Rachel Maus I.D.M. Part 2 01-02-10

I made my first little doll quilt just after the end of WWII, sometime in 1946 and though years might go by between finished quilts, I always have something "in the works" (also known as UFOs). Sometimes I forget that everyone doesn't have all those years of learning (and forgetting) and I will leave out a step or two when explaining how to make a certain quilt. Please don't ever hesitate to call me on my lapses, I'm happy to share what I know or help you find an answer. One of the readers of this blog asked "where do you start making the blocks with scraps, strips, etc....? Basically, I just start sewing things together. I'll give you a few examples out of the dozens you might use.

These blocks can be called "threesies" and are made by sewing two squares together ("twosies") and then adding a strip of fabric along one side.

These two blocks are "foursies". The top one started with a solid 2.5" square, a 1.5" light colored flowered strip was added to the right side, then a large flowered piece with a black background was added to the bottom. The final strip is the multi color flower print on a black background on the left. The lower block was started with a square cut from a pieced scrap (a bunch of 1.5" strips sewn together like "Chinese Coins") - a strip was sewn to the left and trimmed, then a strip on the bottom and trimmed, then a strip on the right and trimmed. The resulting "foursie" was increased in size by sewing a 2.5" strip to the bottom and then a 2.5" strip to the left side. I suppose that would make it a "sixie", but after four pieces I think of it as an individual block rather than a component of a block-to-be.

Another way to work might start like this. When I have scraps and time to "play" I cut scraps into squares ( 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3" and 3.5") or strips depending on how big the scrap is! I have a box for each size square/strip that I can dip into - my thanks to Sharyn Craig for this idea. In this example I took used a 2.5" strip of little flowers on a black background, a selection of 2.5" squares that would sort of go with the colors in the strip and a selection of 2.5" squares in tints/shades of greens. Placing each multicolored square face down on the strip I sewed them with a 1/4" seam, opened them up and sewed one of the green squares to each of the print squares. Rachel calls them "threesies". Then I pressed the pieces open and flat. Working on my cutting table I used my 6.5" square ruler to trim the pieced strips to 2.5" x 6.5". I might make piles of this size before going on to making something to sew on to them.

On the left side of the image you can see one of those 2.5" x 6.5" strips with 2" strip attached to one side - a type of "foursie". And on the right side of the image is another type of 'foursie" sewn together the way one would begin a log cabin block. I will sew these two pieced blocks together, press and then add strips to whichever side needs to be wider.

Stripes and polka dots add motion and 'excitement' to a scrap quilt. Here I have pieced a stripe onto the 2.5" x 6.5" strip. Next I will sew these two "blocks" together - press and trim. Notice the bunny eye on the right block. No matter how "serious" the quilt top will be, a little surprise is always something extra for people to discover in the life of the quilt.

More stripes, dots and a star to add interest. At this point I intend for all these blocks to go into the same quilt, but the joy of I.D.M. is that it DOESN'T matter! When I have a goodly pile of blocks of the same size I will start playing with them on the design board to see what works together. Then I will sew them together and quilt the results.

How will I know when the quilt top is ready to sew together? Part of that depends on how large I want the quilt to be. Another part is when I get tired of working with these blocks. And yet another is if/when I run out of more blocks to add. The quilt maker could always make a few more blocks, but whenever I have done that in the past anyone could immediately pick out the 'invaders' - so I choose to finish with what I have and to toss any extras in a box with other orphans for a future scrap quilt.

Rachel Maus "It Doesn't Matter" (I.D.M!) 01-01-10

The quilting technique I learned from Rachel Maus at the Surfside Stashbusters Workshop on Monday is named (by Rachel),"It Doesn't Matter" and uses scraps, strips, orphan blocks, whatever you have at hand. "It Doesn't Matter!" The fabric can be color coordinated or not - I.D.M! I started with some leftover pieced strips (like Chinese Coins), some off-cuts from squaring a quilt and some strips of various widths/lengths. But the color was so DULL that I started adding strips of red and black/white - guaranteed to spark up anything. Sew the fabrics together any way you wish - random, log cabin style, square in a square, whatever - I.D.M! I didn't get out any orphan blocks (because I don't know where that box is right now), but several in the workshop used them to great effect. What you are aiming for is square blocks between 6.5 inches and 9.5 inches. As you are sewing square up the results, according to your own persnickety desire, or don't - I.D.M! I have used a 9.5" square ruler paired with a 11.5" square ruler. More about these rulers at the bottom of this post.

