Quilt Reveal: Irish Chain

I have finished my Irish chain quilt. And I managed to keep it simple and modern. Even though all that white space called out to me to do something - add an applique or embroidery motif, some large multi-colored hand stitches, etc., I kept my promise to keep it simple and do some straight line quilting. I even stayed with the original plan and managed to avoid free motion quilting. I figured that the hexagon quilt is already giving me enough challenge, and I need to get this one done.

I've been trying to make a modern quilt.  Keeping it simple, but for every other quilt, I wound up doing something that threw off the modernity.  Straight lines all the way up and down the quilt, even through the border.  I thought about making vertical and horizontal lines, but I liked them better diagonal to make them fancier. I was originally going to use that dark green thread throughout, but I chickened out and went with the lighter thread for most of it.  The dark green is only on the chains.  I like the contrast the two different thread colors give this quilt.

What's so funny is that my most modern quilt is also the most traditional.  One of the first quilts I ever finished uses this kind of quilting pattern.

I had an extra nine patch left, so I made a label for it. I found several quotes about chains, and I particularly liked this one. We have to make so many decisions in quilting, as in life, and it is always a gamble whether the decision is a good one or not.

 I have not an ounce of regret. Every link is so valuable in forming the chain that is my life. Who I am today is because of those links, and I wouldn't change any of them.
Alanis Morissette

I bound it while binge-watching Rehab Addict, a home improvement show that fits more my style.  A single mother fixed houses without killing the character of the home.  Each of the little squares finish at .75".  It is approximately 21' x 27", making it one of my biggest small quilts.

My First Hexagon for La Passacaglia

I have made my first hexagon ever! This is the start of my journey for La Passacaglia. I chose this block to start because it does not have any set in seams and looks pretty easy to make.  Just attach the little triangle on top of the half hexagon and make bigger triangles. Then sew them together, turning each piece one turn.  My plan was to make this hexagon in several different ways - machine piecing, hand piecing and EPP - so I could decide which method will work better for me. This is my machine quilting attempt.

And I have already learned a lot of lessons on this quilt. I printed out the pattern for the block, and looked at my acrylic templates. The templates were slightly larger than the pieces so I decided that with seam allowances, they would be close enough.  If I always use these templates, then they will work for the quilt, even if the size isn't an exact match to the pattern.  I made the block. I am very happy with the way the swiggly lines radiate out of the center.

Then I compared the block to the picture, and realized that it was too small. The template is for a one inch pieces, and I need one and a half. I need to measure more carefully and use the paper for the template so that I will make the correct size. Then, I looked at the inch measure. I printed the template too small. The one on the left is the correct size. So it is really, really too small.  The good news is that if I make the block the correct size, the quilt will go together pretty quickly. 

The two fabrics are different weights - I was matching colors, not weights, and using the same weight will make it function better.  I also did not match the points correctly in the center, so I am going to have to be more accurate with the piecing and matching of points.

I also did not fussy cut these pieces, since I figured squiggly lines would look fine without fussy cutting, but I do think it will look even better when it is fussy cut.

I've also decided that I like the machine piecing, and that will work best for me.  The other methods require prep - basting down the seams, cutting out the paper pieces, then taking out the paper. I am afraid that this quilt will become a UFO pretty quickly if I don't keep the process as simple as possible.  The acrylic templates worked great in showing me how to trim off the dog ears before I even start, making it easy to line up the pieces. Unfortunately, this quilt uses a lot of unusual pieces so these templates wouldn't be enough even if they were the right size.  Even though I won't be able to use them as much as I thought, I will be able to carry that concept to this quilt.

Other things I learned: 1 don't have nearly enough striped fabric. Also this quilt will not help me keep my space tidy.  Everyone is recommending that you go through your stash to figure out what you can use. 

I have finished sewing the Irish chain top.  It looked really boring to me until I put it on top of the green fabric. It's the same fabric that is in the top.  Now I like it again.  I will use the green for the binding and the back.  I also have another quilt in mind that will be able to use any remaining fabric perfectly. Hmm, I think this quilt might need a border. 

