A beautiful exchange quilt and more work on En Vino Veritas

This incredibly beautiful quilt was made by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  She hosted an challenge exchange over at 15 Minutes Play.  The challenge was to make something from nothing into a 12" finished quilt using the fabric making techniques we use on that site.  I have been loving all the quilts people have been making for each other, and I especially loved this one.  I was so excited today when I saw the postman put a squishy into my mail box.  Then, when I saw Victoria's return address, I was even more excited.  I am one very lucky woman to have received this quilt.  This is the quilt I made for the challenge.  It is on its way to its new home right now.

In other news of the day, I got back to working on En Vino Veritas.  I trimmed and pressed and finished piecing all 96 B units, so now I have two stacks ready to put together into squares.

I did get four blocks put together and up on the design wall so we could all get some sense of what it is going to look lie all together.  I am not really sure right now if the sage green was a good choice for the background, but I am going to live with it.  I really liked it at first, mostly because I like the color and the weight of the cotton is wonderful.  I am sure it will be fine when all is said and done.

I also washed the new fat quarters I got for the next preemie quilt.  I really don't like washing fat quarters because there is so much raveling, but it needs to be done for these quilts.  I have picked fabrics in cheddar, orange, and olive green.  Not really baby fabrics, but they are bright and cheerful.  I am going to make flying geese for this one.  Now, I have to find backing flannel that works with these colors.  Hopefully, I will have something to show you on this one tomorrow.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you who do mom-like things.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

A new AAQI quilt

Today, I made a new mini quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  I call this one Inside Out.  The name came from the fact that the points of the upper star are outside the red arc and the points on the smaller star are on the inside of the red arc.  I used made fabric for the corners of the stars and the background fabric.  I added the red to the turquoises for a surprise effect.  I really like the way it is working.  Playing with colors is so much fun!
Tomorrow, I am going to do more work on the ribbon quilt before I go over to watch Bella for a few hours in the early evening.  I will try and post progress before I go.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

A Blogging Award - Woo-Hoo!

I opened my email this morning and found that Cathy at Big Lake Quilter had given me this award.  I was very surprised and pleased.  I have seen these kinds of awards in blogland.  Many bloggers declare their blogs award free zones, but I am not one of them. Thank you, Cathy.  I am honored.
Now, I am supposed to tell you seven things about myself.
1.  I am married to a wonderful, very supportive man who encouraged me to set up my mid-arm quilter and frame in the living room.
2.  I am privileged to watch my almost three year old granddaughter two days a week.
3.  My favorite season is fall because of all the wonderful colors.
4.  I was a middle school teacher and librarian, then an elementary school librarian before I retired.
5.  I love playing with color and fun fabrics. 
6.  I lived in Hawaii for six years and was very happy to move back to the cold and rainy Pacific Northwest to be closer to my family.
7.  My favorite food groups are bread and chocolate.
Now, I am supposed to nominate seven more blogs for this award.  I have spent the day thinking about this.  I just can't do it.  I know it is a cop-out, but I have way too many favorite blogs.  Many of them are award-free blogs, but most are not.  So, if you are looking for great blogs about quilting, and one about Buddhism and Dharma, check out the blogs in my sidebar.
Thank you again, Cathy.  It is very nice to be recognized.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Square in a star tutorial

This is a tutorial I did over at 15 minutes play.  I thought I would share it here for those of you who don't visit that blog.

Welcome to my square in a star 12" block tutorial.  I am excited to be the first one to do the BOM making traditional blocks using made fabric the 15 minute way. 
For this block, you need to make fabric that is at least 9" x 16", or the equivalent.  You will also need a piece of background fabric (the blue batik here) that is 11" x 15".  There will be a bit left over of each, but I think it is better to have enough.

From the made fabric, cut:

a - one 3 1/2" square
b - six 3 7/8" squares

cut two 3 7/8" square on the diagonal to get 4 triangles.





From the background fabric, cut
c - one 7 1/4" square
d - two 3" squares that are cut on the diagonal to make 4 triangles
e - four 3 1/2 inch squares.

I will refer to each piece by its corresponding letter in the piecing instructions.



You are going to make the flying geese units first.  There are many different ways to make flying geese, but this is the method I prefer when I am using them in stars.  You will get four geese without any waste.
1.  Mark diagonal lines 1/4" away from the center diagonal line on  each b square. This is a little bit of a challenge on made fabric, but I am a marker and pinner, so I made it work.
2.  Place two b pieces on opposite corners of c. 



3.  Sew just a thread toward the center from marked line.  Some people draw a line along the diagonal, then sew 1/4" away.  That works if you have a good foot that measures 1/4" for you. 
4.  At the end, turn the piece and sew down the other side.

