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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

I'm doing big stuff, too!

Back in March, when I agreed to do the mini quilt trunk show in May, these stars were on my design wall. I didn't touch them for 2 1/2 months (other than to move them out of my way) while I frantically sewed up minis.
Last week I got the border strips cut (haven't sewn any on yet) and Monday night I cut the cornerstones. Major progress, huh? If you are familiar with Sharyn Craig's method of the Garden Maze setting, this will make sense. If not, just smile and nod. I need to choose a color for the sashing and then put black star points on the ends of those pieces, once they are cut. When it is all sewn together it creates the effect of the Garden Maze setting without the hassle of making "X" blocks for the cornerstones.

I"m curious to know what color you think would look good in the sashing, though I don't promise to take your advice. : )

While DD#1 was visiting she finished up the Primitive Gatherings stocking ornaments that she had started on her last visit. Here are all 8 of them and they aren't as bright as they appear. I think they turned out great, so maybe someday I will make them. Click to see them close up. Good job, Angie!

Recently my blog friend, Victoria (Park Hill Farm blog), posted about her great buys at the Keepsake Quilting tent sale. I was amazed to see the red fabric she had purchased (yes, Julie--THAT red!). It is a favorite of mine--older and hard to find. It wasn't on the shelf at Keepsake last October, or I would have finished the bolt, believe me. I expressed my dismay that she had found it there, and the next thing I know there was a chunk of it in my mailbox. Victoria, like so many quilters, is a very generous woman. I promised her another little ornament from some of the fabric. She already has one of my pineapples and a log cabin, so one of these baskets is for her. These are still (obviously) in the works.

Did any of you do Terry's "Goodnight Irene" SAL? I watched. : ) It is a lovely quilt. I've seen it on many blogs and haven't seen one I didn't like, but I especially loved Terry's cool blue and green batiks.
Well, she had all of these HSTs leftover and didn't want to play with them, so I volunteered. Now Irene's dolly can get a good night's sleep, too. The blocks in this little piece are 1" finished. It is approximately 6 1/2" x 8 1/2".
I have a few more HSTs left and am pondering other setting options.

Okay, finally (I didn't think I had that much to share, but this is getting lengthy--sorry), I'm sure many of you have seen Ann Hermes' (Notes From the Quilt Lab blog) yardstick gallery. I love it and have wanted to replicate it somewhere, somehow. A year or so ago I happened to find an old yardstick at a local thrift store from what is now a favorite local quilt shop (it used to be mostly clothing fabrics, but as times changed, so did they). Today I finally figured out where to put it and how to hang it without putting more holes in my walls.
As you enter my sewing room, this is what you now see.
To the right of the sewing room door is the bathroom door. Upon leaving the bathroom you get this happy view.
Rather than using felt pads behind the yardstick and putting holes through it all, I got a similar effect by using clear Command strips and hooks. It holds the yardstick far enough away from the wall that the hooks from Ackfeld Manufacturing fit nicely over it. I'm very happy with the results and hope to find another vintage yardstick at a thrift store when I am in town tomorrow. It is too much to hope that I will find another one from a fabric store. I may have to settle for one from a hardware store--if I can find one at all.

Until next time,
Janet O.

38 comments:

  1. Yes lengthy post, but well worth it. I did smile & nod as you suggested, I was wondering about a cream/tan for your sashing? Your call of course, just my thoughts.
    Love those 8 stockings, I could have some of them quite happily.
    Clever idea for the yard stick, looks amazing & you have given it a new lease of life to hang out with some pretty quilts.

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  2. Great post! You know me...red or brown for your sashing would be my vote!!! That little red pineapple is wonderful and I am in love with the red basket! Your yardstick gallery is out of this world...fingers crossed for another yardstick...fabric store please!

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  3. Everything you make is gorgeous! Love your hallway with those wonderful quilts displayed using the vintage yardstick. Great idea! Your star blocks are beautiful!

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  4. Well, I may have to get out my mom's old yardstick and put it to use when we are moved! I love your hallway and your studio is gorgeous! Not to mention that beautiful star quilt in the works.

