Yesterday was dyeing day so I didn't get much accomplished otherwise. But I did get the 2 veterans quilts trimmed and ready to get back to the piecers for binding. I can't believe we're less than 6 weeks into 2021 and I've already quilt 10 of these and should get 2 more done today. I had to dye more quilt backs yesterday for the 7 quilt tops that are waiting in the closet! My progress on veterans quilts will slow considerably after this week because I'll be taking Bethanne Nemesch's online feather class starting this weekend. There's lots of practice to be done and then I will start on my 3 big personal quilts that I want to custom quilt. But I'll still get some of these done in between. They are so fast and easy and, therefore, really satisfying. I'm taking a couple of projects to the beach next week to cut out and one of them is a veterans quilt based on the star block in this quilt. This one is a really interesting spin on jelly roll quilts. That stair step insert makes it so much more interesting. The color of the backing isn't quite right here. The camera really wanted to turn it gray. I found some 90" wide muslin that someone gave me to use for veterans quilt backs. There was enough for 6 quilts. There's a pretty wide strip left from this so I'm going to use that fabric to make a string quilt for a new veterans quilt top. There's plenty of leftover fabric for the center strip and binding. I've got a bin of perfect scraps for the rest of the block strips.
This is sounding like a great beach project. Minimal thinking required. No bin news today. Chris has started the front of the floor cloths. He'll do one coat a day so they will be done this week. We will probably leave them in the guest house for a week to get all the polyurethane smell out of them. Yesterday I took Mom to a Dr appointment, picked up a big stack of veterans quilts and quilt tops from one of our club members and took my oath to be an elections official for the next 3 years. In between, I've made a little progress on a few things. A few more rounds to the baby blanket. The coloring in this photo is horrid. Take my word for it that it looks better than this. It will get 4 more sections in the 4 blue colors and I'll probably finish it off with white. As I've been working on this I realized that I'm going to have some yarn leftover and I thought I might try my hand at some hats to donate. Maybe to community organization or to hospitals for chemo patients. That side-tracked me to this yarn leftover from the last baby quilt. I have 2+ balls of this left and I thought that it might be really soft and comfy for chemo patients. I found a pattern at the Bag-O-Day YouTube site that I'm giving a try. If it works I'll share a link when this is finished. It it works it's going to be a REALLY soft hat. I have yarn from 2 other projects that I think I might make into scarves to donate. I do not like having leftover yarn hanging around! Yesterday afternoon I finished quilting this pair of veterans quilts. I'll try to get the cutting table cleared today so I can trim them and share them tomorrow.
This week's news is all about gradients. I've been inspired lately to design some new gradient designs and I have 2 of those to share today. If you read the blog regularly you will remember the sunflower-themed gifts that I made for my friend. Those colors really stuck with me and I took those to design this new gradient. It reminds me a field of sunflowers in full bloom. As I was looking back through my dye binder I landed on a beautiful soft pink that I accidentally developed a few years ago. I decided that I wanted to bring it to life in a new gradient. The colors remind my of vintage fabrics with giant cabbage roses and that's how this beauty got it's name. It would make lovely rose petals and leaves in an floral applique. Fabric of the WeekOne of the fabrics that I was supposed to dye last week was a restock of the On The Horizon gradient. Each of my gradients have 6 - 7 colors and the first one that I spread on this fabric was put in the wrong place! It's still a beautiful fabric but it's NOT On The Horizon! As a result, this new one is going directly to Clearance at 25% off. When it's gone, hopefully it will not be back!
Before we talk about this beautiful quilt, many of you will notice that it's not a finished project as I require for the gallery. From Patricia's perspective it is finished! She sent it off to her quilter who will bind it and send it directly to the recipient so this is the last possible photo of the quilt for us to see.
Patricia made this quilt for her brother. She used Stash Packs of Sky Blue and Sunset and made the sashing and border from On The Horizon Gradient. I love the way that the sashing blends into the blocks. For sharing, Patricia received a 20% coupon for the shop that's good for 3 months! If you have made anything with my hand dyed fabric I hope you will consider sharing it in the Customer Gallery. The only rule is that projects have to be complete. It doesn't have to be made totally from hand dyed fabric, just include a recognizable amount. Today's post is going to be just as boring as yesterday. Yesterday was filled with dentist appointments for me and Mom and grocery shopping. Then some chores in the afternoon. Last night I got back to working on my Summer Sunset star points. This is the 7th (of 8) sets and my big goal for the weekend is to get all the star points done and start in the foundation pieced ring around the stars. I'll also do some crochet and maybe work on another doll outfit.
Chris is ready to work on the floor cloths so I'll get the hems turned for him. ...because I don't have anything else to share. I was on such a mission to get the floor cloths done that I haven't done much of anything else. But in the evenings I've been doing a little crochet. This is Lion Brand Mandala yarn and this time I'm actually managing the color changes. I bought 3 balls so that I'd have enough to do that. It might be the last time that I go to that much trouble but so far it really hasn't been a hassle and I'm loving the look. The color is called Mermaid.
After a dentist appointment this morning and meeting with a contractor this afternoon, I hope to get back to working on my stars this evening. I did it. I finally finished all the Sharpie drawing on my floor cloths! They still have to have the hems turned and then Chris will glue the hems and coat with polyurethane. The designs will run off the edges of the finished cloths but here's how they look at the moment. I can't begin to tell you how much I love these! The Sharie fumes were a nightmare but I'm so glad I did them. I will get back to them Saturday to prep them for Chris to do his work. They might be in my kitchen in a couple of weeks! I even got the gears cleaned and put away. Alcohol is the answer for cleaning Sharpie ink. I do keep the gears in their original sheets so that I know if I'm missing any. I have 5 big sheets and 4 small sheets. It's a lot of gears. I'm only missing one gear. I'm surprised that all the tiny ones are accounted for. This one is big enough that I should be able to find it. It's in the guest house somewhere. After this project we have to deep clean it in preparation for a friend who will be living there for a while so I'm sure it will show up at some point.
I can't wait to see these on my kitchen floors. Little did I know when I was dyeing this fabric, that I'd be looking at snow out my window while writing this post. There isn't a dot of bright green out my window but I have it right here next to me. It's my hope for Spring to arrive soon! Greens are the most popular fabrics in Stash Packs and that's why I keep at least 3 options in stock for you. These fabrics are so perfect for applique leaves, vines and trees. Green fabrics, of course, are made by blending blues and yellows. For Autumn Greens I blend with a golden yellow to capture mature autumnal colors. For Spring Greens I blend with a bright yellow to get the shades of new Spring growth. Each Stash Pack has 8 fat eights of fabric. They aren't meant to all blend together. They are meant to give you a wide variety of shades and values for your Spring Garden. Becky Brown loves using Stash Packs for her botanical applique. Here are a few examples of how she fussy cuts these fabrics to make her leaves and vines look like they came straight from the garden. Fabric of the WeekIf you need a range of bright green in the same color but different values, you can't go wrong with the Envy Gradient. Envy is on sale 20% off through Sunday.
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I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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April 2024
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