What a lot of Flannel

I recently came across a big tub of flannel fabric and decided it was time to sort it out. The only flannel I buy is the vintage pieces from the opshop- can't resist that- but many years ago two customers gifted me all their left-overs. Of course I didn't say no, but I don't really want a flannel stash. If I could just use it all up I know I wouldn't replace it, right? (Except for that vintage stuff.)

So I pulled everything out of the tub and sorted it into pastels for baby quilts and brights for older kids and some reproduction bits that are lovely, but.....flannel. The fact that a lot of it wasn't yardage but scraps from other quilts meant that I was limited to what I could cut, and I didn't want too many seams because...flannel. Same for triangles. Eventually I came up with this block, all cut from 2 1/2"strips and pretty brainless. 

It's like this double ninepatch block that Keryn just recently used but the construction is different. I didn't have enough fabric to cut 4 1/2" squares, and my block uses two fabrics (plus the contrasting squares across the middle) so it can be used like a log cabin in a variety of settings.

It was pretty simple to turn most of the pastels into strips and then sub-cut them ready for piecing. The pink solid was quite a large piece that I chopped into squares and the largest amounts I set aside for borders or a backing. It's great when you finally decide on a plan and steam ahead with it!

From each fabric I cut a 2 1/2" square,  a 4 1/2" rectangle,  and a 6 1/2" rectangle.  To piece the block I started with two colours in a pleasing combination and four pink squares, sewing them into a four patch. Although I don't usually do it I pressed the seams open because...flannel.

Then I added the 4 1/2" pieces to the appropriate sides, sewed the remaining two pink squares to the 6 1/2" strips and added them to the middle section. Easy as!

The block can be pieced in rows too, but I just don't like seams all going one way across a design, I find it a bit distracting, but that's just me.

Twenty blocks later I had this little top, and a piece of vintage flannel made a nice border.

I'm super pleased with how quickly this was put together, and I've made another kit to sew later on. All the off-cuts are in the bin and the pile has diminished a bit. I'll keep chipping away at this tub of fabric and cutting out more kits and one day it will all be under control.

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 I started these album blocks in 2011 and they'd been sitting around for years. Every now and then I'd sew a bit more, but I had no idea how to set them so I wasn't really motivated. Last year I was determined to finish them and after the blocks were completed I found this toile that seemed to suit them perfectly. It has a slightly greenish cast to the background  which had made it hard to use. It must have been waiting for this UFO all along.

The sashing is a greeny brown and I wanted to have the effect of long unpieced strips so I used a very similar colour at the intersections. This makes it super easy to keep the blocks in line without having to mark anything. 

I cut the setting triangles larger so the blocks could float and not touch the border. I didn't want to have to add a small light border and this gave the same effect with much less hassle. I was debating about the red border, but finlly decided the darker red was just too heavy. It's a luxury having bolts of fabric to choose from, and being able to reel off as many metres as needed.

This beautiful floral was just what was needed for the final touch, even though I had to do some matching of the print to get the lengths I needed. I actually like fiddling around to get the seam perfect, and quite often do it on backings, just for fun.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I thought the blocks were a bit boring and the sashing was drab and the toile a "difficult" colour to use. And then they all came together like it was meant to be, and I love it!

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At one stage last year my little log cabin blocks became all consuming and I couldn't seem to stop sewing them. They were supposed to be leader-enders  but sometimes that concept gets away from me and I end up sewing exclusively on the wrong project.

I have a rule that I can't cut these one inch strips from yardage or large scraps because it was meant to use up the tiny off-cuts that had no other use. I can hear Keryn saying that they have another purpose; to fill up the bin! But even she has admitted the blocks are awful cute.

I finally came to my senses and realised that all my other projects were on hold and the log cabins and little strips had to go away for a while. They seem to be self perpetuating, I was using them as leader-enders for themselves, a pile of  tiny one inch squares spawning the start of another batch, over and over. 

