Completing Some Projects, WOW

I’ve been working on actually FINISHING some projects, imagine that!  I pulled out a very large project and worked on it at our last Quilts For Kids – Sit & Sew day and made so much progress, all I need to do is add a border to this large quilt to finish off the top and it’s ready to be quilted.

My EXCITING NEWS is that I finally picked up a walking foot for my big machine!!! YEA!!!  I’ve been wanting to do that for such a long time!  I also picked up a foot for stitching in the ditch and another that sews 1/4″ away from seam.  I’m very excited to try them out!  So I thought I’d keep on the theme of finishing some unfinished projects so onward I went.

I also had 4 lap quilts that I started last year which I was making for my sister to give away to the elderly ladies/men at her church, I  completed the tops back then but then they just hung on my quilt rack waiting to be finished.  Yesterday I went shopping and picked out backing fabric for all 4 of them and today I sandwiched them all together.  Tomorrow morning is the big test of my new walking foot as I attempt to quilt these laptops.  I thought I’d practice a little on a table runner before I jump right into a lap quilt.  So I pulled out yet another unfinished project, a table runner, to practice on.

Wish me luck!!

Another Quilt Top Is Done!

I have never been so happy to finish a quilt top before.  This quilt has given me challenges from the very start.  I would never use that particular pattern again although I would like to use a pattern similar to this one in the future, one with a different way of piecing the blocks.  Of course after piecing the top and seeing it all together, I often think if I would have used a different fabric here or a different fabric there, how it would have changed the entire look of the quilt.  However, it is what it turned out to be, all in all I think it looks nice, I am pleased with the pattern on the quilt.

Sewing Partial Seams – Frustrating

I’ve been working on the little boy’s quilt and once I started assembling the blocks I found that there was a technique that I had very little experience with.  I start with my pieced square and place rectangle flying geese with a square units on each side.  The first unit goes on partially leaving a section that is not sewn.  As I rotate my block sewing on the top, left side and bottom, all goes well, but then I’m back to where I started with a partial seam that needs to be completed.

For whatever reason, I am having such a time with this.  I know that it all involves with my first unit I sew on, where I stop my needle so I don’t end up ripping at the end.  However, I’m finding that I have a loose seem at the end where I’m connecting the last two seams together.  I figure I’ll get the hang of it by the time I am finished with the quilt, however, I’m certain I’ll have to go back and tighten up a few seams at the end.  I had hoped to finish these blocks soon, but with this setback it will take longer than I thought.

Sewn last full seam on the right of block.

Right seam ready to be turned to complete final partial seem on the top.

Turning to match the fabrics to sew the last partial seam.

Sew Much Progress! I’m Really Sew Happy!

It had seemed to me it had been ages since I had the time to sit down and sew. As I thought about it today as I turned on my sewing machine, I realized my last blog post was in April, it had been ages! During the late spring months I found myself busy with preparing for my youngest son’s High School Graduation & Graduation Party. Everything went very well and I’ve taken some time to recuperate from the festivities. Now it’s time to get back to doing what I love to do!

Interior squares of my two main block types.

Block #1 laid out to sneak peak what it will look like.

Sneak peak of block #2.

Now it was time to start assembling these blocks.  I have 1 of the first block totally completed, with 16 remaining of block #1 75% completed today!

1 of 17 blocks of this type done!

I just had to lay out 2 blocks to take a look at how they will look side by side in the quilt. Cute!

I am looking forwarding to finishing up these blocks and it feels great to be back sewing again!!  🙂

Finding Just The RIGHT Pattern!

So many of us have oodles of patterns on hand.  Some purchased from quilt shops, printed from online sources and others torn from magazines over the years – carefully placed in sheet protectors and stored in binders.  I needed another pattern to make a baby quilt for my new great-nephew and I searched and searched through my binders and patterns to find just the RIGHT one.   I just couldn’t find the RIGHT one.  So I kept on looking.

