string piecing

A day of rest from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

I had the most relaxed day that I've had in a LONG, LONG time. It was bizarre - I'm not used to that.

After I finished my morning chores, the big question was to sew or to read? I chose reading! Let's just say that my beloved gazebo is filled with the sun in the morning. I did move the chair around to get sort of in some shade, but it wasn't good enough, so I eventually moved to the kitchen table. I finished the book. Holy - what a storyline. There were more twists in this book ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 4 months ago. under bear , film studio , reading , scrap quilt , scraps , string piecing

Fireside REtreat - Day Five from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

I love sewing retreats, but I also love getting home!!!

I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done, but I did get enough done to make me happy. What made me even happier was getting to spend some time with my friends. Chatting, having a laugh or two, sharing ideas, hopes, fears, and all that stuff. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time.

What's even better is that while I have work to do this week, there are no deadlines. I have one lecture to present via Zoom, so that will take a bit of prep, but ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 4 months ago. under backyard , fireside retreat , string piecing

Sewing Retreat - Day Four from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

NOOOOO - It's the last day of our sewing retreat. I feel like we just got here. I didn't get enough done!

Oh - who am I kidding. I'm perfectly happy with what I got done, even if it wasn't a lot. In a way, it was a lot. Sometimes you just need to get over a hump, and then the flood gates will open.

Because I sew so much or deal with sewing/quilting stuff at home almost all the time, it's nice to take a break from it and do something else. That something else ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 4 months ago. under fireside retreat , string piecing , virtual challenge

Fireside Retreat - Day Two from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

It was another very successful day at Fireside Retreat. I may not be getting loads done in terms of quantity, but it's the mindset that's important.

Actually, I didn't even turn my sewing machine on until AFTER lunch. Shocking! I went for a bike ride in the morning. I was going to wait because it was only 11 degrees Celcius in the morning. But then Ronda was out on her bike and well - if she can be out, then so can I!

It was a glorious ride. I decided to try out the rail trail (Uhthoff Trail ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 4 months ago. under cycling , everyday market tote , fireside retreat , rail trail , string piecing

Fireside Retreat - Day One from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Before I get to the retreat stuff - here's the rest of our road trip. The last shop we went to was Quilting by Design in New Hamburg. A modern store with lots of Tula Pink, Libs Elliott, and Guicy Guice if you're into those collections. They did have other fabrics as well.

Quilting by Design

It was a super day, and I had a lot of fun. It was just nice to get out and sort of back to normal. However, after hearing on the radio that mandatory masks might be a thing of the future - this is ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 4 months ago. under fireside retreat , scrap quilt , string piecing

Let's go to a quilt show from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Yikes - it would appear that I may need to change those running (walking) shoes more often than I am. Thanks to Barbara for this link.

Hmmm - replacing anywhere from 150 miles (I think that's a bit too soon) to 1,000 miles. OH - I walked over 1,500 miles in mine. I hadn't experienced any problem other than the heels were breaking down. Anyway - I've moved onto the new pair, but it sounds like I should buy those extra pairs and rotate them. But if they are the same shoe - how will I know which is which ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 4 months ago. under string piecing , vintage christmas

Back to Normal from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Back to normal - what exactly does that mean these days? We're now able to go to the movies, eat indoors at restaurants, meet in small groups, and a whole lot more. But wearing masks and social distancing is probably with us for a long, long time.

I'm OK with that. I think, as a society, we're a whole lot healthier because of it. I haven't heard many sneezes or hacking coughs. People are either too afraid to do either in public, or they are just healthier!! Which goes to show that if you're sick, you ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 4 months ago. under big canada run , flowers , retreat , string piecing , zippered pouch

String Tulips from Fret Not Yourself

Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over

what impression he is making or about to make.

~Bruce Lee

Quilting

As if the first set wasn't enough, here's a second set of the Electric Socket strings. {Thanks for the perfect name, Julie.} Not so much yellow here and the green blocks aren't resonating.

Long skinny strings of fabric in a variety of prints form Xs when set together.

More string X blocks

Leaving them on the design wall gave me lots of time to arrange and rearrange all those string blocks. I moved something every time I walked by but they were just too crazy together. It could be the mix ...

added by Ann 4 years, 5 months ago. under #ahiqpositivethinking , #positivethinking , book recommendation , designing a quilt , string piecing , string tulips

String Star Finished from Fret Not Yourself

When presidents lose the trust of the public, I think it's very difficult

if not impossible for them to govern this country.

