New quilts to make!

First, let's get the pictures of the community project quilts straight! Here is the first one, which you saw yesterday. This came from a book whose name I can't remember at the moment, but the cover is pink, white, and black! That sure helps - doesn't it! 

Community project quilt - Number One

The blocks were all strip pieced and then cut into slices. I have no idea why I made these two. Wait - I know - because I could. I probably wanted to have some baby quilts on hand, but I never got any requests for quilts. And I just wanted to make quilts!

The second one is the same except for the outer border. I likely ran out of the fabric on the inside and had to use a print for the border. 

The second community project quilt

If memory serves, I have two more of these quilts (same fabrics) in the "to be quilted" pile. Pretty sure I have a couple of pink-and-white (larger) ones, also in the "to be quilted" pile. It is a super fun and easy quilt pattern to assemble, and you can easily make it bigger by increasing the number of blocks. 

The border is also made from the strip sets. The strip sets are made from 2½" strips. So super easy and can be made with a jelly roll and a white fabric. HEY --- that might just be a way to use up some jelly rolls that I have. I never even thought of this pattern. And I always have white around. That's the one staple that I can't get enough of - white. I'm always using it, and so I'm always buying it. Boring white! But it sure makes things sparkle. 

Perhaps I should set a goal for the summer to get all the quilts from that style quilted. WAIT -- I need to get that leader back on the machine, and I might just get that done today. I didn't get much done yesterday. I was a slug because I didn't sleep well the night before, but that's a whole other story that I will share someday. 

These are the two other quilts I'm working on. Another one of those: why make one when you can make two quilts? These were the second $10 quilts that I taught back in 2004. 

The status on the winter quilt tops

You can see the sled block in the quilt on the left, and there is now one made for the quilt on the right. While they had the tracing patterns for the guy on the sled, there are also trees and a dog to be included. However, there was no pattern to trace. Oh - you can free-form cut them from fabric. Well, that's an invitation to not get them done! However, I'm happy to report that the trees and the dog are fused in place, and I hope to get the satin stitching done on them today.

Then two more sections on both quilts need to be pieced, and my goal is to get those done this summer. I sure hope to have more than those blocks done. I'll have to find some border fabrics in the stash and then assemble them. I also want to work on the summer quilts. Those never got started, but since the fall, winter, and spring are done (or almost as above), I might as well finish the set! It would be great to get those done this summer as well, since I still have four other quilts on my UFO list this year to finish. Two need to be quilted, and two still need a lot of piecing. Actually, one still needs a lot of designing. 

I was saying to the Monday sewing group and probably those on the retreat that I rarely start a new project, and yet - I'm going to start to work on those two summer quilts. But that's not really a new project. It's more like I'm finishing the set, and hence a UFO. That doesn't count as new. 

But I had sent out a note asking for suggestions on what to do with the Tula Pink fabric bundle I purchased, and, of course, that would mean starting a new project I have no purpose for. 

Here are two of the suggestions, and I love them both!!!

Spanish Tile quilt

Spanish Tiles by Anka's Treasures has great big spaces, which is perfect for the large prints. You can find the pattern at that link - it's only $9, and you get an immediate download. I like the fact that the pattern is only $9. If I am downloading the darn thing, the designer didn't have to worry about printing, folding, inserting the pattern into the plastic bag, and certainly not about logistics and shipping. That is worth a lot of money, and I shouldn't have to pay for those services if I'm getting a downloadable PDF pattern. There are some designers where you get no break, and we deserve that price break if the services haven't been used. 

I am not sure of the source of this next one. I don't know the pattern name, and well, it's easy enough to figure out. I did NOT say that out loud. And I apologize to the designer, but some things just don't need a pattern. 

Another pattern with large blocks

The fabric collection it is showcasing is Ruby Star's Cascading Landscaping. I went back and checked the lookbook, and that pattern is NOT there, so someone else (the store?) has rendered the fabrics into that quilt pattern. Maybe the person who sent me the pattern can locate the pattern source.

I love both patterns and certainly have more than enough fabric in that bundle to make both. I just need to find the backgrounds (white, most likely for both) and then find a strong fabric for the trellis on the first one. A Tula Pink is NOT strong enough (color-wise or perhaps value-wise) or plain enough to make that work, and I think that is the issue I have with Tula Pink. Using only her fabrics in a quilt is a hot mess (in my opinion), but adding other fabrics can calm it down. 

Speaking of which—when I look through the Lookbooks for the Ruby Star fabrics and other pattern sources, so many are copies of each other. I see the same things (motifs/styles) over and over again. And people are happy to pay good money for these patterns - just because it's in a slightly different setting or different fabric, it is the SAME pattern! And what I "love" is that a good part of the "modern" fabric look is all about vintage and retro things. So it's not modern—it's just retro revisited! 


Loads more to share, but I must get myself to the gym this morning. I guess the beauty of not having to attend Joseph's classes is that I can go whenever I want to spin. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!