A Failed Test Block

I cannot stress enough the importance of making a test block of an unfamiliar pattern or construction method. 

I had previously cut a lot - a lot!!! - of 2" strips for a postage stamp project. I sewed them into strata and cross cut them to make checkerboards. This is what's left over after I cut all I needed for the blocks. 

Each of those rolls is a stack of eight strata. I thought I could use them for making a modern type of double wedding ring quilt using a specialty ruler specifically for cutting curves, and a pattern written for that ruler. I made one test block.

This is not working for me, for multiple reasons.

1. It was hard to cut through one strata with the ruler, awkward and didn't cut through in places. I tried several different rotary cutters. The pattern says to stack several strata and cut through multiple layers. Impossible for me. 

 

2. I followed the pattern instructions exactly. They were somewhat confusing, so I reread them until I understood exactly how to place the ruler and make the cuts. I don't like the result. The points of the football shape are cut off, and the corner triangles extend inconsistently more than 1/4" into the seam allowances at the edges of the block. Upon close examination of the pattern, this is actually illustrated in the graphics. If I'm going to put all this work into something, I want it to look like it was made with skill. I want accurate points that meet where they're supposed to. It's just me, but I'm fussy that way.

 

3.  My strata alternate dark and light stripes and I don't like how the light stripes disappear into the background. I don't think my strata are suitable for a ring design after all. 

So, this ruler method is not for me, and this design concept is not working for my strata. I'll have to come up with a Plan B....

The original postage stamp project is kitted up for retreat in April. I have a few other projects I can take along to keep me busy. Plan B and the box of leftover strata can wait.

Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Belated February Stash Report and Goals Update

February was a fun month. My friend Cherie came to visit for a few days and we went to QuiltCon together. We had our own little retreat at my house - we worked on a collaborative project which we prefer not to share. 

February was also a very busy teaching month for me, with three of the lessons of my 6-lesson color class to prep for and teach. One of my students gave me the best compliment ever: we were talking about the usefulness (or not) of our stashes and she said "I wish I'd had this class $10,000 ago." 

The PebbleCreek Quilters are getting a brand new Innova M24 long arm machine in March. Thank you, PC HOA! We anticipate it being delivered and set up next week. Several members of PCQ have their own Innovas and they will be the SuperUsers who will train the rest of us. They'll have in-depth training from the installer when he sets up the new machine. For the rest of us, there was an overview and Q&A training session a couple weeks ago. I attended it and got on the schedule for hands-on training later in the month. 

The small Irish Chain variation top that I made for Community Service will be one of the quilts used for our long arm training, so I pieced a back for it and turned it in. The club will provide the batting and someone will bind it. 

All this to say, February was a busy month, but I don't have much to show for it. 

I bought one yard of fabric at QuiltCon; that was my only purchase there and my only stash enhancement this month. 

February Stash Report

IN this month: 1 yard

OUT this month: 3-1/2 yards (light blue Irish Chain top, 2-1/2 yards; backing, 2 yards.)

IN YTD: 8-1/4 yards

OUT YTD: 4-1/2 yards

YTD Net change: 3-3/4 yards added

Goals Update: 

February Recap:

1. Prep for lessons 3, 4, and 5 of my color class. Teach lessons 3 and 4. DONE.

2. Prep for and work on a previously started collaborative project with Cherie when she comes to visit. Yes, and I totally enjoyed Cherie's visit. 

3. Attend QuiltCon. YES! We definitely enjoyed the show.

4. Continue piecing the teal value study project. Progress, four blocks made.

5. Attend the first training overview meeting for the new long arm. Yes, and I'm scheduled for hands-on training later in March.

6. Continue piecing the Scrappy Pinterest Project at social sewing. Yes, I was only able to attend Social Sewing once but I actually got a dozen little blocks made. 

7. Prep a backing for something in anticipation of using the long arm at some time in the future. No, but Cherie took two of my tops to quilt, one with backing already assembled, the other backing  just needs one seam.  

March Goals:

1. Prep for and teach color classes 5 and 6.

2. Prep several projects to work on at retreat in early April.

3. Attend hands on long arm training.

4. Continue piecing blocks for the teal project.

5. Prep a backing for the red Cherry Jubilee top. 

6. Continue working on the scrappy project at social sewing.

7. Participate in Sewing Club's charity project at first Wednesday social sewing. 

I'm going on a 4 day retreat in early April, so I'll need to prep projects to work on. Apparently I'm a fast maker so I need enough projects prepped to keep me busy for all four days. 

I have a postage stamp project started, a Kaffe flying geese project started, and I could take the teal project. I also have strata left over from the postage stamp project that I could do something with; I have an idea, we'll see if it works.  

There's also a project box with some Log Cabin Triangle variation blocks in it that I should take, too. 

Maybe I need to check my UFOs and see if there's something else I should take to work on. 

I Started Another Project

Last month I listed all my UFOs and WIPS, in hopes of getting something on the list finished this year. But instead of working on an existing project, I started a new one. 

