2010 Recap

Even though I wasn't working two jobs, like I did last year, the first half of the year kept me very busy at work, to a point where my mother was helping me with lunches and cleaning.  In the summer, we hosted a Japanese student. Then things slowed down and I was able to finish some quilts. I also reviewed several books for some companies who were willing to send me complimentary copies of their books in exchange for the review. I also did a great deal of genealogy research.

This year I decided to show not just the finishes, but quilty things I have worked on. It makes the recap look better because there is more stuff on it, and it also gives you a better idea of what I have been doing in 2010. Here they are, in no particular order.

The snowflake coasters were my latest little project. I am keeping these for myself. I also turned a couple into ornaments for the tree.

I made these tissue holders as holiday gifts.

This vase was a project that was abandoned before this year, but finished in October 2010.

Four of five quilts I made for the Quilts for Kids charity. The fifth one looked like the red black and white one, with panda bears on it, and was done in 2009. This charity took a great deal of my time in 2010, but apparently I did have enough time to have other finishes as well.

This is the very first oil painting I made. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to paint with my family. I have it sitting on the book, so you can see the inspiration on the right. The color of the water was actually mostly from the turpentine that we were using to clean our brushes.

The pirate map is an unfinished project for 2010. Our Japanese guest helped with some of the motifs.


The little flag wall hanging was started and finished in 2010. It was simple to make, but I am particularly proud of it because of the quote quilted on it.



This is a sample block I made for a big idea I had. The idea will work, once I get started on it. I tried to finish this block into a project, but it didn't work well. I am hoping that like the vase, I will manage to finish it at a later date.



Since joining Kathleen Tracy's small quilt yahoo group, I have been tempted many times with these little quilts. They are really fun to make. In this one, I limited myself to one small scrap box, to give myself the challenge that people in olden days would have had.  I particularly liked using scraps for this one, and remembering where each one came from.

The African Circles quilt was my first project I started and finished in 2010. It was my goal to finish everything I started this year. It hasn't completely come true, but I have made great strides. And I gave myself permission to simply play - like with the red and white kaleidoscope block and the blue and white blocks below. They were never part of a project, and a great start to an orphan block quilt.

One of these blocks started out as a beginning of Kate's round robin. I still want to do the round robin, but the block, and the additional ones I made are now part of the orphan block collection. I will probably make a small quilt out of these.  I think it is amazing at how the same basic shape can look so completely different based on how it is put together.

The Cheddar Cheese and Crackers was started early in the year, and is a work in progress. It is a pattern by Lori from Humble Quilts. It is being hand quilted. The cheddar fabric isn't playing nicely and isn't laying flat, so it has me worried, but hopefully I will be able to quilt it into submission. It has taught me that I am not capable of hand quilting a big project though!

This is my last finish for 2010. I like this one the best of all the quilts I worked on this year.

The Simply Squares quilt was an impulse quilt made from newly purchased fabric. The top is made.  I was going to try to finish this one for 2010 as well, but I think my quilts look quite impressive for the year, so I won't stress myself out trying to finish it this year.

Tutorial: Binding Fixes

Way back in September, I presented a tutorial on how to fold over binding. In that post, while showing you how to make a binding by folding over the backing to the front, I made a couple of errors, and I promised that a tutorial on how to fix the errors would be forthcoming "very soon."  I fixed my binding, took pictures, and eventually forgot about my promise.  Since that post is one of my 10 most popular posts, I think maybe it is about time that I make good on my promise. Here's what I said:

10. Now, if you didn't follow my advice in step 4 and have any issues, you have options.  You can decide you want a separate binding after all, or you can wait for the next tutorial (coming up very soon) where I will show you some intermediary steps.

I don't recommend doing this.

I am sorry that I left you wondering how I fixed this problem. When you first encounter this problem, it is important not to panic. You can keep clear headed and decide what to do. There are two ways to fix it.

One way is to give up on the fold over binding, and decide to do it the regular way with a separate binding. To do this, you can trim all of the backing even with the edge of the quilt, and attach a separate binding. But if you are making a casual quilt, one that is meant to provide love and comfort for kids, and not one you are showing to the quilt police, there really isn't any reason you can't add more love by fixing your errors. A little secret spot that got some extra attention might be just the place that the kid will gravitate to when he needs some extra attention himself.

