I’ve added a new page on the applique technique I’ve developed to get me away from pins and toward more accurate applique. It’s on the “long bits of stuff” menu on the right.

Tomorrow, easy very skinny stems. You won’t believe how really easy they are.

Nostrils and tail yet to do, but looking good!

I started a new project last night.  I haven’t been able to appliqué for a couple years so I’m really excited about this.

I’ve wanted to try some new stuff.  A friend supplied the material and will get the resulting coat.  I’ve made tests of the coat pattern (A Little Something), made the necessary adjustments and I’m ready to go!

This is a three color coat.  The left side of the jacket is purple batik.  The right is green batik and the accent is ink navy.  The sleeve bottom and coat bottom will be bordered in Oriental Dance blocks.

This bit of the project is all hand appliqué.  The horse head pattern is on a piece of paper on the back.  I sew the three layers together (paper, background and foreground) using a sewing machine and staying on the pattern lines.  From the front I carefully cut the foreground material away and, as I unpick the stitching, I turn the edge under on the stitching line and appliqué the foreground down to the background being careful not to catching the paper in the stitching.  This technique gives me accurate and flat appliqué.  It always looks like the appliqué was just ironed flat.  So far, so good!  I think it’s looking awesome!

I’m not sure how it’s going to be quilted.  I may give Karen the background and batting and have her pin the coat pieces to it and quilt them.  So far I’ve got the pattern pieces cut extra big so there’s room around the outside to stitch it down to the backing before it’s mounted on the quilting machine.  That might work.  You can tell I’m still pondering this part.

LouAnn called last night.  My sunset quilt got People’s Choice at the fair.  I don’t know which day it got it but it’s really nice to have it recognized.

Both quilts come home today.  <smile>

LouAnn has been entering her quilting and canning in our local fair for years.   I’m fortunate that she drags my quilts along for the ride.

This year I have three quilts entered in the fair.  LouAnn called yesterday to tell me they had all received blue ribbons.  While that’s nice, it was even more exciting to hear her grape quilt had been considered for the grand poo-bah prize.  That’s pretty awesome!

Note:  LouAnn called to tell me Sunset on the Farm got people’s choice at the fair.  How nice!

Vendor's Choice and a first place in the "Other" category Wreath of Life hanging in Karen's booth

The quilt show is over and two of my quilts did really well.

The Sunset quilt got People’s Choice the second day and second in the pieced category.

The Ichthy Bog Coat got a Vendor’s Choice ribbon and a first in the “Other” category.

Even better, LouAnn’s grape quilt got People’s Choice the very first day!  That rocks!  And Karen‘s been asked to teach the Square Dance (block used as the border on the bog coat) at two different location!  That really rocks!

LouAnn’s Wreath of Life quilt hung in Karen’s booth and many asked for the pattern.  We all agree the quilt would have been pretty without the pieced background, but the large Dance block in pastels behind the appliqué really added to the depth and richness of the quilt.

Sunset at the farm Nested stars Confetti Stars aka "The Wood Quilt" insert

My three quilts are almost home.  They hung at the Pe Ell Quilt Show over the July 4th weekend but they still have two more stops to make before I get to sleep under them.

In two weeks they hang again at the RDQG Quilt Show, then a month later they hang at the SWW Fair.

Confetti Stars got best comfort sized quilt at the Pe Ell show.  That’s nice!

Starting to look like a quilt . . .

I’ve got the majority of the body put together.  I need to cut blocks to fill in the edges.  I need to get baby quilt (non-flammable) rayon batting and some pretty pink and green or purple and green flannel for the back.  I won’t add borders.  This is supposed to be a drag around quilt as she gets older so there’s no point in getting fancy or “heirloomy”.

Confetti stars

Here’s Confetti Stars, all pretty and quilted.  I’m really happy with this pattern.

I think I need to make one of these big enough for our bed.  I like it!

Eva's Confetti Stars

I have had to find a new vendor for template cutting and in the process of getting templates cut I’ve had to retest some of the templates.  Because the Confetti Stars is cut from strip sets, and because I hate to waste material, I’ve elected to take the testing down a productive path.  Baby quilt!

I saw my friend Rachel at Safeway Thursday.  She’s got a new baby girl she and Travis have named Eva.  If I can get this finished and quilted little Eva will be able to sleep under the stars!

LouAnn and I went to the Guild’s Sew Daze yesterday and I got the binding on my sunset quilt.  LouAnn’s taken it home with her to stitch down the binding.  The quilt is beyond beautiful.  The quilting is gorgeous, the colors are gorgeous.  I’m going to enjoy sleeping under it.

I’ll get a new picture of it at the next meeting.

Lovely fall colors

I’ve gotten a good start on the tree top for Lorr’s quilt.  I think it’s going to be lovely.  The quilt isn’t as complex as the sunset quilt so, when I have time to work on it, it’s going together pretty fast.  I still need dark browns, charcoal/ink navy/midnight green fabric for the border and silvery pale blues for the background behind the tree.

This is going to be a simple yet striking quilt that Lorr and Patty should be able to use without fear of ruining something of heirloom quality.

Fabulous fall colors

I’m starting to lay in the colors at the top of the tree.  I think previewing the colors in place isn’t going to be necessary.  I think I can assemble as I have in the past, I just need to know I have enough pieces to cover the entire area.

It’s time to dig out a nice orange and start sewing.

The glorious tree-top color

I sorted fabric two days ago and started cutting the treetop yesterday.  I mumbled something to Wadly about scaffolding so I could walk back and forth while applying color to the top of my design wall.  I think he’s a bit aghast at the concept of  having more construction like stuff in the house.  I have a step stool to use for now . . . wholly inadequate but it’s what I’ve got.

Maybe I should give him a choice . . . 8 foot step ladder or scaffolding . . . <evil grin>

Line drawing of Lorr's quilt Dance template will be used for grass section Blunt pinwheel for tree truck blocks Oriental pinwheel for the leaves. image

My next big quilt is going to be for my son and his SO.  He and Patty both like fall colors, so I’m doing a tree in glorious fall oranges and reds using the watercolor technique I used for the sunset.

This time I want to use a variety of blocks and not set them in columns and rows.  I want the application of the color to be less organized so I’ll set some of the parts askew and join the blocks of like colors in a running bond pattern where I can.

I have designed four different types of the pinwheel blocks.  One produces a triangular block which, when assembled produces six pointed nested pinwheels when the color is organized.  The pinwheel element is the sharpest of the blocks and I’ll use this one as grass.

I have a blunt pinwheel block that I’ll use for the tree trunk and a rounded pinwheel I’ll use for the leaves.

I’ll use the square dance block (same as the sunset quilt) for the backgound.

I’m having trouble finding pale silvery blues for the background.  I’ve got lots of yellow/orange/red/burgundy for the leaves and lots of green for the grass but I could use more dark grayish brownish for the tree trunk and more charcoal darks for the 8″ border.

All quilted

I got my sunset quilt back from Karen yesterday.  It’s all quilted and ready to bind.  I’ll try and get to that this week.

I’m going to enjoy having this quilt on my bed.  It seems so apropos, crawling into bed under a sunset.

I’ve got a lot of stuff going on right now.  Lorr has lasts ready for me.  I need boots for a clinic I’m doing in January (www.axwoodlibrary.com).  The comfy slip-ons I have are SO not going to work for that activity.  Getting boots made is a priority.

I’m in the middle of building a sawdust stove (www.norishouse.com) so we stay warmer when the cold weather hits in February.  Hopefully that will be done by this weekend.

All cut and ready to go

I have a mariner’s compass to finish for LouAnn, a border to put on my confetti stars quilt and two bog coats to make, a simple reversible one for LouAnn and two-color one requiring quite a bit of applique/prep for my friend Mickey.

I’ve promised another bog coat in purple and black to Mindy with her farm logo, but it’s not going to happen right away.

