I Score On eBay!

What did we do to waste time before the internet?  I can't remember! 

Every once in a while I go searching for "stuff" on eBay.  This time, it was Moda charm packs.  And look what I found!

Three charm packs from a "vintage" 3 Sisters collection called Maison de Noel.  I have some hoarded yardage from Maison de Noel.  I am thinking of using it for my Christmas in July project.  But with the addition of these charm packs, I may be able to eek out a second project, like a Schnibble or something. 

These charm packs are smaller, only about 30 pieces each, because "back in the day" not every Moda collection contained 40 different prints.  So it's a good thing I have three of them!

Planning Ahead

I'm still working on the spiderweb quilt but that doesn't stop me from thinking about - and mentally planning - my next project.  I have a few things in mind.

First, as previously mentioned, I plan to make several Christmasy quilts to hang here, in place of the pastels, as part of my Christmas decorating.  That's on my planned agenda for July/August.  I have a few ideas and tons of archived Christmas fabric.

Then, I want to make this wool applique picture, from the Sew Scrappy edition of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  I have most of the materials but need the background fabric (black wool), perle cotton or embroidery floss, and a frame.

I also want to make a quilt with a house block, either something from the Home Sweet Home book or...

or this pattern from Sew'n Wild Oaks, House on Edgewood Lane. 

But I just bought Simple Graces, by Kim Diehl, because I was attracted to two items on the cover.  This pillowcase...

I think it is perfect for the leftovers from my Rural Jardin quilt!  And I'm just wild about this yo-yo quilt.

Though somewhat less enthusiastic about the idea of making all those yo-yos!  Have you made them?  What's your opinion - ridiculously tedious or fun portable project?

And then there is this applique beauty.  Of course, I need to learn to applique first.

Fortunately, I have a little time before I have to commit to one or another.

Coming Together

I finished 22 triangles, or 4.5 spiderweb blocks.  This is what they look like:

Now that I have several blocks completed, it it easier to see how the spiderwebs form.  Again, just laid out on my dining room floor, not sewn together yet.  When I do start sewing the blocks together, I'm thinking of pressing the seams open.  I usually press to one side.  For one thing, it makes matching seams so much easier when the pieces nest against each other.  But in this case, I think pressing the seams open will lessen the bulk in the center, where eight pieces come together.  Any advice?

Sneak Peek

I finished a few more spiderweb triangles, enough to put four together in a block to see how they come together. 

The block is not sewn together, just laid out to give me a better idea of how it will look.  Once I have all the triangles finished (I'm planning on 48, for 12 blocks, laid out 3 by 4), I'll work on the layout.  I want to be sure the various colors are nicely randomized across the surface, not clumping up in one area.  Then I'll sew them together.  A design wall is an excellent tool for this process but I make do with my design bed - a piece of white flannel on our queen-szie bed. 

I add strings to each foundation using a method I refer to as controlled scrappy.  I consistenly use one of the black or dark gray prints for the first strip, to heighten the contrast with the background (the black on white spiderweb fabric).  Then I add the other strips, trying for a good mix of colors on each triangle foundation.  I cut my strips in a variety of widths, from 1" to 2".  This meant I had to trim the jelly roll strips, which is not very efficient use of a jelly roll.  Were I to do this again, I'd buy a variety of fat quarters or perhaps a fat eighth bundle.  But I'm happy with the way this quilt top is coming together.

It's Time For One Of The PIGS

For my next quilting project, I'm turning to one of my PIGS (project in grocery sack).  Last December, I organized a number of backlogged projects into individual project bags, to ensure all the component parts would stay together and not accidently be put to an alternate use.  This bag contains fabric intended for a Halloween-theme spiderweb quilt.

I'm using Marit's tutorial as my guide.  After making Summer Romance, I knew I wanted to make another string quilt, but something a little different.  The spiderweb design struck me as a nice alternative to the squares I made last time and a fitting use of my Halloween fabrics. 

I cut my strips and have them in a big pile next to my sewing machine.  The theory is to be random and scrappy.  However, I am not comfortable with chaos and keep finding myself applying some sort of design principle to the order of the strips.  Oh, well!

I'm using newspaper as the foundation but only the center kite-shaped piece and the first strip on either side of the kite are sewn down to the paper.  As subsequent strips are added, they are sewn to the preceding fabric, with the newspaper folded back, out of the way.  The paper is used as a guide for size of the strips and later, to trim the blocks to size.  The photos and directions in the tutorial make it all clear.  This method makes it easier to remove the paper, and seems to be working well so far.

I purchased the fabric for this project last fall at a quilt show.  The kite shaped pieces in the center of the triangle are a print from the Boo Bears line.  The other prints are from Eerie Alley and Haunted Mansion, with a few odds and ends from my stash.

Here's a finshed triangle before trimming:

And after trimming:



To trim, I just line up my ruler along the edge of the newspaper foundation and cut off the excess with my rotary cutter.  Easy peasy and a lot of fun!

Cleaning Up

One of my quilting resolutions for this year was to get in the habit of cleaning up my sewing space after each project, to start the next one out in a neat and tidy space and not let chaos take over.

I've been doing well, so far.  Between projects, I've tidied up my work table, put any leftover fabric away, cleaned the lint from the sewing machine, and inserted a new needle. 

This time I went a little further.  I had dragged all my cream neutral fabrics out of closet storage to cut the backgrounds for the quilt in yesterday's post, so I decided to tidy up that shelf when I put them away.  I refolded all the fabrics, with a stack of 1 yard plus pieces on the right, less than a yard but more than a fat quarter in the middle, then a bin of FQs and smaller pieces.  Much neater than the shelves above and below.

I would like the whole closet to look this neat but the idea of taking all the fabric out and refolding it in one go is too daunting.  I might try a shelf a week though. 

Finale

I got the borders on - three sets of borders, to be exact.  All done now except for the quilting, binding, and labeling.  I'll outsource the quilting to a longarm quilter. 

Directions for this quilt are in the April 2011 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.  It was designed by Lanie Tffenbach.  I wanted to make it as soon as I saw the cover on the newstand.

The magazine's version:

My version:

APQ rates this project as "Intermdiate" and I agree.  While the basic blocks (uneven nine patch and flying geese) are suitable for a beginner, putting them together is a bit tricky.  I had a little difficulty getting the pieced border to fit nicely.  I had to adjust the width of the brown inner border so the center of quilt would be a size divisible by 2" (the size of the flying geese) plus 2 quarter inch seam allowances.  Took a bit of math.

Here's a close-up of the border.  In this photo, you can see how the cream backgrounds are scrappy too.

And here's the quilt draped over our bed. 

 

Mine came out about 80" by 92" which is a bit of an odd size, but I'm sure I'll find a place for it. It could be a cuddle quilt for two on our couch in the family room.