First, trim off the error.  You don't want to look at it any more than you have to.  Then, find a piece of similar or matching fabric that is bigger than the error.  You want to have enough fabric that you can fold over the ends, and still have it big enough to cover the problem area.

Fold down the sides and pin right sides together.  With a machine sew from edge to edge, including the folded over parts.  It is okay if you manage to sew through the batting seam.  That part will be covered up with the binding anyway, and might add some extra security to your layers. 

Fold the fabric up over the seam, and it is almost as good as new.  Trim your little piece to be even with the remaining fabric.  Repeat for as many errors as you made (I made two), and proceed as usual with the steps shown in the first tutorial.  Because the sides aren't sewn, you will have to either hand stitch or machine stitch them when you are done.  I used a machine.

10/10/10 Results

I am sure that you are waiting with baited breath to see if I had any finishes that I could mark as 10/10/10.  Yes I did.  Sort of.

I decided to do something do-able instead of stressing out over it.  I decided to do a block for the Jane Stickle book.  Not only would this give me a completion, it would also bring progress to this project that has stalled for a very long time.  Longer than I like to imagine.  Part of the problem has to do with a change in scanners, which is a silly reason indeed.  I realize that the quilt won't have the 10/10/10 date on it, but the spreadsheet will.

When I got out my material, I found that I had already started this block.  Even better!  I found the background fabric I needed, trimmed away unneeded parts of the applique, carefully and properly centered the applique with the freezer paper on top and sewed away.  It wasn't until I took off the freezer paper that I realized that the applique had slid away from the freezer paper, and my block isn't as symmetrical as I wanted.

I could take out the bigger parts and trim and applique them down smaller, but in order to have a 10/10/10 finish, I decided to call this finished and be done with it.  I don't think it looks bad, so it seems more of a design choice than an error.

As always,  I reserve the right to remake any blocks that are bothering me at that time.  But really, I think I will have so many of these hmmm blocks that I won't want to make the effort.

I have also finished all four of the Quilts for Kids quilts!  Yeah!  I need to set the ink on the labels, and wash them before I send them off.  Oh yeah, and take pictures first.

Making the Switch

As you probably know by now, Bloglines is disappearing.  I have switched to Google Reader.  There are a lot of posts on it that I have already read, and I am trying to figure out how I want to configure and use it. Right now, I liked it better simpler, but I may just need time to adjust.  I don't think I am leaving as many comments as I used to.

I finished binding the third Quilts for Kids quilt.  Just one more to go!

I have decided I am tired of making rail fence blocks, so the size of the quilt will be determined by how many blocks I have completed.  I think it will be a good size. I will probably have some extra blocks for the back. I've sewn and pressed the rows, and am working on finishing the quilt top.

Fencing and Quilting Continues

I made (and pressed!) another pile of rail fences.  This is a photo of the leftover scraps.  I'm sure I will find a use for them - thinking about the spiderweb quilt, since it is foundation pieced.  I'm not sure I am ready to start that yet.

I just finished quilting the third Quilts for Kids quilt (not shown).  Only one left, after I am finished binding this one.  Since I only get about a bobbin's worth done a day, I decided to quilt it using only one bobbin's worth.  It worked wonderfully.

I have linked this post to Amy Lou's Sew and Tell, because I've finally gotten a lot done this week!

Tutorial: How to Fold Over Binding

I thought I would record what I learned in case I ever use this technique again.  I am making a Quilts for Kids quilt, and I wanted to make a binding that was quick and simple.  I didn't have (or didn't want to look for ) coordinating fabric for a separate binding, and I didn't have enough backing fabric to make a double fold binding.  Plus I wanted to try a new-to-me technique.  I decided to fold over the backing to the front as I have seen others do in the past.

The problem with this method (and with any other method) is that I have to bring cutting implements near the quilt top.  This is very scary to me, because of a traumatic past experience. 

