Phew. Marathon shopping, cleaning, cooking, clean up. We had a nine people to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Yes, it is Sunday p.m., and I still have some dishes that require attention.
At the end of the meal, I could barely straighten up. But everyone enjoyed themselves. All of the dishes turned out perfectly. My Black Friday, is sitting on my putookus and doing nothing...because I can't.
I'm a pretty accomplished home cook. On Wednesday a.m . I watched Chef Jean Pierre at 2 a.m. because I needed to make a crust for my Maple Pecan Chocolate Tart (my signature dessert found in Bon Appetite some decades ago). It requires 2 hours of refrigeration because it is a fussy, buttery thing. So of course, I was awake.
I found Chef Jean Pierre--most particularly, I found his video on making gravy.
Most TG gravy that I have either made or consumed has been crap. I watched this video, and I underwent a transformation.
I had made a lovely chicken stock for a side dish and for the gravy. I found this video, and it was transformational. Though he calls for 3 necks, I had but the one. But because I spatchcocked my turkey, I had a back. So I browned my turkey bits while I caramelized my onions (and then added shallots...another interesting lesson). I let that cook and cook. I then added the flour as JP does...and what a light bulb going off. Using a sieve (handheld), that you set slightly in you stock and to which you add flour and whisk, whisk whisk...you incorporate the flour in a way that that there are no lumps.
After adding the flour this way and gauging the thickness, (which I did perfectly with no further thickening agents needed), I let it cook on intermittent heat (gas stove) for several hours.
Never have I had or made better gravy. A f-💣game changer.
I'm pretty critical of the dishes that I make...all turned out perfectly.
And that sounds snobbish, though not meant to be. There are so many who are hungry in the world. If my mashed potatoes needed more salt, or if something needed to be cooked more or less....it is a shameful thing to worry about.
My gratitude for THIS holiday, that I had not more to worry about than such a trivial thing.
My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I believe that gratitude and compassion are the two most exalted elements of the human condition. The last few years have exposed several of the baser elements, and I hope the pendulum will swing back to a more balanced position.
I began cooking Thanksgiving dinner in 1986 or 1987. Both my mother and Mark's mom would fix Thanksgiving. And we went to both. And our bellies hurt. Though our travel was local, it was in opposite directions, one 30 minutes east, the other 30 minutes west. My MIL would find new ways to cook turkey, which involved cooking it the say before, and sometimes it would not be fully cooked. My mom would get up at 5 a.m. and start cooking the massive turkey for hours and hours and hours as was the custom back then.
Since we were the middle, I thought that it was time for us to be leverage our logistical advantage and give our respective mom's the day off. Hence Thanksgiving at our home for the last 35 years EXCEPT that in 2016, the year and month that my father died, I opted out of Thanksgiving. After a few months of helping my stepmom care for him, my night duties caught up with me. I needed to retreat. Either my daughter or sister in law had dinner, and my husband and son went.
With Covid, 2020, we just had a dinner for the three of us in our household. There were no vaccines, and I couldn't risk exposing my immune-compromised daughter or elderly father in law (last man standing of our combined parents) to the virus. It had already claimed lives of people that we knew.
So this year, feels like a fresh start from the tenuous, tentative gatherings. We are all vaccinated. I received my booster on Saturday. I think the one thing that I'm most grateful for is that there is a vaccine available. In my county, New Kent, VA, only 56% of the population is vaccinated. I wear a mask to the grocery store, indeed all places.
Our meal typically consists of the following:
Turkey (though I did forgo turkey one year and stuffed a pork loin)
Ham (typically country ham, but they are prohibitively expensive this year)
Sausage and Cornbread dressing
Homemade cranberry sauce
Scalloped oysters: I no longer make this as oysters are so expensive, and I don't need to spend 20 on a side dish.
Brussels Sprouts Hash with caramelized shallots.
Some potato dish
This year, I'm just doing sour cream mashed potatoes. In the past I have made a favorite, Turnip and Potato Gratin.
Sweet Potato Casserole (a new addition but only because my daughter makes it; it is delicious)
Maple Pecan Chocolate Tart
Sweet Potato Pumpkin Pie
I also throw in some different things. This year, I'm going to make Haricots Verts (Green beans) with Goat Cheeese and Warm Bacon Dressing. I've not made this in about a decade or so, and did so for a dinner party. Also an apple and kale waldorf salad. It adds freshness to an otherwise heavy meal.
And cooking for others is a great way to show gratitude to those who are in our orbit and suffer through our exalted and baser moments in life.
Megan at Tiny Orchard Quilts is a delightful teacher. She posted a video which you can see above, and which you can find here on the Economy Block (EB). She also has created PDF free downloads which are also available other places on line.
My first foray into Foundation Paper Piecing a couple of years ago made my brain hurt. You are working from the front of the printed side of the block to the make something happen on the back. That my brain didn't click for a while was frustrating. And when I thought I "had it" often my pieces would not fit, or got turned about. To see the shape of a thing and where it needed to fit, particularly if angular was problematic. Lee Henrich has a great video on that here.
