WIP

Progress

• Skill Builder Sampler, just sashing, borders and assembly to get the top finished! Whoo Hoo!!

Final 2 blocks - #35 and #36

Feathered Star. Nice to use the paper piecing method that I created and provided to our QAL.

Alice Brooks Butterfly modified to have a square top left corner. Templates and completely machine pieced. Antennae are made by using a small zigzag along the piecing lines.

Working with What You've Got (embroidery work was completed, and final border has now been applied), now ready for a back to be created and quilting.

Ready to Quilt

• McCall's Mystery - Spring Time
• McCall's Mystery - Hot Jazz
• Rose of Sharon Bird Block Wallhanging
• Irena Bluhm - colored pencil class project
• WWVQG 2006 Basket BOM

No Progress

• Roman Stripes
• Pam Bono's Out of the Darkness -- ready to do Block #7
  
• Alaska 2007 Shop Hop --ready to do block #9
• Honeymoon Storm at Sea
• Oddie’s Wild Nature (O.W.N.)
• Snowflake BOM win/Blizzard quilt

2012 WIP Stats:
Completed: 12
In Progress: 13

Check out other WIP's at Freshly Pieced.

BOM's Away Monday

Progress on my Skill Builder Sampler includes #31 and 32 blogged about last Wednesday.

But now #33 and 34.

 A mini-loan star. Very pleased with my results on this one. I've got one a little larger than this I've been working on for a couple of years (or have it sitting because I just didn't like the results on my Y seams). This one lays pretty flat and I haven't even ironed it yet. I was careful to finger press --I find using my finger nail and the seam between my nail and finger to work really well--the seams as I went along.

Surveyor's Compass. Paper Pieced. I drafted this myself in EQ7 and thought the yellow bits were circular. On closer examination, they could have been straight. So four sections are sewn trying to get a curve (not much) and the other four I sewed straight across. Not really possible to paper piece a curve without cutting the fabric on a curve so it will lay right.I also intentionally oriented the furthest back spike to angle away from the center for the background (red) fabric connection. This helped me to find a way to start with the largest background piece, then the two smallest spike sections, then the smaller background piece; then the yellow, then the middle spike half section, then the largest/foreground spike half section.

 

Using a background with small hearts that are printed so orderly give an optical illusion to the background that I would rather not have, but it is what it is. On to the last 2!

More at WhataHoot Quilts!

WIP Wednesday

Progress on my Skill Builder Sampler is about all I can talk about right now. Focusing on it to try to finish it up.

#25-30 blogged about on Monday along with another progress piece.

#31 and 32. -- set in seams and hexies were the skills to be learned.

The set-in seams went ok. Tried to color this as a sunflower. Wish my stem had stayed right at the center, but I decided I didn't want to take it out. I could always use a fabric pen and color the last bit to the red petal! ;-)

My first hexies, not too bad.  Definitely a new skill for me since I had to learn how to stitch them together as well as make them using the templates and basting, etc.  Used a blanket stitch to apply them to the background. Would any of you now remove the background behind the hexies?

 Four more blocks to go, sashings for the last 12, a printed center surprise, final assembly and a border!


Ready to Quilt

• McCall's Mystery - Spring Time
• McCall's Mystery - Hot Jazz
• Rose of Sharon Bird Block Wallhanging
• Irena Bluhm - colored pencil class project
• WWVQG 2006 Basket BOM

No Progress

• Pam Bono's Out of the Darkness -- ready to do Block #7
• Working with What You've Got (embroidery work has been ordered!)
• Roman Stripes
• Alaska 2007 Shop Hop
• Honeymoon Storm at Sea
• Oddie’s Wild Nature (O.W.N.)
• Snowflake BOM win/Blizzard quilt

2012 WIP Stats:
Completed: 12
In Progress: 13

Check out other WIP's at Freshly Pieced.

Design Wall / BOM's Away Monday

Two more borders on this quilt top from blocks given to me for being our local quilt guild's co-chair in 2009 and mostly fabrics from fat quarters given to me when I got married from the same group from the same year. I added a bit of fabric from my own stash to fill as needed. Still planning on one more border.

Too big even for my design wall now, so had to try to hang it in the living room on a curtain rod, so a little wobbly, but you get the idea. Currently at 78"x78".

My new working title for it: Working with What You've Got

I've also got 6 more Skill Builder Sampler blocks done! Yippee!!

The first three are to build improvisational skills.

 

The next three are to build skills working with odd shapes and templates.

Check out other Design Walls and BOM's Away Progress.

WIP

Completed

Olympic Rings  - a write-up about the inspiration (my grandfather's olympic journey) and details about the quilting are in an earlier post.

Started

• After completing a year of being the co-chair of the Walla Walla Valley Quilt Guild (back in 2009), some members made 'thank you' blocks. I decided to utilize our logo and design the use of these blocks into a quilt that represents the logo. That same year, I got married, and members also contributed fat quarters into a basket and it was presented to me as a gift from them all. Very thoughtful. I have also incorporated at least one piece from each fat quarter into the quilt.

I didn't have this on my project to do this year, but it was just sitting there one night and I thought, this can't be too hard to put together. I got quite a few rows done one night, and then finished up the 'center' of the quilt on a Sunday.

It still needs the borders..some are pieced, with more sig blocks, and one border will have embroidery work too. But I am pleased to have the center done.

