A Small Peek Inside My Quilt Designing

Hi Quilty Friends!  The good news is all the quilt block applique has been stitched in place on all the blocks. YAH!   

The not so good news for me is it took forever because I kept playing around with sashing and border ideas.  Fabric was pulled from the scrap bins, auditioned and rejected many times.  Sometimes I didn't even bother to take down the previous fabric as shown by the green arrow below.  So many photos were taken of the ideas.  Way too many to share.  You're getting just a few highlights of my crazy brain.  Getting to deep in this crazy mind of mine is overwhelming and might crash my blog.

What if this and what if that has been the theme over the last few weeks.  Have you noticed in these pictures that the applique isn't on the blocks?  Yes, the craziness started almost as soon as the UFO came out of storage and on the wall.

The original plan for the quilt border is on the left.  I've made a smaller version of this quilt way back in 2014 or 15.  Well, I made a quilt top.  I thought it had been quilted it and given to my daughter.  After digging through my blog and not finding a finished quilt, I dug through my UFO quilt tops and found it hiding there.  More on that quilt at a later date.

For now the what if game continues for border ideas along with many Google and Pinterest searches looking for ideas.  This is my process, always has been.  Not only do I do this here on the design wall but it also spills over to the EQ program.  33 different quilt designs for this quilt!  Some have only slight changes but they are all different in some way.  And none of them suit my fancy.  Below is after a shopping trip last week.  I found a great deal on some slightly different gingham.  Only two of the ginghams are shown here.  I bought four.  Two full bolts and two "give me what's left on the bolt".  Got to love Joann's sales.  $2 a yard!!

Anyway back the quilt and my crazy process.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  Just sharing what goes on behind the scenes and in my quilt designing.  Last night I decided to clear off most of the mess on the design wall, sleep on it and start fresh today.

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DWM~ Plans for HST's

Morning quilty friends.  I'm still plugging along on the Flippy corners quilt.  A few more blocks were made over the long weekend.   The adorable little 5.5"  twinkling stars have been the highlight of my weekend. However I've barely made a dent in the basket of bonus HST's.  But this seems like a good stopping place.  So I started playing around with a few setting ideas for the blocks.

Using only 8 blocks is a bit of a design challenge.  I came up 10 different layouts for the blocks.  How about a peek at a few of the ideas?  The design below really makes those twinkly stars shine.  The background fabric would be linen left over from another project.

Oh but I'm a real sucker for the white background.  Simple, and the stars still shine.

Maybe a table runner ....lots of room for quilting.

Decisions, Decisions....I like them all.  Which one would you make?

~ Lea Anne ~

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First Kiss

So tell me, do you have fabric that looks so cute sitting on the shelf that you won't cut into it?   Well I did until today.  This is some of my most treasured fabric.  Most of the fat quarters are Pam Kitty but there's a couple from other designers.  And the white cherry fabric....its not going in this quilt, it's being saved for just the right project.  But it sure looks adorable as a backdrop for this little stack of cuties.

 In the last few weeks I've spent hours upon hours in waiting rooms.  During this time I took my laptop and designed quilts.  How many?  Oh about 20, give or take.  Will I make them all?  Probably not, but they were fun to design.  There was one that really tickle me pink, I call it "First Kiss".  You guessed it, it's a Valentine quilt.  I spent the entire day going over measurements and double checking the quilt math, then I started cutting.  All of the 16 blocks are cut and ready to assemble.  Take a look at the little fussy cut heart....awe...so adorable!

Well since everything is cut, I might as well get in a little late night sewing.

See you in a day or two with my progress....maybe a finished top!  Wish me luck!

Linking up at some awesome linky partys, hop on over and join the fun!

Main Crush Monday

and 

Design wall Monday

and

Linky Tuesday

~ Lea Anne ~

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Something to Crow About

Good Monday Morning quilty Buddies!  This weekend was a very productive quilty marathon.  After cutting 1652 pink squares, ( you can read about it here. ) I needed a little sit down time.  The pink quilt still isn't ready for the sewing machine so a quick dig through the UFO bin....and look what was found hiding way down in the bottom.  What a wonderful surprise!  These blocks had been totally forgotten.  How did this happen?  The star blocks were done and the green chain blocks were about halfway done.   It didn't take long to finish piecing the blocks.  Maybe I need more UFO's laying around for that instant quilty fix!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the prints!  The orange and navy blue are both from the vintage stash.  That orange is just sweeter than pumpkin pie!(you must say that using your very best Steel Magnolia southern draw)  They just don't make'em like this anymore.  Calico's....simple and sweet, reminds me of being a little girl and Momma making most of my cloths.  Calico shirts and big ole floppy Culottes(coolots).  Momma was doing her best and it was the style, but to a little chubby, redheaded, freckled face girl....Culottes were not groovy.  Funny how the things we disliked as a child are fond memories as an adult.  It would be even better had mom kept the hideous things.

