A New Project

I love it when a leader/ender project becomes the focus/main project!

I've been doing a lot of secret sewing projects and as usual, I can't share them just yet. But, I can share the latest leader/ender project that has just moved to the main feature project.  

This is my version of Krista Moser's Rock'n Roller Coaster, using Tammy Silvers' Kismet fabric.

This is a very special project for me. I was honored to meet and spend three days with both of these awesome ladies back in September during the much-revised Ohio's Amish Country Quilt Festival. I knew that I wanted to create something special from that time together and this is the result. 

As many of you know, I test patterns for Tammy and love doing that. (We've had lots of communication over the past couple of years, but we'd never met in person, so meeting her was really fun!) What you may not know is that Tammy designs fabric too. I've been eyeing her Kismet line and was thrilled when she gave me a set of 2 1/2" strips. WooHoo!

That made my fabric choice for my special project easy. Whew! Now I just needed to decide on a pattern. Low and behold, Krista's Rock'n Roller Coaster pattern uses 2 1/2" strips. Decision made!

I typically have a patriotic quilt as a leader/ender project, but I decided that I wanted to take a break from that and start this quilt. It's quite easy, and the hardest part was deciding which strips I wanted to use because the quilt only uses 15 print strips. I have lots left over and am looking forward to using them for another project too - one that I've designed.  :-)

Of course moving the leader/ender project to the main project means that I need to start a new leader/ender project. Truth be told, I have some that I could have and maybe should have started up again, but I decided to start work on my Ava's Garden quilt, which is designed by Myra Barnes of Busy Hands Quilts. I am honored to test and sew for her too, and I decided that it would be cool to include one of her projects in this mix of things. (Of course I am working on a secret sewing project for her right now, but I wanted something that will be mine to keep.) 

I have always liked the Churn Dash block and the fact that these are made from 10" squares is great because I just happened to have a Berry Sweet by Elyse DeNeige 10 Karat Crystals pack sitting around my sewing area. I even had the yellow background fabric. Sweet!

I love the picture above. I think it shows how I feel about myself as a quilter - a nice healthy mix of traditional and modern. :-)

Stayed tuned for updates of this and those secret sewing projects I mentioned earlier. :-) 

From Leader/Ender to Main Project

I love it when a leader/ender projects moves from that to the main project. It feels like progress to me.  :-)

On New Year's Eve, Pat Sloan started her Traffic Jam Quilt Along. I already had a bunch of correct-size pieces left from various projects, so I decided to jump in and sew along with the group - sort of...

I've got lots of projects on which I'm working, but I always need something simple to use as a leader/ender project; and making simple, scrappy, blue four patch units was perfect. 

 
I really didn't think about how I was placing the squares. The only "rules" were that they had to contrast at least a little and no two same fabric squares would be used in the four patch. I didn't care if there was only one "light" and the rest were dark or medium. I just want a bit of contrast between the value and or design. 

Here's a few of the 100 four patch units I needed to make. I've adjusted the pattern layout from Pat's version so that I can use the quilt as a Quilt of Valor.

I am working on a pattern test for Rachel Rossi and these four patch units were perfect as leader/enders. Yippee! 

All 100 four patch units are made and since I'm at a stand still for the pattern test (an adjustment is being made and I have to wait for more info), I've started to make the Traffic Jam blocks. (It's not like I have nothing else on which to work, but I decided using up these scraps were like finishing a UFO. That's logical, right?)

I already had most of the light corner pieces cut, but I needed a few more so I trimmed down some charm pack leftovers that had made their way to the scrap drawer.  

You can see that I printed Pat's Traffic Jam pattern and made my version change notes right on it. It looks like scribble, but I understand it.  :-)  

With this progress, it's time to start another leader/ender project so I'm adding triangles to charm squares. I'll be making 42 square in a square blocks that will have two alternating triangle fabrics. 

What I find quite exciting about this new leader/ender project is that these fabrics have been packed away for quite some time and I know exactly when and where I bought them. I am using the three fabrics on the right side of this very bad picture. The two on the left were used a long time ago.  :-)

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that these were purchased during one of our annual sisters' weekend back in 2012. I had an idea for how I was going to use them when I bought them; but I decided against that plan and just set the fabrics aside - until now.

Just like the four patches, it's a simple sewing step, so this project will be ready to become the main feature pretty quickly too.  

Two Quilts!

One simple block, made 64 times, and I've got the insides of two quilts completed. Here's the simple, scrappy nine patch block, snowballed which makes it end up on point.

This is simple to make, especially if you are using left over jelly roll strips, or 2 1/2" stash strips. I had a variety of strips left over from a jelly roll (I can't remember the name!), as well as some "kid-friendly" scraps from fat quarters. I cut all of my strips 2 1/2" x 22" and made strip sets. I thought that would be quicker than working with all 2 1/2" squares, but provide a bit more variety than working with 42" strips. Because I wanted to use all the fabric scraps, I made a total of 24 strip sets and then cut them into a total of 192 - 2 1/2" segments, which resulted in 64 - Nine Patch blocks.

I added triangles to each block (snowballed the blocks) and after trimming, the blocks measured 9", unfinished. I showed this step HERE and HERE. 

I used 30 blocks for this straight layout.

I used 33 blocks for this staggered layout.

I've decided to add a small floating border of the black to both quilts and then begin the stash search for outside borders. Right now, both quilts measure about 42" x 51" and I'm thinking about adding a 2" floating border. That's only because all the squares measure 2" finished; and because if I do that, I will use up most of the black fabric. The little bit that is left will be cut and put into the strip bins that I've started. It sure feels good to have made these entirely from stash. Yippee!! 

