Project Update: 18.10.2021

Hello Friends and Welcome!

It has been many weeks now since my last Project Update, and I am thrilled to report that the autumn wind and rain continue to persist as the weeks have passed!

While enjoying this distinctly seasonal weather, I've managed to progress on several of my ongoing projects, as well as start a few new ones. Some of these were planned to begin this fall, while others were picked up more spontaneously. Regardless of where the projects came from, I'm excited to share what I've been up to!

For any of you who may be confused about why I'm posting a Project Update on a Monday morning, check out my previous Update for an explanation of the change of schedule.

National Quilt Museum Block of the Month

I am still fairly far behind schedule on this project, but as I was never planning to submit my finished quilt to the museum, this is not a problem. I am happy to take a few extra months to finish it, especially considering that the quilt as you go technique is totally new to me!

For this project, my last Update left off with a mostly quilted Firework block, which I have since completed!

This block was designed by Christina Cameli, and although she did not provide quilting instructions, I interpreted my design from her sample block.

From the front, the quilting isn't super visible in the design of the block. It creates some lovely texture and, along with the piecing, really draws the eye deep into the block.

From the back, the quilted design is much more visible:

The different motifs remind me of plants reaching towards the sun and give me such a beautiful overall impression of life and growth.

I'm especially pleased with the outcome of my free motion quilting! Since I haven't been using that technique for very long, I am definitely in need of more practice, but it creates such effortlessly organic lines that it is, by far, the best method I could have used for this design!

The combination of free motion and hand quilting isn't something I've seen very often. I think they are a little at odds with one another, given that free motion is such a modern method, while hand quilting is quite traditional. But I think that, when done carefully, these two methods create a really interesting conversation within the block!

With Firework completed, I've now made three blocks in their entirety, in addition to three blocks which have only been pieced.

But while I am behind schedule, the Museum is not. As usual, they released the next block on the first of October!

The newest block is called Spiraling. It was designed by Becky Glasby based on a quilt by Sonia Grasvik entitled Slow Motion.

I really love the sombre darkness of the background, and the high contrast of the bright spiral motif. While I find the patterns used in the sample above are a little busy for my tastes, I think it's a very interesting block, and I'm excited to get started!

One change I think I might like to make is the number of spirals. I really love the contrast between the organic spiral and the geometric grid layout from Sonia Grasvik's original quilt, so I may make many, smaller spirals in my own block to emulate that effect.

However, I'm not quite ready for that block yet since I'm still a few months behind! Instead, I started working on my August block, En Pointe, designed by MJ Kinman.

I suppose 'started on the block' isn't quite accurate since I've only printed out the pattern and selected colours so far, but it's still progress! I'm hoping that I'll have some actual stitches laid down in this block by next time.

Until then, check out the National Quilt Museum's website for free pattern downloads of all the blocks shown above!

MQG Mystery Block of the Month

As for my other BoM project, I'm right on track!

This mystery quilt project, run by my quilt guild, has just gotten started! For the month of October, we were instructed to purchase fabric according to a few specifications.

I bought my fabric a few weeks ago, after considering several colour schemes. My chosen colour scheme was based on a spruce tree, with dark brown bark, green needles, and umber cones. The fabric I bought is a little brighter and more autumnal than what I was originally planning, but I'm really pleased with this combination and I'm excited for the first set of instructions to be released in November!

For more information on how I chose my fabric for this project, check out last week's post, Making a Mystery Quilt: Fabric Selection!

If you'd like to follow along with this mystery quilt project for yourself, check out the MQG website for fabric requirements and recommendations!

Generations Quilt

Another new project I've been planning for this fall is a family heritage project dubbed the Generations Quilt.

I'll be explaining this project more in depth next week, but for now, the Generations Quilt is a project made by the hands of several generations of my family, based on blocks left behind by my Great Grandmother after she passed away.

I'm expecting this project will be ongoing for at least the next year, possibly more, and that it will result in the creation of several quilts over all.

So far, I've drafted templates for the two blocks we will be using; a 16 piece Dresden Plate block and a 6 pointed star block. These were made very easily by taking measurements from the existing blocks and transferring them to grid paper.

I scanned my original draft to make copies, one of which was delivered to my Mother, so I know she has started, and another to be given to my Grandma at a later date.

At this point, I've completed the piecing of one Dresden applique, and have cut enough petal shapes to make a second. My fabric choice for these first two blocks reflects the more traditional palette of my Great Grandmother's blocks, but future Dresden blocks may end up with a totally different look!

As I've said, I expect that this project will be ongoing for the next year or more, so it will make frequent appearances in my future Updates. I also plan to be introducing the project more thoroughly in next week's post, so check back with me then for more information!

Plague Doctor Mask

As an unplanned project, earlier this month, I started working on a patchwork pieced and quilted plague doctor mask!

This pattern was developed in spring 2020 by Sara, known as @mctreeleth on Tumblr and @sarasewsstuff on Twitter. She created it as a quarantine project during one of the earlier lockdowns as a whimsical nod to the pandemic plaguing the world, and a way to keep her hands busy at home.

I thought the mask would be a fun project to make, and its morbid origins match the gloomy and overcast weather I've been experiencing. So I dove right in!

While I love the contrast between the somewhat macabre plague mask and the bright cheerful colours Sara chose, they don't really fit with my own style.

Instead, I decided to use a neutral palette of blacks, browns, greys, and beiges, accented with metallic patterns. I really love this combination of colours! I think the neutrals fit with the idea of 'ye olde Renaissance doctor' while the metallic accents push the mask more into the fantastical!

In her instructions, Sara offers two different methods for assembling the pieces; machine sewing, and hand sewing using English paper piecing. I opted for the hand sewn method since it's more portable, and have so far completed both of the lower beak segments!

If you're interested in making this pattern for yourself, check out Sara's blog for instructions and a free downloadable pattern! Before you do, please note, she doesn't recommend this pattern for beginners.

And if you'd like to learn more about the history of medical PPE, of which the plague mask is the most notorious, I recommend Bernadette Banner's video 'A Brief History of Pandemic Protection Gear,' which I found to be thoroughly entertaining!

Mask Making

Though perhaps less interesting than some of my other projects, I've also continued to make more mundane masks for myself.

My most recent mask mixes cyan and ivory fabric, creating a colour combination I happen to really love! It was made using a generic mask pattern, downloaded for free many months ago, which I adjusted to comfortably fit my face.

I learned to adjust my mask pattern from w/Wendy's video 'I made cute fabric masks,' which I highly recommend if you're looking to make adjustments to your own pattern!

With all of the new projects I've started this fall, I'm proud of this little one that I also managed to finish!

Friends, thank you so much for joining me for another Project Update! I'm so excited to be sharing all of my new projects, progress on existing ones, and some plans moving forward!

The one project I, unfortunately, haven't progressed on is Simply Woven. I've lost a lot of the motivation to quilt it, although I do very much want it to be done. On top of that, I've been forced to rearrange my sewing space due to renovations happening elsewhere in the house, and spent a few weeks without access to my sewing machine. Now that I've cleaned up a little, I'm hoping to be making progress again soon!

If you've made or are making any of the projects I've linked above, I would love to see how you interpreted the pattern! Feel free to share photos and stories in the comments below, or tag me in an Instagram post @vafibrearts!

I'm looking forward to sharing more about the Generations Quilt next week, and more about my other projects moving forward!