Matthew's Quilt

My second-oldest nephew is my only nephew who does not yet have a quilt from me. Yet. I've been promising it for his birthday or Christmas for about four or five years now. I started Matthew's quilt three and a half years ago, not too long after I'd finished quilts for his sister's kids. Two of his sisters still need quilts of their own, and I have two more grown nieces who do not have quilts yet. And then I need to make quilts for my surviving sister and brothers... I am making progress when the list doesn't grow by two or three new babies per year!

I'd picked a quilt from Debby Kratovil's 2018 Block-a-Day Calendar, with replacement blocks from the 2017 edition. At the time, especially looking at the pastels in the calendar, I didn't want to make the Card Trick block because it wasn't masculine enough, in my opinion. Turns out it looks pretty awesome in Stonehenge.

I may still use a few blocks from the 2017 calendar, depending upon how big the quilt top will be when I finish the blocks from the 2018 pattern. For now, though, I'm happy with the way the quilt is turning out. Even though I got stumped once again by one of the rotary cutting diagrams. This isn't the first time one of the Block-a-Day patterns has made me wish I'd used Moda Blockhead patterns instead.

I may use up the booboo blocks in the backing. They did turn out nice. They are just too small. The last two times this happened to me with Block-a-Day calendars, both previous problems also were flying geese. To be on the safe side for the remainder of this quilt, I'm drafting my own patterns on paper before I cut fabric because I have only the one fat quarter bundle. I don't have enough fabric for more mistakes, although I am pulling a few pieces from Stonehenge precuts (different lines) left over from other projects for variety and because I'm almost out of the dark background fat quarter I've been trying to use for the background.

I'm also using my own color schemes for some blocks because I got this wacky idea when I began the quilt that working the blocks light to dark, center to edge, might look pretty awesome. I have one yard of one of the darker fabrics in the fat quarter bundle I initially thought would make a decent backing. Now I'm wondering if it might work as sashing, although it might be too close in hue to the dark block backgrounds. I'd been auditioning stash Stonehenge strips left over from other projects, but there isn't enough of any leftover strip color for a whole quilt. I've also considered doing a fancier sashing because Matthew seems more appreciative of detail than any of my other nieces and nephews.

I’ve even thought about making a wide border to use up all the leftovers when I’m done with the blocks. It’s fun to play around with options, and I’ll probably have even more fun on my design floor as I finish more blocks.

Linking up with Alycia Quilts.

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Bits and Pieces

I was kind of hoping I could finish another quilt last weekend, especially since 12 inches of fresh snow kept us inside most of the time. However, snow melting after the sun came back out flooded our window well again, and I spent most of Sunday bailing water. Ugh.

We did finally get an estimate on gutter replacement, and it turns out... we need a new roof. The gutters will be replaced, too. And that should take care of our basement waterfall. Let's hope.

In the meantime, I was able to wash Scrap Gobbler, and I love it even more now. The rough-edge appliqué came out so much better than I anticipated!

Perhaps I needed a tiny break from quilting; I enjoyed piecing the backing for the next Moda Blockheads 2 block.

I finished a few more houses for my Scrappy I-Spy Neighborhood.

And I finished three more scrappy blue log cabins. These may eventually become another WIP, but for right now, it's just another project to use up my strip scraps and leftovers. I still have two more blue scrap collections representing solids and textures, so I may have to try to come up with an alternate log cabin layout so this will be big enough to become at least a lap quilt.

Linking up with Alycia Quilts.

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Snowflake Monday

I wasn't going to try to design a new flake and write a new pattern for today because work last week was so unbelievably crazy. But I woke up at 4 a.m. yesterday and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to make a flake. Typically, making a flake is relaxing and enjoyable for me. It's the pattern-writing that can sometimes be stressful. And that whole deadline thing...

Notice the booboo???

Remember those old donut commercials? "Time to make the donuts. Time to make the donuts." Practically sleepwalking. That's the way I feel sometimes! If I don't have a new flake by the time the weekend rolls along, I feel like I've left something important undone, and I feel as if the universe is off-kilter because I'm about to miss my Monday deadline.

Yet, I've always been a deadline achiever. I've always felt I have to finish what I've started. I've always thrived on deadlines. Some of my best work has been created while trying to meet an impossible deadline. Every job I've worked my entire life involved deadlines.

Way back in the late summer of 2009 (I think), I wrote my first snowflake pattern and published it on my then-infant blog. I didn't know it would become a weekly thing. I didn't know it would become my main priority and primary motivation in blogging during many of the past 12 years.

Here it is, end of the year, after Christmas, and as of the moment I began typing this blog post, I still haven't finished my snowflake skirt or my Logged Out sweatshirt. I wanted to wear both several times before Christmas.

