Making Twine

A few weeks ago I found a new-to-me blog, Hester's Handmade Home.  Her youtube page has this super cool tutorial for making fabric twine.  At first I was like, sure, that's cool, but I'd rather make a string quilt.  But then, last week I tried to destash some scraps on facebook and instagram.. and even after filling and shipping boxes to other scrap loving friends, I still had SO MANY SCRAPS.

Like, so many.  It was obvious that I had tons and tons of strings that will probably never end up in any quilt, as much as I would like them to.  So I recruited George to help pull strings of desired width and length, and I started twisting..

And twisting and twisting and twisting.  It's pretty easy and kind of addictive.  I only stopped when my arms started to hurt.  It's very easy to change colors, absolutely no stitching involved.

I made enough to wind around the tree as garland and called it a day.  Very simple and fast project, used up some neglected scraps.. like this sheet music print that had been sitting in a bin since.. 2007??  Also great for the selvages I tear off and collect but never use.  1" wide was my minimum, but the portions that swelled to 2" were nice and hefty, giving the rope a nice weight.  Overall it doesn't really matter.  This "twine" isn't going to be weight bearing, and if it lasts for 2 or 3 Christmases, that's good enough for me.   I like having handmade on the tree (and everywhere, really) and George commented that he likes that our tree has ornaments of all shapes and sizes.

I definitely don't feel like I'm back in the loop again with all things crafty and bloggy and quilt industry-esque.  It's an awful lot to keep up with and I did voluntarily take myself out of the online quilt community for.. far too long.  Now it's kind of exciting to "discover" things and trends that other people have tried and gotten tired of already, but hey, I work at my own pace, always have.  What were your most and least favorite quilts-trends-bloggers from 2016?  Scrolling through Instagram all year, I can say there definitely were some popular ideas that... didn't quite fit with me.  But I'm curious to see what everyone else seems to think.   Have you discovered anything new?  Taken up a whole new hobby all together?   Even stopped quilting (Gasp!!)?  Please, do tell..

A mini quilt along

Now that, I think I can handle.
Remember when I was complaining that I want to sew other quilts, by machine, but my EPP obsession keeps pulling me back to the couch?  Well I just found Chase's Pack Patch Mini Quilt Along and I think this may be just what I need.

 Each week she is giving us two themes which we'll use to choose our fabrics and make the block.  The block above is my "true colors"-- I went with soft pink and navy, the colors I often choose to wear.  I don't usually quilt with them together though, so the block looks strange to me, yet familiar..
Another stipulation of the QAL is to only use fabric from your scrap bin.  I guess this assumes that quilters have only one scrap bin where they keep all their scraps.  Well.. that's not the case for me.  I've got 4 scrap bins that I can see from where I'm sitting, and there are at least 5 more upstairs.  Somehow I feel this mini quilt along really won't make a dent in my stash.. My point though is that the fabrics I used in block #1 aren't favorites, or even ones I really like.  I just grabbed them because they were the right color and size.  I wonder how often that will happen on this qal.  It is my usual method of fabric selection, but sometimes I wish I could focus a bit more and deliberately use fabrics I love.  These tiny blocks (the patches finish at 1") are a great excuse to use some of my cherished scraps, and when it came to do block #2, favorite colors, the fabric pull was pretty easy.  Turquoise and taupe.  I don't know how else to describe this grey-brown batik.. for me it falls into the range of taupes that I love to see but don't always remember to use.  Yes, I really should make this an exercise in deliberate fabric choices.

If you've got fabric scraps and aren't scared of tiny blocks, why not join in the fun?  The quilt along is happening over here on flickr.  Instructions for making the blocks are on Chase's blog. 
I haven't been hanging out on flickr lately (the changes to the page layout a while back just put me off), but their app seems to be pretty easy to navigate and there's lots of old friends and acquaintances that I haven't seen in a while, so I'm excited to get involved with this.  And after the 10 weeks, I'll have.. a mini quilt.  That'll be nice.

Monday Morning Star Count 5

37 tiny hexagons make one star.  Repeat.  And again, and again..
So I'm not that far yet, I don't even have a full star to show this week, but I have news to report-- I need more fabric.

I have basted all of the tiny crumb scraps I had in my sewing kit, and now I need to find more, yay!
I don't have to look far, honestly, but since we've been home I haven't really had time to "play" in the sewing room and things are pretty much the way I left them 7 weeks ago. (I do follow Victoria's tip to never clean/reorganize your studio before a long trip-- makes it easier to remember where you left things)

I'm happy because this means that I'm actually using up my tiny scraps-- some have been sitting here for over 10 years-- and it's always better to see favorite fabrics in a quilt than in a box, right?

How are things progressing at your end?  Anyone else need to replenish your fabric stash yet?

Why I prewash, a cautionary tale.

When it comes to "Quilting Rules" it's trendy to say that there are no rules, or that the "quilt police" are out of fashion.  But still, secretly (?) some of us stick to certain ways of doing things and passionately defend our positions when questioned.  For me, prewashing fabrics has become a sticking point..

