Gravity: Constellation Blocks

Here are my constellation blocks from Gravity:

 

I know that the pattern suggests pressing all seams open.  I'm pressing 99% of my seams to the side.  If you google pressing seams open or closed, you will find quilters arguing both ways.  I recently heard a well-respected quilt teacher say that pressing seams open was 'not good quilting',  Yikes!  That sounds a lot like the quilt police to me.

 

  We could also have a big discussion about steam or no steam,  starch vs. best press.  Non-quilters would never  believe than pressing seams can be  such a big point of contention. 

 

http://www.equilters.com/library/techniques/SeamsOpen.html

 

http://thecraftyquilter.com/2014/01/lets-talk-pressing-seams-open-vs-to-the-side/

 

I say do your research and do what works for you.

 

Linking up:  http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2015/05/gravity-quilt-along-block-2.html

 

Wild & Goosey

I've been working on Wild and Goosey on and off for four months now.  Today I sewed some rows together to get some idea of how big this thing is going to be:

 

This is  roughly 56"x49".  It could be the center of a big quilt, or it is almost big enough for  a throw.  The  question is:  how big  of a quilt to I want to make? 

 

I'm not sure.  Generally, bigger is better to me.  I rarely wish I had made a quilt smaller.  Queen sized seems the most versatile to me.  It works on a queen bed, but you can easily use it on a full size bed, and it will work under a king sized quilt on a king bed.  But making this quilt queen sized would mean another year or so of Wild & Goosey blocks.  I'm not sure I want to commit the time to a queen sized Wild &Goosey!

 

But I've still got scraps galore, enough for 3 or 4 queen sized W&G quilts.  A lot of scrap quilt patterns aren't good for itty bitty scraps, and I enjoy the mindless paper piecing of this easy block. Until I can decide, I'll just keep making blocks.  As Pam says, 'Quilt world problems.'

 

Linking up:  http://www.freshlypieced.com/2015/04/wip-wednesday-just-keep-sewing.html

Project of Doom QAL

Here are my blocks so far for POD3:

 

I  put them all out on the floor to remind myself what fabrics I've already used in this quilt. They are in no particular order.  I try not to repeat fabrics in a POD quilt, but when the pace is one block a week, I tend to forget what I've already used.  Right now I think I need more light colors and more red.  I have enough blue, green, orange and pink for now.  I like to use fabrics without a lot of busy prints for the books.  This will make the book titles easier to read when I get around to stitching them. 

 

So far I've done a good job of keeping up with these blocks. I've even finished this week's block already:

 

 

Linking up:  http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2015/04/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-stained-glass-at.html

 

Scrap-In-A-Box

I completed Clue 4 of Scrap-In-A-Box today.   I'm honestly not in love with this top, but it turned out a lot better than I thought it would.  I used some really ugly prints and colors that weren't my favorites.

 

I need to decide on colors for the sashing and borders, but that is next month's project.  Right now  I'm leaning towards a forest green Christmas print.

 

Linking up: http://www.freshlypieced.com/2015/04/wip-wednesday-sewtopiated.html

http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/2015/04/lets-bee-social-69.html

Stash Report

Quilting has been taking a back seat to gardening this week.  I've been pulling weeds, mulching and planting almost every day.  I still have a lot to do, and some of it won't get done this spring.  The red buds are out. 

 

So are the dogwoods.

 

 

The daffodils are almost gone, but the irises and columbine are just starting to bloom.

 

 

 

Used This Week: 2.25 yard  (Henrique's quilt)                                                 
Used Year to Date: 32.25 yards 
Added this week:  0 yards
Added year to date: 48.25 yards
 Net added: 16.0 yards

Linking up with Judy:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/04/19/fabric-report-week-16-2015/

GRAVITY!

At long last I can show my first Gravity blocks.  I got so excited when I received my kit, that I made these right away.  I didn't want to show them on my blog, though, because the QAL hadn't officially started yet.  I found the hardest thing to do in this block was keep the colors straight.  Many of the colors are very close, and the light in my sewing space isn't great at night. 

I wrote A-F on flower head pins and pinned groups of cut pieces together by color to help me remember.

Linking up:  http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-gravity-quilt-along-begins-block-1.html

Henrique's Quilt Top Complete

In the time it takes me to do one step in a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, I got Henrique's quilt totally sewn together.  This is a super simple pattern, but you don't need a pattern to make it.  Just google free plus quilt tutorials, and you will find a bunch of them.  I didn't use any particular tutorial, but read  many.

This quilt is made of rectangles (12 1/2 x 4 1/2) and squares (4 1/2 x 4 1/2).  I used 13 fat quarters and may have been able to get the whole thing out of 12 if I had planned my cutting better (or planned it at all!).  I didn't worry about planning where the partial pluses would be.  I just cut a few extra squares to fill in spaces and cut off the rectangles that extended too far at the end.  This quilt is 48"x 60".

I need to get both Henrique's and Dandara's quilts done by July when they will be visiting the US.

