Good Times with Alex Anderson

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Alex Anderson about my books, quilts, non-obligation sewing and finding the pleasure in quilting and the craziness of life. This first bit includes a lot about how I like to slow down and sew, and how you can too. Not to mention some gorgeousness and advice from the book.

Check it out here! And stay tuned for the second part.

Checkerboard Chillin'

Remember when I was setting my goals for the year? Well one of them was to finish all the quilt tops in my closet. That's a lot easier when you actually remember all the tops you have. Seems I forgot this one. Oops.

Measuring at 60'' by 60'' it isn't a huge top and I can manage to quilt this at home. I even have batting cut for it already.

This is my version of the Checkerboard quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts. When I went to make it at some point after the book came out I decided to control the colour scheme. So I raided all my turquoise, purple, grey, and white scraps. From these I cut all my 2 1/2'' squares. There may have been some stash raiding to finish up the quilt. Shh. It is smaller than that original, however. Partly because of the fabric limitations and partly because this has to join me on the road and the big quilts take up a lot more room.

Seeing as I have another trunk show in a few weeks I might be motivated to finish this up and reveal it then.

One of the things I love the most about this quilt is the way it comes together. Amanda Jean wrote the pattern so you are making it one row at a time. And you press to one side as you go. Then you just flip over every second row. Your seams nest and it comes together as a top in no time. It still works as a leaders and enders project.

Make sure to check out the book for detailed instructions, including the cutting requirements for a larger, twin sized quilt.

Cataloguing the Scraps

So I designed a quilt. It uses 36 fat quarters but there are some leftovers and scraps. Such pretty scraps. I know people hate to see waste and overly generous yardage requirements in patterns. I do too. When I made the quilt I made a point to keep and organize all the scraps. Here they are.

They could combine to do some really fun and beautiful things. Instead of using the extra blocks on the back I kept them aside and they will be used in a baby quilt. There are all those circles cut from the back of larger circles appliqués. They could be another small quilt if appliquéd on a background. Then there are strips and snippets and trimmings. The fabrics are this Vanity Fair bundle from Dear Stella plus a lot of additions from my stash. All pretty. All useful.

Oh the possibilities!

When the pattern comes out in the Spring issue of Quilter's Connection we can talk more about the scraps - how they came to be and what I may have even done with them by then.

Never Gets Old

One would think that after writing the book and making the quilts, after all the Just One Slab blocks, after teaching the class almost a dozen times this year, that after all that I would be tired of making slabs. Nope, not at all.

Perhaps slabs are my default sewing? When in doubt make a slab!

Actually, that is a lesson I teach my students. That once you have the basic technique down it is perfect for when you just need to sew something, anything. If the fabric is there then there is no prep work needed. If you only have a few minutes you can work up a block without even thinking. If the day sucked and your brain hurts you can still sew and not stress about perfection.

Then there are the possibilities! Slabs as blocks, as fabric for making other blocks and more blocks, as background, as the whole quilt... I feel it is impossible to get burnt out on the technique or the possibilities. Maybe you are tired of seeing slabs from me? If you are, then oh well, because I will keep making them.

That mess up there in the top photo? That's what happens when a toddler who has to get into EVERYTHING finds your scrap baskets (also made from slabs) and you let him go to town because it gets you ten minutes of writing. What can I say, though, the boy has good taste. The mess sat there for a few days, taunting me with all the lovely colours. I was head down on a deadline but finally couldn't resist. I figured that if I randomly grabbed fabric and used them as leaders and enders I wasn't technically starting anything new. Whatever we have to tell ourselves.

Pink, orange, yellow, and grey. So loverly and so many possibilities.

Slabs Meet Low Volume

No doubt about it, scraps get overwhelming at times. And other times the scraps are so inspiring and excited. This time it is the latter.

When I was working on A Month of Sundays all my scraps ended up together in one large messy pile. Then that pile moved to a bag. And that bag moved around and was shoved in different corners. I'm not sure why I felt the need to keep these all together, but I'm glad I did.

Ever so slowly I've been sewing together slabs from the scraps. It is like both my books are colliding into a beautiful mess. I'm in love! I didn't, however, want to just make slabs. I wanted to be a bit more creative, experiment a little.

