August 2014 Quilt Night

August 26, 2014

Hello Fellow Quilters.  We had a wonderful meeting at Laurel’s house on August 26^th.  I think we set a record for show and tell. There are many lessons learned and tips and tricks scattered throughout this BLOG entry so keep an eye out for “TIP:”

Stacy started off with showing us the quilt-as-you-go Disappearing 4 Patch quilt she created for her son to take off to college. The hippo Stacy used for the label has significance for her son AND of course when you go off to college you need a matching pillowcaseJ.  The quilt is a long twin and if you look near the hippo you can see the quilting.

TIP: Next time Stacy will not quilt as she goes… unless she uses the sashing technique. Kathleen is REALLY glad she didn’t quilt as she went for the king size quilt she made.

    

Stacy created a Disappearing Hour Glass block. It must be magic – 4 patches and 9 patches can disappear also.  She took on the challenge of using cool colors. The two purples look gorgeous together, Stacy.

Stacy has been busy this summer, she also created a portable project carrier (Quilter’s Sidekick) using a pattern from Jinny Beyer Studio: www.jinnybeyer.com.  Notice it has place to store the pattern, pieces and has a small design wall.  The elastic band can function as a design element and to keep the Sidekick closed. She uses it for the Little Jane blocks she hand pieces while chauffeuring her daughter. Not to fear she doesn’t sew while she’s drivingJ. The hand piecing is done while she is waiting. 

  

  YES! Stacy made the purse, too.

David, my hubby, and I (Kathleen) pieced this king sized quilt for a friend. The pattern is called “Pin Curls” and is designed by “Me and My Sister Designs”.  You see the scrappy quilt (without sashing) on the cover of the pattern:   http://meandmysisterdesigns.bigcartel.com/product/pin-curls-quilt-pattern-3039-pdf-pattern

Jody was up next with a puffy sheep, a super hero cape, and a blessing outfit.

I am not sure what the puffy sheep technique is called… other than “WAY COOL”.

You are not likely to see this cape still again once Jody’s two year old grandson puts it on.

Now for the blessing outfit.  WOW! Jody made ALL the lace (of course).  She made LOTS of pin tucks in the bodice (if my sewing terms are creeping out of the recesses of my brain correctly).

If you look closely at the bottom, Jody took different size tucks.  I am always in AWE with Jody’s handmade lace.

Laurel made several receiving blankets and shared this really NIFTY KEEN idea to make the blanket stiches even.

TIP: Laurel stitched the two sides of the flannel together with the blanket stitch on her sewing machine.  That became the guide for the spacing and stitch size for her embroidery which became the basis for the crocheted edge. Brilliant idea, Laurel.  Thanks.

No two blankies were edged the same.

Laurel also made some quiet books for her grandchildren to make car rides more fun. The pages have wonderful textures and numerous fasteners.

In the “next time category”, Laurel shares this suggestion -

TIP: Embroidered titles don’t show up super well on busy prints.  Next time she plans on putting the embroidery on a plain sheet of fabric and then attach that to the cover of the book.

Krista has been busy, too, making quilts. She used color selections which were out of her comfort zone.  ALL the quilts were backed with Minky (of course). TIP/REMINDER: Minky is not JUST for childrens’ quilts.

Look closely and you shall see the fun flower quilting patterns between the bumps in the Minky.

This is a really soft and pretty combination of fabrics.

Quilts were not the only thing on Krista’s agenda this summer.  She made a sleeping bag for a doll and several really quick and easy table runners.  We’re hoping she will show us the trick on how to make the pointy ends of the table runners at an upcoming meeting.

Krista made this block and received several “thumbs-up” on her color selection.

It will look good with its ‘friends’.

Krista also went away for a few days with her sisters this summer. They each planned a craft Pinterest project to share. We thought that was a great idea. Here is a close up of the blanket stitch and crocheted edge of a pillowcase they made at their retreat.

Lorraine is making a Disappearing 4 Patch with her nine-year old granddaughter.  Grandma is cutting.  Granddaughter is doing a magnificent job of sewing straight seems.

TIP: Lorraine used a vinyl table cloth with a flannel backing to transport the quilt. It worked quite well when it is all rolled up. Notice the fabrics that will frame this fun quilt.

