Everyone is Being Creative!

I think we decided on this "Gwen and Freddy Challenge" a little close to our upcoming show in September.  But if we each make at least one, we will have something inspirational to display in memory of these great quilters and teachers. Kirsten and Edna have made Gwen and Freddy quilts before, so we have those for the show.  We are hoping to have ten.  Jane is working on her second one.   

Edna e-mailed me a photo of what she has got going on her design wall.  Edna said she is making a bunch of liberated nine-patch blocks and on-point squares in squares.  I am really liking those bright nine-patch blocks!

Of course, Marsha hangs out with me.  Here is what she has on her design wall.  She is making lots of liberated stars, liberated log cabins, and square-in-a-square blocks for her quilt.  It is going to be interesting to see all the different quilts!  We are certainly off to a great start.

Jane's Tribute to Gwen Marston

Astrid here, again.  It seems Jane has been working uncollaboratively on this solid-colors quilt.  She finished it last night and brought it over today, to show me.  Jane loves the many quilts designed by Gwen Marston.  Gwen Marston was born in 1936 and passed away in 2019.  She has had a huge impact on thousands of quilters, worldwide.  I feel that her biggest contribution to quilting was her gift of inspiring other quilters to break away from patterns and design their own quilts, while developing their own styles, which grew out of the traditional.

This is Jane's first quilt using all solid-colored fabrics.  It looks magnificent!  She said she was playing around just sewing different colored pieces together and then cutting them and reassembling them.  When she put them on her white design-wall she had a little space between them and decided she liked the white breaking up her blocks, so that is how she improvised her own quilt design.

Astrid's "GweFre" Quilt is Fabulous!

I had so much fun designing this quilt and making the "parts".  I have some parts left over, that will likely go into another tribute quilt.  Jane is thinking of doing a vertical row quilt and include some of the parts.  I think Jane and I will do some collaborative quilting!

Marsha took this photo of my quilt and I.  It is considered a medallion quilt, which is one of the types Gwen Marsten wrote an entire book about and hosted classes on.  The color scheme is all Freddy.

Gwen and Freddy Challenge!

Astrid here.  Our little group of quilters have decided to do a Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran challenge, as a 2025 tribute to two of our favorite quilter rock stars.  I have jumped right in!  I am feeling pretty good about what I have put together so far.

I am presently making a bunch of black and white half-square triangles for another border within this quilt.  I also, have more decisions to make about what kind of flowers I am making stick out of my Gwenny basket.  I am so excited!  Edna is going to make one, too.  She made a Gwen Marsten style medallion quilt a couple years ago, so I call her a trailblazer.

Florals, Plaids, Stripes, Polka Dots, Hedge Hogs, Rabbits, and Ducks Oh My!

Many years ago, we were told that you do not mix florals, plaids, stripes, and polka dots, which does not even include hedge hogs, rabbits, or ducks.  I must state that fashion, home decor, and quilting sure was boring back then.  Those days are over baby!

Feel free to use this pallet of colors, anytime.  I, Kirsten, finished my vertical strip quilt with amazing colors, especially the yellows and purples (and all the rest!).  It has all the things in it, that I was told could not go into the same project.  My message is to all my quilting friends out there, to do what makes you happy and don't listen to the fuddy-duddys.   Happy quilting! 

Jane's January Tutorial - 2025

Happy January!  I am going to show you how to make a Hachi quilt, a Japanese improvisational quilt.  Improvising just means making decisions as you go.  Try making a Hachi quilt.  It is okay to head in a direction you are not familiar with and make discoveries for yourself.

There is no pattern, but that is okay!  The Hachi quilting process is simple and allows you to make choices about size, color, fabric patterns, and placement to create an overall unique and lovely quilt.

There are some rules to guide you, so there is no way to get lost.  Patricia Belyea, author of "East-Meets-West Quilts", lists five rules: 

1. make each block square, preferably 8" X 8"
2. make blocks with two fabrics in a relationship:  1/2 & 3/4, 3/4 & 1/4, 1/2 & 1/2
3. as you layout your block, to make the design, alternate the blocks horizontally and vertically
4. add an unexpected visitor (1 or 2 blocks) to add even more interest to your creation
5. break any rule you want

Let's get started on this "improv" quilt.  I started by rummaging through Astrid's stash of Japanese and Asian feel fabrics.  You can use any fabrics you have and try to match each print with a solid or a fabric that looks like a solid if you step back from it a little.  I use mostly tone-on-tones, when it comes to solids.  If you have large prints, like great big flowers, they work particularly well in Hachi quilts.  

Since I want four prints and four solids, and need to narrow my fabric choices down, I used my color wheel to help me decide what other colors go with the amazing tonal-yellow fabric I really want in my quilt.

The only real large print is of the cats.  In this photo I am showing the solids that I chose for each of my four prints.

Rule #2, is one I really like.  This photo illustrates what the relationships look like.  

Here are my colors in their 1/2 and 1/2 relationships.

Rule #3 states to start your lay-out with either a vertical position (seam connecting both pieces that make up the block is going up and down, while horizontal means side-to-side, like the horizon) or a horizontal position, then alternate the adjoining blocks.  That is what I am doing in the photo, above.

You can arrange and rearrange your blocks as much as you like.  I like the bold 'L' shapes that pop out when you put two of the same color combination blocks next to one another.  That is another feature of the Hachi style.  See that uninvited guest block there?  It is called an unexpected visitor, which adds another element of interest to your design.  I chose those colors, because there is less yellow in this quilt than any other color and the print is a stripe, which is unexpected!

I rearranged my blocks until I was pleased with the composition.  These blocks are on the design wall and have not been sewn to each other yet.  I can still make changes if I want.

Look at the color and shape relationships, then notice the relationships with adjoining blocks, including my visitor.  I just have to sew them all together to complete the quilt top.

Sew all the block together, in rows, then sew the rows to each other.  Cut a quilt back a couple inches larger than the front, and some batting.  Layer the back, batting, and top to make a quilt sandwich.  I recommend stitching in the ditch, but you can quilt it however you wish.

While you are quilting your quilt, be sure the stitch all around the outside edge, about 1/8 inch.  After the quilting part is done, trim your quilt with a straight ruler to square it up.  Now it is ready for the binding.  The Japanese have a way of binding their quilts, so you don't actually see it.  Patracia Belyea calls them "endcap facings".  You can bind your quilt anyway you wish, but I recommend you try the endcap facing.  Read and look on, for how to do endcap facings.

Hachi Quilt, Part 2:  Endcap Facings

Cut your strips for endcap facings.  I made mine 4" wide.  Press them lengthwise, in half, then place the folded edge away from the edge of the quilt top:  place the raw edge along the raw edges of the quilt.  See my amazing diagram, below:

See how the side facing, that was on top, is now underneath the one that runs clear across the end.

Amazing!  Press it all the way around, while pulling up a little of the front of the quilt, so the seam is right on the edge of the quilt, all the way around.  When you look at the quilt from the front, you do not see the back.  When you look at the quilt from the back, you do not see the fabric from the front.  I pin my edges in place then press them, the I go around again with my steam iron and a tailor's clapper, to make the edge of my quilt nice and flat.

With needle and thread, whipstitch the free edge of your facing down, only going through the backing fabric and some of the batting.  Do not go clear through to the front of your quilt.  Click on any of the photos and they will enlarge, so you can see the details.

This is the finished back of my Hachi quilt.

This is my finished quilt!  I like that you cannot see the binding, all you see is an amazing design!  I hope you will give this project a try.