APQ 2016 October UFO

UFO project #10 is another oldie but goodie.  This APQ challenge involves 12 UFO projects listed on a form that was submitted to APQ last December.  The projects were listed from 1 to 12.  Every first of the month starting with January 2016, APQ pulled a number out of a hat (that's just how I imagine they did it but chances are the use a random number generator - not as magical) and published the number on their site.  I have my own preferences for the choice each month, because, of course, I know what it will take to complete each one and depending on my free time and scheduling, I know the level of difficulty each project will present.  I did a happy dance when number 10 was chosen for this month's UFO. 

The project used "Not Your Grandmother's Tumbling Blocks" pattern by Marcia L. Baker.  This is a strip-pieced method of making tumbling blocks.  I love this block but the thought of making the block with Y seams was overwhelming at the stage of quilting I was in then. I loved the pattern booklet, it was very well done and easy to follow, even for a beginner. 

This project gave me a bit of a break, and I thank the quilting gods for that!  This is again a project for a class I took at Bittersweet Designs in Washington Crossing PA.  This was a wonderful shop and I started my quilting journey there.  I took a sampler quilt class and thought I had gotten in way over my head but I had good friends who got me through the tough beginning.  My completed sampler quilt is often used on my bed.  Unfortunately, this shop closed several years after this class.  I have many fond memories of this place! 

But I took this class to learn the tumbling blocks pattern but from strip sets and not from sewing Y seams.  I thought I had jumped from the frying pan into the fire!  But I did finish the two sessions of the class, but not the project!   I still have the original class instructions and I was flabbergasted to see that the dates of my class were 9/11 and 10/2 -of 1999!  1999!  So, after 17 years, this one is finally done and in use! 

These pictures show how it looked in early October.  It was in fairly good shape and really just needed a row or two more, batting, quilting and binding.  I was surprised I stored it in a place I could find it easily!  And looking at it 17 years later, I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely my seams matched!  I can only imagine how long I took to get those points to match! 

So, here is the finished product.  It was machine quilted and the binding was hand sewn down, both by me.  Since I used Christmas fabrics, (I have no idea why other than the class was given in September - did I tell you it was 1999?), I must have had thought I could finish it for Christmas.  As I think of it now, I actually AM finishing it for Christmas, just not the one I had in mind! 

The original plan was to make a wall hanging.  As you can see, it ended up as a table runner and fits perfectly on my foyer table.  It just made sense to reduce the size to something that I would get more use out of compared to a wall hanging. 

So, onto the project for November.  This one is a larger lap quilt in Civil War fabrics using the monkey wrench block.  Another oldie, ready to be completed! 

APQ 2016 September UFO - Almost

We are nearing the end of this challenge and I have actually surprised myself with how much I accomplished.  These UFO projects were not the only projects I was working on each month. 

This month's challenge was to complete a BOM (block of the month) that I started in 2015.  I have a separate area on this blog to describe this project.  This was a mystery quilt of sorts.  One block was assigned per month.  I managed to get 4 of the blocks completed during the month it was assigned.  Then Murphy's Law set in and I became a bit overwhelmed with all my irons in the fire and the diminished time I had to work on them. 

At the time of the UFO challenge, I had four more 12.5" blocks to complete as well as fifty-one 6.6" blocks and 50 border blocks that were comprised of 2-HST and two 2.5" squares per block.  I decided to work on the border blocks first.  Lots of cutting, making HST construction, then joining those with 2.5" blocks to make the border units. 

Now, all of the fabrics have already been chosen and assigned a number which needed to match the numbers assigned to each block.  I like this method, it gets me out of my comfort level! 

So, I started cutting 200 squares and sewing them into 50 block units.  I had just finished the 22 inner border blocks and was started to work on the 28 outer border blocks when my world stopped spinning - my workhorse of a sewing machine, my Pfaff 7570 just stopped working. 

No warning signs, it just went kaput!  Now I do have to confess that I have another machine, a Bernina 350PE.  Ok, and a Featherweight.  Oh, alright I also have a Singer Futura and another Singer handed down to me from my sweet mother-in-law.  Both of those are in cabinets.  But, I have been using my Pfaff for over 20 years and just wanted her back!  I looked online for all the information I could find on what could possibly have gone wrong.  I check my online groups as well.  Then I finally decided I needed to get her into my Pfaff expert for a proper diagnosis. 

