Mitered Corners

I was so excited to see some signs of life....the daylilies at our condo entrance are poking through.  It's such a treat to see green.....I'm going to be watching every time I'm out.

I had a fairly busy day....but I did get a start on the baby quilt binding in between things.

I am NOT an expert quilter....but I have learned how to do a pretty simple mitered corner.....so I thought I would share my process. I know several quilters read this blog...so you're probably not my target audience on this one.  But if there is even one or two of you out there who don't know...this post is for you. Let's see how I do.

First of all....I want to share my choices.  I ended up using this purple polka dot for the backing.  Partly because I had enough of it....and mostly because I thought it was fun.  The purple is unexpected and the blue dots are a nod to the front. I chose purple thread on purpose for the bobbin so my less than perfect quilting wouldn't be as noticeable.  The star boarder leans a little to the purple side of blue....so it all works really well.

I auditioned several binding fabrics....and landed with a bold rainbow stripe.....because why not!  I love the way it looks on the front with the stars and on the back framing the purple. As of now....I'm about half done with the hand stitching.  

I always start my binding on one of the sides....and not usually right in the middle.  I didn't take a photo of that part.....I was just thinking about sharing the mitered corners.

I chose a wide seam allowance so more of the binding would show on the front.  As I stitched along I stopped with my needle down at the point where you see my pin....which is a seam allowance away from the corner and the next side.  The black dotted line shows the edge of the quilt you can't see.

Then I lifted the presser foot with the needle still down and pivoted and stitched out to the corner.  That's one of the secrets of this technique that was new to me. I lifted the presser foot but I DO NOT cut my thred.  

I rotated the quilt counter clockwise as I got ready to sew the next side. (I still haven't cut my thread) 

I folded the binding straight back creating that perfect triangle and gave it a little finger press.

Keeping this angle...next I folded the binding straight down along the next edge.  This fold happened to be right between the light and dark blue.  See the next photo.  

Once it's folded down and lined up along the side and started stitching right from edge. I never had to cut the thread.

When I pull the binding back it's like magic....a perfect mitred corner. I use this same technique when I do a fused binding around a canvas.

It almost falls exactly into place on the back....

making perfect mitred corner on both sides.

The stitching goes fairly quickly using a blind hem stitch....I just fold the binding under as I go.  

I do enjoy this mindfully mindless stitching....but I have to do it in small doses as it's hard on my hands. I think that's my new normal.  I'm expecting I'll finish in the next day or two. Yay!

Good Run

Back in 2020 I started my second 100 day project.  I didn't make it the full 100 days....but I had a good 50 day run making blue quilt squares infused with a little color.  

Each day I made a square...often times influenced by something that caught my eye during the day. It was a fun way to celebrate something beautiful...and participate in the ritual of a creative daily practice.  One square a day it also a great way to make a quilt....if you're not in a hurry.  But you do have to stick with it. 

I wrote about the start of my project here in this post:  http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2020/04/antoher-100-days.html  My whole 50 day journey can be found under the label "another 100 days" along the side of the blog....if you've got nothing better to do. I had fun revisiting some of the inspirations for the squares.

This square was inspired by Eliza's fabulous outfit.

And this one by these tulips.  

I remember the day I took this photo. It was a picture perfect day...and this was one of those "Strikingly Pleasing" scenes....and it inspired this square.

I'm going to to Wisconsin in mid April.  I'll gather with my sisters and meet with my art group to exchange our finished accordion booklets. But most importantly, I'll be meeting a very special little guy...who, as of this post, hasn't even arrived yet. My Goddaughter Emily is expecting a baby boy....and I'm so excited to be a Grand Godmother!

Before the quilting.

I decided a while ago that I would turn some of these squares into a baby quilt.  I knew Emily would appreciate that this gift was born (pun intended) out of a creative daily practice.  She gets me.

I want this quilt to be the outside quilt....the one they use for picnics in the treehouse and trips to the park.  I want it to be the don't be afraid to get it dirty or spilled on quilt.  

