A week of finishes - Day 6 :: Heart Quilt

Earlier this year people from a FB group I belong to and people from IG sent me heart blocks which were to be made into a quilt for Project Linus.  It's only taken 9 months but one quilt is now made ....

If anyone is reading and they don't see their heart(s) don't worry they are safe and will be well used!

It's funny how the blocks can sit there for so long and then I pieced the top in one night and quilted it the following afternoon.  It's also on my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list - 6th finish (Number 6 on the list) - which motivated me this week because the quarter finishes tomorrow!!  Where has September gone?

I now have a good pile of quilts to sew the Project Linus labels on to which will keep me busy one evening. x

A week of finishes - Day 4 :: Project Linus (again!!)

So this Project Linus quilt is bought to you by my daughter!  

I took a Home Ed group for sewing earlier in the year (you can see some of the other quilts here and here) and this was the last one to be finished off ....

I was especially happy with this one because this daughter is very rarely in the studio or sewing.  Her reason being .... "But Mum you do it so well and so quickly!!""

I haven't done any swirly quilting for a while and I realised again how much I love it.  Many thanks to the people who commented on my recent post and  told me that the quilting motif on it was called a paisley design (rather than my description whirly pearls!).

And the girl herself, who is usually so camera shy.  I was astonished when she let me take a photo of her and then astonished again when she said I could put it on here.

This is my 4th finish from my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list (Number 16 on the list).  I am obviously not going to finish all 25 but I am on track to have a few more finished before the month's out!

A week of finishes - Day 3 :: Children made Project Linus quilt

This wonderfully colourful quilt was made by Home Educated children at a local group.  4 children took part in making this and really enjoyed the chance to use a sewing machine.

It was a simple case of quilting and binding for me ....

I decided to try out a star pantograph.  You may recall that I am very new to pantographs, my first attempt can be seen here, and I am still not quite sure  what I think of them or my skill in using them!

Whilst I was doing it I thought I didn't like the way it looked but once it was off the frame and on the wall I thought it looked OK!

This is my 4th finish from my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list (Number 17 on the list)

A week of finished - Day 2 :: Project Linus Christmas

Earlier in the year I received a box full of goodies for Project Linus.  One of the items was this top, already pieced, just waiting to be quilted.

This project has been on my list since January but at last it is done!!

A simple stipple in red Glide thread finished it off nicely.  I have some more Christmas tops to piece together .... hopefully in time for this Christmas!!

This is my second finish on my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list  (Number 7 on the list)

The House Quilt ....

Last year at the Festival of Quilts I picked up some of the house blocks that were donated to the Project Linus stand.  They have been on my FAL list a fair few times but I was determined that this quarter they were going to be finished.

 

 

I pieced them together with some other donated star blocks and broke it up with some plain green squares.  It finished at approx. 36" x 36".

 

I had my second attempt using a pantograph on my longarm machine and I have to say it didn't feel quite so strange this time!  Further to comments from my last post about pantographs, a friends is sending me 3 pantos in designs that I actually like, which will make the process more enjoyable!  I have a couple of tops which I will try them out on and of course I will report back my findings here!

 The quilting is definitely smoother this time and I am quite pleased with the result.

So I am finally managing to tick items of my list this quarter - 12 done from 25.  In fact it's been a finish a day this week over here - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thrusday - phew!  I think that qualifies me to link up to Finish it up Friday this week!

Another quilt for Linus ....

This finish is another one to tick of my 2016 FAL list - get the feeling that I know the end of quarter is just around the corner?!!

Again, this was made by a child for a child at a local Home Ed co-op I am part of.  Whilst I had cut various size squares prior to the session, the children had free rein choosing their fabric and putting it together.  This was made by a 9 year old boy and I think he did admirably seeing as he'd never used a sewing machine up until a few months ago.

 

 

This quilt finished at 30" x 30".

 

I freehand quilted it with a geometric design of straight line boxes and rectangles of varying sizes.  It was the first time I have quilted this design and I really like how it has turned out.

 

The backing was cotton from IKEA and the scrappy binding was made up of binding leftover from all my recent quilts!

 

I am going to the group again tomorrow and will take all the finished quilts to show the show the children.  I am very proud of their work and hope they will be too. x

 

Let's Bee Social ....

This week I am all about finishes - more specifically trying to get some items ticked off my 2016 FAL list before the end of the month!  Currently I have ticked 10 projects off the list - but there's still 15 remaining!

 

On Monday there were two pairs of pyjamas trousers, yesterday was a small quilt for Project Linus and today we have another quilt for Project Linus.

 

Not only is this a FAL finish, it is also my #BraveQuilter challenge for June.  I got my longarm machine last July and I have never attempted to use a pantograph with it so that's what I did yesterday.

 

 

This was the pattern that came with the machine and 11 months on it was still wrapped in plastic!

 

I didn't get any progress shots because I was too busy concentrating.  Basically you use a laser light to follow the lines on the paper which in turn quilts the pattern on your loaded quilt.

 

My thoughts on the process:

 

1.  It felt very strange to stand behind the machine and operate it from there.  The handles are at a different height, there's not that much room for moving around there but the biggest thing was that you can't see the quilt .... it felt very weird to be quilting blind as it were.

 

2.  I don't like the pattern on this pantograph very much which meant I didn't really enjoy doing it.

 

3.  There is no point in using pantographs for small quilts.  I could have quilted this size quilt freehand with just one advance of the rollers but using the pantograph I had to advance every row - so 5 advances in all!

 

4.  Always advance with the needle in the correct position - it takes a lot longer to figure out where to start quilting the next row if you don't.

 

4.  I think I would get far smoother curves and points by doing this freehand.

 

Ok, so here's the results ... visually!

 

The texture is gorgeous and I admit I quite the uniformity of the design.  In fact I think I like the back more than the front!

 

I applied the binding in the same way I did yesterday, by joining the binding with an angled join.  Perfect again - and this time I didn't even need the tutorial up.

 

 

Would I do it again?  I think it would be a good skill to master, especially if you are going to do customer quilts.  Some people like to see exactly what design is going on the quilts and pantographs give this option very well.  However, I don't think it will become my thing - I love freehand guiding the machine and seeing where it takes me!  Although I do remember saying something similar about ruler work and I now quite enjoy it!

 

Linking up with Lorna at Let's Bee Social today.

 

I will be linking up to Pink Doxies when the link opens at the end of the month.

A little finish ......

but a finish nonetheless!  This was No 13 on my 2016 FAL list and just needed a little quilting and then binding.

 

I recently ran a small class for Home Educated children and this was one made by a girl there.  It's another quilt for Project Linus -  I love that it's a quilt for a child made by a child.

 

The backing looks like it is pieced aswell but it is just a print and was a large piece that was donated to me so will do for a few more girls quilts yet.

 

I read a binding tutorial over at mmm! quilts the other day and made sure I bookmarked it.  I have never joined binding on an angle, instead I have always overlapped the ends which has worked just fine.  It means there's a few more extra stitches to do when hand stitching the binding but that was never a biggie.  However, I am now starting to fully machine my binding and the little pocket that the overlapping method left was annoying me.  Sandra had made it seem so easy I thought it was a worth a try. 

 

Voila!  I know the picture is nothing dramatic but it worked ... perfectly .... first time .... with no unpicking and, more importantly, no cursing!  It is so neat and so lovely and why did it take me so long to try it?!

 

Do you have any tips or techniques that you have recently found that you wish you had tried sooner?  I would love to hear them if you did.

A little reminder for you that the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop got underway yesterday.  I went and visited all the ladies from Miss-Bee Hivin', which I am part of, but also took a nosey over at those belonging to The Sewcial Network and Hive Sewciety.  There are lots of great posts to read and some great giveaways too.  Why not head on over and show these bloggers a little bit of blog love?  My stop on the Blog Hop is next week so I hope you'll join me then aswell. x

No 12 on my Finish Along list - tick

 Another project completed from my 2016 FAL List.  The quilt top was pieced by a local Young Quilter and her teacher gave it to me for Project Linus.

 

 

Finished dimensions:  25" x 34"

No 11 of my Finish Along List - tick

One quilt became two .....

 

Another project completed from my 2016 FAL List.  The quilt top was pieced by a local Young Quilter and her teacher gave it to me for Project Linus.

 

 

Finished dimensions:  19.5" x 33.5"

 

Finished dimensions:  19" x 32"

No 10 of my Finish Along List - tick

Another project completed from my 2016 FAL List.  The quilt top was pieced by a local Young Quilter and her teacher gave it to me for Project Linus.

 

Finished dimensions:  18.5" x 26"

No 9 of my Finish Along List - tick



Another project completed from my 2016 FAL List.  The quilt top was pieced by a local Young Quilter and her teacher gave it to me for Project Linus.

