Kaffe Fassett

Floral Pets~Day 5

by Chela's Colchas y Mas

It was a gray and misty day today. I spent the morning watching a Janette McDonald and Clark Gable movie. (Yes, I am a nerdy fan of classic movies). Then I got back to work on the floral pets quilt.
I started by blocking the strips of Flying Geese blocks that I had prepared yesterday. Then I set the strips in place on the design wall. I tried three different layouts. I would set up a layout, walk by it every now and then, and think about it. After a few hours, all I saw was polka-dots. So, I took some pictures and sent them to my sister, Emma.  She is my second set of eyes whenever I get stuck.

Once I chose the layout, I started sewing in the Flying Geese. I had difficulty with figuring out how to press the direction of the seams, but I finally figured it out. Of course, there were a few rip outs that had to be redone. I had a Netflix movie on while I was sewing and I got distracted enough to sew the FG in the wrong direction, more than once.
Note to self: Don’t watch movies and sew at the same time.
I took a break to read some blogs, and I ran across Sandy’s dilemma of fabric bleeding. I have had this problem before, so you would have thought I learned my lesson to pre-wash the fabric. When I was pressing the fabric, I used spray starch instead of steam. (Yes, I was still watching movies.)
I had not had any problem with pressing with steam, but the starch did cause one small corner of a black on white polka- dot to bleed. Since I have had my fill of rip and redo for the day, I am leaving the quilt top on the design wall for now. I will decide on whether to replace the one strip or just leave it. The bleeding is barely noticeable…but it is visible if you look closely. And I know it is there.

My plan for tomorrow afternoon is to design a final border. I am thinking of 4 inch blocks…maybe a four patch and some simple heart blocks. Or, maybe I will just make strips of the floral Kaffe Fassett that I have left over. I think I have enough.

Floral Pets: Day 2

by Chela's Colchas y Mas

There is so much information, and so many wonderful people in the blog world. For the past week or so, I had been stuck in the creating process. In my usual unorganized manner, I looked through Pinterest, viewed tutorials, pulled books and magazines…and got nowhere. Then I visited with quilters and associates at the Mesquite Bean Quilt Shop. I purchased the Floral Pets fabric, but still had no real plan. I just knew that I wanted to do something different than the free pattern.
That’s where Melanie McNeil enters the picture. I read her post, Project Process, and that was the jump start I needed. Each step of the process got me closer to visualizing what I wanted. I am now “executing chosen solutions”. Thank you, Melanie!


Yesterday’s Work

Today’s Work
The blocks are still not in final order. I have run out of Kaffe Fassett floral remnants, so, I guess I will be making another trip to a fabric store. 😉
Right now, it still looks pretty traditional. My plan is to jazz it up…somehow.
I need to repeat steps 1-3!

Something New

by Chela's Colchas y Mas

I have been trying to figure out what I want to do next.  I have a long “Someday” list, and I have been studying tutorials in preparation for some of these small quilting projects. It had been a while since I visited the Mesquite Bean, so I grabbed my shopping bag and headed out. I had some errands to run after a hectic morning, so I knew a trip to the fabric shop was just what I needed.
I knew that on Tuesdays, the store opens up the back room for a sew along. The shop was humming with activity, both in the store front and in the back room. I shopped around for some fat quarters, then I found two cute panels called Floral Pets.

One of the super helpful associates, Mechelle, told me that the ladies in the backroom were all making quilts with a pattern that used these panels. The pattern was designed by Mary Kay Davis for Thread on the Floor. It is a free pattern that can be found on Blend fabrics.
I meandered my way to the backroom and was immediately welcomed by all the quilters. What I found interesting, was that each person was working from the same pattern, yet each quilt was different. Some just made a dog house quilt. Some just made a cat in a basket quilt. Some made it wider, others made it longer. They used the same suggested fabric, but utilized it in different places. I apologized for being nosy and asking dumb questions. One of the quilters reassured me that there is no such thing as being nosy or asking dumb questions when talking with quilters. Each one shared their techniques for adjusting to the different sizes of the the individual panels. I also learned ways to problem solve other technicalities. When I said I was thinking of making a quilt using both the dog and the cats together, some of them said they wished they had thought of that.
The suggested coordinating fabrics are pretty, but they are a little too pastel for me. I held the panels next to some Kaffe Fassett floral and polka-dot prints. I loved the way the bold colors made the pastel floral pets pop out. I have some good remnants of the Kaffe Fassett polka dots, so I just bought some floral designs and some white and black polka-dot fabric. I am going to play around with this a bit.
It is so much fun to meet and share with other quilters. There is always something new to learn.

Bad Grandma

by Chela's Colchas y Mas

Last March, I took care of my granddaughter during spring break. I dropped her off at her ballet practice at Central Texas Ballet Studio in Dripping Springs. Just a few blocks down from the studio is Valli and Kim’s Fabric Shop . The ballet class was two hours, with a lunch break after the first hour. After dropping my granddaughter off at class and seeing her settled, I took off for a quick trip to the quilt shop. Big mistake! I got lost in the fabulous fabric selection, and was in the middle of choosing
Kaffe Fassett fabric for a quilt, when I realized that my granddaughter’s lunch break had already started! It was a Bad Grandma Moment that we laugh about today.
I picked up the quilt from my friend, Jeana Kubik, who quilted it for me. I finished the binding today.
I plan to give this quilt to my daughter-in-law. She, my granddaughter, and son, will soon be losing one of their precious dogs due to the dog’s age and illness. I think they need a comfortable quilt to help them through this.

Front

Back
I did an oopsie on the the quilt label, by putting it on the wrong side and in the wrong direction.