Quilting – Page 17 – No Idle hands here

Cleaning up the mess

I guess it’s fair to say that my preferred style of quilts is – scrappy. I’m uncomfortable with the idea of using one line of fabrics in one quilt. It seems so boring – of course all the fabrics will match, but that is part of the problem – all of the fabrics will match.

I love the vibrancy and sparkle one gets when combining fabrics that never should go together. Prime example is the Hexie quilt I am working on now. I went back to look at other quilts I’ve made and what a surprise, look what I found.This quilt lives in my guest room. It is made up entirely of scraps, either leftovers from quilting projects or from my garment sewing. I think I bought one new fabric and promptly made a skirt before using the fabric in the quilt.I did pay special attention to the placements of the reds and the blues, although there were cases with some fabrics that they ended up on both sides.Then there was this baby quilt that lives at my house. Mostly scraps, even the background blocks are made up of low volume remnants.

Which is why when I am working on a quilt the floor tends to look like this.Not very conducive when I’m looking for a specific color family. Yes, I have been known to buy fabrics for a quilt and then ‘forget’ to use one of them because it got lost in this mess.

My storage system really isn’t much better.I have about 3 bins and yes, this is what they look like.

Thank God for quilting blogs and podcasts, I have been hearing about Folding Fabric with a ruler, this is one of the many tutorials.

Since I already have the mess, why not start the folding as I cut the hexies. Then I will place them neatly in the boxes. Looking good!

Sometimes all it takes is a little nudge. Of course for me this will be a slow process as I work on my quilt. You don’t expect me to stop and clean everything up before I continue do you?!

Leah

Addicted to English Paper piecing

Before we left on vacation, I prepared a hand quilting project. I thought it would be good for travel as well as working on in the evenings when I don’t want to knit. (yeah right, like there is ever an evening I don’t want to knit). I quickly sewed up a project bag, put in the box and the beginnings of the project and off we went.

On the trip I knit in the car during the day and worked on the quilt in the evenings.I found myself getting addicted to the process.I also picked up some purple fabrics, since for some reason, I was lacking that color family in my stash.I quickly turned fabric into hexies and into the box they went.By the end of the trip, the quilt was growing. When I got home I decided to square off the edges as I go with partial hexies. The thought of cutting off portions of what I sewed when the quilt is complete was just too depressing. Better to add than subtract.So here it was yesterday. What I discovered is that I am totally addicted. Although I have plans for a machine sewn quilt as well as more garment sewing, I find I am spending many of my daytime hours working on this project. At least at night I am still knitting, but that is the subject of another post.

Linked at Freshly Pieced

Leah

Always busy, even on the road

The trip was mostly a driving trip – with Joel doing all of the driving. I of course brought too many projects (you never know!) I ended up knitting the linen shawl in the car and working on the hexie quilt at night.I made a lot of progress, I’m ‘only’ 26 rows from the end, of course every row gets much longer. An ah hah moment. Years ago I tried to follow a chart to make this kind of netting. I gave up in frustration. Turns out the it’s a double yarn-over and on the purl side you need to knit and purl into it in order to create 2 stitches. The learning never ends.Unblocked lace looks like a big hot mess. Also, the needle isn’t that long so I can’t even stretch it out to see the effect. I’m pretty sure I’ll be very pleased with the end result. The final pattern calls for beads, since I’m back home, I think I will use them.

On Instagram I updated the progress of the hexie quilt.Sewing hexies is very very addicting. It’s like potato chip knitting, you can’t stop with one. I’m trying to keep in mind that this will be a full size quilt so I don’t want the color areas to be too small, but I’m sort of setting the size here, so that as the quilt goes it has a unified feel. Time will tell.The box is still pretty full, almost looks like I haven’t made much of a dent.

Leah

Getting addicted to EPP

After making two small bags using the English Paper piecing method, I wanted to do more. So I decided to start a much larger project – a quilt. I am punching card stock with my handy Fiskers hexagon punch. This gives me 1″ hexies. I found this pen in the paper craft section. I put a dab of glue on the hexie affix about four or five at a time to fabric. Then I do a rough cut out and baste around.

We leave on vacation, of course I will be taking my knitting, but EPP is also a wonderful project for the road. I am very prepared.This box is stuffed full, I haven’t stopped making hexies though – have I mentioned how addictive this is?

My work table is messy, it’s how I work. I had to start the actual quilt, no grandmothers flower garden. I’m hoping to have areas of color merge into one another. There really is no overarching plan.I have no idea how big this will be, this is an open ended project. I fear that with all my fabrics it will be quite large.I have been removing the paper once the hexie is surrounded. Main reason for this is because I will be traveling with this. Paper adds bulk and weight – something I can do without.

This will be a project you will see often as it grows.

Leah

Westley’s quilt is finished!

Quilted, washed, bound and photographed. All it’s needs is a label with my name and his birthdate. Won’t know that till October.I glue bind my quilts these days. Notice how sharp the corner is.

