Something Done!

I finaly got the quilting done on Amys bonus quilt. Serged the edges and washed it last night. Stll needs to be bound. 

Over the weekend i also finished the corner flowers on Biggs block 2.

I started a Sochi inspired background to use on a block that will represent 2014 on an anniversary quilt

I am done quilting the state blocks and have moved on to the outer borders

And I joined 400 other foolish bikers on the Frosty Buns ride. It was 39F when we left the house and 51 when we returned. But sun, nice sun. No snow. And manageable amouts of sand on the road in spots.

Little Bits O Progress

I was really hoping to show some finishes this week.  I am OH SO close!

I have 3 blocks to finish quilting on the USA quilt.

After that, there is still some between block fill to do.

And I need to decide what to quilt in that outer border.

Still.  Feels like great progress.

There are several hours of Olympics to watch tonight so I will continue to make progress.

I finally got Amy's Bonus Quilt 2 back pieced and sandwiched yesterday.

Using a serpentine stitch to add texture to parallel line stitching.  (Note, I no longer refer to this as "straight line stitching"...even parallel is pretty much a lie).

I had 2 major issues, one with thread winding up inside the machine requiring the removal of 4 screws and the use of pliers, tweezers and a seam ripper to remove the offending thread.   The other was 82" of stitching with a bobbin issue that all had to be ripped out.  That slowed me down a couple hours and ruined my attitude.

Benjamin Biggs Block 2 leaves are on tap for tonight's Olympics coverage.

I have other excuses for not getting more done.

I've been hanging out with friends.  And planning to start a wine club.  You know, like a book club but without even pretending that we read the book.

I spent another evening this week with my Blog Lurker Annette.  She lives near me, has followed my blog, but never left comments.  She contacted me by email and we got together to brainstorm on a Hawaiian Quilt project that she has been working on.

What's On Tap?
First, I want to point out that I have been tracking progress on my right side bar.  I estimate that I have used up 29 yards of fabric from the stash since the new year.  I add to the total as piecing is complete.  I will include UFO yardage as projects get completed.

Finish the Biggs block to stay on schedule for the BOM
Finish the USA Quilt
Finish Amy's Red/White Bonus Quilt

My 30th class reunion is this summer.  I got sucked into a challenge (I'm a sucker for a good challenge) and I let a friend pick out the shoes that I will be wearing for the "Dinner Dance".   My friend Lucy is a little bitty thing. No wonder she likes 5" heels.  These shoes make me 6'2".  Clearly, my chest will be center stage.

I have a pattern I'm going to try, but I think it may be a bit Sophia Loren for my taste.  Still thinking of Katharine Hepburn options.

WIP 19

I am now 1/2 finished with string quilt concept I started a long time ago.
I am learning many things:

Back in May, I thought it would be a clever idea to use up junk mail as a foundation piecing up-cycle.

I discovered then that you have to be careful to not let the iron touch the ink.

I discovered this morning that even though it LOOKS standard 8.5" x 11", it is not always.  I ended up with several yellow blocks 1/2" too small.

I also forgot initially that I had to make left and right versions, unlike a square block.  I did take the time to lay out the pattern on the floor and used a marker to identify both direction and color.

I discovered after I sewed it together, that I would like it better with a narrower white strip.

My original plan had been a rainbow, but realize I don't have much orange fabric and I didn't like the red by the pink.  The other 3 rows will feature purple and pink with the full blue zig zag running down the middle and another partial blue on the outside.

I learned many things I had forgotten about paper foundation piecing.  I will save you the details.  Short version is that I shall remove the paper before stitching the other 3 rows together rather than after it's combined.

21 and 22 Finished

Not only did I finish a quilt, I made 2 Cat Mats from the leftovers AND delivered them to their new home.  Here they are in their new habitat.

After I finished the strip piecing for the quilt, I found I had all kinds of fussy cut bits, some of which were already sewn into sets to make mirror image designs.  The cat of that house is madly in love with the last quilt I made for the couple.  I made kitty her own quilt.  This one had a double thickness of wool batting.

I had more scraps than would fit in one mini quilt, so I made 2.  I figured that if the cats don't like them, the couple does have twin baby girls and they can each have a dolly blanket.

They were really just an excuse for me to keep practicing FMQ.

And I delivered it along with a vanilla latte.  Because that's what friends do. 

#21 Flimsy Done

Roughly 70" square.  Will stitch in the ditch. 

WIP 21

I really was on my way to make a backing for the red & white bonus quilt, when I stumbled over this pile of scraps.

In 2009 I designed and made the quilt below to resemble a Persian Rug.  Since I was designing as I went along, and the theme switched from dark to light at the recipient's request part way through, I had a lot of fabric.  It is not a color way I use.  I gave the scraps to a friend.  They came back a couple years later.  A couple weeks ago, I was at another friend's new house which has deep red walls and a brown couch in the family room.  Ah Ha!

I spent the morning cutting the bigger scraps into 1.5", 2" and 2.5" strips.  A task made more challenging by the fact that I had fussy cut designs from most of them so the scraps look like swiss cheese.  I sewed them into 3 long strips and started joining them, alternating widths.  I have 3 panels that I am working on and have about 57" worth (70" wide) joined.  I hope to get to around 70" or more long... or whenever I run out of strips. 

I would have made more progress, but I was using my Viking, which an amazing repairman in Utah had brought back from the dead.  I was warned that it would no longer do 1/2 speed, which is fine since I don't use that feature.  It seemed though, that it was sewing slower than usual.  Kind of Southern.  After several hours of being annoyed, I finally checked the cord connections and suddenly had full speed again.  Doh!

Practice, Practice, Practice

First of all, I would like to rescind previous derogatory comments about feathers in general as I am starting to find some variations which I am quite keen about.  This border from Judi Madsen is one of them.  The double circle (mine look like olives rather than circles, but that's another story) make for very smoothly flowing pebble fill.  I struggled a little on the feathers as this design requires making all the feathers in the same direction (i.e. top of the spine down) instead of alternate directions like most feathers (i.e. down on the left, up on the right).   I know that sounds like a silly difference but it really made a difference as I had to really, really think rather than just flow.  I am also working on a domestic machine so seeing where I'm going around the foot is different than with a long arm.  The little triangle spine is brilliant as it fills in any wonkiness of the feathers.  And clearly I am better at making triangles than swirls.

The other variation of Judi's design was this one.  Hers is a fill for a square which I adapted to fit this panel project.  It looks great from the front (red side).  My less than perfect swirls are evident on the contrasting yellow back.

I have to remember that washing this when I'm done will make is so all the imperfections just make for interesting texture.

That's my story.  I'm sticking with it.

More fills just for practice. These are bi-colored panels and the other half will be green.

I also tried some swirls inspired by LuAnn Kessi.  I'm undecided how I feel about them at this time.  I ran out of bobbin and went to bed rather then winding a new one.

I keep plugging away on the USA hand quilting.  Here it is from the back.  The nearer sections have the between the block fill done, which I will have to go back and do on the earlier blocks.   And here's a close up.  I'm maintaining a progress widgit on the right sidebar.  I'm now done with 33 of the 50 blocks.