Slow Days are Hazardous

Slow days while working in a quilt shop can be hazardous!  If one is a quilter, one tends to shop if there are no customers present, or one comes up with other ideas.  It was a slow day and a couple of us were looking at a bolt of fabric wondering about the best way to showcase it in a project.  I like a challenge and started sketching. By the end of the day I had cut all the fabric to make a store sample.  Making the sample is probably time-consuming enough, but since I came up with my own idea, I wrote the directions as I worked.  Here’s the finished sample.

The challenge fabric was the border print from the Hearth and Home Collection by Henry Glass & Co.  If you like the quilt and you can obtain the directions by clicking on this link Autumn Row Quilt.

I  mention splitting the seams to press a four patch block in the directions.  Here are a few pictures to make that process a little more clear.  (Or maybe everybody already does this?)

This first picture shows where the seams intersect in the middle of the four patch.

Gently grasp the seam allowances on both sides of the first seam sewn and pull in opposite directions to pop the unsecured stitches in the seam allowance.  This picture is a little blurry, but shows this process.

When the  seam is separated a small four patch will be created in the seam allowance.

When pressing the seams to the side a pin wheel effect will occur around the center of the block.

This method reduces  bulk at the center of the block.  Notice  how flat the intersection is on the right side.

If anyone uses the pattern, I’d love to hear back from you.  I think it is pretty detailed, but it is hard to be sure it is clear for someone else.

More than Seven Years in the Works

That title is just slightly misleading.  My sister gave me forty black and white fat quarters for my 40th birthday.  That was only the beginning.  For a while I picked up any new black and white print I saw.  In the mean time I was watching for a pattern in which I would use these fabrics.  A few years ago I found the perfect design — Mod Quads from Blue Underground Studios.  Still the fabric languished, waiting for me to get around to it.  Its time finally came when I started planning for my June trip to the mountains.  I piled all that fabric on my cutting table and would just cut a few quarter blocks at a time.  I finished the cutting, and stitching the blocks together was my big project at our retreat.  I took the prize for queen of chain piecing.

I had all the fabric for the top when I started.  I bought a yard of all those bright solid colors when a quilt shop went out of business here a few years ago.  it only took a one inch strip of each.  I’m pretty sure there are at least 80 different fabrics in this quilt.  The quilt is more than twice as big as the one on the pattern.  I’m hoping it will be a college quilt, and for once I’m ahead of the game by about 2 years.  Because one of the boys will eventually get this quilt, we took a vote for the quilting design.  It is quilted with Square Spiral by Keryn Emmerson and I used YLI variegated black and white thread.

Because I was in the middle of this quilt when asked about teaching classes, it is another project I am offering as beginner friendly.  I’ve been hauling it all over with me to get the binding stitched down and now it can go to the shop on Friday to hang as a class sample!

PS — I know I’ve deviated from my regular posts and it will probably be next week at least before I get back to it.  I’ve had a more than hectic week!

Mayfly Buddies

I finished up another store sample and it is already hanging in the store for all to see.  The purpose of this one was to showcase the Mayfly Buddies fabric line by Clothworks. 

I used a free pattern from the fabric manufacturer which can be found here.  I changed out some fabrics, because the quilt was a little too busy for my tastes.  There are a couple of what I consider errors on the pattern.  It calls for twice as much of the olive tonal print as is needed, and the directions say to cross cut and piece the outside border, yet the fabric amount given is enough to cut the borders lengthwise and skip the piecing.  Also all the pieced blocks finish with bias edges on all the sides, so beware of stretching if you decide to make this pattern.

I quilted the quilt with a panto called “Lotsa Ladybugs” from Heart & Soul Quilts – there are “ladybugs” in some of the fabrics.  However, I did replace random ladybugs with letters to pull in the alphabet theme of the quilt.  To do that I chose a font I liked and typed the alphabet into Mircosoft Word.  Then I adjusted the font size so the letters were similar in size to the ladybugs.  I chose the outline option for the font and printed.  I then just traced the letters on the plastic panto cover on my machine over the appropriate ladybug with a wet erase marker.  I managed to get the whole alphabet in the quilting.

