Scrapbooking: Woven Circle background

I belong to a Facebook Scrapbooking Layout group.  One recent post showed a background made of concentric circles woven with vertical strips.  Questions were asked for directions but the original poster has not (yet) responded.

Curious, I studied the photo, did some internet sleuthing and have reversed engineered a way to recreate it.   I don't know if this was the way the original poster made her layout but this method certainly works.  I don't know what the "official" name of this layout technique is; I've simply called it "Woven Circle Background".

I used 4 patterned papers and 1 solid paper.  Now, the papers I used aren't terrific.  I wasn't sure if my reverse enginering was going to work, so I didn't want to waste "good" paper.  The papers you see here are ones that I don't particularly have any fondness for and, as a result, the end product is useable but not really attractive.  Don't let that put you off!  

It seems as though this layout looks best if two of the papers used for the concentric circles "read" as solids, leaving the last patterned paper being a true pattern.

The patterned papers were for the weaving; the solid paper was for the background/foundation.  The original poster also used 4 patterned papers but one of the papers was a duplicate, so there were actually only 3 different patterns.  The duplicate pattern was also used for her weaving strips.  

I have chosen NOT to do that.  To keep the visual easier to see, I opted to use 4 different patterned papers.  One patterned paper was used for the vertical weaving strips; 3 patterned papers were used for the circles.  The background was plain white.

From  3 patterned papers, cut 5 concentric circles from each one.  I used my Scan n Cut to do this and made each ring 1" wide (just for consistency for my initial trial).   You can do this manually if you have a compass (remember high school geometry?)   The first time, it's easier if you make each circle the same width. BUT for subsequent makes, you could just as easily vary the width of the circles, which would make for an interesting final result.

I suppose you could also use metal dies but that would make a miniature version.

When you finish that step, you will have 3 patterned papers cut into concentric circles.

Now, cut the remaining patterned paper into 1" strips.  However, you can actually make the width of these strips anything you want .. I chose 1" for consistency.  The final effect will look best if the weaving strips are a strong contrast to the outer ring paper. 

Mentally label the rings from the largest to the smallest as Ring 1, ring 2, etc, until you get to the middle circle and that is #5.

Beware/have caution if you are using directional paper for rings 2 & 4: make sure the direction of the print is facing in the same direction!

Don't glue anything down yet.  

Make your concentric circle background; there will be 3 versions you can make.

Take Ring 1 of paper 1 and put it on the foundation paper.

Take Ring 2 of paper 2 and put it inside Ring 1 (on the foundation paper)

Take Ring 3 of paper 3 and put it inside Ring 2 (on the foundation paper)

Take Ring 4 of paper 2 and put it inisde Ring 3 (on the foundation paper)

Take the inner circle (#5) of paper 1 and put it inside Ring 4 (on the foundation paper).

Here are the other two variations:

Now, take your strips from paper 4.  Starting at one edge of the concentric circles you just created, weave the strip in and out of the circles.  

Take another strip and weave the 2nd strip in and out of the circles but in the opposite orientation than the first strip.  That is to say, if the first strip is OVER a circle, this 2nd strip will be UNDER the circle.  

Continue weaving the strips in ths manner until you woven as many strips as you want.  I used 7 strips.

Notice that in my version, strip #4 goes over the center circle. This occured because my first strip went *under* the first circle.  

I don't think this looks good, so I opted to put the center circle on top of the strips. 

Spot glue everything in place. If you are using page protectors, that will keep all the papers from moving.  BUT, if you are not using page protectors, then you are going to need to glue everything firmly in place. 

Put your matted photos and ephemera on top for the final layout.  Voila ... you have just created the background for a layout!  

I think it turned out very well!

The Facebook group is "Scrapbook Layouts".  The Original Poster was Kathy Price.  Her post to the group, sharing her layout can be found here.  

Please note that Scrapbook Layouts is a private group, which means that you need to join it in order to see the group's discussions.  I can't republish Kathy's original photo without her permission.

Vertical Diamonds quilt from 2012 is finally finished

A Long-term UFO finally is finished!

Long before October 2012, I had accumulated a collection of brown and red "vintage-y" looking squares, about 7" big.   I made a few quilt tops with those squares.  At the time of this writing (2021), I'm thinking that I had pieced those tops both by machine and by hand (as a Forever Project).

