Doodles to quilts

Do you ever doodle little quilt designs?  It is something I do sometimes when I am waiting.  I don't do a lot of waiting, so my doodles are small, about 1" x 2" usually. When I get one I think has possibilities, I will work on it more when I am home.  This week, I came up with several I liked, so I decided to try and make one into a mini, either for a small quilt medallion, or for AAQI.  Not sure yet.

As I was developing the drawing, I wanted to create a sense of depth.  I have always been intrigued by ribbons, and the idea of ribbons escaping from a box is something I have wanted to do for a while.  I also knew I wanted to try the flange idea again, to see if I could get it the way I wanted it this time. I did, by the way.

Once I had the drawing done, I had to figure out how to make it with fabric.  Next time, I will take photos along the way, but for this one, I just enjoyed the process.

Steps I took

1.  I drew the design full size on freezer paper.

2.  I traced the different shapes on another piece of freezer paper.  Somewhat redundant, I guess.

3.  Selected fabrics.  I decided on a soft spring like palette for this one.  I think I will make another one with brighter solids.

4.  Put fusible backing on the pieces.

5.  Cut backing, flange fabric, and borders.

6.  Started putting the puzzle together.  Some of the ribbons come out from under the flange, and some go over it.  Some go over the bottom of the loop, and some under the top part.  It was very important to do things in the correct order to maintain the design.  That was the fun part.

7.  Add the outside border.

8.  Iron all the pieces down, making sure everything is fused properly.

9.  Machine buttonhole stitch all the fused pieces.

If I decide to use this for AAQI, the next step will be to quilt it.  It could also be the center for a doll quilt I need to make for a swap.  I will decided tomorrow.

The one thing I am not totally pleased with is the way it doesn't look like the top orange piece is connected to the bottom yellow piece, making a loop.  I will fix that in the next one.

I also did a little studio pick up and made a couple of star crossed blocks for a bee.  All in all, it was a fun day in the studio.  I needed that time just to play.

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting everyone.

Organizing for Randomness

Do you remember this beautiful group of Primativa from Andover that I bought from the wonderful Julie at Intrepid Thread?  I started cutting into it Saturday morning, but not until after I did a bit of quilter's math.

(I would love to teach classes on quilter's math the way I do it.)

Anyway, I knew I had to figure out a method to get random in an organized way since I was using these 18 fat quarters to make Tom's quilt.  I saw a quilt on a blog and asked the maker if she used a pattern, and if so, where she got it.  She said she saw the quilt in many places, and just made her own pattern.  I love to make patterns, so I drafted one that would work with the Primativa.

The first thing I did, after figuring out the math, was to cut the fat quarters into 3.5" strips.  I got five from each piece with a narrow strip left over.  I cut two strips from each piece into 3.5" x 3.5" squares and set them aside for the snowball blocks.  The first blocks I need to build are nine patches.  I wanted to sew random groups of three 3.5" x 22" strips together to make this work.  In order to get these really random, without repeats, I used the narrow left over strips.  I cut them into thirds to have three of each, then put them in groups on the cutting board.  Then I built the strip sets, following the mini examples.

I was so excited when I got them all together, and it all turned out right.  The bonus is that I can now build mini wonky nine patches for another project.  Maybe a baby quilt or a doll blanket. 

After I sewed all the sets, I cut a series of 3.5" strips.  Of course, I had to put a nine patch together to see how my plan was working.

One of the things I had the hardest time with when I started quilting last year was to get the seams ironed the right way.  I don't like open seams for many reasons, so I need to make sure to get them pressed in the right direction for nesting.  Sometimes, that is just really hard for me to figure out.  This time, I made sure all my seams were pressed in the same direction when I built the strip sets. Then I could turn the center one around as needed.  Here, on the backs, you can see that seams are going just the right ways for great nesting.

All that prep payed of in a beautiful random block with corners that meet nicely and lay nice and flat.  Now, I have 27 more of these to make, and no two will be alike.

As you may know, if you are a regular follower of my blog, I am not one to go out and buy a bunch of fabric from one line.  I don't often see many that I like that much, and I am very mindful of how I spend my limited fabric budget.  When I first saw this line, I immediately fell in love with the colors and the designs.  As I was pressing each piece before cutting, I couldn't decide which design was my favorite.  These are colors I love to use together, and I couldn't believe someone would put them all together in one line.  I think of this as my first "Modern" quilt.  Wait until you see tomorrow's post with the bright orange snowball blocks!

