Pat – Page 6 – Time to Quilt

Two finished robins

These were “My Own Round Robin” projects with a final ending date this coming Saturday. (Yes, I procrastinated making this last round until I almost ran out of time!) It was a group project but instead of passing the top around, each person’s original selection of prompts was rotated. The prompts were a choice of three different colors or one type of fabric. You had to at least use one of the choices for that round. No one knew in advance what their next prompt would be, we found out monthly.

This month one of my choices was “dots” for the fabric type so that’s what I used for both quilts

All week I’ve reminded myself why I rarely enjoy making the type of quilt you have to put aside for several weeks at a time. I’m much happier going from start to finish. When I put something aside for several weeks, it’s just fun to pick up and work on again if you’re in the middle of a project you really want to make. If I’m not careful, I’ll turn it into a UFO. I know that and it’s why I normally avoid BOM’s, round robins, sew-alongs, and mystery quilts. 🙂 Oh, and did I mention I was crazy enough to attempt making two quilts? LOL Maybe I’ve finally learned my lesson. Maybe.

The finished patriotic quilt

The first four months rounds

The finished teddy bears’ quilt

The first four months rounds

These photos show the backing used on both quilts.

I decided to make a flange binding for the teddy bear quilt. I make mine a bit wider than some quilters do so I can topstitch on the binding part rather than in the ditch on the flange.

I cut the binding at 1.5″ and the flange at 1.75″ and press the seams toward the binding fabric.

I had planned to use the same pink as the narrow strip between the 3rd and 4th rounds but when I chose this purple backing it didn’t look great from the back. I used it for the flange instead. It’s hard to see in the photo of the finished quilt.

When I’m attaching my binding to the back of the quilt, I don’t sew off the end at a diagonal like some methods demonstrate. Instead, I stop 1/4″ from the end and backstitch.

When I’m pressing out the binding to get ready to top stitch, I use my embroidery scissors to cut of a little tiny bit of batting from the corner. (You have to be super careful NOT to cut into the fabrics though.) It really helps those corners to lie a lot flatter and avoids that big bump… especially when you have a flange and even more fabric in that miter.

I use the line in middle of my walking foot as a guide and shift my needle position one click to the right. It allows that line of stitching to fall very close the flange/binding seam.

Here’s a tip… Always fold the button of the binding up first – not the side. That keeps the diagonal folds going in the opposite directions on the top and back of the quilt which also helps the corner lie flatter.

I also stick a large head pin in the diagonal to hold the miter. When I approach the corner I use my needle up/down to take the last two or three stitches so I don’t accidentally run over that pin. Once I’m next to it, I lift the presser foot and pivot the quilt, pull the pin, and keep stitching down the next side. The pin really helps to temporarily hold the miter in place.

I hope this helps and, that it makes sense! It’s easier to do than it is to explain. 🙂

Batting

I’ve been purchasing Pellon 80/20 batting from Walmart for quite a while now. It’s been $40.99 for 9 yards by 96″ for at least the last year. The shipping is free with my Walmart account.

In the last month I’ve gone through a lot of batting. I placed an order on Friday night and it was delivered on Sunday morning via FedEx.

I usually keep 4 bolts (36 yards) on hand. I just split the cardboard bolt at the end and slide my arm in to spread the opening a bit so it’ll slide on the 2 inch pipe under my longarm.

I don’t like to wait until I run out as they’re occasionally out of stock.

The only place I keep batting cut-offs is at the end of the long arm table. They’re generally not in the way because I don’t quilt many large quilts. I know that if I designate a better, out of the way, place for them it’ll be easier to let them pile up. Once I have a few large pieces I go ahead and stitch together. I only need about 45″ x 55″ for a kid size quilt so I use them up pretty quickly.

This is actually more than I normally accumulate and it was enough to make 2 Frankenbatts. It’s been a busy week or two and I just haven’t had the energy to deal with them.

I need to start reading more books. I’ve gotten out of the habit lately for some reason. I read this one years ago but I remember how much I enjoyed it so beginning with this one.

And will move on to a few others by the same author.

Create!

I have several wall hangings in spectrum (rainbow) colors, except for one special black & white piece.

I found this older post today and since I’ve wanted to republish some that were archived, I decided to begin focusing on ones related to my sewing room.

After that, I’ll share photos of how the room looks now. It was always useful to have a reference when talking with a friend about our sewing rooms.

