Rings, Petunias, and Rows

I have a bucket list.

At 53-years old, this is nothing unusual.  I  have a list of places I want to go and things I want to do before the children decide what home I need to go into before I spend what little inheritance they will inherit.  But aside from that bucket list, I also have a bucket list of quilts and other projects I want to make before I pass over to that great guild meeting in the sky.

For quilters like me who tend to be on the semi-professional end of the art (we quilt for ourselves and quilt demos for classes and stores), sometimes our projects tend to lean so much on the professional end that we forget to create just for fun or just because it's something we want to do. A double-wedding ring quilt has been on my list for years and I've never gotten around to making one.

Until now.

Several weeks ago I shared the fabric I had chosen.  I pieced the fabric into strips and then cross cut the strips so that all 416 strips looked like this....

 

I'm using the John Flynn method, so that meant that now I have to go back and take tiny "darts" into the squares.

 

 

I realize that for some "speed piecers" this may seem tedious.  For me, it's mindless sewing that allows me to listen to my audio books.  However, all those tiny, little darts and a freezer-paper pressing guide allow for beautiful arches.

 

 

And these arches snuggle right up to the "melons" and those concave and convex curves sew together easily with puckers or tucks.

 

 











It's a lot of work, but I do think that this bucket list quilt will be gorgeous when I get it finished.

 

I am really behind on my hand applique projects.  That little one-on-one experience between my thumb and the car door really slowed me down.  I sewed my bandage to fabric so many times I just gave up all handwork until I could take the Band-Aids off.  But I did manage to get my second block on the Country Inn finished this week - the Petunia Block.

 

 I was doing straight-up needle turn with this one, but the pieces are so big that I'm switching to freezer paper with the third one.  I really do enjoy these larger pieces of applique.

 

By the way, if you're interested in making the Country Inn Quilt or Quilting the Garden and you haven't purchased your book(s) yet, you may want to head on over to your local quilt store or Amazon.  I've heard through the grapevine that the publishing company that produced both books has been bought out and the new publisher has not committed to republishing either book.

 

Lastly, if you haven't heard, the Row-by-Row Experience has started!  I purchased my first row this week from Dragonfly in High Point.

 

This is a picture of what it will look like.  I hope to start on it this weekend.  I'm kind of proud of it...I had a little input with this row.  Patti Grubb did a marvelous job with this and I think it's really pretty. 

 

I also purchased my license plate.

 

At this point my plan was to list all the stores in North and South Carolina that are participating in the RBR.  However, this year there are so many!  In Guilford County, Calla Lilly, Ye Olde Forest, Studio Stitch, and Dragonfly are involved.  If you want to have the entire list, go to www.rowbyrowexperience.com/north-carolina and www.rowbyrowexperience.com/south-carolina.  There are also Facebook pages for the Row by Rows.  The experience lasts from June 21 through September 8, 2015.  There is a contest.  Create a quilt using at least 8 different rows, be the first person to bring the finished quilt to a participating quilt show and you win 25 fat quarters.  If you've used that shop's row in your quilt, you receive a bonus prize!

 

And let's face it...it's a wonderfully legitimate excuse to visit quilt shops.  Hope to see you at one!

 

Love and Stitches,

 

Sherri

 

 

 

Legacies and Legends

May 29 was my anniversary -- my 32nd wedding anniversary to be exact. 

Thirty-two years is a long time to be with one person.  I've lived with Bill 11 years longer than I lived with my parents and I've now lived longer in my adopted hometown of Jamestown longer than I lived in my actual hometown of Graham.

It doesn't seem possible.  These three decades and some have flown by. In that time we've had children and watched them grow up. In turn we have become grandparents of the two most adorable munchkins ever.  We've had careers of our own and now own our own business.

I guess life is what happens when you're busy...

So, to commemorate 32 years of marriage, I gave my husband this...

It's a lap quilt.  I wish I could say I spent months choosing the pattern and fabrics, but that would be an untruth.  I started this quilt as a charity quilt for my guild, but when Bill saw it, he loved the colors and commented that "I would like to have it.  It matches my den."

