One Down, Three to Go

I finished the first side of the SAHRR Round 5!  I had my doubts since log cabin is not my favorite block as I said before.  But I've got to say I'm surprisingly pleased with the results.  Look!  It fits -- thanks to an extra "log/step" between each block.  Coulda knocked me over when I laid it out.

Not only am I happy with the courthouse steps, but now that I see everything together, I notice the totally unplanned repetition of 45-degree angles.  Overall it reminds me of an American Indian woven blanket.  

With luck and a little effort I may have it all together by the end of the week.

Nearing the Finish Line

That 5th round of the Stay at Home Round Robin (announced over a week ago) is taking WAY too long!  The prompt was for log cabin blocks and I opted to do the courthouse steps variation.  Let me just say that log cabin is probably my least favorite thing to sew -- boring!  And I can never keep them square.  

My cutting table is an absolute mess.

In the meantime I have already finished round 6 -- with four kite blocks for my corners.  

I had made a bunch of tiny 4-patches (2" finished) with the leftovers from Round 1; they became the base for my courthouse steps.  The "steps" are cut from 1-1/4" strips, finishing at 3/4".  So my blocks will finish at 5".  After several attempts at color options, I decided to make them all pink and black alternating with the background.  It feels like a never-ending process, but with luck I'll be finished with the top before the final reveal!  I'm thinking this will be the orientation with the black edge against the body of the quilt, but that decision will be made when I finish the courthouse steps blocks.

I'm anticipating that I'll add a border of one of the main fabrics when all is said and done.

Pardon the Interruption

I've taken a break from the SAHRR in order to work on a quicky project for my physical therapist.  She is expecting her first baby in April.  It's a boy and she has decorated the baby's room in a western/cowboy theme.  I have one more visit scheduled next week so I've been whipping up a quick baby quilt for her.  

The border is my own design and I'm thrilled with the overall look, not to mention how quickly it has gone together  (I won't talk about how many times I had to unsew the triangles to make them go in the correct direction!)  Only one intersection is slightly off, but I don't think the baby will notice.  The print fabric itself isn't particularly "western," but the colors remind me of jeans and bandanas.

It is a moldy-oldie, Polka Dot Garden by In the Beginning dated 2011, though I don't think I've had it that long.  The blue and red semi-solids by Kona Bay Fabrics are dated 2014.  The pattern was designed by Jennifer Heynen specifically for this fabric.

This project has been in my To-Do pile for a very long time!

I spent my time at Devo on Tuesday fussy-cutting the print fabric.  It was starting to look like Swiss cheese until I realized I could work my way up one side next to the selvage with a minimum amount of waste.  I have enough left over for the back, but I think I will use this neutral Teddy bear print on the back for a break from all the color, instead. What do you think?

I hope to get it ditch-quilted this weekend, once I practice with my walking foot....

Just In Time!

I typically review my day and think about tomorrow as I am drifting off to sleep each night.  So it was that Sunday night I was admonishing myself to not even look at Round 5 of the SAHRR until I had finished  Rounds 3/4.

But, alas, I couldn't resist.  So while I was thinking about what I would do for Round 5, I quickly assembled and attached the final strip of 3/4. The inset strips for the Round 4 blocks were cut from the eight leftover star points like the center square.

It's about 30" square at this point.  I don't think my holder's arms will be wide enough after the next round.  Time to clear off the design wall!

A Do-Nothing Week

 Actually, it's been more like two do-nothing weeks.  

I was rolling along, making good progress on a number of things, then I hit a creative wall.  Part of the problem is trying to regain momentum after being out of the house for several hours.  Last week it was PT on Monday and Wednesday (30 minutes into town) with a trip to Nashville (2+ hour drive) for doctor/dentist visits stuffed in between on Tuesday.  I did manage to get one piece near the finish line

I originally had five rows of blocks but it was out of proportion.  Not sure what I will do with it -- maybe a wheelchair quilt or a baby quilt.  I think it needs a border, but I'll need to shop my stash for something to go with it.  The remaining blocks will become a table runner.

