It is such a good feeling to finish a UFO.  This one has been hanging around for a long time.  It is a block of the month by Leah Day.  I liked it because each block was made separately and machine quilted before putting the twelve blocks together.  Leah Day, not only provided the pattern for the block, but also provided the quilting pattern.  Her quilt was made with orange and yellow fabric.  I did change the colors.

I was unhappy with the way that the blocks looked when I put them together.  Something didn’t look right.  I was using Georgia Bonsteel’s  method of lap quilting to join the blocks.

ne night, I took all the seams out and started over using Leah Day’s method.  When I un-sewed, I found out that I didn’t line the right seams up. No wonder it didn’t look right.  Leah Day’s method sewed three lines around the block before squaring up the block.  It seemed like an unnecessary waste of time, but it was well worth the extra effort in the end. The blocks were perfectly square and went together perfectly.  Things that I have learned while making this quilt.  Finished is better than perfect.  Don’t quilt on  cling wrap.  It is hard to get off and threads pull out when it is removed.  It turns black, probably from the ink used to draw the quilting lines.  If it doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t.  Don’t be afraid to un-sew and start again. Not all quilts need a border.  Make the backing compatible in color with the thread that you are quilting with.   It’s o.k. to change the quilting thread color within a block.  It is impossible to follow a predetermined quilting pattern.  You have to concentrate in following a line, coordinating the pedal and your hands.  That’s just too much to think about at the same time.  If there are pebbles, quilt your own.  Quilt straight line from point to point.  Tie off and clip beginning and ends of quilting lines as they are quilted..  Don’t wait until all the quilting is finished. Make sure that the bobbin thread is brought to the top every time that you start a new quilting line.  If you don’t, the bobbin thread will be in a nest on the back.  Don’t be in a hurry to finish a piece and go on to something else. Maybe there is a reason why you have a UFO in the first place.

After all this,  it is a pretty quilt and it will keep someone warm.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

There was no sewing or quilting last weekend.  Miss Molly went to visit her cousins, Odie, a labradoodle, Ziggy, a Schnauzer, and Mr. Gibbs, a Schnauzer.  She had visited them before and had lunch in Tom’s Doggie Restaurant.

Unfortunately, Misty Lou and Cowboy are no longer with us.

 

 

 

 

The three cousins had visited Miss Molly in Maine last summer.  They had a good time, except that Odie took over Miss Molly’s spot of the sofa.

When they left, Miss Molly slept the rest of the day in her spot.

We made the trip because my beautiful great grandson, Aiden, was dedicated during the church service on Sunday.  While we were gone, Ziggy and Miss Molly were left in crates.  It was a place with lots of things to see and get into if not watched.  Odie and Mr. Gibbs were allowed to roam the house.  After all, it was their home and they “knew” how to behave.

When we arrived home, we found an empty baggie on the living room floor.  It was still sealed, but the bottom had been chewed out. I had left four days of Miss Molly’s food in a baggie that was in a canvas bag on top of her crate.  The canvas bag was still in it’s place.

The two dogs had stolen her food and she had to watch them eat it.  After Miss Molly came out of her crate, she tried to go under the sofa.  We found her measuring cup with a few pieces of food under there.

The best part was that Miss Molly had her cousin’s food for supper that night.  According to her, it was much better than what she usually ate.  The other two dogs still ate all their supper. Four days of food didn’t effect them at all.

I made a mock up of a flower with my hand dyed fabric for the wall quilt this morning.  I didn’t like it.  I’m glad that I made the mock up instead of appliqueing the flower on the background.  It saved a lot of un-sewing.  I decided to use regular fabric.  It will give me a bigger range of color from light to dark.   There are fifteen flowers in the center of the wall hanging.  This afternoon, I chose fabric for seven of the flowers and pressed the freezer paper to them. They are not cut out.  I will do that when I’m ready to applique.   I also found a large piece of sky fabric that I might use for the background.  I will make a decision when I finish choosing the colors for all the flowers. There is progress, but it is slow.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

Winter is here.  Miss Molly and I woke to beautiful snow falling.  She enjoys the snow and doesn’t mind going out in it.  

 

It was a great day to work on the wall quilt.  I have a file with everything that I’ve worked on before.  I just have to pull it out to see where I finished the last time that I worked on this project.

