Crumbs combined play together

     For a long while, as leader enders or when I was frustrated with something, I sewed these blue crumb blocks with a red diamond center. I tried all sorts of ways to work them. I finally decided I would just make 7" Unfinished blocks and pile them up. After a substantial pile of them, I stuck them on the wall with all sorts of combos and added borders, like piano keys. Nothing jelled. Finally, I thought, keep it simple and just put them in rows and columns. Looked okay. Then I used a scrappy border of blues so I did not have all those seams in a binding (I really dislike tons of seams in a binding- just doesn't lay right).
    I decided to go real crazy and enter it in a show in at the View in the ADK. A couple of years ago my entries were rejected and I was crushed. Because the deadline was Aug. 30th, I forced myself to do a simple straight line design to give it texture and get it done. Ok. Then I entered it with lots of problems with computer entry forms. Sept. 9th I find out whether it or the pink floral OBW were rejected. If so, I will not try this again. It is expensive and wrenching because you don't know why it was rejected. I just wanted more people to see it in person. I will put it in my guild show next year anyways.
    So here is Ordering Chaos, 51 x 63.

Back

Finishes in the Sun

    In order to photo the quilts, I have not been able to find a good place outside. While my husband was sanding the garage and priming it, I realized I could put some nails in the little room off the garage and use bulldog clips on the quilts and hang them on nails. It is not elegant, but neither am I. I just want good light and room to photo. I did this once, and then my husband pulled the nails out to prime it. So, I pounded in the nails again, and hung two finishes.
    The crumb attic windows quilt is all done. Love using those scraps.

      I needed to make a grandson a new truck quilt. The fleece one I made him, he refuses to give it up even on hot nights making him a sweatball. I previously posted the truck fabric I bought from fabric.com. Since we needed it in a hurry, I used two yards of one fabric on the front and two yards of a different truck fabric on the back. I wanted it wider when he goes in to a twin bed instead of the youth one he is in. I used some yellow fabric that reminds of the color of construction signs and vehicles. I quilted it on the Bailey and used a zig zag pattern from the Inbox Jaunt. It looked terrific, like tire tracks. After a striped binding, I gave it to him yesterday and hope he had a good night's sleep.

All kinds of bits and pieces

      I have not made significant progress in any one area. In the crumbs, I have now 40, 6.5" crumb blocks. I don't want to do just a sashing (boring) or another attic window pane. I don't know what to do. Someone at the WNY Modern Quilt Guild meeting mentioned doing skinny strips of black like stained glass and offset the rows. Hmm, I am not sure.
     The other crumb strips are 2.5" by 8.5", paper pieced on newsprint. Bonnie Hunter showed them on her quilt cam, showed a block made out of four, and then I never heard mention of it again. I jumped on it because I can use all the tiny pieces left over on these. So, now I have these nice strips and no ideas. I don't want to set them all against each other because it would be too jumbled to the eye.

6.5" Block pile all done on the Singer Treadle

2.5" x 8.5" Strips, 2 whole blocks, sewed on the treadle.Where do I go from here?

 

This is all I have left after my crumb blocks. I don't throw anything out bigger than this.

     I am also continuing on my wonky quarter log cabins. I finished another 4 quarters. I did not sew any of them together yet, so I can rearrange when I get all of them done. I am planning on 3 complete big blocks wide by 4 blocks long to make it a comfort lap quilt. These also sewed on the Singer 15 treadle. I am telling you, the treadle is real relaxing and comforting to sew on.

Two big blocks arranged, the quarters are 8.5" unfinished,
so the big blocks will finish 16"

First big block trimmed

     Finally, I took the plunge and am cutting out my daughter's wedding present quilt. It is going to be loosely based on Circle Dance by Elisa from Backporch Designs. A little while ago, I bought the 7" template and thought I could make the 3.5" one. Nope, I broke down and ordered it yesterday. I did start cutting out the batiks that Ria picked out. I am going to have to at least make 70 sets of the quarter circles and about 35 sets of the small circles. Well, at least I started. I am planning to sew them together with my Curvemaster foot that I bought.

Cut with the 7" Crazy Curves template

Blizzard, New Top, Crumbs

      Parts of the Western New York area has been through a blizzard. Well, I live just a block north of the city of Buffalo and did experience high winds, incredible wind chills, and whiteouts, but this was nothing like the Blizzard of 77, my gold standard of blizzards. Because so many highways were closed, there was little stranding or drama. Actually, today, I have had more snow than during the blizzard. I think the other snow blew into some other county. Because of the weather, most things I had to do were cancelled, so I was "forced" to sew, sure, right. 

