Just A Sip

I did manage to squeak in another addition to the Coffee Quilt.  I studied for about an hour but since I study in the sewing room and this quilt is on the design wall right in front of me it's a bit distracting.  :0)

This time I've added these dark triangles so the blocks are sitting square instead of on point.

When they were all up there on point I was thinking of doing a checker board of colors for in between each block.  But it's getting pretty big now so I decided to just do a sashing. 



I'm going to use the small panel squares for corner stones.  They are starting out as 2" squares so they will be 1.5" wide once I get them sewn in.  That might be a problem so I'll give it a test run.  I'm thinking I can do a 1/8" seam so I don't loose the images.  Then again as I'm writing this I'm thinking I may not be able to use them.  Decisions, decisions.


Which fabric do you like for the sashing?






There's light blue with coffee beans or

Dark brown with coffee rings!

I can't decide so let me know what you think.

This week is quilting with the once a month quilters so I'll be asking them and there's never a always a fresh opinion from them!

The Coffee's On

Late Saturday afternoon I finally got started.  Since the blocks were already cut they didn't fit the dimensions called for in the pattern.  The math had me bogged down for a bit but then I decided to just pick a number and go with it.  I figured I could get a block big enough to cut down if I have to.  I keep looking at the pattern for inspiration but I don't know what it's going to turn out to be in the end.  Here's the progress on the first set of blocks.

Based on the largest of the motif squares I cut 5 inch strips from this pretty yellow fabric.  I starched and pressed the strips . . .

then cut them into 5 inch squares, then cut the squares in half diagonally to get all these triangles.  The starch really helps to stabilize the fabric when working with triangles since the side I'm sewing is the bias edge.

Looking at this picture I'm amazed how many tools are needed to make a quilt.  Although most of the work can be accomplished with as little as a ruler, a rotary cutter, a cutting mat, and a sewing machine, you can see from this and some of the other picture that scissors, starch, a seam ripper, several different size rulers, and a wooden pressing tool were also used.  (Not to mention the remotes for the TV!)

Anyway, the triangles are sewn to the fussy cut squares.  I chain pieced the top then bottom, left side then right side.  I don't know if there's a preferred order other than doing opposite sides so that the seams overlap in a pleasing way.  I'm a big believer in pressing after each step to keep things flat.  I don't use any additional starch unless the block is really not holding it's shape.

The triangles were purposely cut to be larger than the center square so to get them lined up with the centers of the sides of the squares I used this wooden pressing tool.  I just fold the block in half and press down with the tool to crease the fabric.  You can kind of see the triangles in the background have already been creased.  This is quicker than going to the ironing board.

That handy little tool is something I bought at a craft fair many years ago.  It was supposed to be used for spreading jelly or jam on toast.  I found it one day a couple of  years ago in a basket with all my baking things.  I never used it for jelly and hardly ever bake any more, except for holidays, so I decided it would get more use in the sewing room than in the kitchen.

I finished all 12 of these main blocks before calling it a night.

I laid them out on the design wall to be inspired for the next set of blocks. 

Guppy's not sure what to make of the whole thing.  He's wondering if he'll be able to reach the top row and pull them all off the board by morning ;o)

The finished blocks ended up being 8 inches square.  I'm thinking of doing scrappy "checker board" blocks to go in between.  That way I can mix in the smallest fussy cuts.  The medium size fussy cuts may end up as sashing corner stones or as part of the border. 

I'll be back with an update soon.  For now I'm off the tackle more math for the second set of blocks!

Oh yeah, I also started a couple of applique projects so I'll be writing about those soon too.

Revisiting the Coffee Quilt

In general I love the creative process.  That's why I do this right?  Many times when I'm out shopping I'll find an individual piece of fabric spark something inside that makes me want to make a quilt right that very moment.  I have to have it.  I guess that's what leads to having a "stash" of fabrics!  (a.k.a. impulse buying LOL)

But it's a rare occasion when I can come home from shopping and start sewing.  In fact, I don't think I've ever done that because I prefer to wash and dry my fabrics before cutting and making the quilts.  Then of course there's that little thing called Life that has a way of taking my attention away from the daydreams of beautiful quilts.

So somewhere between the thrill of buying the fabric and the reality of actually having the time to start the project, 6 other ideas and 10 other projects have entered the picture!  That was the case with the Coffee Quilt.

Quite some time ago I had picked up this coffee fabric thinking I would use it for one of The Girls quilts.  It was a panel so I wasn't sure how I was going to cut it up.  I washed and dried it, then tucked it away safe from dust and cats.  

