206 Work Days Left

When I started this blog I mentioned that I would be retiring next year. I can hardly believe that almost 50 work days have passed since then. I had have a fairly stressful job and quilting has turned out to be a very relaxing hobby. It's relaxing in the sense that I can't think/worry about work when I am concentrating on the cutting/sewing/pressing/starching/measuring etc. involved. I also usually have my earbuds in and am listening to an audiobook.

My projects have been progressing right along. I finished my Urban Streets table runner.

So I have plenty of quilting in my future. I don't personally use table runners so I know this will end up being a gift to someone but I'm not sure who.




I had fabrics selected for Town Square but I bought wasn't entirely happy with it. I bought some Stonehenge Amazon fabric and thought it would work. My interpretation of Town Square doesn't have the contrast of the creamy yellow and pink but I really like how it came out.

My biggest problem was deciding how to put it together. I tried with lavender in the middle and liked it a lot.







Then I tried it with green in the middle. I still couldn't decide so I showed the pictures to my husband and asked him to decide which was better.

His preference was for the green center. He liked how the bright green pulled your eye into the center.

I'll put up a picture of the finished top and the fabric I'm going to use for borders another day. The top is done but I want to update the sampler quilt project, too. I finished the four patch squares for the corners I while ago but I forgot to take pictures. I realized that today. They were a little tedious to make but not nearly as hard as they appear. I just followed Harriet's directions and viola, the squares were done.

Shown at the left are my nine patch blocks for the border. Notice that there are two different patterns. Half have solid green corners and the other half has print corners. This is how the blocks are shown when you look at any the the pictures of the completed quilt top in either Freshman or Sophomore Year. The instructions tell you to make them all the same with solid corners but I liked the look in the picture better so I mixed them up.

I had to see what it will look like. I'm going to use cream for the background. I think it is turning out rather nice, if I do say so myself.

Tonight I'm looking at the fabric I have set aside for Interlacing Circles. I promised my sister-in-law her choice of quilts for her birthday. She looked at the fabric pictures I posted earlier and thought this might be the one she'd want. Cutting begins on it tomorrow!

From Log Cabin to Urban Streets: Part 2

Next project up is the Country table runner. I'm using Urban Odessey fabric from Connecting Threads so mine is Urban Streets Table Runner. I think the 4 patch squares look like city blocks with buildings an dthe fence post squares look like city streets. I've cut and pieced all of the blocks so I only have to stitch them together. That will probably happen this weekend.

Check out the seams in this 4 patch. My skills are definitely improving in the cutting, sewing and pressing. It takes all three to get consistently good results. It's hard to believe how easy it is when you just relax and take your time.

On another topic, I want to mention the awesome book I got called "The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns" by Jinny Beyer. It is published by Breckling Press. I bought mine from Connecting Threads. I must say that this book is marvelous. I thought i was getting a collection of patchwork patterns but I didn't - I got much more. What I got was a marvelous story about the history of published patterns and magnificent color pictures and line drawings of the patchwork patterns. There are even transparent overlays with the various grids so you can really see the detail in the designs. This book is both inspirational and intimidating. I'm overcome with awe just imagining the work involved. The time spent to compile all of the information must have been tremendous. What a daunting challenge when you look at the completed project. You can tell that it was a project driven by the love of quilting.

From Log Cabin to Urban Table: Part 1

I promised some pictures so here they are:

This is my Log Cabin after I completed the squares and sewn the rows together. I am so pleased with how both my piecing and the fabrics worked out.

The complete log cabin quilt top exceeds my expectations. I have several relatives that love purple so I'm sure someone will end up with this as a gift. One of my sister-in-laws had her birthday this week and I promised her her pick of the quilts from Freshman Year.

Here's a close-up of the center of the quilt top. I just love how you can see my perfect pressing of the seams. This is my favorite project so far.

Cabin is built

Tonight I finished stitching the my in-Patriotic Log Cabin. I need to work on making sure I am stitching straight. This quilt top reveals when you wander along instead of stitching perfectly straight. That's what I'm going to concentrate on this weekend as I stitch the next project. I'm not sure whether I'm going too fast or not feeding the fabric properly. Practice makes perfect so I'll just keep on practicing!

Continual Progress

I promised to upload some pictures of what I've accomplished. Well, here goes.

I used my Thimbleberries quilt with cheater fabrics to do a test run of layering. I had a copy of tucks appear so I did a better job of holding the backing still while I pinned Worldly Women. I think I understand layering pretty well now. I don't plan to do any more of that right away though. I want to work through the other quilt tops first.

Next was the machine quilting. I was nervous but I only did straight lines and it came out pretty well on both my practice and Women. Using a walking foot removes so much of the worry over fabric shifting. I know the starch also helps a lot with that.

I'm particularly pleased with my idea to do different color sticking in the black border of women. It repeats the fence post pattern of the blocks and their color.

Overall, Worldly Women became a terrific mix of traditional and modern just like the person I made it for. As you can tell from her smile, she really liked it!

