threads of my life woven together
It's done! Now onto the back.
Pattern: Snapshots from Oh, Fransson!
Modifications: I added an extra row of blocks to measure 48" x 72" finished.
Any suggestions on how to quilt it? I'm wanting to get away from stippling, so I've thought about doing some lines. I know I don't want to do diagonals (I don't think so, anyway). I'm still mulling it over.
I realized that I never did a year-end post with the projects from the year. Now, I haven’t made that many, but I’d still like to “remember” them. So, here are the ones from 2009 (I’ll make another for 2010 and probably 2008, soon):
Liam’s Knitted Blanket & Crib Skirt
With this quilt. I knew that these fabrics together would make the best combination. The pattern is Snapshots from Oh, Fransson's The Practical Guide to Patchwork.
My only modification was adding one more row of blocks and not cutting for the back. I plan on using some blocks leftover from the front to piece the back. As of right now, these blocks are pieced together in rows and two of the rows are sewn together. Just two more long seams and the top is done!
As I mentioned in previous posts, I'm getting more and more efficient in my quilt making. Have a full-time job and a one-year-old doesn't make for a lot of time, so I've had to figure out a way to get things done quickly without wasted time and materials.
I've started putting more planning time into my quilts before I even cut the fabric. This has saved time and materials on the backend. The planning time does involve some sketching, some notes, and some math.
Some of you are scared of the math. Don't be. It all makes sense once you figure it out. It's basic fourth grade math. But in a way, it's not. In fourth grade you had to do all those workbook pages that had no meaning whatsoever. And those word problems that tried to attach meaning to the math failed horribly since there was no purpose behind them. Quilting, however, gives you a purpose to understand the math. The purpose and desire actually makes the math easier to understand and figure out.
So, here's an example. I'm starting a quilt for a little baby I know who will be turning one in May. I'm using Dr. Seuss fabric and I've decided to do wonky stars, using this tutorial. Here's where the planning comes in. (1) I figure out the size of a finished block, 12.5" square, which will make a 12" block. Based on that, (2) I figure out how big I wanted the quilt to be. The sides have to be a multiple of 12, so 12, 24, 48, 60, etc. I decided on a 48" x 48" quilt. Perfect for a baby quilt. (3) I figure out how many finished blocks I will need to make the 48" x 48" quilt. In this instance, it's 16 blocks (4 blocks x 4 blocks).
Using the tutorial, I see that each block has 9 squares and each square is 4.5". Each block has 8 white, 4 pattern, and one center (focus) fabric. (4) Then, I figure out how many of each 4.5" square I will need for the entire project. I need 16 focus fabric squares for the center, 128 white squares and 64 pattern squares. How did I figure it out? Elementary my dear Watson. There is one focus fabric center on each block, so I need 16 of those. Each block needs 8 white x 16 blocks = 128 white squares. Each block needs 4 pattern x 16 blocks = 64 pattern squares (these get cut in half on a diagonal).
Here comes the cutting. (5) I divide my fabric into two piles, pattern and focus fabric. (6) I fussy cut 16 center squares from my focus fabric. Fussy cutting does waste a bit of fabric.
(7) I cut 128 white squares. Now, to do this efficiently, you need to do a bit of math, again. The width of fabric (WOF) is generally about 44-45 inches. I can get 9-4.5" squares out of one WOF (44/4.5). I need 128, so I divide 128 by 9 to get 14. I need 14-4.5" x WOF cuts. I generally fold my fabric in half again, so I'm making two WOF cuts at once (again, more efficient). So, I only need 7 WOF cuts. I cut my white WOF cuts, turn it and cut the 4.5" squares out of each WOF cut. I now have 126 squares, so I cut two more to make 128.
(8) I use the same principal to cut the pattern fabric, but I don't need as much. I'm also wanting to make my star points a bit more wonky, so I'm cutting 5" square pieces. I have 8 pattern fabrics and can again get about 9 pieces from each WOF. For now, I'm just cutting one WOF from each pattern piece and making 5" squares and cutting then again to make the triangles. I have a few scraps from fussy cutting that I'm also making into squares, so I can use every last bit!
I'm tend to cut almost all the pieces I need without going over. I'd rather cut a little less and have to go back and cut more than cut too much and not be able to use it later on. I'll assemble the blocks and when I run out of some element, go back and cut just the pieces I need.
I hope that helps in your quilt planning and makes your cutting and quilting time more efficient. I know it sure has for me.
I'm working on a couple of quilts at the same time. I go from one project to the next. My quilts have gotten quite piece-y, so there is a bit of cutting involved. When I've had enough of one color-way and cutting streak, I move onto the next.
The first is strip pieced comprised of 2.5" black, white, and yellow squares. I'm trying to do the entire thing in stages. Cut it all. Pin it all. Sew it all. Repeat. Except, when I run out of pins. In a previous post, I mentioned that I didn't quite cut some of the white fabric accurately, so I'm having a little difficultly lining up the seams and making things "square". I'm just going with it, though. We'll see how it turns out. Hopefully not too noticeable.
The second project is using Innocent Crush by Anna Marie Horner. I'm in love with this quilt and in love with HSTs right now. I'm trying to combine the two loves. So far, I have two piles of small 2.5" squares. Soon, these will be some very small HSTs. It's going to be a lot of marking, pinning, sewing, cutting, and more pinning. I consider it a longterm project, so don't expect to see much progress in a timely manner.
These are both projects I can stop and start easily, which is good when you have to run after a one-year-old!
:: I added the post about Liam's fabric book to We Did It Wednesday. Go check out what other people have done this past week!::
it's time to sew. Or get some more pins.
In my new, more efficient quilting methods, I'm trying to pin everything before I sew. That doesn't go to well when I run out of pins! These are stacks for my yellow, black, and white quilt. I'm trying my hand at strip piecing. Although I haven't gotten too far into it, I do like it.
One thing I have to do better at is more accurate cutting. I was tying to be quick and used a ruler that was too flexible. It's one of those that has slits every 1/2". I use it for cutting binding, where the accuracy doesn't have to be spot on. I used it for this project, but probably shouldn't have. Some of the strips are a less than 2.5. Luckily, I'm pretty consistently less than 2.5, so I'm hoping that matching up seams won't be too difficult. We'll see.
Sara over at SewSara is hosting a scrap swap. Since I'm using a bunch of scraps for my quilt-as-you-go, I figured I could exchange a few for some new ones and change it up a bit. Who knows I may add a few more colors than blue, green, and brown.
If you're interested, go on over and sign up (click the image).
A long time ago, I joined the Quilt-as-You-Go Along. It has since finished. I believe that someone started a round two and that has since come and gone, also. You see a pattern? I'm not too good at working toward a deadline for large projects.
I know it's not on the list, but decided to work on it anyway. I set myself a goal of doing 10 by the end of the week. I think I may revise that goal as I've completed eight. I've been sewing two a day, which has been a good pace. I need 56 squares total for a large queen-size quilt. That's a lot. I'm currently at 18. Not too bad, but still far to go!
This is an easy, ongoing project I can just pull out and work on during the evenings. I currently have scraps piled in short, medium, and long lengths spread out on our peninsula. I love being able to use fabric that I've already used on another project. And, I love the variety of fabrics in all these blocks. The first 10 were from a limited amount of scraps. I've since added to those piles and the second set of eight has a few new ones.