Not only am I not yet driving, but we are down to one car after a pick-up recently smashed into the rear side of Alex's car (just a few feet behind my seat!)  So on Friday I asked a friend to get me out of the house to get a Valentine for Alex.  We incorporated lunch into the trip.  I forgot to text Alex that I had been invited out and he returned home from his charity work to an empty house!  Oops.

As I reported earlier, I had a plan for Round 3 of the SAHRR and was hoping that Round 4 could be blended into it.    I'm still cogitating on what should be a simple "extemporaneous" block; I'm having trouble fitting it into an otherwise "formal" setting.  So this is where I stand after Round 3 ...

I credit Diann/Little Penguin with the inspiration to incorporate Round 3 into the corners.  I can't attach the corners until I make Round 4.  I'm hopeful that I will have a solution before the end of today!

(Apologies for the poor quality of photos lately.  I'm learning a new phone and most of my photos have to be made while I'm sitting.)

Around A Round Robin

Things were going so smoothly through the first two rounds.  At that point I had two sides on my center square.

I held off adding the other two sides, waiting to see what the third round prompt would be.  Anticipating it might be a block that I could add to the sides I decided to put the remaining strips of HSTs on the top and bottom to help the math work for a strip of 5- or 6-inch blocks.

Ehh, the look of flying geese just didn't do anything for me. So I ripped them off and put them where they were originally intended to go, adding background fabric cornerstones.

Stars is the prompt for round 3.  My favorite star is the Ohio Star (Go Buckeyes!) but it's not an easy one to do at a small scale and I'm afraid a whole round of large blocks will overpower the rest of the project.  I have a plan ... stick around and hopefully I'll have something to show soon.

But look at what else I found in a box of blue and brown scraps ...

... a SAHRR I started during Covid!  I think it's time I finish it.

SAHRR Update and a Diversion

The prompt for Round 3 was half-square triangles (HSTs).  I was fortunate to have a goodly supply on hand in the appropriate colors so completing this round was a quick fix.

I have not attached the side strips because I want to see what Prompt 4 will bring.  I might be able to incorporate it into the cornerstones.

While I had time on my hands -- and loose ends on the table -- I decided to see what I could do with some 9-patches before I put them in the Parts Department. 

 I love the colors and even ordered extra of the pink faux linen fabric from Connecting Threads.  They were piled with a nice coordinating brown fabric so I am putting the 9-Ps on point in the brown. I'm thinking some kind of sashing will result in a fairly nice throw size.

Check this link at Anja Quilts to see other's progress

Correcting an Error and Answering a Question

I incorrectly identified a little project in my Loose Ends post a few days ago.  

This little piece was made of leftover blocks from the second "real" quilt I ever made in 2002!  (First was an Eleanor Burns baby quilt for GS-3 in 2001).  The pattern is Honeycomb Waffle designed by Sara Nephew.  It first appeared in her book Big Book of Building Block Quilts in 2001.  That book was republished in association with Marci Baker in 2014 as Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin.  Marci Baker is the author of ABC 3D published in 2010.  All of these books have fun and attractive projects using strip piecing with both the 60-degree triangle and other odd angles.

*  *  *  * *  

Nann/With Strings Attaached asked  "How did you become an instructor for a particular ruler/technique?" I thought I would answer here.

Frankly, I don't remember!

Not long after I started quilting in the early 2000s, I took the Honeycomb Waffle class from Sara at the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show (I think) around 2001-2.  I was enchanted by the 3-dimensional effect and thrilled with the strip-piecing technique; I wanted my fellow quilters to learn.  I'm assuming I asked permission to teach from her patterns, using her ruler, and that she invited me to a training session in Bellingham, WA for certification.  I learned a lot about using the ruler, but lots of other things like the value of value, and teaching techniques.  I taught at many local guilds and  retreats and even traveled a couple of times until I "retired" about 8 years ago.  

Needless to say, I highly recommend the Clearview 60-degree ruler (comes in various sizes with lots of options).  No gimmicks or oversizing in either Sara's or Marci's patterns.

SAHRR Jackpot!

