Tag: BAMQG

Sew Day Report

A few fun things came up at Sew Day.

SueG's Y Seams
SueG’s Y Seams

First, I had one entry into my post Y seams demo contest. SueG made an effort to try out Y Seams. She was the only one, so she won the fabulous prize, which was a small gift certificate to The Granary.

She chose a great pattern. I love the split hexies.

You should have seen the back! Those little seam intersections looked gorgeous. Check out my tutorial, if you want to try Y Seams for yourself.

Processed scraps
Processed scraps

I made some good progress on cutting up scraps. I didn’t cut all of my scraps, sadly, but more of them are organized into shapes I can use. People were kind of amazed at what I was doing, which was weird. I thought everyone processed their scraps.

Christine's needle folio
Christine’s needle folio

I also saw a project Christine made from a Sue Spargo pattern. I love Sue Spargo‘s patterns, but have never made anything. Her patterns look so cheerful.

I love the little vase and the striped binding. Really I love the whole thing. Looking at Christine’s version makes me see this as eminently doable.

Christine's needle folio - inside
Christine’s needle folio – inside

The inside is also great, but has the issue of not being able to see what is inside the pockets. Still, this is a gorgeous project.

The event was fun and I am glad I got to go.

December 2024 Donation Blocks

Again, I worked on some strip donation blocks in anticipation of a new donation quilt.

More Donation Quilts

Blue & Gold Angles donation quilt
Blue & Gold Angles donation quilt

Tim got his longarm up and running again. To test it and practice, he quilted some donation quilts, including the one I talked about the other day. He showed them to me when I stopped by a few days ago.

The good thing about these quilts is that they are actual quilts not just tops. The bad part is that I can take no credit for any of them. Still, like the designs he used for quilting and the patterns are fun, too.

Donation quilt quilted by Tim
Donation quilt quilted by Tim

This one uses a similar block to my Corner Store quilt. The arrangement is different than the one I used and makes me want to revisit the block. Maybe it would be a good idea for a donation quilt?

On both quilts Tim used different quilting patterns in the foreground and background. I think that adds to the quilts.

The testing was good as he is ready to quilt his Courthouse Steps quilt. It also means more quilts for BAM to give to those in need.

Tim’s Donation Quilt

Tim's donation quilt
Tim’s donation quilt

Tim is getting his longarm back in order. In order to test it, he quilted this quilt, then handed it over to me to bind. I didn’t know he would do that, but I don’t mind.

He has had this quilt in his pile for a long time and doesn’t remember who made it. I think it is an interesting design.

I plan to cut off the excess back and use that for the binding. It’s small and shouldn’t take me that long. No fabric usage for me from this quilt.

Sew Day Pouch Swap

There were 34 people at the Sew Day/Meeting the other day, which is some kind of record. I am not sure what generated the interest, but I am glad so many people came. We have four new members and they came, too.

BAM Pouch swap 2024
BAM Pouch swap 2024

The swap was really successful. I was amazed that almost 20 people participated!

Some were wrapped and some weren’t. Mine was very popular and got stolen twice. It finally ended up with the guild president.

People did nice work, too.

Swap pouch 2024
Swap pouch 2024

I chose a pouch made by SueG. It matches the Poolside tote I was gifted by Angela a few years ago.

I worked hard at posting different patterns on our member forum and trying to generate interest. I guess it worked!

Ends n.20 Top Finished

Ends n.20 top finished
Ends n.20 top finished

I did finish the Ends n.20 top and back in time to take it to the guild sew day to hand in.

I cut the piece in half and rearranged the strips as I described the other day. I think it looks a little better, but it isn’t perfect. I know someone will like it and it is certainly improv!

I used a large piece of a sea green solid with some added white strips to make the back.

I have only one more set of strips to use up, though I should be getting some quilts back soon.

Progress on Ends n.20

Ends n.20 nearly finished
Ends n.20 nearly finished

I finished Ends n.20 the other day, but I am not sure the top is really finished.

I don’t like the distribution of the strips. It looks unbalanced to me.

I know it is a donation quilt and I shouldn’t care that much, but I don’t like sending ugly quilts out into the world. It isn’t ugly, but it isn’t right either. It also isn’t good for me to not do my best. I use these quilts as a design exercise and need to do my best.

Ends n.20 where to cut
Ends n.20 where to cut

I am thinking of cutting the quilt as shown and sewing the right edge to the center. That is flipping the cut off piece 180 degrees. The dark and the grey ‘L’ will be in the middle if I do this.