My backyard today

   When I looked through my projects, I decided to sew Rubik's crush, a free pattern from Quilting Arts (it was in a free ebook). I bought the fabric  over a year ago and cut the large floral blocks them. Just love the fabric. I needed to sew the 17 blocks that are the small 2 1/2" blocks with teeny sashing, not my favorite. I would not sew it the way they said again. I would not sew 1" sashing to 2 1/2" squares again. It is almost impossible for me to keep them straight. I would sew 2 1/2" strips to a strip of sashing, and then trim them into sets. You can see that even though I tried hard, the blocks are not precise. I decided just to keep going and sew all of them. Today, I put them on the design wall where I will label the block rows and numbers so I can sew them. I struggled sewing them on the tempermental 201 and switched to a trusty 301 near the end for the sashing. 

Block centers

On the design wall, blocks are 12.5"

    When the wind was really howling, I could not concentrate, so I treadled my crumbs on my Singer 15 treadle, which is soothing therapy for me. I sew the scraps, and then trim them to 6.5" blocks for another crumb quilt. I have not decided how to set these. The last one I did in attic windows (not quilted yet). 

Crumbs being assembled

6.5" crumb blocks, each one a little composition

Crumb blocks, attic window

    I finally treadled enough crumb blocks, 6 1/2" squares to make a lap quilt. I love crumb blocks, they are like mini paintings, each one different and fun. I already did one with sashing. I decided to use attic windows because it will show off the blocks. I looked for some tutorials, and did not find one that was real clear. I don't want to do the simplified, put a half square triangle in the corner, because I already have enough seams. I can't get a clear idea how to add the second piece without starting to sew at the 1/4" mark which is harder than on the open end.
   I am sewing on the 301 because the treadle does not have reverse. When I get my new machine, the 237, I can treadle the strips on also. Any ideas how to sew attic window strips easier, I would love to know. I have 7 done on the wall. 

On the wall

Crumb block pile waiting for its sashing

Finished comfort quilt out the door

The finished crumb quilt went out the door yesterday to a woman named Sandra. Prayers for her as she is having difficulty with treatments. Sewed on 301s. Purchased bag, pockets sewn inside and out.

Crumb quilt with Faux piping binding

Bag with book

Trying it out

   I love to try new ideas. I have to force myself to just do trials so I don't just jump into projects and decide I don't like it when I am too far into it. In between all the machine quilting, I tried two ideas. I had ordered some thin paper from Missouri Star Quilt Company to try as foundation paper for string piecing. The papers are 10" and nice and thin. They had free shipping, so 250 sheets for $9.95 seemed like a good idea. I sewed four of them to see what I thought. I don't like all the waste when trimming.  I can't figure out how to use those random half sewn pieces. When trimming, the paper was not a true 10", maybe because it got distorted sewing? I used my square ruler and cut it 10". After looking at them on the design wall, I am not sure I like it. I think maybe because I usually work with small scraps. Maybe I need to cut the papers down to 8"? It wasn't speaking to me. Comment if you have any thoughts.

   The other idea was from Missouri Star Quilt Company's new video, Silly Goose, which is so simple you could laugh. I sewed six squares, but I made mine 6" white, with 3" squares for the corners using scraps. Before I cut off the triangles, I sewed a second seam to hold them together, and I got bonus half square triangles that I can use in my crumb quilts. I really like this, but I am not crazy about so much white. How about a subtle print or blender?

Six 6" blocks on the design wall to see the Silly Goose pattern

The bonus squares from the edges, sewn before cutting, about 2 1/2"

Bits and Pieces

   I am still working out in my head to proceed on a few quilts. I get ideas and see things, and then have to figure out how to use them.  When I piece, I use leader and ender fabric which Bonnie Hunter taught me on her blog. This way, I start with 2 squares and end with 2 squares and then make 4 patch leader and enders every time I sew. I have all these neat 4 patch blocks now as a bonus from regular piecing. So, now what to do with them? I made two Wonky Star blocks to try this out. I could make a some more star blocks and then a sash around them all, then 4 patches around maybe. I don't know.

 

     Bonnie Hunter is also working on 2.5 x 8.5" strips of paper and covering them with crumbs. Four strips make a block. I made two blocks. I don't know how the blocks would go together, sashing around? All of these scrap blocks are sewed on my Singer treadle. I keep a box of scraps on it, and do therapy sewing whenever I need it. I can just leave it on the machine. I don't like sewing on paper, but I am giving it a try.

