Scraps at Work

The monster sized Pineapple Blossom quilt is finally a top!

These are all scraps, but I decided to do it very color controlled, while still using all the colors. I started out years ago with crayons and graph paper. I figured the quilt easily enough, and I made the quarter blocks in a timely manner, but it languished for a while after that. Eventually I dug it out and sewed the quarter blocks into big blocks, but then it got set aside again. I dug these out about three months ago, and it's FINALLY sewn into a top. Now that it's hanging in the quilt closet it will get into a basting spree, and eventually it will get quilted. I'm not in a hurry to finish it, but I am SO relieved it's a finished top! 

I've made a Pineapple Blossom before, the last one I finished was a red/green Christmas quilt which was much easier than one. I have another started, which is completely random color placement aside from the neutral corners. I don't have any imminent plans to work on that one though, even though the pieces are cut and some blocks are made. 

^This is the next quilt to be assembled. The 3" nine patches were leftover from a wedding quilt I made a few years ago, though I did have to make a few more for this quilt. I would have loved to make this quilt a bit bigger, but I ran out of both the white and the pink and green floral, so this is the size it will be. I have just enough of another fabric I backed the last baby quilt with to be the border of this quilt, so this quilt will be the end of three different fabrics. 

This is the stack I ended up with of the larger squares from my late sister's knit shirts. After counting them up, I have just enough to make two rag quilts, but I didn't buy enough flannel backing so I'll be ordering more. 

Now that I'm down to smaller pieces, it gets trickier. The other things I'll be making will be traditionally pieced, and mixed with her other items of clothing which are not stretchy. I'll be adding fusibles to stabilize the smaller knit pieces so they'll play well with other fabrics. Nothing I'm making is difficult, but there is more prep work when working from clothing. 

This is my birthday week, so I'm not going to work myself ragged, and after getting that quilt top together I kind of think I deserve a break. Matching all those sashings took a lot of brain power. 

I still have so much to work on, lots of prep to do for upcoming quilts, and I've got one quilt ready for binding and one I'm almost finished quilting. I think for this week I'll likely just take the time to work on whatever I want to, and not give myself any deadlines. 

Stay healthy out there!

Non-Quilty Sewing

This is one of those weeks that is deceptive. It feels like I didn't get much done, because I don't have any serious progress done on a quilt. The thing is, I was busy all week. 

I made 16 new fitted facemasks. Most of the fitted masks I make have a casing, and when I give them to people, I just include a length of elastic. They can decide if they want ear loops or around the back of their head, or if they want it to tie I just tell them to use shoelaces. I find the fitted facemasks quite fiddly to cut and sew, so these actually took two days to make. 

One of my grandsons is autistic, so it's an extra challenge getting him to wear a mask. I did some fussy cutting on his masks so he could have some of his favorite things on them. 

I needed to get some burp rags made so I could mail the second baby quilt. I spent some time making burp rags this week. I ended up making 23, which is more than I needed right now, but I spent the time to sew up some that had been cut out for a while. I try to keep a stash of burp rags and a couple baby quilts on hand, to give as quick gifts if the need arises, Those closest to me, usually get a specially designed baby quilt, but sometimes I am just too busy to fit it in, so having a stash of finished baby quilts comes in handy. 

I had purchased the burp rag die for my Studio cutter, and this was the first time I got to use it. The shape is the same as the burp rags I've been making for years, but the dimensions are a bit different. I'll be cutting more burp rags soon, because I pulled out all my flannel not large enough to back a baby quilt, but large enough for burp rags. I was thinking about the flannel scraps as I was cutting the burp rags this week, and since I'm wanting to simplify my scrap system, I've decided to only keep 4.5" squares of flannel scraps. It's really hard for me to toss fabric scraps, but I decided that since I don't make very many flannel quilt tops, and most of those are for babies, that size square was adequate. I've successfully mixed regular quilting cotton and flannel in the past, so If I want to do something else, I'll just mix it with quilting cotton. I'm not a big pre-washer or quilting cottons, but I ALWAYS pre-wash flannel, so the fact flannel shrinks more than regular cotton isn't an issue for me. I feel pretty good about my decision to simplify the flannel scraps as well. I have always kept my flannel scraps separate, and now I'll only need one container for them. 

I realized I was still procrastinating on assembling the quilt on the design wall. Now I've given my self a deadline. I need to have it a completed top by next Friday. DH has most of next week off, and he'll be busy painting his office and putting his new desk together (I can finally get my desk back!!!) 

Yesterday I finally finished the first of five rows.

The table it's on is 8 feet long, So you can see this quilt is a monster! 

I could have chosen to put the blocks together without sashing, but I like the look of the secondary churn dash blocks with the sashing and cornerstones. Once I had assembled the blocks with sashing, I was committed to sashing the entire quilt, or it would have looked weird. Since each of my pineapple blossoms is color controlled, I need to use sashing in the correct color family in each spot, but not the same fabrics as those next to it, so it's a tricky thing to do, and laying everything out is a necessity. It doesn't actually fit on my design wall though, so that makes it even harder. Once this is a quilt top, it can hang in my quilt closet for another couple years, I don't care, I just want it a top! I also need my design wall back for the next few quilts, and I refuse to take this quilt down without having it sewn together. 

My latest project to work on in the living room is rough cutting my sisters shirts so I can feed them though the Studio cutter easier. I'm finding the Stripology ruler a true blessing for this. Since these are knit shirts, I have to deal with stretching, and all the grip on the back of Stripology ruler that I normally don't like, is a huge help in this case. 

This is a step I could totally skip. It will make it easier to run them through the Studio cutter, but I  could just leave them and run them through that way. Making these quilts from her clothes is part of my grieving process though, and I need to do the process. If I rough cut the flannel layers and the shirts, I can layer them the way they'll go in the finished rag quilt, and then cut one block at a time, and stack them exactly how I need to sew them. It's worth it to me to do do some extra cutting now to have it easier later. 

I was feeling like I hadn't gotten much done, but I actually did. I also have another quilt over half quilted, so that's a win too! 

This Works, This Doesn't

Some things in my quilty world are just the way I want them, and they work beautifully for me. For example, the way I store my yardage (over 1 yard pieces) works fantastic for me. If you've forgotten how I store my yardage, or are new to my blog, here's a photo of it.

It's not normally so bright in the basement, but I have the curtains down to wash them. My fabric is in view, but behind glass to protect it from dust. I use my fabric best if I can see it. Totes of yardage would be forgotten around here. 

I've been tweaking the way I store fat quarters-1 yard pieces, and although I need to sort some more, I'm pretty close to a good workable system for me. Those pieces are folded in drawers and stored upright so I can see at a glance what I want. 

The thing I haven't been happy with is scraps. I have a scrap user system, and I've already learned if I don't pre-cut scraps at least into strips I won't use them. You may have a completely different experience and work habits, and that's great! The thing about finding what works and what doesn't is a completely personal thing. I've had a bunch of deadline quilts over the past few years, so many weddings, so many babies! Since I've had so many new starts, I haven't been using my scraps as much as usual, so last year I started a concentrated effort to bust some scraps. At this point I am almost out of 2" strips, only browns are left in strips. I still have overflowing drawers of 1.5" and 2.5" strips. I have lots of ideas to bust those sizes too, but I'm back onto deadline quilts for a bit. I am using scrap projects as my leader/enders for other projects, so even those are moving forward, albeit slowly. 

When I've busted the majority of my scraps, I'm open to a new way of dealing with scraps, so I've been researching how other people deal with scraps. I watch Pat Sloan's YouTube channel, and found out she only saves 2.5" squares. I have several go to patterns I use for squares, but I realized I would quickly get tired of making scrap quilts if that's all I used. If I didn't produce as many scraps as I do, that might be more practical. 

I saw other blogs and watched other videos where people save all the pre-cut sizes. They save 2.5" squares, 2.5" strips, 5" squares, and 10" squares. I have quite a few quilt books based on pre-cut sizes, but aside from the occasional jelly roll, I rarely buy pre-cuts. I started thinking about why I don't buy pre-cuts (aside from the fact I already have LOTS of fabric) and I realized I don't like working with charm squares at all. Almost every unit you make with charm squares needs to be sliver trimmed, and I am not a fan of sliver trimming. Yes, you can cut a charm square into four squares and use the 2.5" squares in a four patch, but I'd rather cut those same squares from a 2.5" strip. If you need HST's from charm squares, you're always going to be trimming. QST's, you'll be trimming. I can make all of those units from 2.5" strips using specialty rulers with no trimming. I realized I just really don't like using 5" squares for much of anything. When I first started my scrap system, I did cut 5" squares. I went to the drawer they are in, and realized I've never really used any. THAT was helpful information! 

