Final Finish for 2015

     Today I finished sewing a scrappy binding on the Scrappy Duo lap quilt which makes it the final finished quilt for the year.  If you want to make one, you can find out more about the pattern here. 

      Saturday I spent most of the day playing with scraps and “made-fabric”. 

I already had a piece of made-fabric about 15 by 15” that I wanted to use for a 4” finished border but I needed more that was similar.  Here is the pile of scraps I pulled to use and there is a piece of made-fabric in the middle.  After free piecing a section, I trimmed it to 4 1/2" for the border.  The larger trimmed pieces became part of another section.

Today the top is finished.  A niece is expecting in May and she wants a garden theme for the nursery.  I hope she will like this. 

 If you are in the Columbia area and want to try playing with crumbs and made-fabric, Saturday morning, March 19^th I will be teaching a workshop at Midlands Technical College, Harbison branch. You can find out more on their website.

Enjoy a few minutes of sewing or quilting!

Celebrate Quilting

     This is a great weekend for celebrating quilting.  “The Quilt Show” and sponsors are offering free viewing of 15 seasons of their videos.  Hope you take advantage of some.  I have today while I pieced.   I enjoy watching for inspiration and ideas and learn new techniques.

     Thursday evening was the fifth and final class for my beginners 2 block quilt.  I am disappointed to say I only have 1 photo and that thanks to Kay.  For important occasions I need to check the batteries in my camera ahead of time.   Here is Carol’s quilt.

 I stopped her from sewing on the binding so I could take a photo.  Every one squared up their quilts and started sewing on binding. 

    Most of my students said they would share photos when they finish the binding.  I look forward to seeing them. 

*Update*   Natalie just emailed me a photo of her finished first quilt and she is planning for her second.  Great job and thanks for sharing!

Enjoy a weekend of sewing and quilting!

Beginner Quilt Class at MTC

    Thursday evening was the third class for my 5 week Beginner Quilt class at Midlands Technical College.  So far the ladies have made nine patches and Friendship Star blocks.  Following are a few samples.
I love Lynn's bright fabrics.  She is not so sure about them.

 

Natalie's are the very opposite with her soft blues.

Kay is using rich black and green.

I'm sorry I missed getting a photo of Carol's blocks because we were running out of time.  I will try harder next week when they will add borders and sandwich to start quilting this small lap quilt.

Second Crumb Piecing Class

     Last night was the second of 2 classes I was teaching for crumb piecing. One SUPER achieving student, Rita, went home with her blocks from the first night and a handout with more directions.  She came back a week later with a full size quilt.  WOW! 

She spent class hand sewing to finish her binding.  

Here are samples of blocks students made: free- pieced, stars and hearts. 

      One more lovely quilt I want to share was from GCQ Tuesday's Show and Tell made by Dee D.  The blocks were paper-pieced.  Her special use of a border print for the border was wonderful. I LOVE the circle print.

Playing with Irregular Scraps

     Several years ago I took Bonnie Hunter’s workshop on crumb piecing and fell in love.  A crumb is a small, maybe even irregular shaped, scrap of fabric.  I save down to 1 1/4”.  Then I found the work of Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  She extends the use of scraps to create not just blocks but larger pieces of fabric ( which she calls “made-fabric” ) from which you cut units for traditional quilt blocks.  I will be teaching a 2 evening class at Midlands Tech - Harbison campus starting Thusday, Aug. 14. Click for details. 

     I am inspired by the work of Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  Not long ago I created “made-fabric” and pieced a giant hexagon flower.  The flower is sewn together but I have been struggling with background and border.  I am definitely playing with this quilt top.  There is no pattern and the plan keeps changing.

First I tried piecing 3 D tumbling blocks but the ”made-fabric” flower become lost.

Next I thought I would simply applique the flower to a dark blue background or add another ”made-fabric” round to make it larger.  I spent a day or two playing in my blue crumbs and scraps to piece blue ”made-fabric”.  It was too strong next to the hexie flower. 

I still LOVE ”made-fabric” so decided to try red ”made-fabric”.  I like it better but again too strong.

Sister Irene suggested a softer background color so I finally pulled a light green print from my stash.

The flower edges have been turned over 2 layers of freezer paper and starch basted so it is ready to be sewn to the background. 

   You may remember the tumbling block hexies.  Well, they have been sewn together and appliqued to a print background fabric.  They may become a lap size comfort quilt or I may add borders to make it twin size.  It just went into my UFO pile.  

     Hope you find some time to play with your fabric. 

                   Elizabeth

Weekend Sewing

      I did so much yard work on Thursday and Friday, I was happy to sew Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Instead of starting on a big UFO project, I just wanted to play a little with fabric.  A while back I cut and stitched a giant Lemoyne star and several small star halves.  I am not following a pattern and instead and trying out different layouts.  I decided to sew a red inner border for the giant star on-point.