I was truly worried! 

The news wasn't good.  Parts for older Pfaffs are not easy to come by, and they are expensive.  My sweet husband was going to pick up the $450 tab to replace the LCD screen, but I was so surprised when the repair tech said he would not recommend going forward with the repair.  He said there was no way of knowing what else could be wrong since he needed the LCD to be working to finish the diagnostics.  Given the age of the machine, it was not a good financial decision to replace the LCD screen.  So, I said goodbye to my Pfaff.  Her working space is now occupied by my Bernina and she has been a dream to use.

On a positive note, I need to tell you about my new favorite tool - Block_Loc!  It was a miracle worker for the little HST blocks that needed to be made for the border units.  Here is the squaring up in progress and all the scraps I created. The rulers come in a variety of sizes.  I have (and love, love, love) the 6.5", 4.5" and 2.5" rulers. 


However, with all the time spent on getting Pfaff back up and running, there was no more time to finish the September project.  But, it WILL get done early next year, hopefully in the first quarter.  I did make progress, so I decided that I would consider this an interrupted project and not an unfinished one! 

And life goes on......

The project for October is a tumbling blocks project in Christmas fabrics.  Perfect timing! 

APQ 2016 August UFO

The August UFO, my jelly roll race quilt, was a good selection for me after my harried time of getting my hand quilting project finished by the end of July.  This new UFO project was not part of a class nor was it a gift so there was not the usual pressure to get it done in a timely manner.  I made it because I was intrigued with the jelly roll race process that was all the rage at the time.  It was already pretty far along in the construction stage only needing borders to complete the top.  I had all the fabrics on hand, not only for the borders but for the backing and binding as well. I started this jelly roll race quilt when I saw a video of the process on You Tube. I was just starting to watch quilting tutorials on You Tube and saw several on the jelly roll race quilt. Then I saw the tutorial by Jenny Doan on the MSQC site. I knew then I just had to make one.  This type of quilt was made from one jelly roll and could be done is less than an hour, or so "they" said! This was my kind of quilt!  

When I researched the origin of the jelly roll race quilt I learned that the jelly roll was invented and trademarked by Moda Fabrics in September of 2010 according to The Sewing Directory blog.  I had not yet gotten hooked on the precuts which were now appearing on a regular basis along with all kinds of quilt patterns for them.  I must admit, I was getting very intrigued by them.  

In the previous post on my UFO Challenge projects I stated that my jelly roll race quilt was started last year, but when I looked back at the history of this project, it was actually started in in July of 2014 - time flies!  I did spend some time looking for a jelly roll that I liked and that had yardage that would make nice borders and backing.  I found them on the MSQC site and ordered them shortly afterwards.  I really did complete the strip piecing part of the top in about an hour!  The joining of the 42 strips end-to-end took a good portion of the time.  But then the sewing of the strip units together went along smoothly.  I liked the process! I would do it again!

When I was at the decision point for the border fabrics, I changed my mind from what I thought I would do and put the project aside for a while. I finally chose the alternative fabrics and placed the order for them.  But by that time, I had moved on to another project.  I added this to the UFO Challenge to get it completed since it was so far along and the challenge would inspire me to get it done in time to use it during the cool nights at our mountain cabin. This is a very young UFO for me! 

At this point, the top is completed and double bordered.  I have the pine-cone themed backing ready to go.  I also have the binding fabric ready but not yet cut (shown at the bottom of the picture below).  I originally thought I would do a flanged binding but I am reconsidering that method for a more traditional hand-sewn binding.  My other decision to make is whether I want to machine quilt it myself or send it out.  I am leaning more towards quilting it myself right now.  The quilt will finish at 60" x 75".  The fabrics used are from the "Through the Winter Woods" line by Holly Taylor for Moda. Stay tuned to see the quilt in use on a cozy couch!  

So, what did I learn from this project?  Well, even though there was very little cutting involved, it was important to sew my 1/4" seams so the strips did not "elbow".  I was also very careful about pressing the seams - there were a lot of them!  

Now to wait to see what project is chosen for the September UFO!  Eight down, four to go!  