For a while I using the sewing machine for the whole binding process. I discovered that there were always section that didn’t get caught in the stitching so I had to go back and fix them manually. I’m back to simply hand sewing the binding on the reverse side of the quilt.

Clean and square corner.

This ended up being larger than a crib quilt but smaller than a twin. I’m hoping this really gets used, put on the floor, whatever – as long as it’s not put away as an heirloom.This was not a quilt to do fancy quilting on. Both sides have very busy fabric and you really can’t see the quilting pattern.Looks very nice on the backdrop of the newly stained fence. Yes, I took time out from fiber-crafts to stain the fence. Since I did it myself and saved money on paying someone else to do it, I feel I can reward myself with more fabric.

Next quilt is going to be for me!

Leah

Almost done

Back of the quilt. This big bold seafaring fabric couldn’t just be cut up. A few ropes and anchors to make it large enough.

I don’t know why I was bending down on the floor to baste a quilt. I know why I never wanted to do so on my good tables, but DUH! I do have some of those folding plastic ones readily available in the garage.I put two side by side, pulled out a cheap plastic tablecloth. Even on these tables I’d rather not deal with spray glue residue. The top, back and batting have all been pre washed. I like a soft quilt but I also don’t want my quilting to disappear into crinkly-ness.It takes time to get the layers flat, without creases. This is so much easier done standing up.I used the broomstick to roll the quilt up and slowly unroll and and spray with the glue. I must have seen this somewhere on the web. It helps keep everything in place.

Once it was glued together I then ironed the quilt, this secures the glue as well as getting rid of any pleats or folds.Before and after marking and quilting. I got smart and did a test quilt. I marked the quilt with a Bohin Chalk marker. On the right I added some dark slashes and then washed the sample – thank God the marks did come out, now on to the actual quilt.This is not the quilt to try out any fancy quilt patterns. On the compass and the border, I simply stitched in the ditch around the triangle shapes.Waves in the background.Quilting done! Now to bind and wash.

Leah

Quilt for Westley Part II

Paper-piecing done.I’m very pleased with the result. Before attaching to the background fabric, I removed the paper from the compass – left the outer border intact.It’s a messy job pulling out all those bits of paper. Some snippets stayed in. It will be inside the quilt and eventually will disintegrate in the wash.My seams got ironed every which way. I’m sure someone will find that to be a problem. I don’t. These adorable pirate ships make a great background. Enough of a contrast with both the compass and the appliquéd name. I made sure to go with dark fabric for the appliqué – just so it will stand out more.I played with the direction of the boats behind the compass. Don’t really think it was worth the effort, but what is done is done. Then it was on to the first border. Here is my first try and to be honest, I don’t like it. So out it came. Have I mentioned that my favorite tool is the seam ripper?I like the grey/blue much better. Ties in the outer border of the compass. Right now it is going to be 1″ wide, but I may shrink it down by 1/4″. We’ll see. Working on a variation of flying geese for the final border. This quilt has been growing organically – I never sketched out any plan. Even putting the name on the front was a last minute decision. So far I like how it’s coming along.

Originally I thought I might use some smaller compasses as well. I have to learn to restrain myself. Simple is better. Otherwise it becomes a jumble and not a pretty cohesive quilt. All I need to do is make more quilts using other stars or compasses.

Shared at WIP Wednesday

Leah

Quilt for Westley part 1

My son and dil are expecting their first in October. He has already been given the name Westley. Upon hearing the name I asked my son: Does he grow up to become the Dread pirate Roberts? (Princess Bride reference). Yes, the reason my son likes that name is because of all the years of watching and rewatching Princess Bride. Ahhh, it’s so nice when the fond memories of their childhood become important to them as adults.

The theme of the baby room is the sea. I have started making a very appropriate quilt. A mariners compass of course.I met Judy Mathieson years ago when she still belonged to the San Fernando Valley Quilt guild and I saw some of the quilts in person. So I knew that this book would be a very good primer on the subject.Paper piecing of course. I enlarged the star by 50%. Which meant cutting and taping. I think I need to buy a ream of legal size paper. The compass is made up of 8 segments, each broken down even further to accommodate the smaller triangles. My first few were built one at a time, to make sure I was sewing correctly.

Notice the fabric? Not only is this a sea themed design, the fabrics were chosen with the same theme in mind – including pirates of course!Here is the compass half done. Which brings up a sore subject for me. Fabric design. I studied and worked as a textile artist. One thing we never did was design one way fabric. Here is an example of what we never did.The anchors are only going in one direction. If you look back at my compass, I wanted this effect in the background, which means that I wasted a lot of fabric. From half a yard, this is all I had left as well as a lot of wasted triangles. I know, today every quilting fabric company is hiring 10 new designers by the hour to come up with new lines. There is a lot of creativity there but most of these women have no clue about repeats, or overall design. The companies don’t seem to be interested in this either – since fabric buyers are snatching everything up. Sure in many cases, when cutting up fabrics for quilts, the patches are small enough that direction doesn’t matter. I often find that this forces me into buying larger quantities simply so I will have enough fabric for my projects. If you look closely at the pirates and the blue anchors – the elements are tossed – which means less waste when cutting. Even having the anchors go in two directions would have been less wasteful.

