Fans & Flowers - Quilt #1 2014

It took a week longer than I had first planned, but I finally got the quilt top pieced together.  Now time for the applique.  I'm adding a 2-1/2" solid purple border.  This will have to be added before I start handling it for the applique.  The bad thing about using the strip piecing technique is that when you cut the sections apart, it is very easy to pull the seams apart.  The border will help to hold the edges seams sturdy while I do the applique, which will be in the white blocks.

Part 1 of this post can be found by clicking here and Part 2 of Jacob's Ladder can be found by clicking here.

Grandmother's Fan - Part 2

I finished up the Grandmother's Fan, continuing to use the pinless method for piecing curved pieces.

 With the L shaped curved pattern facing you, place the edge of the curved piece at the edge of the inside curve of the L shaped piece.  Keeping this piece right up against the 1/4" presser foot bar, gently guide the curved piece to that edge also, as you sew.

 As I got to the last panel, I kept the needle down, raised the foot, and gently pulled the fan to line up the edges with the bottom piece.  Then holding it in place, I guided it through to the finish.  I'm loving this method and as soon as I get more pieces cut out, I'm finishing up a Drunkard's Path quilt I've been working on for several years.  Maybe that will be quilt #2 2014.

This is two fans sewn together added with 2 blocks of Jacob's Ladder.

 And the final layout.....

 The finished size, with the border, will be 76" x 100".  It really needs to be just a little wider for my queen size bed, but the length is nice.

Well, I said it was the final layout, but...looking at the pictures (while I was writing this post), I noticed a huge mistake and tomorrow I will be ripping out some of the sections.  Can you find my mistake?  That is so frustrating, but that is what happens when you don't pay attention.

Jacob's Ladder - Part 2, Quilt #1 2014

Earlier this week I posted about the quilt I was working on that included blocks of the Grandmother's Fan and Jacob's Ladder.  You can find that post by clicking here.  The pattern comes from Leisure Arts, Encyclopedia of Classic Quilt Patterns.  Even though it was printed in 2001, they have some steps that were made easier with modern techniques and I used the modern techniques.

I finished up the 16 - 12" blocks (12-1/2" unfinished) I needed of the Jacob's Ladder this weekend and played with the layout of them in case I ever decided to do a full quilt of just this block. 

Half-Square Triangles

First I cut strips 4-7/8", stacking both the colors I was using (purple print and white on white), cutting through all layers.  I then cut those in 4-7/8" squares.  This is where I varied from the pattern.  They called for cutting these blocks in half diagonally.  I used the more modern technique for making half-square triangles (HST).

 I have this nifty little 1/2" ruler with a center line which I can line up with the corners of the block.  Then I mark both sides.  I used a cutting board that turns so I don't have to reposition my ruler to mark both sides.  I know that there is also a technique of marking the strip above & sewing before cutting the squares, but this is the way I went this time.

 Then it's a simple assembly line, sewing on the marked lines.

 Cut between the sewn lines and you have half square triangles.

 I needed a finished block of 4-1/2".  Using this method there really wasn't much squaring up to do.

Jacob's Ladder

The Jacob's Ladder block is basically a 9-Patch.  3 rolls of 1-4 Patch and 2 HST.  Assembly method again and I got all my blocks sewn together in an afternoon.

 Here are some sample ways to lay out Jacob's Ladder.

 I think this one is my favorite (below).

Repairing Backpacks

The plastic workings of a backpack and the door of a car do not make good friends.  I wish I had taken a before picture, but needless to say, after getting slammed in the door of the car, this was all that was left of the plastic adjustable buckle on the shoulder strap of my son's backpack.

A good backpack, one that is sturdy enough to carry all those college books and a laptop, are crazy expensive.  So Adam brought it to me to fix, much like he did the visors from his truck and other items that needed recovering or fixing, not to mention all his ripped jeans.

"Surely if you can sew, you can fix this stuff."

Maybe I can.  I had kept all those little belts of his with similar buckles.  We have a drawer of odds and ends such as these belts and other strange buckles and snaps.  The problem was, I did not want to put such strange fabrics through my sewing machine.  Whatever had to be done, had to be done by hand. 

Would it be sturdy enough to withstand the torture it's going to receive?  Time will tell.

I cut the ends of the belt and removed the two plastic pieces, doing the same on the backpack.  Adding the piece that will hold the adjustable strap to the backpack was fairly simple.  I used double threaded quilting thread and rolled the edge to hide the raw edges (which fray easily).

Adding the buckle side to the shoulder strap was a bit more challenging.  I cut the small strap as close as I could to the X-marked portion (see below).  There wasn't enough fabric to roll the raw edges, so I inserted the buckle and stitched through the strap several times.  To keep these raw edges from fraying, I burned the edges which melts the fabric.  I did this on both the cut edges.

 

It's not exactly like the other side, but it will work!  And I have more belts if the other breaks.

So he's good to go for his 2nd year in college and it only took about 30 minutes and saved

 $40 or more. 



Quilt #1 for 2014 - Fans & Flowers

Oh, I know, I've set myself a huge goal for this year....but....I want to make one quilt a month!  There is a reason to my madness, but can I do it?  Well, by tomorrow I hope to have all the blocks for quilt #1 finished and begin the arranging and sewing the blocks together by Sunday.  The pattern is called Fans & Flowers and includes lots of different techniques with lots of applique.  So, while I'm fairly certain I can get the quilt top pieced by this weekend, getting all the applique done by the end of the month will be my next challenge.