I am having a very good project year so far.  I am not finishing much, but I am having a great time creating tops.   I hope you are having a great quilting year, as well. 

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Growing a quilt

The first thing I did today was sew the star together.  The points don't all match in the center, but it did lie flat, which was my goal.  I decided to add a 1/4" containment border at this point.

Then I added some of Sally's strips for another border.   I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next, so I cut a bunch of 2.5" squares.

I was thinking about maybe doing a bunch of half square triangles, but decided I needed something that wasn't triangular.  I started making rows of squares, then put it on the wall to see what that would look like.

I thought it looked too busy, and I wanted a place for my eye to rest, so I added another red border. 

I made another set of squares for the other side, but tried them out on the bottom to see what it would look like with these all around the center.

I think I am going to like this.

This is where I stopped today.  Tomorrow, I will finish the top and bottom squares.   Then I will have more decisions to make.  At this point, it is 32" wide.  I would like to grow it to a lap quilt size.  I have toyed with the idea of a sawtooth border.  Unfortunately, I am running very low on fabrics for this quilt.  I only have a little of one of the yellows left.  I may be able to find another red that will work.  The blue is going to be a challenge.  I will check deeper into my stash and see what I come up with.

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting everyone.

Texas Trellis or Whirling Hexagon

I saw this block on Barbara Brackman's Material Culture blog the other day, and fell in love with it.  It was new to me, so I left her a comment asking her what it was called.  She wrote back telling me it was called Texas Trellis or Whirling Hexagon.  I knew I had to make one of my own using my paisley collection.

I have never worked with hexagons before, and I am very intrigued by this one.  I found a paper pieced pattern at Quilter' Cache under Whirling Hexagon, but it was small and I didn't want to deal with paper piecing for something that looked much easier to do without it.  I did print out the pattern so I could do some measurements.  The one in the photo at Brackman's blog had wider spokes, but I wanted to try narrower ones.  I sewed a strip of 2.5" paisley to 4.5" background.  I discovered that to make all six triangles I needed, I had to have 45.5".  I cut them using a 30 degree angle.  I have several extra triangles witch are reversed, but I will figure out how to use them somehow.  I can't wait to make these up with all my paisleys.  I think they will make a wonderful quilt.

While I was watching Bella earlier in the week, she and Tom made this.  They both have good eyes for color.  I really like this one.  Bella or Tom and Bella have made many of these designs on the small design board I made for her.  This one is my favorite.  I really wish I was skilled enough to figure out how to turn this into a small quilt for Bella's stuffed animal friends.  I know there must be a way.  Bella also helped me sew a few squares together on the machine.  She didn't think it was as much fun as designing.  I think I feel that way sometimes, too.
I really did get quite a bit done in the studio today, but I can't show it because it is a surprise for my husband.  His birthday is coming up and I want to make him something special.  I will show it to you all after the 21st.
I will leave you all with this ribbon.  It is one of the ribbons I made for the winners of our guild quilt show.  I won people's choice for Hokule'a which I entered as a challenge block.

Joyful quilting, everyone!

 

Backing for the intuition quilt - finally

Some of may remember my intuition quilt that I started way back when I started this blog.  I have had the top hanging on the quilt rack for a long time now.  Today, I decided to figure out what to make the back with and get it quilted.  I found a wonderful piece of batik in the stash from my Quilt Fairy Merlyn.  I love that it looks like someone spilled tea all over it, then drew tufts of grass to make it more interesting.  I also had a piece of this stripped fabric with all the colors I love.  Then, I looked at the design wall and chose two of the blocks I made for 15 Minutes Play.  Once I measured all that I found, I figured out how to make it the size I needed, 54" x 56".  After I cut and sewed it all together, I cut a piece of batting the same size and put it on the frame.  Priscilla my Juki that I use for quilting) was excited to have another quilt to do, especially after I figured out that she is very fussy about the thread she will allow through her system.  I was reminded of that yesterday when I tried to use the pink Coats and Clark machine quilting thread I purchased.  I had to make a quick road trip downtown to the local shop that carries Superior King Tut.  Priscilla likes that thread very much.  Today, I chose the blue/green/purple multi.  I got everything loaded and the quilting went very smoothly.  After I trimmed it down, I sewed on the binding.  Now, it is waiting for me to hand stitch it down.  I will post a photo of the finished piece tomorrow.  I will be very happy to have this done and ready to cover my legs on the still chilly evenings.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Foundation piecing tips