In October 2012, I finished one such hand-pieced top, which I called Vertical Diamonds because the top was a set of diamonds, set in columns.   Truly, an original inspiration.  :-)

Seeing as I had put a LOT of time into the hand-piecing, I decided I wanted it to be hand-quilted, as well.  My major road block is that I do not hand-quilt.  I've done only a handful of small hand-quilted items and that was more than enough for me.  I nearly drove myself mad with boredom.

However, I like solutions, not problems.  I bartered with a hand-quilting friend of mine .... I would piece a top for her and she would hand-quilt my top.

In 2016, my friend completed the hand-quilting, much to my utter delight!  But, being the Master of Procrastination that I am, it took until now, April 2021, to get that top labeled and bound. 

Yeah, I'm a complete lamer.  :-)

I've actually made a web page to document this quilt .. will wonders and miracles never cease?

That was just a teaser for you! Please wander on over to Vertical Diamonds for more, detailed pictures and verbiage.

Deco Garden: border blocks DONE! floral block #47 DONE!

O.M.G.  I almost can't stand it.

The 28 border blocks with their accent circles

In my last post, I mentioned that I have completely, totally, absolutely, positively FINISHED all the border blocks for the Deco Garden Forever Project™!  That's 4 sides of the quilt .... 7 blocks per side .... for a total of 28 border blocks and a total of 112 small accent circles.

The 4 corner blocks and their accent circles

And then I remembered .... I had kinda/sorta forgotten about the corner blocks.  Oops.    I prepped those blocks, made the 24 MORE small accent circles and got everything stitched down.

As with all things, this was finally accomplished and with that ... YES!  WOO HOO, YES!  My border blocks AND corner blocks have been completed. 

I am mentally exhausted.

Bonus Block 49: Cyclamen

However, there is no rest for the wicked and my floral blocks still have some designs left to do.

This block is Bonus Block #49 (Cyclamen) from Reeze Hanson's "Deco Garden" patterns. 

It is the 47th floral block to be done.  TWO MORE FLORAL BLOCKS TO GO!!   Boy, I am rapidly approaching the end of the tunnel.

Deco Garden: bonus block 37, border blocks, and cornerstones

My focus lately has been on my heritage scrapbook albums. 

I finished one maternal line of my husband's, going back as far as I could reasonably verify, which was to a gentleman named Andrew Watson Robertson, born in 1825 in Ohio.  I can't go back further because I can't *absolutely* nail down Andrew's parents.  I have a hint on a Census that they might be in South Carolina but Census records from 1840 and earlier only *tally* the number of people in a household.  It doesn't give names or relationships or any details.  So although there are a number of "Robertsons" in South Carolina in the 1840 Federal Census, I can't definitively tie any of them to having a son named Andrew Watson Robertson.

This is excessively annoying because you KNOW the parents are out there ... I just can't definitively say "This is them."  So .. that's my brick wall for the Robertson family and that's as far back as I can go.  I was very pleased to have finished that album because it had languished for quite a while as my interest waxed and waned.  It's amazing how much productivity doesn't get done when you're not actively working on it.  :-)

After finishing that album, I almost started on the next family line, when I remembered a military service album that I had started for my Dad ages ago.  I figured it would be better to get that partially completed album finished so it could go on the bookcase, rather than take up space in my work room.

I was very, very fortunate in that my Dad saved quite a few official US Army papers, from which I was able to piece together his military service from basic training to infantry during World War II (South Pacific theater) to US Army Reserves during the Korean War.

I might do a dedicated post on that album later on but for now, I will simply feel very, very pleased that the album is done.

Which left me to return to my Deco Garden Forever Project ™.   Tom & I took a weekend away where I was able to do a substantial amount of work during the drive to/from and more work once we arrived at our destination.

bonus block 37 - Periwinkle

Bonus Block 37 (Periwinkle) was the next 12" floral block to be finished.

I have (4) more 12" floral blocks to do.  Although the applique templates have been cut and the applique placement guides have been made, I haven't yet prepped any of those blocks.