At some point I read Denyse Schmidt's Modern Quilts Traditional Inspirations. Her interpretation of Shoeman's Puzzle struck me the most of all the quilts. Without a moment's hesitation I started turning my slabs into Shorman's Puzzle blocks. She uses templates, as she usually does. Because of the slabs and the proliferation of bias edges I chose a different route. My blocks are paper pieced. Each block has three seams, about one of the easiest paper pieced options ever. It was a smart choice as it is keeping the blocks in check.

Now, to find the time to make more. I've got more slabs sitting there waiting. When I teach a slab class this is the demo fabric I use. I just need a bit more time and some freezer paper patterns. I made the blocks 10'' square which means I can't print them. So freeze paper it is.

Aren't they fun?

Just One Slab Update - Getting Close

2280 blocks.

Makes 114 quilts.

106 quilt tops.

38 completed quilts.

337 packages received.

Close to 750 participants (estimated)

23 guilds.

11 quilt shops.

Nearly every Canadian Province and Territory.

27 US States.

8 countries.

Not to mention the time of the volunteers helping sort mail, put together quilt tops (like Andrea, Jen, Lee, Becca, my SIL, and others), long arm quilters (so many that I don't know them all!), and an army of people making and attaching binding and labels.

Traditional Pastimes is incredible for gathering quilts, distributing kits for making quilt tops, assigning backing fabric and distributing to long armers, and hosting volunteers who are still meeting to finish the binding and labelling.

Then there are the corporate donations from companies like EE Schenck and Robert Kaufman. For batting, backings, and extra wide backings we thank you. It makes finishing up the last quilts a lot easier.

All donations - from 1 slab to a roll of batting - are greatly appreciated.

(And thank-you to my husband and family for helping, donating their time, and tolerating the proliferation of packages, fabric, piles of quilts, and giant rolls of batting.

At this point I am still rallying volunteers to help finish the quilts. I have a stack of quilt tops ready for quilting, enough blocks for about 15 more tops, the binding to get on three more, and then all the labelling. This is on top of the 60 or so quilts that Traditional Pastimes coordinated finishing.

(I am also planning a big thank you for all participants here in this space. Stay tuned.)

Winter indeed arrived in Calgary this week, so the quilts are going to be timely. I'm sorting out the distribution details, but the plan is for a date in early December.

Thank you. Thank you all so much.

Plus, a Quilt Top

Back when I was in Nova Scotia (oh, how it feels like it was last year, not last month) I managed to get a bit of sewing in for myself. I had such eager students that were going back to sew late into the night, after dinner. One night I decided to join them. I made great progress on these blocks while chatting about klutziness, motherhood, real estate, and more. I came home with just some final seams to sew.

I took a break from binding Just One Slab quilts and finishing a baby quilt to get this top together. And now I want to throw everything aside to finish it!

I debated a number of ideas for layout. Contemplated more blocks. Thought it should be bigger. In the end, the idea of quadrants won out. I liked the echo of the quadrants in the blocks into the quilt top as a whole. And I wanted the plus signs to really float on that pieced, scrappy background.

So much fun. All improv fun. And all that grey, such lovely grey. Mostly made from scraps. Just wait for the texture from quilting.

For One Day

Selvages.

Because I use a lot of fabric, I seem to hoard a lot of fabric, I have a lot of selvages. A few years ago I started saving them (instead of... GASP! throwing them away). They filled my giant jar slowly and steadily. Then they ended up all over my basement as the kids got their hands in the jars. Recently I cleaned up my jars - strings were donated for charity quilts, snippets got sewn together a bit, and the selvages were sent away.

You see, I may keep the selvages. I may admire the selvage quilts you find, but I have no real interest in making one. I've got enough want-to-dos on my list that a selvage quilt will never find its way to the top of the list. So I packed them up and sent them off to quilty friends who would make very good use of them.

It is easy to get caught up in making every single cool idea you see. So easy to think you need to keep everything for one day. I just saved my stuff for someone else's one day.

And now my jar is empty, all ready to be filled as I play with fabric again.

