Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I worked on the Box Full of Letters blocks at the Retreat. I made 21 blocks as leaders and enders. The photo (left) shows a selection of the blocks I made.
I love the leaders and enders technique. I couldn’t believe how much I accomplished using leaders and enders.
I still don’t know what I am going to do with these blocks, but I am thrilled that I have an actual group of blocks with which to work.
I am not liking the name Field Day Zipper. It is too long and unwieldy. Anyway, I made progress on this piece at the fabulous retreat.
All of the pieces are cut and all of the sections are sewn to the background. As well, sections are sewn to each other, so there is no more than two sections are alone. I worked hard at getting the piece put together, but couldn’t quite do it. Still, I am pleased with how much progress I have made and see the end in sight.
The fabrics, as you may recall, are all from one line. As you also may recall, I usually advise people to to remove about 20% of the line and replace it with other fabrics not from that line. One issue that I had is that I did not add or remove any fabrics from the piece. It really shows. I had to be careful about where I placed fabrics so as not to create big blobs of color or pattern. It isn’t easy to remove certain fabrics and add others, but this is a lesson to me to take my own advice.
I spent the first part of the quilt retreat (will write about the retreat in general, but want to talk about the projects first!) working on the Food quilt that will go to a friend of the Young Man’s.
We are friends with the parents also, and they are very interested in my quilts. It seems reasonable to make a graduation gift for their son.
I bought plenty of fabric when I purchased for the Young Man’s Food Quilt, so I have plenty of fabric. The fabric is hard to find near where I live, but I bought most of it in Lancaster County when I was there with my SIL. Food themed quilts are good for boys as they are sort of neutral, but not too girly for boys. Quilts can easily be kind of girly, especially for someone like me who loves pink. 😉
I did the same pattern, a Disappearing Nine Patch, though I arranged the blocks in a different way.
I wasn’t able to finish the top, because I forgot the black I want to use as an inner border. I did make 4 piano key borders to add once I put the black border on the piece.
This project has been hanging over my head so I am glad I have made significant progress on it. Hooray for retreats!
I had pretty much decided to skip the One Block Wonder this time. I really like how Pam’s piece came out, but wasn’t sure I could replicate her success with work as interesting or cheerful. I have seen others that are not as nice.
When I saw the fabric on sale I looked at it and really made a conscious decision not to make a One Block Wonder project. I thought really hard about the logistics, time and money required to make the project and decided no, not now. I didn’t like the fabric enough to commit. I took the book back to the library and that was that.
Yay! Done deal. Moving on.
Then, yesterday morning, I went on Instagram and saw a new Peacock range by Timeless Treasures (damn you, social media!).
The colors in the panel are much richer and bolder. The design of the panel is more complex and way more interesting. The motifs are much more stylized and lush. Oh, and, Timeless Treasures, thanks for including those awesome solids that match the panel. Just what I needed. More temptation!
This is another good reason NOT to keep your tablet by your bed.
So, now this idea is back in the thinking pile. Here are some questions for you to answer:
I have made my half hexie star project larger. I like making the stars and, as I have said in the past, they are great for a traveling project. However, I seem to be obsessed with making the ‘top’ piece larger. I don’t know why, but when I sit on the couch to watch TV with DH, I add a star or a row of stars to the larger piece. It wasn’t in my plan to do that, but I can’t seem to help myself. Even the sleeve from the Russian Rubix is languishing, because of this new obsession.
I really need to keep this project going through 2017, so that I have something on which to work when I travel with DH on his rounds to the various parlors. I can’t just zoom through it.
The other night I sewed a row of dot-stars (I decided to make the piece have a stripey effect with stars made from dots on white alternating with the other scrappy stars) together and then added them on to whole piece (see top of picture). Yesterday, I laid the piece on the bed to see how big it needs to be. I estimate that it needs to be 2.5 -3 times as wide as it is now to be a bed quilt with a bit of drape over the sides.
Friday night I pulled out a lot of the center papers, because I was running out, so now there is just a row of papers left around the outside. I got a little over enthusiastic with that process and pulled out half of one on the edge. I didn’t want the stitching to come out, so I sewed the blue batik star to the purple star to keep the purple seam from being lost. That is why you see the blue batik star sticking up, seemingly at random, on mid-bottom right. I didn’t really mean to add another row to the top.
The lavender dot in the lower right hand corner is just clipped to the piece so I remember to place that star in that location. I need to sew it to a white dot star before I sew it to the whole piece. It isn’t hard to inset the stars, but it is less work to sew two together and then add them at once.
What I really wanted to talk about was thread. I have a hand sewing kit I use when I sew on the couch that has random bits of thread and everything I need to do almost any kind of hand sewing. I don’t always have the exact color, but usually I can find one in there that will work for whatever my project is.
At some point I ran out of Aurifil #2600 and never replaced it. I could just walk upstairs, wind a bobbin and voila. Sadly once I have parked myself on the couch there will be very few steps added to my FitBit. As a result I haven’t replaced that thread.
I am using an Oliver Twist thread that came with a pack of those threads when I bought them several years ago. It is quilting thread, I think, so fairly thick. I don’t think it is ideal, but it doesn’t fray like some others, though it is hard to thread.
I am curious to know what thread you use for EPP?
I added two stars to my larger piece.
I feel like adding only two stars to the larger piece is major progress. I like the symmetry of the [kind of] rectangle. Somehow this looks like I am making something.
My plan is to make the piece big enough to cover a bed. I will slowly make the stars as I travel with the Grand President (HA! DH) then add them to the piece when I am at home.
I know it seems like I should be able to take this piece with me. It is, however, 1.5′ x ~1 foot and I want to keep it as flat as possible because of the cardboard EPP templates still inside. Making one at a time is better for travel.
I have a bin of stars that I have been making. I pulled out my bin of stars and picked some to add to the piece later. I made the stars and stored them in the bin thinking that I would just make the stars and put them together eventually. I couldn’t wait, thus I started putting the piece together into what you see above.
I thought I would write much more about the Flying Geese swap than I actually have. The last time I posted was back in January. My lack of reporting is not an indication of lack of interest.
This is a great exchange and I am really enjoying it. First, the FGs are easy to make. Next, they have a good impact. Third, there is a lot of bang for my buck. I take 5 squares and come up with 4 Flying Geese. Also, they are like potato chips. I can’t make just one set at a time. Once I get started, I want to make bunches of them. Finally, though I am sure there are other positives, all the colors I try work well.
So, the photo at right is the sum total of the Flying Geese I have made and received until last week. Not, it’s not a great picture, but, as you saw on my last Design Wall Monday, my design wall is backed to the gills and there is no space. I’ll get a better picture at some point, but for now you’ll have to be happy with this one.
Aren’t they pretty and happy?
More progress on the Octagon 9 Patch. It seems slow, but I see the progress. Compare from last time and let me know what you think.
The 9 patches are not in their final locations. I started to arrange them as I made them, but it was hard to judge progress so now I just put each nine patch in the next open space. I’ll arrange them later.
As mentioned in part 1, above is the current block in our Sampler Quilt Class. These directions are for machine sewing your Flower Basket and include a little applique’. The applique’ can be done by machine or hand.
Are you playing along? If you are just starting, below is the complete supply list. You won’t need everything for this step, but you will need to start with part 1 and that part requires more supplies. Also, note, there are a LOT of photos in this tutorial.
Supply List
Optional
Important information:
After working through part 1, you have already chosen your fabrics, made your templates and cut your pieces. You are ready to sew.
Sewing
Carefully stitch along the hypotenuse of the large background triangle, about 1/8″ from the edge, to stabilize it. This stitching will be covered up when you stitch the handle part of the block to the basket part of the block.
Triangle Technique
Use the Triangle Technique to make your half square triangles. Make sure you have the chart available to confirm sizes. A brief overview is:
Draw an X from corner to corner diagonally on the wrong side of each of your 6.25″ x 6.25″ squares.
Place them right sides together and sew 1/4″ on each side of the diagonal lines.
Nota bene: If I had wanted to pin I would have pinned far away from any of the diagonal lines.
Now you have a piece with four seams forming an X.
Next cut the ‘Plus’ of your sewn piece. This means that you are cutting horizontally down the middle and vertically down the middle.
Do NOT move your fabric.
After you cut the “plus” (the vertical and horizontal cuts), you will have four squares, each with a line drawn diagonally across the middle. Cut the squares in half diagonally. You can use the line as a guide. It is more important to line your ruler up corner to corner.
The result is 8-2.5″ half square triangles. The above are actually a thread or two larger than 2.5″, which leaves the perfect opportunity for trimming to make them an absolutely perfect 2.5″.
Now you have 8 beautiful HSTs.
Of course, you can use whatever technique you like to make the half square triangles.
Layout and Assembly
Now that you have cut all of your pieces, lay them out on your sandpaper board, or put them up on your design wall. It is great to be able to see where all the pieces belong and adjust any pieces that need adjusting before you sew.
Sew Handle to Background
Because I decided to use the method described below, I made another handle template with NO seam allowance. I placed it on the handle I had cut from the striped fabric carefully so there was an even seam allowance on all sides. Then I traced around it with my thin black pen. I thought the template was a little wide at the end so I adjusted the line a bit to make the seam allowance larger.
My pieces looked a little weird-not the right size, etc when I laid them out. Have no fear! They will improve.
I was using my stiletto to adjust the seam allowance, but it was impossible to hold the stiletto, the camera and the iron all at once. Press carefully, so as not to distort your pieces.
Pay attention to the corners. The layers of fabric will want to pooch in weird directions. This is where one of those mini irons might come in handy. I used my regular iron and a stiletto, so I know those tools work.
Take your handle and press the the seam allowance under on both sides of the piece. Press so that the drawn line is on the inside of the handle and is covered by the piece once the handle is sewn.
<Nota bene: the orange fabric was selected for good contrast so that the steps would show up well>
Fold the handle in half with wrong sides together and finger press on the midpoint. Unfold.
Fold your large triangle in half with right sides together and finger press. Unfold and layout.
Nest the handle into the triangle with the right sides up.
Line up the bottom edges of the handle with the hypotenuse of the background triangle. If the handle ends are a little over, it will be fine. You can trim them later.
Eyeball your piece to make sure everything looks good and even.
Pin the handle to the background down the center of the handle. Remove the pins as you sew. Try not to sew over them.
Sew slowly and carefully along the drawn line around the curve. I chose a matching thread, an applique’ foot and a topstitch/sharp needle.
You will either need to hand applique’ the other side down or using a machine stitch that suits you.
You could sew both sides down with a straight stitch, like I did. There are many options.
Optional: You can satin stitch (see the Machine Applique’ tutorial) or blanket stitch or use some other decorative stitch to machine sew the handle to the background triangle piece. If you use one of these stitches, you may need some tearaway stabilizer
Optional 2: you can hand applique’ the handle to the background triangle.
Once the handle is sewn you are ready to move to the woven part of the basket.
Sew Basket Together
The block can be broken down into two pieces: the top half with the handle and the bottom half with the basket.
The parts are labeled as follows:
Get ready to Chunk it, Baby!
Sew A to HST/1. Press towards Triangle A.
Sew B to the A-HST/1 combo. Press.
The two colored HSTs are supposed to give the illusion of a woven basket.
Trim off dog ears from the A,B-HST/1 combo.
Sew HST/2 to HST/5. Press towards HST/5.
Using the diagram above to confirm placement, sew your A,B-HST/1 combo to your HST/2-HST/5 combo. Press towards the red.
Sew HST/8 to Square 10. Press towards the Square 10.
Sew HST/6 to HST/9. Press towards the red part of the HST.
Using the diagram above to confirm placement, sew your HST/6-HST/9 combo to your HST/8-Square/10 combo. Press towards the HST/6-HST/9 combo.
Using the diagram above to confirm placement, sew C to HST/3. Press towards the red.
Using the diagram above to confirm placement, sew D to your C-HST/3 combo. Press towards D.
Trim your dog ears.
Sew HST/4 to HST/7. Press towards HST/7, making sure your seams will nest with the seams you have already pressed.
Sew HST/4-HST/7 together and then sew the HST/4-HST/7 combo to E. Press towards E.
Using the diagram above for placement, sew your HST/4-HST/7-E combo to your C-D-HST/3 combo. Press.
Trim dog ears.
Sew your A,B-HST/1-HST/2 segment to the HST/6-HST/9 segment.
Trim your dog ears!
Sew the last two segments of the basket part together. You may have to re-press some seams.
I didn’t move the borders the whole time I worked on the quilt See how much the basket part shrank? That is seam allowances for you!
Trim the dog ears, if you haven’t already.
Now you have two halves of the basket. Sew the woven part to the handle part by placing the woven part on top of the handle part, lining them up and then sewing carefully. You can fold the two sections in half, bisecting the handle, to match them up if you think that you need to trim the handle portion later.
Now you are ready to sew on the borders.
Sew the B2-G background section by placing the red triangle (G) face down on top of background piece B2 and sew the short end of the background to the triangle, as shown in the picture.
Take the basket piece that you sewed together above and place the B2-G background section on top of the basket section. Line up the red triangle’s seam from the B2-G background section with the HST/8-Square 10 section. You want the seams to match, so pin. Press towards background piece B2.
Only one more border to go.
Take the basket piece that you sewed together above and place the B1-F background section on top of the basket section. Line up the red triangle’s seam from the B1-F background section with the HST/9-Square 10 section. You want the seams to match, so pin. Press towards background piece B1.
Now you are ready to sew the last piece.
Trim dog ears.
Your basket is almost complete.
Complete your basket half by sewing background piece B3 to the basket. You have already snipped off the corners so you just have to line up the triangle piece with the borders already sewn to the block. Press towards the background piece B3.
Your half is complete.
Take the top half of the basket, the piece with the handle, and carefully sew it to the basket half.
Your block is complete! Hooray.
I had to go deposit some checks the other day. Since I was walking I stopped by the library and borrowed the One Block Wonders book. I started reading it before I went to bed the other night and I am less sure about the project.
First, the original panel I was thinking of using probably won’t work, because it has too much white in the background. I found the fabric on the site called Melinda’s Fabric Shop. I never used that shop before and they have quite a bit of variety as well as a good layout on their pages.
Since the site had related prints right on the screen showing the panels, I looked through the other prints in the line and there are some others that might work for this project. I like the squares print that looks like tile (Wilmington Majestic Beauties Tiles, #F6898), but that print, according to the book might also not work because there is not enough variety in the colors and shapes.
I kept looking and found another print with the peacocks that has more variety in the design and not as much white in the background. It also incorporates some single feathers and the tile. The heads of the birds are a smaller part of the design, which is also kind of a relief, because I really don’t want heads in many, if any, quilts that I make.
The concern I have with this print is the size of the repeat. I can’t tell from the website so I sent them a message. The book says that there will be too many duplicates if the repeat is too small.
I still haven’t looked through my large pieces of Philip Jacobs fabric, but need to do that before I go out and buy more fabric.
I was pretty excited seeing Pam’s version, but as I read the book, I am less excited. I am not thrilled about sewing more hexagons together either. Been there done that. The whole project just seems a lot less interesting after reading the book. Perhaps that is what I felt when the book first came out.
I don’t think I have made much progress but I am making some progress. I finished all of the extra octagons so the piece is much bigger. I have to make a few more just to complete one side. I also still have a lot of nine patches to make.
I am now out of grey squares and have to make a concentrated effort to cut a bunch more. It isn’t a big deal; I just have to do it.
One of the things that makes me feel really good is when someone tells me that a project I made inspired them.
At a recent Sew Day, Lynnette was laying out star blocks that looked suspiciously like my Star Sampler, but in really awesome colors. She told me that my Star Sampler had inspired her.
Ooooh! I inspired someone. That feeling is awesome.
I know the colors are hard to see, but it is in shades of white, plum and grey. It will be a gift. That told me that Lynnette is a better person than I am. I am just thrilled to see another version IRL of the Star Sampler.
Getting the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt off the design wall allowed me, as I had wished, to put the Octagon Nine Patch up on the wall.
It looks so little. You know I make big quilts so this one just looks weird.
I could cut more octagons and make it bigger, but the pieces are really small and piecing the blocks takes forever.
I have a few more octagons that are in the process of being sewn into Snowballs, so the piece will be a bit bigger, but it won’t be bed sized.
I can add a border and I do have an idea for that already, so that will also enlarge it.
I could also just be okay with the size that it is.
There are a lot of warm colors and I may need to cut a few octagons from cool colors, but I am not going to decide until I have more 9 patches completed and all the octagons are made into Snowballs.
Frances finally let me know she was ready to move on with her sampler quilt. We decided to make the Flower Basket Block, so I sent her the pattern, promised the tutorial and did nothing.
