some new linky parties I might join

The craft-webs are bursting with linky parties. Some have been around for a while, others are new (at least to me).

The two I'm going to mention here are both new; neither of the bloggers has had a linky party before (well, that's my understanding anyway).

Both are quilt related, which is not surprising since knitters are so well catered for by the wonderful site known as Ravelry. There we can find all sorts of knit-alongs, groups to join, etc. that those things are rarely seen on blogs these days.

So, back to the two linky parties that have caught my attention this past week.

The first goes by the rather curious title of "Relaxing Robin" so I just had to check I to out. I've always wanted to join a "round robin" but I use chain store fabrics and many of the "robins" want quilt store fabrics only. Also, since I still comsider myself a beginner, I'm never quite sure if my skills are up to the task.

Dawn, at sewyouquilt2, has come up with a novel idea -- a "relaxing robin" where the work never leaves home. Instead, each month, Dawn posts instructions and quilters add to their work. It starts with an abandoned block and builds from there. Of course, if you didn't have an abandoned block, you could always try a new technique to make a block (and link it to my "Something Old, Something New party, LOL)

Dawn has not actually set up a linky party; you can read more about her idea here.

The other linky party I'm considering has to do with those shelves full of quilt books we all have! Sharon, at Vrooman Quilts, is challenging us to make a quilt from one (or more) of those books. I left a comment that I have never made a quilt from a pattern and that's okay, says Sharon, we can work on a quilt inspired by a pattern in a book! Here's the link to Sharon's blog post and below is Sharon's fabulous button (which, as yet, doesn't have a grab code).

So, what about you? Are you joining any linky parties in 2014, weekly, monthly or occasionally?

Small New Blogs Meet-up

This is far from being a new blog since I have just written my 500th post.

But I do qualify for the "meet up" - I have less than twenty followers.

I would like to meet some new blogging friends so have decided to join the fun.

The creator of this meet-up, Lynne (what a great name! LOL), from Lily's Quilts, has asked that I start by introducing myself and my quilting.

Warning: it's a long introduction and current followers have probably heard it all before!

My name is Lynne. I have been married thirty four years this year. WM ("Wonderful Man") and I live in the metropolitan area of Sydney, NSW, Australia. We have one child, a daughter (DD), who was married in January 2009. She has two sons, one nearly eighteen months old, the other just five weeks old. In this blog I refer to them as Older Grandson (OG) and Younger Grandson (YG).

I have been knitting (on and off) since I was about five years old. I completed my first garment when I was sixteen - a sleeveless sweater with cables on the body and stripes around the lower band and arm holes. I became a serious, every day knitter, some time about 2006 and started this blog in relation to my hobby (hence the title).

My grandmother, who had her own business as an upholsterer/decorator, bought my first sewing machine when I was seventeen. She also taught me to sew because the high school I attended, despite being girls only, did not teach Home Economics! My first garment was a four-gore skirt in floral patterned voile which Nanna made me line for reasons of modesty! I loved that skirt and wore it for many years.

After I was married and working full time, I took "garment assembly" classes one evening a week for four years at the local technical college; so I have been sewing, on and off, for over thirty years.

In March 2010, when OG was just three weeks old, DD and I attended a craft fair. One of the sewing machine companies was running a hands-on workshop, making blocks that were to be turned into quilts for Haiti. DD and I both made one block each and, after a hiatus from sewing for many years, I remembered how much I enjoy the process.

So, DD and I went to our local Big Box Craft Store and bought fabric to make a quilt for OG to lie on the floor - it would keep him warm and protect our beige carpet from baby "spills". We didn't know what we were doing so we followed what we had done at the Craft Fair and chose seven coordinating fabrics. We didn't know how much to buy (I was overwhelmed by too much choice and was therefore not thinking clearly) - one fat quarter didn't seem like enough, so we bought four fat quarters of each!

We made one very wonky quilt. At that time, DD christened us the "Hacky Packy Quilters" (she loves alpacas).

finished size - 30" x 30"

As you can imagine, we had a lot of fabric left. Then we found the Modern Sampler quiltalong on Elizabeth Hartman's blog, Oh Fransson! We needed twelve fabrics so we supplemented the seven with another five. We made thirty of the thirty-six blocks, and ended up leaving five of those blocks out of the quilt because we just couldn't make them work.

finished quilt was 50" x 50"

We ended up using them in a laundry bag instead.

the fifth block is on the other side of the bag

We still have a small amount of those fabrics left but they will get used in scrappy quilts (eventually). This year in March we attended another Craft Fair and met a wonderful lady called Elizabeth, owner of Aussie Patches. Her warehouse,where she holds monthly "Sit and Sew" classes, is an hour and a half's drive from here. We attended three "Sit and Sew" sessions (April - June) but because DD's second baby was due in July we had to stop attending.

