Category Archives: Quilts
What’s on My Design Wall
I’m using EQ to help me shuffle the bits and pieces of the graduation quilt, so that hopefully, the colors will be dispersed throughout the quilt and not lumped together. The pieces are scattered on various surfaces in my sewing room.
Although I did not get a star made yesterday, I did get the two sections stitched together.
Hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.
Stash Report / February Recap
A whole lot of fabric passed under my needle this past week – the majority of it at the retreat Friday and Saturday. Most of the units needed for the blocks for the graduation quilt are made. I still need all of the HST in both sizes and the triangle in a square units for the outer blocks. That pile in the top right corner is the start of the block assembly.
Stash Report: – Reported at Patchwork Times
Fabric Added Since Last Report 0.25 yards (FQ from the retreat)
Fabric Added to Date: 18.91 yards
Fabric Used Since Last Report: 0.75 yards (Orca Bay Borders)
Fabric Used to Date: 16.964 yards
INCREASE in Stash to Date: 1.946 yards
350 Blocks Report at Prairie Moon Quilts
I reported 23 blocks. I counted the Orca Bay pieced border as 10 and I finished 13 stars.
I have nothing to show for the UFO Parade at 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks. Orca Bay only made it to the top stage.
- # of Projects in Process February 1st: 66
- # of Projects Completed: 0
- # of New Projects Started: 1
- # of Projects in Process February 28th: 67
A Bazillion Pieces
Not really, it just seems like it. Someone said that Orca Bay had too many pieces in it for them to make, but I didn’t notice it (well, until I got to the string piecing) as we did one unit at a time. This quilt doesn’t have as many pieces (I did the math), but it does seem like there are a bazillion since I have cut about half of the quilt out for quick assembly line piecing.
In this first picture is the brights for the black & bright 4-patches, flying geese & triangle in a square. Normally I piece with a gray thread, but I realized that I don’t have any empty bobbins, so I’ve dug out the partial bobbins and will use them up. Thus the color coordinated piles. Currently I’m stitching with gray thread in the top and yellow in the bobbin. I just finished the yellows and I’m currently working on the “multi-colored” pile.
Stitch 5 triangles, 5 geese, 5 2-patches – get up and press, repeat.
Clearly I’m making progress. That bunch in the bag is for my bright 4-patches. Somewhere along the way I’m going to have to get the cat hair off the rest of the black fabric so I can cut more 2″ squares and HST.
This is the pile of fabric I’m working from now — all that is left to cut from it are HST.
I may need a new blade before I’m done.
What’s On My Design Wall
First up is the Orca Bay top. This was the 2011 Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. I have the batting, backing and thread to quilt it, I just need to scheduled long arm rental time.
So, having finished one quilt top, I’m on to the next one. Eye Fooler in black and brights.
Saturday I got a few 2-patches and flying geese made while I was avoiding the borders for Orca Bay. There are tons more of these units which need to be made. The bright fabric for these units are cut but I haven’t cut the black fabric. I made myself wait until the Orca Bay top was done.
These 4″ wide bright strips should be enough for the rest of the black and bright units.
By getting these cut, I’ve been able to fold up the rest of the fabric. Admittedly it’s not put away – but that’s only because there’s a quilt top hanging from the shelving.
I did cut one 5″ strip of the black to make the background of the triangle in a square units.
Next up is to figure out how many units of each fabric I need. I suspect I’ll be cutting all week.
Linking up to Patchwork Times.
Saturday Stitching
I’m working today on a software go-live, which means I have 15 minutes to an hour of activity, followed by several hours of nothing but monitoring e-mail repeated several times today. So, with one eye on the e-mail, I’m piecing.
All week I’ve been cutting the bright fabric for the graduation quilt, with the intent of taking it to the quilt retreat next weekend. I’ve got the fabric cut for the 4-patches and flying geese, so I thought I’d cut the gazillion squares I need from the black fabric. I cut 110 (10 strips) and decided that I should trying sewing a few before cutting the rest (if my math is right I need a total of 832 squares).
I’m making the geese with the stitch and flip method. It’s not necessarily the most efficient use of fabric, but since I’m only making 2 or 3 geese from each fabric and I started with bricks from my pre-cut box, it’s working for me.
This quilt needs 160 black & bright 4-patches, 256 geese (plus a ton of other pieces) so I need to do a bit of power sewing, but I’m also paying closer attention to detail.
You see, I really want to finish Orca Bay. It just needs the borders. But 75 of the pieced units had issues. Since I last posted, I fixed 4 of them – but I’m finding that I need to go back and re-work the pieced triangles. Which makes me want to box the whole thing up and do something else.
But because of these last 21 units, I’ve paid more attention to the piecing I’ve done on the black & bright units. In fact there was one goose that I attempted to stitch and flip the sky on 3 or 4 times before I decided it wasn’t meant to be and set the unit aside. Finally I ripped it apart and remeasured everything again. The square was short on one side!
It works in this 2-patch, but no wonder I couldn’t get the goose to fly.
Butterscotch has the right idea. A nap would be good. But I have a period of activity coming up with the go-live, so instead I’m going to rip the rest of the Orca Bay pieced triangles apart and build them from scratch — this before I cut any more of the black fabric for the graduation quilt.
As for what I’ll work on at the retreat? I’ll still be working on the graduation quilt – just different units.
Progress On Multiple Quilts
Slowly I’m getting the border pieces done for Orca Bay. I have 75 units trimmed. The other 25 units have issues so there’s ripping and re-sewing in my future. My goal is to get all the units finished this weekend and maybe, just maybe get the border on the quilt.
Next weekend I’m going to a 2-day quilt day retreat. 22 hours if I last that long. So, I’ve started cutting the fabric for Eye Fooler, the quilt I’m making for my niece to take and work on. These pieces are for the black & bright 4-patches and flying geese. I still have a few more pieces to cut and of course all of the black fabric. Once I get these units done, I’ll move on to the triangle in a square and half-square triangle units.
89 And Counting
Remember that Star-A-Day project I started back in September? The one which says I should be closing in on the half-way mark? Well, I’m behind. I lost it in November and I’m stitching to catch up. This is the latest section I’ve worked on. There are two more rows to attach to this section and then I’ll attach it to the larger section. 89 stars have been completed so far. My current goal is to not fall any farther behind and maybe, just maybe catch up in a 3 or 4 months by doing more than one star a day.
What’s On My Design Wall
This week all I’ve accomplished with needle and thread is 3 new stars (which still need pressing). What can I say? Tuesday afternoon I started tearing the office space apart in preparation for a “new desk”. Well, that and to clean up some broken glass.
I think I’ve finally got all of the glass up and the computers are hooked back up. But there are still boxes to unpack and stuff to put away. There are boxes are piled up in front of the design wall
and on the cart.
Flat surfaces are piled high.
But the quilting books are now on the bookshelf that I swapped out. The wall hanging will need to be moved.
Others hung back up.
I can however say with certainty neither the ironing or cutting boards are piled with stuff. The only decision I have to make now is if this new arrangement is going to work for me. I’ll try it out for a week and in the meantime, put what I can away.
Hopefully there will be better eye candy through some of the other links over at Patchwork Times.
