Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[freedombecki]

In 2009, this quilt medallion was designed and ironed onto a dotted background for who knows what purpose? 2 years ago, the appliques were stitched in black with a machine blanket stitch. It kept getting moved back up to the top of the pile every three or four months, but this morning, it seemed a good time to at least assemble enough pieces around to frame the medallion and begin deciding what to do next as time goes on. A saw-tooth, pyramid, checker-pieced, or Dresden border could be selected for the next phase, or any of 10,000 other border ideas. I'm loving the contrast after doing monochrome quilts, but this one has a limited palette with an emphasis on the color orange. It is presently about 22x34" in size, which means that until the width reaches 40", if all things go well, this quilt will be proportional to fit a small child by then, being as it is 12" longer now, and could be evenly-spaced around. Now, it's just a matter of what to do on the next round. I'm favoring checkerboard or postage stamp effort, which means back to the drawing board in the case of the latter.

Scan 1 Top left Border
Scan 2 Top left Flower
Scan 3 Top right Flower

 

[freedombecki]

If anything ever can go wrong it did go wrong! Scans 4, 5, and 6 should have succeeded Scans 1 2 and 3, and not divided by a page flip.

One of these mornings, I'm going to be perfect and not get the cart before the horse, but not yet.
particip
The quilt was actually being a lot of fun before it was time to scan.

On a Round Robin Quilt, friends of equal skill often pass around the quilt in a group until there are 3, 4, or 5 rounds, with each participant doing a center medallion and passing it every week to the next person. If you're ever involved in a Round Robin, plan to be very busy doing your best work for your friends every week. The friend may designate piecing, applique, or whatever but may not see her quilt until the last participant finishes her round 3, 4, or 5 weeks later or longer if extreme skills are required (depending on the group's tastes).

 

[freedombecki]

Round Robin Quilts are quilts made by individuals taking turns on each other's medallions by adding rows to the outside, or in some cases, just adding horizontal rows. They're all good fun. I've been looking around the web today to show examples some of our quilt friends are doing. A Medallion Quilt made by one person may be called a Round Robin Quilt if she waits until one section is done before planning another. It can be a fun game of solitaire, or one can join only a group that decides on a plan. For example, a group of quilters who are new to quilting would be wise to stick to tried and true methods, whereas a group of artists might specify that round one is piecing, round 2 is applique, colors used are (fill in the blank), or no rules at all if the quilters are on a par with oneself. Advanced quilters are likely to feel disgusted when they spent 40 hours doing their rounds, and the next quilter sewed 4 solid pieces of unadorned fabric, slightly off from the rest of the quilt as her "contribution" which took all of 20 minutes.

Here are some I found that are similar to what a group of round robin quilters in my quilt shop's area did in years past:

 

[freedombecki]

More Round Robin Quilts from around the net:

 

[Sunshine]

Round Robin Quilts are quilts made by individuals taking turns on each other's medallions by adding rows to the outside, or in some cases, just adding horizontal rows. They're all good fun. I've been looking around the web today to show examples some of our quilt friends are doing. A Medallion Quilt made by one person may be called a Round Robin Quilt if she waits until one section is done before planning another. It can be a fun game of solitaire, or one can join only a group that decides on a plan. For example, a group of quilters who are new to quilting would be wise to stick to tried and true methods, whereas a group of artists might specify that round one is piecing, round 2 is applique, colors used are (fill in the blank), or no rules at all if the quilters are on a par with oneself. Advanced quilters are likely to feel disgusted when they spent 40 hours doing their rounds, and the next quilter sewed 4 solid pieces of unadorned fabric, slightly off from the rest of the quilt as her "contribution" which took all of 20 minutes.

Here are some I found that are similar to what a group of round robin quilters in my quilt shop's area did in years past:

So you don't really know what the end result will be until it is finished?

 

[freedombecki]

Round Robin Quilts are quilts made by individuals taking turns on each other's medallions by adding rows to the outside, or in some cases, just adding horizontal rows. They're all good fun. I've been looking around the web today to show examples some of our quilt friends are doing. A Medallion Quilt made by one person may be called a Round Robin Quilt if she waits until one section is done before planning another. It can be a fun game of solitaire, or one can join only a group that decides on a plan. For example, a group of quilters who are new to quilting would be wise to stick to tried and true methods, whereas a group of artists might specify that round one is piecing, round 2 is applique, colors used are (fill in the blank), or no rules at all if the quilters are on a par with oneself. Advanced quilters are likely to feel disgusted when they spent 40 hours doing their rounds, and the next quilter sewed 4 solid pieces of unadorned fabric, slightly off from the rest of the quilt as her "contribution" which took all of 20 minutes.

