Quarterly (oops) check-in

I've made some progress, really, I have! First off, I checked one thing off my life list last month: enter a county fair.

I entered my blue Bible Studies quilt (Top row, second from left). It didn't win a ribbon, but I was still fine with that. My life list just said "enter the county fair," not "win a ribbon at the county fair." When I went to pick it up after the fair the Baked Goods ladies gushed over how pretty it was. So at least somebody liked it. I may or may not ever enter the fair again; if I was desperate to win a ribbon I could game the system by entering low-level categories. But what would be the fun of winning a ribbon without competition? The quilt that one best of show really was nice; from what I could see, it had really careful custom machine quilting.

I also finished Secret Project # 1, a signature quilt for a quilting buddy who moved across the continent this summer.

It was a fun group effort, and each block completely resembles the personality and tastes of the quilter who made it. The block pattern we used is an 8" Sawtooth Star from the flying geese tutorial by Darra Williamson at See How We Sew.

Secret Project # 2 is off at the long-arm quilter, although it may be a couple weeks since she has some good life stuff in the mean time. I'm so late with Secret Project # 2 for the life event it commemorates, what's a couple more weeks? I want her to enjoy her life-craziness.

I've started work on my Downton Abbey fabric quilt for Historic Club this year. It is not going to be finished by December. The quilt is something like 65 sampler blocks, and I have made about four. Or maybe I've made three. Here's the problem:

This is a lovely block. The problem is that the blocks are supposed to be 8.5" unfinished, and due to some bad directions, this block ended up 10.5" unfinished. There was a typo in the directions as to which seam line was supposed to measure what. Whoops. My wonderful quilty friends said to just stick it on the back. I was annoyed after fussy-cutting the center of the block. I eventually did a lot of trial and error and got the right proportion for my printer to print the pdf templates at the right size. (And no, it wasn't a printer scaling issue the first time, because I carefully did trial and error of printer scaling the first time to make things the wrong right size.) I am trying to decide whether to make the proper smaller block for club on Saturday or make an entirely different block and put this block in "time out."

This summer I did the Row by Row Experience shop hop, which was a blast! I got so consumed with it that it even invaded my dreams a couple of times! I started off on completely the wrong foot. I thought the point was to collect the license plates, and only took the row patterns out of politeness at the first two stores I went to. Finally after the second shop I went to, I did a quick check-in with my friend who owns a quilt shop and she clarified everything for me. Boy I felt silly! It was never my intention to try to win, just to collect license plates and patterns. I was puttering along, doing crazy things like driving 45 minutes out of my way from picking up my daughter from sleep-away camp to go to The Cotton Quilt. (She very graciously opened her shop for me even though she hadn't been intending to be open that day. I just happened to call ahead the day before to check her hours, and she insisted I come by.) My DH may disagree, but at least at that point, I was not going overboard. This was just normal quiltiness.

Then it somewhat blew up on me. I wanted a really pretty row pattern that I saw at a shop on the clear other side of the state. A casual conversation with a co-worker in another office turned up that his S.O. is a quilter. So I offered to buy them lunch if they would go retrieve the pattern and kit for me. Then she had so much fun she got involved, and I would randomly get IMs in the middle of the day from Co-worker saying "Marjory* is going to a quilt shop, do you want anything?" Then she told a friend about it, and the friend retrieved two patterns from her vacation in another region. Co-worker took a child to school in yet another state, and tried (unsuccessfully) to get license plates for me there. Soon, I was getting quilty care-packages from all over. It was like quilty Christmas!

I've spent my mad-money and then some; I lost count after about 16 row patterns and various kits. I have not yet started working on it. I have told myself that I am not going to do another Row by Row hop until I finish the top of the 2014 quilt. Right now it is all neatly packed away in a tote bag in the Closet of Death.

