Mystery Quilt! Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Part 4

by Judy Tucker

It was so great to read Bonnie Hunter's instructions for Part 4  and finding that part of this step was done back in Part 1.  Bonnie is really good about looking ahead at the calendar and planning the work so that the week of the major holidays there is less sewing time needed to complete that week's step.  Thanks Bonnie!

Above are 2 more sets of Broken Dishes blocks.  It was snowing when I took the blocks outdoors to photograph them.  Can you spot the 2 snowflakes on the grey patch of the left hand block? It's such a swirly fabric that the snowflakes look like they are part of the design!

To see how other quilters are progressing, click here to view the Part 4 Linky for Grand Illusion on Bonnie Hunter's Blog.

I've tried out some titanium coated sewing machine needles this past week.  I have always used Schmetz needles and have been very happy with them.  But I had heard good things about titanium coated sewing machine needles so I purchased some Superior Titanium Coated Needles to give them a try.  I used a Topstitch 90/14 needle to do some quilting and really didn't see any difference.  But I was amazed at how beautifully the Topstich 80/12 worked for piecing.  The needle moved so easily and smoothly through the fabrics.  The eye of the needle is larger than most sewing machine needles so threading the needle is really easy.  

I'm not giving up my Schmetz needles.  I still really like them a lot.  But I'm happy to know about the Superior needles. With the titanium coating, they are supposed to last longer than regular needles.  I haven't used them long enough to comment on that yet.  However, I think using titanium coated needles might make a lot of sense when you are doing a project with lots of piecing-- like this Bonnie Hunter Winter Mystery Quilt!  

For the record:  I don't have any connection with the Superior needle company nor with the Schmetz needle company.  

Thanks to everyone who visited my blog last week based on the photo of the scissors destroyed by my dog Hazel!  I enjoyed your great comments and appreciated your commiseration!  Hazel is well, no harm done to her.  I don't think she even swallowed any of the pieces from plastic handles she chewed up!  

Here are a couple of photos of Hazel with her new wide wale corduroy Pink Pig and a well loved Nylabone-- more appropriate dog toys than my sewing scissors!


Scraps! and the new book, "Scraps, Inc."

by Judy Tucker

I'm talking scraps today!  The inspiration for this post is Lucky Spool's great new book Scraps, Inc, Volume 1, compiled by Susanne Woods.  

 

I think Lucky Spool is publishing some of the best new quilting books!  Scraps Inc, Vol. 1 is a collection of 15 Block-based quilt designs for the Modern Quilter.  These patterns are mostly Modern Traditionalist so they should appeal to anyone who quilts.  

The book's starts with the statement that if you are looking for a book about scrap quilts, you probably a "prolific quilter."  This is reflected in the patterns in the book which run 4-6 pages long.  They have great diagrams and clear directions, but they are based on the assumption that you know how to piece block.  There is no information about finishing the quilt once you have a completed top.  This is totally appropriate for their target audience of experienced quilters. I'm delighted the pages in this book are used for quilt designs rather than information about making quilts which is readily available from many other sources.

Amy Friend who lives here in Massachusetts and blogs at DuringQuietTime.com, has a paper pieced design called "Twinkle" in the book.  I really like her palette of Spring greens and greys. You can see her quilt at the link above. Her post about this quilt also includes a discount code that is good until December 1, 2014 if you want to purchase a copy. 

One of my favorite quilts in the book is "Autumn Flight" created by Beth Vassalo.  Click on her name to see her great quilt.  She has floated her flying geese so she doesn't loose any of her points  She also picked fabrics with prints that echo the flying geese motif.  It's a great quilt. 

I have to say, the designers in this book have the best collection of scraps!  Each of the contributors in the book has a sidebar with information about how they manage their fabric scraps.  It's great fun to read about how they sort and store their scraps. So I thought I would share how I store my scraps.

If I have scraps with left over yardage, I fold the scraps into the yardage and put them away in my color coded fabric bins.  But lots of times I have scraps that are the end of the fabric.  I cut those scraps into a size that saves the largest amount of useable fabric. I try to do this as I am finishing cutting fabric for a quilt.   

