String Ring Quilt Top Finish

I met my goal of getting the scrappy string ring quilt top finished this week ~ woo-hoo!

Thanks to your helpful input as to how it might be finished, I went with a bit larger corner triangles (which form squares on point, in lieu of sashing), finished the outer squares into the border, did a scrappy string border, followed by more of the crosshatch fabric in an outer border. I did have just enough of the crosshatch fabric to squeak out the last border, with only inches to spare.

I am very happy with how it turned out!  As to the quilting of it, you know what?  I am not going to quilt this one myself.  Rather, it will be packed off on a fabulous quilting vacation somewhere, destination to be determined.

It feels like there's not much more to say that hasn't already been said since I started this project early in the year.  To briefly recap, the inspiration was a vintage quilt in a Gwen Marston book, noted here.  The scraps used were various blues, greens, creams, reds, and grays—colors I seem to gravitate toward instinctively, as they are all around me here in the Wisconsin countryside.

I enjoyed the stress-free piecing of the string "strata."  I usually made 4 different strata of strings and cut 5 wedges out of each one for a total of 20 wedges per ring.  Then the fun began when reassembling the wedges into rings (Dresdens).  It was always a cool surprise to see how they came back together!

It was so much fun to work with the beautiful and diverse scraps, many of them shared by friends from their stash.  That makes this quilt all the more special!

Linking up with Sarah today.  There's always lots of good stuff to see over there!

White Elephant

I passed up this vintage elephant teapot a week ago at Goodwill, even though I liked it a lot. When I saw it again yesterday, at 50 percent off, I liked it 100 percent more and bought it!

I wish I knew the maker, but the only identifying mark is what may be a mold number, 2104, at the base of it.  A bit of internet searching didn't turn up any further clues.

Also snagged a Missoni zigzag platter at Goodwill.  It seemed the perfect colors as summer heads toward fall in a month or two.

I'm just popping in here quickly today.  Posting may be light for awhile as I proofread my dad's book.

Meanwhile, work continues on the string ring quilt as time allows.  The black and white stop border just did not seem to work, so I went another direction, finishing the end black and white squares into the border.  Now I'm piecing a narrow mini-piano key (for lack of a better description) border from the dwindling string ring scraps I have left.  This will be followed by a final wider outer border of the crosshatch background fabric.  The binding will be in the black with white dots again.

I am using every last bit of the crosshatch fabric, which is why the outer border isn't any bigger, but I think it will fit my bed when all is said and done!

Interlude

It has been a blast reading all your comments and suggestions on the last post.  I'm so glad I asked!  Thank you all so much for taking the time to comment  thoughtfully.  There were so many wonderful ideas! 

I'm loving this coleus, a last minute random planting.

Now I'm pretty sure I know the direction I'll be going.  The corner squares will stay and be a bit larger.  I'll probably do a narrow border of the same dark fabric as the corners, and a wider outer border of the black and white crosshatch background fabric.  In between those two borders and/or at the very corners of the quilt, I may do something scrappy.  I'm leaving myself some "creative wiggle room," as Elizabeth called it, until I get to that point.

As far as "Failure to plan..." you had some thoughts on completing that sentence as well, such as "freedom to accept what comes along (Sandi) and "allows for spontaneity" (Pokey).  One offering, by the very funny ThreeOldKeys (who invites you to check out her melons), completely cracked me up.  I thought it deserved a special graphic, so I "MacGyvered" one together at lunch today:

Hee-hee!

I am looking forward to working on the string ring quilt again this weekend.  First I have to finish some deadline stuff in the meantime (which I am totally procrastinating on at the moment, I know). 

Until then, I leave you with this fine musical interlude.  My friend Kathy sent me a link to this video yesterday, thinking I might like it.  How right she was!  I like this instrumental better than the original song.  Fantastic fingerstyle guitar playing by Mike Dawes.  Enjoy!

Now What?

"Failure to plan is planning to fail."  Whenever that old adage comes to mind— usually when I'm waist deep in having not planned—it gives me a twinge for a moment or two.  But then I think:  Says who?

I'm pretty sure whoever came up with that one was not a quilter.  A quilter might say:

Failure to plan is...

• a design opportunity.
• a chance to try a new technique.
• an opportunity to use the stash.
• a time to reach out for ideas.
• an open door to a change of mind.

Those are a few that I came up with.  I'm sure you can probably think of more  (and please share them in the comments, if you do).

I have finished machine appliqueing the string rings, or Dresdens, onto the background squares.  I had intended to sash them together, but when it came time for auditions, I didn't particularly like how that looked.  A black print sashing, which I thought would be dramatic, was too harsh.  Red sashing seemed to steal the thunder from the string rings, which I would like to remain the focal point.

How about no sashing at all?  It has maybe a more modern feel, and I like that, but I'm worried it may be boring.  Perhaps an alternate layout (no idea what, though) would liven things up?

Without sashing it's smaller than I originally had in mind.  It would finish approximately 60 x 80, which is not the bed size I imagined.  I am willing to sacrifice the idea of a larger quilt, however, if it makes better sense for the overall design.

