The Embroidered Handwriting Experiment

Thought I'd give you a little update on my embroidered handwriting experiment after taking Laura Hartrich's @laurahartrich on-demand class, Embroidered Handwriting.

My original purpose had been to incorporate words into the backing of my current Bee Sewcial quilt, Ode to Joy. Over the last month, I've grouped my bee mates' block 'names' into rough categories and have been embroidering them with two strands of black embroidery floss on white fabric. Remember.... the blocks, and thus the words, signify things that bring them joy.

I have just finished the embroidering, and have started piecing the sections. Working with the quilt top backwards on the design wall to help with placement, I've pinned my embroidered word collections in the general area of those block groupings.

I'm now in the process of making neutral-colored blocks incorporating those embroidered words, and pinning them back up on the wall.

I'm planning to make all the blocks containing the words in a mix of white and off-white solids, along with just a few very low-volume prints. Once I make all the blocks, I'll tweak things to fit them all together into a backing the necessary size. I'm still mulling over how I'll keep everything lined up once it comes time to baste the quilt, but I've got a few ideas. I'm looking forward to getting to that point!

Sweet Sixteen

Back in June, I made the impromptu decision to join the Summer Scrap Bash hosted by Brittany @loandbeholdstitchery basically because it would give me a reason to use the original Cotton+Steel jelly roll that my daughter Rachel @snippetsofsweetness had given me. Not once have I regretted that decision, as it gave me a fun interlude in between other more demanding projects.

I snuck in making 16 patch blocks every chance I could, even making more than I originally intended, to make a larger quilt than I initially thought. At times, I questioned that change of plans, but of course, now that it's done, I'm more than pleased.

The quilt finished at 56" x 72", a nice sized large throw-size. With the pile of leftover jelly roll strips and bits from my quilt top, and the two yards of C+S Sprinkle still left in my stash, I managed to make a pieced quilt back. I began by piecing all of my remaining 2.5" strips end to end. They were in varying lengths and the new pieced 'strip' ended up being nearly 21 yards long!! I kept sewing lengths together, eventually cutting the piece into three segments to piece into the Sprinkle. The bottom left got filled in with my last fat-quarter and another random piece. To say my C+S stash is dwindling is an understatement. But I'm pleased to have used so much of it in this quilt.

For quilting, a simple grid seemed appropriate, and with so many colors in the quilt, I just went with Aurifil 28wt 2021 [Natural White]. Not sure that was the best choice, but I think it worked ok. 

I bound the quilt with my last bit of Cotton and Steel Basics XOXO Black. I can't say I'm thrilled with the result, as the majority of the Xs ended up on the back of the quilt. Uh-oh and oh well. At 56" x 72", the quilt is a nice lap quilt size, and that's what I was after.

Meanwhile, what's left of my C+S stash is a small stack of charm squares (from this quilt) and an even smaller handful of yardage and scraps that are all getting consolidated into my general stash. It's hard to believe it's been a good 10 years+ since I started collecting C+S fabrics, keeping them together all this time. End of an era.

Art Gallery at Lynnwood City Hall

It's not every day I stop into our local City Hall, but when I realized my Seattle MQG guild-mate Chandra @bestcoasty had quilts on display, I couldn't resist. 

Left to right are:

• Spring Twist, 44" x 26"
• Fertile Prism, 44" x 48"

• Heat Birth, 43" x 33"
• Cardinal, 70" x 50"

 

All just lovely, and I was happy to be able to see Chandra's inspiring work in person once again. You can find Chandra's artist statement and bio on the city's website. For any locals, the exhibit will be there through August 14. I was definitely glad I was able to stop by.

All the Sixteen Patches

As of yesterday, I've finished all of my 16 patch blocks for the Summer Scrap Bash hosted by Brittany @loandbeholdstitchery. I'm pretty sure I'm right on schedule, maybe even a little ahead, as I'd originally planned on 49 blocks for a small lap quilt, and ended up with 63 for a bit larger lap quilt.

So here are all of my blocks!

I was trying hard not to use duplicate fabrics together but I didn't quite made it. I noticed one duplicate set as I was putting them up on the design wall (gold horses with dark navy) and there could be more. After a while I started to lose track!

I've already swapped a couple of blocks on the wall, but doubt I'll mess with it much more. Time to get these blocks into a quilt top! Not my favorite chore, but it needs to be done.

July Fabric Usage

So July was a pretty good fabric usage month, even considering a week away on vacation, and I'm glad for that! The only fabric brought in was Kona Caribbean and Tangerine for my Effervescence quilt binding.