By the time I got around to doing something with it the weather had changed and it was just too hot to quilt.  The next time I pulled it out I was less than inspired and decided the colors were just not right for person that I initially wanted to give it to.  So back to the safe, clean, cat free zone for the Coffee Quilt.

Right now I"m between projects and this seemed like a great time to give it another try.  After much deliberation I had decided to cut the panel of fabric into each of the different motifs and ended up with this collection of squares.  Now what? 

I had purchased some coordinating fabrics when I bought the panel so I pulled those out looking for inspiration.  Then I searched my stash for even more coordinates.  I typically like to start with LOTS of choices and take out the ones that aren't working for me.

I went back to the pattern I had chosen back in August, shown in the top of the picture below.  Putting it all together I came up with this combination.  It seemed like a good match but I was less than thrilled to get started. 

Next I reviewed some of the pictures I had taken of the fabric "auditions" done back in August.  When the materials at hand just don't match up with the idea in your head it's hard to be excited about the project but this time I was determined to get it done.  And it's got to be quick because I'm supposed to be studying for an exam!

Tube Block Try Out

It may seem like I haven't been up to much but I've really been busy which means I haven't taken the time to write any new posts.  Well, I'm back so here goes. 


Over the last few days of 2011 and into 2012 I finally got some time to work on the Chickadees quilt.  I took some time to indulge myself love of fabrics by pulling out some pieces that I hadn't considered before.  I truly want to make this a scrap quilt so I'm trying to let go of my need to make things match. 


While trying to make a final selection on the pattern I had some fun making blocks using the "tube" quilting method.  This is actually a method of cutting that is used to create blocks with half-square triangles using strip sets. There are several places on the Internet where you can find detailed instructions with measurements.  


Here's a brief walk through of this method. 
First you make a strip set with 2 strips - mine are beige and cranberry.

Press the strip set seam allowance toward darker fabric. 

Measure the open strip set then cut a strip equal to that measurement in a third color/print fabric.  This is important because you want to make sure you cut the next strip the right width.  I didn't measure, I just assumed, consequently my full strip wasn't quite wide enough.


Anyway, for this step I used a print that had a dark background and both cranberry and beige in the pattern.  Now place that wide strip over the step set, right sides together, and sew both edges so that you end up with a long tube.


TIP:  When sewing long strips like this it's a good idea to sew up one side then down the other to prevent stretching.

Now take the tube to the cutting board.  I used an 8 inch square ruler for this but you can use any ruler that has a 45 degree line on it.  Place the 45 degree line on the tube and line it up on the stitching at the bottom of the tube.  Slide it over until you have an area where all three fabrics are showing beyond the end of the ruler. Like this.  Cut off that end.  Depending on how frugal you want to be you can either throw that piece in your scrap bag or just throw it away. 

Now slide the ruler up so that the 45 degree line is on the upper outside seam. 

I'm not sure why but this close up got turned around and I can't seem to slip it back.  And I'm just noticing that the colors on these photos aren't the best.  But, hey, I'm a quilter, not a photographer!

 

The point is, the 45 degree line should be on the stitching and the end of the ruler should line up with the cut edge of the strip.  Now make the cut.

 

This next picture show the full block after it's been cut away from the tube and opened up. 

For the next block you again slide your ruler, this time to the bottom.  Line up the 45 degree mark on the seam at the bottom and cut.

 Voila! now you have two blocks that have opposite colors on the tips.

Continue cutting along the strip set until you get as many blocks as possible.  I think I ended up with 9 from one strip set.

Here are some of the layout options.

Light center

Dark Center

Hour glass

Stripes - which I think would be fun with more of a "scrappy" bunch of fabrics.

And finally the chevrons.

You really need to try this technique.  It was a lot of fun to see the results!

The Chickadee quilt is finished and it turned out great.  I didn't use this tube method because the fabric needed to have fussy cut blocks.  Instead I used the Disappearing Nine Patch just as I did for Betty's quilt.   I'll be taking Blue and Cream to the quilter this week and then Chickadees will get dropped off next.

In the mean time I've got a bunch of little things I want to re-visit and finish up before embarking on the next big project for The Girls which is a Log Cabin block but that's all I can say!

I promise I'll be posting some of those small projects so stay tuned.

Snowball Baby Quilt

I got started on the snowball baby quilt over the weekend.  With Christmas just around the corner there isn't much quilting happening.  Like most folks I'm finishing up work assignments along with holiday baking and shopping.  Here's what I've got so far.

Some fun faries!

Some yummy "goes with" fabrics.

A cute pattern. 




































And my first few snowballs.

The individual snowballs are 5" squares with 2" squares on the corners.  I'm stil playing with the arrangement since as usual I'm putting my own spin on that cute pattern.

Speaking of that pattern I had the reference wrong on the previous blog entry.  The pattern is "Tea Party" by Alison Newnam and Kaitlin Witte as shown in June/July 2011 addition of "The Quilter Magazne".

I had an intersting chat with my friend at Minka's Studio about storing fabric.  We both agreed it would be a good post so that will show up here and/or there sometime soon!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Chocolate Pillow Covers

I had just two blocks left after making the Box of Chocolates quilt top.  These are actually the original two blocks I made when I was trying out the colors with the pattern.

  I couldn't let them go to waste and didn't want to have to store them so I decided to make pillow covers.  To match the quilt I added two borders.  First a 1 3/4" strip of cream, then a 4" strip of the chocolate brown.

You can kind of see in the picture that the cream borders are a different shade from the cream I used in the block.  I actually dug up the original cream fabric and planned to use that but ended up cutting the cream I used in the quilt instead.  Once I had cut the strips I figured it would help to make them look more like they belonged together with each other and the quilt so I just went with it.

I think they came out pretty nice.  I'm going to bring them with me to the long arm quilter when I bring the top and see if she can do the same kind of quilting on all three pieces.  If not then I may just use them to try hand quilting for the first time. 

Now I'm ready to start the next project.  I should be working on the last two quilts for The Girls but the fabric hasn't arrived yet so I've got something else up my sleeve.  My sister was looking for a pattern for a baby quilt.  I came across this one in one of the latest issues of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.  

It's snowballs and nine patches.  I just love the colors. I rummaged around in my stash and found all the fabrics I need so I've decided to see if I can make as a sample to show her! 

Stay tuned for more on the baby quilt . . . mine and Dutchy's.

Box of Chocolate - Borders

Just a quick post to finish up the Box of Chocolates.  Several attempts at adding borders brought me to this final warm chocolate brown around the outside.  I tried it with a 2 inch inner border of the candy fabric but it it was too busy.  So I ripped that out and settled on this one.  I saved the 2 1/2 inch strip of the candy fabric so I can use it as a binding.

Tomorrow I'll be calling the quilter to schedule an appointment.  She's booking into January now because of the Holidays so this one will be on the back burner again until next year.

It feels good to have completed an entire quilt top in just 3 days even if I did have a head start with the star blocks all done!

Box Of Chocolates

I had promised myself that since my birthday was on Sunday this year I was going to give myself the weekend off.  No housework, no laundry, no yard work, no shopping, no cooking - well, OK, I don't cook much any more but still I do occasionally make a meal.  But not this weekend.  Instead I planned to spend the entire weekend quilting.

Working on the quilts for "The Girls" has left me with several projects that didn't work out for one reason or another. 

Fortunately, I like all of them enough to finish for myself just not as gifts.  This one is the Box Of Chocolates.  Doesn't this fabric look yummy enough to eat?

I know spending your birthday quilting probably doesn't sound like much fun to you non-quilters but think about it.  If you have a hobby don't you always wish there was more time to just enjoy your hobby instead of trying to squeeze in a hour or two between the daily/weekly chores?  My mother of course is looking down from heaven with that look she had which said "you can't have any fun until the work is done".  Well not this weekend Mom!

I stepped into my sewing room immediately after work on Friday and have been happily sewing away ever since.  Initially I thought I would be working on one of the quilts for "The Girls" but then I realized I was waiting for some fabric to arrive from Keepsake.  That put a different light on things.

I'm sure you can relate to the stack of project in various stages of un-done.  Here's a look at the bookcase that's behind me when I'm sewing.  Naturally, I can't see it when I'm sewing so I kind of forget about it until I turn around.


Between the top of the bookcase and the bottom of the white shelf I've been tucking piles of fabrics that won't fit into the bureaus or closet where I keep my stash.  There are several works in progress just waiting for my attention.  That's where I found the Box Of Chocolates. 

I use these cool blue trays that come from one of the gals in a quilting class.  I'm not sure where she got them but they work really well for storing bits and pieces of projects in process.  And they slide neatly into that space on top of the bookcase!


I pulled out the tray with the Box of Chocolates and here's what I found.  Some pieces that were left over from the last time I had worked on the project, the instructions, and 8 finished blocks.

I pinned 6 of the blocks to the design wall as shown in the pattern.  Aren't they pretty!

The two remaining blocks had a different background fabric which I remember thinking was too white when I started but seems fine to me now.  What was I thinking?  Oh well, water over the damn. 

The pattern by the way is by Jennifer Chiaverini from the Elm Creek Quilts: Joanna's Collection which you can find here at Red Rooster Fabrics.  If you're thinking of making it be prepared for lots of cutting and lots of small pieces.  There are also 4 different borders that go around the outside.


