Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Tip Tuesday! A Cut Above (and a completed quilt top)

Welcome to
"Tip Tuesday!"


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! 



Tip Tuesday! - Cutting Accuracy Ideas

While I was working on this quilt the last few days... 
YEAH! The top is DONE!)



I had to be very careful with the cutting because there was very little waste. This is the most that was left over from any of the strip sets, and it measures a little less than 1/2". 



Most of the strip sets had about 1/8" of waste and that was kind of scary. I was so worried that I would make a mistake and cut the wrong size of strip and not be able to complete the quilt.

This got me thinking about some of the "tricks" I've used over the years to help with my cutting accuracy. Here are some of the tried and true methods I've used and encouraged others to do the same.

Glow-Line Tape is great for marking the lines on a ruler that I need to find each time I to cut. This tape is transparent so they can be seen through and it is reusable.



Cutting Edge Vinyl Strips have a couple of ways they can be used. Like the Glow-Line Tape, these strips can be put on the top of the ruler to mark the line that needs to be used for cutting. These strips can also be attached to the underside of the ruler thus creating a raised edge so fabric can butt up next to it and not slip.



If you don't want to buy anything special, there are items that you probably already have in your house that can be used to increase cutting accuracy.

Post It Notes can be stuck to the ruler marking the correct measurement on which to align the fabric. (I just realized that my picture is upside down. Sorry!) 


And finally, a Dry Erase Marker is wonderful for use in the sewing room. They come in a variety of colors and that can be helpful on the various rulers you may have. (Don't forget to wipe off the marker!)


Can you see the arrows that I've marked on the ruler showing the 1 1/4" line? That helps align the edge of the fabric to the correct measurement. I don't know about you, but I've been known to turn the ruler around and cut a wrong size strip. That would have created a very bad situation this past weekend.


I often used a dry erase marker when I'm trimming my half square triangles. See the stitching line in the picture below? I will align a ruler with a diagonal line drawn on it to to the stitching line and trim the the triangle.


The drawn line is on top of the stitching line. I know it's hard to see.


Now I just trim off the excess and I have the correct half square triangles.


If you take the time to cut correctly, you'll have a much easier time with the piecing. If that means you have to come up with some tool or technique, by all means do it!

Monday, March 31, 2014

Design Wall Monday

This is what's up on the wall this morning and I know that it may be a bit bright or bold for some of you, but I love it! 


This past weekend was our annual guild retreat and I had been hem and hawing around trying to figure out what I wanted to work on while I was there. I have lots of projects that I should be finishing up and I could have taken at least one of them, but something was holding me back from making a decision.

Well, the decision was made for me when on Thursday I went to the new quilt shop in Sandusky, M & E Quilt Shoppe. I know the two owners (they are former students) and we've been talking about me teaching some classes there. (YEAH!!) Anyway, while I was there, we picked out a couple of patterns and fabrics for me to make samples. Before I even walked in the door, they knew they wanted me to make something using the From Outside In line. I was excited that they picked that line. It is awesome!! But then we had to choose a pattern...

I've had the I Used To Be a Layer Cake pattern (by Nancy Altsman for Black Cat Creations) for a little while, but haven't made it yet and the shop has the pattern so I figured, why not? What is so cool about this pattern is that you can make a small Bargello quilt using a layer cake or a jelly roll and the pattern includes the instructions for three different versions. AWESOME!! If you want a larger quilt, simply make more small quilts and put them together. The pattern explains how to do that. 



Since the pattern calls for either a layer cake or jelly roll, I decided I wanted to try it using both methods so I am prepared to help students using both methods. (OK, I really just couldn't decide which version to make so I'm making two of them.) We picked out a jelly roll of the From Outside In and a layer cake from Wishes, by Sweetwater.

Knowing that it might be a bit challenging to organize at the retreat, I did some preliminary work at home. I decided to use the jelly roll first and pulled it apart and organized the strips in a pleasing order.


And then I cut the strips into 10" segments (I'm going to advise students to cut them a little longer if their strips allow for that because after trimming, you only have about 1/8" to spare and that is living life a little too dangerously for me). 

Next I sewed the 10" segments together to get four of these lovely strip sets. (While doing this, I changed the order of a few of the fabrics.) I made one of these strips at home and sewed the other three at the retreat. 


