For months I didn’t work on the Hexies project, then on the first I just dove in and added rows. I am not sure why except that it didn’t require cutting. The hexagons were there, the piece was there and I needed something to sew.
I got my head around the Y seams and did it. I didn’t want to sew one hexagon on at a time and I had a row started, so I finished the row and worked on sewing the whole row on at a time. It was a lot of stopping and starting, but I just did it. I developed a system and kept at it.
Things I have to figure out:
How big to make it. It seems small now, but I know that if I fill my design wall it makes a pretty big quilt.
Whether to unsew a section where I sewed two of the same fabrics together.
How to finish the border – to square it off or leave it jaggedy. I am not sure I can face all those mitered binding corners
I plan to just work on it until I am done with the top.
I told you that I was thinking about changing the name of this post in the new year. I think it is a valuable post for me to write, so I have decided that I will continue, but will just change it somewhat. I will freshen it up a bit to reflect the progress I have made on the old projects and change the focus to WIPs rather than UFOs.
12 quilts finished in 2013 is something of which to be proud, thanks to the 26 Projects post.
Again I need to keep in mind that I need to focus my efforts on not filling up the list with UFOs again. I don’t mind having a few projects going at once, but I continue to feel that I don’t want stalled projects hanging around for years. I really don’t. That is the key: I have to work on the projects. If I work on projects in which I am interested, I don’t think I will let them languish for years.
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I are stalled. She has a lot going on, but I hope we will get back to it. I am thinking about the next tutorial regardless.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, every once in a while I think about using some of the squares as leaders and enders.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing before the end of the year, though with all the cutting I have done recently, perhaps not so much.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: This piece is up on the design wall and I have sewed a few more hexagons together, but haven’t made significant progress despite looking at it all the time. I am beginning to think I should have added fabrics from different lines to this piece.
Ready for Quilting
Again, I don’t have anything ready to take to my quilter. The machine being in the shop has put a cramp in my style this month. Sigh.
New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am still thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape. (Not on original list)
Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; at the quilter.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished. Back and binding are complete; at the quilter.
New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
Please note that even if you combine the two lists above, I do not have 26 projects on this list anymore. This is true even though I keep starting new projects. I am thrilled that I have made progress!!!
In the Finishing Process
Original Bullseye: Sleeve made. still working on the hand sewing. I have been embellishing Christmas stockings instead of sewing on the sleeve.
In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’ is that I am actively working on something In Process.
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. Need to find a background, because if we use the cut fabrics, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.
Abandoned
Nothing so far for 2013
Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.
I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?
*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list
The center of the Russian Rubix blocks has been bothering me.
The block is put together like a four patch. to build the 4 patch, you add large and small triangles to the octagons. This makes the block really easy to put together (you should still buy the pattern).
The problem is that this type of construction means that there are four seams that meet in the center creating a very distinct seam line. I have had this block up on the design wall trying to decide if I can live with the seam lines or if I need to piece the block in a different way. Sometimes I can’t see the seam lines and sometimes they scream like a neon sign.
Russian Rubix block with solid center
As I might have mentioned, I decided to cut a square and try piecing the block with a solid square.
As you, can see from the photo (bottom right), the center looks great – seam free and pristine. The bad news is those weird angles with which I need to sew the other parts of the block.
Sigh.
Some observations:
Print fabric with a large or distinct pattern would not work for the background. The messed up fabric design (from cutting up a large print or, for example, dot fabric) would scream at the viewer
Low intensity or solid fabric would work best.
Piecing the block with a solid center will end up with some weird angles to sew.
I don’t know where I will go from here. I will probably try to sew more parts of this block together to see if the piecing is as bad as I think it will be.
Periodically, I look at my design and think “there is enough here for a post”, so here is that post. The last post I wrote about what was on my design wall was earlier this year. You can find it on the April 1, 2013 post.
Design Wall 12/1/2013
My cup runneth over. Well, my design wall runneth over. Seriously, there is barely any space for one more piece of fabric.
I often think that my design wall mimics my mind and my mind is in quilt chaos at the moment. My mind is better now that I made a bit of progress during the Black Friday Sew-in and the weekend.
Mostly, the design wall is covered with octagons for the Russian Rubix. I don’t know why I feel the need to look at them spread out like that, but I, apparently, do. That feeling may be passing. The group on the very bottom is helping me to see all the unique colors. I have placed the octagons on the top randomly. I might be getting over this desire to see them all. Or I may just be getting annoyed at not having one spare inch of design wall space.
On the very bottom left are ATCs. These are bits of art from my art quilt friends.
Above the FOTY (mid/top left) is a Russian Rubix block. I am looking at it to see how bad that seam running through the middle looks. It looks bad, but not all the time and mostly if I look at it closely.