I visited many new quilt shops that I never knew existed. Almost every new quilt shop I went to, I would visit again. I met so many gracious and friendly people. In addition to the owner of The Cotton Quilt, the gentleman at Cloth Peddler at Stephens City, VA, entertained my kids with simple fabric crafts while his wife cut out my kit. The woman at Quilting Sew Easy in Gaffney gave us a hint of her favorite produce stand next to the outlet mall, and I came home with 2 quarts of amazing blackberries. How did she know? I must have had blackberries over my head like an Arby's hat.


*not her real name; names have been changed to protect people thinking about quilting while they should be working

Along the way, I even did two shifts as a volunteer at the AQS Quilt Week show in Charlotte at the end of July. It was fun to see all the quilts. My favorite part was the Quilts of Valor section. I did not realize each of the quilts was designed by a famous quilt designer until the very end of looking at each quilt. The funny thing is that my favorite Quilts of Valor quilts were made by my favorite designers! At least I'm consistent.


Quilts in Progress, as of October 6th, 2014

1. Teal Single Irish Chain (hand quilting)
2. Secret project # 2  (shh- a present!)
3. Mill Girls by Nancy Rink (still in time-out)
4. Bible Studies (at the long arm quilter!)
5. Mystery Quilt from Downton Abbey fabric for 2014 Historic Club.
6. Champions of the West (blocks finished, but not stitched together- I got creative block when it came to the border)
7. Civil War Sampler "cot" quilt by Karen Witt (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
8. Liberty of Londons sampler quilt (I honestly can't remember where this is in the process, but I definitely haven't got the quilt top finished)
9. Golden's Journal quilt (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
10. Peggy Martin-technique sampler quilt (ditto)
11. Crazy quilt (not your usual crazy quilt, but it is crazy! Quilt top finished, but needs sandwiching/quilting/binding)
12. Roses for Shiloh quilt by Painted Pony 'n Quilts (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
13. Amish with a Twist (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
14. Not quilting, but alter my dirndl to fit my new, smaller, self, and finish the heart-ruching trim for it.

Quilts in the "Some Day" Stage, as of October 6th, 2014
1. Olivia the piglet quilt
2. A Baltimore Album quilt
3. A hexagon quilt
4. A chintz panel quilt
5. A quilt with the Metro Blues fabrics that I got in New Braunfels and Belleville
6. Various Rosemary Youngs Civil War Diary and Civil War Anniversary quilts
7. Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler
8. Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice women's suffrage sampler
9. A botanical album quilt that I've had designed in my head for a long time
10. Away from Home by Nancy Rink (postponed indefinitely)
11. Mimi's Bloomers quilt by Erin Russek
12. Just Takes Two quilt by Sentimental Stitches
13. The Hazel Ilene quilts by Prairie Moon Quilts
14. Path to the Civil War: Aurelia's Journey Quilt
15. A Dear Jane quilt
16. A bed-runner designed by one of my kids
17. Miscellaneous quilts that I've downloaded from quilt-alongs and free patterns from textile companies.
18. Row by Row Experience 2014 quilt
19. Clarity quilt by Zen Chic, using her Sphere line

Hmm... I wasn't expecting it to be six months between posts. I really am a bad blogger. It's been a pretty crummy winter and spring, and I have finally been able to get back to quilting. I am still searching for a way to quilt as aerobic exercise, but in the mean time, I've been de-stressing by going for long walks/jogs using the fitness app Zombies, Run! You don't actually have to run, which is nice because I am by no means in shape. You can play the game walking, too, so I jokingly call it "Zombies, Walk Briskly!" I have improved my stamina, and even occasionally jog when I'm not being chased by zombies. It motivates me to get off the sofa and outside, so it was definitely worth the subscription! I love the irreverent Shaun of the Dead and Jonathan Coulton references. My winter and spring were pretty stressful, but I looked forward each day to coming home from work and running from zombies. Zombies are a problem, but they make me forget my real problems for 30 or 45 minutes. Here is a sampling of my "Zombies, Walk Briskly!" playlist:
1. "Camel Walk," by Southern Culture on the Skids
2. "Rollin' Over" by Skinny Lister
3. "From a Window Seat," by Dawes
4. "My House Has Wheels," by Southern Culture on the Skids
5. "Heartlite," by Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics
6. "Sinnerman," by Nina Simone
7. "Shut Up and Let Me Go," by The Ting Tings
8. "Do It Anyway," by Ben Folds Five
9. "Yes, Maria, Yes" by David Wax Museum
10. "Mambo Mexicano!" by Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta
11. "Glorious Day," by Overmountain Men
12. "The Road," by Frank Turner

In big news, I took my Bible Studies quilt to be long-arm quilted last night! I am very excited.

