JOE PROJECT

 I tuned into Joe Cunningham's Quilt Freedom Workshop.  His special guest was Pat Pauly.  I just love her work.

In the last part he showed us how to make this little block. 

Well, mine's a little different from his.  But I did use two fabrics that don't 'go together' like he asked.

SATURDAY WORKING

 I love it when I can get things that I need to get done done.

While watching Joe Cunningham's Quilt Freedom Workshop, I managed to finish making the backing for this month's UFO Challenge quilt, Solstice Star.  I even got the label inked.  It's a big one!

Afterwards, I made three more of Cheryl Arkison's Playcation 2022 improv blocks.  These are such a nice break for me.  

NOT EXACTLY LIKE JOE'S

 I started working on what was supposed to be the project Joe showed us yesterday in his Quilt Freedom Workshop.  I wanted to make something that would work with my other 'Gifts' blocks.  That meant more orderly, less improv-y.  I made a strip set but didn't want to cut into it until I knew how it would look.

I made a simulation of the strip set on paper, then experimented with it.  This first one is more like Joe demonstrated.  It ends up looking like jagged lightning.

But I cut the complete strip set like this, and liked it a lot better.  

So I cut the strip set into 4" sections then cut them diagonally and sewed them back together.  Then I laid them out to see how that would look.  I was surprised at how long they would be.

I experimented with how they'd look if I sewed them back together crookedly.

Then I cut one of the units diagonally the other direction and sewed it back together.

This was interesting.  I'm going to sleep on it and decide what to do tomorrow.

JOE AND RED

 Today was this month's Joe Cunningham's Quilt Freedom Workshop.  The topic was 'Red'.

He had a San Francisco artist, Amy Trachtenberg,  as a speaker, along with Carolyn Ducey from The International Quilt Museum and Julie Silber, quilt collector.  They each talked about the color red and how it affected the composition of the artwork and quilts we were viewing.  It was very interesting.

I was listening and watching, but I was also working on a chunk of background for the Big Flower quilt, Amity Baroque.

It's looking like I will not have enough of these fabrics to finish the quilt.  Eek, I have to dye fabrics to match now.  Good grief.

JOE WORKSHOP 12.0

First Joe showed us a lot of vintage quilts from the International Quilt Museum that featured secondary patterns.  They included a lot of Log Cabin and Courthouse Step patterns.  The way the were set or colored created a secondary overall pattern.

Then he showed us a process to make an interesting effect.  

I used some of the vintage Yukata cotton print I've had to make mine.

First step was to make a block with a wave of color through it.

Then put a large print fabric, the same size, over the top and slash them both into one inch strips.  Then sew them, alternating, back together.

QUILT FREEDOM WORKSHOP 14.0

 Today's Quilt Freedom Workshop with Joe Cunningham was about three color quilts.  We started off by looking at some quilts from the International Quilt Museum.

Then he had us cut and sew our fabrics in specific ways, producing parts and pieces to make into an arrangement that pleases us.

This is how I left it at the end of the workshop:

Darrell has been working on the railings for the deck.  This is the first piece.  There will be glass installed into it - it will be very interesting.

ADDING ON

 After I put all of the 'X' blocks together from Joe's Workshop, I thought it was just blah.  So I thought I'd add a few more with variations.  I'm all out of the Brandon Mably fabric, so I went with a solid yellow, Kona Bright Idea.

Something is not quite right.  So, I went looking for some more of that Brandon  Mably fabric in the background of the larger 'X's.  I'd already tried finding it at the commercial fabric shops online.  Today I tried looking on Etsy and lo and behold I found a yard at $14.50.  A little pricey but worth it, since it's out of print.  But, I was shocked to see the shipping would be $10.50.  That makes it $25 for one yard.  Yikes!  But I purchased it anyway, because, you know...  Then I see it's coming from Montreal and it's going to take a while for it to get here.  I guess I'll set this aside for a few weeks while I wait.

LITTLE TOP

 I started with just a yard of fabric.  It was a piece I picked up while we were visiting Charleston South Carolina.  I purchased it from a little quilt shop in a cinder-block building, Stitch-n-Sew.  I thought the fabric reminded me of the area.  Bright yellow background, reminiscent of the bright sunshine, with boldly colored sea creatures reminding me of being so close to the sea (no alligators though).  I paired this bright yellow with a violet-blue solid for Joe's project this month.

The yellow fabric was cut into 6" squares and the blue into (more or less) 1" strips.  I did eventually trade out the solid blue for two other print fabrics of the same hue to seem more 'make-do'.

Someone used the term 'coping strips' in the class when talking about adding a strip of fabric to make the square big enough.  Joe really like that, I do too.  I hope it catches on. [Maybe I'll name the quilt 'Coping']

So, this was as big as it was going to get with using just that one yard of yellow fabric.  I ended up with 36 6" squares.  But I used only 35.

It is 27.5" by 38.5" - - -

I just love that 'tomato red' - maybe I should use that color on the backing, or maybe a blue and yellow pin-dot.  [You know, you can never find the fabric you have in your mind.]

QUILT FREEDOM WORKSHOP 12

 Today was the 12th Quilt Freedom Workshop with Joe Cunningham.  That means it's been a year of monthly zoom workshops.  Time flies.

Today he talked about pattern progression and showed us quilts from the International Quilt Museum with examples, all curated by the museum director, Caroline Ducey.

