Juki Cover--What do you mean I have no more of this fabric??

Oh my.  I was afraid of this.  I ran out of the light pink background fabric.  So back to the drawing board in EQ7 to see how I could add another background and on how many blocks to make it look intentional!  I'm trying to keep in mind that this is a learning quilt...one, for paper piecing and when I load it onto the quilt frame, another learning experience to quilt it.  So...No Stressing Allowed, Sue!!

This was my first draft in EQ7.  I didn't even worry about using the same fabric colors.

When I ran out of fabric, I took the time to better match the fabric colors.  I don't usually scan in fabrics unless I can't find a close match.  This is what I ended up with after the re-coloring.

And here is the actual block with the darker shade of pink I found in my stash.

The quilt is nothing spectacular, but it will serve it's purpose...which is to keep the dust off the Juki!

Keep on Stitching!!

May's Free Motion Quilting - Double Stippling

This month, our teacher is Leah Day, a wonderful free motion quilter.  If you are an internet quilter searcher, you may have seen a site with a new FMQ every day for 365 days.  This is Leah.  Borrowing a quote from SewCalGal, she writes about Leah:

"In her effort to share her insights, teach and inspire others, she launched the The Free Motion Quilting Project where she created video tutorials and shared insights on 365 different free motion quilting designs, over a period of 365 days.  Shortly after this project, she launched a FMQ Quilt-Along ,which SewCalGal definitely recommends to any quilter interested in learning/improving their FMQ skills to participate in. Each Wednesday a Leah publishes a video lesson, and you have an opportunity to try out the ideas, then link up your progress on her blog."

Our challenge this month is a method called Double Stippling where a large stipple is created to cover a large area, then you stitch your way back up that line with smaller stippling crossing over the line.  A variation of this is called Railroad Tracks, where the ends of the stipples are straight rather than curved.  I need more practice on making those corners.  When I don't want a corner, I make one, when I want a sharp corner, it ends up rounded off! 


May 2012 FQM Block

I visually divided this block into half square triangles.  The Double Stipple is on the left triangle and the Railroad Tracks is on the right.  A great way to fill in space and not have the same ol' stipple quilting!

Keep on Stitching!!

Carol Doak Paper Piecing BOM - May block finished!

I just couldn't wait to get this block done.  This quilt will be unlike any other quilt I've made...the orange background color alone makes it unique for me.  The block went together very quickly after a few uh-oh's on my part.  Misread the cutting instructions and cut orange pieces when it should have been print pieces.  Minor mistake and I always purchase extra fabric.  Doesn't everyone??? haha



May 2012 PP Block

This picture is a better representation of the orange color.  Gonna be one bright quilt!

Carol Doak Mystery BOM - Paper Piecing

Well, I've done it again!  Started another BOM.  This one is Carol Doak's Mystery BOM which she has just started.  Her blocks and instructions will be posted on her Yahoo group, so hop on over there and join us!  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarolDoakQuiltingGroup/  This BOM is paper piecing.  I'm learning to really like this method...hmmm, I should say Carol's method!

I had this idea of fabric in my head for the BOM so I set out this morning in search of it.  Always a problem when you see something in your head that may not even exist...sigh.  Anyway, after driving to 4 stores, looking at every bolt, pulling several, putting several back, I found it.  I wanted a wild fabric that when cut into smaller pieces would look like several different fabrics.  And no matter how hard I tried to get that lime green 'solid' to look good with this fabric....the orange came home with me.  ORANGE!!!  And I do mean this fabric is orange, even though the picture looks a bit on the yellow side.  I can't wait to get the block made!

Paper Piecing BOM  Fabric

Paper Piecing Block 2

This is the second block that will go into the Juki Cover quilt.  I'll be making 20 of each of these blocks.  As you can tell, the only difference is that I've rotated the 4 smaller blocks for a different look.

I discovered one of the mistakes I was making was how I trimmed the smaller blocks.  I trimmed along the printed line for the first block and things didn't line up so well.  One of the members of Carol Doak's Yahoo group told me to line up the seam line and trim 1/4" from that.  This block looks much better.

Block 2

By the way.  Carol has just started a Mystery BOM on her Yahoo group.  Why not join the group and make the quilt along with me?  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarolDoakQuiltingGroup/

Keep on stitching!!

Four down 36 more to go!  Not bad for the first block, altho I still have trouble matching those blased points...even with paper piecing, it seems!  Surely I'll master that by the time this little quilt is finished! LOL

Beginner Block

Hope all you Moms out there have a great Mother's Day!

Keep on Stitchin'!

