Petal Progress

Best laid plans...finally posting about my progress on Garden Party, uploaded the new photo, and found the previous, in-progress photo that hadn't been posted. Most of the fabrics used were sample sizes, smaller than a fat quarter, and my process was to fuse the fusible to the pieces, then trace the patterns onto them. There was actually very little waste, though I did discover that after carefully washing all of the pieces, when extras were needed I missed that step, and the fusible did not adhere to the non-washed pieces, requiring pins.

Petal sets

This morning I finally found the hang-up with my Photoshop program not launching without a restart (it has two listings in Task Manager that need to be deleted), so now editing my photos will be less frustrating.

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve done a fusible applique quilt. I’m taking a learner’s attitude, not worrying that each block is done exactly the same. A few of the petals were accidentally reversed (learning point #1 – use an opaque label on clear plastic templates rather than a pen to label so letters & numbers aren’t reversed), but if they fit on the block I kept them as-is.

I did some practice with my machine’s stitch regulator, using it for the first time, and stitched down the 36 tiny hearts on each block before doing any other stitching, so as not to lose any of them. If I were making the blocks again, I would probably just spiral stitch over the whole areas of them, rather than stitching a heart shape in each one. The rayon thread is a light variegated color and gives them some shimmer.

Scraps were used to test different stitches, and I still ended up changing some of them. The scalloped satin stitch with a point, mirrored, gives the petals a soft edge. Matching bobbin thread helps keep the colors clear, and I’ve limited the variegated threads because of this too (learning point #2.)  My machine’s tie-off works differently with each type of stitch, so I’ve learned to tie-off by just moving the block around to stitch in the same place. Most threads are brought to the back and tied before trimming. Though I do love the satin stitches, they are slow to stitch out compared to buttonhole stitch.

I worked one thread color at a time on all nine blocks. With the many trips through my machine the fabric edges kept fraying, partially because the interfacing used was 1/2" narrower than the 20 1/2" background fabrics, and eventually I zig-zagged all of the edges (learning point #3.)

Garden Party blocks

A light brown-grey border/sashing fabric is on order, the only piece (other than fusibles and interfacing) purchased for this project, and a couple of backing options have been pulled from the stash too.

 

Finish - A - Long

Congratulations to all the Finish-a-Long winners. I completed several of my goals, and then did not do a tally post, since it felt like a failure not to complete all of them. The reality for me is that external goals do not motivate me to create. Since my weekly work sometimes includes quilting on challenging quilts for others, my personal projects need to have a specific purpose or just be fun to work on. The completed projects not on my list during the time period were both satisfying and made me feel guilty. Sewing needs to be fun.

I'm working on a large applique wall hanging that is at times fun and challenging. I'm using Jane Sassaman's technique of interfacing the back of each block and machine stitching the fused pieces down. I used lightweight fusibles for both. I'm getting a bit of distortion as the large 20.5" blocks are stuffed into a small opening, but not as much as without the interfaced backgrounds. I did some testing of stitches on scraps but am being relaxed enough to make changes as I go.

I used my BSR - Bernina Stitch Regulator for the first time on the tiny hearts on each block - 36 dime-sized hearts per block. I did them first as they were more likely to fall off than the larger pieces. The stitching is messy, but they are secured. I explained it to my husband as being similar to learning to write with my left hand - pushing the fabric around as opposed to moving a longarm machine.

Jelly Roll Race, 50" x 63", quilted with butterflies


The Jelly Roll Race quilt is finished. I used a solid red for the binding, one of my go-to options when coordinating prints are not in my stash. Kona solids made a nice firm binding.

Ducky strips still needs binding and will be dark blue.

Two small string quilts are in the works, one blues and one pinks. I'm using some aged sew-in interfacing as foundations, as it gives strength to charity quilts. I'm stitching rectangles that will have solid strips at each side to square them up and also minimize bulk when sewing them together.

Learning about my UFO’s and the in-between projects

I’ve been trying to analyze how my UFO’s develop. Some are just a bundle of fabrics that need to become a project. Some have been started and I’ve hit a stumbling point. Some of them are inherited UFO’s. If there is a goal for a project – a gift or charity quilt, they are more likely to get finished.

Two inherited projects are on their way out the door, to someone who wants them. I spent 5 years hand piecing an EPP diamond star queen-sized quilt with fabrics that I didn’t love (a gifted UFO), and relating that to why this project has been sitting for several years is clear.

One of my FAL goal projects, the chevron tablerunner, has all the blocks finished. This project did teach me about chain cutting. With a large cutting mat it works to lay out a bunch of pieces to cut apart and then move the ruler from place to place. Saves wear on the cutting mat by not being in the same spot.

One in-between project is a small charity quilt with oranges and yellows. This used up some small leftover pieces, and some larger coordinates. There are 8” squares, 4” squares and 4” four-patches.

The portable design wall is done. I found inexpensive wide tablecloth vinyl with a flannel backing, squared it up and hemmed.