As of this writing, I haven't finished a single quilt from my official WIP list, although I did manage to start another one. (But only because I needed to get the Spoonflower fabric out of the way!)

I didn't get my Christmas gift calendars mailed, and I didn't even try to make any form of Christmas card until Christmas Day. I didn't get any snowflakes to Children's Hospital this year (or last year or the year before), and I didn't make Christmas presents for the grandkids this year. (They got presents, but not handmade.)

I've been with the company for which I work for 28 years now, and you'd think I'd have the December routine down pat by now. Yet it always seems to catch me off guard, although this is the worst year I can remember in a very long time.

So as I write this final pattern of 2021, I can't help but question if I should continue putting this once-a-week commitment on my plate for another year. I've been tempted at least three times in the past 12 years, and I've managed to make a comeback each time. Our annual Make a Snowflake Day does really help resist the temptation to walk away from blogging every January!

I get to work from home four days a week, and I keep telling myself that should make a difference. But my commute time was my crochet time, and when I do go into the office now, I'm driving, so I can't crochet.

In addition to being a full-time employee, I feel as if I'm also a full-time caregiver, a full-time housekeeper, a full-time physical therapist, a full-time speech and occupational therapist, a full-time gardener three seasons of the year and a full-time landscaper when I can break free from the other full-time jobs. I can't remember the last time I responded to a blog comment, and I don't remember when I last had time to visit other blogs, which I sincerely miss.

I'm not writing any of this to gain sympathy. I'm explaining the situation because I have new readers each week (especially in November and December because of the snowflake patterns) who may not understand, in addition to this being a hobby blog and not an income-earning blog, why I don't respond immediately each time a complaint is logged. I do read comments, but not always on the day they are written. I do read my emails, but I don't always get a chance to respond in a timely manner. Not just blog- and pattern-related, either. I think those who know me know I will answer when I can, and they try not to add to the pressure I already feel.

I also want to make sure readers understand why they may not hear back from me in November and December when they encounter a problem with snowflake instructions. I've been trying for years to point readers to Ravelry and Sisters of the Snowflake for help, particularly during the busiest time of year for my work. Members of both groups are SO friendly and helpful. They've bailed me out so many times!

I don't want to put the challenge of writing or designing on hold. I don't ever want to stop taking photos. Even though my blog often seems overwhelming and not always a top priority, I am not quite ready to end it. I love the community, I crave the accountability my blog provides, and I long to share the inspirations that sometimes are so heavily layered in my head, I can't get them all out before I begin losing them.

Speaking of inspiration, I have wanted to knit a temperature scarf, crochet a temperature afghan and design a temperature quilt for at least six years. The last thing I need is more new projects. But the designer in me refuses to be restrained.

I recently got this idea to make a one-month digital temperature quilt with photos I've already taken as a way to hopefully suppress the agonizing desire to take up yet another daily challenge. Boy, did that backfire!!!

Now I want to make an actual quilt following this inspiration!!!

So, now I'm wondering if we could change up the weekly snowflake pattern just a bit to make room for a new challenge and to satisfy the hunger to do something new and outside the box.

I would really like to make a snowflake temperature quilt. I actually have ideas for about seven of them, but I'm trying to be realistic. I've considered all kinds of different options to make it easier, and I'll share those here in the hopes my readers might rally with me to keep going and to cheer each other on in a new project that could be fun and visually stimulating.

Here are a few of my ideas:

  ●  Although I made a batik color key for my digital 2021 temperature quilt, when actually creating the January segment, I used color range instead of precise color. When I initially began succumbing to the urge to create a temperature quilt, my plan was to use up my scraps, so none of the duplicate temperatures would have duplicate quilt blocks. That also means I don't have to buy new fabric if we have a ton of 70s and 80s that use up all that color.

  ●  I would really like to keep going on my digital quilt, and I think I could do that without adding too much pressure. I realize others probably don't take 40 photos of each snowflake they make on different color backgrounds, but perhaps photos could be taken just on the chosen temperature color.

  ●  A temperature quilt doesn't HAVE to be daily. It could be a weekly average or highlight, or it could even be a monthly average.

  ●  A temperature project doesn't have to be a quilt. It could be a scarf or an afghan. Or what about an amigurumi snake, with a stripe for each daily temperature, or a stripe for each weekly or monthly average/temperature?

  ●  I thought about owls, too, but I think a daily temperature owl might be a bit too big. Can you imagine the stuffing that would be required??? I probably could make a tiny owl in the proper color each day, but a suitable display would be too much pressure for me. It might be a project others could take on, though.

  ●  I even thought about a giraffe's neck or a monster with a torso and limbs as long as they need to be. A pair or three or four monsters could be a great way to make the limbs a manageable length and keep the challenge manageable by entirely doing away with the same-thing-every-single-day boredom.