Some people might think I'm crazy for prewashing because I wash all my fabric,  jelly rolls and layer cakes included.  I even wash gifted scraps, but I wasn't always so cautious.  

This weekend we drove up to Boston to visit friends, and I got to visit two of my quilts as well.  I made this one for Ayane before she was born (backstory here) and I have always loved it, so imagine my surprise when I spread it out and saw this:

Two of the blue fabrics I had used had bled.  They were gifted or scavanged scraps and I think they were hand dyed (possibly by whoever I got them from). Back then I didn't have a washing machine at home and didn't prewash. I took my chances, and look what happened.
Of course the quilt is still beautiful and definitely still functional,  but I wish I had been more careful and it would still be perfect.
So just a reminder. Please learn from my mistake.

Are there any "rules" that you secretly cling to?

October

isn't it fitting to make a spiderweb quilt in October?

I don't remember when I cut and pieced the first triangles for this one, with it's soothing taupe background, but I have been focused on it for the past week, and I hope to continue through the fall.  There really isn't a deadline, I want it to be big, big enough for our tall queen sized bed (at least 100" x 100"), and I don't really have the money to have it quilted yet, so I'm not rushing. 
I've wanted to make this one since I finished George's and daydreamed about it countless times as I pet the one that covers his bed.

New bedroom, new bed.  The quilt finally fits!

I love this pattern.  I love string quilts, but the spiderweb is very balanced, yet there's still so much to look at.  I'm happy that I've worked on a bunch of projects since I finished the first one, so my strip scrap stash is new, different, and overflowing. 

In this first set of blocks I've pieced, I'm subconciously drawn to coral-reds and yellows.  I was amazed at the lack of blue strips.. I don't like to give it much thought as I string piece-- choosing more based on size and contrast than color, but when I notice an unintentional theme emerging, I try to mix things up again. 

It's funny that even after just 16 triangles, or 4 blocks, I'm already bored of the strips in the scrap bin I've been pulling from.  I allowed myself to rifle through the misc-sized scrap bin and pull some strings, but I don't want to just take out all the pretty ones.  The uglies will never get used up if I keep passing them over, and who knows, when pieced in next to another block, the uglies might get cute again.
Have you seen AmandaJean's whole-cloth quilt?  that backing fabric, I totally understand what she mean when she said that she didn't know if it was horrible or beautiful, but there, in the quilt it ended up in, the fabric was perfect.  See, you never know..

Neglect

I have been astonishingly neglectful of my sewing room since I stopped spending time up there a month ago.  But really, things were chaotic going back as far as last semester...

How did I let it get so bad?  And now that I'm able, where do I start?

I am anxious to sew, but I think some organization is necessary before I play.  Too many things are lying around, too many ideas that might get wasted or lost if I just push them aside.

I've got to take the time to sort the toys from the scraps (what happens when you buy sewing time by letting him play with the scrap bins)  I found a plastic scorpion in with some confetti money and a framed photo of me and C..  George, does this mean anything?

I started consolidating the monochrome scrap bins because that storage system really wasn't working for me.  I want to go through and sort everything by size again, it's just easier for me to be productive.  Well, at least I hope I'll be productive again soon..

Retreat

re·treat n.
1. a. The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant.   (read: Real Life)
    b. The process of going backward or receding from a position or condition gained. (As in, forgetting all my quilting hang-ups, opening my eyes to new ways of doing things)
2. A place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security.
3. a. A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude.
    b. A period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, or study: a religious retreat.
 
(taken from thefreedictionary.com)
 
 
On Saturday, I spend the day at the home of a very thoughtful and generous friend.  8 of us gathered to sew with Victoria, in an amazing space decked out with tables, chairs, ironing boards, cutting mats, hot tea and homemade caramels.  At one point or another throughout the day it fit each of the definitions for "retreat" above. Peaceful, secure, withdrawal for meditation, contemplation.  I was only part of the retreat for less than 10 hours, but it really gave me a chance to think about things differently and appreciate things in a new way.
Some photos:

Mosaic Geese in Flight, 1890-1910
Folk Art Museum, maker unknown.



L>R: Me, Bonnie, Kim, Helen



V, taking the best photos.



Andrea



The sweatshop setup

 

Radiating Squares ready to go.

and look who we found in the scrap bin!

 Some realizations:

• Scrappy quilts don't have to be made with scraps.
• it's better to think less and sew more.
• women need other women.  (I knew this one, but had forgotten.)
• the AccuQuilt Go may well be a wise investment..
• I ♥ New York.

I'd love to expand on any of these ideas in their own posts if I find the time.  We'll see.

I'm still collecting my thoughts after the experience but I can tell you that my creative energy has been renewed and new ideas are flowing faster than I can jot them down.  The suitcase isn't unpacked yet though so I have nothing to show just yet.  Hopefully soon.  I have a lot of playing to do.

A Healthy Exercise

Thanks for the comments on my last post, with a big hug of thanks going to Victoria in particular..
I didn't realize i was in a box, but once you step outside of it, MAN, things become more clear (and fun, and interesting..)

I decided to try a sorting/color exercise and enlisted my favorite little helper.  I started with just the 5" strip bin and the bag of unsorted stuff hanging behind the door.  I found as many empty containers as I could, and we got to work..

For my containers I had to get a little creative.. yes, that's an ice bucket and a gravy separator. 

 Things started out going smoothly enough.  But then he started filling anything with fabric..

 He was having fun though so I just let him play with the unsorted bits as I tried to sort as fast as I could.  He did a lot of throwing fabric all over me and tossing it into a big overturned stool.

 This would be his, "What? Me? I didn't do it." face.

 I think it only took 40 minutes or so to go through that pile, but that was the limit of his patience with this activity (or, with mom paying more attention to fabric than to him) so I was glad I didn't bring down the other bins to sort.

 Now I have nice piles of color and not only was it fun to find fabrics I thought i had used up, but I learned a lot about my scrap stash as well.. for instance, I thought I had more purples.  I was expecting to have lots of green and blue, but I had no idea I had so much white.. the red & pink bin is a lot more red than i was expecting too..

Once they were all nicely sorted, someone decided to "water" the bins with the gravy separator.  How thoughtful of him.. Now I just need to get the bins upstairs and behind closed doors before he wakes up and wants to throw them all around the room again..

I would like to sort my other bins into these, but I'm more than a little hesitant-- first off, this haphazard arrangement of containers is not going to work.  Granted we probably don't need to ice bucket until we throw a party and the Halloween candy bowl is good for another 11 months, the whites are overflowing from the sand bucket, so I need better storage if I'm going to adopt this system on a long term basis.  Next, I really worry about sorting only by color and not by size.  Sure, by stepping out of my "size only" box i realized that my definition of a "scrap" is probably too limited and a lot more of my larger pieces would probably get used faster if I added them to this mix.  But what about when i want to make a multi-colored scrap project again?  I think I'm losing my control of the "random" factor when things are sorted by color.  wait, yes, i did just reread that.  Control of random?  is that my secret to quilting success?  hahaha. 
what i really need is for a few of you to come over and mess my stash up a bit.  then when the threads settle I'll see it all from a different light and get out of my old habits & predictable patterns...  What do you say? fabric party at my place?

My design wall is shrinking

or maybe i should try finishing one project before starting a new one and then they wouldn't have to fight for space and attention up there..

This weekend I went a little berzerk with a new variety of wonky log cabins.. Inspired by the upcoming bee at 15minutesplay, I wanted to work sew through some ideas and see what would happen if I tried "making" strips of color by crumb piecing my logs.  Here's my first:

nice, but I needed another go at it, I wasn't getting what I wanted in terms of the proportions:

I really liked how the fabrics played together in this one, though that bit with the house was a pain in the neck.  I also liked the light-square-in-a-dark-square thing going on once I put it on the design wall.  At this point I was feeling a sort of addiction take hold..so then I made a third:

As much as I wanted to do these, by the third round I was feeling a bit frustrated in the amount of time each "log" was taking to construct.  See, since last year (the start of my Spiderweb piecing, incidentally), I have been sorting my scraps by size and then shape:

• smaller than a Fat Quarter
• strips (separate piles for width of fabric, wider than 3", long and narrow, short and narrow, over 6"..)
• bits (in the same drawer go odd shaped pieces less than 10" square, stacks of same sized squares, baggies of leftover pieces from my own or inherited projects)
• small strips (5" or less)
• crumbs
• small triangles & corners

then there's a tub for unsorted scraps (freshly washed but not ironed, etc), and a big bag at the back of the door for any scraps i found on the floor when I rearranged the furniture-- mostly washed but unsorted. 

These are the bins, shoeboxes & drawers I usually pull from before I go to yardage.  I like having them all sorted by size because I can always find the size I need without having to wade thorough a huge scrap bin of irrelevant fabric when I'm looking for 2.5" squares..  But here I was challenging myself to stick with a specific color... and I found that starting with the crumb box just made me really frustrated.  who wants to sew together 2"x1.5" tiny bricks to make up big logs?  Yeah, they'll look great, but i couldn't find enough of the right shade of blue to make 2 logs the thickness I wanted.  so I pulled out the small strips bin, and then started rooting through the unsorted scrap bin, and for the life of me i can't find the small triangle & corners shoebox and it was driving me nuts!  Now don't get me wrong, I love crumb piecing and I'm a huge fan of the concepts behind the 15minutesplay group.. but this was taking waaaaay longer than 15 minutes, and I was getting more and more frustrated and discouraged that what i wanted/needed wasn't within arms' reach and it was getting tiring having to get up in the middle of every log to search for the right shade/right sized fabric scrap.  All the sudden my exercize in free piecing wasn't very freeing..
So after the third block I gave myself a rest and just zipped through some mindless wonky log cabins with no real thought to color, only choosing logs that were the right size and shape. 

ahhh.  now that was fun and relaxing.
Visually I love what the crumb logs can do for a block, but I think I'll need to do more prepwork and get really organized before I try them again.  maybe I'll spend an afternoon teaching George about colors as we sort crumbs into 10 different tupperware bins..