I am still trying to figure out the size of the triangles needed for the corner star halves.  While that problem is stewing, I pulled out pastel crumbs to work with.  I started with about 6 blocks and now have 28 that will finish at 6 inches.  I like this brown fabric because the dots go with the pastel colors in the blocks.  It may become sashing.  

My favorite are the stars and hearts. 

 You can find directions for the Bonnie's   Maverick Stars here. I enjoy the easy piecing wonkiness of them. Here is the link for her crumb hearts.  

August 14 and 21, I am scheduled to teach my version of crumb piecing blocks at Midlands Tech-Harbison. You can find more info on it here.  

Time for Quilting

   My house is quiet and getting back to normal without construction workers so I have more time for quilting.  I used the walking foot to stitch-in-the-ditch all the seams to stabilize my "Pina Colada" quilt.  I have been re-watching portions of Cindy Needham's  Craftsy class on elegant free-motion quilting.  I really want to try some designs out and I think this will be a good quilt to use.

In September I will be teaching a free-motion quilting class at Midlands Tech.  I have pieced 3 more doll quilt tops that can be used for practice or design samples.  They could also be finished for placemats since the size is about the same. I have so many scraps already cut to simple units I can easily piece several more but so not to get bored I need to use a different unit.

More Piecing

     Wednesday morning my church quilting group met.  I did not take my sewing machine because I felt I had things I could do without it. I helped Martha start her machine quilting with a walking foot and I pulled fabrics from our stash for several projects.  In the afternoon while waiting for the plumber, I worked on piecing.  This morning while waiting on the appliance installer I pieced more.  I have a pieced top of orphans and scraps ready for a border.  You can see the border fabric I pulled from the stash.  It is 48 by 60” before borders. 

    

       I also have 2 doll quilt tops made.

I enjoy reading “Stitching Therapy” quilt blog.  For several years she has collected doll quilts to be distributed at Christmas.  I will be teaching a FMQ class at Midlands Tech in September and had the idea that these small doll quilts would be great for FMQ practice instead of just plain fabric. 

Design Wall String Half Logs

    Instead of piecing, I have spent 2 mornings this week on yard work and Tuesday was guild day bee meeting.  Afternoons I have spent some time free piecing more string half log blocks.   I currently have 20 finished ( 4 more than on the design wall ).  

I played some with layout.  I think I like this better.  I will try a few more before I’m ready to sew rows together. 

I have planned to teach a string piecing class at Midlands Tech- Harbison campus in the fall.   You can check out the classes at  http://mtconline.midlandstech.edu/

I find free piecing scraps relaxing. 

Grape Leaf Trapunto Finished

    I have been studying Cindy Needham’s Craftsy class “Design It, Quilt It: Free-form Techniques”, because on my wish list of quilts to make is a whole cloth quilt.  I considered using the grape leaf class sample as a practice cloth for some of her free-motion background quilting. I decided that would not be appropriate for students I might have so chose to do simple echoing and stippling.   

My second class sample with grape leaves is finished.

     It has been cool and damp most of the day so I did not want to spend the afternoon working in the yard, although my yard needs some attention.  I pulled out the bargello WIP.  About a month ago I had pieced the columns and started sewing them together in quilt-as-you-go.  I quickly knew this was NOT the technique for me but I have to finish with this method.  I sandwiched the backing and batting.  Then I marked the center and started adding columns from the center out sewing through all the layers.

Finally all the columns are sewn together and it is ready for a border. Maybe that will get done tomorrow. I am VERY happy that this one is almost done. 

Butterfly Trapunto Finished

    The butterfly small quilt is finished.  It is my first sample for the trapunto class I will be teaching in October at Midlands Tech.

After stitching the butterfly motif with extra batting, I decided to stitch the background in a ½” grid.  I had to mark it and with the trapunto already done, it was difficult.   I learned when you think you might want to stitch a grid for a background filler, you need to mark it when you mark the design for the trapunto.

Also, for marking I used a Dritz fine point Mark-B-Gone marking pen (blue) which I have used many times before with no problem.  In the past I would just spritz the marks and they disappeared.  This time after wetting them a couple of times and having them reappear, I put the small quilt in the washer full of water to soak and spin.  So far, all the blue marks are gone. The quilt is still drying.  The warning says heat will set the blue so I did not put it in the dryer. 

Here is the back.  I like it as well or better than the front. I decided not to add a hanging sleeve so the back will show well.

Trapunto Work

      I love the look of trapunto and have used it in two quilts.  I want to do more.  I will be teaching a class on trapunto offered in the fall for Midlands Tech so today I worked on a couple of sample blocks. 

First I used a water-soluble marker to outline the designs on high quality muslin squares. 