Today, I drafted the applique design on freezer paper.  When I found other flowers for the piece, I added them with scotch tape.

 

 

 

After the design was what I wanted, I marked the center horizontally and vertically. 

 

 

 

Then, using the light box,  I transferred the pattern to a large piece of stabilizer.  This stabilizer pattern will be the diagram for placement of the applique pieces.  The hardest part is figuring out which pieces should be appliqued first.  The freezer paper diagram will be cut out for the patterns.  I haven’t decided whether I will cut out and applique each flower separately or cut out and number all of them.    

I want to use the flowers from my garden for color inspiration.  Several photos are in the file and I placed them where they should go so that I can see how it should look.  I may look in a flower catalogue for other color inspiration.  My flowers are very similar in color.  I’m still deciding which fabric will be the base for the appliques.  There are two contenders.  

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

When I was cleaning out some paper files of quilt blocks, I came across a scrap quilt block.  It looked like an easy block to sew.  I decided to make one to see if it was as easy as it looked. For two 4″ blocks cut: 1 -3 1/2″ dark medium square, 1 – 2″ square of dark medium, 2 – 2″ x 3 1/2″ of light and 1 – 5″ square of dark medium.     Stitch together with a 1/4″ seam like this.         Draw a diagonal line on the 5″ block.     Place onto the pieced block RST with the diagonal line beginning and ending on the light rectangles.  Stitch 1/4″ on each side of the diagonal line. I pinned the two pieces together so that they wouldn’t shift. Cut on the diagonal line to create two squares.  Square to 4 1/2″  There is just a sliver to cut off. One square will look like this.       The other will look like this. Assemble to create a pleasing design.  Use lots of scraps for a different look.  You can use charm squares for the 5″ pieces. The picture of the square has 16 – 4″ pieces.  I found that if you want a block that is color coordinated like the one in the picture, you have to make four squares  in two different colorways. An other possibility would be to make a 4 patch block with the pieces twisted and turned other ways.  The blocks are so easy to make.  It would be fun to make several and play with a setting. I do have a lot of 2″ off white strips leftover from another project.  If the background was the same color, it might work. Have a great day and happy quilting.

It was a very rainy and cold day today.  After a meeting at the Community Center this morning, I decided to not sew or quilt, but to clear out the piles of quilt pictures and patterns that I never would make.  They seemed very nice at the time that I saved them, but I know that I will never make them, so the paper had to go.  I still have loads of patterns and ideas left.  I probably won’t make them, but I can think about it.

It must be getting near Christmas as my Christmas cactus is blooming.  It is beautiful.  The trick to getting Christmas cactus blooms is to close the insulated drapes around them and keep them cool with the cool night air on the windows.   They won’t bloom with the warm air in the house.  

 

     

I saw a beautiful quilt on the Missouri Star Quilt Company web site.  It was a simple nine patch that was cut and the pieces turned in a different direction.  It was different than the other blocks that I had made. The nine patches were set without sashing.  I decided to make half size blocks so that I could make another Linus quilt with the technique.  Nine patches are easy.  I didn’t need to look at the tutorial to make them.  The nine patches sewed up quickly.  Somehow, it didn’t look right.  I went back to the tutorial to see how the nine patches were cut.  That’s when I discovered my big mistake.  Five of the pieces of the nine patch were supposed to be white.  I used all dark and medium pieces.  They would have made a very dark quilt. That’s when the quilt was named “The Mistake”.  I decided to put white sashing between the blocks and add an unusual border to take the eye away from the center.  It worked.  It turned out to be a pretty quilt.  Maybe I should rename it “Lemonade”.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I was originally a self taught quilter.  Over the years, I have had many teachers who taught me different ways to quilt.  Some were very good and some not so good.  I did learn something from each one, even though it might have been that I didn’t like to quilt the way that they did.  Four people have had the most influence on my way of quilting.

Enjoyment – Doreen Speckman taught me to enjoy quilting.  She was an awesome teacher.  I remember her teaching in her bathing suit on a very hot day.  We ignored the heat and  laughed all the way through class.

Applique – I had several classes in applique.  It wasn’t my passion, although I liked to do it.  I went to as many applique classes as I could hoping the I would learn to enjoy the hand work.  Nancy Pearson taught at the Vermont quilt Festival.  She opened my eyes to color, technique and the love of applique.  We learned how to make twisted ribbon.  The piece that we made in her class was supposed to be a wall hanging, but I enlarged it and made a queen size bed quilt.

