Indoors and Out

I stepped outside at bedtime last night to get a better look at the gorgeous Hunter's Moon -- our sky was beyond amazing with the moonlight illuminating the many cloud fragments.  

From the center of the back yard -- just incredible. 

Phone photos definitely do not do it justice.

Indoors this morning I discovered the first bud on my salmon pink Christmas cactus.

And several bud beginnings on the pink cactus.   

So much promise of flowers yet to come.

* * *

The pillows are still stalled waiting for their en-route binding fabric.

The December cedar chest runner sandwich is ready to pin baste and the first of the two end table mat tops ready to piece.

The October Celebrate the Ordinary journal is "done" subject to adding any last minute bits later this week.

The September journal is about half-way together.  I still need to sit and write in the quotes and thoughts and then add some finishing touches with washi tapes.

I'm gathering bits and quotes and such for the November volume (as well as December's, i.e. catalogs with images to be cut out).  

And I'm still spending warm, sunny afternoons on the back porch reading.  Mornings and evenings are now "chilly" but so far we've not turned on any heat in the house.  

Next week it will be time to set up our Thankful Tree in the living room so its gentle white lights help offset the earlier darkness.  There's also been a fairly big update for November's seasonal decor so I'll share photos once things are all in place.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Autumn is the only artist who scatters colors everywhere and never has to clean up."

Aurelia Leafsong

Inch by Inch

While I continue to avoid working on the pillows, I've been dealing with some of the other deadline-ish projects.

I cut the messy stack of leftover pieces for the January utility mats into 2.5" x 18" strips and gathered these end cuts rather than tossing them in the trash.

Sewing those end to end resulted in an additional ten pieced strips that I'll intersperse with the full length strips mentioned above.

I also sewed the squares together for the top of the new December cedar chest runner.  The pieced blocks in this slab were made using the same 'sew-the-trimmings-together' method.  

There will be a few pieced blocks in each of the five utility mat tops.  Their presence feeds my scrappy nature.

This waiting stack will become the back for that runner.  

The batting for the utility mats is cut so I plan to pin baste the sets of slabs as they are pieced.  The way the days are flying by, I'll need these to be ready for action sooner instead of later.

Quiltdivajulie

And Then There Were Twelve

Finally I found a tree that has mostly autumn colors.  There are lots of leaves falling here but most are still green-ish, dull, or just dried out; so I'm enjoying the foliage photos shared by those of you who live further north where the colors are more intense.

Twelve freshly quilted pillow cover fronts, all in a pile.

Next step will be to confirm (again) the needed measurements for the fronts and back envelope fabrics.

I also need to choose binding fabric, cut two WOF for each of the pillows plus a couple extra just in case, and get the binding made.

The slabs emptied all of these bobbins - enough to have quilted one-and-a-half Macnas quilts.  

* * *

With the multi-month push to get the Macnas quilts finished, I am now feeling just how much mental focus and physical energy that effort took.

So, much like my usual back-to-school reset, this year's pause is happening in October.  

I've found myself pondering, savoring the sunshine, reading, and gathering ideas for what I want to work on in the coming months with both my fabrics and my journals.  

In the short term there are five utility mats ready to piece/quilt/bind for December.  There are also utility mats and a set of whole cloth placemats pending for January along with a set of reversible placemats and wall quilt for Easter/Spring. 

For the longer term, the studio squirrels have happily shared lots of input on what could happen next in the studios; translated as I've been making notes and enjoying a few preliminary fabric pulls.  

For now I can sit back, focus on the short term, and let the longer term ideas gestate.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Space is the breath of art."

Frank Lloyd Wright

This and That

Another Max figure has joined the group of "littles" atop the drawer unit used for Max's bobbins.

I've had the Grinch-themed Max for a couple of years.  

Max from Where the Wild Things Are was a gift last year.  

The new Max is from a set of Jim Shore Grinch-themed Christmas ornaments that jumped into my cart when I wasn't looking.  Younger son quickly claimed the Grinch with a decorated tree and the other two Grinch figures will be added to our "character" tree come December.

After a too-long pause, there are now two quilted pillow cover slabs.  

With the ice broken, it shouldn't be too long before all twelve are ready to be trimmed and squared.