As I am accustomed to doing, after I undertake a process and beat my head against a wall, I like to codify my learnings. I like the Economy Block because it offers one of the better ways, in my view, to use scraps in an organized, fluent way. It's a neat square, in square, square block.Further, the interior block can be designed so that it is a 4 patch (or more!), hour glass, HST, pinwheel. Further still, the EB can serve as the middle block in large block configurations...an Ohio or Sawtooth star for example. They can even serve as cornerstones in sashing. This block is particularly conducive to showcasing cut fabrics that have been fussy cut for the middle square.
It's also a good way to use not so well loved material that might come in a strip set or a fat quarter.
Imagine this block at the back your quilt in a sashed/banded row (or two) using your scraps from the font of the quilt. The best way to keep the scrap pile from growing is to incorporate leftovers into the back of the quilt.a
I have a number of scraps from the fat quarters used on the Prairie Quilt that I completed. I thought 3" EB's to be the perfect way to use them. (I put a solid back on, so did not incorporate them). My plan is to make as many EB's as I can from the scraps.
I chose the 3" EB because the sizes that you need to complete the components works well.
Center Square 2"
Triangles-inside, 2" piece cut with a folded corner ruler to include the seam allowance.
Triangles-outside 2 1/2" piece cut with folded corner ruler to include the seam allowance.
I don't have an interest in working with anything smaller in such a block, but am happy to make a scrip scrap block from really odd bits.
After revisiting this charming, high-utility, versatile block, I want to present some of MY TIPS on taking some of the frustration out.
💡I'm a big believer in having the right tool for the job. At first I resisted buying an Add-a-Quarter ruler. My normal ruler just did not cut it. I had to spend more time aligning, and more pressure to steady the ruler. I bought the ruler, and I never regretted it. (I have all 3 sizes). Yes, you can use a regular ruler, but you have to apply more pressure to keep it steady. When you are making many of these that adds to hand fatigue in addition to additional time. An Add-A Quarter, nestles instantly, accurately. Specialty rulers that you will use again and again are investments: purchase once use for the rest of your quilting career.
The hurdle for purchasing a "stuff" for the quilting room is cleared by asking the following questions: Will it promote safety? Will it improve my accuracy and quilting outcomes? Will it make me more physically comfortable by relieving repetitive strain?
So here are my tips before getting started--they meet all the hurdles listed above:
Tip #1: Add a Quarter will make your life easier.
Tip #2: Dritz aluminum Easy Hemmer makes the perfect straight edge to fold back your patterns.
Tip #3: Newsprint works beautifully. I just bought some newsprint from Dick Blick in 8.5 x 11" reams of 500 sheets. Free shipping over $45..so I bought several reams and some Pima Pens which I use to mark fabric (does not bleed through when used on wrong side). (Deb Tucker suggested these, and they work better than other brands of permanent that may bleed).
Tip #4: Folded Corner Ruler: This ruler will allow you to cut your pieces from strips or small scraps in a size that you know fits. Saves time, and it does not waste fabric because it cuts with the seam allowance included. (More below).
I cannot stress this enough. Putting misshapen pieces adds unwarranted complexity. Take the time to get the measurements that you need for the size block and cut your triangles with the seam allowance. A little time spent here saves lots of time when you are setting your squares and triangles in your block
Tip # 5: Make registration marks on the front of your pattern that will BLEED THROUGH to the back so that you can set your first corner.
Tip #6: If you have a Sew Steady acrylic table, put a nightlight (mine is on a dedicated extension cord under it and have a light table.
Tip#7: Decobob 80wt thread (top and bottom) coupled with a Mircrotex needle work very well. The paper pulls away easily.
Tip # 8: Eagle Beak Precision Tweezers helps with pulling paper, threading machine, pulling thread from ripped stitches and any other precision need in your sewing room. Also work as a stiletto. I ordered a second pair as I need them at a couple of stations in my sewing room.
I want to expand on Tips #4 -# 5. When you are working with FPP it can eat up time. These tips are to help you be very productive.
Let's take a 3" Economy Block as an example. This block comes 4 to a page
Before you cut these apart, lay a ruler on the inside square and mark a small line 1/4" away from the inside square. You only need to do so in one corner on each block. Lay your ruler down once on the left, make two marks, one for each block, and then once on right, make two marks, one for each block. Then make the right angled marks in the opposite direction. You want to have lines that cross so that you can easily see the corner.
Why? When you turn your newsprint over, you have a beautiful registration mark to lay your first square. I used a fine line Sharpie as I had tested it and knew it would bleed.
And because we have followed Tip # 4, we have a 2" (min) cut square that will fit perfectly. Put a dab of glue on the center, align your fabric with the registration mark, you will know that you have full coverage for your seam lines. No muss, no fuss.
Update: I added a 1/4" line on the front to make these marks and then I used a sharpie to outline the corners. (preferred). You could also double side print, but the marks were enough off, that I abandoned. (I did this, and abandoned). Plus, if you do this, you need a pressing sheet as the iron and print do not work well together.
There are no further registration marks needed. Why? Because we know what size triangles to place. We simply center them on the block.
