Saving and Using HST Scraps

Saving scraps seems to be a common by-product of quilting. Maybe not in the beginning, but definitely it becomes habitual the longer one quilts. 

When I learned the 'stitch and flip' method of applying corner triangles, I became fanatical about saving those cutaway bits. I even began sewing them together before cutting them away -- time-savings as well as scrap-saving! Genius!

They have been accumulating and I need to get serious about using some of these HSTs. I said I saved them because they were useful, but if I never use them then just how useful are they? 

Now, there's a thought to ponder ... 

Lately, I've been pulling out all the HSTs whenever I come across them, Usually, they are stored in zipper bags, and are stuffed in bins or drawers. I'm sure I've not pulled out all of them, but here's a good-sized pile of them.

These bags represent several really pretty quilts, and I can show you a few. One of the oldest is this Thimbleberries quilt called Star and Chain. I started it at a retreat in 2017, then finished it at the 2018 retreat. This quilt produced a boat-load of HSTs.

 

Another quilt that produced an abundance of HSTs was Snow Shoo, also made in 2018. Sharon and I made this pattern together using 2 blocks - a snowball block and a shoo-fly block. That's how we came up with the name. Hers was also blue and off-white.

 

Here's another look at my pile of scrap HSTs. Maybe I can detect additional quilts. Yes, in fact, at least two more and both much more recent.

Both Smoked Cheddar and Cotton Ridge Farm were made last year, from very similar fabrics. There's a nice big supply of cutaways from these two quilts.

And one from just last month - The Winnemucca quilt I made at retreat. This quilt left me tons of salmon-colored HSTs and light blue HSTs.  Combined with all those from these earlier quilts gives me a wide range of colors and variety.

I actually have used some scrap HSTs over the years, which ought not surprise you. I do try, you know. *wink* Both of these little quilts have materialized out of remnant cutaways from other quilts.

Wall hanging from Eventide remnants, a quilt made in 2014.

 

Very small topper from Cotton Ridge Farm.

 

If you have stayed with me through this lengthy exposition, I confess: I do have a plan. These many bags of saved scraps will be cut down and used in a pretty quilt that I've been seeing and following over on Instagram. It's not anything I've long desired to make; it's simply appealing, and I've got the beginnings so why not go for it? 

Oh yeah, I'm starting a new project. And I will show you. Promise.As I continue working on it, you will soon see some pictures. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Hello September

Always late with my monthly greetings. So what else is new? At this point, I think I would needlessly surprise readers if I welcomed a month on time. *smh*

I ought to have an August wrap-up collage ready to share, but I'm late on doing that, too. I will work on it. Promise.

Now let's go have an amazing September!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

 

I'm Quilting!

Since way back in mid-November, I have not taken a successful stitch on the long arm machine. I loaded what I called a freebie quilt which would be for our then-expected third granddaughter. It was made with leftover parts from a previous quilt, and it was just as cute as can be.

It's been so long ago, I'm having a hard time recalling the exact order of things, but I believe I'd quilted 3 or 4 quilts prior to this one and was on quite a roll. I had knee surgery in late October, and I know I had at least two ready for binding to do while in recovery and rehab. When I went back to work on this, I had nothing but broken threads - top threads - and for the life of me, I could not diagnose the problem. 

Threads broke in as few as 5-10 stitches. I was beside myself with frustration. Finally, we were approaching Christmas, and I needed to stop fretting about the long arm and get myself ready for the family feast! And as soon as that was over, we would head out for our 3-month winter in Florida. 

In July, I took the machine apart and drove it to Amish Country - Holmes County, here in Ohio - to a well-known and highly regarded repair shop, Chestnut Ridge. It was about a three-hour drive to get there, and about 3 weeks later, we went back to pick it up. (I will do a write-up on that great shop in a future post.) For now, I will just say that I still had trouble with thread breakage after putting the machine back on the frame. I was truly flummoxed. I called the technician who worked on my machine and sent him pictures that he requested to try to diagnose from those. Finally, I took the thread off, put a different spool on, re-threaded the machine and gave it a whirl. 

EUREKA! IT WORKED! 

And I believe I have diagnosed my issue. The pin on which the spool sits had vibrated forward and the guide bar above it had vibrated too low and close to the spool. Thread was getting jammed up in that area where the thread leaves the spool such that it pulled and eventually broke.