Comparison to Separate Double Fold Binding

Advantages:

• takes less fabric 
• hand sewing not required
• probably quicker, I'm not sure.
• nice to have alternate techniques in your arsenal
• not wasting the extra backing fabric. You have to add extra backing anyway, why not use it up right away?
• stitching shows on top of quilt which is good if you use a nice decorative stitch

Disadvantages:

• probably not as strong as a double fold binding
• cutting implements near quilt (twice) is dangerous
• probably won't win awards
• stitching shows on top of quilt, which is bad if you have issues with stitching or can't find matching thread

Here are my tips / steps.  It isn't that complicated, but I like to explain things and break out lists in very small steps. Please critique this tutorial and let me know if I explain too much, am too wordy, or left anything out, or how I can otherwise make this tutorial better.

Directions

1. Make your quilt top.  Sandwich and quilt, but don't quilt all the way to the edge.  The mat is going to have to stick in there, so leave about a quarter to half an inch from the edge. When you are done quilting, take out any remaining safety pins or basting where they can interfere with the binding process. 
   
   
2. Lay the quilt flat again.  I use a floor because the table has too much stuff on it.  Put the cutting mat between the batting and the backing, as far in as the quilting will allow you to go.  Be gentle, you don't want to mess up the quilting.    Make sure everything is nice and flat.  The top, the batting need to be nice and flat.  Also pull the backing underneath the mat and check that it is flat and smooth under the mat. 
   
   
3. Put the ruler on top of the quilt.  I like to line it up with the inner border to make sure I have a nice consistently straight line so the quilt top is nice and square.
   
   
4. Do not skip this quality control step.  Lift up the batting over the ruler to be sure that the backing is flat.  Be careful that when you are doing this, you aren't also pulling up the backing.  If you leave a fold like this,
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Batting folded over for quality inspection.  Backing should all be under ruler,
   but here it is peeking through.

   
   it can cause a cut like this!
   
   
   
   
   

   

   I don't recommend doing this.

   
   
5. Plan how much you are going to cut at a time.  You want to make sure you aren't cutting too far, off the mat or away from the ruler area.
   
   
6. Cut at your own risk.
   
   
7. Move the mat and ruler and repeat steps 2-6 as you go all around the quilt, especially the quality control step. You can do that step several times if you want. But do it carefully.
   
   



Batting has been trimmed

8.  Decide how wide you want the binding to be. First, find the area where the backing sticks out the least from the quilt top.  That is the largest your binding can be cut.  Then look around the edges of your quilt top to see where the top doesn't quite make it to the edge, not that you have any of those. 
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Quilt top didn't quite meet the backing here

   
   You want the binding to be large enough to cover this spot and a little bit more. That is the smallest your binding can be cut.  You will be folding the binding over itself to cover the raw edge, but may want to tuck about an extra quarter inch of the raw edge under the quilt to have two layers of fabric at the most vulnerable part of the quilt, the edge. If you do, that will affect how wide you want to cut the binding.  I played around with folding the backing over the top to decide where I wanted my cut. You can take a practice spot and try cutting it different widths to see what works.  Remember, start big and work your way down to smaller sizes in small increments.  I decided to cut 1 and one fourth inch (1 1/4) away from the edge of the quilt.
   
   
9. Put the cutting mat under the backing this time, line up the ruler for the measurement you determined in step 8.  Make sure everything is nice and flat, and cut carefully.  Repeat around the quilt. You don't need me to break all this out into mini-steps.  You are a pro at this.
   
   
10. Now, if you didn't follow my advice in step 4 and have any issues, you have options.  You can decide you want a separate binding after all, or you can take these correcting steps.  If you didn't have any issues, you don't really need my tutorial, but you are almost done, so you might as well finish reading, just to make me feel good. But if you stop reading, I won't know.
    
    
11. You want to fold the binding fabric against itself first to hide the raw edge.  You can just fold in half, but I recommend folding about a quarter inch more, so you can tuck some of that fabric under the batting.  This will give you a semblance of a double fold binding, and makes sure there are two pieces of fabric over the most vulnerable part of the quilt, the edge.  Fold the folded fabric over the quilt, pin or otherwise baste, being careful to have a consistent binding size throughout the quilt. Since I had a limited number of pins on hand, and because I didn't want too many pins stabbing me, I did one edge at a time, long, opposite edges first.
    
