A Challenge

Emmetsburg Township, Palo Alto County Iowa Plat Map

W.W. Hixson Co.; 1930

Many of you may not know that I love genealogy as much as I love quilting and gardening. I've been researching and documenting my family history since before there was the internet as we know it or Ancestry.com. My research involved lots of letter writing and hand crank microfilm readers in library basements and prying info out of relatives at family reunions.   I've been entering records into a Family Tree Maker program since the first DOS version came out.   I also have several websites with document transcriptions I share with other researchers.  One of those sites is Palo Alto County, Iowa where I'm related to almost everyone there of Irish descent. 

My great grandfather, Michael Joynt eventually settled in Palo Alto County, Iowa after he emigrated from Galway, Ireland as a young man. His homestead certificate granting him land was signed by Ulysses S. Grant.  He married Bridget Brennan. Her family emigrated from Kilkenny, Ireland and settled first in Canada and later in Palo Alto County, Iowa. 

And that story leads me to the latest Map Challenge at AHIQ: Improv Utility Quilts. 

I like most challenges. They make me use my sluggish little gray cells. (I can almost feel those neurons and synapses moving and shaking). 

I don't make art quilts. I have no wall space for them.  So what to make...what to make...

I first thought to map a quilty family tree. But that's one of the big things already taking up that wall space I said I no longer have. 

Then I finally decided on a Plat Map. Which one? 

I decided on Emmetsburg Township, Palo Alto County, Iowa where my great grandfather and other relatives settled. And I decided on the year 1930 because that is the year my father was born.  So armed with a map and a huge kinship report from Family Tree Maker for my father I decided I would make a Plat Map Quilt. The areas where someone related to my Dad was living in 1930 will be in green. If family is unrelated then the area will be brown. I'm using earth tones, of course! (And scraps). 

There will be 36 blocks. At first I was going to make 8 inch blocks but that would result in a small 48 inch square quilt. But I like big quilts so went with 12 inch blocks.   I think I'm going to use muslin for the back and probably include printed pics and docs related to Emmetsburg Township and the land.   And if all goes well then I might also make a quilty 1908 Plat Map for the same township.

 So...here's section 28. The green shamrocks is where my great grandfather, Michael Joynt, settled and where my grandparents were living when my dad was born in 1930.   This land was in the family until recently. I was sad to see it sold but that is what my Dad, the youngest child, opted to do after all his siblings died.  I spent the summers there as a young girl and have some wonderful memories of grandparents, aunts and uncles. 

Section 33 which is south of section 28. 

 Section 21 north of section 28. 

And those three sections (out of 36) go together like this. 

More later! 

At the Borderline

Right now this quilt-to-be is 42 x 54. 

That's way too small, in my opinion, for even a nice sized lap quilt. 

But it has been laying around in pieces since May 2013 so this top is an improvement. I'm moving forward. 

The "pieces" were these six inch Prairie Flower quilt blocks made of pansy fabrics and a few butterfly fabrics. I liked them when there were a few of them but never did like them by themselves. They were too busy for me even after I started adding solids to some blocks.  So they have lingered.

And then Kaja and Ann issued a new AdHoc Improv Challenge to play with scale. 

I don't have a design wall. I don't normally need one; however, my idea for moving the pansy blocks forward needed one. So I used the double bed in the guest room two flights of stairs up from the sewing room.  There is little room to maneuver on three sides of the bed but I managed to get things laid out. And then I had to pick up some pieces, remember how they went together, go down two flights of stairs and then sew them together. In the process I slipped on the stairs and bruised myself on one side but thank goodness I didn't hurt my back or break anything. 

And I pretty much got things sewn together properly. 

Ok. I did mention playing with scale.  Instead of using all the six inch blocks together in a quilt I added larger pieces of large scale fabric here and there  - pansy fabrics I have not wanted to cut into until now.  I added a couple of 12.5 inch square pieces of fabric of pansies in vases...

 ...and  I added some 6.5 inch pieces of fabric and tried to add them near blocks that used the same fabrics if I could.

