The March installment of Improvirobin

 

As you know, if you follow my blog, I have decided to join the Improvirobin round robin again this year.  This month was a big challenge for me.  I wish I could post the original photo here, but you will have to go over to the flickr site to see the start for this one.

This is the block as it arrived at my house.  As you can see, Abby changed the placement of the second half of Chatelaine's name.  She also added the fantastic foundation pieced daffodils, daffodil fabric and the green fabric.  That gave me some direction, but I still had a great deal of trouble deciding what to do with that direction.

 

I knew I wanted to add a bird.  In particular, I wanted to add this foundation pieced frigate bird designed by Linda Hibbert.  First, I had to find it.  Then, I had to make it.  This is 4" x 6", and the bird is very small.  Once it was done, I had some ideas.  This is what I ended up with.

I hope it is easier for the next person to find her direction than it was for me.  Even with all my problems, I am happy with my addition.

 

 



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.

A little cutting, a little sewing

I wanted to get the whole block put together today, but I only got half done.  I am having so much fun with this.  I have only had to use my seam ripper twice, so far.  That is a record for me on foundation piecing.  I think I am getting the hang of this.  One of the things going for me in this one is using batiks.  Both sides of the fabric are the right sides.  Maybe I will get the rest of this done tomorrow.  My big plan for now is to do a halo of flying geese about an inch outside the compass.  Hokule'a is coming along. 


I have read so much about EQ7, a way to design quilts on your computer.  I am impressed with what this program can do, but I remain a pencil and paper kind of designer.  I started out using graph paper and a ruler to make everything pretty.  Then I ran out of graph paper, and had an idea I just had to sketch out.  I used ordinary lined paper.  Then I started using any old piece of paper I could find.  I was taking care of Bella on Tuesday when I started thinking about what I wanted to do with the red, black, and white fabric.  This is the sketch I did on a stray piece of paper I found in my bag.  What do you do your designing on?

I did get all the fabric cut and ready to start sewing the blocks together.  Instead of buying more white fabric, I pulled what little I had from my stash.  I also purchased more black on white.  The more I work with these fabrics, the more I like the colors together.  My goal for this quilt is to show off the fabric and the colors together.

New Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative quilt

This one is called Honolulu Sunset. When Tom and I first moved to Hawaii, we lived in Honolulu, right across the street from the beach. I loved watching the sunsets. They were always so beautiful. I decided I wanted to recreate the moments in a small quilt.
It amazes me that it takes so long to create a 9" by 12" quilt. I started with a very rough sketch. Then, I looked through my books and online for a foundation pattern for a blazing sun. Of course, I couldn't find one, so I had to design one. That was a challenge in and of itself. Once I got the design done and the parts numbered, I dug into my stash for just the right fabrics. I had a few problems with the foundation piecing, but eventually worked it all out. I love the fabric I found for the sun's reflection on the water. I used a gold thread to quilt it to simulate sun on the water. I am going to bind it in a dark green, then send it on its way to be auctioned off.
I also wanted to share a photo of Isabella with her very own stash. She developed a love of fabric when she designed the quilt for her Grandma Edwards. That same grandma gifted Isabella with the fabric she was making yo-yos with. Isabella has a wonderful time with her fabric, and today she informed me she needs more fabric to put up on my design wall for a new quilt. Oh dear, what have we done.

Starting a new quilt block

I spent much of my time in the studio cutting fabric for a new quilt and for a star block, that I started stitching. I really enjoy foundation piecing. I always see these wonderful complicated stars, and know that I could never make them because I can barely get the seams matched right on a basic nine patch. Then I discovered Carol Doak and her fabulous patterns. She has quite a few free ones at her website, Carol Doak.com. This one is from the 2000 member celebration quilt designed to celebrate the 2000th member of her Yahoo group. I selected colors that will go with my intuition quilt so the completed block will be another unit in that project. I am pretty pleased with this corner of the star.

I also put together three small squares highlighting my favorite reptile, the lizard. In my stash, I found a fantastic border print with a southwestern motif. I noticed the colors were almost perfect for the intuition quilt project. I quickly played around with some other fabrics until I came up with these. Such fun. I never know what I will find to add to my project. I am glad I found these.

A Quilt for a Hero

Before I got my quilt frame and new sewing machine, I made a list of all the things I would like to do this year with them. One of the charitable quilts I want to make is an American Hero Quilt. This project is a big one that was started by a Washington resident. Today, I decided to make the first block for this quilt. The quilts need to be blue, red, white (or off white), with some gold. The completed quilt will have five of these stars altogether. This pattern is mostly paper pieced, which I really enjoy. It took me a long time to do this one, but I am pleased that I took my time. I am happy with the results. The pattern is #121 in Quiltmaker's 101 blocks vol. 2, and is by Chloe Anderson and Colleen Reale. Toadusew is the name of their blog.

One of these days, I will get out of the studio with enough energy to add a list of all the quilting blogs I check regularly. Each day, I find one or two more that I add to the list. There are so many great quilters out there who are willing to share tips and patterns. It is fun to take a look at what others are doing.