Kaffe Fassett Quilt Finished (Strangely Mirroring my Tenure)

I'm going to do things a little different and do the big reveal first.

Here it is! My most recently finished quilt!

The quilt is 11x11 blocks that were 7" before quilting and washing. So I'd say the final quilt is about 72" square. Batting is cotton because that's what I used at the time I started it.

It was started in 2010, inspired simply by the fabrics I found:

I believe it was the first time I had seen Kaffe Fassett fabrics in real life. I think I dreamed up the (simple) idea for this quilt while perusing the one short shelf of Fassett prints.

I remember piecing it in the mornings before work. I had just changed jobs and suddenly not only had a 30-40 minute shorter commute, I also started an hour later! That was a lot of time in the morning I wasn't used to having. (Of course, by now I am sleeping as late as I can and have no time in the morning. Also, I recently told them I would be leaving after this season is finished. It can only be a coincidence, right? I'm sure it has nothing to do with this quilt being done.)

I laid out the squares on my "design wall" which was a flannel sheet hanging in front of the window in our dining room. While we were still finishing the drywall, apparently.

With this simple design (and all that time in the morning) it didn't take long to have the top together.

If you look closely, you'll see that not all the seams are sewn. I pieced the top in three strips so that I could try quilting in sections for the first time. I think I had just been to a talk by Marti Michell, who wrote the great book Machine Quilting in Sections (which I promptly purchased).

Here is the center section being layered on the counter. That's when we had our kitchen space laid out in the dining room. (Proof that although we make slow progress on the house, we do make progress. The kitchen is in the kitchen again and has been for a while.)

I took choosing a quilting design very seriously. It didn't take long to decide to sew big circles around the red squares, but what to do between them? Here's a practice mock-up square I did:

Don't worry -- it's a square lying on top of the quilt. I didn't practice on the actual quilt! (I eventually turned it into a pot holder for my sister's orange and yellow kitchen.)

After seeing it on the fabric, I loved the look of the design and texture created by the heavy quilting, but didn't like how the design looked on the fabric. They competed with each other instead of complementing each other. I ended up simplifying the quilting and let the design on the fabric determine the quilting. I also used matching thread instead of contrasting. Enough of the texture, none of the distraction.

Four of the practice squares got turned into this pillow:

Since then, it was damaged by a mouse digging into the centre looking for bedding (or food or who knows what). Now that the quilt's done, I may have to dig it out and see if it can be repaired or patched. But the pillow confirmed my decision to use a dark intense blue for the binding. I love how it looks as a border flange on the pillow.

Then it was time to start quilting the quilt.

I have pictures from 2010 and 2011 but then they stop. I don't think I have worked on this quilt at all since then.

It has lived on my UFO list on the Ravelry quilting group since I joined in Spring 2013. For whatever reason, this quarter it rose to the top and was the one I got out to work on.

And I did! A couple weeks ago, I had the idea that I could possibly get it done by the time of my sister's visit at the end of October. The quilt had nothing to do with her, but I thought it would be a fun surprise to have it finished without telling her. She's also a quilter so I knew she would share the pleasure of a finished quilt and enjoy the honour of being the first to sleep under it!

One by one, I pulled out the strips and finished the quilting. They weren't as far along as I thought, but I got them done:

I laid it out to make sure I had the diagonal stripes lined up correctly and then put in safety pins to make sure I got the right corners together while sewing.

I used a code to match corners. Either one safety pin or two
and either lined up horizontally or vertically.

Then it was time to put the pieces together -- something I had never done before. I pulled out Marti's book and reread the various options. (I think she explains six.) None of them really matched what I had, so I made up my own variation. Actually two.

For the first seam, I cut away the batting as close as I could to the stitching. Ideally, it would be right at the finished size. Then I trimmed the back and front on one side to 1/4 inch wider than the finished size. On the other side, I trimmed the front, but not the back. I left the backing fabric oversized.