5.  Cut these pieces in the middle between the sewn lines.

6.  This is a very important step.  Turn and press the points away from the background.  I pressed the seams toward the background for bulk sake.  Do this on both pieces.

7.  Put the remaining two b pieces right side down as shown in the top piece at left. 

8.  Stitch along drawn lines as before.

9.  Cut each in the center between the sewn lines. 

10.  Press out and trim the extra points.  This is all the waste you get with this method of making flying geese.

Now, set these four geese aside, and let's make the square within a square for the center.

1. Find piece a and the four d's.
2.  Place one d right side down with edges together on a.  It is important to try and get the point in the center between the opposite sides. There will be some overlap on the edges.
3.  Sew using a 1/4" seam.
4.  Sew another d on the opposite edge.
5.  Press open.

6.  Sew the remaining two triangles on opposite edges, and press them open.

If you have cut and sewn right, you will end up with a 4 1/2 inch square.  That is what you are looking for at this point.  Now, you are going to add the made fabric triangles.

Sew them on in the same way you did the d pieces.  Try and make sure the points are in the center before you sew.  This will give you a nice even square.

Of course, if you don't mind a bit wonky, eyeballing everything works well.  I did try to stay traditional for this block, however.

At this point, you have a 6 1/2" square and four flying geese, and you are ready to assemble the 12" block.

I find  that if I don't lay things out before I start sewing, I usually make big mistakes.
Here you can see I have put the last unused background squares (e) in each corner.  I pieced this together by making the rows first.
e + goose unit + e
goose unit + square within a square + goose unit
e + goose unit + e


Here is where you can really practice your traditional piecing.  You have points on the geese, so make sure you are paying attention to where they come together.  Pinning helps.  You also have seams to match.  Pinning helps here, as well.  I did have some trouble with pressing on this one because of all the seams on the made fabric.  My guide line was to try and avoid bulky areas.  For me, that meant some are to the left, some to the right, and some upon down the middle.  You will have to make your own decisions on this because each piece of made fabric will be unique. Once you have everything sewn together and pressed, you should have a 12 1/2" block. 
I hope you find this useful and have fun making this block.  I am really looking forward to see what other blocks we will be learning.  If you have any questions, or something is not clear, please let me know.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

H2H top finished

I try not to show the same quilt very many times here, but I got this top finished today and wanted to share it.  I am really pleased with the overall look.  Rhonda sent some fantastic fabrics.  These are colors I would not have selected on my own, so it was really fun to expand my horizons.  I used up just about every last piece she sent me.  I was able to use a large piece I had been saving for the back, the small inner border, and the short bars on the squares block.  The only thing I had to buy was the black and white for the star background and the outer 4" border.  Here is a close-up of a corner so you can see the fabric better.

The quilt is 60" x 60".  It is now hanging on the quilt rack with its backing waiting for me to have a quilting day.

Amongst the other things I did today was to design a foundation piece for a circle of flying geese to go around Hokule'a.  As soon as I decide on colors for the geese and background, I will get that started.  I finished stitching the compass to the background using a double blanket stitch (number 79 on my Bernina 350).  I used variegated King Tut in blues, golds and greens.  I am not sure I am thrilled with it yet, but I am hoping I come around.  I would hate to rip that all out.  It is raw edge stitched, so if I feel so compelled, I could rip it out.  Maybe the ring of geese will make a difference. 
Today, I finished two quilt tops, made a foundation piece pattern, made a star block with made fabric and took photos to write a tutorial for another blog, and generally had a great time in the studio.  The rain is back in our neck of the woods.  One day of sun was nice, but I am ready for at least three in a row any time now.  I hope all is going well with all of you.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Hands to Help quilt

I finished the blocks for the H2H quilt this afternoon.  They are on the design wall.  Tomorrow, I will try and sew these together.  I am going to add two borders.  I already have the back ready, so this should be ready by the end of the week to go on the quilt frame.
I also added borders to another quilt and put the back together.  Next weekend I am going to have to do some quilting.  First, I would like to put together a back for my intuition quilt.  I think I finally know what I am going to do.  That will make three ready to go.
The sun is out here and it is a very pleasant temperature.  Could it be that spring is finally here?  That would be very nice.
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.

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.

I was so excited when I opened the package from Rhonda over at Quilter in the Gap!  Look at these yummy red, white, and black fabrics in the top row.  I had the bottom fabric just waiting for them. This H2H quilt is going to be such fun.  It is one of two pieces of fabric I have in my stash that is big enough for a quilt back, and it is perfect.  I am also going to use it for borders, I think.  I am going to use alternating stars and square in square 12 inch blocks.  Tomorrow, I will buy more white and get everything cut.  Hopefully, I will get some blocks made.  I would like to get this finished and on its way soon.  I really wish I could do more of these kind of charity quilts, but I simply cannot afford fabric in large enough pieces to use for backing.  I know there are sale fabrics out there that are more affordable, but I haven't found a good source yet.  I will keep looking.  I could use 50% off coupons at JAF, but I want to use better quality.  Picky, aren't I .