Now you have to attach triangles. For a 3" Economy Block your first set of triangles can be cut from a 2" (1.75" if you make your placements carefully) strip (piece, scrap). Use your folded corner ruler and line up square edge. The diagonal has the seam allowance so it works very well. I had leftover cuts from fat quarter after making the Prairie Quilt. You can see how effective the Folded Corner Tool is in making triangles for this project without any fabric waste. I had strips left over from my fat quarters, and I cut them to size (in multi-layers) to make the inside corners.
Glue basting is your friend here. With squares, we work with opposing sides. Put a small bead of glue on one of the sides (Sorry for shadows)
. . . and attach your precut triangle. You don't have to fuss with the light table, because you know that this will fit and you have perfectly aligned seam. Tap with a hot iron to set.
Do the second side. My triangle at the top looks weird as there is not clipped corner. The overhang will get trimmed off when you fold your papers over and neaten your 1/4" seam allowance.
I hope that you can see at this point, that you can create your own Henry Ford production run and make LOTS of these for the simple reason that you have glue basted and have no pins. Make them up, reserve the pairs for the opposing sides, and put both in a tray to sew and move on to other stages.
When you are ready to sew, just flip over and sew each side. You cannot really chain piece because you have to stop inside the block. If you have a machine that cuts thread (I do not), you'll really like this feature.
When you are done sewing, check and trim your seam allowance by folding back the paper (ensuring that both pieces are pointing toward the inside of the block). (This is where I use my easy hemmer metal edge and fold the paper over and put my add a quarter over and trim excess fabric.) You will be trimming corner overhang from your triangles and any excess seam allowance.
💡 Because you have pre-measured FROM YOUR SCRAPS, you are being economical
by not creating more scraps. Whatever you trim off here, you just
simply throw away (unless you are making stuffing with scraps).
When you are ready to move onto the next round of triangles, the other ones, press your block. Do not use steam as it will distort the paper. Many just finger press. Once you have attached all four triangles, your unit is ready for the final roun which is rinse and repeat. Glue baste again, opposite sides as before.
Set your triangles.
Flip and sew (when you are ready)
Brown Betty says bring it on.
I press these, and then trim. These are 3.5" blocks, and a square up trimmer for works very well. I'm using my Tucker Trimmer and trimming on the 3.5" block. Align on the outside edge of your foundation. Trim right and top, rotate 180 degrees and trim right and top. Then peel off the backing. You will have perfect little blocks ready to be conscripted into service.
Adopting these tips will make your FPP life easier. You will be. . .
taking the guess work as to where the first piece needs to go and eliminating the need for a light table for this block (other blocks will need a light "table") by making registration marks that will bleed to the opposite side of the newsprint/paper for the first piece that will allow you an accurate, frustration-free start;
efficiently auditioning/cutting fabric for squares and triangles that you know will fit without further trimming;
using glue basting to secure your pieces without slippage as you stage your work;
trimming wee bits off rather than chunks that have no further good use;
working with correct grain of fabric;
staging your work in discrete stages (cutting known sizes from your scraps for center squares, triangles) allowing you to manage your time effectively.
with your triangles attached onto several blocks, you can sew for a few minutes at a time and make headway. Just move your blocks into another tray for the next stage.
Thought 1: Basting and Topside Quilting: QuiltMavenDave was discussing quilt basting using homemade basting spray. Californiaquilts.com was where I first found the recipe and wrote a post about it which you can find here. The interesting information that he presented was this:
💡 Basting your quilt top to your backing, and then quilting PRIOR to basting the back.
To be fair, Dave was talking about doing this to a table runner. I thought, that I would give it a try on my most recent quilt. I had a number of Lemonyne stars that I wanted to do outline quilting only. The balance of the quilt was perfect for straight line. So I assembled my quilt in fourstages.
Stage 1: I utilized my design wall for basting (and I will never go back). I put the quilt batting up. I sprayed with basting spray. I also used some fusible web just because. I smoothed my quilt top over.
Stage 2: I outline quilted my stars on the top. It is nice, because you don't have to worry about the back at all. I had no problem with the scrim side of the batting getting caught on feed dogs etc. The lessening of bulk was noticeable and meant something when I only have 7.5" of throat space.
Stage 3: I put the quiltop up on the wall and smoothed with my garment steamer. I then flipped it over. Sprayed the batting (left half then right half) and effortlessly smoothed everything thing out.
Stage 4: Put the walking foot on and walked that baby through the ditches.
Thank you Dave.
Thought 2: Finding a way to better get the quilt weight supported. I've seen several quilt suspension systems. One is an arm that costs $200 per arm that clamps on your table. It looks particularly like the dog grooming arms that you can get for less than $30 each.
The key thing is the attachment. I was looking at spring clips. Nope. The traditional spring clamps require gorilla fingers to open. Having snapped a tendon in my finger, I don't want to risk exerting more pressure. Instead, I found these at Lowes.
Pony 2-in 3200 SERIES Spring Clamp
It clamps clean, is lightweight and that metal trigger releases it easily.
There are a number of different ways to create a suspension system. As we are DIYers (we physically built our home), we are comfortable with engineering a system that works for my space.
