Creative Chaos

It’s that time of year again. 

I gave my 2024 predictions, and I announced this year’s theme.  And since the theme is “Welcome to My Studio,” I need to reveal what I plan to work on this year since you’re along for the ride.  My regular readers may remember this is a process I go through every New Year’s Eve.  I look over my works in progress, decide what I plan to finish as well as what I want to start.  I was way, way too ambitious in 2023, because I really struggled to complete anything.  Last year’s list looked like this:

To Finish:

High Point Quilt Guild’s 2021 BOM

Halloween Quilt I

Halloween Quilt II

Alphabet Quilt

Blue Quilt

Horn of Plenty for a New Generation

Reverse Applique Quilt

Colors of Springtime

To Start

Temperature Quilt

Flowering Gum

A Day in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue

Madonna Quilt

Garden Party Down Under

Windblown Tulips

To Start and Finish

Bags

“Lifers”  (These are those projects done almost entirely by hand which could quite possibly take this life and the next to complete)

A Day in Grandmother’s Flower Garden

Language of Flowers

So…let’s see where all these projects stand….

Those which were not even picked up, looked at, or thought about:  High Point Quilt Guild’s 2021 BOM and Halloween Quilts I and II.  While I do have all the block patterns for the BOM, have decided on my fabrics and colors, and even know how I will lay the quilt out, not one thread of fabric has been cut – however, I do have my fabrics, so points for that one.  I must quilt both Halloween Quilts and have purchased special glow-in-the-dark thread for those.  My excuse for this is my long arm is a hot mess.  I’ve had continuous tension issues with it since Sewing Machine Plus replaced the head.  I really try to keep a positive tone with my blogs.  I really, really do. However, if you’re in the market for a long arm, and I could give you one piece of advice, it would be this: Purchase it from somewhere relatively close to where you live.  I realize this isn’t always possible, but some long arm dealers do have techs who will come to your studio and work on your long arm.  I have to ship mine all the way to California if I have an issue.  I can’t begin to tell you what a hassle it is, and I can’t even get their tech to return calls.  I acquired my long arm from them due to their extremely reasonable pricing.  I have purchased basic sewing machines from them for my grand darlings, and that was a completely positive experience.  The Long Arm is a different story. 

My Madonna Quilt pattern has not even been opened, so you know where that stands.  I really want to make this quilt – it’s just precious – but it’s been backburnered.  Maybe this year?  Perhaps 2025?  Also not touched – neither of my “Lifers.”  My Day in Grandmother’s Flower Garden is stretched out over my long arm, so I see it every day.

 Every. Single. Day. 

The guilt is enormous.  My plan is to sew a little on this one at my Friday Sit and Sew and at night when I watch TV.  In all truthfulness, the directions for this quilt are so poorly written, I put it in time out for sanity’s sake.  I can only take so much of it at a time before I have to try to decipher what’s the next step. 

Flowering Gum needs some explanation.  First I really, really love this pattern.  It caught my attention the first time I saw it, and I planned to use it for my guild’s 2023 President’s Challenge using the Pantone Color of the Year.  I could use the Vivid Magenta in the flowers and upon completion would have a beautiful wall hanging.  I purchased the pattern, downloaded it, and began working.  Ruth De Voss, the designer, used a different paper piecing technique which I found was not user friendly (at least to this user).  It was one I had not used before and struggled with.  I realize paper piecing curves (which there are a lot of in this quilt) is difficult, and due to the fact I was on a tight deadline with this quilt, I abandoned it.  Instead, I made this quilt:

Of cone flowers, which took third place in the HPQG 2023 President’s Challenge contest.  But I’ve found Flowering Gum is still tickling the back of my mind.  So I pulled the pattern back out in November, and I do believe I can make the quilt, but will alter the pattern for applique.  Where’s there’s a quilty will, there’s a quilty way. 

Language of Flowers was pretty much sidetracked this year.  With everything going on, appliqueing something with hundreds of tiny pieces just didn’t work.  I have the next set of flowers prepped and ready to go.  Hopefully 2024 will give me the impetus to keep moving ahead. 

My Blue Quilt is sandwiched, and I’ve sewn around the sashing to hold everything in place so nothing will shift while I quilt it.  I simply haven’t taken the time to start it.  I completed the blocks for Horn of Plenty for a New Generation.  I plan to use a quilt-as-you-go method for this one.   I have all the pieces cut out to do this, I just need the time to sit down and decide what quilt motifs I want to use.  The Alphabet Quilt has all the applique pieces cut out and ready to fuse around the borders, and I have prepped the last three blocks of the Colors of Spring.  While I didn’t finish everything I wanted to in 2023, I did go a long way in moving them closer to the finish line.  My reverse applique quilt was completely completed and was used as a class example back in September. 

Throughout 2023, I collected fabrics for my Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue.  While I had plenty of scraps to make her dresses, bonnets, and aprons, the backgrounds for the blocks used quite a few landscape fabrics.  I searched and collected all year, purchasing bits and pieces as I found them on sale.  I think I have enough to start now and have the freezer paper pieces cut out and ready to rock.  Extra points for me – I also have the border and sashing fabrics in hand.  I also have the fabric for Garden Party Down Under. 

Windblown Tulips is completely sewn together and appliqued.  I need to find a backing and sandwich it. Bonus points:  I have the quilting thread!

My foray into bags did not happen.  I purchased bag patterns, bag making supplies, and in some cases the videos which went along with the pattern.  I really want to give those a try this year.  I want to do something a bit different. 

The temperature quilt is finished, except for removing the papers and quilting.  I need to make some decisions about possible borders (do I make anchor borders or regular borders?).  I have my binding fabric, which is an awesome stripe and pulls everything together quite nicely.  Bonus, it’s printed on the diagonal, so I don’t have to deal with bias binding.  I have an upcoming blog written about my year-long temperature quilt odyssey.  Long story short, yes I would do it again.  It was fun.

Okay…since our primary theme this year is Welcome to My Studio, I’ll take you along on many of my quilting journeys.  Here’s what to expect:

Domestic Machine Quilting – I will quilt both of my small Halloween Quilts and Windblown Tulips this year on my Janome M17.

Quilt as You Go – I will show you how I am working through my Horn of Plenty for a New Generation Quilt (or as it’s known in my house Fruit of the Loom).

More Raw Edge Machine Applique – I want to push Colors of Springtime a little closer to the finish line.  I’m pretty set on sending this quilt out to a professional long arm artist.  It deserves much better ruler work than I’m capable of giving it.

Design Decisions – I hope to start Through the Year with Sunbonnet Sue.  There are literally hundreds of decisions I need to make about this quilt.

Bags – I really, really want to make a few bags.  If we get to June and I haven’t mentioned them in a blog, someone nudge me.

Meanwhile, I already have a blog about the history of bridal quilts written and ready to post.  I also have one about borders – the correct way to put them on, when they became a part of the quilt process, and how to jazz them up if you want to.  There are plans for a very personal blog about charity quilts.  Hope everyone comes along for the ride and may 2024 be even more productive than 2023.  And a bit kinder.

Welcome to My Studio…it’s creative chaos.

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix