Nearly done

     Another co-worker is having a baby.  The sheet on the left is what was registered for.  I stole colors from the quilt on the right which coordinates with it but that she did not register for.    

Using fabrics from my stash only, here is what I came up with based on the quilt on the right.

    The binding will end up being a blue green Tula Pink print from Flutterby I think.  It seems to pull from quite a few of the colors and I have enough.  This had a blue background with no white because I had the blue solid and not white.  So, the fabrics include Green Nature Elements, Yellow hummingbirds from Tula's Acacia, Raindrops from Elizabeth Hartman, Ladybugs from Birds and Bees by Tula and Metro Living Circles.

Cats

Where to start.  Perhaps it was reading and listening to people attempt to delegitimize the marches around the world and especially those within the country.   And I am referencing peaceful ones and not those marked by violence or destruction of property.  As much as others may argue, I would assert that those peaceful marches were patriotic, but the effort to suppress and delegitimize them is not.

     

The weekend that the immigration and refugee ban was signed, I watched a former high school soccer teammate talk in a news conference about the travel ban and its impacts.  And as more and more policies were implemented or reversed, I decided that I really can't keep quiet anymore.   So I chose to make.  I chose to use the basic cat block pattern from Elizabeth Hartman and red and blue fabrics from my scrap bins.  

This ended up being a quilt started and finished in less than 48 hours.  The binding was attached on the second day, but everything else was put together on that Sunday.  I chose to add a bit of pink as a nod to the original color.  The blue is a Carolyn Friedlander print that happened to have lines perfect for using them to guide the words.  I chose to quilt words yet continued to go with my tendency of covert actions by using just gray thread that blends fairly well.   In the blue, the lyrics for "Quiet" by MILCK are quilted.  I almost used red thread to finish the lyrics in the bottom right corner and have the final "I can't keep quiet" stand out.  I chose not to.  

I read a quote that Cheryl Arkison retweeted. I chose to quilt this in the cat section.  

 "I dream of a world where the truth is what shapes people's politics, rather than politics shaping what people think is true." Neil deGrasse Tyson

Oh how much I wish we could get away from the partisanship that shapes our politics.  Just because the legislation was written by a Democrat or a Republican does not make it good or bad.  Go back to deciding policy based upon evidence.  Compromise is a good thing.  Support an argument based on evidence.  

This last picture was actually the first one taken.  It was not my intent to have the shadow, but I love it.  How much I would love to have her grow up in a world in which she can make decisions for herself.    A world where she does not have to wonder if the person approaching her is dangerous.  Where she is not interrupted, silenced, or seen as a nuisance if she has an opinion or an argument based on evidence.  Where her mind, actions and ideas are valued more than her appearance.  Her choices should be her own and not limited or forced upon her by others who are wholly unconnected to her.

I have one other finished quilt to share that also has a bit of a political spin to it.  Or perhaps just that the art reflects the feelings and emotions of the artist.  Those feelings and emotions were heavily influenced by the politics and policies of the time.  It needs a taller quilt holder though so the sharing will have to wait.

I may not agree with what people say, but I am willing to defend their right to say it.  

Quilts of Valor blocks

     My LQS requested 40 quilts for their Quilts of Valor group.  At the guild meeting, members decided they were willing to make blocks but didn't think they could complete a full quilt.  The president and I came up with the idea of alternating monochromatic 16 patches with a single fabric star of any design.

     Here is my version.  I was close on keeping the direction of the print the same but not quite successful.  We decided to go with the luck of the draw on combinations and not have people sign up for colors.  Hopefully that will turn out well.

Purple chicken

     I started going through my scrap bins and cutting them into squares.  I finished the purple bin today.  I think I might need another scrap quilt planned for my 3 inch squares.  It seems like there will be a bunch of them.  As I needed a purpose for the 3.5 inch squares, I decided to start an urban chicken quilt using my scraps.

     Last weekend I finally started quilting my Arts walk challenge quilt.  As I started the quilt right after the election, it felt slightly therapeutic to quilt it on MLK day and then start the hand binding on Friday.  It sparked from reading "And Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou shortly after flipping through A Quilter's Mixology by Angela Pingel.  Hopefully I will finish it shortly.

Let what I have dictate what I choose to do

     Moving had me stuff a lot of fabrics into a lot of places.  It's been frustrating looking for fabric I know I have, and being unable to find it as it's been stuffed somewhere.  I have attempted to reorganize my fabric collection back into the plastic shoe boxes.  It feels a bit better but not perfect.  So I spent a large portion of my holiday break cutting and prepping projects so they move beyond fabrics intended for specific projects to actual works in progress.