Top left are 2″ squares in red and turquoise. I cut the fabric whenever I wash and press either of those colors and then send them to a friend when I write her a letter. I don’t know how many I have sent her. I have and buy a lot of red and turquoise.
My Stars in Stripes are still waiting for background fabrics (upper right).
A lot of my Scrapitude pieces are on my sewing table along with a few Russian Rubix blocks.
What’s on your design wall (you can upload photos to Flickr, if you don’t have a blog and want to show me)?
I am just squeaking this update in under the wire. I almost forgot to post an update this month. Perhaps remembering is a sign I am getting back on track?
I am thinking about changing the name of this post in the new year. Freshen it up a bit to reflect the progress I have made on the old projects. We’ll see how things shake out. 12 quilts finished is nothing to sneeze at, but I am hoping to finish at least one more project this year.
Again I need to keep in mind that I need to be thinking about whether or not to focus my efforts on not filling up the list again. I don’t mind having a few projects going at once, but I continue to feel that I don’t want stalled projects hanging around for years. I really don’t. That is the key: I have to work on them. If I work on projects in which I am interested, I don’t think I will let them languish for years.
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I are stalled. She has a lot going on, but I hope we will get back to it. I should be able to do the next tutorial regardless.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, every once in a while I think about using some of the squares as leaders and enders.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing before the end of the year, though with all the cutting I have done recently, perhaps not so much.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: This piece is up on the design wall and I have sewed a few more hexagons together, but haven’t made significant progress despite looking at it all the time. I am beginning to think I should have added fabrics from different lines to this piece.
Ready for Quilting
Again, I don’t have anything ready to take to my quilter. The machine being in the shop has put a cramp in my style this month. Sigh.
New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am still thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape. (Not on original list)
Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; at the quilter.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished. Back and binding are complete; at the quilter.
New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
Please note that even if you combine the two lists above, I do not have 26 projects on this list even though I keep starting new things. I am so thrilled I have made progress!!!
In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’ is that I am actively working on something In Process.
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. Need to find a background, because if we use the cut fabrics, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.
Abandoned
Nothing so far for 2013
Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.
I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?
*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list
As you know, the machine is in the shop. It is still in the shop. While I have the Jem on which to sew, it isn’t the same.
I have been looking at the Russian Rubix pieces A LOT. I finally decided that some of the Joel Dewberry fabrics might be wrong. I really wanted to keep them in , because they were nice darks. Sadly, they just seemed wrong. Also, I couldn’t get a comment about the large stylized flowers looking like eyes out of my mind. I think that this quilt needs some darks. These weren’t them, though, so I thought they had to go.
One fabric removed
I decided that I would take them out in stages and try to make, at least, some of these dark fabrics work.
I took out the one Notting Hill fabric that had the stylized flowers. I left in the fabric with the same colors (upper left hand corner). I am on the fence about it. I think that the piece, as I said, needs some darks.
One of the things I don’t like about the Moda Jelly Rolls is that the collections of fabrics often do not have enough darks or lights. Remember how I said I was trying to make my own Jelly Roll? I am understanding how hard it is to make a Jelly Roll with the right mix of lights, darks and mediums.
All dark Joel Dewberry removed
With the two dark Joel Dewberrys removed, it was clear I had too many warm colors
OR
I needed more cool colors.
The piece stayed like this for a week or two until today when it occurred to me that I might be able to add some DARKS and that might make the piece.
As I see it, at the moment, there are two reds that are the only darks. Perhaps I will some dark purple Pearl Bracelets. I have to look at it with the dark purple.
I still have 7 projects on my WIPs list, but only 3 (4?) of them are really old. Two projects, from the “In the Quilting” stage, are ready for binding. I am still kind of in awe at how much progress I have made since I counted up my UFOs for the first time and decided to do something about it. It was 2 years ago that I started. All of the really old UFOs are mostly taken care of.
Again I need to keep in mind that I need to be thinking about whether or not to focus my efforts on not filling up the list again. I don’t mind having a few projects going at once, but I continue to feel that I don’t want stalled projects hanging around for years. I really don’t. That is the key: I have to work on them.
The machine is still in the shop, so I haven’t been doing a lot of sewing, even with the loaner (finally gave up). I pulled out the Jem and have done a bit of sewing. I have been doing a lot of cutting – still for Scrapitude, but also for one of the Super Secret Projects and a little for the Russian Rubix. Cutting so much means new projects. 😉
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I are stalled. She has a lot going on, but I hope we will get back to it. I should be able to do the next tutorial regardless.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, every once in a while I think about using some of the squares as leaders and enders.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing before the end of the year, though with all the cutting I have done recently, perhaps not so much.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: This piece is up on the design wall and I have sewed a few more hexagons together, but haven’t made significant progress despite looking at it all the time.