Double Square Star

Another in-between is a Double Square Star quilt. I divided a bundle of 8 Sunprint FQs into two groups of four colors. They’re a quirky print. Four FQs plus some white 2 ½” strips will give a 36-block small quilt. The white sashing has two stich and flip triangles. If I make a quilt from the other four FQs I might use a 3” strip instead so the points at the edges have a bit more breathing room.

Knitting and crocheting has been ongoing. I’m knitting on my third charity hat using yarn purchased online that turned out to be rather drab, mainly grey (good color for men.) Also finished is another crochet scarf.  As I make my way through my yarn stash, I’m staying away from yarn sales and resolve to make purchases in person.

A new project in the works is Garden Party by Laura Heine, an applique flower and butterfly quilt. I saw it at the Sew Expo but didn't buy it while there. It was gifted to me for my birthday (early), and a small collection of bright fabrics is coming together.

Over the Top Finish

This quilt is just crazypants, but it was a fun learning quilt. Besides making the crazy-pieced blocks (nine at once) in Katie Pedersen's class, I learned to re-check the block size before cutting sashings, used the Sashing Stars ruler set from Marti Michell for the first time, and found that basting spray really is the way to go with spiral quilting. I played with the points in EQ, and decided  to place only one star point on the interior sashings.

Over The Top, 38" Square, 2016

Angular spiral quilting - starting from a square in the center - is a bit different than the round variety, but this quilt was asking for more angles. I love how the dense quilting feels - sturdy and soft at the same time.

For 2016 I'm trying to keep the mindset of "Stay Teachable", as there is always something to learn.

Disappearing Pinwheel

The disappointing Disappearing Pinwheel (albeit somewhat redeemed as a finished project) has been tracked down and photographed on the new design wall in my sewing room.

It is quilted with the pattern "Circle of Life" in bright blue, the binding is my favorite diagonal print black and white stripe, and the back is pieced with the remaining pinwheel block. It measures just under 38" square.

One project always leads to another - after installing the light grey flannel design wall behind my old green and white ironing mat cover, it's time an upgrade. The original mat cover was from June Tailor, but the layers came apart and it was recovered with canvas ticking that was on hand. It stretches over a piece of plywood and is hard to remove, so the new cover will either have a drawstring or elastic so it can be washed without struggle. It needs to be something dark enough to hide the green and white stripes.

FAL #4 Complete - Pinwheels

Last week my work quilts were smaller, giving me a window to quilt my Pinwheels Quilt. It is only 57" square, and after quilting a client's quilt that was about the same size with the pattern Spilled Ink, I knew it was do-able. I think this is my new favorite spiral pattern - even coverage, slightly oval, a bit quirky. Pinwheels and spirals were a fun combination.

Spilled Ink pattern, 3.5" across

The pinwheels started out as a Disappearing Pinwheel quilt - that didn't quite work. It came together in the year that I did not blog. I found the pattern on a blog somewhere, cut a test block using 5" squares, made the pinwheel, re-cut into 9 pieces easily. The block went together nicely - a Churndash with a pinwheel in the center.

Where things got tricky was trying to recreate those blocks using Summersville charms with pinked edges.  The semi-solid colors are a weave texture (Timeless?) After sewing all of the pinwheels, I started slicing up the blue and black pinwheels, and made some of the new blocks. The pinwheel blocks were a bit smaller than the test block, and the cutting and sewing was challenging. In a couple of places the seams were so scant, Steam a Seam was needed to add just a bit more fabric. A small quilt was finished with those blocks, and I'll have to track it down and take a photo.

The remaining blocks weren't quite enough on their own, but luckily I had bought some fq's of Summersville and had almost enough of the solids to make the smaller, floating pinwheels. I had to toss in another similar weave print to supplement the blue. This could also be called Perseverance #2, as it took me a bit to get over the disappointment of the original project.

The binding finishes about 3/4", and it was cut from leftover backing fabric, a Jinny Beyer sponge-print blender. I like slightly wider bindings on quilts without borders.

Over the Top

In late January I spent a fun day taking an Improv Piecing class from Katie Pedersen. My quilting space has a large number of fabric collections - leftovers from projects, fabrics that want to be together, project idea stacks. Learning a new technique sounded like fun, and it was.

Here are the nine blocks completed in class. It was a fabric sampler that had some pretty wild prints, plus the blue solid, chartreuse dot and black and white dots thrown in for contrast.

 

My goal was to make a small quilt, and just use stash. I though the solid blue would make a good sashing. They looked a bit lonesome floating on their own, so I used a specialty ruler to add star points, after having played with layouts in EQ. Not enough solid blue for the cornerstones, so they were sashed too.

 

It looks rather crazy now, but in a good way. I'm calling it "Over the Top", and keeping fingers crossed that I can get all the small pieces stitched together before the cat decides to pull pins out (the design boards sit on the floor.) Being in Katie's studio inspired me to make a new wall-mounted design wall for my sewing room, coming soon.