2018 year-end review

Sometimes you feel time gets away from you and you didn't accomplish nearly what you wanted. Looking back through my photos of 2018, I found I accomplished quite a lot—much more than I thought... or remembered. Although I know I have numerous WIPs [work-in-progress]—note: I'm not calling them UFOs, unfinished objects—I'm pleased to say I had quite a few good finishes in 2018!

My 2018 finishes: garments and quilts.

Top Row (left to right):

• Ikat jacket: fabrics are yarn-dyed wovens and beautiful ikat from Diamond Textiles. The jacket is quilted and lined.
• Using the Scrap Crazy ruler, I made this little quilt from Lewis & Irene fabrics in time for a visit from Ben Taphouse back in March.
• My "Oh My Stars" Choo Choo Quilters Challenge quilt. English paper pieced stars using Australian Aboriginal fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia. Free-motion quilted.

Middle Row:

• Long-sleeve knit tops: I made two this year with knits from Art Gallery Fabrics.
• This is my intro photo for the September Textile Love program. I met a lot of fabulous and talented textile artists through this participation on Instagram.
• Cuddle Quilts: I made 3 for the Choo Choo Quilters community service project. This one is an improv quilt. I also quilted one for a fellow member.

Bottom Row:

• Patchwork T-shirt: Tried patchwork using knit fabrics. Much fun!
• Siena Shirt: I've made two tops from this pattern from The Sewing Workshop. Also two pairs of the Valencia pants with a pattern hack of adding lined patch pockets.
• 9 Lives top: another great pattern from The Sewing Workshop and and a fast make. I've made two tops from this pattern. Fabric shown here is a navy pintuck from Diamond Textiles with a batik collar from Majestic Batiks.

I hope your 2018 was productive and you enjoyed every stitch!

Best 9 challenge: red and green

The owner of retail shop Flots & Jets [in New South Wales, Australia], Megan Ridgway, hosted a Red and Green Best Nine Challenge [#fjnine] on Instagram about a week ago. I whizzed through the photos on my iPad and stopped at anything red and/or green. Here are the nine images I posted at veronica.fiberantics on Instagram.

Best 9 Red and Green Challenge

Top Row (left to right):

• My Siena Shirt: pattern from The Sewing Workshop, fabrics are Fire Dreaming and Plum and Bush Banana from M&S Textiles Australia.
• A renegade holly sprout in the backyard path.
• Long sleeve knit top: self-drafted pattern, fabric is Vintage Florets Trinkets knit from Art Gallery Fabrics. 

Middle Row:

• Red and green scrappy 4-patch blocks.
• Appliqué and hand embroidery: fabrics are embossed cotton and yarn-dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles.
• Madonna and Child statue at the chapel at Bethlehem Woods retirement community, LaGrange Park, IL.

Bottom Row:

• Guitar Strings Improv: my improv patchwork quilt that was published in "The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters" book by Sherry Lynn Wood.
• Altgeld Hall in September on the campus of Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL.
• Flower basket, pattern is Melba Flower Basket from The Textile Pantry, fabric is from Squared Elements from Art Gallery Fabrics and red yarn-dyed wovens from the Provence collection from Diamond Textiles.

On this Christmas Day

I remember the prayer my classmates and I recited in our grade school days.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

And where there is sadness, joy.

 —Prayer of Saint Francis                        

Scavenging fabric scraps for charity improv quilts

I spent a good part of the day scavenging the small fabric swatches from old fabric cards. The paper gets recycled and the bits of useable fabrics go into charity quilts for kids and animals. These three little fuzzies will likely benefit from a flannel quilt.

Our neighborhood's undomesticated cats (from left): Badge, Stan-Leigh and Spot On.

The small fabric bits make for fun improv patchwork and the scavenging process prevents more textiles from going into landfills.

Cotton flannel scraps.

We recycled where we can at our house.

Holiday sewing projects from panels and pre-cuts

Everyone has decked the halls, the walls, the chairs, beds and sofas... and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at LQSs [local quilt shops]. Inspiration for decorations and gifts abound and panels, pre-cut bundles and kits are at the ready for your sewing and quilting pleasure! 