  

Yep I'm liking this UFO busting.  Maybe I should do this more often....yeah right!  We all say that but we know the real truth.  The likelihood of this staying a UFO is more probable than me finishing it and working on another.  Oh but a girl needs to dream.  While I'm at it I'll dream up a little quilting fairy to help with the mountain of UFO's.  She's a cute little pudgy gal...wearing Culottes!

Alright enough daydreaming, that's the reason why I've so many UFO's in the first place.

The original plan for this quilt was to add some applique.  So what do you think?  Applique or more blocks?

Before I leave let's link up today's post with some very fine blogging gals.  Hop on over, be inspired, join the fun and link up!

Judy@PatchworkTimes for Design Wall Monday

and

Beth@CookingUpQuilts for Main Crush Monday

and

Beth@LoveLaughQuilt for Monday Making

and

Connie@FreemotionbytheRiver for linky Tuesday

~ Lea Anne ~

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Up to my elbows

Popping in on Mondays to share my weekend progress is my favorite post of the week.  It became a habit when I found Judy's blog a few years ago.  Every Monday she hosts a Linky Party called Design Wall Monday.  So what did I stitch up this weekend, not a thing.  Most of my time was spent in the kitchen.  But I did come up with another idea for my Lilies of Love quilt.  Yes I finally came up with a name!  You can see more design options here and find a so called tutorial for the quilt block here.  

While up to my elbows in fruits and veggies this weekend my mind was wandering around my Studio.  Tossing around more border options.  That's when I started thinking...this is a scrappy quilt, why can't the borders be scrappy.  The last time I used this inner scalloped border was on my Promenading tulips quilt. (below) Look at the super scrappyness!(is that a word?)  Cutting a piano key border doesn't appeal to me right now but I could do a different print on each side like in the picture above. HMMM...maybe.  We'll see what happens when I actually have time to be in the Studio.  

For now it's time to clean up the weekend canning mess and organize the pantry.  The canning season is almost over.  YIPPEE!  Just a few tomato's and squash left on the vines.   We still need to harvest the sweet potatoes but that won't be for a few more weeks.  It's been a good year for preserving, I actually ran out of jars and will need more before canning the potatoes.  This weekend was whole tomato's, acorn squash, apple pie filling, and apple butter.....YUM!  So here's my tip of the day for all my canning buddies.  A trick my momma taught me years ago.  Add a couple handfuls of red hots to your apple butter, when they melt it gives a little extra kick(not hot), everyone will want to know your secret for the most delicious apple butter ever.

~  Lea Anne ~

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Making quilt decisions

Top of the morning quilty buds!  Thank you to everyone for the well wishes to momma.  It'll make her day when I show her all the prayers being sent her way.  The plan was to show her the comments yesterday before they put in her chemo port but wouldn't you know it I've caught a horrible cold.  We decided it's best for me to stay away from her until my cold is gone or until they absolutely need my assistance.  So I've purchases some lovely surgical masks just in case.

The progress on the lily quilt.   She's still nameless even with all the great suggestions on my last post.  If you missed my post about this block you can see it here and find measurements for making your own Lily block.   I will not be doing a tutorial or pattern for this quilt due to momma's illness.

Right now ideas of how to finish are being tossed around.

Leave it as is and bind it.

The decision was made to leave out the applique but I could still add a little.

Or maybe I could do a fancy border.

Add some yo-yo's

Or go hog wild by adding the leaves, border and yo-yo's.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!  

I'm linking up with some great Linky Parties today.  Hop on over to see more quilt inspirations and link up your projects also!  You don't need a blog to link up, most linky parties allow other social media pictures!

Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP@Confessionsofafabricaddict

FabricFrenzyFriday@FortworthFabricStudio

LinkaFinishFriday@RichardandTanyaQuilts

CreativeGoodness@QuiltShopGal

~ Lea Anne ~

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Design Wall Monday- A need to create

Good Morning dear quilty friends.    I've had a need to create, to distract my mind from what's really going on in my life.  Quilting isn't really a distraction for my thoughts but a time of meditation and reflection.  Allowing my thoughts to go where they will.  I'm sure many of you can relate.  The HST's below were trimmed a few days ago with the plan of something simple....but

All it took was one phone call to put my mind in a total jumbled up mess of gobblity gook and chaos.   Just as an alcoholic would need a drink, I immediately knew I needed to create a quilt.  My auto pilot took over and before I new it there was a test block that you can see at the top of the picture below.  Funny how such chaos in the mind can produce something so pretty.  Would that be the beauty of chaos?  The plan is to add some applique...of course.   Maybe some petals between the second and third black squares.  And a possible appliqued border.  Any suggestions on a name for this block?  There's so much other gunk in my brain I'm coming up with nothing.

