On to borders

This is the first string quilt. I started this one about 5 months ago. I made two sections and quilted each then seamed them together and did the quilting in the middle. Now I'm adding the borders. I pieced the borders for the long sides . Place the border section on top of the quilt top. The backing and the back and then the quilt batting behind it. I stitched my seam the length of the border for that side and turn the pieces into a sandwich. Then laid it out to be pinned to do the quilting.   

As you can see the gray is the fabric in the cornerstones of the quilt top. I wanted a stopping off point to encompass the center of the sashing borders so that is why I used a narrow white tone-on-tone white fabric. It makes a statement by saying this is the end of the sashing and this is the beginning of the borders. Yes I heard it talking to me. Don't you talk to your quilts? HAHA....

I stitched in the ditch around the white border and then I stitched in the ditch between the blue and gray border strips. Now is when I over think the quilting. Do I do something simple because this is the part that drops off the edge of the bed. Or do I get crazy, but this is a utility quilt. So common sense won out and grid stitching is what it ended up being. I didn't mark it because I eyeballed it between the rows of the design on the blue fabric. Hey it works for me.   

I carried it through the gray so all is going to lay down the same way and hopefully will shrink all the same when washed. Yes I wash my fabrics, but this is a 80/20 Hobbs batt. They do shrink some. 

This is 30 minutes of stitching so far and only quilted 1/3 of one side. Need to assemble the other sides to be sewn in place one at a time. Doing the quilting in sections it is less bulk under the arm of the machine. Less wear and tear on my shoulders and back also. With borders you can work just on the outside of the quilt edges and it makes the table around your machine do all the work for you. I stopped for lunch and then need to clean my machine new needle and oil it good. Batting makes a lot of fuzz. 

I picked up a lot of stuff today in the sewing room and getting ready to pull out another partially quilted quilt to get completed after this one is done. I'm going to try and figure out how to finish the borders on that one as I finish this one. Can't have an idol mind even though it is mush most days. 

36 degrees snow starting to melt, but almost 60 inches of snow isn't going to go away in a day. This is the second day above 32 degrees since last Oct.  Chris   

enough is enough

I think I have enough. No not angry just done with strings for awhile. This is an extra long twin bed and I wanted to make enough to make sure I had length. I will be adding a sashing between the blocks because of all the seams.

There are 115 blocks made. Not saying I won't add a few more to balance things. I will start with the quantity  I have and see how far it goes. I need to get some of the mess cleaned up because I can't stand the mess any longer. 

Today after a little cleaning I plan on getting borders cut and attached to the other string quilt and get it started on the final finish. Quilting needs to happen and I can't wait to get another one finished.

I think I have 5 tops that need to be quilted or finished. One at a time, but pick the ones that can be done in a day or two and work through the pile. Hopefully your day is productive. Chris   

No sewing to speak of, but 5 inches of snow to shovel

Yes the dreaded 4 letter word happened again yesterday. Along with rain and sleet. We can't seem to get a break. Tomorrow we get rain and snow mix. They are saying with the warmer temps flooding is going to be a big threat this year. We live in NW Illinois and all the snow from Wisconsin melts into the Mississippi River and the Rock River we live on and it all ends up here.

Grandkids were here for a 3 day weekend and were to return home yesterday, but the weather was to bad to travel. The police were demanding people to stay put and not travel. So they need to get back to their Mother's today.

So today I need to get some more cleaning done. If I do a chore everyday then sew I feel better about it.I have a catch-all counter that is overflowing. Stupid that things get set there, but it is my fault. I also have a drawer with paid receipts and bills in it that needs going through. The other thing is a cabinet that storage containers are in . You know the leftover containers that when you open the door they fall out. That is becoming an real sore subject between my husband and myself. I think we need them and he says we don't.

Little things like that take 5-10 minutes to do, but get put off. Today maybe one of them will be tackled. Because when the weather is nice I will be outside and that kind of stuff will be forgotten. Have a Great Day. Chris  

Some progress is happening

My sewing is happening, but I've been running on fumes. Not a lot of sleep for several days. Last night I got 6 hours which is better than 3-4 hours.

This is an ender and leaders project. Stitching a few each day. The good thing about it is they make 16X16 inch blocks when completed. I am not rushing to get it done, but as it progresses into a few more blocks it is getting more attractive to me. I can see this with a light weight batt and a light colored backing on it for a Summer weight quilt. Reminds me of an English Flower Garden with wandering paths.

This looks so traditional a quilt pattern. Many times they were finished without borders. All the pieces leftover from making clothes for the family. Then it was just a quilt to keep the beds covered. To me a utility quilt means lots of work and yet it was busy work between cooking and cleaning.

Traditional patterns took some thinking to produce. Many were geometric designs, but they didn't have 3 or 5 fabrics to make a whole quilt. They had pieces. Small pieces of their lives.