Here are some I found that are similar to what a group of round robin quilters in my quilt shop's area did in years past:

So you don't really know what the end result will be until it is finished?

If you are working in a group and you have good partners, you're going to like it. If you do it on your own, you're likely to like it. If you're working with a group of beginners, buy an extra ripper.

I'm not sure that exactly answers your question, but honestly, I only worked with one group who only worked with me because I had the best selection in the state, being an artist devoted to having a plethora of hues, shades, tints, southwestern atmospherics, character, birds, western, and nature choices from the best suppliers. They were jet setters, and their works were astonishing. Each one made certain after her round was done, it was a master work. They stayed together for years and were devoted to each other's families as well as each other's artistic likes and charitable activities. Any of them could have been CEOs, but they chose domesticity over careers. Their common ground was aesthetic excellence.

Last night, a small stack of oranges and a yellow that looked ok with the yellow already on the quilt (of which none could be found), plus a black and white print that halfway reflected the black and white dot around the butterfly, too. This morning, the quilt was remeasured and measured a little over 21.5 by 33". 21 and 33 are both divisible by 3, and a little trimming or ooching and scooching (which can be done with cotton with no ill result) could make a rather nice 3" border, but there was only enough black and white to cut 1.5" strips from two pieces, enough to make 48 Roman stripe squares all the way around, with black and white being on either side and the main contrast to the solid light bright orange on the outer row.

Starting with a finite, squared center is not always what it's cracked up to be. One may not remember the measurement from 3 years ago that it took to attain a pleasing balance of positive and negative spaces, which are best ordered, plus a quilter always has to have a little bit more with the 1/4" seam allowances that must be taken away.

This is a case for not getting too wrapped up in preplanning, because different quilt artists have different requirements, and often those requirements change from work to work. It's a lot of math.

So it was math that basically drove the choice for the roman stripe idea--the number of inches of 45" fabric that could be parsed into something that would come out 3x3 all the way around the quilt, in odd numbers (which couldn't have been better). It was the good fortune of having black and whites separated from other fabrics that presented two of the same print purchased at different times, and used along the way for creating other stripped projects. The piece picked would never have been my choice consciously, because it splits black and white evenly, which places it in the "average" value category. But its use of an unusual-looking dispersive background along with a vining floral throughout was frenetic enough to satisfy a subjectively pleasing diversity, imho.

This was what it looked like, and when placed next to the quilt had the unexpected fun look of huge running stitches all around. It just jazzed me, that's all.

Scan 1 - Strip to go along sides

Scan 2 - Strip to go along top and bottom

Scan 3 - Strips overlapped to show juncture (sorry one of them slipped a little)

 

[Sunshine]

Round Robin Quilts are quilts made by individuals taking turns on each other's medallions by adding rows to the outside, or in some cases, just adding horizontal rows. They're all good fun. I've been looking around the web today to show examples some of our quilt friends are doing. A Medallion Quilt made by one person may be called a Round Robin Quilt if she waits until one section is done before planning another. It can be a fun game of solitaire, or one can join only a group that decides on a plan. For example, a group of quilters who are new to quilting would be wise to stick to tried and true methods, whereas a group of artists might specify that round one is piecing, round 2 is applique, colors used are (fill in the blank), or no rules at all if the quilters are on a par with oneself. Advanced quilters are likely to feel disgusted when they spent 40 hours doing their rounds, and the next quilter sewed 4 solid pieces of unadorned fabric, slightly off from the rest of the quilt as her "contribution" which took all of 20 minutes.

Here are some I found that are similar to what a group of round robin quilters in my quilt shop's area did in years past:

So you don't really know what the end result will be until it is finished?

If you are working in a group and you have good partners, you're going to like it. If you do it on your own, you're likely to like it. If you're working with a group of beginners, buy an extra ripper.

I'm not sure that exactly answers your question, but honestly, I only worked with one group who only worked with me because I had the best selection in the state, being an artist devoted to having a plethora of hues, shades, tints, southwestern atmospherics, character, birds, western, and nature choices from the best suppliers. They were jet setters, and their works were astonishing. Each one made certain after her round was done, it was a master work. They stayed together for years and were devoted to each other's families as well as each other's artistic likes and charitable activities. Any of them could have been CEOs, but they chose domesticity over careers. Their common ground was aesthetic excellence.