  ●  Embroidery could be a great way of expressing changing temperatures, too. The base fabric could be a solid, and little motifs in appropriate colors could be stitched via weather or whim. A sunshine one day, a cloud the next, raindrops when they occur, and snowflakes, either embroidered or crocheted and appliqued. Little green spring shoots (when the temperature is the right color), flowers, fruits, veggies, butterflies, autumn leaves and bear trees could add true variety.

  ●  I'm still tempted to try a temperature afghan, and I think using snowflake patterns would be awesome. (Especially in my own hand-dyed thread stash, which I don't think I've touched in nearly two years.) But the snowflakes would all have to be the same size. I do have a size directory for the first seven or eight years of my patterns, but that's not a directory I've been able to update since I created it. A search for specific size snowflakes could be run via Google, via Ravelry, or even via my blog.

  ●  It's okay to not be able to finish an entire year, especially if I'm doing every day, and life suddenly pulls the plug on my fantasy. I've seen temperature scarves that didn't stretch the entire year, and they are still plenty long enough. I even saw one that was crafted into a cowl because the knitter didn't have enough time to keep working on it past Easter. If January 2021 is all I ever get done on my digital quilt, it doesn't matter because January turned out so awesome, it can stand alone. There will be no guilt in this project!!!

I hope I've inspired some creativity, and I hope you might enjoy joining me in creating something new and different. I plan to share progress (and hopefully continue to inspire other projects) each week and to adapt as necessary when life gets in the way.

I plan to continue publishing a new snowflake pattern when I am able, but I also will be revisiting some old patterns. I think I've got eight in the queue now that need corrections, and I still have 30 unpublished but untested new patterns. That alone is almost a full year's worth! And heaven knows I've got enough new pattern inspirations to last at least three or four years...

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Finished Size: 7 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

New Goal Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 7 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 5), [1 dc in ring] 5 times; ch 2, 1 tr in 2nd ch of starting ch 7 to form 6th ch 5 sp of Round. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: 1 sc over post of tr directly below, [ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, ch 5, 1 sc in same sp] 5 times, ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, ch 2, 1 tr in starting sc to form 6th ch 5 tip of Round.

Round 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of tr directly below, [ch 5, in next ch 5 tip work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc)] 6 times, omitting last ch 3 and last 3 dc of final repeat; ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 4: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of dc directly below, [ch 7, in next ch 3 tip work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc)] 6 times, omitting last ch 3 and last 3 dc of final repeat; ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 5: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc ), 2 dc over post of dc directly below, [[ch 5, 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook] 3 times, ch 2, in next ch 3 tip work (3 dc, ch 12, 1 sc in 11th ch from hook, ch 15, 1 sc in same ch, ch 10, 1 sc in same ch, 3 dc)] 6 times, omitting last 3 dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.

If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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12 More Toes and a Change of Heart

As I began laying out the finished Lizard Toes blocks (on the guest bed because I have no floor surface big enough except our driveway, and can't quite leave a flimsy outside overnight!!!), I realized my original plan of 6 blocks by 8 blocks didn't need to be quite as long and really needed at least one more row in width to fit our master bed. Good thing I had to lay this baby out on a bed before I began putting the blocks together! I do not need another large quilt that doesn't fit a bed!

I decided I could add one more block and make the quilt 7 blocks by 7 blocks, effectively 7 feet by 7 feet. It was difficult to select which color to use for the 49th block background because I have SO many amazing green batiks. I opted to use a piece from the (smaller pieces) stash box instead of the folded fabric stash in an effort to use up scraps. I actually had a piece big enough and had to trim off only a couple of inches on one side and a very small slice on a second side.

The first few appliqué blocks back in 2014 were done with YLI thread in the Alaskan Twilight and Seamist colorways I'd bought at my first Denver National Quilt Festival. I'd never seen fancy quilting thread before then! The zigzag stitch I'm using, of course, made quick work of the first actual quilting thread I'd ever owned, and my starting colors didn't necessarily look as perfect on every block anyway. My thread stash grew over the years, and I used King Tut De Nile and Arabian Nights and Signature Spring Grass and Aqua Waters on the blocks I finished this month. Now I'm going to have to restock at least a couple of shades because I've nearly finished off a few of my favorites!

All 48 original Lizard Toes blocks are made from leftovers. I wanted my 49th block to be from scraps, too, even though it will be different than any of the 48 paired blocks. Each original block pair includes one solid and one batik, making 24 opposites. (Although I discovered as I began putting the blocks together I'd made a mistake, but I'll get to that in a minute.) The 49th block will be unique because both the background fabric and the solid fabric do not appear in any of the other 48 blocks.