Do you remember a quilt on your bed or your grandmother's bed with pieces of their lives all sewn together for a collage of their history? I do and wish they had survived, but sadly they didn't.

More snow, sleet and rain today. As little as 5 inches and as much as 7 inches. I know everyone has cabin fever and yet we have no control over Mother Nature. Stay safe and warm. Keep sewing. Chris  

Been cutting

First off I took some pics of the presser feet and how wide they are. This is not a true 1/4 inch foot . It is a straight stitch foot and there is a difference. This is the foot that came with the machine. It covers the feed dogs and it tracks fine when stitching, but it is 3/8 of and inch if you measure from the needle hole to the outside edge.  

This is the generic foot and it measures 1/4 inch from needle to the outside of the presser foot. So this is a true 1/4 inch presser foot. Hopefully this explains more.  

This is some of the stash I'm slicing up. It is from 2006. Large print and kinda ugly compared to what we see in fabric today. If I cut it up you see that it is a print, but not the big picture of a tropical tone-on-tone fabric. 

This is a 2.5 inch strip from the 44 inch width. It is looking better already.

This is a 2.5 inch cut off of this large print. Looks even different now

This is the 2.5 inch strip turned and ready to be cut into 1 inch and 1.5 inch strips.

Now when it will be cut and sewn into what ever pattern it will still look even more like it wasn't that big ugly print. Look at your large prints differently can increase your ability to make a different look ion your blocks. Chris

Do you have a stash plan?

This stack has been gone through. No it is not set back on the shelf yet in color coordinated stacks. That is coming soon. As I handle it I'm cutting up my squares, strips and decide if it needs to go to an applique bin. Sometimes things just get to small and end up in the waste basket. But it has to be pretty small.  

This is one wall that has shelves on them and the fabric all needs to be gone through refolded and stacked according to color families. 

This is one of about 18 tubs that has scraps shoved in them. All shapes sizes and prints. This was a way my granddaughter helped me clean up some of it. Now one by one I go back and try to clean up what is in them and manage some of this mess.  

Here is an example of another tub that needs attention. So little by little I am getting this handled. I need maybe another couple months, but as we speak it is snowing out again and we will not be going anywhere for awhile. Frost usually goes down about 10-14 inches in the ground under the snow. This year it is 45 inches down in the ground and March can be really cold. Many towns have underground frozen water pipes and it is really hard on families not to have water. Some heating systems use fresh water to heat with and there isn't water to help keep the houses warm. So this means that I will be slicing and dicing and watching the snow fly. 

In the earlier post I showed this picture. The foot on the left is the generic foot. It is the truer foot than the 1/4 inch foot sold with the machine. They are both made for the brand of machine I have. The correct foot for the 1/4 inch seam has a tendency to not track well with the wider feed dogs. This is why I decided to use the other foot and it made the block to small because it wasn't a true 1/4 inch foot. Measure you might be surprised what you come up with. Use the same markings either on your machine or remeasure every time you change machines. It will save a lot of headaches after hours of sewing and nothing matches up with previously sewn parts.  Stay warm. Chris  

My Valentine's Day

Last night the little Stinker came. She wanted Grandpa's juice so she had her sippy and walked over to him to rock.

She knows a sucker for little girls and cuddling.

After awhile she decide I was ok too. Grandpa got the camera out and she decided to wavy to him.

Grandpa was calling her nick name and she got to smiling. "Punky Pie"

Strings everywhere. Yes almost to my goal. I'm sure until later today I won't get to anymore. Dad has to go and get the older kids so Stinker will be here until they get back.

Neat looking block. It is square and all ready to be placed in a quilt Right?  No!

The blue block behind is one of the first ones I made. I cut them all out the right size. Remember I told you I  needed to address my seam allowance. Well I did. But it backfired. 

The block on the left I changed the presser foot. I used the foot for straight stitching that came with the machine. The needle position wasn't changed. Look at the difference in sizes. An eighth of an inch over each seam can change the size of the block real fast.  

Here is the presser feet I've used. The one on the left is a generic I bought for my machine for my brand of machines. The one on the right is the one that came with the machine. Look at the difference in the width of the feet. The one on the right is the one I tried to use with the red block and it is to wide. I remeasured and it is a different size. It does make the pieces track better, but I can't rely on the seam allowance at the edge of the presser foot. Lesson learned make sure you make a sample and also measure.

Comments in the past have surprised me that this hasn't come up before. You have a travel machine and a machine you use at home. Well as you can see how  same machine, but different 1/4 inch feet are different. Measure from the center of the hole on your throat plate and over a 1/4 of an inch and see where it takes you. I will take some pictures. If your blocks are not as large or to big maybe it is your 1/4 inch seam. Lesson learned. Measure........ Chris