Christmas got in the way.
I wasn’t in the mood.
I had to finish another tutorial.
I have a lot of projects on which to work.
My muse was on vacation.
Finally!
Christmas was over.
I was in the mood.
The other tutorial was finished.
The projects will wait and my muse was back.
I was shocked to find that the last tutorial I did for this project was last year! I really should do them in advance. Perhaps for the next block?
Regardless, I am now ready to show you how to make the Flower Basket block, the next block in our Sampler Quilt Class.
These directions are for machine sewing your Flower Basket and include a little applique’, which can be done by machine or hand.
Will you play along?
Complete Supply List
Optional
Important information:
Templates
You really only a need a template for the basket handle. If you are using templates for all of your pieces, then prepare all the templates for pieces in the patterns as directed below.
Prepare pattern for your basket handle template by printing two copies of the pattern. I am telling you to do this first so when you get into the throes of sewing you won’t have to stop and fiddle around with templates.
You will eventually place one copy of the pattern in your binder, but keep it handy so you can use it as reference.
Nota bene: You probably know how to make templates. However, I am including a quick refresher. Look for a comprehensive tutorial soon. (I’ll update this post and link it from here)
It is okay to use scraps of template plastic. Put a piece of tape on seam lines to keep the joins stiff.
If you plan to machine sew the handle at all, you will want to prepare another basket handle template, in the same manner, without seam allowance.
Fabric
Gather your fabric and press it all. You can rough cut some pieces and press it with Mary Ellen’s Best Press to help deal with the bias. Consider this step for the large background triangle and the basket handle.
Cutting
Basket Handle
In my example basket, above (same as at the beginning of the post), this fabric is the medium blue.
Draw around the template with your black fine tip marker. Rough cut a piece of fabric large enough for your basket handle.
Place your handle template right side down on the wrong side of the fabric. Trace around the template carefully with your Pigma pen. Trace carefully without pulling or tugging at the fabric. You will be dealing with some bias on the curves. You will need to carefully move your hand along the template to keep it in place while you trace. Use the Pigma pen with a light touch.
Using your fabric scissors, cut around the traced image, cutting the drawn line off. If you are using a template with no seam allowance, leave approximately a quarter inch seam allowance on all sides.
Background:
In my example, above, this fabric is the blue Michael Miller Ta Dot with white dots.
Measure the template for the large triangle of background fabric. It should be 10″ on each of the outside edges WITH seam allowance. Cut a square 10.5″ x 10.5″. You can trim it later. Better safe than sorry. Press the square with Mary Ellen’s Best Press.
Cut the square in half along the diagonal.
Cut the following additional pieces according to the measurements given:
Background fabric:
You can cut some of the background pieces out of the leftover triangle.
Foreground fabric:
The foreground fabric is used for the basket. You will need at least two fabrics for this part. In my example I am using a scarlet red and a medium blue. See picture above for placement of foreground fabrics.
You should now have all of your pieces cut. Look for the next part of the tutorial on sewing the block together.
* Rough cut means that you cut around the outside line and a little away from it, leaving some extra paper. This helps to position the template properly and eventually cut it accurately.
** Fine cut means that you cut the template out very exactly and carefully getting rid of any extra paper and template material used when you rough cut. This is the shape you will use to cut your fabric so prepare this step with care.
I finally finished the top and back of the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt. Whew! I am very pleased and while I was anxious to get it done I never got to the point where I disliked the piece. I am glad, because I want all of my donation quilts to have good energy in them not “get this done, stupid quilt!” energy. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but better safe than sorry.
I checked back and the first post about this quilt was back in January of last year. I know I started making it using these colors, because I was grieving for my grandmother. I think I became anxious to get it finished, because the grief, while not gone, is much better. I think she would be pleased to know that I did something good with the grief. Perhaps not as she didn’t think too deeply about feelings, but I like to think it.
The quilt is approximately 65.5″ square.
I also made the back, which I think came out pretty well. Sort of symmetrical, which is different for me. It is a touch small, so I may have to add something to the side, but I am hoping the quilter can deal with it.
I am not sure how I am going to convince someone to quilt it for the guild. I am nervous because there were a lot of quilts waiting to be quilted at the last meeting.
I still have to make the binding, but I picked some fabric to use and will get that done soon.