Matchstick Marimba

While I contemplate next steps on my Pfefferneuse quilt I decided to work on this quilt.  It's from the book Allegro by Atkinsons Designs and is called Matchstick Marimba.

I had cut out the majority of this quilt back in 2010 or 2011.  Three of the six rows were pieced.  I sewed the other three together last night then assembled them into the top you see here.i have to add another row at the top and bottom to finish off the checkerboard pattern.

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Decision Point

The blocks all around the outside edges are intended for the outside border.  My original thought was to put a double border between the whole and half blocks.  The intention was to make it appear that you are looking down into a glass jar and the borders represent the mouth of the jar.  One border would be a grayish black color and the other a blackish/whitish stripe.

When I laid it out I didn't expect to love the nice clean look of the quilt just as it is.  I would only have to put a quarter of a pinwheel in the corner or piece smaller pinwheels for those corners.

I'm going to move onto another quilt while I entertain everyone's input.  When you look at my quilt think about those spearmint starlight candies.  That was my inspiration for the green pinwheels.

Input please!

One of These Things is Not Like the Others

Unfortunately it is the only one sewn correctly in this pic.  Three sets of twosies out of 24 isn't too bad. I quickly corrected them and made foursies.  Sadly 5 of 12 of those sets were sewn wrong.  I forgot it made a difference at that stage.  They are all unpicked and ready to be sewn again.  

I hope to be showing the sewn center of the quilt tomorrow.

Chalk Outline at a Crime Scene?

Nope.  It's just me being silly.  I laid out my pieced border.  More designing will be needed after I get the center and the inner border done.  What I have planned will not have those corners touching as shown in the picture.

Intrigued?  Stay tuned!

I hope you get to play this weekend.  Take pause to remember our fallen soldiers.

Pinwheel Progress

All the pinwheels are made.  A plan has been hatched.  Need 12 of these units.  Next step is to work on my pieced outer border using the components from the blocks shown here.  I'd like to get this topped right away but I'm not sure I have the fabric I need for the inner border.  Darn.  I have to fabric shop!

Do Any of these Scream NO?

Do any of these greens stand out too much from the others?  I can stay with the four I already have or add some or all of the three greens on the right.  I i love auditioning with the camera.  I'll be working on the QSTS units for awhile to determine how many half and full pinwheels I need.  I really hope I don't need more QSTs.  Why oh why didn't I make notes???

Pfefferneuse Up Next

Remember Orca Bay?  I was gifted so many pieces and parts for that quilt.  When I finished the second quilt top I had hundreds of QSTs leftover.  I sat and thought about what to do with them.  I don't recall how I happened upon the Pfefferneuse quilt but decided that was where those extra pieces would go.

I looked at the quilt picture and counted how many broken dish units I would need.  I had a good number but not enough.  I created the 4 unit pieces you see here.  I think there are 84 or 88 of them.  At some point I realized my broken dish units were much smaller than what Bonnie's pattern balled for.  Because of this I probably have many more than her quilt calls for.  Remember my purpose was to use up the spare units I already had.

While I was making the broken dishes I began thinking about what color pinwheels I wanted.  I originally thought red but didn't have enough of the shade I was looking for.  As I look at this quilt I can't help but think of starlight candies.  I googled them and was surprised to see they come in a rainbow of colors.  I began selecting those colors but just was not in love with that idea.  I came upon a green in my stash that I loved.  Alas I did not have enough.  I should have shopped for similar shades but did not.  Rather than look through my stash and pull greens I just went to the store and bought three different greens.  I was going to use just one but have now cut from all three and even pulled a piece from mom's stash and have included it.  As I type this I know I have another green that will work and will throw it in.  They are all the same color green but have different patterns to add to the visual texture.

This quilt can be found in Bonnie Hunters "String Fling".  I am not making my pinwheels with strings.  The white in the pinwheel is all one fabric.  So off I go to make more pinwheels.  Be back with an update later this week.  My goal is to finish up all the pinwheels that I'm going to need.

Lazy Sunday Finished on a Lazy Sunday

Ready for quilting!  Onto the next project.

 

 

Design Wall Monday - May 11, 2015

Oh my....more decisions.  I've cut up all my blue batik into 2" strips already.  Whatever the decision I am going to have to piece fabric.  In my mind I think I have eliminated option 3 below.  I am leaning more toward option 1.  What do you think?

I am linking up to Patchworktimes.  For more design walls click here.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

Hugs,

Swooze

More Grand Illusion and Lazy Sunday

I've been doing a bit of frogging since I last blogged.  You can look at my last post about Grand Illusion and see that the borders are attached wrong.  2 have the pink facing out and 2 have the pink facing in.  An eagle eye at my church sewing group noticed it as soon as I held it up to share.  Everyone said leave it as a design element.  I just couldn't.  All fixed.  No new photo to share.

A few days before that as I was working on the pieced border for Lazy Sunday I had a realization.  Four of the pink, orange and turquoise blocks have one corner that is made with green.  I hoped that I had placed them correctly before I lay out the rows.  It would have to be total luck.  Argh!  Two were in the right position but rotated.  Two were not.  I ripped out the 6 offending blocks from the top and corrected everything.  Onward progress.

I chose my colors for my border and completed the first two.  I attached them and lay it on the ground.  I was shocked at the sharp contrast and wasn't really thrilled with it.  All the fabrics in the border are also in the body of the quilt.  I guess the coolness of the blues make my background appear whiter while the warm colors more beige.

I made plans to take them off then put slab borders on with the warm colors.  I posted on Facebook and had enough feedback suggesting I move forward.  Even to add one of the warm colors as a final border.

Here is a close up of my chosen fabric for that suggestion.

Another shot a little farther away.  I am going ahead with this plan.  I coincidently saw an Orca Bay quilt on Bonnie Hunters blog that had a very similar effect.  It just serves as an interesting, eye catching frame.  I have all the pieces for the remaining sides of the pieced border sewn and just need to chain them together.  Also, serendipitously, I had miscut my inner border too wide the first time.  Turns out I am using those strips for my outer border.

Hugs!!!

Mystery No More

Well it hasn't been a mystery since January 1st but now I know what MY quilt looks like.  One more good pressing then it will be added to my flimsy pile.

Design Wall Monday - April 13, 2015

Back on the 2nd I had the four patches made and some of the other components made except the star points.  I have worked a little on this every day and have gotten to this point.  All the borders are made even though they are not shown here.  I will continue to sew on this every day until its topped.  This is Bonnie Hunters Grand Illusion mystery that she offered last year.  Once this is done I'm going back to finish Lazy Sunday.

I'm linking to Patchworktimes.  Go visit to see what others have on their design walls.

More Grand Illusion Progress

I have all my blocks done.  I went with a 3x4 setting.  I was auditioning everything together so just took a closer (blurry) picture of a smaller section.  I am glad that I chose the bright white for the stars.  The Grand Illusion quilts I've seen so far with the bright white have been my favorites.

I have all the sashing pieces complete and I have my borders all pieced with the exception of the cornerstone 4- patch being sewn on.  They are made though.  Because I made a smaller version I had to figure out how many of  each unit I needed.  There are extras!  Boy are there extras.

Here they are.  A few border pieces.  The one corner piece of the main block.  A few star points and I think 14 extra sashing units.  Well, components of those units.  If you would like any ir all of these extras just leave me a comment.  If there is a lot of interest I will do a random draw.  My goal is to get this top together by Friday the 17th.  When I get back from my sewing group I will notify the recipient then.  Good luck!

Grand Illusion Mystery Progress

This is the first Bonnie Hunter mystery that I sewed along with.  I have participated in three of her NYE mysteries that are held in Plano, TX.  I did make two Orca Bay quilts but the majority of that work was done by others and I assembled the tops.  I did do piecing on each of them though.

While I am thinking over the borders of Lazy Sunday I decided to keep sewing on something and this was it.  I am only making 12 of the blocks.  I guesstimated that I would make a third of the quilt size.  As a result I guesstimated that I would need about a third of the required yardage as well.  The only one that I guesstimated correctly was the yellow.  I bought this fabric back when the fabric requirements were released.  