The post below was originally written on January 10, 2021.

I saw the idea in an old magazine by Angela Bowman. She’d made one with the word “MAKE”. I loved it and wanted to use the word “CREATE” for mine. She used an 1980’s font called “Edit Undo Line Break”.

I searched online and found a free font to download. I initially thought I’d need to graph each letter, but after printing several sizes, I was excited to see that an 800 font size worked perfectly. I just measured each piece and added a 1/2″ seam allowance.

All strips were cut 1″ wide to finish at 1/2″, including the strips between the letters and the outside border.

The first one was made with ombre letters and a white background. I didn’t think it was going to look good on the wall color I had at that time so I remade it. The second time I used some leftover Kona jelly roll strips and a black background. (Each letter took less than one jelly roll strip).

When I first saw the photo from a distance, I liked both pieces! My husband suggested adding “Re-” to the second one for Create and Re-create. He’s a funny guy!

I haven’t checked my trunk of wall hangings in a while, but I think I gave the white one to another quilter. I probably should have kept it because I really liked ombre.

The wall hanging finishes at 8 1/2″ x 40″. It took a skinny quarter yard of fabric for the backing. I used 1/2 yard of fabric for the background and binding. I chose to make a single fold binding with 1 1/4″ strips since it’s only a decorative piece.

Here are the details in case anyone wants to save the idea. I think it would be a cute method to use and insert a child’s name in the backing of one of their quilts.

Background, colored strips, spacing strips between letters, and border strips were all cut at 1″ wide (they finish at 1/2″)
The letter blocks are unfinished 8″ x 6 1/2″ so you may need to adjust your page margins to “0” before printing.
Each letter is made with 8 colored strips and 7 background strips.

I quilted it with a wavy serpentine stitch in the background rows. Super easy!!

You can downloaded the free font from 1001fonts.com. Just make sure to click the GREEN download button (the blue one is an ad that requires downloading an app).

A whole lot of nothing!

I’ve been busy for the last two weeks but not much that’s quilting related.

I came across this quilt when I was considering which ones to donate for a fundraiser.

It’s a block of the month from 2018 called Surf and Sand. I didn’t like the setting in the original pattern so it was a while before I took it back out to finish.

This was the original setting. I was lucky to find more of the Quilting Treasures fabric line for the setting I ended up making. I’d seen a photo on a long armer’s quilting page and was able to graph it out. I’m glad I waited because I’m much happier with the quilt I eventually made.

I made a lap quilt with nothing but leftovers. As you can see, it’s been folded for awhile. I need to do better at refolding my quilts every so often.

I have more scraps and these white strips I’d like to use up but I haven’t quite made up my mind what I feel like making with them yet.

I DO know what I think I’ll make with this half-roll I’d purchased from JoAnn’s several months ago on sale.

Your guess about what comes next is as good as mine! There are 2 of my quilt tops in line to be quilted and a couple for my guild’s outreach program so not much chance of getting bored anytime soon. 🙂

Happy Friday!

A finish

I completed another string quilt last week, and I’m really happy with the result.

I do need to make few quilts that are almost entirely strings to use more of them. I’d have been able to use double the amount of strings had I just pieced the 9″ blocks together. I used 12 blocks rather than 24 that I would have otherwise.

It is fun looking for ways to incorporate string sections into other patterns! I figure as long as I’m being intentional about using them often, rather than let them accumulate it’s all good. 😉

I took some photos while making the blocks using grocery store ads on newsprint paper.

Once the blocks were trimmed and the paper removed, I cut each 9″ block into 4 1/2″ squares. I forgot to take a photo of that step.

Each time I sew a string to the blocks I stop and iron them before adding the next string. Not everyone bothers to iron as they go but the extra step seems to make my blocks lie flatter than I think they might otherwise. It’s also a good opportunity to make sure the paper is easier to remove later. I to that by folding it back, sliding my thumbnail across the crease to sharpen it, then folding it back in place so it’s ready to add the next string.

Rocky (our cat) has his own little piece of batting to lie on and nap, watch me, or look out the window. I know people have cat allergies so I’m careful to keep the rest of my batting covered.

Today I’m cutting 2 1/2″ strips from Kaffe Fassett scraps for my next quilt. I didn’t think I had enough until I laid them out!

Any leftovers and narrow pieces will go into my next string quilt. It’s better to use them now than save them for Ron. (Late R On ;-))