"I'll just finish this lot" I'd say, but then there were another five or ten.... I had to go cold turkey and put them away. I think there are a couple hundred here and I plan to go on making them with all my teeny tiny scraps for years. They will probably be used in more than one quilt but I haven't really got a plan yet.

I'll come back to these little cuties but only when I can trust myself not to get lost in them again.

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 Keryn and I have been collecting mens shirts for quite a few years and recently we went through our collection and got a bit of a shock at just how many there were. Despite always adding to the stash  I had never actually finished a top using them. Keryn has made at least three and I loved them all.

I started this Double Four Patch years ago but was  disappointed in the thirty or so blocks I'd sewn and decided to make a small throw and be done with it.  I've still got dozens of the little four patches and they'll go into another project but I'm  relieved at crossing this off the list. It was beginning to weigh on my mind and once I'd decided to not make any more blocks I was energised about the rest of the shirt stash. I've got another project mainly cut out and another one in the works.

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Keryn said to me the other day "Do you realise that your last post was in October?" No, that couldn't be right! But it was, and somehow the time has just raced away from me. I was sure I took photos for a follow up post on sewing my string quilt but I can't find them so I'll try to take some more.

We had a break from customer quilts in January but despite that I still only managed to quilt one of my tops. This green Sister's Choice has been laying around the workshop for months, with the backing folded up inside it and I was sick of moving the bundle. So it was loaded and quilted in one afternoon, and is now awaiting it's binding. I don't know why we don't do more of our own tops, it's so satisfying to get them moved along. Mind you, Summer is not the best time for quilting here, so that's probably the main reason, now that I think about it.

The piecing remains a priority though, and I  spend several hours a night at the machine. I started 24 new projects last year. (Gulp!) I finished 14 UFO's, and some of the projects were only little but I'm going to have to concentrate on getting things completed, and not just tops.

I don't know when  made this top but it was a few years ago. I thought I'd blogged about it, but it took me ages to find the post, mainly because it was in 2014. I thought it was more recent than that! There's a post here about how I cut it out using the Companion and the Easy Angles, which meant I avoided the flippy corners entirely. I certainly don't need to add any more of them to the huge stash I already have.....

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I seem to end up with collections of scraps that I don't know what to do with. There was quite a large box full of strips of large florals, toiles, bits leftover from backings that featured large patterns, strips from jellyrolls that varied so much acrosss the width of fabric that they were unusable in any normal way.

One of the first ways of taming these weird pieces is to group them together so you know what you are dealing with and I'd been putting stuff in this container for years. I kept puzzling over what to do and trying to think of some pattern that would bring cohesiveness to such a random assortment of fabric. 

At the start of this year Keryn and I were discussing what we'd like to achieve in our sewing this year, and one resolve was to try different things, in particular something we weren't comfortable with. For me that was string piecing, a style of patchwork I adore but haven't had much luck sticking with.

I loathe the mess it makes! It seems to overwhelm my sewing space and every single seam is a choice and the more you sew, the more mess it makes. I must admit I lose patience with this way of working, but I love the results. I've often joked to Keryn that if I had a separate table and machine and enough space to devote to a "messy corner" I could probably stand it. I like my sewing to be more ordered and in control, I'm afraid.

I saved this picture many years ago and while going through my 'strings' folder in search of inspiration I thought this might be what I was looking for. Varied sizes of strips, so I could use up all of the length of fabric and enough of a pattern to give some structure to the design. Those big florals and strange large patterns and toiles could be used in between more solid strips to calm everything down.

Now I had a plan and drafted a large diamond and cut papers that I could use as a foundation. This much I could handle, and I thought I'd be able to cope with the mess in the heat of inspiration! Wrong! One block was made and then hours of scrabbling and searching and trying out this bit and that resulted in four more diamonds but I'd regressed to hating the whole process. I was left wondering whether to abandon the whole thing.

After more thought (and packing the offending project away out of sight) I may have come up with a plan on how to proceed with this and not drive myself mad. I'll give it another try.....and let you know how it works out!

