My Innova long arm is giving me problems this week.
I’ve tried everything I could think of and, that Google and Chat GPT suggested but nothing has worked. So, now it’s a waiting game until I can get a tech here to check it out.
At least I managed to finish this quilt before the problem began.
I’m donating a patriotic quilt to the Greenacres Community Center for presentation to a veteran at their annual 4th of July celebration. It measures 48″ x 68″.
Our guild is wrapping up a two-year project to finish over 400 quilt tops that were in storage. There wasn’t enough time, quilt tops, or fabric for our guild to make and donate patriotic quilts again this year, so I’m working hard to create as many as I can.
The machine problems may have the quilting part out of commission for a bit but, I can plan, cut out, and sew a couple more tops while I wait. So, I may be down (temporarily) but I’m not out! Not yet anyway.
My goal is to work on a bucket list quilt, a simple pattern, and then a scrap/string top.
This week is the simple pattern. So simple in fact that no pattern was necessary, just a photo found on Pinterest for inspiration.
The finished quilt measures 48″ x 72″. Close enough to my 50″ x 70″ goal.
Our guild donated several quilts last year for the community center to present to veterans at their 4th of July “Ignite the Night” celebration.
We no longer have any tops in storage but we also no longer have the expense of maintaining the unit and that’s a good thing. Since we’ve been focused on finishing the 400+ quilt tops that were there, we haven’t had time to plan quilts for this year’s celebration. I’m making as many as I can to reach our goal of 12 quilts, the same as last year. I think I can do it!
This week I ordered two bolts (30 yards) of patriotic fabric from Marshalls Dry Goods to use for backing. That should back about 10 quilts. It’s 45″ wide so if I seam it horizontally, I’ll have about 18″ cutoff to use in other other tops.
So many of the patriotic fabric choices are out of stock at Marshalls but, they have a few available here and here. That’s not a white streak on the bottom of the first photo. It’s just a reflection of the plastic wrapper.
I finished quilting a scrap patriotic top yesterday and cut another top out today. Hopefully I’ll be able to machine bind it tomorrow after I get home from my monthly guild meeting and begin piecing the next one. I love a good challenge! 🙂
I completed hand stitching the binding on my project while driving to our family reunion on Saturday. We had a wonderful time, but I was exhausted after the 10-hour round trip, so I was glad that I was able to get if finished during the drive.
Luckily, I was able to take it outside for a photo today just before the rain came through just a couple of hours later.
I used dense quilting and chose a lighter textured grey backing, matching the binding to the border so the emphasize would stay on the quilt’s center.
It finished at about 61″ square.
This is the second Cindi McCracken pattern I’ve made that begins with a Dream Big panel. I made this one a few years ago.
I was surprised when I looked at the picture and noticed I used the same quilting design. It’s probably the only other time I’ve used it.
Because I’m trying to rotate between a bucket list quilt, a simple pattern, then a string or scrap one, the next up is a very simple patriotic quilt. If I don’t force myself to rotate, the quilts on my bucket list will never get made!
If you’ve never considered blogging before I’d like to suggest trying it! Even if you’re the only person who ever looks back and reads the posts – it will be worth it. I looked back through some of my old posts hoping to find some words of inspiration to encourage someone else to take that first step or, if you’ve blogged in the past, to think about trying it again.
This was my very first post. I started blogging to have a place to not only journal but, share what’s keeping me busy these days with people who have the same interests in common. There’s also this post about why quilters share photos of their work, including projects that didn’t go as planned. We often share details about our lives beyond quilting and it’s those details that often connect with quilters worldwide on a more personal level. Whether you’ve read either of those two posts or not, I hope you will now. And, that something there may inspire you to consider blogging too.
Since I don’t have any new quilt finishes to post this week, I thought I’d play around and see if I could figure out how to share the daily video my Cloud back-up sends me every morning.
I figured it out! Yay! I only have the Word Press upgrade to avoid ads but not the higher level to posts videos. I did find a way around it though.. I saved it to YouTube and then embedded the link here. Sure makes me sound a lot smarter than I am. (◔_◔) And yes, if you’re wondering, I did look up how to add a rolling eyes emoji.
If I were really all that smart, I’d find a simple way to locate all them photos of quilts that aren’t on my Finished Quilts page and add them. But, if you read that first post I linked to above, you’ll know that it’s simply impossible for me to make time.
( – ᴗ •́ )
Yesterday, I worked on a quilting a top I finished piecing this week. It was from fabrics I had purchased several years ago for a specific pattern and then promptly put it all away and never looked back.
I faced some issues when I was about 3/4 done quilting it. I had no choice but to spend several hours taking it off the frame, fixing the problem and then reloading it and hoping like heck I’d be able line up the quilting design.