Pillows for the beds or cushions for the couch at Stitch Morgantown.

Fabric Project Panels
The Nordic inspired Hygge [pronounced Hoo-guh] Christmas collection from Lewis & Irene has cushions (above) and stockings (below) that feature the Norwegian Tontuu (house elves). I think these pillow and stocking panels would make a great canvas for some hand stitching embellishment, too!

Christmas stockings at Stitch Morgantown.

Winter-themed placemats and table runner from the Snow Day collection from Lewis & Irene. How about a shimmery rayon or metallic thread for the quilting?

Snow Day table placemats and runner at Bernina in Stitches.

Projects with Pre-cuts

Pre-cut strips make the process fast and easy. Ask your local quilt shop for a package of pre-cut strips and a pattern.

Majestic batik strips at Must Stitch Emporium.

The Rockport Basket [Auties Two pattern] is a spacious tote or project bag made with pre-cut batik fabrics from Majestic Batiks.

Rockport Basket at City Square Quilts.

Showcasing an exotic collection of pre-cut prints from M&S Textiles Australia, take the "jelly roll rug" process and make smaller items such as a set of placemats, mug rugs or a table topper. 

Precut strips from M&S Textiles Australia.

Pre-cut Kits
The Walker Bag kit uses festive floral metallic fabrics from Under the Australian Sun collection from The Textile Pantry.

The Walker Bag kit from The Textile Pantry.

This next project is a dual duty item! It's an eyeglasses case but it's also the perfect size to fit a rotary cutter! Travel in style—and in safety—to your next quilting retreat or class.

The Melba eyeglass case kit from The Textile Pantry.

One size fits All

Pillowcases are a one-size-fits-all gift that can be customized to anyone's hobbies or tastes.  Who wouldn't love this Lambkin pillowcase on their bed... using Art Gallery Fabrics.

Lambkin pillowcase at Stitch Morgantown.

I've made at several of these flower baskets in dozens of fabric combinations! The Melba Flower basket pattern is a free download courtesy of The Textile Pantry. 

My red/white/black basket uses two coordinating red yarn-dyed wovens from the Provence Woven collection by Diamond Textiles for the basket base and Squared Elements (inside lining) from Art Gallery Fabrics. Fill your baskets with Christmas cookies, candies or seasonal greenery for a festive table setting.

The Melba Flower Basket pattern from The Textile Pantry.

Make a quick trip to your local quilt shop for patterns, panels and pre-cuts before the big guy in the red suit comes to your house. And I hope you find time to make merry with fabric and stitch during the holidays! 

Sewing inspiration from Topstitch Studio

It often feels like there are too many project potentials, inspiration and WIPs [works-in-progress] filling my world... and my studio. "The point is?" you ask.... 

squirrel...

Recent inspirational finds at Topstitch Studio and Lounge (from left): Selvedge magazine,
the Collins Top pattern from In the Folds, and Frankie magazine

I recently re-fueled my inspiration with these goodies I found at Topstitch Studio and Lounge at the Ponce City Market in Atlanta. I was familiar with Selvedge magazine, but the Australian publication, Frankie, and patterns from In the Folds were new to me. 

The diagonal seams and the potential for using multiple fabrics (see the line drawing below) led me to the purchase of the Collins Top pattern. It's also designed for wovens, rather than the usual knit fabric (but I'm sure it could be adapted to a knit if one chose).

Pattern back of the Collins Top showing line drawing.

Topstitch is located on the second floor of the Ponce City Market complex. The Ponce Market is housed in a wonderfully adaptive makeover of a former Sears, Roebuck & Co. building on the city's south side. Not unlike the remake of the Sears building in Memphis.

Ponce City Market, Atlanta, GA.

The proprietor of Topstitch, Leigh Metcalf, makes it a point to stock garment and project patterns from "indie" [independent] pattern designers. The store's pattern wall contains printed patterns from companies such as Merchant and Mills, Grainline Studio, Deer and Doe, True Bias, and Untitled Thoughts (which has THE coolest recycled packaging—a fabric drawstring bag). I also met the designer behind the Untitled Thoughts brand, Brittani Bumb, who designs and creates patterns and cranks out beautiful garments at the blink of an eye (follow her at @untitledthoughts on Instagram).