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 I have completely lost track of what I've shared on the blog over the last few years. I thought I'd posted the finish of Jo's Stair Steps Rail Fence but apparently not. (I can't seem to find her original post about this quilt )

I loved making the 1" finished red and cream HST and they were a great leader ender for a long while. Then the sewing of the rails took their place until I lost patience and wanted to work on this full time, which quite often happens with the leader ender project. 

I didn't make it as large as Jo's but I'm happy with this size. It used up a heap of drab and medium toned fabric that I had fallen out of love with and turned them into a quilt that is a favourite  now.

I've sold a lot of quilts over the years but I decided I was going to keep this one and I had the perfect fabric for the backing. I bought these two dress lengths in the eighties, intending to make shirts or sundresses, but they really were a bit lairy for that. Such good quality cotton though, so I was sure I could find a place for them in a quilt somewhere. They were only  printed to look like batiks which meant that they were a lot softer than real batik fabric would have been.

I think I'll use this as a Christmas quilt this year, December is rapidly approaching!

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 The blue chains top is in one piece and I'm pleased with the way the border turned out. It seems to turn the blue chains into a continuous pattern instead of just running off at the edge. Despite it using up nearly 10 metres of scraps, it didn't use them ALL. 

Sometimes I wonder if it's even possible (or desirable)to use up the scraps completely. I regard them as a sort of 'starter', like sourdough that will contribute to the next project.  I have an idea for the rest of the bits so they'll be tucked away in a container, ready for the time when I can face "Blue" again.

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 I've said before that Keryn gives me a lot of scraps and her binge of blue tops from a few years ago left me with piles of blue oddments and leftover cut pieces. It was getting too much, even for me!

I sewed up the cut pieces into hourglass blocks or squares, and then decided I was going to make another Blue Chain quilt using ALL the rest of the scraps. Just to make things interesting I changed the block size from 12" to 8" which meant I could use a heap more of the smaller bits. 

I can't remember when I started this but it's been ongoing for at least a year. I've done my best to cut everything into 1 1/2" squares or 2 1/2" triangles and I have decimated the drawers full of blue scraps. However I'd accumulated so many blocks that I had to call a halt to production- at last count it was nearly 300 4" blocks. Are you getting an idea of how much Keryn passes on to me?

I've set them into three panels and now comes the big job of putting it all together and deciding on borders. A finish is in sight....

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 When Bonnie made her Jewel Box Star I liked it, but wasn't tempted to start one of my own. Then I saw Jo's version and decided I could start using some of the white based neutrals I'd been collecting. And use brighter, more modern fabrics.

The 2" squares were my leader-enders for a long time, and the four patches built up in a satisfying manner. Then I binge sewed a heap of the 3 1/2 hst and put together the small blocks in another session. For some reason I moved on to other things, and they've been sitting in a drawer ever since.

Determined to move the project along I got an old magazine and laid out the blocks in groups of four to get the star effect, one lot to each page. (you have to start at the back and move forward) This container with the magazine inside has 14 blocks laid out ready to sew. The bits on top were spares that had too many repeating fabrics to go together, and don't think I didn't try shuffling things around! There's only so much faffing around I can tolerate with a project I'm not really wedded to in the first place. I have to make more of everything anyway, and these leftovers will be absorbed into the new blocks.

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Sometimes I think I'm just not meant to blog anymore. I had been taking photos of my sewing, intending to do a series of posts to get up to date. Then the SD card in my camera malfunctioned and dumped the lot. Not just my quilting photos but videos of the girls and all sorts of priceless memories. Sigh. I had backed everything up a few months ago but kept forgetting to do it again. Kicking myself now...

Then my laptop charger died and it's so old that I can't replace it. My DIL is trying to find a way round that and has set up google photos so that I don't lose any more photos, but REALLY?  I never ask myself "What else can go wrong because I don't want to invite trouble, but it all makes trying to blog rather difficult. Not to mention new blogger that everyone is complaining about!

So I've tried to document my projects as best I can (all the progress shots are lost) and hopefully do a series of posts to get up to date. Fingers crossed...