In this picture you can see the “N” quilted.

The art in this fabric line doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I was pretty sure Guy would like it.  I was correct.

Tuesday’s Triangle — Half Square Triangles with a Ruler

Once again this week, I’m showing another way to make half square triangles.  This time I’m using a ruler made specifically for this purpose.

Start by cutting two strips of fabric 1/2 inch larger than the desired finished size of the block.  I chose to cut two strips right side together at one time.  That way the triangles are ready to stitch as soon as they are cut.  Cut off the selvedges on one end so there is a clean straight edge. 

 

Omnigrid makes the triangle rulers that I use the most.  They come in two sizes, one will make up to a 6 inch finished block and the other up to an 8 inch finished block.  If you are searching for them their names are R96 and R96L respectively. (There is also a metric version called the R915)

A close-up of a portion of the ruler shows a circle and arrows which show the proper direction of the fabric grain line when cutting half square triangles.  The numbers on the lines refer to the finished size of the half square triangle not the cut width of the strip.  There are also a lines across the 45 degree angle tips.  This line is to be lined up with one side of the strip.

There are other manufacturers of rulers that follow the same concept.  I have one from  EZ Quilting called Easy Angle. (Have I mentioned I’m the Queen of Gadgets?  The right tool for the job and all that.)  The main difference on that ruler is the numbers refer to the cut size of the strip rather than the finished size.

 Fons & Porter also have a ruler that will do the same thing it is called Half and Quarter, it makes both half square triangles and quarter square triangles.  (Omnigrid has a separate ruler for quarter square triangles.)

To cut triangles, line up one straight edge of the ruler with the clean-cut end of the strip and line up the appropriately numbered line with the long cut edge of the fabric strip.  The line at the tip of the ruler should line up with the other long cut edge.  For my example, I’m making a 2 inch finished half square triangle.   With the Omnigrid ruler I line up the line labeled 2 and with the Easy Angle I would line up the 2-1/2.  Cut along the angled edge of the ruler.

 

Flip the ruler over and line up the angled edge with the last angled cut, again lining up the appropriately numbered line and tip. Cut along the straight edge.

 

Continue cutting until you have the necessary number of triangle units or have finished the strip.  With right sides together, line up the long angled edge (the only bias edge) with the edge of a quarter-inch presser foot and stitch.  Chain multiple triangle units together.

Press the triangle units flat to set the stitches.

Press the seam toward the darker fabric.

And ta-dah – a finished half square triangle!

This is my favorite method for making half square triangles.  Probably because there is no fussing with marking, or cutting after stitching.  It’s just cut, sew, press DONE!  That doesn’t mean it is the best method for every application.  It works great when making blocks that have squares as well as half square triangles – i.e. a nine patch — because one size strip makes both the squares and the half square triangles.

Tuesday’s Triangle — Half Square Triangle #2

For today’s triangle, start with two squares of fabric 7/8 of an inch larger than the desired finished block size (a background color and the theme color).  In my example I wanted a 2″ finished half square triangle, so I cut the squares 2-7/8 inches.  (The square could be cut even larger and then the block would need to be squared up after it was sewn.)

Mark a line from one corner to the opposite corner on the wrong side of the lighter square.  Layer the two squares of fabric with right sides together.

At the sewing machine line up the edge of a quarter-inch foot with the line, and stitch down that side of the line.

Don’t bother to cut the thread, just lift the presser foot and turn the square so the edge of the quarter-inch foot can be lined up on the other side of the line.  Stitch again on that side.  (If chain piecing more than one square, sew all the way down one side of all the pieces then turn and come back on the other side of the line.)

Cut the square in half on the drawn line.

Press the seams toward the darker fabric, and there are now two half square triangles for the price of one.