   I also added a few pieces of 6.5 x 12.5 pieces of fabric oriented sometimes vertically and sometimes horizontally. 

 I have to admit I used some of the tips found in 9 Patch Pizzazz.  I think I bought this book at a book sale a long time ago. I stashed it away in a box of books and forgot about it. Recently when I was trying to organize the sewing space to get ready to share the space with garden seed starting I browsed through the books in the box and had an aha moment as to how to proceed on my pansy quilt when I opened up 9 Patch Pizzazz.

 I don't usually add borders to quilts but as I mentioned...I think it's too small for even a nice lap quilt. So I'll try to add some borders to challenge myself a bit more.  I was thinking of a purple/yellow solid border with some broderie perse (another challenge) pansies cut from some scraps.  I might even add a few butterflies. 

I took the quilt top pictures outdoors last Friday when the weather was beautiful and the crocus were blooming all throughout the lawn (thanks to the squirrels who continue to move them from my original flower bed and into the lawn). 

And then Saturday we were hit with 10 inches of snow and ice that clung to the trees and bushes and sparkled like little jewels. 

AdHoc Improv with Kaja and Ann. 

Going in Circles

I have finally gotten around to making more improv circles so I can get them in the hoop and embellished...

...like these. 

It's a long term neutral, circular, improv, crazy quilt project.  Just going with the flow.

Ad Hoc Improv with Kaja and Ann

Challenges

Four six inch blocks of another quilt in the making.  Three are completed. 

It all started with sorting scraps for the neutral "color"  for this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I ended up with two piles of larger scraps - neutrals and low volumes.  I was pondering what to do with them and a comment from an old friend on my Peacock quilt led me to an email conversation where she mentioned she was working on a new crazy quilt challenge hosted by Sharon Boggon of Pintangle - a 2020 Crazy Quilt (finish by end of 2020 and use 2020 unique items). 

I haven't done any crazy quilting for awhile and my stash of threads, laces, books, trims, etc are in disarray so what better way to get more organized as I go and use some stash.  Plus you know my quilts usually span a few years so I have until 2020 to finish up this challenge which I hope will result in a neutral and very unique large quilt.   I don't make art quilts...my quilts are for comfort and this will be no exception.  

I am going to make improv circle blocks from neutral scraps and embellish them.  The low volume scraps will get a separate quilt. 

And now for the count of items: 

Block 1 (upper left) -

Fabric: 4

Lace and trims: 1

Threads: Coats and Clarks hand quilting thread 80,10, DMC embroidery 782, DMC perle #8 738, DMC embroidery 451, Sullivans embroidery 45179 (like DMC 738), variegated brown? = 6

Stitches: feather/lazy daisy leaves, herringbone/french knot, straight, french knot =4

Embroidery motifs: 2 (sayings, basket of apples)

Total = 17

Block 2 (lower right)

Fabric: 0

Lace and trims: 1

Threads: gray embroidery 3024, DMC embroidery 400, Sullivan's ??? = 3

Stitches: feather/quarter buttonhole wheels/straight = 1

Embroidery motifs: 1

Total =6

Grand total = 23

Block 3 (lower left)

Fabric: 0

Lace and trims: 1 (butterfly twill tape)

Threads: perle Irish variegated 5063, thread arts ??, perle 5 dk brown, perle #5 951=4

Stitches: buttonhole, chain arches/lazy daisy flowers, stem/lazy daisy leaves, french knot flowers = 3

Embroidery motifs: 0

Total = 8

Grand total = 31

I'm starting off slow with the stitches because I'm a little rusty but I think I'll be doing bullions and cast on stitches and ribbon roses in no time!  I also want to try some different techniques - cut lace embroidery, reverse applique, Irish crochet, beaded crochet trims, etc...