Then I added a layer of high loft polyester batting and free-motion stitched on the lines with wash away thread in the top and fine white embroidery thread in the bobbin.

Next I carefully trimmed away the batting close to the stitching. 

Here is the front of the butterfly design.

Here is the back of the butterfly design trimmed. 

Here is the front of the grape leaf design.

Here is the back of the grape leaf design trimmed.  

Playing with Strings

    The graduation quilt is finished.  The binding is sewn and a label is attached.  I did not want to think about a big project so I pulled out a few crumbs and some strings to just free sew and relax.  Here are 4 half log blocks that I made.  I squared them up at 10 1/2" but if I decide I want them larger, I can just add more strings.  I love this scrappy look.

These were not foundation pieced and not needed since the fabrics are mostly on grain. I will be teaching string piecing on a foundation in the fall at Midlands Tech.

String Piecing Spider Web Blocks

     I have been in love with spider web quilts for some time.  I have also been collecting strings when I cut fabric.  I have used my strings for a couple of quilts but wanted to do more.  When the “Pizza Girls” from Quilters Gallery did a presentation at GCQ guild, they showed 2 spider web quilt tops.   

 

I bought the large kite template they were selling.  I like to use sew in lightweight interfacing for the foundation instead of paper.  For my quilt I plan to use a variety of fabric for the kite shapes so there will be a variety of stars formed.  I used the template to cut 4 matching kite shapes and centered each on a foundation.  

Then I started sewing strings until the sides are covered. 

  

Next the blocks are pressed and trimmed. 

When 4 are sewn together, a star is formed. Here are my first 2.

   As more are sewn, the spider web forms.  Here you can see half of the webs formed.

String piecing is one class I will be teaching in the fall for Midlands Tech.  

A Day of Quilt Projects

     Today was sew day for my church group and this afternoon I have been piecing so I am back to quilting projects.  Although… while reading quilting/sewing blogs, I came across an adorable sundress I would like to make. 

     For quilting projects I pulled fabrics and made a couple of sample blocks for a JoAnn Fabrics quilt class.  Here are two.  I might need to change the background fabric.

      While I was working on smocking, I did take the time to check on my favorite blogs.  Recently several have inspired me to think again about making a wholecloth trapunto quilt.  I am not interested in doing the art threadwork that Leah Day does ( I’m more traditional ), but I am amazed with her work on the wholecloth quilt “Dutchess Reigns”.  You just have to see it. 

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2013/03/15-quilting-cat-hairball-filler-thread.html

 

   I also have watched several videos on YouTube with Cindy Needham who also does wholecloth quilts.  Her quilts are amazing!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD-4au8tZ_A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q63cyQj1Mp0

If there is a problem with the links, just go to YouTube and search for Cindy Needham. 

Here is a link to Cindy’s webpage. http://www.cindyneedham.com/

 Cindy and Leah also teach classes online with Craftsy.com. http://www.craftsy.com/classes/quilting

   I am looking forward to teaching free-motion quilting again this fall for Midlands Tech and plan to incorporate some new techniques and designs that I have learned.  It will also give me more practice.  Maybe one day I will make my own bedsize wholecloth quilt.

      

Machine Applique Class

     Some how I neglected to show the finished top for the machine applique class that I am offering through Midlands Tech- Haribson campus.  The class will be 4 evenings in August but I wanted to have the top to show so here it is.

It has turned edges using freezer paper and starch - not fused raw edge.  This is my favorite applique method for a neat look.   I  now have time to make another sample using different colors.
    Anyone interested in the class can find more info at MTonline.midlandstech.edu/

Starting Off 2013

    I read about one blogger who was creating a new banner with pictures of all the quilts she had made during the year and I thought that would really be nice.  I have not done it.
    I read one bloggers list of new techniques she wants to try out this year.  I still have my ever evolving list of quilts I would like to make but I feel good that I have been reducing my UFOs and orphan blocks.  I am sorry to say that I still have at least 5 complete quilt tops waiting to be machine quilted by me.
    I have spent several hours the past couple of days working on my sample block for a machine applique class for August at Midlands Tech.  The only part not stitched down this evening are the berries/grapes.

I hope your New Year of 2013 is off to a GREAT start!

Using Scraps

      I finished a couple of small quilts today.  I sewed on the binding for my class sample for the Beginner 2 Block Quilt class.  It will make a nice comfort quilt for a child and it was ALL from my stash. 

I had a few 2 1/2" strips and some other scraps left over so I decided to use up as much as I could making more 12 1/2" blocks.  I used one 4 1/2" square from another fabric and finished 4 blocks.

They are a nice start for another child's quilt and the only bits of these fabrics left are very small pieces that will go in crumb blocks.

I also bound the quilt with the cheater fabric center. 

Two down but there are more tops waiting to be quilted.  I am determined to get more finished before I start a new project.