Quilts in Progress, as of June 3rd, 2014

1. Teal Single Irish Chain (hand quilting)
2. Secret project # 1 (shh- a present!)
3. Secret project # 2  (shh- a present!)
3. Mill Girls by Nancy Rink (still in time-out)
4. Bible Studies (at the long arm quilter!)
5. Mystery Quilt from Downton Abbey fabric for 2014 Historic Club.
6. Champions of the West (blocks finished, but not stitched together- I got creative block when it came to the border)
7. Civil War Sampler "cot" quilt by Karen Witt (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
8. Liberty of Londons sampler quilt (I honestly can't remember where this is in the process, but I definitely haven't got the quilt top finished)
8. Golden's Journal quilt (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
10. Peggy Martin-technique sampler quilt (ditto)
11. Crazy quilt (not your usual crazy quilt, but it is crazy! Quilt top finished, but needs sandwiching/quilting/binding)
12. Roses for Shiloh quilt by Painted Pony 'n Quilts (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
13. Amish with a Twist (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
14. Not quilting, but alter my dirndl to fit my new, smaller, self, and finish the heart-ruching trim for it.

Quilts in the "Some Day" Stage, as of January 3rd, 2014
1. Olivia the piglet quilt
2. A Baltimore Album quilt
3. A hexagon quilt
4. A chintz panel quilt
5. A quilt with the Metro Blues fabrics that I got in New Braunfels and Belleville
6. Various Rosemary Youngs Civil War Diary and Civil War Anniversary quilts
7. Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler
8. Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice women's suffrage sampler
9. A botanical album quilt that I've had designed in my head for a long time
10. Away from Home by Nancy Rink (postponed indefinitely)
11. Mimi's Bloomers quilt by Erin Russek
12. Just Takes Two quilt by Sentimental Stitches
13. The Hazel Ilene quilts by Prairie Moon Quilts
14. Path to the Civil War: Aurelia's Journey Quilt
15. A Dear Jane quilt
16. A bed-runner designed by one of my kids
17. Miscellaneous quilts that I've downloaded from quilt-alongs and free patterns from textile companies.

Thoughts on Jack in the Pulpit blocks: a quasi-tutorial

Did I mention that I'm behind most of the time? There was actually a weekend in December when I was massively over-scheduled and I made it *just* on time to everything (Saturday school, church, Brownies), but usually I am running about 5 minutes behind where I'd like to be. When it comes to quilts, I can be years behind.

My quilting friends and I did a Block of the Week in 2013. One of the October blocks was the Jack in the Pulpit block. Many of my friends were good and did it in October, some in December. I'm just getting to it now in January. The inspiration to try came from their struggles with the directions as written. On my first draft, I got something close to the end product, but had lots of trouble with sections not coming out the right size. So, I am writing out these experiences here that I've had this weekend so that others who are bringing up the rear with me can have a little more information with which to troubleshoot their own Jack in the Pulpit blocks.

Here is a picture of the first draft, finished. I didn't actually take pictures of this particular color scheme as I was going along because I didn't think I would have so much trouble. I went back and redid it using scraps from my scrap bag when I tried to figure out how I should have done it.

Jack in the Pulpit in Blue

To standardize, I am speaking of block # 1684 on page 126 of Maggie Malone's "5,500 Quilt Block Designs."

Before you begin, try some of these things that have tripped me up in the past:
1. Do you need to make your seam scant-er? Sometimes I get distracted and my scant seams slip past the edge of my seam guide.

