What’s on my Design Wall May 30, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in crossword, designwall.comments closed
Saturday I got the top left quadrant sewn together. Sunday I received a call. One of the names is spelled wrong! So, my husband and I went out shopping. When we got home we put our heads together and found a solution. Now all I need to do is finish stitching the last few letters then get them sewn into the top.
I will NOT quilt this before the wedding Saturday. We are going to hang it in the reception hall and let everyone proof read it!
See what others have on their design walls by following the links over at Patchwork Times.
What’s on my Design Wall May 22, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in Candy Sunflower Seeds, Challenges, designwall.comments closed
We interrupt this quilting marathon ( Complete 10 quilts between March 16th – June 22nd) for a new quilt top – Candy Sunflower Seeds (I’m using the pattern The Chain Event by Dorothy Young).
Say what?!!
After the disaster I created quilting this quilt a few weeks ago, I had to back up and punt.
Thanks to S for ripping the quilting out. Anyway, I decided I needed to use a template on my curves and quilting in the setting squares and triangles. Since I hadn’t done that, I figured a “test” quilt was in order. Thus the new quilt top.
Of course, now I don’t think I need a test quilt. Yesterday I quilted the Neutral Strip Twist and I did half way decent considering I hadn’t done any template/ruler work previously.
Since I’m reporting, here’s the status of the marathon quilts.
1 – Dragonflies — Completed 3/29
2 – Miniature Ohio Star – Completed 4/19
3 – Crossword Puzzle – Still piecing – need at least the top 6/3
4 – BQ2 – Needs label, otherwise finished 5/14
5 – Summertime – 8 inches of binding left to stitch down, label attached
6 – Neutral Strip Twist – needs border quilted, etc
7 – The Chain Event – needs quilting (appt on 6/5)
8 – Victoria’s Rose – needs border quilted, etc
9 – Kansas Spirit – needs quilting (will do on DSM)
10 – Ribbon Candy – binding attached
There’s still a lot to do, but I’m confident that with the three-day weekend coming up I’ll be able to get it all done by my deadline.
Follow the links over at Patchwork Times – I’m sure you’ll find great inspiration and quilters who aren’t as crazy as me.
What’s on my Design Wall May 9, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in Challenges, designwall.comments closed
There’s several quilts on my “design ironing board” today.
First is this stack of quilts (5 of the 10 by June). The middle one I’m still working on the binding. The one below it and the one on top are ready for binding. The bottom quilt I need to quilt the borders. The second one down – well, it has some issues and will be meeting the seam ripper as soon as I figure out how much needs to be ripped.
But quilting was not all that I got done this past week. I finally got all of the fabric cut out for the Crossword Puzzle quilt.
I can’t decide if the color is good on this picture or not. As I was finishing up the cutting, I was grouching to myself about how “orange” the fabrics were. I had a fluorescent light shining on them. I cut that off and turned on my Daylight light and the color improved immensely.
The strips will be sewn into sets of 4, then they’ll be cut with the Go! cutter as well. Only then will I be able to start assembling blocks. This quilt is the next one that has to be completed, so it becomes the priority.
See what others have on their design walls by checking out the links over at Patchwork Times.
What’s on my Design Wall May 2, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in Challenges, crossword, designwall, Summertime.comments closed
This week I have my Turning Twenty Again that I’m calling “Summertime”. Several years ago during a FQ sale at my LQS I picked up a bundle of Venetian Glass. At the time, I thought “What was she thinking, some of these are ugly.” I LOVE how they all work together. I guess it’s true you need some “uglies” in your quilt to make it sparkle.
I finished the quilting on this Sunday afternoon.
I’m not sure how well you can see the quilting. It’s pretty basic quilting — wavy diagonal lines. I was having the worst time finding something to mark the quilt that I could see. Then I decided to use painter’s tape.
I put several lengths on my cutting mat, then cut both sides using my wavy ruler. Then I put it on my quilt top and quilted around it. Worked like a charm — and no marks to wash out!
Now I’m working on the binding. I normally machine stitch my bindings down, but this one simply wasn’t working — so at the moment I’m stitching it by hand. No telling when I will finish it, except it will be before June 18th. This is one of my 7 10 by June quilts.
So, up next is the quilt is the crossword puzzle quilt.
I bought a few more reds at the quilt show yesterday. Since it was right before closing, they let me pick the FQ from two different bundles. This is what I have so far:
Not all of those fabrics are FQs — some are just barely F8s. I think that piece on the far left of the bottom row is going to have to go. Other than collecting the reds, I’m at a standstill on this one. My friend V is letting me borrow her Go! and I’ve ordered the 7″ Drunkard’s Path Go! die, but it hasn’t gotten here. I don’t want to start cutting the fabric until I have an understanding of the die. I’ve got a great visual in my head of this quilt, so we’ll see how it translates to fabric.
Don’t forget to check out the other great design walls by following the links over at Patchwork Times.
What’s On My Design Wall April 25, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in designwall, miniature.comments closed
I’m in the process of stitching down the binding — by hand. That’s not something I normally do, but I wanted a narrower binding than I usually use. I hope to have the binding and label on later today, then into the wash so hopefully it crinkles up.
Check in with me tomorrow or Wednesday to see the completely finished quilt and to find out why I took on this challenge.
In the meantime, check out some more design walls by following the links over at Patchwork Times.
What’s on my Design Wall April 17, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in designwall.comments closed
It’s mini stars for the mini quilt I’m supposed to have finished by the 28th (1 of 7 by June). Actually they aren’t so mini. These are 265% larger than my original mini stars. Originally the stars were going to finish at 3/4″, but since I put off finishing the quilt, I’m going bigger at 2″ finished. I’m still having to rip out a bit, but it’s much faster to make the larger stars and the finished quilt will still meet the guidelines. I suspect it will also be easier to quilt.
Only 35 more to go.
Follow the links over at Patchwork Times to see if anyone else has a crazy project like this on their design wall.
What’s on my Design Wall April 4, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in Colorworks Dresden Plate, designwall, UFO Challenge 2011.comments closed
Woo Hoo!! I finally finished my Dresden Plate quilt. It was February’s UFO Challenge Quilt.
The fabric for the plates started out life as a skirt my mom made for me in the early 1990’s. I loved that skirt. But an elastic waistband on a longer skirt and a rolling desk chair just don’t mix well. I rolled over my hem and attempted to stand up one too many times. Putting the fabric into a quilt apparently has not solved this problem. As I was binding the quilt, I rolled over the end of it and got tangled up.
This is the back of the quilt.
I’m working on a pillowcase to go with the quilt. Right now I’m leaning toward a black case with alternating blades and a narrow gold trim.
I hope to get this pillowcase, and perhaps one for the Dragonfly quilt finished before I leave for retreat later this week.
To see what others have been up to follow the links over at Patchwork Times.
What’s On My Design Wall March 27, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in designwall, Dragonflies.comments closed
No piecing this week. I’ve got the binding attached to the baby quilt and hope to get it sewn down tonight. Then I’ll trim the Dragonflies and work on binding it. Stay tuned for better pictures later in the week.
In the mean time, check out the links over at Patchwork Times for great inspiration.
What’s on my Design Wall March 21, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in designwall, Dragonflies.comments closed
This past weekend I worked on my Dragonfly quilt. It still needs borders, but I need sleep more. After work I’ll get the rest of the borders on and perhaps get the backing pieced.
Isn’t this fabric perfect for the backing?
I’ve got an appointment in Butler on the 27th to quilt this top, so I’ve got to practice drawing dragonflies. While I’m doing that, I’ll ponder thread color. I have a spool of King Tut #901 Nefertiti which is Green, Fuchsia, Yellow, and Orchid. This is the thread that I used to quilt No Blue Geese in My Tropical Garden. It’s missing orange and turquoise. So, I wonder about using # 978 Rosetta Stone which is a Light Silver, Charcoal and Dark Silver – but the Superior website says this is out of stock, so that may solve the problem for me. There will be an outer black border and the binding will be black as well.
Follow the links over at Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.
What’s on my Design Wall March 14, 2011
Posted by Pam in KC in Bunny Wallhanging, Colorworks Dresden Plate, designwall, Fun with Bricks, UFO Challenge 2011.comments closed
There’s all sorts of things hanging about today on my ‘design wall’. First, I’ve finished the center of the Dresden Plate. It’s UFO #10 which was February’s UFO in Judy’s UFO Challenge.
Then there’s a single block from Fun with Bricks. This the leader/ender project I started in January. Last week I got impatient and started working on the quilt so I could mindlessly piece. I’m currently sewing the light squares to the pairs of bricks.
Not pictured is the border and binding which I cut for both the Dresden Plate quilt and the Dragonfly quilt. I’ll work on the Dragonfly quilt and Fun with Bricks at this weekend’s sew-in. With luck I’ll finish the Dragonfly quilt so I can get it quilted in the next week or two.
The big news is that I finished a UFO!
A friend gave me the quilt top (sans border) at a retreat two years ago. I didn’t know how I was going to finish it, so it sat on my Quilts In Progress list. I finally decided I wanted Easter Egg fabric for the border, but couldn’t find any that I liked. I bet I had a dozen bolts of fabric pulled out trying to find the ‘perfect’ fabric before settling on this light green with tiny white butterflies. I got my Easter Eggs though — it’s on the back. You can see a scan of both fabrics here.
I used the Faux Piped Binding technique from TCL Stitches tutorial. Who knew I would be able to use it so quickly. I think the tiny bit of purple sets it off nicely. I’ll get back to you toward the end of the month to see if I substitute this one for this month’s quilt. I think I tweaked my rules to allow for this….
In the meantime, check out the links at Patchwork Times to see what other quilters are working on this week.
Quilting and Stuff by Knitnoid 
