Friday Night Sew In - October

Finally, I'm ready to post my results from this

month's Friday Night Sew In.  I was able to finish

this Quilt of Valor which is one of the goals I've been working

on for the Charming Girls Quilt Club.

The QOV foundation asks quilters to wash

all quilts before donation, so I decided to take this

step before I took my photographs.

Recently I read a post by Amada Jean at

Crazy Mom Quilts where she shared her thoughts

on prewashing quilts before you gift them. The above

photo is exactly why prewashing is a good idea.

This wonderful product called Stain Be Gone

is a sheet that can be tossed into the washer to attract

dyes in wash water. Let me tell you it works!

The top sheet collected dye when I first washed the quilt.

The sheet was so dark

that I decided to wash the quilt a second time to see if

it would collect more dye...and it did!

The middle sheet is the results of the second wash.

The bottom sheet is a new one.

There is nothing that make the heart sick,

 like time and effort wasted on a project

where the colors bleed when washed. In case anyone asks,

I did prewash all my fabrics before piecing the top.

Click this link if you want to read more about the

construction of this quilt.

For the backing I added several leftover blocks.

And this is the what was going on at my feet while

I was trying to take photos...

...because obviously someone does not get enough attention.
Can you relate?

May you always Sew in Peace!

Sandra

Chocolate Pinwheels

Oh a happy note...

...today I mailed out my quilt for the Doll Quilt Swap!

This was my final design in EQ6...

...and the finished product.

 When I found the deep brown fabric at

my local quilt shop, my first thought was...chocolate!

Who doesn't like chocolate!

 I  love the contrast it makes aganist the bright fabrics.

For the back I used "Bungalow Stripe" by

Michael Miller Fabrics.

I actually found this fabric first,

 then used it to find the coordinating colors for the

pinwheels on the front.

I tried a new technique for the label and plan to do a tutorial soon.

So partner...

I really hope this quilt will bring a smile to your face,

and that you will enjoy your

guilt-free "Chocolate Pinwheels"!

And on a sad note...

while taking the photos for this post

I dropped my digital camera.

 I'm thinking that is not a good thing...

May you always Sew in Peace!

Sandra

Mom's Log Cabin Quilt

My mother has been a quiltmaker for as long as I can remember.

As she has aged, it has become more of a challenge

for her to hand quilt her projects. She pieced this lovely

log cabin quilt and I offered to machine quilt it for her.

Perhaps you may be interested in following the process.

In the past, I've always laid my quilts out on the carpet to

pin them together. I'm not sure about you, but it is a real

killer on the back and knees. This time I decided to try

basting on the top of a table. Since I have two tables,

I placed the tables side by side and draped each layer

over the tables, being careful to center the fabric.

To hold the fabric tight, I used several clamps from my

husband's toolbench. Using one clamp on each corner worked

better than I could have hoped! It held the fabric in place

and I was able to tighten or loosen the tension as desired.

Once a section was pinned,

the fabric could easily be repositioned.

(For anyone interested in purchasing a set of clamps, here is

a link to the brand I used.

The ones shown in my photo are

an older model.)

I have to admit, this method of pinning was a real time saver.

Machine quilting usually isn't one of my favorite steps of the

quiltmaking process. My perspective

is changing due to the larger throat space on my

new-to-me Singer 201.

Those extra inches make a

huge difference!

The extra space around the needle allowed my

hands to move freely.

I'm thinking Mom will like the finished product.

What method do you use to baste a quilt?

May you always Sew in Peace!

Sandra

Pick Me!

Postage Stamp Quilts are made of tiny squares of

fabric. This little doll quilt is made of 2 1/2" blocks

of various fabrics to match my sewing room. The top was

 made about a year ago and has hung on my design wall

waiting patiently to be completed.

Several weeks ago I purchased a Singer 201 and was

looking for the perfect project to test out it out. I glanced

around my sewing room and the little quilt top seemed to

scream "Pick me!" So using painters tape, I marked off

the rows and began quilting.

It didn't take long to finish the quilting and attach the binding.

Not sure why some projects go so quickly and others

you have to be in the mood to finish. If you are looking

for a little push to get you going, plan to join us

 May 21st for the Friday Night Sew-In.

Take a minute and listen to what is

screaming "Pick me!" at your house.

May you always Sew in Peace!

