Quilters Accountability 12/22/10

It was a productive week.  As usual, not as much done as one would like but enough to feel real good about what did get done.

Last Week's Goals:

1. Do the quilting on the blue & white quilt and mail off both doll quilts. Done!
2. Quilt the Tree Skirt (and decorate the tree purchased on Sunday!) Done!
3. Layer the Schnibble and Crumb quilts and quilt them.  Schnibble is layered, Crumb quilt's borders are on and quilting not done yet.
4. Start quilting the Brrr Park! quilt (already layered from last year).  Nope.

So the doll quilts are finished and were mailed off to my Aunt Monday morning.  I got a Christmas card/letter from her that afternoon saying she hadn't heard from me in a while.  So now I am really looking forward to her getting the surprise package.  It was sent Priority Mail so should reach her before the end of the week.

I finished the quilting and binding on the Tree Skirt on Sunday and decorated the tree on Monday.  I was surprised that the skirt instructions did not include ties or a way to close the opening.  But after laying it around the base of the tree I found out why -- the open ends overlap to surround the base so it doesn't need closures!  Cool!

I layered the Schnibble quilt yesterday and had hoped to also get the Crumb block top done too so that I could just quilt the next three quilts one right after the other.  But that required attaching the borders of the Crumb top.  And part of the borders meant attaching the beaded barrel trim that is serving as the inner border.  Sewing the trim on was a lot more difficult than I expected.  I basted it to the top first which (note to self and any others planning on using decorative trims on your quilt tops) would have been much easier if I had planned for a wider outside edge seam rather than the standard 1/4".  It took a lot of finessing to get it in place yesterday so I had to wait until today to attach the outer border which again, due to the narrow seam and the thickness of the trim, took some finessing to get on.  But it is done and since it will be quilted simply (stitch in the ditch around the Crumb blocks and do some kind of decorative stitch in the sashing squares to give it a "tufted" look), I am hoping the layering will go fast tomorrow.

I also got a bonus project done on Friday:

This little runner was sewn up back in 2008 when I made the quilt blogged about here. It is one of three (in different styles) made from the leftover fabric from the quilt.   It is a Karen Montgomery design that I picked up from the Timeless Treasures fabric company website when I made the quilt (and can be seen in full here but is no longer offered for free and can be purchased here).  The fusible Hobbs batting used for the Gathering Garden quilt and the tree skirt had left me with just enough batting to layer this.  This is another "pillow turn"  project that I knew would be simple to quilt because the lines of the stripe provided all the quilting guidance I needed.  Nothing fancy here, just stitching with smoke monofilament thread around each stripe border and between the little sawtooth star and brown solid square motifs in the center. I had considered also edge-stitching around the outermost edge until I realized that after stitching to the right of the red fabric of the stripe that circled the edge, it looked just like a traditional binding so with that faux finish, it was done!  I am only considering this a bonus project (not a UFO finish) because I don't plan to sew up the other two until after the New Year.

This Week's Goals:

1. Layer the Crumb quilt.
2. Quilt the Schnibble, Crumb and Brrrr! quilts.
3. Finish up the Sage Sampler blocks.
4. Get back to work on the DWR top. 

So go check in with Bari and see what everyone else has planned as we make the final descent to the end of the year.

Quilters Accountability 12/15/10

FINALLY SOME FINISHES!!!

It has taken far longer than I had expected but I finally got some finishes on the board!  When I pledged nine projects for Finn's Year-End Challenge in October, I did it thinking that the two doll quilts I have been struggling with for weeks -- no months -- would have been finished by the end of October at the latest.  Now that they are finished I am hoping that momentum will kick in for the rest of the projects I want to do.  Most of them just need quilting.  I may not complete nine but I am still hopeful (with sixteen more days left?!?!) that I can get pretty close.

