.

 

I took the photos in three batches. In the first batch, I hadn't changed all the blocks on all four sides in the same layout so I had to delete most of them.

 I didn't realize until it was dark so some of the ones below are taken in indoor lighting, and my shadow got in them.

I took the third batch of pictures during daylight, but the light changed so all those don't look the same either.

I guess this means that some of the layouts may be repeated in these pictures.

I still have more triangles to make before I have to start putting them together so I have some time.

These also remind me of tiles.

I kept the pictures small so that you could see the overall design easier.

 And not use all of your bandwidth. I hope it lets you look at a closer picture if you want to see it bigger.

A lot of the alternate block photos have the star in the center, mostly because I wanted to look at the alternate block without focusing on the star, but the overall quilt looks different based on which combination is used.

2022: 15 Minutes to Stitch Weeks 43, 44, 45, 46, 47

 

I worked on Jazzy Blues layouts and switched out the sewing room. I have been working, training Zoey and still working on my massive Konmari project which requires me to touch every single thing in the house. I did a small bit of sewing but for the most part, I haven't had much time to sew.

15 minute days these weeks --14 out of 35

15 minute days this year -- 229 out of 331 days

Success rate  = 69%

 

Linked with Life in Pieces: Stitching Stuff

Jazzy Blues Progress

 

After a long lull without sewing, I have been making progress on the Jazzy Blues quilt. This quilt is a part of a quilt along, named Aunt Daisy. All the blocks have been released and many people have already finished their quilts. There are a lot of beautiful colorways showing up on my Facebook feed, and only a couple with alternate layouts.

Last week, I spent a fifteen minute session making a trial equilateral triangle block. I have a acrylic template set to help me make them, but don't have directions. I figured it was probably already taking the seam allowance into consideration, but I decided to make it big and trim if I needed. It worked out perfectly (except for the trimming I didn't need).

 

 

So this week, I made a whole bunch of triangle blocks. I didn't make the number required because I wanted to try out different layouts and decide before making these blocks.

I need to make more of these, and also some in the contrasting colorway. Then I played with some choices. I don't think I will ever have this many different blocks available so it is fun to play around and see what kinds of designs they can make.

Did you notice that my design choices have 25 components?

That number doesn't include all the blocks that I made. The actually block has more components.

This is more like the actual layout, except I haven't made the alternate colorway for the equilateral triangle blocks yet. Can I just say that I am so impressed with the original designer of this block? There are 49 pieces and so many different types of components.

Plus, this block is so big that I don't really have a good place to lay it out. I put it on top of the crate, but then it isn't easy to photograph it or look at the layout. For some reason, my desktop isn't tiling the background picture so I will have to figure out a different way to see how this will look in a quilt.

2022: 15 Minutes to Stitch Weeks 40, 41, 42

 

 

I worked on Jazzy Blues this week, although I did take a look at the Olympics quilt. I am not going to meet my goal of finishing more quilts than I start if I don't finish two quilts this year. I might finish another couple of quilt tops in the flimsy closet instead, but the Olympics quilt is closest to being done.

15 minute days these weeks --8 out of 21

15 minute days this year -- 215 out of 296 days

Success rate  = 77%

 

Linked with Life in Pieces: Stitching Stuff