Daisy Chain QAL - Unit B

After getting the directions for unit B of the Daisy Chain Quilt Along,  I decided to switch gears and use some of my Island Batik fabrics as the "Assorted Scrappy or Coordinating Fabrics."  You all know how much I love using batiks, don't you?

So I chose two batiks and cut the required strips needed.  Then I sewed strip sets as directed.

Next,  I sub-cut the strip sets and sewed the four patch units. 

These thirteen squares would make a great table topper all by themselves.  

I am sure that I will get a very pretty quilt using these fabrics.  

Color me happy!

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Daisy Chain Quilt Along - The Piecing Begins

You may remember that I chose the fabrics  for the Daisy Chain Quilt Along

Then  I  did the cutting and actually organized it quite nicely (for a change.)









Now the first sewing instructions have been posted and I have completed the first step.
In this stack there are 40 four patches for the Mystery Quilt.  The directions call for 39 but I had enough pieces to make 40 - and I didn't count until all 40 were made.  I call it good.  It is nice to have a spare in case one isn't quite the right size - or if I mess it up in a later step.

That is really purple... the colors did not photograph well. 

I must say that I have gotten spoiled with the Island Batik fabrics.  They don't generally fray - but as you can tell, this orange fabric has frayed quite a bit.  This will still make a good quilt  but it will leave more of a mess in the process.

Are you quilting along with us?  It isn't too late to start.  There are four size options from Baby to Queen.  I am making the throw size.  It is bigger than a baby quilt, but smaller than a twin.   It is nice to have throw quilts to snuggle in on a cool night - or to take on a sunny day for a picnic.   But you may want to dip your toes in making a baby quilt. Those are great to have on hand for baby gifts.


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Sampler Blocks

The  Left-Handed Quilter Sampler quilt along is moving along and I have made a few blocks.
This sampler is based on the nine-patch grid so each block is a type of nine-patch. In honor of that, I have included a basic nine patch with the other blocks.

From left to right the top row is: Friendship Star; Blue Chains, Aunt Malvernia's Chain Variation
The second row is: Greek Cross Variation,  Basic Nine Patch, Contrary Wife.

So, for this I have only nineteen blocks left to go.  Actually, I did make a Churn Dash. It seems I never get those to come out correctly.  After ripping out seams several times, the fabric frayed and distorted so that it is a quarter inch small in some areas. I will put it in the sad orphan blocks for future use.  Maybe I will try again on the churn dash for this little quilt.


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Fabrics for the Daisy Chain QAL

As I told you about the Daisy Chain Quilt Along,  I have picked my fabrics for it and they are separated from my "stash" so that I don't accidentally use them in something else.

Here are my selections.

The orange will be my background fabric. The yellow with multicolor circles will be my focal fabric.  I will be using both the purple and aqua as my accent fabric (because I couldn't choose just one.) The strips will be my assorted scrappy or coordinating fabrics.

But if I change my mind about the assorted scrappy strips or need to supplement them, I can also use the black version of the circle print!  That might be more fun.  What do you think?

Are you going to join in the Daisy Chain Quilt Along?


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Two Blocks -LHQSQ 2.0

For the Left-Handed Quilter Sampler quilt along,  I have made my first two blocks.  Since there are 99 blocks to choose from and we are only making 25 of them, we can choose which ones we want to make.
My fabrics for this will be mostly Kaffe Fassett by Free Spirit.  The 10" squares and some charm packs were on sale and I couldn't resist the colorful delights.

The pieces were cut with my Accuquilt Go! cutter using the 8" Qube set.  These are 6 inch finished blocks, but the 2" square and 2" half-square triangles from that set were perfect for cutting these.

The Contrary Wife is the first block I chose to make.

These two blocks are in the "not too hard" category, in my opinion.  They are simple half square triangles and simple square fabric units.

For the second block, I chose an old favorite - the Friendship Star.

This block can be arranged to rotate either direction.   These fabrics certainly change the look of the blocks.  One of those yellow HSTs has blue right along the edge of the star point which seems to change the shape just a bit.  The center square has a pink burst that is seven pointed.  It is actually the veins of a leaf, but it has a nice "starburst" feel in the middle of my star block.  This was completely serendipitous - but I love it.

Only 23 more blocks to go...but I will be taking this one slow and easy.