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  5. So glad to share that red with you, my friend! Your big stars blocks are looking great on the design wall and the hallway display is so cool. Although they are not vintage, my local Walmart sells wooden yardsticks printed with their name.

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  6. Good golly, woman, have you been busy! Dazzled, Near Philadelphia.

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  7. Love those command strips! Your yardstick hanger is just ideal for those small ones and makes a grand entry into the sewing haven. Garden maze.....for some reason I think any color will work here :) I think a cool blue or green would be beautiful with the black.

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  8. WHAT!?!?!? Someone found some of MY red fabric? :) So jealous!
    Your yardstick hanger looks just perfect. I've been thinking about trying to use one to hang necklaces from. Need to get my hubby thinking on that one. Love DD's stockings - they turned out great. Hope she is doing well.

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  9. I am leaning toward red as the saching. Love the yardstick hanger idea.

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  10. Can certainly see why you wanted to use the great yardstick - your display is so sweet!!! Busy girl.. Was it hard to transition to working with bigger block pieces?? A great red indeed!!!

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  11. Love your yardstick hanger! Good luck on finding another one. I remember when yardsticks were so easy to find ... free, too! I'm a sucker for red ... and good red is a treasure!

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  12. So you have grown up and started doing big quilts. LOL! You have a rainbow effect going in the quilt so rainbow sashing.

    I like the yardstick idea for the mini quilt holders. I found a couple at a thrift store several months ago. I don't recall ever seeing any before in a thrift store. You can "age" a new yardstick.

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  13. I have three yardsticks and a stack of minis that I need to hang...thanks for nudge! Yours look great!

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  14. The yardstick gives you a straight line to hang from. Looks very nice there in your Hallway. Big quilts or Minis I enjoy reading about your Stitching. Happy for you to have a daughter who came home to stitch with you too. Have a fun week-end.

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  15. I love the yardstick dislplay Mamma!
    Ang's stockings look amazing...along with all of your work as well.

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  16. All great stuff going on in your sewing room! Love the red ornaments and great use of the leftovers of Irene! Angie did a beautiful job on those stockings! Thanks for suggesting the command strips for the yardstick gallery... i always forget about those! I would stick with a neutral for the sashings...

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  17. Your star blocks look great! And I LOVE the mini you made with my Irene leftovers! Would it be OK if I shared your picture on my blog, with a link back to you of course?

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  18. Wow! nice post Janet! I've got a couple dozen yardsticks in my collection - will have to check and see if there is one from Stylish Fabrics. I love that idea for displaying them - did you know you can buy a grundle of those little hooks in a bag for cheap from IKEA? I've got some just sitting here waiting to be used! Angie's stockings turned out great - love the colors in your big quilt!

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  19. Sew...did the big blocks feel huge after your micro/minis? My first thought for sashing was cream but then again I love green so that might be nice. I wondered about gray as kind of a play on the black and cream already there but I'm not sure it would look as good as it does in my mind.

    Love the new yard stick hanging system. Mom has a ton of them in her hall closet - wonder if I could swipe a couple?!

    I am smiling and nodding at your garden setting. I have a picture in mind from your description but it will be fun to see if that matches the actual setting :)

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  20. What a cute idea to use the yardstick like that - I can see why you loved it! I sure wish I had a vintage yard stick to share with you :( Your minis look so CUTE there! I bet your larger quilt seems huge to you now that you've been immersed in minis. I'm not sure about the color for the sashing, but I would go with something bright against those blacks. It may come down to what color you want the quilt to "be" because I think that sashing will pretty much take over :) I'm excited to see what you put there - loving the blocks!

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  21. What a great idea for the yard stick Janet, I'll be looking out for my myself.....must check out dh's shed or the hardware store might be the best option.
    love those stars, they are like sparkling jewels, my pick would be red sashing.
    Great post, loved reading all that you have done.
    Julia ♥

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  22. Love the yardstick idea! This is just the kind of thing I was looking for to put in my new sewing room. Makes it easy to change out quilts on display. Thanks for sharing this!