Why the rant? Because I’m sick of being lectured by the greenies about how wasteful my life is and how I am no longer entitled to a plastic bag at the grocery store. I love the plethora of fabrics available now that weren’t there 5 years ago. I’m sure the companies are thrilled that I have to buy more yardage. Just wondering when someone will remark that the old way of laying out fabric was actually better for all of us. Rant over.Once I established that my segments work fine I chain pieced the rest before putting each segment together. Much faster. One issue with this technique, I had to match up the longer seams, so yes there was a lot of ripping out before I got them perfectly matched. A very important process, I want this large circle to lay flat.Here is it! It worked out perfectly. The center circle was appliquéd on. You will be seeing more of this fabric from Alexander Henry. When Elk and Mandy returned from their wedding they stopped off in Panama for a few days. So this is beyond perfect.I won’t remove the paper until the compass is inserted into the background. I need every bit of stability I can get.Looks even better from this angle.

I am loving this project. More posts to come as the quilt grows. I have no definite plans yet, the ideas will come as I approach each new stage.

Linked at WIP Wednesday

Leah

Epp- English Paper Piecing

I learned how to quilt back in the the late 1970’s, we cut templates from cardboard, marked each one on the fabric and cut out the patches with scissors. I recently learned that the Olfa rotary cutters were created about the same time, by the 1980’s they had entered the quilt world. Today we can’t imagine life without them. I also use them for cutting out my sewing patterns. Amazing what a tool will do to change your life.So back in those dark days, I remember EPP, this was how the English traditionally made their quilt tops. Often using newsprint, or other cheap paper, they would cut each patch out of paper, sew a piece of fabric to that backing and then sew the patches together. There are historical quilts where the paper was never removed. Traditionally once the top was finished all the paper came out before the quilt sandwich was created. Quilt tops remain with paper intact – what an interesting way to try and recreate the local history of the day based on snippets of newspaper.

Today this method is used for difficult shapes. most common, the hexagon.Here a basic grandmother’s flower garden patch, I have basted the paper to the fabric and with tiny stitches attach the hexies together. I have seen comparisons of hand and machine sewing – although it is more work, the end result of the hand sewing is much more accurate and the hexies lie flatter.In this case I had ordered precut card stock templates. Following instructions online, I punched a hole – to make it easier to remove later as well as glued the fabric to the base. I don’t like this method. You can clearly see where the glue didn’t hold. On the one hand you don’t want a permanent glue, but having it release too early means the shape may not be accurate. Also, when sewing the hexies together, there is always a Y-join. I had to fold the card stock in order to do so, which can create distortions.The end result is good, but a little too much strain on my hands. So for my next project I’m cutting my paper out of printer paper with a die-cutter. This only affords me the one size. Since this is a sometime project for me, I don’t see myself investing in a large Die-cut machine yet.Quilting with my walking foot. End result? Another Sewtogether Bag. You are not seeing double, there are two of them, I’m in love with this bag and what a wonderful gift it makes. I so enjoyed making this bag with EPP that I am making another one for myself.

Leah

Balancing the giving

Having just given Aytan the quilt, I had to make something for Shira. To be fair, she gets a lot of handmade dresses from me. I could make some more shirts for Aytan, but that can wait.

Of course I already have a collection of children’s patterns, mainly little girl clothes. What I like about this is the semi circle skirt. It flows differently from a gathered skirt, I like it on myself and I like it on little girls. I collected my materials, yes, this fabric is Liberty of London that I bought at Pearl Soho Orange County, CA. It was no cheaper there than other places, but I think it may have been the bolt end so I got a break on the price. Liberty has wised up to us quilters, this is from their quilting line.I do not like the facings for the neckline and armholes that home sewing patterns have you do. I either line the bodice, or use bias binding. It can be either decorative on the outside or pulled inside and top stitched. In order to do that I needed to remove the seam allowance from the fabric. This time I am using fold-over elastic for that purpose.It was easy and worked well, next time I may stretch it a little more so I don’t get that wavy look. I didn’t have lime green thread, but I think the top stitching in the aqua works well.Exposed zipper are still very popular. I’ve seen zippers that are so decorative, they are made to be installed this way. I feel this upgrades the dress from pretty – to pretty stylish.That wasn’t enough for me, I had to do more. Lately I’ve been playing with EPP, English Paper piecing. I will have to write a whole post about that. Here is the wonderful Fisker paper cutter and the resulting hexagon flower.Using the same aqua thread to attach to the dress. This time I ‘quilted’ each hexie. At the age of 5 I was taught how to cross stitch by a wonderful German woman. She told me that the back of the work must be as neat and clean as the front. I try and do that with everything I make. Having a serger makes this very easy when sewing.The dress looks very nice on a hanger, but ten times better on an adorable model. I had given her the dress the night before, of course she wore it then and demanded to wear it again – WIN!Looking good from the back.One more, just because she is so cute and models the dress so well.

Leah