I finished the Rings top over the weekend. Yay! I also started on the back. It is small enough, so it shouldn’t take long and then I can get it ready to be quilted.
Finished Rings Top
Tag: Project-Quilt
Posts about the piecing, applique’ of quilts. Don’t use for completed quilts or non-quilt projects.
Putting the Rings Together
I have started to put the quilt together. This one I have to put together in rows despite preferring the chunking method as I am not as familiar with the construction.
I did have a little trouble cutting the edge pieces, but I think it will work out.
I am leaving the corners round. Why not? I think it will look nice. It will also be very easy to bind.
More Scrap Dash
While I was making progress on the Rings quilt, I was also making progress on Scrap Dash. As I said before, I am using the Scrap Dash blocks as leaders and enders for the Rings quilt. I get more done, which is great.
I started in the middle, because I couldn’t really reach the top row without a stool. You can see that the middle has shrunk up quite a bit.
I plan to put another column of blocks along the right hand side. The quilt is supposed to have the Churn Dash blocks around the whole exterior of the quilt and I plan to follow that advice.
I think the section where I have sewn the blocks looks nice. I like how the 1.5×2.5 strips create a path through the quilt.
Finished Rings
I was able to finish all the Rings blocks over the weekend. I had hoped to put it together also, but, with one thing and another, it didn’t happen. Still, I am pleased and look forward to getting the piece together.
More New Rings
While I didn’t achieve my goal of having all the Put a Ring on It rings done before the weekend, I did make more rings.
One problem was cutting. I didn’t have all the arcs cut, but that was a good thing to do while I listened to the meeting. I made good progress at cutting and have about half a block left to cut to finish 9 blocks.
As a result of cutting during the meeting, I was able to make good progress Saturday after the meeting and Sunday.
I am, however, running out of design wall space. Scrap Dash is taking up almost every inch of space on my large design wall and my random and various other projects are taking up a lot of space on my small design wall. Now, the leftover significant portion of space is filled with Put a Ring on It rings.
One issue I am having is that I keep thinking how I want to change this project and what I don’t know about the tools to do it. I think I would like skinnier arcs better. I know that means smaller cornerstones, but what else does it mean? Would I have to change the size of the center? Probably.
New Rings
I made some more rings from Saturday’s class and the Put a Ring On It pattern on Sunday and during the week.
I was trying some hide and seek type effects with the ring on the left, but I won’t be repeating that. I am not taking it out and it will blend in fine with the other rings.
They don’t look that great (or terrible) on their own, but together they look a lot more interesting. Still, I am making some progress.
Friend Julie wrote a great post about the class.
Scrap Dash Update
I worked quite a bit on Scrap Dash over the weekend, using the project as leaders and enders while working on my Latifah class project. It didn’t look super before class, though i was making progress. By the end of class on Saturday I had made progress with which I was happy (photo, left). The pattern was really starting to emerge and I was getting excited about putting blocks together. I was able to do bits and bobs in between the Put a Ring On It rings. Every little bit helps.
I continued working on Sunday, a little more on Scrap Dash than on the rings. I feel like I made really excellent progress. While I don’t have all of the pieces for Scrap Dash on the design wall, I do have a significant number.
I have also started to put some of the blocks together.
Sadly, I found out I don’t have enough of the 1.5 x 2.5″ rectangles for the border. I need to think about whether to cut a million more, leave off the border or do something else. I haven’t yet used the rectangles in blacks, whites and greys for the center of the quilt. I might try and see if they look good as a border. I don’t think I have enough for a whole border, but it would be a start.
I can’t even think about fitting a border on the design wall, so I’ll have to see once some of the blocks are together and the seam allowances have shrunk up.
Speaking of which, I have sewn a block or two just to see what they look like and to shrink up the seam allowances so I can fit more on the wall.
You can see the background, which I think really makes the quilt look bright.
Latifah Saafir Class
Even though I can teach a vast number of quiltmaking skills, I don’t know everything. The guild hosted Latifah Saafir on Saturday via Zoom to teach us her pattern, Put a Ring on It*.
This pattern uses two of Latifah’s Clammies, the 12 inch** and the 8 inch**. I was super pleased to receive these as gifts between my birthday and Christmas.
The pattern is fairly complete and pretty easy to follow. The class was worthwhile, because Latifah gave us tricks and tips and helped us troubleshoot. The Clammy tool and the pattern really make this, essentially a Double Wedding Ring, pattern accessible to almost anyone. Obviously, I wouldn’t suggest it as a first quilt or if you haven’t tried curves, but otherwise, you can do it.
We had to select fabrics and cut pieces before class. I used an older Martha Negley fabric for the background. The background isn’t very much of the quilt. I wanted something different after looking at all the various versions of this quilt plus other DWR versions online. I didn’t want to make the traditional light background. I also didn’t want to copy the version on the cover. I thought of text prints for the rings, but defaulted back to my Frolic! color scheme with a variety of red-violets and the dark blue.
