RSC Blocks, Little Plaid Basket, Locust Trees, and the Ocean

Autumn has been moseying its way into central Ohio, even now at the end of October.  The temperatures are cool but the colors are still mostly green.  It's an autumn without the bright colors we associate with fall.  The colors and timing this year is similar to the the year I made the maple leaves quilt.  That year I decided if nature wasn't going to provide autumn colors, I would make them myself.  I think we'll still have green leaves in November again this year!

These six blocks below are probably the last I'll make for my Rainbow Scrap 9-patch quilt.  Last month Angela suggested sea colors--blues/aquas--but I had plenty of those and made these instead.  

Oops!  I finished stitching this Little Plaid Baskets with Zinnias block.  How can I have spent so much time with it in my hands and not have seen the problem?!

It looks like I'll be doing some unstitching soon.  (Color above is more accurate.)

Lizzy and I both talk about locust trees.  I love our honey locusts, and was surprised when she first responded with her intense dislike of locust trees.  What's not to like? I wondered.  She mentioned the thorns she remembers from childhood and how they stabbed her feet.  But ours don't have thorns.  With a little research, I learned that there are several kinds of locust trees.  Finally, a year or so ago at a nearby park, I saw what she was talking about.  Now I understand her dislike of the trees. 

In autumn the leaves of our honey locust trees turn a bright golden hue.  When they cover the ground, they almost seem to pave the it with gold.  I feel so wealthy in the fall.  The leaves add such brightness to my world.  Their only drawback is that they are not friendly to our house:  on rainy or damp days, they cling to our shoes and if we're not careful, come inside and fall to the floor leaving a mess.  Even with that small inconvenience, I love them.  (The photo at right was taken in a neighborhood a mile or so away.

And the ocean!  We went to the dear, dear ocean the first week of October.  I was thrilled to go!  After family events at the beginning of the year, I thought our trip last September was the last time in my life I would see the ocean in person.  It was wonderful to go again.  (The weather is better in September than October.  That is, if there isn't a hurricane.)

This was our view from the hotel room on sunny Tuesday morning.  You can see the rain streaks on the window.  They were easy to ignore with the gorgeous view.  We were on the third floor this year, so a better view but more steps. Later that day we walked through beautiful Thompson Island.  It's on the northeast corner of Rehoboth Bay with a path that meanders through a forest and ends at a tidal marsh.  It's an interesting contrast to have forest just a mile or so from the ocean.

The forest floor was covered with pine needles from the tall loblolly pines. (What a fun name!)

The next day was cloudy with a calm ocean.  I love the ocean no matter what the weather but boisterous waves are more fun to watch.  It was foggy in the morning and still cloudy after the fog dissipated.

It was interesting to see the little tide pools after the tide went out.  They were gone after a few hours.

Another interesting feature of the beach this year was the ledge the waves/tide created in thee sand.  It was less than a foot high and was only along a short section of the beach.

On Thursday, the waves were stronger and the sky mostly clear blue.

This is the path we walk from our hotel to the ocean.

And this is the path from the ocean to the hotel.

I've been back from vacation for two weeks but I'm having trouble setting aside the vacation mindset.  Responsibilities?  What responsibilities?  I just want to relax.  Do you struggle with the transition from vacation to real life, too?  I need to get on with making alternate blocks for the RSC quilt....

--Nancy.

Taking a Look at Little Plaid Baskets with Zinnias

I laid out these basket blocks to see how they look, just to refresh my memory.  Where was I going with these?  What did I have in mind?  I know they'll need to be rearranged....

My notes are pretty sketchy.  I remember I was originally going to have them around the sides and bottom of the quilt with some other blocks in the center, then decided on just baskets.  Did I have a different configuration in mind than this, because there's one more basket that didn't fit this layout?  Was I going to stagger them?  I can't think how or why I would have thought that might work.  (Reminder to self:  keep better notes!)

The baskets will finish at 10" x 12".  As they are now, the layout would measure 40" x 60" but with sashing and a border the measurements will increase.

I wonder if these baskets will drive someone nuts. There are at least three or four different basket shapes and the plaids are cut in several different directions:  on the diagonal and on the straight grain with some plaids horizontal and some vertical.

My thought at this point is that these baskets need some space between them.  Shall I sew two 1" borders around each using different fabrics, or the same fabrics/color, or....?   I remember my Cheri Payne Baskets of Plenty (here and here) around which I sewed the same fabric.  The result was a very static quilt which I thought looked awful.  (I still have those borders to unstitch.)  Anyway, I was thinking perhaps dark greens, different shades of browns, greys, maybe reds, maybe even blacks around these baskets.  Maybe.

