The Splendid Sampler - First 10 Blocks

In all honesty, I am shocked that I am here. Ten blocks into a 100 block sampler and I'm actually on track and still making blocks. This is made all the more shocking by three things:

• Embroidery
• Small, precise piecing
• Block styles that are so not my norm

That's the exciting part though. It may be work and a challenge for me, but that is exactly why I am doing it. We all need a push out of the comfort zone sometimes. And there is no improv in this sampler, as far as I can tell, until my block. (And that is only a tiny amount as it is.)

I nearly gave up. If it wasn't the 1'' squares it was the embroidery. So not my world. And I have a lot to learn about both of these skills. Then there is probably someone else in the group incredibly comfortable with these and freaking out over applique or getting precise points. I forged through and so can you.

At the beginning of The Splendid Sampler I know there was a lot of stress about fabrics. I ended up raiding my scraps bins. You need little pieces of everything so it is perfect for scraps. Now that I am this far in I think I will end up in stash for the black and whites. I also think I am going to change colours now. Maybe make a change every 10 blocks. That should help keep my interest up and perhaps make a tiny dent in the scrap bin. Besides, I've never really made a rainbow quilt.

Even 10 blocks in I see so much potential in the designs. So many of these blocks could be made many times over for really interesting quilts. The patterns are worth it for that inspiration alone! If you are following along on Facebook or Instagram it is incredible to see the difference fabric makes in the blocks. Some people are getting a bit creative with their interpretations, but I really like the blocks that allow some personality to seep in while still respecting the original design. 

If you aren't up to speed on The Splendid Sampler, make sure to check out the website. 100 free block patterns over the course of a year! Eventually, the blocks will be put into a book format by our fearless leaders Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. If I continue to keep up my blocks will eventually make it into a quilt.

Giant Dresdens Quilt

Giant Dresdens for Baba O, 62'' x 90''

Sometimes quilts are really hard to give away. And sometimes you are so excited to do just that. Not because you want the quilt off your hands, but because you know the recipient will love it. Then there are the times you are sad to see the quilt go, but it is totally worth it because you get to see your cousins you hardly see in order to pass it on to their family. Sometimes.

I come from a giant extended family. My mom, an only child, became the 11th child of her aunt and uncle because that's how things work in big Ukrainian families on neighbouring farms. So I grew up with that family as mine as well. And while almost all of the family was in Saskatchewan, there was one set of cousins with us in Edmonton. We spent a lot of time together growing up, dancing, eating, playing, tormenting each other, laughing.

A few months back they asked me if I would make them a quilt for the Baba on the other side of the family as they are celebrating her 90th birthday this fall. Even though I don't really do commissions I wouldn't say no. Plus, I got to play with some ideas and that is always fun.

Three big Dresden plates, made with the

Fat Cat Ruler

. Gorgeous fabrics and loads of negative space to quilt on the long arm. Pretty quick to get together  - I think each Dresden took me about an hour to make, then only appliqué time. I machine appliquéd, so that wasn't very long either. Just 3 blocks to sew together and long strips for the side. And that was it.

I have a feeling there will be more Dresdens in my future. Maybe. I might need another request from the cousins in the midst of the other deadlines...

My dot to dot quilting on the long arm needs a fair amount of work, but I'm feeling very comfortable with all over free motion work. It is quite liberating and such a thrill to have it come together quickly. For this twin size quilt I was off the machine in slightly less than 4 hours, including my loading time and breaks for texts and instagram.  I used what I call a Paisley pattern, and my long arm teacher calls  headbands.

I've used it before

, but on my home machine.

The back was pieced with what I had at home, including this Amy Butler print from years ago. I bought it for another project that never came to fruition. I was worried it would be too girly for a 90 year old, but my cousins assured me that Baba O will like it. A few extra inserts of fabric that was also used on the front to bring it up to size.