The color for the 49th lizard was difficult to choose because I have many purple, blue and green solid scraps that work well with the batik background I selected. I must strongly favor the cool rainbow color spectrum because that's what composes most of my scraps!!! I narrowed my choices down to three favorites, one each from the cool hues, and asked Lizard which he likes best. He should have a say, since the finished quilt will be covering him, too.

After having me audition the three samples three times each, he picked the same blue I was leaning toward. Made the choice so much simpler! Great minds think alike!

I'd been trying to complete a quilt block a day every day since the beginning of April. The lizards helped me stay ahead both times I took a break – once to use up my mountain of selvedges for a crocheted rug and once for taxes (gag!!!!!!!!!!) – because I had so much fun with the appliqué process, I could do four in one sitting! I did not feel that way at all, however, years ago when I was cutting out the individual lizards.

When I first began this project back in 2014, my intent was to put the paired blocks together. It was exciting to arrange finished blocks on the floor each time I finished a new pair.

When I picked this project back up as my hopefully April WIP finish, I decided I want the blocks to be random instead of paired. I wish I'd used a more diverse assortment of solids when I chopped up these blocks and lizards, but I was using leftovers I had back then. There were fewer colors in my leftovers to pick from then. That means some of the solids bump up to each other now, but they were doing that when I was doing the paired layout, too, so I tried really, really hard not to stress about it.

I wanted to make sure I didn't have to rip out any blocks accidentally sewn together in the wrong orientation this time (a mistake I make almost every single block quilt I make), so I marked the bottom left corner of each block with a pin to make sure the lizards weren't dancing in the wrong direction when I began sewing. Nevertheless, the final layout took a long time because I kept moving blocks around (and therefore pins, too...) so they wouldn't touch similar blocks, and even as I assembled the final quadrant of the flimsy, I was still moving blocks and wishing I hadn't already finished sewing the first three block segments together.

I also wish now I had placed a layer of batting beneath each lizard. But perhaps I can simulate that when I begin the quilting.

When I first made the decision to add one more block, I planned to put it smack dab in the center because the colors would stand out. By the time I finished the appliqué, though, I decided I would like it better off-center. It's funny how I've become totally anti-center over the years. Too much art class back in the '70s, I guess! So now the unique block is right next to the very center block, and that's one block I did not move around at all!

Words cannot describe the joy that washed over me as I finished the final block!!! (Yes, I finished the 49th block before I finished six other blocks... because I liked the colors of the 49th block SO much!) A total of 588 toes!!! Finished!!! It may be a while before I ever cut out another lizard for appliqué!

As I was laying out all the finished blocks, I was stunned to discover I'd made a mistake with one of the block pairs. I apparently liked the batik so much, I made both blocks identical. Had I noticed this before making the 49th block, I could have made that extra block with a solid background, and if I kept the twins far enough apart, no one would ever know I'd screwed up. Which got me thinking... Who is going to see this quilt??? Lizard, and me. It will be on our bed. It is not going on display anywhere except my blog. Who cares if I have ocean spray and periwinkle too close to each other in a couple of places?!? Who cares if I have three batiks pieced together without a solid in between? We both love this design, we both love the colors, and that's all that matters! If I don't point out the mistake when I finish the quilt, I bet no one will ever notice, even if they study the photo.

Even though I might have done things differently if I was just starting this quilt today, I am pleased with the final layout. I was excited but so intimidated to finally be ready to quilt! I thought I'd have to have to layer the quilt sandwich on the driveway, and that would require a good weather day. No wind, no rain, no snow. Not an easy order to fill in the Rocky Mountain foothills spring!

Upon finishing the fourth quadrant, I was being snarky and commented, out loud and to myself, that this project is equivalent to two baby quilts and two lap quilts, all joined together. I suddenly realized I could quilt them as quadrants, and then sew the quadrants together by hand! I actually enjoy quilt-as-you-go and love the hand-sewing. For the first time since I began this quilt in 2014, I wasn't intimidated by the size anymore!!! I don't have to procrastinate anymore! Each segment will fit perfectly on the longarm, and I might even be able to do something creative with the backing this way!

I'd purchased a huge chunk of wide Tahiti Dreams for the backing before discovering I could convert my old, ugly, skinny metal blinds that came with the house into state-of-the-art, modern and gorgeous Roman shades. I wasn't sure I'd have enough Tahiti Dreams left over after finishing this quilt to make matching shades for our large bedroom window. If I cut the wide backing into quarters and maybe even throw in a few off-center coordinating scraps (which would provide visual interest as well as use up even more scraps... YAY!!!), I might have enough of the wide backing for both the quilt back AND the Roman shades!!! Holy cow! This is brilliant! I'll never be afraid of a large quilt again!!! Unless it's already assembled... I have two large assembled WIPs, darn it!

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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