This is the basket I'm currently stitching.  The colors in the photo are a little brighter than in the actual block.

When it's finished, there will be one more basket to applique and flowers to choose and stitch for two baskets.  This is has been a slow quilt to stitch.  I began collecting photos of zinnias in September, 2021, so it's been 3½ years!  I guess I've had some quilts in progress longer than that, though. 

There's no great hurry to decide because I have more applique to do for these, but I think it's good to start thinking in advance.

I'm linking this post to
  > Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
  > Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuations
  > Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts
  > Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

On a health note.
I've had one, long, ongoing headache since the middle of November when I first had vertigo.  The vertigo is still gone, but the headache persists, with varying intensity.  I went to a neurologist on Friday who diagnosed the headache as New Daily Persistent Headache.  What a name!  He thought that when they put tubes down my throat for surgery in October they may have hit a nerve or two.  He offered two options for treatment, either of which he said should break the cycle:  an oral, 2-week round of the steroid prednisone or an injection on either side of the base of my skull.  Ouch!  I chose the oral route, but there hasn't been much change yet.  He said it may take a week or so.  I hope it works because I'm mightily tired of having a constant headache.

I hope you're healthy and happy and doing well!

--Nancy.

This and That

Last week I needed some slow, portable hand stitching that didn't require much thinking.  I pulled out several of these little plaid baskets with zinnias and stitched while I listened to and watched a conference online.
I finished these two, above and below.  They are crooked because of the angle of the camera--they really do have perpendicular edges with square corners.

Below is one that's still in progress.  The colors of all these baskets are much more vibrant in person.

I think I still have half as many basket blocks to finish as are finished but I'm beginning to think of how to set them.  Maybe several scrappy borders around them, but no decisions yet.  There's still plenty of time.

My favorite iron that I've ever owned is this Hamilton Beach with auto shut-off, Model 1421OR.

It heated in less than a minute, stayed on an hour before shutting off (auto shut-off required for me because I forget to turn off my iron), and had a button to push to wind the cord into a storage spot at the bottom (something new to me).  I don't use the steam feature.  I've had a lot of different irons in my lifetime, including a Rowenta (that sparked).  Sadly, I set this one too close to the edge of the ironing board one day and it fell.  I almost caught it.  When it landed on the floor the light stayed on and I thought it was still working, but then the light went out and it was dead.  I was so sad.  I bought another Hamilton Beach with similar features.  I hope it turns out to be as good.

Fruit trees are in bloom all around us, but we lost two of our three cherry trees last year to disease.  The third and remaining tree has a few blossoms.  In past years they looked bounteous. 

Did you watch the eclipse last Monday, the 8th?  We were a few miles outside the path of totality so drove about 30 or 45 minutes to a nearby small town to see it and sat in the parking lot of thrift store we often visit. 

Totality lasted only two minutes, and it was amazing.  The sky did not get as black as in some of the photos I've seen online.  Instead, it was like sunset in all directions toward the horizon--at 2:00 in the afternoon.  I doubt I'll be alive in 2045 to see the next one so I'm glad to have seen this one.

Bramble Blooms is on hold at the moment while I try to imagine possibilities.  I'm actually considering redoing the first border.  I'm really such a slow thinker when it comes to creating quilts....

I'm making slow progress on Everyday Patchwork.  I'm beginning to wonder if I really like hand quilting as much as I thought I did.  But if not hand quilted, what?  Not machine quilted, but maybe big stitch or tied quilts?  Or maybe make the tops, enjoy the process, then pass them on to an organization that has people who will quilt and bind them or turn them into comforters.  I have such a stack of quilts to be quilted!

I hope things are great for you!

--Nancy.

Little Plaid Baskets: One Done, Another Begun

Done! I'm taking my time with these baskets.  No hurry because I have plenty of tops already awaiting needle and thread to turn them into quilts.

Begun. I usually stitch the stems first which means I can adjust the placement of the flowers if they're pinned to the stems quilt right.  A green basket makes it a little hard to see green leaves.  I hope the quilting will make the leaves standout a little, and if not, then upon closer inspection the leaves will be obvious.

The six finished baskets.
Just recently I was thinking that maybe these baskets are too "big" for the flowers, that is, take up too much space and are too dominant in each block.  That may be but I can't think of anything I'd like to do to change them.  I'm hoping that when all the blocks are together, the flowers will be strong enough to overcome the baskets.  I'll have to wait and see....  In this photo, everything is a bit too "glowy" even though the colors are mostly accurate.

