Hometown Girl

The Maryland Historical Society has been running a year-long exhibit of Mimi Dietrich’s quilts. It is coming to an end mid-March. If you are in the area, I highly recommend going. Three antique Baltimore Album quilts are also included in the exhibit.

Mimi has led over 50 tours of the exhibit so far. Contact the museum to arrange a tour with Mimi for your group. For those of you who can’t make it to the museum to see the quilts in person, she is doing a virtual tour on her blog. Start with this post and read forward. She might actually get to a quilt in the next post. I suspect she’ll do one quilt a day or perhaps a group of related quilts as a post.

I’ve known Mimi since 1998 when I took her year-long Baltimore Album class (no, it isn’t finished) and I was surprised by a couple of the quilts in the exhibit that I’d not seen before. The Hon (you have to be familiar with Baltimore to get this) quilt advertising the exhibit was a surprise when Mimi first showed it because it is very non-Mimi in style. It’s one of my favorites and is a lot of fun because it is full of iconic Baltimore things. I’m sure she’ll explain all the details in this quilt when it gets its turn in a post. The only reason I get this quilt is because I’ve lived in the Baltimore-Washington area since 1982 and have received the appropriate education in things Baltimorean.

Please check out the virtual tour and continue to follow it as she progresses through the exhibit.

2019 Finishes

Well, this was a shock! I felt like I’d accomplished a lot and had a bunch of finishes this year. As I went through my posts for 2019 I only found one finish that was posted. I do have other finishes so I will go back and post them so I can include them in this roundup.  I need to do a better job of posting my finishes in 2020.

I got 7 quilts back from a long-armer shortly before I left for the Christmas holiday and I already had 4 (I think) quilts waiting for binding. I’ve got 3 more ready for quilting.  I have one quilt at my primary long-armer which should be coming back soon because I need it for our quilt show in April. I’ve got lots of blocks ready to be assembled into quilts. One quilt is waiting for a backing so it is almost ready for the quilter. Another just needs borders sewn on and backing made and it will be ready. 2020 should have a bumper crop of finishes if I can keep up with the binding, backings and labels.

So, on to what did get finished in 2019.

The March Snowman, Going in Like a Lion, Coming Out Like a Lamb, from the Snowmen Will Melt Your Heart collection is the only one of the Snow people that was completely finished (no label yet, sigh). January, February, April, and May are ready to quilt. I finally finished the embroidery for June and it is ready for assembly. The July-December pieces are still waiting their turn for realization.

I Used to be a Layer Cake was finished in April.

Flying Home was finished in the first half of the year.

T for Two was finished in time for me to gift it when I went to Illinois in early May.

Mocha Meringue was finished in the fall.

Sweet Poison was finished sometime around mid-2019.

In the Pink was finished in late summer or fall.

9-patch blues was finished December 29.

String Weaver was finished December 28.

I think that’s it for 2019. I can’t think of anything else that was finished in 2019. I will try to post my finishes more timely in 2020.

Sweet Poison finished in 2019

My friend, Caren, said she would smack me if I gave this a “cause” name. Maybe she won’t notice when it’s hanging in our quilt show in April. All of the fabrics are high carbohydrate  foods. They may taste good but they’re all sugar in the end. The “leading” and binding are a chocolate bar print. I will be the first to admit that I eat way too much chocolate. But, as I once told my mother, life without chocolate and pizza isn’t worth living. I need to add ice cream to that.

This one was finished in the spring or early summer 2019. Sometime in 2019 anyway. It is 68″ x 68″.  I didn’t think it looked right with a border but I felt the binding should be a little wider than the .5″ sashings. I wanted to do 1″ but when I did the calculation for how wide to cut the binding (6 x width of binding + .25 for turn) it came out to 6″. That’s just plain ridiculous. The binding was cut at 4.5″ to finish as a .75″ binding.

This is a combination of two similar patterns: Kwik Krazy and Kwik Krazy II by Two Kwik Quilters. Would you believe I got them off the freebie table at guild? Half the blocks are from each one. They are available at kariejewell.com. I added the “leading” for a stained glass look. I see that she offers a similar stained glass pattern. The “leading” fabric is cut 1″ to finish .5″. I think my blocks came out to around 11″ inches or so with the addition of the leading. These are the type of pattern where you stack squares of fabric, cut them all, shuffle, then trim up to a common size at the end. I made two other tops with these patterns before this one although they are still waiting to be finished. That’s a story for another day.

Accuquilt offers a die with a similar pattern in a 10″ block (I think) for the Go! Big cutter and has just come out with one for a 6″ block that fits the Go! cutter. The patterns I used have 9 pieces per block. The Accuquilt dies have 10 pieces per block. I think I might get the 6″ block die to use for scraps but, in general, I think I prefer the larger one because you see more of each piece. I don’t have a Go! Big and no plans to get one so I’ll continue to use my patterns.

The back is more high carb foods. Gotta try to use up that stash. It’s not going to happen but I have to believe I can.

