Merrily we quilt along

I can't believe this will be my first blog post of the new year. Heck, it doesn't even feel new anymore--it has been so long.

In fact, since I was here last, I celebrated my 62nd birthday, gotten through Christmas and New Year's, enjoyed a 37th wedding anniversary with my dear husband, marveled at the nine years we have now lived in Arkansas, solved the quilting dilemma that plagued me, as mentioned in my previous blog post, and started a new quilting project. Whew!

I digress. Going back to that last blog post, where I cried out for help in my quest to figure out how to finish all those quilt blocks of a yellow and aqua quilt, I must thank my friend Jane, a master quilter that I knew from high school. She steered me to the final decisions I've ultimately made on just how to finish this project.

It was not without a little pain getting there, however.

This project was a block of the month (BOM) project from quiltingboard.com, a gathering of talented folks who have bonded over their love of quilting. I started making blocks in January 2013 and completed the last one in December. I wasn't so sure what I wanted to do with these 12 12-inch square blocks.

Heck, my first problem was how to lay out the blocks on the computer to audition a design. Thanks to Jane's guidance, I used my EQ5 (Electric Quilt) program to lay out the blocks. They weren't the exact blocks or the exact same fabrics, but they were at least close enough to come up with an idea.

She offered a suggestion of setting the blocks on point, that is as diamonds, rather than squares. Twelve blocks does not translate into a bed-sized quilt, no matter how you look at it, but this was an interesting option. She actually emailed me a picture of what it might look like, with the addition of a few more blocks. I fell in love with the picture she created. So, I decided to do another six blocks to fit between these in the on-point design.

Once completed, I laid the design onto my bed just to get a look at how it might go together. I liked what I saw.

The only thing I need to do now is make the triangular-shaped blocks for the edges, the corner triangles that will complete the rectangle. More on that later.

I also needed to decide if I want to hand quilt it or machine quilt it. The difference would mean sewing the blocks together first, if it was to be hand-quilted or sewing them after they are quilted if I planned to free-motion quilt them first.

I decided to machine quilt this, since many of the blocks have lots of points. That means lots of seams. Seams are difficult to hand quilt through. Plus, I really wanted to work on my free-motion quilting skills. I like the idea of finishing a block with the top, back, and batting first and then putting them together. That alleviates trying to manipulate three layers--the quilt top, batting and backing fabric without wrinkles--something that is very taxing in the small space I have to work in. It also alleviates all that pinning/basting. I am so much better with small, manageable, detailed work anyway. Plus, I like how my last 'quilt-as-you-go' project turned out--periwinkle blue quilt. 

Since I decided I wanted to machine quilt this, the first thing I did was add strips of fabric around each block. Fortunately, I had just barely enough of the fabric I wanted to use for this. Whew, it was close. I even had to sew a few scraps together to make the final pieces, but it worked.

I liked how the secondary pattern showed up, the diagonal lines in the new chain blocks I had made to add to those already done. The 1 1/2" strips added to the overall size of the quilt too. I liked that. Now, to figure out how to do those triangles.

Oh boy! That was a problem that plagued me for days and days. I laid out a design, where the chain pattern in the mostly yellow blocks (the alternating blocks that I added) would continue. I wanted an aqua color to set off those setting triangles, but with the pattern to continue. I tried and tried to figure out how to do it, but just couldn't.

There is a formula, that calculates the size of the triangle, which is easy enough to figure out, but to use that size and get the pattern to continue--well I must have a mental block because I could not get it right. It would seem that making a square and lopping it in half along the diagonal would work, but that doesn't take seam allowance into consideration.

I couldn't let my EQ program tell me how to do it because I drew the initial pattern in for show, without accurate measurements. I'd have to design it all over again to do it right. Every step I tried to take met with a new problem.

Finally, I decided I am going to make plain yellow triangles in varied fabrics and be done with it. The pattern will not continue, but I've decided that it just isn't worth losing my mind over this. Quilting is supposed to be fun, and it is. I refuse to let geometry stand in the way of my enjoyment of the quilting process. So, even if the chain pattern doesn't continue, I'm OK with that. I think it will still be a beautiful quilt when it is done.

Making this simple decision was very freeing. Perhaps another day I can take up the geometric challenges of triangles.

I've also decided to replace that heart block, the one my cat, Ryan, is resting on. It doesn't seem to fit. Honestly, Ryan thinks I quilt just for her. She is the world's greatest critic, always enthusiastic about my work.

I decided to replace that heart block with a double star. This is my favorite block, one that I've put into so many projects already. I've decided this will be my signature block from now on.

