Round Robin Progress

 Two of the Round Robin quilts being made in the Sunday Sew and Sews are now complete. Meaning, they will be returned to their owner and she can decide if it is done or is worthy of more borders.

One is mine and I love it!  It's 42" square at the moment:

I began with the 12" Rising Sun variation, with the navy blue frame around it. The next person added the four-patch borders. The next person went all out with the applique' borders--I LOVE the sweet birds. The last person to work on it added the flying geese borders--she knows I love flying geese and use them often in my quilts.

I've been pondering what to do next. Here are some ideas:

four-patches on point

Diamond borders

4" X-blocks, also called Old Italian blocks

5" or 6" Log cabin blocks

I will probably try a few sample blocks of some of these ideas to see what I think.

The last one I worked on is also done and ready to be returned to Pam E. It's 41"square now:

Pam began with the Sunburst center from "Trip Around the Sun" by Material Girlfriends. The first person added the 1" sawtooth border. The next person added the lovely dancing stars border--one of Sue Garman's borders from Stars for a New Day. A "floater" border made everything fit just right. 

I added the Dogtooth border and "floater" to make it fit. That paper-pieced border is one I designed for an upcoming project and it was exactly half the size I needed for Pam's quilt. So I made 8 of them, joined two each into a single border and had just what I needed. The four hearts in the corners kept the corners simple. 

There are 8 of us working on these Round Robins, four in each group. If you get much more than 4, the quilts start to get really big. Everyone has until the first Sunday in November to finish the one they have so there will be more to show then.

I wrote about how to organize this kind of project in detail. Find that post here: How to Organize a Round Robin

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Round Robin Quilts

 The Sunday Sew & Sews are doing a Round Robin project right now. Eight quilters are in two groups of four. Each made her own center block, 12"-16" or so. She put it in a tote bag, along with several fabrics of hers that work well with her center. Each month, the totes are passed on the the next person in the group to add a border. After three people have added borders to the center, the quilt will be returned to the owner to do with as she pleases. 

It's a good way to use colors/fabrics you may not  use often. Adding a bit of your fabric creates a link between these quilter friends. It is also a good way to learn to design your own quilt, practice using "Floater Borders" to make pieced borders fit a center, and to stretch your wings as you learn to improvise when you are limited by fabrics available--no running to the shop to buy something to use.

Here are a few of the quilts in progress:

Brenda's center, two borders done

Terri's center, one border done

Jodie's center, one border done

Donna’s center, two borders done 

Gather a group of friends to collaborate. It's fun and educational. There are books about this process and you can set many or few rules. Here is a post I wrote when we started this project: Round Robins--How to Organize One

Let's quilt.

Barbara 

A Feathered Star

 The Sunday Sew and Sews have started a little Round Robin this week. I wrote about how to organize such a project earlier this year: Round Robin

In between my Secret Sewing, I am working on the block that belongs to Donna. She made a Feathered Star from the pattern Washington Medallion, by Sue Garman. See my version in purple and turquoise in the Photo Banner above. 

I have just begun to add a couple borders. First, I set it on point:

More to come in the next few days. There are a lot of half square triangles to be made.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

ROUND ROBIN--HOW TO ORGANIZE ONE

 Over the years, I have participated in more than a few Round Robin and Block Swap projects. Recently, when I featured this quilt, begun in 2004 in a Round Robin project, and completed in 2011, several of the Sunday Sew and Sews expressed interest in starting a Round Robin:

A-Round With My Friends

Round Robins became a "thing" about 20 years ago. It involves getting a group of interested quilters together and setting the rules and timeframe. Each person makes a center block of their choice. They select a theme or fabric colors/styles, and each person in the group works on each quilt for some specific amount of time. Each person adds the next "round", or border, to the top they are given. The project boxes are passed to each person in turn--each quilt gets bigger each time a "round" is added.  When the project is over, the owner gets their quilt top back, to do with as they please.

Here is the info I sent to the 15 Sunday Sew and Sews--8 decided to PLAY:

1. Strictly optional—only play if you really want to and are prepared to keep to the schedule
2. Group size would be 5-6 people, we might have two groups depending on how many want to play. The group will have a list of each person in their group—selected at random
3. Each person starts by making the center block of their choice, 12”-16”, you decide
4. Each person puts together a small fabric palette of fabrics they like, perhaps a few from their center, these will be added to by the participants
5. Each person writes a note with their “kit”, what they hope to see, what they like or don’t like—I remember Janet saying she just didn’t like pinwheels
6. Each person puts their Kit—center, fabrics, note—in a tote of some kind—to pass to others in the group
7. We will start at the June 6 Sunday Sew and Sews gathering
8. You pass your kit to the person below you on the list. You receive a kit from the person above you on the list
9. Each person has one month to add a round to the quilt—bringing the Kit back to the July meeting to  pass to the next person on the list—you may add a few fabrics to the kit but don't have to
10. We will have two months to complete the final round—as by now the quilt has grown and it’s much larger than when it started
11. It would be most fun to not share the quilt’s progress with the “owner”—she will only see it at the final reveal party--NOTE: we decided NOT to keep the progress a secret
12. You are free to ask for help/suggestions from anyone else in the group

We ended up with 8 total participants so we have two groups of 4 people each. If the group is much larger than 5, the quilts start to get pretty big as each round is added.

