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Project Update: 04.10.2022

  • Writer: vafibrearts
    vafibrearts
  • Oct 4, 2022
  • 8 min read

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!


Since last week's Autumn Goals Update, I've felt fall settling in even more! There have been a few very frosty mornings and some new colours appearing on backyard trees. And while I'm sad to see the warmth of summer retreating, I'm excited for all the changes and new projects that the coming season brings!


Because of the extended break I took last summer, it has now been many months since my last update. Although I've been sharing some insight into my project progress throughout my other posts, I believe that another project update is long overdue!


And so Friends, I'm excited to share the preparation, planning, and progress I've made!



Summer Garden Block of the Month


This BoM project is the first that I've ever run, and with the arrival of a new month, I'm excited to soon be releasing instructions for a new block!


But since those instructions are not out quite yet, I don't have any progress to share on the quilt along version of my blocks. However, I have finally finished the original sample version of the quilt!

Maybe finished wasn't the right word; the quilt top is completely pieced, but it isn't a finished quilt. Either way, I can finally show an example of one of the many ways this quilt could look!


This isn't the best photo, but I was so excited to have it done and ready to share that I mailed it to my guild without taking any better pictures. Whoops!

If you're interested in participating in the Summer Garden BoM, check out last month's fabric requirements post to get started! The first set of block instructions will be available on the MQG website following the guild meeting on 06 October and will be posted here on the blog next Tuesday!


Hope to see you then!



The $3.31 Quilt


Following one BoM project with another, we have The $3.31 Mystery Quilt! Once again, the only instructions to be released so far are the fabric requirements, with the first blocks coming later this month.


I showed a selection of the fabric I've chosen for this project in last week's post but didn't go into much detail.

This project features 11 different fabrics in a variety of colours. The instructions shared the fabric colours used by the designer in his original version of the quilt but didn't offer much commentary on the level of contrast or effect of print within the pattern.


I chose to go with something a little different than his original colours and will instead be using a range of blacks, whites, greys, and golds on a coppery background. My fabrics will be a mix of solids and metallic prints; a combination I've recently been really interested in using!

Taking another look at the theme of the pattern, I'm not totally sure my fabric choices are completely appropriate, but given that this is a mystery project, that's not entirely unexpected.


The name of the quilt, The $3.31 Quilt, implies a connection to money, and the description of the quilt says it's "undeniably Canadian." Thinking about Canadian currency, $3.31 would be made up of a toonie, loonie, quarter, nickel, and penny, the only coin missing would be the dime. And looking at the designer's website, I noticed he mostly designs picture quilts featuring cute animals.


With all of this in mind, there's a good chance The $3.31 Quilt will feature several iconic Canadian animals - the polar bear, loon, caribou, and beaver found on our coins - and the maple leaf from the penny. Now it makes sense that the dime was left out as it features the blue nosed schooner, a boat rather than an animal.

John MacPhail. "Lap Sized Quilt Fabric Key." 2022.

Connecting all of this back to his featured fabric selection, I can see a lot of colours that would be used for these Canadian animals, so there's a good chance I'm on the right track. And although I was a little worried about my colour selection at first, my very metallic colour scheme might actually be very appropriate for depicting animals found on metal coins.


I'm looking forward to finding out!


The $3.31 Quilt was designed by John MacPhail of Art East Quilting Co. and is the current CQA members mystery quilt.



The Generations Quilt


Moving away from quilt-alongs is my collaborative Generations Quilt project.


Last week, I mentioned that I've completed one new Dresden Plate block:

This used a small remnant of owl printed fabric, so I did a lot of fussy cutting to feature as many owls as I could. They really stand out on the white background, so although this is a very low contrast block, it still offers a beautiful and dynamic effect!


For the other three blocks I've worked on, I went back to a colour combination I loved working with last winter; a white Dresden on a coloured background.

I really love how this reverses the traditional colour combination used for Dresden Plate blocks and I think it will offer an interesting contrast when combined with my Mom's, Grandma's, and Great-Grandmother's blocks.


I've completed one of the yellow background blocks and basted both of the other two blocks.

All together, this puts me at 11 out of 20 completed Dresden Plate blocks with an additional 2 in progress. And while I haven't made any new Six Pointed Star blocks recently, my current count is 12 out of 20, with fabric selected for an additional 3 blocks. This puts me just over halfway through my contribution of blocks!


I've really been enjoying working on this project, I love the slower pace of hand work, and I can't wait to see what other blocks I make to add to this project!