Another challenge that spurred me on to this point was the Ad Hoc Improv Challenge of adding words to quilts.   I have three UFOs that are waiting for me to piece some words (prepping, tea towel challenge, bird brains) but I didn't feel like working on any of those this month.  (I also have a couple of crazy quilt UFOs -crazy farm, valentine bed runner, glow in dark fairy garden- but didn't feel like working on those either). But I will be embroidering lots of words on this quilt starting with an Irish proverb I embroidered on block 1: 

Say but little and say it well. 

Thank you all for the best wishes for a speedy recovery yesterday. This is day 11 of herniated disc/sciatica and I'm feeling better every day..I just can't sit or sleep for very long.  But I'm alive and know there will eventually be an end to the pain and  I've found out there's a lot of things you can do standing! 

I Sent My Heart to a Robin and It Has Returned

This is the fourth year (I think) that I have joined a round robin called Cotton Robin.  You send off a center block, get someone's block to add a first border, get another block to add a second border and finally get a little quilt top to quilt and bind. 

I like to join in to things like this because it gets creative juices flowing, sometimes takes you out of your comfort zone and you always do your best work because it's someone else's quilt.  I'm not very good at adding borders to quilts so this gives me some practice. Plus at the end of it all you get a fantastic little quilt ready to hang on the wall in return. 

In January I sent off the middle six inch postage stamp heart and this is what was returned. It's always a surprise to see what other's think of adding to your center block. WOW. I love it! 

The first block I received to work on was the feather and white background.  I first added the thin black border and then the rest.  I thought and thought and thought and couldn't come up with what to add for a border and so finally remembered I had some scraps left over from making my Feather Bed quilt.  The scraps were already sewn on the diagonal like the center feather so all I did was cut strips and sew them on. 

I then sent it on to someone else to add the second border. 

 The next block I received to work on was the chicken with the leaf/stem border.   I added the yellow batik with red "chicken scratch".    There were a lot of little pieces sewn together for that one!   Then I sent it on to someone for quilting. 

 This is the little quilt I received for finishing.    

I wasn't sure what to do with this one. I finally quilted it by hand with different colors of thread. 

I finally quilted it by hand with different colors of thread.  For the backing and binding I used some orange scraps. 

If you want to see all the participant's starting blocks and ending quilts visit  the Cotton Robin Big Reveal post. 

If you would like to read more about other improv quilting that has gone on recently visit the 

AdHoc Improv Quilting link at Kaja's (Sew Slowly) and  Ann's (Fret Not Yourself) blogs. 

Into Every Rainbow Some Life Must Fall

Coin Toss

It's a top! 

63 x 77

It started in January as an Ad Hoc Improv Challenge to make a Chinese Coin quilt. 

I knew immediately I was going to make a rainbow, use bits and pieces from the "parts department" and make it approximately 60 x 80 and when finished it would go into a pile for donation to someone who needed some rainbow cheer. 

I first gathered together bits and pieces I had laying around here in one color.  That included some four patches, crumb blocks, miscellaneous four inch blocks, postage stamp blocks, leftover rail fence type pieces, ends of 2.5 inch scraps I had sewn together into strips.   I made some stars out of crumb blocks to get bigger blocks and I made some red flying geese but other than that I basically just had to sew a few four patches, postage stamp and crumb blocks together into strips measuring 20.5 inches.   

Rows and columns are separated by 1.5 inch blue (sky behind the rainbow) strips. 

When the three columns were all sewn together I had an almost squarish quilt at 63 inches in width and 65 inches in length.   That was a little off my goal of 80 inches in length so I raided my chunks milk crate for some 6.5 inch pieces in rainbow colors and made some six inch HSTs for the top and bottom - arranging HSTs in rainbow order.  I think I intended the color side of the HST to be next to the main body of the quilt with the blue on the outside but sewed them all together in reverse order so that's how it goes. 

It's a Top! : A Snowball's Chance

A Snowball's Chance

It's just a top for now. There's still work to be done. 

56 x 77

It was supposed to be 59.5 wide instead of 56 because I was thinking I would cut those sashing strips at 3 inches but accidentally cut them at 2.5 instead.  Too bad...so sad...

Anyway...