My sewing area is in the bonus room over the garage. I don't have aesthetic considerations because no one sees that room but our family. (Though if you looked at any other room in my house, you would see same lack of consideration). But it is a very nice room. All of my sewing furniture is cobbled together from furniture that I already had. My sewing machine sits on a Pennsylvania house solid cherry dining table with two extensions. I had to support the middle of the table because it started to sag. Dinner plates weigh far less than sewing machines (I had a serger and coverstitch on it as well).
So I have PLENTY of surface which is a luxury that many don't have. Our idea is to do an L-shaped bend of conduit (suspended from ceiling). It will be a bar that goes to the left of my sewing surface, front to back, and then will bend and go from left to right toward the midway of my sewing surface.
To the conduit, I will put 2" welded rings which will smoothly slide over the conduit. For the attachment of the clamps, I will do a combo of adjustable strap to which on one end it will hook to the conduit rings I will likely make an adjustable strap (I have webbing strapping and hardware) to which I will put a D ring. (You could do this with any material or paracord, but I like the adjustable element. I will then simply use paracord to attach the ratchet clamp to the strap. The adjustment mechanism on strap will allow me to easily change the height without re cutting/tying the clamp hanging material.
I think that this simple, but effective, quilt suspension system will allow me to more fully enjoy the quilting process. I will have to fight less, and quilt more, and be less sore.
My goal is NEVER to do a King/Queen sized quilt. I'm perfectly happy doing throw sized quilts and baby quilts. So for the throw sized quilts, this suspension system would be helpful.
Over the weekend I finished my LeMoyne Star Breast Cancer quilt. The genesis of the quilt was that I had received a yard of breast cancer fabric.
I didn't know what to do with it, so I decided I would make LeMoyne Stars the traditional way. I was determined to make this beautiful block and master y seams. I ended up with many blocks in 2 sizes, so I set them on point and framed them. I was very happy with the result. Below is a picture of the quilt top.
Since beginning the quilt, we have (regrettably) discovered a person in our orbit that would benefit from receiving the "strong", "courageous", Life" messages in the fabric. I bound it in a red dotted batik.
The pieced backing contains the same floral background and other stars. So a star studded quilt that I hope will bring comfort and a measure of joy to the recipient.
Mihály CsÃkszentmihályi wrote Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience in 1996. I have that book somewhere in my Deep Stack of books. If you are unfamiliar with his concept of Flow it is this (his own words)
"being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego
falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows
inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is
involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."
I believe that quilting, well really anything that we enjoy doing, gets us into a Flow state. It is one of the reasons it is so pleasurable. Where am I going with this?
I find most aspects of quilting Flow-inducing. I like to plan the quilt, pick the fabric, do my engineering to optimize production methods, cut, piece iron. Voila! A quilt top produce.
Anti-Flow is @#^#$%&^ basting a quilt.
For the last 2+ years my preferred way of basting (because I thought the commercial spray basting stuff too expensive) was homemade basting spray. I then moved to using fusible web (in spaced strips). However, both methods require ironing.
My ironing surface is 24 x 48. Plenty fine for a baby quilt, not so much for something larger. My throw quilt that I made for myself tested my limits on my ironing board. I thought I had everything line up well. Ironed and fused. Ironed and fused. Ironed and cried!
Somehow I had managed to get the backing askew, and I ended up with a long thin wedge of batting that was not covered by backing. I fixed it. And frankly, none could look at the back and know that such a mishap had taken place. But what a pain to fix.
I decided that there must be an easier way to do this on my design wall. YouTube is my go-to for all quilty problem solving. There were only a handful and a half of videos on this method.
I broke down and bought June Tailor Spray Basting. It was at Walmart, and it had the lowest price point and good reviews. It does require that your substrates be all cotton to wash out (v. dry clean!). I tested on my batting because I could not remember if my batting was 80:20 cotton/polyester. It was fine.
Here is my method. I'll take pictures and update this post or write another on my next quilt.
This method is a GAME CHANGER. It will allow me to do my Swedish Death Quilting very efficaciously!
protective coverings for your design wall/floor (newspaper, old sheets, etc)
Ventilation (or a complete disregard for your safety). I just opened a window, and I did not find it noxious.
Step stool to reach higher regions of your board. I had an aluminum painter's bench that was just groovy.
if you are out of shape, you might be sore after doing this stepping. Know that it is good for you. But mind your safety and if you have a physical impairment or balance issues, this may not be a method for you. But you can certainly direct an able bodied soul in your orbit...so don't give up.
Note: several show spraying the fabric and then applying to batting. The JT sprays calls for spraying batting which I think is preferable, and what I believe works just fine for other sprays as well).
Method: (You will need to perform these steps to both sides)
Put your wall and floor protections in place and increase ventilation to area that you are working in. If your machines are close to your wall, cover them.
I had some upholstery fabric--bought at a roll discount 20 years ago!) that I will NEVER use. I used this fully cover my design board.
Put your batting square up on the wall using pins.