I finished the quilt top a few days ago....and today I finished the quilting.  Machine quilting is not my forte....but I did the best I could.

I just did a series of loops....all sizes and shapes....and unfortunately all stitch lengths.  I'm not all that great at keeping my stitches consistent....in some places it's more like basting.

I used a variegated blue thread....and when it landed with dark on dark or light on light I couldn't really see where or what I was stitching so it's kind of wonky in some places.  But I'm good with that....and I'm sure the baby won't notice.

This photo is after the quilting....it has so much more texture.  Now I'll audition fabrics for the binding...and move on to the final step. It's been a good run so far...and I'm a month ahead of schedule!  Yay!

Pathway

It wasn't a very creative day today....other chores and tasks took priority....but I did forge a pretty important pathway.  

I've been working on the Quilts of Gee's Bend puzzle that Margie did a while back.  It's all about colors and patterns.....and I'm loving it.  

I started at the top thinking this was the perfect puzzle to work on one row at a time....pushing the rows up the table keeping everything within reach. I like working that way....and the quilts were so distinctive that I knew it would work well on this one.

But you know how I like to make a connection from top to bottom...or side to side....and that usually happens when I'm further along.  But why not just create that pathway now!  So that's what I did.....and I was actually quite tickled with myself.  And in a day filled with things largely out of my control....it was a silly pathway to some much needed joy. 

Good Things

Yesterday I wrote about beautiful things....and today I'm writing about good things. And lucky for me....most of them are also beautiful.  

It's a good thing when a Christmas cactus bloom is fully open....and 3 more are on the way.

It's a good thing when I get photos of Eliza....this time opening her Easter box.

And it's a REALLY good thing to know Eliza is creating her own project with the eggs.  Can't wait to see what this turns out to be.

How can it not be a good thing when someone sends you a photo of a potato!  Marilyn reached out to me about my ounce of joy project....and I was thrilled to hear from another interested reader.

She followed it up with this photo of a heart potato....I love it!  She certainly has been paying attention to know it was something that would make me smile.  Thank you Marilyn!  I hope to get your ounce in the mail tomorrow!

Family....and knitting are her joys....and I'll add a Rhode Island ★ to my map!

OK....this is another really good thing....but not necessarily a beautiful thing. Remember this photo from yesterday?  A big thank you to Kathy for playing along and commenting with a guess....she was pretty darn close with her guess of dryer lint.  Someone else called it "accidental confetti"  That works!

One of the goals of the "Confidence Kickstart" Class with Izzy Moore was to get to know my sewing machine better....which I did.  Another goal was to learn how to better take care of my machine....which I put off because I got right to Izzy's project.

I only change my needle once in a while....and I only clean what I can visibly see.  I've NEVER looked on the inside...until a few days ago....and I was horrified.  All of this is going to change!

This is the pile of stuff that came out of my machine....and the photo above is a close-up.  And this doesn't include what I vacuumed out.  

The is the first time I took off the metal plate.  Wow!

The poor feed dogs were really clogged up.  The black bobbin case also came out....and I didn't take a photo but that's where the big fuzz blobs came from. Like I said...it's not a beautiful thing....but it's a really good thing I tackled this 20 minute project.  Never again will I wait this long....and if you sew...and haven't cleaned out your machine I highly recommend that you do.

And it's also a good thing that with the cleaning....and a new needle....the machine is running like a dream. Just in time for a project I'm working on for someone very special.  More to come.  Does anybody recognize these squares?

Happy Birthday Brenda!  I hope the card arrived on time! 

This was the my first experiment with this technique.  It's a good thing!

Beautiful Things

I was out and about most of the morning....then had a really good catch up chat with Becky this afternoon. It was long overdue. You know you have a lot of topics to cover...and common ground when before you know it 3 hours had passed.

I also got a couple of wonderful pieces of mail today....this first one came all the way from Scotland!  

