Got the perfect blendship

Braid laid first against one of it's fabrics, next with borders of colors either from braid or from background print.

Here is a "Friendship Braid" cut from 2.5 inch strips with 45 degree angle cut. The long side of each piece measured six inches. This braid needs at least three colors to show well. I was able to get eight opposing pieces from each WOF  (width of fabric) strip. 

The "how to" can be Google'd. I used more than one tutorial to get this going. It is not as difficult as it looks, but it took me a few runs to understand the right pointing and left pointing pieces and how they fit. Once that was mastered, it went together very quickly.

Jenny Doan does a version of this using a ruler from her company, [begin watching from the 1:00 minute mark for how to orient your cut pieces for sewing]but I used a binding tool that had a 45 degree angled edge. The main thing seems to be the cut at a 45 degree angle. 

I'll be using this one for a diaper pad, but it would make a lovely bag or table runner, if not wanting to commit to a full quilt. 

Quilting With Class

Josephine's reversible holiday table runner; Teresa's Asian quilt; Jan's (also) Asian quilt. Inspirational works one and all.

Learning new skills, collaborating on what might work in given situations, getting together and making some progress, benefiting from new ideas and encouragement all 'round.

The thrill of sharing the "Ta Dah!" moments!

That's just a glimpse of what quilting with our class is like. Why, one day I was there and heard someone humming away as they sewed. Wonder of wonders, it was me.

FMQ Practice Continues

On this large nine patch quilt (one of three made for FMQ practice) I used my ruler to mark out a six pointed star pattern in the large center patch and then free motion quilted a design in the center and used the stacked clam shell pattern for the outlying triangle areas. I like the effect. Can envision using this method to make angel wings.

Practice on Three Nines

Using a pattern called Super-Sized Nine Patch by Anita Grossman Solomon of New York, I made three crib size quilt tops from three yards of fabric. The pattern is posted on quiltmaker.com's website here. Thanks to my quilt mentor, Sandy, for bringing the pattern to my attention. It cuts like magic and makes up quickly providing the perfect medium for free motion quilting practice and three nice 34.5 x 40.5 inch crib quilts that even quilting novices can whip out in short order.

A Mug Shot

Under the mug is a 4 inch mug rug made using the same method as is described in my Feb. 5 post, "Seams Stacked to Me". For a 4 inch finished mug rug, I used 4.5 inch squares. Also, in this version I used pre-quilted fabric for the batting/full square piece.

This side affords the most stable seat for a mug. The raised corners help keep the mug well centered.

The reverse side is from a pre-quilted piece. I think heat resistant batting would be overkill for a mug rug. My coffee is not as hot as all those shops who feel the need to print "Caution" on each cup, after all.

Seams Stacked to Me

Six equal-sized squares plus batting are used in this quick project. Pictured here the unseen layer that is used to bind the batting on what ultimately is the hidden mid-section of the pad/mat.

Four of the squares are folded in half, and placed in a woven pattern with raw edges facing out against the edges of the two other squares. Those two squares have batting in between.

This is was to be my outer square, so in stacking it, the four folded squares are lined up (woven) atop it. Underneath it are batting and the "hidden" square...which could be plain muslin...no need to use anything fancy. It REALLY doesn't show unless the weave is pulled apart to reveal a peek.

If making for potholders, you will likely want to use a heat resistant batting. Also, before sewing the once around the square all-layer-encompassing seam, you may want to tuck a hoop between the batting and top layer for hanging the finished project. Everything evenly stacked and pinned, run a quarter inch seam around the lot, then turn the weave sections inside out for the finish.

Here you can see the "Yummy" in the tummy of my first run trial. If you do want to put a message inside your work, you will need to used stabilizer and work the message onto the "hidden" square BEFORE stacking. Otherwise your message will show up backwards on the front piece. 

This was my first run for this quick stack and seam project. I made the loop way too long. I think it was supposed to be half the length of the squares' edges. In other words, if I was making an 8.5 inch square, I should have made a 4.25 inch strip to form the loop. Next time, maybe I'll remember. I think the first run hotpad was done with 7" cuts and finished at 6.5".
    It's a great project for trying out various decorative stitches for the front of the hotpad. I do so much with scrappy work I was at first bothered by the amount of "unseen" fabric in this. After all, half of four of the squares are not seen due to being folded under, and the entire "hidden" square is just holding in batting. So, you end up with three squares' worth unseen. But these have their purpose, after all, and may even provide a good way to use some of the flawed-to-the-eye, but perfectly functional pieces of fabric nearly every stash can provide. Wait! This begins to sound like a sermon on I Corinthians 12. 
   ANYway, thanks to my crafty sister-in-law for showing me this project over the holidays. I never visit her that I don't learn something new. 

Update: Just ran across this video tutorial for all you visual learners like me.

Pinwheel with "turnovers" and a bit of waste

This pinwheel was made using a half reduction of the tutorial by Jenny Doan. Her video called this a Stack and Whack with Turnovers, though it does not fit what I find others calling "stack and whack". Anyway, I like the block and was mainly challenged by positioning the solid or background in the proper places with the print wheel pieces. So, take care there.

Using 3 inch squares with 4 x 1.5 inch rectangles and less than perfect quarter inch seams, I came up with this 6.25 square....which might should have been more along the lines of 6.5 inch. I was still working on getting quarter inch seams down when I did this one. (sorry).

One reason I like doing the mini versions of blocks is that I like using up scraps from quilts for which the colors have already been selected, and to my eye, work well. The above patch work is from my first son's "Buddy Quilt".  Seen  here in my October 2012 post.

Photo was taken using my nifty difty tripod, which has a flip feature accommodating set up for macro shots. When the central rod is flipped, the camera is positioned between the tripod legs and can therefore be used for photographing things placed beneath. This pic was shot inside on a cloudy day with no flash. ;o) On my monitor the colors hold true.