Ensure that you know which is the front and which is the back and match accordingly to your backing/quilt top.
remove any creases. I used my garment steamer. (I haven't used it in 10 years or so!) You could use your iron against the wall, but that is not a gravity fight you will win.
Mark the center of your batting. (I notched top and bottom)
Don't spray yet
Line up your fabric so that it sits square on your batting (straight on sides and top is level)--and that the center of the quilt aligns with the center of the batting.
Pin top as necessary.
If you are using a steamer, you can steam all wrinkles out of fabric and ensure you are aligning things well before you adhere. You can also use your iron.
Treat the center of your backing/quilt top as a hinge.
Working with 1/2 of the width fabric at a time, fold the fabric onto itself at two corners, right sides together.
the center fold should align with the center of your backing.
Spray the batting per mftr's instructions top to bottom on the exposed 1/2 of the batting.
Unpin the corner and open your door, placing the corner of your fabric on the opposite corner. Your fabric should be opened fully and your top straight.
Don't smooth anything down yet.
Using a straight edge (or your hands, but I found a straight edge preferable), work from the center of your top (where the "hinge" was) to the outside edge.
ensure that your horizontal and vertical seams stay straight.
Using our straight edge, work from the top down.
Once you are satisfied that all is right in the world with that side, rinse and repeat on the other.
Work from the center out.
Ensure that all vertical and horizontal seam lines are straight.
A Youtuber posted a video on problems he was having on HST construction. He was looking for help. He was perplexed because the HST's were die cut (Accuquilt), yet when he was assembling them, the block was not coming out as planned. That my very first quilt was nothing sort of disasterous was a GOOD thing. Why? Because it sent me down the proper road of determining what I was doing wrong. As it turns out, everything.
If one's block is not assembling as expected, it is going to be due to the following:
Incorrect cutting
Inaccurate piecing
Inconsistent seam line
not straight
not scant enough
too scant
too wide
Stretching from bias
in handling
in piecing
in pressing
Incorrect Pressing
stretching bias
leaving a fold in the fabric
For this YouTuber, I carefully viewed his video panning of his project frame by frame. It satisfied my OCD tendencies to figuring out problems. I shared these observations with the Youtuber.
Here's what I found.
Issue 1: Incorrect alignment and sewing. Look at the picture below. These are two halves of die cut HST's. I put arrows at problem points.
The HST has the obvious issue that it is not lined up correctly. The left hand side does not match (so there is a left to right shift, and the top right corner is shifted down. None of the bottom fabric should have been visible on a die cut piece. And anything on an diagonal is going to compound. Further, the seam line should have gone directly through the point of the white fabric (which it does not because that point rests below the blue fabric.
💡 Worth noting that if these blocks had been cut slightly oversized (e.g. size of finished block + 1"), then trimming down (using the closed method!) would have fixed this issue. I presume that Accuquilt die cut HST's aren't trim friendly as they are die cut)
Issue 2: Imbalance between fabrics in diagonal. This issue is a continuation of the problem from above.
Notice that the corner of the HST is not evenly split. When you are joining two fabrics that must meet in a diagonal: the corner must be evenly split between both fabrics. There is no balance. As these are die cut HSTs the issue is simply the issue that is expressed in the first image: The seam line should be going through the point of the white fabric...it is going through the point on the blue, but night the white. Again, poor alignment is the blame.
Issue 3: More incorrect alignment:
There's 2 issues here. First issue is of course all that blue peeking out from beind the white. But also, I can see that the selvage is included and is askew. It's the askew that means that the block will be off grain.
I pointed out these observations to the Youtuber, and I hope that they offered some help. (However, I will not visit this site again as I didn't even get a thank you for my effort). In his case, he was stating that he was getting unexpected results (e.g. blocks not aligning as expect) in fact, he got exactly the type of results that any of us get when the issues noted above happen in our work--(and had the hubris to think that he should contact Accuquilt to let them know something was wrong with the die cut). Yes I get pi$$y!
And in my first quilt, I had all of those issues and more. So much so, I was so far out of alginment on my on points blocks that I had to put a pocket on the quilt to cover it up.
Over the weekend I finished the Prairie Quilt, a free pattern my material girl. It is a 72" square quilt. I simply stitched in the ditch and some additional straight line quilting. I was tired a sore from maneuvering the quilt through my domestic sewing machine.
The binding that I chose and premade I reserved. It was an off white with the quilt color in a line design. but it was too washed out. Thankfully I found a nice maroony-red which was perfect. But extra work and time. I cut my strips using my Stripology ruler and used my CG Folded Corner ruler to trim and sew the mitered ends together. I use 2.25" strips.
I sew to the back of the quilt and then roll forward to the front. This method requires extra care with the mitered corners. The mitered corners typically always look great on the original attachment side (e.g. the backside after you flip). My corners ended up perfect. (For a change--seems like one of the four arm wrestles me!).
Once I attached the binding to the back and ironed the seam and binding flat, I took care bringing it over. I used fusible web (1/4" to get the binding to lay flat on the front. Securing in the fashion assures that the binding stays put as it is securely fitted prior to a needle even piercing the binding. Using the binder attachment with the seam guide scooted my needle over 3 clicks. The seam guide followed perfectly on the binding flipped edge, and I had a perfect edge stitch. I slowed my machine down. I have found it too easy for the work to shift and end up with NO stitch on the binding (in the ditch). I used my stilletto to guide the work all the way into the needle.
