Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 19

Final corner done!

This time I took a chance and started on the right side.  I still did the right half (marked below) and then the left half.  I don't think it makes a difference if I do it this way or in the order way Leah taught.  It took a little less than two hours - including the marking and hiding of the threads.

So I started putting the tape down from the center and went to the edge, then started sewing on the edge, removed the tape and quilted the next tape, etc.

Here is the last corner:

When I flipped it over I was disappointed to see the tiny folds.  Some of the other corners have little folds too, but this one had more...  Hopefully once it's washed these folds won't stand out.

So here is the quilt now:

I mentioned at the beginning that I had pieced this way back - like 25+ years ago.  I looked at different Irish chain designs and decided I wanted more colors so I made it so there were five colors. I was surprised at how it looked once I started sewing things together.

I knew I was supposed to have more backing fabric, but it seemed I would be wasting fabric to do that.  Now I know I should have had the backing at least four inches all around (and I can use the pieces in some other project so it's not wasted anyway) one inch is not enough.  You can see how tight everything is for me now.

I had a friend help me with the basting, but I cut it too tight and it wasn't centered properly so the batting is shorter than it should be too. The batting is Quilters Dream Cotton, natural. (Won April 2016 as part of Quilt Qwazy Queens Blog Hop.)

Anyway, now I have another quilted top, ready for binding. The quilting is following the directions by Leah for the Rainbow Log Cabin from her Explore Walking Foot Quilting book, and I am really pleased with the detail.  I used Leah's 40 wt. Isacord Polyester Embroidery Thread Silver.  

I have 25+ year old fabric to make bias strips for rust binding.  I remember when I finished it I was thinking a different color would have been better, but oh well.  I know I'm going to be cutting off the nice points at the center of each side as I didn't make this all correctly.

In addition to the backing and batting issue, I should have been more consistent on where the corner stitching ended.  I'm just writing this here to hopefully remind myself for the next project I work on!

Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 18

Third corner done!  About two hours to do, including marking and hiding the knots.

It has been a few weeks since I have worked on this quilt, I am pleased that it went smoothly and there were no mess ups!

As a reminder to myself:

• As looking at the piece, start marking on the left, then start sewing on the right.
• It's possible to sew on either side of the tape, I found it easiest to see the starting point when the tape was on the left.  Put the presser foot down to verify that the needle will intersect with the horizontal line. Make sure the thread is clear of the foot, then lower and bring the foot up.  Catch the loop, move the threads to the side to verify where the needle goes, put the needle down, then move the thread so it is behind the foot (might need to raise the foot to do this).  
• Mark only to the center area, quilt, then mark again starting in the center.  Remember to measure the places where the tape is to be placed, but adjust so the center lines are evening placed.
• Bring the back thread up at the beginning of each line (the seam ripper helped me easily catch the thread loop, a pair of tweezers helped pull the thread up if the thread was too short to catch).
• At the end, continue sewing at the marked intersection point to the batting and off (that avoids needing to hide that thread). 
• When the quilting is done, then tie the knots and hide them - that's the reward for all the quilting!
• I wonder if I started with the right half if I could do a better job of matching where the center lines ended up?

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Not quilting

I went to San Diego Zoo yesterday, earlier than I usually do with a different friend. 

Usually I pass these painted posts at the end of a walk when the sun is low, but this time I saw them with the sun shining on them so I could really see the fun designs!

Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 17

Second corner - Done!

 +  = 139 minutes

Once I decided to get going this went very well....  I was more aware of the center area so think I worked it out so the lines might be centered there once the second side is complete.

I noted it took almost 12 minutes (of the 67 total) to mark the section. This is a stress free way to mark. Except for a break after the marking, all the sewing and burying of thread was done in one sitting. First I did the left side.

Then the right side

The second corner of the quilt is done!

 I was more mindful of the center slot so it is even and lines up with the piecing.

Of course the bobbin ran out the last 4 inches of the last line to be stitched.  I had to remove it and do two times before the stitches caught. But following Leah's directions, bet you can't see the place where this happened! (She has several videos on this. I believe this is the one that really helped me as it shows when she pulls the thread up it doesn't come up the same hole!)

Time to wind some more bobbins!