Once the strips are made, you sewn the two ends together to create a tube. (For those of you that have made a Bargello quilt, I know this is old news for you, bu this is my first one and I found the process intriguing.) Following the chart provided in the pattern, I then cut the tubes into varying widths and then started the process of creating the columns of the quilt. It took a bit to get myself acclimated to doing this, but once I did, it was ok. 

I decided that it probably wasn't a wise choice to take this project to the retreat because it really helps to have a design wall or to be able to lay everything out to avoid mixing up the strips, etc. Lesson learned! But, having said that, this experience allowed me to make notes on how to help students keep themselves organized and avoid a few of the issues I encountered.

So, here's what I had sewn at some point on Saturday.


I hope to be able to get some sewing time in later today and get this top finished soon because I'm looking forward to making version three using the Wishes layer cake! I'm using a dark chocolate brown for the accent strips.

This isn't on my wall, but this is the quilt that my brother Jerry quilted while he was at the retreat. I love this!! The picture does not do this justice and he still has to tie his thread tails and bind, but it is awesome in person. He also sewed together a couple of practice quilts so he can work on his machine quilting technique. He was VERY productive!



What's on your design wall? Why not share it with us at Judy L's Patchwork Times?

Friday, March 28, 2014

Friday Finishes and Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been kind of busy here and I'm excited to say that I've actually been getting some things done. YEAH!

Do you remember this Charm Pack Cherry Quilt that I showed a few days ago?


Well, I had some help when I was putting the rows together. Sadie was on the other side of the machine keeping the pieces straight as they were coming out of the machine. She loves doing that! Anyway, when I was taking a couple of pictures of the quilt top, she asked if she could be in one. I said sure and she got herself in position to say "Ta-Da!" 

Well, we had to make a few adjustments and take a handful of pictures before we got it right. Check out the first picture. Notice anything "not so right" here?


Yea, I'm not sure what she was introducing but it sure was funny. I showed her the picture and suggested we take another one.


It's better, but when Sadie saw it, she said it wasn't perfect. So, another picture was in order.


Sadie thought this one was perfect because you can tell she's saying "Ta-Da!" and she's jumping for joy because it's beautiful. Even if it was a crappy picture of the quilt top, how can you not agree that this is the perfect picture? 

I love having grandkids!!

Avery finally got her quilt! I think she likes it.  


And finally, I was playing around with some red, white and blue fabrics and decided it was time to sew. I like how this turned out, even though a few of the blue fabrics were a little too light for my liking. I think I'll make another one and add borders so it will meet the size requirements of Quilts of Valor.


I plan to take a little bit of time early next week to evaluate what quilt tops I have done and get them ready to quilt. Then I can choose which ones will be donated for the Hands2Help Challenge.

Check out what others have to cheer about today (finishes, starts, exciting news, etc.)! Go to Sarah's Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Oops! Tip Tuesday! - UFOs

I can't believe that I forgot to post this Tip Tuesday! I guess I was a bit stressed/busy/out of sorts, etc. yesterday. I've got to get myself better organized (which is funny considering today's topic). Anyone want to be a guest blogger for a Tip Tuesday! post dealing with how to be an organized blogger?

Welcome to
"Tip Tuesday!"


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! 


Tip Tuesday! - UFO Storage

I think that most of us have a UFO or two tucked away in our sewing room. Ok, maybe some of us have more than one or two. That's fine! (Remember, there are not quilt police here.) I think the biggest problem many of us have with our UFOs is that we aren't sure what we have or that we have all the pieces and parts to the projects.

The problem I used to have with UFOs is that I didn't really have them organized at all. Often, I had a bunch of fabric and partial blocks shoved into a tub, bag or just rolled up together but I wouldn't have a pattern with it. Or, I'd have a pattern and what I thought was all the fabric, only to discover that I was missing something and there were not notes to tell me the status. Why did I stop working on this? Did I run out of one of the fabrics? Did I make a mistake? Did I hate the construction method or how the quilt looked?

I've also been known to have a bunch of fabrics together for a particular project, but it contained fabric yardage that was perfect for another project so I would "borrow" that fabric with the plans to replace it the next time I got to the shop. (Well, you can guess where this is going, can't you?) I would go to the shop and forget to get that fabric and when I finally pulled out the original project to work on it, a year or more had passed and I couldn't find the fabric that I needed, even after an extensive internet search. It wasn't so bad if I hadn't used the fabric in any blocks yet, but usually I had made 6 of the 20 blocks and for some reason, I hadn't cut out all the fabric. (The fact that I had yardage left over should have been a clue!) ARRRGGGHHH!!! I quickly learned that it was time for a design change and that scrappy is great!  :-) 

Well, after that happened dozens a few times, I started to take the time to better organize my UFOs. I still have UFOs, but they aren't quite so frustrating anymore.