Then I pinned the two sides together with the fronts facing each other and sewed a 1/4 inch seam, holding the oversized backing fabric out of the way and sewing through all the other layers.

Here's the back of the quilt showing the sewn seam:

I ironed the seam open as best I could. I had quilted to the edge so in some places I had to undo the quilting stitches a bit and in others, I just couldn't quite open the seam. I trimmed the backing fabric to about an inch. (I didn't measure.)

Next, I folded the raw edge of the backing fabric so it met the seam line:

Then I folded the backing fabric over the seam so it was flat, with the raw edge folded under:

Pin it in place and then sew it down the same way you would sew a binding:

For the second seam, I tried a little different method because I didn't want to have to pick out some of the quilting stitches. I cut a long strip of fabric (it was one of the pieces I trimmed off the quilt edge). I put the two sides of the quilt together with right sides together and then laid the long strip on the back of one side of the quilt with the "right" side down. I then stitched a 1/4 inch seam through all the layers:

 And then, apparently I stopped taking pictures. Hmmm.

Well, once the seam was sewn, I pressed it to one side (away from the facing strip). I folded under the raw edge and brought the facing strip over the seam allowance. Then I pinned it (as above) and sewed it.

Here are the final results:

Method 1

Method 2

Method 1 is a little less noticeable, both on the back where there is only one seam and on the front where the seam is flatter. But you have to leave a margin at the edge where there is no quilting.

Method 2 has two seams to see on the back (both sides of the facing strip) and is bulkier because all of the seam allowance is pressed to one side. But you can quilt however and wherever you want.

Neither one is at all noticeable on the front of the quilt if you don't get close and don't already know what you're looking for. Using all the same fabric on the back may make it less noticeable, but I suspect the seams between two matching fabrics may catch someone's attention more than seams between different fabrics.

I think this just looks like all of the pieced backs that are so popular right now. And really, why am I even concerned about someone seeing that I quilted in sections? It's not like there's something wrong with doing it that way!

Now that the quilt was in one piece, I was ready for the final step...binding. Thankfully I store everything for a project in one box so I didn't have to hunt for the fabric. I cut bias strips 3.25" wide and stitched them together end to end.

I folded the bias strips in half and stitched it to the front. I had trimmed all four sides of the quilt to 3/8" larger than finished size (1/8" past the edge of the top) so that I could have a nice wide binding.

I picked up the method of sewing the mitered corners somewhere online. I stitch to the corner and then turn 1/4" from the end (or however wide your seam is--3/8" in my case) and stitch toward the corner to make the 45 degree angle. Then I break the thread and fold the bias strip to make the corner and start stitching the next side. This works much better than trying to do it all in one pass.

But only recently did I think to apply this to the hand stitching on the back. And I took a few pictures.

Here the binding on the right side has been sewn down on the back of the quilt. I stop stitching at the top and make a few small stitches in the same spot, but don't break the thread.

Then I fold the binding down on the next side, forming the miter and making sure the folded edges meet right at the corner.

I then push the needle to the front and sew the miter angle closed from the inside edge to the outer corner.

Once at the corner, I push the needle to the backside and sew the mitered angle closed from the outer corner to the inside edge. I take a second stabilizing stitch in the same spot and then continue sewing along the new side.

I'm really happy with the result. (I've said it before...I used to really pooh pooh sewing down the miter corner. I mean, it's not like the fabric is going to come out. But it really does look better. Really.)

Here it is on the quilt:

I think the blue is an unexpected choice, but I really like it.

Here are a couple shots of the quilting on the final quilt, front

and back.

So that's one quilt done for this quarter's UFO club on Ravelry. That means I have earned a fat quarter (of fabric) from the other participants. It's also one less project in my craft closet. Of course, the box the supplies were in is already holding stuff for the next project I started. The way it goes....

Project Roundup

I'm not really up to pulling together a narrative today, so I'm going to give you an overview of the projects I have on the go, showing progress since the last time you've seen them.

