Project Update: 14.03.2022

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

It's been a month since my last Update, and in that time, I've seen progress of many kinds!

The cold and frosty mornings are slowly making way to the calls of birds and the drip, drip, drip of snow melting off of the rooftop. While it's clearly getting warmer, winter is still fighting to hold on; some days we are still seeing falling snow and frigid winds. But I'm hoping for sunny skies and new growth soon!

I've been making good use of the still-cold days to work through some of my ongoing winter projects, and to get started on some new ones. Altogether, I've managed to make some kind of progress on each and every one of them in the last few weeks!

And Friends, I'm very excited to share it all with you!

MQG Mystery BoM

The first project I'd like to share is one I haven't made any actual stitched progress on, but which has released a new set of block instructions!

Mom and I had planned to get together this past weekend to work on our Mystery BoM projects together, but unfortunately, I've been feeling a little under the weather and we decided it was best to reschedule. We aren't sure yet when we'll be doing that, but we are both quite excited for March's block, block #4!

Here's how the pattern will look using my fabric selection:

It's another very background focused block, with only a few pieced accents. I'm expecting it should be quite fast and easy to put together and am excited to get back together with my Mom to work on it!

Check out the block instructions for yourself by visiting the MQG website!

With only two months left in this BoM, I'm excited to begin making some changes to the pattern to really make it my own. Since it is a mystery quilt, I've stuck fairly close to the pattern instructions so far. My only real changes have been related to fabric selection, which you can read more about in my Mystery Quilt Fabric Selection post from the fall.

However, I recently stumbled across what I believe to be the original posting for this Mystery quilt project. I left the page immediately upon recognizing some of the block designs, but unfortunately, the mystery of this project has been spoiled for me.

Fortunately though, that glimpse of the finished project has simply made me more confident in the changes I want to make! Look forward to some interesting block alterations in the future!

National Quilt Museum 2021 BoM

Progress on my second BoM project has been going almost as slowly:

After completing the applique for my Eiffel Tower block in my last update, I've finally gotten started on the quilting!

So far I've completed the outlining on the applique segments and some of the overhang detail in the top corner. I think the quilting has been going really well and I'm quite happy with the progress I've made so far, but I've run into a problem of motivation.

Every time I work on quilting this 2021 project, I think about how I could be using that time to quilt Simply Woven, which was started sometime around 2012. While I want to get both projects finished as soon as possible, I'm more interested in finishing Simply Woven at this time, and I've decided to set aside the NQM 2021 BoM until that has happened.

I am still planning to complete this BoM project, especially since I really want to see how the quilt as you go technique works out in a finished project, so I'll be returning to it as soon as I can! In the meantime, check out the National Quilt Museum's website for more information on this and other BoM projects!

Simply Woven

But the guilt I felt from working on the NQM Bom is not an indication of lack of progress, in fact, I've taken several important steps in continuing my quilting on Simply Woven!

My last update left me contemplating hand quilting thread options. Originally, I was looking specifically for a 12wt Aurifil thread, since that's the brand I have the most experience working with. However, after much searching and several inquiries at local quilt stores, I settled on a 12wt Valdani perle cotton thread instead.

This new thread doesn't match my original machine quilting thread exactly – they're both variegated brown, but the Valdani is a little cooler compared to the Aurifil – but the quilt is busy enough that I don't see this being noticeable. Besides that, I'm really happy to finally have some hand quilting thread to work with!

I got started using this new thread right away and have since made some good progress on my hand quilting!

I'll admit that the stitches are quite uneven and I do need a lot more practice. After spending so much time teaching myself to take tiny hand piecing stitches, I think I might need to teach myself to take bigger stitches for hand quilting. Working through the quilting on Simply Woven should give me ample practice to work towards fixing both problems, and I can't wait to keep going!

I'm also much happier with the effect of the thicker, 12wt thread for hand quilting than I was with my first attempt using the 50wt. It's a lot more visible on the surface of this busy quilt pattern, so all the trouble I went through to find a 12wt hand quilting thread was definitely worth it in the end!

With all the progress made on hand quilting, I haven't done any additional machine quilting on Simply Woven since the last update. But since this will be my only quilting project for the next little while, I'm sure that will be remedied soon!