Here are my four 9.5" somewhat randomly pieced blocks which I have arranged and rearranged until I found a combo that is tolerable!

Then I sewed them together and pressed them as flat as I could.

Photographing an acrylic ruler on top of the patched blocks isn't very legible, so I cut a piece of lightweight cardboard just for the clarity of the photo. I aligned my 11.5" square just as the cardboard is shown here. Don't cut edge to edge of the fabric - instead cut from one corner of the acrylic square to the next. Which leaves me with....

.... a sort of frame with an 11.5" hole in the middle.

With scissors I cut from each inside point to the outside edge of the fabric creating four triangles with each of two points cut off. Now I match the short sides of two triangles and sew, then repeat with the other two triangles.

The resulting triangles go together creating a second block with a bias edge all the way around. Care must be taken to not stretch this bias edge out of shape - I carefully pressed the joining seams in the middle, not the outer edge. Using the larger of my acrylic squares I trimmed the block to size,

and I have the first two blocks for my "It Doesn't Matter" quilt. It will be necessary to make all the blocks, put them up on a design board (or pin them to a wall) and move them around to make a pleasing combination. Since these blocks are 11.5" square I will need 16 blocks for a 44" square quilt without a border. I might also add sashing between the blocks, cornerstones at the sashing intersections or some other arrangement of putting them together.

Acrylic square rulers come in a LOT of different sizes. Rachel's inspired idea is to use these rulers in pairs. The combinations that she uses are:

6" or 6.5" square paired with a 7.5" square
7.5"square paired with an 8.5" or a 9.5"square

8.5" square paired with a 9.5" or a 10.5" square

9.5" square paired with a 10.5" or an 11.5" square

A small quilt from TCQC 11-08-09

"I Know a Rhino" Ami Simms 2006 7.5"W x 5"L

I purchased this quilt from the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative in 2006. I love the rhino which was drawn/painted by Ami Sims mother years ago. Ami has described how, during her childhood, she could ask her mother to draw things for her - anything - and her mother could do it. Quite a talent there. It is so sad that we have lost such a gifted lady to Alzheimer's. There are always lots of little quilts that have been donated to the Initiative and they make sweet little gifts. Check them out at

http://www.alzquilts.org

This little quilt has "Fast Finished Corners" which were invented by Terry Chilko who donates quilts to this project. They work great for many sizes of wall quilts - but not too large. The sticks are restaurant chopsticks which I sawed off to the correct size.

You can read about this finishing technique at http://www.alzquilts.org/pagdisplay/html This little quilt is pictured as part of the technique explanation.

All the instructions for donating a quilt are on the AAQI website.

"Four Dwellings" 11-20-08

I have always gone through streaks of 'do nothing' and streaks of 'knock myself out'. And I know others that also have this experience. I don't really understand what triggers either direction. When my Depression gets worse I can go either way - who knows why. For a few years Kansas Art Quilters did a challenge every year and also made quilts for the Fabri-Quilt Fabric Co. to decorate their booths at Markets. They required that all the fabrics were of their manufacture. I usually slipped in a few little solid pieces to balance things out. Since I don't live in Kansas I would look through the Fabri-Quilt website and chose a few fabrics to create the beginning of a palette. Then the wonderful exhibit chair, Linda Frost, who received all the fabric that Fabri-Quilt donated to us would find some of those I picked, and a few to coordinate and ship them to me. Sometimes it was agony deciding on a design and executing it and other times things just fell together, like this quilt.

"Four Dwellings" 2005 Del Thomas 25" square SOLD

As I worked on assembling the pieces I realized I could use the multi-color polka dots to make people heads - so there are also four people in the quilt. To me this quilt is a combination of abstract and realism.

Here is the back - the main fabric is a very old Fabri-Quilt piece that I had in my 'Fabric Library'. Originally I used it in a baby quilt, but there was a large enough piece left to make this backing - as long as I pieced some strips into it. I like interesting backs, but under the pressure of time I sometimes slap any old thing on the back of a quilt, quilt it, bind it, and don't worry about it.