What to do in 2010?

I'm not one for new year's resolutions. When I decide to change I don't need to wait for the new year, and a new year doesn't seem to be much motivation for me to change.

But I did think it might be good to have some stated goals for 2010 just to provide a little structure to a few areas of my crafty life. I think my 2009 year review showed that I have no trouble getting knitted things done (!), but I would like to work on a few other things.

One, I have a hard time pulling out the quilting even though I do enjoy it and have a few projects I'd like to finish up.

The big project would be to start (dare I hope--finish?) the quilting on my Hawaiian Star. I also have a few smaller quilting projects to finish if I need a change.

One way I hope to do more quilting is to put aside one Sunday afternoon a month. I've decided not to do this year's Red Purl afghan KAL, so I figure all those Sundays that I went to Red Purl over the past year, I could now use for quilting at home.

Second, I would really love to make this trench coat

out of red plarn. I have been saving up the red bags that my family has been faithfully collecting for me. The jacket is crocheted (not quite as enjoyable as knitting for me) but I hope that steady work will get it done over the year even if I don't work on it quite as obsessively as I do my knitting.

I realize plarn may not make the most comfortable garment, but I just can't resist the idea of a rain jacket made out of plastic bags. And doesn't a red jacket (maybe with white trim) just sound great!? I hope it works out...

The last big project I am considering is the Whistler sweater from Dale of Norway:

Considering the Winter Olympic games are at Whistler in February of this year, it would be perfect to do it then. But I'm not sure I'll be able to rally the supplies and clear my docket in time to start it then. I'm also considering doing it for NaKniSweMo in November. When I figure it out, you can be sure you'll be the first to know!

Of course, I will be working on many other projects throughout the year (including finishing up the woven cables sweater for Troy that is still sitting in time out), but I think these are the ones that I will need to make deliberate efforts to get done. And even to get them started--sometimes that's the hardest part.

Happy New Year, all!

AQS Des Moines Show: Day 1

We made it to our first class of the show: Quilting Queries with Helen Squire. (A little late due to some traffic issues, but I won't get into that. It's just good to remember that if you're in the stop and go traffic in an unfamiliar city with an 8:30 class, you're still having a better day than the people in the crashed vehicles.)

Helen was very fun and energetic. She spent most of the class looking at student's quilts and giving ideas of what area to quilt, what to quilt there and why. Lots of lessons by example. It was great looking at everyone's quilts. Most were wall hangings.

Mine, of course, was not. I went ahead and packed my mongo Stars and Spikes (she hated that title, by the way, but oh well...) and submitted it to discussion. She focused on the outer area between the border spikes and the corner spikes. (Sample area outlined in orange below.)

She pointed out that the red/pink should be treated together with the light blue as one area. They're both "background" to the spikes which are the items to be highlighted or featured. I had come to this same conclusion, so I gave myself a pat on the back for that!

She first mentioned feathers and I said that that's what I'd seen in other Hawaiian Star quilts. But she must have heard something in my tone, because she asked how I liked it. I said I didn't really like feathers. (Now, before you go crazy on me, I think feathers look good, but I feel no calling to do them myself. There's a difference.)

So she gave some other ideas and techniques to use and the "light bulb" comment that what I am dealing with is basically a swag. Swags are very common in the outer borders of quilts and that's what would fit in the shape outlined above (roughly). That idea alone will help a lot with what patterns I look at and how I think I can use them.

Yeah!! I'm so excited. I really needed a place to start with this one.

Helen ended the class with a very quick review of how to apply a border design to a quilt, the various corners you can make from the design, and how those "corners" can be used to quilt in the blocks. Let me tell you, the lady's good.

The classroom itself was freezing but that is one thing you don't really need to worry about at a quilt conference:
There were lots of quilts to go around!

After lunch we went to the "Coloriffic" lecture from Mickey DuPre. No pictures, sorry. But she was entertaining, had lots of great pictures of blocks in different colours, and knew her stuff. What more can you ask for? Oh, well, she had a lot of gorgeous art quilts on the wall too. So even more than you could ask for.