Stella Swap Pouch

Yesterday was the guild’s Holiday Extravaganza. SIL#2 organized a pouch swap. I didn’t participate in the last swap, which featured potholders.  I am not a fan of potholders, so I didn’t want to bother. There were plenty without me.  However, I want to encourage people to make bags, and I like making pouches, so I planned from the beginning to participate in this latest swap.

Swap Stella pouch
Swap Stella pouch

After seeing the Center Street Quilts video on IG showing the making of a half vinyl pouch, I decided to try and make one for the swap. I thought I could probably make the pouch after watching the video, but decided to buy the pattern, the Stella Pouch from Center Street Quilts just to make the process a bit easier.

I looked for more specific directions on the Flying Geese and the vinyl, but didn’t find any. Even with the pattern, I still had plenty of figuring out to do. It wasn’t a problem. I knew I could figure it all out. That is one reason I enjoy making bags. There is always something to figure out.

I think I forgot to trim the height, so the pouch is bigger than the pattern states. Still, I think it will be useful. Small project bag?

Swap Stella pouch - back/vinyl
Swap Stella pouch – back/vinyl

I am pretty happy with the way the pouch came out. I am getting more practice with binding the inside edges and I was thrilled to get more practice on the zipper tab technique I talked about a week or so ago. I have big plans to make a bunch of these, but we will see.

Finished: Green Strips n.2

Finished: Green Strips #2
Finished: Green Strips #2

Friend Julie posted about binding Green Strips n.2. Someone else quilted it, possibly Laura, and Julie bound it.

I am glad to see it is done, especially since I only finished the top and back in about October.

The green drawer is still relatively empty, though I have a huge pile of unprocessed scraps on my cutting table, so I am sure that won’t last. I need to find some time to deal with them. Maybe Sew Day?

Started Ends n.20 Donation Top

Ends n.20 start
Ends n.20 start

I am trying to use up all the ends from various quilts. This is another group of fabrics from the BAMaQG IRR quilt with a few from Pointillist Palette n.4 thrown in. The pieces seem to be a random assortment of sizes, so I am doing a bit more fiddly piecing than I normally would.

The PP fabrics on the right are a little heavy, so I may move one of the pieces to the left. It will kind of ruin what I have going with the grey strips, but maybe I can create something better.

I hope to get this done before Saturday’s meeting, so I can hand it in. We’ll see.

Ends n.19 Donation Top

Ends n.19 top
Ends n.19 top

I finished the latest Ends donation top and handed it in at the last meeting.

This fabric is mostly from Jennifer Paganelli’s Queen Street line. I talked about it briefly when I started the BAM IRR project. I have bits and pieces left, but I think this is the majority of the scraps.

I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

November 2024 Donation Blocks

The regular monthly posts are a bit out of order this month due to the American Thanksgiving Holiday. Enjoy more donation blocks! I am back working on a Color Strip quilt, though we all know white is not a color. 😉

I need 40 of the strip blocks to make a nice sized quilt, so I have a few more to sew.

Ends n.19 in Process

Ends n.19 in process
Ends n.19 in process

Cyndi gave me a few yards of white from an estate sale trove of fabric she got, thus I decided to use white on this quilt.

I know white for a donation top is a bad idea as it will get dirty, but a design wants what a design wants.

I have one more section to sew before I decide if it needs to be larger. Without the left hand section sewn, the top is about 40 in. x 40 in. at the moment. I might not want a white strip on the end. We will see.

LeMoyne Star Demo

As you know from the Sampler Quilt class tutorials, I am very fond of people learning all the quiltmaking techniques. It is a way to be free from the tyranny of always having to use a pattern.

NOTE: I am not against quilt patterns and I feel we should all support quilt designers.

Y Seams demo sample
Y Seams demo sample

However, at some point quiltmakers will want to make a quilt design they have thought up themselves. To do this, we need to know all the techniques. Thus, I couldn’t say no when SueS asked me to do a Y Seams demo for the guild. As usual, I had to overachieve. I posted a handout to the guild members only site*. Most of the information is in the Y Seams tutorial.

I made a whole bunch of step outs and notes to tell people. I won’t be actually sewing. That didn’t work out well when I tried to show a demo of leaders and enders, thus the step outs.

 

 

*N.B. If you are in the Bay Area and want to join, click the join button on the guild site. We also have a Zoom option, though the demos and Bag Club are not always available via Zoom.