The Last Seam

Today I sewed the last seam on my B and W challenge. Here is the back side of the top. Yes, I really did press all those seams open. I have come a long way since the days when pressing a seam open would have been too much trouble for me. All in all this went together easily if you don't count yesterday when I got compulsive about one seam and almost drove myself to the point of baldness. Today it went well and I only tweaked one area and only once.

At this point I am thinking no borders but I will be looking for suggestions on that and quilting.

I may not do any more sewing until after Christmas unless I  tackle my Jellyroll for the race next month.

Take care everyone and have a

Merry Christmas

Black and White + Challenge

I wasn't going to show my challenge piece until the end when we show the finished pieces but since other people are showing their progress I decided I would show mine too. I still have 6 diagonal rows on the left to sew. LOL, you can see my thread catchers still attached at the top.



right side

This larger photo has been cropped. I think this is how I will trim it back. I am not sure about the value of the background on the lower right. Originally I planned to have some red and black diamonds and triangles in the corners but decided to "clean up" the design. I am still  thinking it over. Maybe I will get some suggestions.

A Few More photos

I have a few more photos from our get together yesterday.


Close up of Suzie's blocks

First are a couple of closeups of the things that Lori posted


Closeup of Gwen's bag

The next photos are all Lori's projects. First are her 3 stratas, along with the book she is using for her inspiration.  I am not sure if this is going to be one finished item or a group of them. These are for Lori's Black and White Challenge.

Next is an all batik, all HST quilt that Lori is holding up. It is layered and pin basted and all ready for her to quilt. She is still thinking about how she wants to quilt it. 








A closeup of the blocks with nice crisp points.







A back view of the side of the quilt that is is asymmetrically pieced.  I am looking forward to seeing this finished.



And last is the little quilt on the tabletop wire stand. There is one for every month and I think there may be a Birthday one also. They are all well done and really cute.

Oh, I can't forget this one.This was included in our Christmas cards from Gwen.

Of course,  The Basement Divas are always prepared.

As usual, it was a great day with an over the top lunch, lots of chatter, lots of laughter, and a whole lot of fun with good friends.

December Recap

We had a great day today, as usual.  There was lots of show and tell.

Gwen brought a beautiful Bali bag that she'd made for a gift, I believe.

Lynn brought her challenge piece, in progress.  Many commented that they saw Nancy Crow's influence.

For Susie's challenge, she brought two impeccably pieced blocks (great fabric selection too!).  Sorry, the iphone flash is not the best.

Ruth brought the Quilt Camp top that was partially pieced by the teens and based on Bonnie Hunter's pattern. It will be used as a fund raiser.

Ruth also brought the finished Blitzen tree skirt.  It is beautiful.

Lunch was great as usual.  Judy brought candle salad, holiday style.  Mike and Brady hid out of sight during assembly and unveiling.  Judy wisely said that this will be the salad's final appearance.  We probably have a few more jokes in our system (the hat gave us endless options) but I think it's a smart decision to not beat THIS dead horse.

 

 

We missed Divas Kathy, Laura and Dianne.  Here's a group shot from lunch.  Mary Ann is in the corner between Judy and Susie. 

 

Thanks to everyone for making it a great holiday celebration.  Remember that next month's agenda is the Jelly Roll Race.  Stay tuned for more details.

my take

Quite the year for the Diva's.
We presented the quilt to Tina and she was pleased and did not get mad that Jan had made up some story to get her to the meeting. Unfortunately we were shy a few members. I knew we had it right when she came in wearing the colors of the quilt.
Overheard at another guild meeting..."Aren't you part or Ruth Paul's basement group? I am really going to try to start my own." We could franchise the thing.
I will be missing you all on Sat so I hope for pictures.
Happy Holidays everyone,
K

It's almost that time

The second annual Jelly Roll Race is scheduled for Saturday, January 19.  Stay tuned for more details.  If you want to recall all of the fun we had last year, go over to Ruth's blog for a recap.

It's the little things

I mentioned that I'm keeping my sewing ambitions low.  This lined drawstring bag was on the list.  When Mike gave Brady a Cavs potato head that had multiple outfits and accessories, it was time to find a way to keep them contained.  Jeni's lined drawstring bag pattern was just the ticket.  I highly recommend the pattern.

