Crazy Quilt Piecing Class

There is just one block on my design wall.

Yesterday afternoon I took a crazy quilt piecing class.  We were told to bring a 12.5 inch square of muslin and 5 fat quarters.  I didn't want to buy any fabric, so I found 5 fat quarters that have been in my stash for quite a while and brought them.  They are not what I would have chosen if I had gone out and bought something new, but they worked just fine.

 

This was an easy technique for me because it is very similar to the paper piecing I did for the Harry Potter quilt.  It was a lot of stitching and flipping. It took me a about and hour and a half to make this 12 1/2 inch block. 

 

 We did not get to any embroidery in class yesterday.  Embroidery is a separate class, as is silk ribbon, and beading is yet a third.  I don't think I need her first embroidery class.  It looked like she was using very simple stitches.  I know I can do the stitches.  What I need is practice to get my spacing right.  I'm used to stitching on linen, where there is a thread grid to guide me in how big and how far apart to stitch.

 

I think crazy quilting is an easy thing to do, but it is a hard thing to do well.  A lot of the pieces the teacher showed yesterday looked messy to me.  I could see she had spent quite a bit of time on them because there was SO MUCH JUNK on her work:  lace, rick rack, ribbon, buttons, beads, found objects. 

 

 That might be the look she was going for, but it just looked like too much  stuff  competing for attention.  Those of you who have seen some of my scrap quilts know I have a high tolerance for mish-mash. Her art quilts made my scrappiest quilts look positively dull. 

 

That said, this block is my practice block, so it will probably end up  similarly over-decorated.

 

To see more design walls:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/09/30/design-wall-monday-28/

 

Stash Report

My net used numbers are up again this week because of my Lazy Sunday finish. 

Used this week: 6.75 yards
Used Year to Date:  79 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date:  67.875 yards
Net USED:  11.125 yards

For more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/09/29/stash-report-week-39-2013/

I won a crazy quilt piecing class at my LQS.  It is this afternoon from 1 to 4.  I think I could probably figure out how to make the block without a class, but I always learn something from classes, and I'm looking forward to it. 

Lazy Sunday, Quilted and Bound

I got Bonnie Hunter's  Lazy Sunday finished last night.  I waited until today to take a picture, but it is gloomy out, so the lighting isn't great.

 

 

 

 

I have mixed feelings about this quilt.  I don't love it because of the fabric I used, but I think it is a very good pattern.  I like the pieced border, but I had stretching problems with mine (user error, nothing wrong with the pattern).  This quilt is made entirely of scraps and stash. 

 

 The backing is a Civil War print that I've had forever.  It is also a fabric that I don't love.  It is 'quilt shop quality', but it feels coarse to me and was  stiff with sizing before I washed it.  I know it will improve with each wash because I've used it on another quilt.  I am glad to be rid of it, though!

 

I'm linking up with Sarah at Can I Get a Whoop Whoop http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

A New Mystery and Stash Report

I've just started  Charlotte's Scrapitude Mystery quilt found over on Sandy's blog ( http://quiltingfortherestofus.com/blog/ )  This is supposed to be a low key mystery compared to the Bonnie Hunter mysteries. So if you've always wanted to make a mystery quilt, but quilts with thousands of pieces intimidate you, try this one to start.

 So far, I've just gotten my 4 patches made.  My quilt is going to use batik scraps.  I'm not sure about my background.  I had a bunch of 2 1/2 inch jelly roll strips that were cream batiks, so that's what I used for the 4 patches.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to buy more background fabric, so the whole quilt will be batiks, or if I'm going to use other cream fabrics from my stash. 

 

I haven't done any of the rest of the cutting.  Some of the directions sound suspiciously like squares to make HSTs because they end in 7/8.  I don't like to make my HSTs that way, so I'm going to wait on cutting those.

 

This has been a productive week for me since I got Pineapple Blossom quilted and bound.  I am glad to see my stash numbers headed in the right direction again.

 

 Used this week: 6 yards
Used Year to Date:  72.25 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date:  67.875 yards
Net USED:  4.375 yards 

To see more stash reports: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/09/22/stash-report-week-38-2103/

Pineapple Blossom Quilted and Bound

I got my Pineapple Blossom quilted and bound this week.  This quilt has been a long time in the making.  It was a class project with Bonnie Hunter in Virginia Beach in 2013. 
http://sewingoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2012/03/bonnie-hunter-class.html

It sat in my floppy pile for over a year before I saved up enough to buy the backing (white corduroy with pink, orange and red owls) and get it longarmed.   I'm very happy with the way it turned out!

 

 

My major worry with this quilt was that some of the dark pinks would bleed.  Many of them are scraps of unknown origin.  Some of them were batiks.  Since there was so much white, I decided to baste color catchers over the pieces most likely to bleed.

I'm glad I did!  Look at the excess dye: 

I used a whole box of color catchers for this quilt.  It's probably overkill, but a box is only $4,  and it beats trying to get stains off of the white parts.  I was surprised that even some of the orange fabric bled a little.