Fabrics that are cut to a size go into stack and click together plastic containers.  The larger container is divided into sections--these store 2 inch strips, 2 inch squares, 3 inch squares, 3 1/2 inch squares, 4 inch squares and "bars" of fabric of varied width and length. (I'm no longer cutting fabric "bars"--it makes more sense to keep the fabric as strips which I can cut to size as needed).

The smaller bin has 2 1/2 squares sorted by color in the top layer. The bottom 2 layers have 5 inch squares. 

Then there are the bags...

On the left is a bag of 1 1/2 inch squares.  (I have no idea how I will use these yet!)  Next to that is a bag of triangles which are scraps from bindings. Those I'm sewing onto white squares to make a quilt pattern from Sunday Morning Quilts.  On the right is my bag of strings. These are any strips smaller than 2 inches wide.  I've trimmed them to be straight strips which I find more useful in my projects.  I also keep a bag of 2 1/2 strips.

Finally I have one large clear plastic bag of "stuff".  Recently I rummaged through it looking for scraps for the new Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt that starts this weekend.  I found that I took out a number of pieces of fabrics and reassigned them to the stash!  I guess my definition of "scrap" has changed over time!

If you have a collection of scraps, pick up a copy of Scraps, Inc.  It will give you new inspiration about how to turn your scraps into great quilts! 

 

 

Modern Flying Geese: Completed Quilts using 3 of 5 variations

by Judy Tucker

So far I have made 3 of the 5 variations shown in my Modern Flying Geese pattern.  Here they are:

Left to Right:  Lion in a square--open diamonds, Study in Melon--closed diamonds, Fox and Geese

At the moment, I'm partial to the Fox and Geese version. But that may be because it is the quilt I just completed. Or it maybe because this is the color scheme my mother, a professional interior designer who was a participant-in and devotee-to Mid-Century Modern, used in a house my father built in the early 1950s.  The use of turquoise and yellow-green with accents of grey and navy seemed very avant guard to me at the time! 

I quilted Fox and Geese with the walking foot on my domestic sewing machine.  Here are two details of the quilting.

I used painter's tape to mark the first the row in the upside down V, top left in the photos.  Then I used my line of stitching as my guide for the subsequent rows.  When I reached the top of the triangle in the center of the bright green block, I had drifted to the left approximately 1/4 inch.   If I were doing it again, I would draw a line with dressmaker's chalk, or other removable marking, from the center of the top block to the point of the inner triangle in the green block.  That would have given me a clear pivot point and my stitching could have stayed in alignment. That's how I marked my Modern Hexagon Quilt.  

Here's one last photo. This is my English Springer Spaniel, Tipper, showing off the text fabric on the back of the quilt. He likes to pose in my quilt photos!

 

Quilt Modern Flying Geese F&G with Tipper.jpg

Hanging a Quilt Show

by Judy Tucker

The Proper Bostonian Quilters Guild has a mini quilt show, The Modern Quilt,  at the West Roxbury branch of the Boston Public Library.  The show opens at 6 PM this evening and closes at 3 PM on Saturday, November 15, 2014.  Click the link above for a flier for the show.

This show features the quilts made by the members of the guild for the 2014 summer challenge. Quilts had to have a Modern Aesthetic, and quilts under 24 x 24 inches were required to incorporate a fat 1/16th of the Pantone color Radiant Orchid (Cerise if you speak Kona cotton). 

The show is free.  If you are local, I hope you'll stop by and see our quilts.

Here is a time lapse sequence of the show being hung this afternoon.  Jeannette, who is a brilliant show manager, always makes a paper show diagram using photos of the quilts being hung.   The photos make it very clear where in the show each quilt is to hang. This particular show is being managed by Susan.  She used Jeanette's photo page layout today. It's a great system!

Take home message from the team that hangs the quilts for a show:   Make sure the  quilt you are entering has a sleeve sewn on it that extends along the entire top edge of the quilt. And make sure it meets the requirement for width.  If the show's manager asks for a 4 inch sleeve, it needs to be 4 inches wide.  Really!

Here is one of the quilts in the show.  The pattern, "Flying Birds" is my design.  The quilt was made by Janet Hanley.   I've previously posted this pattern as a smaller baby quilt.  Here it is a generous lap quilt.  It's much easier to see the motion in this larger quilt.