I finished the hand quilting on this one last night and did the binding today.  This is my 12" x 12" Something from Nothing quilt for the exchange over at 15 Minutes Play.  I really had fun doing the hand work on this.  I started it on the ferry going over to Bremerton, then on the way back.  I really like to do hand sewing on the ferry. 
Tomorrow, I have a full day to spend in the studio.  Once again, I have a long list of things I want to do.  I want to finish my mariner's compass, get my H2H quilt started, put the borders on Robin's quilt, and whatever else I have time for.  It is going to be a fun day in the studio.
Have a wonderful evening.  I am heading to voice class.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Quilting and the Pythagorean Theorem

I had to dig very deep to remember how to figure out the correct measurements for this block.  I am sure there is a pattern out there somewhere, but I don't know the name of the block so don't know where to look.  I was just doodling around, and decided I liked this configuration for a star.  I wanted to make it into a 12" finished block.  So, I had to figure out what size to make the triangles for the square within a square center part so it would be 6.5" unfinished.  Who knew that high school math would be so important.  The only problem is that the square root of way too many numbers does not end in 1/4 or 1/2.  If you have forgotten the formula, it is a squared + b squared = c squared on a right angle triangle.  Aren't you glad I reminded you?

I needed to know the dimensions for the practice block above so I could start my tutorial on making that block using my newly made fabric.  This piece is 14" x 16 inches.  I think it is big enough for what I need.  I have so many scraps in these colors, I think I will make much more fabric and alternate the star blocks with made fabric blocks to create a very colorful quilt.  As I make more fabric, I am getting faster at it.  I really like what happens when I pull fabrics out of this group and put it together.  As someone mentioned about my intuition quilt, it is something only a mother could love.

Another project I started today is a mariner's compass.  I am doing it as my entry in the challenge block contest for my guild's annual quilt show.  I have chosen three different shades of blue from light to dark to simulate the night sky radiating around the star.  The star points are in various shades of yellow/gold.  I am calling it Hokule'a.  This is the Hawaiian name for Arcturus, the brightest star in the northern hemisphere.  The ancient Hawaiians used the stars for navigation instead of a compass.  I thought the name appropriate.  I will set it on a dark blue background that has spots that make it look like the Milky Way at night.  The photo above shows the first paper pieced section.  I have seven more to go.  I have wanted to make one of these for a long time, so today, I got out my pencil and graph paper, drew one out, colored it with the colored pencils I wanted, then made the foundation piecing templates.  I know there are patterns out there I could have used, but I love the challenge of trying to make my own.

I hope you all have been doing great things.  I will be out of the studio for the next two days.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Making more fabric

Today is my last day here in Bremerton for a while.  Sis and BIL have landed and are on their way to catch the 4:20 ferry.  I spent much of this day sewing more units for en vino veritas.  I got 96 2.5" x 4.5" units sewn.  I still have to cut the extra hsts off and press them before they can get sewn to the green rectangles.  Maybe tomorrow.  I spent the rest of the time in the studio making fabric.  I am getting this ready to do a tutorial on making a traditional style block incorporating made fabric the 15 min play way.  I will post the tutorial here when I post it on 15 minute play.  Should be May or June sometime.  I am looking forward to doing this tut.

It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Bremerton.  The sky is blue and there are no clouds visible where I am looking.  This morning, the sailboats were out in full force and the boat slips in the marina are pretty empty.  I will leave you with this last look at the ferry rounding the point.

Joyful quilting, everyone, and a peace filled Easter.

Back to the studio

There are some really beautiful sunrises from my sister's condo.  Since they shine directly into the room where I have been sleeping, I am up to get photos of them.  I returned to Bremerton on Wednesday night.  Yesterday, I played bridge with three wonderful women.  This is my sister's bridge group, and I am fortunate enough to be invited to play whenever I can get over here.  It is always great fun.
After bridge, I walked into town in search of the post office.  I wanted to mail my package of fabric to Rhonda at Quilter in the Gap.  She is my partner for the Hands 2 Help quilting project.  I sent her a small stack of batiks in cuts from fat eights to fat quarters.  We were supposed to send 2 yards total.  I hope she likes what I sent.  She posted a photo of the fabrics she is sending me.  They are reds, whites, and blues.  I will have fun designing a quilt to use these fun fabrics as soon as I get them.

