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Is there something that just has you stumped?

I have posted before about my Moonglow quilt by Jinny Beyer and don't feel the need to expose my shortcomings with that quilt again. It's an expensive, shameful BOM that is sitting in a box on my sewing table. Yes, I plan on trying again. I have it out and it's in the middle of the table so hopefully, I can do something with it.

However, currently, something else is bothering me. While in NC at the COF Retreat, we shopped at the awesome MaryJo Fabrics. I found the most beautiful asian fabrics there. I just fell in love with them and HAD to have them. Well, I have them and for the life of me I cannot get inspired to make something out of them. At first, I just didn't want to cut them - they are so beautiful. Now, I want to cut them, but have no idea what to make out of them.

So every couple of months, I take the whole stack of them out, put them on top of my cabinet where I can see them every time I'm in my sewing room and hope for inspiration. So far, nothing, zip, zilch, nada. I've seen some very lovely quilts made from the same type of fabrics, but nothing seems quite right yet. They are gorgeous. I wish I could figure out what to do with them because I just know they will make the most stunning quilt if I can just figure out what. sigh

Do you have the book "9-Patch Pizzazz" by Judy Sisneros? There are several patterns in it where larger cuts are used so that the fabric is seen better. It could also give you some ideas to do your own.

I have a nemesis! And the worst thing is I bragged about making this quilt to my Mom who will someday expect to see it! PICKLEDISH! Arggghhhhhh! I pieced a bunch of arcs, they are beautiful. But I can't get them to play nice with the center piece and shudder to imagine the outer curved piece. I have posted about it and recieved many wonderful suggestions that indicate to me that a monkey would be able to solve my problem. However I am not a monkey and am stumped . What was I thinking??!

I also do not like Fons and Porter. I have been wanting that off my chest for a long time!

How long does a person have to be styumped to declare something a nemesis? If a couple of weeks counts I am all of a sunned incapable of designing, much less making a mini quilt. Strange, huh? I have oodles of nice fabric - much of it purchased just for minis but I can't come up with a design I like. This morning I got out yet another selection of them, messed with them for a bit, then retreated to trying to read "a book", evidently the censor software doesn't like the title.

I'll skip the part about which quilt show personality I dislike intensely!

OMG! Brandy, you actually made tea come out of my nose!!! (But I get it)

FFG: Yep, I have that book and several others geared towards large scale prints. Nothing.

Bozie, I have no doubt you will come up with something spectacular. Funny, we are at opposite sides - large scale vs mini.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: katiemedarlin,

I am presently using some luscious Asians to make the Labyrinth quilt. I got a couple of the fabrics at the quilt show in Springfield in September at that COF retreat. I reworked the Labyrinth pattern so I didn't have to use all 4.5 inch squares and HST. I still made the HST but used strip pieces for the rest of the rows. It kept me from cutting up too small the pretty Asians that I have.

I don't do Y-seams, curved piecing, and I don't miter border corners. Tried them & I don't like them & that's the end of that. Life's too short to make yourself frustrated or unhappy. It's my quilt party & I can paper piece instead if I want to.

As far as the Asian fabrics, if you like looking at them stacked up, how about a coin quilt? Asians fabbies usually look smashing when they play with other black, tan, & metallic gold-brushed fabrics.

There are some nice pattens here....at least I think so. Perhaps they will inspire you???

http://mapleislandquilts.com/

I have a McKenna Ryan kit to make a moose at the lake and I looked at all the small pieces for shadowing on the water and it's still sitting in the package. I think it was around $35.00. For you Katie..I have a picture from MQX show of an Asian fabric quilt..I took it cause Maureen in FL, a friend and non-quilter wants a large Asian guilt for her bed. PHEW! I found it. She showcases them as snowballs with the small squares surrounding. I shrunk it to show here.

Beautiful, but. . . . I just don't know. Thank you for the picture. I printed it out and stuck it with the books.

My quilting nemesis is a Handiquilter quilting frame that my husband bought for me. The idea is that you can put your DSM in this little rolling platform and quilt your quilt quickly and easily. Well, I have a Janome Memorycraft 6500 that I love that will not work right on the frame. Cheap "starter" sewing machine is even worse. Birds-nests & eyelashes all over, even with the top tension cranked up as high as it will go. And the setup is terrible. You need to guide your sewing machine, but the far end (away from the needle) is facing you, with no good place to hold on to. So yeah, DH paid a lot of money for the frame, but I just don't know what to do with it.

I know some of you can't stand certain quilting shows, but I think we should be thankful for everyone we get, considering how the shows keep disappearing. I know I am very fortunate to live where I get 18 craft shows and 3 gardening programs a week, which is many more than most of you receive. I treasure them all even tho I fast forward thru most of the scrap-booking & knitting/crochet ones only stopping when there is something I want to watch... Chris

One pattern that I thought about for you is Urban Cabin. I saw it on a thread recently and had to order it since the online shop I was placing an order with had it in stock .

My nemesis is paper piecing! I do understand how it is *supposed* to work and why it should be so awesome, but it just isn't my thing. Guess I should commit to working with it more and maybe we could become friends.

