Quilt-in Background Top

This is what I have worked on all weekend.  Well, not really allll weekend.  I did take a couple of naps and played games on the computer and read blogs and finished a book.  So, I don't want you to think I slaved over this one quilt top.  This small top - about 36 inches square - is the background for some applique.  Back in September I attended the Ogallalla Quilter's Society's annual fall retreat.  The proposed project for that retreat was applique.  Since applique is not really one of my favorite things, I decided to work on another project or three.  However, watching people at the retreat work on this project, I found it really intriguing.  I loved the concept, the story and the meaning behind the pieces along with the designer, Cinde.  My friend Kathy and I decided that we needed to do a project, also, but we would wait until the January quilt-in at our guild.  That quilt-in was this past weekend. 

Kathy got to the church with a sketch of what she wanted to make and an armload of her hand-dyed fabrics that she recently snow and ice dyed.  (way cool stuff)  She just jumped in - which we learned at the first of the school year is her nature (can you say North?) - and began working on her quilt top.  She got it all put together before we left Saturday afternoon.  (sorry, I didn't take a picture of it.  Maybe she will send me one and let me post it here later, hint, hint Kathy)

I showed up with my folder of the design elements, a couple of tubs of fabrics to choose from, another stack of fabrics that might include a background fabric and some steam-a-seam 2.  I also arrived with no clue as to what I really want to do.  My original intention was to use the light blue as my background.  However, Friday night I had changed my mind and decided I wanted a pieced background of subtle monkey wrenches. (or churn dashes)  I left the quilt-in Saturday with the middle squares put together.  Today, I added the borders.  I didn't know I was going to put those on there, but Saturday night while eating dinner I saw the two fabrics (waiting to go in the wash) and decided they would be the perfect borders for this quilt.

Now, I am making and cutting out all of my elements.  Hopefully, I will have everything ready to go later this week and can begin the designing.  Even though the quilt top could stand on it's own right now, it's just a work in progress, but I am pleased with my background. 

What's New?

Even though I am not getting to sew and quilt as much as I would like this summer, I am plodding along and doing a bit here and there in my spare time.  I have an idea in my head about a future quilt, so I drew it up, traced it, cut it out and put it together to see if I would like it.  It's not totally what I wanted, but it looked good so instead of tossing it, I made it into a little wallhanging.  I had fun adding the nose, eyes and eye lashes through my quilting.  I learned alot making this little quilt. First of all, make sure you add the iron on adhesive to the wrong side of the fabric.  Both the eyes (both pieces of both eyes) and the face itself are the backside of the fabrics, because I wasn't paying attention.  After ironing the wonder-under to the right side of the purple fabric that was to become the face, I kept telling myself to not make that mistake again.  I cut out 4 pieces of fabric to make the eyes and I ironed my adhesive to the right side of every single one of them!!  argggg!!!  I used them anyway.  I think that maybe the eyebrows, which I had left out of my original drawing, are from some of that same fabrics.  The tongue was also not on my original drawing.  It just needed something else and that open diamond looked like an open mouth and therefore needed a tongue.  Like I said, not perfect, but it works and has actually quilted and bound with hanging triangles so the future owner can hang it on their wall. 

I saw a quilt on Basket Full of Scraps and fell in love.  My favorite all time block is the Monkey Wrench, aka hole in the barn door aka churn dash.  I love this block.  I once made my sister a quilt using this block and lots of plaids.  It is still one of my most favorite quilts I have made, even though the quilt is probably long gone.  So, when I saw that quilt on Basket Full of Scraps I knew I had to make it.  I recently took a liberated basket class with Gwen Marston and this quilt was the perfect combination for me to make.  So, I got started by making my fabric for the basket.

Then I began making my little churn dashes.  I made the two on top first.  They are on the small side.  So I made the three on the left a little bit larger.  Even though I thought the two on top were too small for this quilt, I may enlarge them with a few strips of fabric and use them.  We'll see what happens next.  I am liking the direction this is going, but it is not jumping up and down with excitement and letting me know that I am on the right track.  As a result, I will plod along and make a few more blocks to see what direction this will lead me.