Second Round of Just One Slab Quilts

Wow!

So many volunteers helping get this round of quilts together. You have no idea how much their help is appreciated. Thank you so much Linda, Carla, Kathy, Jen, and Becca. Not to mention all the volunteers picking up sets of slabs to sew together from Traditional Pastimes and Addie's.

Right now there is a backlog of 100 quilt tops, or so, making its way to quilters. I've got a stack returned and awaiting binding. More are out with long armers and more will be going. Oh, and did I mention that slabs are STILL arriving?

Wow.

Quilting Pieces Mystery Box

Our beloved neighbours are moving this week. They welcomed us when we moved here nearly 10 years ago, treated us like their own children, and embraced our kidlets like another set of grandkids. We've shared many a bottle of wine and Sunday dinner. I've taken care of their cat, and I hate cats. But we would do anything for them. So when he showed up with this random box on the weekend I couldn't help but say yes when the last thing I need is any more stuff in my house. Besides, the less they move the better. I'm a good neighbour until the end.

This is one of those boxes that makes you excited and afraid at the same time. You can see why...

What a treat to dive into this box! Patterns, notions, fabric, and so much more. A bit of history of someone who sewed in their family. And a bit of sewing history.

Loads of fabric scraps! My guess is that the fabrics range from the 30s-60s. Not sure of the fibre content of much of it, but some pretty sweet fabric. There is a lot more than what you see here.

A few sewing patterns. This horribly offensive one too. Interestingly, I think there is a nearly finished version of this skirt in the box (just missing the waistband) and it is gorgeous. Actually, there are a few nearly finished articles of clothing. And clearly they were made by someone with the tiniest waist ever.  I doubt I would get anything over one of my thighs! But, oh, the fabric.

A quick glance at this makes me laugh because it encompasses a lot of what a produced, slick book includes these days. Only 10 cents! I'll be keeping this one for reference for sure.

Vintage zippers anyone? If only I knew how to sew in a zipper. There were these and so many more trims and notions. Fun little bits and bobs for clothing. And they are sitting on this funky yarn pillow. Sadly, it has seen better days, but still pretty cool.

Then there was this! Roughly twin sized and made quite nicely. Full of fabrics that make me drool and get excited. I plan to finish up this into a lovely quilt. Seeing as the box came from a family member - they think a great aunt - I think this should go back to the family. My neighbours' daughter and husband like it so hopefully it will make it's way back to them by Christmas. What a find, and a what a treat to explore someone else's bit of history. Quilting Pieces indeed.

First Round of Just One Slab Quilts

This was the stack of slabs a week ago. A few more hundred added, a few hundred taken away to make quilts. Total count as of this morning is over 1900 slabs received, not counting finished tops that have been sent.

Last week my sister-in-law, Lee, and Andrea came over to have an afternoon of sewing to get some quilt tops done. It was a fun, frenzied afternoon. We ended the day with 12 tops done. A few bundles of slabs taken home for more sewing, and prep for more sewing. Only 80 some more tops to get done!

This response is overwhelming! In a good way. I'll be honest, I'd hoped I would get 100-200 slabs for quilts. To get 10 times that is insanely awesome! One way or another these quilts will get done and donated to flood victims. If anyone local wants to assemble tops, quilt, or bind then let me know. Another sew day is set up for today and I'm putting together sets of blocks for people in town who can assemble quilts at home.

It's really fun putting together these quilts. Playing with colour and ideas is addictive. Here is the first crop of quilts, enjoy the show!

Snippets on Dates

For the last two or three years I've kept this bin of fabrics scraps by my side while I sew. It sits next to one of my big glass jars full of seemingly useless snippets of scraps. Tiny pieces, big pieces, odd pieces. They all live together in the hopes of becoming something more.

Slowly, slowly, they are indeed doing that.

As I sew, particularly improv sewing, I use these little bits as leaders and enders. That is, instead of having dangling threads on every single seam I often grab two snippets and sew them together. At the end of a moment of sewing I have a new collection of pairs.

Some pairs are small, some a bit larger, and some teeny tiny. Eventually, they will all get sewn together into some kind of crazy, hot, scrappy mess. And I will love it. For now, however, they are still sitting in pairs, like some sort of speed dating event.

