Oak Leaves and Reel

Isn't this cool fabric?  Yup, it's fabric...printed to look like appliqué and half square triangles.  This is my current work in progress.  Formerly a resident in the UFO box, this project was purchased in December of 2007 with the thought that it would be a quick gift.  I do not measure time as some would measure time...lol.

"Oak Leaves & Reel" by Terry Clothier Thompson is a "convenience" quilt produced by Moda.  When finished it will measure 86x86.   

First off let me say that "convenience" might be the wrong word for this project.  Yes, countless hours of hand work were avoided.  The center and outer border are giant faux appliqué.   With another twenty years I might be able to produce a replica of it, ....maybe.  However, the notion that this quilt is somehow easier is probably wrong.  There is a whole other set of skills required here.  Have you every fussy cut something?  You need an engineering degree and nerves of steel.

Over the weekend, in a turkey induced euphoria, Gilbert and I decided it would be a fun project to do for the dogs.  Yup, you read it right.  We thought we would whip it together in an afternoon, free motion quilt it on the Gammell the next day, and have it on the couch by Monday.  (Have I told you that we are not engineers?)

The dogs like the couch in the library.  It is their room, a.k.a. formal dinning room turned book depository.  We got a new couch and moved the old one in there thinking that it would be a nice place to curl up and read.  

Gilbert doesn't like the dogs on the couch.  He boobie traps the room, placing obstacles between the dogs and the precious leather cushions.  He says their claws will ruin it.  I do wonder how a 80 pound dog is going to ruin the hide of a bull, but I respect my fella so I'm not going to argue about it.  I leave the obstacles in place even though it makes the cozy reading room uninhabitable.

Enter me with a bright idea.....not so very as it turns out.  If we covered the couch the dogs wouldn't hurt the leather.  Look, we could make this convenient quilt just for them.  I could practice free motion quilting it.  The dogs won't care how it looks.

The center of the quit is a giant nine patch of faux appliqué. The were ten blocks in the pannel.  While my engineer was busy fussy cutting I played with some free motion quilting. 

Oak leaf before...

Oak leaf after...

I thought that twitch had gone away.  

There is no way I can do this with the grace and efficiency that Waldorff does.  Even if I frog it and start over the quilting won't follow the lines exactly and I know the dogs don't care.  I think in this case we need some more quiltng to destract the eyes, create some faux appliqué puffiness, and secure the quilt from dog claw damage.

This is where I left my sample.   In it's next life it is going to be a big pillow.

Note to self: Base you expectations on an achievable goal.  Accept the limitations of the tool you are using and use it to your advantage.  Human tool = imperfection in repeted patterns, tallent for adhoc fly by the seat of your pants measured chaos.  Computerized tool = stunning symetry. 

Leftovers and a fantastic weekend.

Two years ago I started this quilt. It was a mystery quilt project sponsored by my local quilt guild.

Did you see those borders? They were fussy cut from an awesome stripe. It was one of the fabrics in
Dena's Leanika line. Fussy cutting those long pieces left some strange, large print, scraps.

This weekend I straightened out my scrap drawer. (That is my excuse for a stash...which I technically don't have.). As I was playing in the fabrics I thought...why the heck don't you just sew those bits together. So I did. The bits in this picture were all leftover from the same mystery quilt.

This is the beginnings of our new "rug". My dear spouse is making it for the living room. There was a lot of fabric left over. I pieced it with some more of my fussy cut scraps to make a back.

Then I zigzagged some bits of batting together. You do this by holding the smooth edges side by side and feeding them gently through the sewing machine. I've done it with all sorts of batting. This time I had scraps of Dream Orient. It is a delicious batt made of silk, bamboo, eucalyptus, and cotton.   I quilted the whole thing with a new pattern that I've been dying to try. (Anne Bright's Fandangle b2b)

And bound it with more fussy cut scraps.

Add to that a beautiful break in the insanely hot summer weather and I had a fantastic weekend.
Thank you God!

Mystery Quilt Forgotten

 

Leanika by Dena for FreeSpirit  Westminster          Lovebirds



My Inspiration

I am captivated by this fabric.  From the moment I saw it on the shelf at Happiness is Quilting I had to make something from it.  The little birds and water color brights bring a huge smile to my face and heart.

I showed it to my husband...he bought the bolt!  What a sweet man.

I had signed up to do a mystery quilt with the local guild.  I decided to use the Lovebirds.  Now I had to find something to complement them.

With the help of Gilbert (the sweet sweet man I married) and the ladies at Happiness I found these.  They are so totally not part of my crayon box.  I was embarking on something new and exciting and just a little scary.  I mean, what in the world can I do with this beautiful girly fabric in a house filled with boys?!  Crackled denim, limey moss green dots, vibrant orange with what looks like a topographical map doodled on it, hot pink feathers, and crackled brown.  My inner girly girl, the one that remains hidden because she doesn't have a clue how to coexist with a bunch of fellas, was ecstatic!

The final fabric choice.... a border stripe...big and bold and one of the elements of the Leanika collection.  I loved the shapes and colors and the watercolor feel.  Truth is, I didn't realize until months later that is was a stripe.  Isn't it delicious?



Leanika by Dena for FreeSpirit   Westminster        Maison

The tragedy
As is often the case, Gilbert continued to help me with the project, even though he was assigned a job on the other side of the country and was seldom home, he spent the time he was home helping me get ready for the big day.  We even cashed in a few of his frequent flier miles to purchase a night in a hotel close to the event so that we could have a mini vacation together.  It was oh so wonderful.  The first time we had ever left the boys on their own for a night.  (My boys are mostly grown, which is actually a little bit not, but they are good fellows and did fine.)

That night I started feeling funny.  I couldn't breath and was winded easily.  Looking back, I probably should have ditched the Mystery Quilt day and gone home, but I was the one organizing things.  As the day wore on I got sicker.  By the end of the day I could hardly talk.  Between the illness and the organizing I didn't get much work done on my quilt.  I finished four blocks, enough to see the larger unit in the quilt, and that was it.  For the next month I was sick in bed with pneumonia.  Over the next year the quilt lay, neatly stored in it's box, stacked on the UFO shelf, waiting for me to remember it.

Mystery Quilt 2011

Now I'm getting ready for another mystery quilt event.  I've got my fabrics selected and half cut.  I have a couple of weeks before I need to have my homework done.  It shouldn't be a problem, but the lovebirds are calling to me.  "Tweet, tweet, how can you start a new mystery quilt when we are still in our box? Tweet, tweet, squawk!"  So I've picked it back up and hope to finish it before February 14th.  It could happen.

Today the plan is to add the borders.  Say a prayer....I'm going to fussy cut that beautiful stripe.  I'll let you know how it goes.