Illusions

This quilt contains the same 6 thirties prints that were in a quilt shown in the March 26th post. 

It took more planning than the other quilt and required more concentration.  I actually pieced this one before the other one, but quilted them in the opposite order.  I expected to like this one better, but that is not the case.

Even though both quilts have the same number of fabrics, the other quilt looks like it has many more.  I'm pretty sure that is why I like it better.  The illusion can only be due to the random placement of the fabrics. 

Temptation

It's everywhere.

Quilting Freedom

In recent years, each president of our guild has chosen a theme for the year.  Last June President Georgia announced her theme - Quilting Freedom.  The freedom to be whatever kind of quilter you wanted to be.  I immediately embraced the theme and granted myself the freedom to do whatever project I wanted to do.

I love making baby quilts.  They provide immediate gratification because they are such quick projects.  At least the ones I make are quick.  I can't speak for you.

About 10 years ago, I started collecting fabric that would be good for baby quilts - pastels, brights, you name it.  Then I heard that babies are entertained by the contrast between black and white so I started collecting good black on white and white on black prints.  When I reorganized my fabric a year or so ago, I realized just how much good stuff I had.  I set about to use some of it.

Last July and August I made 14 baby quilts.  Some were designated for my soon-to-be grandson.  The rest were Linus Quilts.  I made 4 in this design.  It is great for using up odds and ends.  The smaller squares are 2" finished and the bigger blue squares are 4" finished.  The finished size of the quilt is 36" square.

This is another design I like to use.  The star blocks are 8" square and the finished size of the quilt is 38" square.  Sometimes I make it with 9" blocks and then the finished size is 41" square.  

I cut the pieces for the star blocks and put enough pieces for nine stars in small boxes to be used for quilting days away from home.  When I started making this type of quilt, I also started collecting good border prints with black backgrounds.

This is one of the quilts I made for my grandson.  The background print for this quilt is the loveliest, softest yellow with blue and green.  A really good fabric.  I bought it en route to Colorado for Harriet Hargrave's first ever Machine Quilting Celebration in 2004 or so.  I knew I would need it some day.  And I did.  I always know best.  Just ask me. 

I cannot resist adding this next picture.  This is my grandson laying on his black and white star quilt.  He makes me smile.

Last fall I made a few more baby quilts like the ones above.  Then a couple weeks ago I started thinking about another design.  I gave myself the freedom to try it out.  I love it!  It isn't quilted in this picture, but it has been quilted since.  Can you believe there are only five different blue prints in this?  And one really good background print that was hiding in my stash closet.  This is 34" x 46".

Then I couldn't stop.  I had to try other variations and I used thirties fabrics for the first time ever.  How sweet is this?  Pretty sweet.

I am quilting another zig zag quilt today. 

It is all good.

Finished...or so I thought

To recap, I had eleven blocks left over from Star Spangled. I used them to make 3 two-block wall hangings and 4 one-block wall hangings. I finished the last of the 7 wall hangings yesterday, washed it, and photographed it.  I am happy.  My life is complete...for the moment anyway.

I've grown quite fond of this little feathered heart.  One more picture of it won't hurt.  You can't have too many pictures of feathered hearts, can you?

There is fabric left over from setting triangles and borders for all the wall hangings.  Time to tidy up a bit.  Sort it by color, fold it, and put it away before things get out of control and there is a big mess.

Wait.  There is something wrong with the math.  3 two-block wall hangings plus 4 one-block wall hangings equals 10 blocks.  11 minus 10 is 1.  My eyes scan the room.

Oh, yeah, now I remember.

When I made all the blocks, I wasn't quite sure what I would do with them.  This block was supposed to be one that looked kind of old and faded and blended into the quilt.  The kind of block that made everyone stand back and say, "I love how that one block looks all faded."  They are somewhat mesmerized and stare at the quilt for hours.

Then Star Spangled turned into a red, blue, and gold quilt.  This green block was not used.  When I pulled fabric for the 7 wall hangings, I couldn't find anything that I liked real well for this block.  So I set it aside.

Now what?  I am so ready to move on to a new project.  I could just toss it.  But will I?

Danger Zone

I am in the danger zone.  You know what it is.  You've been there.

I am finishing one project, but I'm really thinking about the next one.  And I mean really.  I've got the graph paper out.  I've pulled fabric.  I've cut a few strips.

Evelyn, step away from the new project.  Finish the old.

Frugal to a fault AND stubborn

The is Star Spangled.  I had 11 blocks leftover from this quilt. 

When I embarked on my mission to use those 11 blocks, I vowed that I would do it with what was currently in my stash.  No additional purchases would be made.  I was able to piece 7 wall hangings or table toppers from my stash.  I found pieces of batting for all of them.  I did not have to cut into new batting or pieces that would work for much larger quilts.  I also found backing for all of the tops in my stash.  This is the backing I wanted to use for one of the tops.

The green part is not the wall.  It is attached to the backing.  But why on earth are these strange green strips attached to the back?

You've heard of hair extensions.  These are quilt back extensions.  The top measured 17 1/4" x 28".  The fabric that I selected for the back was a 1/2 yard cut that had been washed.  It was big enough to cover the entire back, but the obligatory 3" extra on each side of the quilt would not be there.  So I sewed these strips onto the backing very carefully to make sure at least 17 1/4" would remain for use in the quilt back.

Why would someone who owned all of this do such a thing?

