Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 7

Here are the latest blocks chosen for my Random Lucky Dip draw, which I use to determine which blocks I will do next in the Nearly Insane Quilt.

36 - 40 - 48 - 92

When I draw my Lucky Dip, I usually go straight to Liz Lois 'Nearly Insane' book, to see what they look like - how 'insane' are they going to be?

'Nearly Insane' Block Pattern book, by Liz Lois

Then I move onto my Electric Quilt software, where I have already drafted out each block - and then I play.  There are so many combinations which I could choose from, I am almost glad I am sticking to  just red and cream!  

Working on Blocks in EQ5

If there is a colour combination that I like, I either save it in my EQ Sketchbook, or simply take a picture of the computer screen on my iPad.  This allows me to compare the different options more instinctively, and once I am making up the block it acts as a quick reference for which fabrics should go where.
One of the reasons I am doing the project in batches, is so that I can get the fabric cut and prepared when I have more time at the weekend, in preparation for 'found moments' during my week, when I am usually working.

Electric Quilt Software Templates

To include in the travel pack, I print off a full size Paper Template for cutting up into templates for each of the pieces, and a smaller Pattern Template sheet, as an indicator of which block I am making.  On the Fabric Template, Electric Quilt has its own indicators for each piece, but before I cut up the Paper Templates for my English Paper Piecing, I often mark which piece belongs to each fabric.  I have also found that if some of the pieces are asymmetrical, it is important to indicate which side is the front.  Once all this is done, I am set to go!


Nearly Insane English Paper Piecing Travel Packs

As I make each draw, I am finding that fabric ‘fashions’ change quite quickly in my workroom.  Sometimes I want modern, sometimes traditional, sometimes I want it busy, sometimes more subdued.  Sometimes the blocks have a greater red influence, others a cream / white influence.  I think under the circumstances, my Lucky Dip works well, as each batch tends to have its own flavour, and by choosing the blocks randomly, they will eventually get mixed up together, rather than rows of what was in vogue at a certain time of making the quilt.  In contrast to my original thoughts, any attempts to make this a sophisticated, and refined quilt have slowly been going out the window, and I am more focussed on using as many fabrics as I can in the quilt. Scrappy is the name of the game!

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 13

After the challenges of Block 43 , it was a relief to knock Block 13 off in a short time, with just nine pieces.  They were lovely BIG pieces, they were also lovely and SQUARE. I guess the variety in this quilt is what makes it so interesting!


Block 13 Nearly Insane Quilt

Another Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater (Moda) showcase.  The red and cream cross hatch fabric is slowly becoming a favourite, having featured in quite a few of the blocks. 

I have made a start on the next block, which is Block 80, but have already made the next random draw, which I will let you know about in my next post, as I needed to get ahead with some cutting out.  It takes a bit of time to decide on the colour schemes, to cut out the paper templates, and fabric pieces for each block, and I tend to have more time to do this at the weekend.  Its great knowing that there is a good stream of hand piecing ready to do for when I am travelling about.

NUMBER OF PIECES: 9
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 1 1/2" (38mm) x 1 1/2" (38mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle 6" (152mm) x 3/4" (19mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS: 
Apple Red on Cream Sewing Guide Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5490 11
Cream Bias Check Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5495 11
Lazy Daisy Red by "Mama Said Sew" Collection by Sweetwater for Moda  #5494 21

Joining Up with Finish Up Friday!

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 43

A few weeks ago, for a bit of fun, I offered up a few options for this block that I had designed using my Electric Quilt software. Options 1 and 6 were popular, but in the end I opted for Option 4 (which was similar to Option 6), mainly because I was considering what blocks it would be placed next to.  Esther suggested I did all 6 .... thanks Esther...


Block 43, Nearly Insane Quilt

This block is currently winning 'The Most Travelled Block' prize.  It has travelled all the way and back to the 'Dear Jane' Exhibition in France with me, whilst I stitched at my work station in the camper van. 


Sewing Nearly Insane blocks in the camper van

I did a bit more during the ferry crossing,


Sewing Nearly Insane blocks on the Ferry

and I have been finishing it off on my train journey back and forth to work this week. 


Sewing Nearly Insane blocks on the train

It is a wonder that all the pieces made it into the block with the amount of times they went in and out of my bag.

Of the blocks I have done so far, I think this block has had the most pieces in it, standing at 100, exactly.  At first it was not too bad, as the majority of the pieces were the same shape and size, but making sure they were sewn together in the right order and direction has resulted in a few bits having to be unpicked.  
Then when it was together, it had a bit of a 'wave' to it, a wave that even a 'good press' would not eliminate.  Not good.  After several hours thinking 'it will be OK', I realised it would not be OK, and unpicked the corner squares and side triangles.  I also removed all the English paper piecing templates from the centre, to give myself a bit of ease, to get it back into shape.  It has taken the longest to make, partly because you have to check SO many times that everything is correct, and partly from having to unpick it. With all this extra work, there was a moment when I thought that making this quilt was not fun, but in that situation you just have to NOT put it away and deal with it, which is what I did.  Now it is done and I can move onto the next block. 

Actually, as a block I think it is quite pretty.

NUMBER OF PIECES: 100
DIFFICULTY: 9/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 11/16" (17mm) x 1/2" (13mm) x 1/2" (13mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square 1" (25mm) x 1" (25mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS: 
French General Favourites - Pearl  for Moda #13526 14
"Polka Party III" by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods (#03035)
Designer Beads (Red) Freespirit for Westminster Fibers
Quilters Basics, Stof
White Flower on red (unidentified)
Red Dot on Cream - unidentified

Linking Up with Design Wall Monday!

April 2013 Progress - Nearly Insane Quilt, Block 96

Another block of my Nearly Insane Quilt finished.  This is another side block, which I have used to showcase the Mama Said Sew Collection by Sweetwater.  In general, the side blocks don't seem to be too complicated, and I admit I choose them when I want to have a 'quick win'.


Block 96, Nearly Insane Quilt

I like the 'Mama Said Sew' fabric range because it features text relating to patchwork and quilting.  The red fabric below features names of patchwork blocks, with little pictures of some of them, like Pinwheels and Bear's Paw.  The cream one, has dictionary quotations of sewing terms, such as fabric, buttons and seam - what could be more appropriate for a quilt? ( ... and it is red and white).

Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda

Also, as it is the May Day Holiday this week I thought I would treat you all to the latest of my overall progress with this hand pieced project. 


Nearly Insane Quilt, April 2013

When I visit other blogs, they seem to have completed a whole quilt in the time it takes for me to make just a little block, but sometimes I am pleased just to be making progress!  It doesn't seem like much has moved on since last time I showed you my Nearly Insane blocks, but you will see that I have kept up with all those little cornerstones and sashings as I go along, which this month I mainly did on my journey to Nantes to see the Dear Jane Quilt Exhibition.  Now it is getting bigger, I am keen to sew some of it together, but that will have to wait until I have a few more blocks done.  The stats at the moment stand at

15 Blocks

6 Side blocks

14 Cornerstones

45 Sashes

Also, one other celebration that I forgot to share in April - Suzi the cat has been with us for one year.  When she first arrived, it didn't take her long to seek out my 'glory hole' in my sewing cupboard.  Little did we know at the time that we had such a shared interest in sewing!


Suzi the Cat checks out my 'Stash' on her arrival

NUMBER OF PIECES: 14
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 11/16" (18mm) x 1/2" (12mm) x 1/2" (12mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle 1 1/2" (32mm) x 3 1/2" (54mm) x 2 1/8" (89mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS: 
Apple Red on Cream Sewing Guide Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5490 11
The Block in Apple Red Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5491-11
Cream Bias Check Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5495-11
Old Glory Stars (Red) Old Glory Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings for Moda #1074-21

Joining in with my little finishes at Finish It Up Friday and our friends at Feline Friday.

Dear Jane 150th Quilt Celebrations, Nantes - Continued ...

