Triple Treat Blocks Becoming A Top--post 3

Blocks made as Leader/Enders

Goal number 11 on my June list was to figure out which Bonnie Hunter project I would work on when my Mavens group meets the first and third Monday of the month. I decided that I would begin putting together the blocks for Triple Treat. This was Bonnie's Leader/Ender project for 2022.

Every July, Bonnie releases a new Leader/Ender project each July. The idea behind Leader/Ender is to begin sewing on a short piece of fabric. This is the leader. When the end of the fabric approaches, begin piecing the unit of your pattern. Chain stitch 10 repetitions of that unit. End the chain with another strip of fabric. This is the ender. 

Twenty blocks kitted and ready to go

Starting and stopping in another fabric, helps fabric from being pulled into the hole in the throat plate. It helps me start and end with a better quarter inch seam. For big projects, it is an easy way to count how many units you've completed. 

Many people use a scrap of folded fabric as their Leader/Ender. Bonnie decided that since she was stitching anyway, why not make a second quilt and make a better use of thread and scraps!

One block laid out

I started Triple Treat in 2022 because this block was a good way to use the 2 1/2 inch colorful scraps that I couldn't categorized as one specific color. It also used some 1 1/2 squares which I had a lot. I cut enough parts to make 20 blocks. 

Four blocks ready to stitch into one unit

Many of these parts came from my friend Martha's scraps. I kitted these parts which I stored in a zip lock bag. When I sewed on my project, I had one block of the Leader/Ender next to the machine. As I reached the end of a section, I'd stitch a unit of the Leader/Ender. 

It didn't take long to cut the block pieces because I used the scraps that I had saved from other projects. Bonnie's Scrap Users System is a good way to process the bits at the end of a project. When a pattern calls for a specific size unit, I check my pre-cuts to see what I can use. Over time, I cut and organized many kits. I did cut strips from neutrals; but, otherwise, all the pieces in this project are project leftovers. 

Progress at the end of the sew day

I bundled 12 blocks together as an easy way to track how many blocks I had made. I had about 120 blocks made so I decided it was time to begin setting the blocks together to see what size quilt I could make! This is the point in the project when the Leader/Ender becomes its own project!

I started selecting four blocks that had enough variety to sew together. As I finished a unit, I put it up on the design wall. At the end of the day, I had pieced 22 units and used 88 blocks! Stepping back from the design wall, I was amazed at how great all these bits looked together! 

My friend Martha would be impressed with how many of her scraps went into this project She would also be shocked that I sewed such scrappy blocks! While I had 28 blocks remaining, I knew I wanted to make enough blocks so that quilt would be about 60 x 72 inches. This meant that I needed to cut 20 more blocks. I cut the parts and kitted them. 

I'll sew them at our next Mavens Sew day. Now, I have a new Leader/Ender at the ready. Four Patch Fun is the name Bonnie gave it when she released it last July. My Mavens group is calling it Pink Lemonade. We exchanged pink and yellow strips to make this project. 

Linking to Oh Scrap , Sew & Tell and To Do Tuesday.

Piecing Strings--post 1

The string bag

Goal number nine of my June list was to begin piecing the strings from my two gallon zip lock bag containing strings in the sizes of 2 1/2, 3 1/2, 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 strings. A quart size zip lock bag contains each size of string. Cynthia at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework, Chantal at At The Corner Of Scrap and Quilts and Angela at Scrap Happy inspire me to use scraps the scraps that I've "harvested" after completing a project..

Contents of the 2 1/2 inch zip lock bag

The bag is almost at capacity so it was time to begin making "fabric" out of the strips. The largest amount of "precuts" was the 2 1/2 inch zip lock bag. I cut newspaper strips that were 2 1/2 inches wide and began piecing the strips to the foundation.

Piecing away

Our oldest granddaughter came for a visit. She wanted to string piece. She has experience string piecing. I gave her my seat! She created  fabric strips for about half an hour. I noted that since she had a machine, she could sew these at home. Which she replied that she didn't have fabric to sew! What she really meant was that she didn't have a project! I asked if she wanted to work on these at home because we could make a project bag for her. She said yes! So that was how I lightened the amount of 2 1/2 inch strings out of the bag!

K's string progress

In the week since, she texted me a photo of her progress after her first sew session. She was excited that she was able to remember how to use her machine! She was excited to be using her packet of paper strips and strings! She knows that next time we see one another, she can take home more strings. I do have ideas to run by her should she desire to turn her strips into blocks. Do I dare hope that she will become a quilter? My fingers are crossed!

Celebrating commencement 

Speaking of the granddaughter, she was one of ten students in her eighth grade class to speak at her commencement. We proudly watched her speak. Last week, we took her out for a birthday lunch. She choose the restaurant. It was a great day. We decided since she is 14, she is old enough to know when she "needs"  a coffee, a pastry, a lunch or a time away. All she has to do is call or text and set a date. She seemed excited about that option. Let's see if she takes advantage. I know she has another restaurant in mind!

Three and half inch strips trimmed and ready for paper removal

Back to the strings! The next fullest bag was the 3 1/2 inch strings. I found that I wasn't using the two inch by 3 1/2 inch scraps that I saved early in my scrap saving journey so I had added these to the bag. I had at least five quart size bags that were partially full of scraps by color! I pieced the 3 1/2 inch strings on a piece of newsprint that was about 18 inch long. I sewed a lot of strings!

Bag at the end of piecing

I created about 240 inches of 3 1/2 inch string fabric! I still had strings left; but, the variety wasn't great so I'll wait until I have more strings in that size! I did like seeing one bag with lots of room at the end of the piecing session!   

6 1/2  inch strings

I tacked the 6 1/2 inch string bag next. I actually had two of these zip lock bags. I cut more foundations from news print and began.

Piecing the 6 1/2 inch strings

So many bits! Yet, and this I found hard to believe, wasn't enough! There was plenty regarding amount; but, there wasn't enough variety. So after piecing five strips, I located one of my friend Martha's scrap bags. 

A scrap bag of Martha's collected in August 2018

This bag was almost 15 inches high and weighed five pounds and eight ounces! It is full of rectangles, squares, strips, triangles and bits! That five pounds converts to about 16 yards of fabric!

View of the inside of the bag

I have no idea how many projects are in that bag; but, I did begin to pull the strips from the bag. After I had pieced eight strips of 6 1/2 inch strings, both Gertie and I were ready to give this project a rest! 

Pieced 6 1/2 inch string units

The string bag looks as full as it did when I started. The completed strips are in the bag so that is the reason why there isn't a change in the amount of strings in the bag! 

String bag at the end of piecing

Gertie and I do have ideas of how to use the strings; but, we need lots more inches of pieced strips.We will return to this project later in the month or next month. In the meantime, I've some Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks to make and quilting to do!

Linking to Oh Scrap, Sew & Tell.and To Do Tuesday.

House Quilt Is Finished--post 4

View of the quilting pattern

My friend, Martha, would like this finish! We were in a small group together. She asked the group members to make her a "wonky house" block in recognition of her 70th birthday. While she loved the blocks and petted them often, she didn't get around to setting them before she died.

My friend, Pat, picked up the house blocks; but, then she gifted them to me. I got a kick out of seeing the blocks again and decided it was time to set the blocks. 

I wrote the first post about this project in September of 2023. I managed to get it to the flimsy stage by the end of September 2023. I sent it to the longarmer last month.

I tried the Hobbs polyester batting for a second time. For the second time, it was not my favorite. While the quilt is squishy, it is too puffy for me. The houses distorted way more than I like with the quilting; but, I am happy to have it quilted and not by me!

Texture the quilting provided 

I bound the quilt with scraps of the backing fabric. Finishing this project was goal 2C on my annual goal list.  It was goal number four on my December list. 

I would have finished this project earlier; but, I stitched the sleeve on a side rather than at the top of the quilt! A session with "Jack" and session of stitching, I had finished! 

 After a blog post where I had asked for name suggestions, Melisa at Pinker and Punkin Quilting and Stitching offered, Happy Homes. Which got me to thinking about the book setting. Happy Homes became The Village of Artists. Happy Homes, however, may make a future appearance!

The label

The label came from a stack of labels that was on the guild free table long ago. The quilt measures 65 inches by 68 inches.

This quilt is my project for the book, "Strangers in the Night" by Pat Rushford. The main character in the book is contemplating purchasing an almost abandoned town and turning it into an artist colony. There is a murder, several secrets and a love interest. Pat is a member of our Thread Tales book club. She self published many of her books.

It was fun to listen to her answers to the questions we posed her about writing and self publishing. I was awed at easy she made self publishing seem!

Cynthia Brunz of Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework spoke at our guild in 2023. Her talk inspired me to use my stash of strips and blocks from the parts department. My friend, Alvera had challenged one of her small groups to put together a top using leftover or orphan blocks. Jen Kingwell's pattern Wanderer's Wife was an inspiration source. 

I follow Chantal at The Corner of Scraps and Quilts. She is masterful at pulling scraps and creating wonderful finishes.

Finished quilt

She motivates me to keep digging into my scrap bags to use what I have! To wrap up, I appreciate the support and inspiration from my fellow bloggers.

I used 16  yards of fabric from stash. This brings the total this month to 16.5 yards. I've used 125.75 yards of fabric from my stash this year. I have a net loss of 64 yards of fabric this year.

Finishing this quilt was goal number four on my December list. It was goal 2c on my annual goal list.

Linking to Finished or not Friday, Patchwork and Quilts.

House Blocks at the Longarmer--post 3

 

Stitching around the appliqué with
monofilament thread

Goal number one on my November list was to press the backing and top of the house quilt so I could get it to the longarmer. I took the pre-washed wide back to an in person sew day. Pressing a wide back isn't my idea of a fun time. Being able to do it amidst laughter and conversation made the task so much better!

Later, as I was pressing the top, I realized that on three of the raw appliqué blocks, the edges were only pressed in place. Some of the fusible was lifting so I needed to stitch down each of the pieces. My original plan was that when I quilted the piece, I would stitch down the appliqués in the process. I totally forgot about that plan now that I'm sending the piece to a longarmer! I used monofilament thread in the needle and a cotton thread in the bobbin. With my free motion foot, I stitched around the block parts.

The back and top ready for the longarmer

Next, I realized that two of the blocks had hard embellishments. . .button door knobs! I removed those. I will add them back after the project is quilted. I had a quilting pattern in mind, but, I didn't see anything close to it in the panto list. I selected a few options and encouraged the longarmer to choose one that would work. I also thought that a medium gray or dark grey thread, of the options available, would blend the best; but, again, I asked the longarmer to make that decision. 

It's been a long time since I worked on this quilt. It took some digging to locate the previous post which were in September of 2023. It is no wonder that I had forgotten about the buttons and the appliqués!

Linking to Finished Or Not Friday and Patchwork and Quilts.

Strings From A Scrap Bag--post 1

Bag of scraps

Goal number six on my April list was to sort a bag of scraps. Chantal, At the Corner of Scraps and Quilts, often posts about scrap bags that have shown up on her doorstep. Cynthia, Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework, is the queen of turning scraps into amazing quilts. They inspire me with every post. My challenge is that I ALWAYS have way too many projects in process to stop and play. I tell my little inner squirrel, Gertie, to wait until I FINISH a project.

When I wrote the goal, I had envisioned tackling one of my large bags that came from my friend Martha. I thought I could get started on sorting the bits into what were strings, strips and bits as well as by color. This is not what happened.

Laying out the chances

Instead, I came across a bag that was left from a string project that I finished in 2022. The pros to the the bag was that it was a small and came from a project. A small bag wouldn't overwhelm my efforts to empty it. Because it was project leftovers, the pieces would go together.

I opened it. Of course, there were a few pieces that didn't belong so those were put where they can be used in another
project. There were also some string strips of various widths. I thought that these might work as a border and as blocks. There were a lot of HSTs of varying sizes so I started piecing those together.  

Auditioning background fabrics

Once I had a few pieces together, I started laying out the project. I kept going until the only remaining scraps were small triangles from the neutral fabric. My goal is to make a piece about 40 inches by 60 inches. Right away, I realized I needed a filler fabric or fabrics.

I went to my stash of solid fabrics and chose a purple. I liked it; but, knew that the yard of fabric wouldn't be enough. So I selected a blue fabric which is okay; but the value is a little too dark. I did have a little leftover piece of orange that I decided would work great as an accent. I decided that this might be my book project for "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon instead of the panel that I had identified last month.

In the book, Kamila is about to complete her studies to become a teacher. Unfortunately. she has to abandon that career option because the Taliban take over and women lose their freedom. Kamila ends up helping many other women and families in the process. The strings represent all the people she touched. The various patterns the leftovers became represent the girls she trained. It is interesting how projects present themselves and the journey they take!

It's been quite the week. I took Old Town to the quilter on Tuesday. Friday, I received word it was finished and I picked it up. I have it to bind as well as my 2021 Temperature quilt so I will be working on being able to report on a couple finishes soon! 

Tuesday, I wanted to sew the ruffle to the Santa Tree skirt. My Bernina 790plus acted like it was possessed. I had it on straight stitch; yet it was trying to vary the width of the stitch. The stitch length and width dials stopped working. It is back at the repair shop. I hope it will be repairable and that the repair is affordable.

Linking to Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts and Cynthia at Oh Scrap.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Quilting--2021 Project Finished

Block ditch quilted

Goal number one on my December list was to finish the quilting on this Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) that I started in 2021. One day when my oldest granddaughter was visiting, she saw the string blocks on the sewing table. Miss K asked if she could make some blocks with strings. 

She liked piecing the blocks. Then she asked if she could have the blocks. She laid out the blocks and stitched them into a top. She pieced a back. We pin basted it  In July, she started ditch quilting it. Although she hasn't said a negative word about quilting, I could tell it was difficult for her. I could also tell she wasn't confident with quilting in the ditch. Stitching in the ditch is hard!

Circle template from Sue Nickles

Last month, I decided that I would quilt it for her. I spent parts of three weeks completing quilting in the ditch. Originally, I thought that would be enough quilting. 

When I finished the ditch quilting, the quilt asked for more. I pondered the request for a few days. I decided to quilt a few circles on the blocks. I used two rulers from Sue Nickle's circle wedge set. For the inner circle, I used my two inch circle ruler from Westalee's starter sampler set.

Circle motif addition

I chose a yellow 40 weight polyester thread produced by Superior Threads for two reasons. First, yellow is Miss K's favorite color. Second, she likes a little glitz and the
polyester has a bit of a sheen.

I did have some thread shredding. When I switched from a size 80 topstitch needle to a size 90 topstitch needle, the shredding disappeared. There were a lot of starts and stops. In the end, the effort was worth it! The quilting provides texture and a little "specialness." Even though I spent parts of another two weeks on circle quilting, I'm glad the quilt talked to me. I'm also glad that I listened!

Quilting rulers used in the project

In the black area, I quilted straight-ish lines. Once the quilt is washed and the quilt takes on that rumpled look, the straightness or lack of straightness isn't going to show.

When I free motion quilt, I don't see much of the quilt as it is scrunched and mushed so that I can access a particular area. Honestly, it feels like eternity quilting because it doesn't feel like I'm getting anywhere!!! 

Adding some stitching to the sashing areas

To ensure that I give my body good breaks, I set the timer on my phone or watch for 30 minutes. Once it goes off, I get up and walk around for 5-10 minutes. Then, I return to quilting. When my knee is too tired for more, I stop. Sometimes that can be after a couple sessions and sometimes that can be after many sessions. I take a break to stretch and heat my knee and leg. Sometimes, I can return to quilting and sometimes I can't. 

When I finished quilting, I cut, prepared and attached the binding. The last two times that I have machine applied the binding has been successful. I found the best set up for me is to use the number 34D foot; set the needle position at 2, place the foot on the fabric edge so it s scant of the 3/8 inch
marking and carefully stitch the binding to the quilt. When I topstitched the binding to the quilt front, I found this combination worked the best.

Binding front view

Miss K wanted a hanging sleeve so I attached it. She selected an extra block as a label. I will let her fill out the label. I will help her attach it to the back of the quilt. Once the label is in place, the quilt is truly finished!

Binding back view

This quilt measures 77 x 93 inches. Many of the strings came from my friend Martha's stash. The link will take you to the projects that I have made with her strings and bits. We purchased no fabric for this project.

Back

I sure hope that she is okay with my finishing her project and my choice of designs for the quilting. Time will tell! 

My favorite memories of this project are: *When she was curious about the string piecing and making blocks in a specific color. *The expression on her face when saw the blocks in that color way on the design wall.

*The time she took to layout the blocks exactly to her liking, *The way she measured the project to ensure it was going to be large enough for her. (She laid down next to the blocks. If her body was outside of the blocks, the project needed to be bigger!) 

*How she checked every seam I pinned to be sure she was sewing the blocks as per her layout. (I pinned them in the wrong order multiple times until she took over quality control!) 

Front

*The absolute joy she had on her face when she completed piecing the top and the back! Her insistence that her quilt had a "hangy thingy." ("Hangy thingy is otherwise known as a quilt sleeve!) She was so fun to sew with!!! I hope we can do it many more times.

This project used 16.5 yards of fabric from my stash, bringing the total used 24.5 yards this year. While my total is paltry, I am thankful that I have a net loss! Next year, I'm planning to document how much fabric I purchase as well as how much I use. This year, as I purchased, I deducted that amount from what I used.

I was intrigued to begin this project because Allison over at New Every Morning had posted about making a string quilt. Her project didn't have the constant black fabric. I asked if I could copy her idea and she said yes! Quilters are generous people! Thank you Allison!!

Previous posts: Yellow Strings; Green Strings; Blue Strings; Red Strings; Purple Strings; Blue or Brown; Aqua; Orange; Lime Green; Granddaughter Time; Quilting w/two Granddaughters; Sleepover; Pinning Strings;

Linking to: Alycia at Finished or Not Friday; Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts; Angela at Scrap Happy; Cynthia at Oh Scrap.

Second Boy Quilt Finished

The pile of scraps

Last fall, I finished a baby quilt for a Starbucks employee. For the second boy quilt, that I planned to make for another Starbucks mom's son, I pulled all the scraps form that first baby quilt. 

The "trimmings" from a previous project

I placed the pieced leftover sections on the design wall. The grand daughters were over. I asked them to help me fill in the spaces. I thought that they would build designs. Interestingly, they would put pieces next to other pieces and create chains! 

Sewing some sections

As a first step, I decided to fill in the areas that were open to right angles. This meant I did a little ripping; but, it wasn't much. The oldest granddaughter, Miss K, stitched some of the pieces together. 

Growing the sections

Once, I had a partial section together, Miss K understood what I was doing. She then thought the process was interesting! We spent some time talking about how to "sprinkle" in some of the small pieces so the overall design would be pleasing to the eye.

More sections pieced together

I asked Miss K if she could see a kid playing with a car, truck or airplane using the yellow sections as runways and the white sections as roadways. She thought I was funny.

Adding some "water"

I had a chunk of blue. I thought that would make a good ocean. There are other smaller pieces of this fabric in the blocks that could represent rivers or lakes.

More auditioning of bit placement

I was careful to make this quilt the same size as the previous quilt. We auditioned adding other fabric to the mix to "grow" the top. In the end, we only added the navy blue flannel. I had purchased a couple fat quarters last summer of it. I used about half of a fat quarter. We decided that the checked fabric would make a good binding.

Finished top

Sometimes, I turned a section a quarter turn because I needed the length of it rather than the width. As I worked, the pile of scraps slowly dwindled. When I had the top pieced, I had so few scraps left! 

The leftover scraps

For the backing, I selected some yardage I purchased at the beginning of the summer. I layered and pin basted the project. I quilted in the ditch with Superior's monopoly thread.

View of the walking foot quilting

 For the remaining quilting, I used the same red thread that I had with the other boy quilt.

A few free motion stars

Then I quilted with a combination of serpentine stitch rows and straight stitch rows in the long sections of the quilt. I free motioned quilted around the words in one print and around the dinosaurs in the other print. I stitched on the printed lines of the lined fabrics. In the small sections, I free motioned some stars.

Another view of the quilting

I added the binding and the label. I had another finish! Cynthia over at Oh Scrap/Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework definitely inspired me as I was stitching scraps together. It was also a good practice for improv quilting. 

View of the back

I used three yards of fabric in this project which brings the total of fabric used from my stash to 20 and one quarter yards! 

Label

Finishing this quilt was goal number one on my October list.

Finished front

I photographed both boy quilts together. I can picture two boys on the quilts watching a movie or playing a game. These will be gifted next month. That mama is going to be so surprised!

The two quilts together