Logophile - the Quilt

This inspiration photo was taken in late 2019 during one of our then age-4 grandson's weekly visits to the public library (that's the children's area's glass house in the background - its background link is in one of the posts linked below).

In January 2020 I die cut a lot of 3" HSTs, their colors inspired by the photo (half KF Collective prints and half newsprint fabric from Carrie Bloomston's 2015 line called "Story").

THIS was my introductory post for the project that I named Logophile (a person who loves words).

The blocks were sewn and laid out on the design wall two years later (February 2022) based on a quilt top made by Red Pepper Quilts.

But at that point I didn't think the layout worked with the vision I had in my head, so I came up with this layout instead.

The quilt top's March 2022 reveal post is HERE.

And then the top went into the "waiting to be quilted" closet.

After a lot of time had passed, with at least three backing fabric swap outs, this happened.

And now, at long last, Logophile is a finished quilt.

Quilted in liberated all-over nested spiral fans using Glide thread in Pink Rose.

The quilt measures 64" x 64" which is the perfect size for it to become one of our Kitchen Table Quilts.

Here you can see the actual backing.  

(Dappled Dots in Flamingo Pink from the Misty Garden line of fabrics designed by Lara Skinner for Kaufman - now sold out online everywhere I searched for it)

The 5" borders and the binding are from a 2019 fabric by Dan Morris for QT fabrics.

As soon as DH finishes the final few touches to the kitchen window he replaced this week, I'll take Brumous off the table and let Logophile begin its inaugural turn on the table.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I love sewing, so I'm not trying to 'get it over with.'  I'm not trying to wrap it up so I can go off and dust."

Gwen Marston

Snow Day

The second Christmas cactus continues to outdo itself with blossoms.

And if you look beyond those blooms you will see snow.  We had roughly five inches in our yard, which is a lot for this area.

Wet snow makes for the prettiest trees.

Our back yard patio table and chairs (photographed from the kitchen window).

Predicted temperatures are well below freezing at night but in the upper 30s/lower 40s during the sunny daytime.  We'll follow that same daytime thaw and nighttime freeze pattern for the next several days, so it won't be long before the joy of a snow day fades back into normal routines.

I spent much of my snow day in the studio.

One of the bigger items accomplished was piecing and pressing the backing for Repose. (see previous post for the quilt top)

I also cleared everything off the cutting table (taking time to put things away correctly, not just piling them elsewhere) so I could pin baste Logophile. (you can read its backstory by clicking on the label at the end of this post)

Mission accomplished.  

With the pool noodles emptied, I will noodle-roll the freshly pressed top and back for Repose and bypass the typical waiting to be quilted closet stage.

* * *

With three weeks left in January, I'm sure I will get Logophile quilted/bound.  

The birthday placemats will likely come next as they're already pin basted.

If all goes well, maybe I can even get Repose pin basted, quilted, and bound before month end.  Maybe.

Quiltdivajulie

Eye Candy to Share

I spent some time in the studio on Saturday taking inventory and making some longer term decisions about my pending project piles (amazingly, several fabric pulls were put back on the shelves - they just weren't going to happen).

There was a lot of moving around between piles until I had a mix that made me happy and were most likely to be turned into quilts that look and feel like "me" rather than the designers.

I also made a lot of notes in my project files, especially with the new changes, so I would be able to remember what I was thinking by the time I get back to these.

There was quite a bit of "pick up and put away where it belongs" as well.  When I can go up and down stairs again, it will be so much nicer to walk into reasonably tidy rooms.

And about that inventory . . . 

I  have four projects previously blogged about that are cut out and ready to start stitching (Repose, Rubricate, Shirts and Such, and Vellichor).

There are eight pending projects with fabric pulls, design plans, and backings from the stash (three of which are shown above).

And then there are the fourteen quilt top/backs waiting for their turn with Max.  Spoondrift is pin basted ready to FMQ.  Logophile is rolled onto the pool noodles ready for pin basting.  The other twelve are neatly folded onto hangers in the "waiting to be quilted" closet.

All in good time.

(you can use the labels below my signature/quote to see previous posts for the projects named above)

* * *

Surgery tomorrow - once I am clear-headed enough to post, I’ll share an update.

Be back soon.

Quiltdivajulie

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"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

Henry David Thoreau

Pieces of Progress

The fabric for the birthday placemats arrived and has now been cut into 18" x 24" slabs.  

They've been sandwiched with batting and backing and are ready to be quilted using Glide in Dijon.

Spoondrift was rolled onto the three pool noodles back in early July. 

Finally the  layers are pin basted.

I'll use Glide thread in Linen to quilt this one.

I decided to use a different piece of yardage from the stash to back Logophile.

(you can see the previous choice here)

I cut/pieced the backing and now all three layers are rolled onto pool noodles.

Once the placemats and Spoondrift are quilted, I'll pin baste and start quilting Logophile, which will then become one of our kitchen table quilts.  

I've also randomly paired and pinned the Cherrywood bits for Shirts and Such so they're ready to use as leader-enders whenever I work on Tuxie-Tude's rows.

Background work isn't always fun but it surely helps move projects forward.

Quiltdivajulie

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"One of the most powerful things I've learned (about art) is progress is not linear."

Alison Beere

Logophile - the Flimsy

Logophile is now a finished quilt top measuring roughly 65" square.

The border fabric (Dan Morris 2019 for QT Fabrics) has been in my stash since the closing of our LQS. The blend of colors is absolutely perfect for these HSTs and I'll use the same fabric for binding when the time comes.

