CHILDREN'S LIBRARY #2

DIFFERENT APPROACH

Okay, since folding the doubled fusible in half, making four thicknesses, didn't work for me or my machine, I decided to go with just the doubled thickness.  

It won't look like the bag in the pattern, but it will be close.

My machine can do this, and the needle isn't gumming up and the thread isn't breaking.

Life is good.

I got the outside of the bag made, got binding on it and starting to attach the bottom.

Looking good!

I woke up thinking about a different way to make the bag that looks like the pattern, but without all that thickness.  I'll have to try it next time.

I NEED A BIGGER BAG

I decided I needed a bigger bag - one that would hold a quilt, so I could take it with me and work on the binding and such.

I ordered a pattern.  I went to Jo-Ann's and bought fusibles.  I hate fusibles, they are so unquilt-like.  Stiff and artificial, not soft, warm and comforting as quilts should be.

But this is not going to be a quilt.

I got out my batiks and starting sorting through them.

I cut everything out and started to sew...

Here's the pattern with the beautiful bags on the cover.

First step, fusing the fabric to fusible batting.

Next step was to fold them in half and sew into tube-like strips.  Here's where the problems started.  This is four battings thick.  My machine didn't want to sew that.  It started skipping stitches.  It broke the thread and did all kinds of horrible things.  I changed needles, I used the biggest needle I had, I changed threads.  I gave up.

Things did not go well, I eventually decided to give up.  I would have to go buy more needles and thread, or something.

I've already spent too much money on fusibles, some of which I think are the wrong thing.  I sent away on Amazon for the brand names mentioned in the pattern.  I'll wait for them to get here and re-assess.

SOLSTICE BLOCKS

Here are the next two Solstice Quilt Blocks:

Gramma Anna's Basket 

Crosswalk

SEVEN ROWS DONE

I've been sewing the hexagon blocks for my Cincinnati quilt together when I'm watching TV.  I've got seven out of eleven rows done so far.

I can see the end in sight!

Part of me doesn't want to see this end - at least the sewing by hand part.  I'm enjoying having something constructive to do while relaxing.  I think I'll pull out my old red, white and black hexagon quilt I started years and years ago and finish it!

QUILTING DONE ON CAT QUILT

I finished the machine quilting and took out all the pins today!

Then I squared it up and even made the binding and sewed it on.  All that's left is to sew the binding down on the back.  

BLOCK OF THE MONTH, WEEK, ETC

I'm working on my Solstice Quilt, made two more blocks out of the plaid flannel:

 Week 3 - Tidal Pools

Week 4 - Cobblestones

And started Pat Sloan's "Children's Library" quilt, too.  I'm using the "Alice Through the Looking Glass" fabrics I purchased years ago, plus some go-withs.   I need to find some better greens - uh, oh - that means a trip to the fabric store!   The 'background' fabric', which is white and has little card-men standing on it, has a definite up and down.  I'll have to think about each piece and orient it properly.  

BORING QUILTING

I couldn't come up with any quilting ideas that I could execute on my machine for this quilt.  So, I resorted to the old standby of the wavy 3/3 stitch on my Bernina.

I got several passes done then quit for the day.

PINNED

Got er pinned.

The back, upside down, pulled taut and taped down.

Pinned and ready to trim off excess batting.

LABEL AND BACK MADE

I started piecing the leftovers together for the back for Abracadabra and then decided I wanted a more plain backing.

So, I went to Pacific Fabrics on 4th and looked at every piece of cotton fabric there yesterday.

I started on the flat fold table because they are cheaper and funkier and was shocked that everything was $8.48 a yard.  I guess I haven't been paying attention - that seems expensive to me!

I couldn't find anything, of course, and moved on to the upholstery fabrics and then to the quilting fabrics.

I found one I sorta liked in the upholstery fabrics at $21.48 a yard. But at only 54" wide that seemed very expensive.

So on to the quilting cottons.  Nothing seemed just right, but I settled on a greyish, greenish overall that would work at $12.78 a yard.  Yikes.  I bought 4 yards of that and another 1/2 yard of the plain green to use for binding and a spool of green thread to use for quilting.  The total was over $78 dollars.

What happened to my plan to not buy more fabric and use up my stash?

I made a label and pieced together the back and now it's all ready to pin.

You can see the plain grey allover print in the corners.  I had to add a little bit to make the four yards big enough, so I did use up some of the leftovers.  There's a big cross on the back, with the label where they meet.

SOLSTICE QUILT CHALLENGE

I was intriqued by Pat Sloan's Solistice Quilt Challenge.  I've had this bundle of flannel plaid fat quarters in blues (Moda) for years and years now.  I think they are just perfect for this.  I took them out of their hiding place and washed and ironed them.  And here we go.  Pat is going to post a block each Wednesday between Winter Solistice and Summer Solstice, 26 weeks in all.

There will be 25 blocks and a setting.  I hope I have enough fabric!

First two blocks:

Week 1  - Churn Dash

Week 2 - Day into Night (I love this block!)

FOUND RED QUILTS

This morning in my studio, I noticed a project box with what I thought were red fabrics in it.

I know several years ago, we all collaborated and exchanged a bunch of red fabric squares.

I was thinking it might be fun to start thinking about doing something with those squares.

When I opened the box, I was surprised to see two quilt tops in there along with a few leftover red fabric pieces.

Sometimes having a really poor memory makes for some interesting surprises.

CINCINNATI QUILT ON THE WALL

I finished the last few blocks this last week.

I could hardly wait until today to put them up on the wall.

I have more than enough, even after I use some of them for half-blocks.

It took me a little over an hour to put them up and move a few around.

Now I need to start sewing the rows together.

BABY QUILT DONE!

I got the quilting finished Tuesday (woke up in the night with my right arm totally asleep - aarrgg).  Got the binding on and hand stitched it down while watching TV the last couple of days.

Here it is, finished and ready to go...

I made the binding before I could finish the back so I'd know how much of this fabric I could use on the back.

All pinned and being quilted

hand made label for the back

Here it is - finished!

BABY QUILT TOP FINISHED

Another almost full day working on this and I 've got the top finished.

I was sewing together two rows at a time - chain piecing them and taking the pieces off the wall two at a time.  It's a good system that works for me.

Of course, with an odd number of rows I end up having to do the last of them as a group of three.  So, I have to label them or I get confused.  Even then I have to pay attention and keep checking that I'm sewing the pieces onto the proper rows.

Here's the completed top.  It's still a little too wide.  I'll add a strip to the back with the leftovers and it will be fine!

I COUNTED!

Maybe I shouldn't have, but I counted the blocks I have made so far.

102.

I haven't been posting pictures of my completed blocks, but I've been making them all along.

I need about 110 (some of those will be half-blocks), and I have 4 more hexie patterns to go.

BABY QUILT STARTED

I need to make a baby quilt for my nephew and his wife who are expecting a boy in January.

I bought the fabric quite a while ago.  It's been washed and waiting.

Since I'm into equilateral triangles lately I decided to do another one.

Yesterday I cut out almost all of the triangles.

I finished cutting the triangles this morning, and then after lunch I put together a few rows.

After I got a few rows together I measured it up against the back and the top was wider than the back.  I don't get it - I measured and figured and still got something wrong.

I'll figure it out some other time.  Right now I can't argue with it, it is what it is.

So, I removed the light green outside half triangles and cut down the first triangle on each side.

Now it is the right size.  I'm so confused.  Each triangle is 4" finished, so I figured 10 across and I'd get a 40" wide quilt.  But it ended up wider than the 42" back.  So now it's only 9 triangles wide and and it fits.

ABRACADABRA TOP FINISHED

I finished all the rows, sewing them together as I went.  Each row had to be pinned so the intersecting triangles tips lined up correctly.

Here's the finished top.  

When I finished it, I folded it up and gathered up all the leftovers, bits and pieces and put them all away.

I have another project that needs to be finished soon.

I really want to finish this one though.  So, hopefully, I'll get back to it soon.

ABRACADABRA

I've been working on the green cat quilt.  And as I do, I've been thinking of a name for it.

I finally came up with Abracadabra.  That's it.

I finished all of the blocks and sewed two rows together yesterday.

Today I did two more rows in the morning and two more after lunch.

It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to get two rows sewn together.

NEW GREEN QUILT

I found this interesting cat fabric (with a green backgroun) on the flat fold table at Pacific Fabrics on 4th Avenue South in Seattle.  I couldn't resist it, I bought all they had in two pieces, probably about 2-1/2 yards.  Then I wandered about and found some go-withs, including two yards of a green.  I got extra, thinking I'd use it as the binding at the very least.

The pile of fabrics has been sitting around for several months at least.

I decided I wanted to use them and experiment with 60-degree triangles.  I've never really made a quilt using them.  And it was about time.

I added some more go-withs from my stash and started cutting triangles.

I've been sewing little pieces into bigger pieces for the last few weeks.

Today I stuck them up on the wall.

Here's what I have so far.  The white spots are blank.  I need to fill them in with fabric.