I was working at a rather leisurely pace and it started to dawn on me that I was going to run out of fabric.  Oh NO!!  I calculated the number of units I was able to make out of each strip or strip set, then I started cutting the number of strips I would need to determine what I was short on.  I ran to the store and found four of the five fabrics.  I knew what was needed for three of them.  I guessed on one of them.  I'll have to track the last one down and figure out what is required.

Here is what its looking like.

Lazy Sunday Borders

Here is my Lazy Sunday quilt by Bonnie Hunter up to the first border.  It calls for a green and neutral HST border then a blue and neutral diamond border.  Here I am showing the aqua and green.  I don't think that green is doing it for me.

I am leaning toward a double diamond border with the aqua, blue and neutral.  

Thoughts?

Lazy Sunday on a Lazy Sunday

Remember the stash box I posted about recently?  There were these little tags in there that you use to mark your blocks when you have your layout and help keep everything in order when you go to the sewing machine.  I pinned these tags in the upper left hand corner of each block.  I have tried other tips about how to stack them etc but I invariably sewed the wrong edges together.  These tags solved that problem.  I googled Quilt Dance and found the set for sale for $10.  I think they are worth it.

This is an old photo of my Lazy Sunday quilt top.  It is a Bonnie Hunter pattern and I am lucky enough to live close to the Plano quilt shop where she taught it as a New Years mystery.  It is now in one of her books.  More Adventures with Leaders and Enders if I'm not mistaken.  I now have these rows all sewn together and just finished the sashing rows.  I will start sewing some of these together today and begin working on the pieced borders.  I will at least get the strips I need cut so that I can work on the sub cutting and sewing as I go.

Hope you are getting to sew today and enjoying a lazy Sunday.

T-Shirt Quilt - A First For Me

See the drawn line?  See the cut edge?  That's a span of 3 3/8ths inches.  This is the second border after the red.  I managed to ease all of that in when I attached it.  Nothing seemed odd when I was sewing it.  In fact I was pleased with how it was going because I was using a new method for cutting my borders.

Previously I carefully measured through the center of the quilt then measured and cut my borders.  This time I lay the strips on the quilt through the center and cut them.  Basically the quilt served as the ruler.  I cut the borders two at a time then sewed and repeat.  

Normally I do not cut my borders on the straight of grain.  For some reason I decided to cut the final border this way.  I followed the same measuring and cutting process.  Everything was going fine until I tried pinning the last borders, last sides to the quilt.  One side went on without a hitch.  I was savoring this finish.  I flipped the quilt around and pinned the final border piece. I pin/mark the quilt and border in quarter segments to make sure things go on a little more square.  

Imagine my surprise when I had way more border on the white than I did the final navy.  I stretched (very little) since this was on the straight grain) pinned, coaxed and coerced.  I knew my only option was to remove that white border and remeasure.  I had to remove part of the navy borders on the side. All this work is how I learned that I had so much extra.  Who knows how I managed that.

Here is the end result.  Ignore the ripple.  There was not enough space to lay it out perfectly.  Believe me, it is flat.  As soon as I finished the top I whipped up the backing and went straight to the quilter with it.  This is for my daughter and is made of her Dad's shirts.  We lost him almost 4 years ago now.  This will be a nice keepsake for her.  I made my daughter go with me to talk to the quilter.  I walked in the door with lots of ideas which my daughter completely discarded.  It's ok.  We brainstormed and came up with a nice quilting plan.  I'll be getting this back sometime in May.  I need to work on the binding so it's ready when the quilt comes back.

i googled and studied many websites about making t-shirt quilts.  I was afraid of ruining my husbands t-shirts but in spite of one small cutting error all went well.  I received the most encouragement and guidance from a lady that goes to my sit and sews at the church.  I can't wait to show this to her. I learned many things and look forward to making more.

More BIG Bags

While I was making the first bag my friend commented how much she liked it.  She has been enduring some struggles and I thought she could use a pick me up so I made her this.