I thought I might be in two groups if we had an odd number so I made two center blocks:

14" block inspired by an antique quilt at the Shelburne Museum

12" Bullseye block from pattern by Becky Goldsmith

an extra 14" block made when I realized I had cut out two of them

My project Kit box. The fabrics can be used on this project only--no one can keep any of the fabrics that come in the boxes. They can add to the box or simply use the fabrics as suggestions for what kind of fabric and/or colors to use. The middle block above, the Bullseye, is the one I will put in my box:

Some Round Robin groups have lots more rules--like exactly what to make for each round: Half Square Triangles, then Flying Geese, then Star blocks, etc. Some have almost no rules--do what you want, when you want, no timeframe, get done whenever you can. 

For a new group, I suggest some specific rules, especially timeframes, and that your best work is expected. I trust this group completely so didn't need to stress that. It is important that those who choose to play really want to--it is a commitment of time and effort to participate.

Block Swaps are different and can be easier. Here is a detailed blog I wrote about that process:

 Swap Blocks for Confident Quilters  Choose units that don't rely on perfect 1/4 seam allowances, like half square triangles, or very easy blocks. Search "Block Swap" above to find several other posts on these swaps.

My Advice if you decide to organize a Round Robin OR a Block Swap:

1. Choose the participants carefully, those who will keep to the timeline and do their best work

2. Set clear rules, many or few, and be sure everyone understands the rules

3. Set a reasonable amount of time for completion

4. The organizer needs to keep on top of the passing of the quilts or swapping of blocks, to be sure it happens timely--especially if the swapping will happen by mail

Perhaps this gives you an idea for how to work with a group of friends on such a project. The process is a great learning experience for everyone and the finished quilts are usually better than if only one person made the entire quilt. 

In the featured quilt above, I loved it so much when I got it back from the two friends in that Round Robin, I knew it deserved to be bigger.  I added the needle-turned hand applique borders and spent two years, off and on, doing the detailed hand quilting. This quilt won Best of Show in 2011, was a semi-finalist in Paducah in 2012 and was included as one of the best 500 Traditional Quilts in the 2014 book by that name, and was featured in the Special Exhibit at Houston 2014 of some of the quilts from that book. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

MY JOURNEY: QUILT # 16

 Another quilt from the Special Exhibit My Joyful Journey, part of the Virtual Quilt Festival, December 3-5, 2020.

Q UILT #16: A-Round With My Friends, 67" x 67", machine pieced, hand appliqued., hand quilted, 2011

The Story: Begun as a round robin with two friends in 2004 , I made the Feathered Star center. When I got it back I knew it deserved to be bigger so I created the applique border--an adaptation of a Nancy Pearson border design. I worked on this quilt for 7 years and was very pleased to have it receive Best of Show at its first quilt show. 

It was also juried into AQS Paducah, 2012 and included in the book 500 Traditional  Quilts, published in 2014. It was also included in the Special Exhibit in Houston, 2014, featuring some of the quilts from that book. I put my best hand quilting into this work on all original quilting designs. Collaboration with Ellen Anson and Sharon Suever. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara 

Yellow

Yellow is a color I don't use very much, in quilts, in clothing or in decorating.  But when I do use it, I really like it:

Forsythia!  One of those easy-to-grow plants that reminds me of my childhood, we had a couple large bushes in my backyard in Philadelphia.  In 1981 we received a bush from our babysitter as a gift for the baptism of our youngest son, Andy.  I have moved pots of it with us to every house since then and this is the grove we have of it now.  My husband did a major cut-back of it last Spring and this is the result this past week.  Our son has two plants of it at his home in St. Louis--it is a gift that keeps on giving.

I am eager to get back to this quilt:

Parts

Center

Ruffled Roses by Sue Garman for The Quilt Show BOM 2011

The quilt was the 2011 BOM for www.thequiltshow.com and the pattern is still available at Sue Garman's website.  I have more parts for baskets and the border sections ready to be sewn together, it just needs to become a priority.  Soon, very soon.

