Quilting and Sewing Archives - Page 65 of 161

Trinkets from the Beach: A Trinket blocks update

April 9, 2019 jennifer Quilt Alongs, Quilting and Sewing

I mentioned here that I’m participating in the Alison Glass Trinket Sew-along and I’m making not one, but two Trinket quilts. One of them is this enlarged version made using Tula Pink’s Zuma fabric colletion. I’m calling it my Trinkets from the Beach quilt and today I’m sharing a Trinket blocks update.

A big goal for me with this project is to improve my skills – and my eye – for fussy cutting. It amazes me to see the work that others do when they fussy cut fabric in ways I hadn’t considered. Then there is the skill of doing it so the seams line up just right. I love it, and it scares me, so it was time to try it. In the two blocks above, I was working on it. The pattern matching with the waves isn’t perfect because I’m working with a layer cake and didn’t have a perfect repeat of the fabric, but it’s close enough for your eye to understand what I was doing. Cutting the seahorses so they would mirror each other was another fun experiment.

I fussy cut the tiny stingray in the block above because it captures a memory. When I look at it I see the tiny stingrays (about the size of a nickel or a quarter) that we found one summer all over the beach. I see them resting in my daughter’s six year old hand, and it excites me to know I have that memory sewn into a quilt block. Every block I’m making represents a memory or a feeling or something I love about the beach.

The orange block above reminds me of what it feels like to get hit hard by a wave you didn’t see coming – or at least one that was a lot more powerful than you expected. Sometimes it was a little scary, but I learned. My children have learned these things as well. They have learned respect for the ocean, and also that they’re stronger than they sometimes think they are.

The two blocks below are favorites from the second two weeks of the Trinket sew-along. The top one was another attempt at fussy cutting a shell to use in the hexagon. I learned more from that block than I have from any other so far about fussy cutting and foundation paper piecing. I also made it to resemble a sand dollar (although a pentagon would be more accurate). The block below it is one of my favorite memories ever from our early morning discovery walks along the beach. My daughter Marian discovered a tiny, perfectly formed, magical octopus. Sadly, it was dead, but it was perfect in every other way, it’s body less than two inches long. We were speechless as we marveled at it. That octopus block has been in my head since before I started this quilt. I think it’s my favorite.

I have become increasingly preoccupied with learning, or at least trying, to tell stories with my quilting. Much of life is stitched into my quilts – something I believe happens to all of us. I can look at certain quilts I’ve made and I’m transported to the things I was experiencing or wrestling with at that time. Lately I want my stories to stay with the quilts somehow. I don’t want the quilt to live it’s life as a quilt independent of the story it has inside me. These Trinket quilts are my first experience with making each block to represent a specific story/memory/feeling. The thoughtfulness while sewing is not new to me, but trying to translate the thoughts into quilt blocks is. If you follow me on Instagram (@hopefulhomemaker) you can read each memory as I share my blocks.

Sewing anchors me in good ways. This is a fun quilt to be making!
Question for you, though… How would you keep the story with the quilt? Have you ever done this?

-Jennifer

Mandolin Quilt Blocks

April 4, 2019 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

Last year I subscribed to the Mandolin Quilt club hosted by Jodi at Tales of Cloth . Jodi is an Austrialian whose work with English Paper Piecing (EPP) inspires me. Her patterns are creative and this is the second English paper pieced quilt I’ve started as part of her monthly subscription for papers. Today I’m sharing my completed Mandolin quilt blocks with you.

Someday I want to make a La Passacaglia quilt, with all it’s tiny pieces, but not until I’ve proven to myself that I will actually finish an english paper pieced quilt.

So far I’m a great starter!

I began the Ice Cream Soda quilt in 2017, and still have many blocks to make. That didn’t stop me from starting the Mandolin quilt, though.

These Mandolin quilt blocks finish rather quickly, I think. The pieces are simple and stitching them together is easier for me than the smaller ice cream soda pieces. This would be a good beginner project if you want to try epp.