If you're interested in making your own version of the Simply Woven quilt, check out the free pattern – designed by Jess Kelly – on the Moda blog!

Generations Quilt

Moving away from quilting and back to the realm of piecing, I've made some new progress on the Generations Quilt!

In my last update, I shared the blue, green, and white Dresden Plates I'd been working on and the beige background fabric I picked to go with them. Since then, I've appliqued both Dresdens onto their respective backgrounds and, in doing so, completed two new blocks!

I said it last time, but I really do love the scrappy and random combination of different prints that went into these blocks and I think a warm neutral for the background was the perfect choice!

My excitement over these two finished Dresdens carried me into my next set of blocks, using a combination of colours I've had in my head since this project first started last fall.

The newest fabric selection for my Generations Quilt blocks is an all white applique shape on a deep jewel tone background. Traditional quilt blocks tend to have white backgrounds with brightly coloured piecing, and I love the idea of reversing that!

I selected a variety of white on white and slightly off-white prints to use for the piecing, and solid sapphire, emerald, and garnet fabrics for the backgrounds.

Originally, I had envisioned this colour scheme being used for a set of Dresden Plate blocks, but I've been so excited to use it that I decided to make a set of Six Pointed Star blocks too!

I cut enough pieces for three of each set of blocks, then pieced and basted them all to their respective backgrounds. I had planned to line each applique with white to prevent ghosting around the seams, but after laying out the pieced applique shapes on the backgrounds, I found that I really liked the way the dark background showed through and emphasized the printed designs on the white fabric.

As of right now, I've completely appliqued two of the white Dresden Plate blocks and am excited to finish the other blocks soon!

With that, my total block count has reached 8 completed Dresdens and 4 completed Stars, with an additional 1 Dresden and 3 Star blocks pieced. In total, I'm aiming to make 20 of each block, so I still have a ways to go yet, but I'm really looking forward to continuing to work on both block patterns!

Historically Inspired Linen Shirt

The last project I've been working on takes a step away from quilt making entirely and turns instead to garment sewing.

My linen shirt project has been progressing well since last week's thread drawing post and I've managed to finished cutting all of the pieces I'll need for this shirt! Although thread drawing was quite the slow way of cutting the pieces, I really enjoyed focusing on a slow and precise task and can definitely see myself using the technique again in the future, though not for every project I make of course.

And shortly after everything was cut, my linen thread finally arrived!

I was quite pleasantly surprised at how well the thread colour matches my fabric and so was quite excited to get started on the stitching! Although I'm not planning to follow perfectly historical stitching methods for this historically inspired shirt, I am planning to sew most of it by hand simply because I enjoy hand sewing.

I began by assembling the shirt at the shoulder seams and by hemming the front neck slit.

Some of the stitches used for garment sewing are slightly different from those used for quilt making, so there has been a bit of an adjustment. Regardless, I'm really happy with how the project is coming together so far and I'm looking forward to having a new shirt soon!

To learn more about the inspiration for this project, check out Bernadette Banner's video “I hand sewed a pirate shirt using 18th century sewing methods." Or watch Ora Lin's video, “A pirate shirt tutorial that ACTUALLY makes sense," for a more in depth tutorial on how to make this type of garment.

Friends, it has been so exciting and inspiring to look back at all the work I've done over the past month and see all the progress being made!

On top of all those projects, I also managed to squeeze in a little mending time and work on reinforcing the worn soles of a well-loved pair of socks. I've found that maintaining the garments I already own and love is just as important to me as making new ones, if a little less exciting.

And I would love to hear what you've been up to as well Friends! Be it sewing, quilt making, or something else entirely; big or small, each thing you make and do is another step towards creating something beautiful! Please share your stories in the comments below or reach out on social media to let me know what you've been doing!

If you'd like to keep up with my progress and projects between posts, feel free to visit me on Instagram @vafibrearts! As mentioned earlier, I've been feeling a little sick recently, so I haven't been able to post as much as I would like, but I'm hoping to remedy that soon!

With next week being the spring equinox, I'll be celebrating the end of winter with an update to my winter goals and the release of a whole new set of spring goals! Visit me then for a peak at my plans for the next few months!

Until then Friends, Keep Creating!

~VA