Behind The Scenes

It isn't just the hand sewing that turns making a La Passacaglia quilt top into such a time consuming endeavor.  The cutting and glue basting require a lot of attention as well.

This picture shows some fabric I fussy cut in order to get the look I want.  Of course, you could make this quilt without doing any fussy cutting, but fussy cutting some prints greatly adds to the complex look of this quilt. I've been fussy cutting my striped fabric as well as cutting specific motifs from a large floral print as well as a couple of paisley fabrics.  Without fussy cutting, these larger scale prints would have looked randomly chopped on the small pieces in this quilt.  Whenever I fussy cut, I need five diamonds for the center star and 10 pentagons for the outer ring.  

I'm rounding out the fussy cut fabrics with lots of pieces cut from tonal prints that can be cut in the conventional (and much faster) way.

Then there is the glue basting step.  Each cut piece of fabric needs to be basted to its paper backing.  I use a Sewline glue pen on a rotary cutting mat, My Olfa mat is square but I think a round rotary mat would work even better.  The rotary mat makes the job go faster because you can turn the piece being glued, rather than trying to turn your body or twist your arm around a stationary position.

And there is a lot of gluing to be done!  Here, I'm gluing the star points that connect all the rosettes together to make the final pattern.  There are 1368 of these in the quilt; they are about 1" long.  
I better get cracking!

Twilight Hopscotch

For my next project, I'm turning to my Pinterest quilts to-do list and starting Twilight Hopscotch.  The pattern is by Kim Diehl from her book Simple Comforts. 

 

This will be a Christmas quilt.  I'm using this snowflake batik fabric with a green tone-on-tone with gold metallic flecks.  I'm not "into" batiks but saw this one at my LQS, liked it, and thought it would be good in this particular quilt.  The background will be Kona white. 

 

I have the pieces cut and ready to sew.  This will be a good project for evenings after work, when I have 20 or 30 minutes to spend sewing after dinner. 

 



 

And speaking of cutting, I've been meaning to mention these new rotary cutters from Olfa.  Do you have one?  They are worth buying because they've made changing the blade so much easier and less hazardous.  The old one pops off with the flick of a switch; put the new blade in place and flick the switch back, and voila, ready to go!  No nuts and washers, no wondering about the correct order for replacing all the parts - so easy!

 

 

 

It's Complicated - A Finished Quilt

I put the binding on over the weekend and now I have a finished quilt.

I made the scrappy LeMoyne Star blocks last spring.  My original plan was for a simple quilt layout, alternating star blocks with plain blocks.  Then I got another idea.  I drafted my own alternating block, cut the fabric pieces, and set to work sewing them up.  The quilt is set on point, alternating the two blocks, and setting triangles form the solid border.  The revised layout led to the name, It's Complicated.

 

Mr. Main Street did his best but his wingspan is not quite wide enough for the size of the quilt.

 

Karen Thompson quilted It's Complicated with a curlicue vine and hearts pantograph design. 

 

 

I'm so happy with the way this quilt came out.  It is part of my series of Fig Tree Harvest quilts, an attempt to use up my extensive stash of fabric from Fig Tree & Co. collections for Moda. My earlier quilts used the more girly pastel and floral prints but I used more of the brown and carmel fabrics, with a little red and green, in It's Complicated.  I'm glad I did because the colors make for a different look.

 

I used a special ruler to make the LeMoyne Star blocks, the Rapid LeMoyne Star ruler from Studio 18 Designs.  The ruler simplifies the block construction so it doesn't require any set-in seams.  Using it was a breeze; I highly recommend it for this block.

 

I'll be back later this week to share the start of my new project.

 



Outgrown

I did  not have much time to spare for my sewing machine last week but I did get a few Jubilee blocks done.  With all 49 up, I've outgrown my design wall.  The blocks in the column on the far right are hanging, half on and half off. 

I did my usual arranging and re-arranging of the blocks, agonizing over the color placement, but I'm happy with it now.  The challenge will be to keep all the blocks in their assigned positions as I attach the sashing and sew the blocks into rows.  I've seen some gizmos that are supposed to help with that process, lettered tags and numbered pins, and things of that nature, but have not used any myself.  If you've used any of these items, I'd like to know what you think.  A worthwhile investment in your opinion?

I Was Tempted At The Quilt Show

I did my bit for the quilting economy and made some purchases at the quilt show last week (Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XX).  My first purchase was this basket from Ghana, sold by French Connections, a vendor of French fabric and African baskets.  I'm planning to use it to hold either my upcoming project or scraps in my sewing room.  The vendor had some more colorful baskets which were beautiful but I chose this simple design to match the color scheme in my sewing room.  It came in handy as a shopping basket for the rest of my purchases.

Last year (or maybe in 2011), I bought a set of rulers called Leaves Galore.  I haven't used them yet but have good intentions so this year I picked up a book by the originator of the ruler.  While Leaves Galore has videos on YouTube, I thought this book would be a handy reference for how to use the rulers plus it has directions for several projects.

 

This is what a Leaves Galore ruler looks like. 

I am determined to make something bright and modern from Kaffe Fassett fabric.  I  have a few fat quarters already but saw these coordinated fat quarter packs and they called out to me.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but when I decide, you'll see it here.

I needed some more greens for my stash and a vendor called The Christmas Shoppe had a great selection so I picked up eight half-yard pieces.

Miraculously for me, I did not buy any rulers or other gadgets.  I did see a demo of the log cabin square up ruler from Creative Grids.  I didn't buy one at the show but I could be tempted if I decide to make another log cabin quilt.  I'm trying to figure out if a regular 8" ruler could be used in a similar fashion.

Favorite Tools

This is one of the 49 blocks I need to make for my queen size version of Jubilee, a quilt pattern from The Pattern Basket.

 

The Jubilee block is an Ohio Star with added piecing in the corners of the block.  Each block requires four quarter-square-triangle blocks (also known as hourglass blocks).  The designer has you make them from squares of fabric by drawing a line diagonally on the wrong side of the fabric and sewing on either side of the line, then cutting down the middle to form two half-square-triangle blocks.  The process gets repeated with two of the HSTs sewn together and cut apart to form the hourglass block.  Drawing the lines gets tedious, especially when repeated so many times.  Fortunately, I know an easier and faster way!

It's the Clearly Perfect Angles tool!  (Do I sound like an infomercial?)  It is a piece of thick plastic film that clings to the sewing machine and to acrylic sewing tables.  The markings on the film are guides for lining up fabric pieces and keeping them aligned as they pass under the needle.  The video on the website explains better than I can.  There are other similar tools out there, such as the Angler II.  Tools like this eliminate the need to mark your fabric; just line up with the markings and sew!

After these units are sewn, they need to be trimmed to size.  That's when my Tucker Trimmer comes into play.

 

It is great for trimming down the hourglass units into the exact size needed.  I line up the diagonal lines on the ruler with the diagnonal seams in the square, selecting the markings on the ruler for the size I need to cut (4" in this case). 

 

Trim two sides, then rotate and trim the other two sides.  My Olfa rotating mat is pretty handy too.

 

Fast and easy and accurate!  No need to struggle with math to figure out the center point on your ruler or risk lining it up wrong.  I love this tool and have it in two sizes.

 

Hey presto, a perfect unit for the final block!

 

 

 

Five blocks finished, 44 to go!

Metro Waves - Ta-Da!

Yes, I turned this pile of curved pieces of fabric...



...into this quilt top.  (It is hanging a little wonkily from the clips on the rod but I assure you, it looks better in person.)  It is 36" by 50".  I still need a name.

 

How about a close-up?  After a better pressing and, of course, quilting, the vertical seams will not be as apparent.  It will become a baby quilt, to be held in reserve until needed.  I still need to trim the top and bottom straight.  Is that something I should do before or after quilting?

I used the Quick Curve Ruler from Sew Kind of Wonderful to cut the pieces for this quilt top.  And a combination of the Metro Wave pattern, Jenny's instructional videos, and my own creativity to get it all together.   I have some cut curves left over.  I am thinking of turning them into a pillow sham.

 

Sewing the curves is really not difficult.  This ruler has opened up a whole new world of curved piecing to me.  What will be next?

 

 

Quick Curves For Real

I'm using the Quick Curves Ruler and Metro Waves pattern from Jenny Pedigo for my current project.  Monday's post was about my test/learning block.  Today, I start on the real quilt.

First, I read the instructions in the pattern.  And there I hit the first snag.  She designed the pattern so that the waves in every other row are pieced with a seam running through them horizontally.  This allows the quilt to be constructed from conventional rectangular blocks but I don't like the idea of all those seams breaking up the pattern on the fabric, especially when I chose this design to really show off the fabric.  I can see where it works with the solids in the pattern cover example quilt, especially when coupled with Jenny's dense machine quilting (if you want to be inspired by machine quilting, just visit her blog, SewKindofWonderful), but I don't think it would be a good look for my project. 