As part of my visit to the Dear Jane celebrations in Nantes, France, I had booked myself onto a 'Dear Jane' Block workshop, to find out the different techniques that can be used to make the quilt.  There were several events arranged, including a talk about the 'Dear Jane' quilt, but with only one day at the show, I decided on the workshop. The block we made was appropriately named 'Tour de France' which is Block F-13, and we used a lovely navy spotted fabric for our sample, which is part of a range designed by Brenda Papadakis for Windham Fabrics.


Tour de France (F-13) Dear Jane Quilt

Originally, Brenda Papadakis, who published the 'Dear Jane' book was to give the talk and run the workshop, but nearer the time she was unable to travel, due to a broken arm.  However, her 'Dear Jane' Ambassadors from all around the world attended and did an excellent job, with Caroline Van Maele (Belgium), Julie Clark (Australia) and Brenda Roumie (UAE), all keeping us on track.  It was also nice to meet some true 'Janiacs' from all around the world, including Paula, who even had her 'Dear Jane' quilt in the exhibition!  I think I was the only one who had NOT done a Dear Jane block, let alone a quilt!


Dear Jane Workshop, Nantes, France, April 2013

Even in her absence, Brenda was very thoughtful, providing us all with a Dear Jane 150th Anniversary badge, a Dear Jane ruler, and a Dear Jane Bumper Sticker.  She even phoned France from the USA during the workshop to check everything was going well!  Along with all these lovely gifts, and the new techniques I have learnt, I thought I had better get the whole kit, and purchased THE BOOK, the Dear Jane rulers, and an Anniversary bag that was available at the "Pour l'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread) show, in France. 

Dear Jane Booty

There is nothing to stop me now.  All  I need to do now is choose my colour scheme - and FINISH the Nearly Insane Quilt!

 

Pictures of the Dear Jane Exhibition

 

Oh La La! It's Minick and Simpson

Whilst I have been away in France, my hands have not been idle.  I have managed to complete some more of my little 2 inch cornerstone blocks for my Nearly Insane Quilt.  I have about 85 full size ones to do in total. I have done about 14 so far.

Cornerstones, red spotty fabric
 'Christmas Past' by Minick and Simpson

This has been made quite tolerable because I am using my favourite red spotty fabric 'Christmas Past' by Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson.  Have I mentioned it before?

BTW - It also just so happened that Polly and Laurie were actually at the "Pour l'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread) show, in France, organised by the magazine Quiltmania.

Laurie Simpson and Polly Minick (with The Christmas Quilt)
Pour l'Amour du Fil, Nantes, France 2013

Naturally I had to visit their stand, and they were kind enough to humour me as I showed them my little 'Minick and Simpson' cornerstones squares. They were also kind enough to let me take this photo of them to record the moment - in front of 'The Christmas Quilt' by Laurie Simpson (handstitched, I believe), which features the red spotty fabric itself!
Quiltmania have published their book 'Quilts and Rugs' available from the Quiltmania website, which also features this quilt.

With all the quiet hand stitching I do, it's nice to have a little quilting thrill like this once in while.

"Dear Jane" 150th Quilt Exhibition, Nantes, France

A few weeks ago I was hopping from blog to blog, when somebody mentioned their excitement about entering their 'Dear Jane' quilt into a special exhibition of 'Dear Jane' quilts in Nantes, France.  A little further investigation, and I discovered that the "Pour l'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread) show was being organised by the magazine Quiltmania.
Regular readers will know that I am currently working on my 'Nearly Insane' Quilt, which is of a similar genre to 'Dear Jane', so I was intrigued, especially at the thought of seeing over 100 'Dear Jane' quilts together.


'Dear Jane' 150th Quilt Exhibition, Nantes, France 2013 

I regularly go to the quilt shows in the UK, but this was my first 'European' show, which involved a ferry crossing from England to France and a little trip in our camper van. The exhibit of the 'Dear Jane' quilts was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  As you walked into the room, you could not help but gasp in amazement!  Over 100 quilts, all the same, all different.