I'm linking this post to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.  Click the link to see what the other lovely ladies are slowly stitching today.  Thanks for hosting, Kathy.

I hope you're having a good Sabbath.
--Nancy.

Like a Kid Out of School for the Summer

Yesterday I looked forward to today as if I were a kid let out of school for the summer.  I realized that the quilt I was so diligently trying to finish by the end of May--BowTies--was done and the only other active quilt in progress was hand quilting Flowers.  My life was wide open to possibilities.  Today, however, I'm feeling at a loss.  I have to make a decision about what's next (because I can't just sit and do nothing, can I?).

There are several possibilities.

Roses at the Garden Market?  These blocks have been tugging at me.  Each green square will finish at 4½". These have been on my mind for a few months.  I started them in 2015 and they've been waiting since 2017.  I can't work on them quite yet because the kitties are here until next Wednesday and I need to lay all 180 of the squares on the floor to sort the arrangement.  Then I'll decide on sashing/or not between blocks.  I'm torn between red and white/natural striped sashing and grey or some other color between blocks, or maybe a group of nine blocks side-by-side and sashing around those....  Or...?

Baskets of Plenty are still waiting, too.

These are sewn into a top but they will get unstitched.  These bright, lively flowers deserve better than the static, monochromatic sashing they have now.  What was I thinking?!  But unstitching is a sit-down task similar to quilting.  Maybe these would be better when I finish quilting Flowers.

The blue and light sampler blocks have been finished for a few years.  Finished unless I need to make more.

These need sashing and a border.  What color, what fabric?  I have 20 blue 12" blocks and am thinking about adding several brown ones--maybe.  I'm also thinking about 4" sashing, but I'm not sure.  And I'm still not sure about 4 x 5 blocks or 4 x 6 blocks or 5 x 6 or 7 blocks.  All of these blocks have a diamond or a square in the center, surrounded by the opposite.  It's interesting to me how much weight some of these carry.  I also find it interesting how the same arrangement of parts can look so different depending on the tone or shade of the fabric.

I have some little 3½" spool blocks I should do something with.  I like spools, sort of....

These are made of more modern fabrics in mostly bright colors.  It would be a simple, quick finish, I suppose.  But I can never decide what to do with little quilts.... 

Sweet Land of Liberty is in the wings but I'm not ready to pull that out just now.

Or, of course, I could start something new.  Now that's a fun idea!

Maybe a quilt with rose-printed fabrics?

I've been collecting them for a few years now and have some vintage pieces.   I don't have a specific pattern in mind, though....

I guess I could always clean up my sewing space.  (I'm too embarrassed to post photos.)

Or I could play, like kids out of school, or just be lazy for a week and sit and quilt and watch videos or listen to books on tape....  I think I'll decide tomorrow.

Do you ever feel like the kid out of school for the summer?  Do you have summer quilting plans?  Do your quilting habits change from season to season?

--Nancy.

Counting Zinnias - One Monthly Goal for March

My original idea for these baskets was to have them along the sides and the bottom of the quilt, surrounding center blocks, so they would be upright when on a bed. But after seeing them all together like this I'm reconsidering that layout.  It will be a while before these blocks become a top but every stitch is a little progress.  Two blocks are already stitched (but not shown in the photo below).

Because I still have two stacks of fabric sitting out as possible flower fabrics (and I need to put them away) my goal for March is to count the number of baskets, the number of zinnias, leaves, and stems I would need if each basket were to have three flowers, then count the number of zinnias, leaves, and stems I already have prepared or are in progress.  that will give me an idea how many more of each I need to make for the current number of baskets.  And then I can put those stacks of fabric away.  Finally.  Unless I need to make more baskets....

The blocks will finish at 10" x 12".  This is not my goal for March:  I need to decide on a layout and size for the quilt so I'll know how many more baskets to make and whether I'll need to make alternate blocks, sashing, borders, etc.  I think the baskets could use a little more space between them.

I'm linking this post to March One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty.

On Another Topic
Does anyone understand what Blogger's been doing by making us click to allow third party cookies on some blogs (my own included!)?  Why do some blocks ask this question and some blogs don't?  I haven't been clicking "allow" so my comments are Anonymous and I usually forget to add my name and email/blog url.  There are plenty of things I can do well but tech stuff is not one of them. 

I hope all is well with you!

--Nancy.

From Finishes to Unfinished

It's probably a good thing to review how I spent my quilting time during the year, for both both finished and in-progress quilts.  It was a challenging year for a variety of reasons--every month or few weeks there was a home or some other big problem--and my quilting life seemed to suffer a little.  Hence so few finishes.  But here we go.

The Finishes of 2022.  All the way to the binding, in no particular order

Cheddarback was a quilt-along with Gaye Bomers.  I finished the top in 2018 or 2019, then layered, quilted, and bound it in 2022.

Dear Prudence is a small quilt, sewn as a quilt-along with Pam Buda.  Hers had an outer border of pink.  The pink fabric I had just didn't work for me so I changed it.

Little Blue Folly is another little quilt.  Looking at it now I wish I'd chosen red circles instead of the triangles.  I have no use for this quilt so it is truly a folly.

Coral and Grey is another little quilt.  (You'd think I like making little quilts....)  The coral pieces were leftovers from the churn dash quilt, below.

Buckeye Beauty is a baby/toddler-sized quilt I started more than a few years ago and never quite fell in love with.  I like it better now that it's finished.  It's still waiting for a little someone who needs it.

The Interim Finishes and In-progress Quilts of 2022.  Some of these have been in progress for a few years and received extra time in 2022.  Other than the small quilts, above, I don't think I started a single new quilt.

Churndash Top is one I started to participate in ChookyBlue's sew-along this year.  The top is finished and awaiting the "perfect" backing fabric.   Corals are one of my favorite colors of, of course, I love this top.  Maybe I will be able to quilt it in 2023.

Flowers, a Linda Brannock pattern, was a sew-along in a Facebook group.  I'm currently hand quilting it, not yet halfway finished.

Little Plaid Baskets with Zinnias.  I started the basket blocks at least 6 or 8 years ago -- empty baskets with no idea what to do with them.  I decided on zinnias and spent some time making the flowers and leaves, all of which still need appliqued (after deciding placement).  The layout of the blocks is still under consideration.  I didn't think I'd like them lined up in rows but they look so cheerful. 

Burgoyne Surrounded just happened last year.  I had lots of little 1½" squares and decided to use them for that.  It is currently awaiting a border with appliqued leaves along one side.

Quilts in Progress from Previous Years

Baskets of Plenty was Cheri Payne's last Facebook sew-along.  She give us the pattern pieces and we decided their placement.  I love these blocks which is making it really hard to choose sashing and finishing--because I don't want to ruin them.  Perhaps this is the year I will unstitch the sashing (which is so static) and create a beautiful quilt of them.

The Blue Sampler Blocks are ones I made with the idea of variations on a theme.  I will probably need to make a few more for a decent sized quilt--or make a smaller quilt.  Maybe these will get some attention this yea.

Time Flies is awaiting backing and quilting.

Everyday Patchwork has backing on a bag and may be next up for hand quilting.

It's so easy to start a quilt, and sometimes so hard to finish.  The easiest part for me is making the blocks after choosing colors and fabrics.

And just to say, I'm amazed at the speed at which some of you create and finish quilts.  It's fun to imagine getting faster but as I get older I'm getting slower, so there's not much hope for speed for me.  That's really okay because there's so much joy no matter the speed.

I wish you a Happy New Year!

--Nancy.

Indecision

Indecision always slows me down.  I think the reason so many of my quilts-in-progress get laid aside is because of indecision.  (Do you call quilts in this situation unfinished, having a time out, quilts in progress, laid aside, UFOs?  What's your name for them?)  These quilts are usually ones that I dream up myself or that I have to make some decisions to finish them and I get stuck.  This way or that?  This fabric or that?  Sashing this width or that?  And all the other decisions that go into a quilt.  When I have enough of these quilts-in-progress they become a cycle of picking up where I left off, again and again and again.

The quilt I'm getting ready to unstitch is Baskets of Plenty but I need to make some decisions before I pull out my seam ripper.

This is where I left it:  borders around each block, sashing, and cornerstones are all stitched.  The angel at the top is prepared but I don't think I stitched her down, so at least there's that. 

The problem is the brown sashing.  And maybe the burgundy borders, too. 
The brown color's wrong and the fabric itself is even more wrong.  I bought it on sale at JoAnn a few years ago.  It was such a great price that I was sure I could use it for something.  It's all cotton but it's both course and rough, almost scruffy.  I could leave it but I would never be satisfied.  Sadly, I don't know what fabric, or what color, to replace it with.  A darker brown, better quality fabric?  Grey borders instead of burgundy?  Or...?  I nearly always think of primitive quilts with dark colors.  Would this quilt work with medium tones?   If you have thoughts/ideas about borders and sashing for these blocks, I'd love to know! 
 