I need an escape from all the complicated stuff, something I can mindlessly sit and sew while admiring the pretty colors without thinking too hard.

I’ve been planning a square dance quilt for my bed for a while.   When I cut fabric for square dance blocks for borders I’d cut extra and add to my collection of fabrics for this quilt.  It takes 106 to make a queen sized quilt and I’ve got 120+.  This block is super easy to sew, pretty and just what I need to give me some busy work.

Lips of the camo seam sewn together from the paisley side. You can see the soluble stabilizer in the seams. Running stitch from the camo side The paisley side closed up. Here I'm using a series of running stitches followed by a whip stitch, repeat.

I’m pecking away at getting the pink paisley/camo bog coat seams closed up.  I’m using a running stitch to close up the seams.  For one set of seams I’m leaving the soluble stabilizer untouched.  The other set I will dissolve the stabilizer before sewing.  This will help me establish which method produces a better result.

This coat is so girly cute I’m temped to add lace in the front bodice seam.  I won’t, but I’m tempted.

LouAnn has offered to finish stitching down the binding on the nested stars quilt and, bless her, I’m going to let her.

All quilted and looking beautiful

Here’s the Tangled Stars quilt back from quilting.  It looks beautiful!  Karen did such a nice job!   It’s quilted in variegated thread which beautifully compliments the colors of the big pinwheels.
The variety of color in both the big multi-color AND small yellow pinwheels really adds to the quilt’s appeal.

I’ve got the binding sewn on but it will take a while to hand stitch it down.  I can do about two feet per sitting/day.  I don’t need the quilt finished until the next Guild quilt show (July 2011) so I’ve got lots of time to peck away at it.

Quarters pinned together with "will not work" center pinned behind

Well, this center certainly isn’t going to work.  Ugh.

I talked with Mindy.  Our next test will use the final points fabric (looks like ocean waves) as the center background and a smaller (2/3 to 3/4 height/width) star in the two shades of green.  I’ll set it off with a small 1/4″ border between the center and the compass points.

I’ll get it put together and we’ll see what it looks like. Just about anything would be an improvement over my first attempt.

Mariner's Compass

Years and years ago (in the 70′s) Mindy (LouAnn’s daughter) bought fabric for a quilt of ocean waves around a mariner’s compass center.  In the last half-year, LouAnn has been diligently working on getting the ocean waves blocks done.  The construction of the compass portion of the quilt top falls to me.  I want to finish this up today.  So far, so good.

I’ve passed the Ichthy bog coat to Mindy and she’s happy.  She wore it for Sorority last night and got rave reviews.  She says fit and style are perfect.  I’m happy.

Stopper border attached

I’ve got a Guild Board meeting tonight.  If Karen’s there I’ll pass this quilt top on to her.  It really needs one more border, maybe a 3″ or a bit wider.  I don’t have anything in my stash that will work.  The quilt came out really nice.  I love working with batik and the pattern looks complicated but is actually a quick sew.

Precise cutting, sewing and ironing produce perfect pinwheels

I’m down to the final bits on this sampler.  I’ve got all the partial blocks cut for squaring up the top.  I still don’t have a plan for the border.  Once I get all the assembly done I’ll dig through my fabric to see what I can find that appeals.

This pattern only work with batiks.  The long narrow points will get lost in a heavier fabric.

Starfish

It’s rainy and dismal today, so the colors in the photo are muted.  This is a decent sized test of the Starfish” block.  I’ll have to come up with a more representative name, maybe “confetti stars”.

There are enough blocks to make a small comfort quilt, depending on what I add as a border.  The finished size of the blocks is ~38″x~40″.  I may have enough background fabric scraps to make the necessary half-blocks to fill in the outside edge.  The three blocks on the right end will have to be used as filler blocks.

The blocks for this quilt go together amazingly quickly because the fabric is strip pieced before the blocks are cut.