2. Are you using a wacky thread size, not your usual thickness? I've noticed that the thickness of thread can throw off how scant you need to make your seam. I won some Aurifill thread as a door prize a while back, and noticed that it lays much thinner than my usual Mettler or Gütermann thread. When I was working on the Christmas pageant costumes I used spools of very old thread that I inherited from my grandmother, because I wanted to use it up. (Don't worry- it wasn't vintage thread on the nice wooden spools, this is polyester 1980s stuff.) This thread lay much thicker than usual.

3. Check your needle position. (Corollary to #1) By any chance, have you bumped the stitch position knob  with your elbow, or has your 5-year old moved it while attempting to sit on top of the sewing machine? (These are purely hypothetical situations, of course, and in no way happened in the last 48 hours, ha ha ha.)

Now that you've squared this away, here are the cutting directions that I found work best for one 6" finished size block.You will need scraps of a dark, medium, and light fabric. I found it also helpful to write the names of each triangle on a piece of paper and pin it to the stack.

Light fabric:
2 squares at 2 1/2", cut diagonally in half once. Label these "A" triangles.
2 squares at 2 1/2", left plain
4 squares at 2 3/8", cut once diagonally. Label these your "B" triangles.

Medium fabric:
3 squares at 2 1/2"

Dark fabric:
Okay, here's where things get wacky. You have two options:
Option 1:
2 rectangles at 1 1/4" x 3 3/8"
2 rectangles at 1 1/4" x 4 3/4"

Option 2:
2 rectangles at 1 3/16" x 3 3/8"
2 rectangles at 1 3/16" x 4 3/4" 

Step 1: 
Start by sewing two Light A triangles to opposite sides of one of the Medium squares. Make sure you match up the centers of the triangles with the center of the square. Press to the outside. Then add the other two Light A triangles. Press to the outside again.

Step 1, not squared yet.

Square up the block to 3 3/8" square. There will probably be a thread or two's worth more than 1/4" around the center square; this is okay.

Step 2:
As I hinted at the beginning, the Dark rectangles are where the block math gets wacky. If you use the Option 1 rectangles, your next square will be ever so slightly too large and the rectangle ends won't be flush with each other. If you use Option 2, you need a ruler that goes to 1/16th of an inch. I have heard such things exist, but do not own one. While trying to reverse-engineer the block math, I tried using rectangles that were 1 1/8" wide, but they were too narrow. I got it to ease somewhat through careful pinning and putting the side with too much underneath next to the feed dogs, but it ended up puckery.

Puckery edges, notice also not square, not 4 3/4"

Step 2, Option 2:
If you are lucky enough to have a ruler that goes to 1/16", then you can sew the sides on with no trouble.

Step 2, Option 1:
If you do not have a ruler that goes to 1/16", make the blocks the slightly bigger size. Sew the first two Dark rectangles on the sides. Press to the outside. It will hopefully look like this:

Shorter rectangles added

It quite possibly will be ever so slightly too wide, 4 7/8" instead of 4 3/4". Shave tiny amounts off the edges until it is the right width. Then sew on the longer rectangles. Shave again as needed, until the block is squared up at 4 3/4" square. Your points will probably not touch the border. (I decided that was less important than having a block that squared up to the right dimensions.)

Step 3:

Make half-square triangles out of the remaining two Medium squares and the remaining two Light squares. Press toward the Medium fabric.

Half-square triangles

Square them up to 2" square.

Step 4: 

Sew the Light B triangles to the sides of the half-square triangles. Start by arranging the pieces so the Medium triangle is on the bottom facing you. Flip the Light B triangle so that the right-angle corner is in the top right corner. 

Beginning the side triangles

Stitch along the right-hand edge. Press to the Light triangles.

First side triangles added

Turn the pieces so that the sloped side points to the left. Add the remaining Light B triangles to the new top right corner.

Ready to add remaining side triangles

Once you have laid the Light B triangles on top, flip the packets so that the triangles are on the bottom, and the right angle corner is on the top right. You are now ready to sew along the right-hand edge.

Sew along right hand edge. If your seam line goes through the notch, you got it right.