The Big Quilt series of patterns would be wonderful, particularly with black thrown in there somewhere.

Anyone else intimidated by a serger? Like, one you already own & spent an outrageous amount of moola to get, but now it sits & collects dust because it's "hello" to thread & messes up with the first stitch, even after you spend a half hour threading it?

What about zippers? I'm a reformed zipperphobic, but unless I had really set my mind to overcoming my fear, I'd still be one today.

Not sure what your fabrics look like and how much of them you have,but here are a couple of ideas...
and you reminded me I still have one I need to finish with Asians ***roll eyes*** do ll UFO's count as a nemesis? LOL

This first one is clled Asian Screens

look at shibori dragon site for different patterns. (love the quilt above).

Then there is the next one Southern Jewels...which is shown using Austrlian florals...but I made mine with Asian fabrics...will try to find a pic of it

Really love the black outlining the blocks and the large panels. Really neat... Chris

Starry Sky, sorry to hear about your serger problems. I had an inexpensive one that I spent half the time rethreading and trying to adjust the tension. Love the one I now have. Actually used up a cone of thread this past weekend! Have a second in that color which won't be long before it joins that one.

Only hint I have, is follow the directions exactly when threading. Some must be threaded in a specific order and just won't work if you don't do it that way. Makes no sense, but that is the way it is... Chris

went looking for my UFO...found the magazine with the pattern on top...I'm getting smarter at keeping things together even if I don't finish...LOL

This one is called "flowering garden"

Snowballs? Pinwheels?

I read somewhere a long time ago that the Japanese do a number thing with their paneled walls,garden steps, etc....so the esthetic is always calming and rhythmical. I think it's sets of 9's, or 3's. Somebody set me straight if they know...

found these swap blocks in the same bag...with the other Asian UFO

might be a nice idea for your fabrics

and last but not least...is this pattern which I love and have made one quilt from it,and several table runners

Putting elastic into a casing has had me stuped (yes, I feel stupid). STUMPED, for YEARS!!!

Love that lantern pattern!!!! Would be so pretty with those fabric that have gold on them.

Nancy, have you ever tried these? I've been using them since DS was crawling around on the floor in home-sewn pull-up pants & diapers!

http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-93...3-Pack/dp/B0060LDMTE

This works, too, but I've had the little metal clamp thingy slide up when it wasn't supposed to:

http://www.createforless.com/D...znads&utm_medium=cse

GOOD GRIEF!!!! I've had both of those items in my sewing machine drawers for 37 years! I didn't know what they were! (No instructions)

NOW I feel S T U P I D !!!!!!! omg...

LOL...nancy...you are so funny...I have them, but when I am running elastic through casing...I always opt for a safety pin...I need to try other methods too...but because I saw my great grandma use the safety pin...I always do too...LOL...sometimes even though granmas may be wiser, they don't always know better I wonder if there is quilting in heaven? If there is imagine the quilting bees...

The Quilt-as-you-go process. On paper, it makes perfect sense. It should be beautiful!

In practice, I can't get it to come out right. Very frustrating! I need more practice, but I hate to make sloppy projects!

quote:

Originally posted by nancyc20:
GOOD GRIEF!!!! I've had both of those items in my sewing machine drawers for 37 years! I didn't know what they were! (No instructions)

NOW I feel S T U P I D !!!!!!! omg...

LOL!!! Hey, don't worry Nancy -- I'll be happy to be your brain on your brain's days off, if you'll be my brain on its vacations days!

Nora...what type of batting are you using? and also what type of quilting...is it the quilting of the blocks that you are not happy with or putting them together?

Sunshine, I use a safety pin, too. Don't even own one of those other things.

I'm using.. whatever's on the big roll at the shop. I think Warm and Natural?

The way I tried it, I layered and quilted. LOVED how it came out. Joined the top blocks. AWESOME. Joined the back blocks.. not so awesome. Pretty sloppy.

The process I followed called for leaving an extra inch all around on the backing, joining the front, flipping it over and then folding the backing over across the gap and stitching in the ditch on the front to join it. Sounds easy, right?

I collected Asian fabrics because they deserved to be loved and petted but never cut. Finally I chose to make lantern blocks similar to the other one shown. So many of mine were perfect for fussy cutting that I chose to do a snowball rectangular block instead. I actually had so many beautiful blocks that I made two queen size quilts.

Nemesis: hand quilting but I don't feel upset about it. It's like gardening. Nice to look a beautiful garden but I prefer someone else to do the work.

FMQ is mine. It has me so intimidated I've that I've never even dropped my feed dogs just to TRY it! I'm going to conquer it this year, along with a bunch of UFOs.

LOL...Sue...so I'm not alone and in good company

quote:

Originally posted by NoraJ23:
I'm using.. whatever's on the big roll at the shop. I think Warm and Natural?

The way I tried it, I layered and quilted. LOVED how it came out. Joined the top blocks. AWESOME. Joined the back blocks.. not so awesome. Pretty sloppy.

The process I followed called for leaving an extra inch all around on the backing, joining the front, flipping it over and then folding the backing over across the gap and stitching in the ditch on the front to join it. Sounds easy, right?