I promise these are more square than they look.  I was in a hurry to get this written before leaving for work, so just finger pressed the seams, which means they aren’t laying  as flat as they will after using an iron.

Pros and cons.  Pro – the vast majority of the waste (as seen in last week’s method) has been eliminated.  There would be a very small amount when the dog ears ar trimmed.  Or there would be waste if the square was cut larger and squared up after sewing.  The only real con for me is having to mark the line for each set of triangles.

Tuesday’s Triangle

I’ve been mulling over the idea for a “how to” series, and have finally decided to just go for it.  My plan is to dedicate Tuesdays to triangles.  Different methods for stitching them and different types of triangles.  I hope there will be something for beginners as well as for the experienced.

I’m starting off with a method for a basic half square triangle.

Start with a square of the theme fabric and of the background fabric 1/2 inch larger than the desired block.  For my example I want a 2 inch finished half square triangle so I cut my squares 2-1/2 inches.

On the wrong side of the lightest square place a straight edge from corner to corner.

Mark a line along the straight edge.

Layer the two squares right sides together and stitch on the marked line.

If a person were making lots of half square triangles, they might get tired of marking all those lines, so here is a slight variation on this method.

Lower the needle on the sewing machine and line a straight edge up with the needle.

Mark a line straight out from the needle on the bed of the machine.  I would have added a base extension to my machine if I’d been doing more than a demo.  Many people will mark this line with a permanent marker, but in the off-chance I ever want to sell or trade my machine I chose to use an air erasable pen.  Masking or painters tape would also work.  There are commercially available products for marking the machine bed, but I don’t plan to add to my extensive collection of gadgets for this series.

Now put the needle in one corner of the layered squares and line the opposite corner up with the line on the bed of the machine.  Keep this corner on the line as you stitch.  You can chain piece to your heart’s content using this method.

Once the squares are stitched together, it is time to trim the seam to 1/4 inch.  I chose to use a small rotary cutter and ruler, but scissors will work.  If you are not concerned about bulk or shadow through, this step can be skipped.

To continue the visual process, here is the trimmed block.

The blocks are ready to be pressed.  First press the seam flat as stitched, to set the stitches.

Now press the seam toward the dark side (this is the general rule, unless it is necessary to press toward the light for construction purposes).  As simple as that a half square triangle.

As with most things, there are pros and cons to this method.  The biggest drawback for me is the waste unless the triangles are very small. (I’ll show you other methods in future weeks that eliminate the waste.)  A recommendation for this method –  it is easy to add a triangle to another shape.  For instance a larger square -

or a long strip/rectangle.

Vintage Friday – LeMoyne Star

I believe today’s vintage treasures were made by Guy’s great-grandmother (Sandra jump in here, if that is incorrect.

All of the show-and-tell today are LeMoyne Stars (aka 8-pointed stars).  First is a group of 29 hand pieced blocks.  I didn’t include duplicates in the picture.

Then there are three LeMoyne Star  quilt tops.  The blocks  in the first two are all hand pieced and the sashing was added by machine.  The first is predominately blue.

(I was lazy and didn’t press these before taking the photos.  They will be going back into storage when I’m finished here.)

The second is predominately pink.

And finally my favorite which is more complicated.  The whole top is hand pieced, but the border was added by machine.  It is more difficult to see the stars, but they are there.

 

I do intend to turn these into finished quilts at some point.  But until I start sewing on them, they aren’t my UFOs!

Little Bow Ties

I went to the mountains for a day and a half with my quilt group last week.  (Andrea was again extremely hospitable!)  Before I left, I’d spent time doing all the cutting for three projects, plus had everything for three more with me.  Yes, I’m an over achiever, but I didn’t want to run out of sewing.  I didn’t completely finish anything while I was there, but did hold the record for longest chain piecing  — 168 blocks!  I’ve continued to work on these projects as I have little bits of time and just finished one of the tops.  It is about 29-1/2 inches square.

The pattern is Bennington from the book Schnibbles Times Two.  It took two charm packs from Moda’s Lollypop fabric line.  I had some trouble with the piano key border and rather than repiecing it, took the lazy woman’s way out and cut off the extra.  That explains why there is a yellow strip sitting on top of one of the corner stones on the inside border.  Other than that border not fitting, it was a fun project.

Friendship Strip Quilt

The binding from yesterday wasn’t on a sample sandwich, it was a real quilt.  I put this quilt on my A-1 over Christmas break and when my neck went it sat for months!  Eventually I had a customer quilt I needed to do and finished this one to free up the machine.  Almost five years ago our quilt group exchanged autumn colored 2.5 inch strips.  I added a few more of my own.  The directions for this quilt came from Debbie Caffrey’s  Open a Can of Worms and is the Cobblestones pattern.  I added 1″ sashing around the pieced strips and cornerstones to the border.  Debbie’s book Open a Can  of worms which uses 2-1/2 inch strips throughout was around long before I ever laid eyes on a Jelly Roll or a Bali Pop, but it has great patterns that will work with those products.  Open Another Can of Worms also uses 2-1/2 inch strips. 

For the quilting I did continuous curves in all the pieced squares and freehand feathers in the fabric strips between the pieced strips and in the borders.  I did use a feather stencil to get an even spine, but the feather plumes are freehand. 

I’m not terribly fond of browns and oranges, but once I added a lot of green, this quilt became more pleasing to me.

The completion of this quilt takes another one off my UFO list!

Nothing New Under the Sun!

Sometime between 1996 and 1999, I sat down and figured out how to connect my binding strips at the corners of the quilt with a stitched mitered corner.  I’d never seen the method before. Imagine my surprise when about a month after all this mental activity I was surprised to see Jackie Robinson on Simply Quilts sewing  the corners exactly the same way only she had designed a ruler/template to mark that corner. 

Benefits of this method include reduction of bulk in the corners, and it is easy to keep the joins in the binding from ending up in the corners. 

In our monthly mini quilt group, we decided to do  demos in May and I chose to demonstrate this binding method.  Start by cutting and joining binding strips as usual.  I believe I used 2-1/2 strips cut on the straight of grain for this project.  I join the strips with a bias seam and make strips for each side of the quilt about 4″ longer than the quilt.  Press the strips lengthwise wrong sides together. 

The raw edges of the binding strips will go along the raw edges of the quilt.  The binding strips lay on the right side of the quilt while stitching.

Once you have determined your seam allowance width, leave a tail of about 2 inches and start stitching the same width as the seam allowance from the corner of the quilt.  So if the seam allowance is 3/8″ start stitching 3/8″ from the corner of the quilt.  I do back-stitch to secure.  Sew to the other end of the quilt and stop stitching the width of the seam allowance from the corner (again if 3/8″ seam allowance stop 3/8″ from the corner.  Back tack again.  Add the strips to all four sides in exactly the same manner.  At this juncture, the binding strips should meet at each corner and look like this on the right side of the quilt.

On one corner fold the two strips together at the point and pin in place.  The binding strips should be stacked precisely on top of each other.

Line up the binding miter tool with the end of the stitching on the corner and the folded edge of the binding.  There are marks on the tool, be sure the lined up marks are the same distance from the corner on each side.

Mark the corner.

Stitch on the drawn line back-stitch at the beginning.

Stitch to within one stitch of the corner, and take one stitch across the corner (this is the same method used on collars).  Stitch to the folded edge of the binding strips and back-stitch again.

Trim the seam, corner and the corner of the quilt in the seam allowance.

Turn the corner right side out.  I use the narrower angle of the ruler to push the point out.

Repeat for the remaining three corners, then hand stitch to the back of the quilt.

If all this is clear as mud, you can watch Jackie on video explaining the process here.  Jackie’s ruler will do 60°, 90°, 120° and 135° mitered corners.