Then I had an idea.  What if I made corner triangles on the blocks, which would form squares on point when joining them together and thus a kind of divider?  It might give the eye a bit of a rest and add a secondary, but not too attention-grabbing, point of interest.  I tested the idea with some pieces laid at the corners to give a rough sense of how that might look.

Am I onto something?  Getting warmer?  Colder?  Should I experiment with scrappy corners using some of the scraps in the Dresdens, or would that compete too much with the Dresdens themselves?  And borders or no borders?  It would add to the size (+), but it might overpower the rest of the quilt (-).

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Solstice

Since we have now marked the summer solstice (and how can that be already?), I decided it was high time to put a summery looking quilt on my bed.

Why do I need a quilt on my bed in the summer?  Because I go to bed freezing, as the A/C is set to hubby the polar bear's preference.  But then, because I am of an age when all hormones break loose, I wake at 4:30 a.m. to throw ALL the covers off, sheet included, until the hotness passes.  Twenty or so minutes later, I pull at least the sheet and comforter back on.  Lather, rinse, and repeat for another couple hours, and you get my drift.  I love mornings.

Anyway, since there hasn't been a whole lot of work on quilts this week, at least I can look at a different one on my bed.

I did get all the center circles fused onto the string Dresdens, and tonight I machine stitched one down along the outer circle, as well as the inner centers. I've got another one ready to stitch down...whenever.

The progress on this quilt has been slow, and I think things will continue to move along on it incrementally for the foreseeable future.  Did I mention I'm helping my dad get a book written?  Yeah, so there's that.  Plus regular life, work, other things that need doing in the summer, etc.  Always something.

Norm went back to work half days this week (happy dance!), after three months off for his work injury.  It's nice to have a more of a normal routine again.  I have felt more focused and productive in those four, quiet hours between 8 and noon this past week than I have in a long time.  

So I guess I really do love mornings—after I am out of bed, that is.

Monday Miscellany

I missed doing a Sunday Sundry post, so it's Monday Miscellany instead.  

Found a plant for the vintage Shawnee planter.

We spent yesterday celebrating Father's Day and our 29th anniversary.  Got to visit a bit with our daughter, which was lovely, and then went to a movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  I really enjoyed it.  Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and an all-around stellar cast made for a great film.

We'll have to see how this works out.

Now that the baby quilt is done, it's time to get cracking on the string ring quilt again.  I was originally going to use red centers for the scrappy Dresdens, but then I had an idea to try a black and white polka dot instead.

I liked it, but I sought the opinions of my daughter and husband, who both preferred the red.  Not what I wanted to hear, but I appreciated their input. My daughter thought the black centers looked too much like pupils and crazy irises.  I hadn't thought of that.  Who wants to look at a quilt that looks back at you, creepily?

So I came up with a compromise, which got a thumbs up from Norm, and tonight I did some fusing while a Lifetime movie played in the background.  

I mostly ignored the movie, but now and then I'd pay attention to the dialog.  I think I may have lost a few IQ points in the process.

Reading the newspaper at lunch today, I had a good chuckle over this headline:

Eh, live and let live, I say.  Let a cougar enjoy those perimenopausal years however she likes.  If she can parlay her 40s for a couple of 20s, more power to her! ;)

String Ring Table Mat Tutorial

Here's the tutorial I promised on how to make a scrappy string ring table mat.  It's easy and fun!

Basically, you will be making a Dresden plate but without the points on the ends.  An EZ Dresden ruler works well for this.  If you use that ruler, you will need to cut 20 blades for one ring.  I used the 6-1/2 inch mark when cutting, which makes a ring that finishes at about 16 inches in diameter.

Using strings, or strips, that measure about 11 or 12 inches long and between 1 inch and 2-1/4 inches wide, sew enough strings together so that you have a string "strata" that measures at least 6-1/2 inches wide (mine were a bit bigger and then I trimmed them).  Press all seams open.  Trim to exactly 6-1/2 inches wide.  The length doesn't matter as much, as long as each rectangular strata is at least 11 inches long.

For each string ring, you will need to make 4 such strata pieces, measuring 6-1/2 inches x at least 11 inches.  Try to use different fabrics in each strata, if you want to go for a scrappy look.  I did keep to a color scheme (sort of), i.e., blue, green, tan/off-white, gray, and red.  Don't stress about matching or coordinating, though. You may think your colors will look weird together, but it'll all work out in the end, you'll see.

Now from each strata piece, cut 5 blades using your EZ Dresden template.  Alternate the direction of the blades cut by turning your template the opposite way for each piece that you cut.

When you've cut 5 blades from each of your 4 strata pieces, you will have the 20 blades for your string ring.  Lay them out in a circle, arranged the way you like.

Then sew them together.  I like to sew the blades into quarter sections and press them, then sew the quarters into halves, and finally the two halves into a whole circle.  But do whatever works for you.  Press all your seams open.  Now you have a string ring!

Okay, now on to making the table mat.  I'm going to use a different string ring that I already had sewn together. 

This table mat is not quilted, so you just need a backing, no batting.  Cut your backing fabric about 17-18 inches square (or not...mine had a divot out of one end, which was okay).  It just has to be a bit bigger all the way around than your string ring.  Place the backing fabric right side up and lay the string ring right side down on top of it.

