Gypsy!

Behold!

Gypsy Wife quilt (top), September 2014

Assembling the ten segments of the quilt was a process that required, above all, organization. I laid out 63 1.5" strips across my entire ironing board and cutting table so I could keep them in the correct order through the whole assembly. I also numbered the strips on the pattern before cutting anything, to make sure a single fabric ran the entire length of the quilt (even across three different segments). I don't know how I would have done this if I didn't have a dedicated space where I could leave the strips out for the entire time. Having the big wall was also critical. Due to the space hogging reality of this quilt, it practically demanded being finished rapidly. I can't live with that kind of mess for too long, and I need the wall back so Cedric can finish his Settlers of Catan quilt and Ingrid can get her Cloud Nine rows together.

If I did this again (?), I'd do a few things differently. First of all, I'd put together a big chart with the complete cutting requirements (width and length, subdivided into piece lengths) for each strip, cross referenced by segment. I can do that in Excel. Second, as I made the blocks I'd sort them into ten envelopes, arranged by segment . It would be a lot easier to just pull out one segment at a time instead of sweating over which piece belonged on which area of the wall. It got a little confusing sorting out which blocks were 3" v 3.5" or which width border belonged in which position.

Ultimately, I think of this project in three ways: (A) a test of one's ability to complete a jigsaw puzzle, (B) a clear testament to one's shopping prowess and preferences, and (C) a spectacularly eye-dazzlingly beautiful thing.

My mental processes are now considering how I could achieve this kind of effect on the isometric grid (hexagons!) at a larger size...

Fairy Tale Lane top

January thunderstorms? This weird day is perfect for sewing. (What weather would NOT be, you might wonder. Answer: None.) The Neutral Territory/Fairy Tale Lane top is together.

My urban version of Fairy Tale Lane pattern by Tula Pink

Celtic Solstice: Denouement

Thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime series of circumstances -- specifically sniffly children occupied with post-holiday gifts and vacation television, a husband who cooks, a snowstorm followed by an Arctic cold snap preventing anyone from going out, a first-Friday sewing night, and NFL playoffs -- what was only three days ago a box stuffed with 3" patchwork units is now a completed, and rather large, quilt top.

Bonnie generously uploaded the final set of directions at midnight on New Year's Eve. (No, I did not get started right away!) I started mid-day on Wednesday, and had all of the blocks assembled by Friday morning. I took them with me to Lisa's on Friday night and came home with seven separate rows. After lunch today, I sewed the rows together (finished: 2:00 pm), cut the inner borders and attached those (3:30), stitched the pieced border triangles and attached those (5:30 pm), then got the outer borders on using strips of both yellow and green (because, you know, scrappy) by the middle of the fourth quarter of the first playoff game!

Celtic Solstice scrap quilt, 76 x 76"

Honeycomb!

Despite my plans of leaving some of this undone, I couldn't stop myself from finishing the Honeycomb quilt. (Now I'm going to have to prep another mini, which I'll use as a pillow in my new pink & turquoise room.) The yellow from the Nuance fabric is a little bright -- it comes across lemony in the photo, but it reads as neon in person -- but since the contrasting prints aren't too contrast-y, I like the effect. I think I am going to leave the edges zig-zaggy rather than squaring them off as she suggests in the book; I'll leave the upper-right corner square just for a nifty "something-different" effect.

From outside (my husband tells me) it looks like we have been invaded by giant bees.

Honeycomb close-up: the orange architextures fabric is a perfect background. I finished this whole project with a single 2.5" strip leftover.

Thin Mints

I was inspired to finish these blocks after last week's Modern Patchwork class. I have had the brown strip sets made for this version of the Roller Rink pattern for months, but I finally picked out the accent teals during the class. After I had two blocks together, I had enough momentum to finish the whole darn thing. Then, once the whole thing was on the wall, the stacks of brown surrounded by those minty greens practically named itself: "Thin Mints." Plus, I loved Girl Scouts (and their cookies) so darn much.

"Thin Mints"... 'cause it kinda makes me want to eat a whole box of cookies...

Storm! Star!

While the storm is gathering its breath and taking aim (if I were this storm, and if my Faithful Readers will permit me a moment of anthropomorphizing, I would take special note of the addresses of the people who are laughing at its current state...), I got the Star of David top ready to quilt!!! I sewed the last three rows together last night, and added some narrow borders around the whole thing this morning. I impressed myself with frugality this time; the borders for this were the trimmings from the oversized back of the Autumn Rapid City quilt (Hey! No "finished" photo of that one!?!). I knew it was a good idea to save those two-inch strips!

