Round Up Week 22: Log Cabins and Power Bars Quilt Finished!

In the second session of the In the Studio with Lauren class "Appliqué", she covered freezer paper appliqué.  I again used a heart for my practice piece...  I'm pretty sure I finished this while still in bed. So I didn't notice until I was done that the shape of the heart had bent while I was working on it.  My concave and convex points need more practice, but this experience was sort of fun.

-------------

Lauren's class gave me confidence to try my hand at stitching binding.  I'm glad I finally did this..

I started and finished my first ever hand stitched binding!  The quilt is about 36 by 40 inches, and was done as part of the second session of the online classes: In the Studio with Lauren "Log Cabins and Power Bars'.  Without her classes I never would have had the nerve to try this, and I am sold!  It perhaps took a few hours for two days - I had the TV on in the background while I worked for part and listened to The Wedding Quilt on Audible for some of the time too.  Although I need to work on getting better corners, I'm very pleased with how the binding looks.  I tried to sew the 2.5 inch binding 3/8 of an inch from the raw edge, but once I hit the corner could see that I needed to be closer to 1/4 inch.  Next quilt I am going to try surrounding the quilt with a zig zag stitch instead of several victory rounds of straight stitching.  Perhaps that will be easier to place the stitches for the binding.  I sewed the binding to the back then stitched it down on the front by hand.

This quilt was made for our little dog, Buffy.  She has already liked being under it - and for a while sat on in when it was in the sun.  I haven't washed it yet, nor put a label on the project...

I realized after sewing a bit that being thrifty and using the needles left to me by my Mom was not going to work out.  With each stitch it felt like there was a little tug - as if the needle had a rough spot on the side.  So I actually went to a quilt shop to get new needles!  While I was there I brought the Add a Quarter Ruler that I had purchased online and some gizmos that were supposed to make it easier to thread a sewing machine needle to the store.  To exchange the Add a Quarter with the newer beveled edge version, and to get direction on how to get the needle threader to work.  It turns out the online purchases have to be returned to the online store for online store credit.  This was not clear to me at all when I made the purchase.  But at least I have online credit.  The threader took two people at least 20 minutes to get it to work. It did but not consistently.  (I had gotten three of them since the shop owner said they worked so well.  I was going to give two away as gifts.)  But it took so long to get it to work - and the one we used got bent up too.  So I returned everything (sans the bent one) to the store - so I have about $21 of credit now in the online catalog only. I am thinking of getting the Hex n More ruler recommended by the teacher of my next EBHQ class...

------------

Wavy blocks (from May 2021 EBHQ class by Marge Tucker) in white and pink WIP.  I made a total of 21 6.75-inch blocks and decided to sew them together in rows of 4 x 5 (so I have one left over block) as I had really run out of the fabric I had in the right colors.  It now measures 26 by 32 inches.  I'm thinking of how to do the next part of the project - still trying to make it look like it was planned fabric, rather than being scrappy looking...

---------

Not Quilting

I had my hair cut and a pedicure!

The hair had been about five or six inches longer than it is now.  When I made masks for neighbors, I found out one of them owned a salon - it was a very nice looking place - in a terrific location in downtown San Diego.  Everyone wore masks - felt normal and nice to be out again.  The neighbor wrote to thank me for my support of her business.  Times are tough for businesses...

I did well with walking the first day of June.  Passed some nice looking houses....

And passed a junior high, school in session. 
The music class had moved to practice outside.  It was a beautiful day.

Round Up Week 19: Classes and Lecture

 This past week was really nice and full of quilting inspiration and action!

Thursday was the first of 6 weeks of classes on hand stitching: In the Studio with Lauren.  This time we worked on reverse appliqué, the technique that is used in molas.

Here is my 'half hearted' practice piece...  Back and then front just so you can see the half heart.  The actual homework was to do a spiral shape but this was pretty difficult so I changed it just try the technique out.  It was easier and harder to do that I expected.  I'm hoping to connect more with the other techniques to be covered in the classes. But also think I should complete the heart design someday too.  Perhaps adding more detail or putting different colored fabric to show thru too would be fun.

I sandwiched and finished quilting the little quilt I made from the blocks in the previous class.  She called the class, Log Cabins and Power Bars.

I had to piece together some batting left over from an older project.  Did that just by hand basting the pieces together.

I used a table and did spray basting inside by an open screen door.  First I did the backing to the batting, then flipped it over and then did the top to the batting.

When it comes time for me to do a larger quilt, I will get things in place and then have my helper watch part of this video! http://www.aqsblog.com/how-to-spray-baste-a-quilt or https://youtu.be/dBFAiwmPQBc

It is a small quilt so I was able to do it without taping things down or using many pins.  I just put one in each of the corners of the basted backing to be sure the top would be in the right place, and one in the center. 

The backing material has images of flies used in fishing.  I bought it back when I thought I'd be making quilts for everyone I knew.  This fabric was for my husband's cousin who is a fly fisher.  But after I got the fabric I learned how he was really a professional fly fisher and they moved to Lancaster PA so were getting hand made quilts made there...  And most importantly, I got real on how long it would take me to feel like anything I would make could be a gift.  Anyway I'm glad to finally have a use for the fabric.

For the design, I had wanted to do baptist fans, but decided to go ahead with curvy lines from top to bottom, then from side to side - about three inches apart.  The only marking I did was to find the center and pin a piece of fabric so I would see the center and be sort of even when I was going down the piece. I think doing a curvy quilting pattern will make the straight lines of the blocks stand out.

Here you can see the walking foot vertical lines.  Oh I sewed down the edges before I started, and trimmed the extra batting off and squared of the corners.

The batting had been stored without the directions so I am not sure how far apart to do the stitching.  I decided on 4 inches - so sewed so the widest is three inches. My friend said I needed to add cross lines so I did...

  

  

This quilt is not turning out at all the way I thought it would.  I guess I thought putting the red square in would tie the different fabrics together and make it look like it was more planned.  Guess this is what I get for using scraps.

I attended another wonderful online class thru EBHQ:
Eel Grass and Eddies (Long Layered Curves) with Variations by Marge Tucker 

It was a fun class - I was able to get a good grasp of the technique and got several blocks made.  I used fabric I had left over from the quilt shop run that my DH and I did the day before our son asked us to stay at home (because of the pandemic).  I used most of the fabric for masks, but still had three FQs to use in the class - added some white from my stash.

So for two FQ with color, and two of white I ended up with these....  First I had these longer strips, then I cut them into 6.75 inch blocks.  I didn't think I'd be able to get three colored strips in my blocks so I cut the background wider, and ended up with four strips in two of them.  

I'm pretty pleased with these, even though the new mothers I know do not want pink quilts for their little girls...  I have started to make two more longer strips for more blocks.

Again, this project is going to look more scrappy than all together since I need to use different fabrics to finish it up...

I am going to make some more blocks with different fabrics (as I do not have more of the quilt shop run fabrics), so the quilt will be a little larger.... and more useful to someone...

The Marge Tucker Lecture on Improv and Abstractions in Antique Quilts was a trunk show where she showed an antique quilt and then sometimes showed her modern interpretation of it.  They all had improv piecing.  It was really interesting.  I'm not sure if I'm allowed to publish any of the photos I took, but here is link to her online gallery. http://margetuckerquilts.com/gallery and a link to her online class description page http://margetuckerquilts.com/classes  She also presented the Going in Circles Class, but I only made the waiting list for that class (and didn't get in).

So I still need to finish the binding for the Log Cabin and Power Bar quilt, and finish the little pink quilt, and I want to get up to speed on the Lone Robin quilt - hopefully this coming week I will do all that.

--------

Not quilting...

I'm doing a terrific job of not doing any paperwork.  So that is still waiting for me to work on and finish up.   Story of my life...

This weekend our son heard a bird hit a window and saw that it was wounded on the ground.  He looked up what to do and ended up taking a towel to pick it up and place inside a box with a cover.  At first he left it outside, but when a hawk came snooping around he brought the box inside to the laundry room.  Soon, he then took it to Project Wildlife with hopes that they would be able to help it recover...

He called Project Wildlife the next day and was told the bird he brought in the box did not make it. He was sad - so were we all.

