Bramble Blooms II Update - Bias Vines and Wild Roses

On my last Bramble Blooms post I said:

"Ok. So, I've never added an applique border let alone an improv appliqued  border. So, I've never made a bias vine or bias binding for anything.  I know it is recommended that the applique be done before it is added to the quilt; however, I don't think I can do that so I've gone and added the border - that lime green, pink and white floral. I'm thinking I will applique some vining roses going around the corners. That means I will make some bias vines for the first time and add some needle turned rose leaves. And then, I hope to add some ruched roses if I can remember how to make them from those days long ago when I used to do quite a bit of crazy quilting.  If my ruched roses don't turn out then I might try some broderie perse roses.   So, if I get as far as rambling roses in my corners then I might add some butterflies to the rest of the border. Or not. "

Since that post a week ago I have made some bias vine for the first time ever following Audrey's (Quilt Folk) instructions. It's a little wider than I wanted but it will do for now because I made a lot of it. I wasn't sure how much vine I needed. 

Then I made some templates for leaves and wild roses and did some needle turn applique after I laid all my pieces out and pinned them to one corner of the quilt. I made one ruched rose but didn't like how it looked so didn't use my original plan. I was thinking of adding broderie perse roses but when I looked at appropriate fabrics I didn't want to cut out a few roses from any fabric.  This is an improv learn-and-try-new-things kind of quilt so I might make a few mistakes or end up with something I'm not quite in love with but I will be wiser I guess. 

Now I have three more corners to go! 

I have to say that cutting bias strips/making bias vines or binding is a whole lot easier than I imagined. I was always afraid to try cutting a piece of fabric on the bias for fear I would waste a piece of fabric and end up with a mess.  And now that I kind of know what I'm doing I have also been able to move another  really old UFO forward. More on that later...maybe tomorrow. 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (My word of the year)

Nov. 6 - Hand stitching in the evenings. 

 

Bramble Blooms

The latest prompt for the Bramble Blooms Quilt Along (QAL) is "Add a border with repeat applique motifs to your centerpiece, with quarter-triangle style cornerstone blocks."

My repeat applique motif is a butterfly. For my QST style cornerstones I divided up the cornerstones into four quarters with four appliqued flower petals using one of the templates I made for the smallest Coneflower in the center block. 

When we started this QAL we were to pull several piles of fabrics because for this QAL we will be making 3 improv quilts.  All three of my piles have the same orange and lime green piles of scrap chunks. This quilt has saturated purples added in.  So those are the colors I'm working with.  Pretty wild...yes, I know. 

My borders are 6 inch finished.  Like I mentioned previously...I used a flower petal from my small coneflower for my template for the four petaled needleturn appliqued "QST flowers". 

I made a butterfly template and traced around it on the back side of a  piece of  light (not fusible) interfacing I had on hand.  Then I put the right sides of a lime green scrap and the interfacing together and sewed around the traced line. I then trimmed around the sewn line and clipped curves then cut a small slit in the interfacing and turned the butterfly right side out - a butterfly emerging from it's coccoon!  Ok. So that might seem like a lot of work for 20 little butterflies but I think for me that was a lot easier than trying to needleturn applique around all those curves on the little butterflies. I don't see all that well and my fingers aren't as nimble as they used to be. 

So then I did a blanket stitch around the butterflies with two strands of a variegated embroidery thread that was purple and lime green. I found my milliner's (straw) needles so I could make a long bullion stitch for the butterfly bodies. I can't believe I actually remembered how to do a bullion stitch! So anyway...it is best to use a milliner's needle for long bullions because those needles are a little longer than embroidery needles and the eye and shaft are the same size (no bulge at eye) so that makes it easier to pull the needle through the bullion wraps.  I used perle #12 for the thread and was able to get 42 wraps. I wish I had used a thicker thread so the bodies (bullions) were a little fatter or been able to get a few more wraps so bodies were a little longer but I will just quit wishing and be satisfied with my end result.  Oh, and then I added some antennae with black perle #12 backstitches. 

And now I am ready for the next round. 

And sew on...