Another Animal Has Arrived for the Elephant Parade

I was minding my own business, hurrying up to finish the Irish Chain quilt so I could start something new, when lo and behold, this animal showed up in the sewing machine.  Yeah, it is one of those whatever you think it is animals. What do you think it is? Yes, that is exactly what it is.

I like that he is on an incline. Keeps the parade more interesting when the road isn't exactly flat. I lost his ear - I didn't want to fuse any of the applique on until I was sure, so this is a temporary one. He wound up with a shorter body than I was envisioning. Darn seam allowance. At this point, I can still change the ear and tail to make it look more like the animal you think it is.

 I think this means that I have enough blocks for the quilt I originally planned.  (4 x 4).  I'm tempted to make it a 5 x 5, but that would just delay the finish of this quilt.

I think I am going to add another couple of rows on the Irish chain. I have some more nine patches left, and am not sure I like the idea of a square Irish chain quilt. But I do want to keep the nine patches in all four corners, so I have to add two instead of just one more row. This quilt seems so boring when compared to all the new quilts I have been thinking about, but I know I wanted something simple and fast to balance out the slow moving quilts I have been working on. I was tempted by alternate pieced blocks and applique, but I do hope I can keep it simple throughout, even though it looks so boring right now. I will free motion this quilt though instead of diagonal straight lines to make a modern feel to it and to practice my free motion quilting. I haven't done that yet on my "new" machine.

Quilting Day

I'm not finished with all of the things that had been pushed back, but I am thoroughly enjoying having the time to finally get to them.  There is a joy in having time to do the things you have to do, even if you didn't really enjoy doing them before. Even things like cleaning and yard work.

But now, I have finally given myself permission to get back to quilting.  I have been looking at blog posts and Pinterest and seeing so much inspiration for new projects, but I am holding myself to finishing my current projects.  They still hold my interest, as tempting as it is to start something new.

In case you don't remember from my very sporadic posts, I started three quilts this year.  Two of them were Quiltalongs. One is called Elephant Parade, which is a modern quilt with cute elephants, frogs, flowers, and turtle.  I have changed it up by using animal prints and by adding additional animals.  The other is called A Life of Plenty and it is more folk artsy with piecing, applique and embroidery.  Both of these use a lot of different fabrics, and my sewing area still has a jumble of fabrics I brought down so I could choose the perfect fabric for each.

I am not sure whether I mentioned the third quilt I was making.  I realized as I was making the quiltalong quilts, that I needed a Leaders and Enders quilt.  I tried as best as I could to just use the same quilt as a Leaders and Enders or alternate with the other quilt, but in the end, I realized I needed something mindless that I could simply run through the machine so I could get the piece I was working on out of the machine without having those long threads.

It was around Saint Patrick's Day at the time, and an Irish Chain quilt was something that has been on my to-do list practically since I began quilting.  I found some fabric on sale - it just have been right after the holiday - that would be perfect for it, so I went ahead and started using it up.  It is slow going, of course, since I only use it when I don't have something on my current projects to run through the machine, but now I am thinking that if I could get it done, I could then work on the triangle quilt for my bed.  The triangle (or thimble, depending on what I decide), will then be the Leaders and Enders I will use to keep the two main quilts moving along.

Even with these picture closeups, I think it is pretty obvious that my sewing room needs a serious cleaning.  I've got competing interests this week - "Finish something and use up what you have!" and "Clean and organize so you have space to work!"  I plan to do both this week.

While I was catching up on my blog reading, I read several posts about cleaning clutter and not buying things as a substitute of actually making things.  I recommend the following:

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2015/07/stash-attack.html for quilt fabric
http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2015/07/stop-hoarding-start-creating.html for craft supplies
http://www.leedrew.com/2015/07/genealogy-how-many-certificates-do-you.html for genealogy documents