Sandra

Scrappy Stars

I ran across this pattern about a year ago and was drawn to the scrappy look. I'm still not totally sure of the official name of the block, although I've seen it listed several places as "Stretched Star". I had seen this pattern in basic cottons, but for the purpose of this quilt I chose to use flannels. I just love the timeless look of flannels. Especially when making quilts for men.

The block is actually quite basic. It is formed by using a square piece of fabric and sewing two smaller squares across the corner. When pressed open, the smaller square replaces the corner of the original larger square. I found an awesome tutorial on Bonnie's blog that helped me with all the details.

I sewed together the blocks, and then I got stuck. It looked so plain and I couldn't

seem to figure out what was needed to pull it all together.

In January, I purchased EQ6 and began learning how to work with basic designs. Although I am far from knowing everything it can do, I found a similar block to the stretched star and used it work up a visual. Once it was on the page I could see what was lacking. The inner border was needed to frame the blocks before the larger border was attached.

I kept the quilting simple by using straight lines along the edge of the blocks.

For the border, I chose to vary the lines in the same size as the blocks. I got the idea from a quilting book that listed popular quilting patterns in the early 1900's. I'm pretty happy with the way the quilting turned out, especially when you see it from the back.

On the back, for fun I used a row of the waste triangles that were left over from making the blocks.

The triangles were teeny, tiny...but then again so is the recipient of this quilt.

This is my youngest grandson. Isn't he a sweetie?

Hopefully some day he will look at this blanket and remember that his nana loved him:)

Doll Quilt Swap 8 Finished!

Well folks, here it is. It may or may not look like much to you, but I have an awful lot of time invested in this project. In fact, I'm lovingly naming this quilt "Patience Buider". For starters I picked up a copy of EQ6 a few weeks back, and have been trying to go through the lessons to teach myself how to make the most of the program. I am  a visual learner, and am tired of ripping out seams because the color isn't quite right. So, to begin my Doll Quilt Swap  project I went through the first two lessons on EQ6. I found the software easy to work with, and was able to make many adjustments to my project before I even cut the fabric.

This is my final design using a charm pack called "Astor Manor" from Moda. I was even able to upload the exact fabric into EQ6 from the Moda website. Very cool!

I aslo purchased the book "Miniatures in Minutes" by Terri Sandelin. Her book contains instructions for paper-pieced miniature projects.( Hmmm... sounds perfect for a doll quilt.) I found her book to be very helpful and  informative. So based on her techniques, I set out to design my own miniature quilt.

First, I started with a large sheet of freezer paper and taped it to my cutting mat. (Terri's book advises against using freezer paper, but I was at home in the middle of a snow storm and wanted to get started.) I marked out a grid nine squares across and marked off dashed lines to allow for folding.

Using traditional paper-piecing methods, I began stitching small squares of fabric to the

unmarked side of the freezer paper.

When all the squares were sewn to the paper, it looked like this. Then I began folding the paper onto the lines and stitching the rows together.

When I was finished, the back looked like this.

Then began the tedious task of tearing off the freezer paper. Herein lies the problem with using freezer paper. It does not tear easily! What a pain in the neck to get this stuff off! The biggest issue was that unless you are extreemly careful, it is easy to distort the stitches in an attempt to remove the paper.

When I finally did get the paper off, my core block was 9" x 9". ( I have to insert a funny comment from my husband. I showed him the above block, and he said it's really going to take alot of effort to make a quilt out of that. He thought I was making this into a bed quilt! LOL!)

Once I had the core of the quilt assembled, I began to work on the side pieces. Each one contains a miniature nine patch block.

Then I cut triangluar background fabric to fill in the rest of the area.

Once the side pieces were all assembled, I attached them to the core block and squared it up.

After the block was square, I added the borders, and pinned it for machine quilting.

For fun, I added a few blocks to the back of the quilt, along with a quilt label,

  and a sleeve to hang the quilt. The quilt label is under the sheet of white paper.

Close up of quilting on the back.

And here is the final product, measuring 20" x 20".

 Now just waiting for the shipping deadline to arrive!

Hope you enjoyed my little journey with this miniature quilt.

I'd like to leave you with six things I've learned from the this project.

1. Never, ever use freezer paper for paper-piecing projects. (Even if it is in the middle of a snowstorm!)

2. Choose fabrics with tiny prints for miniature quilts. Charm packs have some very large designs.

3. EQ6 is wonderful for visual learners, and worth every penny I paid for it. Can't wait to learn more.

4. You can invest as much time and effort into a miniature quilt as you can into a bed quilt.

5. I need to get my machine cleaned.

6. I really need a new pair of glasses!