To see more projects:  http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2013/09/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-some-more-pretties.html  and  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/09/missing-u.html

Sewing Museum

I have an old treadle sewing machine that belonged to my husband's great aunt.  The cabinet looks good since we've had it refinished.  The actual machine isn't in good shape. 

This machine was used a lot.  There is a lot of wear and rust on it, and it lived on a front porch for many years before it was moved to a garage.  It is missing the sliding cover over the bobbin, but the bobbin case is still there, and when I turn the wheel, it goes back and forth and the needle goes up and down.  I could spend some time and clean it up, but I have no desire to use it to sew.  I blogged about why in this post.
  http://sewingoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2013/02/doom-progress-and-why-i-dont-sew-on.html

In the drawers I pulled out old baby food jars with buttons, wooden spools of thread, cards with hooks and eyes, rusty screw drivers, a rusty crochet hook,  bobbins, a velvet lined box (full of mildew!!) with old sewing machine attachments.

 

 

The box of attachments is in rough shape.

 

 

 

 

The attachments are a jumble, dirty and rusty.

 

 

Maybe someday I'll get the urge to clean it all up.  To see more sewing museum posts:

http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/2013/09/sewing-musuem-linky-party.html

 

 

 

Stash Report, Lazy Sunday Top Done!!!

I got the final border on Lazy Sunday today.  I chose to put on the blue outer border because when I went to machine bind another quilt which also had a pieced border, I cut off  a lot of points.  Adding the outer border allowed me to preserve most of my points.

I ended up sewing the borders on and ripping them off again on all four sides, sometimes two or three times.  I think the pieced border must have stretched along the outside edge.  In any case, it went on like it was my first quilt.  Even now it isn't perfect, but the muggles will never see the mistakes once it is quilted, and, most importantly, IT IS DONE.

This quilt was a lot of work, considering it is called Lazy Sunday.  I think it will be for my son's bed.  Right now he is using an old comforter that we got about 29 years ago right after we got married.  It is pretty much on its last legs and needs to be fixed or thrown out.  I vote for throwing it away. 

My Lazy Sunday is 103 x 81 inches.  The entire quilt was made from scraps, no fat quarters were used in the center.  The blue outer border was made from a piece of fabric that was given to me a couple of years ago.  You can't tell from the picture, but the fabric has yellow, red, orange and lime green in it.


Used this week: 6.25 yards
Used Year to Date:  66.625 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date:  67.875 yards
Net Added: 1.25 yards 

To see more stash reports:
http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/09/08/stash-report-week-36-2013/

What is a Quilt Worth?

I have seen a few posts in the last couple of weeks that discuss how much a quilter should charge for  quilts.  Some bloggers are disappointed in quilters who sell their work for just the cost of materials or who only charge a few dollars an hour for their services.  They argue that people who charge very low prices cause buyers to expect low prices for all quilts. These low prices make it very difficult for quilters who want to have a business making quilts to support themselves.  

I  think that it is unrealistic for most people to be able to earn enough to live on by quilting,  just as it is unrealistic for most people to be able to earn  a living wage painting, sculpting or scrap booking.  Art is subjective and time-consuming, not lucrative.

In my opinion, a quilter should be able to charge whatever she chooses for her work, without being judged for it.  While I don't sell my quilts, I think it is perfectly acceptable for any quilter to set her own prices. If I sewed for money,  I might charge a stranger $800 for a quilt I would gladly give to a friend.  A stranger might not be willing to pay $800 for my quilt. Then it would be up to me to decide if I want to sell it for less, and if all I can get is $80, I might decide  to sell it because $80 is better than nothing.  I might then take that $80 and use it to buy fabric to make another quilt.

As a stay-at-home mom, I have more time than money.

 A quilt might have an insurance value of $500, but that doesn't mean someone will pay $500 for it.  I don't have $500 to buy someone else's quilt, but I do have the time and skills to create a similar quilt worth $500.

There are people that I would quilt for for free and not feel like I am being taken advantage of.  There are also people I don't know or like, so the price I would charge them for a quilt would be quite high.  If I were to make a quilt for someone I don't know  well, I think I would have them go to the quilt shop with me to pick out the fabric, thread and other notions for the quilt.  They would pay for the materials up front.  I would charge them to make the top, then I would give them the top to take to the longarmer.  They could pay the longarmer whatever she charges to quilt and bind the quilt. 

To me, that would be a fair way make sure I wasn't being taken advantage of.  And it would also weed out those people who are looking for a special quilt but who want to pay Walmart prices for it.

It would be hard to put a per hour price on something I enjoy doing and would be doing anyway if no one paid me.  I value my quilting, and I know that the people I quilt for value my work too.  I have not fallen into the trap of feeling obligated to make a quilt for every one I know or even every family member.  I expect I will get around to making all my brothers and sisters a quilt, but there are seven of them, and I am not going to rush it.  They all want one of my quilts, but they know that my quilts take  a lot of time and money  to make, and they have to wait.  Each quilt would be less special if I cranked them out like an assembly line.