some more sample blocks

Trying out some more sample blocks.

Rake tines

Propeller 

Cake Stand

My sisters may be the only ones to get my reference to rake tines in naming the first block. Broken ones became playthings in our sandbox. Which was made from an old tractor tire.
I sent a picture of the block to my sister Beth and asked, "what does this remind you of?" Her immediate text back: "rake tines".

Morningside College 1980 Nursing graduates

40 years ago this spring.
We took on the world.

more thoughts on artifact quiltmaking

A few months ago I wrote about making an artifact.
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2019/11/tip-50-make-artifact.html
We make quilts in joy, in sorrow, and in anger.
Political work needs to be seen as a snapshot in time. There was a reason it was made, it made sense in context.
The nature of our work is it is very labor consuming and time consuming. The emotions and ideals that are present at the start of a work can dissipate and the work seems irrelevant or can grow so intense the work itself seems inadequate.
In either case I think it is valuable to finish these artifacts.

I started on my "Hillary" quilt with excitement and set it aside in my sadness in the results of the election. But, I was determined to complete it as an artifact of that optimism.

When the 2016 election happened I named a quilt to reflect my wariness.
"...may you live in interesting times" took an otherwise traditional quilt made of the plus block on point (giving it a times symbol appearance) and making it political by naming it with the Chamberlain curse.

Now, my "Impeach" quilt. I made the top during the impeachment hearings. It channeled my frustrations during that time. It too was set aside when the Senate made their choices. But this week, after the "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" quote was used by our president, who then claimed he did not know the history of it (this white girl from Iowa knew the history of it) I decided to finish this artifact. Complete with its pink pussycat back.
I am leaving the sleeve untacked so the pussycats show.

When we are faced with these very troubling times one can feel helpless.
But,
I can be angry
I can support the afflicted
I can call attention to injustice
I can vote
I can sew

calico rose, top completed

Calico rose
96 inches square
From a sew-a-long on Deanna's delightful blog Wedding Dress Blue:
https://weddingdressblue.wordpress.com/calico-rose-quiltalong/

Changes I made:
I used flying geese for the star points instead of half-square triangles
I used 16-patches for the border

Look carefully for the orientation of the blocks for the border.
I sewed together the border blocks with the block seams perpendicular to the edge of the quilt. I sewed the border pieces to the center flipping the border seams to nest with the center seams. I then stay-stitched the edges before pressing to these nested orientations.

This is the second quilt I've made from Deanna's pattern. The first, made in 2015, belongs to my sister Janna. My sister Beth asked me if I could some day make her one like it. That day is today.

Over the past few years if I was using a 3 1/2 in strip I would cut a few triangles for this quilt. I keep my 2 inch scrap squares at the ready in shoeboxes and there are fabrics here from decades of work--some of my mom's scraps are included too.
The square prints parts of the blocks were done last year during a busy semester and were welcomed mindless sewing.
Last week I pulled out my Studio Cutter and cut the 3 1/2 inch and 2 inch solid strips to make the remaining parts.While this feels it went together quickly, it really has had years of prep work behind it.

I have an appointment for a drive-by drop-off with my longarm quilter this week. We decided a wool batt would be best to keep the quilt from being overwhelmingly heavy.

Thank you Deanna, for sharing this great design.

My obsessive pressing made sure every seam in the quilt top nested.

star block pressing

alternate block pressing

16-patch border orientation and pressing

patience corner, top completed

Patience Corner
80 by 96"
120 blocks set 10 by 12
Block finishes 8 inches

My design, use at your pleasure.

Cutting:
Solid: four 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle, four 1 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch rectangles
Print: four 3 1/2 inch squares
Pressing:
Press units away from square
Press halves towards side with square at seam
Do not press final horizontal seam until assembly

Sew 4 blocks together into a unit

Press all connecting seams and block horizontal seams into one direction

Rotating one, sew two 4-block units into an 8-block unit.
Sew 5 of these together for a row.
Make 3 rows
All seams will nest

rickrack, top completed

Rickrack
About 75 by 88 inches
72 blocks, set on point
Block finishes 9 inches

Cutting
Solid: one each rectangle 1 1/2 by: 2 1/2, 3 1/2, 5 1/2, 6 1/2, 8 1/2, 9 1/2
Print: One square 2 1/2; one each rectangle 2 1/2 by: 3 1/2, 5 1/2, 6 1/2, 8 1/2

Setting triangles over-cut from triangles 10 1/2 inches on sides and about 15 on base. Corner triangles over-cut from 9 1/2 inch square.