It occurs to me that perhaps a future blog post ought to be how my technique for the applique evolved over time.  But not today. :-)

All 28 border blocks

While completing a floral block is certainly cause for a major celebration, I gotta say that wasn't the case for this weekend trip.

THIS trip resulted in my finishing ALL THE BORDER BLOCKS!   Oh My Goodness .. all TWENTY EIGHT border blocks are now finished!  Working on these small blocks has certainly been tedious at times, since the blocks are all the same but putting in that last stitch was SO satisfying!

However, that self-satisfied smug smile was short-lived.  As I was stacking up all the border blocks, feeling inordinately proud of myself, I realized that ... oooooh noooooo!   those border blocks weren't QUITE 100% finished after all.

close-up of a border block with accent circles

Nope .. each of them required (4) small circles to be appliqued between the leaf elements.  Sigh.  That meant 28 blocks times 4 circles per block = 112 total small circles.  These circles are about 1/2" in diameter, so they are somewhat of a pain to deal with.

To get nicely uniform circles, I like to use a stiff template and make a  gathered circle around the template .. and that's exactly what I'm doing.  This is excessively tedious work and I'm not particularly looking forward to it.  But it's one more step that needs to be done.  Sigh.

the four corner blocks

AND THEN ... the very last blocks to be prepped were the (4) cornerstones.  I just finished those and they are ready to be stitched.   Except for the required small accent circles.  Yeah, these blocks want them also.  Sigh.

I've mentioned previously that I use Nancy Lee Chong's (of Pacific Rim Quilting Company) basted applique technique for all of my needleturn applique pieces.  It's the only method that didn't annoy me excessively or have a lot of unnecessary steps.  I highly recommend it.

So, the four cornerstones have been prepped ... the lighter green leaf elements and the color spot element have been basted on the turn line, following Nancy Lee Chong's method.  The darker green leaf unit was done differently.

There were waaaaaay too many narrow ins-and-out for me to want to negotiate.  I've done narrow "V" shapes plenty of times but by the time I was looking at these shapes, my brain was screaming NOOOOOOO.   :-)

So, I used an alternative method that is useful when the shape is just too complicated or tedious to stitch with a traditional needleturn method.  I call this "shaped applique", although that is strictly my term for it; I don't know if there is an official name.   This alternative technique calls for the finished shape to be cut from fusible, wash away stabilizer.  I use a product from Floriani.  The cut shape is fused to the wrong side of the applique fabric and trimmed to leave a small seam allowance.  I then swipe the perimeter with a washable glue stick and wrap the seam allowance over the stabilizer where the glue will keep it there. 

When I'm done wrapping the fabric, the final shape will conform beautifully to the stabilizer shape and all I have to do is to stitch the shape in place.  When I launder the quilt, the stabilizer will dissolve, leaving the applique nicely soft.

Bottom line ... I have 112 small accent circles to make and stitch for the border blocks; 24 small accent circles to make and stitch for the corner blocks; prep (4) 12" floral blocks; and stitch the (4) corner blocks.   This is certainly a whole lot less to do than when I first started but seeing it written out like that makes me think that the Light at the End of the Tunnel is a bit further down the line than I thought.

Such a shame because I already have the next Forever Project ™ picked out and ready to be worked on!!  LOL!

Deco Garden block: bonus block 41 - Blue Bubble Flower

bonus block 41: Blue Bubble Flower

I've not been quilting so much these days. 

Another passion of mine is genealogy, both my family and my husband's.  Over the past years, decades for some family lines, I've been doing research into the ancestors.  Some have been easy to find and others still remain elusive.

Much of my time lately has been diligently working on my husband's maternal grandmother's line.  I had hit a major mental road block for a while.  I knew that the longer I stayed away from the album, the longer it was going to take me to finish it.  So, I finally pull up my big girl panties, put my nose to the grindstone and just plugged away.


And hooray!  That family album is done!  woo hoo!

Which meant that I could now, with a clear conscious, return to my other passion: sewing.  Specifically working on my Deco Garden blocks.

After weeks of just sitting there, being all lonely, I was able to get back and finish the block.

I might take another break from the flower blocks because I'm waaaaay behind in the border blocks.  I had originally thought I would do maybe 5 border blocks to every flower block I needed to do so that I would come out even in the end ... with neither a whole lot of border blocks or a whole lot of flower blocks to do.