During class I was able to finish two rings. I wasn’t pleased with the green I chose for the squares. That was one good thing about being at home. I was able to grab some other fabrics and switch them out. I’ll mix up the rings so the green doesn’t look like big green blobs in the center of the quilt.
I am making a 9 block (1 ring=1 block) quilt. It will be about 48 inches x 48 inches. I didn’t want to commit to something larger and even this number of blocks is feeling like too much. I am going to power through. If I can get a ring a day done this week, I can finish all the ‘blocks’ by the end of the week and be ready to put the quilt together at the weekend. I don’t want this to become a UFO. I want to get it down and ready for quilting.
What I really wanted out of this class was to learn to use the Clammy rulers. I think I have started on that process, but didn’t get very far. This class was all about the Put a Ring On It pattern and making that. Learning various Clammy techniques was not on the agenda. That was sad. I hope Latifah comes up with a Clammy Sampler class. I get the sense that this tool is an awesome method for making circles in quiltmaking.
*No affiliation. Both a PDF and print pattern are available. I got the printed pattern and really liked the format.
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
More Scrap Dash
Yes, I think I am calling this quilt Scrap Dash instead of 30 Something.
I spent some time on Wednesday standing in front of the design wall and rearranging various units. The more I do this the better it looks.
I can also tell what I need to work on next. In this case, I need more half square triangles. I prepared a bunch for sewing at Craft Night, but haven’t actually sewed them yet. The process in this quilt was: 1. cut squares; 2. draw lines; 3. sew; 4. cut apart; 5. square up. I don’t really mind this process, but I wish they had chosen a better system like using the Simple Folded Corners Ruler. I wasn’t able to find a tutorial using the size pieces I had already cut, so I just went with the drawing method.
30 Something on the Design Wall
One of the reasons I wanted to finish the HST Donation Top/Back was to free up space on my large design wall.
I have a lot of pieces and part ready to sew together for the 30 Something top and I was having trouble envisioning how the whole thing was going to go together. I needed to get it on the design wall.
I have to say that I was kind of regretting cutting all the pieces for this quilt. Once I saw it start coming together, I got really excited. I think my fabrics look a lot better than the 1930s vintage and repro fabrics in which the original was made.
My background is an Art Gallery black on white called Raise the Volume from the Capsule Collection. I love the look of a background the doesn’t change amidst all the vibrant scraps.
I have been thinking about the title of the quilt. 30 Something just doesn’t cut it and I don’t like it anyway, but the quilt was not speaking to me in terms of a name. As I put the parts on the design wall, I realized that some of the blocks were Churn Dash blocks and I thought of the name Scrap Dash. I’ll have to see if it sticks.
Anyway, I am having fun with this top now.
30 Something More Progress
I have been using my 30 Something project as leaders and enders while I work on my quilt class presentations and the UCAB tutorials. It is slow going, but I can see light at the end of the 4 patch tunnel.
There are 4 Patches at the center of some blocks. I decided to use some black and white in those 4 patches, so the quilt had a tiny bit of structure. We’ll see how it looks.
Also, it the photo, you can see that I started making random 4 Patches. Those may end up somewhere in the quilt or as a basis for a super tiny Spiky 16 Patch. We’ll have to see.
Finished: Pink Kaffe Quilt
The Pink Kaffe quilt is finished. Colleen did a fantastic job quilting it.
Tim kindly held this monster while I photographed it. It came out so well! I am really pleased with the quilting.
More 16 Patches
I finished all of the 16 patches I need for the 30 Something* quilt.
This isn’t all 42 of the 16 Patches – just a sample, but I am pleased with the way they came out. The next step is to make a bunch (30??) Churn Dash blocks. I am working my way through the various units that make up that block.
I have tons of the various patches leftover. I cut way too many, but will be using them for something, possibly donation blocks.
I haven’t decided if I am working on this as my main project or if it is still a leaders and enders project.
*I’d really like to link to this quilt so you could make it as well, but it doesn’t show up on the AllPeopleQuilt site. 🙁
30 Something 16 Patches
Years ago, I saw a pattern in a magazine called 30 Something. It is called 30 Something, stupidly IMO, because the maker used 30s prints. I saw beyond the 30s fabrics and began cutting out various pieces I would need for the blocks.
Recently, I began sewing some of the pieces together as leaders and enders.This means I get quite a bit done, but not on donation quilts.
The first step is to make 16 Patches out of the 1.5 inch (yes, THAT small) squares I had been cutting. I need 42 of these and have 24 so far.
I am happy with the progress I have made. As you can see, there are no 30s prints in my 16 patches. I need to think of another name for this quilt, but nothing comes to mind so far.
X Quilt Almost
I almost finished the X Quilt top. I have two or three seams left on the top and I am really eager to finish it. I just don’t want to work on it any more. Perhaps I don’t like the fabrics I chose. Pop Parade has dull rather than clear tones and that depresses me a little bit. Perhaps the background low volume text prints aren’t right for the size of the blank squares.
I don’t know. I just know I want to be finished with it. I don’t know what I will work on next. I have a few bags to finish for sure, but no quilt in mind except the HST donation top.