Two Much Fun! / I've Got a Secret!

The"Peek-a-Boo" pattern for this quilt appeared in Quiltmaker Classics Volume 1 - Summer 2013 on page 71. The quilt featured in the magazine used primary colors and had twelve blocks. My down-sized version ended up measuring 42 x 32 inches.
   Three machines worked their magic to put this together in six days' time. Piecing and quilting were done on my Brother Innov'Is NX800 sewing machine. The edges for the prairie points were done using my Brother serger (circa 1998), and the label was done using my Brother PE500 embroidery machine. Yes. My "Brothers" played well together and came up with this in record time!
   Every time I do a quilt I learn new things. With this one I learned to cut all my pieces (except border and backing) before piecing. Some things were not so much new knowledge as newly applied knowledge; I chain-pieced wherever practical.
     To make the monogram and stylized "2" applique, I printed out a sheet with a large font, then copied the resulting lettering onto the paper side of a right-sized heat bonding sheet (Wonder Under), and bonded to the fabric before doing a tight zigzag stitch around the edges.
      Last minute flubs resulted in some fortuitous saves. In my first design version the stylized "2" was to be the only corner design. The quilt was being made as a present for my first grandson's 2nd birthday. I decided to free motion a heart in another corner, but it was so pitifully wobbly, I opted to applique a heart shape over it. That would have resulted in a rather unbalanced overall look, so I added a star and a musical note to the remaining corners. (Yea!) Even bigger "YEA!",  he liked it!

Chain-piecing, finished quilt with magazine inspiration, completed back with embroidered label.

Oh! And in case you wondered why it is called a "Peek-a-Boo" quilt...:

Each prairie-pointed block opens up to reveal an otherwise secret underlying patch!

Elephant Walk

This was done start to finish (except binding) at a quilting retreat where three of us were making our version of this quilt. Another friend was the instructor for the others of us. I was so busy with mine I never got pictures!!! Also, this was my most mistake-ridden quilting day EVER! 

Among the things I cautioned the others not to do:

• Do NOT iron your Omni grid ruler. 
• Do NOT turn your fabric the wrong way when cutting strips...such that you end up with eight inch instead of 41 inch strips.
• Do NOT even attempt to center any motif on a mistake-ridden streak.
• Do NOT neglect to check orientation of ears, etc. when heat-fixing to applique.

Here are some "Do"s:

• DO quilt with friends who can help you laugh at your mistakes.
• DO quilt with friends who can help you find end-arounds to make even the mistakes work in your favor. 
• DO remember that finishing imperfectly beats not finishing at all!

No Longer in a Bind?

Here's one way to dispense with some of the leftover strips from 2.5  inch bindings.

Mine is a smidge under 3 inches, but that is likely due to my 1/4 inch not being scant enough.

Of course, this can be done with squares larger than 2.5". This is just a fun little something to do with leftover binding strips.

You Stitch Fifteen Blocks and What Do You Get?

Sorry. That "Sixteen Tons" tune was just rambling around my brain seeking an outlet. 

Well, I've completed the fifteenth block and gotten them all sashed. Next step will be to add a border. The pictured "flying carpet" version above is not actually bordered, except in a rehearsal of laying the pieced blocks atop the proposed border fabric.  

Our class is about to take a break for the summer, so I won't likely get this sandwiched and quilted until some time this fall.

Lamp and Trust

One is "Lamp" and one is "Trust" Can you tell which is which? I think the "Lamp" looks more like a lantern, and I'm not sure why "Trust" is this design...but red on the corners is by design, and blue is true, they say.

Blocks 11 and 12.

There are three more blocks in the sampler to do, then on to the sashing, which I dread. All the precision of the squared up nine inch blocks will likely be a distant memory at the end of that exercise. This one will need to be completed, though, because it's been forever since I actually QUILTED any of my piecing projects. 

Leah suggested the "Lamp" would be pretty as a full quilt using those fabrics. I agree.

Draw, Drop, Hoop, & Stitch

Having just done the Two Circles Squared [see previous post], I noticed that you end up with something akin to a framed canvas on the contrasting back piece. This made me wonder if I could use the center of the contrasting piece for a bit of embroidery. Rather than experimenting with hand embroidery, I chose to also attempt the regular sewing machine, free motion embroidery demonstrated by various YouTubers. 

First I chose a picture to trace/transfer onto the predetermined  four inch mid-section of  my eight inch contrasting circle. Having penciled it in, I dropped the feed dogs on my machine, and removed the presser foot, all the while reminding myself that the lever that lowers the foot must be lowered when stitching actually begins, due to tension issues. Next I hooped the fabric in an ordinary embroidery hoop, as tightly as I could manage. Then I set to "drawing" with the machine stitches, following the lines drawn. 

The resulting picture was fine for my purposes. It might have been better to stabilize the fabric prior to hooping, but for an experiment and first run, I was pleased.

Oh! And just for fun, here's a postcard my mail carrier left for us a year or so ago:

 Something inherently precious about a little girl mailing a missive, I suppose.

Two Circles Squared

The tutorial for this intriguing little bit of fabric magic didn't catch my eye until after the holidays, but decided to give it a try because 

1. It (end product) looked difficult. 
2. Sounded easy (per instructions)
3. Took next to nothing by way of fabric committed
4. Gave me a chance to TRY to justify having purchased a circle cutting ruler, not to mention all the Christmas-themed yardage I never brought myself to cut into. (Sigh. I have to get over that!)

Mine turned out a little wonky, but I think it was due to my lack of care in doing those final folds. 

This one was made using two 8 inch circles, which resulted in a 4 inch square.

1. joined face to face using 1/4 inch seam, leaving an inch and a half open for turning right side out
2. once circle is turned right side out, flattened and pressed, the 1.5 inch opening is closed off as a 1/8 inch top stitch is sewn around the perimeter.
3. the circle is then folded in half. The ends of the resulting "taco" are pinched to make a middle line just at those ends, which are then joined with two or three stitches (hand sewn)
4. rotate a halfway and bring the two other opposing side together to join as well. result should be something that looks kind of like a crab rangoon wrapper
5. flatten the "wrapper" centering the stitched end joins forming a square.
6. flip the petal-like extensions inside out and over the outer corners and even out for the finish.
7. the back side will be a square with contrasting corner tabs.

The video walk-through which served as my instruction may be found here: 

folded fabric ornament

I hope to give this a whirl with a smaller circle than my first run-through. Yes, I tend toward miniaturization. 

Related ideas for/with this:

• Use serger for the initial seam.
• Use finished square as a pocket for an apron or doll's dress
• Join several for a tree skirt.