Making progress; quilting feathers

I've finally mastered free-form free-motion quilting feathers. The word "mastered" may be a bit of an exaggeration, but is pretty descriptive of how I feel about it. 

Suffice it to say I accomplished feathers, at least on this block. I didn't think that would ever happen. To experienced quilters, feathers seem so simple. Yet to those of us that haven't been able to master them, they represent a really difficult skill. 

Joyously, I crossed that line yesterday. There is something so wonderful about the moment when a struggle becomes an accomplishment. It is truly an 'aha' moment. Suffice it to say I am exhilarated. 

To me, feathers on a quilt are elegant. They give it a regal feel. A beautiful quilt needs beautiful feathers.

This marks the latest revelation I've had in what has become an ongoing saga of my going-on-two-years-now quilt project, better known as my aqua and yellow quilt...I must come up with a new name for this; I'm tiring of calling it that. 

When I finally began to free-motion quilt the blocks in this sampler, it was a long time coming. I am really going to love it when it is finished, because it has represented such a remarkable journey. I'm so grateful to Leah Day for her incredible inspiration and the can-do attitude she has communicated to me and thousands of other aspiring quilters. I've been immersed in her videos and that of other quilters who have shared their expertise with the rest of us. There are some amazing online resources available to anyone with an interest. 

I finally got the confidence to design the quilting for these quilt-as-you-go blocks, again, giving credit to Leah Day for the amazing filler designs she has devised. This is the third of 18 blocks in this quilt. The other two are below. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for this quilt.

When I looked at the stack of completed blocks, cut to size and awaiting their final action--the quilting--I wasn't sure how to proceed. Since I had taken pictures of each of them, I printed out the first one, as a sketch, rather than as a photograph. Google's Picasa, excellent and free software to manage digital pictures, has the ability to turn any photo into a line drawing. 

Just looking at the block, I saw what I wanted to do. They say, let the quilt talk to you--and it did. This is the rough sketch I came up with.

This is how it turned out. I made only one change, the stippling in the corner. I thought it looked better with the more uniform lines. 

I know my quilting is not perfect. In fact, it is far from that, but I also know that once this quilt is done and it is washed, the effect will be like magic. There is nothing better than a just washed quilt. The area that isn't quilted puffs a little which accentuates the stitches even more. Imperfections simply melt into the background. Oh boy, I can't wait.

Anyone who has followed my journey--and I appreciate your interest-- knows that this quilt began in Jan. 2013 as a BOM (Block of the Month) from the Quiltingboard, a wonderful and active quilting site I belong to. This particular BOM was meant to be somewhat of a challenge. It was and continues to be. 

When all the blocks were completed in December 2013, I decided to place them on-point, on the diagonal rather than the vertical, I had to come up with some filler blocks. I agonized for a time about how to quilt those, since there are six of them that are all the same. So, I started with the printout of the line drawing. This is what I came up with for all of them. It is basically all about hearts with some stippling in the open areas. I wanted to showcase the diagonals, since that forms the secondary pattern in the quilt, so I think this will do the trick.

The following articles in CHMusings relate to this quilt

CH Musings: Ready to quilt

Feb. 11, 2014

My last update on this project was nearly a month ago, my first blog post of the new year. I had just given up on trying to figure out how to complete this quilt top, daunted by mathematics, colors, and patterns, and style. So, I left ...

http://rural01.blogspot.com/

CH Musings: Merrily we quilt along

Jan 25, 2014

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 ...

http://rural01.blogspot.com/

CH Musings: My quilting quandry, what to do?

Dec 11, 2013

Rendering Aqua-yellow quilt 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 ...

http://rural01.blogspot.com/

CH Musings: Latest quilt pushes my color comfort zone

Sept. 17, 2013

Not only is my quilting obsession satisfied by a project I've been working on since January, which takes me out of my color comfort zone, but my "order thing" is getting a workout too. At the beginning of the year, I laid out some ...

http://rural01.blogspot.com/

Ready to quilt

My last update on this project was nearly a month ago, my first blog post of the new year. I had just given up on trying to figure out how to complete this quilt top, daunted by mathematics, colors, and patterns, and style. So, I left it alone for a while. I started working on another project altogether--a new quilt project Leah Day's Free-Motion Quilting Building Blocks Quilt Along. This one will be black and white and pink all over--more on that another time.

It is about time for an update on my complex quilting journey to complete one particular project. I couldn't be more excited. This soap-opera will one day reveal a completed yellow and aqua quilt.


Once I finally quilt obsessing over just how to construct the finishing triangles needed for this on-point quilt, I figured out how to make them. It was so easy. I gave in to the computer software as my friend Jane had suggested. At the time, I had thought of all kinds of reasons why that wouldn't work, but, I was completely over-thinking the problem. Once I realized that, I printed out the templates, added the seam allowance of 1/4-inch and cut out the pieces. I sewed them together, and voila, the perfect setting triangles, as seen below.

There was no figuring. I didn't even need to wrack my brain with some obscure mathematical formula. I made 10 of them along with four smaller triangles for the corners.