On a side note, here is a recent "finish" from my garment WIP pile. A long sleeve knit top made from Vintage Florets Trinkets knit from Art Gallery Fabrics. I love its warm red color.

Long sleeve knit top. Knit fabric: KF-1402 from AGF.

The pattern I used for this top is one drawn from an existing top. I've made it several times and it gets easier and quicker with every make.

My latest long sleeve knit top.

So, can one have too much inspiration?   

squirrel... 

OK, what's next on the pile...

Winter weather sets the mood for scrappy patchwork

While tidying my studio space earlier this year, I uncovered a small stack of 3.5" squares amidst the plastic boxes and grocery bags of fabric scraps and UFOs. They were cut several years ago... for a project I can't recall. (Can you relate?)

Red and green 3.5" squares from scraps and leftovers.

Devising a Plan and a Process

As quilters, we don't throw any scrap away. As a former corporate Project Manager, I needed to devise a simple—yet functional—plan to use these pre-cut squares: Red and Green 4-patches.

I also implemented a process to use them as "leaders" and "enders" [Bonnie Hunter terms for patchwork multi-tasking] when working on other chain piecing projects. First, they are sewn into 2-patches... and then they become 4-patches.

Pairs of 2-patches eventually get sewn together as 4-patches.

The auditioning process of pairing the red and green prints is fun... and sometimes becomes a stroll down Fabric Lane when one is pulling from a "deep" stash.

Auditioning the pairs of red and green prints for 4-patch assembly.

Occasionally I cut more patches from leftover fabric chunks and trimmings... feeding my red and green piles. The scrap piles get diminished and the 4-patch block collection grows. The fabrics in these blocks have become a mix of older and current prints—but all reds and greens.

With this year's guild Challenge behind me, the design wall was available to see what my eclectic group of 4-patch blocks looked like so far.

4-patch progress on the design wall.

The weather outside is frightful... Let us Sew, let us Sew, let us Sew!
Last week's wintery weather certainly must have put many sewers and quilters in a patchwork frame of mind because the quilt shops I visited had a steady stream of customers. This photo shows the beautiful snow covered landscape of eastern Kentucky.

A late November snowfall covers the eastern Kentucky landscape.

Visit YLQS [your local quilt shop] and infuse your scraps with a few new fabrics to bring a twinkle to your quilts. Snow or sunshine... it's always good weather for patchwork.

(Isn't that right, my blog stalker friend??)

"Oh My Stars" guild Challenge offers possibilities for exploration, learning and development

My guild's annual Guild Challenge for 2018 was called "Oh My Stars." My entry, which won a 3rd place prize, was inspired by Australian aboriginal fabrics [M&S Textiles Australia] and aboriginal Dreamtime designs. 

2018 Choo Choo Quilters Guild Challenge by Veronica Hofman-Ortega.

Challenge Requirements
The Choo Choo Quilters Guild Challenge is presented to guild members at the beginning of the year. It allows a good 7 to 9 months for members to contemplate, plan and execute their piece before the big reveal in November. The requirements for the 2018 Challenge were minimal... and the size was quite manageable:

• Design: the quilt must have at least three different star patterns.
• Size: minimum of 12" on any side; maximum of 45" on any side
• Must be quilted and finished.

With about a week before the deadline, I realized my "Stars" solution had been traveling with me since February—samples of English paper pieced [EPP] hexagons using Australian fabrics. (See this blog post.) Using these blocks in a guild Challenge would give them a purpose, I thought, and they could be showcased in a finished piece. My EPP sample blocks included two star designs so I just had one more star variation to come up with. (The three star variations can be seen in the photo above.)

English paper pieced [EPP] stars using Australian fabrics
from M&S Textiles Australian. 

The Process

The EPP hexagon stars were hand pieced and the blocks were hand stitched together. I experimented with a few layouts and block placement on a background. The circle patterned fabric was chosen for the background because circles are a major design element and symbol in the Dreamtime designs, and the lime green was the complementary color to the reds and oranges in several of the stars.

Auditioning layouts of the stars.
(Note: fabric colors are not accurate due to inside lighting conditions.)