It was quilted by Maria O’Haver, Pangor Quilt Design Studio, using a candy kiss edge-to-edge design. I don’t have a picture of the quilting. Frankly, it’s very difficult to see because the prints are so busy. This quilt will be entered in our show in April 2020.

I seem to have lost the pattern. Perhaps it is with the label I chose that I haven’t made yet. I don’t know where it is, either. It will turn up. There are a limited number of places it can be. Actually I can think of only two. I haven’t looked there yet. I’ll come back and add that when it’s done. The quilt police are almost at the door.

 

In the Pink finished 2019

This quilt originated from 2.5″ strips from the scraps of my deceased friend, Genie. Gone but never forgotten. I don’t think I had to add anything from my stash. It is 48″ x 56.5″. It will be donated to a charity supported by my guild. Charity was a very important part of Genie’s life. She worked diligently to make quilts for various good causes.

Once again, the quilt is even, the pictures are not.

The back is an old Jinny Beyer print from my stash.

The white thing hanging off the top right corner is the label that hasn’t been sewn on yet.

Stephanie Sanidas, one of our guild’s charity group leaders, did the quilting. She did a simple diagonal cross hatch.

I expect the quilt to be included in the guild’s charity quilt display at our quilt show in April 2020.

String Weaver finished 2019

This quilt was made from scraps. I was tired of doing the diagonal string thing so sewed them straight up and down and set them to look like they’re woven, one color one direction, the other color the other direction. It is 50″ x 61.5″. This was finished December 28. The binding is pink with black polka dots.

Once again, the quilt is straight and even, the pictures aren’t.

The back is the same one used on T for Two.

Daria Phair quilted it with a butterfly edge-to-edge design.

This was made with the idea that it would be a donation or gift. I’m finding that when I made a quilt for someone specific from the get-go I don’t have a problem giving it up when it is finished. I’m going to have a hard time giving up these quilts made for non-specific destinations. Sigh.

Again, will have to update after a label is made.

9-Patch Blues finished 2019

This quilt began with blocks that probably came from the freebie table at guild. I don’t remember where I got them. I found them at the bottom of one of the scrap bins when I was sorting out the strings and crumbs. I finished the binding on this while I was away for the Christmas holiday. I pulled a fabric from stash to make the binding but before I cut anything I looked on the shelf where I keep binding that I’ve already made for some projects. Sure ‘nough, I found one for this quilt. Whew! Good thing I didn’t go ahead and start cutting. As I sewed the binding on I discovered that it was a scrappy binding. My first time doing that.

As I was getting to the last few inches of binding I felt something pulling on the quilt. Here’s what I saw:

My brother’s dog decide to curl up on the bottom of the quilt. This is only the second time he’s seen a quilt but he sure knows what to do when he sees one.

The quilt is straight and even on all sides, the pictures aren’t. It is 45.5″ x 57″.

The backing is flannel. So soft and cuddly.

It was quilted by Daria Phair with a bubble edge-to-edge design.

This is intended as a donation or gift.

Will have to update this after I get the label on. The quilt police are probably on their way now.

Mocha Meringue finished 2019

I can only find one post where I wrote about this project and that was when it was ready for the quilter in April 2019. This was a free pattern to go with a fabric line from Marcus Fabrics. Seminole Sampler (gone now) had the fabrics that struck a chord with me. Robbyn helped me gather all the cuts I needed for the “kit” except for the black inner border which I could pull from stash. This had to be around 2012-2013 or so. I pulled it out to work on sometime before 2017 (I moved that year and remember working on this at the old house). I took it to retreat in 2018? maybe, assembled the blocks and discovered that the inner border fabric was missing. It sat waiting until spring of 2019 when I finally finished the top. The quilt is 54″ x 64″.

Although the pictures make it look like the quilt isn’t even on all sides, I assure you it is. I just can’t seem to hold the phone straight to take the pictures.

I had quite a few leftovers since this was a kit I made and I always round up on fabric requirements to allow for mistakes, mine or the pattern writer. The back used all the leftovers that were large enough with a few additions from my stash. It was hard to find the right color and feel to go with these fabrics.

It was quilted by Maria O’Haver, Pangor Quilt Design Studio, using a leafy edge-to-edge design.

I’ll have to come back and update after I add the label (hanging head in shame).

Flying Home finished 2019

Another one that was finished in the first half of the year that didn’t get written about is Flying Home. This was a Missouri Star Quilt Company video tutorial. I positioned my parts as shown in the accompanying PDF, not the way the sample quilt in the video was done. It is 47″ by 47″.

The back is the Gyleen Fitzgerald back. I think the instructions for this were provided in one of her appearances on The Quilt Show. All of the large pieces are cat fabrics. All fabrics for this quilt came from my stash. I was pleased to find I had the perfect stripe for the binding.

It was quilted by Rachael Kim Komet in a feather meander. I let her choose how to quilt it.

I made this with the idea that it would be a donation quilt or gift at some point. I’ve been using it as a lap quilt in front of the TV. Am I going to have trouble giving it up one day?

