Chirashi - A Mixture

I feel a bit at loose ends - fairly usual for me, I think. This being retired business is not for sissies. Here are a few things I have spent time with recently.

Hawaiian shirt "muslin" - I have had this pattern for a long time. I thought that the casual style would suit me. I had done some pattern alterations some time in the past, so I plunked it down on this blue plaid that was a gift. What ensued was a shirt that was really quite huge on me. So huge that I think I total rethink is necessary on the casual shirt front. The construction was good practice. I did a double yoke on the bias and sewed it a la Trudy at Hot Patterns' tutorial. It worked well. The plaids matched mostly except for the sleeves which for some unknown reason were really gigantic. The fabric has a high percentage of polyester, so did not press well. So, being finished and wearable by someone larger than me, it goes into the Hospice Resale Store bag. The pattern has been unceremoniously disposed of. No Tears.

I have been making attempts in the world of quilting for a while. I decided to invest in a new foot for my old machine.  I sprang for a "Quarter Inch Foot" recently, and whether or not the old machine continues to work long enough to make it a good investment, I'm hooked.

The Viking Husqvarna version has a little sled runner on the right hand side which really ensures easy piecing. It has been a boon. It makes the fact that an "even feed foot" is totally out of the question for this machine due to the price and non-universality slightly easier to bear. Most days I don't know if I hope the machine continues to survive or bites the dust.

The triumph of the week is another quilt block in the Austen Family Album is "King's Crown for the Regent." If you go to the blog post HERE you can read a story of the monarchy during the lifetime of Jane and her family.

Here's my version of the block done in Japanese cottons and featuring the taupe fabric common to all the blocks so far. There will be 35 blocks in total for this series.

A New Favorite

Sometimes when I see the new block for the week my immediate response is, "I like this one!" Sometimes after I get it put together the song changes to, "...hmmm. I guess that'll do." This time I thought, "I might really like it when it's finished."

So, now it's finished, and I like it. However, it almost looked quite different. I think that I have mentioned that usually, choosing the fabrics for each block is the hardest part. My original concept for the colors for this block was that the larger corner triangle would be the sandy seashore, so I did it this way.

I really don't know where my head was. The very light fabric is a muslin that was on my cutting table from another project. The Japanese taupe in the smaller triangles is the lightest shade I have used so far in this series of blocks. The muslin was really too light and out of place. 

So I looked at it again and tried different fabrics out and finally decided that I preferred it if that corner triangle was the deeper sea instead. So I replaced the triangle with another fabric in darker blue. This is how it  turned out.

This block is called Waves of the Sea for Francis Austen. Another of Jane's brothers, Frank had a naval career. You can read his story on the Austen Family Album blog at:   http://austenfamilyalbumquilt.blogspot.com/2014/06/block-12-waves-of-sea-for-francis-austen.html

Actually, if you look at this block the right way it looks like a fish, I think.

Practice Makes Perfect

...or a facsimile thereof. Can you believe it? Here's another block done in the Austen Family Album Quilt - along series! And it's only Tuesday. I attribute this feat to a couple of things. One is that I was totally caught up on Sunday when this block was introduced, so was not playing catch up before starting the new block. The other is that this block has a very familiar look to it.

Cross Within a Cross

Compare it to the block for Jane's father called Cross Within a Cross.

Village Square

Then look at the one for Jane's brother James called Village Square.







Not to say I didn't make any mistakes along the way, but they were mistakes of not paying attention rather than because of difficulty.

Friendship Square

So, here it is, the Friendship Square in recognition of Catherine Knatchbull Knight's friendship with the Austen family and her status of benefactor to Jane's brother Edward, who she and her husband subsequently adopted and left their fortune to.  The story is found in last week's blog as well as this week's which can be found here.

So, I'm done - till next block. Oh, yes, I just remembered, I haven't done my homework for tomorrow's sewing group at church. So, on to the next task.



Comments are welcome on this or any other of my blog posts. What do you think?

The Austen Family Album Quilt is Alive and Well

Never fear gentle readers, despite the lack of recent posts, work on the Austen Family Album Quilt continues apace!


The block called Village Square was included for Jane's brother James who became a pastor and spent his career in two villages. The block is similar to the one completed previously for James and Jane's father, also a churchman. This block does not have the central cross, however, and ideas were given for completing the square in the center. I opted for the more involved pattern and used two fabrics with the stripes hoping to remind the viewer of rows of plants that might be planted in the Village Square. I chose a plaid fabric for the corner squares also thinking of small plots of flowers, planted in a regular pattern.


The block for last week was chosen to commemorate the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. His rise to power, and the conflicts engendered affected the life of the Austen family in many ways. Read the blog post at:  http://austenfamilyalbumquilt.blogspot.com/2014/05/block-6-empire-star-for-napoleon.html for more information.

The block is named Empire Star. I thought it was a good opportunity to introduce some purple shades. As

you can see, in addition to triangles, this block contains 4 trapezoids. There were times when the geometry threatened to overwhelm my bitty brain. I was happy with the finished block. I followed the pattern and did not change the positions of the dark, light and medium values. I think it's a really interesting block to make and to look at.

I was thinking recently that this project appeals to me because every block is different and allows for a variety of fabric choices.  I think I would go mad trying to make an entire quilt with the Empire Star. Actually I think that I have not made many actual quilts in the past because there is no charm for me in making a batch of blocks over and over, especially if the prints and colors remain the same throughout. Here, however, the one fabric of plain taupe remains consistent and the fabrics are all Japanese homespun type cottons. Other than that I have freedom and a weekly challenge of a new block.

This week's block, which was published in yesterday's blog post from Barbara Brackman is named for an Austen  family member I can relate to somewhat; Jane's Aunt Phila was a bit more of a free spirit, something I am accused of being from time to time.