I think I would like this pattern better with a dark background, but then we all know I prefer dark background quilts where the bright colors can really pop.  One of the dark fabric I used as pinwheel fabric is a blue/black that would be perfect.  I’ll have to keep an eye out for more of that fabric.

Carved wood quilt

Fraser Smith carves beautiful wood things, including quilts.  I love his stuff.  I’m so intrigued by his stuff I have to try to replicate a few.

This quilt pattern is one I’ve been working on for a while.   I’ve figured out a way to strip piece it.  It goes together amazingly fast but is definitely an advanced pattern as Y seams are a must.

Starfish quilt test

The is a test of the strip piecing method of constructing this pattern.  The background for this test is leftover backing from the Ichthy bog coat.  The pinwheels are scraps from my stash.

Layered and trimmed Mark and cut the sleeve Soluble stabilizer cut into ~3 Stitching and trimming - note the layer of stabilizer between the fabrics Clip the inside corners Press. Isn't that a luscious paisley? This is what the sleeve cut will look like after the stabilizer is stitched together. This gives the quilter a visual break for the quilting.

This is the step by step of preparing the bog coat for long-arm quilting.  If you don’t know the basics of bog coat construction, you’ll need to bone up for this post to make any sense at all.  Because this post has a lot of pictures, they are thumbnail size.  You’ll need to click to see the enlarged version of the image.

Because the fabrics and batting I purchased were all pretty close to the same size, layering and trimming was pretty simple.  Press all three layers, stack them with the fabrics right sides together and the batting against the fabric that will be the main outside fabric.  Trim the selvages and square up the cut edges.  Once you have the stack of fabric and batting trimmed, pin the edges to keep everything aligned while you’re cutting and sewing.

Using 45″ width fabric , the 45″ will be the vertical measure.  Purchase the amount of fabric you need to go around your body or to go from wrist to wrist over your shoulder, whichever is longer.

For determining how deep to make the sleeve cut, I do not follow the standard bog coat construction.  Physically, I have more real estate in the front than in the back.  It’s a girl thing.  Instead, I measure from underarm seam to underarm seam across my back at underarm level and add 2 inches.  That’s the amount I leave intact across for the back of the coat.  The extra in the part that has been cut to make the sleeve I will put to good use in the front covering said real estate.

Insert stabilizer between the fabric layers on both sides of the sleeve cut and between the fabric layers at the front edges, matching the edge of the stabilizer to the edge of the fabric and extending the stabilizer ½” beyond the end of the sleeve cut.  Pin in place.  When the garment is turned right side out for quilting, the soluble stabilizer will be sticking out of those seams.

The goal isn’t so much giving the quilter something to grab as it is to prepare the seams for construction after the quilting is complete.  The bottom, front and neck can be bound.  Binding the yoke and under arm seams would create bulk and the result wouldn’t be reversible.  I’m hoping this technique will allow the fabric seam lips to be slip stitched together inside and out  to create a completely reversible quilted garment.

For the sleeve cut I’ve stitched from the outside edge in, then across ¼” from the end of the slit and back out the other side, as if sewing the box for a welt pocket.

The batting in the seam allowance needs to be trimmed away to reduce bulk.  I didn’t grade the seam allowance.  There’s only a scant ¼” of fabric in the seam allowance, not enough to trim and expect the seam to hold together.

Clip the inside corners of the sleeve cut almost to the stitching so the fabric lays smooth once the garment is turned right side out.  This is the same thing you’d do for a welted pocket.

Remove all the pins holding the layers together and turn the coat right side out.  Make sure your iron is set to no steam and press the seams.  Don’t touch the stabilizer with the iron, it can melt and distort.

And finally, before it goes off to the quilter, the pieces of stabilizer sewn into the sleeve cut need to be sewn together ¼” from the seam allowance.  This “repairs” the cut making the cloth entire and allows it to lay flat for quilting.  Sew these pieces together so the excess stabilizer sticks up on the side the quilter sees while working.  This gives a visual guide so no quilting is done beyond the seam.

