Pineapples On Display...

Brynwood Needleworks - Birds In The Pineapples Quilt

 

For those of you who don't already know...I usually write my blog posts in the evening and the posts go live at midnight. It was a really looooong day, so this shall be a really short post.

This picture was taken on set-up day, after my pineapple quilt had been hung. Having been folded since Monday...and likely in the back of someone's car with a pile of other quilts waiting for Thursday - it's fairly wrinkled. I really wish we had a way to drag a steamer around the show floor to straighten out all the quilts prior to the show opening, but we don't.

This quilt received an Honorable Mention, and I was thrilled. I was very precise with the piecing and the quilting motifs turned out really nice. I'm going to list it to sell in my Etsy shop on Monday. I'll post on my Brynwood Needleworks FaceBook group page when it's up.

Day One of the show was a rousing success. The vendors were thrilled with their sales totals, and many said they'll definitely return in two years. Our attendees had gorgeous quilts to view, and quite a variety of vendors from which to choose.

As the Official Guild Photographer (OGP), I'll take two pictures of each quilt today...one of the whole quilt, and a second of the name tag (and any ribbons) to identify it. I'll be sure to take pictures of the vendor booths, too, if the shopkeeper will allow me. I'll share mosaics of all the quilts and vendors with you on Monday.

I hope you have a quiet, restful weekend, my friends. Handsome has a concert on Sunday, and I'm looking forward to sitting back and letting the music carry me away.

Bring It On...

Brynwood Needleworks - Posey

The "Gathering of Quilts" show opens today in Punta Gorda at the Convention Center. All the pieces have been judged; all the quilts have been hung and it's time to invite everyone in to see all the results of our hard work.

Brynwood Needleworks - Posey, The Patchwork Pachyderm

Posey will be on display with the rest of the "Home Accessories and Wearables" entries. When she competed in our guild challenge last November, she earned a Second Place Ribbon.

When she was judged this past week, she earned another ribbon. Posey is now a First Place ribbon winner in her show category!

Brynwood Needleworks - Posey, The Patchwork Pachyderm Detail

While she was on break (between appearances), I added some more handwork to her head and back pieces. I added yards of hand ruched ribbon to her head piece, and I trimmed out her blue medallion with ruffles.

Brynwood Needleworks - Posey, The Patchwork Pachyderm

She's on her own pedestal at the show, and on her best behavior, too. Her ribbon will be pinned on her back piece before the show starts, and she'll stand quietly for all to see.

Brynwood Needleworks - Posey, The Patchwork Pachyderm Detail

If they look closely, our show visitors might even catch her batting an eyelash in their direction! She still makes me smile.

Brynwood Needleworks - Posey, The Patchwork Pachyderm and Me

 

Posey is for sale at the show. She'd like to find a new home where she can be on a pedestal every day. Smiles should be shared.

 

If she's still available after the show ends on Saturday, I'll be listing her in my Etsy shop. My one-of-a-kind, patchwork pachyderm. She was truly a labor of love. 

I'll have photos from our show to share with you on Monday. There are so many beautiful stunning pieces, and I'm inspired by the talented quilters I'm privileged to know. They're true artists.

 

Wash vs No Wash...

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair

 

I spent Saturday tying up loose ends with my quilt show entries. Just when I thought I had everything under control...

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair

 

I'm always been of the "Do Not Prewash Fabric" school, until now. This hasn't happened to me before, but I'm sure not going to put myself in the position for it to happen again.

 

See those two sections in the photo? The red batik bled when I took my steam iron to it. It bled onto my white fabric, and try as I might, I couldn't get it out. Peroxide, Oxyclean, Dawn soap, alcohol - not all at once - but still, nothing budged it.

 

At 7 pm Saturday night, I decided to put on my big girl panties, suck it up and replace those two pieces. I carefully cut them out, and then measured new pieces to replace them.

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair

In this picture, I've already placed the new pieces back into the quilt. Next it was time to break out my silk thread, applique' needles and my made applique' stitching skills. This was going to require my most accurate, teeny, tiny stitches to make it disappear into the block. I didn't want the repair to be visible at all...especially to the quilt judge who will give it the eagle eye today!

