Chemo Chaos Completion

This quilt top has remained dormant since July. The post for 7/5/24 looked at the contrast of the layer cake fabrics from the Bobbins and Bits selection in Sept 2013 by designer Pat Sloan. The post for 7/6/24 displayed the block designs for the layer cake fabrics and explained my choice of the name Chemo Chaos. Then the perfect batik fabric for the backing went on clearance sale at my local quilt shop. It is a whimsical orange batik with stylized ladybug images. There was enough of the backing fabric to use it for my binding as well. I set those glasses on the piece of fabric for scale. In retrospect, probably a ruler would have been a better choice to show scale.

Since the quilt top is 48½" wide, greater than one width of fabric, I needed to add an insert or edging. I placed four remaining 10" squares from the layer cake in a column onto the back interspersed with more ladybug batik. Three of my these leftover squares have words. Batiks do not really have a right and wrong side but I found an exception. I did not notice this detail until they were sewed into a column. I had to remove one and flip it so that the phrases such as MAKE DO AND MEND and  STITCH ON! were not reading backward.

My idea was to have the FMQ accentuate the secondary patterns in top...  small and big diamonds and perhaps that octagon with maybe some smaller squares. I've shown my scribbles in PowerPoint although the actual decision would be finalized in real time. Those four-petal motifs are a go-to pattern of mine so perhaps setting them on point in the bigger diamonds might add interest. How to handle the zig-zag fabric remained an unknown. Maybe a large scale wave at the outer edges... ?

Here is how that center square of sixteen four-petal motifs came out, followed by how one of those orange pointed diamonds looks with four three-leaf motifs in the center bordered by parallel lines.

Quilting this top was a true adventure. I used King Tut 40 weight variegated thread with the recommended #90/14 needle with a side-spooling rather than an end-spooling spindle, and yet the thread periodically shredded and broke, even when loosening the top tension... frustrating to say the least. I muddled through by changing the needle (in case there was a burr or I had installed it incorrectly) and rethreading in case there was something I had overlooked. I then threaded through only two of the three top holes; doing that did not eliminate my breakage but it did reduce it.  I would do a trial on a practice sandwich and all would go fine. Then I'd switched to the quilt top and, not immediately, but eventually, the thread would shred and break once again. Bad thread maybe? Top and backing were batiks, maybe they are tougher? Also twice I managed to catch a corner of the quilt under the quilting area that cost me some remedial tear-out time. Grrr...! Maybe the quilt's feelings are hurt by my proposed name of Chemo Chaos? If so, that moniker is well deserved! 

My envisioned variety of FMQ patterns became less and less ambitious; I just wanted to get it done! I wound up with a combination of parallel lines in the secondary pattern of smaller diamonds and my go-to four petal motif elsewhere. 

I kept the Chemo Chaos name. Here are my grosgrain ribbon labels stitched on the two lower back corners.

The following two images are the front and back of completed Chemo Chaos.

This quilt is a lighthearted reminder of my battles and triumphs with my surprise diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer per my brief 6/13/24 post on the topic. As it says on the back inserts, MAKE DO AND MEND. Yes, indeed!

Blue Star Quilt by Daughter Robin

My daughter visited me from Oklahoma with her son and daughter during their spring break from school, March 13-18, 2023. This quilt for her ten-year-old daughter Autumn is really Robin's to share on her blog Robin Loves Quilting when she completes it and writes her post about it. But we sandwiched it while she was here and she quilting the majority of it on my Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen. Here are a few photos from that visit. It was great mother/daughter bonding between her and me. It was also great bonding when she and her daughter initially selected the fabrics and pattern. Robin bought the extra-wide backing fabric when we were together at the Houston Quilt Festival, November 2022.

Revisiting Inspiration

I did not go to the PIQF (Pacific International Quilt Festival) this year even though this major show in San Jose is relatively close to me, about a 45 minute drive. I elected to stay home and clean my sewing room instead. Shock – right? I have this tongue-in-cheek sign posted on the door but enough was enough. I needed a Marie Condo infusion to "spark joy" once again in my hobby.

I had not yet put away my purchases from a recent local show in late September which was over three weeks ago. I could not stomach having more "stuff" piled even deeper on my counters; buying even more when I had piles I had not even touched. I was still struggling with FMQing a quilt I had prepped to FMQ in November of 2017 and had begun piecing in January of 2016. I decided seeing those thread-dense masterpieces at PIQF would be discouraging rather than inspiring. I was in a sewing slump, having spit out only a few pillowcases and a simple skirt in a month's time. So I was revved up to tidy up!

As an additional incentive, I had a friend coming over on the following Monday who does not own a Handiquilter – I have a Sweet Sixteen – and was curious to check out mine. I wanted to clear out some space for an uncluttered area to play in. I made a few batting sandwiches so we could practice. Before my cleaning frenzy, you would not have been able to see this white surface of the Handiquilter table.

We had a blast. We tried free form spirals. I brought out some of my Handiquilter rulers. With the straight one we practiced stitch in the ditch and up-and-back piano key borders. We tried out one of the wavy rulers for that undulating set of parallel curves.

With the introduction of the clamshell ruler, my friend got really excited and stated that this could be addictive. At one point I said "I think we are starting to go a bit crooked". She replied, "I am sure the chickens don't mind."

We practiced Hooked on Feathers, the Sally Terry method where there is no backtracking required. We chanted "Inside Out, Outside In" to establish the rhythm and motion of quilting the feathers. I had fun and began to regain my confidence, reminding myself there was an assortment of stuff that I did know how to do. 

There were a couple storage solutions in my sewing room that she admired. It reminded me that hey, I may have too much, but I still manage to barely manage it. I repurposed an ineffective towel hanger from IKEA to hold my yardsticks.

I use a kitchen drawer unit from IKEA to hold my fat quarters and half yards. I use closet shoe caddies to hold my one yard lengths of fabric. The drawers and shoe caddies are all so full, I was very, very content with my decision to not go to PIQF and be tempted to buy yet more to cram in. Those butcher block counters had not been visible before her visit.

That evening, after company left, I had enough clear area on my cutting table that I could rotary cut the pumpkin placemat fabric I had bought three weeks ago and just recently put away. It was a panel of four placemats that you cut on the dotted line and supply your own backing and batting.

I had made patriotic placemats last July using bamboo batting and was not thrilled with the results. Maybe I blamed my FMQ when the batting was partly to blame for the lumpy-bumpiness. My friend had said she recently made a baby quilt with flannel within. I sewed up these four placemats using flannel instead of batting inside, and was pleased with the results. Having just tidied, I knew exactly where I had some yellow, loose-weave flannel, perfect for this purpose.

I sewed the seam allowance so as to leave just a sliver of black all around the perimeter. I was going to top-stitch with back thread but then decided to use a peach that went surprisingly well. I may quilt these placemats some more, perhaps outlining each pumpkin, but for now I am considering them finished until further inspiration strikes.

My choice of fabric for the back did much better with a peach thread rather than a black. I knew exactly where to find that one yard length of fabric neatly folded in my shoe caddy storage system. I'd just cleaned up. Remember?

With the company of a good friend and some tidying inspiration, my hobby is sparking joy once again.

Vineyard Furrows Completed

My initial post on this piece, dated December 28, 2016,  left off at the stage where I was assembling wedges. The sections, then very close to final assembly, are all joined now.

I removed the central widest section from the S-shaped double spiral and trimmed off the jagged outer edge.

I added smooth contours to that center section to fill out the corners, at the lower left for ground and at the upper right for sky.

For the backing, I picked this bluish green as a bit of a surprise. This hue, though not dominant, is present in small doses in the brown/gold/green/blue pixellated fabric. Although I think this is meant to be chicken wire, the twisted portions made me think of grape vine tendrils entwined along a guide wire.

See the similarity in this photo of a typical grape vine?

I auditioned a variety of FMQ patterns – spirals, feathers, leaves, loops – and decided that plain contours echoing the hillside were simple and effective and did not compete with the furrow fabrics themselves.

Next was the decision on the spacing of the smooth curves. I drew them at two distances apart on clear sheet covers and decided which spacing I preferred. I would use an echo foot to keep my lines uniform and parallel.

I went with the wider spacing. The scale seemed correct and there would be fewer distracting stitching lines.

I opted for a purple-toned variegated thread to add a bit of interest. I reasoned that a solid thread would show up well on some fabrics and be hidden on others, but with a variegated thread, the light or the dark would peek out at one point or another on all fabrics.

I did deviate from the gentle contour plan for the lower left corner where I thought pebbling would imitate the alluvial soil that grapes thrive in. I had to decide on a pebble size and drew several options. I wanted to have in my mind a target pebble size so I picked the size of the red circles on the polka dot fabric. 

It turns out they are the same size as the inner diameter on my standard hopper foot so I would have a reference nearby as I stitched. Deciding on an FMQ pattern depends as much on what would look good, as on what my skill level allows me to quilt reasonable well. Having a size reference nearby would help me with my pebbling.

The pebbled quilting looked like this. This is not as perfect as I would like but the circles are getting rounder and the stitch length is growing more consistent. Progress.

  

In the upper right snippet of sky I planned to some wavy lines like air currents and allowed myself a few swirls to remind me of gently wafting breezes.

Once trimmed, I realized there would be less room for swirls than I anticipated but I did sneak in a couple by snugging them up to the hillside. But that is where eddy currents would occur anyway.

Quilting completed, I built up my nerve and slashed 1" to 2" off each perimeter edge so the piece in landscape format measured the prerequisite 16"x20". Next was my binding choice, where I had to make up my mind if I wanted the binding to pop or blend in. But blend in how? With the purples? With the greens? I kept an open mind as I surveyed my stash and, for some inexplicable reason, a peculiar yellow irregularly shaped dot appealed. No matter how many others I auditioned I was strangely drawn to this one. I rationalized that it picked up the gold splotches in the pixellated fabric. In my mind, the closest contender to the yellow was this vibrant plum plaid but I was afraid it was so geometrically rigid, that any straying off grain would compromise the tidy look of the binding.

I thought if I kept the binding narrow so it would be an accent, not a distraction, I could be bold and take a chance on the funky off-yellow. Then I laid the quilted piece on the two choices and compared the funky yellow spots side by side with the plum grid. Even though narrow, the yellow was more jarring than amusing. I went with the plum. I also convinced myself it represented the fence line surrounding a vineyard. Yes, I chickened out. The plum was safer. But I had to admit it also looked better. I would find another use for that funky yellow inverse egg yoke fabric that so tickled me.

I expended the effort to fussy cut the plum grid binding directly on the white lines. I know that is a bit anal but I wanted to avoid the look of those lines wavering. After pressing the fussy cut strips in half, I went back and shaved off a sliver so the binding would measure 1⅛" when doubled and work out to be the ⅜" width I am used to sewing. 

If you have stuck with reading along this far, the next photo is a somewhat anti-climactic reveal. For completeness however, here is the bound, completed, wall hanging, to be submitted for a Colors of the Vineyard challenge. 

I added two labels on the back, one for the title, Vineyard Furrows, and one with my name and the date. The date is 2017 because that is the year of my guild's quilt show where, in April, I will submit it as a challenge piece under the theme Colors of the Vineyard. Despite the label to the contrary, I am counting it as a 2016 completion, my last one this year.

What puzzles me now is whatever will I do with these leftovers? Those two spiral ends must be good for something...Any ideas? What do they bring to mind for you?

This half makes me think of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland as she spirals down, down, Down the Rabbit Hole.

This half makes me think of Kermit the Frog singing The Rainbow Connection.

Technical quilting question to start out statistics for the new year – do these two spiral orphans count as UFOs or as scraps? Happy New Year 2017!

Update: I am linking up to Let's Bee Social #158 since previous visitors to the first post on this project expressed an interest in seeing the results.