APQ 2016 July UFO

I have always loved the double wedding ring pattern.  I took a class to learn how to create the blocks.  I had not worked with curves before and I thought the class would educate me on that technique.  I did learn quite a bit in this class and I decided to make this a hand sewing project.  I decided to make the table runner with 3 rings.  I used 1930's fabrics and cut my templates from cardboard, another new technique for me.  

The class used a book by Rodale Press called "Wedding Ring Quilts".  I liked working with the ring and melon pieces and found the value of using pins - lots of pins!  This class was held over 3 sessions at the Quilter's Barn in Allentown in October and November of 2000, (I found a receipt for fabric in the book with this date on it!) another oldie but goodie.  I did not work on it on a continuous basis as it was a good mobile project that I could take on long car rides or when I could not do a machine quilting project.  It was so convenient to just take a small bag with the fabrics, some pins - lots of pins, some sewing needles, a needle threader, small pair of scissors and a spool of thread.  I worked on it here and there and got it to a point where it was ready to be finished.  That's when I added it to my APQ 2016 challenge.  

It is the smallest of any of my UFO projects but it was chosen as the July project at one of the busiest time of my year!  I did not want to rush through the finishing process just to get it done.  I wanted to finish it the way I had always intended - hand pieced, hand quilted.  I was clearly out of runway on this one! So, I decided to at least get the hand piecing completed.  I also intended to do a bias binding on the curves so I spent some time on you tube on how to make the binding and what size square I would need to cut.  That is probably a full day class in itself!  But I am ready to take that step.  

So, here are some photos of how this project has progressed over the last few multiple years:  

This is early on in the process.  You can see how many pins I used to attach the ring to the melon!  

Finally getting to the end of the hand piecing.  You can see the orignal pattern that was provided in the class.  This was for a 3 ring table runner.  A 4 ring wall hanging pattern was also provided.  I was glad I chose the table runner!   

This is the completed top.  It looks pretty good on my dining table in our mountain house! I don't think it will be used when food is on the table however!  





The project for August is a full size quilt but I think will be a lot easier to finish compared to the small table runner!  It is my first Jelly Roll Race quilt and was was started last year.  It needs borders, backing and quilting.  This will be a totally machine project, including the quilting.  I am thinking of using a flanged binding which can be attached by machine as well.  If you don't know about this type of binding, you can google flanged binding or magic binding.  

I hope to get this completed in time to use it at our cabin since it is made with all woodsy themed fabrics.  Here is where it stands right now.  The picture shows the top with the fabrics for the borders (burgandy and green) and the binding.  The pine cone fabric is the backing.  Looking forward to seeing how this one comes together!  

Stay tuned!  

APQ 2016 June UFO

When I first started quilting in the mid-90's, I loved to take classes to learn new techniques and to enjoy the company of other quilters.   I took lots of classes, some I enjoyed and some, well, not so much.  But enjoyed or not, I always learned something new and always came home with a completed project of some sort.  Oftentimes, the classes were just a few hours so I was able to make 1 or 2 completed blocks or part of a quilt top.  The rest of the project was completed at home or stored away for a future activity.  If I was not confident with the technique or just decided it wasn't something I would use anytime soon, the supplies and class instructions were packed away.  That was the case with my June UFO.  

This class was taken in July of 2002.  No, that is not a typo, it was in 2002.  It was my first experience with 5" squares.  They were not yet being called "charm squares".  This class was focused on using 5" scraps to make "Nickel Quilts" although the book also provided instructions for 4" and 6" scraps.  It was also my inauguration into the world of HSTs, half square triangles.  There was not one project to do for this class, there were two!  Each with their own cutting instructions, fabric requirements and layouts. I very quickly became overwhelmed.  As often happens with one-day classes, time was limited and the pace was quick.  The foundation unit for each of the 2 quilts was made from a 2 color HST which was then combined with a 3rd color square to make what was called a combination unit.  When these units were completed, there was a right handed version and a left handed version.  One class quilt used the right handed units and the other class quilt used the left handed units.  I did manage to make one block for each quilt before the class ended but I was beyond confused.  I like making the HSTs and was glad I learned that technique.  I was not enthusiastic about completing the two quilts simutaneously, one of which needed 35 blocks and the other which needed 16 blocks.  I packed everything away and moved onto other things.  I was still working full time and had limited quilting time so I wanted to work on things I could complete and enjoy doing.  

