Successful Week!

Whoohoo! I finished a charity UFO yesterday that counts for February. Don't you hate it when you make a resolution to do something and then break it the second month of the year!?! But I got it done with hours to spare - who says I wait til the last minute!

I had Yellow Brick Road [YBR] blocks leftover from Mr M's baby quilt last fall. My DD got picky about what colors she wanted in his quilt! But not enough blocks to make the next quilt - when does that ever happen?? I made YBR blocks and then wanted to make it a little bigger - so I made up my own blocks using the fabric units I had left. I'm always wandering off into my own variation of a design - just ask any of my friends!!!

I played with the machine quilting - made large 'rick-rack' with the quilting lines. After I did the first set of lines I decided to see how a triple line would work - don't you just love working on charity quilts where you can experiment??? It looked good but left a large space between that became very noticeable! So did the zig-zaggy decorative stitch between the channels and that looked finished! A friend in Nebraska showed me how wonderful that stitch looked on kids quilts and the stitch width fit the slot of my walking foot - so away I went with it! If you enlarge the picture - you should be able to see the stitch - especially on the borders.

I have also found I can do a good binding with machine finishing both sides with that stitch. I think the secret is that it doesn't make a straight line that is really noticeable. A fellow stashbuster asked me how I did it - so - since I wrote it up for her, I'll share it with you.



Okay ... I'll explain and you can ask questions about anything that I don't explain right or leave out! [LOL!] - I have a Janome and it has a stitch that makes little two stitch triangles in both directions from the 'line' of stitches. The same stitch that I quilted in the borders with.It might be a blind hem stitch. My walking foot has a slot big enough to handle the stitch width, but you'll want to check that before starting!

I cut my binding 2 1/2 inches. Prepare like normal - I use continuous binding; I fold it around the corners. I sew the binding on with my walking foot using a straight stitch. I even sew it from the front side of the quilt as usual. The walking foot lines up with a slightly bigger quarter inch - that's why I cut 2 1/2 inch wide.

Now comes the fun part!!! Trim the extra batting/backing as needed - but not too close. I find it easier to 'stuff' the binding rather than have it too thin. Change to your decorative stitch. Work from the back - just as if you are binding by hand. Start around the start/finish of the binding - you can slip stitch by hand the join before you start if you want. Go the same direction you put the binding on - it lines up the corners to just fold and not get in your way! Fold the binding over the edge and line up with the seam line - just as you do by hand. Start stitching with the decorative stitch, making sure to keep the straight part right by the edge of the binding. Sew with 'needle down' to keep your place when you stop.

I don't use pins - I just line up 6" or so of the binding and sew it down slowly. Stop sewing while you line up the next part of the binding. When you get to the corner, fold it up into that little miter, sew forward until your needle is holding down the next side's binding, pivot! Continue around the quilt to where you started!

The first time I tried this I sewed right off the edge at the corners and then restarted on the next side. You don't really need to. In fact - it's prettier if you don't.

The whole secret is that the stitch doesn't leave a straight line - so it's not noticeable when you wander off slightly. It's very sturdy and you don't really notice it when finished and washed. As long as you have the back fold lined up with the stitch line you made when you sewed the binding onto the quilt - you're going to be in the right area from the front!

Years ago I learned to make a sample binding square with a new technique. Mine is about potholder size and I write notes to myself about what I should do. You might try it on that - see how it lines up on your machine. Good Luck!

I've also really been working on the sesquicentennial project [Album Patch] and I can see the end of the piecing. I'd been dreading sewing the sashings on my hand - but actually, it's easy and relaxing after doing the blocks. Of course, I have fabrics that aren't from the 1850s period in it. One I can't believe I picked!!! Oh, well - it's a fact - I can be a ditz!!! Maybe nobody will notice! LOL! I'm hoping to have a picture of the top for you next week. I'm actually thinking of having a hand-piecing project going at all times. It won't be a bed quilt ... but it works well to hand piece in the condo. Sometimes DH needs the table!

Heading up to Portland today for our babysitting gig tomorrow and Tuesday - I'm taking the Album Patch up with me - just in case I have the energy to sew while we're there. Hey - it COULD happen!!! LOL!

Sunday report

We're having a beautiful weekend on the coast - but this morning started out really grey and threatening ... now it's sunny and 51! Sometimes I think I'm back in Nebraska with the changeable weather.