Puttering ...

These last few weeks have been a doozie but, in order to preserve what sanity I still have, I managed to squeeze in a bit of late night sewing.  I put together another 24 circle blocks then decided I probably need another 9 to finish off the partial row plus another. The main purpose for this quilt is to decorate Brady's white walls but it may end up on a bed someday so I will make it big enough to be useable.

I haven't made much progress on the black and white challenge but I cut a few strips so I can start auditioning.  Excuse the bad, late night photography.

 

 

 

I am trying to keep my sewing ambitions small over the next few weeks, what with that holiday looming just over three weeks away.  The tree goes up this weekend.  Take care, Divas!

yippee

The Tina quilt is quilted. Hooray. I will pass it on to Jan who made the mistake of saying she would bind it. She is one heck of a binder after all.
Lori can have all her pins back now... On to the challenge.

Circle Play

Now that the Wildwood deadlines are behind me, I had a few minutes to sew this week.  It was easy to pick up where I left off on Brady's circles.  I was doing 7 at a time and found some efficiencies but I still think these are 26 minute circles (assuming your pattern is already made).  That's ok.  I like them, even in their untrimmed state. 

I've cut some strips for my black and white challenge but that is as far as I've gotten.  Maybe I'll switch off between these two projects ...

Quilt Show

Many of the ladies Divas from the Basement group belong to the Wildwood Quilt Guild. Their quilt show was this past Sunday and it was very nice with many really great quilts. For some reason the Divas seem to be reluctant to post their own photos and tell you about their quilts; maybe they are just shy.

 

All the photos I got of the Diva quilts are in this collage. Of course nothing here represents size. These are all different sizes from about 8 x10 inches to bed quilts and the little quilts look larger here than the bed quilts. I thought I had more photos but I had some issues downloading from my camera and I also kept running into people I knew and stopping to talk so I may not have taken photos of everything I thought it did.

Two of the quilts in the collage above were from their guild challenge. All the members drew a card from a deck of cards and that was to be their inspiration. Can you pick out the 4 of clubs and the 7 of clubs.

 

These two photos on the left are from the challenge. I could not get  back far enough to get a picture of the whole area. The inspiration card is clipped to the quilt. The Jack(of Spades)  in the Box is also a Diva's quilt. These are all small quilts I am not sure of the exact size requirements but it is somewhere around the size of a sheet of copy paper.

These 2 photos on the right and below are what was hanging to the right of the top 2. The 4 of Clubs on the lower right row is a Diva's quilt. there are probably others here from the Diva's  but they did not have names on them as there was voting for favorites. I am not sure who won but I know it would be hard to choose. There is an abundance of clever ideas here as well as good workmanship.

Maybe some of the ladies Diva's will add some photos of their  own and tell you something about their quilts. They have nothing to be bashful about.

One last thing, I was the recipient of a sweet little 4 x 4 quiltlet made by Jan. It matched her  7 of Clubs challenge piece. Now wasn't that nice!

 

 

My 2 cents

What remarkable work was accomplished in Lori's Lower Level on Sat.
My sister Margie drove from Indiana to visit and specifically picked the weekend of our gathering.
We really did miss Dianne and Fran though.
So, many ideas for the challenges. I asked Maryanne and Gwen what had inspired them and they had picked projects they had wanted to work on for some time and this was the perfect opportunity. Sue really is done with hers as the vampire cloak she made was black, white and red.
Judy was constructing strata and learning first hand how the width of a cut strip can change the  fabrics value. We all had ideas for her and I think left her with some extra ideas.
I was able to drag quite a few divas into pinning the "Tina Quilt".Lori's Jedi mind trick worked on me and I took it home to quilt. We determined fancy quilting was not needed.
Ruth reported that she was stumped but I noticed on her personal blog and comments here she is well on her way.
So, Ruth wanted a deadline for this challenge and we seemed to agree that April 2013 seemed doable.
No gathering next month but many of us see each other again for or Friendship group.
It was good to see everyone and catch up.