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Block 6

The Beginner's Quilt along is already on block number six.  It was posted today and I actually got it made the same day.  Yaay me!
Here is my block (it is more square than it looks in the picture. )

I fussy cut the hibiscus print for the center of the block. Since none of the fabrics in the fat quarters I chose for this quilt along had a print that made a great fussy cut, I added a little of this I had in yardage.  I can fussy cut a few more pieces from it I think.  If not, there is the rest of the yard.  Ha ha.  Plus I need three more with embroidery or applique on them.  This quilt along is going so fast that I am thinking I may need to make a second version of every block and make a second sampler quilt.  I am really loving the blocks in this quilt along.
There is a nice button/link to the quilt along on my left sidebar - jut in case you are tempted!

UFO - working toward a finish

Do you have UFOs at your house?  I have several.  I remember that I had this one and it definitely needs to be finished for my big sale in November.  This quilt was a quilt-along top in a Layer Cake quilt along.  I worked as a designer and designed one of the blocks. 


Tonight (after my day job!) I pulled out this top, some quilt back muslin and some Warm and White batting and got started.  I pressed the muslin and the top first. Then I started layering. I used my infamous hair spray basting spray. But since this is a larger lap quilt, I also added some pin basting. 
Here it is all layered and basted. 

Don't you love that ziggy-zaggedy border?  I used my Accuquilt GO and the parallelogram die and a matching sized triangle die to make it.  Which block did I design?  Look at the second row down -middle block. I think I have the pdf I wrote for that block if you want it.
Might take me a couple of days to find it though. 
For the pin basting, I just used my sewing pins and some of those soft earplugs to anchor them so I don't stick myself. 
Here is a closeup. 

I don't know if you can see them - there are four in this picture but I can only see three. I got the purple ones because they were on sale - and they show up pretty well on most things.  I put the pins in about every 12 inches. With the spray basting, I think that will be plenty. 


For now it is rolled up and ready to be quilted. 


Oh yes, that little art quilt I made - well I sold it the first day.  I took it to show some co-workers and one of them bought it for her bedroom.  She was all excited about it. I know it will have a great home. 


So how many UFOs do you have? Or are you like me and totally uncertain, but know there are some?

LCQA Quilt Top with Border

LCQA Quilt Top with Border, a photo by GeneBlack on Flickr.

I got the border added to my Layer Cake Quilt along quilt top.

I like the color punch and extra movement the border adds to the top. I wanted to make the corners come out "even" but that just didn't work out. I still like it!  I did get all the green points headed inward and the red ones pointing outward.

Sashing and Cornerstones

With all the blocks completed in the Layer Cake Quilt along, I have been slacking.  But tonight I found some mojo and started working on the sashing and cornerstones for this quilt. 
I am using a mottled medium tan for the sashing with pieces of the fabrics used in the blocks as cornerstones.  
Originally I was going to use a yellow sashing, but I decided it would overwhelm the quilt as there is already a fair amount of yellow in the blocks. (The main fabric line is called Golden Afternoon) 
Here is how it is starting to shape up. 

The cornerstones with several of the block settings make for some interesting secondary designs.  See how there is a bit of a "chain" but then there is a non-square bit of the darker blue that changes it suddenly. I can't wait to get it all sewn together so I can see how it plays out. 


I apologize that the lighting in the picture is not great. My day job interferes with my quilting - but I couldn't afford to quilt without it. Ha ha. 

Replacement Stars

The latest blocks for the AccuQuilt Go! Quilt Along were posted this weekend.  Unfortunately, the block posted is the Blazing Star by Eleanor Burns.   I don't have that die so I had to make replacement blocks.  One of the options listed was to pick a block from the GO! Mix and Match dies. So I chose one and used the colors that were to be used in the posted block.
Here are my replacement blocks. 

I think these will look great with the other blocks I have made for this quilt along. 


FYI there is a giveaway at One More Quilt with nice prizes.   

Quilt Alongs - Update

I am caught up on Quilt Alongs this week.  


I did my blocks for the GO! Quilt Along by Quilt Possible .  This is really  a full block in the center with half blocks on each side. I like the way it looks laid together this way. 

And I did my block for the Layer Cake Quilt Along (Link on the button in the sidebar)

I am not totally happy with this block.  The seams  didn't match up as well as I like. C'est la vie! 

Setting - I Forgot!

Yes my friends, after doing that blog post about the setting triangles, I totally forgot to post the picture when I put the setting triangles and border on my small convergence quilt.  So today I will correct that error.  I am sorry that I didn't iron this prior to taking a photo, it is slightly wrinkled from being draped over a pile of UFOs. 