But, that didn't work as planned.  Such is life, ya know?

Deco Garden: the latest blocks

Bonus Block 44 - red rose (although I chose coral): 

Every year, my (extended) family takes a tent camping vacation at Calaveras Big Trees State Park in California's Sierra Nevada mountains.   Calaveras is smack-dab in the middle of the Gold Rush country but the main attraction for us is that there are (literally) mountain sides chock full of trees.  BIG trees.  And with all the activities to do and places to go with kids, it's simply a wonderful place to camp.   We've been going there for over 40 years ... that's how much we love it.

We are "unplugged" when we go camping.  There is absolutely no internet access in the campsites. It used to be that we would need to go to the nearest town (about 10 miles) for just Wifi ... and further down the mountain to get actual non-Wifi access.

Bonus Block 52 - May Flag Iris

This has its advantages ... when I am in camping, I don't feel any urge to be on my cellphone, checking on all the frivolous things I do.  Instead, I work on hand needlework projects that I had previously "kitted up" at home before we left.

This year, I brought along 4 prepped Deco Garden blocks and about a bazillion prepped border blocks.  With all the comings and goings .. and books on my Kindle that I wanted to read ... I didn't get as much appliqued as I anticipated.

BUT .. I did finish two more 12" Deco Garden blocks and started a third (which I am continuing to work on).

Upon my return home, I took some time to tally how many and which blocks I had finished so that I could know how much further the end of the tunnel was.  I was gratified to see that I have only FIVE more Deco Garden blocks to finish!    WOOO HOOO!!. 

Oh yeah, and all those border blocks.  Fortunately, those guys are much smaller.  Unfortunately, I need to make a gazillion little circles for those blocks, which is tedious.  They make the block look very festive, though, so I won't be leaving them off.

Starburst Blossom and Deco Garden needleturn projects

Deco Gardens needleturn applique project

Reeze Hanson's "Deco Garden"

Back in 2015, Reeze Hanson of Morning Glory Designs  released an applique BOM, which she titled "Deco Gardens".  This was a collection of (12) 12" blocks of Art Deco inspired flowers and plants plus border blocks.   Art Deco has always appealed to me so I began collecting the designs. 

Mind you, I said COLLECTING the designs, not making them.  The thing about designs and patterns is that, many times, if you don't grab them when they first show up, you may lose out entirely.  I knew that if I had the designs, I could make them at my leisure.

first block, "Columbine"

It wasn't until February 2018 that I made my first Deco Garden block, a Columbine. 

By that time (three years later), Reeze had explanded the Deco Garden blocks to many, many more than the original 12.  I decided that I would make a LARGE quilt and started to plop pictures of the Deco Garden blocks that I liked into EQ to give me a layout. 

my king-sized layout

We have a king-sized bed.  I don't have a properly sized quilt for it (even after all these years) and decided that THIS was going to be the quilt for our bed.  My layout ended up with  (49) 12" blocks plus border blocks.  It's going to be HUGE.  But .. hey ... I'll call it my current Forever Project and just plug away.

I had decided that I wanted the same mottled black fabric as the background for the entire quilt.  To that end, I bought an entire bolt of Moda "Marbles" and prayed it would be enough.  A very rough estimate assured me that a bolt would be enough.   Surely a whole bolt would suffice  (cross fingers).





Needleturn applique technique
I used to not like applique.  I don't like the look and feel of satin-stitched edges.  I *REALLY* don't like the look of a looser zig-zag.  Most of the time, a blanket stitch isn't appropriate for the design.  And I HATE fused applique.  Now there are times and circumstances when any of those techniques are applicable but I just don't like them.

"Magnolia" - a finished block

I also had not (yet) discovered a hand stitched method that I liked .... so ... I just didn't DO applique.  Which was perfectly fine with me, as I had a tremendous backlog of pieced layouts to create!   BUT, in 2007, I found a technique that finally resonated with me.  It's a front-basted method which I learned from a Pacific Rim Quilting Company pattern, Peace, which you can read about on my web site here.

