A Piece of Whimsy

Wow! It is at the end of January already! Where does time go?

In 2024 I had been posting a picture on IG/FB every day of what brings me joy. Most of my photos focused on stitching but I did sneak in a few personal moments as well. Four months had been dedicated to hand quilting a special quilt. That took priority over all other stitching activities. I did manage to make some quilt tops and try out new techniques. But I think the hand quilted quilt was the only one that was completed with binding and label!

My intentions for 2025 is to be blogging more. Post what I'm working on. I intend to figure out and draft patterns for myself.  I want to share my process with you.

I'm excited to start with A Piece of Whimsy! Neither the technique nor the design is original. I saw a pattern by Christine Vlasic called In The Red. I believe that pattern is for hand piecing and uses octagons and squares. I love to hand piece but I needed this quilt top much faster than I could piece it by hand. I haven't read the In the Red pattern, only the description of it. If you are craving some hand-piecing you should look it up and purchase the pattern! It lends itself well to having scrappy background squares!

But like I said, I needed this quilt faster, so I drafted the blocks with snowball units using the flip and snip method.  I wanted to start with 5" squares, then settled on 2" squares for the flip and snip corners.

I wrote a pattern that doesn't included diagrams (because I don't know how to make diagrams for patterns easily yet) however, at the moment that gives me incentive to write a blog update and here we are! 

Here is the PDF version: A Piece of Whimsy PDF

A Piece of Whimsy

by Naomi Perry

finished size: approx 36.5" x 45.5"

Fabric requirements:

(20) 10” squares assorted prints and colors
(or equivalent to (4) 5” squares of same print)
1 yard accent color

Cutting:

(4) 5” squares from each of the assorted 10” square
- for a total of 20 sets of (4) 5” squares
(320) 2” squares from accent color

(Each block requires (4) 5" squares and (16) 2" background squares.)

Instructions:

(Press all seams open to reduce bulk.)

Mark a diagonal line on all 2” accent squares.

Snowball method for blocks:

Working with 1 set of (4) 5” squares -

Place a 2” square on a corner of a 5” square with right sides together and with diagonal line across corner.

Stitch just to the side of the drawn line on the corner side to account for fabric folding over the seam.

I may have stitched a touch too far, but I wanted you to see the stitching is not exactly on the line.

Test for accuracy by folding 2” square to the outside corner, creating a corner triangle. 

• If the folded triangle overlaps the corner too much, restitch closer to the diagonal line. Test again before trimming.
• If the folded triangle is too short to cover the corner, unstitch and restitch a little more to the outside corner. Test again before trimming.
  

If it covers the outside corner just right, unfold the 2” square, then trim the extra fabric to a 1/4” seam allowance. 

Repeat on all corners of the 5” square. Press seams open.

Repeat for remaining 5” squares.

Assemble block:

Arrange sets into a 4-patch block.

Stitch 2 together matching seams to make a top row.

Stitch 2 together matching seams to make a bottom row.

Then stitch the rows together doing your best to match seams.

I felt matching the very center intersection was the most important seam to match. Don't fret over the diagonal seams too much.

Assemble quilt top:

Arrange blocks into 5 rows of 4 blocks.

Stitch blocks into rows.

Then stitch rows together matching seams.

And there it is! Make a sandwich with backing and batting. Quilt as you like!

Thank you for having a look. I have not had a tester yet. If you make A Piece of Whimsy, would you let me know how it went? Or leave a comment if you have any questions.

Not what I had planned.

I don't know if "things happen for a reason." I DO know that no matter how well things are planned, plans often change. No matter how badly you wanted to make something happen, if it's not meant to be, it's not gonna happen!

We are at the end of 2024. A lot has happened this year. And a lot of plans were changed.

I had planned on spending most of 2024 in Colorado, helping my mom. She is the main caregiver for my dad who was diagnosed with dementia a while back. She does have a lot of help from my brothers and sister that live close. And my dad is a veteran and gets some help from the VA.
Even with all the help, I noticed mom was very tired. She is taking care of Dad, but someone needed to take care of her! I came up with a plan that I would be that person. I planned to move into the extra room in her house and be there 24/7 for maybe 3 months and come home to TX for a visit. Continue going back and forth for as long as possible. Thankful that my Heartbeat understood that this was really on my heart to do. And I quit my job at the quilt store.

Mom knew my plans and was all for having me there, but the month before I was to move in, she allowed my nephew to occupy the room I had intended to use! Indefinitely...
I was crushed. I was upset. I didn't understand. All the plans I made....! But my nephew remained in place.

