More Blocks this Week #chucknoharaqal

One of my favorite on-going projects right now is my Chuck Nohara Quilt Along, which I have written about before.  I'm especially finding myself drawn to the applique blocks, and am sure my balance of pieced blocks and appliqued blocks so far isn't very even, but oh well.  I really enjoy having the hand applique to work on when I sit.  Never used to enjoy it, but now actually really liking handwork.  Cuz I want to be quilting ALL THE TIME.

I started with the blocks by using needle turn applique.  After working on Carolyn Friedlander's Aerial Grove, I thought wow, needle turn is so easy and so fun!  NOT.  Sure, those 'squircle' shapes are soft and easy, not quite a circle, so of course they are fun and easy! When I tried doing some needle turn on my Chuck Nohara blocks, I found I wasn't actually too skilled at it.  Need some lessons with my friends Joyce and Diane, who ARE.

Shortly after I started #chucknoharaqal,  I took a one-day class with David Taylor, (a refresher, after having had a 3-day with him a few years ago) who uses freezer paper and starch to turn edges.  You trace the shape (reversed), onto freezer paper, cut it out on the lines, iron to your fabric, cut out the shape adding just a hair less than 1/4" inch seam allowance. Then paint some diluted liquid starch onto the seam allowance,  and using the nice finger-tip stiletto David prefers and the tip of your iron, press down the seam allowance onto the back of the freezer paper, holding it for 8 seconds. Keep it smooth and slow, no tucks, tiny bit by tiny bit.   Flip it over, press again, let it cool & pull out the freezer paper.  Voila!  I really like this method, am not too bad at it and very pleased with the results.

You say, so???   Well, so I started doing my pieces for Chuck Nohara with this technique! Works great for me!

Anyway, I got going this week on prepping some blocks.  Agonized over fabric selections, did the applique, and had blocks ready for stitching while sitting this week.  The first one, I had already done, but ending up taking it apart and re-doing it, cuz I just wasn't happy with it.  Now?  Happy!  I won't even bother posting the 'before' because I'm pretty sure you will say "Huh? You tore it out WHY?".  The important thing here is that I am happy.

block #1610

 And then I also made these:

#968

LOVE this cherry! #606

#725

#1845

#1846

 In between the 'chuck blocks', I made about a half dozen blocks requested by a fellow DAMQG member and Instagrammer that she will make into a quilt for  a friend of hers recently diagnosed with cancer.   The block is very cute and easy improv-style.  Color scheme green and grey, cut a piece of fabric 9" high, cut it in half, add a strip (width of your choosing) to the middle, cut in half the other way and do it again.  Then square up the block to 9" high,  ANY width you choose).  (I made one more, really skinny and tall, after the photo was taken). Very fun!

Then remembered I wanted to make a couple of charity blocks for DAMQG, #thatdamquiltalong.  Cuz in our guild, everything is some 'DAM' thing.  Rebekah C picks a pattern and palette each
 month, passes out this great flyer to us, and we bring the blocks the next month.  Someone then offers to assemble it, and the quilting and binding also shared by the group, whoever wants to take the next part.

 I also got 2 quilts spray-basted, one a charity quilt, not too big, and the other my Aerial Grove.  But that's a story for next time.....

UFO's Continued.....

I Forgot!!  I was going to give my count, so that you could feel happy that you had less, or excited that you had more, or whatever.  It wasn't a secret, I was going to tell, I just forgot!

12 quilt tops, either complete & ready for quilting, or needing a border or just a titch of work
18 sets of blocks, or blocks in progress

In the Bonnie Hunter Facebook group, Quiltville, they were very supportive but some scoffed and said what I had wasn't much.

Just sayin'.

Here's one more Chuck Nohara block I made yesterday, at my sit and stitch with DAMQG.  The shadows in the garden are a little funky, but I like the picture anyway....

UFO's, WIP's and such

In order to keep track of your work, you occasionally need to 'inventory', as it were, what is waiting to be finished.  Following Pat Sloan's New Year 2014 blog, I had done this, and I think I blogged about that at the time.  But 18 months have gone by.

At one of my smaller guild's meetings recently, some people were talking about their UFO's and seemed quite aware of where they were at.  I realized, at that moment, that I had been sewing like a bandit for the last 18 months and hadn't updated my list.  I do finish a lot of quilts.  But piecing is always my favorite part, so once I start putting things together, it's easy for my interest to move on to the next thing.

Got out my quilting notebook, counted up, checking everywhere.  Now and then I'd think oh yeah!!!  What about that?  And find another.

They were everywhere!

Neatly in marked boxes

Hanging on a quilt ladder

Hangers on the back of the door (I just now added the notes of what they still need)

On hangers in a closet

The back of a barstool (This one is immediately being spray basted!!)

In a basket (Bonnie Hunter's 2015 ystery, Grand Illusions)

I have to admit, counting them up, seeing it written in black and white, did freak me out a bit.  Me, who has boldly said to others that I don't feel the need to finish everything, I'm OK with that!! (I say loudly and emphatically, maybe waving my hands around as I say it!!).