Then we walked through the main exhibit hall. I have lots of pictures, but I can't show you even one! :-( Sorry, AQS rules forbid it. Clures and I walked through about half of the quilts on show. (We needed to pace ourselves.) We haven't visited any of the vendors yet.

Then we fit in a visit to the Des Moines Botanical & Environmental Center. There was a quilt display there as well (again no pictures allowed), and lots and lots of succulents (and a few orchids).
I must say it's a little odd to see common houseplants growing over 10 feet tall. A little too Little Shop of Horrors for me! But they were gorgeous. Textures. Colours. Patterns. (And it was warm--not like some classrooms I could mention.)

A pretty full day, right? Whew, it was!

Meanwhile, I did get a little knitting done.
Got the heel done (twice) during and between the flights yesterday. Started with the woman's size but since I was using worsted wool instead of sock yarn, they were way way way too big. Thought about making adjustments, but decided going down a couple sizes would be a better way to do it. So I ripped it all out and started over.

And it seems to be working.
Another 8:30 class tomorrow morning and more quilts to see in the exhibit hall...

Stars and Spikes: Quilt Top

Without any further ado or waiting, let me present my quilt top:

(click on picture to get a larger view)

I will confess to being pretty pleased with it, thank you.

So one huge hurdle crossed (getting the top done), but it is not nearly a quilt yet. Steps to go:

1. Put binding and piping onto my mini quilt to practice the piping technique. I bought the Piping Hot Binding kit which contains a ruler handy for cutting the piping seams very even but a little practice wouldn't hurt. I have to quilt the mini quilt, however, before I can bind it. :sigh: So really:

1a. quilt mini quilt

1b. apply piping and bind mini quilt

2. Add piping and border to Hawaiian Star quilt top

3. Practice quilting full size quilt by quilting my Crossed Canoes quilt top (this could be optional, depending on how impatient I get)

4. Layer and pin/baste Hawaiian Star quilt top

5. Quilt Hawaiian Star quilt

6. Bind quilt

Step 6 is no problem. The rest are quite a bit of work, each unto themselves. So no, I won't be finishing this any time soon. But I will be having a lot of fun "practising"!

As for deadlines, it would be really nice to have the top done (meaning adding the piping and borders (step 2)) by the next club meeting which is the second Saturday in May. Hmmm...that might be a job. But I'll keep it out there as a possibility. In any case, I can bring what I have which is quite a bit in itself and then learn what they have to teach me about quilting techniques, threads, supplies, tips, etc.

And what about the title of this post, Stars and Spikes, you ask? That is my current title for this quilt, now that it is all put together. Hawaiian Star is the designer's name, but it mostly comes from the fabrics used. Since I didn't use the same fabrics, it makes sense that I would have a different name.

The design has two star patterns (Lone Star and Compass Star) and lots of spike sections (Corner Spikes, Melon Spikes, and Border Spikes); hence, Stars and Spikes. That's all I got. Ok, yes, there is also the obvious play on Stars and Stripes as well. Spikes fit my current mood better; I am, at best, half-heartedly patriotic right now.

It's a working title; we'll see if it sticks. If you have a better idea, leave a comment and I will consider it! Ta ta...

The Big Top

I have my Hawaiian Star quilt top all pieced! I don't have any pictures of the whole to show you, but I'm hoping I'll have a place and opportunity to photograph soon. You can be sure I'll share it with you as soon as I do! To the right is a small detail of one of my better matched points, not that any of them are too bad. The old adage is that if you can't see the mistake from the back of a galloping horse, it's not a mistake to worry about. I'd rather a little higher standard...maybe a walking horse. But I don't have to worry about that here because all the points came out pretty good (albeit after some ripping and resewing in some cases).

After the sewing there is lots and lots of ironing to do. Pardon me, that is, pressing. We don't iron in quilting (press down and push), we just press with no pushing. Fabric can be easily distorted if you push it with an iron, especially if the steam is on. For a project like this, I don't mind pressing at all.