Last Monday I completed the Coast shop hop. DH drove me and we hit every kind of weather! It was amazing. It was icy underfoot when we left at 7:30 am. Rain started, then it cleared, we needed our sunglasses. But about 2 hours south we hit a snow shower that was almost a white-out! They got half an inch in 30 minutes! Then the rain, the sun again ... we spotted 4 rainbows that day and made it to the Brookings shop and back by sunset. 300+ miles! I didn't spot anything I had to have in the stores - like the first half; just bought a few 1/3 yards of blue batiks and the block kits from each store. Living out here may force me to change my quilting style - I've only been quilting with country scrappy colors for 35 years!!! Oh dear, did I hear friends saying they'll believe it when they see it??? When I finished a kaleidoscope quilt years ago, I'd been working on it 10 years and a friend told me "only you would still be working in the same colors for 10 years!" Well, believe it or not - I'm eerily drawn to batiks lately!!!

I finished hand piecing 13 album patches for my Oregon Sesquicentennial wall quilt. [Boy, was I born in the right century!] I've enjoyed hand piecing - but I have to admit I was setback when I realized I'd have to hand piece the sashings too, I knew I'd quilt it by hand, but sew the binding on by hand!!! YIKES! Good thing it's small!

Yesterday I decided I needed to sew at least 15 minutes. I haven't gotten out my machine lately. Pulled the cutting mat from under the bed. And I cranked up Prairie Home Companion on the internet - we can't get an NPR station in our condo - concrete walls to withstand the coast weather. But I keep forgetting that I can listen to PHC anytime on the computer. I ended up sewing for 4 hours! It was just what I needed!

I sewed top and bottom borders to leftover Yellow Brick Road [YBR] blocks; pieced the back together; cut the batting; framed it and pin basted it. Then I machine quilted the block lines - now I need to decide how I'll quilt inside the blocks. But I won't wait too long - I've been procrastinating on this quilt for months! No, I don't know why either!

I sewed down the binding on a charity quilt I picked up at the guild meeting.

I figured out which sashing to use for the album patch - hope to mark it this afternoon before I head to Portland to babysit for two days. Although - I don't ever get anything done up there - when they are napping, I'm napping too! Nanas can do that! LOL!

Hopefully, pictures of the finished YBR quilt next week - it all depends on whether I'll bring Miss P home with me so momma can have a break!

Woo Hoo!!! It's done!

Blogger is doing weird things with the photos today - but at least they're showing up!

Here is the baby quilt for grandbaby coming this month. It's the Yellow Brick Road pattern by Atkinson Designs. Hmmm - I'll have to put my quilt holder thru more training to get him to hold it straight!!! In the close-up I tried to show the patriot print I used on the back.

I quilted 5 pointed stars in each block - that's a recurring theme for my daughter's quilts and used my favorite border treatment. It will be labeled when we know the name and the date - I'm so relieved! I can actually take it with me when we get the 'baby call'!

Next up - big girl bed quilt for Miss P. She was a pirate for Halloween - she wore her eyepatch like a necklace because we were NOT putting it over her eye! And here's a picture of her zooming by on her train the day after Halloween. Who can resist that smile!

Resting on my laurels til tomorrow!

I'm binding the baby quilt!!!

Well, Friday the doctor said there was a 33% chance our new grandbaby could come this week. Now my DD doesn't agree but I think that 9 months went really FAST! The winning pattern is: Yellow Brick Road by Atkinson Designs! I couldn't decide what to make this baby - my daughter wanted baby blue and brown. I love blue and brown together [smile] but not baby blue! Once I 'lightened' up the brown I could see a glimmer of hope that this wouldn't be the ugliest quilt I've ever made! [and I've made some doozies!!] Quiet, you friends back in NE!! I can hear you!

The Yellow Brick Road quilt uses 9 FQs. Well, I don't buy many FQs! I usually buy 1/3s - first thing I had to do is readjust the number of fabrics to use and what on earth I was supposed to cut! Oh heck - if the kid's coming this week you'd better start sewing!!! I laid out many blues, lights and light browns and whenever I didn't have the correct configurations - I cut more strips! By the way - I may have enough cut to make another kid's quilt for charity quilts!?!

Our condo was turned into a sweat shop! There was fabric, threads and working stations EVERYWHERE. My husband gamely kept adjusting the tv sound to keep ahead of the sewing noises! I watched more football this weekend than I had my whole life! I couldn't get away from it. Wouldn't you know it - too rainy for golf this weekend!

But I got into it and I like the quilt. I had an old patriotic 'beige-ing' - Stars and Stripes by Moda. Remember D? I threw it in, since this is election month!!! Even had enough for the back. This is a total stash quilt! No billfold was opened - batting, backing and binding included. I'm hand sewing the binding on tonight and as soon as it's out of the washer and dryer tomorrow - I'll post a picture.

Hip hip hooray!!! Get'er done! indeed!