 

So I quickly developed construction Plan B.  I cut out all the curved pieces and am sewing them together in vertical rows that I will then sew together into the quilt top.  I did not have any trouble sewing the curves together using Jenny's no-pin technique.  Except when I finished, my strip was kind of puffy looking and did not lie flat. 

 

 

But that's nothing a good pressing could not take care of.  The picture below is after pressing all the seams in one direction with a little spray starch. 



So far, so good.   Just need to keep at it.

Quick Curve Ruler

My new project uses the Quick Curve Ruler designed by Jenny Pedigo.  It looks like a regular quilting ruler for rotary cutting except it has a curved shape printed on it and a curved channel that the rotary blade fits into to cut the curved shapes.  And I'm using one of her patterns, called Metro Waves. 

Jenny's blog, SewKindofWonderful, has lots of examples of quilts made using the ruler, as well as her tutorials for cutting and sewing.  She makes it look easy but I thought I better test it out before cutting into my precious Paris Flea Market fabric stash.  First, I cut the curved pieces.

 

The markings on the ruler combined with the groove for the rotary cutter make it very easy.  Then I sewed them together.  Jenny's technique does not use any pins.  I was skeptical but it worked out just fine.  I got the hang of it pretty fast, worked up a rhythm, and got several curves sewn together in no time.  And after trimming, I sewed the rows together.  The seams lined up perfectly.

This is my test block.  But enough testing; it's time to move on to the real thing!

If this works out well, I see a double wedding ring quilt in my future.

Scrap Basket Sunday - Week 9

I made eight more Lemoyne star blocks this week and figure I am close to having the number I need for my quilt, whatever the setting turns out to be.  So I decided to trim them up.  I'm using the Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star ruler to strip piece my star blocks.  They are meant to be trimmed down to size and end up with uneven, jagged edges.

 

block before trimming

 

 

block after trimming

 

 

 

My blocks trim to 7.5" so this 8.5" square ruler is a big help.  I line up the 3.75" lines on both the vertical and horizontal seams through the block, plus the diagonal line on the ruler with the diagonal seam on the block and trim the top and right edges.  Then rotate the block and trim the other sides.  Actually, I rotate my rotating Olfa mat - a huge help, so glad I bought this at a quilt show.  (You may recall one of my earlier posts about what a sucker I am for gadgetry seen at quilt show vendors.)

The yield is some nicely squared up blocks and a pile of trimmings.  This pile represents about 20 blocks. 

Earlier in the week, I went stash diving for fabric that might be used in the setting of these blocks.  I found a few possibilities.  I love this stripe and the color is good match for the star background fabric but I think it may be too delicate looking for this design.

Here are three possibilites.  The fabric on the left is a Fig Tree Designs print; I'm thinking about using it for the backing.  I like the large toile in the center; it is a possibility for setting triangles.  The print on the fabric on the right did not show up in the photo but it is very close to the star background fabric, just a much larger scale. 

 

Setting decisions still to be made!  And more scrappy blocks to be seen at Kim's place.

 

Scrap Basket Sunday - Week 6

34 Lemoyne star blocks finished! Only a few more to go.

 

I've been using the Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star ruler from Studio 180 Design to make my blocks.  It is bewildering looking at first but I've found it very easy to use once I gave it try.

 

Now the originator, Deb Tucker, has added instructions for using the ruler to make more complicated looking versions of the Lemoyne star block, including a banded version and a striped version she calls Liberty Star. See photos below. 

Instructions and video demonstrations for both versions, plus a couple of other variations are at the Studio 180 website.   I plan to try one of these variations sometime.

Kim has been hosting Scrap Basket Sundays.  Visit her blog for links to the other scrappers and see what they are up to.

Gadgetry

My remark in last week's post that I have a set of templates, purchased in 2000 and not used to date, drew a chuckle from at least several readers, judging by the comments.  I'm surmising at least some of you have done the same.

I have a weakness for quilting gadgetry.  When I go to quilt shows, I think a conversation bubble follows me around, visible only to the vendors, that says "Prime prospect for quilting gadgets.  Reel her in with a demo."

Here are a few things I've bought over the years and not used (yet):

 

Feathered Star template set

 

Lil' Twister template

 

Leaves Galore set of curved rulers

 

Wheel of Mystery template set - bought two times!

 

Sets of foundation papers for miniature courthouse steps blocks

 

 

And as I located each of these items, I had similar thoughts.  "Oh, I really want to use this soon."  "I really need to give this a try."  "What can I make with this?"

 

Anyway...I've settled on a design for my Paris Flea Market quilt. The center of the quilt will have some simple piecing, then there will be a wide border with a appliqued design of vine and leaves...and maybe some tiny hexagon flowers.  Now that I think about it, this could the opportunity I need to put the Leaves Galore ruler to use!