Several years ago, I did unearth the class materials and the book.  I had retired by then and I was taking inventory of my fabrics and projects in various stages.  I read the book instructions several times and finally had that "light bulb moment".  At this point I understood what I needed for each quilt, which units were complete and which units still needed to be cut or sewn.  I took lots of notes and added this UFO to my list for a future time.  

Fast forward to December 2015.  I read about a UFO Challenge being sponsored by APQ (All People Quilt).  It required me to list 12 unfinished projects and list them on Instagram.  Nothing needed to be purchased.  On the 1st of each month in 2016, APQ would chose a number between 1 and 12.  That number would identify the number of the UFO I needed to finish that month.  I could do that, I thought.  This project was number 10 on my list and it was chosen for June.  I had already completed 5 UFOs for January through May.  I knew this one would be the most difficult so far because of the two quilts involved.  I had no idea......

Here is what this project looked like when I started:

This shows the 2 blocks that were planned in the class.  The whirly gig is in the back and the pin wheel is in the front.  All of the units are cut and assembled at this point.

As I started to investigate what needed to be done to get this UFO completed by June 30th, I realized that the primary purpose of the class was to learn how to work with HSTs.  I did that.  It also hightlighted that the leftovers from making one quilt could be used to make a second quilt so the fabrics were not wasted.  I got that.  What I needed to wrap my brain around was that this class produced 2 UFOs, not just one and I didn't really need to physically finish 2 quilts to comply with the challenge.  So, I decided that I would make the larger of the 2 quilts this time (this one was my original objective from the class) and save the leftover units for another time.  That certainly simplified the process for me, more than I realized!  

As I got further into the construction of the 15 blocks needed to make a lap sized quilt, it became very clear that there would be tons of cutting, sewing, more cutting, more sewing and then squaring up of everything that was cut and sewn.  Each of the 15 blocks took 4 units and each unit took 4 squares to make.  
The most difficult of the construction was the size constraints.  The 60 units needed to be squared up to 4.25 inches.  Each block also needed center squares cut to 23/8 inches.  Each block also needed 8 rectangles measuring 4.25 by 23/8 inches.  Lots of unique cutting requirements.  The squaring up was the most difficult because these were combination units, not just HSTs.  

Two gadgets that proved invaluable were a 2.5" x 6" ruler from MSQC (Missouri Star Quilt Company) which was great to cut the pieces that needed to be 23/8 inches because of the clarity of the ruler markings and a Tucker Trimmer for the squaring up of the combination units.  I already had a Tucker Trimmer but it was designed for squaring up squares in 1/2" and whole number increments.  Then I saw that they also made one in 1/4" and 3/4" increments. Amazon next day delivery is fabulous!  This worked like magic on the combination units!  

These pictures show the completed top and the quilting on the front and back.  I kept it simple doing a SITD around the outside of each star and a cross hatch in the borders.  

I was pleased with how this project turned out - and on time!  I have named it "Seeing Stars" for several reasons.  It will live at our cabin and will warm my legs when I sit and read on the porch or in our summer room.  I am really glad this one is done.  I will make the second one with the leftovers at some point this year.  The fabrics will not be put away but will just be put aside for now.  

So what did I learn from this one:

Read the instructions until you understand every step.
Measure twice and cut once!
Square units make square blocks.  
Use the appropriate tools. 

So, I bet you are wondering which UFO is next on the list. Well, the number drawn for July was #4, or my Double Wedding Ring project.  I don't quite remember when I started this one but it is an all hand sewn project, hand cut with templates and hand pieced.  This picture was taken in 2011 so it does qualify to be an "oldie but goodie".  It served as my go-to project when I traveled which is partly the reason it is not yet done.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  

Stay tuned.........

APQ 2016 May UFO

The UFO for May was a table runner I had started for my daughter.  She loves these colors!  Her home had rooms painted in these colors.  Going there was like walking into sunshine.  She has since moved from that home but I think when she sees this, it will get used in her new home.  