Last night, a small stack of oranges and a yellow that looked ok with the yellow already on the quilt (of which none could be found), plus a black and white print that halfway reflected the black and white dot around the butterfly, too. This morning, the quilt was remeasured and measured a little over 21.5 by 33". 21 and 33 are both divisible by 3, and a little trimming or ooching and scooching (which can be done with cotton with no ill result) could make a rather nice 3" border, but there was only enough black and white to cut 1.5" strips from two pieces, enough to make 48 Roman stripe squares all the way around, with black and white being on either side and the main contrast to the solid light bright orange on the outer row.

Starting with a finite, squared center is not always what it's cracked up to be. One may not remember the measurement from 3 years ago that it took to attain a pleasing balance of positive and negative spaces, which are best ordered, plus a quilter always has to have a little bit more with the 1/4" seam allowances that must be taken away.

This is a case for not getting too wrapped up in preplanning, because different quilt artists have different requirements, and often those requirements change from work to work. It's a lot of math.

So it was math that basically drove the choice for the roman stripe idea--the number of inches of 45" fabric that could be parsed into something that would come out 3x3 all the way around the quilt, in odd numbers (which couldn't have been better). It was the good fortune of having black and whites separated from other fabrics that presented two of the same print purchased at different times, and used along the way for creating other stripped projects. The piece picked would never have been my choice consciously, because it splits black and white evenly, which places it in the "average" value category. But its use of an unusual-looking dispersive background along with a vining floral throughout was frenetic enough to satisfy a subjectively pleasing diversity, imho.

This was what it looked like, and when placed next to the quilt had the unexpected fun look of huge running stitches all around. It just jazzed me, that's all.

Scan 1 - Strip to go along sides

Scan 2 - Strip to go along top and bottom

Scan 3 - Strips overlapped to show juncture (sorry one of them slipped a little)

My most admired list often surprises people. When I hear someone talking about them in disgust I generally make my assertion as to why I admire that person. Two of my most admired people are Paula Deen and Martha Stewart. They both became 'moguls' doing something ordinary.

Paula Deen overcame a major mental illness, one that I've seen very few people ever get through with much success. And Martha Stewart was made an example of over something that men do with impunity every day. When she came out of that jail she was wearng a poncho that her cell mate had knitted for her...and it looked good.

I also admire Suzanne Somers. She is not your 'dumb blonde.' The thing that first caught my eye was her book of poems called Touch Me. After that she did a lot of codependency work. And Angelina Jolie who, with Brad Pitt, learned so early in life that it's not just all about themselves. My list is often surprising.

Your thread makes me feel like I am in the presence of greatness!

 

[freedombecki]

Thanks for kind words, Sunshine. It has been a path with fibromyalgia. What I do is left over from what is spared. My work is therapy that keeps my mind off pain and praying for the person who gets the quilt I'm working on. I planned to quilt the small quilts this year. The first day of that, I had a body cramp from head to toe, so I informed my friends at the Charity Bees my option might still be limited to doing tops again, and without a lot of starts, there probably won't be 100 this year. They said not to worry about the quilting, they'd do it. So I'm going to do all I can. I'm not great, I'm just beating pain back and trying to make myself useful as best I can to others in the community. I can't pay my mother back for being the wonderful mother she was, because she's gone, nor can I pay back people from church who supplied food when there were deaths in the family, nor any of a thousand kindnesses I witnessed growing up and having a shop for 23 years with a front row seat to people doing kind things for their loved ones and charities. And I never taught a quilt class in which I didn't learn more from students than any one of them learned from me. I'm just paying back what was given to me often by unseen hands, that's all.

I can't believe how much I like this Roman Stripe Border, which is now attached, with the serendipity of it looks like huge hand stitches of the running stitch that quilters use to join fabrics with a needle and thimble. So guess it's back to the sewing room and over to the county registration office to transfer a title to a little gal who needs our old car we don't use any more. See ya!

Thanks, Sunshine for your inspiration of beating your health demons back. It's very uplifting when I think of how you also have to balance it with working for very exacting employers, who are patients that need intelligent care strategies to help them.

 

[freedombecki]

Flower towel that my 10 year old daughter is working on; she did the last few stitches with too many threads so that will probably come out and be re-done, but she has done a remarkable job. I love towels and pillowcases because they are often quite simple, with only one or two stitches and a couple of colors. I started my first piece at the age of 7; a simple cross-stitch dresser scarf that had a heart pattern; red and black. I don't think I ever finished it! But I learned cross stitch, lazy dazy and outline stitching.

This is the one I worked on a day or so ago; then my nephew's girlfriend picked it up and it's almost finished. She's a needle-pointer:

Haha I did the "saturday" stitching...at Mom's, in dim light, as is apparent.

