A Little Encouragement from Gwen Marston

Earlier this year I found Quilting with Style: Principles for Great Pattern Design by Gwen Marston & Joe Cunningham.  It's primarily a book about hand quilting -- choosing quilting designs, adapting patterns, about marking patterns, etc. -- with quilting encouragement throughout.  When I was reading it I didn't know about the Gwennie Inspired Medallion Quilt-Along, but the words below struck me then and now seem particularly appropriate as I work on my Gwenny quilt.  Great encouragement, I think.

     Working on quilts or any creative process can be lonely.  For us it helps to remember that we are not alone.  We are not the only ones who have ever felt intimidated, who have ever felt inadequate to the task, who have ever wondered why we started this in the first place, or who have ever gotten halfway through a quilt and had a sinking feeling that there was something wrong with it.
     These feelings are all part of the creative process.  Try not to worry about them.  Just keep working and you will soon feel some of the other feelings that are part of it as well:  the feeling that you are the only one who ever made this particular quilt, or that, unlike with many of your daily activities, here you have something to show for your efforts.  And nothing can top the feeling of getting a quilt done and sharing it with those you love.

I love those words of encouragement.  Don't you?  Just keep working.  Just keep going, past all the uncertainties and doubts.  It will become something in the end.

I hope you have a great weekend.

--Nancy.
.

Vote Now at Blogger's Quilt Festival, 2016

Now's the time to look at and vote for your favorite quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival 2016 at Amy's Creative Side.  There are lots of beautiful quilts in 11 categories.  I think you should go look at them and vote (until September 30).

You can vote by clicking the little heart in the upper right corner of the thumbnail image.  Once you've voted it will turn red.

Below are direct links to the quilt categories.

• Mini Quilts 
• Small Quilts 
• Large Quilts  
• Applique Quilts  
• Art Quilts 
• Hand Quilted Quilts  
• Home Machine Quilted Quilts  
• Modern Quilts  
• Original Design Quilts  
• ROYGBIV Quilts 
• Scrappy Quilts

If you see a quilt you'd like to nominate for Viewer's Choice, copy the link for the thumbnail below the quilt image and paste it into the form here.

It's been fun to see so many quilts on display at this festival and I give Amy a hearty thank you.

--Nancy.
.

Dark Strings for Blogger's Quilt Festival

I'm entering this quilt I call Dark Strings in the Scrappy Quilts category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2016 Edition at Amy's Creative Side.  What a fun way to see quilts other bloggers have made, especially bloggers whose blogs are new to me.

I had an abundance of strings and began sewing the dark and medium ones together.  They are not all the same width.  My only criteria was not to have strings of the same fabric touching as I sewed lengthwise.

The blocks are 6" square and I used 2" squares on the corners, then sewed them diagonally.  The finished quilt measures 64 3/4" x 85 3/4".

The batting is Soft n Crafty 80% cotton / 20% polyester.  It hand quilts easily and puffs up nicely after a turn in the washer and a spin in the dryer.

You can see other entries in the Scrappy Quilts category here.  Any blogger can enter two quilts before Monday, September 26 at 11:50 pm. EDT.  Voting begins on Sunday, September, 25.  Click through and have a look at all the categories.

Thanks for visiting.

--Nancy.
.

Red Wings for Blogger's Quilt Festival

It's quilt festival time and I'm entering my quilt, Red Wings and Stars, in the Fall 2016 Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side.  Thanks so much for organizing and hosting this festival, Amy.  It's such fun to see bloggers' quilts I would have missed because I don't know about their blogs.

I designed the pattern for Red Wings as I went along.  It was made over several years' time, a block one week, several blocks another week, then the blocks were laid aside for a while I decided layout and sashing.   I've already written many posts about the making of this quilt.  I'll just share a few details in this post.

The blocks finish at 9 1/2", the blue sashing at 2" wide.  The whole quilt, after washing and drying, measures 62 1/2" x 86 3/4".

I used Soft & Crafty 80% cotton / 20% polyester batting.  It was easy to hand quilt and I like how it fluffs after washing and drying.

The weather has been too warm to use it but I'm sure it will be warm and cozy when cold winter winds blow.

I'm entering this quilt in the Large Quilt Category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  Click the link to see other quilts in this category.

If you'd like to enter a quilt, too, the deadline to enter is Saturday, September 24, at midnight EDT.  The categories include mini quilts, small quilts, large quilts, applique quilts, art quilts, hand quilted quilts, home machine quilted quilts, modern quilts, original design quilts, ROYGBIV quilts, and scrappy quilts.  Go to this link to get all the information and links to each category.  Prepare to be inspired!

After Monday, September 26, you can return Amy's Creative Side to vote for the quilts you like best in each category.

Thanks for visiting.
--Nancy.
.

Quilting in Progress on Morning Stars - OMG Finish for September

When I quilt without marking a pattern on the quilt I call it "free-motion hand quilting."  I can do it with Baptist Fans but I'm not sure how well I would do with a more complicated pattern.

When I quilt this way I don't worry too much about things like that little crooked first curve on the green block.  (It's taken me a long time to overcome my tendencies toward perfection.)  Once it's washed and dried no one will notice that little crook on this baby quilt (unless they go over with with a close eye).

I decided against the monkey fabric for the back because even after a third wash it seemed scratchy.  I found the fabric below earlier this week and decided it would be fine.  It's super soft.

Choosing fabric, layering and basting this quilt, and beginning the quilting was my goal for the September OMG (One Monthly Goal) challenge at Red Letter Quilts.  I'm linking to One Monthly Goal Linkup: Celebrating September Finishes! to celebrate.  Thanks for hosting, Heidi.

Today I'm linking to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and to Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts.  Thanks, ladies.

I hope you have a great weekend, whatever you do.

--Nancy.
.

Basket Play

I made a basket pattern and cut out some plaid baskets to applique. 

I originally had a neutral background behind the baskets.  Neutral is my go-to, safe color for nearly every quilt I make so I decided to be a little "brave" and try out colored fabrics behind the baskets.

I'm just playing around here.  No commitment to backgrounds, to leaves, or to flowers.  The only commitment is to the baskets, and their shape may evolve.  I've been stitching around the edges of three baskets and have found that the two cut on the bias are more challenging to stitch, but I like how they look.  (Only one is shown here.)

My first thoughts for these baskets were plaids and autumn colors.  I pulled both from my shelves and also scraps from my small scrap box.

I don't know where these baskets are headed but I'm enjoying playing and trying out possibilities. 

I'm linking this post to
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
> Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag
> Main Crush Monday #38 at Cooking Up Quilts
> Design Wall at Patchwork Times
> Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilts
> Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River
> Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story

Thanks for visiting.   Wishing you a good day.

--Nancy.
.

A Good Time for a Nap . . . + Brave Quilter

. . . is when I'm too tired to think straight.  I often try to keep going but if I'm doing anything that requires making decisions I just give up and go lie down.  It's a nap or nothing gets done. 

I needed a nap today.  My younger daughter left this afternoon after a six-day visit and my older daughter and her husband and my grands (Malachi, 4; Olivia, 2 1/2; and Isaac, 7 months) left on Tuesday after a busy, almost hectic, four days.  I love having all of my family here together no matter how crazy it gets.  I also end up tired beyond making sense of things by the time everyone leaves.  It's times like these that I realize I'm no longer young (no matter what my brain tries to tell me).

Needless to say, I did nothing on the quilting front over the holiday weekend, nor the week before while I was preparing for their visit.  I hope tomorrow I'll have a little more energy and focus.  Unfortunately, tomorrow is Friday and I don't start projects on Fridays.  My mom used to stay, "Never start a project on Friday that you can't finish on Friday."  As a child and youth that never made sense to me because, after all, there was the whole weekend ahead to work on the project.  But I've since found that when I start something on Friday my enthusiasm wanes by Saturday evening, even if I began knowing it was a long-term project.  Perhaps there's a subconscious expectation of not finishing planted by my mom?