This is the state of the runner when I moved on to other things.  i don't know why I left it but it was probably because she moved.  When I started checking through my UFOs to see which 12 would go on my list, I was glad to see this one and it went immediately on the list.  The top was finished and the backing was constructed.  I needed to create the binding and then sandwich the pieces and get it quilted and bound.  I am glad it is now finally finished and I will be so happy to present it to her - in her new home!  

So, the Hubs and I had a quiet week planned at our mountain house and I thought it would be a perfect place to work on this project while he was fishing in our lake.  I was up against my May deadline so this would give me uninterupted quilting time.  I packed the pieces, my Bernina with all her feet and attachments, my bag of supplies like scissors, thread, sewing needles, rulers, a seam ripper and my brass stiletto.  I have cutting mats, an iron and ironing board already there.  I was all set - until I went to put everything together and discovered that I could not make a quilt sandwich without any filling - the batting!  Yikes!

The closest quilt shop had recently closed down and the only other one I could think of was a good distance away.  But, there was a Walmart in a near-by town that was about 40 minutes away.  We were on our way to go grocery shopping anyway so I asked the Hubs if we could add a trip to Walmart to our day's travels.  Of course he agreed when he understood my dilemma.  I had no idea if this Walmart even had a fabric department but I kept my fingers crossed the whole way there.  

Well, success!  They carried a nice selection of fabrics as well as everything sewing related - including batting!  

I had a wonderful view from our cabin while sewing, don't you think?

Here are pictures of the finished runner.  I love the backing fabric but I had a special love of dragonflies!  The runner finished at 16" x 46".  A nice size for my daughter's table or breakfast bar.  I wish I could remember the pattern name though, thinking it was an Atkinson design, but not sure.  Hopefully it will come to me and I can give credit where credit is due.  

The project for June is going to be a real challenge to get finished in what is now 25 days.  It is from a class I took on Nickel Quilts, using the book of the same name by Pat Speth and Charlene Thode. The intro to the quilt to be made in class said "It's really fun to make two quilts at the same time, and it's easy when you make combination units because the process also yields enough for the blocks in a second quilt".  We will see how "fun and easy" this turns out to be.  This is what it looks like now.  

Stay tuned and watch for the results.  This should be good........

Quilt as desired

We have a new baby boy in the family, well he was born last September, and his Dad is a big baseball fan.  So, naturally many gifts, as well as his room, have been baseball related.  Therefore, it follows that I would make him a baseball related quilt.  

The search for the appropriate fabric began.  I wanted something different, not just the standard baseball fabric.  It took a while but I found, what I thought were the perfect choices.  

I used a pattern from the Quiltmaker website called Super Nine Patch with two solids and a pattern for the center which actually ended up being a baseball pattern.  The other solids were a tan and green to represent a baseball field. The top went together very nicely.  You can find the free pattern at http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/details.html?idx=184.  

The fabric from the backing was found at a quilt shop in Effort, PA, a town near our cabin in the Poconos.  I loved the vintage vibe it had for the game of baseball.  It also had colors in it that complemented the colors in the front fabrics.  The quilt came together very easily - until the quilting process!  I wanted to machine quilt this simple quilt but was in a quandary as too how!  I get the same feeling when I see very detailed instructions in quilt patterns but then the last sentence is "quilt as desired".  What does that mean?  

I thought I would try a straight line pattern.  I was not very comfortable with free motion quilting and was still gaining confidence to even do my own quilting.  It was my intention to work at that over this year.  My plan was to use tape to mark off a pattern and keep it linear and simple.  I pin basted the top to the backing and added the tape.  Then I got busy quilting.  I wasn't sure if I liked what was happening from the git-go but I kept on thinking it would get better.  It didn't.  i just became more frustrated.  

I took it off the machine and removed some of the tape.  Yuk was the only word that came to mind.  I could not give this as a gift with this stitching.  I put it away and took a break.  I didn't even take pictures - it was that bad!  

I left it for a while, but then I saw that my LQS was giving a machine quilting class over two saturdays.  This was just what I needed and the timing could not be better.  I signed up for the class and counted down the days.  

I learned a lot during that class.  I used my new-ish Bernina since I bought it at this LQS.  I learned how to properly use a walking foot, which threads to use for quilting and bobbins, how to adjust the tension for different types of sewing and which needles worked best.  I finished the class with a new sense of control and increased confidence.  I finally felt I could do this.  But first I needed to spend a few hours unstitching the stitching I had previously done!  No place to do this better than in a cabin in the woods!  With a glass of wine - or two!  