I have also been working on my Quilt Possible AccuQuilt Quilt Along blocks for round two. 
Remember these from yesterday?

By some error, I didn't read the directions carefully and didn't cut enough pieces for the entire block, so I have two partial blocks completed. Here is one of them. 

They are supposed to be 16.5" by 6.5" -mine are a bit short. Ha ha. Luckily, it will be easy enough to correct.  I love the way the engineered/pre-trimmed corners on the triangles make it easy to get the points perfect. 

Sewing and Digitizing.

I am sure some of you are wondering what I have been up to lately.  I haven't posted in a couple of days.  So here is what is going on.  I had this idea that I wanted to make happen. So I ordered something necessary.  If you read the entire post you will find out ....be patient. I had to wait for it to arrive. I was almost patient. 


Meanwhile, I sewed all of these:

They need ironing and a few threads still need clipped. But they are for the AccuQuilt GO! Quilt Along that I am doing. These will turn into block two. Actually they will make two of block two. 


Then yesterday the big brown truck delivered THIS:

I was very excited because I have never done machine embroidery. I was worried that the 4" by 4" embroidery field wouldn't be big enough to make me happy. I didn't know how much I would really use it,  so I didn't want to break the bank buying a top of the line one just yet.  Now I am thinking the size of the field is big enough for me  until I decide and can afford to move up. 


Last night I stitched out this:

Kokopelli the flute player - although to me he is playing a penny whistle. Ha ha. Among other things, he represents the spirit of music.


Then this morning I sat at the computer and digitized this design, then I sewed it out.

In case you don't recognize it, that is the outline of my home state, Alabama. 
Don't be too critical of my samples of embroidery.  I sewed them on un-ironed scrap cloth.  I wasn't very patient and just had to try it, right at the moment. (Okay, so if you skipped the text and scrolled down to see the pictures first I forgive you.  I am not really very patient either.)


I am hoping to use the State outline and do some logos for work.  Perhaps I can even earn enough money to buy one of those top of the line embroidery machines! 

Finally Feeling Better - So I made some Quilt Blocks

After a couple of days feeling blah and wishing I felt better, I have finally rounded a corner.  I am doing the AccuQuilt GO! Quilt Along hosted by Ebony at Quilt Possible. The first block was posted back of February 17th.  Yikes!  I am late. At least block two hasn't been posted yet. 
For block one we were to make eight of the Whirlwind blocks.  Here are four of my completed blocks laid together so I could see this secondary design. I love it, I could make an entire quilt of this block. 

Since I cut the pieces for this block with the AccuQuilt Go! cutter, all the pieces fit together wonderfully and the cutting was fast. My points are near perfect and I am happy. (Disclaimer: I don't stress over perfect points; but I do like them.)  

For this quilt along, we were to pick two neutrals and six other fabrics. The other fabrics are 3 sets of two in light and dark, as are the neutrals. My light neutral is a natural muslin, the dark is a tan. 

The fabrics in the dark triangles are a bit confusing as they did not photograph well. The triangles that form the center pinwheel are a hand dyed fabric that is burgundy with a bit of green in it. The light that goes with that is the mottled light burgundy/pink.  

The dark outer triangles are a mottled purple that goes with the light purple/white floral. 

There are two colors that are NOT shown, as they didn't come into play this round.  I have a solid light green and this green with purple and yellow in the foreground:

I think the purple in this will play nicely with the other fabrics. 

If you are on FaceBook you may want to "like" AccuQuilt.  It will let you see what other people are making with the GO! cutter and occasionally they give away some great prizes. Tell them "Gene Black sent me over here" if you want to.  And you might mention that I should be on their "Blog Friends" wall, too. (Yes that is shameless self-promotion) 

I just spotted this: If you sign up for email updates at the AccuQuilt website they have a $100 monthly gift certificate giveaway.  I am glad I am signed up. I would love to win one of those! 

Thanks for all the 'get well' wished over the past couple of days. You have really made me feel loved. 

Free Motion Quilting

 A little while back, I found out about this new quilt along.   This one is very different. Instead of making blocks and ending up with a quilt top (also known as a flimsy,) this quilt along is all about the quilting part.  Free motion quilting is what we are learning in this.  I have done free motion but I want to get better. It is an excellent goal, don't you think?  This is over at A Few Scraps blog.

We have learned about things that are needed, how to set up your machine and got instructions to make a simple- VERY simple-  quilt top. It is important to not be attached to the top you are learning on.   Yesterday the first bit  real quilting instructions were posted.  It is really simple lines and shapes, but simple can be surprisingly difficult to do well.
Here are a few pictures of my sample quilt sandwich -the practice pad!

This picture shows a bit of all of it. I kinda cut off the close together straight lines.



Here are the zigzags that go between some of the straight lines. Reasonably even stitches- Yaay!
You can see the close straight lines in this too- stitches not as even.



This shows the loops.  I am VERY HAPPY with the stitch length on the loops. They were the last step.
I think that shows why you should always do a bit of practice prior to working on your precious quilt. It helps to get you into the groove and get your stitches regulated with your hands, foot and eye.



I am happy to say that this quilt along is one that will make a difference in my free motion work and hopefully embolden me to quilt larger quilts on my machine without doing "quilt as you go."

Why don't you go over to afewscraps.blogspot.com/ and join us?

Final piece of the puzzle

Over in my sidebar is a button for the Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along 2010 at Moose on the Porch Quilts blog.  We started on March 1st and made a block every two weeks.  I was always ready to make the next block.  And now suddenly, WHAM!  today the last block was posted.  I was finished with the block before I realized that I was at the end of the quilt along. 
Next up, we will sash and border the quilt top.   Konda said we would make the quilt 58" by 72" but I am thinking I will just make my outside sashing wider and not add the final border.  Thus mine will probably be 48" by 62" which is  a nice lap quilt size, I think.  


Here is that final block for you to see how I did mine.  I plan to do the sashing in heavy muslin with leftover pieces of the jelly roll as cornerstones Although leaving out the cornerstones would eliminate the point matching (which you can see in the picture I don't always succeed in doing.)

UFO - found and finished!

I believe I told someone the only UFOs I have are the two quilts I am avoiding working on.  I was w-r-o-n-g!
I was working in my ironing room and actually looking for a specific piece of fabric. (yes it is in most of the rooms in the house - gimme a break - is yours all neatly stored? Hmmm?  didn't think so! or else you have too much time on your hands. )

I found a nice pieced beginning for a table topper that I made back in February.  I had finished the piecing and posted about it and then it sneaked off and hid on me.  I had almost forgotten it until I worked on the Moose On the Porch Jelly Roll Quilt Along block today.  My block looks like this:

You see, I decided to use some Neptune honey bun strips in this, rather than cutting jelly roll strips to 1.5

The table runner used strips from that same honey bun. I guess that prompted the pieced top to appear. Who knows?  I will just say "serendipity!"

By the way, Barb posted a TUTORIAL for piecing this if you want to make one of your very own. 

So I cut a piece for the back and the batting and sat down and sewed.  I didn't want to do a binding, so I sewed it "escape hatch" style and turned it and used topstitching to close the open edge and also finish all the edges. Here it  is draped over the back of my recliner. It looks pretty nice there, don't ya think? But the problem with a leather recliner is nothing stays there. it just slips and slides off. 

And here it is laying in the seat with the edge flipped over so you can see what I chose to back it with. A nice GREEN fabric. (see Tonya, I do use green!)  

I think if the top was just too busy with something else on the table, it could be flipped to the simple green fabric for a more "plain" look. I haven't quilted it yet.  I am debating just how or IF I will do it. 

So that is what I did today.  I am not mentioning the "other" cutting I did. I have been accused of rubbing it in about that cutter. ( by Pat  and Nancy)  heheheheee How is that for "not" mentioning it? 

And - I finally figured out what that blogger background image problem I had.  Would you believe it was a "gadget" that put the background image on the page?  It was, and it is gone now!

Edit:  All the grief I am catching about my "ironing room" Sheeesh, I have the ironing board in a bedroom that functions as storage, music room (my little keyboard is there) junk room, and yes, ironing room.  I wish I had lots of space but I just have to make do.  Trust me, it is nothing grand!

PS...I would bet Nancy has all her fabric folded on little mini bolts and on shelves in a closet. 

Quilt Along update AND presenting my Newest Fabric

First up is my Block from the Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along.

Then I want to show you my newest printed fabric.  I had it printed by Spoonflower.com  You can even order some for yourself, if you would like - rotary cutter not included.  ORDER by clicking HERE

What else have I been doing?  I am still working on the commission quilts.  That is taking lots of my time.  Oh and working at my job and keeping up a house....yeah...I am not a slug. (just so Barb knows, ha ha.)

I made a big pot of veggie soup this evening.  Yummy!

Edited:
You know what? I thought the painting was on my website, but it isn't. You can see it here