After eating breakfast and watching some Fons and Porter on QNN, I went into my sister's studio to start sewing the units I need for the ribbon quilt.  My working name for this quilt is En Vino Veritas, which means "in wine there is truth" in Latin.  This came from the Zinfandel name of this Bali pop pack.  We will see if this name sticks.  Anyway, I am still amazed at how long things take in quilting.  I always go into the studio with grandiose ideas about how much I will accomplish.   Today, I imagined I would get at least half of the blocks finished.  Instead, I only got 96  A units completed.  I still have 96 B units to do before I can start making the blocks.  And this was with already cut and marked pieces.

It seems like such a small stack to have taken five hours.  I don't know what I am doing wrong.  I sewed 192 of the green half squares on with the flip and fold method, and chain piecing.  Of course, I had to sew two seams on each piece because I am too intimidated by sewing small triangles together and I don't want to waste.  I guess that means I actually got 192 2 1/2" block units and 192 HST units. I then paired and sewed these units to make 96 A units. Each of the A units is 4 1/2" square.  Of course, there was a lot of pressing.  I even saved the small HSTs for later. Tomorrow, I will try and get all the B units made.  On Sunday morning, I head back home and will start sewing the blocks together and putting them on the design wall. 
I am trying to keep track of all the time I spend on this quilt, as well as the money.  I am going to put up a display at our quilt show in July to show how much time and money it takes to make a twin sized quilt.  Hopefully, it will help those who have a hard time understanding why quilters charge what they do for their quilts.  If any of you have insights or ideas on what I might include in this display, please feel free to share.  I would also love to hear any of your stories about people gasping in disbelief at your quilt prices.  My display will be up for the full month of July in the front display case of our downtown library.  I would like it to be educational.
Thanks, everyone, for stopping by.  I would love to hear from you.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Needle turn applique - what was I thinking?

Several years ago, when we were living in Hawaii, I was smitten by the Hawaiian quilts that I saw throughout the islands.  I was totally intrigued by the designs and the amazing work involved.  There are so many shops that sell small pseudo Hawaiian quilts that are made in China.  Tourists eat these up because they are really beautiful and they are affordable.  I was given one of these pieces, and I like it for what it is, but I know it is not the real thing.  Since I could never afford a locally made treasure, I decided I could try to make a small one, just to have the experience.  I started this so long ago, I forget the name of the pattern.  I do remember that I folded the fabric into quarters, then diagonally to create a triangle.  I carefully made my cuts.  Then, I opened the cut piece, laid it out on the background fabric, and basted it in the traditional way, starting in the center and going out and around each stem, flower, and leaf.  Then, I started my needle turn applique.  This was almost my downfall.   I say almost because I soon realized that I was in over my head and put this project away for the future.  The future arrived about a month ago when I put it on my UFO list at guild.  Today, I finished my last applique stitch.  Woohoo!  Now, I have to figure out what next.  This piece is about 30" square.  I do know that I am going to hand quilt it in the traditional style, echoing the pattern.  I was in such a hurry to post this, I didn't even take time to press it.

Will you look at that!  Blue sky.  The ferry was coming from Seattle, and I couldn't resist the photo.  Of course, within five minutes, black clouds rolled in, the wind whipped up, and the rain came down.  You have to love the Pacific Northwest.
I probably won't be posting for a few days since I will be really busy.  I will be back in the studio on Friday.
Joyful quilting, my friends.

Starting a new quilt

One of the projects I brought with me is the bag of pieces for the Christmas Ribbons quilt in Kim Brackett's Scrap Basket Surprise book.  This will be my second quilt from this book.  For this, I am using Bali Pops Zinfandel and hand dyed fabric I received from Carol Doak.  I cut all the pieces a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't start sewing the units together until today.  I put together one block so I could see what they will look like.  I think I am going to really like this quilt, but I definitely will have to change the name.  There is nothing Christmas about my version.

This is the Manette Bridge which is undergoing new construction.  It is very near my sister's place and this is the view from the deck.  The sun peaked out between the ever present clouds today and I tried to capture it in the next photo, but it really doesn't show.  Maybe it will be sunnier tomorrow.  This is the view across the bay.

Today, I also quilted a preemie quilt for the guild.  I will never sew with flannel from JoAnns again.  When I pre-washed it, it got all pilly.  Some of those pills were pretty hard and I broke two needles on them.  Now I have to buy new needles for my sis.  Live and learn.  I got the binding sewn on and will do the hand stitching this evening.  Tomorrow, I will sew more on the ribbons quilt, put together a back for Tasmanian Tango, and move all the quilty things off the bed so my husband will have somewhere to sleep when he gets here tomorrow night.
Joyful quilting, everyone.