Ever wonder what the inside of a quilt looks like?
It looks quite a bit like the top, but with all the seams showing. There are lots of seams and for each one of them you need to decide which way they should go. Unlike in other sewing where you press seams open, in quilting, you generally press the seam to one side. It took me a while to accept that. As far as I can gather, it helps you to match seams more easily and relieves strain on the stitching (after quilting). You generally press the seam so that the bulkiest part doesn't have to fold back but it seems like there are lots of times you need to make exceptions. Or maybe I just don't know all the rules yet.

Since I don't have a picture of the whole thing to show you, and since you have patiently listened to all the drama and soul searching that went into it, I will give you a sneak peak of the vastly improved compass star fitted into the finished top:
Hoping to show you the big picture soon,

christina

Fortitude Regained

Just an inkling as to what I was up to tonight.

I did not get any response to my post about the huge lapse in memory in my Hawaiian Star quilt, but I came to the final decision that I had to change the compass star pieces. Several things weighed in.

1. In the middle of the day, out of the blue, this thought came to me: "I can do this." I'm perfectly capable. No need for high-emotion antics. It's not like I'm telling myself to climb Mount Everest. It's just sewing.

2. I realized that 2 of the 4 pieces I want to fix still have the papers on them and are not sewn into the quilt yet. That made half the work "easy" so I told myself to quit bemoaning and get on with it.

3. Looking at the assembled quilt, I didn't match the points of the compass star pieces very well. So I should probably take out those seams anyway...and then I'm already half way done the work of replacing the pieces.

4. Before starting any actual ripping and re-sewing, I did a mock up of the compass star with the green fabrics and looked at it in the context of the quilt that I had already sewn together. They both were better than the blue, but the one pictured above was the better of the two. I was glad to think of a way I could step back and look at the big picture of the quilt and not just look at the little details of the small sections. I think that's what got me in trouble in the first place. (Well, that, and a faulty memory.)

So feeling brave, correct, yet humbled, I began.

First to rip out the old seam.
Wait. First check that I have the right piece. I did not want to rip apart a piece that actually had the correct fabric on it. (They're all blue right now, after all.) Then look again that I have the right piece and that all the pieces I want to keep are safely stored away from the seam ripper. Then rip out the seam.

Then cut a new piece of fabric from the green. The right green. Look again that I'm cutting the one that I actually want in the quilt. Ok. Check. The right fabric.

Now check that when I line it up to sew that I have it right side up. And fold back the paper in the real world (not just in my head) so that I can make sure the fabric is placed properly and will cut out.
The circled part is that part you have to worry about. But it falls onto the green fabric (the right green) and so all is good.

Sew the seam. I no longer have to worry about sewing with a small stitch length because the paper has been sewn over so many times that it's barely holding together any more.

Fold fabric over and iron with the little wooden iron.

And repeat.

I got the two easy pieces done, and could "dry fit" half of the compass star:
And for direct comparison, here are the previous colour combinations:

Left: original pattern design with black and blue long points.

Right: second try with two different blues.

Although I know these pictures don't show it in the context of the rest of the quilt, I hope you are as pleased as I am about the new (and hopefully final) results.

Tomorrow morning I am off to the LQS for the club meeting. We don't have much to go over as to new techniques, but we're going to meet and see where each other are at. You know, mutual admiration and encouragement. I'm planning to pack up my machine and all sundry and do some sewing there. Hopefully I will be able to get a bunch of work done. When I realized that I wasn't going to make my Mar 21 deadline, I lost some steam...until I realized I'm going home next week and really should have it done to show to my sisters. So now I have one extra week to do it, and just as much motivation to get it done.

Quilt on!

Circling the Geese

I put my nose to the grind stone of my sewing machine, and got some quilting done the other day. The March 21 deadline is looming very large at this point. If I couldn't get the whole top done, I figured I could maybe get half of it assembled. So first I assembled four of the eight flying geese units, the last I had to do!

I went with the three black fabrics in the quilt in the same pattern for all eight sections. The first one took me about an hour, but by the fourth, I was down to about half that. It's funny how you get faster, even when the first one seems to go simply and smoothly. Practice just always seems to help, doesn't it.

After I had those four pieces done, I had to tackle the center compass star. You may recall all eight pieces were assembled:

but I was not in favour of the black in the long points. I think it 1. contrasted too sharply with the blue, 2. was off-balance considering the same black at the other compass points (between the pink points), and 3. didn't play off the other areas of the quilt well. So I always had in mind to change them. Despite feeling in a rush to be done, now was time to do it.

So I took the four pieces I had to change and carefully picked out the seams to remove the black piece. (I only had to remove one seam since the black piece was the last section to be sewn on--I doubt I would have had the fortitude to change it otherwise...this will be proven just a little further on in this story.) I cut out four new pieces of fabric from another colour which were plenty big and started chain sewing. After sewing the second one on, I could cut off the first and take a look.

Remember what I said in the paper piecing tutorial about mentally moving these pieces around being quite difficult? Ya, well, I proved that point too. Both of the first two pieces were sewn on wrong. But I was proud of myself for persisting, sewing the next two seams correctly (oh so carefully correctly), picking out the wrong seams and then sewing them correctly too. Pat on my back. Good job.

Two of the new compass star pieces set into half of the star

I then went on to assemble some parts of the quilt together. This is the very exciting part. The compass star to the lone star pieces. The circling geese to the melon spikes to the corner spikes. And then those two different parts to each other. After getting all those parts together, I was kaput for the day (and out of time).

I oh so proudly showed my hubby all my work at the end of the day, and especially boasted of my diligence in changing the parts I wasn't happy with. As I'm talking to him, and looking at the quilt, and then looking at it some more...I then realized that I substituted the wrong colour for the black!!!! Oh hubris how I hate your revenge!! I had been planning to use a green instead of another blue. How could I have forgotten that? Looking at the compass star now, I think the two blues blend too much together. Oh the details! So this is where my fortitude fails as alluded to in a previous paragraph. I just can't see taking apart that much of the quilt, and then trying to replace the pieces when I've already removed the paper foundations. But I think I have to. I am calling this my Masterpiece Quilt, aren't I?

Feel free to give advice on how you would handle it (replace these difficult to remove pieces, or leave them be). I know the common adage is that no one else will notice, but I'm the one who has to see it on the bed all the time. And it would be a better looking quilt with green there. I'm convinced. Needless to say, I've had to take a break from quilting as I internally process this lapse in memory and all its consequences.

I need to take more notes, and read them. :big sigh:

Quilt Update and Paper Piecing Tutorial

For a little break from knitting, I'll tell you about the quilting I was able to fit in last week:

I completed the eight "Melon Spike" pieces of the Hawaiian Star including making the decision of how to place the dark colours. Final decision was to make the pieces all identical (as opposed to using them to make a pattern that would sweep across the whole quilt) and it more or less flows from lightest green to darkest blue.

The blue I like the least ended up being highlighted (the "top" blue fabric), but I think it works there. It's always interesting to me how I can use fabrics or colours I actually don't like much but which are necessary for the piece as a whole to work. Plus I do tend to limit how far I'm willing to go search for the perfect piece. I will make do. That's how I like to work.

In the big picture, the Melon Spikes fit into the quilt at the intersections of the Lone Star sections. (Circled in yellow for you below.)

I expect the blues and greens of the Melon Spikes to echo nicely the same colours in the Corner Spikes right above them. The circling geese pieces (that I still have to do) will arc in between them. So yes, I still have to piece the Circling Geese. I missed my self-imposed deadline of Feb 21, when the club was originally going to meet. I can still make the final deadline of having the top pieced by the final meeting on Mar 21.

And now for a tutorial on Foundation Paper Piecing

If you are not interested in how to paper piece, then feel free to skip the rest of this post. I'm including it because I've heard from a couple people since starting this quilt that paper piecing makes no sense to them. [whiny voice] "It's ha-ard" [end whiny voice] And that's hooey. So I hope the following pictures and descriptions will make some sense of it for you because this method is a wonderful way to do certain designs and achieve unbelievably fabulous points! Always the highest goal of any quilter!

First, the tools that will make life easier:

There is the rotary cutter (which every quilter must have), the wooden iron (which nicely replaces pressing with your fingernail, or "finger pressing"), and the Add a Quarter ruler (which simplifies cutting a quarter inch seam allowance). Oh, and to be honest, you'll probably need a seam ripper too. Mistakes do happen...

