Repose - the Quilt

Repose is now a finished low-volume quilt measuring 54" x 70"

Made using roughly 375 four-inch tumblers die cut mid-June 2024 from 69 unique stash fabrics.

I'm glad I decided to use a darker backing instead of another low volume.

Quilted using my liberated free motion all-over nested spirals and Glide thread in Pink Rose.

Here's a photo of the backing and the Cherrywoods off-center strip.

And a detail of the binding - no info on selvage aside from the fact that it is a Free Spirit print (several years old).

* * *

Repose was intended to be finished for use in January with the rest of our low-volume quilts, but that month has come and gone for 2025.

However, I'm totally ahead of the game for January 2026.

(you can see the earlier posts for this project by using the Repose label below)

Quiltdivajulie

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"Cultivate the habit of being grateful."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Color Abounds

The earlier of the two Christmas cacti is in full bloom again - such wonderfully vivid color against the cold rain and dark clouds outside the sunroom windows.

Not to be outdone, the second of the two cacti is almost ready to start its second bloom.

I have NEVER had a Christmas cactus bloom a second year let alone TWICE in that second year - Color me delighted!

The amaryllis we purchased shortly before Christmas put on a magnificent display in December.

Lo and behold we have four bonus blooms in February.

Here's a close up of one flower - such beautiful shading in the petals.

The waxed amaryllis gifted by my sister is almost ready to share what color its blossom(s) will be.

. . .  and now heading upstairs to the sewing studio . . . 

As I've sewn the strip segments for Shirts and Such, I have finished stitching the initial pairs for Vellichor (the pairs for Rubricate were finished off earlier in the S&S process).  

With three more sets of segments and the actual row construction yet to come, I needed another leader-ender project so . . . 

I spent a couple of hours preparing the pairs for Grandiose, another quilt in the Macnas-inspired series.

This time around, I'm finger pressing the blocks as they are sewn and oh, the joy these colors exude!

* * *

And stepping around the corner to the design studio (home of my stash and cutting table) . . . 

A little at a time, I've gotten the rectangles cut for Enchanted, another in the Macnas-inspired series (not previously posted).

I saved all the end cuts and such in the white baskets to make scrap slabs when I feel the urge.  I didn't do that with the earlier quilts in the series, but after making the slab from Grandiose leftovers, I realized I was missing a scrappy playtime opportunity.

And finally, I pulled out Wallaroo's project box to cut its rectangles.  

I quickly realized my original plan (shown in this post) to use gray as the alternate to the aboriginals was not going to fly.  Instead, I'll use this mix of warmer neutrals.

You can see the full list of quilts in the Macnas-inspired series in the sidebar, if you're curious.  Eventually I'll create a separate page for them.

* * *

As soon as the cutting table is clear again, I'll get Repose pin basted and get Haru's top, back, and already cut batting rolled onto the pool noodles so Haru is ready to pin baste later this month (if all goes well).

Quiltdivajulie

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"The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts."

Marcus Aurelius

And Then ...

In my last post I mentioned that with the pool noodles empty after pin basting Logophile I could roll the top and back for Repose right away instead of relegating them to the dreaded waiting to be quilted closet.

Well . . . instead of Repose, I ended up piecing this back for Blossoms because friends of ours just (or as they put it FINALLY) became first-time grandparents of a baby girl.

Blossom's quilt sandwich has been pin basted and is awaiting time with Max.  (introductory post for this squirrel project is here)

I'm still debating whether to use green or pink thread - the binding is a darker shade of pink so I'm leaning in that direction.

Once Blossoms was pin basted, the pool noodles were once again empty and I did get the top and back for Repose rolled onto them.

I'll need to cut and roll the batting but not until the other two are quilted and finished.

Over the past week or so, in between other things, I've been stitching the strip sets for the rows of Shirts and Such.  Eventually there will be twelve groups of three like the first three above.

I'm sewing each row's strips into three groups so the sections can be easily trimmed to 6.5" wide using a 24" ruler before being sewn together.  

Working this way gives me maximum flexibility when I'm ready to lay everything out on the design wall.

My sister in Michigan surprised me with the delivery of this waxed amaryllis bulb.  I'll take a photo every few days so I can gauge how it is growing and when the flower buds appear it will be fun to discover what color the blooms will be.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I love pink - pink's my favourite.  I hardly ever - weirdly - wear it, but I love the colour pink."

Elli Goulding

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

Repose - the Flimsy

REPOSE is the first finished quilt top of 2025.

55" wide x 70" long (before trimming the sides).

Here's a detail showing some of the fabrics (taken while I was pressing the top).

And here's another detail with the lamp light (the one that let's me know my iron is ON) in the upper left corner.

A bit of the top's pressed back side . . . 

And another view of the finished quilt top.

Once I pin baste and quilt LOGOPHILE (waiting on the noodles since September) and quilt the six pin basted since September birthday placemats, REPOSE will be next in line.  I'd like to say it all of those will be quilted by month end, but I know better to make promises I'm not sure I can keep.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Nothing is stronger than gentleness."

Abraham Lincoln

Stalled - But Why?

Saturday I pulled out the cut strips for Shirts and Such so I could sort them into twelve rows using my plate method. 

I divided the first plateful into three groups and started sewing strips together.

The original plan to include scrappy pieced inserts was a total fail - the inserts did not play well as their colors were just too strong and dominant.  No worries - they can go elsewhere.

When I took this photo and realized how long the paired rows for Repose have been waiting on the design wall, I got to thinking about WHY I wasn't finishing that top instead of starting another.

Hmmmmm -- 

In real life, the Repose top is much lighter than it looks in the photos.  The proposed backing was also low key (you can see it in this post).