I am so happy that I started this practice right around the time Jack started the quilt I mentioned in this post on Monday.  

When Jack asked me about his black and white quilt, I knew exactly where it was and was positive that I hadn't "borrowed" any fabrics from it. (I think he was pleasantly shocked surprised!)



When we opened up the tub we saw all the finished blocks and rows, along with extra fabric. We even had fabrics that had not been used in so far in the construction, but were possible border fabrics. 


One thing we had not done before this got put away was to make detailed notes. We had a sketch of the block and layout, but since he had already put rows together, we knew that plan. So, after putting the rows/blocks up on the design wall, he separated fabrics, labeled them and even jotted down some possible quilting ideas. 


The next time he pulls out the tub to work on this quilt, he won't have to take much time to get organized and can just sit down and sew. That makes me and him, very happy!

What UFO storage and organization tips do you have? I'd love to hear them.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Design Wall Monday

There's a traffic jam on my design wall today.  :-)

This first quilt it what's actually up at this moment. I have three of the five rows sewn together and will have the other two done later today. Since I'm not adding borders, this top is almost ready to layer and quilt. YEAH! 

This is a free pattern that a friend got from The Fat Quarter Shop, and it's called Charm Pack Cherry Quilt. This is made entirely from stash and I think I even have fabrics for the backing and binding. This makes me VERY happy.


This is Avery's quilt that is finally quilted and the binding just needs to be hand sewn down. I should have had this done seven months ago, (she is seven months old today!!). I'm going to see her later today and since I'm not subbing today, maybe I can give it to her as a birthday gift.  :-)


This is not my quilt. It's Jack's. I was sewing with a group friends this weekend and Jack saw Chris working on a fabulous black and white star quilt He was inspired to pull out his long-ago-started quilt and get busy working on it. 

As you can see, the blocks are all done and he has sewn the top two rows and sashing together. It's a good thing we looked at this because Jack found a mistake on the bottom row. Now he gets to spend some quality time with a seam ripper. :-)


Jack and Jerry spent some time checking out border options (as you can see above). But, they were also already discussing the actually quilting Jack plans to do. He has been thinking about the quilting design since he started piecing this. He is really excited to get to the quilting. 


Here's the inspirations quilt. I love this Chris and can't wait to see the borders!!


Jack was very clear in his time schedule for finishing this quilt. He reminded me that he has an on-line class to take for the next two months, he has a couple of concerts for which he has to prepare, and he still has his regular schedule of teaching to maintain. I think we was worried that I was going to push him to work on this every day until it's completed. :-)  Silly man! He hasn't yet learned that I completely understand the value of a UFO. :-)

Want to be inspired or just take in a bit of eye candy? There are lots of people showing off what's on their design walls today.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Mixed Emotions

I have mixed emotions today.

It's raining right now and it's pretty gloomy out.


At least it's not snowing!


Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Modern Quilt Guild Meeting

I just returned from my first meeting of the Cleveland Modern Quilt Guild

I had a really good time and met some very talented people who were not only friendly and inviting, but excited about what they do. After a show and tell segment, members shared their favorite quilting book(s) and passed them around for the rest of us to peruse and ponder a new purchase. I have to admit that I have a list going.  :-)

For the next month's meeting, we are going to be making improvisational pot holders. We can make one or one hundred and if we desire, we can swap. Doesn't that sound fun? I think I'm going to have to spend some time fondling some fabrics and get busy sewing.

We also discussed, and are going to finalize our very own block party. WooHoo! We're basically following the concept from this book:

 

Block Party: The Modern Quilting Bee - The Journey of 12 Women, 1 Blog, & 12 Improvisational Projects 


I think this will be really fun!

Thanks ladies! I had a good time.

By the way, it's been mentioned a couple of times now that I haven't updated my Quilt Gallery lately. I will do that very soon.I promise! It may be after I finish my Prairie Star, the Fish and Cat quilt, and the Little Black Dress quilt, but it will definitely be before I completely empty the Tub of Shame, which is actually two tubs.  :-)