I put a sunny batik on the back of the quilt. I was really happy how it turned out. I will wash it and gift it to my step mom.
I'm going to coin the phrase, "Swedish Death Quilting". Dövaddsticka or is it Dökvilta? Who's to know? Anything you say in Swedish sounds darn cool!
You are familiar with the term, "Swedish Death Cleaning" or döstädning. Essentially (I'm paraphrasing) it is "putting one's house in order" BEFORE one's demise and imagine the dispensation of all the objects in your universe after you dispatch to the Netherworld.
If you looked upon my home you would realize that I have not been a practioner. It is simply a concept that rattles around in my head. I have lived in the same home since 1985, so that many years of stuff that has Velcro-ed to me.
I'm beginning my 3rd year of quilting. Most of the quilts that I have done, I have given away. Most of those were baby quilts, and I've made many. They were the perfect entre into quilting. I see that many quilters who have been at this a long time have many quilts. I have one.
Nevertheless, I have a lot of fabric, and I want to ensure that I work through it and don't have piles and piles of it when I leave this plane of existence. As I was cleaning up after the tornadic activity on my modified betwixt quilt, I pondered my fabric stacks.
No one in my universe would be interested in this fabric. I have a knack for being interested in things that not a soul in my orbit has an interest in! It will be reduced to a Goodwill auction. (Hopefully not a landfill!) And there is no shame in that.
Who among us has not enjoyed our good fortune at finding the a death bounty in the thrift store--furniture, books, clothing, FABRIC? Occasionally I find yard goods.
I'm working on modifying my KanbanFlow for quilting. I use it for my work, and I think that it an excellent prospect for managing quilting UFO's. More on that as I move forward.
All 63 blocks are done and up on the wall. I still have lots more work to do.
I was tinkering around with the Marcus Fabric's free quilt pattern, yellow sky. Like I did with the Modified Betwixt, I experimented with just light an dark blocks v a melange of fat quarters. This is what I came up with. You could do several combinations...such as red/white, black white and come up with an easy, attractive quilt.
I've learned many things from the internet. Everything I learned about quilting I learned from the internet--so many gifted teachers. I was tempted to say "know" v. "learn" . However, we learn by watching, and truly know by failing and successively failing better.
My current project has allowed me to "know" a few things.
Knowing 1: Consider the block above. The center is a 9 patch of 1" finished pieces. It's quite a few !#%#$^& seams. The flanking blocks are 3" finished. There are so many seams in the thickness of the middle block that I need a wee bit more scant than normal to clear the size of the block.
Knowing 2: My current worry is that a I have very small margin for error on the corner blocks, specifically the small white triangle. I am likely going to clip my points short. While my test block worked out well, over the course of the 256 flanking triangles I that had to piece, I'm a hair short. I may be able to work with this when piecing my blocks together.
Knowing 3: Unsure about this, but I'm sure I'll get about 3 more "knowings" once I piece the darn thing together.
Knowing 4: Use of gated foot. I have a Bernina gated foot which is wonderful. It is built in a fashion (and priced accordingly!) so that the gate has a spring that allows it to move over the terrain of your seams. Magnificently engineered. Because it is engineered so, it does not drag or snag on your fabric. In making the endless HST's and QST's in this project, I elected to omit the sew lines and just use the diagonals. That's 4 less lines that you have to mark. Yes, I know that there are methods you can use where you put your diagonal on marked 1/4" offset, but that does not work for large squares where the line is occulted by the fabric.
Here's my gated foot in action. I let the gate ride directly on the line. It is far easier for me to guide the fabric against the front of the gated foot than the side of the foot. Because I put dabs of glue on my fabric to hold it together, there are no pins, no distortion. Plus I assembly line the joining, marking and sewing. When you don't use pins, you can stack up great mountains of assembled stuff to sew, and then chain piece away without removing one pin. (Yes, I'm evangelizing the benefits of glue basting). Time saving. Accurate.
Design Wall Move: I'm very happy with my design wall move. I had to move around lots of stuff, but I'm liking that I have a more room to move. To stay organized, I like to put my cut pieces in a plastic bag with an index card that tells me how many and for what. Now that my design wall is behind my cutting areas, it is very easy to do that. I just cut, put in bag and label, and pin them to the wall. I have two-pronged jeweler's box pins that are sharp. They hold "stuff" up on that board wonderfully without putting too much pressure on one point...which means your good pins do not get bent.
Labeling Quilt Rows: Take a look at Carol Thelan's excellent video on labeling quilting rows. I was so enchanted with this method, I bought some plastic key tag rings from Amazon to duplicate.
All of my Ohio Stars are done. I also managed to make a whole bunch more hourglass units than required. Not sure what happened there. The production of this quilt is nothing short of a grind.