When I started working on the project again Saturday morning I remembered it was the pinwheels that had stopped me.  I really like the pinwheels but I remember thinking at the time that there were so many half square triangles in the first block I didn't want to deal with pinwheels in the second block.  Now that some time has passed it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to make pinwheels but I really just wanted to finish this up.  So I decided to put the candy fabric in the center instead of the pinwheels.


Here's the block pieces all laid out and ready to sew.  I had planned to use strip sets instead of individually piecing all the squares and triangles but I had about half of the pieces already cut so I just went with it. 

The piecing went quickly until I ran out of bobbin thread.  I stopped long enough to fill up a bunch of bobbins.  Guppy was fascinated!  Apparently he's not been around to witness this spell binding event before.

With a dozen bobbins filled up the sewing and pressing went along smoothly.  Before I knew it I finished all six of the blocks and it was time to head of to bed.  Here's the finished block.

The yellow fabric has some words of wisdom that I really liked:

      Breathe more ~ Talk less ~ 

            Say more ~ Whine less ~

                 Love more ~ Fear less ~

                     Chew more ~ Eat less ~

                         Hope more ~ Breathe more

As I took a break from sewing to write this blog entry I found I was not alone.  Unlike her brother, Alice is not much interested in sewing but she can't seem to endure any attention paid to the computer when she is in need of some love and attention, which is always!  So she parks herself on my "mouse" arm until I'm forced to give her all the affection she needs.

All in all it's been a very productive weekend.  Here's the finished blocks all assembled and ready for borders.  There's still plenty of day light so I'm planning to get the borders on and have a completely finished quilt top tonight.

Right now I'm hearing the dinner bell so it's time to enjoy a special birthday dinner with the chef before heading back to the sewing room. 

Hope you have a much fun on your birthday as I'm having on mine! 

Getting A Little Help

Working with the bright colors for this latest project - Black, White and Brights - has really taken me out of my color comfort zone.  After making my color choices I usually like to make a sample block or two to get a feel for the techniques I'll be using and the color combinations in the finished blocks.  That's exactly what I did last weekend but the results left me less than thrilled.

Let's start with a single block.  It's easy to make and looks great.  I got the pattern from the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial.  It's called X's and O's and you get a bonus quilt call the "Serendipity Quilt", more on that when the first one is finished!.

Then I tried some setting combinations.  First was alternating the black and white like this.  I even tried to add in a green triangle - you never know . . . But none of this was working for me.  And the harder I tried the worse it seemed to get.

There were also several variation in between but I was so focused on the design wall that I forgot to take pictures!  Anyway, none of them were working for me either.  Eventually, I just gave up and went to bed thinking usually the light of day makes things clearer.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen in this case. 

In the morning I stood at the design wall again and just couldn't get to liking it.  I was leaving for a business trip in a couple of days so I had a lot on my mind.  I decided that's what the problem was, I just couldn't appreciate what I was doing with so much else on my mind.  As it happened my business trip was just an hours drive away and once the meeting was over I'd have time to take a side trip to a local quilt shop on my way home.  So as I was packing for my trip I pulled all the parts and pieces off the wall and stuffed them in my suitcase.

After a successful meeting with the client I looked up directions to Bits and Pieces in Pelham NH.  I'd been there once before but was coming in from a different direction.  I remember thinking on that first visit that this would be a place I'd definitely have to come back to.  They have a wide selection of quilting fabrics and large bright, work room off to one side. 

When I arrived I found three ladies in the work room taking a break for lunch.  I placed my pile of pieces on the table and asked for help.  They invited me to sit down and talk it over.  We talked about colors and settings and all the other things that you think about when making a quilt for someone.  What kind of colors does the person like; what colors do I like to work with; what will the quilt be used for - wall hanging, cuddling, picnics.  As we talked I laid out the pieces so they could see what I had been doing.  We moved the pieces around, flipped them back and forth, tried different combinations and in the end came up with this layout:

The center makes a pinwheel, the colors make an X and the groups of blacks and whites make the O's.  Somehow seeing it there on the table and having other quilters to talk it over with made all the difference in the world.  I had made the right choices for colors after all and there are multiple variations on the layout that I can do.  One piece of advice I'll be taking is to make all the blocks first then pick the setting.

Maryjane, Carol, and Robin were very helpful indeed!  Thanks so much to the three of you for making me see that working outside my color comfort zone may be a challenge but the end result will be worth it.  A special thanks to Maryjane for snapping the picture and sending to me. 

I hope they'll all stop by here to see the progress and cheer me on.  Thanks for the help ladies! 

Anyone else got any suggestions about working outside my color comfort zone?