Focus Freeway

So I probably should have waited on making my last post because I had that project finished within an hour of posting it. I took a few extra minutes of getting the binding prepared and finding binding fabric.

I couldn't find the remnant of the grey I used for the camera body but I did find a scrap of grey fabric I did have. The binding is not perfect and there are a few non-pretty sections but I'm not worried. I plan to make at least 3 more as presents for some of my friends who are into photography. I stopped at my cousin's house and got a nice final photo for it by her tulips.

I do have an Instagram that I put my finished photos on plus whatever else I feel like putting on there. I've got a link here if you want to check it out.

Focus Freeway Mini Project

You would think a project the size of this pattern would be done in a few hours. Let me tell you when you sprinkle it between two other projects it takes a lot longer. I picked this pattern up at Quiltcon in Feb and decided I had the perfect scraps for it to put together one.

I was still working on the Halloween hanging when I cut out the applique pieces for the camera and set them aside. I used the leftovers from a charm pack of Palm Canyon by Violet Craft. I even managed to take a break and assemble everything while I was working on the baby quilt.

Now I was going to go straight to quilting this one, and even got it pinned when I finished the baby quilt. But I had a dream that could not be ignored and quickly assembled a top that I now plan on writing a pattern for. Before I start pattern writing though I am going to finish this little project. I've got the quilting started and now it's a matter of choosing the binding.

Tea today is a choice from my collection. I went with Duchess Delight. It's a caramel warm vanilla flavored tea. Funny I was looking at this photo and noticed three of these teas can be described with those same words.

Shop Hop- Fiberology Lab

Picture taken from Fiberology's Facebook

So as full as my weekend was at the end of March I managed to squeeze a lot into my Saturday. I started my day working on the quilt pattern for the dream quilt and managed to get out of the house in time to stop at the grand opening of a new shop in Oak Ridge.

Called Fiberology Lab, it's a good size shop that has both fabric and quilting supplies as well as yarn and lots of crafting space for classes and more. I had been meaning to stop by for the limited hours the weeks before but I hadn't a chance. They have a regular sit and stitch for knitters and yarn enthusiasts and have already got a line up of classes going on. They've been building up their social media presence already in anticipation of the grand opening which was fun!

I did not get any photos of the shop sadly but if you go by Jackson Square they are in the corner across from the playhouse. They were having a short bolt sale and I did buy a 5 yard bolt of some cute snail fabric.

I didn't get to stay long because after that I had a baby shower to attend, and a quilt to give away. My cousin loved it and her friend is trying to figure out how much I charge to do a quilt for her. She did jump when my cousin mentioned me selling my Harry Potter quilt. Since it is still for sale she said she would contact me later about that.

I don't have tea for this post but I am going to share an adorable centerpiece my aunt had made for the baby shower, It's a stork on top of pacifiers. I was surprised at how little the woman charged her for it.

What dreams may come

In Progress

Sketches and figures

I had planned on going back to finish Focus Freeway once I got the backing done for mom's charity quilt, but I had a few stagnant days of nothing then got struck by inspiration for a new project. On the morning of my cousin's baby shower, I had woke from a dream of a quilt.

In the dream, someone had unfurled a folded quilt showing me the pattern. I remember awing over some of the piecings that used a fussy cutting a gradient fabric to bend an illusion within the block. The moment I woke up I declared I did not have any fabrics in the colors on that quilt but rushed to draw as much of the design as I could. I was not fast enough to get all of it but I got the core components of the pattern down before I forgot almost all my dream. Even now the only thing I remember is the center of the design and marveling over the fabrics. I don't even remember who held the quilt. My sketch was the best reminder of what I had seen.

I spent this week making the quilt top and working out the fine details of measurements. It took two and a half hours to get the measurements right for one of the major blocks. I do plan on writing this pattern out for others. I need someone else to test my figures to make sure I've gotten all the details right.

I was in a dilemma of fabric selection. I decided to go with something springy I purchased not long ago. I grabbed the layer cake I bought from Tuesday Mornings and some fabric from my Asheville haul. I wish had some more of the jewel-toned fabrics but I think I filled in with bits from the layer cake okay.