My inner Henry Ford has been busily making adjustments along the way. My best modification has been on my HST's (8 at a time), is to cut the bilateral sections only, trim closed using the trim measure on the triangle base seam line on both corners and then cut. As it is a larger piece, it is easier for me to trim--and there is more under the ruler so it is more stable. When you are working with 2" trimmed triangles, you can see how I was inspired.
I worked an insane amount of time over the weekend on this project...and still have far to go. I am reminded how folks in sweatshops had to work. Not that what I'm doing is a sweatshop...but I was very tired from all of the cutting and sewing.
I plan to try spray basting on my design wall. But I had to move my design wall (easy to do as it sits in an aluminum rail that keeps it stable at the bottom, and it just leans into the wall. I need more space to maneuver. I've never tried commercial spray basting as 505 seemed very expensive. But if I can get this tor work well, the convenience will more than make up the expense. I did buy some June Tailor spray which was much cheaper. HOwever, you cannot use this with polyester backing and expect it to wash out. Mine is 100% cotton, no worries. But I made a test with a test block to see how it will wash out...just to be sure.
Viewed yesterday (11/06/2021). I have a singular Hermit Thrush (I have Wood Thrushes in the summer), that overwinters. S/he knows that they will get fed suet and mealworms over the winter. They do not eat seed.
I'm waiting on the White Throated Sparrow.. I hear a call a couple of weeks ago, but I've now spotted one. We typically have about 20 or so that overwinter.
I decided to test a couple of methods in constructing my square in square (diamond in square as some call it). Here's the block.
This block finishes at 5" (trims to 5.5).
Center Square Cut = 4".
HST Square to make the corners was 3 3/8" as exact measure. I used 3.5". Deb Tucker's method has you cut a 3.75" square and then cut on diagonal. I used a 3.5" strip and used my folded corner ruler and cut the triangles. I'm not sure if one method is better than the other.
I used my Deb Tucker's Square Squared Ruler to make the first square. She has you cut a 4.25 strip and then you trim away 1/4" to get 4". She does this to get a perfect cut, but I think it is unnecessary. Just cut a 4" square and all will be right with the world.
Her ruler is in two pieces. It has the benefit of having registrations to help with fussy cutting your middle square.
Her ruler has great marking for the center square. As with all of her rulers, true up is a dream.
For the non-Deb method, I used my Antler Designs folded corner ruler. The way the ruler is marked when you line the corner up, you have diagonals that are running from upper left to lower right...so it lines up perfectly with the square diagonal. As you can see these lines, which are 1/4 inch spaced, help you trim a multitude of stuff , to include flying geese.
It's a very useful ruler.
Conclusion: Both methods yielded slightly oversized, easy to trim/square pieces that were perfect. No difference between either of the methods except for a little more nominal trim. The square squared tool is not necessary, but is helpful to those who don't wish to grub around for cutting sizes, etc. And it solidified that this method of attaching triangles (no matter how fashioned) is far superior to the pattern's recommended oversizing the center square and oversizing squares to mark and sew a diagonal and then cut off the excess.
And yes, you could foundation piece, but I don't believe that method yields any benefits over the above two.
I see that the last block on the 3rd row was pieced incorreclty.
I have to make 19 of Block 1 (cross) and 13 of Block 2 (Ohio Star). I wanted to get all of my cut pieces pieced into blocks. I'll be back at it making the patches for my blocks.
I'm really happy with this quilt though. I think that it is beautiful.
I am captivated by Laura Berringer's (designer of my beautiful Paisley Pallette that I'm using in the Modified Betwixt Pattern) Yellow Sky Quilt Pattern (free download).
I am reviewing the pattern to achieve two important objectives:
Objective 1: Determine the tools and techniques that I plan on using for the construction of the blocks.
Objective 2: Determine how I can use fat quarters for my Featured Fabric (FF).
(All of this to keep me from going willy-nilly into the project.)
Note that this is a free pattern; accordingly, nothing herein is being co-opted from something that any would have to pay for.
The pattern consists of 20 nine patch blocks finishing at 15" in a 4C x 5 R configuration. Abbreviations used below. FF = Feature Fabric; BF = Background Fabric
Let me take you through my thinking on this. (As I write this post, this is my "thinking out loud") which will help me plan.
Block 1: 1 Sawtooth Star measures 5.5 inches square comprised of
(4) 1.75" squares (BF) in each corner
(4) 1.25" x 2.5" flying geese units (FF Sky; BF Goose)
4 at a time method will be used. The pattern called for traditional way which creates waste of both time and fabric.
4 x method
(1) 4" (BF) for the goose
(4) 2.25 (FF) square for the sky
(1) 3" middle square (BF)
I'm considering making this (FF)
Block 2: 4 5.5" Square Split Rectangles comprised of
(4) 3" x 5.5" (BF) rectangles
(4) 3" x 5.5" (FF) rectangles (need 12 x 5.5 piece from fat quarter)
If I were sewing this from yardage, I would cut (1) 3 x 22" (5.5" x 4") strips and sew these together and then subcut with with my Stripology ruler. I'm going to evaluate my fat quarters to see if what I intend to use could accommodate (how straight is my fat quarter?) could do this from a fat quarter, but it would have to be no selvage and cut straight.