Pin securely all the way around the outer circle.  I put a couple pins around the center hole too just to help keep the layers from shifting.

Sew the layers together with a quarter-inch seam around the outer edge.

Trim even with the outer circle.

Turn the piece right-side out through the open center hole, and press flat.

Now you  need to cover the center hole.  Cut a circle of fabric about 1/2 inch larger in diameter than your center hole (my cut piece was 3-1/2 inches in diameter).

Cut a same-sized circle of Heat 'n Bond Lite and fuse it to the fabric circle following the directions on the package.  Then fuse the fabric circle to the string ring.

Stitch around the edges of the center circle however you would like, straight stitch, zigzag, or decorative.  My 50-year-old Singer doesn't have a whole lot of options, so I went with a combination straight/zigzag stitch.

Then sew jumbo rickrack to the outer edge, stitching about 1/8 inch from the outer circle edge.  I found this to be the most tedious part of the whole process, but it's over quickly and the result is worth it.

And that's it!

Ready for whatever you want to put on top of it—a bouquet of flowers, a potted geranium, plate of cinnamon rolls, pitcher of lemonade, etc.

Have fun with this!  If you make one, let me know.  I'd love to see it!


I'm linking with Connie of Quilting by the River for Linky Party Tuesdays. Click the button and visit some of the other lovely blogs linked there!

Checking In

I was going to put aside the scrappy string rings and work on the Iron Work quilt over the weekend, but I'm this close to having all the string rings done.  So I just kept on creating the string strata, cutting wedges, and sewing them together.  It has been my happy place this past week.

Having mounds of strings all over is a good kind of mess.  It reminds me of playing in a pile of leaves.  You know you've got to rake them up eventually, but you're having too much fun to stop just yet.

Other than that, it's been life as usual lately.  That doesn't make for riveting blog fodder, but here are a few snippets of randomness, in no particular order.

Tonight's rainbow over the neighborhood.

I spotted a bumper sticker the other day on a Ford Windstar which read, "Vans are tangible evidence of evil."  That had me smiling for blocks.  I like a driver with a sense of humor.

Anybody watching Dancing With The Stars?  There is some great competition this year, but I have to give props to Donald Driver.  And not just because I'm a Packer fan, but the guy is really doing well! 

I enjoyed all the threesomes last night (wait, that sounds bad).  Well, what did they call them?  Dance trios or something.  Anyway, Driver's three-way jive was truly "fun, fun, fun," as judge Len put it.  Now give the man a 10 already, would you?

I had a great conversation with a 93-year-old man while waiting for Norm at physical therapy.  He was a World War II veteran, having served at Okinawa.  He had some interesting stories and related them like it was yesterday.  Sharp guy.  Said he was only one of two surviving members of his unit.  I never did get his name, but it was a pleasure to spend a few minutes talking  to a member of the "Greatest Generation."

In a moment of radio roulette the other night, I spun the dial until I landed on something completely different—the polka station!  You cannot listen to polka music and feel bad.  It's like a natural law or something.  Corny jokes and oompa music was a welcome change of pace—for about a half hour, anyway.

"All the signs of a bleeding heart" (No Way Down, The Shins)

I'm also enjoying the music of Tab Benoit, thanks to a tip from Sandi at Piecemeal Quilts.  Good call! 

And I think it's safe to say that I am fairly obsessed with The Shins new album, Port of Morrow.  Here's this week's favorite song.

Weekend Wrap

A sweet friend sent me an email Friday that there was a big stash of Pyrex at the local Goodwill.  What a great tip!  

Unfortunately, I had not checked my email until right before starting a work shift, so I couldn't go there immediately.  As you might suppose, by the time I did make it there, it was crickets in the Pyrex department.  Nothing left.

But all was not lost.  In my quest to scour the shelves for any misplaced or wandering Pyrex, I found some other treasures, like this vintage picnic basket.

I'm typing "picnic basket" here, but in my head, I'm hearing a Yogi Bear voice say "pic-a-nic basket."  Also, "Mr. Forest Ranger, sir."  You too, now?  Sorry, Boo-Boo.

Classic cartoon references aside, I also found a couple cute metal recipe boxes.  One probably dates to the late 1950s or early '60s and the other one with the strawberry motif is probably late '70s, early '80s.

That makes four such boxes in my house...another collection, yikes!

I knew nothing about these vintage serving bowls except that I liked them.  There were two, and who am I to separate twins?  

They will be brimming with with freshly picked raspberries in the coming months, and green beans.  Not together, though.  You really do need two different bowls for that.

There was more sewing this weekend too, since the weather was deciding to be all cool, cloudy, damp, and April-like.  I just holed up in the sewing room and knocked out a couple more scrappy string rings.

I think this one is my favorite so far:

On second thought, maybe it's this one...

...or was it this one?

Okay, I really can't pick a favorite because they're all winners.  I'm halfway there—six more to go!

I also made a few more string blocks for the String Thing Along charity quilt that Brenda will be putting together.  These will go in the mail tomorrow morning.

What kind of trouble (or fun) did you get into this weekend?