Custom Quilting Progress on the 1984 Sampler Quilt

Good morning and Happy Thursday!  I've been making progress with the custom quilting on my friend's circa 1984 sampler quilt.  There are certain editing tools and features in Q-Matic (the computer robotics package that enables me to quilt digitally with my Bernina Q24 long arm machine) that don't get used in edge-to-edge quilting, and I'm learning more about how to use them to size and skew digital quilting designs to fit inside the imperfect shapes of patchwork pieced by humans.  My friend Marybeth is being extremely patient; I think I've had this quilt in my possession for six months at least, and most of that time I've been procrastinating and agonizing and catastrophizing about all of the ways I might mess it up...  But I'm feeling better about it now and I think it's going to look pretty good when it comes off the frame and I can see it as a whole instead of zooming in on every little imperfection.

Digital Block Design with Digital Sashing Design

I'm trying to balance out the different types of quilting throughout the quilt.  I think I have maybe three blocks like the one above where I've stitched one digital design across the entire block.  That can be quite lovely when it's a good pairing between the quilting design and the patchwork.  I did stitch in the ditch quilting in the patchwork seams prior to stitching the block design but some quilters would choose to just do the block design to save time (and to save money, if someone was paying for the custom quilting).

P2P Triangle Design with Separate Digital Motif in Block Center

In the block above, I quilted a P2P (Point to Point) digital design one at a time in each of the red print triangles.  Then I quilted a separate digital design in the center of the block.  I'll go back later and quilt the red and blue solid patches, probably straight line quilting with rulers.  I'm learning (belatedly!) that it's more efficient to do all of one type of quilting throughout the quilt before moving on to a different type of quilting.  When I started working on this quilt I knew enough to do all of my basting and SID (Stitch In the Ditch quilting along all the seam lines) throughout the entire quilt before rolling back up to the top of the quilt to start on the fun quilting that actually shows, but then I tried to quilt one row completely (digital designs, ruler work, free motion quilting, multiple thread color changes etc) before moving on to the next row.  

Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Why I Should Have STARTED With a Pressing Plan

Good morning and Happy Saturday!  Check out this lovely HOLE in the center of my bear paw block.  Nice, right?

There's A Hole In My Quilt Top, Dear Liza a Hole!

Up until yesterday, I had four of these holes at the center of every single one of my bear paw blocks, as well as holes at the four corners of most of my sashing star blocks.  When I started making this quilt several years ago, I just started sewing and "pressing to the dark side" rather than making a pressing plan. 

The goals of a pressing plan are:

• to reduce bulk
• keep points crisp and sharp, and
• create the flattest possible quilt top sans thick, knobby bumps where too many seam allowances stacked up, and
• most importantly, to create nesting seam allowances wherever possible for perfectly matching seam intersections.  

(If you're following a pattern that includes pressing instructions, the pattern designer has already done this for you).  I realized the error of my haphazard ways after sewing this quilt top together, and came up with a delusional plan to fix it (late one night when bad decisions are made and it's best to leave the studio!).  I just popped the seams at all of the offending intersections so I could press the seam allowances in different directions.  Now my quilt top was nice and flat, but there were a bazillion HOLES in it!

See?  I ripped out the stitching to free the seam allowance.

I couldn't leave it that way (although I was tempted to!), because those holes were hazards waiting to trip up my presser foot during the quilting process, and then RRIPPP!!  It was piddly, fiddly, annoying work, but I did restitch all of those blocks closed and repressed the quilt top yesterday and it's so much better now.

The Final pressing Solution

See how I ended up pressing those intersections where my sawtooth star, sashing and bear paw block comes together?  I split the difference and pressed them into little squares.  Who knows whether the mythical Quilt Police would approve, but it's nice and flat and looks good (to me, anyway) from the right side:

Same Sawtooth Star, from the Right Side

One More, 'Cause They're So Cute

After that, I added my inner white borders:

Pinning Borders, Easing Top Slightly to fit Border

Ever since I started thinking about teaching new quilters, I've had a different mindfulness to my quilting.  I typically would be thinking ahead to the next steps, or even to the next project, but now I'm more focused on what I'm doing in this step, this moment, thinking about how I'm going to teach it to someone else. 

A lot of quilters struggle with keeping their quilt edges flat and square, especially if they have multiple borders.  I deliberately included the sashing strips and border in my class project so I can teach them how to do those steps successfully. 

I did talk with my dealer and she agreed that I could teach this as a two-day class, which I feel much better about.  I'm going to continue to think about ways to streamline the process and divide things up, and will probably put together a couple more sample tops as I do that.  I'm also going to corral some family members as guinea pigs and attempt to teach them the project in the allotted class time. 