There's really no time to write a tutorial for this block or quilt.  But with the dimensions below I think you gals might be able to make one for yourself if you'd like.  It finishes at 10.5" in quilt.  As for pressing, my first block had a couple bulky spots so you might be better of with your own pressing plan.  

The rest of this post is non quilty personal stuff that you may not feel like reading.  If that's the case, believe me I understand.  A person can only read or hear so many sad stories in a day before you need your own meditation time.  

Our personal lives and blog lives effect one another.  And if you or I were to stop writing posts we'd be concerned even though we've never met.  This is basically just a little heads up that I may become a little MIA again.  The phone call I mentioned earlier was from my dad letting me know that moms test came back as cancer.  She's been admitted into the hospital for pain management.  Once the pain is under control she'll go home and the treatments will start until the cancer has shrunk enough to remove.   So  in a couple weeks I'll be spending a lot more time away from my studio.   You never know it may not effect my blogging. Only time will tell.

Just a quick reminder about my give away.  Click here for the details.

I'm link up to today with

DesignWallMonday@PatchworkTimes

Oh Scrap@QuiltingisMoreFunThanHousework

MainCrushMonday@CookinUpQuilts

MondayMakers@HugaBitQuilts

SewCuteTuesday@BlossomHeartQuilts

LinkyTuesday@FreeMotionBytheRiver

FabricTuesday@QuiltStory

~  Lea Anne ~

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Freezer paper applique WARNING!!

After yesterdays internal struggle things didn't get any easier in the studio.  By the looks of the picture below you'd never know expletives were bouncing around the studio walls like a flock of birds trapped in glass house.  Oh yes, the foulest of words with a few paper crumbling, foot stomping, scissor slamming temper tantrums.   Normally I'd just fix the issue and move on, but with my time being so limited it just...well...got the better of me.  So what's my problem?

Shrinkage!  The little red arrow areas I can live with.  Once in the quilt no one would know there was shrinkage on the scallops.  But that circle area, that's another story.

It's a critical area, these HAVE to be perfect in order to meet at the corners with no gaps.  That's almost a quarter inch off.  Now I bet your wondering how many I made that were too short.  TWO!  And the only reason I caught it was....

When I tried to line up my template with the edge of the fabric... I couldn't.  They started out straight as an arrow, cut with my handy dandy old rotary cutter and ruler.  I've been using freezer paper applique for years with no issues, but I've never needed such accuracy in my applique pieces.  A little shrinkage or distortion on an appliqued leaf, who's going to notice?   Templar would have been the better option for these pieces, but all my pieces of templar were to small.  And going to the closest store that carries it is a 30 minute drive.  I'm way to practical(cheap) to do that. 

Now this is where the foul mouth really comes into play.  I used my last piece of Studio stash freezer paper to make the incredible shrinking templates.  $#@!  And I knew the roll in the kitchen was almost gone.  $#%!!  Luckily Mr. Podunk keeps a roll in the garage for processing deer during hunting season.  Yeah!  Using a template only once seems wasteful to me but it's cheaper, and quicker than running into town.

It all worked out in the end, and I felt rather silly for getting so upset.  My goal for the day was getting all the border pieces made, and I accomplished it, along with all my other Podunk chores.  So a good day can come with it's valuable lessons on shrinkage.

Linking up with some great bloggers today!  There's always tons of inspiration even if you don't link up you should hop over for excessive amounts of eye candy.  It's a good thing eye candy is calorie free otherwise I'd gain 10 lbs a week from all the sweet projects!

Linky Tuesday@FreeMotionByTheRiver

Show and Tell Tuesday@IHaveToSay

Sew Cue@BlossomHeartQuilts

Fabric Tuesday@QuiltStory

Let's be Social@SewFreshQuilts

~ Lea Anne ~

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That inner voice

The ideas have been flowing in like a tidal wave!  So many cute ideas.  The problem with that is I'm a visual/hands on kinda quilter.  Which means I need to see it, feel it, play around with it and that makes scrap pieces when there's several ideas.  I could use EQ7 to draft a quilt, but it can take longer, especially when drawing applique pieces.  So most of the time I use good old paper and pencil.  Another problem is my mind sees elaborate applique that me, myself and I have no interest in making.  The little pink mustache or grammar school bird shape was one of those ideas.