Once the layout was determined, guidelines for the quilting were drawn on the background with a chalk marker. 

Guidelines for quilting are marked.

The quilting techniques include walking foot quilting, free-motion quilting and rulerwork. The English paper pieced star blocks were appliquéd to the quilt after the background was free-motion quilted. The stars were then ditch quilted with a 60 wt. polyester thread.  

Background free-motion quilting.

The quilting designs were inspired by the motifs in the Australian fabrics and the story of the Dreamtime designs.

Detail: free-motion quilting.

For the backing, I used a leftover piece of a 110" wide backing [Westrade Textiles]. The color and value of this fabric made it easy to choose a bobbin thread to match the color of the top thread that was used for the quilting. Here are views of the quilting from the back.

Back detail.

A facing was used rather than a traditional binding. The same 110" wide backing fabric was used for both the backing and facings.

Back detail: free-motion quilting and quilt facings.

The finished piece: 26" x 38.5"

26" x 38.5" finished size.

Quilt Stats

• 80 wt. soft poly thread for EPP hand piecing hexagons (DecoBob from WonderFil Threads);
• 50 wt. cotton top thread (Konfetti from WonderFil Threads) for quilting; 
• 60 wt. poly top thread for ditch quilting (Bottom Line from Superior Threads); 
• 60 wt. poly for bobbin (Bottom Line); 2-1/2 bobbins.
• 13 hrs. quilting: walking foot (curves and circles); free-motion for background and fillers; ruler work for ditch and outline quilting.
• fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia (pieced hexagons), Art Gallery Fabrics (background); Westrade Textiles (quilt backing and facings)

Why participate in a guild Challenge?

One of the things that my guild does during our Challenge Reveal is to have each Challenge participant give a brief explanation of their piece before the prizes are awarded. Their explanation could be about their inspiration, their thought process behind meeting the Challenge requirements, the trials, roadblocks and successes of the creation process, the materials used, or any pertinent information they feel contributes to the "story" of their Challenge entry. I think you can always learn something from listening to another person's creative path to solving a problem—especially when we were all faced with the same problem to solve.

One of our newer members commented that she could never enter a piece in a Challenge. Quick yet gentle encouragement came forth in response.

• Guild Challenges are a great way to experiment with new techniques and concepts in a safe environment (in the presence of your fellow guild members who support you and your endeavors).
• You can learn from working on your own piece as well as from what others present.
• What better way to try new things than a Challenge? You will become proficient and gain confidence by doing.
• Challenges keep your brain active as you problem solve and research solutions to make your vision a reality.
• The Challenge Reveal is a "quilt show" we give to ourselves as a guild. It's a well-deserved treat for the entire group!

Congratulations to all the Choo Choo Challenge participants! Well done.

Fussy cutting Australian aboriginal fabrics for the Siena shirt

Want a shirt that gets you noticed? This is my latest Siena Shirt [pattern by Linda Lee from The Sewing Workshop] made with two fun and colorful aboriginal 100% cotton fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia.

The Siena Shirt [from The Sewing Workshop] with
cotton fabrics by M&S Textiles Australia.

Working with the Sandy Creek stripe design

The main fabric in this shirt is an aboriginal design called Sandy Creek from M&S Textiles Australia. This print has wide stripes running with the crosswise grain of the fabric (perpendicular to the selvedge). 

Sandy Creek design with a wide stripe.

To make the garment look cohesive, conscious decisions were made when positioning the pattern pieces on the yardage. First, I needed to determine where the stripe would lay on the body so I could then "fussy cut" (as quilters would call it) the pattern pieces.

Matching stripes across the front of the shirt.

The pattern pieces were cut so the stripes matched across the front. The stripes aligned from front to back of the shirt and between the back bodice and the back yoke. The front button band was carefully fussy cut to preserve the flow of the design across the shirt's front. 

Back yoke and pleated back bodice.

Another "fussy cut" was on the sleeves so the darker part of the "creek" design would carry through across the shoulders. 

Construction in progress: collar, fronts and sleeves laid out.

The upper and lower collars were cut from two different areas of the print. Depending on whether the collar is worn up or down, the design will blend or contrast with the yoke and front.