That was my stash closet.  I buy a lot of half yards and fat quarters for my collection.  They are all folded consistently and stored in the stash closet.  What I haven't told you is that I have a separate stash of fabrics that would be good for backs.  Many were on sale in back rooms...or full price, but too beautiful to ignore.  These are stored in my stash piesafe because they are folded differently.  They don't fit in the stash closet anyway.

Why not use something from my stash piesafe?  Because I don't want to cut into a 4 yard+ piece of fabric if something from my stash closet is technically big enough.

Do you really need 3" extra for the backing/batting?  No, BUT (big but) if you don't have it and you plan to include free motion quilting anywhere close to the edge of the quilt, you will sacrifice a lot of control.  I was quilting feathers in my borders.  I had skimped on backing for some of the quilts posted in recent days.  Many feathers were less than perfect.  Could it be due to the fact that I didn't have enough control when quilting in the border?  It didn't make sense to sacrifice control in the border when my reason for finishing these quilts now was to get better at quilting feathers without marking. 

Refer to the picture below.  My thumb rests on the quilt top.  The rest of my right hand is on the backing and batting.  (This particular backing was a little less than 3" so my little finger was not on the quilt back.)  If it had not been holding the camera, my left hand would have been on the roll guiding the fabric.

I should have had my nails done...

To avoid cutting into bigger yardage, to restrain myself from running out to make a 3/4 yard purchase, and to still have 3" extra all the way around the top, I invented quilt back extensions.  I will probably not bother to get a patent on them so feel free to use quilt back extensions if you find yourself in a bind.  No permission required.

Still you might ask why someone would go to all this trouble.  Entire websites have been devoted to disorders of this nature.  This blog is not one of them.

This is the finished quilt.

These are the best feathers so far.  I felt more relaxed because I had better control while quilting.

The moral of the story:  To quilt my best, I need 3" extra backing and batting on all 4 sides of the quilt.

Thread of a different color

Would you use this thread to quilt this fabric?

The tan is far too light even thought it is the same color as the tan in the blue print.  I used the blue on both of these fabrics.  I used the rust for background stippling on the rust fabric.  But I wouldn't always have done that.

Flashback to November 17, 2000.  (The date has been changed to protect innocent dates.  It was sometime that year...or the year after.)  I'm standing in a quilt shop with my quilt top trying to decide which thread matches the border fabric best.  I was a fairly new quilter then.  I thought the thread had to match exactly.  And if the border was a multi-color print, I might just need to use monofiliment so it would match all the time.  End of flashback.

Is there a flaw in that thinking?  I don't know, but it isn't what I now do.  Now I use thread with some degree of contrast.  There is an advantage and a disadvantage to using contrasting thread.  The advantage is that you can see it better.  The disadvantage is that you can see it better.  (Hmmm...I could probably go into politics.) 

I can explain.  Free motion quilting is done in every direction.  When doing free motion quilting, you must keep track of where you have already quilted as well as where you will quilt next.  To keep track of where you have already quilted, you look at the thread quilted into the fabric.  It could be in plain sight or could be hidden somewhere behind the sewing machine foot.  I don't know about you, but I need all the help I can get to see the thread.  It is a definite advantage if the thread color does not match exactly.

The fact that the thread shows after quilting is only a disadvantage if you are disappointed with how it looks.  This is what I think.  If you can see it better while you are quilting, you may just do a better job of the quilting.  And even if you don't...please...cut yourself some slack.  You don't have to be perfect.  (Needing to be perfect only applies to me, a typical Virgo from the get-go.  It doesn't pertain to anyone else, including other Virgos.)  So quell your disappointment.  Accept that you did the best you could on that quilt on that particular day.  You will improve if you keep trying.

Does this mean that I quilt white fabric with black thread for ultimate visibility?  Certainly not.  The thread can be a little darker or lighter or a slightly different shade of the color.  It can be an entirely different color as long as the color of the thread and the fabric are the same value. 

Here is a closeup.  The blue looks better than you probably imagined.

The spool of tan looks too dark for the background stippling on the light, but the end result looks fine.

The key is to take a little of the spool and look at one strand against the fabric to be quilted. 

This is the finished quilt.

Do you know where your thread is?

I do.

To be clear, I know where my thread is.  I have no idea where yours is.

My thread was in numerous baskets spread around the room.  I sorted it by type, estimated how many boxes were needed, and went to Barnes and Noble to procure some cool, collapsible, magnetic boxes.  I'd been looking for an excuse to buy some.  The boxes were available in two different prints.  This one was my favorite.

This is my Aurifil thread in one of the boxes.  Notice that the inside of the box is pretty too.  The thread is not in sunlight, which is a plus. 

I have two more boxes of Aurifil, one box of YLI silk, one box of Superior King Tut, and a small box of miscellaneous thread.   This is an announcement, not a confession.  I have no remorse about owning all this thread.  The barn red in the bottom left, the rust in the bottom center, and the dark blue are standard colors that I use frequently as a murky quilter.  The bright yellow and lighter blues are perfect for baby quilts.  The others will be perfect for something someday in the middle of a snowstorm when I can't get to a quilt shop.

I freely admit that I sometimes have to open more than one box to find the thread I want, but at least I know that, for example, all the blue Aurifil is in one box.  This is thread I used for quilting.  When piecing, I normally use neutrals. 

I machine applique with a blanket stitch.  That requires a good assortment of colors.  To that end, I also own five sets of Aurifil thread in smaller spools.

Don't ask me what I'm going to do when I empty some of those smaller spools.  The ones that empty soonest will be the ones that I used the most and therefore need.  It stands to reason that they will have to be replaced.