To learn more about the Generations Quilt project, check out my introduction post from last Autumn!



Linen Shirt


Moving away from quilting and into the realm of garment sewing is my historically-inspired linen shirt project.


This stalled in the spring when I ran out of thread and struggled for many months to find a Canadian supplier. While I don't mind supporting international retailers, it's cheaper to buy domestic products and shows local stores that there is a local interest in linen products.

After many months and multiple stores, I finally got my hands on another spool of the burgundy linen thread and was able to work towards finishing this shirt project!


As of now, I've finished the raw edges of all interior seams and hemmed the bottom edge, meaning the only step left is to add buttons and buttonholes!

Back in the Spring, I bought these metal buttons from my local quilt store with the intention of using them for this project. I love the contrast they add to the sleeves!


I'm very excited to get them sewn on, so although my Autumn goals said this wasn't a priority project, it may end up being my first completed project of the season. We will have to wait and see!


This shirt project was inspired by Bernadette Banner's video, “I hand sewed a pirate shirt using 18th century sewing methods," with construction methods drawn from Ora Lin's video, “A pirate shirt tutorial that ACTUALLY makes sense."



Deep Frost Mage's Robe


My newest project combines my love of quiltmaking with my experiences in garment construction! It will be a quilted robe featuring applique designs inspired by Tango Tek's dungeon master skin from season 9 of Hermitcraft.


For those of you who have no idea what this means; Hermitcraft is an online video series released collaboratively by a group of YouTubers. The series features that group of YouTubers playing the Minecraft video game together and sharing their adventures, discoveries, builds, and interactions through livestreams and YouTube videos.

Tango Tek. Screenshot from "The Dungeon Master Awakens! - Hermitcraft 9: #24" taken at 1:03. 2022.

Tango Tek is the username of just one of the people who participates in this series and is one of my favourites to follow along with! And the dungeon master skin he's using to decorate his in-game character with has really inspired me!


I've decided to make a quilted robe reflecting some of the designs in his player skin, and to do so with consideration for the stylistic restrictions of the Minecraft game.


Minecraft is designed in a very pixelated style. Every object in the game is either a cube, an object made up of cubes, or a flat, pixelated object. I've decided to apply this principle to my robe by cutting all of the pattern pieces as either squares or rectangles and by decorating it in a pixelated style.


I learned the technique of using only square and rectangular pattern pieces while making my linen shirt project, and now that the shirt is nearly complete, I'm excited to apply what I learned to another type of garment!

I've calculated roughly the size of the pieces I'll need and figured out how much of each fabric to buy for the exterior and lining. I'll be using cotton for both since it's easy to work with and easily accessible. I'm hoping to pick up what I need from the quilt store later today!


I'll be using solid navy for the exterior and a pale, printed blue for the lining.


I also want to add an interlining to give the robe more weight and warmth. I briefly considered using batting, but this would add a lot of bulk to the garment and I plan to add shaping using box pleats. Instead, I'd like to use either a layer of fleece or a double layer of flannel. My Mom has a lot of excess of both of these that she has previously told me I can use whenever I may need them, so I'll take a look when I visit her this weekend!


Since this will be used as interlining, it doesn't matter if all of it matches as it won't be seen once the robe is complete.


To decorate the exterior of the robe, I'll be imitating the pixelated style of the Minecraft game through quilting and applique.

This swirl design is featured on either side of the robe worn by Tango's character, but I've chosen to expand it across the whole skirt of my robe since I have a lot more surface area to work with.


For the quilted motif, I'll be making a 1" grid. The quilting will help to keep all the layers of the robe together while I'm assembling it and provide a basic structure for laying out the applique shapes. For the applique, I'll be using 1" squares in a range of blues pulled from my scrap fabric.


I'm very excited about this project and can't wait to get started! I'll be heading to the quilt store soon!



Friends, it has been so much fun to look back through all of my progress over the last few weeks. Some projects have gotten more progress than others - especially so with my Simply Woven quilt, which you may notice I made no progress on - but I'm thrilled with what I've accomplished so far!


I would love to hear about the projects you've been working on! Feel free to share photos, comments, and links in the comments below! You can also share posts and stories with me on Instagram, @vafibrearts!


And for those of you who have been waiting patiently and excitedly for the release of the October Summer Garden block, it will be released here on the blog next week! I can't wait to share it!


Until Next Time Friends, Happy Quilting!

~VA


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