• As part of my Fearless Design small group, the latest project was a swap of roman stripe blocks. Two of the members gave me their collections as well, so I could have ended up with 21 x 16 - 3" finished blocks. There might have been one or two sets I didn't get, but this is what I've got up on the design wall at the moment.

Progress

Alaska 2007 Shop Hop (up to date through August)

Ready to Quilt

• McCall's Mystery - Spring Time
• McCall's Mystery - Hot Jazz 
• Rose of Sharon Bird Block Wallhanging
• Irena Bluhm - colored pencil class project
• WWVQG 2006 Basket BOM

No Progress

• Pam Bono's Out of the Darkness -- ready to do Block #7
• Skill Builder Sampler
• Honeymoon Storm at Sea
• Oddie’s Wild Nature (O.W.N.)
• Snowflake BOM win/Blizzard quilt

2012 WIP Stats:
Completed: 12
In Progress: 13

My Olympic Connection

A few weeks ago, you may have seen my tutorial on drawing the Olympic Rings.

I have finally quilted mine and got a bit more information on the connection I have with the Olympics through my grandfather, Russell Slocum. More about the quilt below.

This photo (my grandfather is on the far left) is likely the 1927 Glendale High School, California relay team for the 4x100 yards with the best record of the day. Coach Hayhurst is in the vehicle. Frank Wykoff is on the far right.

My grandfather and Frank each regularly ran the 100 yard and 220 yard dashes and participated in the relay. My grandfather used to say that they would trade wins in these races often and never bought his own shoes--they were always given to him. My mother has shared that his 8th grade record was done barefoot. The best online records are on frankwykoff.com and focus on Frank's wins, but fun to know that my grandfather was in that league of runners in his prime.

Taken in February 1928

In 1928 at the southwest Olympic Tryouts semi-final in Los Angeles my grandfather, I believe is 2nd from right, placed 5th in the 100m. He was then invited to continue on to Harvard for the U.S. Olympic Tryout finals. My grandfather made the trip by train and was predicted to not be far from the front runners, but pulled a muscle in warmup or a preliminary heat and was then out of consideration.

Frank went on to win gold in the relay at the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936.

My grandfather maintained his friendship with Frank for many years.

Here are a couple of shots of my grandpa actually running. Foremost runner in this photo.

So, a few details about the quilt.

I decided that since it was the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam that my grandfather competed in the tryouts, that I would include that date, and the year I made it, in the quilt. This year the Olympics were in London, so used the fonts from each Olympics respective signage.

In the lower left is Amsterdam 1928, and in the lower right London 2012. I also included my 'signature' after the 2012. I usually do it the other way around, but thought that was an easy way to incorporate it in this particular quilt.

Top center is an image of his face taken from photos in the 1927 - 1928 time period that I have tried to quilt the shadows so that you get the effect of his face in the quilting. It was only a dream for him to compete in the Olympics, but it was a special place in his heart.

Top right is a quilted image of him running, and the top left is the Olympic 'icon' used to represent track and field.

I did laurel or olive leaves like a wreath around the rings and added a few feather like figures in the lower corners and between the 3 rings on the top. All figures are outlined to help them 'pop' against the background stipple.

The olympic flame is at the bottom center.

And a backlit shot, reversed in photoshop....for fun!

Design Wall / BOM's Away Monday

Had hoped to show you my Olympics themed quilt, completed, but I had a big interruption that I didn't appreciate today. Some things in life we need to let roll off our back, but I have a hard time doing that unless I have a solution of how to handle the situation. Anyway... come back later this week to see a full write up of the quilt that I hope to have finished!

On my Design wall is an extension of what I had last week, I found the other roman stripe sets and so have added a bit more. I have seen a few half square triangle settings that are very 'organized' and look nice, but wondering if this random creativity might be more fun to have as an original ;-) Since I will likely donate it to our local women & children shelter, I'm thinking it could provide a great background for telling many stories, or driving cars between the lines, etc.

I got my 8th block from the 2007 Alaska Shop Hop done as progress on my BOM. This is the Moose's Tree from Calico Whale in Valdez, AK. The dark fabric in the middle of the tree I added from my own stash. It was intended to match the patterned batik at the bottom, but I'm not sure if I just cut the pieces wrong from the fabric provided (i.e. the orientation of cutting), or if there really wasn't sufficient fabric. Anyway, I like this dark brown with pine needle like shapes that are lighter as a replacement.

Thanks to anyone who voted for my '1892 Rondure' quilt in the Quilting Gallery's Themed Contest this past weekend "Modern Geometrics". If you've not seen this quilt before, it is from my McCall's 2011 Design Star Challenge #1. I placed second in this weekend's contest and will receive a $10 gift certificate to Contemporary Cloth. Thank you!!!!

More Design Walls @ PatchworkTimes
More BOM's Away Progress @ WhataHootQuilts

Design Wall Monday

It has been a couple of weeks, and although I haven't finished the last thing on my design wall (still working on the pieced borders), I decided to put up another effort.

I received as part of my small group swap a lot of roman stripe 3.5" unfinished blocks. Just started putting them up in a variety of shapes and then connecting them together. Here is what has developed. Not sure if I want to leave it, or make it more 'organized'. wdyt? Feel free to leave links to other designs done with this block.

I suppose any HST setting might work.

Check out other Design Walls at Patchwork Times.