I was beyond frustrated but, maybe even more disappointed about not being able to finish it by the weekend for my blog. It was the commitment to blogging once a week that motivated me to stay up late and keep at it until I either fixed the problems or figure out a way to rescue it so it wouldn’t be a complete loss. No small feat considering how much I wanted to just trash the whole thing and forget about it. Although it won’t be done before I leave for the family reunion on Saturday, it only needs the binding now. The reason it’s not in the trash is because of this blog!
I’ll round up/down the inches but here’s how it breaks down:
1418 yardage
I’m a little surprised myself. It certainly doesn’t look like that much. But, it includes 12 hidden bolts of wide backing, with three bolts on each sides of the closet, top and bottom. Calculations were made to convert square inches from a yard of 108″ width to one yard of 42″ width to be able to include them in the count. I know it’s crazy but I like to take inventory every year and last time, I didn’t include backing.
I deviated a bit from my original idea and decided to put yardage that was 3 yards or more on the very top and bottom of the closet. It opened up more space on the other shelves to make it easier to put away the fabrics I’ll pull more often. Maybe I’ll be able to keep them neater now.
107 yards pre-cuts
They’re now stored in the top drawer of my toolbox / cutting table, placing FQs on the left, skinny quarters on the right, and precuts in the middle. They fit well. The drawers are designed for heavier tools so they roll out easily, making access simpler compared to the bins I had in my laundry room.
I previously stored some works in progress and random string supplies in the drawer but found locations for those items that made more sense too.
84 yards scraps
Note: For me, a scrap is anything less that 1/4 yard.
I rarely use white or black little scraps so it’s just not a good idea to dedicate a place to keep them. I’ll use the two bins they were in for 2 1/2″ strips. I have more strips in one of the string drawers I’ll add to these. Low volume neutrals do come in handy so I’ll keep saving those. They’re with grey scraps since I didn’t have much of the grey or the low volume.
Focus print scraps had me stumped but, I finally decided it might be easier for me to USE and organize them if I cut for specific pre-chosen patterns. I’m going to give it a try for awhile and see how things go.
81 yards strings
The wood box on top of one the little carts is to toss strings into as I create them. I’ve been doing this for a while now and it works pretty well. Definitely better than having to open drawers for every little sliver. As long as I don’t pile other fabric on top but I’m hoping that my less crowded shelves will help me avoid making a “for now” pile here.
When the wood box gets pretty full, I’ll sit on the couch and sort them while watching TV like I did last night. 😉
215 yards kits
I took advantage of the shelf my husband installed for me on the backside of my long arm frame back in November to store my crates of kits. The little crates from Target were in the bottom of the closet but since I don’t need to access them until I’m looking for a specific kit to make, this location seemed like a better option. Out of the way but, no so far away that they’re out of mind too!
Some are actually quilt shop purchased kits with patterns I’ve procrastinated in making. Most are fabric groupings I put together as I came across fabric I know I wanted to use for a specific pattern.
These zippered bags I purchased on Amazon really come in handy for this. The price works out to 70 cents each for the size I wanted. I have them numbered and logged so they’ll be easy to retrieve. The journal will make also make it handy to look through the list and chose a project to work on.
No more scrap baskets! Quilt designer Trudie Hughes once told me that she always cuts her scraps as she goes for specific patterns. She was the most prolific quilter I’ve ever known and we kept in touch for quite a while. I should have listened to her back then but, I’ remember her advice and will try it now. There’s a reason I put off going through that basket of scraps until the end. I didn’t want to do it. That tells me, “don’t make this mistake again!”.
I have a small bin left to pre-cut for three pattern ideas. One is for bits of leftover 2 1/4″ binding, which will take some time, but I can start making blocks as I collect pieces.
I also finished my frankenbatts today. The top one is for a baby quilt I sew on a little at a time when I’m at the quilting bee. The bottom batting is for my bucket list quilt, which just needs borders. I might start quilting it by Tuesday. The middle batting is for my next patriotic quilt, sized at 50″ x 70″. I only have a small strip of batting left over and I’m happy to be caught up again.
I think I need to post a list of habits I want to work on where I’ll see it often. I just reread the book Atomic Habits by James Clear so I know what I need to do, I only have to get started.
It was a long, tiring week but I’m happy with the results. It was well worth the time and effort.
Having a number to put with the amount of fabric I have is going to stick in my head now. It’s sure to be a pretty good deterrent when I get the urge to go shopping. It also refamiliarized me with what I already own and be able to pair it with new pattern ideas when I see them. (Well, that’s the theory anyway.. lol)
Time to Quilt 