So there you have it.  By that point it was already quilted.  I put the binding on, put a label on the back, and gave it to him.  And he loves it.

Isn't that part of what your quilting legacy is?  People loving your quilts? I have written about your electronic quilting footprint and the importance of labeling your quilt, and I have mourned and griped about knowing nothing about the antique quilts in my possession. But that is just part of what you will be leaving behind as quilter.

The other part -- the "heart" part, if you will, is just how much people love the quilts you make and if you've passed the craft on to another generation. 

I've also written about the quilt that started me on this journey -- the simple utilitarian quilt my great-grandmother made.  From what my mom has told me, Grandma Perry would be appalled at my reverence for such a simple quilt.  It wasn't her best work.  But as I sleep under the quilt or refold it, there is a feeling I can't explain, a connection to my past and quilting history that is simply precious to me.

Whether Grandma Perry knows it or not, that is part of her quilting legacy to my generation and hopefully future quilters in our family.

Not every quilt you make will be perfect.  Not every quilt you make will be entered in a quilt show.  Not every quilt you make will win a fist full of ribbons.  But every quilt you make can be an expression of your love.  Quilts have a way of hanging around for decades after it's maker has gone to meet her Maker.  Every quilt can carry that legacy of care and concern and love. 

So yes, it is important who inherits your quilts.  I've always told my children that if my quilts ever end up in a thrift shop or antique store, I would come back and haunt them for the rest of their days in the worst way possible.  While some quilts are made to be used up and loved up, there are certain ones that are meant to be heirlooms and should be treated as such.  That is your right as a quilter to protect your legacy. 

And who knows?  Sometimes these legacies become legends.  Back in the 1800's when Jane Stickle began to make her quilt, I'm sure she had no idea how important that quilt would become to this quilting generation.  But that quilt with it's four-and-a-half inch blocks and kites and triangles has spawned quilt groups, Facebook pages, websites, blogs, books, and software.  In my guild alone there are at least five members who are making this quilt and three who have completed it. 

Dear Jane is a legacy and  a legend. 

Don't think that can't happen to one of your quilts.

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

Quarter Inch Importance

Ahhhh the elusive quarter-inch seam. 

Every standard American quilt pattern calls for it, as well as most Australian and European patterns.  It's importance is imperative in order to make blocks consistently come out the correct size.  It's almost taken for granted by most quilters.

But actually achieving it takes some time, practice, and planning.  The right needle position, presser foot, and sewing machine can and will vary.  It's a fact of quilting life. 

There are different feet and tips that can help any quilter achieve a consistent quarter-inch seam allowance.

Let's deal with the feet first.

If you have purchased a machine that was designed with quilters in mind, you probably possess a quarter-inch foot, such as one of these:

My primary piecing sewing machine is my Janome 7700.  These are the O2 feet that come with them.  The black phalange on the right side lines up with the edge of the fabric and when my needle is in the first position, I get a consistent quarter-inch seam.

 

 

If your machine didn't come with a quarter-inch foot, consult your sewing machine dealership or search the internet to see if there is one available that fits your shank (high or low).  It will be money well spent, and they're not too expensive anyway.

 

There is another foot I use when I'm piecing a quilt that has lots of seam intersections, and that's my walking foot.

 

 

As you can see it's a bit larger than a typical foot.  It has a slot underneath the foot where the dual feed device fits in ...

 

This dual feed device literally helps "walk" the foot over the fabric (even thick fabric areas where several seams converge) so that the material doesn't slip and you end up with mismatched seams.  I have friends that only piece with their walking foot. 

 

The problem with this foot is that the quarter-inch mark is not clearly notated on the foot.  The best way to find this spot on any foot is to take a strip of fabric and accurately mark a quarter-inch line away from the edge.  Position this where your needle will intersect with it perfectly and use a Sharpie to mark that spot on your foot. 