Between a scrappy backing AND binding for Effervescence, I also have two scrappy quilt projects in the works - 16 patch blocks for the #summerscrapbash and improv plus blocks as a result of the latest Improv for Everyone workshop - plus I got caught up on my guild BOM. All of that fabric just added up!

I'm looking forward to making a quilt back (or three?) in August, and (fingers crossed) finishing at least one of those scrappy projects. Time will tell!

July Fabric Usage

Used up: 14.30 yards [11.77 projects + 2.53 recycled]
Brought in: 2 yards
Net: -12.30 yards

Summer ABC Bloom Stitchalong

Rarely one to purchase a kit for a quilt or an embroidery sampler or whatever, I couldn't resist when I saw Dropcloth's new Limited Edition Summer ABC BLOOM Stitchalong Kit. I do love a stitchalong, and I was especially intrigued by this mystery project that will eventually become a needle roll. Honestly, I didn't know what that was and had to look it up!

The kit included:

• One Printed ABC Bloom Sampler, an alphabet garden themed design exclusive to the kit
• One Hand Printed Piece of Silk Organza 
• Bias Tape
• 2 Vintage Buttons
• Pendleton Wool Felt

The stitchalong just started last week while I was on vacation, so I need to catch up! But I did get my fabric all hooped up, so I'm ready to go. The piece of organza I got has the printed design very near the edges, so it won't show in my finished work much. But I'm still curious to see how the layers stitch up together. Oh, and I did back my sampler with SF101, as it will be used in a project, so we'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I've pulled some threads - Wonderfil #8 perle cotton, which I'll use double-thickness - to start stitching those stems and leaves. I'm anxious to get started!

Additional PNQFAM Exhibits

Before I left on vacation, I was able to share about the Seattle MQG "I Heard It On the Radio" quilt exhibit being shown at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum. But there were also two other exhibits on display when we visited, and I thought you might enjoy seeing just a few pictures from each of those.

First, from Victoria Findlay Wolfe @victoriafindlaywolfe, the pieces displayed were quite different from others I'd seen in the past, yet representative of her current work.

Note that Better Days, shown below, is hung in front of a window. I'm very curious if that was done intentionally. See all the small circles in the background? That is actually the backing fabric showing through. 

And from Terrie Hancock Mangat @terriehancockmangat....

I really appreciated seeing the work of these two artists while we were at the museum. Note that both exhibits will be there a while longer, so if you are in the area, be sure and stop in!

Calendar Cascade Catch Up

Back a few months when I began piecing my Calendar Cascade quilt, Seattle MQG's 2025 BOM, I didn't expect to wait quite so long to revisit the project. But time flew by, and finally I managed to catch up and make rows for May, June, and July.

Each month's assignment doesn't exactly match up with the actual month of the year when it's released. Remember, count how many shapes are in a specific row and that will tell you what month it's for - one for January, two for February, etc. So our assignments so far:

• February - make rows for January and April
• March - make rows for July and August
• April - make row for May
• May - make row for February
• June - make row for December
• July - make row for October 

Thus, we're actually 2/3 of the way through the year's rows! The bottom row for December shown above will actually receive borders along the top and bottom edges, once I order a bit more fabric. So I'll add that one day soon. Meanwhile, let's see if I can keep up a little better going forward.

"I Heard It On the Radio" PNQFAM Artist Reception

 I Heard It On the Radio

Seattle Modern Quilt Guild

June 11 - August 3, 2025

Back in December, I shared about the Seattle MQG "I Heard It On the Radio" challenge exhibit being displayed at the KEXP Gathering Space in Seattle. Well, it was our good fortune to have the exhibit shown again at the local (about an hour from my home)  Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum in La Connor, WA. The Artist Reception was last Saturday, and happily my husband and I were able to attend.

The quilt shown above is Golden Blunders, inspired by Golden Blunders by The Posies, created by Christa Poel. I wasn't able to get photos of the entire exhibit, but have several of the quilts shared below. If you want to see more, be sure and look back at my post from December.

And finally, here is my entry on the left, Surrounds, inspired by Seattle by Perry Como. 

I guess I got a little distracted, and didn't get close-ups of the two quilts hanging next to mine, but here are the cards hanging next to them, Major Tom in the center, and The Neon Lights Are Bright on the right. Hopefully you can zoom in a bit and see them better. Totally missed getting a photo of my card, darn.

Anyway, that was very fun! Surrounds will be coming home in August, but it was really a joy to participate in this challenge with nearly 40 of my guild mates. Thankfully Beth @goolaffgirl got good shots of the entire exhibit, so check out her post if you'd like to see more.