Foundation paper piecing starts with a foundation paper on which is printed the design and if you're lucky, seam allowances. Because what you see on the paper is the wrong side, it is the mirror image of the final pattern. In the pattern I have, the seam allowances are indicated by dotted lines and the stitch lines by solid lines.

In the few patterns I've done with paper piecing, the pattern's writer indicated what size of fabric to cut for each section. One pattern just specified rectangle pieces big enough to cover the section and this current project has templates so that the fabric can be cut more efficiently. The fundamental idea is to have a large enough piece of fabric to cover the section and the seam allowances. But always cut a little on the generous side if you have to choose.

Taking the foundation paper, find section 1, the first section to be put in place:
Take your fabric for section one, and put it under the paper right side down so it "covers" section one including its seam allowances. In the following pic you can see the fabric (circled in yellow) under the paper, and it is big enough to "cover" the area outlined in orange. (It may be bigger than that, but it has to at least cover that.)
Now some people use a glue stick to keep this fabric in place for the next couple steps, but I prefer pins. User's choice!

Now you want to fold the paper back along line 1. I use an index card to fold the paper against to make a nice, straight and firm fold.

So now the paper is folded back revealing the "excess" fabric underneath:
We need to cut some of that fabric away so that we will have neat 1/4 inch seams. Using your Add a Quarter ruler, place the lip of the ruler against the paper fold and cut along the edge of the ruler. Voila! A perfect 1/4 inch seam allowance. You can do this with a regular quilter's ruler, but it is slower and more prone to slip ups. I find the specialty ruler well worth it.

Now that we have the edge of the seam allowance defined, we can take the fabric for section two and slip is under the fabric for section one right side up. (You're sewing right sides together, just like usual.)
Match the two fabric edges:
Then flip the paper back, (pin if desired), and sew along line 1.

After sewing, we can flip the whole thing over, and you can see the seam you have just sewn:
(If you used a glue stick, this is the time to pull the fabric away from the paper. If you leave it til the end, it will become very difficult to rip the paper away.)

Now flip the section two fabric over, and press with your wooden iron (or finger nail, if preferred). You do not want to be running back and forth to a real iron, and the non-heated pressing does not distort your fabrics.
I have learned that you should not rub too hard or vigorously with the wooden iron or it will mar your fabric and give it "heat burn" making it shiny.

Now for the next piece...You want to take your index card and fold the paper along line 2. However, the previous stitching is in the way (see yellow circle). All you need to do is pull the point of a straight pin along the stitch line (not too hard, you don't want to rip the thread) in order to tear the paper. You can then fold the paper back.
You then proceed to cut the fabric 1/4 inch from the fold with your Add a Quarter ruler, align your fabric for section three, fold the paper back, (pin if desired), sew along line 2, press open, and repeat for all sections of the piece.

Section three is added:
Section four:

Sections five...and six and seven (oops, missed some pictures):
Section eight:
Section nine:
The final steps are to press with a heat iron (and steam, I love the steam!), and cut everything off at the outside cutting line of the paper.
Et voila! A final piece. And please admire those beautiful points! I really had nothing to do with them; they're automatic with this method.

I will admit that the trickiest part of this method is making sure your fabric is big enough to cover the section it's supposed to. Sewing non-square pieces at funny angles really exercises the spatial computing part of your brain. Some people will trace the dotted seam allowance lines to the back side of the paper with a light box so that you can see exactly where your fabric needs to be when you're putting it into place. It does help but I found it to be way too much tedious-ness for the couple of seams I might have to rip back. And this is one of those things that gets easier and easier with practice. (Surprise surprise.)

I hope this makes some sense of the process for you, keeping in mind that it's just one step at a time.