After finishing Spoondrift, I realized that I wanted a darker backing for Repose to ground those light-colored tumblers.  But what to use?

(the funny part is that when I looked back through previous posts for Repose, the original backing plan was a dark print with pink flowers, since used for another quilt)

I had already decided to quilt Repose with a soft pink thread so I needed a backing that had some connection to pink.   In looking at the backing fabrics waiting in the closet, this one grabbed my attention even though it was planned for another pending project.

When I put it up on the wall beside Repose, I knew it was the right choice.  AND the scrappy insert strips rejected from Shirts and Such can be used in the center back seam of Repose. 

Win-Win.

But that decision left this fabric pull for a planned scrappy sixteen patch now named GRANDIOSE without a backing.  

The solution was waiting in the closet  - Vintage Grandiose by Philip Jacobs.

YES.

Of course all of that rummaging about in the waiting to be quilted/planned backings closet got me thinking about the planned scrappy backing for Shirts and Such (you can see those fabrics HERE).

This "Midnight Hydrangea" from Studio e has been in the closet for a very long time.  I'm glad it hadn't been used before now because it is perfect for Shirts and Such.  (the fabric on the right will be used for binding - I think).  

* * *

Bottom line - it pays to stop and make yourself put into words why a project is stalled AND it pays to be willing to change things around while shopping your own stash.

p.s.  you can see more for any of these projects by using the labels below.

Quiltdivajulie

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"The seed of your next artwork lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece."

David Bayles

Introducing Studio Squirrel No. 5

Introducing Violet (named for Dame Maggie Smith's Lady Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Downtown Abbey), who has joined her merry band of cousins Chase, Hunter, Mischief, and Flash in my studio.

You can see all of their photos in the sidebar and posts with their previous appearances by using the 'studio squirrels' label below.

In between other things, I managed a bit more sewing time as you can see by how many more pairs of rows are on the design wall.

Here's a different view that includes a glimpse of the backing fabric (far left) - a gift from two online and later in-person friends.

(I am waiting to press all of the pairs before sewing them together, just in case adjustments are needed)

* * *

And then the squirrels distracted me with a nagging reminder that the clean out and re-org of my studio drawers was still waiting to be finished.  

(done and dusted now)

Next up on the clean up the studio list will be the big closet in my design studio where project boxes, lined drawstring gift bags, and all sorts of other stuff are jumbled on the shelves and stuffed into the corners.  I can manage the lower step on the step stool now which will let me reach the top shelf and I promise to ask the guys for help if there's something I can't quite reach!

As for the foot - I'm finally able to wear my normal orthotic in the surgical shoe and I can't believe how much I've missed that support.  The swelling continues to lessen but standing still for any length of time is still uncomfortable - walking is actually easier.

Busy week ahead - hopefully with some studio time in the mix.

Quiltdivajulie

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"All this endless thinking.  It's very overrated."

Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham

Today's the Day

These are the first six tumbler rows for Repose.

I ended up sorting the sewn pairs onto plates and I'm assembling them in two-row-pairs so I can rearrange if necessary before final assembly (hopefully before year end).

Here are those same rows but viewed from the opposite end.

I'm looking forward to more sewing time towards the end of the week.  

* * *

Later today DH has his second cataract surgery . . . fingers crossed all goes well and he no longer has the brain strain of one "new" eye and one "old" eye.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance."

Coco Chanel

I Sewed

I sewed -- I actually sewed!

I told DH it was easy to tell it had been a while since my wall calendar was still on October and today is December 1.

The individual low volume tumblers for Repose were pinned in pairs before my surgery so they were what I pulled for this initial sit and sew session.

Once all the pairs were sewn, I sorted them loosely by the dominant fabric or color.

I haven't decided yet whether to (a) sort 9 of these pairs onto 18 plates and piece the rows from those, or (b) sew these pairs into fours, the fours into eights, and the eights into sixteens before adding the necessary single tumblers for a row 19 wide once the rows are arranged on the design wall.

My guess is that I will go with option b . . . I'm in the mood to sew, not move back and forth between the machine and the design wall.

These are my two newest nutcrackers who stand guard near my computer.  

And LOOK - one of my two cactus is blooming!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Always have something beautiful in sight, even if it's just a daisy in a jelly glass."

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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

A Bit of Studio Time

The other day Lynne shared a new project she's working on using her bright on black fabrics.

That sent me upstairs to look at my bright on black stash.  

Hmmm - it was getting messy so I've been tidying and refolding.

So many pieces left from previous projects .  .  .

Some of the yardage came from backings and bindings . . . 

Other pieces were used in B.O.B.  (flimsy) and its backing and Razzle Dazzle - which may or may not get quilted before the end of the year . . . 

These half-yards came from a recent eQuilter sale . . . 

And these were going to be used for the back of Tuxie-Tude but with the change to black and white backing, these can go back in the stash.

I'm itching to make something with these, but obviously it will be a while before I start anything new.

At the other end of the color spectrum -- one of my goals this week was to finish die cutting the rest of the low volume 4" tumblers for Repose.

(The squares from a mix of 69 unique fabrics had only been waiting since June)

My next step was to pin pairs of tumblers and sort those into groups of ten for easy counting.

There are 320 tumblers in the 16 clipped sets shown above, plus 9 more pairs (bottom right), and 18 single tumblers for the row ends (bottom left).

My plan is to make a top 19 tumblers wide x 18 rows long (342 tumblers) 

I won't start stitching these until later in the year - but at least the project is ready to go when I am.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Gazing at beautiful things acts on my soul."

Michaelangelo