 

 

 







Friday Find - Bloc Loc Rulers

I enjoy the process of making quilts as much as the finished product, and I find that having the right tools makes the process even more enjoyable.  As a result, I'm a sucker for any sort of tool that looks like it will make the more tedious, repetitive steps go faster or that will help improve accuracy.  I especially want to avoid having to rip out and re-sew.

I first encounted Bloc Loc rulers at a quilt show where they were being demonstrated.  Bloc Loc rulers have a channel that snugs up to the seam, eliminating slipping and ruler rock when you trim.  I've found that the best way for me to get accurate flying geese blocks is to make them a little bit over-sized then trim them to size before sewing them into larger units.  There are a number of different rulers out there that help you do this; I have and use both the Fit To Be Geese ruler from Open Gate Quilts and Deb Tucker's Wing Clipper,  but my new favorite is the Bloc Loc. 

 

See how the channel in the lucite ruler snugs up to your seam line?  It is so easy to cut around this ruler accurately. 

 

The only drawback is that each Bloc Loc Flying Geese ruler makes only one size block, unlike the other rulers which work for a range of sizes.  So I've been buying the rulers as I have a project come up that warrants its use. My latest is the 3" by 6" size.  I'm using it to construct the 2013 school auction quilt. Oridinarily, I prefer smaller blocks but I find that a bold, graphic look works best when using this high contrast color combination (gold and blue are the school colors).  There will be a lot of flying geese in this quilt and this ruler is helping me construct them efficiently.

 

 

Pineapple Quilt Block - Foundation Paper or Ruler?

This is where I was a few days ago...

 

 

And this is where I am now. 

 

 

 

I've finished the first eight blocks and they look like pineapple blocks now.  I've been using the Pinapple Rule from Possibilities but this technique is not without its problems.  In fact, though I plan to finish this project using the ruler, if I make another pineapple quilt, I will probably try foundation paper piecing. 

 

I thought the ruler would be less tedious than the foundation papers.  While I quite enjoy the sewing process with foundation paper piecing, I don't like having to remove the paper at the end.  While an alternative is to use muslin or very thin interfacing in place of the paper, I am afraid that will leave me with a quilt that feels heavy and stiff.  

 

The Pineapple Rule is cleverly designed and quite easy to use.  The biggest drawback is that you are always attaching your next round to bias edges.  It is all too easy for the bias edges to get stretched out of alignment.  None of my blocks looks wonky but I doubt they are all exactly the same size.  I have a feeling that sewing the blocks together at the end will be challenging (the blocks you see above are on my design wall, not sewn together yet), but I will address that challenge when I get to it.  After all, tomorrow is another day! (quoting Scarlett O'Hara).

 

 

 

I will be putting this project aside soon (just temporarily) in order to return my sewing room to its other use, the guest room.  My mother is coming for a visit, to see Miss Main Street in what is probably the last theater performance of her high school career.  Mom will be staying with us for a week and I don't think she wants to share the bed with piles of fabric and partially completed quilting projects.  So it is time to put the fabric away.  But this presents an opportunity to send the Bernina for a tune-up and work on some binding. 

 

 



Using The Pineapple Rule

So, I'm making a pineapple quilt using fabric from the Rouenneries Deux line from Moda (in case you are new here or somehow missed my last two posts).  I'm using the Pineapple Rule, made by Possibilites, a tool that is supposed to make the construction of the pineapple block easier. 

You start with a center square and sew strips on all four sides.  My center squares are 2.5 inches and my strips are 1.5 inches wide.  By the way, I'm using one fabric for all of the center squares and it is from the Etchings line by 3 Sisters for Moda.  The red coordinates well with the French General reds.

 

After adding the strips, you trim.  There is a companion book to the ruler, Positively Pineapple, that has the directions for using the ruler, along with several quilt projects.  (The book seems to be out of print but there are plenty of used copies on Amazon and Ebay.)

 

After trimming the first set of strips, you have this square in a square.

 

Then you add your next set of strips and trim again. 

 

You keep going in this fashion until your block is complete.  I have quite a pile of trimmings!

 

In order to chain piece, I'm working on eight blocks at one time.  So far, I've added two rounds of each color to the center square.  The photo below shows what they look like now.  The finished blocks will have four rounds of each color, with the last round of red strips forming the corner triangles, to square up the blocks. 

I will be working on this project when I feel like piecing and working on my backlog of binding when I feel like hand sewing.  Lots to do around here!