The beginning in a long line of scrap quilts

I have been very slow to blog with any regularity, but I'm trying to get better at using this blog to chronicle my quilting and crafting.

I am on a current mission to tame my scrap drawers.  As any quilter will tell you there are scraps created from each and every project.  It seems impossible to use them all up.  I end up with tiny scraps, medium sized scraps, large scraps and even yardage sometimes.  I have been separating them into drawers by color.  My drawers are too full to open and close easily, so I'm on a mission to make quilts and things using my scraps - so I'll feel free to make more, of course.

I have at least a dozen patterns that I want to try, so I'm going to use my scraps to make these.  I'm sure I'll need a few more patterns, but I don't think that will be a problem.  The quilts will become gifts to friends, family and charities.

Back on February 6, 2011, in my post "Finally Finished It!" with the tag of "heart quilt", I posted a picture of a quilt I made for my daughter.  She just loves it.  I still have that collection of scraps all together for something, someday....

I recently tapped into that collection to make a signature quilt for someone special in my daughter's life.
I used the Quilt In A Day Block called "Crackerbox".  I was trying to stay within a certain size, so I laid out the quilt in an alternative setting.

The Crackerbox block is a great block for a signature quilt.  It is easy to put together the 3 rectangles of fabric (color, muslin, color).   Then follow the instructions for adding the triangles around it.  I did need to square up the block, but that always helps the quilt come together easier.

To get the signatures, I cut freezer paper to the size of the muslin center strip and ironed it to the wrong side of that portion of the block.  This helps to stabilize the fabric during the signing, and it easily pulls away when you are done.

We used the new Stained by Sharpie markers for fabric.  In my testing they seemed to work easy and wash well.  It was easy for the people signing the block to use them and they write like regular markers.  I also like the marker tip for it, because the signature portion of the block is 2"x6" and we were just writing first names.  It would also be a great space with a pigma marker if you wanted to include messages with the signatures.

Here is the lap-sized quilt that I made:

With this layout, the quilt ended up about 43" square and includes 24 places for signatures.
Because of the scrappy layout, I really can't estimate fabric yardage.

I would recommend this block/quilt for either signature or scrappy quilts.

Cupcakes for Altzheimer's Association

I heard about a small scale cupcake war at a local business to benefit the Altzheimer's Association.  Cupcakes were to be make (at least a dozen), they would be judged and then sold with the proceeds to go to the Alzheimer's Association.

I love to bake, but I'm not a fancy baker, so I turned to my crafting.  Knowing fully well that this may not qualify for judging, I decided it would be fun to submit them and benefit a good cause.

I have enjoyed Betz White's book "Warm Fuzzies" which has a pattern to make cupcakes out of recycled wool sweaters.  It is really easy to make and very cute.

To keep with the theme, I used the color purple and used their little twisted logo as a decoration on the top.  I used a some wool and some fleece to create my cupcakes.  Here is a sample of my submission to the cupcake war:

Since these had a combination of wool and fleece, it is a little harder to pin into these.  The ones of made completely of wool, are a bit easier to use.

Happy Mother's Day to women everywhere.

What a pleasant day it is today.  My family is showing their appreciation in different ways - starting by letting me sleep in.

I want to thank the many women to have invested in me to help make me the woman I am today.  They are numerous.  Happy mother's day to you all!

Here is the postcard that I made for my mother.  I used the crumbs from my "Beauty from Ashes" previous to post to create the background.  All the pieces are less than .25 inches.  The finished postcard is the regulation 4x6 inches.

I placed netting overtop the the card before quilting it, to help make sure any loose edges wouldn't cause a problem in the mail.

Beauty From Ashes

I had the honor of selecting the challenge topic for my "Challenging Ourselves" Quilt Group.  We have 2-3 months to create a piece of fiber art/quilt based on a theme selected by one of our members.  It was my turn.  The phrase I selected was:  "Beauty From Ashes".  The story behind my quilt follows.  

I have fallen in love with dying fabric.  Yes, it takes a lot of time and energy.  Yes, it is hard to actually cut that fabric after all you've invested in it.  This fall I found what I believed to be the PERFECT project for my hand-dyed fabrics.  It was a mystery quilt for the Carol Doak Yahoo! Group.  Here is the quilt (only a top to date) that I created following her mystery:

This quilt top is 42" square.  It is my own hand-dyed fabrics combined with Kona black.  

When I was foundation piecing, I cut away a lot of pieces of fabric.  I just couldn't bear to toss out even a tiny piece that had been trimmed off.  So I saved all those pieces, large and small, in a gallon ziplock bag.  This was my challenge.  What could I do with these "ashes" from the above mystery project?

I played and played and thought.  I pieced, or crumbed, together the four small blocks.  I liked them, but they just didn't speak to me.  Then I remembered that I had made all of the blocks per Carol Doak's instructions, but decided I wanted to change the color in one patch on the four corner blocks.  So I remade them, swapping the orange out for a pink.  So technically, my original four blocks would be considered more "ashes" from the first project.  Here they are:

These four corner blocks became the center of my "Beauty From Ashes" quilt.  I set it on point, placed my four crumb blocks in the corners.  I then filled in again from my precious ashes to create setting triangles between the 4 crumb blocks and the center star.   For the border and binding, I went to a small yardage "ash" from the mystery quilt.  The backing is the only thing not related to the original quilt.

This quilt is about 19.5" square.  It will join my rotating "welcome" quilts on my front door.

I am happy that I accepted the challenge to make something from my precious scraps, which are now meager, but not exhausted.

Quilt Show Week

I always look forward to the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster, PA/USA (AQS Lancaster).  There are also other quilt related activities around Lancaster during the show week.

I always seem to plan to do a lot and run out of energy and get very overwhelmed.
Here is a brief recap of my week....

First we attended the AQS Show.  We focused on browsing the vendors and planning our actual shopping.  The disadvantage to this is that when you return a day or two later somethings - especially good bargain priced batting - maybe sold out.

We also walked up a couple of blocks to see 82 quilts from the Espirit Collection at the Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum.  Unfortunately, this is the last time that they will be displayed together before going into storage.  The Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum is closing.  The exhibit was titled The Art of the Quilt.  After being in the commotion of the quilt show, what I noticed was peace and reverence for the quilts.  It was if we were encouraged to sit, gaze and relish the quilts in their simplicity of line and accomplished quilting.  Quite the contrast, to be sure.

Another day, we went to the east side of Lancaster to the Lancaster Spring Quilt Show.  They had an exhibit of World War II quilts.  He happened to be there when Sue Reich was giving a tour.  It was nice to be able to hear the stories behind the quilt.  She had published a book about her collection and research entitled,  World War II Quilts.  Mary Kerr was also there to discuss her quilts in her book A Quilted Memory.  There were vendors and challenge quilts on display here as well.  One of our group took a class from Stephanie Farrell of Country Stitchin.

We were also able to visit the vendor mall at The Lancaster Quilt Show at the Continental Inn.  There were more vendors here to help us get that additional pattern or gadget.

Another day was spent at the AQS show, where we focused on judged quilts on exhibit and picking up the items we had decided to purchase.

Some of us were also able to shop hop around town.

It has been another good week in Lancaster.  It'll take a week to recharge.
Stay tuned for the my next post which will highlight some of the items, gadgets and patterns that we saw.

Dying and Re-dying

After getting everything cleaned up from our fabric dying day, I had a little bit more dye mixed up.
We decided that we each needed a larger piece of purple.  So we made these:

Then we decided to over-dye two of our squirt dyed pieces.  Here are the pieces we started with:

and what we ended with:

Then we decided to "enhance" our clean up cloths.  Again, here are what we started with:

...and our final product:

I think we learned something in the process.  I know we had fun.  Now to contemplate the cutting...

Fabric Dying

I have been fortunate enough to dye fabric a few times under a good friend.  After the last time, I decided to try going solo and doing the fabric dying myself.  So I started gathering in the necessary supplies.  I also convinced my mother to try it with me.  Here are our results:

These are Mom's 24 - 1/2 yard pieces.  That's 12 colors in a bright and a lighter version.

After we got our 12 yards dyed, we tried a few pieces on the table, squirting dye onto the fabric.   Here are Mom's:

Here is Mom's clean-up cloth:

 Here are My 12 yards (pictures are 4 brights, followed by the 4 lights in the same colors):

My squirt dyed pieces (done with the help of my daughter):

 Our clean up cloth and 2 t-shirts:

Mom and I also joined together and dyed 12 yards of various white on white fabrics.  This is what we ended up with:

We ended up with a few extra pieces that were squirt dyed:

In this case we liked the back of the last fabric better than the front.  Here is a picture showing the back:

Will I do it again?  

You bet.  

Stay tuned, I have a few more pieces in the last of the mixed up dye.  

Washing day is tomorrow.