Two more quilts finished

A couple of days ago I was looking through a pile of quilts and I found these two.  They were finished except for a little binding.  So I sat down, turned on the TV and finished hand stitching the bindings.  It took about an hour and a half and who knows how long those had been in the unfinished pile!  Sometimes I forget what’s in there. I didn’t make either one for a specific purpose so I think I’ll list them on Etsy later in the week and see what happens.  Both are bright, fun quilts that seem to be popular right now.
This one is made from an Atkinson Designs pattern called Shadow Song.  I used a lot of prints from a line of fabric called “Happy.”

I love the blue fabric that’s in the churn dash variation blocks.  It’s a subtle stripe that adds interesting texture to the block.  I quilted it with a pantograph called “Love Doodle” by Urban Elementz.  I don’t use a lot of pantos since they take longer than just freehand quilting and it seems like I’m always in a hurry to finish quilts but it sure looks nice when I take the time.  Maybe this one will inspire me to use them more frequently.

The second quilt is called “Shortcake” by Cluck Cluck Sew. This quilt I was auditioning to see if I wanted to use it for a beginning quilting class.  I didn’t use it but still think it has potential for that class.  A lot of the fabrics in this one are from Me and My Sister lines by Moda.

It was a really easy quilt to piece and I quilted it in an overall meander.  It was really sunny today when I took the pictures so the quilting doesn’t show up very well here.

Not as much accomplished today as I’d hoped but I had to do laundry and some cleaning so sewing took a back seat. Since it was so sunny I took a walk outside.  It was still cold and there’s lots of snow but it was SO nice to get outside for a change.  When I walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes it seems like an eternity but when I get outside the minutes just fly by and I could walk forever.  I can’t wait for spring.
Late this afternoon I did manage to get the rail fence donation quilt loaded on the frame and one pass quilted before Jen called and wanted me to go over some answers she wrote for an application for a summer internship.  I hadn’t talked to her in awhile so we had a nice long Skype visit.  Jim and the cat joined it so it was a lot of fun!  I’ll get back to it in the morning and try to get a couple more passes completed before work.

Progress on Pineapple Blossom

I started piecing the blocks for the Pineapple Blossom quilt.  It seemed like this was going to be a really fast block to make but it’s taking longer than I thought.  One thing that’s slowing it down a bit is that the block creates bonus triangles and I’m sewing the seam for the triangles as I go.  I like to do that so the bias edge is stitched right away--and of course they will be ready for a new project.
Here’s how I piece connector (or folded) corners.  Most instructions have you draw a diagonal line on the back of the square.  I don’t like to draw lines so I placed tape on my sewing table and that eliminates the need for the line.  There is a commercial product available called The Angler that does the same thing but you have to attach it to your table each time you use it.  The masking tape is cheaper and it’s there when you need it. 
This photo shows the masking tape on the table and machine bed in front of the presser foot.  I have lines drawn so I can stitch either directly on the diagonal line or offset a 1/4” for seam allowance.  For this block I need to sew on the diagonal.  This is the dark line down the center.  It is aligned straight with the needle.

Start stitching in the corner with the opposite corner ON the line.  Sew from corner to corner, keeping the corner on the line for the entire seam.

You can see in this picture that the seam is straight and accurate.  See the square underneath?  The seam should be a thread or two to the right of that square.  This one looks good!

Trim the seam—see how I do it in the next series—and press it back.  Voila!  Perfect corners and no lines drawn!  I’ll reveal the finished blocks when I get a few more finished.

When I trim the corner I use an Easy Angle and measure from the outer corners instead of trimming my seam 1/4”.  That way all my triangles end up the same size and I don’t have to trim them up later.  I sew the seam right after I cut it so it doesn’t shift and it’s finished!

After sewing a 1/4” seam, press toward the darker fabric, trim the dog ears and the bonus triangles are ready to use in a new project.  I already have one in mind to use these!

Buffalo Ridge finished!

Woo hoo! I finished hand stitching the binding on my Buffalo Ridge quilt this morning.  It’s a BIG quilt and was quite a project.  It seemed like a million pieces (more on that later!) but so worth it in the end because I really like it.  This is one of the quilts from the book All-Time Favorite Scrap Quilts—the book our monthly sewing group is working through.  It was kind of sunny this afternoon so I took my quilt stand outside so I could photograph it in natural light.  Unfortunately the stand fell over and a piece broke off so I couldn’t use it.  I ended up folding it and hanging it on this drying rack so this is only a quarter of the quilt.

This is my favorite kind of quilt—lots of fabrics and more intricate piecing.  I know that’s not the trend now but I just love the rich, warm colors and the way it just sparkles from the light/dark contrast. 

While I was piecing the borders it looked like I was going to have flying geese units left over.  When the borders were finished this is what I had left over.

Twice as many flying geese than I needed!!  Usually I’m pretty good at math (good thing since I’m an accountant!!)  so I thought I must have read the instructions wrong.   I went back to the pattern to see what I did wrong.  Guess what?  There is an error in the book.  It tells you to make 288 flying geese units when only 144 are needed.  Not to worry, though.  Not much in my sewing room goes unused and I already have a plan to use these extras.  It’s going to be another great quilt!!

First project completed from “the box”

In the box of fabric I found last week there was flannel for some pillowcases.  I made two of the cases and had a little “design opportunity” on one of them.  As I was cutting the main fabric for the body of the pillowcase I found a flaw near the edge of the fabric.  Since it was only about an inch in I just cut it off.

After I had the cuff sewn on and was pressing it, I saw another flaw in the fabric.  I was tempted to just pitch it but that little lamb print is just too cute and it seemed a shame to waste it.  The easiest way I could think of to fix it was to applique a little heart over the hole.  It turned out just fine!

I simply fused a heart from the same fabric that I used on the flange (trim) and sewed it down using a fairly tight zigzag stitch.  I’m liking the zigzag better for machine applique than the blanket stitch I used to use.  I think it’s more durable and looks nice when you match the thread to the applique.

Here are the finished pillowcases.  I’ve made so many of these over the years.  We pretty much only use these handmade pillowcases at our house.  They are so easy and pretty.  You can match your quilts or make seasonal or holiday pillowcases.  They make great gifts and charitable organizations like homeless shelters can always use them.  They’re quick, fun and everyone seems to like them.  If you’ve never made these, you’ll think the way they’re constructed is magic!  All the seams are enclosed and the way the flange is made is very clever.  Just google “burrito” or “hotdog” pillowcase and a bunch of good tutorials will come up.  I like this one because the instructions are really clear but there are many other along with several you tube videos. http://www.seasonedhomemaker.com/2012/11/pillowcase-tutorial-burrito-style.html