A New Start

All 12 blocks of the baby quilt are now quilted. I experimented with free-motion-quilting by button, i.e. I have a stop-start button on my machine and have never really used it. Takes some getting used to, but it's ok.

Mom left a generous amount of fabric around each block and I need to cut them all to the same size. I guess she was going to do a different sort of QAYG method than what I use.

So to do that, I needed to clear my cutting table. It's gotten a little stacked up. But, at the same time, my quilting group is starting to create quilts for the North Carolina Relief effort so OK I made a new start.

I found this very large deer panel in Mom's stash and she had also bought a lot of coordinating fabrics. And I mean, A LOT! Probably enough for two or more quilts. Golly!

After messing around (wasting time) designing in EQ8, I decided I am going to make a bricks-and-stepping-stones design around it (from Bonnie Hunter's free patterns) but mostly above and below it after framing the print with extra fabric so the blocks will fall correctly.

 I do really like this panel.

So I guess I need to name the baby quilt since it is almost a top. I think it's going to be "Baby Streak of Lightning QAYG."That's a mouthful!

The other one will be "Bricks and Stepping Stones with Deer." Hah! I am considering doing this one as QAYG also since the center is so very large.

I guess I now need to add them to my list of projects and count them up.

Free-Motion in Progress

So I have now finished walking-foot quilting all of the light halves of my 12 blocks. I started free-motion quilting the blue halves and I've gotten two done so far.

I really like how they are looking!

So I've added my pictures in huge size so you can check out the quilting! And also so I can look at them while I'm at work! <wink>

I used a beautiful yellow Isacord and a lovely Ricky Tims pale blue from Superior Threads.

Block 1

Block 2

I'm calling my walking-foot quilting "organic." I didn't mark and just eye-balled each line. Think Gees Bend.

Mom's UFOs

Well, digging in Mom's stash is bringing her UFOs to the forefront.

I needed some mindless sewing over the weekend so I started working on a QAYG baby quilt. She had cut out all the strips selvage to selvage, all the batting squares and all of the backing. Easy.

As of Monday morning I had the squares finished, pin-basted and two of the squares half quilted.

Unquilted Stack and the back of one showing

 I just walking-foot quilted without marking and without trying to be too OCD about perfectly straight quilting. Looks cool!

Two squares half quilted

I'm planning on doing free-motion quilting on the other half with purple thread and swirls. But that requires re-threading so I will do all the walking-foot stuff first and come back and do the free-motion stuff later.

I guess I need to add this UFO to MY list now.

This morning I got four more quilted so I'm half done with the walking foot stuff. YAY!

A Finish (x2)

I have two finishes and finally got a couple of pictures to prove it.

My 5-inch D4P (disappearing four-patch) baby quilt is DONE! I conquered the bias binding so I could get the stripe like I wanted it. It looks like a stick of juicy fruit gum!

I recently taught a class on QAYG (Quilt As You Go) at my quilting group and made this little table runner to teach the technique.

Side 1

Side 2

It was funny. I was looking up a pattern for someone else in the group and found an article by my favorite author of QAYG techniques in the exact same magazine.

The article was found in Quiltmaker July/August 2003, No. 92, beginning on page 58. The article was called "Turning the Tables" by Sharon Pederson.

So I made the runner along with my students to show the techiques. There are three full 10-inch blocks and four triangles to create it. A 14-inch square of batting cut diagonally twice creates the fill-in triangles of batting. So it can be done with scraps of batting. It would also make a nice present in a hurry.

On another note, I planted moon flower this year for the first time and I REALLY love them. They look really interesting before they bloom, like a unicorn horn.

They also have a very lovely scent.


I will be replanting them every year!

They also bloom all day on rainy days.

Because I also decided that I needed to do some easy piecing, I picked another of Mom's UFO and started sewing.

The project was a log cabin baby quilt with 12 centers created with one round of fabric, light and dark, about 4.5 inches square.

All of the blue strips in various different patterns were cut, width of fabric and all of the light colored fabric (one kind) were also cut, width of fabric. So as I went, I cut them to size for the next round. Also lots of ironing.

Nice mindless work.

I ended up finishing all 12 blocks, then layered them and pin-basted them. Got two of the light halves of two blocks quilted with my walking foot. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to take any pictures this morning. Must do that tonight.