I am now ready to come up with a final layout of my squares. I just love the addition of the chain blocks, also Jane's idea, which adds the secondary pattern. I'm thrilled that the triangles continue that pattern to the edges of the quilt. That was what I wanted all along.

Next, I will cut out the backing fabric and squares of batting. I will then begin free-motion quilting the individual squares. The designs for each squares are something I haven't planned for. This will be my final design choice and final challenge with this quilt. I have never been very good at picking quilting designs, but I am in no hurry. I want to examine each block until just the right design comes to me.

I will use yellow and white gingham with alternating white squares for the backing. I already have the batting. While the quilt is large enough to cover the bed, I may just add a couple of borders to finish it off. I can't wait to post a picture of the completed quilt. So, stay tuned!

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.

Quilting is a process

"Periwinkle Blue," named for a song by Doris Day and my favorite crayon color, is finally done; well almost. It still needs the final binding on the edges. Then I will be able to throw it into the washer and dryer and see if it comes out looking like a quilt, all scrunchy, warm, and inviting, with its stitches still intact.

What a joy it has been to make this quilt.

I will never tire of the process of turning a pile fabric into a completed quilt. This was more than a year in the making, and I loved every minute of it.

Not only has this been enjoyable, but I learned so much. 

I started making quilts about 15 years ago, on a whim. I have been on a steep learning curve ever since. From those early days of writing about quilt shows for the local newspaper, to watching Alex Anderson on 'Simply Quilts' every day, to the present, I have been somewhat surprised at how much there is to learn about this art form. 

To me, making a quilt is so much more than simply creating a cover for the bed. In actuality, the utilitarian aspect of a quilt is far less important to me than the process of actually creating it. That doesn't mean I don't like to snuggle up with it once it is done. I treasure that part. But even more so, I am drawn to the creative process. Each of the now nine quilts I have made has been a learning experience.

For me, quilting is also a therapeutic activity. It is that quiet time that we all cherish. Admittedly, I have no problem leaving dirty dishes in the sink if I feel like quilting. 

Making Periwinkle Blue

This quilt started out as a block of the month project through a free on-line class on Craftsy, taught by Amy Gibson, in January 2012. A new block, actually two, were chosen by Amy for each month, unbeknown to class participants. 

I cannot express how much fun I had doing this class. I looked forward to the first of the month every single month, always anxious to see what the next blocks would look like. Amy Gibson is a sweet, gentle woman who reminds me of a kindergarten teacher--my kindergarten teacher. Taking her class conjured up memories of Miss Carr, back about 55 years ago. I don't remember what Miss Carr looked like, but now, in my mind she looks like Amy. Amy is also an accomplished and prolific quilter.

Early on I decided this quilt would be in shades of purple, what has long been a real favorite of mine. I am really fond of monochromatic quilts. That is my comfort zone. While creating the blocks, exactly as directed, I started thinking about different ways they could be changed, altered, or what they might look like with an entire quilt made from them. I do have some favorites as well as some I wasn't crazy about. I didn't let my taste dictate anything. I just went with it. 

When this project was completed, I had stacks of blocks that I wasn't really sure what to do with until I heard about another Craftsy class, taught by Leah Day--Free motion quilting a sampler. I debated about paying for this class. Money is really too tight for such things. When it was offered at a special discounted price, I signed up. I'm so glad I did. Leah's class was specifically related to showing how to free-motion quilt the sampler quilt I had just completed. My question of just what I wanted to do with all these purple blocks was answered.

I was already familiar with Leah's work, which is the most exquisite I've ever seen. In my view, watching her was almost akin to Michelangelo taking his brush to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This woman is an amazing artist. She makes it look so effortless. I assure you--it is not! But, it was fun! I made my little ole sewing machine do things I never even knew it could. 

The thing about quilting is, I love every part of the process. And there are so many parts. Each one requires some skill. From the fabric choices to the precision cutting, exact 1/4" seams, to the assembling, to the actual quilting, this is a fun and worthwhile activity, every step of the way. I never knew piecing a quilt top was so involved. I never knew that quilting was so involved either. I will always love hand quilting, but I admit really being intrigued by free-motion quilting. I will do it again, particularly on small projects. I can also see projects with a combination of both hand and machine quilting in the future.

It was very easy to maneuver the quilt block in the sewing machine. There is a lot of twisting and turning with free-motion quilting. I'm not certain if I am ready or even able to tackle quilting an entire quilt in that little tiny space of my machine. Just maneuvering the quilt to add the binding strips was a chore. I can only imagine what trying to maneuver a whole quilt would be like. 

This particular project was also new to me, in that it was done as a 'quilt-as-you-go' project. That method requires that all the blocks are quilted first and then assembled by sewing together with binding strips. Traditional quilts are constructed just the opposite--with the quilt top layered with batting and backing fabric and then quilted.

I almost forgot--the very best part is the result after the quilt is washed and dried. I just did this and could barely believe my eyes. I was worried about the imperfections in my sewing. It doesn't matter, because the texture created by the stitches is extraordinary. I absolutely love how this quilt turned out.

I highly recommend quilting as a pleasant and useful activity. Whether you are like me and love the process, it is so rewarding to finish a quilt.