On the weekend I wasn't in the mood to sit while we watched UFC and Le Tour at the end of the night. So I set up my iron and finally tackled the pressing of these lonely dates longing to be part of the crowd. And three hours later I wasn't quite done, but I made a good dent.

Now it is time to create a new set, by sewing these piles together. And so on, and so on... It really is going to be chaotic when done, but I'm pretty sure I'll love it. How can I not, when I have these little precious combos littered throughout?

Keep these leaders and enders in mind when you're making your slabs. Makes the process faster and neater.

Gum on Concrete

Gum on Concrete

52'' by 68''

Another quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts, done with my scraps in a totally new colourway. This quilt, quite honestly, reflects the journey I've taken since the book came out a year ago.

... It is me, sewing up a pattern Amanda Jean created. I feel a bit of her, her friendship and enthusiasm, in each stitch.
... It is my never ending obsession with grey. And yes, I only 'made' a few scraps to complete this quilt.
... It is a name that came from someone in the audience at one of my first trunk shows, where I shared the quilt top last summer.
... It is the last quilt I finished before travelling across the country for teaching and another trunk show - something I was never able to do before the book came out.
... It is the quilt I photographed at The Workroom, while there teaching and taking advantage of their perfect for photography light and backyard.

Without Sunday Morning Quilts nothing about this quilt would exist. For that, I am grateful. And although the name has nothing to do with the joy the quilt brings me, I do love it too.

Quilted with a combination of Wonderfil Konfetti and Aurifil 50W thread. Swirls and pebbles and squared off spirals making this quilt heavy and dense. Perfect for a cuddle. Helped out with the use of Quilters' Dream Request batting in 100% cotton.

A scrappy binding in grey, so nothing stands out. Just a growing expanse of concrete.

Constant

Staying on top of scraps is a constant battle. These are about half of the scraps that accumulated in the 3 months I've been sewing in my new studio space. They were sitting all together in my favourite scrap basket, waiting for sorting. So finally I did just that. I love having a system in place, it means this kind of sorting only takes a short time, but it still must be done on a continuous basis.

Did I mention this is only half of them?

Not to mention my existing bins of scraps. I see a massive sort and cull coming soon. Spring cleaning. Starting fresh. Whatever you want to call it, I'll be sharing soon. Unless you want to see another scrap quilting book.

Oh Canada

Oh Canada

72" by 48"

The Maple Leaf quilt is finally done! (Sorry, it's been done for months but it took me forever to get photos I liked.)

Made in complete proportion to the real Maple Leaf Canadian flag. All the coloured sections are made from slabs - scraps pieced together to make fabric. The technique is in our book, Sunday Morning Quilts. I wanted to show that the slabs can be used for more than straight blocks. I also wanted to share a little patriotism to show the Brits that the Union Jack isn't the only flag worth making into a quilt.

How awesomely Canadian of me to snap the photos on Lake Louise as we skated on a snowy days. Hockey skates, fires, mountain, snow... Damn, I love where I live!

Seriously, I do love where I live. Even when I have to pay my taxes and deal with dumb politicians (but those are everywhere, right?). I love our spaces, our vistas, our social leanings, our multi-culturalism, our healthcare (even when flawed), our cities, our variety in everything. I even love my accent. And that's PROgress if you know me.

For the quilting on this I used a combination of Aurifil 50w in white - to densely quilt the white sections with a lot of texture - and Presencia in coordinating colours for each flag section. There were a lot of threads to bury at the end, but it was so worth it.

I will be developing this into a pattern, I promise. Hopefully before Canada Day. I'll keep you posted.

Wine Gums

Winegums

40'' by 55''

Look, I finished something!

This is my version of Amanda's quilt from our book, Sunday Morning Quilts. Such a fun piece. Little scraps, some raw edge appliqué, and really casual quilting. And look at that Washi fabric from Rashida on the back! Because of that I went with a grey and white dotty binding, instead of a harsher contrast with black and white.

