Almost March

It seems like February just started and now it's almost March. Spring is on the way! Of course, here in Michigan we still have a chance of snow until May. Almost every year around Easter, we will get hit with a huge snowstorm. Hopefully not this year. With spring right around the corner I thought I would do some spring cleaning... in my sewing room.

It was a disaster before this. I'm piecing 3 or 4 quilts right now. The main two are on the floor and on the wall. I found old log cabin blocks as I was digging for Civil war fabrics, so I added those to my wall along with a star I had started years ago.

The corners needed to be added to the lone star and then a a border to bring it up to 24-1/2" so that I could insert it in the middle of my log cabin quilt. The two were originally going to be 2 separate quilts but I changed my plan. These old UFOs need to be completed...

This was another UFO that needed some work. Over the last year or so, I've been making hexie flowers...these I applique onto a background square to use as a border on this quilt. I finished up the last hexie flower this past week so I've attached the border and used random leftover blocks as corners. The corner blocks were designed YEARS ago for a quilt that I never made. I loved them and wanted to use them somehow. In the future I may release a pattern using the blocks.

So that's what I'm piecing (along with my monthly rainbow scrap blocks). This is my machine quilting project. I'll be FMQuilting it on my Pfaff....probably starting Monday.

And of course, this gets a litte attention every day. On Instagram, I joined the ladies that are doing #300daysofhandquilting ...This will help keep me working on it a bit all through the spring.

Working on 3 or 4 quilts at once

It's no surprise to anyone that knows me that I'm working on multiple quilts. I get bored VERY easily. I love to spend a little time on each quilt every day.

I'm currently working on piecing my Pyramid quilt, basting a quilt for a grandniece, hand quilting on Lisa's quilt and just finishing up a vintage looking quilt that uses old fabrics.

This is Lisa's. It's all hand pieced (epp). It took me over 7 years to piece so I felt it needed to be hand quilted. ****** Below are some of my vintage fabrics that were cut up for the vintage-style quilt. I wanted all "older" fabrics so that I would get a true vintage feel.

This would be cute done with all 30's reproductions or all civil wars style fabrics, or anything bright...but I think using a variety of old fabrics gives it an olf look. It looks like many that I see in antique stores. Anyways, if you'd like to stitch one up, this is what I did: Cut: (240) 4" sqs from assorted fabrics (16) 3-1/2" x 18" from solid blue for vertical sashing (15) 3-1/2" x 14-1/2" from solid blue for horizontal sashing (20) 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" red print for cornerstones Layout 20 squares in a 4x5 grid. Sew 4 squares per row...5 rows per block. Make 12 blocks. Sash blocks using blue strips and red cornerstones. Quilt will finish at 65"x 71-1/2"

These blocks were easier to put together if they were laid out next to my machine. I could have just randomly grabbed pieces but I wanted to alternate darker and lighter or busier with plainer pieces. It didnt always work out that way but I'm happy enough with the results.

Early morning sewing and memories

It's 8am and I'm just finishing up some early morning sewing. If I cant sleep in, like Al, I head downstairs to sew for a few hours. Today was no exception. I worked on cutting pieces for two quilts.

The first quilt is the #pyramidquilt ....lots of little trianges need to be cut (12 of them) and one main triangle for each pyramid block...then the plum or aubergine setting triangles. Sewing these up goes quickly but coordinating fabrics then cutting, is slow.

As I was digging through my Civil War reproduction fabrics, I found a green fabric with a tag on it. It's from a quilter friend that died years ago. She lived in Canada and liked to trade fabrics with her U.S. friends. I guess getting certain fabrics like our Civil War ones, was difficult. We met on a quilting forum.... that is a thing of the past, shut down years ago, called Block Central. Many of us worked on each other's quilts through world wide round robins and traded projects like pincushions.

Finding this little piece of fabric with her note on it, sent me down memory lane. I'm cutting some of her fabric and putting it in this quilt. I know I'll think of her when I see that block.

Ive been gone for a while...

Posting on my blog on a fairly regular basis was how I shared my quilting makes, for years. But since covid it's been VERY sporadic because Instagram is so much easier....and life in general was not. So I'm back again...I hope. I do not have internet at home. I use the library for the most part...or my phone. And cell service out here is touch and go. Dropped calls are the norm here. So it's a struggle to get a post out. But here goes... Now that it's a NEW year and we're sort of leaving the pandemic behind (I think), I'm hopeful. I've been super busy quilting up small quilts for 5 great niece/nephew.