 

    The last crumbs I am working on is 6.5" blocks. I love using scraps. My thought is to make a number of blocks and maybe use attic windows to put them together. I don't always like using sashing around because it gets kind of boring and repetitive. The last crumb quilt I did for a comfort quilt had sashing. I thought maybe this might work- I have never sewn the attic window pattern, just this one block. What do you think?

 

One Attic Window Block

 

 

New Comfort Quilt Progress

   The Crumb quilt is totally finished. I just have to sew pockets on the tote bag. It is easier for me to buy the tote bags by the dozen and just put the pockets on. The blocks in the Crumb quilt are all from small scraps that I ask for and make myself. The crumb blocks were all sewn on my treadle. Quilted on a Singer 301. I just leave a pile of scraps on the treadle, and when I need some mindless sewing or have a small portion of time, I keep adding to them. I am working on another crumb quilt, but instead of sashing, I am going to try attic window edges.
  The other quilt is the exploding squares pattern that my mother helps with. She can sew all around a square. I press, cut, and put the third square on, she sews all around again. I press and cut and put them all together with the border. This time, I had my mother help to arrange the blocks. The pindot fabric for the border I had since the 80s. My mother's Brother is from when I was a baby in the 50s and it works fine although I just replaced the knee pedal for her. Now, I need to cut a king size batting into 4 so I have a batting for it. It is just hard to find somewhere to lay out the batting to cut it.
   These are comfort quilts that I bag with a book and card for cancer chemo patients when someone gives me a name or contact. Most of the time, I do not know the person or ever meet them but I know they get comfort from the quilts. I have all the pieces for another one, this time the idea is from the Missouri Star Quilt Company and their video on strips from the Three dudes quilting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Ixvjje310&feature=c4-overview&playnext=1&list=TLOsL0CnMnzuA. They use 4 strips in theirs, I used 6 so the blocks when cut diagonally are larger. I just have to sew the blocks together now. Post that soon.
   The Kenmore 158.1654 got its new spool pins and belt and is ready to go through the paces. The 1040 got its handwheel removed and cleaned so the clutch disengages and I can wind a bobbin.
  Still a host of projects staring me in the face.

I know the sides are wonky, I had to photograph it on the floor, standing on a chair.

Detail of corner, faux piping binding

Block and quilting closeup.

Exploding squares, needs backing, binding. Again, could not photograph wonky.

Catching Up

I am not sure why I find it so hard to download my photos and keep up the blog. I certainly am working on things. I admire those who keep daily blogs- just can't seem to work and blog.
  I have cleaned a friend's 301 that sat for 40 years and had issues with the tension, but finally got there. Another friend from my quilt guild gave me a Featherweight that her neighbor was going to pitch but remembered she sewed and offered it to her. In the case and everything. Very dirty. Just love bringing those beauties back to life. It is not just that vintage machines are old, but they still do a better job at sewing in their marvelous precision machined way. Every time I clean one I'm in awe at the machining, fit and finish. And the sewing quality, wow.

BEFORE

DIRTY CASE

DIRTY MOTOR

DUST CAKES

POLISHED

ALL SHINY

CLEAN CASE

READY TO GO HOME

    A new comfort quilt is ready for quilting. I used scraps that I beg from people to make the crumb blocks. All of them were sewed on my vintage Singer treadle. The rest of the quilt was sewed on my 301. I will quilt it on one of my 301s.

 

   

  One of my former students just had a baby, so I used an Eric Carle panel and made up a quilt with kid fabrics. I have to quilt it now. 

BACK PIECED

   Also, my Painted Leaf panel that I made in Rochester at a Pat Pauly class bothered me. One piece just screamed out. When I found out what was involved in ripping, I was intrepid. However, Wanda, from Exuberant Color, said to try and paint it. I did paint it with Jacquard dyna-flow paints and it worked. Now I have to figure out a border and backing, but no ripping! You can compare it with one earlier, it is the 4th yellow big piece from the bottom.

 

Crumb log cabin finished and gone!

Thankfully, I was able to complete the crumb quilt, sew pockets to the purchased tote bag, make a card, include the book and mail it to the recipient as part of my personal Quilts4Comfort packages to those going through cancer treatments. I just love making these. The Crumbs are so much fun. Some people have given me scraps and I am able to use them in this type of pattern. I sewed all the 8 1/2" blocks on my Singer treadle, and did the other seaming on my trusty 301. I quilted this on another Singer 301. Don't ask me how many I have.

Bag, pockets, book, card before packing

Close up of quilting, (no quilt police comments please)

Finished quilt

Back of Quilt so you can see the quilting