Ready for Quilting
Again, I don’t have anything ready to take to my quilter. The machine being in the shop has put a cramp in my style this month. Sigh.
New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am still thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape. Not on original list
Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; at the quilter.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished. Back and binding are complete; at the quilter.
New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter.(not on original list)
Please note that even if you combine the two lists above, I do not have 26 projects on this list even though I keep starting new things. I am so thrilled I have made progress!!!
In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’ is that I am actively working on something In Process.
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. Need to find a background, because if we use the cut fabrics, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.
Abandoned
Nothing so far for 2013
Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.
I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?
*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list
I just noticed that I have only 7 projects on my WIPs list. I have really made progress, which is a good reminder that I need to focus my efforts on not filling up the list again. I don’t mind having a couple of projects going at once, but I don’t want projects that are stalled hanging around for years. I really don’t.
I talked this week about all the cutting that I did. All true. I don’t know why I cut for the Scrapitude mystery quilt, but I did. I didn’t cut all the pieces for each project, but I cut bunches of pieces for a variety of projects.
I made good progress on the cutting for the Russian Rubix and started talking about Easy Street.
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances is working diligently, though I know she feels frustrated with the foundation pieced block. I think part of that is because she is left handed and I am right handed. I finished the foundation piecing tutorial, along with my block for this part of the class. I am not giving up on her. I hope she comes back.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though I did think about working on it. I hope that counts for something. I really do need to get back to the quilting. I am still a little mad at myself for making such good progress and then getting sidetracked. I thought quilting the Whole Cloth quilt would get me back in the swing of quilting, but apparently not.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I still think it is a sign that I need to work on this. Leaders and enders.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing. I really have the feeling I came so close to working on this project this month.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: I have sewed enough of the hexagons together over the weekend to make the piece a normal shape. It is about half the size I want it to be, so I will work on sewing together the other half. I might start a new chunk and then sew that new chunk to the old chunk once I am done. It might be easier than sewing one or two hexagons together. We will see. I may make it a few rows longer, too.
Ready for Quilting
I took 5 quilts to the quilter last week: Infinity Blocks, which I had thought I would quilt myself, Fresh Fruit, FOTY 2013, Star Sampler, which nothing could induce me to quilt myself, and the Young Man’s t-shirt quilt. PROGRESS!
Please note that even if you combine the two lists above, I do not have 26 projects on this list anymore. I have made progress!!!
In the Finishing Process
It doesn’t really count as finished, though I am putting a sleeve on the Swoon.
Abandoned
Nothing so far for 2013
Hunting and Gathering
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. Need to find a background, because if we use the cut fabrics, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.
Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.
I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?
*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list
In between bindings and hemming pants, I made some more English Paper Pieced Stars. I still haven’t decided on a layout, but I am running out of papers, so I will need to do so soon, so I can reuse the papers.
The last time I seemed to have written about this Flower Sugar Hexagon project was way back in 2011. I didn’t think that much time had flown by, but Pam has made two hexagons, so I guess it has.
My design walls have been empty for several weeks while I work on small projects; the 3D items not needing much design wall space. I also love piecing so much that I didn’t want to be tempted away from the small projects that have been on my list for awhile.
My mom came over for a visit with the Young Man after being on vacation and down with Grama for several weeks. When I arrived home from work she told me that she had raced upstairs to see what was on the design wall and was so disappointed to see NOTHING. She looked a little worried as well. I felt bad.
This hexie project has been on my mind and it occurred to me that I could put it up on the design wall and see what I saw.
The only other photos I have of this quilt is laying on the floor. Laying on the floor is different, for me, than hanging on the wall. I seem to be able to see so much more when pieces are vertical. It must be the perspective or the angle.
I found the piece and put it up on the portable design wall. Looking at it after not having seen it for awhile, I noticed some interesting things:
My balance of different fabrics is pretty good.
The piece is tiny. It is less than half the size of the Swoon. I have a lot of hexies to cut
This piece does cheer up the room.
As I said in one of the previous posts,Adrianne of Little Bluebell, introduced me to the cutting technique I used for these hexies. You can find the cutting instructions on her blog.
I hope I won’t think too much about sewing more pieces together. I still need to work on small projects.
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances is working diligently, though I know she feels frustrated with the foundation pieced block. I think part of that is because she is left handed and I am right handed. I finished the foundation piecing tutorial, along with my block for this part of the class. I am not giving up on her.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though I did think about working on it. I hope that counts for something. I really do need to get back to the quilting. I am still a little mad at myself for making such good progress and then getting sidetracked. I thought quilting the Whole Cloth quilt would get me back in the swing of quilting, but apparently not.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I still think it is a sign that I need to work on this. Leaders and enders.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing. I really have the feeling I came so close to working on this project this month.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: I thought about sewing more hexagons together. Although not difficult, sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile. I could, perhaps, use leaders and enders to get this piece moving?