While there, I designed and began my Country Houses (applique) quilt. Now I am attending weekly classes in my local area and am finally at the stage of joining the quilted blocks together. I have a few quilts on my "to do" list when this one is finished, plus some other sewing projects.

one block of fifteen - unfinished size of each block 17" square

I look forward to meeting many new bloggers - please feel free to leave a comment; like most bloggers, I love receiving them.

And, if you haven't voted on my 500th post yet, would you please pop over there and vote - it's all for a good cause (or three). Voting will remain open until 8am (Sydney time) Saturday 6th August. Thanks heaps.

Country Houses quilt update

I have finally finished quilting each of the fifteen blocks for this quilt.

that shadow around the house is caused by the quilting line

close up of quilting 1/4" from the applique house

They are now laid out on the design wall (aka the living room floor) awaiting WM's and my "approval".


On Monday my teacher will show me how to join the quilted blocks together.

I started this quilt with one teacher who advised me to make the blocks 12" square. I made fifteen blocks, giving me a layout of 3 x 5 or a finished size of approximately 48" by 72" (with sashing, border and binding).

But then I changed to another teacher and in the process decided to make it by the "quilt as you go" method. Because the appliqued houses were only one inch from the sides of the block, my new teacher suggested putting sashing around each block to give me room to quilt - now they are seventeen inches square!

So, I hope the quilt shrinks in the process of joining the blocks - it is enormous! That means a fair bit of it will be hidden down the sides of the bed! *sigh*

Ah well, it'll be nice for the Grandbubbies to snuggle under, even if it is too big for the intended bed!

I live and learn!

seeding the fabric stash

I couldn't go to my last workshop at Aussie Patches without buying anything, could I?

First, I needed two more metres of this fabric for the backing of my Colonial Houses quilt. This fabric is flannel and was chosen because the green matches the darker green of my seven original blocks while the check (plaid) reflects the checks of the houses.

And then, Elizabeth, the teacher, and I had noticed that I seemed to be having trouble with accurate cutting so I had to buy a fat quarter to practice cutting strips; which I had no trouble cutting, by the way! I loved this green batik and it is so soft!

Well, if one fat quarter costs $3.50 and ten cost $25, which would you buy?


 

?

I bought ten of course! The green one above,

this one because purple is my favourite colour (it's a bad photo - imagine the green in purple!):



and these eight in blue-greens - a sophisticated palette, don't you think?)

I don't know what I'm going to do with them so I have started a fabric stash! LOL

half square triangles Part 2

Yesterday I shared the five ways that I learnt for making half square triangles. Today I would like to take you one step further - blocks made from half square triangles.

Two half square triangles make a square that looks like this:

According to Judy Hooworth and Margaret Rolfe in their book "Spectacular Scraps", there are 256 ways to put four half square triangle units together to make a four patch block. Now some of these are obviously variations of others (mirror images, turned 90 degrees, etc) but there is enough variety there for one to make nothing else but quilts with half square triangles for the rest of one's life! And imagine the possibilities if one combines different four patch blocks!

So, here are the five I tried out on the weekend. Turn some of them 90 degrees clockwise three times and you'll have even more blocks!  (All you have to do to see them is lean right, lean left and stand on your head!!) Bring a mirror up to your monitor and you'll get even more variety!

Each of these has been trimmed to 5 1/2 inches and they are all made from the triangles cut from the fourth method talked about yesterday. I know they all have traditional names so if you know what they are, could you please tell me?

I know this one as "pinwheel"
(this can be mirror imaged and have the blades spinning in the opposite direction)

Does this one have "basket" in the title?
turn this one ninety degrees three times - four different blocks!

turn this one ninety degrees - different block

turn this one ninety degrees - different block



I believe this is called "Flying Geese".
this one can be turned 90 degrees three times to make four different blocks

 If you've now finished your contortions, you will observe that was fourteen variations! LOL

Of course, it might be better not to use a directional fabric (like these birds) to make half square triangles - unless, of course, you don't mind the birds standing on their heads or laying on their backs or beaks! But the teacher asked for a sixteen inch square and this is all the fabric I had in that size and I could only manage 15 inches. (I have corrected that and now have the beginnings of a stash - but that's another post!)