Another work-in-progress that has slipped to the very back burner is this round robin piece I started in 2014:

My friends, Ellen and Sharon, and I often do a round-robin project, usually to commemorate a trip we've taken.  This was begun in Paducah 2013.  It's currently 35" square and I don't think this will become significantly bigger, not bed-size.  I just have to study it a bit to figure out what it needs next--so I'm letting it stay up on the design wall so I can ponder the next step.

As I look at these, one reminds me of Spring and one of Fall, so they need to get done so I can have seasonal quilts to hang.  I have a Christmas quilt that goes up December 1.   And for summer I will have this one, when it's done:

This is basted and ready for quilting, a task I will complete this week.

A few years ago we repainted the living room from a plain light beige to this golden yellow:

I still don't know why, since yellow isn't one of my usual colors, but it is the perfect color for this room. Bright in the morning, warm and inviting at night.  A-Round with My Friends looks like it was made for this space, though it wasn't. It has a soft, buttery yellow for the applique' background and an inner border.  Circle Play, above the mantel, was a piece from one of my artsy phases. It has a gold/yellow flange inserted in the black binding, a great pop of color.  I still have a large stash of Oriental prints that haven't seen the light of day in quite a while, guess I need to get back to those too.  So many quilts, so little time...

Do you have a favorite color you use a lot, and one you rarely use?  Do you even think about color?  Of course you do, if you're a quilter.

Let's Quilt!

More Quilts Going to Houston!

I just got confirmation that two more of my quilts will make the trek to Houston this fall--it's a Happy Dance kind of day!

Red and White--By the Numbers, was selected as the 40th Anniversary Commemorative Quilt, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of International Quilt Festival and all the Ruby Jubilee activities we will have this year:

It's featured in all the advertising and on the cover of the catalog and will be on the terrific tote bag everyone is sure to want.  I wrote about that here, along with info on how you can still order the patterns. 

Today I received notification that two of my quilts will be in the Special Exhibit: 500 Traditional Treasures.  That is the title of a new book due out this September and I am honored to have 3 quilts selected for the book.  Two of those will be in this Special Exhibit:

Joyful Journey

 

A-Round With My Friends

 

Joyful Journey is from the pattern Washington Medallion by Sue Garman and is available here. 

A-Round with My Friends was made as a Round Robin with my two best quilting Buddies, Ellen A. and Sharon S.  It won Best of Show at my guild in 2011 and was exhibited in Paducah April 2014--I wrote about our trip to see it here.

This is the year I retired after 34 years with H&R Block, I turned 60, and all this great quilt stuff is happening.  I think this is my year and:   Life is so good! 

Let's Quilt--and I hope to see you in Houston this year.

Barbara

Stash Enhancement Expedition: Paducah 2014

I had a great time in Paducah these past few days.  It's such a treat to spend quality time with my two best friends, Sharon and Ellen, and this year we all wore "contestant" ribbons for our Round Robin quilt, A-Round with My Friends:

The quilt is directly behind me, except I don't recognize that woman in the middle. 

Red and White--By the Numbers was there too but I didn't take any pictures of it--since I know what it looks like and it was a side-hanging quilt and it's hard to get good shots of those. 

A friend of Pam Dransfeldt, the awesome Joyful Quilter!, took this photo for her.

Shopping wasn't too bad.  I bought an old quilt top as a show souvenir from Cindy Rennel's Antique Quilts, www.cindysantiquequilts:

 

And I added to my own stash, mostly reproduction fabrics:

 

The large piece of batik yardage on the far right is for our guild's next raffle quilt--it's back and background, very glad I found that.  I'll be eager to see what fabrics our members got to add to that quilt.   Members were asked to donate one fat quarter as a way of participating in the project.  I wrote all about and showed the project here.
It was a terrific couple of days--I got to see most everyone I wanted to see and was able to have lunch with one of my favorite people, Mary Sorensen.  The teachers who know me from Houston, Chicago, Long Beach, etc., all do a double take when they see me in Paducah--that's funny!  "What are YOU doing HERE?" 

Now to clean off my cutting table, ironing table, put all this stuff away and get back to being creative.  When asked what I'm going to do with this new stuff, I simply say: "Put it in the closet with its' friends, the stuff I bought at the last show, and the show before that, and the one before that...  If you're a quilter, you get it.  If you're not, you never will.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Off to Paducah!

It's that time of year--the American Quilter's Society in Paducah, KY.  I don't go every year, but this year I have 2 quilts in the show so I made hotel arrangements 9 months ago and tomorrow my two best quilt friends and I are headed up there. 