Linking up: http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2015/04/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-pennant-quilt-is.html

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2015/04/made-in-america.html

Endless Scraps, Wild and Goosey Continues

A couple of weeks ago, I cut more pieces for my Wild and Goosey alternate blocks.  Last night I sewed 9 more of the alternate blocks.  They still need to be trimmed to 7 1/2 inches square.  I broke down and ordered an omnigrip 7 1/2 inch square to make the trimming quicker and more accurate.   I also made a few more 3 1/2 inch Wild and Goosey units. I use them as leaders and enders when I'm paper piecing the Project of Doom blocks.  I'm making slow but steady progress on this quilt.

 

 

The count is 19 alternate blocks done, 9 alternate blocks to trim, 28 wild and goosey blocks done, and 52 wild and goosey units made.  I'm not sure how big I want to make this quilt.  I like being able to use up the itty bitty scraps!

Linking up:  http://www.shecanquilt.ca/2015/04/scraptastic-tuesday-april-link-and-my.html
                     http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/2015/04/lets-bee-social-68.html
                     http://www.freshlypieced.com/2015/04/wip-wednesday-too-brain-dead-to-think.html

POD 3 Update

I got caught up on my Project of Doom quilt today.

 

 

 

I noticed that the last few blocks I've made have green in them.  I need to remember to use some orange or yellow in the next block.  

 

I had a hard time finding scale fabric for the Monster book this time. The last two times I made this block, someone had given me fabric scraps that I used.  I like both of these monsters better than the green one I just made. 

 

 

Henrique's Quilt

It is hard to get back to blogging after a week of vacation. We drove to Florida to visit our son in Palm Beach.  The weather there was beautiful!  If you don't count the 13 hour one-way drive, the whole week was great!

 I haven't had time to do much sewing, but I've got Henrique's quilt laid out on my design floor.  It is a simple plus quilt, much more modern that the quilts I'm used to making.  The piecing is big and easy.  I don't want to spend a lot of time making a quilt for a four year old boy because he isn't going to care about how intricate it is or how much time I spent on it.  If the quilt I make is a work of art, his parents won't let him use it. I want Henrique  to be able to drag this quilt  all over the house, make blanket forts, and camp out on the floor with it. 

The fabric is all from Bonnie and Camille's Daysail line.  Linking up with Patchwork Times:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/04/13/design-wall-april-13-2015/

Thoughts on Stash

Used This Week: 0 yard                                                   
Used Year to Date: 30 yards 
Added this week:  10.25 yards (Henrique's fabric plus .25 for POD)
Added year to date: 48.25 yards
 Net added:18.25 yards

I added a lot of fabric this week.  I really don't need a whole fat quarter bundle to make my nephew a quilt, but it was a line I'd been looking at for a while, and I found a good sale on it.  A lot of the leftovers will work in my Talkin' Turkey quilt too.  See me rationalize.  But the reality is:  I need fabric if I want to quilt, and I intend to use it all.

Here are my thoughts on keeping a stash: 

1.Don't buy fabric unless you intend to use it in the next two years.  Be realistic.  See how many quilts you actually make each year, and don't over-buy.  Too many quilters I know become fabric hoarders as their tastes change. 

2.Don't buy fabric unless it is on sale.  The exception to this rule is if it is something you need NOW to finish a quilt.  There will always be another sale.  There will always be more fabric.  It is ok to walk away from that beautiful print.  There will be more beautiful prints in your future.

3. Don't accept scraps unless you make scrap quilts, but don't be wasteful and throw away scraps.  Someone else would love to have your scraps.  Be generous with fabric you know you won't use.

4.  In a perfect world fabric in equals fabric out.  To help with that, only have one kit in your stash.  Only have one precut in your stash.  If you buy fabric to make pillow cases, don't buy more until you make the first pillowcases.  It sounds harsh doesn't it?  I try my best to follow this rule, but right now I have one kit waiting, one kit in progress,  four charm packs and one FQ bundle. 

5.  If you bring fabric home, it is your responsibility to use it or find someone who will use it.  I don't like to be wasteful.  It takes water and energy to grow and process cotton plants into cotton fabric.  I don't want fabric I buy to end up in a landfill.

I follow these rules about 80% of the time.  That way when I splurge and break them, I don't feel guilty.

To see more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/04/05/fabric-report-week-14-2015/

I'm Still Sewing

I'm still sewing, but I'm not blogging because I can't bring myself to  show pictures of what I've been working on.  Let's just say, I'm way ahead on a project and feeling a little guilty about it.  When you are doing a block of the month, and you just get the pattern for that month's block, it is impossible to work ahead.  When you are given all the patterns and all the fabric at once, it can be hard to stop.  I'll post pictures of these blocks later.

I've also been working on Talkin' Turkey, and I've finished all 60 string blocks.  But they look just like the string blocks I've been posting for weeks. 

A project I haven't posted much about lately is my third Project of Doom quilt.  This is a block of the week, and though I haven't finished this week's block yet, there are a few I have finished and haven't shown.

 

 

In addition to these three, I paper pieced a butter beer mug, and I'm just waiting for the right block to come along, so I can use it.

 

 

I have not finished binding Easy Street yet, but the binding strips are cut and ready to sew.  I've also cut a bunch of scraps for Wild and Goosey.  This will be a slow quilting week because of Easter and spring break.