When the stitching was all removed I deconstructed the sandwich and pressed the top and backing.  I decided to spray baste the sandwich this time instead of pinning.  I thought it was a good size project to try this method and I wanted to get away from pins and sore knees.  The basting went well and I was pleased with how it worked with the needle.  

With baseball, there is a diamond, so I decided to stitch a diamond into the center of the quilt.  The borders were stitched in a linear pattern that crossed at the corners.  I used my walking foot with the stitching guides.  This worked very well.  The last thing to do was bind it.  Done, done, done!  It was given to the new little guy and his parents in May.  They loved it, and he loved it!  I like the way you can use either side of the quilt as well!  

The pictures show the quilting on the front and how it appears in the corners.  I love how cross hatching works.  The center picture shows the backing fabric.

 

  

 

 I think he likes it too!  

Lots of lessons learned with this small quilt!  

APQ 2016 April UFO

My fourth UFO for this challenge project was originally thought to be a piece of cake.  In reality, not so much.  This was a 2.5" square challenge from 2014 where all the squares were to be from fabrics in my stash.  It could have been as small as one square or a large as a crib quilt (if you wanted to enter it for a prize).  I had enough squares for a lap size quilt so I went that route.  I was not planning to enter it into the drawing since I knew I would not make the entry deadline which was OK by me.  I was looking just to finish it and have a warm lap quilt for the cabin.  I finished the 12 blocks which had 25 squares in each block.  Sashing was added between each block.  Then the holidays hit!  

I thought the completion was going to be a slam dunk.  Just add a border, add batting and backing and quilt.  I wanted to use the same fabric for the border as I had used for the sashing.  I searched everywhere within 2 states!  No luck, so I needed a Plan B - a rust color border to match the cornerstone patches I used in the sashing.  That worked!  

My next challenge was the binding.  I knew I wanted to machine bind this quilt and I prefer to use a flange binding when I machine bind.  I auditioned several fabrics for the flange and finally found one I liked and that matched the multi-colored squares.  And these were fabrics I already had in my stash!
  
So, the fabrics were chosen, the backing and binding were made, I had batting on hand.  Next step, make the quilt sandwich and quilt.  I once again used spray basting.  I love this method.  It takes no time at all, saves my back and my knees and really has no odor.  I have plenty of space in our garage and a very big table to use.  I should have this done in plenty of time to meet the end of month deadline right?  WRONG!   The bathroom plumbing had other ideas!  

We noticed a small water stain in our powder room ceiling and thought our upper guest bathroom had developed a leak which ended up ruining the ceiling of the downstairs powder room.  Our first thought we needed to replace the wax seal but our first step (after turning off the water) was to pull down the ceiling in the powder room.  That's when we found a pin hole in a copper water pipe. This took time to fix and plumbers to hire.  Despite the unplanned event, I was able to finish most of the quilt on April 30th.  I needed several hours on May 1st to complete the last part of the binding.  I did finish the project before the May project was posted so I consider this one a success!  

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  


Four down, 8 to go!  The May project is a table runner.  The top is done, it needs backing, batting, quilting, binding.  Should be an easy finish but we all know that I have said that before!  We will see how this goes!  It's always an adventure!  

A Square Conundrum!

My original online quilting group was a newsgroup (remember those?).  It was a text only group and you could only access this group using a UseNet server.  It wasn't a large group, only less than 300 members, but we were a close group.  We swapped blocks and mug rugs, sent "squishies" (envelopes with fabric in them) and made Hug quilts for members who lost a loved one, was fighting a terrible disease or were going through a hard time.  This group is still active although it is now migrated to Facebook.  Some use both, some use one or the other. 

One of the fun activities of this group that I have participated in for a number of years now is the Baseball Swap.  Each person who choses to participate selects a baseball team from the National League and/or the American League.  The premise is very simple:  if my team wins, I get a 6.5" square of fabric from the person backing the losing team.  If my team loses, I have to give the same to the backer of the winning team.  Over the years I have backed the Phillies, the Tigers, and currently am backing the Nationals and the Orioles.  There are 15 teams in each League and some teams sometimes get more than one backer.  Now, you don't need to know anything about baseball to enjoy this swap.  I didn't, but I sure learned a lot over the years.  I can follow stats and standings and I have 2 apps on my smartphone to keep track of my teams and how they are doing.  Plus, I enjoy working on my spreadsheets to keep track of my square tally. 