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Feb. 3 - Yesterday I went out to put outgoing mail in my mailbox and what was in my breezeway but - SURPRISE! - a roll of batting. I have no idea who to thank for that big surprise. That almost brought tears to my eyes. I have so many mostly comfort quilt tops that need quilting but I'm usually always short on batting. This surprise roll came at a very good time. The roll I've been working with is getting low and I've been looking for a good sale for a couple of weeks.  THANK YOU, anonymous donor(s)!  There was no info on who sent this with the batting and unless I'm getting very forgetful I know I didn't order it.   Now I guess I need to get some quilts finished!  My mantra for donation quilts this year is "44 (or more) in '24"! 

 

It's A Finish!

Stay At Home Round Robin 2022

48 x 62

Big stitch hand quilted.

If interested you will find more info about the Stay At Home Round Robin, the prompts and my center medallion on my March 2022 blog post.  That's when I finished the top.

Lots of rose themed print scraps in this one!  I used mostly scraps in reds, grays and blacks. 

I big stitch hand quilted in mostly those same colors. 

I have a little collection of quilts made with rose themed fabrics so this one will join my collection. 

The backing. 

And the binding is scrappy - more rose prints!

And sew on...

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework.

 

Stay At Home Round Robin (SAHRR)

SAHRR

(Stay At Home Round Robin)

It's a flimsy!

I think last I measured it was 48 x 62.

The SAHRR kick-off was on January 10th and at that time I blogged about my center block.   A prompt for each round was to be issued for several weeks after that. My granddaughter passed away on January 15th before any prompts were issued so I did not do any sewing on my SAHRR until recently when I finally felt like being a little creative. 

My intent from the beginning was to use rose themed scraps for all of my rounds. My center block was made up of leftover Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs) from a quilt I finished in 2017. 

Round 1 prompt was Curves. 

I sewed together a lot of 1.5 inch width scraps end to end and then made borders all around that consisted of three 1.5 inch width strips. For my curves I added broderie persse in the border - a rose and butterfly...

...and another butterfly in the top corner. 

The round 2 prompt was Diamonds. 

I first made some 1.5 inch (finished) QSTs and then sewed them together to make diamonds. Then again I made borders of 1.5 inch strips and randomly added the strips of QSTs to two of the three strips in each border. 

The teeny tiny QSTs and the big ones in the center. 

The next prompt was Stars. Staying with the QSTs I made Ohio Stars -- three 3 inch (finished) Stars for each corner. And again, the rest of each border consisted of three 1.5 inch strips. 

I really wish I would have made the Ohio Stars with a little more contrast but I didn't so that's how it goes. 

The next prompt was Signature Blocks. I made mine with 2 inch squares and 1 inch corners and the strip finished at 1.5 inches. I added a 2 inch strip of gray floral before the Signature Blocks and a 1.5 inch strip of the same floral after the Signature blocks so the zig zag effect of the blocks would show up. The Signature block border was the last one to go all of the way around. After that I just wanted to add some length.  . 

The next prompt was Applique. I first added a border of three 1.5 inch strips to the top and bottom and then I added another broderie persse butterfly down by the rose...

...and three more broderie persse butterflies up on top. 

The final prompt was Shoofly. I made two 3 inch (finished) Shoofly blocks and set them in the center of a border of three 1.5 inch strips. Then I added the border to the top and bottom. 

After that I made two borders of 3 inch finished QSTs and added those borders to the top...

...and bottom. 

...and sew it goes. 

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

 

Feeling Flowery

 The latest AdHoc Improv challenge is "Feeling Flowery" - make something flowery.   I have something in mind that I've wanted to make for a very long time but while I plan that out I thought I had better move along a few flowery UFOs. 

This is as far as I've gotten with this pansy quilt. I started making those six inch blocks in 2013 and stashed them away for a long time. In March of last year I combined those blocks with some squares of large print fabrics and ended up with a top 42 x 54.  Now I want to add a solid border and some broderie perse. 

 I don't have any large pieces of any one purple so I guess I'll piece together several different small and wrinkly pieces of purple I found in the stash today for a border. I just have to decide how wide. Six inches? 

 I have several scraps with large pansies I'm going to cut out for the borderie perse. I'm kind of scared to do this step and that's why this has been sitting around as a UFO. I love broderie perse but have never done it on a large scale - just a few bits and pieces here and there mostly on crazy quilt blocks.  Today I told myself anything I do will be better than leaving the darned thing laying around unfinished for several more years. 

 I think I have also found a use for these old worn out pillowcases I made long ago. There's still some good parts with flowers I can use for the borderie perse! 