There was a Hand- Dyed 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Hand-Dyed Fabrics)
Paula Klein, Luxembourg



There was an Indonesian fabric 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Indonesian Fabrics)
Annie Tromp-Doornink, Netherlands

There was a Low Volume 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Low Volume)
Ineke Marijissen Van der Molen, Netherlands

There was a Liberty Fabric 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Liberty Fabric)

There was a Red and White Dear Jane Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Red and White)
Nathalie Pierre, France



There were the traditional Civil War Fabric 'Dear Jane' Quilts

Dear Jane Quilt (Civil War Reproduction Fabrics)

Michel Galan France

There were modern, bright with black background 'Dear Jane' Quilts

Dear Jane Quilt (Modern Brights)
Chantal Guyon, France



There were modern, bright Batik 'Dear Jane' Quilts

Dear Jane Quilt (Batik)
Diane Rhode and Judy Doenias, USA



And some really lovely, unique colour combinations



Dear Jane Quilt (Greys, Reds)
Rineke Imenshot, Netherlands

Originally, Brenda Papadakis was due to attend to give a talk and run some 'Dear Jane' workshops, but due to a broken arm, was not able to travel to France from the USA.  However, there were many of her ambassadors at the show, and it was fabulous.  The impact of the display was so brilliant, thanks to the organisers and contributors for putting on such a brilliant exhibit. Never to be forgotten.

They were all lovely. Do you have a favourite?

Sharing the inspiration of this lovely event with Freemotion By the River and Quilt Story

See more of my Quilting Adventure here

The BIG QA

Where have I been?
On a BIG Quilting Adventure ...
I will report back soon as I have more time!
Frances

Hand Quilting - Wipe Off Fabric Marker

I have been enjoying doing my Nearly Insane Quilt blocks far too much lately, and felt that I needed to spend some time on hand quilting my red and white pinwheel quilt.  I have got a self-imposed deadline for completing it, which is approaching fast.
Having completed the outlining, I am now quilting the motif in the centre of each square.  I designed the motif myself and made a template out of some heavy plastic to draw around, several months ago. For the first one I had used a watercolour pencil, but having watched a video tutorial by Judi Madsen at Green Fairy Quilts, I thought I would try a Sew Easy Wipe Off Fine Line Fabric Marker to mark the quilting pattern.


Sew Easy Wipe Off Fabric Marker Pen

The idea of drawing in pen on my nice, white quilt, filled me with apprehension, so I have documented it, mainly to remind myself how it went for my own future reference.  Drawing the pattern on was easy enough, as the tip of the pen is really fine - good accuracy. I can never guarantee how long a hand quilting project will take, it maybe years, so I am only doing one motif at a time, as I am not sure how long the pen will last.

Motif marked onto quilt with Fabric Marker Pen

Once I had hand quilted the motif, I dampened a microfibre cloth, and wiped the marks away.  As you can see below, yes, it really did wipe the blue pen marks away! Just like magic!


Wiping off Fabric Marker Pen, with a microfibre cloth

However, when I looked again the following day, I noticed that there were some blue stains lingering, mainly at the points where I stopped the pen when drawing around the quilt template. 

Remaining blue stains, after 12 hours

I have given it another rub, and it seems to have got rid of the lingering blue stains, and I will check it again before I give it its final wash.  I don't want to rub the quilt too much though.  I guess until I finish the quilt, and  give it a good wash, I am not going to know for sure whether it has worked or not.

Here are the instructions for reference.

Instructions:
All Fabric Markers should be pre-tested on a scrap of your fabric first, for both application and removal.
All temporary markings must be removed before ironing or washing in detergent. Avoid direct sunlight or heat.
To remove marks, simply wipe off with a damp cloth, or rinse out in cold water.

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 6

It is time for Draw 6 of my Nearly Insane Quilt journey ... and the next blocks are

13 - 43 - 80 - 96

I have already been choosing my colour combinations for Block 43, which at first glance seems to be one of the more 'insane' blocks, and looks like a traditional 'Lone Star' variation.  I don't think I have ever done a Lone Star before. Here are six of the colour combinations which I have come up with (so far) - which Option is your favourite?

Block 43 Nearly Insane - Lone Star Variation