Here's the little birdy shape strutting her stuff.  Oh yes, a scallop around this dresden would be ADORABLE!  But the three musketeer alter ego's rejected the plan. What a lazy gang of naysayers.   They quickly put in their two cents of how long it would take to make the pieces, let alone stitch them down. (sigh)  So what's a gal to do but take the advice of a group that knows me so well.  They know if I go with this plan it'll become a UFO.  I tried my best to let them know that it's ONLY a four block setting, and they reminded me that it's canning season in Podunk, and free time for quilting is very limited.  The voice of reason, where were you when I buying fabric, templates I'll never use and what about during the expensive sewing machine purchases?   I don't recall you helping me out then!  Oh well what's a gal to do, this is a democracy. So me, myself and I have voted to go with the easier plan.  But I want everyone in bloggyland to know Lea Anne wants the scallops!

The one thing that we all agree on is linking up at these great linky parties.  We voted and its unanimous you should visit each of these links, and of course link up your lovelies too!  If you don't have a blog that's okay, because most linky parties let you link from other social media.  Me, myself and I are very powerful persuaders so...see you there!

Design Wall Monday@PatchworkTimes

Main Crush Monday@CookingUpQuilts

MondayMaking@LoveLaughQuilt

~ Lea Anne ~

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Finding time to play

 There's been little time for sewing in the last couple of weeks.  Most of my time is spent in the garden or in the kitchen, but my mind is always thinking of quilting.  In between the batches of preserving food I've played with an idea or two in the Studio. 

Drafting the dresden block was a little easier on paper than it was in EQ7.  After drafting it I needed to make a template.  As you know I often make my own Acrylic templates, but if I can use one that I already have that's even better.

So I pulled out every template in my stash and this one is the only one that fit in the wedge shape.  Glow line tape was added for easy placement onto the fabric.

My test block was a success!  Well...one fabric placement booboo but it can stay in the quilt.  It sticks out like a sore thumb to me, can you see it?

Now the playing begins.  This is my favorite part of the designing process.  I always have a general idea, but there's always room for improvement and improvising.  The circle and petal pieces were left overs from the my last little quilt that you can find here.  Not so sure that the red one is going to make it into this project but it's doing a good job of being useful as a visual aid.

I love the octagon shape that's made when the dresden tips are put together.  It wasn't part of the plan but I could play around with it a little bit more later on. 

For now the playtime is over and it's time to get busy doing the so called "important stuff".

So do you design your own quilts?  Do you play with the design after cutting a few test pieces?  What's your designing process?

~ Lea Anne ~

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Let the fun begin!

Happy Monday morning quilty friends!  I hope it's warm and cozy in your neck of the woods.  It's sunny and 7 degrees here in Podunk.  The studio temp is 54.  Yes you read those number right, it's not a typo.   So while letting the Studio warm up lets take a look at the string quilt progress.   All the strings are pieced and ready for cutting.  It took a tad longer than expected to get enough sets for my design.  Would you believe I ran out of strings and had to MAKE more?! 

My granny used to say "There's more than one way to skin a cat".  Well that statement is very true in quilting.  When making string quilts there's several ways I could piece them.  Some quilters use some sort of foundation such as muslin, phone book pages, newspaper, or store bought foundation paper.  I chose to use none of them.  The reason is simple..bulk in the quilt and I don't want to remove any papers later.  I know there's a water soluble product on the market but I'm too cheap for that!  The next major decision was pressing of the seams.  Open or to one side? This topic is highly debated among quilters.  To be honest I do both.  It really  depends on the quilt and the amount of bulk that will be made if I don't press open.  As general rule I prefer pressing to the side.  It makes for a stronger seam, and although I've never put a quilt in a quilt show, should I decide to, most judges look for pressing direction and if they can see piecing stitches... that's BAD.  It could be the difference between a ribbon and a list helpful advice.  For this quilt I decided open seams was best.  Shew that was a chore!  Not a decision made lightly.  Pressing to the side would have been so much quicker and easier.

Finally I can start cutting and shaping these stacks into a quilt.  

Let the fun begin! 

~ Lea Anne ~

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Fluttering about

I tried really hard to fight the urge not to make a quilt block while piecing a simple squares quilt.   The squares were lacking something and just didn't set right with me.  So I grabbed a cuppa and took a quick trip through the internet looking for a simple 8 inch butterfly pattern.  After coming up empty handed I decided to just draw up my own.

  The horizontal rows might become vertical columns or frames for the butterflies.   HMM...we'll just have to wait and see what the day brings.  You can see below that the rows were numbered ready to be pieced into a quilt when inspiration hit. 

 I mentioned earlier in the week..... sticking to a written pattern is pretty much impossible, it seems that the same is true with my own pattern.  

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social

 ~ Lea Anne ~

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