Lorraine and her granddaughter’s bright scrappy “Disappearing 4 Patch” looks significantly different than Stacy’s “Disappearing 4 Patch” which was designed with 3 colors.  Here they are side-by-side so you can see how different fabric choices create a totally different affect while using the same pattern. Sharon, yes we still discuss colorJ

A link from March’s blog for the information on how to create your own Disappearing 4 Patch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA-10A_Uc6k)

Caren has two beautiful Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilts in progress.  She is creating the quilts entirely by hand. She uses plastic templates from Picking Up the Pieces in Ohio http://quiltpati.tripod.com/ These hexagons are 1 ½” on each side.

Quilt top #1 is done! The answer to the question “how to bind this beauty” is yet to be decided.

Number 2 is in work.  Notice the origami flower centers that Caren has included (AND the plastic pieces on the right side).  TIP: Caren finds the plastic templates make it “easy” to whip stitch the hexagons together.

And for contrast, here is a hexagon frame created with paper pieced templates next to the quilt Caren created using plastic templates.  Stacy made the red hexagons with paper templates which she prefers.  We thought Stacy’s hexagons would make great frame for Christmas ornaments.

Kathleen’s Parting Thought (for August): I believe that the debate of “paper vs plastic” will endure as long as the discussion of “whether to wash the fabric before piecing it”.  I believe both debates are unlikely to be resolved.

Laurel got a second turn for show and tell.  She showed us her jean quilt which also uses bright fabrics.  We had a discussion about which scissors will leave your hands hurting less after all the clipping to create this rag quilt.

See ya’ll on September 23^rd at a home to be determined.

Upcoming Quilt Shows in the Bay Area:

September 25-27: Quilt Craft and Sewing Festival at the Alameda County Fairgrounds

October 16-19: PIQF at the Santa Clara Convention Center. There was a discussion that this might be the last PIQF at the Convention Center which is right across the road from the new San Francisco 49ers stadium.

March 2014 Quilt Group Meeting

(I know I should have brought my camera...if you have photos of your items mentioned below, please email them to me and I'll add them to the post below. Thanks!)

We are sorry we missed some of you at quilt night this evening. We were sure happy though to have Stacy back with us and one of Lorraine's friends Sandy join us. 

Lorraine brought a pattern that used the Lil Twister Pinwheel Tool (click on the picture to take you to where you can buy one).



She showed us all her bright fabric choices with a black background and had us help her pick out the best options for her quilt. It should be stunning and we can't wait to see the results Lorraine! Here is a link to the Illusions pattern she brought: http://quiltbug.com/patterns/twister-quilt-patterns.htm

Stacy brought a quilt she is making for her son who is going off to college this Fall. He picked out the fabric (blue, green, and gray) and the pattern for it. She is using a Disappearing 4-patch design that makes a really neat sashing. 

(Here is a link to a YouTube tutorial on how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA-10A_Uc6k)

She also told us of a place we had not heard of before for online fabric (correct me if I'm wrong Stacy) Marshall Dry Goods http://www.marshalldrygoods.com/.

She is going to quilt-as-you-go to finish it off. We hope to see it finished at a meeting before he takes it off to college with him. She also completed a Square in a Square quilt for a niece that is off to college this Fall also. I loved the combination of orange and turquoise!

(I found this that was similar to her Square in a Square: http://sewcraftyjess.blogspot.com/2010/12/quilt-pattern.html)

I showed off my Japanese Knot bag that is reversible and would make a great little tote for when you don't want to lug around a big purse. Great for young girls too. I've attached a picture of some I made last week.

Jody showed us the Disappearing 9-patch flannel baby girl blanket she is making for an upcoming grandbaby and she is going to surprise us and let us know if she was daring enough to put the "Star Wars" text fabric on the back. I think she should! :) She also showed us a "pot holder" (I put that in double quotes for a reason) top that is very small applique that is so uniquely Jody as she likes to work in miniature. Kathleen was right that I don't think it should see the bottom of a pot! :)

So that was it for Show & Tell...

We then watched this great episode of Quilting Arts that taught about the Disappearing 9-Patch quilt piecing technique and also clever way to make a hexagon quilt from circles. I really have to try it!

http://www.quiltingdaily.com/blogs/qatv_series_1300/archive/2013/12/20/quilting-arts-tv-episode-1308-quilting-simplified.aspx

We finished off the night with some root beer floats provided by Jody. Thanks Jody for letting us borrow your house this month! We hope to see you all at our next meeting on April 22nd.