    
12. You can sew by machine or by hand.  I used machine since I could see exactly where I was sewing. A decorative stitch would be nice, but a straight stitch works as well.   If using the machine, put in a walking foot, and change the settings on your machine accordingly. Use thread that is close to the color of the binding fabric.  I put the pins in facing the needle, so I can easily take them out without getting close to the needle.  Sew from edge of quilt to edge of quilt, about one eighth of an inch away from the fold. I would backstitch at the top and the bottom if the backstitch button worked on my machine.  I just use a shorter stitch length since it doesn't.  You can probably sew all the way off the binding fabric, but I didn't so I don't know what the quilting police would say if you did.
    
    
    
    
    

    

    Sewing binding down

    
    
13. To do the other two sides, you will have to deal with the corners.  To make the mitered corner, fold a triangle in the corner first,
    
    
    
    

    

    Fold binding diagonally into triangle.  Pin optional.

    
    then fold the binding over itself in half (or more) as before.
    
    
    
    

    

    Binding folded over itself.  Pin still optional.

    
    Fold the folded binding over the quilt and pin. 
    
    
    
    
    

    

    Binding folded over quilt.  Pinning highly recommended.

    
    Sew down the miter and the rest of the binding. You can do the miter by hand if you don't want stitching to show in the back, but I did all by machine.  Do the same for the rest of the quilt.   Label your quilt and you are done. Congratulations!

Quilting

As I have been catching up on blog reading, I have found that I have been really drawn to scrap quilts lately.  Edited to add a link for an example of a gorgeous scrap quilt.  Lots of teeny-tiny pieces, both pieced and appliqued.  I can't start a new one, because I have been working on a Leaders and Enders for a while now, and I want to show some finishes this year.  I decided to count the blocks I have already made, to see how far I have gotten, and estimate how much time I will have before I can start one with even tinier pieces.  I want a big quilt, because the pieces will look smaller proportionately in a bigger quilt, like a generous lap quilt, because the days are getting cooler, and I am looking forward to having a new tv watching quilt.  My mother bought my purple princess quilt from me this summer.

It turns out I am only at the halfway point.  I cut some more fabric (I think I need more multi-colored, larger scale, more interesting, fabric) and sewed a few more strips together to speed the process along.  It's times like these when I wish I had more than one working sewing machine and space to put them.  I have quilts that need quilted and on their way to their recipient.  Three Quilts for Kids quilts.


Yesterday I quilted some more on the first of the three.  I seem to be doing one bobbin's worth a day. It looks like it is going to take four per quilt.   Hopefully I can get two today so I can finish it. Maybe I will do straight line quilting on the next one.  It isn't as much fun, but I think I can manage to get it done faster. Or else make bigger squiggles.

I also did one thread's worth of hand quilting while watching Who Do You Think You Are?  It was a rerun but I am hoping to give some good karma to the show. I did find out that Ancestry is offering free access this Labor Day weekend, but it is only for the immigration records.

Quilting has Resumed!

Kate has posted the third step of the stay at home robin today.  I wanted to do this quilt.  I still want to do the quilt.  I thought that I should hurry and catch up on the blocks, because I think that doing each step in a separate month would help give it that round robin flavor.  All the blocks would look different, because the decisions were made in separate months.

The first week's step is to make a 6 inch block.  I flipped through my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt and chose a block.   The blocks in the book are smaller than 6 inches, but I figure I could add a sashing to bring it up to size.

The directions are skimpy, but I studied the picture carefully and put my pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle to make sure I added all the parts in the right places.  It turns out that the template is reversed.  Maybe all templates are - it's been a while since I've sewn with templates. I sewed the triangles together so I was left with four squares.  Oops.   I can't make the block I set out to make.

Before I bring out the seam ripper, I try to determine whether there has been a mistake that needs ripping, or whether it was simply an alternate design choice.  There were many times when I was making the Jane blocks where I wished I could play with alternate design choices.  I decided to play.  How can I position these pieces where the resulting design looks intentional?

