Monday, April 8, 2019

The Hokey Pokey Approach To Quilt Making

I'm assuming most of us have
danced to the song "The Hokey Pokey."

You know.
"You put your right foot in, 
You take your right foot out"...

I usually hear that little ditty a couple times a week,
when my little grandson is here having lunch.


Music to eat by!

Anyway, it got me thinking about
how similar my approach to my newest
project has been to the song...
one step at a time.

1.  You put your right foot in....



When I was in Houston for Quilt Festival 
this past fall,
I saw Aline Joulin's 
remarkable quilt .


"Ogeechee"
which was inspired by an American quilt 
found at the Grand Rapids Public Museum
and dated 1846.

I fell in love.


2. You put your left foot in
and you shake it all about...

I discovered that Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts
had a pattern of this awesome quilt.

And then discovered that Quiltmania 
was going to publish the pattern in
issue #128. 

Her method is a strip piecing method
for the machine using 1" strips.


3. You put your left arm in
you take your left arm out...

Well, I know my sewing capabilities.
And I knew that would be a challenge
making those 1/2" diamonds to come out right.

But I discovered
that Jeanne at Jeanneke.com in the Netherlands
had a stamp set just for this quilt.

It would be a great solution,
hand piecing,
stamping rather than tracing the shapes,
and the diamonds finished at 3/4".



I ordered the set.
There is one more diamond shape in the set.
I was using it today.

My left arm was back in!

4. You put your right arm in...


More thinking and deciding.
What style would I make,
what colors,
what fabrics....

And you shake it all about...

5. You put your backside in,
You take your backside out...

I had decided on trying to use
many of Di Ford's fabrics from Andover
leaning towards, teals, pinks, reds, golds, 
browns, beiges, and creams.

I pulled fabrics for the first star.
The first block of a sampler
 is always the hardest for me.

Too many options.

I laid out my choices,


But I needed to see them in the right proportions

Using the rubber stamps, which are terrific,

I cut out enough small diamonds
to make one diamond point
and used a hinged mirror to
see how these fabrics looked together. 

After a few changes,
I decided this would work.



6. You put your whole self in
You take your whole self out

You put your whole self in
and you shake it all about...

I have officially jumped in.
This is not a fast project.,
but one to savor.

Here's my progress over the week.
I'm super excited.
I'll let you know when  
the the first whole star is complete.

Until then...
Let's do the hokey pokey 
That's what it's all about!

Until Next Time-
Kyle

21 comments:

  1. What a cutie your grandson is. Kyle this is going to be a beautiful quilt. I love to see your fearless approach. Hugs

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  2. Yep, I can see you having fun with this project!

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  3. Once again, your post has me grinning from ear to ear. What a fabulous project for you. I love your color choices. I'm really looking forward to watching your progress. And, your grandson is adorable!

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  4. Handpiecing is maybe the way to go with this one. I love your star so far!! I love the bright teal and pink center. One step at a time is a good motto for this project.

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  5. Wow what an amazing quilt, I am sure it will give you great joy.

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  6. Kyle precioso pitufin,
    Tu colcha es un proyecto maravilloso.
    Saludos

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  7. Ogeechee is a stunning quilt! A very ambitious project, all hand pieced. I look forward to following along as you stitch this one. Beautiful fabrics. Adorable grandson!

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  8. A gorgeous quilt, and you're just the person who can pull it off! One step at a time. Entire star next week, right? What a sweetie you're having lunch with these days!

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  9. Oh, my goodness--it overwhelms me to think of doing that by hand. But if anyone can do it, that person is you! A beautiful start.
    BTW, I grew up roller skating at the local indoor rink, and they played the hokey pokey at every public skating session. We would get in a big circle and do it on skates. :)

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  10. Beautiful! Looks like you've taken something that looks so difficult and turned it into a relaxing "therapy"....looking forward to seeing your progress!

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  11. Oh my! That is indeed a project to savor! I will enjoy watching your progress and admiring all your fabric choices!

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  12. Great post, Kyle! It made me smile :) Your grandson is adorable. I love the way you tackle such challenging projects. This one is going to be amazing. Neat idea to use a hinged mirror for a better view. Can't wait to see more!

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  13. Beautiful! I used Edyta's method and made just one star for a miniature quilt. Very challenging, but I love the way it came out. Love your color choices! Will be watching your progress.

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  14. An amazing quilt, the Ogeechee!I wonder how long it took her to make it? Soooo many pieces! Beautiful. Enjoy your grandson, he's a cutie:)

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  15. Betting your adorable Grandlittle would love to help sort fabrics!! What a magnificent quilt...and in your talented hands it will be a wonderful rendition. Enjoy the dance!!!

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  16. Ogeechee.....a beautiful name for a stunning quilt! That cute face of your grandson tells it all. He loves being with his grandma!

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  17. Wow! That is an incredible quilt. I am just drooling! Love your start already and kudos to you for diving into this wonderful project.:)

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  18. I cannot believe how similar our taste in quilts is - I've had my eye on this one for quite some time now but it keeps getting pushed back by other projects. Now that you have gone to all of the work of sourcing everything it's getting tougher and tougher for me to ignore. This will be spectacular! Obviously the Hokey Pokey has helped you find your groove :).

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  19. An interesting start to your diamond project. I think those Di Ford fabrics will work well. Her new line will be showing up in the shops in a few days. I am thinking I want some. I was doing something with some diamond shapes on the machine a few days ago and not doing well. I can see that hand piecing would be a good solution.

    I was wondering if you were still on grandchild care duty.

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  20. A lovely comparison.
    And look at the great result. A wonderful start!

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  21. What a wonderful and ambitious project - which is the kind I like! I loved the story and the fun vintage photos to match. You always inject such show in your posts. Thanks for the fun story and it will be great fun to watch this progress! great colors.

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