A while ago I found some leftovers at the op-shop, wedges that were sewn across the tip and ready to be set into a dresden sunflower sort of circle. I unpicked and pressed them  and was left with some skinny tumbler shapes. They were sewn into rows and a skinny border added. Now I'll add a pretty floral border and have a little cot quilt or wall hanging for my 50 cents. And I got to play with some pretty fabrics that I don't have in my stash.

 

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Years ago I made these Arrowhead blocks from some of my oldest stash fabric from the seventies and eighties. Yikes, that sounds Vintage, yet my real vintage stash is from the fifties, even further back in the mists of time. This fabric is just Old, but I still liked a lot of it.

I hand-pieced twenty of them, over the span of a few years and then they sat and waited for another few years. A couple of months ago I decided their time had come and they were going to be set together, no matter what.

I made a heap of little square in square blocks and chose a sashing fabric with almost no agonising

 and in two nights the blocks were together.

Now I have to decide whether to add a border of pieced diamonds, I'm thinking it might be nice, and I still have some of that fabric in my stash.

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I really enjoyed completing these tops, and that was evident because I didn't let them sit in the cupboard for ages. I have so many projects awaiting decisions on borders that I think I must have some sort of problem, but I never lost interest in these two. The only real decision I made was which one would have the piano key border and which the checkerboard. 

The eagle eyed among you may notice this top is longer than the last photo of it. I had already decided to finish it at that size and added the final border of two inch squares but it really was too short. So I pieced another row of stars and sixteen patches and added the row of two inch squares to get it to this size. I like the way the top row of stars seems to float in the squares, if I make another top like this I'll bear it in mind.

Another thing that made finishing these easy was the way I constructed the little black borders.

They were only 1 1/4" cut and I added them to blocks of the pieced sections, piano key or four patches, in increments of 2"( the finished size of the pieces).  There are actually two black fabrics and I alternated them in random lengths, 12 1/2", 8 1/2" 6 1/2" as needed to get things to fit. It was very simple to make the borders the exact size they needed to be and there were handy seams on the body of the top to align everything exactly. A very painless way of putting two borders on indeed.

I have a collection of pale blue and purple fabrics, and now I'm wondering if I could do another version of stars in those colours. Hmm, or maybe I should put a few borders on those other projects
that are waiting...

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I thought I might have enough pink and black scraps for one top but they've proved very persistent and I made a second set of blocks  with the pieces leftover from the first. I've put borders on both of them now but haven't managed to photograph them yet.

 Strangely I'm not sick of the sawtooth stars or the pink and black scraps even now, but I have other projects demanding my attention. I thoroughly enjoyed playing with these colours, so different to my usual choices. I'm still not sure how I managed to accumulate so much of these light pink fabrics, I certainly didn't buy it all and hopefully I won't say yes to any more that comes my way!

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I don't know how many times I've heard people say "The world has gone mad! and indeed it seems so. There are security guards standing next to the toilet paper to stop fights and checkout staff are being assaulted in the supermarket of our nearby town. I've witnessed several incidents of sheer rudeness that makes me wonder at the nature of some people. Oh well, I'm trying to be cheerful and still chat nicely to others no matter what.

My DIL and I are sewing masks for a home cleaning company that can't get proper masks and for anyone else that wants them. It can't hurt, and leaves the proper ones for the people who need it most. We have extra "help" from two enthusiastic staff, who love to be in the thick of things.

Our wonderful coffee shop has been reduced to takeaway only, so no more long chats over a Vienna or long black. We'll keep supporting them for as long as possible; I hope they don't have to shut completely.

It looks like we're in for a very long haul here but it's worth it if we can spread the infection rate out. The news from Europe and America is appalling and my heart goes out to those who have lost someone.It's hard not to be apprehensive about the future but at least as quilters we can put our sewing skills to use and help with things like masks. We're lucky to have an interest that will sustain us in the months ahead and keep our minds and hands busy. While others moan about being bored we can get on with all the projects we haven't had time for!

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