The whole design is made to go with a jelly roll and a layer cake. I ended up with a twin size using a remnant from Joann's for the background.  The main essence was the white diamonds down the center with the latticework coming off it. I think I will always second guess choices I made but overall it is very pretty. I may redo it in the future if I ever find the exact fabrics that matched my dream but this still brings the pink and green essence that I remember.

Tea for the day is a blend I picked up at Dragoncon last year. It's a Dr. Who inspired tea called Tardis Eleven- Geronimo by Tea and Absinthe. They have 5 blends for the doctors and other fandoms. The smell of this one caused me to fall in love with it. It smells like your eating a big bowl of vanilla custard. It is so good with shortbread cookies. I do suggest checking their flavors out.

Challenge/ Charity quilt

Mom's top

March's guild meeting for the Tellico Quilters Guild mom picked up stuff for their challenge quilt/charity quilt. The main challenge was to use these kids sports fabric and create a quilt out of it. They did give some fabrics that you can use but mom didn't like most of them. She did a cute block pattern alternating in pink and green.

She asked me to do the backing because she likes my backing style. I was asked not last week but the week before that and I told her it would have to wait until the baby quilt was done. Since that was finished yesterday, this was today's project. It surprised me she wanted me to do the backing. She doesn't normally do improve and most of my pieced backs are improve pieced sometimes echoing an element on the front.

back in progress

Fabric selection

Sometimes I spend a lot of time thinking and changing but a lot of the time I just go with what feels right. I do still find times where a color combination will give me trouble. I did have that issue with this one. I was given all the scraps and the extra fabrics that she got from the swap. Some of the fabrics I wished to incorporate but I just couldn't figure out how to add them. It did take longer then I thought it would because I did some small piecing to use up specific scraps.

I am happy with the overall backing.  I created the squares from the front and made the pieced section of the fabrics from the front. I did want to use dark blue or orange but I couldn't make them work and they just didn't match.

Finished backing

My Great Grandmother's quilts

Since my recent trip to the Mountain Quiltfest, I got a chance to sit down and speak to my grandmother about some of our own antique quilts. My grandmother didn't start quilting until she was older and she didn't remember her mother quilting much but she did have some memories of it.

My grandmother was born in the early '40s in Sevierville, TN. The area is known as Little Greenbriar. in the '50s the land was purchased by the government and became what is now known as the Smokey Mountain National Park. The family eventually moved to South Clinton.

My grandmother growing up always remembers a quilt on the bed but only a few times seeing her mother quilting. Her own grandmother quilted some also. It was a necessity at the time to have blankets for the family. She did remember the family stretching a quilt to quilt on the back porch from the rafters.

When my great grandmother passed away, granny got two quilts from her items. One was on her bed as a child and the other granny believes came from her grandmother Mrs. Rayfield. One of the two quilts uses carded cotton and has spots where the batting has shifted. The other uses sackcloth fabric and other clothing scraps. Granny remembers her mother making them clothing out of sackcloths. Both have damage and wear and I hope to get a chance to have them appraised one day.

While I was looking up information about antique quilts I found a few links I wanted to share:

Preserving Antique Quilts
Caring for Antique Quilts
Feed Sack Quilt History
20th Century Antique Quilts

Today's tea is actually a Blood Orange iced tea from Harney & Sons. I got it actually last summer and it is a fruity summer tea. I only have a couple of bags left so I will have to repurchase some when summer rolls around. They suggest serving it with orange slices or apple slices. I sat there and brewed a pitcher up for the week while I sat and talked to granny about her quilts. It is always nice to sit and connect with the family about common interests. and to know that stories like these will not be lost. That's one of the reasons I enjoy tea so much.

Oh Baby Finished!

This is a project I knew would come to an end soon. It was closer to finishing a WIP then starting anything new. The original quilt top had been around for a while and I'm happy to see it finished and finally going to a home. My cousin's baby shower is next weekend so I am thrilled to have this done with time to spare.

With the scraps, I also made two cute decorative pillows to match. Since the way, I created the backing out of the top itself only the top and bottom needed binding. I was able to use scraps from making the pillows to make those. So I am happy to say no new fabric went into this project. I am also surprised my thread held out. I have enough to put on a bobbin for another project now. The stitching across each lava lamp/ distorted hex shape gives it a rather interesting texture and I'm glad about how the thread blends into the majority of the fabrics.

Now I think it's time for bed and I can gear up with my next project in the morning!