When the bog coat comes back from Karen I will trim the sleeves to the right length, trim the front to match the yoke and hand sew the under arm and yoke seams before adding binding.  Because this coat is reversible I want to sew the seams to allow a button hole in the seam allowance to allow the bottom edge of the sleeve to be turned up into an accent cuff.

For the next bog coat using this technique I will trim the sleeves to ¾ length and the front to the proper length before sewing in the stabilizer.  Once the coat is turned right side out and pressed, I will baste stabilizer to the remaining raw edges using soluble thread to give the quilter something to grab.  No trimming should need to occur after I get the coat back from the quilter.  I want the next coat to have a cheetah pattern quilted in a border around the edges which can only be done if the garment is trimmed to size and completely stabilized.  I’ll have to mark the front and neck openings so the border continue around those edges.

ComeQuiltWithMe's coffin quilt pattern, a very large version (3"x4½") of the block I'm contemplating using

I’m working on a new quilt idea.  I’ve discussed it before, the koi pond repeat in some sort of watercolor technique similar to the sunset quilt.

I originally flirted with using the 2″ square dance block but have since veered toward a stretched hex (coffin, not honeycomb).  I’ve ordered some coffin shaped English paper pieces. They’re gonna take a while to get here because the shape isn’t a standard one for PaperPieces.com so they’ll have to draft it before sending it to the laser cutter computer.  Hopefully it’s not going to cost an arm and a leg.

This morning I had a flash . . . what if I created a stamp the size and shape I want.  I could stamp the image on the back of the material, do some pin matching and sew the seams by machine.  Y seams don’t bother me and I think I can pin and sew accurately enough to do the job by machine.  I wouldn’t have to trim super accurately, wouldn’t have to use a template, wouldn’t have to sew the blocks together by hand (English paper piecing).  Hmmm . . . You KNOW I’m gonna have to try . . .

So, ever the research queen, I’ve been looking at rubber stamps.  I found this really plain Jane website with rubber stamp construction info.  Next time I head into town I’ll pick up a blank stamp and see if I can carve what I need.  Before I do that I’ll draw a couple and try sewing and see what I get.

Everything I need . . .

I sent my Ichthy bog coat off today to the NW Quilting Expo.  I was going to drive it down but the drop off locations were both on the south end of Portland.  It just wasn’t worth it.  With insurance the shipping was $14.  I can’t drive there for that.

I swung through WalMart and got 4 lengths of inexpensive yardage for two quickie bog coats, one in pinks and greens and the other in fall colors.  I’m working on a technique by which the bog coat sandwich can be held in place in the longarm frame for quilting and can be easily assembled when the quilting is complete.  The resulting bog coat should be completely reversible.  We’ll see how well I do.

When I got the Ichthy bog coat back after the quilting I spent quite a bit of time picking quilting out of the seam allowances, then trimming out batting, basting down the seam allowances and appliquéing a strip of lining to cover the seam allowances.  My poor planning really bit me in the butt.  Yuck.  The finished coat is very smooth and a pro job, but I know I can make the quilting easier for Karen and the assembly easier for me by spending a small amount of time preparing ahead.  I want people who examine the construction to scratch their heads about how it was done.  <evil grin>

The picture shows the pink and green paisley and matching camo.  Also shown are the batting (rayon), water soluble stabilizer and water soluble thread.  I’m hoping the rayon batting will provide a better drape than my normal Warm and Natural quilt fav.  Warm and Natural softens with washing and use, but I’m hoping the rayon provides that softness right from the start.

And, in case you didn’t know, WalMart has batting in bolts.  Our local store has 45″ wide Warm and Natural as well as the 45″ wide rayon.  For this app, 45″ wide is perfect and being able to buy off a bolt lets me get only what I need.

The construction technique I’ve got floating around in my mind is a little complicated, so I’ll take pictures as I go and write a good description.

I finished the sunset quilt last night.  I’ll get a picture of it when it’s quilted and post it.  It’s beautiful.