Much later, I was fortunate enough to actually take a hands-on class from Nancy Lee Chong, of Pacific Rim Quilting Company, who promotes this technique.   I was IN LOVE with this method!  From then on, I was a needleturn applique fiend!

It is this front-basted method that I use for my needleturn applique projects.  I'd say that 99% of the pieces were able to accommodate this technique but if the piece was really teeny-tiny or had impossible edges, I then used a fusible, water-soluble stabilizer as the base for just that small piece, which was then appliqued down.

current Deco Garden block in progress

Today's date is July 2, 2019; I am still working on the applique blocks for Deco Garden.   This is the current block I'm working on.  It's called "Blue Rose", so as to distingish itself from all the other rose blocks.  :-) 

You can easily see the finished, turned edges. The red dotted lines show the basted, raw edge, where I am currently turning the edge under.

If you look at the green stem in the lower right corner, you'll see the purple basting thread holding that piece down and showing me where the finished seam line is.






Starburst Blossom, a pieced & applique project

Reeze Hanson's "Starburst Blossom"

In March 2018, Reeze started her 2018 BOM, Starburst Blossom.  It is a 12 block pattern with a delightful, easily pieced background (which remains the same for all the blocks) with a varied applique floral design in the middle of the pieced block. Although the pieced block is the same, the colors of the block are all different.

The basic BOM was one block a month but if you subscribed to her newsletter, you had access to another block.  I did subscribe to the newsletter and I ended up with a quilt top of 20 blocks plus the borders. At 16" square, the blocks are HUGE but that makes the quilt assembly go quickly.

my finished Starbust Blossom top (Jan 2019)

What possessed me to work on TWO concurrent applique BOM collections is beyond me, but I did.  Starburst Blossoms, having fewer blocks, would finish sooner than Deco Gardens ... mainly because there was a Facebook group specifically for Reeze's BOM blocks, which gave me the push to stay on top of the block construction. 

In January 2019, I completed my Starburst Blossom top, which finished at 82"x100"  As of June 2019,  it is still unquilted (that's a different project!).









Back to Deco Garden
All during 2018, as the Starburst Blossom blocks were released, I'd drop whatever I was doing and make up not only the basic BOM but the extra, newsletter BOM.  In between the Starburst Blossom blocks, I'd be working on the Deco Garden blocks.

For my Forever Project, my typical "rule" is that it was for me to work on when I was away from home .. on road trips, on vacation, at doctor's offices, or Little League games.  I wouldn't work on it at home because, at home, I'd be using my sewing machine to work on yet a DIFFERENT project.  A Forever Project is simply there allow me to creatively and productively occupy my hands  when I can't be machine sewing.  It usually doesn't have a deadline and I can take however long I need.

However, I have given myself permission to break this "rule" with Deco Garden.  I am now steadily working on it at home (taking a hiatus from machine sewing) so that I can reasonably expect this project to reach completion.  I do have an incentive to do so ... I have another needleturn applique project waiting for me!  :-)

As of today (July 2, 2019), I have 39 completed Deco Garden blocks and 12 completed border blocks.  That leaves 10 Deco Garden blocks, 16 border blocks, and the 4 corner blocks to finish before assembly.  The Light at the End of Tunnel is in sight!  :-)

a border block

EXCEPT ... (can you hear the shoe dropping?) ... I was looking at my EQ printed layout of the final version of Deco Garden.  Then I looked at my pile of border blocks .. which have ALL BEEN PREPPED for needleturn.  OH. MY. GOODNESS.  A *major* problem. 

In my enthusiasm to get the border blocks prepped for needleturn, I was on auto-pilot.  I never stopped to check what I was doing against the final picture.  I didn't realize until recently that the border blocks ON THE SIDES are DIFFERENT from the border blocks on the top & bottom.   AAARRRGGGHHHH.  Take a look at the king-size layout above ... you'll see the side borders are different.

Well, tough luck.  I am NOT going to undo all my prepped needleturn.  I'm not even sure I have enough of the green left to DO the side border blocks now.   AAAARRGGGHHH. 

However, in the Grand Scheme of Things, if you didn't have the original layout out look at, you'd never realize that the side borders were supposed to be different.   After all, most quilts have symmetry and consistency on all sides for the borders.  And that's how my quilt is going to stay.