So onward and upward in my merrily-we-quilt-along life.

My quilting quandry, what to do?

I'm in a little bit of a quandary. I've finished piecing the last block in my block of the month quilt from Quiltingboard.com. Now, I have all these beautiful blocks and no plan as to what to do with them. 

It is time to make a decision as to just how to proceed. This is generally the most tedious part of the quilting process for me--the decision making. There are so many options. Each one has challenges. 

I have never shied away from making decisions and I have always loved a good challenge. I never want my quilting to become burdensome in any way, so I generally take this approach slowly and thoughtfully. 

I have to say, I enjoy every part of the quilting process though much of it is about making decisions. 

When all is said and done, I am generally confidant with my ultimate choice. I consider decision-making like walking along a path in the forest and coming to a split in two or more directions. Deciding which one to take is important so as to preclude later regrets. Regrets are against my religion.

I don't know if I am typical in the way I make decisions or not; I just do it the best way I know how. That includes looking at all the options, weighing the potential hazards, and finally coming up with the best approach. 

Allow me to think out loud here.

I really loved how Periwinkle Blue turned out. That is my most recent completed quilt. So I'm leaning toward doing this one the same way--quilt as you go (QAYG) with free-motion quilting each individual block. 

Thing is, I don't have a pattern to follow, as I did with Periwinkle. That was a Craftsy class taught by Leah Day, probably the best free-motion quilter that ever was or ever will be. I really am in awe of this woman and her work.

The challenge with this option is that I'm a newbie at free-motion quilting. I am also not very comfortable with choosing designs that would enhance and highlight the pieced blocks. Then again, I haven't tried. Picking the fabric to outline the blocks and provide the joining strips would be pretty easy. I'd use the same concept as with Periwinkle, a light yellow sashing and dark aqua joining strips. I'm thinking yellow gingham. (Love gingham)! I happen to have some of that in my stash. I think it would be stunning. It might look something like the photo on the right. Now, if I can only remember how I did that...

A variation of this might be to insert a 9-patch or some other simple patterned block between these complex blocks. That would enlarge the quilt, which is desirable. I could dress up the rather plain blocks with a nice hand-quilted motif. 

Another option I've considered a more random, scrappy-looking quilt by making a few more smaller blocks to add here and there. I really like that look. In fact, one of the commentors in the quiltingboard included her quilt-in-progress photo which did just that. I have never done this technique before, but am totally intrigued by it. It looks so much less formal. It would take making a few more small simple blocks, say four-patches, nine-patches, churn-dashes, etc. to add to a row or column. It would do away with the symmetry, which I rather like. I could either hand-quilt or machine quilt with the QAYG method. Right now, I love both, so I don't really have a preference. Perhaps a combination of both would be good. I'm thinking perhaps hand-quilting a lovely border. I love the feel of hand-quilted quilts, but I love the speed of completion and challenge of machine quilting. With this project, there are lots of seams with all these complex star points, so hand-quilting might be a real pain.

My real stumbling block in making this decision has had to do with illustrating what is in my head. Creating the quilt pictures were a bigger challenge for me than making the quilt blocks. It has been really frustrating to try to figure out how to arrange these blocks on the computer. It seems like an easy thing, but it took me 2 days of messing with it, just to get this image. I don't have a computer program that allows me to easily manipulate 12 pictures. 

I tried to use Electric Quilt 5 (EQ5), but I'll be darned if I can figure out just how to do this simple task. I would really like to have EQ7, which would make simple tasks so much easier, from what I hear, but I'll be darned if I am going to pay full price for it. Electric Quilt does not offer updates to their old program. They require purchasing a brand new version. I simply can't afford that. 

I've tried using various photo imaging programs, but the best so far is simple Windows paint. At least they allow select and move within a larger image. That has its limitations too though. I used to have a program that was perfect for this job--Corel Photo Paint, which would easily stitch 12 images together, but my program isn't compatible with Windows 7. It simply no longer works. I have never been able to find one that is comparable, at least that I could afford. 

This challenge is one that I will simply have to solve. I've been trying to use Gimp, an excellent and free photo editing software, but it is complicated. I'm sure it would do the trick if I just knew how. I simply haven't learned it yet. That will take some time, and I really just want to quilt. 

Perhaps my best option is the old tried-and-true method of colored pencils and graph paper. I'll keep you posted on my decision, if and when I ever make it. 

A post script -- I just loaded all 12 individual files representing my quilt blocks into MS Word. Duh, why didn't I think of this before?