I posted earlier that I have been working my way through many VERY old unfinished projects.  Two that I have been wrangling in the last few days have LOTS of  half-square triangles (can't wait to share one of them with you soon).  

As I was falling asleep last night I was thinking about what Round 2 would entail, anticipating some round would probably incorporate HSTs.  So imagine my delight when I saw the week's prompt this morning.  Mine are already made! (pre-2018)

I hit the SAHRR Jackpot!

Tying Up Loose Ends

In between mysteries and round robins and waiting for my Connecting Threads order, I've been trying to finish up some old projects.  By "finish up" I mean get them to the flimsy stage.  I have a nice stack of things waiting for backs and batting until I can manage the basement stairs again.  I have a scheme to invite some friends to "shop my stash" for me in exchange for lunch and choosing a stash treat for themselves. 

This week I added borders to this class sample from ABC 3D by Sara Nephew and Marci Baker.

I was a certified instructor for Clearview Triangle (60 degree) for about 5 years (around 2014).  With the borders it only measures 31 inches.  I'm thinking of backing it with flannel for a wheelchair quilt.

Then I pulled out another golden oldie - Moroccan Tile, a Jewel Box pattern that uses the Gem 5 and Gem 10 rulers.   I know I started it well before we moved here in 2018.  

Not sure what I will do with it.  It is about 45 inches at the widest part.  I do have a round coffee table; otherwise no place to use it.  So I'm thinking maybe I should add extensions to square it up.  What say you?

You may recognize the fabric in this last project.

The pattern is Liberty Stars from Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine.  I had made four stars and diamond points for a fifth star.  I don't remember if I intended to make a five-star runner or to make a three-star like the pattern and one with two stars.  Nevertheless, one star became the center for my SAHRR and I added the extra star points to my potential fabrics on that project, so I decided to make the three-star runner like the pattern.  You can see I still have the inset rectangles to add.  When quilted I think it will make a nice gift to have on hand.

FYI, the CT fabric arrived yesterday so I can get back to the 4-patch project tomorrow.  Wait till you see what's up after that!

Stay At Home Round Robin

 Also known as SAHRR ...

I had a bit of difficulty understanding the prompt for round one until I realized I could choose my own block, based on the first letter of my name.  So I went to Judy Hopkins' 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks for inspiration.  I settled on London Roads.

I had already decided that my starting block needed a frame, so my interpretation of London Roads fit that bill.  But, instead of a one-way road around the block, I ended up with two two-way streets and two blind alleys!

What should have been a simple fix of turning two corners took me half a day.  Don't ask me why.  I guess the brain fog had returned.  Anyway, this is the result:

I will probably have to add a filler strip to bring it to a divisible size, but I'll wait to see what the next prompt is going to be.

The Fog is Lifting

Slowly.  But now I seem to have ADD.  I put Old Town in time-out for a while and turned my attention to the Asian 4-patches that I've been mindlessly making.  As I worked on them I thought about how I might use them.  I pulled a book of block designs off the shelf, looking for something that used 4-patches and found a block that would be easy to make.  All I needed was an acceptable alternate fabric for two solid squares.  This lovely large-scale print would be perfect!

The block will measure 8" finished so I set about planning a 7 x 9 block layout.  I won't go into detail, but I failed to take into account that my block has two 4-patches and two squares in it so when I counted squares in my sketch I counted only 32 4-patches.  Yep, 32 4-Ps short!  That was about two more days of work.  I had hoped to use the print for the alternate blocks but don't have enough after making 32 more half blocks.  In the meantime, I have put them up on the design wall and will mull over the arrangement while I wait for the new alternate block fabric to arrive.

That's half the blocks.  I plan to relocate those blue blocks to the center of the quilt as they are the only bright color.  Apologies for my awful photos.  The lighting in the bed/sewing room is not the best and my hands aren't the steadiest.

In the meantime, I got to thinking about the annual Stay at Home Round Robin.  I participated in the initial one during Covid and thoroughly enjoyed the process.  I was trying to decide on my initial block when I came across a partially finished orphan in my UFO boxes.  So that was my task yesterday.  

