Stack and Whack Cardinals

 The  last quilt of my pile of basted quilts.  This has been sitting since the beginning of the year because I wasn't sure how I wanted to quilt it.  I pinned the last three quilts to my design wall as I quilted the previous quilt so I could glance at it and think about what would be the best way to quilt each.  This quilt also has the puffy wool batting so I didn't want to crush the loft with too much quilting.  I swung a double arc in each of the pinwheel blades and the rest is simple geometry with arcs from point to point.  The quilting in the background areas suggests ribbons and bows or holly leaves that aren't too prickly.  The setting triangles are arcs like palm leaves and the border is the baptist fan which I marked and after a soak in cold water you wouldn't know that I deviated from the marks more than once.   This one is going on my bed this Christmas or maybe on the wall.  --Ann--

Kaleidescope

That was fun! sewing Christmasy fabric just before Christmas.  It won't be quilted until next year. --Ann--

Kaleidoscopes

I gathered up all my kaleidoscope toys for quilting and never realized how different they are from each other. The two mirrors that are taped together are a great tool for choosing fabrics for a stack and whack quilt. The angle can be changed to see how many segments in a block.   It also reveals fabrics that might be a poor choice.  My original plan was to use the bird fabric but as you can see with the large areas of spruce green background there would be some blocks that were lacking in interest and probably very few blocks with whole birds unless I fussy cut and then I would have needed a lot more yardage. So I bought the coordinating flower fabric because the motifs were closer together.
The dragon fly eyes will repeat a motif in a side by side setting or turn it a little for an on point setting but they do not reflect the design like a kaleidoscope.  The red is a child's toy with six sided facets in the lens, the dark one has high quality glass with four sided facets.  The brass spy glass has a clear marble in the other end,  it miniaturizes the designs into hexagon repeats.  They are all fun to look through.  Sometimes I'm so easily amused.  --Ann--

Design Wall Monday

It was a snowy day on Saturday and a very good day to sew.  This quilt was started 15 years ago I'm guessing.  Sewing the kaleidoscope blocks was as much fun as sewing scrap blocks because the finished block was always a surprise.  The little parts would come together and make a new design in the center of each block. A few more seams and then to fussy cut the border to showcase the birds.
There is a good 6-8 inches of snow on the ground, today is calm and cold, the every green trees look like a Christmas card.  Another great day to sew. --Ann-- linking to Judy's DWM

Kaleidoscope

A very productive day in the sewing room yesterday, half the blocks sewn. I sewed one block at a time so I could keep each set of eight triangles together.  A little slower going but I was enjoying the process.  No two blocks are the same so far,  just like turning a kaleidoscope.
I remember my mother making a kaleidoscope for me when I was a little girl. I kinda remember begging for one I saw in the five and dime store and not getting it but she made one that was so much better.  She had some narrow strips of mirrors but I remember them being dark and not at all like a real mirror.  Anyway she taped these three long mirrors into a triangle then slid them into a sturdy cardboard tube that was exactly the right size because the long triangle did not rattle around, then she fastened a circle of stiff plastic inside the tube and we put some sequins and other little trinkets in and topped the end off with another piece of plastic that she scuffed up with steel wool so it was translucent.  She cut an eye hole in a piece of cardboard and taped it to the other end.  Light could get in but it was cloudy enough that I couldn't see things around the house. It was better than a store bought kaleidoscope and it kept me busy for hours,  she made another one for my brother because she knew we would fight over it.  My kids even played with it.

Every turn or tap of the kaleidoscope and the design would change. Cherished childhood memories.
--Ann--

New Project Old project

There hasn't been much going on in my sewing room lately.  The Christmas decorations are up and condensed from past years because this house is lacking in display space.  But it works and didn't take nearly as long to set a tasteful amount of decorations as it did in the past house.  Tasteful is the key word there sometimes less is more.
I need to work on something new.  This stack and whack project has experienced three moves so it is time!!  Everything was bundled together; the cut stack and whack triangles, the background fabric, sashing fabric and even fabric for the backing.  Everything except the book which is no where to be found anywhere.  I can figure this out!  How did our grandmothers quilt!?!  They didn't have all the books we do now.  The background triangle needs to be the same size as the focus fabric plus whatever that measurement is you add to cut the square into 4 so you have straight grain on the outside edge.  Its easier to put the 4 triangles into a square and measure across.  7 and 5/8. Round it up because its easier to trim than try to stretch the blocks to fit so cut 7 3/4 inch squares.  Then sew those triangles together and figure out the short strip.  It needs to be 2 1/2 inches wide and the short side needs to be 4 1/2 inches.  Perfect!!! now to sew the rest of the blocks.
I don't think I have ever made a quilt with this few fabrics which is probably why it has sat for so long.  I have a red fabric to use for sashing, the cardinal fabric will be for borders and the focus fabric for setting triangles.
Our snow is gone again, there is a cold wind blowing from the north its a good day to sew.  --Ann--