Archive for the ‘Piecing in progress’ Category

Do you know anyone who can drag out the assembly of a top longer than I can?

Last week

This week

A few seams each day and slow, very slow, progress is being made.

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Working with HeartStrings gives me the opportunity to work with tops assembled by many different quilters and while I’m not the quilt police, a nicely pressed top is SO much easier to work with.

I do practice what I preach — the back of the hourglass top is looking pretty neat — pressing as you go along helps the accuracy of your piecing too and although I make no claim to being a perfect piecer, my quilts are assembled pretty nicely.

I do suggest that HeartStrings tops have the seams pressed open which decreases bulk that comes from using a foundation.

Today I pulled out the Strips and Strings log cabin blocks I started at the Roberts sew-in and made some progress with them. My goal is to take at least two sets of of blocks for HeartStrings to GA with me this summer to assemble. I’m planning to be there several weeks and am lining up my projects.

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Just to prove I am making slow progress …

And some wonky feathers from the Pajama Quilter DVD on my Aunt’s fabric. Just 4 yards left to quilt and I hope to get it all in the mail to her on Wednesday.

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Bev coordinates our Maine sew-ins each year and has requested that we help her make star blocks for a quilt for a fundraiser to give back to the American Legion in Yarmouth Maine who allows us to use their log cabin free of charge for the week.

Now you may not know this about me but I NEVER participate in block exchanges because my blocks are always slightly undersized…. As Mary Ellen Hopkins would say, I have my own PPM (personal private measurement) and all my blocks work well together.

I’ve been thinking about how to participate. I wanted to “represent” HeartStrings in my block and have it a little oversized so I could trim it down to 12.5 inches, the requested block size. Luckily this allowed me to play with an idea that I have had for a while to combine liberated stars and strings.

My points aren’t meant to be overly liberated but they float in the square allowing me to trim the block down without cutting off the points and I’m not concerned with them being exactly the same, I eyeballed their placement rather than measured them. I’m not sure if this is what Bev had in mind but I’ve got 4 blocks for her.

I haven’t decided all the details yet, but the quilt I’m thinking of making will be scrappier in the background and will alternate a dark background with a light one. Like the one below, only scrappier. Much scrappier!

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Loving it! I’d call it Anticipating Spring if I could ever remember the fancy names I give quilts so I guess I’ll go with Green Hourglass!

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I’d promised myself I could start a new quilt when I got home because I’d finished everything on my to do list before the trip. I spent well over an hour in the sewing room after piecing a couple backs dithering over what to start. I wanted to use a limited color palette but didn’t want to worry about running out of the fabrics I had so it needed to be something I could easily add fabrics to.

In the end, I decided on an hourglass quilt. It won’t be quick but it’s an easy one to go in and cut/sew a group of blocks. I’m using my 4 inch finished quarter square triangle die so the cutting is easy. Accuquilt is now making custom dies for their GO cutter and I’m toying with the idea of getting a die made for a 6 inch finished hourglass block. That would be a great stash buster.

I’ve got a pretty green leaf print on a brown background to use for a border on this one and I may end up adding some browns to the center too. For now I’m just going to make blocks.

Of course, what I should be doing is cleaning up the sewing room. Chesty came up with me and curled up in the trimmings from the last couple quilts I bound … The batting pieces are still attached and I need to remove them before tossing the fabric in the string bins. I’ve also got a bunch of strings pulled out from the last top that will be used in the next one so I didn’t bother to pick them up. I’m such a slob!

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I’m in the process of sashing these blocks … The rows are together and now I need to add the horizontal sashing. I was determined to use the green dot as a border but now I’m pretty sure I’ll use about 4 inches or so of the same brown I’m using for the sashing just to frame the whole thing.

It was dark when I snapped the photo but even allowing for that the sashing isn’t going to be really prominent. Luckily I’m liking these blocks better.

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I guess every quilt can’t be my favorite and so far this one is not even in the running. The blocks are done and now I’ll start sashing them. Hopefully by the time the quilt is finished I like it more.

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I started a set of Courthouse Steps blocks from my string bins and as I put them up on the design wall I thought they were kind of blah set side by side. I’m not making them with a light and dark side so I decided they needed a narrow sashing. I have the perfect dark brown in my stash and then I’ll add a border from the green dot or maybe I’ll just use the brown. Once I get the blocks made I’ll decide.

I’ve got enough of this brown for a set of HeartStrings blocks too.

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The next item on the list of this month’s goals is to finish assembling the Bricks and Stones quilt. I’m so bad about procrastinating when it comes to this part and I had intended to assemble this top before the end of the year but participating in the HeartStrings sew along was much more fun. I made good progress today and will probably work on it a little while again tonight when Keith goes to bed but it’s Happy Hour now!

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