Stipple quilting – After I pieced and appliqued the quilt, I hand quilted it with a stippling technique taught by John Flynn.   I called the quilt “Basket and Butterflies” because I quilted orange butterflies amongst the stippling.  The sub title is “It’s John Flynn’s Fault”.  Because I had made the quilt with techniques learned at Vermont, I submitted the quilt into the Vermont show.  It was my first entry into a regional quilt show.  It not only won a blue ribbon, but also won a ribbon for best hand quilting.

Piecing – The teachers who had the most influence in my piecing were Ann Gallo and Sue Rabin.  The are amazing teachers.  One would start a sentence and the other would finish it.  It was like one person in two ladies.  I learned so much from them.  There way of flip and sew is different than anyone else.  While in the class, we went into another area for a demonstration.  I did not know at the time, but one of the ladies picked up my flip and sew piece on the way by to demonstrate how not to sew it.  I had cut off both pieces.  The following is their way.  I always do it this way now.

The object is to have a small triangle on the corner of a larger square.  You will use a large square and smaller squares for the corners.  Draw a diagonal line on the back of the smaller square.  Line the small square up with the corners and sew on the diagonal line.

 

 

Most instructions tell you to cut the corners  1/4″ away from the sewn line and press the triangle out.

 

Ann and Sue’s way is to cut the inner small square leaving the large square intact.  No matter how accurate you sew, the triangle might be a little over or under the line.  When you add this piece cut this way to another in the block, it will still be an accurate cut.

 

When these triangles were pressed back, they did not go to the edge of the larger square.  If they were cut off the regular way, the piece would be too small.

 

When these triangles were pressed back, they went beyond the edge of the larger square.  The Piece would have been too large.  Trim the overage and the piece will be the right size and be square. I learned so much from Ann and Sue.  More tips will come at a later date.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My appointment was cancelled this morning so I made good use of the extra time and caught up on the Moda Block Head blocks.

Block 29 is a 6″ block.  It is called Courthouse Step and was designed by Carrie Nelson.  This was a quick block to make.  There were only nine pieces and all straight sewing.

 

 

Block 30 is an 18″ block.  It is called Gaudi and was designed by Brigitte Heitland of Zen Chic.  This took a little longer to piece than block 29.  The triangle pieces were pieced in strip sets and then trimmed to the triangle.  The center was a square in a square unit.  The measurements in the instructions were not right, but I was able to adjust and make the  center unit the right size.  It called for  2″ squares to flip and sew on a 3 1/2″ base, when it meant to add triangles to all four sides of the center 3 1/2″  square.   If I had followed the instructions, the center would have finished at 3 1/2″square. It needed to be 4 3/4″ which is the same size as the ends of the  larger cross pieces.

When all the Moda blocks are finished, we are going to be given a diagram on how to set all the blocks.  Most of the blocks are 6″ finished size, but there are several that are bigger and even one that is a rectangle. I’ve enjoyed the Moda Blockhead blocks of the week.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I played with Jane today.  The stack of finished squares is getting higher.  I did make some out of sequence, but when I get to those rows, I’ll be ahead.  I’m glad that I bought the EQ Dear Jane program.  It tells me the best way to piece the blocks.  I can print off patterns for paper piecing.  There is a wealth of information in that program.

Two blocks were paper pieced today.  They are ready for quilting.  I finished quilting one other block and tacked down the binding on two other  blocks.  It sounds like a lot of work, but the blocks are finished at 4 1/2″.  It doesn’t take long to put a binding on the sides.  Some of the parts that are paper pieced are very small.  See the corner squares in the bottom block in the first picture. I never could piece them the regular way.

Three blocks are ready to applique.  Again, I’m glad that they are small.  When all the blocks that I’ve been working on are finished, row D should be done.  I had intended to make the blocks in the fourth row around the center block.  Somehow, I became sidetracked and processed a whole row.