My stitching has lagged behind a bit this week due to an unfortunate illness afflicting my 2nd floor air conditioning, turning my studio into a sauna.  It's fixed now, but I'm headed out of town after church tomorrow and that's the perfect opportunity for my 'Nina 750QE sewbaby to go in for her annual wellbaby visit.  I think there's an update that I haven't downloaded, too.  Then, when I get back, she'll be in tip-top shape and ready to sew up a storm! 

Enjoy your summer, and happy stitching, everyone!

Bearly Making Progress On My Bear Paw, But I've Been Busy!

The month of March has flown by in a flurry of activity, and the month of April is looking just as busy.  Since my last post, I did manage to get the bear paw baby quilt top assembled with the sashing and sawtooth star blocks:

Quilt Top Assembled, Ready for Borders

Ignore those wrinkles -- the quilt top is flat and square, I promise -- I slapped it up on the design wall in a hurry because I had nowhere else to put it and I knew it would be coming right back down to get borders anyway. 

This most likely will NOT go to my friend's baby granddaughter after all.  That baby was born over a month ago, and no gift was promised or expected...  I have lots of work for a new design client right now, dress rehearsals every night next week for the VOX performances of Bach's St. John's Passion next weekend, travel planned over Spring break, as well as getting ready for my husband's heart surgery to repair a defective valve.  And I'm remembering that when I started making these bear paw blocks back in May of 2014, this was supposed to be a quilt just for ME...  Every other quilt I've made has been given away to someone else.  And yet, the blocks just sat on the shelf all this time, and it wasn't until I got it in my head to put them together for a baby gift that I got motivated to finally put them together.  With everything else going on in my life, I don't need to put additional pressure on myself by creating stressful deadlines for projects that are supposed to be for my own enjoyment and relaxation!  I'm going to take my time with this quilt, enjoy making every stitch that goes into it, and then probably give it to some baby girl who has yet to be conceived!  ;-)

So yes, I'm still hoping to get the borders on this quilt top soon, but then I'm going to fold it over a hanger in my closet next to the math quilt top that I whipped up in 2014 but never finished. 

Math Quilt, Also Waiting to be Quilted

Multitasker that I am, I doodled some ideas for quilting this one on my iPad last Sunday during the sermon:

"Taking Notes" During the Sermon.  (Cough, Cough)

The Math Is Beautiful quilt never got finished because I got bored with it and had no purpose in mind for it, but that means it's perfect for practicing new quilting techniques without fear of "ruining" it.  And then I'm finally going to put my Jingle quilt blocks together and hang that top in the closet:

Jingle Quilt In Progress, pattern by Erin Russek

The Jingle quilt didn't get finished for two reasons.  One, I got carried away with alternative setting ideas and couldn't make a decision about how to set my blocks.  And two, I discovered that one of my red batik fabrics that I used in every single block is a bleeder!  That made me reluctant to invest any more time in the project, knowing that there was a possibility that even with Retayne, Synthrapol, Color Catchers, and a heavy dose of prayer, I still might end up with a ruined quilt at the end of it all.  Again, this makes the Jingle quilt a perfect candidate for learning new quilting techniques, because if I learn something, it wasn't a waste after all.

And I'm going to work on making the remaining pineapple log cabin blocks for my California King bed that is so close to completion, yet SO ENORMOUS that I can't even contemplate trying to quilt it on my domestic machine:

Pineapple Log Cabin In Progress, Will Finish at 124" x 106"

So once assembled, into the closet THAT enormous quilt top will go, and I'll work on the remaining blocks for my version of the Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt that I started back in October for my son Anders:

My Version of Moda Modern Building Blocks, Adapted for XL Twin Bed

Where will that quilt top go when it's finished?  You guessed it -- straight into my closet, shamelessly unquilted!  And meanwhile, I'll be prepping applique blocks for hand stitching in Florida and while my husband is in the hospital next month, to get that Frankenwhiggish needle turned applique quilt closer to becoming a quilt top, too:

Possible Final Layout for my Frankenwhiggish Rose Applique Blocks

First Completed Frankenwhiggish Rose Block with YLI Silk Thread

Now, you may be wondering why I'm planning to finish all these quilt tops without quilting any of them, right?  Well, a quilting "assistant" by the name of Thoroughly Modern Millie may be joining me in my studio in the near future... 

Julie Andrews, the "model of efficiency" as Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

Still working out the details on that, but I'm very excited about all the new possibilities that are opening up.  Stay tuned!

I'm linking up with:

·       Whoop Whoop Fridays at www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

·       Off the Wall Friday at Creations: http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

·       Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday at http://thecarpentersdaughterwhoquilts.com/?p=1620

·       Finished Or Not Friday at http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Baby Steps On the Baby Quilt

I've been very busy this past week, working on clients' design projects, learning my music for the upcoming VOX St. John's Passion rehearsals, and even had some minor outpatient surgery last Thursday, so I haven't exactly made great strides with my baby bear paw quilt.  However, I got about 15 minutes in the studio last night for fabric therapy and another 30 minutes this afternoon, and SOME progress is better than NO progress.

On the Wall, Now with Sashing Rectangles

So.  I printed out ten foundation paper patterns from EQ7 for my 4" finished sawtooth stars.  Then I cut out my white rectangles, 4 1/2" x 11", for my sashing.  And I started precutting my patches for the FPP star blocks.

Precutting Patches with Specialty Rulers

I rough cut my shapes using a generous 3/8" seam allowance rather than a standard 1/4" for paper piecing.  This enables me to control the grain line, minimizes fabric waste, and streamlines the process once I start sewing.  Since my block is based on a 1" grid and I'm paper piecing, I'm cutting 1 3/4" strips from which I subcut squares, quarter square triangles and half square triangles using my Nifty Notions Cut for the Cure specialty rulers.  That's the cool thing about those specialty rulers -- I only have to cut one strip size, and from that I can directly cut the correct size half square or quarter square triangles, without having to do any additional math, and without having to first cut squares and then subcut them diagonally as you do in traditional rotary cutting.  Those rulers were one of the best quilting notions purchases I ever made. 

Marble Hand Dyed Fabrics for Sawtooth Stars

I'm using prewashed(!!!) marble hand dyed fabrics from Marjorie Lee Bevis for my sawtooth stars, which are like delicious little textile treasures. I need 10 more stars, and although I have Bible study and choir rehearsal tonight, tomorrow is pretty open except for one ten o'clock meeting.  Hopefully I'll be able to sew up some stars after that.

I'm linking up with Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.  Also linking up with:

·       Finish It Up Friday at www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com

·       Whoop Whoop Fridays at www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

·       Off the Wall Friday at Creations: http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

·       Finished Or Not Friday at http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful night!

Amish Baby 54-40 Or Fight is Sashed and Ready For Borders

Sashed and Ready for Borders...  Maybe

As you can see, I managed to get the blocks sashed and assembled for my Amish Baby 54-40 Or Fight quilt top this week.  I love the design, and I'm mostly happy with the accuracy of my piecing: 

...However, I made the mistake of cutting all of my sashing strips to EXACTLY 12.5", which is what every block SHOULD have measured upon completion, and then easing the sashing to fit those blocks that finished slightly skimpier.  My blocks were all within 1/8" to 1/16" of the 12.5" ideal, but that little bit of easing coupled with the finagling I did to get all of my teal points so sharp and perfect, created just the slightest ripple along the outer edge of my sashing.  So now I have to clear off my big work table, take the quilt top down off the design wall, and do some measurements to determine whether I need to take any of the sashing apart and restitch it, or if I can correct for the ripple and steam iron everything flat again after I add the borders.  I do know enough to measure the length and width through the CENTER of the quilt top for the borders.  Maybe I can just straighten the outer edges, square the corners, add the borders and it will be fine? 

Next decision: Batting, backing fabric, and binding.  I've heard of black quilt batting made especially for black or dark colored quilts like this one, but never used them before.  Supposedly they help the dark colors maintain their saturated appearance over the life of the quilt, without white batting fibers working their way through the quilt top.  Looking online, I found two possibilities: Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Cotton Polyester batting, which is supposed to be just like their regular 80/20 Premium batting except that it is black, or Quilter's Dream Midnight Dreams Black 100% Polyester "Select Loft" batting.  Midnight Dreams is supposed to be just like the Select Loft Quilter's Dream poly batting. 

Now, in the past, I've used Minky cuddle fleece for backing fabric and prepackaged wide sating binding on my baby quilts, and the parents and babies-toddlers-preschoolers have literally loved those quilts to death.  Clearly it's a winning combination.  For past quilts, I've just used a thin 100% cotton batting since the Minky fleece adds an additional layer of bulk and warmth, and I want the finished quilt to be drapable and very snuggly.  But I don't see anywhere that I can buy a thin 100% cotton batting in black, and I'm not as opposed to some poly content since Minky cuddle fleece is also a polyester fabric, as is the satin binding.  I did prewash and preshrink all of the fabrics in this quilt top to avoid the problem of a finished quilt where the top fabrics shrink and the batting and backing fabrics do not.  However, I want to use the thinnest, least bulky black batting that I can find.  If any of you have any direct experience with Hobbs 80/20 versus Quilter's Dream Poly Select Loft, please let me know in the comments which you would recommend for this project and why.  I don't think my LQS stocks black battings, so I may just have to order some of each online and experiment with samples in person.

I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Happy Stitching!