New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs basting, quilting and binding. Not on original list
Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; ready to be quilted.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished, though I can’t decide if I need a quilting border. Back and binding are complete; I am waiting to take it to the quilter.
New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)
New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.
I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?
*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list
After he returned from Scout Camp, the Young Man was happy to hear that I finished his T-shirt Quilt top. After writing several book reviews that were overdue, I spent quite a bit of time working on the back.
It is finally done and I just have to make the binding before I move on. I don’t have anymore of the grey left, so it will have to be green or black or some other color the Young Man chooses.
T-shirt Quilt top
The pictures are terrible, because the boys didn’t have time hold the top and back up for me. I don’t have a picture of the back, though I hope to get one once the quilt is quilted.
I finally got a chance to see the blocks that TFQ made as part of our Star Sampler project. I hadn’t seen her blocks before, though I did see a few of them on Flickr. There weren’t enough hours in the day for me to photograph them all, so you just get an idea of what she did. I cajoled, but hadn’t sunk to bribing by the time I left, her to sew them together. She was afraid that if she didn’tget the project done by the time she left for vacation, she would lose momentum. She said that is what she is experiencing. Sigh.
That means that the T-shirt quilt has be OFF the design wall. I am not folding it up and putting back in the UFO area. It has to be ready to go to the quilter. And THAT means that I have to work on it.
Thin borders take forever to build
So, I am working on the border. The green border is made up of 1″ wide strips, alternating green and black, of varying lengths. which is very thin.
Thin=tricky. Tricky because when chain piecing or sewing using the leaders/enders technique, there isn’t enough thread between the pieces to help keep them from unravelling. At 1″ wide, there are only a few stitches to hold the black and green pieces together. Not chain piecing feels awkward and wasteful. Thus, the strips are very fragile. I pulled several apart as I was sewing them to the larger quilt. Of course, I fixed them, but what a pain. I could have solved the problem by back stitching at the beginning and the end of each border piece, but that would have been tedious, too.
Why put up the with drama, you ask?
Once completed, the border is very effective. The border is intended to “float” in larger borders on either side. You can see the floating effect in the photo above. In this case, the two thin green & black borders will “float” in the grey. Such a border adds interest to the quilt as well
It is, however, really a pain to make. Did I mention that the strips are 1″ wide?
I am pretty sure you will sincerely dislike me when I say this, but I am going to say it anyway. Thin borders need tightly woven fabric.
Yes, thin borders need tightly woven fabric.
Why?
Some fabrics tend to unravel and some of the fabrics I am using seem to be unraveling more than others. The Modas are particularly bad in this area. You may love the Moda designs, pre-cuts and designers, but their fabrics are somewhat loosely woven, which means that they tend to ravel.
If you have a 6″ square and one thread frays off the edge, who cares? It won’t matter, because you can easily account for it. With a 1″ strip one thread fraying can make a difference in how straight the border is. I could have used Fray Check, but didn’t think of it.
Tightly woven fabric tends to fray less and, thus, be easier to use when working with thin pieces. Kona cottons seem to be tightly woven as do a lot of hand dyed fabrics. It is pretty easy to tell tightly woven fabric, because it isn’t as easy to see through.
I have only a bit to go to finish the top, then on to the label and the giant border. Wish me luck.
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances is working diligently, though I know she feels frustrated with the foundation pieced block. I think part of that is because she is left handed and I am right handed. I finished the foundation piecing tutorial, along with my block for this part of the class. I am not giving up on her.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though I did think about working on it. I hope that counts for something. I really do need to get back to the quilting. I am still a little mad at myself for making such good progress and then getting sidetracked. I thought quilting the Whole Cloth quilt would get me back in the swing of quilting, but apparently not.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I still think it is a sign that I need to work on this. Leaders and enders.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing. I really have the feeling I came so close to working on this project this month.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: I thought about sewing more hexagons together. Although not difficult, sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile. I could, perhaps, use leaders and enders to get this piece moving?
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: Center is done and I am working on the borders. Need to make a back, a label and binding.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished, though I can’t decide if I need a quilting border. Back and binding are complete; I am waiting to take it to the quilter.
New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)
New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)
Please note that even if you combine the two lists above, I do not have 26 projects on this list anymore. I have made progress!!!
In the Finishing Process
None at this time
Abandoned
Nothing so far for 2013
Hunting and Gathering
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.
I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?
*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list