 Flowery UFO #2 , Moon Garden, started out as a medallion quilt along where everyone starts with their own center block and then every month we are given instructions for a new border. I started out with moonflowers for my center. All went well with the first border but the instructions for the bow tie border were incorrect - bow ties were supposed to be made of 2 inch pieces and not 2.5 inch pieces. I modified my border to use the bow ties I made with incorrect instructions and notified quilt along hostess of the error.  After that I lost interest in the quilt along. 

So now this is a design opportunity. I can add what I want for borders. But I can never think of what to add and that is why I thought a quilt along would be nice to try out some new and different border ideas.  (Sigh). 

I had decided to make the entire quilt in black and white and call it Moon Garden and quilt it with some glow in the dark threads I've had glowing in my thread drawer for ages.  So today I dug out some black and white fabrics...

 ...and I decided the next border will be these little 4.5 inch finished flowers. I'm not sure I have enough of that black polka dot for 40 blocks but I'll use it until it runs out and go from there.  And I have an idea for the next border too.  I'm not sure how many borders there will be. I don't want a big quilt...maybe a nice throw sized one. 

Flowery  UFO #3 has been thrown in a box for awhile.  All the pieces and parts are cut and made but I ran into a problem when I went to assemble all those pieces and parts. (Boo hoo)

 Quilt is called Now and Later by Kathy Doughty. I don't think the instructions are right. I went looking for errata but found none.  I also searched for anyone else that had made this quilt so I could see if anyone else had problems with the instructions. But I couldn't find anyone else that has made it. 

The pieces don't fit together correctly.  Today I took out all the pieces and parts and measured them to make sure I cut the right sized pieces that are cut twice on the diagonal and I did.  I've appliqued all 12 tulips to the triangles and center square and I don't have much of that background fabric left but I'm going to try to figure out how to get all these parts into a top.  (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can). 

My reward for getting the three UFOS to flimsy stage will be a new start - that new flowery quilt I've been dreaming about. I've been taking lots of flower garden pics as part of the planning process. 

Crumby Yellow Stuff

 Two 12 inch slabs with heart centers.  They came out of a box of crumbs. 

 Crumbs?  Those little odd sized bits and pieces of scraps.  I have several boxes of them. I go through them each month and sort out the pieces in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month.  Then I try to make quilt blocks out of them.  Later in the year I will make a bunch of comfort quilts out of the blocks I make all year to donate to a few of my favorite places. 

 I also have a Wonky Box of crumbs.  These are extra little HSTs or wonky HSTS or waste triangles sewn together, etc.   I pick through here too. 

So what else did I make besides the slabs from crumbs?

Four twelve inch blocks. 

A ten inch block. Well, actually it's supposed to be 10 inches, I think but I haven't squared it up yet. These HSTS were in the wonky box. I put them together and didn't worry about matching points, cut off points, etc. 

I made several ten inch Mendota Blocks - instructions found at the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild.  The group owner, Carol, drafts a block every other year named after the place where a quilt retreat is held.  Last year was the Omaha block and the ladies at retreat made over 180 quilt tops at retreat. I did not attend but sewed along at home.  The retreat will be held in Mendota in 2019 and this is the block everyone will make this year to be sewn together next year at retreat. 

Anyway, these are 10 inch blocks with five inch centers.  So any big scraps at least five inches square went into the making of these blocks as well as some five inch crumb blocks.   I decided I will border primary color centers in primary colors and secondary color centers in secondary colors.   So yellow got bordered with some red scraps...

...some blue scraps...

...and a variety of yellow scraps bordered some five inch crumb centers. 

I added seven 8 inch crumb stars to the pile. When I make these I add the complementary color.  Good thing Sawtooth Stars are versatile. I meant to make the star points yellow and the background purple but got mixed up when I cut the flying geese pieces for the star points. 

And from Cathy's Crumby Confectionery Company - Crumby Yummies in a variety of flavors. 

An eight inch block for the orphan box. 

A few Itty Bitty Nitty Gritty Fish. 

A variety of six inch (or close to it) blocks. 

And a variety of four inch blocks and a strip for a Chinese Coin quilt. 

The 16 gallon box that holds the four inch parts is getting full. I may have to do something with them sooner than later.  I have a few ideas. 

And now you know about the Crumby part of Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting! 

I'm turning Crumbs into Comfort Quilts! Crumbs for Comfort! 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday