Happy New Year!!!

      I hope you all are ready to start a bright, shiny new year! I know I am looking forward to new challenges and lots of new quilts!

      When I look back on 2017, it looks like I didn't finish many large quilts, but I have a few that I spent a bunch of time on last year that are are nearly finished.

     Here is one I did finish completely in 2017 for an Etsy customer.

      I got all of the blocks for this remake done and ready to sew together:

     I did get this one all pieced and sent to Regina, my quilter.

      I am very excited about a new thing I am planning to add to this blog this week. I have been wanting to do it for ages. When I designed another Jacobs Ladder quilt a few years back, I became obsessed with all the different ways you could change the color, and twist the blocks around. So Much so that I ended up with well over 200 EQ drawings! You and I both know I will never, ever make all of those quilts, so I thought it might be fun to start posting some of those drawings up on this blog. Hopefully, it will inspire some of you to play with and share what can be done with this traditional, and extremely versatile block. 

     I love that the units are so simple! Just 4 patches, and half square triangles. Many steps are easily portable, for those times when you are sewing at a friends house, and some you can even do without bringing your sewing machine! 

     So that is how my 2018 is starting out. Hope yours is off to a lovely start. All the best to you in 2018!

What I Did on Retreat, and Why I Love Love Love The Jacobs Ladder Block

This is a project I have been very excited about for a very long time. 

Many years ago. I saw this photo in a book titled Quilts, by Ljiljana Baird.

It is an antique quilt created by an unnamed maker dated to 1870. I really love this quilt, but anyone who knows me at all know that the chances of me voluntarily limiting myself to 2 fabrics, let alone 2 solid fabrics are slim indeed. 

But, this quilt was always in the back of my mind as an idea I wanted to do something with.

A couple of years ago I wanted to make a special wedding gift for a young women who is very dear to me. I thought it would be a good opportunity to play with this block. The colors of her future bedroom were to be turquoise and brown, so I got right to work on the computer to begin playing with color placement. Long story short, I came up with an idea for Kimberly's wedding quilt, plus about 200 other drawings!

Obviously, not all of them are keepers, and some of them are so similar to each other that they aren't worth bothering with. But it made a real impression on me with regards to how versatile this block can be. I had some many ideas that I really loved! Here is a photo of Kimberly's wedding quilt.

I have really wanted to submit this as an idea for a book, but I knew it was going to take years to make 12 or 13 quilts, since these quilts, though easy to make, are pretty time consuming, and I had none of them made. I have been trying to think of another way to share that information. 

I thought it might be fun to post one drawing a week, just as a drawing, then maybe self publish them as a book sometime in the future. Before I did that, I thought it would be a good idea to make at least a couple of them to see what they look like translated into fabric. Maybe I should call this "My Jacob's Ladder Project". 

There are so many things I really love about making these quilts. I love the almost infinite number of different designs you can get, once you start playing around with color placement, and rotating the blocks. Then, you can add another set of variations by either using all the same block, or alternating with a "B" block. The difference between the A block and B block is the position of the lights and darks. The antique quilt in the book, and Kimberly's wedding quilt both have an A block alternating with a B block. I am not sure if one of these options is a true Jacob's Ladder block, and the other isn't, but I have spent a good deal of time playing around with both options. 

Since these quilts are made entirely from half square triangles, and four patches. These are simple, basic units that are easy to make, and have many "portable" steps. By portable steps, I am referring to steps you can do even if you do not have a sewing machine handy. For example, cutting units from strips, pairing, marking, pressing, and trimming. When you DO use a sewing machine to do the sewing required on the units, you can just run them through the sewing machine, quickly and easily, instead of spending time to figure out where you left off. You can make these units even when your brain is tired, or you don't have very much time to work, or when part of your brain is doing something else, like visiting with friends, watching TV, or keeping an eye on the stove. If you are a fan of Bonnie Hunter, you can use them as "leaders and enders" while you are making other quilts. 

Eventually, of course, you will have to put your thinking cap on to make the units into blocks and layout the quilt, but until then, it is just a matter of making the right number of units in the color combinations that you need. 

I have started a couple of these quilts, but set them aside because this one was really pulling on my imagination. I just couldn't wait to see what it was going to look like, and if the colors were going to work like I hoped. Another reason is because I had to do some traveling, and the way this quilt is laid out really lends itself to working on these "portable" units.

I have written some about getting the units  ready to take to retreat in this post.

Unfortunately, I didn't get all of the units done, so I was still making 4 patch units while I was laying out the sections at retreat, which really slowed me down. That said, I am so excited with the way my colors are working! Since I am dealing with 4 values, pink, coral, red, and maroon, I wanted to be sure that the pattern was showing up clearly. 

So here is a reminder of what my drawing looks like.

 

I have this drawing divided into 9 sections, 5 of which are centered around the 5 diamonds, and the 4 corners.

Here are 2 sections I made while I was on retreat. 

I started with the center section, and the center-right section.

That is what I worked on at retreat. 

Next week I will visit The Staying in Stitches Quilt Guild in Springfield GA, and teach a Sonja's Windows class at the Quarterdeck Quilt Shop in Springfield GA. Stop by and see my quilts in person if you are in the area!