I like this bag too so I made myself one.

I plan to carry my projects in it to sit and sews or wherever I might get a chance to work on it.  Its reversible so you can change your bag by flipping it inside out.

The pattern is Sara's B-I-I-I-G Bag by Innovative Designs by Sara.  I keep looking for the pattern online but have yet to find it.  It's a neat concept!

Fleece Blankets

I remember around 10 years ago when no-sew fleece blankets were all the rage.  You just put two pieces of fleece together, fringed them and then tied knots to keep them together.  The first and only one I made was neon pink and neon orange.  I really did not like that blanket and, as it was used, liked it even less.  I am not sure where the inspiration came from but I changed my process completely from that first blanket to now.  It continues to be ever changing.

Here is my process.  Buy the best fleece you can afford.  Anti pill is good.  It all works though.  I usually make my blankets 6' long.  If the person is taller than 6' i will add another 6".  Wash the fleece.  Do not use liquid fabric softener as the blankets become crunchy over time.  Fabric softener sheets do a great job.  

Inspect your fleece for the "right" side.  If your fleece has writing on it it is obvious which side that is.  I look for sharper images and consider that right.  If you have a helper grab them now and put the wrong sides together.  Line up the edges all around and lay on a flat surface.  Gently smooth the fleece out.  I do mine on a table and will let the fleece rest for awhile to relax the wrinkles out.  Not necessary but I get a little better result.  I then pin baste around the outside edge about 6" away.  If you notice your edges they are uneven or the selvedge rolls or has a strip of writing on it.  I will trim the edges so that my fringe is consistent all around.

I then sew all around the outside about 5-6 inches away.  Your fringe is going to stretch with use.  I used to cut it about 6" long but my daughter asked me to try 4" this time because of this.  I used a large index card to mark my distance as I sewed by holding it on top of the fleece mostly eyeballing the distance.  Painters tape on the machine bed would have worked too I just didn't feel like looking for it.  LOL.

For the final step I take my shape cut ruler and put the top of the slot on the sewn line.  I then cut at 1" intervals.  When I get near the edge I check to see where my final cut will fall.  If the last piece that lines up with the sewn edge is going to be odd looking I will cut a smaller or larger piece of fringe now so it isn't on the corner where it will be more noticeable.  I've even cut a 1.5" piece then cut that in half with scissors.  I now go over the edges and snip any pieces where my cut may not have been complete.  I also cut the corners out where the sewn line pivots on the corner.

TaDa!  A fleece blanket without those pesky bumps.  One last thing.  You might notice that cutting fleece on your mat leaves tracks and pieces of the fabric stuck in it.  I just took a wet cloth and scrubbed the mat down to remove the fleece leftovers.

I hope you enjoy the process and your snugly blanket.

What I'm Working On

I posted about this quilt a few weeks ago.  When I received it the backing was see through in spots in addition to the quilt having several holes through and through.  The quilt was birthed so the edges were quite worn on the top from being pulled at by everyday wear and tear.  The quilt also had been tied.

First I removed the ties and snipped the seams.  There was nothing salvageable about the poly-cotton backing.  The batting felt like a flannel rather than traditional batting.  I trimmed 2 rows of squares on 2 sides.  On the other sides I removed three rows from one side to remove a good portion of the damage and then a single row on the opposite side.  I was trying to keep the proportion of the quilt.  Using the three row piece I unpicked squares to use in repair of the rest of the top.  I then removed 8 squares that were shattered or had bad fraying.  I sewed in the replacement pieces.

With the newly restored top I layered it with cream flannel in the center and a yellow flannel on the back that was similar in color to the original backing.  I pin basted then quiled in the ditch to form a grid design.  I then used the self binding method to finish it.  In the process of quilting I found another bad square but decided to address it after quilting.  I went to that patch and needle weaved the spot together.  The repair blends in very well and is barely noticeable.

I am packing it up today and shipping it back to its owner.  The cost was $24 in materials plus shipping.  The repair is a gift for them hosting us while we were in MI in January/February.  I've already moved onto my next project.