Then we started on a project of our own.  He had us cut out 6 inch squares and 1 inch strips. We were to slash the squares diagonally and insert a strip.  Then slash again and insert another strip to make an 'X'. 

Then he had us modify and explore how far we could go with deviations. 

I stayed on the conservative side.

I still have a few more to make.

UGLY

 I thought I would do the project that Joe did in his workshop on Saturday.  Trying to use up old fabrics, I pulled these from the stash.  I didn't do a very good job of picking because this ended up being some of the ugliest things I've ever seen.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I don't even think there is anything I could do to make them better, nor do I want to.  Off to the scrap pile with these.

DOUBLE DOWN

 This morning was another wonderful zoom workshop with Joe Cunningham.  I finished up that last seam on my Shattered blocks from the other day first.

While I watched I finished another set of nine Shattered blocks.  

It had started snowing last night and it never stopped.  There's 10 to 12" of snow on the ground now.  The dogs don't like it.  But, we are staying warm and dry up here in the studio.

After Joe's workshop I started quilting on Opening Night.  I did the big setting triangles with a computerized 'feathers' design.  

SEATTLE MQG SEW-IN

 We had the last of the year Seattle Modern Quilt Guild's Sew-in on zoom this afternoon.  It was fun, as always.

I was finishing up working on my Bias Strip Daisy project when the meet up started.  I had been working on it most of the morning and made some good progress.

I put it aside at this point and worked on making more Bowtie blocks from yesterday's Joe project while we talked about trivial stuff and enjoyed each other's company.

JOE WORKSHOP 7.0

 Here we are with the 7th Quilt Freedom Workshop.

Today we made Bowtie blocks.

We always end with a song.

TRIMMING HSTS

 Sew, cut apart, press seam open, trim.  Repeat 480 times.

That's how it goes for the expanded blocks made form a Quilt Freedom Workshop.

Oh, my aching neck and arm.

upper right is the picture of the original blocks I'm trying to replicate, but in different colors, of course.

I managed to get a lot of the trimming done while participating in zoom meetings.  Today was a Brave Patch meeting from 1pm to 3pm.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

 I have to decide on which colors I want to use on these little improv blocks.   All of the colors will stay the same, except for the right and left side points. I'm happy with rest, but I go back and forth about these.

The green is Peapod (brighter)

Green is Olive (duller, but the same as fabric in middle of block)

This is Leather - not used in blocks at all.

PNP3 AND A PLAN

 I made nine more little blocks today with a little different process.  This time I added the bias tape.  I was afraid I wouldn't like it, but I do!

I came up with a plan for a quilt.  I'm thinking I'll make a version of the quilt seen at the International Quilt Museum where Joe taught this workshop from.  (See post from last Saturday, it's in the picture with Joe).  Of course, I need more fabric than I have.  I went to Fat Quarter Shop online and was greatly surprised to discover they had all of the fabrics I need.  So, I'll be waiting for them all to get here.  It could be a week or more.  In the meantime, I have enough 'Kona Parsley' to put a border around each block to make them 8".  I got today's blocks done.

PNP2

 Second day of Process not Pattern.  I made another set of 10, which actually turned out to be 11.  I used a new set of steps but the same fabrics.

PROCESS NOT PATTERN

Joe Cunningham's Quilt Freedom Workshop this month was about following a process instead of a pattern.  

He was broadcasting from the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln Nebraska.  He and the curator showed us several Log Cabin type quilts along with some cotton crazies. 

We all fell in love with this quilt.  Maybe I'll do something like this someday.

His assignment was to follow a few steps and create ten 6" blocks.  What we do with them is up to us. 

Starting with an approximate 7" square:

1. Add a strip.

2. Cut in half, flip one side and sew back together.

3. Remove one corner and replace with a different fabric.

4. Insert a strip.

Then square up to 6" squares.

Some of mine ended up as rectangles so I had to cut off the long side and add it back to the short side to make them big enough to make a 6" squares.  That just added more interest!

I loved making these.  I'm much more engaged in improvising than I would be if I was making the same block over and over.

Here are my first ten, I'm really looking forward to making some more. Maybe with different steps.

 

VIRTUAL SEWING

 I joined a few members of the Seattle MQG and attended a virtual sew-in this morning from 10am til about 12:30pm.  That was fun.  It's nice to be with people who share a common interest and speak the same quilt language.  There was probably more talking than sewing going on, but I did manage to sew together my other project from Joe Cunningham's last Quilt Freedom Workshop.

This is another two fabric project.  Anna Maria Horton's Pegasus and Celestial Blue from Kona.  I never thought I'd find a project for this Pegasus fabric.  I love it, but it's some difficult colors.  And it doesn't photograph well.

It's small.  I'm thinking about adding some kind of border.  Hmmm.

PUTTING SQUARES TOGETHER

 From last Saturday's Quilt Freedom Workshop, the little black and white project is coming along.  I finally figured out what I didn't like.  I had cut strips for the border from the black and white cat fabric.  The cats were evenly spaced and running around the edges.  That was not the look I was after, so it occurred to me to cut them into squares and rotate them to break up the pattern..  It looks a lot better now.

Before

After I cut the border fabric into squares.

Sewn into rows.

All sewn together...

After I got it all sewn together, I realized that I had, somewhere along the line, lost the black pieces in the bottom border.  Tomorrow I'm going to take that bottom border off and add some blacks to it.