 

Dimensions:  24.5" x 36.5"

A bundle of quilts .....

Exactly what is the collective noun for quilts?!

 

I have now completed another few projects from my 2016 FAL list.  Shown below are several quilts which were made by a local Young Quilter and her teacher gave them to me at the beginning of the year for Project Linus.

 

With a little bit of judicious cutting and re-joining I was able to get useable slabs to make these quilts. (The one on the right was from a different child - more on that later.)

 

 

As you can see they are all different sizes and truly are patchworked.  But they are all acceptable for Project Linus and will hopefully shortly go to some child who can be comforted by a quilt.

For the sake of linking up these projects, at the end of the quarter, I am going to have to do a separate post showing each quilt - bear with me on that!

Linking up to Finish it up Friday today over at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Another tick of my Finish-Along list ....

Well that was a little break wasn't it?!  Isn't it funny how sometimes blogging comes so easily and sometimes it doesn't!  Recently everything has seemed to be hard .... from sewing, blogging to home ed.  In fact I had totally lost my sewing mojo .... where did it go?  That's never happened to me before. 

 

However, with deadlines coming ever closer I realised I just had to get in my studio and start ...... So with the end of Quarter 1 in the Finish Along fast approaching I have managed to get another project ticked of my list.  That's 8 out of 17 and I am still hoping to get another couple done just in time - fingers crossed!

 

This top was pieced by someone else for Project Linus and I had been waiting for a suitable large enough piece of fabric to use as the backing.  I was able to load it onto my frame last week and quilted a geometric square type pattern all over.  Just the one pic to show which was taken yesterday in a break in the rain but it was still very windy!

If you follow me on instagram then you will see that I have been busy the last few days on a Polaroid block quilt.  It's going really well and the top is now almost done.  But that's for another blog post! x

March blocks for Project Linus ......

On 01 February I put a call out for Heart Blocks which are to be made into quilt for Project Linus.  To date I have received 55 blocks.  Thank you to everyone who made and sent some in - they are really appreciated and will be shortly made into tops.

 

In the hope that some people would like to help, but can not commit to a whole quilt, I am going to request a certain block each month - for March the theme is a Disappearing 9 Patch block please.

 

I had never made one before yesterday, but they are quick and easy to whip up and you can get different patterns when you re-assemble the 4 patch.  I thought I may have done a tutorial but there are some great ones out there already so I will leave links at the bottom.

 

Requirements:

 

9 x 4.5" squares - the middle square of the 9 patch needs to be red, yellow, blue or green the other blocks can be whatever colour you like

 

I have asked for a certain colour middle square so that hopefully I will be able co-ordinate the resulting blocks that are made from widely differing fabrics!

 

Finished square will be 12"

Before I cut the 9 patch the middle square was blue on the top photo and green on the bottom photo.

Tutorials: (remember for these blocks please use 4.5" squares)

Missouri Star Company video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEjZOXxPazg

Nice and easy to understand tutorial http://www.stitcherydickorydock.com/scrappy-disappearing-9-patch-tutorial/

Simple photo tutorial - http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/disappearing-9-patch-tutorial.html

Any questions please just ask and happy making!!

A heart update .....

46 heart blocks for Project Linus have tumbled through my letter box so far this February ....

 

 

These are from people I have connected with in quilting group on Facebook and through Instagram ....

 

 

You're not too late if you want to join in ... pop over here to see the details!

 

Since becoming a Project Linus co-ordinator I have been astounded by people's generosity.  If you are on Facebook head over to Project Linus - Warwickshire and see some of the lovely donations that have come my way.

 

Last week I had an enquiry from the Project Linus UK website and I arranged to meet the lady last Friday.  Just look at what she came with ....

 

 

5 finished quilts and 8 knitted blankets of various sizes!  Needless to say these had their PL labels sewn on that night and are now ready to be distributed.

 

I have also finished a heart .... My club's challenge in the New Year was My Secret Valentine and I made one for myself whilst I was making for my partner.

 

And just because I am rather pleased with the quilting, here are some close ups!

 

 

And yet more heart related quilting .... I am very excited to be working on this heart top again.  It's been a UFO for so long that it's great it has reverted to a WIP.  It was started all the way back here and is now rather well travelled.  Hopefully I will get the right quilting thread tomorrow and then it will be on my frame by the end of the week - fingers crossed!

 

I needed to piece the backing - I didn't realise that in the process I would almost make another quilt!

 

Phew - that's it for today! x