We went last year and, as we often do, we planned a 3-way Round Robin project to commemorate the trip.  We each selected a focus fabric and each of us bought 2 fat quarters for each of the other two.  Of course, we added more fabrics during our stash enhancement expeditions.  I wrote about my block and fabrics here.  The only rule of our swap is: there are no rules.  We each make a center and pass it and the desired fabrics along to the next person.  Eventually, we get our own back and can decide what, if anything, we want to do next.  This works because we trust each other and it's not like we don't have anything else to work on--no rush on this project.

Here's what I've been working on the last few days:

Sharon's Neighborhood with Guard Cats

Sharon made the houses and trees.  Ellen added the picket fence borders.  I got it during the height of tax season so it just sat on the wall for awhile.  Someone saw it and said "you should add a cat".   Yes, of course!  We each have one cat so I added Sharon's smoky gray baby, Ellen's orange Gigi, and my long-haired tortie, Patches.  As they are all house cats, each sits guard at their front door. 

Sharon will see this for the first time tomorrow morning before we leave for Paducah.  I hope she likes it!

I already know that neither of my entered quilts are wearing a ribbon but that's OK with me--they are hanging in some pretty glorious company.  Less that half of the entries receive ribbons and that's as it should be.  I'm glad others will get to see my work.  And since one of them is a Round Robin I made with Ellen and Sharon (and worked on for 7 years) we all get to wear "Contestant" badges--and share in the fun/experience together.

Now I'd better go pack--clothes, essentials, and my handwork bag--can't leave home without that. 

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Design Wall Monday--My Feathered Star

Here is my Feathered Star, cut out to be a class demo:

15" Radiant Star with 1" burgundy borders

 

It now goes to one of my friends for our 3-person Round Robin.  We do these occasionally to commemorate quilt trips we've taken together.  This one was formed in Paducah, April 2013.  We each selected a focus fabric or theme, and each of us bought 2 fat quarters for each other, that went with the stash we were each buying for our own project.  This Round Robin has no rules--we each make a center block and pass it on.  We might pass it back around more than once, might not.  Anything goes.  This works when you trust your friends.

Here is the first one to make it to all three of us, it belongs to Ellen:

Ellen did the center applique' block, I added the Sawtooth and narrow dark borders and Sharon added the Four-Patch borders.  Now it goes back to Ellen to work her magic--I'm betting she adds more applique' next.

 

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what others are doing.

 

Let's quilt!

 

Barbara

Round Robin #1

Here is the first round of the Paducah Round Robin 2013 I am doing with 2 quilting friends.

The center applique' block was done by Ellen, who loves to applique', and I added this first set of pieced borders.  It is currently 24" square.  It now goes on to the 3rd friend who can do what she wishes to it. 

Lesson learned:  be sure to check the measurements AND quilt block carefully before proceeding.  I did all the math figuring to trim the applique' block to 18.5".  I actually did carefully trim the block to 18.5".  Then I made all the borders.  As I went to add the first burgundy inner border I discovered there was still .5" of selvedge showing on the block.  Oh, my, back to the drawing board! 

SO, I changed the block to 17" finished, trimmed it carefully again, to 17.5", recut the inner borders which now had to be wider, and put the smaller burgundy border on the outside.  It worked out fine and Sharon, the next person, can make units that finish at 2", 3", or 4" or add another floater border if she needs to. 

While working on this I decided what my own center block will be:  a Feathered Star!  Surprise!  I'm still in my "feathered star" phase, apparently.  And I need a sample for a class I am teaching in October so it's the perfect time to get the pieces cut and use my block for class demo. 

This kind of project is how the 3 of us celebrate/remember our road trips--we went to Paducah this spring and bought our fabrics on that trip.  Each of us bought 2 fat quarters for each other once we saw the colors/fabrics each wanted to use.  There are no rules beyond that--do what you want when it comes to you.  And we do have to use the fabrics that were purchased but can add to those if necessary.  I added one green this round.  Don't know if I'll get this one back for another go--we don't usually get them back.  We're pretty fluid about the rules...

Here is one of our earlier Round Robins--mine. 

I bought 3 different fabrics on a cruise/tour of Alaska in 2004 and gave 2 of them to these friends as a group "challenge".  I was thrilled with how it looked when I got it back and decided it needed to be larger so I added the large applique' border and put lots of hand quilting into it.  It took seven years to complete but it was worth it!  It won Best of Show at our guild show in 2011 and has been selected to appear in a new book, 500 Traditional Quilts, due out in 2014.  You never now what a little challenge might bring!

 

Be sure to check out Judy L's Blog, Design Wall Monday to see what others are doing.

 

Let's quilt!

 

Barbara