What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

My sister and I went to the cottage this week for an overnight stay.  What was supposed to be a nice, sunny turned out to be cold and rainy.  So, no sitting on the porch in that weather.  Instead, we sat inside and while my sister read a book, I finished sewing the binding down onto this quilt.

Welcome to the (almost) weekend!  It's finally Friday, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  If you're new here, you should know that this doesn't have to be a finish - just something you're happy about.  We all need to celebrate the little things, don't we?  So let's go!

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It's been a busy week around my place, starting with a re-visit of the bargello process...

      Due to my brain freeze in making the bargello from the Watercolor blossoms jelly roll, I had made a plan on graph paper, measured all the strips twice and cut them. I checked each strip to the graph paper before I sewed any together. Once the second half was done, the two pieces did behave and make a proper design.

1st half mistake

With Borders

      This is not a fashion statement, rest easy. I am trying to make another Blue Bargello to replace the one given away. I am using the Island batik packs, you need two.

     At the retreat, I was able to get this HST top tubed, webbed, and later at home, corrected:

     Now that I have your attention, I can share my frustration over my misfire. I loved the Blue Bargello quilt I made (now gone) and bought 2 jelly rolls (you need 2) to make another bargello. The Robert Kaufman Watercolor Blossoms roll does not have 2 of every strip (who knew?) so I spent a lot of time digging and finding replacement batik fabric to cut and substitute for those single ones. Ok, covered that before. I sewed the two jelly rolls into 2 sets of strip tubes after arranging them in the best gradation I could do. Ok. Then ...

    The Blue Bargello was given away to a very sick friend. I had wanted to keep it, but there it went. I bought 2 rolls of Watercolor Blossoms by Robert Kaufman and was dismayed to find that there were not duplicates of every fabric which is what I needed to make a similar bargello. After leaving it for a few weeks, I went through my own batiks and replaced the single strips with doubles I cut, actually double doubles because you need 2 complete jelly rolls to make this bargello. I had to find a piece of batik that was ...

    Our guild quilt show is in October, so I have to get going and quilt my quilts for it. I had to stop doing the comfort quilts to do this and it pains me to do so. The Blue Bargello was first. I do not like stitch in the ditch. Maybe I am a weirdo, but ok. I hate pantos. Double weirdo.
    This time, I used an idea I stole from someone- I printed out a photo of the quilt (in black and white with the opacity lowered) and put it in a sheet protector. I used white board markers ...

      I bought 2 great jelly rolls of an Anna Marie Horner line that I thought would work for Fire and Ice. I followed the instructions to the T, marked everything with blue painting tape, measured 4 times, then cut. When I tried to lay out the first set of strip sets, the right pattern did not emerge. I asked my husband, can you see where I went wrong. He took the strips, looking at the pattern photo,  figured out the pattern and the result was I had to reattach the tube strips and correct the  numbers so that the opening ...

     I guess I am kind of hooked on making Bargellos (thanks to a Left-Handed Quilter). Somehow the finished product gives me a tingle or two. Jelly roll prices have skyrocketed, and I was looking for a suitable combination of colors/values and a price that did not make me faint. I found these Anna Maria Horner (thinking of you, Maureen) ones at Quilt in a Day and not a bad price. What is not to like about FreeSpirit fabrics?
     When I got them, I tried a variety of strip layouts to make them flow in value. These photos are of ...

      Fabric, just love it. No matter how it comes in the door, no matter what size. Recently, a box came from Gwen, who has over the years boosted my ability to back comfort quilts.

      A border was added to Blue Bargello because I did not want to bind on the seam edge and  have all that bulk in the binding. I think I was able to add the right color and width to the quilt without diminishing the sparkle. Just got lucky, I guess.

     I have no idea where the last month went. I went to PA to help my daughter out when her daycare closed due to 1 case of Covid and was there for a week. We went on our scheduled 4 day trip to the Adironadacks, and then some other running around. Trying to get things put away.
    The one big project I got done was assembling the Blue Bargello. It had sat in strips too long. The first half was done a while ago. The other strips were pinned up longing to be sewn together. I sewed the first half ...

Yippee .... my bargello is now a top!  My version of a bargello, that is.  Remember, I tossed the pattern!  LOL

I just plugged away at adding strip after strip after strip until there were no more strips.  Glad that was finally done with.

Then .... what the heck ..... get those borders on pronto!  So, I did.

Great progress has been made.  Extra strips were cut to make this top a tad wider.  Border fabrics have been chosen and pretty soon this will be a completed top.

I'm happy with my 'winging it' thought.  Hubby and I were analysing the design and I think it looks like Northern Lights but Hubby thinks it looks like the 4th wave of Covid.  Whatever, I'm just happy with it now.

This UFO has been on the shelf for at least 5 years now.  Time to get it done.  All the strips have been cut out .... they just need to be sewn together.  The pattern and I parted ways years ago and I'm just going to wing it and see what design comes up.

There are only two pieces of fabric in the pattern.  All I can remember is that a variegated batik and a solid fabric are used.  So simple, but the layout was confusing to me.  So, the pattern got tossed.  LOL  

I’ve never met a sunset I didn’t love. 

Big-city sunsets always impress, with skyscrapers silhouetted against a golden sky. Winter sunsets transform freshly-fallen snow into acres of pink cotton candy. 

But nothing compares to sunset on the lake. Those colors dance on rippling water, creating a light show like nothing on earth! 

This week Jenny is whipping up a Lakeview Terrace jelly roll quilt with colorful bargello chevrons that remind us of sunset-tipped waves. What a dream! 

Click HERE to watch the tutorial! 

     As blogged a few posts ago, started with these (used 4):

      I received a gift of 4- 20 strip jelly rolls that were blues of graduated values. Back in the recesses of my mind and hard drive, I remembered a pattern for a blue bargello. It has been almost a decade since I made the Heart Bargello for my bed (my one and only bed quilt for me). That was when I was a newbie and it was extremely difficult. I had no clue what I was doing. I finished and gave away the book.

Pretty amazing what can be done with scraps and crumbs.  Triangles were sewn in the back corners and I inserted a paintstick for a hanging dowel.  I think the recipient liked it.  I LOVE the crookedyness.  

My second book “Fat Quarter Workshop” is officially here! If you pre-ordered, be on the lookout for a shipping notification this week. I’ve signed about two-thirds of the books and we’re in the process of getting them shipped out!

I’ve also managed to find a fabulous collection of fabric that captures the spirit of the original version of Frequency, our most popular Stashin’ with Stephanie pattern ever that starts off the book. So we’ve brought back quilt kits in the fabulous Silverstone by by Vanessa Lillrose and Linda Fitch for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

The fabric has ...