Way back in July 2014 Sophie (of Block Lotto) introduced us to what she called a Spoke block. It finished at 7 inches.  (Coincidentally it is also this month's block of the month at Block Lotto but in a different size and color way). 

Anyway...

I really didn't like making the block...don't exactly know why...but I thought it looked like a snowflake and happened to have some snowflake fabrics leftover from making my daughter a snowball (and snowman) and nine patch quilt using what else? Snowflake and snowmen fabrics.  So I kept the Spoke that looked like Snowflake in mind for those snowflake fabrics someday. 

And...

One of my old Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects from a few years ago was a Dresden quilt on different gray backgrounds that I recently finished.   I had some bits and pieces and odds and ends of some gray solids left over from that quilt.   Feeling flaky in November 2015 I started making some Snowflake blocks using those snowflake fabrics and the gray background.    (note: 2015!!!! ) You know...gray skies...snowflakes...they go together, don't they?  Now remember when I said I really didn't like making the block? (if not see previous paragraph) ...well, I didn't make any more Snowflakes until a year later in December 2016 (time flies).  Off and on I made a few more here and there until one day I had a little box of them on a shelf along with a few snowflake strips and some gray odds and ends....a UFO.    And like Horton on the lazy Maisie bird's nest...it sat and it sat and it sat.

Anyway...

The last couple of years I've been trying to finish up UFOs and fabric scraps and strings and such and the Snowflakes moved to my second quarter Finish-A-Long list (#18).  (I know what you are thinking now...there's not a snowball's chance in hell she will finish everything on that list).   Ok. What to do? What to do? 

In the meantime...

I was looking at different free motion quilting ideas at Lori Kennedy's blog Inbox Jaunt and happened to see The Snowflake - a free motion quilting tutorial.  Hey, isn't that cool? Wouldn't that be cool on a Snowflake quilt?  Columns of snowflakes. Hmmmm...

And for all you who think that snowballs don't ever have a chance in hell...have hope!  Miracles sometimes do happen! 

Ad Hoc Improv Quilting with 

Kaja of Sew Slowly

Ann of Fret Not Yourself

From the Parts Department: Fall Festival

Fall Festival

4 - 15 inch blocks so far

Back in 2015 I participated in several themed Chunky Churn Dash swaps - Patriotic, Floral, 30s Reproductions and Fall.   My intent was to see how many different layouts I could come up with for the Chunky Churn Dashes.  It was sort of a self-imposed challenge. I blogged about it back in October 2015.   So far I have only finished a quilt from the Patriotic blocks - a Quilt of Valor for my brother-in-law. 

Fast forward to this year and Kaja ( of Sew Slowly blog and Ad Hoc Improv Quilting monthly linky co-hostess)  issued a quarterly challenge to use alternate blocks so I dug out the floral themed Chunky Churns and then dug into the Parts Department for some fall themed four patches and framed them so they were the same six inch size as the CCDs.   I also found some fall themed 3 inch 9 patches for block centers.  I didn't have any Flying Geese in the Parts Dept. so made some alternating dark and light cornered 1.5 x 3 inch geese (finished size).   

I came up with two different but similar 15 inch blocks. 

Parts Dept.

So now I guess I'll see how many CCDs I have and make some dark cornered flying geese so I can make up those blocks.   Then I'll know how many four patches I need to frame and how many light corned flying geese I need to make for the alternate block. 

Smooth Sailing

Smooth Sailing

40 x 60

A donation quilt in the works.  It's now a top. 

It all started with a couple of 12 inch Happy Blocks with sailboats in them I won sometime in the distant past from the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild's Block Lotto.      I put them in a box with some other blue scraps and have been adding to the box ever since.  

Any blue scraps with a water theme - fish, sailboats, anchors - went into the box as well as...

...any sky themed scraps - stars, fireworks, clouds. 

I recently looked in the box when I was determining what goals I wanted to try to complete for the Q2 Finish-A-Long and decided there were enough scraps for a donation quilt.   So I made a few star blocks from the scraps and I made...