1. I'm on the second sock of this pair that I started during a trip in July. This might be the first time you're seeing these.

I think this is the prettiest stitch pattern I've ever made:

It reminds me of stain glass somehow.

2. I'm making steady progress on my "Jeans socks" with the yarn I dyed. It's lovely to work with. The rayon in it gives it a very silky feel to my hand.

3. It took a few tries, but I got the sleeves done on this sweater for Wool-Aid. It's partially assembled, as you can see.

4. I like to sit and sew sets of these squares in the evening. I'm keeping them organized in sets for each star.

5. This bit of kntting will turn into a cowl. I've made the pattern before as a gift and wanted one for myself.

It's actually just a start to the set. I really started on it because I want to use a big fur pompom I bought myself a while ago on a chunky hat that will match.

6. This red and yellow quilt is on my list of projects to work on with the UFO* club on Ravelry.

We make a list each quarter and cheer each other on. And hopefully congratulate each other when we finish projects.

The quilting is finished except for the yellow squares so I've been making my way through them. This morning I got the second of three sections of the quilt done.

And there finishes this virtual tour of projects I have on the go.
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*UnFinished Object

Quilting: What's Your Season?

I think for most people the season for quilting is winter. I seem to run on a different clock: summer is the time for me. (Ok, we're not really full into summer yet, but the woodstove has been retired for the season and that's close enough for me.)

In any case, I have been doing more quilting lately than I usually do. A week or two ago I made some more Big T blocks:

Last time I wrote about them, I had only five blocks and in two sessions, I managed to double that! I do two at a time now which makes things a little more efficient without being too overwhelming for me to keep track of.

I'm still enjoying picking out which fabrics to put together. So far I haven't repeated any combinations but I definitely have favourites. The blocks are still pinned to my window blind and I like being able to see them all the time!

Today I pulled the Kaffe Fasset quilt again. You may recall that I had run out of red thread. I bought a spool when I was at the store for something else but had to guess at the colour because I was unprepared. I bought the wrong colour. I managed to exchange it a week later. After all that, I thought I had better at least make some progress!

The three pieces of the quilt are all at different stages. The furthest along has all the circles done, all the red squares done and the yellow squares started. The next one has all the circles done. And the final one doesn't even have the circles done (that's where I ran out of red thread).

I decided that I needed some "no brain" quilting, so I picked up the third one and threaded the machine with my new red thread to finish sewing the circles. I was surprised that I couldn't find a red bobbin to match. How could I have run out of thread on the bobbin and spool at the same time? Even though the question occurred to me, I didn't stop to consider it any further and just started sewing.

The back of a block I did today,
with the proper blue thread.

After I finished the first section, I realized that the reason I didn't have a red bobbin was because the bobbin thread was not supposed to match; it was supposed to be blue. ::sigh::

So I did a little ripping out. When I wanted "no brain" quilting, this wasn't really what I had in mind.

After ripping, I did get that section finished and now all three pieces have at least the circles sewn.

While I had the red threaded in the machine, I figured I would continue with it. I sewed two red blocks with free motion quilting before running out of time and desire.

Thankfully, my machine has been behaving while I've been doing free motion quilting. I think the sharp needle, slowing down and cleaning out the lint formula is working.

Besides the changing of the season, I may have also been inspired to quilt by "feng shui"ing my living room. My sewing table is now in front of a window and has more convenient access to the ironing board.

The whole room feels more open the way it is arranged. I hope it leads to lots of sewing!

Kaffe Quilt Progress and Another Change of Plans

What? Some people actually sit on their couch??

This weekend I pulled out my Kaffe quilt again. I had to steam the wrinkles out as the pieces have been folded and sitting on the back of my couch since last time I worked on it. Once I had the pieces steamed I didn't want them to wrinkle again. Hence, the occupied couch.