challenge

I finally have an idea for our black and white challenge. Seeing what everyone else was doing got me thinking. Later, looking at a piece on my design wall, I found some inspiration. I still have a large piece of the black fabric and some of the other fabric that I bought to use with it. I will probably shop for something more as well.
I bought this book and ruler a long time ago. The date on the inside cover is 1986. I was all reved up when I bought it but I never even tried to make anything. I'm not sure why given my initial enthusiasm. After looking at the black and red piece on my design wall I knew what I had originally intended for the fabric would not do for the challenge. It was very much like the quilts in a series that I made with 9 patch blocks. I started thinking in another direction. This book was laying on my table because I had looked through it this past week as I was looking for ideas. I did not find any inspiration in it at the time and it was only still out because it had gotten covered up with something else on my table. That little hexagon is a practice piece I made to see if I really wanted to do this. I had some 3 inch wide strips laying on my table from a scrap bag I bought last week at the NEORQC meeting. I cut triangles using my 60 degree ruler and sewed them together. I can do this!
I do wish I had settled on this before our meeting because there were Divas there who could have actually helped me and given me some tips. This looks to me a lot like Stack and Whack construction and I was probably the only one there yesterday who had not done any Stack and Whack quilts. Two of the Divas there even taught the class. I wish I didn't always have to do everything the hard way or 10 years after everyone else but the good news is I know where to go if I get stuck.

I would really like to know how and why some of the others settled on their challenge designs.

Back in Basement

It was good to be back with the Divas again even though we were 2 short. Hmmmmm..... I should probably say that we were short 2 Divas; some people might take exception to me saying we were 2 (too) short. :) Just a little short people joke as there are a few of us in the group.

Yes, lunch was great as usual and here are Judy, Maryann, Laura and Gwen cleaning up afterward.

Everyone seemed to be doing something related to the challenge but the only photo I got was of what Judy was working on.  

We didn't actually have show and tell about our challenge pieces but everyone was talking about what they were going to do or working on cutting for them or doing something.
We never all got together at one time to show what we we going to make. That was good for me because so far I have no idea at all.
I think we decided that the finished piece is due in April, but maybe not.

We did have show and tell to see the Halloween pieces everyone had finished or was working on. This is Lori's October quilt hanging on one of those little tapbletop wire trifold frames. She has a little quilt for every month and I am going to try to remember to get a photo every month.

Here is Suzie modeling her Dracula cape. 

These are 2 Halloween pieces that Lynn is working on. The one on the right is all batik and really cute. The one below is wool and has several elements yet to add. 

Here's Lori is hiding behind holding up her cute little Halloween piece made with a nice bright panel and very nicely (of course) quilted by Lori. 

Last is the quilt that we layered and pinned. It was made from blocks that the Friendship block swappers made.

when we made the blocks 2 of us missed the first line that told us what colors to use. I don't know what colors Judy used but my blocks were brown. They would have stood out like a sore thumb in this quilt but I did them over in the right colors and I think I gave the brown ones to Kathy. This quilt is so pretty "in person"; the photo doesn't really capture that.
That little head in the forefront on the right is Brady admiring the quilt. It is always fun to see Brady it gives those of us who don't have any little ones at home our Kiddy Fix for the day.

Back from Hiatus

What a great day, as always.  We had a full house and I appreciate everyone taking the time to join in the fun.  Margie got the award for long distance traveler.  She’s always a fun, special guest Diva.  Of course, we missed Dianne and Fran but hope to see them soon. 

As far as productivity goes, we were pretty low key but inspired nonetheless.  The expression “hive of activity” came to mind.  There was challenge cutting going on, Susie was working on a vampire cape, lots of pattern viewing and ideas exchanged, and several joined in pin-basting the wedding quilt. Kathy also concocted a scheme for presenting the quilt once it is finished.  Best of all, Kathy took it home with her to quilt!  The iron and ironing board were both a hit and everyone was grateful for Judy and Susie.

We had many main dishes, one salad, two apple cakes, and even champagne (thanks to Lynn!).  It was all delicious.

We briefly discussed an April deadline for the black and white plus color challenge.  We will skip November based on the Maxwell weekend work schedule on 11/17.  We tossed about the idea of getting together in December for show and tell plus a party of some sort (cookies, margaritas, potluck, other?).  I think most were in favor but I’ll send out a survey closer to the date.  It would be our usual third Saturday of the month (12/15).