All that was left to do were those blankety-blank inset seams.  It will finish at 14".  I wanted something that wouldn't have HSTs or 4-Ps in it because they are often in the rounds that will be announced in the coming weeks.  I'm excited to see what's next.

Go to Quilting Gail for more information.  It's not too late to join in!

Brain Fog

Do you ever have days when the creative juices are just not in synch with the real world?  I've had a week of those days!

When the final solution for the Old Town Mystery was released last Friday, I matched up pieces for several blocks and managed to get one block finished.  

On Saturday I made a bunch of small units and added three more blocks to the wall.  Sunday I cobbled together a fifth block, all the while looking at the design wall, trying to come up with an alternate plan for the sashing that does not require the tiny flying geese.  

While I like the secondary pattern Bonnie's sashing makes, I'm not enough in love with my blocks to make the effort to make the tiny geese.  I came up with an interesting option but it would require some un-sewing of my finished blocks.  I looked and thought, and thought and looked.

When the creative ju-ju didn't kick in, I finally decided that a clear work table might help.  Which only led to remorse over unfinished projects and plans for new projects with the bits of detritus that I took off the table.  

On Monday I went to the computer and made a spreadsheet to track my progress on 30+ UFOs.  I predict some of them will become placemats or potholders.  One of the piles on my table included cutoffs from several strip sets that I think were made for borders on a quilt many years back.  So I cut them to 6.5" squares which I assembled into a little 24" square.

With schools closed on Tuesday due to threatening weather, there was no Devo and Sew.  So I pretended I was sewing with the group and managed to add borders to a little baby quilt and made the binding. 

Then I decided to tackle a One Block Wonder that I cut and apparently planned several years ago.  After several attempts to get a couple of rows together, I gave up in frustration.  It really needs to go back up on the wall for me to understand what I was intending.

I muddled through Thursday, trying to make a plan, trying to clear off my table, thinking of what I could do with this or that.  The big bin of Asian fabrics was still under the table along with the little box of 2.5" squares.  Hmm.  I started making 4-patches with no plan in mind.  Check back tomorrow to see what I came up with.  Hopefully it will be a whole top by the end of the day and then I can send that bin back to the basement!

BTW, I managed to change a setting in my new phone which allows the computer to recognize the source of my photos.  Don't ask me how I did it!

Update

 All is well here -- at least until the snow flies on Friday -- and I've been busy in the sewing room with minimal success.  I have not posted anything lately because my computer does not recognize the photos from my new i-16 phone.    Hoping to find a solution today.

One and Done?

As I suspected, Bonnie Hunter released the Final Solution for the Old Town Mystery this morning.  I had already set aside most of the day to work on the project.  Everything was neatly organized and ready to go.

I first laid out the various pieces to check my colors before I began assembly and I was pleased with what I saw so I began to sew as I would normally do, row-by-row.  Not the best plan.  After about an hour of this and that, I finally decided to look at Bonnie's instructions to make the corner units.  Ah-ha! All the corner units are identical! Just rotated in the block.  So instead of rows I went to unit construction.  Much better.  

Apparently I didn't follow all of Bonnie's instructions about pressing as I had a devil of a time getting corners to meet and points to be pointy.  LOTS of seams, lots of lumps.  The jury is still out.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday week.  It's time to get back to the grind -- sewing AND exercising.  On the sewing front, I have thrown in the towel on Clues 7 and 7.5.  I simply cannot make those little 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" flying geese with any kind of accuracy!

So I'm going to see how they will be used in the final solution and then try another method for making them if I see they are essential to the design.  

I got a good start on Clue 8 yesterday, cutting most of what I need to make one-half the blocks.  

I need to look for a little more variety in my fabrics.  I may ask my quilting buddy/neighbor to shop my stash for me!

There is a neighborhood Hair of the Dog celebration this afternoon so I don't expect to get much sewing done today.

Thinking ahead for the new year, DH and I are considering a driving trip to the Northeast this summer (New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts) to catch up with family.  So if any of my readers are on our route and want to hook up, or if you can suggest quilt shops to visit, I'd love to hear from you.