     While I have seen many stashes that are way more extensive than my own, I have more than I could possibly work on in a year unless I quit my job and sewed full time.  Even then, I doubt that I could finish using the stash and the scraps.  An extensive fabric stash sort of makes me happy, but it also just stresses me out a bunch with how much I have and the guilt of not using it.

    In 2009, I did not have a fabric stash and shortly after, plenty of bloggers wrote about cultivating a stash and choosing fabrics so I chose and cultivated.  Unfortunately, I did not know that really, that is not how my process works.  I seem to like to buy fabrics for the project when I have a project in mind.  I do enjoy buying fabrics just to buy fabrics as well and to have them, but I often don't use them as quickly as I'd like, which results in a ridiculous amount of fabric in my house.

  In 2015, I read a few books about the disposable fashion industry and decided that I needed to choose quality over quantity and get rid of the urge to purchase a good deal.  Flash sales and the creation of a shortage had already started to bother me.  The MQG challenges where we had to use only the manufacturer's fabric, bothered me.

    There are many people that want to shop their stash first before buying.  That sort of works for me, but I decided that I just need the stash and scraps to dictate the projects.  I'm ok with deviating from this a bit, but I'd like to work on this first.

My list of projects that I'd like to work on this year includes:

Anna Maria Horner value quilt using six inch squares:  I've been collecting AMH fabrics ever since I took the value class my guild offered from Katie Pederson.  I made a wonderful value quilt then, but decided that an AMH value quilt would be one I would like to keep.  A ridiculous amount of fabric hoarding and cutting later, and I have a six inch square of every AMH fabric I own as well as a 1.5-3 inch strip x WOF.  The stack in this picture might be over three inches tall.

AMH Candy Coated quilt:  Using the strips cut above, make a Candy Coated quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts.  The first one I made like that was so mindless and easy.

Flea Market Fancy Arkansas Crossroads:  I bought the reprint FQB and have meant to do something with it using white fabric as that is how I've liked seeing FMF quilts.  I finished cutting the 6.5" white squares this morning and the 3.5" squares last night.  It is now sitting in the box ready to go.

Meadow Mystery Quilt:  This is the quilt along for my guild this year.  I picked out scraps and stash to make it after I remembered that I had 4.5" light blue pearl bracelet squares cut already from a Bizzy Kid project fail.  I think we were only supposed to think about picking fabrics, but mine is cut and I've sewn and trimmed the HST and hourglasses.  Need to do the squares and flying geese, but I am way ahead of the guild schedule.

Starburst Brambleberry Christmas.  I like Violet Craft's fabric collections.  I like the color of her Christmas collection.  When it went to 50% off at my LQS, my mom and I bought some.  From what we bought, there was enough for three Starburst quilts.  She's making one, I'm making one and the other one needs a neutral and for one of us to make it.  So perhaps, by next Christmas, I will have at least one Starburst quilt finished.  This is the fourth Starburst quilt I've made.  Large blocks make it easy.  Thank you Melissa Corry for your quilt-a-long.

Brambleberry Ridge Christmas Candy Coated:  With the extra Christmas fabric, I'd like to make a Candy Coated quilt.

Tula Hexagon Quilt from the ORB quilt along way back when.  I bought a Modern Meadow jelly roll way back when this started.  I never started the quilt.  I still have the jelly roll.  I need to make a minky quilt for my oldest, so I cut up a bunch of blue, red and yellow Tula prints that I have to make a hexagon quilt similar to Jaybird Quilts' Neptune Hexagon quilt.  I might have a Neptune jelly roll waiting to make that quilt as well.

And Still I Rise:    This uses our Artswalk challenge fabric for the guild.  This year's requirement is that we use a template and the red fabric (or gray or blue depending upon which one you chose).  I chose to use the Drunkard's Path template and Angela Pingel's book, A Quilter's Mixology.  I made a variation on the butterfly quilt.  It is basted and waiting for me to decide how to quilt it and dedicate the time to do so.  It probably needs spiffy quilting.

I have spent quite a bit of time ironing my scrap bins and cutting them into squares.  The orange and yellow bins are done.  Two scrap quilts I am planning for are:
Scrap Plume quilt: From Fat Quarter Style
Scrap Star Value: 

I think I started this post more than two weeks ago.  If I do not finish it now, I will continue to be distracted and never post it.  So here goes and hopefully, someone's stomach has settled and does not see his food twice today.  That would make me happy.

   

2016

     Writing here was not a priority for 2016.  We bought a new house for ourselves and set about fixing it, fixed the other house, moved ourselves and my parents as we just exchanged houses.  By golly both households own a ridiculous number of books.  It is a good thing but books are heavy.

    The sewer line from our house to the city connection ruptured and there were multiple opportunities for all of us to live together in one or the other of the two houses while various things got fixed.  We eventually need to get some other floors fixed, but we're waiting a few years and dealing with it until we feel like upending things again.  Love the additional space and the large yard to send  kids out into for outdoor recess when they bicker or are rambunctious.  

     The first five quilts shown were donated to Seattle Children's Hospital through Katie's Comforters Guild.  The first two started as potential quilts for a co-worker, but we decided they were not the style of the parents and went another direction.  The other three are using fabrics that I had on hand.  

This quilt went to a co-worker and used the blue and green solids I already acquired.  I don't seem to have a finished quilt picture so I am not sure what I put on the back.

 The co-worker I gave the other Parson Gray plus quilt to for her retirement asked for the second quilt and paid me for it.  I am happy that she likes them both and hopefully is enjoying her retirement snuggled up in them.

The blue Starburst quilt went to my sister in law when she got her AA degree.  Another example of using what I had.  The navy burst points and the blue solid came from stash.  The batiks were from the PNW Meetup in Seattle courtesy of Clothworks.

Cascadia started as part of a guild challenge for our local Artswalk.  On a sunny day, one can see two mountain ranges from various parts of town, the Cascades and the Olympics.  We had to use improv (I think) and the flowered fabric from V and Co.  I used leftover strings from the black, white and gray HST quilt that went to my nephew.

This quilt got finished as well.  Somewhere I have a finished picture but it is not easy to find at this moment.  So now, with 11.5 months in between posts, here's to some of the quilts I finished in 2016.  

Just use it up

I decided to try to just use what I already have on hand for new projects.  I really have no need to go shopping for fabric except to help finish projects that are on the docket.  And I really don't need to add to my wish list of projects.  Binding fabric seems to be a sticking point in my mind.  During the inventory clearance sale at my LQS today, I just bought batting with the 40% off one item coupon.
 
A co-worker who is retiring this year likes blue.  I showed her a few pictures of fabric and made sure to include mostly what I already owned.  She seemed to like all of it so I decided to break into the Parson Gray stash that I accumulated in the past few years.

And then, since I did not want to put the fabric back away, I kept going and kept cutting.  4 quilt tops later, I have a quart size ziploc bag or less of the remaining Parson Gray fabric.  Here are the quilt tops.  2 are plus quilts, one is a group of random blocks to attempt to mimic the Road Trip Quilt by Cluck, Cluck, Sew but in a bigger size, and one Candy Coated from Sunday Morning Quilts.

The back of the co-worker quilt.  I only had about 2 yards of the navy flannel and managed to just use a strip from Candy Coated that would have pushed that quilt over 90".  I wish I would have kept it all solids on the stripes but I'm not changing it now.

Candy Coated which I think I am keeping.  The first picture has the stripe of 4.5" strips for the back across it.  

 The bigger Road Trip Quilt (6.5" squares, 9.5" or 12.5" blocks).  This will probably end up being a gift for my brother.  It was meant to be fairly mellow and it is.

And the second plus quilt.  I assembled this one in smaller components to not take up as much floor space as I did with the first one.  Oops, not enough value difference in the middle for far away pictures.  I did not look at the overall layout but was concerned with smaller parts so I didn't notice the values until taking the pictures.  I may donate this one to a local school auction if I get it done in time.

Since the majority of my coordinating fabric got used for the quilt tops, I do need to purchase some fabric for binding.  And yes, plus quilts are mighty easy and quick to put together.  There are at least two that are my intended quilts list and have been for multiple years now.  Soon, I will manage to quilt the first two and then progress to quilting the other two.  And probably I will purchase some navy quilter's linen to use as binding.

After the Epic Meet-up this summer, I did not put away the 6 free Clothworks batik fat quarters I received.  Today, I cut them up to make a Starburst quilt from Melissa at Happy Quilting.  No recipient, just a "let's use this up."