I Used to be a Layer Cake finished 2019

As I reviewed my 2019 posts to remind me of my finishes I discovered that a number of them weren’t posted. This one is from the pattern, I Used to be a Layer Cake, from Black Cat Creations, designed by Nancy Altsman. It is 41″ x 56″. It was finished in April.

Does it go this way?

Or this way?

I think I like the first one best. … Hmm. After flipping back and forth from the pattern and the photos, I think the pattern shows it as the second one. Now that I look at the quilting I believe the second one is the correct way. The more I look at it, the more I like it this way.

Here’s the back.

It’s kind of hard to see but the quilting is a feathery design that follows the color bands. It was quilted by Maria O’Haver, Pangor Quilt Design Studio.

I need to get a sleeve and label on this so I can register it for our show in April.

Frolic Mystery Colors

It’s Bonnie Hunter Mystery season! She’s calling this year’s mystery, Frolic. Please visit the mystery summary page for details. Please note that if you are reading this after February 2020, the link might not work because she removes the clues at that point to either make a pattern or put it in a book.

I’ve heard lots of people say they really love her color choices for this year’s mystery. Me, not so much. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I was going to bother with the mystery because I didn’t care for the color palette. I’m still not sure what it is about it that I don’t like. Maybe the aqua doesn’t work for me with the other colors. The paint chips she chose seem darker and duller than the fabrics she shows with them in the introduction page.

It took me a while to come up with a different color palette. Over the years I’ve saved palette ideas from Design Seeds. I went through my saved palettes to find ones with enough colors to match up with the mystery requirements. Then I stopped at Home Depot to look at paint chips. The Behr paint chips are wonderful and I spent quite a bit of time plucking chips from the color wall. I probably had about 10 palettes, many very similar as it turned out. By the time I finished I was having trouble choosing the paint chips. Time to go home.

Linda was over one day as I was going through the options. I’ve changed mystery colors a bit in the past but tried to stay in the same value and color temperature as Bonnie. This time I went opposite for the color temperature. I settled on this palette:

While we were looking through the various palettes, Linda took one I rejected. I don’t remember which one. Ready to see how I matched these up to Bonnie’s choices? Ready or not, here we go!

For Bonnie’s dark blue, I went with dark rusty/reddish orange. Although it doesn’t look like it in the picture, the fabric on the left is exactly the color of the paint chip. I had to go darker to get the contrast between this and the lighter orange.

For the lighter blue, I went with lighter orange.

For the framboise I went with blue. It looks like I haven’t edited this pull yet. Some of these won’t make the final cut.

Before we got the paint chips, Patty and I were at Glory Bee’s to pick up my machine from the service department. I picked up a couple of greens for the mystery on spec. This fabric is one of them. Bonnie’s choice is the yellower looking chip. In real life the chip is a bright lime green. One of the fabrics I got matches that chip exactly but we’ll save that fabric for another project. The fabric shown above is lighter than the chip but it will be fine with the other fabrics.

I’m going to the dark side for the background. It’s been quite a while since I did a black background. Last summer I bought a pack of black fat quarters. I wanted to use them for the mystery but by the time mystery came around they’d blended into the stash so I just pulled all the darkest blacks.

The aqua substitute has presented some problems. My paint chip is a light yellowish lime color. This is all I could find in my extensive stash that remotely resembles the paint chip color and they aren’t that close. This is not an acceptable situation! First problem is that there isn’t enough fabric to meet what the mystery requires. Second, not enough fabrics to do scrappy well. Third, the yellowish fabric stands out like a sore thumb so it should be eliminated. The fabric on the far left is dull compared to the chip. Shopping is required!

First stop was Spring Water Designs in Columbia, MD, about 10 minutes from my house. This is a small shop so finding any possibles was a bonus. We’ll see. I need a whole lot more in order to do the scrappy thing. I can always use the stripe for a binding so I got enough to cover that. The other green isn’t quite what I’d like but it will work nicely for applique leaves and other projects if it doesn’t make it into the mystery. I’ve got classes next week at Bear’s Paw in Towson, MD and Jinny Beyer Studio in Great Falls, Virginia. We’ll see what I find there. I don’t hold out great hopes of hitting a bonanza of fabrics in this color.

I had a class on Saturday at Patches in Mt. Airy, MD. This was the only thing I found these that was even close. It’s more yellow than the chip but it will do. I bought enough to make this a single fabric for the mystery if I can’t find enough of the right color to suit my scrappy side. Hmm, two constant colors in one Bonnie Hunter quilt. That will be new for me.

It sounds like I’m taking a lot of classes but I don’t take classes very often any more. Last Saturday was the last class for the year-long Baltimore Garden class. They combined November and December into a single day. Monday is Grad School which isn’t really a class, just a meeting with show and tell and a lot of fun. This month we eat! It’s our end-of-year holiday potluck. The following Saturday is the second of 4 classes for the Judy Niemeyer project.

Friday, day after tomorrow, is the first mystery clue. I’m excited to see how my color palette works in the mystery. It’s going to be very orange which will turn off a lot of people. Will it be successful or a dud? Who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see.