You need a lighted magnifier that straps around the neck to put in your embroidery bag like this one:

Source

They're pretty reasonable considering they're LED and they're portable.

Another route is a portable clip on light:

If you wear spectacles...

Source

And if you only need a light, no magnifier, a clip on for the hoop:

Mighty Bright Craft Light Page with every imaginable craft use lights and magnifiers, very reasonable.

Just toss the smallest one in your embroidery go-bag, and it'll always be with you for those dark places. The nice thing about LED lights is some light systems have an option for plug-ins, others are battery-operated.

Este paratus!

 

[koshergrl]

Then my transformation from sex goddess to hilarious granny will be complete.

 

[freedombecki]

Then my transformation from sex goddess to hilarious granny will be complete.

Yep! That's whatcha get for embroidering in dim light (oh, and growing children who may (or may not) make you a grandma eventually).

 

[freedombecki]

Tonight was spent surfing for orange quilts. Didn't find one like the above one being worked on before hitting the wall on the next round. Any takers?

Seriously though, there are some great orange quilts out there:

Scan 1 - Crazy pieces

Scan 2 - Bargello

Scan 3 - Flying Geese

 

[Mr. H.]

Orange you glad those aren't banana quilts?

 

[freedombecki]

Must one comet when banana sky glows?

 

[Sunshine]

Thanks for kind words, Sunshine. It has been a path with fibromyalgia. What I do is left over from what is spared. My work is therapy that keeps my mind off pain and praying for the person who gets the quilt I'm working on. I planned to quilt the small quilts this year. The first day of that, I had a body cramp from head to toe, so I informed my friends at the Charity Bees my option might still be limited to doing tops again, and without a lot of starts, there probably won't be 100 this year. They said not to worry about the quilting, they'd do it. So I'm going to do all I can. I'm not great, I'm just beating pain back and trying to make myself useful as best I can to others in the community. I can't pay my mother back for being the wonderful mother she was, because she's gone, nor can I pay back people from church who supplied food when there were deaths in the family, nor any of a thousand kindnesses I witnessed growing up and having a shop for 23 years with a front row seat to people doing kind things for their loved ones and charities. And I never taught a quilt class in which I didn't learn more from students than any one of them learned from me. I'm just paying back what was given to me often by unseen hands, that's all.

I can't believe how much I like this Roman Stripe Border, which is now attached, with the serendipity of it looks like huge hand stitches of the running stitch that quilters use to join fabrics with a needle and thimble. So guess it's back to the sewing room and over to the county registration office to transfer a title to a little gal who needs our old car we don't use any more. See ya!

Thanks, Sunshine for your inspiration of beating your health demons back. It's very uplifting when I think of how you also have to balance it with working for very exacting employers, who are patients that need intelligent care strategies to help them.

Thanks, Beckums. I appreciate your kind words. I do understand why you work. I, too, feel much better when I work. There is no time to feel sorry for myself and I see someone worse off than myself on pretty much a daily basis. My patients worry about me when I have to call in, as I did Friday when my Hickman catheter broke and I had to make a mad dash to Vanderbilt to get a new one put in. Last year when I was there for a week one of the tracked me down, but just to see if I was OK, not in a stalking or dangerous way. I can't say the word retire in front of them. The only thing there is to do here much is to hunt and fish so we don't attract many doctors. The provider before me was a 92 year old locum who used to fall asleep while he was in with the patients. No one would come to this clinic. They were doubtful there would be enough work to keep me busy but I am so overwhelmed with work that they are hiring me a nurse. I am so behind on things right now that I don't know if I will ever get caught up. I told my doctor I would retire this month. I guess I lied. He always asks. I have to say something. Right now, the plan is to work until I start feeling like I just can't get up in the morning and do it. Or until 2014, whichever comes last.

I'm down to the last 10 blocks on this quilt. Before I start the next, I'm going to do a holiday red tablecloth I found online during my lunch break one day. I don't have the link here and don't have time to look. Will try to think to email it to myself today and post tonight or in the morning.

 

[Sunshine]

Flower towel that my 10 year old daughter is working on; she did the last few stitches with too many threads so that will probably come out and be re-done, but she has done a remarkable job. I love towels and pillowcases because they are often quite simple, with only one or two stitches and a couple of colors. I started my first piece at the age of 7; a simple cross-stitch dresser scarf that had a heart pattern; red and black. I don't think I ever finished it! But I learned cross stitch, lazy dazy and outline stitching.