I took all of my 5" squares, and cut them into 2.5" squares, which I do use regularly. These were all cut from my 5" squares. The thing is, I had another container of similar size also filled with 2.5" squares. I needed a project for these to go into. 

I took both containers of squares, and if I had four or five of the same fabric, I matched it with another set and pinned it together so I can make these into nine patches. The bowl these are in is HUGE! I didn't count, but I bet I have enough nine patches for at least four quilts in here. Now instead of a drawer of 5" squares I've never touched, plus an overflowing container of 2.5" squares, I have leaders/enders to last quite a while, and this is what I've got left in my 2.5" squares.

I couldn't believe I had so few left that were only 3 or less of the same fabric! Usually I store the squares vertically in this container, but I had so few left I didn't have to. I have a couple UFO's that need 2.5" squares, but this size scrap adds up pretty quickly, and they aren't UFO's I plan on tackling soon, so I'm sure I'll have enough by the time I get to those. 

With my new realization that I don't use 5" squares, I went through my quilt books and pulled all the ones that focused on 5" squares. One of my grandsons was asking me for some more books the other day, and there is a used book store where I can trade in my quilt books and get him some books instead. I got him hooked on a series, and I bet they've got some of the next ones he needs. 

With all of my research into scrap systems, I haven't found one that sounds right for me. I think I need to look at it from a different viewpoint. I need to really think about what sizes I don't use, and stop saving those sizes. I think that's my best bet of finding what works for me, and what doesn't!

It's a little off topic, but not much. Here are a couple other things that work for me.

When I got my new Janome M7, the first thing I did was add a 3M Command hook to hold my scissors. My M7 came with a stylus (the white thing that looks like a pencil, if you aren't sure what one is) The stylus is for the touch screen, and although my finger works some of the time, the stylus does work better, especially if I have to touch a smaller area of the screen. I was trying to figure out where I was going to keep the stylus where I wouldn't keep knocking it onto the floor and I remembered the plastic things I bought to hold my charger cords at a better level. I bought this package and the square ones that hold two cords were just the right size to hold my stylus. It's tight enough to not fall out, but easy to remove. If any of you have a machine with a stylus that you've been having a hard time keeping track of, maybe that will work for you!

Sometimes I Surprise Myself

I'm not super confident about FMQ. I would normally place myself somewhere in the advanced beginner category. I think in reality, I must be at an intermediate level. Not all days go well, and on those I consider myself a hot mess beginner, but then I have things come out like this.

I'm not winning any awards for this, but honestly, I never thought I'd quilt this well. Drawing is not one of my talents, and I'm not even a doodler. When I draw pictures with the grandkids, mine looks a lot like theirs, but neater. 

Here's the completed quilt, and I really think the quilting was a huge win. All that pink background needed to be broken up, and I think the dense quilting in a contrasting thread was a good solution. 

This was the first time I've stitched out that design, and I mean the very first time. I never do practice samples. I'm quite happy with how it came out, and I learned a LOT. 

When I first started FMQ, I tried new designs on busy fabrics so my mistakes wouldn't show as much. That was a huge mistake! I've been FMQ for a few years now, and on this quilt, it really hit home with me that there was no reason to try a fancy design in the border, because although, my mistakes won't show, I also can't see what I'm doing! I meandered in the border, which was hard enough to see. There's no way I could have kept track where I needed to go with the flower design on that busy border. The meandering I did is a similar density to the design in the center, so it blends in just fine texture wise. 

I found it much easier to quilt on solid fabric in a contrasting color. It just made seeing what I was doing SO MUCH EASIER!!! I use multiple lamps while I'm quilting, my eyes aren't as young as they used to be. I have learned the more light the better, and I'm never using black thread on black fabric again. Grey is easier to see, and still not glaring against the black. I don't always want the thread to stand out, and I will try for matching threads, but I'm not matching as closely as I once was, on purpose. Thread even a couple shades off is simply easier to quilt with, and still not super obvious on the quilt. 