...a 12 inch sailboat block from a pattern at Quilter's Cache.  (I've been making these as an Rainbow Scrap Challenge too.)  

Then I just sewed everything together into a giant crumb block. No design wall...no thinking involved...I just started with the three sailboat blocks and worked my way out.

That's the Crumby part of Sane, Crazy, Crumby, you know!

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework


Ad Hoc Improv Quilting (AHIQ) with Ann and Kaja
There's a new challenge for this quarter. Don't miss out! 

Coin Toss: It's a Start

Ann (of Fret Not Yourself) and Kaja (of Sew Slowly) issued a challenge (or, if you prefer, invited us) to make an improv coin toss quilt.    I don't have a design wall and don't really work with one or I'd never get anything done endlessly moving fabric around on a wall.  So I pinned my work on Coin Toss so far up on the clothesline with the sashing fabric I'm using as the back drop in order to take a pic to show where I am so far. 

When I started I knew I wanted a quilt roughly 60 x 80. I knew I wanted to use up some orphans, crumb blocks and other bits and pieces I have on hand and not specifically cut up fabric but work only from scraps.  I love a rainbow after a good rain so figured on a rainbow type layout since this will be a comfort quilt I'll keep on hand to give to someone in the future who may need some rainbow cheer. 

With all of those decisions out of the way I set to work and came up with three columns 20 inches wide, scrappy, and in rainbow layout (blue and indigo mixed together).  Now I need to start the rainbow over again in each column in order to make them each about 80 inches long.   Well, maybe not that long because I'm thinking of adding HSTs to the top and bottom as a kind of border but we shall see how that goes when the time comes. 

I got bored with working on it (I'm surprised I got this far...I'm easily bored... or maybe distracted is a better word?) so put it away for another day when it calls to me.  I'm never in a rush to finish a quilt. Like a good pickle sometimes fermentation is critical! 

I still have lots of ready made bits and pieces in the project box but most are in cool colors so I need to work up something for the warmer colors  (crumbs?) - specifically red and yellow.  

Ad Hoc Improv Quilting with: 

Ann at Fret Not Yourself

Kaja at Sew Slowly

Coin Toss

Ann and Kaja (Ad Hoc Improv Quilters) invited anyone interested to make a version of a Chinese Coins quilt this quarter. 

Ok. 

I have a couple of "bits and pieces" boxes. Otherwise called "The Parts Department".

I poked  around in there and see what I could come up with. 

Rainbows! 

That's what I saw in there. 

I sorted out all of the "bits and pieces" and parts that were single colors. 

Then I had to decide on size of quilt and purpose of the quilt. 

I need to have a couple of quilts on hand, adult lap size, that I can give to someone who might need a quilty hug or a rainbow to brighten up an otherwise cloudy day.  You know...Coin Toss...Heads You're a Winner!...kind of quilt. 

60 x 80 is the overall target size.

Next step was to decide on column size. 

I think three columns 20 inches wide and 60 long each is what I'll aim for. 

Next step: sew together those "bits and pieces" into rainbow strips 20 inches wide so I can see what I have.     I'm still sewing...I have lots of "bits and pieces" and parts.  I might not even have to cut into any fabric at all for my Coin Toss.

In the meantime I thought about sashing. I'm going to use blue sashing between strips in the columns and between columns.  (Think rainbows in the sky, you know). 

I have three pieces of blue but haven't decided which to use yet or how wide. I'm thinking right now I want a very thin (maybe 1 - 1.5 inch) sashing.  But who knows? I'm not there yet. 

Hmmmm... the blue above seems "too blue".  

I think I might like this blue for the sashing. Or not. 

Or maybe this blue.  No...I don't think there's enough of this blue. 

Stay tuned. 

I may have a Coin Toss at the end of the quarter. 

Will you? 