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair Accomplished

It's all finished here, and I think the only reason I can see the repair (other than I placed it front and center in this image) is because it's more pressed than the rest of the quilt. I ironed the whole quilt again, but this time I used a dry iron!

Brynwood Needleworks -Birds In The Pineapples Quilt Label

 

I made the label (with a border of the same backing fabric) and sewed that onto the back of the quilt. Of course, I immediately had to cover it with muslin because all show entries are judged anonymously.

I'm sure that, by now, you're no longer confused by my post title. Fact of the matter is, that from now on, I'm going to prewash those gorgeous reds (and blacks)...especially if they're batiks. I've learned my lesson on this project. I managed to save it, but I don't want to be in the position to have this issue ever again!!

Whenever I'm not sure about the colorfastness of a fabric again, I'm gonna wash that sucker fabric until the extra dye is gone...gone...gone!!! Oh, and I'm going to start working on show projects (for the next show in 2018) this year. I'm not going to be sewing on anything at 11 pm the night before turn-in day ever again. (I hope.)

Quilt Show Week has officially begun! Today is judging day for our guild's quilt entries. Judge Mary Zeisiger is returning to critique our pieces. I'll be working as a scribe, taking down everything she says onto the judging forms. There are usually two scribes taking notes for each piece. I signed up to scribe all day, and we usually get the judging finished in eight hours.

Tag will drop by with his witty repartee tomorrow. Like me, he's always got something on his mind, and he's also happy to share. I'll just have to check his work before he posts. He's always prone to TMI. lol

I Did It...

Brynwood Needleworks - Sewing Bindings

It took all afternoon, but by dinnertime, I'd finished hand sewing the binding to my Pineapple quilt.

Brynwood Needleworks - Sewing Bindings

Handsome came to check on me (and bring in fresh, hot tea) as I was about half-way. I really appreciate when he comes into the studio, and I often ask him to share his opinions on my projects. The tea is a sweet gesture, and a bonus! (Call me "Lucky Girl".)

Brynwood Needleworks - Birds In The Pineapples Quilt

 

All I have left is to make the tag for the back, sew it on and then sew a piece of fabric over it to hide it until after the quilt is judged. I'll give the quilt a good press, and it will be ready to turn in.

I'm really looking forward to quilt show week. I can't wait to see what my guild friends have created!

More Playing With Pineapples...

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Block Assembly

I thought you might like to see my progress on my current quilt project. I've

 finished assembling all the blocks, so my next step is to add the (first) border.

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Block Assembly

 

The first small border will be the same fabric that's in the center of each block. I think I'll add a white border next, because I want to add applique', and I think white will be the best background for those elements.

I'm drawing something up now and hope to show you some of it stitched in by the weekend. I'll share drawings tomorrow if all goes as planned. There's no time to waste if I'm going to have this (and one more project) finished to turn in for the quilt show!

Racing Toward Another Deadline...

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Blocks

I set this aside for too long as I tackled other projects. Now, it's time to get back to them. When I have the number of blocks I need - forty eight, or when I run out of block fabrics - I'll assemble  them into a quilt.

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Blocks

I'm shooting for a finished size of 60" x 80", including borders. For these 10" finished blocks, that means I need six across by eight down...forty eight blocks. I already have nineteen finished. I have a few to go. (winking - or is that nervous twitching?)

Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Blocks

 

I really don't think the fabric will last long enough to make forty eight blocks, but I'll keep making them and see where I end up.  I can always beef it up with a coordinating border or two to get to my target size.

Did I tell you that this will be an entry in our February quilt show? Are you laughing? It's okay. I am, too. I have one or two other projects to finish by then. Well, pull up a chair and hang on. It's going to be an exciting ride to see if I can get these finished in time.

PS. Today Mom would have been 88 years old. I miss you more than words can say. Happy Birthday in Heaven, Mom. xo

Working Out The Kinks...

Moda™ Water Garden fabric assortment on the grid base - on my ironing board

On Saturday, I showed you the fabrics I'll be using for our guild challenge. I know exactly what I want to make, but I need to make a miniature version first. I want to make sure that the basic design works.