Another thing that was re-enforced while working on this quilt is any FMQ leads to better FMQ. I meander on a lot of my quilts, make that most of my quilts. All those hours of meandering have made parts of FMQ second nature to me. I don't struggle to get even stitches, I'm better at smooth curves. When I'm trying a new design, those skills learned doing a mindless meander come into play, and make ANY design I try easier. 

Another thing I was reminded of is regularly quilting any allover design makes learning a new one easier. You've already learned how to move around the quilt and get yourself out of tight spaces, whether the answer is a partial motif, a smaller motif, or simply an extra echo or two. 

Some of you are likely looking at my quilting, and thinking, "Wow, she's got a long way to go!" and you'd be right. I have so much more to learn. Others of you are afraid to try FMQ or just starting, and thinking. "I'll never be able to do it that well". I used to always think that when I saw photos of other peoples FMQ. The thing is, if you keep at it, someday, you'll be surprising yourself too! 

A Baby -sized Finish!

I finished one of the four baby quilts on my docket! 

I like to try new quilting designs on baby quilts, but since this was the first time I did any FMQ on my M7, I opted to just meander and get a feel for it. I didn't even do a practice piece. The M7 sewed like a champ, and I'm quite happy with how it came out.

I don't usually show the backing fabrics, but this one had been in my stash for a while. I bought the Celtic Angel fabric to make a skirt for DD#2, and the skirt never got made. The angel motifs are such a large size they were hard to use in a quilt, but I had just enough to make the backing for this quilt! I had to piece it in four pieces to get it to fit the top, and it was really close, but all I have left is one 6" square that's going in the scraps. 

I made the blocks for this baby quilt last year, so it counts as a UFO finish too! My count didn't go down any though, since my original plan was to make one larger quilt, and I made two baby quilt tops from the blocks. They other baby quilt top is a top, but I have no plans to quilt it soon, so my UFO count remains the same. 

I've started quilting on the next baby quilt now too. This one is a new start. Now that I have a feel for how the M7 does in free motion, I felt comfortable trying a new design. All of that pink background needed to be broken up, so I chose a green contrasting thread to quilt with, and I'm quite happy with how it's coming out. I've got more quilted than this now, but even baby quilts take me 3-4 days in one hour quilting increments. 

Since I've been in the mood to assemble quilts, I dug out an old UFO, that will be finicky to assemble.

My design wall isn't big enough for this king sized quilt. I have 25 large blocks, which need color coordinated sashing in between them. I'll have to piece each section of sashing separately, with cornerstones, and sew those onto the blocks before I can actually start assembling the rows. Only the top three rows are on the design wall. Once I have the top two rows together, I'll move the third row up and lay out the bottom two rows under that. I have to be able to see the block next to it to make sure I don't choose matching sashing pieces to the last row in each block. 

I did get that basket of blocks pressed. I ended up with 84 black blocks, and I'm making the neutral blocks as my leader/ender project right now. Once I have all of those blocks made, I'll dig out the other colors I have, and figure out what I want to do with them. 

I said I'd take a photo of the sewing room with the vintage machine up in it. Having the vintage machine in a folding table is going to make it much easier to use this as a backup guest room. I've got a folding TV table next to the folding sewing table, but this works well, since I can just fold up the tables, stick the machine and projects in the closet, and I've got space for an air mattress in just a few minutes. 

While I was dealing with scraps from one of the baby quilts, I came up with what I hope is a good idea for some leftover units from a wedding quilt I made four years ago, so I'll be working on that as I get a chance too. As usual, I've got tons of projects going, but I am seeing some turn into quilt tops or completed quilts, so I'm happy about that. 

The house drama continues.

Our front yard is raised and someone hit our retaining wall. Our neighbor saw the whole thing. Someone was teaching a kid to drive, and when the kid couldn't make the turn at the end of our dead end street and hit the wall, the adult took over the driving and took off, rather than knocking on our door and taking responsibility. Hitting the wall was a bummer, but DH thinks he can repair it as long as we can find these not standard sized concrete blocks. What disappointed me was the response the adult in the situation had. It could have been a great teachable moment for that teen about taking responsibility for your actions, and instead he gave the teen a clear message to avoid responsibility. We have other people hit things before in multiple houses. We've had our mailbox taken out three different times over the years. I always feel better about making the repairs when the person responsible took the time to apologize.