As I said last time ” I don’t think I will do another log cabin”  Well here I go again, another one.  Was diligently working on unfinished quilt tops.   Then arranging fabrics and thought gosh I have all this fabric and need to use some up to make room for more fabric. Logical right???  Anyway I have started this Christmas colored one and am pleased with how it is working up.  A little confusing turning the blocks the wrong way etc.  I began by using a book I have had for a long time “A log cabin notebook” by Mary Ellen Hopkins.  I used to watch her on Simply Quilts and loved how she simplified the whole quilt making process.  She was so much fun to watch also.  Anyway then I went to a quilt design program and played around with different lay outs. Will do a few more rows, till it is about 60×60. And then following Mary Ellen’s directions by piecing the backing fabric.  By for now hope you are having as much fun with your quilting as I am.

Happy Quilting

Boy am I ever keeping to my resolution to get my unfinished quilts completed.  Just finished a log cabin quilt for a friend that gave me all the fabrics.  I hope she likes what I did with it.  I am sure that she had made blouses and dresses for her daughter years ago, so the quilt will hopefully bring back good memories.  This quilt is 72″x 96″ much bigger than I have ever done and was a challenge getting all the blocks in the right places.  I am happy with the results, but am not sure I will do another one like this one.  It was interesting quilting this on my little sewing machine.

Well a new year and lots of new fabric.  A local quilt and sewing store had a 40% off Christmas fabric sale, wow so hard to resist.  So after walking through all the wonderful fabric at Boersmas Sewing center in Mcminnville Or., I ended up with 15 yards of fabulous Hoffman, RJR, Moda and a couple of fabrics from the UK.

I don’t have any direct plans for this fabric yet, but will come up with something….. Isn’t that what we all say.

But being as how Christmas fabric is difficult to find during the year, I can justify the purchase now. Right…

Yes, one quilt top finished.

This quilt is made from the Hunters Star pattern. I found it in McCalls Quilting magazine, Dec.1999. The quilt was designed by Joy Hoffman. I would guess it is an intermediate level quilt. Only because each intersection of the stars must match up.

I have made numerous quilts from this pattern, Thank you McCalls and Joy Hoffman. I even made this pattern into a memory quilt, which turned out wonderfully.  McCalls show the quilt in a red and white contrast, it really is eye catching.  So one down and it’s not even 2010 yet.

Happy Quilting in 2010, Jessie

Well here we are the New Year is fast approaching, 12:01 tonight.

With lots of resolutions being made, I thought I would once again make another years resolution to complete all the unfinished quilt tops that I have in the works.
Some of these tops have been around longer than I like to admit. Atleast I have them all out in the open and organized, that’s progress right…..
My New Years wish to all of you quilters (including Me) “May your New Year be filled with good health, much happiness, lots of time to quilt and yards of yummy fabric.

Happy New Years……

Jessie

I know that there are wonderful Christmas Quilt Bazaars all over the country and world. As far as I am concerned the best one is in Sherwood Oregon, it’s called The Red Sled Bazaar and all of the products are hand made by artisans of all fields. What a wonderful way to support local craftsmen and women. If you want to purchase something made locally this is the place. It’s a “winter wonderland, be sure to allow lots of time to wander through the store.

“,

Well here we are just days away from Christmas and I am busy making some childrens fun Christmas placemats. They are quick and easy, with typical meandering used for the quilting.

I added the little pocket after the quilting. The pocket could be used for treats to help get kids to eat their meals. I never had any problem like that, but some parents do.   So for a quick little gift for your grandchildren, maybe for the childrens table these work up quickly.

Hi Quilters!

Well as usual started quilting right after coffee and breakfast. I really need to get a set of 4 placemats done pronto, so got them cut out, pinned together and started quilting.

I had fallen in love with the fabrics, probably 2 years ago at Craft Warehouse, purchased lots and then could not make up my mind on what to do with it. I know you quilters never have this problem. Anyway just decided to make some placemats from it.

I like to use the same fabric for the back and the front, gives you two different styles in one. It does take a little more main fabric that way, but it really is nice.

I just straight line quilted around the accent stripes and then will meaner quilt the rest.

The best plans of you know who, I happened to look out the window and low and behold the sun was shinning, not really such a rare occurance in Oregon.

But when the sun shines we take advantage of it. So much for a quilting day.

The daylilies, roses and yuck more oak leaves were calling, so on with the gloves and work shoes and off goes the sewing machine.

It really does make you feel good to get the work done on such a nice day.

So will get the placemats done tomorrow, I can always hope.

Well it’s tomorrow and I have included a picture of how I apply bias binding to a curved piece. You could attach it without using pins, but for me it seems easier and more acurate to pin. Believe me I have tried attaching bindings without making bias binding and without pins, not a good result for either.  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

So  having gotten the bias binding attached and the binding hand stitched on the back side, I now have another gift completed.  Yes…

Today I am working on binding a curved edge quilt. Which as you know means bias binding for the best result.