For the pin-basting, we used two 8 foot tables side by side.  Ruth mentioned that she sometimes has a need to baste and the tables were a good fit.  If anyone wants to have the tables up for our regular sewing, just let me know when I send out the monthly reminder, and we’ll have them in place so you can baste.  The tables are thin so you can use binder clips and they make it easier on your back than some of the floor options.

Next challenge

After much discussion, debate and specifics hammered out we have decided the next challenge.

The challenge shall be black and white and, if wanted, one other color. Color being defined as a color family. Quilters are to do something they have not done before and no, that doesn't mean finish the thing, using a book, pattern or tool that the quilter already has. Yes, a book that has been used before can be used but not the same pattern in said book. No, it does not mean you can make "that pink quilt you made before, in black and white".
There is no size limitation or finish date established yet.
Quilter's should be ready to start, or have started at our next meeting in October.
I have to copy and paste this stuff to Dianne, the blogg-less, now.
Feel free to comment and discuss.

Dizzy Blond

It occurs to me that no one might recall that I was blond, I was, along with being young. Now I am just dizzy. Dreaded Vertigo. Talked to the doctor about treatment and as it was what Ruth suggested I will try it so I can get back to sewing.
Our poor Judy has been having a horrid time of it this summer but her sunshine came out again as that iron hit the floor. It just broke her tension. I guess those people who throw things in anger know what they are talking about. I actually think it sacrificed itself for the good of the world because an Angry Judy is not a good thing. It did seem to take wings and fly to the floor. Lucky no one was hurt and the heat did  no damage to anything. Judy went ahead and ordered a replacement to be sent to Lori because her mom raised her that way.And Judy does not especially like to be beholding to anyone. If only there had been some artificial snow to soften the fall.
Ruth had a series of masterpieces, ho hum... (In my mind I think I wished I could be more like Ruth but all I got was her vertigo)
Sue, I can't recall what she was working on, but after the stress in her family we were just glad to see her there..Mary Ann too who worked at some wool work. Too much stress to finish the fine detail on her circle piece.
Gwen cut for charity quilts but showed her most marvelous circle piece. Her homage to deer and her dearly departed gardens. This piece should win prizes.
Jan cut another tessellated piece from her prize at the Jelly Roll race. We love that template and thank Mary Huey for the class.
Judy broke things,almost broke things and shopped. She also brought bagel and shmere for our breakfast. She is wonderful. On the really creative side she did make a lovely bag and start another.
Lori took to the Tina quilt and started twosiing. We patted our selves on the back for leaving it marked and a chart as to what the marking actually meant.
Laura has been really busy with her quilting work and brought Gwen's Halloween piece, finished.
Lynnee brought more "peace" signs to fuse and cut and showed us her acu cut pieces. Looks like fun. Of course she left them at Lori's so there will be no progress on that for awhile.
Dianne, Syd and Fran were missed.
Lunch...pizza and desserts. Also some shrimp, rice and beans and some injury free salad.
So that's my 3 cents worth.

Gwen's quilt story

Here's what I can tell you about my quilt and its background:

I started gardening here in Mentor Headlands about 1965, the spring after we moved in. There were perennial gardens established and we had a few problems with rabbits and woodchucks. A few years later we shared a big garden space across the street and grew much of our summer produce. It had a short fence to keep out the woodchucks and rabbits. Later we increased the fence height because deer were getting into a few crops.

I inherited wonderful daylilies from my mother-in-law that I planted in a very large bed across the front of our property. They were wonderful. We had roses, tulips, hostas daisies and many other deer treats. As the deer herd increased in size our gardens became their nighttime dinners. (They move from the protected Mentor Marsh to the lake for drinks and we are are the dinner spot along the way! ) We put in plastic deer fences: first about 5 feet, then 7-8 feet. These seemed to be working well, but they always found a weak spot or a way in. We discovered that they were pushing under the fences to get at the most tasty things I loved. We are now using ground stakes every few feet. I still spray with deer spray regularly and try not to plant things they love. But I can't give up everything, and they still have roses and hostas that by July are devoured. I keep hoping next year will be better!