I started this quilt off on the wrong foot, when I didn't read Amanda's actual pattern in the book. That left me to come up with a different way to stabilize my little pieces. It wasn't a big deal and I'd happily use glue again. But I did follow her directions for quilting the piece. One straight stitch underneath each row to keep it all in place and make the rest of the quilting easier. Then free motion stitching following each arc - over, back, and over again. If you don't love little frayed edges after washing then this might be a challenge to your sensibilities, but it is worth it. Think of it as another layer of texture.

Pre-washing above, post-washing below.

There is a part of me that wishes I had made it bigger, like my original plan. That will just have to be another quilt. I'm sure I'll have scraps enough!

Considering that I never made my son a baby quilt I think he may lay claim on this one, if he ever stops his commando crawl long enough to savour it.

(PS Sorry about those top two photos, they get all blurry when I put them here... working on it.)

They Never Stop

Gee, maybe I should write a book about scrap quilts?

(This is the top of a queen size bed, for reference.)

I started looking through my bags of scraps this morning, all in search of one particular fabric for a stocking I started. After getting through 2 unsorted bags from recent work (yes, I don't always listen to my own advice) I remembered that I'd used it. Sigh.

Well, no time like the present to enlist my 4 year old in a colour game.

Paper Chains

 As I was saying on the weekend, I am aiming simply these days. It is easy for me to not get caught up in the holiday hoopla, I'm rather good at ignoring a lot of things. Just like I ignore the dog hair dinosaurs on the floor and the sinks we're using as nightstands. That being said, I still want to give the kids something special about the holiday and enjoy my own traditions, the ones I actually enjoy.

The highlight for me is always chopping down our tree. A drive to the mountains, a stomp through the forest, snacks by the bonfire afterwards. It is one of the Christmas preps we do together as a family and I will defend this tradition to my death.

But then I have to decorate the tree. That, I could do without. Thankfully the girls are old enough now to be decent at hanging ornaments and actually get excited by it.

I did something different this year though. I've come to the realization that when it comes to creativity my girls are like me, process oriented. They don't care so much for the final product as the act of creating. I milked that predilection to create decorations this year, instead of pulling out our mishmash of vintage and collected.

We spent an hour making paper chains from leftover scrapbooking paper (but any construction paper would do too). I listened to them sing this as they held each and every link to dry:

A B C D E F G
Gummy bears are good for me.
One is red, one is blue.
One is nipping at my shoe.
Now I'm running for my life.
Because the red one has a knife.

Yup, super Christmasy in this house.

The paper chains are on the tree, accompanied by snowflakes lovingly made after dinner the other night as we drank wine with friends. Just a little bit of tinsel and our tree is done. It is pretty and simple and soft and I love it. Done.

Maple Leaves Update

So close to getting the Maple Leaves done... I really hoped that they would be done by now and I could show them off on my new design wall. Alas, Hubby's real job is the focus of his time, not the finishing details in the basement. (We're also waiting on a ceiling product that I procrastinated on ordering, so it isn't all his fault.)

As far as I'd planned I have one more leaf to make. That will make 12 in total. And a finished quilt size of 48'' by 72''. This makes it lap size and still rectangular to mimic the flag shape.

For additional colours I've added in yellow and turquoise - in homage to the Ukrainian flag, my cultural heritage. I've also played with value, making some flags in low-volume fabrics for a different look.

In case you were wondering, I am going to set this without any sashing. I'm not keen to add any additional colours and I don't want to use white and take away from the center portion of the flag. It might also be that I have a thing against sashing.

Many folks have asked for a template and pattern for these. I am definitely going to put something together, but it will be at least a month from now. I need to get the house in order and I'd like to actually finish the quilt.

Wine Gums Top

Well, I'm managing to sneak in bits of sewing here and there. The baby is napping well and my little girl loves to putter around the house on her own, when we aren't having tea parties. Phew.

It didn't take much to finish this top. Worked on in snippets (hah, get it Amanda?) it comes together rather easily. I love this top. I love the concept, I love the colours, I love the construction. I'm looking forward to the finished project.

At one point I can grand plans to make 4 square panels of these and use them as quadrants, all in opposing directions for a large quilt. It is SO hard for me to work small. But I decided to stay true to the original pattern size so people can appreciate it for what it is.