Some Kaffe scraps were donated to PCQ but they were smaller than we usually keep, so last year's chair passed them to me. They must have been a fat eighth bundle from which someone cut some chunks. I was able to cut a 7-1/4" square from each. I also added some of my own Kaffe scraps. 

For now, the new project is just flying geese units. I also have a Kaffe jelly roll to do something with. I have a vague idea for where this is going, no actual pattern. It will evolve, I'm sure.

Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Kevin's Quilts

I was able to quilt the tops that Kevin the Quilter sent, and now they're ready for donation.

Both have the same backing, a light blue swirl print. Both got allover meander quilting. Both have blue binding, but different fabrics so I could use what I had.

The larger of the two is about 48 by 64", made of immaculately pieced 1" squares. 

The smaller one is about 45 by 60", with 1-1/2" squares, with equally beautiful piecing. 

These will go to the local family services agency. They serve clients ages 7 and up, mostly teen girls but sometimes boys and adult women. I like that these are gender neutral and don't pertain to a specific age, suitable for whoever receives them. I'm glad to help Kevin create quilty hugs for someone going through a traumatic time. 

Kevin's tiny patchwork has inspired me to work with small pieces. Not that tiny, but I have a couple of projects going that use 1-1/2" finished squares. Slow going, but that's okay with me.

Linking up with Alycia Quilts

New Charity Quilt Pattern: Irish Chain Variation

Last month one of the co-chairs of PCQ's Community Service Committee asked me to help make a small Irish Chain quilt and draft the pattern so we could use it for Community Service sew days. The intention is to use up the massive stash of fabrics languishing in the club's cabinets. 

A true Irish Chain design has a lot of negative space, usually very light, which makes the chains pop. We don't have much in the way of very light fabrics. We do have some white/beige/ivory pre-cut 2-1/2" strips.  We also have a few pieces tucked away from which we could cut more strips or squares, but we value it for the contrast it provides too much to use it all up in one or two quilts. So, my challenge was to come up with something that still has the Irish Chain look but uses something other than the background fabric in the alternate squares. 

EQ8 to the rescue to start playing with ideas. What I learned while working in EQ is that the more closely the alternate squares match the background in value, the more the chain effect stands out. The more the alternate squares contrast with the background, the more the pattern looks like a nine patch variation, Win-win! 

Then we raided the fabric bins. This is the first top Teri and I made to introduce the project at the sew day. It's 42-1/2", wheelchair size for Hospice or possibly baby quilt size. Our members prefer to make smaller charity quilts. 

This is a scrappy version, all from the club's stash. Many dark blue, green, olive and brown fabrics were used for the chains, and several whites, off-whites, and creams for the background. Four watery novelty prints, related by theme and color, worked for the alternate squares, although the dark part of the ombre one is darker than I would have preferred.

In order to test the pattern, I made another version in a curated palette as well. Good thing I did, I had to make some corrections. EQ to the rescue once again! Here's my curated version, all fabrics from my personal stash. If the alternate squares are light, even a medium (as opposed to a dark) can stand out well enough for the chain effect. 

The corrected pattern has been made available to all the PCQuilters who want it. I will add it to the Free Charity Patterns tab above. 

We have an overabundance of Floral prints and Novelty prints. We're hoping that this pattern for small quilts will prompt our members to use them up. Plus, when we get the new long arm machine we'll all have to be trained on it, and the trainers want some smallish charity quilts for us to learn on. These two will be available for that. I just have to make a backing for the blue and white one. 

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts. This definitely counts as a finish, or two or three if you count the pattern as well. 

January 2025 Stash Report and Goals Recap

Well, there was a bit of a change in direction this month, so some of my goals went by the wayside and I worked on something else instead. I also worked on my teal project, which required purchasing additional fabric. Here's the current state of the teal project, incorporating the new fabric:

Teal Blocks

January Stash Report: 

IN this month and YTD: 7-1/4 yards (Teal prints - 2 yards. Mulqueen's - 5-1/4.)
OUT this month and YTD: 1 yard (Binding for Kevin's quilts)

Month and YTD Net Change: 6-1/4 yards added to the stash.

Two things happened to change up the goals for the month. One, the club's longarm broke down permanently, so no actual quilting was accomplished. Two, one of the co-chairs of the community service committee asked me to develop a pattern for a small Irish Chain quilt that PCQ members could work on at Sew Days, to use up some of the club's stash. She and I quickly pulled medium fabrics and cut pieces from our bins of light and dark strips, sewed up the blocks, and ended up with this: 

Irish Chain Variation Charity Quilt 
Pattern Prototype

Outside appointments and Sewing Club classes have cut into my "social sewing" time. The Sewing Club officially has the Fiber Arts Room on Wednesday mornings. They're giving serger lessons and teaching simple makes twice a month now and ongoing, so no open sewing those days. That's okay from a quilting standpoint, but it cuts into my "going out to lunch with friends" schedule. 

Prep for teaching my color class took a bit of time this month, too. This will continue with two classes in February and two in March. Even though I've taught the class before, I still have to review my notes and make sure I have all my materials organized, including printing out handouts. The class continues to be well received, but I've told the club this is the last time I'm offering it. 