(Okay, to be honest, I've set myself a sub-rule for this no starting on Friday thing, just in case you're wondering.  If I can successfully finish all of one step in a bigger project I allow myself to begin on a Friday, such as cutting out all the pieces for one quilt block; sewing a quilt block till it's finished; cutting out a pattern for a dress; layering and basting a quilt; etc.  That usually works.)

So tonight --Thursday!-- I cut out a little basket to applique.  (I was in advance of Friday by an hour or so.)  I don't have any specific result in mind, just the idea to applique an autumn-ish basket and flower, and maybe several baskets. 

On Saturday I'll resume my quilting efforts in earnest:

• thinking about my Gwenny medallion and "something fishy" for the last border
• finding/making backing for the Mornings Star quilt for Baby Isaac
• cutting and sewing more Buckeye Beauty blocks
• appliqueing this basket

Just out of curiosity:  When do you decide it's time for a nap?  And, do you start projects on Fridays?  If so, do you have success finishing them if they take longer than one day?  I suppose there probably aren't any other moms who planted that idea in their children's brains, are there?

I'm going to link this post to Brave Quilter for September at Pink Doxies.  I expect to make several of these basket blocks.  My "brave" this month will be pushing myself to use something other than a pale neutral background, i.e., a safe background, on at least one or two of these blocks.  I may or may not like them but at least I will have tried something different.  Thanks for hosting, Julie.

Happy Friday to you.
--Nancy.
.

September One Monthly Goal

My One Monthly Goal (OMG) for September is to find/make backing for this quilt, then layer, baste, and begin quilting it.

I found fabric with stars online and showed my husband.  It was a small print with stars in colors similar to this quilt (except that there were yellow stars, too).  He thought it was too busy.  But he did like the fabric below with monkeys.  (Please note that the photo below shows a much smaller section of fabric than the quilt above.  The proportions are not accurate.)

While I'm fine with the monkey print I'm not thrilled with the feel of the fabric.  It's not soft and seems a little coarse for a baby quilt.  I'll wash it again and if it softens up I'll use it but if it doesn't I'll choose some other fabric (or piece several other fabrics) for a back for this quilt.

And that's my goal.  Find others' goals at One Monthly Goal: September Goal Setting Party, a link-up hosted by Heidi of Red Letter Quilts.  If you'd like to set a goal yourself and joint the party, I know you'd be welcome.

--Nancy.
.

Star Border on My Gwenny Medallion Quilt

You'll have to look closely to see the stars on this border:  I used five different fabrics with stars which, combined, have more than a thousand stars, but they're all small and in the light/medium color range.

Choosing the fabrics for the border was easy enough but choosing how to incorporate stars was a real challenge.  The center has star-like flowers and the first border has liberated stars.  I didn't think repeating either in this border was a good choice, especially after trying so many options.  I posted about my first idea here.  Below are some other ways I considered incorporating stars. 

 

I thought about stars during the day, considered possibilities, then laid out my idea.  By bedtime I was certain that I'd found the perfect border.  When I awoke in the morning and looked at the border I knew it wasn't right -- yet.  Over and over again during the month I repeated this cycle.

Several of the border options seemed too decorative, others seemed patriotic (red/white/blue--which I don't have anything against but just not for this quilt), and others just seemed too confining.

I wish I'd taken a photo after the border was sewn and before I added the star points, but here it is now.  The way it's hanging doesn't enhance the quilt itself....

Another view....

Two good things:  the quilt is still close to square and still nearly flat.  I stitched the border on, then unstitched where I wanted to add the star points, appliqued them on, then restitched the border to the center.  I don't know how concerned I should be about it not being perfectly flat but I'm concerned enough that I'll probably try to fix it.  (Maybe I should have started with an 8" x 10" center and I would have had more control?)

I'm writing this before the last border is announced.  When I learn what that is and if I think a change in this border will enhance and go with the center and the next border I will have no qualms about changing this border.

I can't help but feeling that this medallion quilt along is a little advanced for my skills!

I'll be linking to Lori's post at Humble Quilts when she opens the link-up.  Go there to see several dozen ways that others have interpreted the borders for this quilt-along.  It's lots of fun to see the variety.

--Nancy.
.