So this little quilt is quilted - not the prettiest quilting I've ever done - but it is done, and I can proceed with a gazillion more that I need to get done. How to decide which to do next?? 

Man, I am so glad to be able to say that I've (apparently) solved my thread-breaking issue. You can bet I'm gonna' get another quilt loaded ASAP.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Retreat Projects By My Friends

Retreats are wonderful in so many ways. Not only do we get several days of uninterrupted sewing time, we are gathered in a large room with other quilters who encourage and inspire us. After several retreats with the same core group of women, we learn each other's quilting preferences and habits. Today I will share some of the projects from these women. 

And, sadly, I didn't get pictures of everyone. Bummer! I just don't think of it in time - self-absorbed, I guess. So my apologies to Helen, Becky and Jan! Help me do better! *waahhh*

My bestie Sharon was super-productive as she finished two flimsies and began a third. First finish was a 9-patch baby quilt for a grand-niece.

 And her second finish was this black and white quilt that she's planned to make for 25 years!! 

I did not get a picture of her third project, but it is another black and white quilt. I am sure I will soon have an opportunity to get some pics as she continues working on it.

Terry was in patriotic mode. We had so much on our plates with this 250th-year celebration in America, it was impossible to make all of them! These will be available for future patriotic holidays at Terry's house.

 

These two were finished flimsies. She began a third quilt that is designed to look like a woven coverlet in faded blues, reds and neutrals.

Lisette, I have learned, likes small quilts (wall-hanging size) with small pieces. So her finishes are really precise and meticulously pieced. First she made this braid-like quilt.

Next she went to work on this darling small quilt, determined to have it finished by the last day. And she did it, too. It looks amazing.

 

Last, we have Susan, who was beginning a block-of-the-month quilt that she hoped to catch up on. The pattern is called Liberty Island Sampler, and this is the center medallion of the quilt.
 

She made additional progress on other blocks, but I did not get any pictures of them.

And that brings us up to speed on the recent retreat. It was a wonderful 4 days. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Major Milestone Finish

In April of 2017, I bought fabric for a quilt I was chomping at the bit to make. So excited!! Lake Effect! A pattern I'd been seeing in magazines and on line - gosh I was inspired! When I bought the fabric, my thinking was that I would be able to replicate the quilt without buying the pattern. After a few months, I bought the digital pattern in this post. Soon after, I lost steam on it, ultimately determining that I'd go easy on myself - 10 years - yes, try to finish the flimsy in 10 years. 

Quilt begun: April 2017

Flimsy deadline: April 2027

Actual flimsy finish: August 2026 

That would be 8 months early according to my calculations. I'm over here patting myself on the back, don't cha' know!

In March, I posted from Florida that the piecing was completed (see this post) and mentioned that the four corners of applique needed to be finished off. That is what I've just completed. Whew. DONE.

It is far from a perfect quilt, but by gosh, it's done. DONE! But, please, I beg you!! Stop me before I ever consider doing another quilt like this! Tie my hands behind my back or take me needle thread away from me. What I began with enthusiasm ultimately became a project I wanted to avoid.

Now that it's done to this point, I am happy to have persevered and am able to say I did it. I do still like the suggestion of water that all those elongated hexies imply. Cold water, even. The blues are icy blue and the branches look frosted. So, yes, I like the cold, wintry image created.

Join me and other stitchers for the Slow Sunday Stitching party over at Kathy's Quilts. I've been teasing those talented ladies with this quilt for far too long! 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Retreat Goals

We had quilt retreat this week, and I was motivated to make quilting magic on two big-time goals: Winnemucca Quilt and Aurora. I have been putting these two quilts on my yearly goals repeatedly, and at long last, they are being accomplished! Last month, I posted a 'check-up' on my progress toward completing these goals. Now, I can actually say that one more is done and another is started.

Two lofty goals: 1. Use the fabric bought on our Western US vacation in June 2022 in Winnemucca, NV, and 2. Begin working on Aurora, a quilt with beautiful little stars all in blue.

 First, I worked on Winnemucca. I'd made a test block which satisfied me. The pieces are big; the blocks are big; making the quilt would be fast. It took just over a day to produce my finished quilt top, and I am so pleased with it. Love the look; the fabrics all shine in the simplicity of the blocks without being lost in a more complicated design.