One of my problems is not being able to truly envision how a quilt will look before it's finished.  I guess I have an impaired imagination, or at least impaired mental vision.  It's rough when you have to sew something to be able to see it, then not like it and have to unstitch.  Anyone face that challenge?

But maybe my biggest problem with this quilt is that these blocks have become precious to me.  They were part of Cheri Payne's last sew-along on her Facebook page.  She provided the pieces of the patterns and we all chose how we wanted to use them.  It's always a bad thing when preciousness happens because objectivity flies out the window.  Who can be objective about someone or something they love?

I've also been scouting around for backing for Time Flies.  This is a quilt that won't get unstitched, thank goodness!

I'd like to find fabric that relates to time: clocks, hourglasses, watches, sundials, even dandelion clocks (you know, dandelion seed heads?).  I'm hoping for fabric with red/in the red range and perhaps grey, black, and/or tan.  I've been trying to think of other time-related images.  Ideas, anyone?  I saw Michael Miller's Vintage Treasures Children at Play fabric and considered play-time and the idea that children grow up so fast, as in time flies, but decided the front of this quilt wasn't quite playful enough for that fabric.  I'm sure some fabric will turn up.  I just hope it does before I finish the quilt that's in the hoop now!

I hope all is well in your part of the world.

--Nancy.

The Most Fun I Ever Had Making a Quilt

Truly, making Cheddarback as a sew-along has probably been the most fun quilting I've ever done (though Baskets of Plenty is right up there, too).  It was challenging, frustrating, not fun, but when I look back at the whole experience of making this quilt, I think of it as fun.

This was a sew-along offered by Gay Bomers of Sentimental Stitches.  Many thanks to Gay!  It began in March, 2019.  We received five patterns each month, one for a 12" block and four for 5" blocks.  Gay recreated all the blocks from an antique quilt which she called Cheddarback because the backing of the quilt really was cheddar-colored fabric.  She also created a few more blocks and offered an adapted arrangement, which is the one I chose.  You can see the original quilt in the sidebar, to the right and down a little.  Some of us who made this quilt attempted to recreate it using fabrics as close to the originals as possible; others made the quilt using whatever fabrics and colors they chose.  There was a Facebook page for the quilt-along where we shared our progress.  It really made it feel like there was a group of us working together. 

 
In the version of the quilt I made there are 16 12" blocks and 54 5" blocks.  Most are pieced, a few required paper piecing, a technique I learned with this sew-along.  This paper-pieced block, at right, was the very hardest of all the blocks (for me) and I think it was the first paper-pieced block I made.  It did not endear me to the process, but I persisted and finished the other blocks that were paper pieced, too. 

The quilt has six 5" basket blocks, or seven if you count the 12" one at the top of this post.  There are three letter blocks; several paper-pieced blocks in both sizes; a few applique blocks; a few blocks that are just odd; and some traditional blocks.

For backing fabric I used Paula Barnes's "Rose Basket" from her Madison Square Collection by Marcus.  For binding I used fabric from a red shirt.  It seemed in keeping with the original quilter's choices:  she used clothing fabric for some of the blocks.

The information below includes details I like to keep track of:  Which batting did I use in that quilt?  How much shrinkage was there?  What size did it actually finish at, etc.  And, of course, how long did I work on that quilt and when did I finish it? 

Timeline for this quilt (and measurements--the quilt lost ~3" in width and nearly 4" in length).

~3/01/2019  Began

 4/21/2020  Final blocks finished    
 5/11/2020  Blocks sewn into top   (72" x 86")
 9/11/2021  Layer and basted
 9/12/3021  Began hand quilting
 3/29/2021  Quilting finished   (71" x 83 3/4")
 4/14/2021  Binding finished   (70 3/4" x 84 1/2")
 4/15/2021  Washed and dried--finished!   (68 7/8" x 82 1/4")

From finished top to washing and drying, and due to quilting and washing & drying, the quilt lost ~3" in width and nearly 4" in length!

I used Mountain Mist 80/20 cotton/poly batting.  It was one the company sent to replace one of their wool battings that was a fail.  I had it on hand and decided to use it.  It was easy enough to hand quilt and the fibers didn't come through the front or back of the quilt.  I would probably use it again.

 Below are two of my favorite blocks.

This is a 5" block, a pattern I hadn't seen before or since.  It was appliqued.

This is another 5" block.  It was paper pieced.

I'm thrilled to have this quilt completely finished!  I think the quilt needs a new name, since there is no cheddar on the back, but I haven't come up with one yet.  Ideas?

I'm linking this post to
> Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty  
Thank you for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.