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  23. I do like what you have done with the HST, Janet, I saved mine for another project, too! The Yard stick hanger is a great idea, hope you found another one. I must hunt out an old one I have somewhere :-) Love the stockings too, and your stars also look good. I'm not sure what colour I would use to sash, I can spend ages playing with fabric trying to make a decision!

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  24. I love the antique yardstick; it shows just how small those little quilts really are. I was nodding at the garden maze setting. I need to check it out. Your projects are beautiful as always Janet.

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  25. The little stockings are too cute! I bought a kit to make some mitten ornaments somewhere on our trip to Oregon. Did she iron on the appliqué pieces before stitching them? I love the old yard stick - which I had seen on Ann's blog. If you have to buy a new one, maybe you can make it look old with some kind of stain. I'll have to look for some old yardsticks while shopping in thrift shops.

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  26. Great idea with the yardstick! Your quilts look great! And those little stockings are so cute.

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  27. Okay, where do I start? I love your stars! I am thinking a cream or tan like you have in the blocks for the sashing. I look forward to seeing what you do, you have such a good eye for color. Such a great friend to share some of 'that red' fabric with you! Love the blocks you made with it. I love the stockings DD made, so cute! And the yardstick idea is just so perfect for you little quilts! It sets them off just right!

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  28. The yardstick display is wonderful! I love all your ideas and creations.

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  29. I'll be watching to see what color you end up with, for the sashing.

    You have a LOT of lovely photos in this post - good inspiration!

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  30. Good morning, Ms Janet. I am here in San Diego and loving my time with Sandi. We sure have been on the go, find it hard to keep up with her. We are leaving for our retreat in about an hour, decided to check to see if any new blogs were posted. My you have been busy, I love the rain bow back on your blog. The stars are super, Sandi and I thought a gold (dull or brown gold), (Stars of course are my favorite) The stockings your DD made are so sweet. Your hall and display area are awesome. What a true comfort it is to enter your paradise room. I think you have a winner with your yardstick idea, great job....

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  31. ok you asked...if it was mine, i would find a shirting print, tiny, of the same cream that is in the background of the squares...i think that would tie it all together nicely....and then bind with the black...just my idea...can't wait to see what you choose!

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  32. What a great idea with the yardstick!! If I can find one, may I borrow your idea? Angie's stockings are just fabboo!! Hard decision on the sashing since you have every color in the rainbow in your blocks - I look forward to seeing what you decide!!

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  33. Lovely projects, top to bottom, Janet. It's nice to see you doing bigger scale projects again. I'm sure anything but minis seemed strange for a while.
    What do you think about a rainbow mixture of sashing? A little of this color and a little of that color scattered among the stars? The same colors as you used in the stars.
    Love the little blue and green project with leftovers (you know how I love using things others don't want), and your yardstick gallery is the envy of those of us without such great display space.
    Your posts always encourage me to get off my behind and get going on something new.

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  34. Awesome! I inadvertently started collecting yard sticks several years ago. I don't have a pretty fabric one, but I do think I have one from a funeral home. ;))

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  35. Love your big project stars!! But I have been admiring your little fun quilts too...wish I had some yardsticks to send to you for your gallery!

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  36. You are one busy lady! I love your star quilt; my first thought re: sashing color is a soft, light gold color, but whatever YOU choose will be perfect! Loves those ornaments and stockings, too! I have a friend who used antique yardsticks in place of crown moulding in her barn loft sewing studio, it looks great, she simply butted them end to end and it creates such a wonderful warm and homey look in the space as well as a conversation piece. The mounting idea for yours is brilliant and shows off your minis to perfection!

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  37. Love what you've been working on. Your display using the yardsticks is fantastic. It is very striking and will make it easy to change it whenever you want. Hope you can find another vintage one.

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  38. your stars look great and good for getting them back up on the wall. Your DD stockings are so adorable! what cute ornaments.
    Great goodnight irene little quilt - pretty colors.
    How nice of friend to send you "that red"... nice surprise I'm sure!
    your yardstick hanger is really terrific - what a great post!

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