 

If you have any doubt that any of your feet are hitting that quarter-inch seam allowance perfectly, there is a way to check it.  Cut three strips of fabric, two light and one dark, exactly an inch-and-a-half wide.

Sew them together with the dark strip in the middle.  Press the seams towards the dark strip.

Now measure the center strip.  At this point, the center strip should measure exactly one inch wide.

 

If it doesn't, you can play with your needle positions.  Even the most basic sewing machines should be able to move your needle position to the left.  My Janome can move my needle several different ways -- right, left, and center.

When you find that spot on your presser foot, be sure to mark it and make note of your needle position.

 

If your quilts contain lots and lots of pieces where seams have to match and  points can't be cut off, you may also want to invest in a walking foot.

 

There is another quarter-inch seam that is sometimes called for in some quilt patterns and that is the scant quarter-inch seam.  This means that it's not quite a whole quarter-inch seam.  It's a thread or two short of that amount. 

 

How do you know if you need to use a scant quarter-inch or a regular quarter-inch seam?  Sometimes the pattern will tell you.  If the fabric used is thick, a scant quarter-inch seam will probably be needed. And the more pieces a quilt block has, the better the chance that you need to use a scant quarter-inch seam.  But sometimes, you have to make the first block to find out.  If you make the block and it comes up short of the unfinished size required, make it again using a scant quarter-inch.  Press the block and re-measure.  If it's the exact unfinished size required (the size needed for each block before they're all sewn together in the quilt), then a scant quarter-inch is needed.  And you probably want to make a note of that on your quilt pattern for future reference. 

 

If you've done all this, and your block is still a smidge too small, try pressing all the seams open.  It will give you an additional 1/8th to 1/4th of an inch. 

 

All of this gives grounds to the argument that everyone should make a sample block out of scraps and measure it before proceeding to use the actual fabric intended for the quilt.

 

There is a scant quarter-inch foot.

 

This foot is called the "Little Foot." I don't think it comes with any sewing machine.  It can be ordered through the Big Foot website.  You have to know if your machine is a high shank or low shank and that information is usually found in your sewing machine manual.  Janomes and Pfaffs take a special type that is indicated as a low shank for Pfaffs, Janomes, and other machines that use snap-on feet. 

 

This foot is worth every penny.

 

And please remember, anything I promote in my blog, I do so because I use it and like it.  I am not recompensed in any way from any company.

 

Speaking of...Nancy's Notions has a really great seam guide out.

 

 It helps with all seam sizes and button holes.  You may want to grab one of these jewels.

Getting My Tops On....

For those of you who worked on At Piece with Time with me, I got my center together week before last...

I really like the way the teal setting triangles and squares made the blocks pop.  I am looking for a coral color for the inner border and already have my outer border fabric.  I'll go fabric shopping next week.  But I'm very pleased that this part is complete.

Now, those of you that know me or have followed my blog for awhile know that about three years ago, I undertook a Jane Journey.  Several of us at Dragonfly's Tuesday Night Sit and Sew decided to make a Dear Jane Quilt.  Of that group, two have completely finished and I'm coming in a distant third.  Every week, for at least one day a week, I would complete at least one Dear Jane block.  Some weeks I would do two or more if the blocks were easy.  When I would go on a trip, I would pack several of the blocks that required applique. 

So here it is, a good three years  and 169 4.5 x 4.5-inch blocks later, I have my center.

My Jane is made out of feedsack reproduction fabric.  I'm not hype on the Civil War reproduction fabric that is normally used.  It's a little too dark for my liking.  I have started working on the kites and triangles for the border, but that work, like the blocks will be slow and steady.

For those of you that have been so kind as to ask, my cold is better.  I'm still a little congested, but overall I feel much better.  And the thumb that had the up close and personal experience with my car door is better too.  It's just about completely healed.  I don't even wear the bandage any longer at home.  The nail has just got to grow out a little more.

Next week I hope to have a completed quilt to show you. 

Until then, Love and Stitches...

Sherri