Hawaiian Quilt Update

Lest you think I've been ignoring my quilting with all the knitting I've been writing about, let me post some progress. Last time I posted I was working on all those border units. There were four copies of four different (but similar) units. After doing the first single one just to make sure I knew what I was doing, I did the rest two by two. It seemed like a manageable amount on my little desk and still a little faster and more efficient than doing them one by one. In a larger block of time I could get both done, or if I only had part of an evening I could get two done over two evenings. I didn't take note of the date but I think I got the border pieces done shortly before Thanksgiving. It was such a good feeling. The rest will be fun going...

I found a small [but crucial] printing error on one pattern piece and was able to pass that along to the other club members through the LQS by email.

The next section I did was the lonestar. I have never done a lonestar before and perhaps that worked in my favour since this paper piecing method is different than the traditional method (so I hear). The basic unit is split into five strips which are paper pieced separately and then sewn together. So you make all eight copies of strip 1, and then all eight of strip 2, etc., until all 5 strips are ready to be pieced into the eight lonestar units.

I ran into trouble on the first strip because I didn't put the pattern pieces close enough together and ran out of room on my strip of fabric. So I only got 7 copies instead of eight. I figured out the problem for strips 2 through 5 and got them done relatively quickly. Whenever I worked on it I could get one set of strips done, and then last Friday (on my first vacation day) I got a whole bunch of work done. I started to think I might actually get some of these units done so I could take them home with me.

Since I will be seeing my sister who helped me pick out the fabric when I go home for Christmas, I'll be bringing the pieces home to show her. She actually asked me to, but hey! like she has to twist my arm! Plus I have some decisions to make about which colours to use in the remaining pieces and would love it if she could help me with that. With this motivation and my vacation time I got six of the lonestar units pieced! I was very please with that. I can piece one more, but then I will have to cut some new fabric to make up the copy of strip 1 that I am missing.

Here is a quarter of the quilt laid out:

The blank spots will be filled with "melon spike" and "curving geese" units. These are the ones I have to still pick the fabrics. The pattern calls for a selection of the "dark" fabrics. So I have the option of my 3 blacks, 3 blues, or 2 greens, or some combination of them, of course. I wanted to take a look at the layout before I chose the final colours.

I still think I will change the black used in the center compass star to one of the greens. I think it will play off the use of those colours in the bigger corner spikes (with the red and pink above) and there's too much black in the middle with the first ring of the lonestar being black. But I'll do that at the very end...there's no hurry while I still have other things to do.

The next club meeting isn't until the third week of January so if I get the last two lonestar units done I will be happy. That would give me until the February meeting to get the melon spike and curving geese units done, and then by the March meeting I could have it all pieced together.

That would just leave the assembly and quilting...hmmm..."just"

All for now. I won't get more quilting done this week because of the travelling but getting some colours picked will keep things moving along.

Thanks for reading,

christina

Quilting Continues

So I went to the second club meeting last Saturday for my Hawaiian Star quilt. I did a little "cram" preparation the night before and got the central compass star sections done. Here they are laid out in position:

I'm not convinced by the black and may change it to one of the greens. But I'll wait til I have more sections done so I can see them together. Perhaps by then I won't even care!...It was fun to see how far the others in the club had gotten. There are 7 in the class (4 doing the Hawaiian Star and 3 doing the same designer's Dragon Star), and progress varied from only bought the fabric and hadn't even started cutting all the way to the one woman who had finished her quilt top!! Yeah, she got some grief about that! It was a lovely version of the Dragon Star in fabrics she (not the designer) chose. But the rest of us will keep plugging on. The club meets over 7 months so why would you want to get it down in the first month? No fun, if you ask me.

The teacher demonstrated the technique for the Lone Star sections and the Circling Geese. I'll get to those at some point but I wanted to get to the border units because it's so much of the quilt. There are 16 sections which need to be done and they're all pretty big. I was pleased to get two units done in one evening:

When I get the border pieces done, I feel like the rest of it will just be fun (more colour changes, smaller pieces, just more interesting).

In the larger picture, the previously completed Corner Spike units fit into the border units like so:

It's fun to see it coming together, and a little surprising just how big it is. As I recall, the pattern says it finishes 85" square which doesn't seem overly big, but I can't lay it out on our spare double bed.

Alright, all for now; I've got to get the fire started for a little heat here and then to start quilting again...

-christina