~Robert Dallek

Quilting

Just a matter of curiosity, but do you realize all these string sections are 45 degree isosceles triangles or 45 degree diamonds {which are really two of those isosceles triangles?} It's another way to make a string quilt besides square and rectangular blocks.

Once each larger section was sewn I made four right triangles for the corners. You can see I'm running out of lights. These are getting into the mediums. At ...

added by Ann 4 years, 5 months ago. under eight pointed star , string piecing , string quilt

Using the Parts Department to Complete a Quilt Top from Fret Not Yourself

"Voting versus protest; politics and participation versus civil disobedience and direct action.

This is not an either/or; this is a both/and.

To bring about real change we both have to highlight a problem

and make people in power uncomfortable,

but we also have to translate that into practical solutions and laws that can be implemented

and we can monitor and make sure we're following up on.

~President Barak Obama

Quilting

Sashing was the next decision. I laid out four choices but secretly thought one of the darkest {vertical} would work best. Instead, that dark grey on the ...

added by Ann 4 years, 6 months ago. under designing a border , lemoyne star , string piecing

LeMoyne Stars from Fret Not Yourself

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point.'
~ C. S. Lewis

With the chunks are out of the way, I'm ready to attack the scrap bag. Still enthused with diamonds, I cut newspaper foundation into five-inch wide diamonds to make LeMoyne Stars. To add some cohesion each started with one common fabric at the widest point of the diamond.

The idea to make a ring inside the star came from several sources. First, traditional Lone Stars {you recall how the tiny diamonds make a circle of each round.} Since ...

added by Ann 4 years, 6 months ago. under lemoyne star , string piecing

Production is on the rise at my house from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

As I was working yesterday, I was contemplating my UFO situation. I realized that I have two kinds of UFOs. One is projects that are actually started and I guess qualifies as a true UFO. The other projects sitting around are those that have all the fabric purchased with a pattern (or not) and need to be started. They need to be stored separately. In some cases, those "kits" need to be disassembled and everything put back in the stash room!

I'm going to start with the REAL UFOs. I did take an empty box upstairs (oh yes - some ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 8 months ago. under bbb project , eating habits , finished quilts , string piecing , studio u

Fireside Retreat - Day Two from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Wow -- I'm shocked at how much I can get done when I'm at a retreat. I'm focused and there are ZERO distractions. I'm thinking this is going to be the new norm at my house. Have everything super prepped and then isolate yourself with no distractions. It's great!!!

Just so that no one thinks I've snuck off into the dark and am at the retreat house, I'm NOT. I should be there - I want to be there, but I can't. We have a Messenger group chat going so we can always chat ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 8 months ago. under block of the month , fireside retreat , mini quilts , scrap quilt , scraps , string piecing , thangles , virtual retreat , walking

Fireside Retreat Day One from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

Ah - there's nothing like great weather for a drive up north to the retreat house. I'm not sure how many retreats I've been on, but a LOT over the last 10+ years. We're now up to FOUR retreats per year. Isn't that obscene? Well, one of the reasons I like retreats at Fireside Retreat House is that the price is extremely reasonable. Over the years, we've decided that a weekend was NOT enough. Then we added a day. That still wasn't enough and now our retreats are five days/four nights. That's ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 8 months ago. under fireside retreat , string piecing , studio u , virtual retreat

A scrap happy day! from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

What a fun day! Well, most days are fun, but yesterday was an exception and something very good came out at the end.

It was a community project quilt sewing day in Studio B. There were six of us in total and the plan was to work on string quilts. For some reason, I've acquired a huge amount of 2" fabric strips. I'm not even sure what I was going to do with them. Most of them were crammed into this wire basket. I think I bought a bunch of ugly fat quarters and was going to make ...

added by Elaine 4 years, 11 months ago. under charity quilts , scrap quilt , scraps , string piecing

Yippie ~ It’s here! from Thistledown & Co.

Woo - Hoo !
Spring has arrived and I’m coming out of hibernation.
You’d think that I would have had plenty of time to blog throughout the winter but it just didn’t happen. I guess I’ve been busier than I thought keeping my parents healthy and entertained through the dreary winter months. When it comes down to it, that of course, is most important and a more precious use of my time.
After 3 years of residing back here in Wisconsin, and learning to embrace winter, I’m happy to see winter losing its grip. Spring is here ...

added by Linda/Thistledown and Co. 6 years, 9 months ago. under moda fabric , pin cushion pattern , string piecing , thistledown and company

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