#FALQ4TerryKnott--Finish #1

"42 Minis" as a top!

"42 Minis"--AKA President's Blocks 2014 is FINISHED!!!

These were the blocks that guild members gifted me at the end of my president's term in 2014. I blogged about the start on June 16. As I made progress, I blogged about it. There was the post about the sashings and the one with the completed top/back. That post included the beginning of the documentation of the blocks. I had several posts about the quilting the blocks: here, here, here and here! I had a couple posts about the sashings: here and here.

Stitching the binding the first time with
the Bernina #71 foot. 

Then it was on to applying the binding. I saw a video on You Tube which Shelly Fitzgerald used the Bernina #71 foot to make a skinny binding. Her process looked achievable and as you know, I was up against the deadline to finish this project to hang in the featured artist show October 21-23. So, I tried it!

Corner view of binding from quilt back. 

If I were making a kid's quilt, I'd definitely use this technique again. I was impressed with how easy it was for the foot to do most of the work. By the time I passed the fourth corner, I had figured out how to make that work for me too. The downside of the process for me was that the binding wasn't quite full.

Corner view of binding from quilt front.

If I rolled the binding further over to accomplish the filling then, the stitching on the reverse side of the quilt showed how often I missed the ditch.

This is 2/3 of the pieced quilt back.

                                                                            I used lots of thread in this project--21 spools of silk thread and three spools of cotton thread to quilt and piece the top. I figure I spent about $60 for thread. The batting was about $32. I used 17 1/2 yards of fabric from my stash for the sashing, backing and pillow case. I did buy fabric for the binding. I placed a value of $6 a yard on the fabric for a total of $105. The binding was $4. Total cost for this project was $201.

My goal this year was to use 50 yards from my stash. So far, this makes 20 1/2 yards used. A few pieces that I used in this project had been in my stash for more than ten years. Seeing a little more space on the batik shelf is GREAT!

Plus, getting the pile this project created off the cutting table was great. I have moved fabrics for two years!!!

Not being able to crawl on the floor to block the quilt probably was why I have a little wave to the quilt edge. Also, it might not be as noticeable as I think; but, I don't have enough floor space in my house to lay it flat which makes not being able to crawl on the floor a moot point doesn't it?

Corner stone quilting example.

Had the quilt spoken to me earlier about quilting that motif in the white corner stones, it would have been easier. I should have quilted the motif after stitching in the ditch! Speaking of stitching in the ditch, for the seams that I pressed open, I left. On "Totally Hexed", I stitched in those spaces and felt that stitching with no ditch looked too messy. For this project, I thought that the unstitched seam areas puffed too much. So, now, I'm on the fence about how to treat open seams when quilting.

It would have been smarter to have chosen different quilting for those sashings. Leaving a 1/4 of an inch space on the outer edge of the binding was a sort of hit or miss deal for me. I liked the pieced back and I liked how the quilting shows on the back. I have my tension "dialed in" for free motion quilting with silk thread on the top and 60wt aurafil thread in the bobbin.

Fabrics cut for the pillow case.

I used a few leftover pieces of the sashing to add to my label.

Somehow, I need to quilt faster although, pushing and pulling the bulk of that quilt through the harp was hard and my thumb is still healing from not taking long enough breaks! I'm really thinking that a longarm is in my future although not the near future. I live in a house where the only room a 12 foot table would fit is the living room which would not be acceptable to my DH!










Next up are going to be some smaller projects! Actually, the first project I'm going to finish is the pillow case for this quilt! The fabrics are cut; I just need to sit and stitch!

For now, I'm excited to have completed this project. Here is the proof that I did finish it in time to hang at the Featured Artist Quilt show. It is fairly flat too! I love how the red and white pieced sashing blocks make the blocks pop! I still want to incorporate my president's name badge somehow into the front of the quilt. I'll ponder that a while. . .

This is my first Finish-A-Long 2016 for quarter number 4. You can read my list here.