Once wrinkle free (more or less) I marked the circles on both the remaining pieces. It's quite a tedious and time consuming project so I wanted to get it behind me.

By the end of the evening, I not only had them marked, but I had all the circles sewn on the larger piece!

The piece over the ironing board (on the left, above) had just been soaked and spun in the washing machine to get out all the water soluble markings. Here it is:

All the blue markings are out and the circles look good!

Tonight I sewed the circles on the smaller piece until I ran out of red thread. I wasn't sure how much to buy to do a whole quilt. I think two more will do it easily (three all together). I didn't, however, let running out of thread stop me. I threaded the machine with yellow because I had a new idea...

In looking at the completed piece, I really felt it wasn't enough quilting. I've written before about plans for quilting in the yellow squares. The fleur-de-lis I designed fit the space but didn't work with the busy yellow fabric. (Why fight such a pretty fabric?)

I had thought to leave them plain, but just couldn't do it. Tonight I thought a loose loopy pattern that kind of followed or echoed the flowers on the fabric might work. I'll try it on "just one square" I thought.

 Well, I must have liked it, because by the end of the night, I had eight done! I'm really liking the effect much better. Here's an overall view:

The new sewing adds a lot of texture and lets the circles "pop out" more.

And here's a view of the back:

I had more trouble while sewing in free motion mode with the thread fraying and snagging. I had to restart a lot. (Well, I also had trouble right at the beginning until I remembered to put the feed dogs down! Oops, big difference!!)

I was getting pretty frustrated (to my credit I did not throw the sewing machine across the room), and then I thought I would do the first thing that any shop would do: clean out the lint and put in a fresh needle. I only did one square after that, but it was a lot better! (In my defense, I can merely say that I did start with a new needle this evening, but I guess it was time to change it again.)

So that's what's been going on here. Anyone want to go to work for me tomorrow so I can keep sewing? I'd hate to interrupt when I've got all this good sewing mojo going. Oh wait, the boss is out of town for one more day...maybe I'll stay home without needing to find a replacement!!

Kaffe Fassett Quilt Progress Update

I was determined to make time to quilt over this long weekend. Thursday was a write-off between church and dinner. (And they were both well worth it; don't get me wrong.) And the same is more or less true of Sunday. But I figured Friday and Saturday--they could be designated quilting days. I was fired up.

But before I get to that, I need to introduce the newest member of my "toolbox":

Yes, a couple months ago I bought myself an extension table for my sewing machine. It makes a huge difference for larger projects and especially with free motion. I have been loving it!

I had one of the the three pieces* of my quilt marked for the large circles. I first sewed in the long direction, curving one way and then the next as I went down the quilt:

They're a little hard to see, but you should be able to make out
the hourglass shapes on the yellow squares.

Once that direction was done, I went across the short way:

Now all the curves "connect" and make the circles I was after. This quilting was done in red thread so that it would stand out a little more. I did all the stitching with my walking foot and it kept all the layers flat and where they should be.

Here's a wider view: (you may want to click to embiggen)

Once those curves were done, I turned my attention to the red squares. I switched to free motion and just outlined the main circle design in the square and then traced whatever shapes I wanted to inside the circle.

It was nearly impossible for me to get it on camera, but maybe you can get an idea from this:

Then I started to run into trouble. My upper thread kept splitting and after restarting a bunch of times, changing needles and cleaning the machine,  I decided it was time to bring it in for its overdue service and cleaning. So I brought it to the shop this afternoon and hope that they will fix what is wrong.

Meanwhile I was happy with what I got done. I also got a pretty good idea of how much time it's going to take. (Too long to get it done in "one big weekend" but not so big that a few good sessions won't get it taken care of.)

And now that my machine is in the "shop," I can turn my attention back to gift knitting. (I might give you a sneak peek later...)

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*I have divided the quilt top into thirds and will be quilting it in pieces and then joining them together at the end, following methods of Marti Mitchell.