The floral fabric used in the sashing strips and borders is a pleasing mix of the block colors on a gray background. Let's have a closer look.

 

And now that I'm home, I can show even better pictures with the completed quilt top.

Not only am I thrilled to have finally made a quilt with this fabric, I am equally thrilled that I have a good bit of fabric remaining. Now I get the fun of dreaming up a pattern for creating something else from the leftovers. I have plenty - maybe a full yard! - of the stripe, the salmon, and the blue. And sadly, the print is very limited. I used a lot of it on the sashing strips and the borders. Nothing to cry about! I love that this print worked so well in this quilt. I will find another equally attractive (simple!) quilt for using up my remnants.

The other goal for retreat was beginning Aurora. I've had my eye on this quilt for a good while, and had the blues from my stash auditioned and selected. The pattern is by Edyta Sitar in one of her books.

 Those stars! Oh, gosh, they absolutely sing and dance across this quilt! The first time I saw a picture of it, I knew I wanted to make it. I cut most of the quilt out ahead of time and pretty much had everything ready for tackling the daunting task of making 127 stars. And those are 127 4.5" stars! yikes...

Above is my retreat accomplishment on the task: 28 stars. I wanted to at least get the total number of stars down into double digits! I only have 99 more to make!

Yes, it's going to take awhile, but I will make them in batches of 10 or 20 at a time. Breaking down the task seems to make it go faster, and if I've got a good audio book plugged into my ears, I will have them done lickity-split.

In between finishing Winnemucca and beginning Aurora, I made 20 little card wallets. I haven't made any in several months, so I wanted to replenish my supply. This batch contains a few for Christmas.

 One last thing I worked on in the final hours of retreat before packing up was to make a Mini-TATW block from the remnants of my big TATW quilt.

 I've got a great quilt in mind that requires (at minimum) 12 of these mini-trip blocks. Because I had plenty of leftover 2" squares and strips, it made good sense to use them in this fashion. If I still have a lot after making 12 blocks, I might decide to make a few more for a larger quilt.

So that is what I accomplished at our August Quilt Retreat. Fun with friends makes the retreats even more special. We had 8 quilting friends attending this year, and we are already booked for two next year - April and September. 

Hope you are having a productive week! Today, I will put stuff away and tackle a few chores around the house. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

I Cut The Fabric!

After four years of making a goal of using this fabric, I have finally cut it and have begun construction. This is a big deal. 

 If you've followed me here for very long, you may recall that I've had years worth of plans to make a quilt with this group of fabrics I bought in Winnemucca, Nevada. Here on the blog, I've referred to it often as the Winnemucca fabrics.

I sifted through years of photos on my computer to find the date I bought this fabric and LOOK!! I found the picture (above) I took in the shop on the day I bought it - June 3, 2022. Wow. I thought I'd had it longer; sure feels longer. Maybe that's what happens when year after year I fail to achieve the goal of using this little collection. Using this fabric has appeared on the goals lists for '23, '24, '25, and '26. This year it finally will be realized!

Moving in the right direction, at last! I made two significant decisions several months ago. This made the most difference in eliminating all my dithering. One was deciding on a pattern, the other was deciding to make it one of my August retreat projects. 

The pattern is a weathervane block from a book I've had for years - Mulberry Lane by Teri Christophersen. I actually made this same quilt several years ago as a wedding gift, so I know it's going to go together easy-peasy. The sample block pleases me, and the floral fabric will be used for the sashing strips. It's gonna look great.

 How is it possible that I will have so much fabric left over?? Sure, I didn't have any pattern in mind when I bought the fabric, and I selected a pattern with big blocks. The quilt is not overly huge at 60" x 76". I will have plenty to "play with" after I finish this one!

My remaining fabric! More fun sewing to do!

Here's a link to the first quilt I made with this pattern. It was gifted to a friend's son for his marriage. Both that quilt and this one will look drastically different from the quilt pictured in the book, called Lavender Fields, but that's the beauty of quilt-making. Every quilt takes on the look from the fabrics the quilt maker selects. So many patterns and so many fabrics makes for vast, almost infinite "looks" for any given pattern.

Next up, I will share the other quilt I've cut out for retreat sewing. This one will go first, for sure.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne