Thursday, October 24, 2019

More Doin's

This quilt finish is the quilt I intended to enter in QuiltCon's Indah Batiks Challenge, but I messed up. I didn't follow the rules. Instead of adding only solids to the four batiks that were sent to us (a fat 1/8th of each print), I added two more Indah batik prints. It didn't come to my attention until I'd completed the quilt top! Ergh.

So, I'm naming this  32" X 39-1/2" quilt "Breaking the Rules: Jewels," since I not only broke the rules, but the design is cut and pieced in jewel shapes, using the Hex 'n More ruler.
"Breaking the Rules: Jewels," 32" X 39-1/2"

Quite honestly, I'm not only frustrated with myself for messing up, with the fact that MQG challenges are presented without any information about where to source more fabric to make a quilt. Certainly none of my local shops carry Indah batiks, and very few online shops do either. Add to my frustration the fact that I really don't like batiks. Yep, I'm sayin' it. I don't like them, nor do I like working with batiks. Admittedly, back in the 1980s I used them in a few quilts, but I'm over them. None are in my stash except a few leftovers from this quilt.

You'll certainly ask, "Then why did you sign up for this challenge?" Well. It's that palm print. It grabbed my attention. What else can I say? I wanted to feature those palms in my design. Did you notice I was very sure to cut all the palms standing upright, and bending in a particular direction?

Quilting is on a grid. I followed instructions in Christina Cameli's book "Texture Quilting" to walking foot quilt a 60-degree diagonal grid across the entire quilt, followed by free motion quilting several designs in those diamond shapes.

I joined leftover batik pieces to cut one large jewel that inserted in the backing. Also, I made faced binding using the tutorial on Bernina's WeAllSew blog. This is the second time I've used this method and I really like it.

A couple days were spent making these Zippered Snack Bags from some of a few months worth of saving snack bags, candy bags, and coffee bags.

Central Florida MQG spent a Saturday Sew-in learning how to make them from member Cindy (IG @cbubblesnsews). Many of us quickly discovered they're addictive! We've also learned that we don't look at food packaging in the same way anymore. We're eyeing our purchases not for the content, but for the packaging!

If you'd like to try making a zipper snack bag yourself, just get on YouTube and search for "zipper snack bag." You'll find quite a few videos. I recommend that you shop for fusible/iron-on vinyl that's glossy. (Vinyl comes in a matte finish too.) You can find it at JoAnn Fabrics either pre-packaged, or by the yard, the latter of which is how I purchased mine in the store.

Since I offered my selvedges tutorial in last week's blog post, I didn't want to muck it up with a book review. So I have two reviews for you this week.

"The Alice Network" by Kate Quinn is historical fiction that delves into the past of a WWII British spy, Eve, involved in France's Alice Network, and a young American woman, Charlie, who in 1947 is looking for her French cousin who's been missing since the war's end. While this is yet another book about the war, it's very well-done - the narrator does a fabulous job - and the story adds another dimension to my understanding of life in occupied France.

Linda's score: 4.8/5.0


I checked out "The House We Grew Up In" by Lisa Jewell as sort of an accident, when I was showing someone, on my iPhone, how to borrow an audio book using the Hoopla app. But it turned out to be a happy accident.

I've never before read a book about a hoarder, though I've watched them on TV a few times. This story is about more than hoarding though. It's about the Bird family, six people enjoying their lives living in the Cotswolds (UK) guided by a wonderful mother, Lorelei. Her primary objective is to create a home environment that's joyful and creative, and her greatest delight is Easter, when her children and others' children look for chocolate eggs in the backyard garden. However, one Easter Sunday turns to tragedy, and the family is never the same. Each person has to find himself/herself, and their journeys take many years. To me, these characters seemed over-the-top odd. I had a hard time believing a family could have this many issues.

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

It recently struck me how beautiful our Bismarck palm looks. It began as such a small palm! Here it is in August 2014, when it was first plant. 

Now is as tall as the roof of our single-story house. This is really a show-stopper, and I love that it's in our yard. Those fronds are huge - like 5-6 feet across - and make a lovely "clack" sound when the wind blows.   

Linda

9 comments:

  1. Love your "Breaking the Rules" quilt. Your right about the palm tree fabric. It is a great look for this piece. And WOW about your beautiful live tree on your front lawn. It is truly magnificent.

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  2. I understand your frustration with the quilt but it really is a jewel among many in your collection. Those fabrics just glow with the added texture of your quilting. That is one amazing palm tree! And so much growth in just a few short years, will it get much larger?

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  3. What a bummer after finishing your quilt. Ah well, a lesson learned ( hopefully) to carefully read the conditions! Love your palm Linda. Do the bottom branches need cutting off when they die or does it stay green all the time. I have one, although not the same variety, but it looks hideous when the bottom branches die. Unfortunately it will soon be too tall to reach them. Thanks for the book reviews. Will have to try and get them from Overdrive. :-)

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  4. Wow that palm is just amazing. It's really grown. Your quilting is wonderful . . . of course! Since you can't enter your quilt, consider it a good experiment with the ruler and batiks. I've bought very few batiks. They make beautiful quilts but it's a whole thing that I just don't want to get into.

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  5. I love how we name our quilts based on our experiences while making them. This quilt turned out beautifully, Linda. The back is as pretty as the front! I don’t snack, so I don’t have snack bags. But they look like fun to make. I did work with some dog food bags to make a few special bags for Crafty Daughter's pets for traveling purposes a few winters ago. Same idea. I always appreciate your book reviews, esp. when I’m preparing to travel long distances. Thank you! And now, that Palm Tree! How amazing is that? I'll never forget the first time I ever saw Palm Trees. I took pictures of every one!

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  6. Great quilt and the palm print is appealing. Too bad it won't qualify for the challenge, but lesson learned I guess. And it led to a very creative quilt name! That palm really took off and it does look great in your yard.

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  7. The zippered snack bags are so awesome.

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  8. That palm is so awesome!!!! Gorgeous :^) I love your breaking the rules quilt, it turned out beautiful. I sure wish I had more time to read as I love reading, but I am so tired with work that it takes my strength. I fall asleep way too easily. I shouldn't complain. I am planning on making some of the snack bags too, starting my collection of bags, my husband thinks I'm a little lost!!! hahaha

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  9. So much fun stuff in this post, Linda, from re-usable snack bags to your beautiful jewel quilt to the size of your Bismark palm. Growing things remind us that time does march on, even though you and I aren't getting any older, right?

    Sorry about the frustration with the Jewel quilt. I'm not a batik lover, either, but it has more to do with the type of fabric it's printed on (it doesn't like to ease in when I do my handwork). I used batiks early on, and like you...I've moved on. But your quilt is interesting, and beautiful and it like a jewel: a reflection of its maker. :)

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