Like the four patch posie, I twisted the pieces around and around, and found several pleasing designs.  I've decided to run with this, and make some more blocks.

I'm not sure whether these will wind up in the round robin quilt, because they won't look like a different person made each block.  But I guess it wouldn't hurt to have some orphan blocks laying around.  Or maybe I'll make another doll quilt, using the same layout as my last one.

In other quilting news, I have finished making all of the tops for the Quilts for Kids quilts.  I am hoping to get them sandwiched and quilted soon.

A finish!

First off, sorry about the lie in the next to last post. I told you I would be showing you the treasures in my treasure box, and I sneaked in a book review. Deadlines, you know how it is. Okay, so the first thing out of the treasure box is a Quilt for Kids quilt. I finished it. And it is free motion quilted. I didn't want to take a lot of time deciding on a quilting design, only to find out that I couldn't get the free motion to work anymore, so I decided to meander. The pictures for this quilt wound up with the quilt show quilts. You know what this quilt and the quilt show quilts have in common? It is finished! Be sure to visit AmyLou's blog to see what other crafters have been up to this week.

Quiltathon 2 Update

I'm sure you were all waiting with baited breath to find out whether I was able to increase the number of quilts I worked on this past weekend compared to the weekend before. Let's see, let's count them.

1. Lizard Quilts for Kids - I added the other two inner borders
2. Spiderweb - I created a plan for finishing it, and got out the supplies I needed
3. Sports Quilts for Kids - I added the other two inner borders
4. Monkeys Quilts for Kids - I put the top together - need to add borders
5. Moldy Cheese and Crackers - I added the last border
6. Rail Fence - I used this as my Leaders and Enders
7. Optical Illusion - I didn't do anything on this quilt this week
8. Flag - when I was looking at the leftover strips from spiderweb sample, they looked awfully familiar. I decided to use them up to make a flag. I'm not really starting a new project - it was already started last week, I just didn't know it yet.
9. Album Quilt - stayed in the drawer
10. Jane Stickle Quilt - I pulled out fabric, but I didn't do anything else on it

I think overall, it means I did 7 this weekend, but since I did 7 last weekend too, I didn't add to the count.

because it was Mother's Day and we went to the Park of Roses and an Oriental grocery store.

Quilting Retreat

I decided to work on just in time inventory at work. I need to prepare packets for the supervisors, but if I work fast enough, I will be able to stay a step ahead of the supervisors, and have each packet ready when they are ready for it. This means I will be really busy tomorrow. It will be extra stress, because I am not used to cutting it that close. I hope my allergies give me a break.

But it also means that I can take the weekend off!

I didn't plan any of it, but it turned out to be a nice quilting retreat weekend. It rained, so I couldn't mow the lawn. And my mother has been providing regular meals, so I don't have to prepare lunches either!

I sat at the sewing machine, and sewed the rows together for the last Quilts for Kids. Since the iron is upstairs, I decided to set it aside, and figure out what else needed sewn. I added the two inner border sides on the other Quilts for Kids quilt. And then the same thing to the next one. Set those aside for pressing.

Then I started sewing strips for the sample of the optical illusion quilt. Maybe if I work it in, in between all the other quilts, the Quilt Police won't notice that I started yet another quilt. Set that aside for pressing.

I then worked on adding the revised borders for the Moldy Cheese and Crackers quilt. It isn't easy to do that one, since I already have that one sandwiched and part of it quilted, but I had already done the unsewing, so I just needed to add the borders. Each quilt wound up being a leader and ender. Is it possible to just sew assembly line? Yes it is, if you work on five quilts at a time.

I thought about making a Dear Jane block, but I thought you would have thought I have really gone off the deep end. That, and the fabric needs to be washed, and if I wash that, I would have to do the laundry!

It was good timing for the Cheese and Crackers quilt though, because it turns out that Lori is starting another quilt.

As I was pressing my parts and pieces, I also pressed the fabric for the Optical Illusion quilt. That makes 6 quilts I was working on, but I won't tell anyone if you won't.