Susan sent me this beautiful handmade accordion book....I was so touched!

It folds up into this sweet little book....tied with a cute little braided closure....and fits perfectly in the palm of my hand.

There is such a thoughtful mixture of artwork and words....

all coordinating so beautifully. And her words hit on things close to my heart: Collecting, Creating, and Connecting

Ounces of JOY

and Bringing and Sharing Joy

Thank you Susan! 

I will never grow weary of looking closely at and celebrating beautiful things.

I like it when I catch Paul in my photos..... 

...he's another one of those beautiful things!

The sky was especially lovely this morning.....pretty clouds with little glimpses of blue. 

And although I will welcome buds and leaves on the trees with open arms....I'm still quite fond of the silhouettes of the bare trees against a beautiful sky.

I had a whole different post planned....but it will have to wait until tomorrow....this post is getting too long.  It was going to start with this photo....with the gray background. Any guesses what it is? 

But I had to chuckle...because it reminds me of the beautiful texture in my other piece of mail.  Do you see the similarity?

Roseanne sent me this lovely handmade postcard. She dyed watercolor paper with Raspberry Rose Hibiscus Tea which produced beautiful color...and fabulous texture.  Way more fun than where my texture photo came from.  I'll fill you in tomorrow.

Mediocrity

Subtitle: Wanda's Way is My Way

"If I find an activity that brings me simple happiness, I can permit myself to treasure it as it is...whether I objectively suck at it or not."  Kerry Duncan

The quote came from an article in the Guardian called The Joy of Mediocrity! Thanks for the link Roseanne!

I'll have to say....this little spread in the art journal makes me smile....in all of its magnificent mediocrity. And I love that it's such a mixture of things. You get a glimpse of the eucalyptus stencil experiment from a few days ago on the left...a circle watercolor I did a long time ago that I chopped up and stitched into the book...a piece of a napkin there in the middle....my first experiment with the eucalyptus mask in the middle right....another view of Lynne's collage...and finally a little peek at another quote from Broken For you:  "It was not, however, not Wanda's way."

I keep saying I'm not an art journaler....but I'll have to admit....I'm having fun filling up this art journal. 😉  

Can you spot the difference between the two photos? I felt the watercolor was just too bright. As an artist I admire taught me...if something is too much of itself just give it glaze.  So I painted over it with a very light wash of Golden Zinc White paint...which is very transparent. It knocked down the color a bit....and I think it made a difference....however so slight.

I also used the zinc white paint to knock down the intensity of the dark green in the napkin cut out. When you separate the layers of a napkin and glue them down...the background just disappears....making them great for collage. 

I love this napkin...and have several more cutouts to use somewhere.  I'm not sure where I got it....but for some reason I think it has a connection to you, Tracie. Does it look familiar?

I sneak napkins in my pocket from parties all the time. 

For this eucalyptus I layed the mask down right on the page....and blotted watercolor around it. I added some speckles and touches of another green....and outlined it a bit with pencil. I think it's kind of sweet. I'm looking forward to playing with these stencils and masks more!

 

I had to do a lot of fixing on the quote on the next page...but it doesn't matter. I'm pretty happy with mediocrity in this art journal. This is the excerpt from the book just before the quote about Wanda's studio I shared a few days ago. I love this passage too....so I'm glad it's in the journal....even with all its flaws.

Here's the actual passage from Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos

Wanda's way....is my way!

"Some artists keep their source ideas out of sight and neatly organized - in file cabinets or closets perhaps, or in carefully labeled boxes.  These artists are serial monogamists.  They take on one project at a time and see it through to its completion.  They focus with exclusivity, putting up firewalls that cannot be breached by the incursion of other ideas.  If other inspirations whisper to them, they might take notes, they the shelve them. This kind of artist makes her ideas stand in a queue. She asked them to kindly wait their turn. She promises she will get to them, she keeps her appointments, but she insists upon seeing them one a a time. It is one perfectly viable way of working. It, was not, however, Wanda's way."