My blocks feature fabrics by an Aussie design house, Tilda. They are beautiful and fun to sew with. There are also fabrics from some Liberty of London designs on quilting cotton as well as other blenders from my stash.

I have also used a variety of fabric arrangements in my blocks instead of sticking to one pattern. I like each block individually.

With some blocks I fussy cut the fabric to showcase a print and create a repeating design.

Fussy cutting is an approach to using fabric that has fascinated me for a long time. I wanted to try it but was afraid to waste fabric and make mistakes.

You will see that in many of my current projects I am experimenting with fussy cutting. I want to be good at it, which will never happen without practice!

I have now finished 13 of 20 Mandolin quilt blocks. My biggest obstacle is the time it takes to select fabrics, cut shapes, and baste them to the papers (I use glue sticks). I guess I let this preparation seem like a big deal in my head, so I avoid it.

Once the pieces are prepared I have no trouble stitching them together. It is good to learn what step I stall on, so I can overcome that weakness.

I have prepped all of the remaining blocks, so it shouldn’t be difficult for me to finish the blocks. After that remains the step of choosing fabric and piecing all the joining blocks.

I have a great deal of work ahead to finish my Mandolin quilt top but I’m happy to be more than half done with the blocks.

Favorite Tools: Foundation Paper Piecing

March 12, 2019 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

I love the accuracy of a foundation paper pieced quilt block. Foundation paper piecing involves printing a pattern on paper, then sewing fabric to the back of the paper along the seam lines to achieve the design. It seems there is no limit to the amazing designs that can be sewn with this method. It does, however, require careful attention to detail along with extra time and steps. I’ve found that having a few tools on hand makes a big difference in both my sewing experience and my final product. So without further ado, here is my list of favorite tools for foundation paper piecing.

1. The Add-a-quarter ruler is a lifesaver. It has a lip on the edge of it that sits over the seam, up against the folded paper when you’re trimming your seam allownace after adding a piece of fabric. Simply line up the ruler and cut, and you have a 1/4″ seam allowance. It comes in two sizes and I use both. This might be my favorite tool for foundation paper piecing.

2. The Seam roller is perfect for pressing your fabric. It isn’t always convenient or even possible to iron every seam when foundation paper piecing, but rolling the seam roller over it always does the trick.

3. My Hera marker is a tool I use for both foundation paper piecing and for machine quilting. When I need to fold over a part of the paper pattern, I use the Add-a-quarter ruler and the Hera marker to crease the paper, and it folds perfectly along the line so I can then trim my seam allowance. For quilting, this tool is invaluable for marking quilting lines on quilts. I have a few of them now, so I’ll always be able to find one – no matter how messy my sewing table is!

4.

Carol Doak’s paper for foundation paper piecing is a must. This newsprint paper (see blocks printed on it below) is thin and easier to sew through than regular copy paper. It also tears more easily when I remove the paper from my quilt block. Because it is uncoated, it doesn’t slip when I sew my fabric to it. This paper comes in both 8.5″x11″ and 11″x17″ . I use both sizes, depending on my project. The paper feeds easily into my printer or a copy machine.

5. I keep a square rotating cutting mat next to my machine when foundation paper piecing. It makes the process faster. A good rotary cutter is also important. The final tool I use with fpp is a glue stick. A small amount holds my fabric in place on the paper while I stitch, and the paper is easy to pull off later. I use a regular Elmer’s washable glue stick, like the ones I buy my kids at the beginning of the school year.

6. If you’re looking for a great machine, I purchased t his Juki just over a year ago. It has been a dream to sew with. I love my machine.

That is my basic list of favorite tools for foundation paper piecing. I highly recommend that you add them to your sewing supplies if you plan to learn foundation paper piecing. You will be glad to have a few tools to speed up the process and improve the quality of your blocks.