One more post

I still have the other cheater quilt to do that I mentioned in my first post. I fell in love with some wildlife fabric and bought a kit online that will be perfect for our retirement home. Plus I started designing a quilt several years ago before I even had a clue. 

I sure have gotten bit by the quilting bug. I need to spend some time helping get our house ready for sale but playing, I mean working, on my quilting skills is more fun!

There are no guarantees but I intend to do better with updates!

Tough Choices

I have now planned out the fabric to use for the rest of the quilt projects in Freshman Year. I'm omitting two of them - Winter Wonderland and Asian Nights. I haven't selected fabric for Homespun yet. I'm planning to finish all of the others and then do that one from beginning to end in one fell swoop. That will make it a real final! 

I welcome any feedback you might have. I'm sticking with fabrics I already have so some of my choices are limited but so far my combinations have worked out.

Two More Almost Done

I've already completed the top for Triple Rail Fence. I think it looks spectacular and it came together extremely fast. My fabric has a holiday theme like Harriet's example. The work seemed very easy because I was comfortable with the steps that needed to be done. I plan to use this to practice other than straight line quilting. I'm going to try the design provided in the book. Maybe - if I don't chicken out.

Next up is Patriotic Log Cabin. My variation is not very patriotic. At least not for any country I know of - which country has purple, lime green and cream for their colors? I was intimidated by the little pieces of fabric in log cabin squares and couldn't understand why they are so popular. Having done them now, they are so easy and I can see endless design possibilities with the relative orientation of the squares, the number of rounds, colors, etc. I get it! Log cabin squares are awesome! I'm not going to linger over them though. There is too much else to learn about. My husband suggested that I add a green border to mine. I agree that would tie everything together. I also think adding four more inches (2 on each side) would make a nicer size.

Catching up with August

I've been remiss in updating this blog. My coworker's last day was yesterday. I finish her quilt on the 27th and brought it in to work on the 28th. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I know there are some flaws but overall it's terrific. I rushed to completion and would have liked to have gone back and fixed some things but I simply ran out of time. I learned a lot from the experience. I'll post some pictures later of the finished quilt and of giving it to her. This quilting thing is very rewarding. There is an art to picking the right combination of fabrics. There are skills involvedin executing the various steps correctly. I am well and truly hooked.

I reread a couple of old posts and need to provide some updates. I've decided not to make a version of Winter Wonderland. I am moving on to Harriet's Triple Rail Fence. My color sheme is similar though. The print fabric I am using is of presents so it will be Christmasy like hers.

Worldly Women is Approaching Completion

The next step was to complete the borders. So first I practiced on my Thimbleberries quilt kit. This has 3 borders and came together very nicely following harriet's instructions.

The picture shows the three borders - green, blue and red. They went on easily and only the red one required piecing. I decided to just do a straight seam. You can just barely see the seam in the top border  - it is over the red left border. This is going to be a very nice lap quilt or wall hanging.

I had put off working on the borders because I just wasn't happy with the red fabric that I had gotten for Worldly Women. It was too busy and the tan and black lines were too distracting. I kept trying other fabrics that I had but I just wasn't pleased with the look. Finally, for some reason I dug into the fabric for Summer's Basket of Flowers. There was the perfect red fabric. It is used for the corner blocks and the binding. Needless to say, I will be needing to find a new biding fabric for Summer's Basket of Flowers.

I think Worldly Women looks awesome! Now it is on to layering. I have some more fabric on order that is supposed to be delivered tomorrow for the backing of Worldly Women. I'm going to practice quilting first though on my other quilt. I don't have any backing fabric picked out for it yet but I probably won't do much, if anything, until next weekend.

Progress has been made

Today I finally got back to working on Global Girls. I finished the quilt top. All that is left is borders, backing, quilting & binding. That's all.

I'm also planning out my next project. In Freshman Year there is a project called Winter Womderland. I'm trying to decide what to make for this. I have some beautiful oriental fabric but I don't think I have enough stripe fabric for the border. I also have some daisy fabric.

No pictures today but I'll post some soon.

54 & Counting

One more birthday before retiring. Working is interfering with my quilting - there ought to be a law. Time is running out to finish Global Girls. I have a feeling that I'll be busy Sunday stitching & pressing. A few folks are coming over for my Minus -1 Anniversary of Retirment party. That means that cleaning and straightening take precedence.

Just Back from Baltimore

Quilting got put on hold so I could take a trip to Baltimore. It was a productive and enjoyable trip although there is no place like home. It was great to be greeted by my adorable husband at the airport. I sure am glad that I don't have to travel often.

I plan to get back to piecing my Global Girls quilt tomorrow night. Of the 10 seams between rows, I have finished 3. The pressing is challenging since I'm feathering the seams.

I'll include some more pictures soon.

Piecing Continues

Yesterday's work ended when I realized that I skipped the first two rows when I was attaching the last set of pieces. Ugh! That's what happens when you work longer than you should.