Pressing:
In block construction press all seams away from the 2 1/2 inch square.
(((You could chose to wait to press final solid strip seam and press them up or down every other block for nesting in assembly--I did not press them differently as I needed to ease seams a bit and I wanted the full 9 1/2 inches to do so.)))

Assembly:
Sew together in diagonal rows.
Press every other row of blocks to the left or right to allow rows to nest. Press final seams to the top left.

My design, use at your pleasure.

This is another quilt that everyone sees something different: feathers, dragon scales. I see Rickrack.

My Great-grandma Dykstra loved to sew and embellish dresses for her granddaughters. My dad said his sisters didn't like that she put so much rickrack on them.
Last year my sister was helping one of these aunts clean out her house. They ran across a dress from the 1940s and my aunt said, "That is grandma's burial dress." Which begged the question, why was it not in the grave. My aunt said her grandma sewed the dress and designated it to be worn in the casket. When she died her daughters-in-law thought it would not be appropriate because she had sewn sequins on it.
I want that dress. You may bury me with sequins.

Elizabeth Vander Hoef Dykstra and Joe Dykstra. She was known to be a very bright woman who did the business side of their farming. And for loving sequins and rickrack.
My father adored his grandparents.

My dad said his grandpa stood on a stone for this photograph so he could match his wife's height

remains, quilt completed

Remains, 2015
47 by 69 inches

This uses the "serendipity snakes" method I explain here on my blog. My mom taught me this method over 30 years ago, she learned it from a friend.
The strips were the leftovers from my 1 1/2 inch strip drawer, picked over and not used after several projects that made a big dent in them. I love this quilt. It reminds me of the rugs made on a treadle loom by our neighbor Charlotte Pals. I liked to lie on her floor and feel the vibrations of the loom as she worked.
It was beautifully quilted by Suzette Fisher.
I must draw attention to my long-arm quilters, Suzette Fisher and Sue DiVarco who allow me to be as productive as I am.

I have been posting a quilt a day on my Facebook (private family) page as a way to ward off a bit of despair in these quarantine times. I decided to re-post here some of my past quilts that never had a proper photograph taken.

40 years

Red Cross, 2015. Top completed 2015 in celebration of 30 years in nursing. This week marks 40 years.
I love being a nurse and am privileged to be teaching the next generation.

vamoose! (tunnel), top completed

Tunnel, Suitcase, Purse, Fireplace, Hurdles
This has become the Rorschach test of patterns with every viewer seeing something different. I thought to call this Away, but that is the name of a suitcase company (a suitcase I own and really like) and I don't want to get into any copyright disagreements.
Vamoose is a word I don't think I've ever used. It was an exotic one we would hear on tv, one that someone from a city would use. And a funny word. (I now live in the city and have never heard it here either--I wonder if city people think it is something farm people say.)
So, Vamoose! it is.

Vamoose!
117 blocks set 9 by 13 to finish 81 by 91 inches
Block finishes 7 by 9 inches

Cut
Solid: one 5 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch rectangle, two 2 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch rectangle
Print: one 4 1/2 by 9 1/2 inch rectangle, three 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch rectangles

Pressing
Press seams away from center small rectangle.
Do not press final horizontal seam until assembly

Assembly
Sew into columns
Press alternating columns with the final seam and the joining seam up or down
All seams will nest

I like the straight set for this, making the look of handles on cases. I played with a staggered set that I liked too which gave a bit of a parkour look to the quilt.