Then jumping ahead to today (Tuesday) he was standing looking out the window at a bird hopping around in the area where the hawk had been, when all of a sudden a snake started coming up the window! And then when he looked again there was another snake on the table on the other side winding its way thru his tools!

So two California King snake sightings in one day.  It's the first time we have ever seen snakes.

So that is the round up of the previous week including the days in this week since I am late with posting.

Round Up Week 16: Pineapple Swap Blocks Done - Except for the Signature!

Time is going either very fast, or very slow.  It can't make up its mind.  Or I can't make up my mind!

I finished sewing and trimming the 20 Christmas Swap blocks.  As the title says, I just need to sign them - and then deliver them.  I hope the group will like the blocks I made for the exchange.

Here they are in my storage box.  Never so full of blocks before!

The corner triangles make a large green square on point when put together.

The block is easy to press so the seams are all flat.

I only need 20 for the swap, but when I cut the center pieces I got 24 of them so decided to make them all into blocks.  The four blocks together actually would be a perfect size for our little dog!

I started putting together my Log Cabin and Power Bar quilt.  It is as I suspected going to be larger than I had wanted it to be.  The class ended this week - we discussed how to do an envelope finish for the quilt, and the next series of classes that will start later in May.  It will be about applique - mostly by hand I think.

Here was the first draft of the layout for my Log Cabin and Power Bar quilt. 

And a more final layout.  I still need to add some strips to make the blocks fit together...

Buffy only needs a quarter of this quilt, and it will be too small to cover us people...  Hmm...

I attended another really nice EBHQ lecture last Monday. Fern Royce's lecture was entitled Making It Up As I Go Along. I wish I had attended her workshops too. Curved Flying Geese, and Working Small.  From the lecture and comments from students who did attend the classes, they sounded right up my alley.

That's it for sewing.

========

Not sewing.  Did exercise, walked and chatted.  

Looking forward to zoom wedding in Ireland of cousin's daughter.  Originally we were going to go there to attend the wedding and have fun - but now it's all virtual.  One of my husband's cousin's is organizing a group gift.  She had thought perhaps everyday silverware, I thought perhaps we could go in and pay for a door or front step for the new house they are having built.  But it turns out according to Google a front step would end up being around $6K!  I should have looked that up before making the suggestion.  Tomorrow will call to get things straightened back to the original idea - it was a good one.  Should have kept my fingers quiet and not typed any ideas...  The American cousin organizer is going to have shoulder surgery in the next two weeks (May 17), so I shouldn't have said anything to cost her more time.  I'm planning on making a quilt as a gift just from me - but might be a few years before I get that done...  Also, I'm remembering, need to make an over the shoulder bag in denim for the grandmother.

Added Mon May 3:  Our cousin spoke with the mother of the bride who thought the gift of cash toward something they wanted for the house would be terrific and more preferred than an actual gift.  So we are set to send just about $1000!

Last week, made the meals.  Nothing stands out from last week in that department.  

Cleaned a bit.  Started a new box for Goodwill.

Finished reading Orphan of Asia. Sad ending.  Very sad story actually.  Lots to think about...  I bought the book from a store in the bottom floor of Taipai 101 when we were there for a Mother's Day luncheon with my good friend and her husband.  A day or so before the May 12th earthquake!  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYSgd1XSZXc Even though the damper protects the building, I am sure glad I wasn't there on the day of the earthquake!  Article about Taipai 101.

Listening to The Wedding Quilt - one of the last Elm Street Quilt books.  I thought there would be even more than there are.  Never scrolled down when I went to the page with the list of books in order.  Oh well.  Will find another either long book, or series to listen too next.  It's great now that I'm set up to actually be able to hear books while I work on the house or sew.

Chatting with friend who I went to Italy with in 2009 - a memory photo came up on my phone so I sent to her as way of saying hi.  She wrote back that she had fallen last week and now needed surgery on her wrist.  Happening next Tuesday.

Discovered Masterpieces new series, Atlantic Crossing.  We are starting at episode 6...  Then also found these two series to watch too!  World on Fire and Line of Separation.  All about different time periods and points of view on WWII.  I think I clicked to save future episodes...

Taking next week off from exercise sessions so I can hopefully finish the paperwork and get more things cleared out.

Still feeling tired almost all the time.