Thanks, Janet, for permission to post your beautiful creation!






Orphan Blocks repurposed in Toddler Nap Quilts

by Judy Tucker

If you've pieced a lot of quilts, you probably have a collection of "orphan blocks" from quilts you've made. Sometimes I loose count of the blocks and make a few extras, sometimes I cut more than I need and sometimes I put a quilt together as I go and I find I just didn't need all the blocks I'd sewn.  For whatever reason, when the quilt is completed, there are a few block left over.  

Often I incorporate extra blocks into the quilt's back. But sometimes the blocks can't be used in the quilt and those I save in a bin of orphan blocks.  I have used them to mend quilts when the dog ate a quilt while chewing on a dog toy (oops)!  I was very grateful to have a spare for repair!  But mostly my orphan blocks just sit in the bin.

This fall the Proper Bostonian Quilt Guild has committed to making 40 nap quilts for a preschool.  That prompted me to see how I might makes some quilt tops from my scrap collections...including my orphan block bin. Two tops are done and one more is in process. 

I've been really interested in Medallion quilts recently.  Medallion quilts are constructed around a central motif.  It is a great way to feature a beautiful block in the center of a quilt--a basket of appliquéd flowers or large star are two options often seen in Medallion quilts. (Check out Connie Griner's amazing collection of  Medallion Quilt pins on her Pinterest site).   Modern quilters are also using the concept of the Medallion quilts and that's what prompted me to experiment with constructing quilts around a central block.  Except for one I designed in EQ7  (Electric Quilt 7), my Medallion style quilts have been improv pieced. 

For the napping quilts I have used an extremely simplified variation.  The quilt top above has a panel which was donated to the guild. I trimmed the panel down to the piece I wanted to use. The yellow and white 4 patch blocks with the "bricks" next to them are the orphan blocks in the quilt.  I was able to use 6 of them.  Place end-to-end the strip was too long but since they were really scraps I had no problem cutting it down to fit!  I also have a stack of precut bricks of scrap fabrics than measure 3 x 6.5 inches.   I used these bricks to build a border around the central panel.  

In the pink quilt top, the center is made of 6 orphan blocks pieced together.  All of the borders around the central blocks are strips left over from other projects with the exception of the last outer border of pink polka dots which came from yardage in my stash.

These two quilt tops had medallion quilts as the inspiration but because they only have one type of block around the center feature, I don't think they really true medallion quilts. The bottom one is actually more like a single large log cabin block.  

I've never made a true, spectacular medallion quilt, but have recently made a couple other small experimental quilts which I'll share in my next post. 

 

 

Making Half Square Triangles

by Judy Tucker

Half Square triangles compose diamond blocks for a Christmas quilt

Half Square triangles compose diamond blocks for a Christmas quilt

A year ago at our Proper Bostonian Quilt Guild Show a lady at the Bits 'n Pieces booth demonstrated an interesting way to make half square triangles (abbreviated HST).  She explained that you put 2 squares of fabric right sides together and sew a 1/4 inch seam around all 4 sides of the squares.  Then cut the squares on the diagonal twice.  Press open the 4 sections and there are 4 HSTs!   

That looked like so much fun so I purchased a stack of 5 inch charm squares.  It was really easy to zip around the 4 sides of each pair of squares and then cut it apart.  4 HSTs in a snap.

But there is a catch.  All 4 sides of HSTs made this way are on the bias of the fabric.  So that means they can stretch and warp if the blocks aren't handled carefully.  (And even if they are)!  If you look at the finished blocks above you can see there is a bit of laxity which is most apparent in the light blocks.

Even though it is so easy to make the HST by this method, I probably will stick to the more traditional way to make HSTs.  You can read about other technique I use to make HSTs in my post on July 7, 2014. 

The method I discussed in July only makes 2 HSTs at a time but the sides of the finished square are on the straight of the grain of the fabric so the blocks are much more stable and not as prone to stretching.

I'm glad I tried the "sew around the square" method of HSTs.  It's fun to try out new techniques.  And you never know if you'll like a new method for piecing a block until you use it!