Goals Update: 

January Recap:

1. Prep for and teach lessons 1 and 2 of my color class. DONE. 

2. Find fabric for the last block of the teal project; make at least two blocks. DONE.

3. Bind Kevin's quilts. DONE. (I need to take photos of the finished quilts)

4. Piece the backing for the red scrappy quilt. Book time on the long arm and prep leaders for basting it for quilting on my domestic machine. Not done. Long arm machine still not available.

5. If possible quilt the lozenges quilt on PCQ's long arm; bind it. Not done. 

6. Layer and baste the Kaffe gradient project. Not done. 

7. Play with a new project, a Postage Stamp variation. Progress; cut and kitted up to work on at retreat. 

Other: With Community Service co-chair, made a scrappy prototype of an Irish Chain variation top and drafted the pattern for it. Cut and partially assembled a second curated palette version of it. 

Postage Stamp project kitted up

February Goals: 

1. Prep for lessons 3, 4, and 5 of my color class. Teach lessons 3 and 4. 

2. Prep for and work on a previously started collaborative project with Cherie when she comes to visit. 

3. Attend QuiltCon.

4. Continue piecing the teal value study project. 

5. Attend the first training overview meeting for the new long arm.*

6. Continue piecing the Scrappy Pinterest Project at social sewing.

7. Prep a backing for something in anticipation of using the long arm at some time in the future.

The collaborative project with Cherie is something we started with another friend before Covid, and we've both since moved. It's a piecing and engineering challenge as quilt projects go. Wish us luck! 

*If you read this far...
  Yes, PCQ is getting a new long arm, an Innova M24!!!! More to come as info becomes available. 

WIPs and UFOs, Part 3

In previous UFO and WIP posts I listed my unquilted pattern and teaching samples, and my other unquilted tops. That leaves projects that are still in the piecing stage for Part 3. 

I really don't have too many partially pieced WIPs. I tend to get them to the finished flimsy stage and that's where they stall out. Some of the piecing projects are purposely kitted up to work on at retreats or social sewing. Before I left Missouri in 2020, I gave away a lot of orphan blocks and/or WIPs that I knew I'd never use.

The current WIP for social sewing is the Scrappy Pinterest Project. I only work on this one at social sewing, which is only two or three times a month now. All the components have been cut and twosies have been sewn. Now it's in the block assembly stage. There are light blocks and dark blocks, and I have 29 of 55 light blocks made and four of 44 dark blocks. Because I'm working on this in a busy social environment, I've occasionally sewn some components wrong, so my seam ripper has gotten a lot of action here. 

The other current WIP is one I'm working on at home. It's the teal remake of the Black and Tan quilt I made last fall. I finally found the right fabrics for the rejected block from this post. This project started out with two goals: Use up some of the overabundant teal stash, and practice getting the value placement right. Why is it that every time I think I can just use up stash, I have to shop for more fabric? I ended up buying 5 new half-yard teal prints to get just the right ones to make this work. 

Now that I have the fabrics figured out, making these blocks is like making Scrappy Celebration blocks: I can make one or two whenever I feel like it. 

The rest of my current WIPs are kitted up for retreat in April. This Black + White + Brights project was laid out prior to my last retreat and just needs to be sewn together.  Most of the bright colored squares are left over from 2012 or earlier, from one of the quilts in my blog header. Many of the black and white prints were gifted by Quilt Diva Julie several years ago.

Next is a project I started but decided to hold for retreat. The blocks are pieced, laid out, and numbered; they just need to be sewn into rows and finished. I have navy inner borders cut and packed up, too, and fabric set aside for the outer border. The block is a variation of this one, except the inner logs are the striped print. 

The last WIP is also started and kitted up for retreat. Like the teal project above, this was an attempt to use up some of my green stash, especially my yellow-greens and olives. A few accent colors have been thrown into the mix. It's a variation on a postage stamp quilt except the squares finish at 1-1/2" instead of 1". I cut strips, sewed strata, cross-cut the strata, and laid out 64-patch blocks. With all seams pressed toward the dark fabric, the seams within the block will all nest. I have enough components for 36 blocks, one extra for a 5 x 7 block layout, 60 x 72". I have a narrow inner border and a wide outer border cut also. 

That's it for my UFOs and WIPs. The only other items I found when I was counting them up were some orphan blocks, and the unused parts from Road Trip. I'm not counting them now and I don't feel like I have to do something with them. If the spirit moves me at some point in the future to get out the Road Trip stuff and decide what to do with it, I'll count it as a WIP then. 

There is one more project I haven't mentioned, a collaborative project with my friend Cherie. She's coming to visit in February for Quilt Con, and we'll work on the project while she's here. It was started before Covid at the prompting of another friend, and all three of us worked on it together in Missouri, but now that we're scattered no progress has been made. The project is unique and it's an engineering and piecing challenge, as quilts go. I'm looking forward to working on it with Cherie. 

All of this should keep me busy through April at least. After that I'll have to plan more new projects for July retreat. 

Since none of these are finished, they definitely fall into the *Or Not* category at Alycia's Finished or Not Friday.