This is one end of our October mantel.  With it getting dark earlier and earlier, the fairy lights are even more welcome than they are during warmer months.

And when she wasn't looking, I took this photo of the scurry's newest studio squirrel.  Cinnamon is Fluffy's little sister.  

She quickly claimed this top shelf in my sewing studio as her spot where she can keep an eye on Fluffy and whoever else comes into the studio.  I'll keep trying to get a photo of the siblings together, but don't tell Cinnamon that's my plan.

Be back in a few days when I have new progress photos to share.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Open your day like a squirrel opens a misplaced acorn; with purpose, curiously ready to devour."

Joey Doherty

A New Twelve-Chapter Project

I've thought about this new project for a long time, finally decided how I want to format my ideas, and named it Celebrate the Ordinary.

There will be twelve standard traveler's notebook inserts, one for each month of the year, when I'm finished (think "moodboard" but in my eclectic scrappy journal format).  Each insert contains 30 pages (mine are dot gridded).

I've started with the "BER" months - September, October, November, and December.

September's is partially complete.  I've layered base items on the pages, sorted out extra bits that will go in later, and gathered the things I want to add in my own handwriting like birthdays, holidays and observances, thoughts and feelings the month evokes, notes on our seasonal decor which will also provide the overall color palette for each chapter, quotes and notes, maybe 3"x5" prints of this year's monthly backyard photos, and whatever else comes along that fits.  

The October chapter has its base layer items tucked between their pages, ready to be secured.  The extras are waiting on a tray and I'm in the process of gathering the written items to be added after the glue dries.

The November chapter has its covers adhered and an assortment of potential papers waiting on a dedicated tray.  

December's chapter is simply a pile of random bits and pieces for now.

I was fortunate with the covers for these first three chapters.  I was able to use pages saved from a matte finish wall calendar.  Three large pages were each trimmed into two 4" x 8" pieces, one for the front and one for the back.  I have one more page from that calendar set aside for January (but not December).  After that I'll see what feels right in the moment.

The game plan is to use what I have on hand (as in no new purchases aside from glue sticks) and work on each chapter during that month.

We shall see how it all plays out over the coming year. 

* * *

Elsewhere, I've been tidying the studio, prepping pieces to sew the top layers for December's utility mats, and pin basting the twelve pillow top sandwiches; none of which is especially photo worthy.

I'll be back as soon as I have new photos and stories; and maybe Cinnamon, the newest studio squirrel, will get over being camera shy and let me take her photo so I can properly introduce her here.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced." 

Leo Tolstoy

Githerments - the Quilt

Githerments, the third bonus quilt from the Macnas series, is finished.  

(an old Yorkshire word that refers to a random assortment or mix of items)

G's flimsy reveal is HERE and that post shares more about the top and . . . 

. . . the scrappy back that absolutely delights me.

There are elements from Pretty in Pink, Fandango, a few bits from Blossoms, leftover binding strips, and the last of my green-pink Fish Lips fabric; all surrounded by three different pink yardages from the stash.

Quilted with Glide thread in Pink and my liberated free motion nested spirals.

I used Brandon Mably's black and white Creased for the binding.

I love how the late afternoon autumn sunlight illuminated the colors.

* * *

In January, I shared this hope in one of my posts:  

"I've set the studio squirrels a challenge to keep me on task as the year progresses - we'll see if they can keep their end of the agreement."

I'm delighted to share that with this finish of Githerments,  I have indeed managed to stayed on task and the squirrels absolutely kept their end of the agreement.

The twelve quilts inspired by Macnas and three of the four bonus quilts made with leftover rectangles are finished with the fourth bonus quilt top donated to become a comfort quilt.

In the coming weeks I'll start sharing a series of posts as a celebratory recap for this multi-year effort.

Quiltdivajulie

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"There is a particular kind of afternoon sun that exists only in autumn."

Ayana Mathis

Not Really AWOL

I'm still here - It's just that the weather has been so wonderful I've been sitting on the back porch reading, watching the birds, listening to early morning quiet, and contemplating everything under the sun.

Aside from packing away September's decor and dressing the downstairs in October-ish things, the biggest studio thing I accomplished was to finally finish taming this wrinkled and very thready assortment of silks.