I finished piecing Hokule'a this afternoon.  Here it is on the background fabric.  It is 24" x 24".  Doesn't it look like it is out there in the Milky Way somewhere? I have decided on a fabric for the center, but haven't cut it yet. I really learned a lot about paper piecing with this one, so I would like to share some tips with you.  This is not a tutorial, just some things I thought I would pass on.
I really enjoy working with foundation piecing, but I find some of it a bit difficult.  I have found a few things that really help me make this very fun.  Finding foundation pieceing patterns is pretty easy.  Unfortunately, they don't all come in the sizes I want.  That was true for this piece.  I had some general ideas about how many sections I needed for each point, so I started sketching.  Once I drew out the sections, I remembered to add a 1/4 inch seam allowance all around the perimeter.  That is very important.
The hardest part for me is putting on the first two pieces.  I have no easy tips about how to do that.  Some people pin the first piece, some don't.  The most important thing is to remember to put that first piece, right side out, on the non-lined side of the foundation.  The second piece needs to be right side toward the first piece.  See my tips below for how I measure and cut the fabrics to fill the spaces. Beyond that, I have nothing magical to offer. 

The first thing I figured out was to pre-fold the foundation pattern along all the lines.  I was trying to fold and cut after I made each seam, but it was a pain.  This is an extra step, but I have come to learn that creating something using foundation piecing takes time and I don't mind this extra step.  I find that it has saved me time in the long run.

Another important thing to remember is to finger press or iron each piece into place as you go.  This prevents problems such as the wrong piece of fabric being cut or sewn into the wrong place.

This is the thing I discovered that has helped me the most in getting my pieces lined up correctly.  I am about to add piece #7 on this unit.  I have folded back the paper along the line for #7 and set my ruler 1/4" away.  Then I cut all the extra fabric away.  When you are getting ready to cut, make sure you are not cutting any of the fabric covering the areas they are supposed to be covering.






That leaves me a very lovely 1/4" guideline to place my next piece of fabric.

Turn the piece back over and line up the next piece, in this case #7, with the nice cut you just made.  Make sure the piece will cover the area it needs to cover.  This brings me to measuring the pieces.  I always cut my pieces 1" longer than the longest measurement for the shape, and 1" wider that the widest part of the shape. For the side pieces, be sure and add the seam allowance into the equation. So far, this has worked for me.

Another thing I had to learn the hard way was where to start and end my stitches.  I thought I needed to sew 5 or 6 stitches past the line, but that just made the paper really hard to remove.  Now I start and end my sewing 1 or 2 stitches before and after the line.  I have also played around with stitch length.  I have finally settled on #1 on my Bernina.


I hope these little tips make some sense to you.  Following these guidelines, I was able to put together this mariner's compass without ripping out more than two seams, and those happened at the beginning of the process.  I believe each seam ripped out is a learning experience.  It was certainly true in this case.
Thanks for stopping by.  I would love to hear from you about your experience or interesting in foundation piecing.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Guess what I made?

WhooHoo!  Look what I found in the scrap basket!  This 4" x 6" scrap got me to thinking.  What if I pulled some colors to go with this and started playing?

First I found these purples and blues.  Just perfect.

Then these.  There are some end cuts from the Bali pops and some hand died turquoise.

More extras from another border.  I just love this fabric.

Wow!  Orange!  This will be perfect!

These are going to make a really cool block.  What should I do first?  Where should I start.  I know, what about flying geese?

I have wanted to try my hand at curved flying geese for a while.  I grabbed some paper and drew some curved lines.  Then I made random cross lines and connected them for a paper piecing foundation.  I found some left-over hand dyed green for sky and started grabbing scraps and sewing.

Then I needed to make some fabric to sew the geese into.  I love this part.  All the colors and patterns are so fun.  Finding places where each piece fits is a challenge.  This is at the stage where I needed to start adding pieces for size.  I wanted this to be 12" x 12".

Voila!  I am thinking the orange strip is calling for some hand embroidery.  I am not sure what it will be yet, but it will come to me.  It is so much fun to go back and forth between more traditional block styles and this more abstract style.
Joyous quilting, everyone.