The quilt was an idea that I had for a long time. I actually bought the deer fabric a few years ago. When Lori demonstrated the 6 minute circle I thought that was a perfect way to show garden plots. I found an old Thimbleberries fabric that I used for the fence and added the deer border on two sides. I decided that the deer would speak using the green lowercase words. My feelings are written in brown in the fence. Around each plant section are varieties of that plant that I either like or have grown.

Gwen Meissner 2012

A few more photos

I have a few more photos to add and of course I have to add my 2 cents.

 It is always a really fun day and though I had to go to Jack's birthday party I was not about to miss Diva Day completely.

Mike and Brady are always gracious, cheerful and helpful as we arrive and invade their space once a month. They are always ready to entertain us(Brady) and help with anything we need(Mike).

Lori didn't show her own circle quilt in her post but I got a picture of it. She demo-ed this technique of piecing in a circle for us twice and is working on larger quilt with circles for Brady.

Gwen used the pieced circle technique for her garden frustration quilt. It is  a really wonderfully creative quilt. I hope she will post about her quilt herself.

She has text all over it  that adds to the charm and creativity.

 

Gwen's Halloween  quilt that Laura quilted is another great quilt. I got a another picture of the front and 2 of the back. She had our Friendship group make the triple 4 patch blocks in Halloween colors and she had a fun panel  the she cut up and used for some of the other blocks. I love the fabic she used for the back.

 

August Recap

What a whirlwind day!  I am thinking that maybe that 830 a.m. haircut for Brady may have been a bit over the top.  After we finished up Diva sewing, we went to the Memphis Kiddie Park for the birthday party.  We ended that adventure with Brady screaming at the top of the ferris wheel and needing a special rescue lap to get him out of the enclosed car.  Then we went from there to Last Stop Willoughby and did the Haunted trolley ride.  We got home after 8:00.  Brady ate a few shrimp and then crashed.



Iron parts after it bailed

 It was a fun day but I can’t help feeling guilty that there is a brand new iron on its way to our house, thanks to Judy.  I’m still in disbelief over the iron’s demise or suicide or whatever that was.  I’ll need to make it up to Judy next time I see her.  After all, this whole basement thing wasn’t intended for me to score new gadgets.  We knew there’d be wear and tear around here and we are up for that.  You are all very gracious and generous guests and all three of us enjoy having you here once a month. On to the recap.

We hit the ground running since we had an early end today.  Ruth was able to join us for show and tell.  We made her go last, though, since the pile she hauled in was quite extensive and she’s always a tough act to follow.  I just had to give her an impromptu prize for most show and tell.  Her productivity and enthusiasm continue to inspire me.  Here area few photos of show and tell.

  

Gwen's amazing Deer vs. Gardener quilt!

Lynn's cheerful batiks

Mary Ann's one of a kind

Ruth modeling the skirt

Well done spiderwebs!

 After Ruth went to That Man’s 80^th birthday party, we worked on projects. Gwen cut squares for next week’s charity sewing. Mary Ann worked on some felted wool applique. Susie was industrious and also provided updates on her dad’s condition since surgery earlier this week. Judy worked on a purse. Jan organized some fun black and white+color that she dug out of her magic, bottomless plastic box that she hauls around with her (or maybe it was one of her beautiful tote bags). Lynn cut out fused peace symbols from some very on-trend bright batiks and dug through a box of die cut half square triangles. Kathy supervised and encouraged us in our conversations. She even inspired me to do a row of the Tina quilt. So far so good on the twosie foursies (jinx!). Laura stopped by to bring Gwen’s Halloween quilt, quilted! It is amazing. We are all jealous of Gwen’s friend/the recipient.

In one of our favorite pot luck coincidences, we had lots of dessert and enough of everything else to have a square meal.

In September, we are on hiatus due to all of the other weekend sewing commitments. We’ll regroup in October(10/20) to kick off our next challenge. The rules I heard were: black and white fabrics with one added color family (as many fabrics as you’d like); use a pattern you have but haven’t used yet; any size. Let me know if I missed anything there.