Block 3: (4) Diamond (Square) in Square 5.5" x 5.5" comprised of a center unit and 4 triangles. It is also known as an Economy Block when other triangles are added.
There are several methods to construct this unit:
Folded corners which this pattern uses. Attaches a 3"x3" square with a diagonal across it on a 5.5" square Sew on the diagonal. Cut 1/4" seam. Discard the rest. I find this wasteful, so this method earns a big "Nope" from me.
Foundation Paper Pieced. I created a PDF for you here:
Center square of 4" (FF) + (2) 3 3/8" (BF) HST's: I plan to use this method. I may cut a 3.5" strip and use my folded corner ruler to cut the units. That will give me a little extra to square up.. You can find at Quilter's Paradise a nice calculator for Square in Square. They have great tools and the website calculators should be on your speed dial!
As you can see, you would Cut a 4" ( a full 1.5" less than the pattern calls for)center square and a (2) 3 3/8" squares (v. 4 3" squares) cut on the diagonal to form HST's for the outside triangles.
I have Deb Tucker's Square Squared ruler which I may deploy for this. I've never used it. But for sure my backup plan will be the method above.
I will not lie...this quilt is taking a mind/hand/eye numbing amount of repetition of cutting, piecing, sewing, pressing and rinsing and repeating.
I'm fortunate to have a large sewing space above our garage (attached to our house). I have a large design wall (made from 8 x 48 foam board duct taped together and covered with batting). I use jewelry 2 pronged pins to hold up quilt tops when I'm crafting the backing (e.g. pieced). But individual blocks stay up fine so long as the ceiling fan is not on high!
While I work I like to binge watch programs. Yes, I could look at something educational...but I spend tons of time working my brain...so binge watching is q guilty pleasure
Update 11/21/2021: I can no longer get to this website, so I presume they are no longer in business.
I said that I was not going to buy anymore fabric this year. I lied. I found this great website, https://www.fatstackfabrics.com/ It came up on my feed, and I clicked on it. I always check out sales stuff on fabric retailers. However, I'm largely unimpressed when compared to the values that I get at Hancock's of Paducah.
I hopped over the Fatstack, clicked on their Super Sale, and I think wiped out much of their inventory! I was very impressed! The fabric is priced at 1/4" yd increments or as fat quarters. They offer free shipping over $35 which is much lower than most fabric places. Not only was the inventory I was interested in on close out, there was extra 15% off. This type of purchase offers the ability to build a stash of fabrics inexpensively. I will definitely be a frequent flyer there.
Reference: Most premium quilting fabric is $10-12 per yard.
Fat quarter bundles vary in their pricing (non-discounted). If I can get 12 fat quarters for $20 ish, that is a good deal. I recently purchased 2 bundles of Nancy Rink's Las Flores at $19.99 for 12.
It's a beautiful range of colors. As a reference one Etsy seller was selling 6 for $18. It pays to shop. And there are so many beautiful fabrics, I'm happy to choose closeouts. I don't care if I ever buy Kaffe Fasset or Tula Pink, as everyone uses them.
Back to Fatstackfabrics....
I procured 9.75 yards for $4 per yard.(though some of what I ordered was refunded as not in stock). Nevertheless, I call that a win. I rarely buy fabric unless it is discounted. And finding premium quilting fabric at $4 per yard is a score. I like to take my savings and buy useful tools that make my quilting life easier.
You can do so many things with small blocks of fabric. I'm not much of a scrappy quilt person, but I have lots of scraps, and I WILL use them. (I put my in scrap shopping bags).
But making mug rugs, postcards, hot pads...all useful, needful things.
Order summary
SALE 30%+ OFF - Purl - Embroidered
Floral - Black × 4 1/4 yd increments EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$0.76)
$5.04
$4.28
SALE 30%+ OFF - Mad Tea Party - Down the
Rabbit Hole - Blue × 4 1/4 yd increments EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$1.01)
$6.72
$5.71
SALE 60% OFF - Rows - Taupe
White × 8 1/4 yard increments EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$1.49)
$9.92
$8.43
SALE 40% OFF - Marcel Watercolor Dots -
Brown × 1 fat quarter EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$0.18)
$1.15
$0.97
Spooky 'N Sweeter - Crossed Bones -
Day × 3 1/4 yd increments EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$0.45)
$3.00
$2.55
SALE 40% OFF - Serenity - Dark
Taupe × 2 1/4 yd increments EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$0.35)
$2.30
$1.95
Spooky 'N Sweeter - Stars Aligned -
Treat × 5 1/4 yd increments EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$0.74)
$5.00
$4.26
SALE 30%+ OFF - Aquarelle - Anemone
Study - Midnight × 12 fat quarter EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$1.16)
$7.80
$6.64
Full Moon - Ravens × 5 1/4 yd increments EXTRA 15% OFF SALE (-$0.74)
(Countup timer above courtesy of http://www.javascriptkit.com/)
Leisa-land is not meant to sound nor be presumptuous. Rather it is my online space where I describe and reflect upon my offline world. The topography of that world is contoured by the circumstances of my life which I share in this space. Thanks for visiting.
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