         

There will be no sewing tomorrow as I will be out of the house all day.  Maybe I can go into the archives and find a quilt that I haven’t talked about yet.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I was talking to a lady that I met today.  When she found out that I was a quilter, she told me that she had  bought a new sewing machine a few months ago.  Her 13 year old son was looking at it and asked her to teach him how to sew.  She did and he has made his first quilt and has started on his second.  He has gone into the local quilt shop and they have answered his questions.  His color sense is awesome.  The quilt was made of rectangles and was his own design.  His Grandmother  bought a sewing machine for him so he has his own.  He saved his money and bought a trunk.  He keeps his sewing machine in the trunk along with the start of a stash. He has asked to have lessons at the quilt shop so that he could know how to make a quilt “the real way”.  The best part is that he doesn’t have his fingers attached to electronics.  His Mom is very proud of him.

I’ve been so busy lately with yard work, appointments, meetings, etc. that I haven’t been in the sewing room very much.  I’m hoping that I will be able to sew for a whole day soon.

A friend gave me some Dresden Plate blocks that were made in the 30’s or 40’s.  They came with the muslin.  I have appliqued the blocks onto the muslin and stitched the blocks together.

Fortunately, I had several 30’s Dresden Plates pieces that I purchased at auction several years ago.  I was able to cut them to make the border.  The fabric, even though it isn’t the same patterns, has the same look.  It goes very well with the blocks.

 

I bought a piece of green 30’s fabric from a vendor at the Guild quilt show, intending to use it for something else.  It just happens to be the right size for the back of this quilt. I think that I was going to use it with the auction Dresden Plate pieces.  They’re both in this quilt now so I don’t have to think of what to do with them.

Where the whole quilt is made with antique fabric, I feel that it needs to be hand quilted.  I’ve been checking Pinterest to see what others have done with the Dresden Plate.  There are several that I like.  When I figure out which one or combination of several that I like, I’ll make a template and start quilting.

I am designing a wall hanging that will go over my couch.  I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.  Up until this week, I had only the dimensions.  I want it to fit on the rod that is on the wall and hang down to the top of the couch.  Yesterday, I found a setting diagram that I like.  Now, I have to think about what I want to place in the spots on the diagram.  As thoughts about this wall hanging come to me, I’ll let you know the progress.  Maybe even show some pictures.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

A short while ago, a friend asked me how I put the rows of the Canadian 150 quilt together.  The quilt had 12 rows of 12 blocks.  It was hand quilted.  Every week, we received a pattern and a story about an amazing Canadian woman.  When I had received the patterns for 24 blocks, I put them together in two rows.  Then I hand quilted the rows as I received and pieced the next blocks.  Row 3 and row 4 were sewn together and quilted. Every section of  two rows was pieced and quilted as a separate quilt.  Following is the procedure that I used to add each section to the next one.

I’m using a Linus quilt for the demo.  It is made with nine patch blocks set three by four.  I made two sections of two rows.  The nine patches are quilted.  I omitted quilting the sashing because I needed it to float.  I also didn’t quilt the border because The quilting might not match up where it was seamed.  I wanted to quilt it all at once. Most tutorials tell you to trim both edges even.  This will work, but you sometimes have to pull it and the seam won’t lay flat.  I find it better to make one edge 1/4″ wider to give a little wiggle room.  It is less stressful.  On this quilt, the side with the sashing will be the side that is longer.  It was not quilted. That will give you more room to manipulate.  It is the bottom piece in the picture.

Trim the top piece even with the edge.

 

 

Turn the bottom piece with the sashing over.  Pin the backing down and away from the edge. This will keep it out of the way of trimming. Turn back over and trim even with the edge. 

 

Trim the batting an extra 1/4″.  This will eliminate bulk.

 

Unpin the back, smooth out, and trim back 1/4″ away from trimmed top.

 

 

 

Pin backing down again to get it out of the way.  Pin the two pieces together, right sides together.  I use a lot of pins.  Line up the sashing lines while pinning. Peek to see if they line up.

This needs to be adjusted.  The right seam does not line up.

 

 

 

  Then sew seam with a 1/4″ seam.

Take it to an ironing board.  Laying it with top against the board, press seam up.  Press 1/4″ on backing.

Lay backing over pressed up seam.  It should cover sewing line.  Press.

 

 

When it is even, pin and then hand tack seam.

 

 

 

Done.  You will not know that the quilt was quilted in small pieces.  Using this technique, you can machine a king size quilt without a lot of tugging.  You could even quilt single blocks and put them together this way. A patterned backing will hide the seams on the back.  Or you could use different fabrics on the back and have a two sided quilt.  There are so many options.

Have a great day and happy quilting.