I BOM'd today :)

The Craftsy BOM is sooooooo beginner. It's perfect for me. And, I'm learning a TON about piecing. That's why I was so excited about March 1st coming up. (Here are January and February). Well anyway, I finished the first block for March (there are 2 blocks every month):

It's called a String Block and you use what's called Foundation Piecing to do it.

The following pics are of my progress:

I was very impressed with it. It's very different. The one strange thing I noticed is how thick the fabric layers/block become as you go along. My only concern is that when I quilt it I will break a needle because of all the layers (especially with the seams). But I think the end result was absolutely beautiful.

Until next time, I love comments, +1's, followers and shares on Facebook or email :)

Mike.

It's Good to Be the Queen...

So, I'm making Log Cabin blocks, then drawing a line diagonally on the back of one, sewing a seam on both sides and cutting it in half: 

It gets repetitive and boring, so I have to work on it a little at a time and intermittently work on something else :) It's from a pattern called A Simple Welcome that I saw on Easy Quilts from McCall's.  It's going to be a Queen sized quilt, so it's a big deal since it's my first one of this magnitude. There will be 42 of these blocks and a six inch border. In the end, this quilt will belong to my mother.


Later,


Mike.

I finally did some free motion on a real quilt.

I just started doodling. At first I was unsure of my jumping right in. I tried to do some wiggling, loops, stippling, meadering, whatever you want to call it. It started to look like someone puked a big blob of thread on the quilt. But in the end, the overall effect was just fine... and it turned out to be some great practice. I made many ugly stitches, but I just kept right on going. I played with speed, with designs with direction and it all wasn't really that bad.

I spray basted the quilt using Patsy Thompson's method and it worked out great. I had that baby basted in 15 minutes (lap sized blue ribbon quilt) and I definitely loved not having to stop to take out pins. I did not use gloves. I used silicone spray on the surface of the plexiglas extension. Even though, I was still having difficulty moving the bulky quilt smoothly. (On the next one I used gloves and boy did it make all the difference.)

After I had it finished and had binded it, I washed it and I love the way it looks. It's got that crinkly quilt effect. I know I have more pictures of it that I will have to share at some point.

Anyway, I then moved on to the rainbow block quilt and I am even much happier with how the quilting turned out on that one. I will write about it next time.

Mike.

Update: I got some pictures of the finished quilt...

What to do now that my first quilt top is finished?

About 7 years ago I got the inkling of an idea that I might want to learn how to quilt, so I bought a couple of books on how to quilt (Quilting for Dummies, etc.). I found a beginner project in one of the books and went out and bought everything they suggested I need (many things I still have and never used). So, I have this material that I've carted around (2 addresses later) that is sitting in my basement in a storage container (with the book that had the project I was planning). After finishing the top of the rainbow block quilt and watching several videos and reading a multitude of tutorials on free motion quilting, stitch in the ditch and quilting with a walking foot, I was scared that I would ruin the rainbow by trying to quilt it with no actual practice (other than practice quilt sandwiches), and decided to take up that old project stored in the basement.

It had very little material in the "recipe" so I started wondering (at this point I had a concept of how much material a project would take)... I started wondering if there was room for miscuts. As it turns out, there was enough material, but the size of this quilt was supposed to be for a wall. Here is a block and the finished front:

I think the pattern is called "Ribbons."

I'm not the kind of person to hang a quilt on the wall. I like a little functionality. If I'm gonna hang it on the wall, it better be detachable in case of a blanket emergency! And, it needs to cover (at least) my legs!

So, at the advice of my Aunt C. I decided to be a little creative and make it bigger. At this point, the material was so old, I knew I would never find more of the same to make more blocks to extend the quilt. I took it to Quilter's Corner (nice store) when I was in Virgina for Thanksgiving visiting the family and picked out more fabric that would go with it. Now the front looks like this:

The original design would have stopped right before the white and light blue print checkered border. Now I have a 60 x 60 inch throw.  But at this point, I'm still afraid to quilt it. So, I start working on making a back for this quilt and the rainbow quilt.

Instead of using one print or color for the back. I like to use a variety of fabrics and at least one print that will tell the user/recipient that I made it, like a signature. My friends and family know that I like the Wizard of Oz (and I'm from Kansas) so I try to use something that will reflect that on the back.

These are the fabrics that I chose. Some were left over from the front. The yellow with red print is actually little ruby red slippers. I hang it over the quilt top on my wall to make sure I have enough before I start cutting and sewing. And, I can see sort of what it will look like.

Now it was time to practice quilting on some more sandwiches. Here's a picture of one of my first ones:

I was really just doodling and getting a feel for free motion. It was such a headache in the beginning, I almost gave up. I was having so much trouble, I couldn't imagine putting a bulky quilt in the machine and trying to do this. Just getting halfway decent stitches was a problem, not really because of me, but because I would always forget to set up something correctly with my machine after putting on the darning foot. So, I decided, everyone needs potholders for Christmas! Stay tuned.

Mike.

How it all began...

So, I was telling my Aunt C. in San Diego one day that I had always been interested in learning how to quilt. Next, thing I know she invites me to come to San Diego for a quilt show. (I live in the NYC area, by the way.) So, I packed my bags and got on a plane. This was really just to see her, and the quilt show was just another reason to go.

Next thing I know, I'm buying all sorts of tools, fabric, fat quarters, patterns, you name it (at the show and her favorite store, Rosie's). We go back to her place and she gives me the "Introduction to Piecing" class (and she's a good teacher) which includes how to use a sewing machine, how to cut fabric using a rotary cutter, etc. Next thing you know, I'm in the thick of it, and I'm lovin' it! This was about 2 years ago and that top row of blocks in the picture was my first "row."

Then in May of 2011, I came back for a visit (when this picture was taken) and continued my work. It was then that I received my gift: a brand new sewing machine (Pfaff Expression 2.0). A very nice gift from my Aunt C.!!! After we sewed all weekend (with my sister-in-law who was there also), I had it shipped home. Mind you, the only thing I was halfway decent with at this point was piecing. The machine sat around for few months not getting used while I waited to get a setup that was suitable for piecing. The love of my life is very handy with building things, so he created a wall (similar to the one in the picture) for putting the pieces on. I got a new iron (Reliable IronMaven J420) which I quickly fell in love with! (It was cheapest on Amazon.com and worth every penny.) I bought a used sewing table from someone's garage, then I was good to go. I finished the front of this quilt in no time (and I do not have much free time, usually only on the weekends). See below for the finished front.

My Aunt C. has her quilts sent to someone for quilting, yet I was feeling a bit adventurous at this point. I started doing some research on doing the actual quilting on a home machine (online tutorials and videos) and I decided I should at least try it and if I decide it's too painstaking or takes to much time or I basically just don't enjoy it, I will start having them quilted by someone else. At least I could say "been there, done that."

Seeing as I have just started this blog, I could go on forever to get to where I am today. I am planning to continue writing about my journey another day. I hope that I can find some time in my days to keep up with this. Thanks for reading.

Mike.