Lori's SAL and The Tiny Club

This is what I made for Lori's (Humble Quilts Blog) "Land That I Love" SAL. I haven't had a chance to quilt it, or name it.  

When Lori announced the SAL I was really in the mood to use fall colors, so I rummaged through bags of HSTs and my scrap basket under my cutting table and came up with everything for the blocks. The setting triangles and squares were cut from a FQ.

I keep telling myself I am going to hand quilt it, but it hasn't happened, so maybe I just need to machine quilt it and have it finished. And if someone has a name idea, I would love to hear it.

Now, just what is The Tiny Club, you may be wondering. Well, the wonderful quilt shop over the mountain, Village Dry Goods, is offering a series of 3 classes taught by Lynn Hopkins. It is all about 2" finished blocks. 

In the background you can see Lynn giving instructions. In the foreground is one of his custom rulers and patterns

Lynn has custom designed rulers that allow you to make precise 2" finished blocks based on a 3x3 grid--and that is no simple task. At each class he gives us patterns for 4 blocks, and demonstrates what we need to know to experience success. Below are some of the blocks he has made, and some of his quilts.

In the two photos above you see many of his 2" blocks. My hand in the photo on the right gives you a bit of size perspective.

 The blocks shown to the left are all made from silk ties--and they finish at 2" just like the others. If you have ever worked with silk, you know how hard it can be to keep it from slipping and sliding. Then, to make things this tiny and preserve accuracy is insane.  

Below you see a collection of Lynn's little quilts.

 

 

 

To the right is Lynn's Jacob's Ladder mini quilt, made from 2" finished blocks, of course.

And then we have the masterpiece! Look at this incredible quilt--all the little blocks within it finish at--what else? Two inches!!

I was so inspired afterward that I came home and made a few blocks myself. Five of them were from Lynn's patterns and the others were from my own patterns for 2" blocks. Mine are mostly based on a 4x4 grid (much easier to do than the 3x3 grid). I am doing them all scrappy from the fabrics in the basket under my cutting table. Someone's got to use them. :)

Today (November 13, 2021) was World Kindness Day. I hope you were able to find a way to surprise someone with kindness, whether you knew about the designation or not.

Until next time,

Janet O.

October Monthly Mini

I hadn't planned on making a Halloween mini, but when I was sorting through some Sandy Gervais Fall fabrics I've saved from years ago, I came across a small pile of Halloween themed fabric tucked in among them. And this was born. It is about 8 1/2" square. I think I will name it "Boo Who?" If you look closely you will see that much of the fabric has "boo" printed on it.

Linking up with Wendy (The Constant Quilter blog) where all good mini-acs go at the end of the month.

The hyper-quilting of the spider webs in the setting triangles makes the blocks poof out. On a normal quilt I might not like that effect, but for a Halloween quilt it somehow seemed appropriate.

I don't usually use holiday themed fabrics for holiday minis (I usually use holiday colors in my good old repro fabrics), but I couldn't resist seeing what I could create from these scraps that were passed on to me by another quilter. I added the orange for the setting triangles (from an old Primitive Gatherings line), and for the back I chose a piece from a bundle my Mom once picked up years ago at a yard sale. You can see it in the photo below.

Though this was not my "Baggie Challenge" mini, it could probably qualify. I have set aside a baggie of scraps that I intend to use for that, but it may be December before I get it made.

In the meantime, I am ready to start quilting my "Land That I Love" from Lori's (Humble Quilts blog) doll quilt SAL. And I have almost finished the piecing on Pam Buda's "Dear Prudence" doll quilt SAL (Heartspun Quilts blog).

My design wall is currently covered with this project--my version of Gay Bomer's Heartfelt BOW. None of it is sewn together yet.

The lighting doesn't show how purple this really is, but I think you can still see the pops of cheddar I had to add. Since I don't applique, I left out the center medallion and set my blocks on point with triple sashing and 9-patch cornerstones. Once those are all made and this is assembled, I may add a couple of borders to make it queen size. Such a novelty for me to make a quilt that actually covers a bed. :)

Funny story for you--are you familiar with Pinewood Derbies? Around here they are usually associated with cub scouts, but our church had one as an activity last Wednesday, and beforehand they had encouraged families to create derby cars together. They brought in a specialist with a fancy track that electronically determined the place of each car in each heat, and each car raced in several heats to determine the final place they earned. Hubby and I made a car together (the only old people who did). He cut and sanded a simple, aerodynamic wedge shape. I painted it, and he attached wheels and weights. We took 4th place against all the young people who entered cars in the "classic" division. No one had trouble telling our car from the others.

Until next time, I'll leave you with the view of the setting sun on the mountains as I was going into the church for the Derby.

Janet O.

New England Visit--Part 3B

This post is about the "other" show that was at the New England Quilt Museum when I visited in August. (I can't believe it has taken me this long to share everything of a quilty nature from that trip.) Along with the wonderful Quilt Japan show that I have shared, there was also a one-woman show by Kathy Metelica Cray. Before going I had read about this show and was really looking forward to the opportunity to see her quilts.

In the artist's own words...

I love the concept of her quilts. And since I have 2 or 3 sets of vintage blocks in my sewing room closet, I may have to give it a try someday. With that foundation, you are ready to see the show. I haven't included everything, but pretty close. Here goes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I have to say that this may be my favorite--the butterflies, the black and the happy colors--though it isn't in my normal comfort zone, it sings!)

I hope you enjoyed this. It was so inspiring to me! And this wraps up what I planned to share with you about my trip to New England.

Until next time, be gracious and thoughtful, and brighten your corner of the world.

Janet O.