My design. Use at your pleasure.

target, top completed

Target
80 by 96 inches
120 blocks set 10 by 12
Block finishes 8 inches

Cutting
Solid: two rectangles 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches, two rectangles 1 1/2  by 4 1/2 inches
Print: one 2 1/2 inch square, two 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch rectangles, two 2 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch rectangles
Pressing: all seams pressed away from the center square

Assembly
Rotating every other block sew into 4 block units, pressing all in one direction
Flip one 4-block unit and sew two together
Sew five 8-block units into a row
Sew three rows together
All seams will nest

My design, use at your pleasure.
A log cabin variation.
The blocks of this quilt did not lie as flat as I would like them to. I am a careful cutter and sewer and rarely have this problem, so I am not sure what my issue was. I have warned my longarm quilter and she said she can work with it.
I really like this design!

tile, top completed

Tile
98 by 80 inches
112 blocks set 7 by 16

Block finishes 5 by 14 inches
Cutting:
Solid: two 3 by 7 1/2 inch rectangles, two 3 inch squares
Print: two 3 by 7 1/2 inch rectangles, two 3 inch squares
I used Doug Leko's folded corner ruler but any sew-and-flip method would work.
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2017/07/tile.html

Assembly:
Press alternate blocks center seams up or down.
Sew into pairs then into four-block-units.
Sew three of the units into a row
Sew 7 rows
Press alternate rows left or right
Sew rows together; I pressed each row upwards.

I like the secondary lozenge shape that shows up where four blocks meet

Four block unit

There are lots of points matching with the joining the blocks but it was not difficult. Final assembly is really easy with all seams nesting and no points meeting.

Tile is based on an actual tiling pattern often called Portuguese Tile. There are several commercial patterns out there but I drew mine from an actual tile floor.
Usually it is made in two colors. It works well with this solids on prints style.

I started this quilt on LeClaire in 2017. I returned to it in December and it has been a really pleasant quilt to work on these past couple of months.

My design. Use at your pleasure.

binding!

Trudy Hughes pattern, I pieced this in the late 1980s

I remember making this but do not remember who designed it

I used the Blanche Young method for this, at least 25 years ago

My design! Search under Party Line

Bin o' bindings

I was missing binding handwork as I find that to be contemplative.
Seth and I are on a mission to do a project every day, and in cleaning out a closet we came upon four un-bound quilts. Yesterday I spent a couple hours doing the machine work of binding.
I was able to jump right into it because I have a bin where I keep leftover bindings.
My preference is a bias french fold binding and a bit wider one. I keep it stored on spent spools.
I used to cut my bindings  at 3 1/2 inches, but for about a decade have been cutting them 3 inches. They fold to 1 1/2 and with the edge of my walking foot as my guide the front has a bit under 1/2 inch showing.
Two of these quilts have scrappy bindings. My bin still has some that were cut 3 1/2 so I took a sliver off the  edge to get them to work with the 3 inch cut ones.

I have since found another unbound quilt and another with just the handwork left.
Much contemplative time for me.

"And Mary pondered all these things in her heart."

36 years. St Patrick's Day is a fine day for a wedding.

St Patrick's Day is a fine day for a wedding.

living with my quilts: sewing nook

Seth is home and helped hang the sampler in my sewing nook. 

rickrack

Rickrack

Block finishes 9 inches

My friend Erica made a scrap quilt on point with a log cabin variation. I loved it, revised the proportions, and adapted it to the solids/prints style.
My design from a traditional pattern. Use at your pleasure.

Fiddly cutting here but I think with great results.

Cut
Solid: One each of six rectangles cut from 1 1/2 inch strip: 9 1/2, 8 1/2, 6 1/2, 5 1/2, 3 1/2, 2 1/2
Print: One 2 1/2 inch square, One each of four rectangles cut from 2 1/2 inch
strip: 3 1/2, 5 1/2, 6 1/2, 8 1/2

Sewing
I found it best to sew with the narrow solid on top at each stage

Pressing
All pressing away from the 2 1/2 inch square

Patience corner pressing plan

I lay out several blocks at a time, keeping my master block in sight for sewing and for pressing.

There are several setting possibilities. I am leaning towards on point.