Tonight I fixed that and started on stitching the rows together. The sewing was easy except for a couple of folded seams. I pulled a few stitches and fixed them. Then it was on to the ironing board. Ugh again. Fanning the narrow seams takes a lot of patience. I got two seams done but at least now you can see what I'm making.

Some of the red border of the 'girls' shows. My fault when I cut them out. I didn't pay enough attention to the edges. I paid attention to getting the 'girls' oriented. I know it deters from the quality but since this is my first quilt, I'm more concerned with the quality of the workmanship in the stitching and pressing than in the cutting. I know what I did wrong and it's been my motto for as long as I remember to not make the same mistake twice. So I'll go on from here with an extremely important lesson learned.

The Global Girls was not a good choice for this quilt top without adjusting the size of the squares. Overall I'm well pleased though. I find it hard to believe that only a few short weeks ago I wouldn't have believed that I would have gotten this far so quickly.

I think I'm going to love this quilt because of its flaws as much as anything. Hopefully, I'll have more to report tomorrow.

251 Working Days Left

I don't want you to think that I'm obsessed with retirement but I do wish I were in New Hampshire now. Florida is much too hot and way too full of people. I'm really looking forward to the quiet and the chance to observe nature. It will be a joy to be so much more connected to the world. I promise not to label all of my posts with the number of days I have left to work.

Tonight I am working on piecing the Global Girl quilt. I have 4 of the nine sets of pieces chain stitched together. It's all rather intense to sit there and carefully set the next piece on and watch the fabric feed through. Then comes the joy of pressing. Definitely not my favorite part. It gets better once I've pressed the seams over and can use the spray starch.

No pictures tonight. I'll post some more after I have all of the piecing finished - might be tonight but probably tomorrow.

252 Working Days Left

I'm planning to retire next year. To prepare, I started going through my hoard of craft kits and supplies. I'll be moving to a house that is only a third the size of my current one. Some stuff was easy to thin. Other items I am emotionally attached to - so I decided to use eBay to simplify things and make sure my items found good homes. The problem was that I got attracted to all of the beautiful fabric available online.

The right thing I did was to get Harriet & Carrie Hargrave's Freshmen Year of Quilter's Academy. I've also gotten Harriet's 'Heirloom Machine Quilting', 'From Fiber to Fabric' and 'Mastering Machine Applique'. I've read the first of these so I'd know how to do the quilting for the projects in the Academy.

Now that you've got a little perspective on where I'm coming from, let me tell you about my progress so far. I've read through the entire Freshman curriculum. I've working on two quilt tops so far and have been building my fabric stash. I've also gotten some new feet for my sewing machine and other assorted tools. I'll talk about some of them in later posts.

I've started the Sampler that gets finished in Sophomore Year. I'm not a fan of blue so I changed the color scheme. Blue became green and white became cream. Here is what I have so far.

The solids are Bella Solids Moda Cactus and Fig Tree Cream. The print is Little Darlings Little Quilts Cream Floral. I am extremely impressed with how easy this was and how great it came out so far. My seams matched up perfectly and all of the measures were spot on. I use a piece of colored tape as my guide to stitch the 1/4" for the strip sets until I got a new 1/4" foot with a built-in guide. 

The new foot is much easier to keep my eyes on than the tape. I'll remove the tape eventually although I can almost hear Harriet saying that I should remove it now so I don't lose focus when I'm feeding fabric.

The biggest lesson I've learned so far is to take my time and not to be afraid of using spray starch. I've never used it before and I'm really loving how it crisps everything up so that the pressing stays the way you want it. It also makes it so much easy to feed the fabric.

The picture below is of part of a quilt top I pieces. It's from 3's company with Thimbleberries fabric. It is a cheater in that the appliqued designs are printed on the fabric. I got this kit before I got Freshman Year. It will be a pretty lap quilt or wall hanging when it is complete.

This is the picture on the instruction sheet. The colors are very light and don't do the fabric justice. I'll update with more pictures as this one progresses.

For full disclosure I also bought Summer's Basket of Flowers that uses cheater fabrics too. I haven't done anything with it yet.

My other project I have started for the Freshman Year is my version of Cowboy's Corral. I had purchased a piece of Michael Miller's Global Girls. I just love the pictures but the red background I found really ugly. The girls are about 5" square so I decided to fuzzy cut them. Unfortunately, the fabric only had 49 girls so I am swapping the strip sets and girls and using 50 pieced blocks and 49 girls rather than the 49 pieced and 50 pictures in the original.

In the picture you can see my 11 stacks of 9 pieces pinned at the top and ready for piecing. I'm so excited to work on this one because a friend and co-worker recently got a job in Europe working for our home office for 2 years. I plan on giving her this quilt as a going away gift. Below you see the two fabrics I'm going to use for the borders. The red is deeper than the red on the Global Girls fabric and the black has a fine vine pattern.

For completeness, the three solids for the strip set are Bella Solids Moda Turquoise, Cheddar and Modern Leaf. The red is Full Circle Fabric Garden Barn Red and the black is Kansas Troubles Favorites Black.

The color is really awful in the border fabric picture. I'm sure I'll get a better for you later.