I've still been working on the Disappearing Nine Patch blocks. Here's the progress of that so far.

Pretty soon, this will be the "main" project and I'll be starting a new leader and ender. It just so happens that I'm ready for that. 😄

I want to make a quick rag quilt for a mid-January birthday gift and I've pulled the fabrics. These are cut and ready to sew. I even have the batting ready, but that isn't pictured here. I'm using rectangles instead of squares, just because I wanted something a little different. I'll post pictures of this as I start working on it.

Enjoy your weekend! It's cold here and I plan to spend a good amount of time hanging out by the sewing machine. I hope you get that opportunity as well.

Progress

I got a bit of sewing in this morning and I'm pleased with my progress. As I said yesterday, I'm not sure if I'm going to make one large quilt or two smaller ones , but I'm leaning towards making two. Because of that, I needed to have enough triangle fabric for all 64 blocks and this black mottled fabric is what I had.  I had enough white also, but thought about the fact that that would be A LOT of white fabric which is often nothing more than a dirt magnet for a toddlers' quilt.   :-)  

All of the 9 Patch blocks are made and half of them are at this stage.

I know enough about myself to know that I need to see progress so I've split the 64 - 9 Patch blocks in two groups of 32 each.

I'll trim them all tonight and should have enough time to sew the side triangles too.

Of course I had to complete one block!

I have the other 32 blocks ready to go.

And I'm still sewing the Disappearing 9 Patch blocks as leaders and enders.

I love progress and can't wait to start laying out the blocks.

Tip Tuesday! Efficiency

Welcome to

"Tip Tuesday!" - Piecing Two Quilts at the Same Time

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give due credit whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired! 

Chain Piecing and Making Two Quilts at the Same Time

Remember yesterday when I showed you those solid nine patch blocks that I was making?

I was piecing those blocks at the same time I was sewing the rows together on this quilt.

It's really not that I'm that good, but that I try to be efficient while I'm piecing. I like to use Leaders and Enders. 

Many of you may be familiar with this concept because of the success Bonnie Hunter has had with this technique. She is a very prolific quilter who really popularized this technique a while back.

Like Bonnie, I like to chain piece because it's so much more efficient and economical. Not only does it save time and thread, but for me it is more accurate. I no longer have to contend with my sewing machine "eating" the tips of my fabric when I start sewing. Do you know what I mean? When the threads get tangled and your fabric ends up getting pulled down the needle hole only to be mangled beyond recognition. 

I used to simply use a piece of scrap fabric at the beginning and end of each "chain." This solved my problem and all was great.

Well, then I read about Leader and Ender projects and the light finally turned on and I was on a roll. 

Since that time, I'm almost always working on two quilts at the same time. Of course to avoid confusion, I try to make sure the two projects are very different so I don't mix the units. (Can you guess why I decided needed to do that!?!) I really don't think I could get much different than the two projects above.

Anyway, because she so often works with scrappy quilts, Bonnie often pieces various strips or units together that she throws into a tub to be used at a later date. I've done that too, but found that it is much easier for me to actually plan a second quilt and have it ready to go. As you can see in the following picture, I have my nine patch piecing units all lined up and ready to go.

Here I have the blocks for the first quilt ready to be sewn into rows and the bottom units of my nine patch blocks ready also.

I simply chain piece my blocks until they are all done.

And then I add a unit of my nine patch block to the chain.

I snip the pieces apart, leaving the nine patch unit in the machine with the needle in the down position...

And get ready to start with the row construction again.

I follow up with another nine patch component...

And before you know it, voila'! The quilt and nine patch blocks are both done.

 

I have found that many people find it confusing when they start using the Leader and Ender technique, but once they get going with with, I know they like it. If yo don't already do this, why not give it a try? I think you'll like it.  :-)

I've taken those nine patch blocks, cut them up, added some additional fabric and reconstructed them into something new. Check back tomorrow to see what they look like now!

I'm linking up to Show and Tell Tuesday at i have to say... as well as to Archive Tuesday at Val's Quilting Studio. Take a gander at these two blogs and I promise you won't be disappointed. 

Design Wall Monday

Remember when I said that I wanted to start piecing something and that I would do it after all my bindings were done? Well...I didn't wait. 

I did work on more bindings, but I couldn't wait to start this next project. The fabric had been sitting on the cutting table just waiting for me and my sketches were right next to the chair where I sit to bind. Both kept calling my name and I had no way to stop them, other than pick them up and start sewing. :-)

This started as two Mimi charm packs and a bunch of the green and cream fabric from my stash. The little brown squares were also from stash and for some reason it was out on the cutting table. So, rather than put less than 1/2 yard of fabric back into my stash I decided to use it. I soon realized that this was a binding possibility for one of those quilts I have in waiting. Well, I guess that decision's been made and I'm using the other brown!  :-)

This has a bit more muted look to it than the quilts I usually make, but I like it. I'm already playing with some fabric variations to make another one as a donation quilt. It's the ideal size for donating (60" x 72" without a border) to the group I'm thinking about. 

I don't feel too guilty about working on this rather than binding. This was so simple and quick that I won't have to spend but another hour or so to finish the top. All I have to do is sew the top four rows to each other and add it to the other eight rows. Yippie!! I may add a border, but I'd have to search for fabric to do that. Perhaps less is more and I'll just quilt and bind it. (More binding to add to the pile!)

While I was piecing this, I was doing a leaders and enders thing and this is the result of that.

Check back tomorrow to see how these have changed and more about how I've done them.

Want to be inspired? 

Check out Judy L's Patchwork Times to see what other quilters have on their design walls today.