Christmas Ribbons homecoming

Christmas Ribbons finally came home (and will be returned to my nephew today) - it went to several quilt shows for Moda Bake Shops booth.  They sent a couple pics from the booth as well :)

(these are scanned pics from a computer printed pic, so they aren't the greatest quality pic - but doesn't it look great in the booth?!)

a patriotic finish

I finished my latest Moda Bake Shop project today - I am not going to show the front just yet, but here is the backing!

I just did random FMQ loops and stars for the quilting.

This is the bundle of fabric I used for this quilt:

''Varsity'' by Sweetwater for Moda :)  And 'Porcelain' Moda Bella Solid for the background.

Tiles quilt-along part 3

Be sure to check out Bear Creek Quilting Co for the previous instructions if you are just joining us :)

I will be making one of the alternate layouts:

I meant to share with you last week pics of the alternate assembly 2'' strip sets - I have been very busy with another secret project, so it just didn't happen.

So, half of your 2.5'' strips will be sewn into strips like this (shown un-pressed because it's too hot here to turn on an iron!):

And, the other half of the strip sets are sewn like this:

Press your seams toward the prints.  I think I will get up early early before it gets hot to press mine!

Then, when you assemble the blocks (today's instructions on Bear Creek Quilting Co.), you will make 28 A blocks (with prints in corners) and 29 B blocks (with solids in corners).

The 1'' square blocks will be assembled the same as for the original:

I am behind and haven't even started assembly of my 1.5'' strips, hopefully I can catch up :)

Tiles quilt along part 2

Hopefully you visited Bear Creek Quilting for the 2nd part of the quilt along - the cutting!  My original Tiles quilt is now adorning my living room in an antique basket in an adorable rolled  bundle.  Love love love this quilt.  This one will be set aside after the quilt along for the next special wedding (which isn't happening anytime soon that I know of!)  It will be such a wonderful heirloom gift :)

If you are adding solids to the mix, I have some more cutting instructions:
~~~~~~~~~~~
If you alternate solids for BOTH the 1'' and 2'' blocks, from your solid you will need to cut:
40 WOFx 1.5'' strips (then cut them in half along the fold line = 80 pieces)
50 WOFx 2.5'' strips (then cut them in half along the fold line = 100 pieces)
and then from your FQ's, cut all 20 the same as for the original quilt (80 pieces @ 1.5'' and 100 pieces @ 2.5'')

~~~~~~~~~~~
If you plan to alternate JUST the 2'' blocks, then from your solid you will need to cut:
50 WOF x 2.5'' strips (then cut these in half on the fold line = 100 pieces)

Then, from the 30 FQ's:
cut 20 FQ's into 3 @ 2.5'' strips and 6 @ 1.5'' strips each (= 60 @ 2.5'' pieces, 120 @ 1.5'' pieces)
the remaining 10 FQ's, cut 4@ 2.5'' and 4 @ 1.5'' strips from each. (=40 pieces for a total of 100 @ 2.5'' and 40 pieces @ 1.5'' for a total of 160.)

If you are cutting from your 'stash' - you will need a total of 

100 WOF @ 2.5'' (cut in half on the fold to equal 200 pieces)

80 WOF @ 1.5'' (cut in half on the fold to equal 160 pieces)

Happy cutting, and I will see you next week!

A Ghastlie finish

Well, my customer has finally recieved her Ghastlie quilt, so now I can share!

For the backing, I used a 'graveyard' print I got on sale last year after Halloween.  It is very fitting!

This one took me WAY too long to quilt.  I used at least 17 bobbins, which is over twice as many as any other quilt I have ever quilted.  TONS of quilting.  I kept going back and filling spaces with more spiderwebs.  Webs going in every direction on this one!  The construction of this quilt was fun - I think I'll do something like this again, but I don't think I will revisit the spiderweb fill quilting anytime soon :)

Tiles quilt along

Yay!  My very first quilt along!  Meet ''Tiles''.

I will be guest posting over at Bear Creek Quilting for a few weeks with several posts showing the fabric requirements, cutting, pressing, assembly, and even a little about quilting on a DSM (domestic sewing machine).


 This quilt pattern was inspired by a tile floor layout, so I named it ''Tiles''.   The first pic is the mock up using random low-volume Moda prints.

The second is a mock up of Ambleside by Brenda Riddle for Moda (what I used for the original Tiles quilt).

Hubby thought I should call it ''Static'', so maybe the second quilt I make from the pattern will be called Static.  My *plan* is to make a second one anyhow - from my stash and a little bit different color choice layout.


 If you came over from the Bear Creek Quilting blog, you probably noticed that I promised a couple different fabric layout options using solids.

My quilt for the quilt along will be using this layout:

I think this variation makes the 1'' tiles stand out so much more!