I'm behind in Leah's walking foot quilt along, but have been learning so much.  She will keep the videos up on her site so it's easy to follow along later.  Getting her book is a thank you to her for giving away the videos and a way to get extra information too.

Two more corners to go!

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Not Quilting 

I've been getting photos from a friend of her travels in Europe.  What fun to get to share and chat while she is in Brittany, or see photos from Paris and London.  She is a dedicated artist and also worked on some handwork in preparation for a class she will be teaching.  Wow! We are members of an online group that used to be so much fun, but now is either dark or filled with more people who are writing about how they don't understand the group.  So it's not as much fun as it was. But I met her thru the group as it was before so I'm very happy!  

I had a pleasant lunch out yesterday with a friend I made in person after following her online for a while... She happens to quilt too, that was the initial reason we met.  I so enjoy seeing what she is working on, and getting to know her.  Last time we visited, she showed me how to tie a knot for actual hand quilting, but I haven't practiced that yet.  

I have met six women online and then in person.  They have enriched my life. I wish we lived nearer.

• Audrey in MA
• Carolyn in Jamacia
• Shasta in OH
• Mary from Panama in CA
• Sujata from PA and CA in MD and CA
• Claire in CA

I feel such a need to finish up the various projects I started so many years ago.  I showed my luncheon friend the photo of the first corner completed of my current project and said how I had at least seven hours more quilting on the project, and she just said "Well, it takes time to make a quilt."  It's good to hear that perhaps I am not too slow at doing the quilting!  

Perhaps we are all working hours and hours at our cutting table and sewing machine.  Fiddling with color and placement. I can't figure out though how some people have so many new posts on new projects.  How do they do it?  It's more than time management, it's knowing some secret that I missed.  Ann Holmes shares sometimes on her YouTubes that she has an assistant who does various parts of her projects.  Hmm.  And now that I think of it, I remember Eleanor Burns sister sharing how in some of tapings she used to be the one precutting the pieces and picking up the fabric Eleanor threw over her shoulder.  Now Eleanor has at least one assistant all the time.  

When my husband and I were both working we used to joke about how we needed another wife to get everything done.... I guess some marriages are able split the chores so things get done promptly and well.  I sometimes think though that I didn't sign up to do something all the time, so instead of embracing it an enjoying it, I resist doing it, or put it off. But hey, if it's something that needs to be done, might as well enjoy doing it! Or at least try to enjoy it... But how are people able to do so many things and blog about it in detail too?  There is some secret life lesson that eludes me.

So here are the life lessons I am now aware of every day.

1. It will take longer for self-care as we age. I'm starting to have my nails done, hair cut, etc. on a more frequent basis - not on a regular basis. As long as I allow extra time for getting ready then I'm okay.
2. We need to actually do what ever we are going to do.  Reading and looking isn't as good as actually doing.  I can't believe what an enjoyable time suck it is to click around and read different posts and articles. But to really learn need to do.  Need to cut back on web surfing (and TV) and spend more time doing.
3. To develop a style need to start with a fresh ___ without clutter and excess.  Once the extra stuff is away, then there is space to have fun and decide what to add! I have many spartan areas in the house, as I'm still waiting for inspiration on what to have fun with and add... And I still have much paperwork to process (scan and shred). In quilting I think the clutter is learning the mechanics that interfere with the style, so I'm working on that.
4. It takes time to ______.  And I'm working on enjoying the process and time spent doing the process.  I heard a discussion on NPR how it takes 100 hours of interaction to make a friend, so it's not just things that take time, people do too! I'm devoting time to friendships too.
5. Keeping a written log to refer back to will help one see growth and changes.  I have enough history now in My Fitness Pal, Healthmate and Health now (1155 days and counting!) that I can look back and see what I was eating or doing and compare if I want to where I am now.  It would be even better if I could tag comments on days to pull up when I did something with someone, but since that isn't possible I stopped writing those notes in my account. Perhaps I should start up again in case their becomes a way to download that information...

Our son ate some bad food and was ever so ill this past week.  It is such a rare occurrence for this to happen.  It was scary. I thought for a while about taking him to the ER, but then remembered the last time I did that and how uncomfortable he was there.  One of my friends happened to call and she reminded me of BRAT - banana, rice, applesauce and toast.  What a life saver!  I added jello, saltines and clear soup and that really helped him on his way back.  Last night we added chicken and this morning he woke and was making a plate of food for himself of crackers and meat.  We had our weekly lunch together - although this time we got carry out and ate together at the table at home instead of eating out.  Things are almost back to normal for him. In the middle of his misery, I felt guilty that it felt good to get to be a mom. It's good to be needed and appreciated. And loved.

Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 16

I finished the second half of the corner.  Boy the point sure has a lot of thread!

It took about 40 minutes to do the marking and sewing, then another ten minutes to tie knots and bury them.

One down, three to go!

There are a few minor pleats on the back. But because this time I was starting at a line, the intersections are very good.  Next time I do a design like this, for the larger blue areas with the bright stars, I would first sew a square so I had a place for the start and end of the lines to go! I guess I should have made marks every two and half or three inches to have fewer spokes going into the corner....  We'll see how the quilt ends up!  If I had been better at visualizing how it was going to thread up at the corners I guess I would have stopped about 7 inches from the corner and put something else from that point on.

Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 15

I'm sort of in the home stretch for quilting the quilt I'm using for my Leah Day Rainbow Log Cabin walking foot quilting practice.

Just the four corners to finish up. I spent a bunch of time looking at the book and the videos, then used tape to mark half of the lines for the first corner.

I decided to make the outside lines so they started half an inch from the inside of the last border, then I marked every two inches.  Then I put the tape down.

If I had done Leah's quilt then I would be using the seams as the starting point for the spokes, but my seams are not square it seems, so marking the line is what I ended up needing to do!

My corners were not square for that last border, so I put tape to mark a square place to be the exit point for all the spokes.

To avoid having to tie off the thread I will sew thru the tape after hitting the exit point. I saw a video where someone used tape that washed away, I will be on the look out for that the next time I go to a quilt store.

Including marking time it took 25 minutes to do these first two spokes.  Then I decided it would be easier to do when it was daytime and there was more light - and little Buffy wanted me to go to bed anyway...

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The next morning:

It took 13 minutes to do the next two lines.

Hmm I'll need to double check that tape, it sure looks curved in this photo!

Well, I'm sort of on the home stretch, but there is a lot more work to do before I'm finished.....

Decided to add this as part of Part 15...

So that is pretty much an hour to do half of a corner.  - Seven more to go!  : )

Oops I should have left the masking tape in the corner, but at least know now it will release when I'm done...

Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 14

I have now finished the larger concentric squares in the quilt!

25 minutes for the line one inch from the last line.

23 minutes for the final line, it was almost 1 1/2 inches from the previous line.  I wanted the square to reach the edges of the quilt, and it does that so with the binding the corners will disappear.  And that is a good thing since I'm realizing I didn't center the batting or backing.  For now on will not be frugal on the batting and backing so I have more give on the back.  

These designs are just right for the quilt.  I'm very pleased.

Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 13

Last night after dinner I started adding the squares around the quilting I have been working on, the center of the piece.

The first one was spaced at one inch.  I used the walking foot guide to make the lines. When I got to the corners I took two pieces of tape to shape a right angle so I knew when to turn.

The next line was half inch away. Again, I used the walking foot guide and made a corner of tape to show me when to turn.

There is still about 3 inches that need lines, then I can start the quarter bright stars in each of the corners!

Leah Day's Explore Walking Foot Quilting: My "Rainbow Log Cabin" Part 12

I finished the fourth and last larger blue block!

First new square - marked with one inch painters tape.  I started stitching with half of the quilt under the arm.  It was okay when I ended with half under the arm, and also when I ended with just the corner under the arm.  The key was starting with the most under the arm... and going clock wise.

I started the timer as soon as I entered the room, so the times include all the taping and getting settled in chair, etc.

Second new square.  Used 1/2 inch masking tape to mark.  This tape does not last as long as the painters tape...

Third new square - marked with one inch painters tape.

I'm all set to start some of the outer squares.  Think I will use the walking foot guide instead of tape...

I'm tickled that this is coming together.  I'm using the instruction from Leah and finishing one of my first quilt tops ever made.  When I was doing the bright stars I should have measured out to be sure the lines at the end would end up touching the squares, I'm hoping when this is washed those missing stitched will be hidden.  Or perhaps I should go back and add them?  I can't remove the stitches that went too far out as those thread ends are already hidden and cut...