A little progress . . .

Life has been hectic for us the past few weeks. My hubby was called to fly to a job site two times, staying for 3-5 days each. We had several deaths, young and up to 96. I put two items on Kijiji and got over twenty calls in one day. Never mind the normal stuff like quilt guild meetings, a quilt show, hair cut appointment, voting, medical appointment, day of prayer, and stuff like laundry and house cleaning. 

However, this quilt keeps calling me to add more pieces. I was worried about this face but am happy with it. I may do some shading on it, haven't decided. This picture shows less than half. Joseph and the baby Jesus are still to be done.

I've learned a few things on this one, so when it is done and the pattern is ready, it will have a few new tips for making it with less stress than it looks!

Nativity Two - Progress

Canadian Thanksgiving was lovely and leftover turkey means less time in the kitchen and more time in the studio! Here is the progress on the Nativity Quilt...

The first one is the left side, the other on the right. I'm hoping not to buy any fabric. Some of the pieces are tiny, but fused down and will be stitched. It is sort of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Fun. 

Baby, One-Block Wonder, and a new Nativity

Last Sunday we went to a nearby forested area and I took a few pictures. I left my camera in hubby's car and he left Monday for a project in Portland, so my camera sat in a parking lot all week. That is my excuse for being a tad late with a post. But I am inspired by the roots of this tree, and the invitation to walk in those fallen leaves...

First an easy finish. I pulled a panel out of a drawer for some practice on the longarm. It is a cute "cheater" quilt and will find a home soon.

Second, that one-block challenge with all seams on the bias still hangs on the wall. Here is a glimpse of parts of it. I had hubby pick up the backing for it in Portland, thanks to the "order online and pickup in store" policy at Fabric Depot (love that store). I've got a few ideas how to quilt it, and also bought some blue crystals, at the suggestion of a friend.

Third, I'm at it again with a new Nativity quilt. This one is the results of so many requests for the pattern for this one. As you can see, it is just in the beginning stages, and is fussy work, but I love the color contrasts. This is part of the top of the design. More pictures later as it progresses.

Also making plans for November 14, a Saturday. I'm working with the Canadian Quilts of Valour group to host a 'sewing for soldiers' day using the large foyer at our church. We will be making tops only, so no quilting experience is necessary. People will bring their machines, some thread, and be prepared to cut, sew, press, and have fun. If anyone lives in Edmonton, AB and wants to come, post a comment with your email so I can send you more info. This isn't on their website yet, but hopefully soon. It is an amazing way to say thank you to our wounded military men and women, and to our veterans. 

Progress on One Block Wonder

This mass of triangles is finally sewn together. It needs a final press before I load it on the Avante and stitch in many ditches to stabilize it. Every seam is on the bias!

I've no idea what to do after that, so if anyone has suggestions??? One of my friends won a ribbon at our last guild show, but I don't remember how she quilted it. Guess I need to give her a call. 

By the way, this is two colorways of the same print. I'm left with enough to put a few bits in the backing and it will be all used up.

Progress and One-Block Wonder

Life has a way of tossing curves and blowing up plans, but I'm still getting a few things done. The last "leftovers" quilt has been quilted and I'm now stitching down the facing. I tried a new (for me) way to put on the hanging sleeve by sewing the top edge of it by machine on to the top facing. The sleeve was hemmed on the ends, but not the long edge. That was done after it was sewn on the facing. Then the facing was pinned and stitched by hand to the back, and I will hand stitch the bottom of the sleeve when I get the other facing pieces done. It is looking okay, but I'm still thinking of it as a 'practice quilting' quilt. Pictures in a few days.

This one is on my design wall... a one-block wonder from a print in two color ways. Most of the darker blocks are just randomly placed as I sew them. There are dozens left to stitch, so this one will take a while to finish and sew together.

I wasn't too sure about the overall layout, so made a few hexies in CorelDraw and moved them around, finally deciding that tall and narrow with the lighter fabric at the bottom looked the best. Now that I see this picture, I like it, but need to rearrange some of those blocks. Deciding how to quilt it is going to be a challenge!

Progress Report for August

This is the first quilt... done awhile ago... "K-5"

And this is the one from the leftover strata ... It is about 72" square

I was going to do this... which is pretty...

But decided instead to do this... which goes with the decor in our loft...

Busy? Yup. One more being pieced, one more being quilted ...

Flying Geese and Half-Square Triangles

Those quilts with a zillion small pieces sewn into 'flying geese' or 'half-square triangle' can be intimidating. Not only that, when the pattern asks for triple-digit quantities of them, I just moan. However, there are a few tricks...

This week I've rediscovered one in which you can make 4 flying geese at the same time. The first set of directions I found used 5" charm squares, but another author suggests 5 1/4." She gives full instructions, pictures, and the formula for different sizes. Here is a link that includes this method, plus three others, with charts to show how big to cut the pieces. Flying Geese Methods

As for the HST method, it makes 8, yes 8 of them at one shot. It works really well and I've not seen this one before (mainly because I never looked until falling in love with a pattern that needs a zillion of them).

In this method, the instructor uses a special ruler to draw the sewing lines, which is totally unnecessary. Just draw each line corner to opposite corner and sew 1/4" on either side of it. No need for that ruler/gadget.

Other videos and instructions give variations, like pressing seams open (don't like it because you can see the seam through the light triangle fabric). One has a different formula for the size of the square you need, and had I used it, mine would have been too small. The formula should be "finished size of HST x 2, plus 2" and this gives very little to trim off. So if you want a 2" finished HST, use two squares that measure: 2 x 2 = 4, plus 2" = 6". The link to the free video (at least it is free right now) HST - 8 at a time.

I've not cut the 4" centers yet, but this is my first stab at what I might do with them, an old familiar design, but there are many variations . . .