Paper Piecing - New Journey

Paper Piecing is something I tried and didn't much care for.  A friend urged me to give it another go and to check out Carol Doak's method, steering me to Facebook to look her up.  Well, Facebook led me to her site, which led me to her blog, which led me to her Yahoo group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarolDoakQuiltingGroup/  I found free PP blocks along the way and great information.  Her Yahoo group is gearing up for a new Mystery BOM and of course, I want to join in on the fun!! 

I better start easy, so I downloaded the free instructions from her blog for her easy method of Introduction to Paper Piecing.  Using EQ7, I quickly had a small quilt to make which would be used to cover the Juki 2010 that resides on my quilt frame.  What??? It will take 40 little 4" PP squares to make this little quilt??  Sigh....guess I'll get in some good practice.

Picking fabrics is a true challenge for me.  I spend a whole afternoon auditioning fabrics from my stash.  I'm using batiks and finally narrowed it down to only one more fabric to choose.  I had  that I thought might work.   BRILLIANT IDEA struck me!  Take pictures and see which one looks the best.  I did, I chose and here's a shot of those 3.

So, all the patterns have been printed, most of the fabrics cut...still need to cut more background, but I got antsy and wanted to MAKE ONE!!!    I made all of 2!  LOL  All cuts are labeled and I have a visual on the wall above my sewing machine. 

If any of you have sewn garments, I got a great tip that a member on Carol's group posted.  Use a dart wheel to run along the stitch lines of the paper pattern before sewing.  This perforates the paper, making it very easy to fold when trimming seam allowances and checking to see if the fabric fits the section.  This dart wheel belonged to my Mom and may very well have belonged to my Grandmother as well.   It has a wooden handle.


Dart Wheel

So....here I go again!!!!!

Funky Chicken - May

I do enjoy making these adorable chickens from Fatcats Patterns!  I'm getting wonderful practice with manually digitizing applique in the Bernina Embroidery Software and having fun picking out fancy stitches from this software as well as the Bernina Cutwork Software.

On this block, I used stitches from the Embroidery software for all stitches except the body and wing.  These, of course, came from the Cutwork software.  I love that stitch around the wing!

May 2012

May closeup

 
I wish you could see these stitches in real life.  They are so....ummmm....delightful!!



May's HST Block

Finished up with this month's block from In Color Order.  I love these blocks.  They are so easy!  My style! LOL  Still dealing with points, but these are nice and large with each HST being 3.5 inches.  Amazing how many different looks one can obtain with only one patch style.  Way to go In Color Order!!

May 2012

This one has some stripes which gives it a different look than In Color Order's original block.  I kept switching the blue and orange HST, but finally decided the orange on the outside looked better with the stripes.

Each month after I finish a block and get it posted, I hear in my head Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust"!  Queen...my all time favorite rock band...the original group with Freddie.  Just about blew out my eardrums with those big ol' speakers and the really cool stereo system we had back in the 80's while in Germany...

Keep on stitching!

Craftsy BOMs - May

These two blocks for May were such fun.  A chance to create a wonky block, slicing and stitching at will.  The other takes a new look at the traditional log cabin.

The Modern Log Cabin block uses wide and narrow strips around the center square, repeating each color for all 4 strips around the block.  The block ends up off center.  I fussy cut for a pretty flower in the center block.  The Wonky 5-Sided Log Cabin block begins with a 'sort of' square as Amy puts it and continues around the center using different strips, different fabrics, and different widths.  Add to that, we slice off corners every now and then and slice a slanted cut once in a while when trimming off the ends.  Quite liberating! LOL

Modern Log Cabin

Wonky 5-Sided Log Cabin

As you can see, my 5-sided beginning turned in to...hmmm, let me count...6, 7?  As I said...quite liberating! haha  Do you know how hard it is to 'square up' a block intentionally crooked???

Perfect Points Quilt FINISHED!!!

The quilt is finished!  WooHoo!!!  This little 39 inch square quilt was my most challenging quilt to date.  Good thing it was small!  It is far from perfect, but I learned so much about points.  I used monofilament thread in the needle and bobbin to quilt in the ditch with a walking foot.  Lots of turning and twisting to get around all the triangles, but my Bernina 830 worked with me flawlessly.  Not a single thread break.  I also digitized a quilt motif to fill the large area in the snowball block.
Now that this quilt if finished, I can move on to something else.

Perfect Points Quilt hanging over the hole in the fireplace.

Close up of the machine embroidered quilting in the snowball blocks.

  And yes, I did end up ripping out that dark square on the basket block and replacing with a nice pink one.  It looks much better!

Keep on stitchin!!