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!