August 27, 2013

Let the show and tell begin

Jody showed off the doll blanket that she stitched two rows of satin ribbon around it.  She didn't have to cut the fabric to stitch the ribbon!  She alternated (offset) the ups and downs of the two rows of stitches.   Jody noticed that stitching the edges stabilized the fabric so it didn't stretch too much.  To secure the bows at the end there were two suggestions: glue 'er down or bar tack it with thread. Which did she choose?  Come join us in September to find out.

We thought that this would make a good project for young sewers - especially if they made a scarf!  By the time seamstresses are old enough to keep the ribbon 'flat' they'd likely be out of the baby doll phase.

 

Jody also showed us the quilt she made for one of her grandsons.  It has a fabric in common with the quilt his brother has. If memory serves me correctly it is the blue fabric in the middle of the stars. 

 

 

 

Michelle made a beautiful wall hanging using shell fabrics.  To hang the quilt she glued shells on the dowel.  Brilliant!

 

 

See the seashells glued to decorate the dowel.

 







Michelle echoed the beach theme when quilting











Next Michelle showed us her 1600 quilt onto which she appliqued sunflowers, a bird house, and a bird bath.  She quilted it using sunflower pattern AND put a special label on it.  It is lovely and will be adorning her bed soon.

 



 

Laurel showed us her fancy foot work - sewing feet that is.  She created these beauties with fancy stitches and stabilizer

 

 

She also shared a couple really cool binding techniques that involve piping or a narrow border.



 

 

 



The corners come out crisply



 If you look closely you can see the piping.  Laurel has a spiffy ruler that has a groove for the piping and the edges come out really straight when you apply the binding.... speaking of which....

You don't need to place strips at 90 degrees to create bindings .  Laurel will explain in person again.

I (Kathleen) remembered to bring the quilt top that I assembled from Melinda's wonderful demo in June.   Thanks again for your excellent instructions.  I (we) hope you had a great time with the grandchildren.  If some of the fabric looks familiar I used some 'left overs' from a French Braid quilt my hubby (David) and I made as a wedding gift for my friend's daughter and son-in-law. They are in the proceess of 'fost/adopting' some children and I thought it would be fun for each child to have a quilt based on mom and dad's quilt.

Round 2 of show and tell

Michelle mentioned a new "app" that she put on her iPad called "You Doodle".  She takes a picture of her quilt and then doodles (auditions) different quilting patterns (and thread colors) to help her figure out how she wants to quilt her quilt.  Isn't technology grand? Join us September 24th to see a live demonstration

We were all admiring Michelle's gorgeous purse.  She made it.  We were all wrangling to have her give it to us:-)  Sorry the photo doesn't do the fabulous purse justice.



Kathleen's demo: How to strip piece an Around the World Quilt

Another quilt to make from 2 1/2" strips.  Two blocks give you a hint what the quilt will look like.

Sew six (6) 2 1/2" x 16 strips together.  There is VERY little waste.  Be careful. From a design perspective you might want a bit of contrast between the strips. Select a dominant diagonal color (in this case blue). That will be strip #1.  Press all the seams in one direction.

 

 Fold the fabric (right sides together) in half  (parallel to the seams) and sew the first strip to the last strip.  This will make a tube.

Yes... the seams are not all pressed in the same direction,  Translation do what what I say  not what I do.  Also you need to pretend this is 16" long.

Cut six 2 1/2" strips "across (AKA perpendicular to) the seams".  You will have six loops each 2 1/2" wide. (note: this just shows three)










Separate the first loop above the dominate color. Lay the strip down with the dominant diagonal color on the top left.  Look at the bottom two squares and separate the next strip between those two colors. (Pictures to come)


"Rinse and repeat" for the remaining strips (3-6). 


A tip from my friend who showed me this technique - sew the strips in pairs. Sew the first two strips together (placing strip #2 on top of #1). Place the even numbered strips on top of the odd number strip before. Strip #4 gets put on top of strip #3. Place strip #6 on top of strip #5. This helps keep the strips in the correct order and seems to keep the seams straighter.

When there is an oops: In the picture on the left you can see on the right side of the bottom square that I didn't separate the blocks correctly.  The blue is on the bottom but the purple is out of place.  It was not the end of the world.  I reassembled the loop and cut between the bottom two colors of strip #5 and all is well.

After I finish this quilt I will try it with the red/white/black fabrics for my friend's children.

See ya'll September 24th at Laurel's.