On the front, in the centre of the Dresdens I wrote out birthday wishes. This way there is no need to flip it over to see the real reason Baba O is receiving this quilt. On the back are the labels - one with wishes from the family and one with maker and care info. As I pointed out, the quilt is likely to outlive even them, so the history needs to go with the quilt. But thankfully my cousin's wife has very neat handwriting so she actually wrote out the labels instead of me! I stitched those on over deck cocktails with my cousins. A gaggle of our kids eating popsicles and popcorn and playing in the backyard. Our conversations full of the stories of now and yesterday. Love, history, and the future all coming together, thanks to a quilt.

The Oldest UFO

Generally, I like to call my unfinished projects WIPS, or Works in Progress, not UFOs.  This is because I actually like having a catalogue of things to pick from when I get the chance to sew. It doesn't stress me out - usually.  But this, this project must definitely be called a UFO.

I've been quilting for 16 years now. This project is 15 years old.

Going again into the Way, Way Back Machine this project started in 1999, when people were all up in arms over Y2K. Quilters, of course, put their positive spin on it and started swaps. Put 25 mini charms in an envelope, repeat that 80 times, and swap them out. Bang, 2000 charms!

These days people call it Scrap Vomit. I call it a bag of envelopes I found buried in my garage.

(To find out what else I found in my garage check out my

Instagram

feed. Oh boy. #thingsifindinmygarage)

The smart people with their Y2K swaps took the charms as they came in and sewed together the 25 into one block. Then they were able to quickly put the quilt top together, and keep things manageable. I, of course, wanted to get all fancy. I have sketches and math on trying to figure out creative ways to put my top together. And that's why they are all still in envelopes.

Now it is time to move this into the WIP stack. But me, being me, I need to catalogue all of this first. Into my sketchbook will go the addresses as I unpack. And then I think this will become my next Leader/Ender project. Let's hope it doesn't take another 15 years to finish this!

Update: I found a book where I wrote down all the people I swapped with! Now to just get these organized in piles.

Did any of you participate in a Y2K swap?

Mountain Meadows Quilt Top

This is Mountain Meadows. A loverly quilt top finally finished. I had to go in the Way, Way Back machine to figure out when I started it. My initial sketch and images were made 3 years ago. And I collected the fabric over 2 years ago to make a few blocks. Then it sat and sat and sat. We had the great fortune of a handful of mountain trips this spring and summer and the original inspiration of the mountain meadows was on my mind.

When

The Modern Quilt Guild

asked me to do a Webinar this quilt popped into my head. Pulling it out and working on it helped me formulate the presentation: Improv With Intention. So I worked hard to get it done in time for the Webinar. It was well worth the effort.

(It measures roughly 55'' x 75''.)

These were my original inspiration images. Hikes in the mountains on sunny days. Meadows filled with small, colourful flowers. Expanses of grass and weeds and plants in varying shades of green. Vistas so beautiful but little tiny bits of life stealing attention. Just how to capture that in a quilt?

In the Webinar I discuss the process of making the quilt - from inspiration to the final top. It isn't as straightforward as one might think. If you are a Modern Quilt Guild Member you can access the Webinar for free now, even if you didn't join me last week. To access it make sure you log in and join the Community site. Then click under Resources and there it is. Not only do you get to see more images and learn about my process, you get to hear my awesome Canadian accent.

It was actually quite appropriate that this quilt was revealed through The Modern Quilt Guild. All of the green fabric in this quilt was generously given to me by quilters, readers of this blog. I knew I wanted green solid scraps and I had absolutely no green solids. To buy them all would have been impossible. So, thanks to the internet I just asked if anyone was willing to share, and boy did you! Packages arrived for weeks and I had a lot of fun sorting through and organizing by value. Some of you sent pieces larger than 1/2 yard cuts! It was so generous and shows exactly how the spirit and kindness of quilters, not to mention the creativity, is fuelled on line. Exactly what comes to mind, for me, when I think of the Modern Quilt Guild.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. I truly appreciate it.