Approximately 64 x 86"

I really like the effect of the colors shading from dark to light on every point of the central star; I'm glad I took the time to arrange them to give the illusion of dimensionality.

Now I can turn my attention to a new pattern that I picked up at my meeting on Monday night, using some nifty rulers with 36 and 72-degree angles. Pentagons! Decagons! PENROSE!!

Borders on Easy Street

The borders are ON my Easy Street quilt! Lisa found me the perfect purple batik to use as the inner border, and I had a lovely print of ginkgo leaves that worked perfectly, even to the slight hint of purple that coordinates with the scraps I used:

Ginkgo Leaf Woodland Mist, from Northcott's Stonehenge line

Voila! Now, to get this monster quilted...I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any "Finished" photos anytime soon, Faithful Readers...

Metropolis blocks assembled

Back in August I whipped up a batch of super bright Metropolis blocks using a rather unusual color combination.

I made a few fabric changes after this point in the block assembly; replaced the batik with a chestnut, and finished with a shimmery light turquoise.

I started with the neat mosaic print that runs vertically between the dark brown bars in the photo above. I have had a yard of this sitting calling to me for years. I think I might have actually bought the fabric before I even started quilting. Weird. I love the combo of orange, purple, and turquoise, and this fabric combines those with chestnut and gold accents. I am always drawn to oranges, especially oranges that don't specifically scream "Halloween!!" (Not that I don't love Halloween - I do! - but I appreciate orange in a much broader context.)

Anyway, these blocks have been in a bin for almost three months largely because I haven't been able to decide what I wanted to do for the sashing. Although the blocks are predominately orange (with purple accents, even!), I didn't really want to end up with a Halloween quilt. I tried dark purple, ivory, chocolate, peach, navy, black...but a bright solid turquoise won the day. I picked some up on my trip to Salem last week and finally have a complete top:

Metropolis quilt (top), 75 x 75". Pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

This pattern is a great one for working in a tricky multi-color print that you have sitting around. You can combine several different vaguely coordinating prints with a few solids (or near-solids) to pull them all together. And, at this size, you don't really need too much of any one fabric. In the book, she gives yardage requirements for the blocks AND the back, which is a terrific effect for a reversible quilt, but if you ignore the back requirements, it's a great way to use small pieces of a group of lovelies. I don't have the math right in front of me, but I think 6 of the 9 block fabrics use less than a fat quarter.

storm quilting

I had this great...if ambitious...mental schedule for finishing my monthly challenge projects after our Halloween party. Now, however, in the face of power outages, I have run out of time. I did manage to complete a nice lap/crib-size top for the Color Palette challenge. This month's inspiration is a wonderful Kandinsky:

I have had some perfect Dan Bennett fabric maturing in the closet for about a year...now is its time to shine. I found some almost-solids in every color in the palette chosen by Vicki Welsh, and a scrap of coordinating polka dots.Here's my "solution":

I edited the post to put in a better-lit photo. Love this bright cheerful, colorful little quilt!

I think our hatches have been sufficiently battened, and we are well stocked for comestibles and potables (potent and otherwise). If you need heat or a hot shower over the next few days, please call. We have a nifty furnace/thermostat setup that runs on the pilot light rather than electricity, so as long as gas service isn't interrupted we should be fine. Plus, we bought a little generator after last year so we can keep our freezer safe and occasionally fire up the modem and recharge devices. Stay safe, fellow east coasters.

And that, my friends, is my first Kindle-created blog post! My darling husband recently gave me a Kindle Fire HD for our 12th (!) anniversary. I love this little device so much that I suspect he might be regretting it a little (not really...just kidding).

(Edited on a grown-up computer to replace the photo. And to add that my friend Laurel pointed out that the sashing fabric looks like the projection tracks for the hurricane...so I'll be naming this one "Tracking Sandy". Thanks, Laurel!)

Seems like you've got a Pink Rink in your Think

Awesome little baby quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's Roller Rink pattern. To make this, I used one yard of Karen Combs' four-shade Cascade fabric, with some white and black solids for the frames. I have a shades-of-brown one ready to go too, just waiting for suitable borders. I'm thinking teal will be the winner for that one.

"Pink Rink" baby quilt (top). 36 x 48".

Anyone get the post-title reference?