Press the seam to the Light B triangle. Slice off the tails with your rotary cutter, but be sure to keep your fingers out of the way! (I sliced my finger ever so slightly yesterday on my first draft of the block.)

Side triangles ready to go

Step 5:
Crease the square to find the center of the framing Dark rectangles and match the center of the side triangles. Pin in place. Sew two triangles on opposite sides of the square. Press to the inside.

Pinned to outer square

In the same way, pin two triangles on the remaining opposite sides and stitch in place. Press to the inside. Square up to 6 1/2" inches unfinished.

Finished block

Metadata:
I used Mettler thread on a Pfaff machine with quilting presser foot with walking foot. I used scant 1/4" seams. The original fabric were quilting cottons plus a heavier woven plaid. The fabric used in the demo is a polyester fabric left over from the Christmas pageant costumes. I used starch on the original fabric but not on the demo.

2013 Progress Check, 2014 Kickoff

So today in looking back over my quilting during 2013, I am feeling a lot of blog envy. There are a lot of talented quilters out there who are really good photographers too. I am neither, and my stats say that my blog's biggest fan is a search engine in Russia. I love it! This blog is more for accountability than anything, so I'm not worried. I took a break from quilting to work on costumes and sets for the Christmas pageant musical at church, and then between that and other holiday obligations I ran myself into the ground the week before Christmas and got nastily sick. My mind thought, "I called in sick today, I could work on sewing some blocks!" My body said, "Nah, I just want to stay horizontal" and my head went back down on the pillow and I slept some more. I've been sewing lots of blocks from the Bible Studies block-of-the-week over the last couple days as an effort to try to finish Something, Anything. Some of my motivation has been the end-of-year challenge over at Prairie Moon Quilts. Here is what I have accomplished since Christmas:

Lamentations

Ezekiel, Daniel, and Hosea

 

Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah

 My DH is a very smart man. He pointed to one and said, "I think this one is my favorite."

"But you admire them all, right?" I said and tipped my head at him.

"Of course," he said. "They are all beautifully created." He is well-trained.

The Mill Girls quilt is no closer to being done- it is in time out because I can't bear the thought of cutting exactly up the center of a pillar stripe print. 

Prosit Neujahr, everyone!

Quilts in Progress, as of January 1st, 2014

1. Teal Single Irish Chain (hand quilting)
2. Mill Girls by Nancy Rink
3. Bible Studies
4. Champions of the West (blocks finished, but not stitched together- I got creative block when it came to the border)
5. Civil War Sampler "cot" quilt by Karen Witt (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
6. Liberty of Londons sampler quilt (I honestly can't remember where this is in the process, but I definitely haven't got the quilt top finished)
7. Golden's Journal quilt (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
8. Peggy Martin-technique sampler quilt (ditto)
9. Crazy quilt (not your usual crazy quilt, but it is crazy! Quilt top finished, but needs sandwiching/quilting/binding)
10. Roses for Shiloh quilt by Painted Pony 'n Quilts (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
11. Amish with a Twist (haven't finished all the blocks yet)
12. Not quilting, but alter my dirndl to fit my new, smaller, self, and finish the heart-ruching trim for it.

Quilts in the "Some Day" Stage, as of January 1st, 2014
1. Olivia the piglet quilt
2. A Baltimore Album quilt
3. A hexagon quilt
4. A chintz panel quilt
5. A quilt with the Metro Blues fabrics that I got in New Braunfels and Belleville
6. Various Rosemary Youngs Civil War Diary and Civil War Anniversary quilts
7. Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler
8. Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice women's suffrage sampler
9. A botanical album quilt that I've had designed in my head for a long time
10. Away from Home by Nancy Rink (postponed indefinitely)
11. Mimi's Bloomers quilt by Erin Russek
12. Just Takes Two quilt by Sentimental Stitches
13. The Hazel Ilene quilts by Prairie Moon Quilts
14. Path to the Civil War: Aurelia's Journey Quilt
15. A Dear Jane quilt
16. A bed-runner designed by one of my kids
17. Miscellaneous quilts that I've downloaded from quilt-alongs and free patterns from textile companies.