Last Week's Goals:

1. Finish the quilting on the Amish Doll Quilt.  Done!
2. Make the blue and white doll quilt top. Done!
3. Work steadily on the DWR top. O.k., did not get to this one.
4. Layer #2, the Christmas Tree skirt, the Schnibble top and the Crumb top for quilting. The first two are DONE, the other two - nope.

I am glad to say the Amish Doll quilt (now called "Amish Furrows and Flowers") finally, finally, FIN-AL-LY got finished. It is a little more than 18 inches square. The applique is still rough but I am happy with it. 


Finished quilt before washing off the markings.

It took until almost near the end for me to get into “flow” on this one and have “momentum” finally kick in. What is flow and momentum you say? You can read about them here and here respectively but to put it simply, it’s the point in working on a project when the work just seems to happen and move smoothly and before you know it you’ve reached a milestone and STILL want to do more and keep working until you reach the end which you are now hungering for. 

I finished up the last of the stitching on Sunday night while watching “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” and then the season premiere of “Leverage”.  On Monday, I decided that since this has been a mostly hand worked piece, I should finish it the same way.  Usually,  I put my bindings on completely by machine but for this one I sewed it on with the machine (to help secure the hand quilted edges) and finished it by hand.  Today I put it in with the laundry to wash out the markings.

And here it is with its "mother", the Trip Around The World quilt I made in 2006 (and blogged about here).  It was the leftover pieced strips and fabrics from that project that provided the start for this little project.  I've always said that  I see my quilting as an "independent art study" and with this one done, I have finished the semester on "Hand Work" that started back in the summer with the Applique and Hand Quilting classes.

And here is the little blue & white quilt (now called "Gathering A Garden In a Twister" after the fabric line and block used).  I ended up "pillow turning" the backing and doing a piped edge.  I wanted to use the dark blue leafy fabric for binding but thought it would be a little strong as a regular binding on a square edge quilt. 

I used Susan Cleveland's "Piping Hot Binding" Kit (that included the cording for the piping and a tool to trim it). 

 

Edited To Add:

 

 

According to her instructions, in order to use the piping around the edge I had to have curved corners so I decided to create a wavy edge all around.  I like that it softened the look of the quilt even further.  It is a little more than 22 inches square and completes the two credit course in miniature quilts. :)

I am glad this one is also done but I think the fabrics blend too much to be really effective using this “Twister” block design. I think my original pattern choice, the blended nine-patch would have probably worked a little  better with these fabrics.  But I love, love, love how quickly and easily it went together.  Since I couldn’t get more of the fabric that I would have needed to complete the nine-patch design this will more than suffice.  

I am also glad I finally got a chance to do one of these types of quilts and look forward to doing another one.  I still have to do some light quilting on this one to finish it up:  I'll just stitch in the ditch around the narrow green border and the outside outline of the Twister blocks and tack stitch the center of each pinwheel.  Once that is done, I can email Finn to post two finishes for my pledge tally.

And last but not least the Tree Skirt is layered.  I was lucky -- back in March Connecting Threads had a big batting sale and I had purchased a couple of Hobbs crib size fusible batts for use with wall quilt projects.  I was able to layer both the blue & white quilt and the tree skirt with one package.

This Week's Goals:

1. Do the quilting on the blue & white quilt and mail off both doll quilts.
2. Quilt the Tree Skirt (and decorate the tree purchased on Sunday!)
3. Layer the Schnibble and Crumb quilts and quilt them.
4. Start quilting the Brrr Park! quilt (already layered from last year).

As I said at the start, I don't know how many projects I will complete for the Year-End Challenge.  Last week I saw a post for Myra's PHD (Projects Half Done) Challenge for January - June of 2011 (and I see that Finn has signed up this week!).  I've already made a list because even if by some lucky chance I get my pledged projects done before year-end, I've still got another stack that needs to be worked on!  

Myra has asked  that if you join the challenge, you start off with a post with pictures of your pledged projects so I am going to try and gather those up this week and then submit my name for inclusion.  I am also picking up on another goal that someone mentioned on their blog:  to try to finish next year with no PHD's/UFO's which at this moment is doable.  But to finish with no HSY's (pronounced "Hussies" and stands for Haven't Started Yet) is a whole 'nother story!

So keeping hope alive, head on over to Bari's to see what everyone else has in store for the remaining weeks of 2010.

Handwork Updates

In my last post, I was working on a lot of hand work projects for two classes I took at Quilt University.  As of last Monday, all the class projects and one additional block had been finished. 

 

On the left is the Hand Quilting piece from Nancy Chong's Hand Quilting Class, on the right were the two class blocks from her Hand Applique class.  The little center block is part of a sampler project I've wanted to do for a while (more on that later).  For now, the large applique blocks are orphans. 

 

Update:  The Pink Hawaiian Applique block was used to make a journal cover in 2013 and can be seen in this post.   

 

But now that my eyes have been opened to the pleasures of doing hand work, I've been looking at a lot of potential applique projects and the ideas are piling up.  So far, I've got preliminary plans for the wreath block to become the center of a medallion quilt but both could also eventually wind up in samplers.  On Friday, the Hand Quilting piece became this (rather large) bed pillow cover:

I'll be washing it with the laundry tomorrow to take out all the stencil markings and I've still got to make a pillow insert by serging some squares of muslin together and stuffing it with batting scraps.  I was glad to find a good outer ruffle fabric -- it will go with a number of the quilts I've already made for my bed and another one I hope to finish by year's end.  I love the double ruffle but next time I make one I will make two single (hemmed) layers rather than folding each layer together to create the finished edges.  Those four layers of fabric were a devil to ruffle (too thick to do on the serger) although they do form a nice firm edge around the pillow.

The little green and white Hawaiian applique block will be added to other blocks as part of a "framed sampler" project that I started waaayyy back in 2004 (I think?).  

 I had always wanted to try to make a paper-cut style applique block for this piece but at the time I was only doing machine applique and was not sure I could get it done.  When I realized this style of applique was also covered in the Hand Applique class, I was elated to think I might get this one done and made sure to pick a design and baste and stitch it up along with the larger class project.  The blocks for this sampler will finish at 3" (I've still got to trim the background of the applique block down) and will be pieced, paper-pieced and (now) hand appliqued.  The very wonky Nosegay block on the lower left may or may not stay -- I like the fabrics but the piecing is pretty bad.  On the paper in the lower right corner is a list of the other potential blocks I want to make for this such as Churn Dash, Card Trick and Goose Chase/Dutchman's Puzzle.  I would love to get this one finally finished before the end of the year and cross it off the WISP list.

 

Update:  That also didn't happen until 2013 and you can see the finished sampler in this post.

As noted in the previous post, all this hand work focus was also supposed to help get me back to this project:

This was a doll quilt I started in 2007 for my aunt who collects dolls and will be the second one I've made for her.  The center strips were leftovers from the Amish "Trip Around the World" quilt I made back in 2006 which I talked about in my "Bucket List" post.  The applique design is from the "Pineapple Welcome" quilt in the "The Scrap Savers Solution Book" book by Connie Kaufman, reduced in size by 50%.  Unfortunately, I had completed most of the previous hand work projects while listening to the NY Yankees play in the American League championships (even though I am officially a life-long NY Mets fan) but now that they have been eliminated, I've got to find something else to listen to while stitching.  Fortunately, there are always my favorites -- podcasts.  This afternoon I will listen to Pat Sloan's show and I know that Sandy at Quilting For The Rest of Us has a new episode I also need to catch up on so that should keep me busy.  

Both this and the sampler project are part of the nine (!) project commitment I've made for Finn's "Year End Challenge" this year (button on the side bar).  I didn't do so great last year but I hope my "Spring Finish" productivity will be repeated for this one. And if I can get it finished by the end of the week, I am hoping that this will be my "Fall Blogger's Quilt Festival" entry (button also on the side bar) since I missed posting in the last one.

That's all for now but hopefully more to come later this week.  Happy Quilting!