Everything lways sounds and looks easy, and once in a great while it is...I have tried several methods of QAYG...but I always opt to handstitch the back close...to me it is just neater and I don't like seeing my stitching on the front...sometimes I have gotten away with it with a very closely matched thread, but I generally do as you did with the exception of handstitching the back...first I do all the blocks into rows...then join the rows together, some people hate hand stitching though...

quote:

Originally posted by EvelynB:
I collected Asian fabrics because they deserved to be loved and petted but never cut. Finally I chose to make lantern blocks similar to the other one shown. So many of mine were perfect for fussy cutting that I chose to do a snowball rectangular block instead. I actually had so many beautiful blocks that I made two queen size quilts.

Nemesis: hand quilting but I don't feel upset about it. It's like gardening. Nice to look a beautiful garden but I prefer someone else to do the work.

Evelyn , I love and remember that quilt...what size blocks did you use...i remember wanting to alternate my lantern blocks with other lantern blocks and found a pattern online...never got around to making them though...

Thanks, Linda. I think the Asian fabrics were cut 6.5x7.5 rectangles. Barely rectangles but I was trying to use my fabrics wisely to get as many lanterns as possible. It would be fun to alternate the lanterns because some of the fabrics had very small design elements.

KSS, I was in that Lantern swap also. I have the top put together...just need to do the sandwich and quilting.

I also bought a paper pieced pattern for a kimono that works up very nicely with the beautiful Asian fabrics. In fact, I made 2 large lap-sized quilt tops with this pattern.

My bug-a-boo is with certain fabric styles: I really don't like the 30's look, probably because I had to wear clothes made from feed/flour sacks with those little prints. And I didn't like them then, either! And if I see a whole collection of CW prints, I just see 'muddy' colors, although if I pull out each one and look at it by itself, I sometimes actually do like it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bluesnail,

WOW!!! Is this a great Koffee Klatch thread, or isn't it? Enjoying my first cup of tea and reading and loving all the comments. A real mixed bag of subjects and lots of nice advice and several good chuckles.

Asian fabrics...yes. What to do with them besides look and pet? I go wimpy each time I see a quilt made with them and think of my fabrics sitting so prettily amongst my others, waiting for inspiration, or bravery. I was asked to make an altar cloth for a Buddhist friend and had it 75 percent completed when the requester came to check it out. A very strong negative!!!! Too fancy. And I think it scared me, frankly. So it sits with the other fabrics.

On The Chatterbox one year, we had a challenge to make a simple rectangular mat using holiday fabrics and edged with black. I'd seen a pattern from a group that made a trip to China and as a momento of their trip they made a Chinese door. I took the photos of the mats and did the same as a Thanksgiving card to the members. It was a nice pattern.

Wiley, you can't read this, ok?

Had to come back. I just now, as in 10 minutes ago, realized I have a very strong aversion, is it my nemisis?, to piecing a quilt. If I can't figure out how to strip piece it, it ain't gonna happen. Unless it's a fusible.

I've been trying to make a mug rug, a mug rug!!! for the January swap. I've had the pattern since the day we found out who our partners were to be. Could not get it done. I got so frustrated the other day because I couldn't strip piece it, I actually got sick to my stomach. No kidding. I finally had to admit, it had to be pieced, no way around it. grrrrrrr big time. You'll laugh when you see what the pattern is.

So to all you wonderful piecers and template users, I apologize but I gotta be able to strip piece the bulk of a quilt or it won't be in my collection. lollll

All this for a mug rug.

ETA: I don't care for F&P either. But I do like their "Quick and Easy" magazine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: paus4quilts,

Katie.... This is a pattern that Sue bought in Vegas (I think) and we made in RWB. It is easy and shows off the prints very nicely.

Katie- I completed an Asian Quilt by using the Shadow Box. I posted the pic, but only got about 2/3 of the quilt. It was easy and fun to do. I love the Asian fabic line and would love to see what you do with yours. They also make a good fat quarter bag. Good Luck. Sue

You guys are wonderful. All these ideas. Of course, now there are too many. So I will print out these pictures, and tape them to the cabinet where my fabrics are sitting and see if I can visualize my fabrics in these quilts.

I did make a quilt like the one Kentucky Sunshine posted. When I was in NC at the COF Retreat, I won a boatload of fat quarters in beautiful asian fabrics (maybe that's what started me looking at them). I had no idea what to make with those either and someone (sorry, can't remember who now) posted that quilt. It was perfect for FQs and my quilt is just gorgeous. I used only the fabrics with the gold on them and I just love it. So does my granddaughter - she shares her mom-mom's affinity for sparkly things!

This has been a really interesting thread. I have loved reading all of your responses. Good to know I'm not alone in having these odd feelings about seeminly harmless things.

Love this thread! Love all the photos of asian quilts as well.

My nemesis is HST's. If I try to go it alone, they never come out right. So I use Thangles and I love them. So much so that I pick and chose the patterns I attempt based on whether they call for 3" or 4" finished HST's I have Thangles for.