I guess the important thing is to prioritize, figure out which projects I am actually interested in finishing.  The others I could finish as charity quilts, put on the free table at guild, or use for an upcoming auction at Great Lakes Heritage Quilters, which I think will happen in December.

Once I figure out what I want to finish, I can let the others go.  Get them off my list.  Lists intimidate.   They make you feel like you have to finish.  You don't!  You just have to get them off the list, one way or the other!  Doesn't matter how.  If you love it, finish it!  If you don't, get rid of it.  It's as simple as that.

Let's focus on the positive. I DID complete:

6 finished quilts to charity
2 large lap quilts (almost twin) for two of my kids (3rd one will be made in the next year)
TWO challenge quilts. 
A lap quilt for my MIL
2 baby quilts for niece's baby boy (1 was car seat size)
2 baby quilts for DAMQG's Treasurer's baby boy (one car seat size) 
Baby quilt and pennants for niece's baby girl
Banner for GLHQ quilt Show booth & 20 zippered bags
A wedding gift table runner
swap gifts for my secret Sister at DAMQG including a table runner, quilted postcard, pot handle holder and pot pinchers.

And I'm pretty sure I sewed some other things that I forgot to list.  I try to write all this stuff in my log, but sometimes forget.  PLUS, I pieced some of those tops and blocks that are currently listed as UFOs.

OK!  I don't feel so bad about the UFO's any more!  See: the 'Look there's a Squirrel' approach to quilting DOES work!  It produces a lot of clutter, boxes and stuff on hangers, but it also produces stuff for people to love and enjoy.

And that's what it's all about!

P.S.  It all makes me pretty darn happy too!

Chuck Nohara QAL

During the late winter I started following some posts on Instagram from people working on a quilt-along, or QAL.  I am loving Instagram anyway, and try to keep it 'quilty'.  For the most part.  The quilters I am finding there are doing some amazing work and inspire me so much!  The QAL I noticed was the Chuck Nohara Quiltalong, or #chucknoharaqal, if you want to look it up.

First, the book.

  Fabulous!!  I started to become obsessed, in the way that I do.  People said they could hardly find the book.  It is published by Quiltmania, and can be hard for those in the US to find.  So I happened to go to Quilt Festival in Chicago in April and was excited to see Quiltmania had a booth!  And the book! (and other great stuff as well, but I won't go into that now).

Purchased it, not intending to join in the QAL.  Figured, wow, it's gorgeous.  If all I do is just LOOK at it the rest of my life, I will be happy.  The patterns are black and white, you have to photocopy and then figure how to blow them up to the desired size.  There are no instructions!!!!  Intimidating!  You have to figure out how to piece them!

But as I looked on Instagram, at these FABULOUS quilters, I found one who had written a blog entry on how to do a block, how to approach the whole thing.  This was months ago, or I'd give you the link here.  The point here is, it gave me a way, an opening....an ITCH to jump in. Hmmm....I think I can do this.  At least SOME of the 2,001 blocks!!  You use many different techniques, regular piecing, paper foundation piecing, applique; the styles are endless.  And some are daunting.

So I did.  Pulled some fabrics, just to start with, by Denyse Schmidt.  These were a layer cake I loved, but hadn't dug into yet.  Added some browns.  Ok.  A starting palette.

The quilters running the QAL post an assignment (?) block or two every two weeks.  You can do one, both or neither.  It's up to you.  And you also do whatever else you want to do.  Photo them, post on Instagram using the #chucknoharaqal hastag, and also add the hashtag #cn and whatever number is on the block from the book, such as #cn765.  Those hashtags make it easy to look up either all the QAL blocks, or just a particular block, if you are interested in seeing what others do with a block.

I also found a use for this, my Quilter's Assistant.  You use it for enlarging or decreasing what you are photocopying.   Photocopy the page, cut out the one block you want to use, and put it on the copier.  You need to have custom' block size setting on your printer/copier. 

Measure the photo of the block (most of the black and white ones are 2.5")  With the 'Assistant',  turn one dial to the size of the picture.  Next, move that number to the size you want your blocks to be. Mine are 5" finished. Voila!!  The number in the box tells me the percentage of enlargement required!  Once you print an enlargement, double check it, measure right next to your copier, before using it, to be sure it is the size you want your finished block to be.  Sometimes you have to play with it a bit, the dial isn't as exact as it should be.

Soon, I was off and running, and posted my first blocks, #cn1029 on the left, and #cn969 on the right.

Others followed.  There have been quite a few more since then, I think my current count is around 28 blocks done.  Maybe, to keep me posting on a more regular basis (I just hate spending so much time on the computer!), I'll just post photos of a block or two once in awhile.

Meanwhile, I have enjoyed my Instagram friendships, looking at the work of these talented ladies, they have inspired me each and every day.  Maybe you want to hop on board?  I would encourage you---it's fun to have a longer term project, some handwork to tote around, stretch your skills a little.  But you can keep within your comfort level too.  It's a lot of fun!  Here's some eye-candy for you, with a few of my favorites, and a nice group pic of what I had at the time.......