Now December is here and I'm looking back on the year. Our oldest son found that he needed to make a change in his life. Not really knowing where this change was going to take him, in March he moved in with us as a stepping stone to get to what he wants next. I hadn't had much time with him in at least 8 years as we've lived in different states. Now, living in the same house, I get to witness the person he is today and I am in awe of the man he has become. AND he is a fiber artist! Although our arts are different, having someone right here to bounce ideas back and forth is sooo fun! 
Our youngest son, came home from France at the end of summer for a month for visa requirements. And his bf flew over to meet us and visit for a week. I was so grateful for this time. It's so exciting to see the opportunities our youngest is grabbing up and the person he has chosen to share this time with! And his future is so bright! 

I also was able to go with my Heartbeat to EU for 3 weeks this year and spend my 56th birthday in Paris!! We had a blast and made plans for our next adventure. A 3-week trip definitely wouldn't have happened had my original plans for 2024 worked. Not to mention all the other little moments with friends and family that have happened all year long! I am very blessed, it's been a wonderful year.

Maybe things do happen for a reason.

And today, I am inspired to blog, after a year+ hiatus, as I am reflecting over 2024 while I stitch... realizing plans change all the time...!

I acquired a scrap stash some time ago. A quilter friend brought in boxes and boxes of fabric to the store as donations to the various groups we have. After all the bigger pieces had been scooped up by my co-workers for their groups, a lot of smaller scrap pieces were left. All these little pieces are treasures to me. I see so much potential in them. I couldn't resist bringing it all home...

However, I may be at a point of “use it or lose it” as I will most likely be doing my own de-stashing soon. So, I better use what I can before starting the de-stash.  Starting with this box that contains a lot of fabric strips that range from 3” - 1” wide. 

I’ve been wanting to piece a “stacked coins” quilt and decided that 1.5” strips are perfect for it.

I’ll admit it’s a big task. Every piece has to measured and sorted. Most strips aren't a perfect 1.5" width and must be trimmed. My box of scraps wasn’t disappearing very fast. The pile is actually getting bigger as I incorporated more strips from another box to add color.

As I was sorting, I realized I am trimming the stacked coins strips to 2.5” wide. I can add space, save time, and also use up the 2.5” strips in the box. Yes! (Plans changed #1) 

The quilt is growing. The 2.5" strips help calm the chaos of throwing every color in. However, it's still not pleasing to my senses. So, I turned it vertically and I am liking this a whole lot more. I think maybe the pattern is now "scrappy stripes" and not "Stacked Coins." (Plans changed #2) 
At this point, it measures about 54" x 20". Only about a third of the way to the size I want.  ... and I'm already getting inspiration for the next quilt...

Well, when inspiration hits, you just gotta go with it, right??
I saw a quilt on social media. It's simply half-square-triangles (hst) pieced together in a 4-patch and set on point. 
My plan with this was to use black prints for the backgrounds and red prints for the accent color. Except, when the cutting started, as long as it had red in the print, I used it. And ended up with cream color accents and even adding a tan print that didn't have any red in it. (Plans changed #3)
It's looking a bit chaotic...

I considered removing the blocks with lighter accent colors. However, this is meant to be a true Scrappy quilt! I was determined to make it work. 
Adding another accent color might do the trick - enters green. (Plans changed #4) and re-arrange the setting and placement (many many times).

Once again, I was running out of oomph - "how many more blocks do I have to make to get it to the size I want?!? This is going to take forever!" as I looked at the two projects sharing the design wall space. 
I may have despaired a little bit, "now I'm going to have two MORE unfinished projects."
I even may have lost sleep over it...

Then suddenly. In the wee hours of the morning, after rearranging the blocks one more time. My vision blurred just enough to merge the two together... "Yes! it might work!" 

The plans changed yet again... but now there's that spark of Whimsy excitement! Things are shaping up nicely. My photo doesn't show what my eyes see in person, nor the plans for the next step. I can hardly wait!

I am really liking this. But it's not finished yet and there may be another 5 changes before I feel it's done. And you know what? That's the way it goes sometimes. A person can plan things to the smallest detail, but it doesn't work out. There's no right or wrong. It's just not meant to be at this moment.
It's best to roll with it. Work with it. Enjoy the moments. Revel in the journey. Learn and absorb whatever lessons come from it. Let the plans change!

I will let my heart shine love. I will create with whimsy. I will simply love and understand that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. 

Thanks for visiting and reading my update. I hope you enjoy your last month of 2024! I wish you peace and joy in the place you find yourself today.

(Edit to add: from the other side - my mom is doing great. At my last visit, I noticed she had more energy. She is getting more visits from her grandchildren and it seems to be replenishing her joy. Who knows if her joyful moments this year would have happened had things been the other way! Things work out the way they should! 🥰)

New obsession - creative outlet

Finally! I've had a Baby Lock Flare embroidery machine for over a year. I've really only used it to make small quilt labels for clients from the built in stitches. (And maybe only 5 labels over the last year.)