One piece at a time, the silk was pressed before stabilizing it with fusible tricot interfacing.

Now they're all flat and ready to be cut when I get brave enough to actually begin this long-thought-about scrappy project.

This angle gives you a better perspective on just many different silk pieces are layered in the project box.

Design wise, I am thinking about a column quilt with each of the silks cut to standard widths but with variable lengths for an eclectic,  shimmery surface.

Time will tell (as in sometime next year).

Quiltdivajulie

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"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

from Anne of Green Gables

October Begins

Time to switch out some of the quilts for October.

Top -  Coddiwomple

Left stack - Inglenook, Plaidmania, and my first quilt (2004)

Right stack - Groundhog Day, Resplendent, Topsy Turvy, 

and Leaf Peeping

The new buffet runner looks even better than I thought it would.

October 1's backyard photo.  

The annuals have been removed and our hostas that have been so heat stressed are slowly starting to show a bit of green near the roots (their toasted leaves are a loss for this year).  One pumpkin and a few mums in the newly-emptied pots will last us through the fall.

The 10-day forecast shows highs in the 80s, which everyone here will appreciate.  We are all SO over the near-or-over 100 degree days.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"Falling leaves are nature's confetti."

unknown

September Monthly Recap

September was a month filled with pondering, planning, stash shopping, and stitching.

Studio Squirrels Exhibit A  - the quilt top and scrappy pieced backing for Ludiosis were started and finished, neither of which were seriously on the radar until after the first of the year.

The long-planned set of twelve new pillows achieved a major milestone with the top slabs stitched and the batting and backing for those slabs cut.  Next month I'll get them sandwiched, quilted, and trimmed to size before cutting any of the pillow envelope backing pieces.   The goal is to have them in use by early November.

The vacuum sealed pillow forms were released from their packages and are expanding while the rest of the process proceeds.

Exhibit B for the studio squirrels is Candy Corn - a gift project that saw a quilt top and a finished quilt started/completed during the second half of September.

Exhibit B-Part 2 is the long runner made using the three extra columns from Candy Corn.  

On the intentional side of things, Rastro (the second bonus quilt from the Macnas series) became a finished quilt.

Githerments, the third bonus quilt from the Macnas series, was pin basted and is ready for quilting/binding in October with thread chosen and bobbins wound.

Motley, the fourth bonus quilt top from the Macnas series, was donated to Many Hands and Many Hearts along with yardage I had planned to use for binding.

September saw plans come together and significant prep work for several sets of seasonal utility mats and placemats.  

The squares cut for December's set of reversible utility mats (posted here) have now been sorted into groups for 5 top slabs and 5 back slabs ready for piecing.  Batting and binding strips were also cut.

(Above) Six 

tops (gray print), six backs (spotted black), and six pieces of batting were cut this month with lots of binding made for a second 

set of January placemats.  

I pulled this gathering of pieces from the resource boxes to make a companion set of five utility mats for January.

The scrappy tops will be pieced using these fabrics and the backs will be cut from companionable yardage (pulled but not shown).

I finished this pair of gift pillowcases on the 29th making them the last project of September.

Finally - squirrel Exhibit C - introducing Dug.

* * *

Stay tuned for lots more stitching/quilting/binding during October. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Little by little, one travels far."

J.R.R. Tolkien

Candy Corn - the Quilt

The gift quilt for Young Man's house is done and it even has a tiny label.

Quilted with Glide thread in Raven (supersize to see the purple stitching) using my liberated all-over nested spiral fans.

Candy Corn measures 51" x 70" for the month of October on their living room ottoman.

(details on design and fabrics are here)

The binding is a Paula Nadlestern print with tiny dots and scattered stars in green and shades of orange.  It plays well with the colors in the quilt and adds a bit of sparkle around the edges.

I found the high contrast colors had not always been true in some of my photos so here is the quilt against our backyard grass which is still green but will start moving towards khaki before long.

Backed with spiderwebs on soft black that pre-washed with no bleeding at all.

To be gifted sometime this week. 

* * *

Candy Corn was a mid-September squirrel project that was, amazingly enough, completed three days before the end of September.

Next up is a pair of pillowcases for younger son's bed.  They're cut out and ready for me to sit and sew.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos."

Saul Bellow