This long-stashed yardage will make a gorgeous backing. 

This quilt turned out very differently from my original idea and I'm totally okay with that.   

Quiltdivajulie

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“I always write ‘Magic Potion’ on my perfume bottles so when I use them, it feels magical.”

Alexa Chung

Logophile - Major Update

This is the glass house in the Children's Room at the main location of our Public Library.

Here is the description from the library's website:  

"Perhaps one’s first thought when stepping into the Children’s Area is, “Exactly how did I wander into the pages of a children’s story?”

An understandable reaction, as you are surrounded by stylized trees, colorful rivers and a fantastic glass house at the end of a magical path. Nancy Cheairs has created a world of wonder based on her celebrated painting that grips the imagination of children and adults alike. “I wanted to create a whimsical piece that opens children’s minds to reading and learning,” said the artist. Delightfully exaggerated and fueled by creativity, Cheairs has helped make the Children’s Area of the library the most captivating of its kind."

And this photo of Little Man (many months ago) in front of that glass house is what inspired the project I named Logophile (a person who loves words).

After leader-endering over 300 three-inch HSTs and turning them into 9" blocks, this was the very disappointing result of the first layout on the design wall.

This was a second attempt which was still utterly and completely disappointing, which clearly meant there was no where to go but somewhere far beyond the original inspiration . . . 

This iteration is so much more alive.  When sewn together this way, the top would measure 54" square.  (double click to supersize for more fabric details - lots of text prints and KF fabrics)

Here it is on the design wall with the intended backing (from the Story line by Carrie Bloomston).  It doesn't show well in this photo but the bodies of the elephants have fragments of text on them.  (the  backing and binding may or may not actually be used)

I'm going to let things stay this way on the wall for a bit to be sure I want to move forward with finishing.  

Quiltdivajulie

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“And where does magic come from? I think that magic’s in the learning.”

Dar Williams

In the Works

I'm happy to report that I have pieced and quilted the squirrel mat using leftovers from the two Camp Sefton quilts (Isabela and Mirabel).  This is the mat's intended home, atop my thread cabinet.

Here's a close up showing the top of the mat along with the back cover of my copy of Little Man's book.

I'm especially pleased as I was able to use the very last section of binding from the two quilts on my mat.  

This photo shows the reverse side of the mat.

Since the binding shown in the first close up wasn't long enough, I added some left after finishing the February utility mats.  Perfect blend of colors.

On the design wall are these first few blocks for Logophile.  All of the HSTs are pieced and I'm making a block or two each evening.  The two light blocks above read as "holes" so they ended up being replaced, as you'll see in the photo below.

Here's where things are for now.  A few seams at a time, this one will come together over the next few weeks.

 

This was Little Man's pillow case for February. 

And this is the pillow case for March.

I'm very proud of myself because April's pillow case is ready and waiting AND the fabrics for May, June, July, August, and September pillowcases are cut and waiting to be assembled.  

Over in the design studio, I am in the process of cutting into the many polka dot fabrics I pulled last year.  

I'm cutting rectangles for this project which I had previously been calling Jollification.  The new name will be DOT TO DOT.  Once completed, Dot to Dot will be set aside as a future baby quilt.

I'm also cutting larger rectangles to die cut 3" HSTs for a more colorful version of a quilt Cathy L. shared last year.  Again, my fabric thoughts for this one have been all over the map with GONE DOTTY and I find it hilarious that in the end I will be making it with the polka dots I first envisioned.  

My primary polka dot goal is to get the long-pending stacks of fabric cut for these projects so they can be re-folded and integrated back into the stash.   No more moving them from here to there and back again.

  

Quiltdivajulie

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“If you just keep your head down and just try and do your thing, sometimes magic happens.”

Gavin Rossdale

Introducing Dulcet and Logophile

This was one of my Christmas presents from DH.

I made a flannel quilt in 2006 using a palette

of dark cream, burgundy, and hunter green.

I've been wanting to make another "lighter" flannel quilt 

and when I saw these Mammoth flannel bundles,

I quickly added them to my wish list.

After they were laundered, instead of putting them away

I cut 14 of the FQs into pieces for 

It's a Plaid Plaid World from APQ (free download).

Saturday I enjoyed some quality sit and sew time.

First four columns pieced and sewn.

(vertical seams pending)

By the end of the day all seven were pieced.

The pattern's dimensions are 56" x 62" 

so I used all but three of the remaining segments

to lengthen each of the columns.

The top should end up in the 56" x 65+" range.

The plan is to make a giant four patch back

using the two flannels on the left.

I've named this DULCET meaning 

"extremely pleasant in a gentle way"

As I stitched all those columns together I was also

leader-endering these cut-and-paired-in-2020 HSTs

for a project I named LOGOPHILE -

meaning "a person who loves words."

My design and color palette were inspired by 

this late 2019 photo of Little Man 

during one of his regular Saturday visits to

 the Childrens Room at the Public Library.

(if you've never read it, he highly recommends

The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds)

* * *

Finally, Kaja over at The AdHoc Improv Quilters blog

has shared the latest six-month challenge 

called "pick a color."

You can see my first post for 

the color palette challenge here.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Every decently-made object, from a house to a lamp post to a bridge, spoon or egg cup, is not just a piece of 'stuff' but a physical embodiment of human energy, testimony to the magical ability of our species to take raw materials and turn them into things of use, value and beauty.”

Kevin McCloud