All this starts in April and goes until the mid-season when the All Star game is held.  The counts are then tallied by the group statistician and the backers are told how many squares they owe and how many they will get.  The squares are packaged in baggies by recipient.  The squares are sent to one person who then sorts the baggies and gets the appropriate baggies to the backers. 

The second half starts after the All Star game and continues until the World Series starts.  The tally process is repeated. 

Some folks wait for their tally report before cutting their squares, other keep track of their wins and losses either manually or by using a spreadsheet.  With 162 games played by each team, the number of squares you can win - or lose - is substantial, not to mention the cutting that needs to happen!  The squares need to be of good quality cotton fabric and cut accurately to 6.5 inches.

That being said, you will remember that I said early on in this post that I have been doing this for a number of years.  Over those years I received a good number of squares and I had to cut a good number of squares each season.  I have set up a spreadsheet (you had to know I did!) so I have a pretty good idea where I stand and can get started cutting ahead of the reports coming in.  I use the reports to verify my number so I don't shortchange anyone.  So I send off my package and await the arrival of mine which usually comes within two weeks or so.  When the package arrives, I look through all my squares and add them to the ones from the previous year.  I have done this each year and try to think of what to do with my squares.  Year after year this goes on. 

So, I finally decided what to do with my squares - why, make quilts of course!  I now have 3 twin beds that could use a quilt.  I also have a queen and a king but I didn't think I would have enough squares for those.  I started to look for a quilt pattern that would use the squares without cutting them any further. 

I wasn't able to find a pattern that "spoke" to me but then I remembered I had a very simple quilt design software program.  I used this to design a simple quilt using the squares on point.  It would use 77 squares in a 7 x 11 layout.  It would look something like this:

I printed it out and kept it with the squares.  Another year goes by, then another.  More squares get added. 

After I received my squares from the 2015 season, I discovered that my storage bin for these squares was full.  It would not take one more square!  It was time to start sewing the squares!  All 837 of them!!!  Enough to make the 3 twin quilts and both a queen and a king quilt as well!  To put it mildly, I had run out of runway!

First step was to sort the squares into colors or patterns.  Here's how they were distributed:

This weekend, I set aside the time to sort all the baggies into color or pattern.  I separated all the novelty fabrics from the colors then sorted the colors into their own pile.  Here is what that looks like:

The novelty squares will be used in other projects such as Project Linus quilts, I Spy quilts, etc.  The remaining 651 squares will be used in the bed quilts, starting with the 3 twin quilts.  Two of them will be used at our cabin in the mountains.  The third will be used in our guest room in our NJ home.  I haven't quite decided how to select the squares.  I have enough squares to make them in tones of a single color - blue, green, purple, pink.  I also thought I could make a "Boston Commons" layout of several colors.  That is my next challenge.  I am not a "brown bag" kind of quilter where all the squares are placed in a brown bag which is then shaken.  Then whatever square is pulled out first is sewn to the second square pulled.  The other extreme is to go into "analysis paralysis" in the arrangement.  Hopefully, I will find a happy medium, hopefully!

 Next step - find an acceptable layout!   

APQ 2016 March UFO

My March UFO turned out to be an attic windows quilt that I started way back when.  I believe this panel was purchased at the Rag Shop in Hamilton, NJ so that may give some folks an idea of how long this one has been in hibernation.  I enjoyed doing the attic window and I loved the fabrics I was using so I have no idea why I didn't get this one done then.  Once my UFO projects go into a bin, also known as the "abyss", I lose track of them.  I am glad this one surfaced.  This is how it looked when I found it again.  (The white blob at the bottom of the picture is my socked foot).  It really only needed to be sandwiched with the backing, then quilted and bound.  It's a small wall hanging measuring 29" x 36".  Easy, right?  Think again. 

 



I already had the fabrics for the backing and binding, along with the batting.  So I didn't need to go scavenging for those items.  I learned that lesson the hard way and have packaged my pieces and parts together ever since. 

