My Mad Piecing effort

Keryn talked about MAD piecing in this blog post when she was lamenting all the bits of progress she was making on many projects. Her idea was to make a difference - (MAD) - to one project by making a concentrated effort to move it along. I was searching around for one of my projects to give it a hurry on, and instead fell down another rabbit hole.

For the last two years I've made promises on my yearly to-do list that I would find a pattern to use a container of dark grey scraps which had accumulated seemingly without any effort on my part. It's not a colour I'm drawn to but the trimmings from customer quilts, scrapbags from the opshop and other gifts meant that I had quite a collection. I could have just passed them on I suppose but I really thought I could find a use for them, if I just found the perfect design. 

Also on my list to be dealt with was a cheddar/yellow group of scraps that weren't reproduction and that I wasn't wedded to. I have a drawer full of lovely authentic repro fabric in this colour that I would use if I wanted to make a serious quilt. Is this an odd attitude, leaving my gorgeous yardage in the drawer and fussing about scraps that I didn't even choose? It drives Keryn nuts but I seem fascinated by the concept of just using what is there. I  can't give up on the scraps, it seems.

I'm a member of a facebook page called QuiltHistorySouth and they recently had a discussion about cheddar in old quilts. One of the photos depicted a four-patch quilt using black AND cheddar, as well as some shirting and plaids. I could substitute the dark grey for the black, and use both lots of lingering scraps.

Over three days I've had a blast, decimating both containers to the point that I might have to start using a strip or two from the regular stash. The shirtings are from opshop shirts which is another section of the stash that I'm gradually whittling away. I feel so virtuous, and even though the result is not particularly attractive it will be functional and has a more masculine feel to it.

I have fifty or so blocks made and pinned to the design wall and I'll be making more four patches to replicate some of the darker areas of the quilt. Unfortunately I virtually have to use a spotlight to get any sort of picture of my design area so it's not as washed out as my photo makes it.

I just hope my enthusiasm carries through to actually making a top but at the very least I can say I've made a difference to those grey and yellow scrap containers.

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Stuff just vanishes..

After I had finally found my missing blocks I thought I could have a very quick finish for 2022 by whipping up this simple little top. I nearly had it in one piece when I ran out of the white setting fabric.

Now I've been reading Becky of Quilted Twins fame and I was taken by the fact that she sometimes uses sheets as her white fabric, acres of material all the same and plenty to waste without worrying about running out. No need to try and match different whites or creams, wonderful!!

So when I found a new set of lightly patterned cotton sheets in our opshop I bought them with this in mind, and promptly cut up one pillowcase to make these blocks. Yep, this is working well, until..... I lost the sheets! I'd gone as far as I could with the setting and needed just a few more strips but I couldn't find the double bed size sheets anywhere. They make quite a large bundle and I've searched everywhere I can think of. Having just pulled the sewing room apart trying to find the blocks I knew that such a large pile couldn't be hidden there. Grr!

I can only wonder if I took them to the workshop (to iron perhaps?) and they've been swallowed by one of the mounds of stuff there. In my trip to the opshop I found another pillowcase of the same design, so I'll use that to finish the top, and then I'll promptly find the sheets I suppose.

When I was putting the pieces back on the design wall I noticed this...

The edge block is in backwards, argh. So I have to unpick this and resew it before I can set the rest together. I'm not happy with this poor little top, through no fault of it's own. I think it was a design from maryquilts

 It is a very nice easy pattern to sew, when everything else goes smoothly.

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Home time

 On Boxing day I woke up with a slightly scratchy throat and wondered if I was getting a cold. Sometimes air conditioning over night gives me that feeling but next day I knew I had 'symptons.' I wanted to get tested for covid but our local centre was shut for the public holiday, so I decided I would isolate (which they'd tell me to do anyway) until I could get a test and the results. 

Four days later I had a negative result, as well as a hacking cough, but I have to say it was a very enjoyable home stay. Somehow, between helping with the pirie family, quilting for others, shopping for family members, appointments and working a couple of other obligations I hardly ever have a day at home to myself. Even on weekends I'm often playing catch up, running between the workshop or family commitments. 

So the prospect of time at home was just amazing, and as I didn't feel too bad apart  from the cough  I decided to sew up some little blocks I'd finished earlier, as a last minute finish for 2021. Do you think I could find them? Nope, nowhere to be seen.

This resulted in the biggest, most thorough sewing room clean up in years. I literally looked in every box, every container, every bag, drawer, cupboard, tub and tin. It was wonderful, knowing I couldn't go out and I could make this big mess and sort and purge and consolidate knowing that I had hours and hours, nay days to do it in. It seemed like a gift, and the ongoing organising of my space has continued to make me happy. 

Once I finished in the sewing room I moved into other parts of the house and it was great filling up the wheelie bin and the local donation bins; what a wonderful start to the year! I think I'll aim for this every year after Christmas and New year.

But did I find the blocks? No, not until this morning when I was bemoaning the fact to Keryn and wondering where they could be. I was searching for something else in a drawer, I picked up another set of blocks at the bottom and there they were cowering out of sight. Grrr, I'd looked in that drawer so many times before, but I didn't completely empty the contents. Lesson learned, hopefully.

Another lesson is that it shouldn't take the threat of having a dangerous virus to make me stay home and carve out some time for myself occasionally. This week or so of home time has been precious and restoring and I need to make it a regular part of life.

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2021 wrap up

Blue square in squares

In 2021 I finished ten tops, none of them very big. I made dozens and dozens of blocks for various projects, but a lot have become stuck on the choices for borders and settings. I cut a huuuge amount of material and 

scraps up, but I don't count it until it's a finished top, so there are no figures for that.

Green album

Cobblestone corner

I finished this top with a small border, but never got a photo of it because it was such a hassle getting it back up on the design wall.

flannel staircase in repros

flannel improv scraps

baby flannel staircase 

Shirting four patch

I also finished a little cross baby quilt.

baby cross

pastel 16 patch

Jewelbox star

I spend a minimum of four hours in my sewing room every day, not all of that at the machine, but lots of cutting, sorting, designing, musing. It's more than my happy place, it's my sanctuary and I love it. I hope to spend just as much time there in the future, but it's not really about the productivity and how many tops I get done. It just makes me happy and centred to be in my room, pottering away.

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 I finished my leftovers top and it goes into the quilting pile. 

The maroon border was from the binding of a customer quilt and the William Morris fabric came from two long strips torn off a backing. There wasn't enough to go all the way around- the two little pieces to the side are all that was left after I'd finished. Just squeaked it out by putting little blocks in the corners, but it looks ok. I'll trim the sides down before it's quilted.

This was the tenth top I completed for 2021, I hope to do better this year!

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Happy New Year! I had a lovely Christmas visiting the Adelaide family and I finished my first jigsaw and have polished off a few books. I'm doing lots of sorting and cleaning and throwing out, and it seems  a good way to start the year. Onwards!

 

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Nearly done

My little blocks are in one piece, awaiting a final border to be sewn on. 

I'm pleased with my use of odd bits finishing up this top. The setting squares were leftover from the medallion top, although I did have to cut a few more. 

The setting triangles were a very long strip from a customer backing that had been hanging around for years, and I cut them using a Companion Angle, so that the long edge wouldn't be on the bias. They were cut oversize so that the blocks could float a little before the border was added.

The border will be some long strips from another backing that a longarmer friend gave me ages ago, and they have been paired up with the blocks for all those years, waiting for inspiration to strike. I haven't done the final measurements, but I may have to make some little corner blocks if there's not quite enough fabric to go around.

 Finally, all those bits and pieces will be put to good use. I don't really know why this gives me such a sense of satisfaction, far more than if I were just using yardage from my stash. I guess only other scrap quilters would understand...

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Dealing with some leftovers

I've completed all the rounds on my medallion top and I'm currently trying to find a certain fabric for the border. I was sure I had a couple of metres of it but can only find a fat quarter. I'll continue looking...

During my searches I unearthed this pile of square in square blocks from many years ago. 

I'm pretty sure they were made from scraps and leftover square in square units from another top. 

I don't think I had any concrete plan when I made them, and they've been shuffled around my sewing room ever since - I would say for at least ten years. 

When I put them on my table it occurred to me that they were the same size as the blocks I made for the medallion top, and I had some spare setting squares that I had cut out and not used.

Hmm.... this won't be very big as I don't want to make any more of these at the moment. It would be great if I could get rid of two lots of leftovers floating around my room.

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Snippets and such

I've been working on the last round of the medallion, sewing the long strips and some more 4-patch blocks. Interspersed with this I've put together some of the Doors and Windows blocks, which are so easy that they mount up quickly.

Bonnie has been showing photos of her hourglass block and a little bowl of snipped-off dog ears. That reminded me of how I corral my little triangles to stop them floating around. I filled up this glass bear (finally) in 2019, but I was astonished to find out that the last time I posted about the bear was in 2011. 

I confidently predicted that he would be full in 6 months time, and instead got another 8 years worth of snippets into him. I just kept packing them down until it was solidly full.....

and then found a glass pig to take it's place. I haven't even started the compacting process in him, so I should get at least 10 years more till he's full!

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What focus?

I've reluctantly decided that I have to add one more round to my medallion top before I can put the border on. I really did just want to be done with this, but in the interests of artistic merit I will do what the top demands and choose another fabric. Then I'll choose a border for it, darn all these decisions!

So why is it that I found myself  'procrasti-cutting' a whole 'nother project?!!

I've been setting aside scraps to make another Doors and Windows quilt, because I sold the first one I made and sort of regretted it afterwards. Never mind, I'll just make another one! But the fact that I've chosen to start hacking up fabric now, when I should be finishing the other top is the reason for my growing list of  projects. Talk about incorrigible!

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Inching towards the finish line

This is where my medallion project currently stands. I added one more row all round and that brought it up to 72" square. Although I'm ready to be done with this I'm wondering if it needs another round, which would make it 80" square, and then a border of some description.  I'm leaning towards an early floral, like this fabric. 

Hmmm, I do still have some of the 4-patch blocks left. I have to give this some more thought but I'm going to finish this top one way or another.

In other news, my DIL went to a first aid course and brought home all the practise bandages that they were throwing out. Just as well, because Lily's horse had four broken legs! She soon set that to rights. 

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Next...

The Chosen project at the moment is this medallion (for want of a better description) that is based on an antique quilt from ebay. I think. 

I thought it would be a good way to use up some browns and greens, of which I seem to have far too many in my stash. I didn't bother too much with the dimensions of the little block because I already had a bunch of 3" four patches made, and I could use them up too. Bonus. 

However the original quilt must have used much smaller measurements because my top is already quite large (it has to be folded to fit on the design wall) and I'm about 5 rows short of the old quilt. I was a bit sick of adding one row at a time and the project was a bit bossy about which fabric it would have where. So I put it all away in disgust. Wasn't working out, pout.

But now I want the whole cumbersome thing dealt with, so I'm adding another row, and then I'll hang it up in the workshop and see if I want to just stop, or put a border on it instead of more rounds. 

Decision time.

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 It was March of this year when I was trying to conquer a huge tub of flannel and began cutting several kits from it. I made about 150 of these 'staircase' blocks and set together this top. I'll be able to piece another one of similar size when I'm ready to work with flannel again. 

I congratulated myself on the four or five baby quilts that I'd kitted up and moved the remnants that were left into a small tub, progress at last! And then I found somebody's stash at the op-shop, many rolled up lengths of two and a half metres or more, beautiful old flannels that were thick and soft and.....

Well, I need backings and borders. The big tub is full again, but now I have the means to finish all the kits off, don't I? And it only cost about $10 and, and, and... It seems like the universe conspires against me sometimes.

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I put a small border on the 16 patch top, so that's done. It's a printed check material, offcuts from a backing and I decided to cut along the lines with scissors instead of using a rotary cutter. That worked for the strips that were cut parallel to the selvedge, but across the width of the fabric the pattern ended up very off-grain. So some of the borders were almost on the bias, and have a few ripples in the edges.. Not to worry, it will quilt out.

Keryn mentioned our very sudden storm and hail. Usually hailstones here are like round white marbles but I've never seen hail like this before. It came down with great force and made a deafening noise on the roof. Son Matt happened to be walking to a friends house when it started and pieces of it actually drew blood on his hands as he tried to shelter his head. Our back lawn looked like someone had emptied ice cubes all over it. Very strange goings-on indeed.
 

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November's focus

 

I'd like to document every top I've finished this year that hasn't appeared on the blog yet, because according to my notes I've finished nine so far. This is just a little top made with leftover 2" squares from Bonnies Jewel Box Star. It's so cute I'm thinking of making another larger top, it would be a good leader-ender for sure.

I seem to have decided that November is going to be a big push to get tops finished. I was inspired by Cathy at  Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting  who made a giant effort in September to concentrate on quilting a huge number of tops. No piecing or cutting or anything else. Now that's crazy!

It's taken me all of October to think it over and while I have amassed a huge number of tops throughout my years of quilting for others (and not myself) they don't seem to bother me that much. And no, Rose Marie from the comments, I'm not prepared to admit the number just yet. You would be shocked. You could probably think of a number and triple it....

What does bother me are the UFO's.... (think of a number and triple it) that I truly love and yet are stalled waiting for a simple decision that I'm avoiding. I would like to work on those this month and hopefully finish them or move them past the road block. I won't project a number, but I will earnestly try to get a fair few chugging along to the finish line. 

Should be interesting.....

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Found Fabric

 I've been admiring Wanda's 16 patch tops for ages and when I found a big bag of precut 2/12" squares at the op-shop I decided I would try to make a cot quilt with them. Not really fabrics I would choose myself but still attractive non the less.

I had to add a few of my own paler squares to pad them out and suddenly I had another top nearly completed. I love this block, it's so easy to do, even allowing for the fact that I couldn't use strip piecing. I think I'll add a small border to finish this off nicely. There will be more of these in my future, I'm sure.

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