Quilting Update

It's Friday, so I am supposed to be showing you what I've sewed this week for Sew and Tell. Stay awhile, and when you're done reading my blog, be sure to go to Amy's blog to see what other, more productive, people have been sewing.

Sorry there isn't anything finished to show you. Progress has been slow here on the High Road. I am making four Quilts for Kids. The first one is a completed top, pressed and ready for sandwiching and quilting. Two of them have the blocks all together, and are waiting for pressing and borders. The last one has the blocks done, and is waiting to be put together into a top.


Plans and ideas have been completed for the optical illusion quilt. I am going to draw this out on a large sheet of paper so I can properly determine the size of all of the rows. I could try to do it math-wise, but I am a more visual person. Then I was thinking of making a small sample, using 60 degree angles, and just a few rows, to see if there is anything else I am supposed to be thinking of that I haven't.

Weekend Activities

My back is still hurting, so I spent a lot of time this weekend reading a book, The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life by Ben Sherwood. I got it from the library. Sherwood has interviewed people who survived harrowing experiences to see if there was anything that they had in common. It is a great book. One of the things he said in passing was that survivors, especially people with long term illnesses and caregivers didn't wait for "normal" to come back. They accepted their new "normal." I realized that I was waiting for normal to come back. When I dropped a cup of paperclips as I was rushing off to work, I left them there, to avoid being late. When I got home, I decided to leave them there until "normal" returned. I cleaned it up this weekend. I can't wait for normal. I have to accept that it will take me twice as long to do anything, and choose my activities accordingly.

I made some progress on the Quilts for Kids. I am making two of the tops at the same time, because they use the same fabric for the four patches. It took me one day to make the first top, and it's taken me two weeks to make the rows, but that's okay. I'm making progress.

I really enjoyed my week of eating the chicken I made last week. As you may recall, I bought a big family size pack of chicken breasts, and made three dishes, and froze them in individual serving size containers. Made packing lunch and eating dinner very easy. I ate all of them this week. I learned it is as hard to cook salt free as it is to eat wheat free.

It was triple coupon day at the grocery store, but after last week, I decided not to deal with coupons much. I just bought things that didn't have coupons, although I did have my coupon box with me, in case I found something I just had to have. I managed to stick to my list.

This week, beef was on sale, so I did the same with beef. They had a package that had three different kinds of meat - a roast, steaks, and beef stew. There is variety. I am hoping to eventually get to a point where I have variety in my freezer. I also bought ground beef, but I got a late start, (had to wash the dishes first) and didn't get a chance to make that. Since I don't think I should be eating red meat everyday, I'll probably freeze up a vegetarian or chicken dish so I can have variety. I think I'll have to cook during the week to get ahead and have the variety.

Quilts For Kids

I haven't been able to add a weekly post to Amy's Sew and Tell, but finally this week, I can, and so I did!

I forgot to take a picture of my King Fu Panda quilt, but Mary has made one just like it, so look here. The only difference is that mine didn't have a binding.

I'm now making a quilt with the same colors, but with dogs. Since I'm using red thread, it is limiting what other things I can work on at the same time. You know, because it is so hard to change the thread.

There's snow on the grass today. Whatever happened to spring?

I changed my blog banner again. Yes, yet another UFO coming to haunt me. The blog now seems seems more fall like than spring like, but I can never keep up with seasons and holidays anyway.

Happy Spring

The last batch of pictures I uploaded to my computer were snow pictures. That seems like a lifetime ago. I thought I should take some nicer pictures. Lots of promise.




I received another four kits from Quilts for Kids. I was thinking I was going to share them, knowing there was a possibility that I would be making them all myself. My mother's sewing machine is broken, so I think I am on my own. I already want to make something for myself, so I'm pretty sure my quilting pace will be picked up, so I can fit it all in. It's going to be a busy spring, so don't hold your breath waiting for a finished quilt!

Quilts for Kids

Look at this beautiful fabric that came via UPS today! It is a kit that I got from Quilts For Kids. I am to make a quilt with the kit, providing my own batting, and send the finished product back to them. This looks like it is going to be a fun quilt to make, and for a great cause. You can request your own kit if you want to do this as well.