Fall Frost Obsession

About this time last year I saw a block pop up on Instagram. It was part of a sew along and I was immediately transfixed. Did I want to participate in the sew along? Sorry, no, not for me. But I could not get the block out of my mind. Luckily, the pattern for each block in the sew along was for sale individually.

This is the Fall Frost block designed by Heck Yes Sew.

I made one block - it took me hours - and set it aside, thinking I’d satisfied my craving. But it lurked in the corner of my creativity for months, haunting me. I had enough of the fabric I first used for background to make another block, so I did.

Then I realized that I wanted to make a whole quilt. That began a search for more of the background fabric. Alas, I wasn’t able to find much of it, but I did find similar colours. Being an improv quilter, however, meant that it was easy enough to come up with a new plan. Improv is, after all, about starting without knowing where you are going to end up. So I channelled my inner Tim Gunn to “make it work”. I’m still a bit short of one of the colours, now that I’ve gotten this far, but it is getting sorted.

This whole thing is out of my norm, my comfort zone. All that precision piecing, such a dark background, big expanses of a single colour. Frankly, it’s rather perfect for me right now so I couldn’t be happier.

It is the peak of fall colours here right now, and the weather is making a swift change this week. I don’t know when we’ll see snow, but it would be great to get this done in time to enjoy in the upcoming season.

Quilted Baba Update

Confession: I had a hard time working on this project over the last year. The reasons are many and varied.

First, moving to the studio a year ago meant my Morning Make routine was upended. I only do handwork or writing at home now, for Morning Make. Then, when I arrive at the studio things aren’t always so smooth. At the beginning, my son was coming with me so he could do school online. I didn’t feel comfortable having the machine going while he was doing school so he had a fighting chance at concentration. Then, because the studio is attached to our company offices, I was often pulled into work work stuff. In the end, I struggled to find the dedicated time to work on these blocks.

Second, this is boring and repetitive sewing. Tiny Xs, squared up to 1.5” x 1.5”. There are 100 in each block and the whole quilt requires 81 blocks. A girl can only do so much before it drives her to madness. And, let’s be honest, it’s a short drive these days as I struggle through perimenopause.

All that being said, I have no doubt that I will finish the quilt. It's too important to me not to.

In the last month I’ve pulled it back out. My son is finally back in school full time, so that barrier is removed. I also have my own means of transportation again, which means my mornings are no longer heavily influenced by my husband’s schedule. So I can come in when I want and sew before anyone knows I am here, minimizing the company interruptions in the morning. It’s not perfect, but I am getting more consistency.

One stitch at a time, one stitch at a time.

I usually make 10-20 little squares each day. Then it takes a few hours to put an entire block together, mostly because of all the pressing! One day, when I know I have the time, I will try to make a block from start to finish and time myself. If only to satisfy my curiosity.

The truth is, there is no need to put pressure on myself. This was never going to be a fast project, there is way too much piecing for that to happen! This is about persistence, not patience.

Irie - Experiment to Quilt to Gifted Hug

Irie

51” x 68”

She likes to break the rules, go her own way. One day you see her a certain way, the next you can barely recognize her. It isn’t that she wants to keep you guessing. Rather, she just goes with how she is feeling, how she wants to express herself that day. What you think about it doesn’t matter, how she feels does.

What started as a sample block for an Instagram tutorial now lives in the home of a lovely individual who loves birds, keeps the sage, and shows incredible kindness to strangers. How do you get from one to the next?

I really just cut some fabric to talk about trimming and squaring up blocks when you are doing improv sewing. The block was sewn, the reel posted, and then everything was set aside for the rest of life to live. Shortly thereafter the donation opportunity came up. The block was still out, being bold, and I thought it was a perfect jumping off point for a full quilt. So I raided my solids, picked up a couple more fat quarters to round out the contrast, and made a full quilt. Simple, yet bold.

The bird fabric was an absolutely perfect contrast to the front. It was sweet and pretty and full of details. In the end, the quilt was gifted to an individual who absolutely loves birds. Did we know that when handing out the quilts? Nope. It was like it was meant to be!

Quilted on a rented long arm with a simple back and forth pattern, but done on the diagonal. Bound with one of my favourite solids, this bright coral. It is a great frame to finish off a beauty.

Hazel - From the Archives to Cuddles

Hazel

56” x 72”

Like her namesake eyes, no one can ever quite get a perfect read on her. She’s a bit mischevious but still follows the rules most of the time. She’s shy, but a deep conversationalist. She loves the beach but hates the dirt. You can be two things at once.

My stash is deep, and that includes many unfinished projects, sets of blocks, teaching samples, and a bunch of random things. I’ve been carrying around this bin of started blocks and chosen fabric for over a decade now. I pulled it out as part of my series: Old Projects Cheryl Has Laying Around, What Should She Do With Them? These blocks come from on of the patterns in my book, A Month of Sundays. The original was calm and inspired by beach grass. This version? She’s a Hazel.

The pattern itself is super easy. I think I started with 10 blocks already made and some strips cut. I did the rest of the cutting, sewing, pressing, and even assembly in a few more hours. Not counting the futzing on the design wall to get the layout just right.

For quilting I went really easy on myself. End to end wavy lines in a light pink. It emphasizes the linear nature of the blocks but also softens them. I had a day rented on the local long arm and this was a very quick finish. And score! Found some Liberty cotton in the clearance bin to use on the back.

To bind the quilt I had just enough of this mint green and white stripe. A lot of the fabrics came from a collection that was released about 12-13 years ago from Cloud 9. I used the stripe in other colours in the quilt itself but saved this green for the binding. With my much improved machine binding skills it became a perfect frame for the finish.

Hazel, like a few others, made their way into new homes this summer. A warm treat for some special people. More on that in another post.