Friday, September 29, 2017

Block 9 of the Growing Up QAL

Getting this block done just in a nick of time!


Growing Up QAL September quilt block

This is the September block for the Growing Up QAL, hosted by Alida at Alida Tweloq Designs.

The block skill this month uses bias tape applique, and before jumping in, I played with color arrangement in EQ7 so that I could maintain the red/white/blue theme.

After sewing the background pieces together, a 1" cream WOF strip was made into tape for applique. I did not make bias tape because I was not going to form the tape around any curves. A straight WOF cut is fine here.

Using Clover's handy-dandy tape maker tool, 


bias tape maker

the 1" strip made a generous 1/2" tape. 


half inch bias tape maker

Next time though, I think I'll use a bit wider strip, 1 1/8" or 1 1/4" because the folded edges are a bit narrow, and they don't touch in the center. For pressing and sewing purposes, a bit wider strip would have been nice.

But no need here, as it was short, straight lines.


half inch tape applique

So were am I in this QAL? Here's all of my blocks so far, one for every month except for two in February.


Growing Up QAL blocks 1-9

Quite the great array of blocks! Let me know if you're making these to - it's fun to share!

Happy Quilting!



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Monday, September 25, 2017

Jess

Presenting Jess,


Jess, another quilt for Making Connections

Joy's little sister from the Making Connections Blog Hop, earlier this month.

Ready for a ton of eye candy? 

Here's the center square,


Jess quilt, center square

and also a side view.


Jess, side view of quilted center square

Next up, a few closeups of the negative space around the pinwheels.


Sparkle Crosshatching in negative space around pinwheels on Jess quilt

To add a bit of sparkle to those pinwheels, there's a little extra stitching in the crosshatching.


Sparkle Crosshatch quilting closeup

A bit closer shot.


Sparkle Crosshatching quilting closeup

And closer still!


Sparkle Crosshatch quilting

Sparkle Crosshatching closeup 2

Interested in how these negative spaces were quilted with the Sparkle Crosshatching? Then take a look at the video, which follows the creation of the seeds, the crosshatch, and the sparkles, all in one continuous stitching sequence. Who can resist sparkles?




For more detail pictures, and two more videos on line quilting as a fill, check out Jess - Quilting Continued
Happy Quilting!




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Thursday, September 21, 2017

Let It Snow Snowman

Welcome to my day of the Christmas Carol Row-along 2017, hosted by Marian at Seams to be Sew. Introducing Let It Snow, one of my favorite Christmas carols.


Let It Snow Row

Having spent my formative years in New England, I have fond memories of watching the snow fall, and seeing it piled up on tree limbs. And building my share of snowmen!


Let It Snow snowman


Mr Snowman certainly likes seeing the snow too,


Let It Snow row bottom half

and like most of us, holds out his hand to catch the falling flake.

Fortunately, he has several chances to catch one, as the snowflakes just keep falling, each one different from the other.


Let It Snow snowflakes

The offset wave quilting adds to the feeling of falling snowflakes, with a few little flakes tumbling along with the bigger, appliqued ones.


Now there's an updated Let It Snow pattern, which includes instructions for a border to make a wonderful wall hanging. Or just use it as the row - your choice! 

Enjoy the hop! 



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Monday, September 18, 2017

Making Connections Video!

The Making Connections Blog Hop is officially over for Dorie Hruska's book, Making Connections - A Free Motion Quilting Workbook. (affiliate link)




I really have enjoyed both the book, the hop, and especially the quilting. From the straight line quilting on the prints, to the quilting in the negative space,



Joy quilting from Making Connections book

to the motif in the squares - everything a perfect fit.


Joy square quilting motif


Want to see that motif in the square stitched out? Then check out this free motion quilting video from my Youtube channel, with close up stitching of the design, including the curl and leaf. 




Easy, effective, and a perfect design choice to compliment the rest of the quilting.

And in case you're wondering about those blue lines - they are there for reference only, and spritzed with water immediately after quilting.

Inspired with design possibilities? There's certainly a lot that can be done with a simple shape!

Happy Quilting!




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Friday, September 15, 2017

Joy

The wait is over - I've teased you enough - introducing Joy


Joy quilt by QuiltFabrication




my creation for the Making Connections Blog Hop.



Composed of quick and easy half square triangles, the design is perfect to showcase the quilting from the Making Connections - A Free Motion Quilting Workbook (affiliate link)by Dorie Hruska.



Making Connections - A Free Motion Quilting Workbook

With so many designs to choose from, I decided to keep it light and airy for this quilt - and the effect has paid off! Ready to see more? Then here we go!


Joy quilt center
                                                The center


Joy quilt negative space design
                                 Designs in the negative space


Joy quilt center and negative space
                                Another closeup of the center 


Joy quilt side view
                                      The center to the corner


Joy quilt backside
                                                  The back


Joy quilt square motif
                                            And a motif in a square

Just looking at these pictures makes me ohh and ahh - and I own the quilt! Really - anything is possible with the designs in this book.




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Friday, September 8, 2017

A Quick and Easy Way to HST's

Looking through this year's quilt gallery, I've certainly made lots of HST (half square triangle) projects this year.

So how about a tutorial on making multiple HST's from yardage? We're talking 8 HST's from just two squares of fabric - say what??? Yep, that's right  - two squares=eight HST's. What an incredible time saver! And we all want to save time so that we can make more quilts, right?

So let's go over the following handy-dandy reference chart for making any size HST for your project.

HST Size Chart


HST size and cutting chart

The first column, "Finished HST size needed" is the HST size after it's sewn into a quilt top. 

The second column, "Unfinished HST size After Trimming" is the HST block size before it's sewn into a quilt top. 

The last column, "Size of 2 Squares to Cut" is the size of the starting two squares needed to make 8 HST's for the required finished size. 
Please note: This is an over-sized square which allows for seam width errors. The resulting HST's will require trimming to the proper size, as given in the second column.

My quilts for the Making Connections Free Motion Quilting Workbook use 5" finished HST's. Following the 5" row on the chart, I'll make 5 1/2" unfinished HST's, like these below,


half square triangles

starting with 2 pieces of fabric, each 12" square. 


two squares to make eight half square triangles


Now the fun begins!

Mark guidelines for stitching
On one square, place a ruler corner to corner, and with a pencil, mark a diagonal line.


mark first diagonal line

Rotate the ruler, and mark the other diagonal.


mark second diagonal line

Pin the squares together.


pin squares together

Stitch a scant 1/4" seam on each side of the line.


scant quarter inch seam

This part goes really fast - nothing like zipping through straight line stitching!! Zoom zoom!


hst stitching


Make the first cut
Place the ruler vertically, with the edge in the middle of the block, and lined up with the outer edge. Make the cut.


hst cut 1

Make the second cut
Lay the ruler horizontally, again with the edge in the middle, and lined up with the outer block edge. Make the cut.


hst cut 2

Make the third cut
Place the ruler edge along one drawn diagonal line, then cut between the stitching.


hst cut 3

Make the fourth cut
Rotate the ruler to the other drawn diagonal line, and make the cut in between the stitching.


hst cut 4

Open the HST's and press 


eight hst blocks

Trim the HST's to the correct size
Be sure to line up the diagonal lines of the block and the ruler. Below, you can see the block is a bit larger than 5 1/2", and will trim to be perfect!


hst trimming

And there you have it! Multiple HST's, easily made, and trimmed to an accurate size - the perfect ingredients for a well constructed quilt!

Happy Quilting!