Upper and lower collars show contrasting prints. 

A coordinating fabric—Spirit Dreaming from M&S Textiles Australia—was used for the sides and one front band of the shirt.

Contrasting sides and front band.

Using quilting cottons for garments

The M&S Textiles Australia fabrics lend themselves quite nicely to garment sewing. These cottons have a soft surface quality, good drape and are breathable. I completed the shirt and was able to wear it at Quilt Market. It received several compliments. 

Siena Shirt pattern and Australian aboriginal fabrics.

When considering fabrics with specific or directional motifs—such as the stripes in this Sandy Creek print—I would recommend purchasing a little more fabric than the pattern calls for. This would allow flexibility to position pattern pieces, fussy cut the motifs, and match motifs as needed.

Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop and
Sandy Creek and Spirit Dreaming fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia.

Give the Siena Shirt and Australian aboriginal fabrics a try. A little extra thought and time in the cutting will yield great results... and some well-deserved compliments.

Giving pintuck fabric a go with the 9 Lives Top

I've had this lovely, drapey, indigo blue piece of pintuck fabric [PT-70225 from Diamond Textiles] for quite a while and finally got it made into something I can wear! 

Nine Lives Vest pattern from The Sewing Workshop
made with pintuck cotton from Diamond Textiles.

Pintuck fabric + Nine Lives pattern = Easy make
I used the Nine Lives Vest pattern from The Sewing Workshop. There are only four pattern pieces to this pattern—two fronts, a back and a collar. It's a fast and easy make.

Nine Lives Vest: a Shapes pattern by Linda Lee and Louise Cutting.

My pattern mods
The Nine Lives top is airy, flowy, comfy and casual. The oversized bodice drops over the shoulders to create a short, cap-like sleeve. The original pattern has a slanted, asymmetrical hemline. However, I decided to modify my version with a straight, symmetrical hem—shorter in the front and a little longer in the back.

Nine Lives top, side view.

The collar on my version is a batik from Majestic Batiks. This was a serendipitous addition during the construction process. I think the print and the color of this batik works nicely with the decorative stitching and the indigo color of the pintuck fabric. The pintucks, decorative stitching and the contrasting collar are the stars of the show in my version.

Nine Lives top, back view.

The most difficult part of constructing this top was deciding the placement of the pintucks... and picking out the buttons from my button stash.

I tape-baste the buttons in place for hand sewing. 

Give pintuck fabric a try with the Nine Lives Vest pattern. It's minimal work with a big impact.

Fussy Cutting ruler for Farmer’s Wife quilt blocks

Since I'm skipping around in The Farmer's Wife sampler book and machine piecing the blocks with "easy math," I thought I'd add a bit of novelty to my blocks with selective fabric cutting—often called "fussy cutting."

The Farmer's Wife Block 20: Churn Dash with fussy cut center.
Fabrics from a Color Masters collection from Art Gallery Fabrics.

Selective Cutting/Fussy Cutting
Selective cutting makes the patchwork process more interesting for the maker and the challenge of seeking out motifs in the fabric... or finding a good block to feature a motif... is really fun. The resulting quilt blocks are also more unique. 

Last week I talked to the very helpful folks at Heavenly Stitches quilt shop about fussy cutting units for my 6-inch Farmer's Wife blocks. They showed me two possible rulers and we decided the Creative Grids Square it Up and Fussy Cut ruler would be best for the small units that comprise 6-inch blocks.

"Square it Up and Fussy Cut Ruler" from Creative Grids is a good tool for selective cutting.

In examining the ruler, it’s fairly intuitive but instructions are included in the package. The ruler's lines and markings are easy to see and ruler worked like a champ. Creative Grids rulers also have those built-in "grippy circles" to keep the fabric from slipping during the cutting process, which, as it turns out, are also helpful when centering the ruler on the fabric motif and marking the corner points. 

The Farmer's Wife Block 31: Evening Star with fussy cut center.
Fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics.

High Success Rate

Using this specialty ruler is much easier and the success rate is much higher than using a standard acrylic ruler for this technique. Contact YLQS (your local quilt shop) to get one of these great patchwork tools! The Evening Star block (above), with a fussy cut center, is next up for assembly.