This one is for Lewis. I'm working on his sisters quilt now. Just before Christmas I sent off this one and another (can't find the pic):

Now I'm basting a fourth child's quilt, for Della. If you know me, I'm always working on multiple quilts...I get bored easily. So right now I'm quilting daughter Lisa's quilt and piecing a Pyramid quilt. I just finished a bowtie scrap quilt top which was my "leader-ender" project for the past year. That top will go into the HUGE pile of "to be quilted" tops.

I'm still looking at that Bowtie ...does it need a border? I might add one💁 And my final project going on in the sewing room is #rsc2022 I'm joining Angela at www.superscrappy.blogspot.com She's hosting the annual Rainbow Scrap Challenge. So far I've made blocks for January(red) and February(aqua). This is a great way to organize and use up little scraps.I'm doing 3 rainbow quilts.

Guess that's it for now!

Hand and machine quilting my quilt

Im quilting my Stars Upon Stars quilt using a combination of hand and machine quilting. 

I couldn't make up my mind how I wanted this quilt quilted so I'm doing both. And I am REALLY out of practice with the hand work. But that's OK...I'm willing to have this scrap quilt be less than perfect. 

The thread I'm using is a first for me. It's very rough...natural feeling...almost like burlap but in a pretty Greige color. It was a gift from a quilty friend. I've been waiting to try it out. 
 

I'm hoping I dont run out of this thread because it doesn't have a label and I haven't seen it at any stores locally. If anyone knows what it is, I love to know! So for now I'm using it just here and there. I may switch to a perle cotton to do some detail quilting later.

Finished the scrappy hexagon quilt top

The Scrappy Hexagon Quilt top is finished!

If you'd like to make a similar quilt, I have the how-to here:

Scrappy Hexagon Tutorial

I debated over adding a border, just to the top and bottom to make it longer. My daughters both decided they preferred it plain...no border. So that meant I needed to do an extra row of hexagons (2 rows of triangles). I had 22 extra triangles but needed 28 to do a row that starts and ends with a diamond.

So two nights ago I started sewing and cutting, I was determined to get 6 scrappy triangles made.

After making them I thought I would push myself to make the two rows so that they were ready to attach in the morning. Well, I couldn't stop. I stayed up until the top was done. 

And that feels SO good! Done! I'm looking through backing pieces now to see what in my stash will work. It would be wonderful to make another quilt strictly from stash and scraps. I'm sure I'll find something.

Since the top was finished the night before, I ask Al if he would like to head out for a drive.. See the coast of Michigan south of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. This is less than 45 minutes from us and just a GORGEOUS area. He said SURE, why not!

His knees are acting up so he couldn't climb any steps but I just couldnt resist!

 The view was unbelievable! My heart was hammering like crazy when I got to the top (I think I need to do a bit more exercising, I'm out of shape). I wished I had counted the steps...there were SO MANY!  

Scrappy Hexagon quilt progress

The Scrappy Hexagon quilt is progressing. HOW-TO post is the one before this.

 I'm digging through the final 1-1/2" scrap strips to make enough triangles to complete the top.

I took a little time away from the quilt to make a mug rug. Ever feel the need to just have a finish? Me too. 

I had a pile of little short scraps collecting on the cutting table. I was ready to toss them in the garbage when it occured to me they might make a scrappy block. I don't need just one odd scrappy block so I decided on a new mug rug....can't have too many of those.

 So now I'm at the final part of the top. I have 5 rows of hexagons. The quilt is about 60" long and 70 wide. 

I've been looking at it, trying to decide between a top/bottom border, no border with an extra row of hexagons or something else.

My daughters both said NO BORDERS! Well, I guess I'll take their advice and do one more row of hexagons, which kind of throws off the symmetry that I usually do. The top will now end with a row that has diamonds on each end. Personally, I would of liked DIAMOND rows to be interior rows. But to do that I would have to a 7th row after this addition. Too large for my purposes and for the amount of scraps I have left.

I'll add the 6th row today and see how I like it. (I call it the 6th row even though it's really the 11th and 12th rows...2 pieced triangle rows needed to make a hexagon row)

I'll let you know how it goes🙈

Scrap Happy Quilt Tutorial

Scrap Happy Hexagon Quilt

I had a pile of 1-1/2" scrap strips and needed a quilt to use up some (so that I could close the box😂). I guess I could have found a bigger box as someone suggested...

