Disappearing pinwheels

Posted on June 6, 2016 by admin

I’m continuing to experiment with disappearing blocks. Here’s a pinwheel. I started with squares that were 5″.

pinwheel 2In the next photo I have cut it apart into nine pieces, each 4 1/8″ square.

pinwheel 3Then I rearranged the pieces. Here is option number 1:

pinwheel 4But wait, there’s more. Here is option number 2, which creates a friendship star, with a pinwheel in the middle:

pinwheel 5

Before I made the successful block above, I made an interesting “mistake.” I cut this pinwheel 3 1/8″ from the center seam, four times. Here it is:pinwheel 6 I think this one is interesting too. Here is how I rearranged it.pinwheel 1This  is sort of a checkerboard pinwheel.  Like all of these disappearing blocks, it looks a lot more complicated to make than it actually is.

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Library show again

Posted on May 19, 2016 by admin

Here’s a not very good photo of my “quilt” in the central Berkeley Public Library’s quilt show. I say “quilt,” because it’s actually nine of my 12″ x 12″ quilts, fastened together with safety pins. It’s hanging above the reference desk, on the second floor.

12 x 12 library show

To the left of my quilt is Lee Feinstein’s quilt. The show is up until June 5.

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Disappearing all over the place!

Posted on May 16, 2016 by admin

Have you heard of a disappearing hourglass block? I hadn’t until I saw a YouTube video by the Missouri Star Quilt Co. I would have called this a “disappearing broken dishes block,” since that’s what I call the base block, before cutting into it.

Hourglass/broken dishes, before cutting

Hourglass/broken dishes, before cutting

Here it is, sewn together, before I started dissecting it.

hourglass 2

Each section is 2  1/4″ square. That’s four cuts. Then I had fun, rearranging the pieces.

hourglass 3

Here is possibility #1. The corners of this block, when set next to more of the same blocks would form an eight pointed star, with a diamond in the center.

hourglass 4

This is possibility #2.

hourglass 5

This is how I decided to sew it back together, which is the same as the YouTube video. Note that the triangles on the block corners will form a diamond when multiple blocks are placed next to each other.

If you’re wondering why I’m suddenly exploring all these disappearing blocks, it’s because I offered to teach a “tips and tricks” about disappearing blocks at the EBHQ Thursday night Meet Up in June. It’s June 9, if you want to come.

 

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Another four patch

Posted on May 15, 2016 by admin

I found an interesting four patch here: http://round22.blogspot.com/2012/07/disappearing-4-patch-with-twist.html .

There are complete instructions on how to make it on the link, but here’s my quick version.

marked 4 patch

Here is my four patch with 2″ from the corner marked on all sides.

diagonal 4 patch 1

Here it is again with four cuts, cutting from one mark to the next. You have to be careful, handling and sewing these pieces, since each cut has a bias edge.

diagonal four patch

diagonal four patch

I’ve rearranged the pieces and sewn them back together. I think this one is really interesting. It looks way more complicated to make than it really is.

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Disappearing four patch variations

Posted on May 15, 2016 by admin

I was going to go to a singing group, but I’m having so much fun exploring disappearing four patch and nine patch variations, that I’m staying home to sew instead.4 patch 2

Here is a four patch that has been cut into nine pieces, i.e. into a nine patch.

disappearing four patch that has become a nine patch

disappearing four patch that has become a nine patch

Here it is again, after I sewed it back together! The inside slices were cut 1.5″ from the center seam. I’ve also cut them at 1″ from the seam. I think I like them better with the cut at 1″ from the center seam.

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Berkeley Public Library’s annual quilt show

Posted on May 9, 2016 by admin

I won the lottery (sort of)! The central/main Berkeley Public Library has a quilt show in the second floor’s original lobby, and by the reference desk. Anyone can have a postcard size quilt in the show, but there’s a lottery for the limited space for larger quilts. I won the lottery for the right to put a 3′ x 3′ quilt in the show. I have a few quilts in that size that I could have used, but I wanted it to be something new. However, my newest quilts are my 12″ x 12″ quilts. I took nine of my favorite 12 x 12’s, safety pinned them together, and pinned on a hanging sleeve. Like magic, I had a new 3′ x 3′ quilt! It’s hanging over the reference desk on the second floor. If you go to the show, ask at the reference desk for the show catalog. Each quilt has a number. Only if you look in the catalog, will you know who made the quilt, or any other information about it. The show is up from May 1 through June 5.

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Stitch Modern

Posted on April 20, 2016 by admin

I have a quilt in the East Bay Modern Quilters’ show! The show, Stitch Modern, is at the Piedmont Center for the Arts, 801 Magnolia Ave, Piedmont, CA, from now until May 8. For more info, go to http://eastbaymodernquilters.com .

I took an interesting all day workshop with Pam Rocco at the Stitch Modern show. The class was called “Quilting by the seat of your pants: Designing an original quilt.” One exercise, called a ‘thumbnail sketch,’  was to look at pictures in books and magazines through a one or two inch window in a sheet of paper. This was mine.

thumbnail

I found it in a book about African architecture. It’s a painted wall of a building, and part of a window. Below is the quilt block I made from it.

Thumbnail block

Thumbnail block

I added the dark blue square on the bottom left because it needed something there. I like the “mistake” in the orange stair steps.

 

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Postcards for Voices In Cloth

Posted on March 15, 2016 by admin
Postcards for Voices In Cloth

Postcards for Voices In Cloth

EBHQ (East Bay Heritage Quilter)’s big quilt show, Voices In Cloth, is coming up March 19 and 20. http://www.ebhq.org/quilt-shows/vic2016?utm_source=VIC+&utm_campaign=VIC+2016&utm_medium=email  I’ve been making postcards that they sell to raise money for EBHQ. Here are some made of selvages. If you’re anywhere near Richmond, CA, this show is really worth seeing. I’m in charge of the demonstrations, at the back of the hall. Come by and say hello.

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Coasters

Posted on February 15, 2016 by admin

coasters

I’ve been working on some coasters for my daughter’s apartment. She wants them to be black and white plus one other color. These four are actually replacements for the ones that were lost when she moved. They are two sided, with “Fast2Fuse” in the middle, instead of batting. They’re just like a postcard, but 4″ x 4″. I sewed a tight zigzag or satin stitch around the outside edge. Here is the reverse, which is certainly not the back, but rather another front.

Coasters, reverse side

Coasters, reverse side

I embellished them with a few of the embroidery stitches on my machine.

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More slow progress

Posted on February 1, 2016 by admin

Amulet 3.2

I’m still working on this amulet. I added a lot of beads, French knots, fly stitches, and one shisha mirror. In this photo you can see the dimensionality of the center window, because of the shadow. My 12 x 12 group meets in a week. I’m hoping to have it done, including binding by then.

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