You could also alternate a solid in the 1'' tiles:

Which also makes the tiny pieces stand out just a bit more than the original.  I think I like the contrast better of the first variation though :)

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS:
44 fat quarters (or 40 if you use a Moda Fat Quarter Bundle - they are a generous 18.5'' wide)

If you want to alternate a solid in the entire quilt, the fabric requirements are:
22 Fat quarters (or 5 1/4 yards) prints  (20 if you use Moda precuts or your FQ's are at least 18.5'' wide)
5 1/4 yards solid

If you want to alternate a solid in JUST the 2'' squares, the fabric requirements are:
30 FQ's prints
3.5 yards solid


I have started a Flickr group to share your pictures if you plan to join in the quilt along!  It is also where you can ask questions if you have any :)  https://www.flickr.com/groups/2827925@N23/  is the link to the group.  I would love emails too if you don't want to join the group - but I would love to see questions asked on the group because then everybody joining in can see the questions/answers :)

I can't wait to get started!

So, head on over to Bear Creek Quilting blog and start gathering your fabric! :)

tiles assembly quilting 4

Welcome to the final post for the Tiles Quilt-along.  We will be doing final assembly of our quilts!  Yay!

 First, you will make sure you have 28 ''A'' blocks

29 ''B'' blocks

18 ''C'' blocks

and 6 ''D'' blocks.

Here is the final assembly layout.  The letters indicate the block and the arrow indicates the direction of the vertical seams.  You can flip your A or B blocks 180degrees to get the vertical seams going in the direction you need them.

Your seams should all nest perfectly.  That is why we made sure to iron everything in a specific way.  This is a B block next to a C block.

Sew in rows, being careful of the direction of the vertical seams.  But, don't fret!  If you have a block that you'd like to rotate 180, you can repress the vertical seams in the other direction if necessary!  Each row needs to have all the blocks vertical seams pressed the same direction - so the row below it (that has the vertical seams pressed the other direction) will have nesting seams too.   I am proud to say that I was not unhappy with ANY of the seams on my quilt and how they lined up.  Careful pressing, matching, and pinning is key!

After your final assembly is complete, I highly suggest doing a basting stitch around the perimeter of the quilt (less than 1/4'' from the edge) to keep those seams intact.

Now, you can send this top off to be quilted professionally, but I highly suggest quilting it yourself!  You save a BUNCH of money (enough to make at least one more quilt, maybe 2-3!)

I baste my quilts at my mom's because I don't have floor space, unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera when I basted this one.  But, what I do is pin the backing with the right side facing the carpet (if you have hardwood or tile, use tape).  Be sure not to stretch the backing, just make it smooth!  Then, layer your batting on the backing, smoothing it out carefully so there are no wrinkles.  Then, layer your quilt top (pretty side up!) on top of the batting.  I like to start pinning at one end and work my way to the other side, pinning about every 5-6 inches.  You don't need a million pins I have found.

After you get it all pinned, I highly suggest basting again all the way around the perimeter joining the backing/batting/top together.

That way, you can trim away all the excess backing and batting.  I cannot tell you how many times I have accidentally sewn the excess backing to the back of a quilt and had to rip out stitches.  It doesn't happen any more though now that I sew the perimeter first and trim that excess away!

Since this quilt already has a nice grid from the squares, I chose to do a diagonal straight line quilting to create a diamond pattern.

 Now, I don't have a fancy big long-arm, I only have my Pfaff that I have in a vintage Singer sewing cabinet that I altered to fit the Pfaff.  Start off your quilting by winding a bunch of bobbins.  I use Aurifil 50wt. cotton and wound 5 bobbins, which ended up being plenty.

Using your walking foot (or in my case, my Pfaff has built in dual feed that I use all the time).  Start your quilting in the corner and aim toward the first intersection.  I like to have my stitch length set a little longer (I sew at 2.5 and quilt at 3.5)

I like to try to stop at each intersection to rearrange my quilt if necessary - or to remove the pin in the next block.  I try not to get TOO close to the pins.  In this case, I went to the next intersection and then removed the pin.  Try to keep as much of the quilt as possible on the table - and puddled on your lap.  Don't let it hang off the table if you can at all help it - this makes quilting much harder and will make for wobbly or uneven stitches.

Just keep aiming for the diagonal intersections - and keep pulling the right side of the quilt through the machine - I like to get as much of the quilt to the back side of the machine as possible and still keep my next area I am going to sew straight.....

It will get pretty bunched up on the right side of the needle, but just keep smoothing it around the needle, especially in front of it.

I chose to stitch every other diagonal block - this creates an approx 3'' diamond pattern, which is plenty close enough for bonded cotton batting like Warm & White or Warm & Natural.  I like to do all the diagonals in one direction, then when I am ready to do the diagonals in the other direction, there are no pins to impede my pace and the second half of the quilting goes a lot faster!

 Just repeat your stitching every other diagonal block going the other direction starting at the corner and working your way to the right (and turn it around to do the diagonals on the left side of the center).

Until you have all diagonals done - and then you can bind it!  I chose to bind with the cut-offs from the backing fabric.

 Don't forget a label!

Now you can sit back and enjoy this labor of love.  This is a heavy quilt, which I LOVE!

I would *love* to see YOUR finished Tiles quilt!