I purchased a couple of projects from Kimberbell that I made up. An in the hoop notebook cover and the Christmas Cheer that had just come out.

I made up the notebook covers. The instructions were easy to follow and it was quick work.  But you have to have the exact size note book, and I wasn't having luck finding them in the store here. I'd like to make more. I'll look online for the notebooks and I'll post pics if/when I get some more made up.

And the Christmas Cheer..... it hasn't been going so well. Because of complications with getting the machine updated when I first got it, I couldn't take the class at the store where I purchased the machine. They should have offered me a make-up class, but I wasn't going to push the issue. It threw a big damper on this project. To be honest, Christmas Cheer is too big of a project for a beginner to jump into. Even as a long time quilter, embroidery machine stitching is an entirely different category of stitching!! There is definitely a learning curve to be expected.

Recently, I had the honor of awarding a Quilt of Valor to a veteran who served in the United States Navy 1956 - 1960. The U.S. Sew of Carrollton QoV group has, in the past, ordered quilt labels from Spoonflower. I have either misplaced the last few we had or we are completely out. However, this gave me the opportunity to embroider a label.

I had to get trademark permission through Quilt of Valor to use the QoV label. It's a form on the QoVf.org website. Simply fax it or mail it to them. Then they emailed the digitized embroidery file that I needed for my machine. 

I purchased a lettering font from JuJu designs. And then used the free version of Embrilliance, 

a digitizing program. I was able to get letters much smaller than the built in fonts on the machine. You can see on my test cloth. I didn't bother with trimming threads.

left side shows the built in fonts. The top right is the .25 lettering from JuJu Designs with some resizing in Embrilliance.

JuJu Designs was having a sale. I could either buy the one font file for $9.-- or I could get 8 files for $12!! I mean, two files would be $18. What better deal than buy 2, get 4 free?!!

I ordered 2 fonts, a witch's boots and hat applique pattern,  a sunflower embroidery, 2 quilting in the hoop designs, chicken sayings (maybe for kitchen towels), and free standing lace crosses. 

I think free standing lace is a success. I really enjoyed the magic of the water soluble stabilizer melting away to reveal the final lace.  Also, part of the fun was fitting as many pieces into a single hooping as I can. Stabilizer is necessary and it is pricey.

 For free standing lace, two layers of stabilizer is needed, I intend to use every inch of it that I can!!

The little bitty ornaments are from the Christmas Cheer project. I squeezed them into the corners. And that's when realized that I am a bit limited on thread colors at this point.

For free standing lace, it's better to have matching thread for the bobbin and the top threads.

that wasn't happening with my thread stash. Plus, I ran out of white bobbin thread!

This part hurts my heart a bit. I am a believer in supporting our local family owned shops. I am a feel-it-in-my-hand kind of shopper as well. I purchased 6 spools (matching each top 1500 yds with 1 bobbin) for about $50. The spools are good sized and are going to last for a lot of projects. But that's only 3 colors. I can't afford to purchase many this way.

And so I hit Amazon. It can't be helped! I can get a 40 color box in bobbin thread and a 63(!) color box in top thread for about $43 each! I mean.... just look at all these colors!!! The spools are only half the size of the ones above, but so many more colors! I can't feel a difference in quality. They seem to stitch up the same.

 

Ok, Now that I have thread... I had intended to make more crosses in many colors. However, I want to see what else this machine can do, right? I was discussing with my Heartbeat over dinner. Telling him how limited I feel. I have to purchase patterns and can only make what is in the pattern. There is freedom to borrow elements from a pattern and stitch it on a different item. But if I want something that is a 2" circle size, I have to search the different designers to find something I might like. It's a hit and miss process, really. and more time consuming than I can do.

The machine dealer has digitizing programs... $300+. I don't even know if it's something I'd continue working with to justify getting one of these.

Well, he did some research while I was at work. What he found was Inkscape/Ink Stitch. And it's FREE!!  In just a few minutes he even designed something I could stitch up. That really hooked me! 

Now I'm learning how to digitize my own ideas!

I have a long way to go. It takes time. I'm not so familiar with computers and programs anymore. I have to watch video tutorials on slow and repeat. And of course,  I tried jumping into advanced patterns first.  Two quilt blocks so far. The one with the star is fairly simple applique with raw edges and quilting. The block under the needle is a curved pieced in the hoop applique.  I was trying to get the curvy edges to be covered with a satin stitch. My file didn't do it, so next is to figure out what/where I missed a command.

This is really amazing. I've been needing creative freedom. I feel almost unlimited. (now I'm limited by the size of my hoop. Largest stitching space i have is  6.25" x 10.25". But there's still plenty of room to grow in this area!)

Thank you for coming by and reading what I'm stitching up. I wish you happy stitching too, if that's what you do. I wish you happy creating if it's something else that you enjoy! See you soon!!