Ad Hoc Improv Quilting with Kaja (Sew Slowly) and Ann (Fret Not Yourself)

Improv Circles

Purple is the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  This is one of my RSC projects I experimented with last year and am continuing on this year. For the blocks I used scrap "chunks" - pieces at least 8.5 inch square.   I use the RSC color of the month plus red and brown chunks (my constants) to make my blocks.   Don't ask me why red and brown - I guess it's because I saw the most chunks in the milk crate of chunks in those colors.  I stack four pieces right sides up and make 3 free form circular cuts.   Then I re -stack the cut pieces in no particular order and sew them together again into four blocks then trim each to 6.5 inches for a six inch finished block. 

I'm warning you right now that this will be a loooooooong term project because I will only be making one or two sets of four blocks per month and only if I have scrap chunks in the color of the month.    Won't that be fun? 

And who knows what the final layout will look like.  I may keep the four blocks of a set together and sew a sashing in between or not...

With last year's yellow and orange RSC project blocks. 

They may just all get sewn together plain and simple. Or maybe some type of sashing will be inserted elsewhere. Or maybe the sets of four won't be kept together and blocks will all be mixed up instead. 

Or maybe...the layouts are endless...

Ad Hoc Improv Quilting with:

Ann at Fret Not Yourself and Kaja at Sew Slowly

Out of the Depths of the Scrap Piles

Two Donation Quilt Tops

Both are 40 x 60

As soon as I find a backing and as soon as I piece together some batting (aka Frankenbatt) I'll get them quilted and sent off to either Quilts Beyond Borders or Wrap-A-Smile. 

The blue one was pieced together from orphan blocks.  I thought the blocks in the middle were  Practical Orchard but I really don't remember. They are from a swap from long, long, long ago...too long ago.  Anyway, I was disappointed with a lot of the blocks I received. They are nine inch blocks and most of the points weren't perfect (after I worked so hard to make mine perfect) and some of the seams didn't even match right.  And if you look closely you can see one block that has the HST sewn the wrong way. Okay, so everyone needs to learn how to sew at some time or other so I let it go and threw the blocks I didn't like into a box. Well, actually I threw the ones I did like in there too but most of those were my own blocks.  (And I'm not really a picky person, believe me).    Long story short...I'm trying to use up everything in my sewing room because it's a mess with all of these parts and pieces, scrap bags and orphans laying around. And although I don't mind a good fabric mess or pile or two...I'm going to be admitted to an asylum one of these days by my family for hoarding if I don't get all my scraps under control soon.  Either that or a pile of boxes will fall on me and I'll be yelling "I've fallen and I can't get up" and no one will be around to hear me, see me and dig me out. 

I  also had a bunch of rail fence orphans in a box of blue orphans (left over from the rail fence and Dresden Plate/Fireworks Quilt of Valor I made earlier this year for my nephew) so decided to use those and the Impractical Orchards in a donation quilt I guess you could call Orchard Fence.  

Then remember this big garbage back of pale and very long strings cut from quilt backs that I showed back in November?  If not you can revisit the post (or not). 

To summarize...I was going to make another six point string star like the one I made earlier this year with bright long strings (that is currently on my bed) but make it with the pastel strings from that bag on a pink calico background.    Well, I sewed together enough scraps for my 248 star pieces (plus extras in case I misplace some, heaven forbid! ) and cut them out and am ready now for quilt top assembly but I didn't use the entire bag of scraps (and am now pondering what else I want to do with them). 

In the bottom of the said garbage bag of strings I found a couple of different little girl prints on several different pieces of fabric so fussy cut as many as I could into 6.5 inch pieces to use as block centers.  

And then I made 12 inch wonky log blocks from some more of the scraps in the bag plus some from the bag of pale shorter strings.  12 x 5 gave me the 60 inches I needed for length but in order to get the 40 inch width I cut twenty 1.5 inch x 12.5 inch pieces from scraps so I could use 4 in each row between blocks. I sneaked them in randomly between blocks so they kind of blended in with wonkiness of the blocks and didn't look like I used sashing.  

There is something rather satisfying about making something useful from an actual pile of this and that and other things. 

And I would consider this Improv Quilting

Did you know there is a monthly link for that? 

Ad Hoc Improv Quilting with Ann and Kaja