Well, this is the quilt I came up with. It uses the strips, a solid background and one template. (This picture, above, is sideways)

Today is NATIONAL QUILTING DAY so in honor of that, I'm posting a FREE tutorial here to make this quilt.

 

This is a Fons and Porter template that measures 6-1/2' high. All sides are equal (60° angles). Any 6-1/2" equilateral triangle template will do. 

I DO sort my scraps a bit. I make my scrap quilts using LIKE scraps...either all brights or all muted or vintage...I rarely mix civil war, for example, with brights. I just dont feel they belong together. If a scrap doesn't FEEL right to you, dont use it. And if you really don't like a scrap, get rid of it...you probably won't like it in your quilt. 

So to start I dig through my scraps and sew the strips together until i have a tall enough piece...i lay the template on it once in a while to make sure everything is long enough. 

Another option if you have LONG strip pieces, is to sew them together lengthwise into one long scrappy strip (at least 6-1/2" tall and 8" wide).

After sewing enough strips, press them all one way.

Now cut your triangle pieces out.

The hexagons are made up of 6 of these triangles. Three are stitched together then a background spacer then another three.

 The next row will complete a hexagon WITHOUT you doing any Y seams.  But pay attention to the direction the triangles are placed. 

NOTE: Row 1 & 2 are identical, just flipped. Row 3 & 4 are also identical.

For the background, cut 6-1/2" wide x W.O.F. strips. Cut out triangles using the same acrylic template.

For the edge pieces (beginning and end pieces of each row), you need to cut 1/2 triangles BUT make sure you use the line 1/4" from center so that you have a triangle with a seam allowance. See below.

It takes two rows to complete the hexagons. Each row makes either the top half or the bottom half.

 I staggered the third and fourth row by starting with a single triangle...this will create a diamond at the beginning and end of row 3-4. You can do it the same as I did or just repeat row 1 and 2. If you repeat 1 & 2, your hexies will be all in a row stacked on top of each other. Just depends on the look you want. 

I'm making 5 large hexies across... So my quilt should be about 70" wide. The hexagons are about 14" wide when finished. I may add an extra 2 rows to get a bit more length ...this will depend on how many scrappy strips I have. 

I'll add some extra pictues tomorrow showing piecing of triangles. Right now it's just a bunch of pieces on my "design" floor.
Update:

I'm sewing together row 1. I have five 1/2 hexagons made, a bunch of blue background triangles and 2 background 1/2 triangles (to start and end this row).

If you've sewn triangles together before, you know the points need to stick out and that the stitching is done "ditch to ditch". It's very important to line up the edges correctly. 

If you HAVEN'T, go to Google...key in "sewing triangles together". You'll find some helpful videos.

 If any part of this process is unclear, just let me know. I'll be happy to add details.

Working on the Star Upon Star Quilt

We are back from our SHORT Florida vacation and are SO happy to be home. Usually we're gone for a month and a half but last year we only signed up for 2 weeks because of the virus. And I'm so glad!

So when we arrived back to freezing Michigan, I got started on finishing up my Star Upon Star Quilt.

I put on the final border and am now pin basting it.

This quilt started with some vintage friendship stars I purchased at a resale.They were poorly constructed but the fabrics were adorable. I took them apart, recut the pieces square and put them back together. They went from 6" blocks to a 4-1/2". I had to use some of my vintage stash to make a few more to create the center. The stars were not all facing the same direction so I kept that cute, wonky detail. I like how random they look together. 

I then bordered the center and was going to call it good. After thinking about it, I decided to border it again with a scrappy star.... Loved how it looked. But I figured if I repeated the border one more time, it would bring the quilt up to a more "usable" size. I had used up almost all of my gray solid so I dug in my stash and found the stone color. They worked well together. The final border has some of the gray worked into the points to bring the two border colors together....to make it look intentional. And it kind of looks like a sawtooth...love those!. So that's when I called it good...finished! 

This used up a good amount of darker stash and scrap. I found a backing piece in my stash also. It was just a few inches short of working, so I added a few leftover half square triangles to increase the size. That worked! 

Today I should be done with the pin basting so that I can get free motion quilting it this week. I'd love to have a finish by the end of March!