Mary's Librr2 - Post Updated

We're heading for vacation in the USA for 5 weeks so I've been hustling right along to complete my project before we leave June1. It is finished except for hand-stitching the binding on the back side and adding a label.

But folks, I can't begin to say that I like this quilt -- such a silly design starting with the postcards that I rejected once and tossed in the scrap pile. I don't like them any better in their new home on this quilt.

Then, just to be doing, I used circular stencils (which I've had for years and never used) to cut my crumb fabric into a gazillion dots with no thought to what I might do with them. They are definitely weird!

I do like my crumb borders. I actually cut the outer one while squaring up a string-pieced project -- a bit of Serendipity. And I like the FMQ vines in the turquoise Added Color border And there is a bit more Serendipity in using the piece as an opportunity to practice meander stitching and other FMQ on something I wasn't stressing about messing up!! I suppose I'll hang this one in my sewing area -- at least until I can make something to replace it!

  Hustling right along, getting caught up after a week of making sailboat stuff, not having quilty fun. I finished Step Two by doing a zigzag around all those crumby circles (what was I thinking when I made those?!!) and then adding crumby borders.Okay. Now for Step Three, color. OMG, I have so much color the only thing I can do is use a solid -- everything else made me cross-eyed. I do have more black but that looked too dull and not a "color." So searching through the stash, I found 4 colors with enough fabric for a wide border, all possibles. Which one do you like?

A Great Revelation

So here is a quilting truth: if you start with colors that clash, you get an ugly block with clashing colors, and if you sew those blocks together, you get a quilt with ugly clashing colors. Well, duh!! So just STOP!

And that's what I did. The square I started with for Round One was made of scraps as a prototype for a pattern I was testing. I made no effort to match colors and the resulting block is abominable (though the pattern is great.) Slashing the ugly block apart, adding more scraps, only made a slightly more complicated ugly block. And as for crumbs? Well, I made some nice dots in various sizes from assorted scraps -- but they didn't coordinate with that ugly center square. So today I made blocks with more crumbs from exactly those same ugly colors -- and I still don't like them!

So now I'm going down a different road. The only other "orphan blocks" I had were some fabric postcards that didn't work out. But they did match my dotty crumbs. So, without a clue as to what I might be doing, I trimmed the shoddy satin-stitched edges from the postcards and framed with them with black strips.

And now I'm playing around with dots, first just random placement but am now thinking I like overlapping better. They're not sewn down yet -- I can play some more tomorrow. So, here I am, wandering down another road, wondering where I'm headed.

Mary in Panama

Step II: Mary's Gone Dotty!

In the bottom drawer of my sewing desk, I found some plastic templates. I bought them at least 15 years ago, thought they looked like a handy trick. Never used them even once. I had just pieced together a bunch of crumbs, was pondering what they might become, and next thing you know, I've put stabilizer on the back of this new fabric and cut out a few dozen dots, ready for applique.

What are they? Bubbles? Balloons, maybe? What will they be appliqued to? I dunno!!! I'm just waiting wait for directions for Step III and maybe something will happen to connect my dots! Hmmmmmm....
Mary in Panama

Mary's Step I

Recently I decided to make a paper-pieced star but  it has been many years since I've used that technique, so I first made a "prototype." I just didn't want to risk my really good fabric from the US if I didn't like the design or couldn't manage the technique. For the prototype, I used material from my stash that I had purchased here in Panama and knew I could replace if necessary. (And for sure, the fabric selection in Panama is mighty slim!) I didn't put the final wide borders on the block the pattern called for since that posed no challenge. (But oh my goodness, paper-pieceing is so much more fiddledy than our wonderful, free-spirited Liberated Quilting!!) The good news is that this block made of totally uncoordinated fabrics might turn into Step I for our RR II.
Not such a pretty picture, right? 





So I chopped off the little navy flange then whacked a couple of times across the whole shebang and inserted curvy scraps. Next I diced the entire piece and flipped the parts left to right. Now what? 





Okay, add some sashing. But I'm still dreadfully unhappy -- how Fugly can it get?!! And I realize the turquoise is a very big problem: it's NOT 100% cotton since my hot iron has made it pucker! Furthermore, it has inadvertently ended up making a big X across the whole square - how did THAT happen? So I chop off as many big pieces of the turquoise as I can manage.

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Add a bit of green at a wonky angle and voila! I declare the block Step One -- hardly any resemblance to where it all began! Wheeee! Wonder what's next?

Me and You: True Blue -- all finished!

Free Motion Quilting : done
Binding: done
Label on back: done
Hanging strip:done
Photos: done

So that's it!! My RR quilt is finished, ready to give to my friend when she arrives September 8. What an interesting project to start out not knowing more than that I would use the blue fabrics I had on hand. I liked the idea from Gwen and Freddy of 2 chickens representing them and their freindship. I actually made a few of Freddy's Chickens but did not like the fussiness of piecing them. So I just free-handed my own chickens, which turned into a couple of sassy wonky birds instead! Thanks, June and Nancie, for putting the RR together, keeping it all organized, and for your support along the way. It's been fun and I've got a quilt to give my friend as a bonus! Mary

Me and You: True Blue

Rectangles and lots of curves added so I'm all caught up! I remember my grandmother making yo-yo's and thought they would be fun -- and they are. I plan to add a decorative button to the center of each so will look for some when we go to Panama City next week (fabric store, here I come!) Can you believe that I have so many different blues in my stash -- and there are more to come. This quilt is fun, not knowing what might be added next! For the curved patches, I used instructions from Kathryn Schmidt's book "Rule Breaking Quilts."

Me and You: True Blue

Today I've officially caught up with an added Round of square patches, stars, and letters. Having fun with this one!  Rectangles coming up.

Me and You: True Blue

So here I am starting over at this late date -- but I'll catch up. The fun thing with this start is that I haven't a clue where I'm going, probably what a RR is supposed to be. I'll be using blues as quite a few seem to have accumulated on the shelves. The 2nd goose on the top right is in need of a bit of discipline as she seems to be staggering about quite drunkenly! Nuff for today, though! Mary

Casa Loma -- all finished

This piece just seemed quite complete with rectangles and squares so I added a black binding to frame it, signed it on the back, and called it finished. The real truth is that I couldn't wait to give it to my friends! They are delighted with it, and I had a great time making it. This is my first try with using raw edge applique and I really like what I can with that! And I've time to start a whole new RR!!  Mary in Panama

Added letters to Casa Loma today for RR #3. To explain: our friends named their house Casa Loma but they like to tell of how they sailed their boat searching in many places for a spot where they could build "a shack." That is how they refer to their house. Mary in Panama

Jumping in!

Seems like I've been doing everything except the RR. But I was thinking thinking thinking about it all along. So, at last, I've caught up with triangles and squares and today am working on the latest round by making letters for CASA LOMA which is to be a thank you gift for a British friend. The figures in the piece are done with raw edge applique (my first time) using a novelty fabric that arrived in my WW Swap package. They are just right for this piece as my friend's house is on and island, on top of a hill in the jungle, with mangroves and the sea at the bottom.  Mary in Panama