Finished

     I have finished a number of quilts, but have not been able to photograph them properly as my clips are malfunctioning. Here is a better shot of the colorwash. Also done is my first One Block Wonder. I have another sewn, but not quilted. I have another one in pieces. I am always looking for fabric so I can make another one. Have to have a large repeat and right print.

     This is not a great shot of the mystery quilt, but it is also done. I will shoot a better one when I get the clip problem straightened out.

Block Swaps, all sewn!

     I try to participate in at least one block swap per year. It forces me out of a comfort zone and it is neat to get back different blocks. Last year I did bow ties with Barb Vedder. This year, again with Barb,  I made broken dishes blocks. We had to use only solids, one red and another choice. I made two sets of 30. I used my Accuquilt Studio die to cut the triangles. It blunts the points and then there is no trimming. They are going in the mail hopefully tomorrow.

     This year, I made Batik Star blocks with the Treadle on group. We had to make a 12.5" block with batiks, sewn on a treadle (mine is a 1910 Singer 15). I used made fabric as the centers. I did the flying geese with the Easy Angle ruler and the Companion Angle ruler. I love these rulers as there is no trimming when sewn. We had to make 12 for the swap but I made twenty because I am going to make a comfort quilt with the blocks I receive and the extra ones I made. They went in the mail today.

Square Value sewn up

     Finally, the quilt Square Value is all sewn. It was a bear of a quilt to sew. It was a kit (!) and I bought it because I loved the fabric. However, the pattern, sealed inside, revealed that all the diagonals were to be fused and zig zagged down over the slash seam. Not happening on my watch. I inserted the strip into the seam which made me crazy because no matter how I tried, I could not get the two halves to line up. I tried marking, pinning, holding, etc. I just have to live with the boxes not matching up. Grrr.
    I tried to get a full shot outside, but my clips will not hold the quilt up, so I have to retool and try again later. This photo is on my design wall, which is not big enough. When I shot the photo, I noticed a peculiar shape at the bottom. On closer inspection, it was Tugger the quilt cat behind the quilt sleeping with his paws hanging out.

Finished Big Stitch colorwash, first look

     The floral colorwash I made, inspired by Wanda, is all completed but hand sewing the facing down. I bought perle cotton and did big stitch quilting which I really loved. I took the photo outside yesterday, but hung it on the fence as the sun was too bright on the garage wall I usually take it. It is too dark of a contrast for the quilt. Once the facing is sewn down, I will reshoot and shoot some quilting details.

The process of little things

     In sewing small projects, the process is the same as for large ones except the time is multiplied and resulting time to me seems longer for the results. For example, I continually make pocket quilts as leader ender type of projects. I start with 4 patches and make a bunch, then sew strips on the words, then sew the sandwich, after turning it inside out and stuffing it with a cross, quilt two lines around. When I do this process a little at a time, as a leader ender, it does not seem to take any time and I have plenty to give away.

Four patches for leader ender pocket quilts

Batting squares- running low so added scraps together 

New package of crosses to stuff 

Scrap strips sewn around the prayer,
also leader ender done for my usual pocket quilts

Words printed by Spoonflower,
cut up from the yardage (more time)

    My neighbor, who wrote the children's book I illustrated (still need a publisher; the one we had backed out), asked me to make 50 pocket quilts for a conference for her company and bought me some fabric she wanted them to be. This made it a project, not a leader ender. So, the process of cutting and making 4 patches, cutting 50 battings, sewing strips on all 50 words, turning 50 inside out, stuffing, quilting, became a time consuming, and to me, onerous process. It became piecework. 

Almost all 50, sewn on the incomparable and lovely Singer 301

     Funny how the process can steal the joy if it is not managed well. Pocket quilts delivered and back to the quilts and leader enders! My happy place.

Keeping plugging

     The past couple of weeks have been very tough for me due to chronic migraines. I was doing well until the last half of August. I was in a trough going from every other day to every day and last week ended up in the infusion lab twice to try and break the headaches. The migraines broke on Wednesday night, but now I am on steriods and I can't sleep or mentally settle down. 
     If I could not sew and continue in some fashion to make quilts, I would be in a really hard place. So I work on various projects a bit at a time. I have been making 20 blocks for the Treadle On Block Exchange of Batik Stars. I have to trade 12, so I am making 20 so I can do a 4 x 5 quilt as the blocks will finish at 12". Yesterday, on National Sewing Machine Day, I sewed all the flying geese units (on my treadle) and have all the pieces to assemble now. I use the Easy Angle and Companion Angle rulers, and I have no trimming.

     I was also able to web the whole square value quilt except for the bigger blocks that go all around the edge. I have to iron the seams before I sew the rows and it is a bit much right now to handle.

     Our guild quilt show is on Sept. 30th to Oct. 1st and I have one more pass on the long arm to complete a One Block Wonder quilt it. Then it will be trimmed and bound and washed.
      I also continue to big stitch quilt my colorwash so maybe it can make it in the show also. Just one corner left and then to do a facing on it.
     I bought enough red solid and washed it to do a modern broken dishes swap due at the beginning of October. I will cut the 2 1/2" triangles on the Studio Cutter. I made some samples, and it worked fine. 
     I am thankful for other bloggers who keep inspiring me to try and do more and up my game. Thanks.
     I am looking forward this week to going to the Quilting by the Bayfront in Erie, PA on Thursday and Friday to see Jenny Doan and lots of quilts. Hopefully, I will recover more by then.

Made Fabric Yardage

      I am participating in a Treadle On Block Exchange (TOBE) with batik stars that will finish at 12". I decided to make the centers out of made scrap fabric. So I sewed a large panel that will be cut up into 6 1/2" squares. Love sewing scraps.

Ohio State Scraps, Anyone?

     Friends of mine bestow wonderful scraps on me that I use in comfort quilts. Mixed in the last batch was a lot Ohio State fabric pieces. I live in Buffalo, NY and don't know anyone associated with Ohio State. I hate to pitch good fabric, so if you want the scraps mailed to you, please email me and they are yours. 

Little things

     In between doing big things, I have to do some little sewing ideas. A friend challenged me to use plaids and gave me some. Wanda has done great things with plaids. So, I tried flying geese and I am thinking a whole quilt of columns of flying geese. I sewed a 2 x 4 size and a 3 x 6 size, which I think is the size I will use. I used the Easy Angle Ruler and the Companion ruler with 3 1/2" strips for both pieces. There is no trimming needed when they are cut this way. I like that. And I got it accurate. I think that is the way I will go. Now, I need all sorts of plaids. I guess I will have to go to thrift stores and buy some shirts. This will be a long term project I think.

     A non quilting friend gave all her friends stamps as favors when we met at her house for lunch. She found a stamp for each of us according to our interests. She put it in a paper cup with chocolate. I just love my stamp! It is going on the back of all my cards that I make!

Sew it up!

     After much gritting my teeth and trying as hard as I could to be accurate, I finished all the blocks for the Square Value quilt. I rearranged the light blocks to evenly distribute the fabrics so they did not clump in any area. Now, I have them numbered and ready to come down. I have one more quilt to do on the longarm before my guild's quilt show in 29 days, so that has to come first. I do love the fabrics a lot. I know the dark ones don't show up real well, but they are interesting. I did not have room to put all the big blocks around it on the wall. Once the smaller blocks are sewn, I will put it back on the wall. I am a sucker for fabric over reason.