At first I was going to use my Thomas the Train fabrics but I couldn’t find a pattern to fit my large print fabrics like I wanted it to.  So then I decided on finding the right pattern and THEN finding the right fabrics.  So the search continued at quilt shops and online searches – neither of which produced the right pattern.  I needed to find just the RIGHT pattern, one that inspired me.

Last week I was browsing through the new issue of Quiltmaker and there on page 48 was just the RIGHT pattern, it spoke to me – YEA!  Calico Clocksworks was just the perfect pattern for this little boy, I envisioned it with browns and blues.  So the next step was to find just the right fabrics so I was off to shop!  After several stops I finally had all my fabrics, I chose to go with a more juvenile dog themed fabrics so that the quilt will be more fitting even to a toddler.  So this past Saturday was the day to start cutting fabrics!

Sometimes it’s just so hard to find just the RIGHT pattern for a project…. but it sure feels good when we find it! 🙂

~Karen

Emma’s Baby Quilt Top Done!

Our chapter of Quilts For Kids sponsored a Quilt Retreat this weekend and I was able to catch up on alot of sewing I need to get done.  It was a great weekend!

The quilt top for baby Emma is now done, phew!  It was so nice to have solid blocks of uninterrupted time to sew.  It felt really, really good!

Quilt For Emma – More Progress!

Today started out great, I had some time in the morning AND afternoon to get some sewing done.  This never happens!  So I just ran with it and gone a lot done on the baby quilt for Emma. I actually started on putting the blocks together (well my first row consisted of one block but still!).  The pinwheels in this pattern are sent on point so it gives the quilt a whole different look.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get another row done, but we’ll see how the day pans out.  I’m off to the gym first thing in the morning and then to work for awhile, but as soon as I get back home I hope to have some time for some sewing!

This is my progress from today….

Pinwheel Pile!

Pinwheel Blocks Ready!

Row 1 Done!

Here’s a photo of my great-niece Emma whom I am making the quilt for, such a beautiful little lady, so tiny and precious!

Baby Emma

Happy Sewing!

~Karen

I Found Sew Much Time!!

Ok, today was a free sewing day at our Quilts For Kids Chapter‘s “Sit & Sew” at the Riverside Retreat Center in Dundee.  There’s nothing like a big block of time (4-1/2 whole hours!) away from home where all the distractions are!   I stopped at the gym first before going to sewing today, think it really helped get my motivation going!  It’s my first week at Curves and I’m loving the workouts so I had to get one in for Saturday!

I started out finishing up the baby quilt made from batik’s and I love, LOVE, LOVE this quilt!!  I not only love the batik’s but the pattern is so cute!  So the top is all together awaiting batting and backing.

Quilt top made for little Grace 2012

Next I started on the next baby quilt for little Emma made from the 1930’s reproduction fabrics.  I’ve never done a quilt in the 1930’s fabrics before so I’m excited to see how it will all come together.  I had sooooo many little squares to piece, so I decided to do this on a day when I was able to be with the other ladies and talk away while I was sewing all the squares together into rows that will be the sashing between the blocks.  I made good progress today and when I got home I actually found some more time to sew, so I started making a few pinwheels and finished up the strips of 4 squares for the sashing.  It was a very productive day!

Progress!

The Pinwheel Pile Begins!

Happy Sewing!

~Karen

My Quilting Blog – Same Name, New Place!

I’m finally making the switch to WordPress for my blog, same name, new location!  Soon there will be new posts here at my new blog:  A Quiltmakers Journey. (https://quiltmakersjourney.wordpress.com/)

Posts from the last few years can be found at my old Blogger.com blog at A Quiltmakers Journey.

Quilt for Grace – Progress!

New post coming soon as I finish this baby quilt for little Grace made from batiks and get started on the next one for baby Emma made from 1930’s reproduction fabrics!

Emma's baby quilt pieces

Grace and her little sister Emma

Happy Sewing!

~Karen

https://quiltmakersjourney.wordpress.com/