Quilts

WIP: Those Pesky Envelope Blocks

February 5, 2014 Elizabeth E.10 Comments

These blocks are like the growly little animal down the block that tries to grab your pant leg as you walk by, as if to say that they own the sidewalk and you’d better not forget it. This is how I left the blocks after finishing up On Line, my Four-in-Art Quilt. But they wouldn’t leave me alone. I’d wake up at night, thinking I should Do Something with them, maybe because of that Yankee thriftiness we all seem to have instilled in us. How many of you have bags of blocks that didn’t quite measure up, but haven’t given away or pitched into the trash? Yep. Just as I thought.

So one early morning, I turned them all this way.

I got rid of the ones I’d played around with the bleach because 1) they weren’t that interesting with their color discharged, and 2) they smelled like bleach. (Ick.)

I do have ideas for them, and hope to work on them after I get the grading done on the Poetry Test that I gave yesterday. I want to work on these blocks so they’ll stop growling at me as I walk by the sewing room.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced Fabric’s Works In Progress Wednesday.

WIP on a Thursday

January 23, 2014 Elizabeth E.7 Comments

I love that Lee, of Freshly Pieced Fabrics, forgot to put up Works In Progress Wednesday until today, for that’s about the speed I’m moving at this week and it makes me feel better that there’s someone else on the planet who is marching to a different drummer.

But today’s WIP is all about the upcoming Four-in-Art reveal of our art quilts, on Saturday, February 1st (just listen to me hyperventilate!).

This is as far as I’ve gotten–making wee envelope blocks for an idea that is cooking, even percolating, but going no where fast. Grading, prepping for class and of course, a trip to the Road to California Quilt Show (with Deborah of Simply Miss Luella and Cindy of Live A Colorful Life and my quilt group, The Good Heart Quilters) for the next two days are Mighty Interrupters. The overarching theme for this year’s Four-in-Art is Urban, and last quarter’s reveal was “Maps.” This time it is “Structure.”

I’d thought about recreating a structure on a structure, like this small birdhouse on an existing wall of a house.

Or doing something with these amazing buildings in downtown Pittsburgh; one picture was taken in the late afternoon (the top one) and the other was taken in the morning.

Picturesque Burano also captured my heart, but I decided that given the parameters of our group’s art (it has to be 12″ square), I’d rather save this for another day when I have a bigger canvas. And more skills. (Throw “more time” in there too.)

I love the structure of these freeways, but it reminded me too much of a map, which was last quarter’s reveal. So what am I cooking with, with baby envelopes tacked up on my pin wall?

See you in a week, and we’ll both find out.

Quilts

Ay-Yi-Yi! It’s Christmas!

December 4, 2013 Elizabeth E.13 Comments

Well, that tune is playing right now on the iTunes list, and it’s true–no presents yet. But we’ve started setting out my husband’s nutcracker collection, and pretending that Christmas isn’t 22 DAYS AWAY!!

So in order to really tackle that list of Christmas jobs, I got right to work doodling some quilting ideas on my Santa Quilt mock-ups. I set the intensity to 50% and print them out, then doodle away. It’s my map, because I don’t feel uber-confident in the FMQ Skills Department.

I should be joining the crazies at the Mall, but instead I’m listening to Christmas Carols, working on my Santa–my main work in progress. Besides, the Christmas cards. And getting the tree. And cleaning up the house. . .

Like I said: Ay-Yi-Yi, It’s Christmas!!

Linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced Fabrics. Today it is hosted by Cindy Lammon from Hyacinth Quilt Designs.

Quilts · WIP

WIP Wednesday

November 13, 2013April 27, 2014 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

I seem to be on an Amish trend. First the book announcement and a round-up of my Amish quilts, and then with this WIP Wednesday, news of my Amish With A Twist-2 BOM status. I was sailing through these monthly chapters of fabric and pattern until this one: twenty-eight blocks, all log cabin style.

I got out my trusty swatch/color helper and started cutting. I had to add a bunch to my cards to keep them current, one selvage snip at a time.

At first I was confused, with what they wanted, then I figured it out. They want a TOTAL of 28 strips, in a variety of the colors listed. I did my math, and figured out that would be about 4 strips of each different color, in the dark color way and a different number in the medium color way, so lined them up on the board and started cutting.

And cutting.

I sewed the centers together, then did one complete round of strips. They look kind of cool lined up here, I think.

I assembled them in kind of a log-cabin-block arrangement, just trying to get the visual.

And finally–twenty-eight blocks completed. I have eight more to go in a different coloration, then assemble and finish.

I’m also working on the #friendshipxandplusswap showing up on blogs and instagram; there are quite a few of us who have paired up, decided on the number of blocks, and are going at it. In October I was supposed to send my partner two blocks (we make four and send off half), and in November, four. Well, here’s a part of November’s, I still owe October’s and December is right around the corner. We all plan to blog on the last Friday of the month, so if you are not entertaining a turkey-pumpkin-pie hangover from the day before (American Thanksgiving), and can head back around, you’ll see some more of these blocks.

Next WIP rattling around in my head comes from when Leanne announced the theme for our next Four-in-Art challenge: Structure. So when I was visiting my sister and her husband at Cedar-Sinai hospital this past week, I took some photos to get me in the mood. They have very cool structures there, in terms of modern, angular buildings. But it’s their art on the inside which is swoon-worthy. (That’s another post).

Here’s the Big Kahuna of WIP projects, and the deadline is fast approaching. I have now received all the 12″ squares from my bee mates. Now to find the hyper-overdrive-Christmas-blast of energy to get it done! I’ve not arranged these yet how I want them, but I love seeing them and all the signature squares, up on the pinwall.

I could bore you with more, but I think that’s more than enough.

Linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced.