A little improv, a few scraps, and a new kitty quilt

I finished binding this kitty quilt over the weekend. The quilt is made from discontinued fabric samples and a few blocks of improv patchwork.

Completed scrappy kitty quilt.

The top was pieced and free-motion quilted about a month ago—on August 14—and the binding was the last step.

Flannel backing and free-motion quilting.

I like this scrap of a flannel cat print that was pieced into the red flannel backing.

Flannel backing with a whimsical cat print.

Another quilt for the kitties... finished!

Cotton dish cloths: a Slow Stitching, Make Nine finish

Since discovering the Dishcloth Knit-along issued by Modern Daily Knitting at the end of July, I was enticed to retrieve needles, hooks and cotton yarns to join in and make a few dish cloths.

One crocheted and one knitted dishcloth.

Fun, summer stitching

Using a small amount of a cotton yarn, a dishcloth is a cool, easy, summer knit, that is functional as well as fun to make. During the month of August, I sourced my personal yarn stash for half balls and left-over cottons and knitted and crocheted 6 of them… with another dish cloth WIP on the needles. 

Three handmade dish cloths: two knitted and one crocheted (center).

As I work through odds and ends of cotton yarns, there will no doubt be a few more dish cloths made by year’s end. It's been fun finding and practicing different stitch patterns for making them. The fact that I'm using up leftovers is also an appealing benefit.

A variety of cotton yarns from my stash.

My 7th Make Nine Finish

I’m counting these hand stitching projects as fulfillment of my Make Nine 2022 Slow Stitching prompt. 

Slow Stitching prompt on my Make Nine 2022 planning sheet.

This makes 7 of 9 Make Nine projects completed for 2022. I feel I’m in good shape!

Make Nine 2022 status: August 31, 2022

Whimsy and Onyx—a fabric blender dynamic duo

Whimsy and Onyx. Sound like names of comic strip characters, don't they? 

In the quilting world, Whimsy and Onyx are two blender collections from P&B Textiles. And I'm using this dynamic duo for the 100 Days 100 Blocks 2022 sew-along.

Fat quarter bundles of Onyx (far left) and Whimsy from P&B Textiles.

What's to like about Whimsy and Onyx

When Whimsy was first introduced as a P&B basic, I was immediately drawn to it because:

• it covers the full color spectrum without being overwhelming—there are 50 pieces in the collection.
• the collection includes a range of grays—with both cool and warm grays.
• there is a variety of prints with a 21st century aesthetic—ditzies, florals, and geometrics.
• these small-scale prints are well-suited for "supporting cast members" to coordinate with larger scale designs and other focal prints.
• however... the designs are unique enough to stand on their own!

Onyx is a tonal black-on-black basic that also offers a variety of designs—dots, lines, bursts, grids, geometric and organic patterns. This collection definitely provides a contrast and counterpoint to the colorful Whimsy.

Onyx is a black-on-black blender collection from P&B Textiles.

In addition to the 12 different designs, other characteristics of Onyx are:

• the base cloth is dyed black—check the "wrong side" of this fabric! There won't be any white threads or whiskers showing when cutting, piecing, doing fusible appliqué, embellishing, or quilting by hand or machine.
• because it's black throughout, you can use the back side of Onyx if you're in need of a solid black.
• the collection's versatile designs. This blender can be used in traditional quilts, contemporary/modern quilts, college and T-shirt quilts,  and "guy" quilts. Several of the designs are geometric or gender-neutral.
• and who doesn't love an accent of black—or black and white—to add sparkle and zing to a quilt???

Not having used much tonal black-on-black fabrics as a major part of a quilt, incorporating Onyx into the 100 Days 100 Blocks project this year is a challenge I set for myself. (So far, it's going well.)

Making 100 blocks with Whimsy and Onyx

The 100 Days 100 Blocks sew-along started August 1 (but anyone can jump in at any time!). My first blocks were pieced with the cool colors from the Whimsy line with accents of Onyx. 

Whimsy and Onyx blenders with Bloc Loc half-square triangle and flying geese rulers.

A sampling of the cool color blocks on the design wall...

33 patchwork blocks of the Kinship Sampler quilt. Blocks are 8.5" square and 4.5 x 8.5" (unfinished).
Whimsy and Onyx fabrics from P&B Textiles.

As I approached cutting pieces for Block 50—the halfway point—I dipped into the warmer hues of Whimsy.

Warm yellows and oranges from Whimsy and black-on-black Onyx.

A sampling of the warm color blocks...

Several blocks using the warmer hues of Whimsy.

Batch processing

For efficiency, I create the blocks in batches—ahead of the posting schedule. I cut a bunch of blocks... piece that batch... photograph that batch... and format the photos for the Instagram posts. Then I post the block on its appropriate day.

This is an example of a stack of blocks ready for piecing.

Batch cutting the blocks.

There is a 100 Days 100 Blocks tracker available for the program. I haven't kept up with filling in the "post" column, but it's fun to color in the other activities as I do my batching processes.

100 Days 100 Blocks 2022 event tracker.

Make it your own—throw in a little Onyx

The Kinship Sampler pattern is shown in three shades of blue + white to give a sense of the patchwork. Sometimes I follow the value [lightness or darkness of a fabric] placement provided in the pattern... sometimes I don't. 

Sometimes I use leftover pieces (or mis-cuts) from previous blocks. And sometimes I remind myself, "Hey, throw in a patch of Onyx!"      Zing!

Onyx (top) and Whimsy blenders from P&B Textiles.

Whether these 100 blocks make it into a single quilt, two or more smaller quilts, or something else... the Whimsy and Onyx blenders from P&B Textiles are producing dynamic patchwork results for my Kinship sampler blocks. 

Ask YLQS [your local quilt shop] for these fabric collections. They should be on everyone's color wall and in every quilter's stash.

September Textile Love 2022—I'm in!

Are you getting ready for Seam Collective's September Textile Love 2022 Challenge? This will be my 5th year! I first participated in 2018.

September Textile Love Challenge 2022, #septtextilelove

The September Textile Love Challenge, hosted on Instagram, began in 2017. Each year, through the month of September, daily prompts inspire people to post photos of their interpretation of the prompt. The list of prompts is posted at the end of August on the Seam blog, but it you want it a week in advance, sign up for their newsletter. They also offer a planning sheet for making notes and helping you get organized.

All kinds of people participate, not just textile artists!. So if you're interested in making new textile connections, or want to bathe in a vast pool of inspiration, innovation, fibers, color, texture and pattern, you're invited to join in or follow along at #septtextilelove.