The quilt pattern, Fans & Flowers calls for 2 different blocks:  Grandmother's Fan & Jacob's Ladder.  Each block will be 12" finished.  The center of the quilt is a square with ribbon and flowers appliqued on it.  Flowers are also appliqued around the layout of the Grandmother's Fan & Jacob's Ladder.  I'm doing my version in shades of purple.

Making the Grandmother's Fan block - Part 1

The Grandmother's Fan is one of my favorite patterns, maybe because I remember my grandmothers with their paper folded fans tucked in their purses along with their dainty handkerchiefs.  The use of different fabrics to make up the "fan" gives that look reminiscent of those folded fans.

I first transferred the pattern to plastic template paper, this brand is without grid lines, I confess to liking the grid lines, it makes it easier to get that straight line. Be sure and put basic information on your pattern.  I use a fine print permanent maker.  Ink pens have a tendency to smear off this plastic.

 

While the pattern does have a  grain-line guide, I'm trying to conserve my fabric, so I simply traced around the pattern and butted the next cut right up against that.  I needed a total of 16 of 6 different colors.  By folding a 45" wide strip of fabric twice, I was able to get this layout and it was fairly easy to cut.  I trimmed the bottom of the pieces and then the top (see above), then with a rotary cutter, I cut the straight lines.

I used a light pen marking to trace around the pattern.  Pencil is also good, just make sure it is really sharp so that you don't get too thick of a cutting line.

Here's my six colors.

Now it's time for the assembly line method of piecing with the machine.  I moved my stacks to the machine work-table.  I sewed the fan together two pieces at a time.  Be careful to sew on the correct side, so that it will open up keeping your fabric pieces in the same order as you laid them out.  It's easy to flip the pieces and end up having fabrics switched in your layout.

 

I've been reading that instead of pressing all your seams to one side, that it might work best in some circumstances to press the seam open, especially if hand quilting or if you have dark colors that might show through on lighter fabrics.  This is new for me since I've always been taught the "press to one side" method.  I found that it was easier to press the seams open with my small iron first and then set them with my regular iron.  You can see from the picture above that I have my ironing station set up to the left of my sewing machine.  So all I have to do is turn in my chair from the machine to the iron without getting up.

All my fans are done and now it's time to add the "handle" of the fan.  It's a basic curved block and when you look at the picture below, you might think the piece is too big.  How do you get from this....

....to this?  It's really not that hard and I don't use any pins!

I treated this just like doing the Drunkard's Path block, starting with the top corners matching but with the curved piece at an angle.

Then as I sew, I keep the bottom piece up against the 1/4" bar on my sewing foot (quilter's 1/4" sewing foot) and gently tug the top curved piece over to the edge.

Magic is about to happen so don't freak out!

Continue to gently tug the top piece over.  When I got to the last panel on the fan, I lowered my needle to hold everything in place, lifted the foot and tugged the back of the fan around.

By doing this I can now align the side edges of my top and bottom piece.  Lower the foot now.  Holding the tip of that corner either with your finger or stiletto, continue around to the end.

 

Perfect and so easy!  I did press the seam toward the dark on this step.  I still have to add this fan to a white block and that can be done by applique or using a curved top.  I'll be doing that this weekend.

  

Making the Jacob's Ladder block - Part 1

The Jacob's Ladder block is made up of 4-patch blocks and half square triangles.  The pattern calls for 96 2-1/2" squares of a solid color and white (each).  This is going to be made into a 4-patch block.  Sometimes you have to cut out each individual square, but when you can...find an easier way!!!

Strip cutting and piecing is perfect for the 4-patch.  You will need a strip of the two colors, 2-1/2" x width of fabric.  The first time I did this, I cut my strips from the purple and then from the white.  I found that I had a slight variation in my cutting and in the long run, it really shows (pictured below).  So now I cut my fabrics together, layering the purple onto of the white, getting the edges even and then cutting 2-1/2" strips.

All I have to do then is put right sides together and sew those strips together.

Can you tell which strips I did like this and which were cut separately?  Yea...me too!  Mind you, I'm still using that strip, but I did cut some extra ones.

At this point you have two options.  You can cut these sewn pieces into 2-1/2" blocks now or press the strips open and cut then (see below).  I did both and I prefer cutting them before they are pressed open.  It seemed to make a more precise cut.

Let me take a moment and praise on some products.  

I have a new cutting board, (I'll have to add the actual product names at a later date).  I love this board because it actually puts the measurements on the outside edge of the ruler so that the fabric isn't covering it up.  Thank you!  An that suctioned handle!  My arms are a little short...to go with the rest of my body...and when cutting long strips, the ruler would usually push to one side because I couldn't hold it firmly.  This handle really helps.  And really important...really sharp blades on your rotary cutter and scissors...that is a must.

Okay...back to regular programing.  The only draw back from cutting the strips while they are folded is that you have to press each individual block now.  Sill pressing the seams open, I used my small iron on this.

Here comes the assembly line again.  Turing two cut 2-1/2" strips opposite directions, match up the center seams and sew.  Press the seams open and you have a nice stack of 4-patch blocks, 4-1/2" square in less than an hour!

Here's some examples of my strips being off in the cut just the slightest variation.  I ended up with several that were not the correct final size.  See how the white is just a tad longer.  That tad can really mess me up later.  So I set these aside to use somewhere else.

I now have to make the half square triangles to put with the 4-patches and finish up the fan block.

So you know what I'm doing this weekend!

What are your quilting goals for 2014?