Bias binding molds easily around curves and helps the quilt edges lay flat.

If you buy a quilting book or a special pattern that calls for bias bindings, they usually have the complete instructions with a diagram included and I will refer to that guide, as I do not do bias bindings that often.

Just a quick refresher on bindings.

The standard quilt bindings are single and double fold bindings.

Single fold are usually 1 1/4″ cut the width of the fabric and are used mostly for items that are not going to be laundered very much. An example would be a wall hanging.

Double fold are the more standard types of binding and the strips are usually cut 2 1/4″ by the width of fabric. The strips are sown together and then folded in half and pressed with your iron. This binding approach looks great and holds up well to being well laundered and loved. With all the love and work you put into your quilt, finish it as well as you quilted it.

To figure out how much fabric I need for binding a project, I add the length and width of item then multiply this figure by 2.

That number gives you the length of binding you need. Now divide that figure by the std fabric width, I use 40″ to just fudge it a bit, this number gives you the number of strips to cut.
To figure out how much fabric you need for the binding, multiply the amount of strips by the width of the binding.

Sounds complicated but an example is if your quilt is 50″Lx50″‘W 50+50=100×2=200 divided by 40″=5 strips. 5 strips x 2 1/4″=11 1/4″ of yardage.

After attaching your binding to your quilt, with the normal 1/4″ seam allowance and a walking foot on your machine,fold and press the binding to the back of the quilt and hand stitch it in place. Binding is the last step to completing your quilt and it’s always a good feeling to put that last stitch in it, for a job well done.

Now must get back to my quilt,hope to get it finished today, then on to some table runners and placemats for gifts.

Happy Quilting,
Jessie

Welcome back to my blog….

I have been sooo busy this past summer, haven’t had any time to spend on my most relaxing and fulfilling enterprise.. Quilting.

I moved my residence(after 20 years) in June, am sure most of you can relate what a gigantic job that was.  My son and his family visited and then had a wonderful time at a family reunion. Returning home and trying to get organized in my new home, took time out for a picnic, with alot of friends that I worked with for 28 years.  Then to top it all off, my cousin from England, that we had lost touch with, came to visit for a couple of days, with his Niece and her husband.  What a lot of fun thru the whole summer.

And then the very best thing was that we had the best summer Oregon ever had, lots of days were warm, even very hot and next to no rain, not exactly quilting weather.

So all in all have finally gotten my new quilting room set up and am back to the enjoyment of quilting.  Now I would like to show you how I have set it up.

To start with, my retirement home is small and cozy. The room I chose to use for my quilting is a tidy 9×10, one wall is the closet and doorway. Not alot of room, but I needed to have it house my computer armoire, file cabinet, bookcase, tv and a space for overnite sleeping for atleast one grandchild.

Seemed like a big order for a small room, so I started by placing the furniture that I brought from my other residence, which left only the window wall for my sewing spot. It has worked out really well, as daylight from the window is great and I get to see what is going on in the front yard. 

The next items I needed to take care of, are the misc. quilting things that each quilter handles much differently.  My thing is keeping quilting magazines for years, I have even been known to purchase older additions at quilt shows,etc.  Some of my friends cut out articles that interest them and then dispose of the magazine, I could never do that, and have found that I go back and re read, use patterns etc. often. 

So anyway, how I solved my storage problem in my small room, was to purchase a bookcase and put it in the closet.  It seems to have worked out very well, things are accessible and organized and easily found.

Of course, we quilters need storage for all that fabric that we collect and hopefully use up quickly (right).  Well I have used this lawyers bookcase for years and have quite an attachment to it.  It lets me fold and store the fabric, like I use it and of course I can see all of it while keeping it neat and easily retrieved, my scraps are a different story, still working on that issue. 

As you can see I have a collapsible table stored to the left, making use of every bit of space.  Also the indispensable tv, to keep my dog Teddy and I in touch with the world.

Not wanting to have to remove my sewing machine from my desk  to cut out fabrics, I decided to try using the collapsible table (that friends gave me as a housewarming gift). What a benefit it has turned out to be.

I keep it up in front of the bookcase and am able to just turn around from the sewing machine to make any cutting adjustments necessary, and best of all, when I am cutting out patchwork quilting pieces and get interrupted, I can just leave it on the table and close the door, until I am able to get back to it.
 

As you can see, the arrangements for sewing, cutting and quilting storage have worked very well for me.  I really enjoy my new room and love to not have to clear everything off the dining room table every time I finish quilting for the day.  The only things I now need to organize and hopefully finish are the UFQ’s and fabric scraps. 

I hope some of my ideas will work for you as well. 

Have a nice Thanksgiving and keep on Quilting.