This is the one I worked on a day or so ago; then my nephew's girlfriend picked it up and it's almost finished. She's a needle-pointer:

Haha I did the "saturday" stitching...at Mom's, in dim light, as is apparent.

The Nashville flea market is a good place to run into vintage linens. Occasonally you wil find something that you know was done by a little girl just learning. Those are great. I wish I could do just regular embroidery, but I learned a long time ago that I will just end up frustrated and aggravated at myself!

 

[freedombecki]

Thanks for kind words, Sunshine. It has been a path with fibromyalgia. What I do is left over from what is spared. My work is therapy that keeps my mind off pain and praying for the person who gets the quilt I'm working on. I planned to quilt the small quilts this year. The first day of that, I had a body cramp from head to toe, so I informed my friends at the Charity Bees my option might still be limited to doing tops again, and without a lot of starts, there probably won't be 100 this year. They said not to worry about the quilting, they'd do it. So I'm going to do all I can. I'm not great, I'm just beating pain back and trying to make myself useful as best I can to others in the community. I can't pay my mother back for being the wonderful mother she was, because she's gone, nor can I pay back people from church who supplied food when there were deaths in the family, nor any of a thousand kindnesses I witnessed growing up and having a shop for 23 years with a front row seat to people doing kind things for their loved ones and charities. And I never taught a quilt class in which I didn't learn more from students than any one of them learned from me. I'm just paying back what was given to me often by unseen hands, that's all.

I can't believe how much I like this Roman Stripe Border, which is now attached, with the serendipity of it looks like huge hand stitches of the running stitch that quilters use to join fabrics with a needle and thimble. So guess it's back to the sewing room and over to the county registration office to transfer a title to a little gal who needs our old car we don't use any more. See ya!

Thanks, Sunshine for your inspiration of beating your health demons back. It's very uplifting when I think of how you also have to balance it with working for very exacting employers, who are patients that need intelligent care strategies to help them.

Thanks, Beckums. I appreciate your kind words. I do understand why you work. I, too, feel much better when I work. There is no time to feel sorry for myself and I see someone worse off than myself on pretty much a daily basis. My patients worry about me when I have to call in, as I did Friday when my Hickman catheter broke and I had to make a mad dash to Vanderbilt to get a new one put in. Last year when I was there for a week one of the tracked me down, but just to see if I was OK, not in a stalking or dangerous way. I can't say the word retire in front of them. The only thing there is to do here much is to hunt and fish so we don't attract many doctors. The provider before me was a 92 year old locum who used to fall asleep while he was in with the patients. No one would come to this clinic. They were doubtful there would be enough work to keep me busy but I am so overwhelmed with work that they are hiring me a nurse. I am so behind on things right now that I don't know if I will ever get caught up. I told my doctor I would retire this month. I guess I lied. He always asks. I have to say something. Right now, the plan is to work until I start feeling like I just can't get up in the morning and do it. Or until 2014, whichever comes last.

I'm down to the last 10 blocks on this quilt. Before I start the next, I'm going to do a holiday red tablecloth I found online during my lunch break one day. I don't have the link here and don't have time to look. Will try to think to email it to myself today and post tonight or in the morning.

That's wonderful, Sunshine! 2014--only 357 days to sleeping in, total freedom, and no hassles. Think you can adjust?

 

[koshergrl]

Flower towel that my 10 year old daughter is working on; she did the last few stitches with too many threads so that will probably come out and be re-done, but she has done a remarkable job. I love towels and pillowcases because they are often quite simple, with only one or two stitches and a couple of colors. I started my first piece at the age of 7; a simple cross-stitch dresser scarf that had a heart pattern; red and black. I don't think I ever finished it! But I learned cross stitch, lazy dazy and outline stitching.

This is the one I worked on a day or so ago; then my nephew's girlfriend picked it up and it's almost finished. She's a needle-pointer:

Haha I did the "saturday" stitching...at Mom's, in dim light, as is apparent.

The Nashville flea market is a good place to run into vintage linens. Occasonally you wil find something that you know was done by a little girl just learning. Those are great. I wish I could do just regular embroidery, but I learned a long time ago that I will just end up frustrated and aggravated at myself!

I started when I was seven...I love embroidery. It's very soothing for me. It is getting harder to see where to stitch, though; I imagine i will use the tools becki put up sooner, rather than later.

 

[freedombecki]

Eat carrots. They're the best medicine for eyes.

 

[koshergrl]

My folks used to tell us that! And they meant it, lol.

I'm working on an old stamped accent pillow I started a couple of years ago now. I think I'll get it done by the end of the week!