Of course, I don't want to use the actual fabric I'm using for the finished piece. (I've learned that lesson the hard way!) Instead, I pulled out a Moda™ Honey Bun (1-1/2" strips of all the fabrics in the line...like a Jelly Roll, but narrower strips), and my Pellon™ Fusible Grid (820P) and got busy. The fabric is from my stash, and it's called "Water Garden". Don't you love the dragonflies?

The way this works is that I cut my 1-1/2" strips into 1-1/2" squares. Then, I played around, placing the squares in a pleasing pattern on the bumpy, fusible side of the 1" grid sections. I had to be careful not to iron past the fabrics so I didn't get fusible goop on my iron. (Success!)

Once everything is fused, all I had to do was fold each line of fabrics and sew until I'd sewn all the widths of squares, and then sew them lengthwise. I ended up with sweet, little 1" blocks.

Look at all those tidy intersections! That's the benefit of using the fusible grid. Everything stays put and there's no distortion. I love this stuff!

 

Next step is quilting, and then I'll start cutting. (Did I say "cutting"?!! Yes, I did!) You're starting to get curious now, aren't you? (giggle)

Sometimes Things Aren't Black Or White...

 Sometimes, things are gray.

Such is the case with our November guild challenge.

Every year, Disconnected Piecers Quilt Guild holds a challenge for our members. This year, the challenge is to create something quilted using background fabric(s) that only contain shades of gray. 

We are allowed to use other colors in our project, but any fabric used in the background can only have gray or shades of gray in them. No colors, and nothing that doesn't read "gray".

This is only a sampling of the gray fabrics I have in my...ahem...inventory. I've had my project in mind since the challenge theme was decided. Now that November is inching ever closer, I need to turn my thinking in this direction. 

All the projects that members submit for this competition will also be displayed at our 2016 quilt show in February.

I can't wait to start sharing peeks as I work on it. When I'm finished, I may even share a pattern for what I'm making. I'm very excited about this idea I've conceived and am looking forward to the entire process. I hope you'll follow along as it becomes a reality.

Hard At Work...

If you know me (or have come to know me through my posts), you know that "just sitting around" is no description for me. My first preference is to be creating something in the studio - if I'm not out and about with Handsome and Tag. "Just sitting around" makes me nuts - even if I'm sick or recuperating.

Over the weekend, I found myself thinking about our next guild quilt show (February 2016), and contemplating what my contributions for judging might be. I've decided what I'm going to create between now and the entry deadline, so I got out a pencil, paper, ruler and a little notebook for my thoughts. I started drawing between fits of coughing.

I'm not ready to tell you what these items are going to be, but I will say that I've decided that there will be at least four entries...and they will not be typical quilts. I have something much more unique in mind, and I plan to reveal peeks over the next eight or nine months. I'm very excited now that I've made my decisions.

"Feeling better?", you ask? A bit. Nights are the worst. It seems that I'm not meant to actually assume a sleeping position. Rather, I'm forced to sleep, propped up in a sitting position...and still, the coughing keeps me awake until after 3 am, when I usually nod off from sheer exhaustion. Thankfully, I have no fever. (Thanks for asking.)

This upcoming weekend is our guild retreat. I'm signed up and have had plans for months to room with my pal, Susan Slaton (who is returning from her new home in Georgia just for the event). At this point, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to attend. I'll make my final decision by Wednesday, but if I feel as I do today, both of us will be disappointed.

One more thing...Thanks always to all who leave notes for me. I so appreciate reading them. I know there are a couple of you who I'd love to reply to. I love your sweet notes, girlfriends, but can't write back because you've got that "no reply-comment" designation, lacking a return email address. If you'd like an occasional reply from me, all you have to do is change that in your profile so that you have an actual email address, and I'll do my best to write back. For now, know that I read every note and each one brings a smile to my face.

I'm off to do nothing. I've got a pile of books to tackle, more designing to do, and lots of ideas to contemplate, but for now, there's still no studio work in my immediate future. I think about healing,  and I can hear my late uncle's voice from a musical exercise with him years and years ago...

"Come on Dee. You can do it!"

Believe me. In this regard, I'm hard at work!