My biggest challenge with this one was the quilting.  Not the process since I have now gotten the hang of machine quilting with my Bernina and walking foot.  This time, the issue was "how" to do the quilting.  I knew I wanted to keep it simple, straight lines focusing on the windows.  I didn't want to have a lot of stops and starts.  Another lesson I learned recently.  I needed to find a way to go around each window along with it's frame and sill with one section of quilting.  Although I love to do puzzles,  this one tried my patience.  I traced and traced the lines with my finger and finally found a way to do the quilting with only two starts and stops.  One would have been nice but I'll take it! 

I used a topstitch needle with black Aurifil 50wt thread.  I recently switched to the Aurifil threads and I think it was a great move.  I love this thread!  I stitched in the ditch around each of the 12 windows and then around the outside of the narrow sashing.  I then did an echo stitch in the center of the border and mimicked the mitered corners. 

My lesson learned from this project was in the choice of batting.  Since this was a small project I looked through my batting stash.  I found a piece that was a perfect size and, a bonus (so I thought), it was double sided fusible batting.   It didn't iron down as smoothly as I wanted, creating bunching on the back.  I needed to lift the batting in spots and smooth it all out.  I was not impressed with this batting and it is not anything I would use again.  I will stick with spray basting when at all possible in the future! 

So here is the finished project.  I even remembered to sew on the hanging sleeve! 

 

So, 3 UFOs done, 9 more to go!

It's always a food event!

My intention was to make a quilt for my wonderful husband to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in November 2015.  We had taken our first cruise to Bermuda in June of that year to celebrate our anniversary and I took hundreds of pictures of that trip.  So I changed my mind and made him a picture book with many of the pictures and lots of descriptions of the event.  Now that I had all of the fabrics, I decided to make the quilt for him for Christmas.  We have a rule that we don't buy each other gifts for Christmas, but I figured making him a quilt didn't count as a purchased gift. 

There is a back story to this quilt.  My husband loves to eat, especially when we go somewhere.  Where ever we go, we always need to find a place to eat.  Doesn't matter if it's breakfast, lunch or dinner!  We have a standing joke that every place we go is a "food event", or needs to be! 

So, I started collecting food fabrics.  You name the food, I found fabric for it.  Liver is the only food he will not NEVER eat!  It took a while, but I was able to get 82 different foods.  My biggest issue was finding fat quarters.  I certainly didn't need very large pieces of each fabric, even a fat quarter gave me more than I needed for the blocks.  I did find some at quilt shows and I found a good number online, especially at the www.4my3boyz.com site.  They had all the foods I needed by the FQ.  Many were on sale, but their prices were great.  My husband is used to seeing boxes and bags of fabrics on our doorstep so I had them delivered right under his nose.  He often brought the packages to me not knowing he would eventually be sleeping under them! 

So the fabrics were chosen, now what pattern should I use? 

I thought about the illusion block that would make them look like the blocks were floating.  I made a few blocks but then discovered that quilt would turn out to be bigger than I had planned.  I wanted a large lap that would cover him in his recliner at the cabin but it also needed to cover our Kirby dog who always sleep at this feet.  I went with the "KISS" method and sewed the blocks together with the columns offset.  That let the blocks show off by themselves and eliminated the need to match seams. 

Next I had to decide about borders, backing and binding.  I needed to keep the backing on the masculine side and wanted to pick that before I decided on the border.  Not as easy as I thought.  Then I went to the quilt show in Oaks, PA and found the perfect fabric - I bought all they had.  So now with the backing, I found a good color for the borders.  Black was the obvious choice for the binding. 

I was able to get the top done complete with borders, the backing cut and sewn to size and the binding made but did not have enough time to get it to the long armer in time for Christmas.  I packed them all together and gave it to him nicely packaged!  It went to the quilter at Olde City Quilts as soon as the holiday was over.  Six weeks later, he was sleeping under it! 

Finished top laying on the backing fabric

 

Backing fabric with border fabric.  The backing fabric is all different soda caps!

Almost done!

 

He was shocked, but he loved it! 

 

 

I decided to have the quilting done in circles to match the shape of the bottle caps on the backing fabric.  It turned out great! 

 

 

So now, where ever we are, it will ALWAYS be a food event!