I hope all of your winter projects are going smoothly.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hitting the Ground Running for the First Weeks of 2017

They go by so fast! Here is what I have been up to since the first of the year.

I have been working on finishing the 3 quilts I got back from Regina, late last year, adding bindings, labels, and sleeves. That is pretty pleasant and relaxing when you are tired, and brain dead. Especially after you get the machine sewing part done. I should have some finished quilt pictures done before too much longer. 

I am also getting ready to go on a quilt retreat with some of my very favorite people in the world. Hooray! Hooray!

Quilts I want to work on at retreat:

 

It is time for this quilt to get done, especially since it only has 16 rows left before it is there. I am really looking forward to seeing it finished, but I work on it less than others because it is less portable than the next quilts I will tell you about.  

 I have started another quilt in my Jacob's Ladder series. Or as I like to call them: "Quilts comprised entirely of HST and four patches". Now THAT is portable. During the holidays, I cut out my pieces, and paired them with a mate. I have been sewing the units together in the evenings, when I am tired. Then, when I go to visit friends, I carry a box of the units, with a small, portable ironing board, and iron, and sit and press, as we chat. I already have all of the HST done. When I get the four patch strips pressed, I will have to cut them into 2 units, then sew the center seam to make a four patch.

 

Here is my Drawing.

The colors of this quilt make me think of a rose garden. I want to make as many HST and four patches as possible before retreat, and start building the blocks at retreat, where I know I will have large blocks of sewing time.     

By the way, here is a curious question. Do you notice that my text is centered in this portion of the post? It is not because I think that it is artistic. I have been trying everything I can think of for the last 15 minutes to get it to justify to the left. I have pushed the text down from the quilt photo above. I have gone up to the icon and clicked the left justify button at least 50 times by now. I even justified the quilt photo to the left, hoping the text would follow along. No dice!!! If anyone knows what this is about, I would love to know! For some reason this blog post is just not a left justifying frame of mind.Go figure!

I have also been trying to sew together some strip sets for the remake of this quilt.

 Okay, so the photos will justify to the left, but the text will not, maybe later?

Keep calm and carry on.

What else have I been doing the last couple weeks? Working on my technological skills. Can't you tell? I did successfully add a tab to the top of this blog that shows my speaking and teaching schedule for the year so far. I also added the rest of my quilts, classes, and patterns to my stand alone website:quiltdesignsbycandace.com

As with so many things lately, it took a day and a half to figure out how to do it, and then another half day to actually do it, but I did it.Yippee! That is one thing I can check off my New Year's goals list. 

I have edited my guild program. I had to move some things around since I added some new quilts. 

I have written 3 Youtube video scripts, and spent some time watching Youtube videos about how to make Youtube videos. I confess, I am a bit nervous about getting the editing right, not to mention, having to see myself on camera.  I don't even like to hear myself on tape!

I have started writing the first of several patterns that need to get written. I have sworn that I an going to learn to use InDesign, or something similar, so I can use the computer to draw the figures, instead of doing that by hand. At the rate things are going, that should be exciting.

So that is what I have been working on. I Hope the first few weeks of 2017 have been good to you, and you are accomplishing what you want to get done. Maybe by next post I will be able to justify to the left again! Check back and find out.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

                                    

                                     

Simple Pleasures and Simple Units

    We have been having the most beautiful spring, here in Georgia! Flowers are blooming everywhere. Below, is a photograph of the azalea bush in front of my porch. There are a few pansies, and snapdragon that I planted too.

     I love it when that azalea bush is in full bloom. 

      I got the sleeves attached to both of the quilts I wrote about last time, but the other side of the "flowers everywhere" coin is pollen everywhere. I think I will wait a couple of weeks to take photograph them outside, so I don't bring them back in loaded with pollen.

     The last few weeks, I have only had small bits of time to work on my quilting. Most of my time has been spent on things like routine doctors appointments, sorting tax receipts, the first mowing of the year, and of course weaving that big rug. I thought I had a picture of the big rug on the loom, but I could only find a photos of the borders. We most often have to weave a large center, with 2 smaller pieces that get sewn onto either side to get the needed size. This rug will finish at 14 feet by 15 feet.

     I have also been making a lot of 4 patches and half square triangles for one of my "project status" quilts. I have them in all stages of completion.  Here is a box of finished units, ready to go up on the design wall.

     All of the HST are done, but these 4 patches are waiting to be pressed:

     And these are pressed and waiting to be crosscut:

     I took these photos with my camera, which I am not so accustomed to using, but my camera battery was charging. You can tell I am not very accustomed to controlling the flash, and color with the phone camera indoors.


     Back to the subject at hand; I just love working with these small, simple units, because they are so easy to work on anywhere. I can carry them with me to a friends house. Several steps like pairing my fabrics, marking my diagonal lines on the HST, and crosscutting can even be done without electricity, and I can take them outside on these lovely spring days.

     I am almost done with all of the units for this quilt, and I can't wait to start putting them together! Then you, and I both will be able to see what this is really going to look like!

     That is what I have been working on. I hope you are having a lovely spring as well. Thanks for stopping by!