And, because it was fun, here is a quarter square triangle block made from my half square triangles - a bit skewed but a perfect point!

half square triangles Part 1

On Saturday we attended our last workshop for a while at Aussie Patches. We really like the teacher, Elizabeth, but the next workshop is 2nd July and DD's baby is due on 8th July. Since attending the workshop means she would be away from her baby for nine hours I think it will be a while before she attends any more workshops. I don't want to make the three hour round trip alone; it's not that I don't like driving, it's just that at the end of a six hour workshop I'm very tired and I have to drive home facing the setting sun - a dangerous task at the best of times. The drive is made easier having DD in the car; chatting always makes the time go faster.

For Saturday's workshop, I decided not to work on my applique Colonial House quilt; that is the project I am working on with my other teacher at Down Patchwork Lane. I learnt many years ago, as an art student, that one cannot serve two masters - both will have different ways of doing things and it's better to keep the projects for each of them separate.

I emailed Elizabeth and asked what I needed to bring to learn how to make half square triangles. She answered with a list of various sized squares and strips.

At the workshop I learnt five different ways to make half square triangles. Of course, some of them are just variations on other ways but hey, it's good to know various ways to do things.


two conventionally cut triangles sewn together

The first method is the conventional way: make a square and cut it in half through the diagonal. A lot of people don't like this method because it means sewing on the bias and pieces can be stretched out of shape easily. However, even the novice in me can see that there could be times when a triangle needs to stand alone, not be half of a square - for example, at the corners of a quilt where all the blocks are set on point.The second method was to press two squares right sides together then draw a line through the diagonal on the lighter coloured square. Then, as you experienced quilters would know, sew 1/4 inch on both sides of the the line then cut along the line. The biggest difficulty for me was getting the diagonal line on the diagonal - fabric moves and stretches while being drawn on and it isn't as easy as it sounds!

method #2 after stitching

The third method was a variation of the second, but involved a little tool that aids in drawing accurate diagonals and stitching lines!

I was going to buy one of these at the end of the workshop but I forgot. Fortunately, the Craft and Quilt Fair is only three weeks away so I can get one then!

close up of the stitching and the cutting line made when using the quilters' tool

The fourth method is good for making identical squares from triangles. Firstly, I cut a fifteen inch square then gridded that off to twenty five three inch squares. Obviously different sized squares can be used.

grid and diagonals marked

The grid is then marked by putting a diagonal across each smaller square then sewing on either side of the diagonals (as in method 2) but en masse.

stitching done

 After stitching, cut the grid into strips then cut each strip along the diagonals to create squares made of two triangles!

detail of one strip

 The fifth method makes multiple numbers of identical squares too. Cut two strips of fabric (mine were 3 3/4 inches), press them right sides together and sew a 1/4 inch seam down both sides. Using a six inch square ruler on point, put the left and right points on the bottom seal line and the top point on the top seam line. Cut out the triangle. Slide the ruler over so that the left point of the ruler is on the seam line where the last triangle was cut and the right point is on the seam line. Cut out that triangle (thereby making two triangles). The disadvantage of this method is that both the sides of the triangle that has just been cut are on the bias so both can stretch out of shape.

Come back tomorrow to see what I did with some of these triangles!

Quilting Adventures in Knitterland workshop at "Aussie Patches"

What fun! (Stop smiling, C.)

We took all the projects I mentioned in the previous post. We learnt a lot but most importantly, we had fun.

First we learnt to make a quilt sandwich.

Then we learnt how to quilt "in the ditch" (or pretty close to it!).

a picture of concentration

More choosing of fabric for the binding.

A much better quality of fabric than we had been using but the binding needs to be strong, doesn't it?

Followed by cutting and stitching and pressing of one side binding.

from left to right: binding, border, strip piecing

Not much in six hours, was it?

Oops, I forgot to mention the cutting of sashing for the other thirty blocks and the task of trying to design a sampler quilt from the blocks we'd created. Elizabeth's design wall was great but we didn't find a satisfactory layout!

The navy sashing is only pinned on -
I decided working out the layout was important to detemine which was the right-hand edge of the blocks; as you can see,
it's just as well I didn't get sewing!
I think I may have found a solution this morning - removing all the yellow blocks; they scream too much, don't they?
The yellow blocks can go on the back.

At home, after dinner, we finished the other three bindings, gave it a final press and tied off all the ends of our stitching on the wrong side. (I think I might like my new sewing machine - which I haven't bought yet - to cut all the threads and lock them down for me).

So, the floor mat that we started back in March 2010 is quilted and bound; except for the part where I have to sew down the binding - by hand. That will be done today.


We also put the flannelette backing on the change mat
  and quilted "in the ditch".

 Not a bad day's work, I'd say.

Quilting Adventures in Knitterland patchwork/quilting workshop

Today DD and I are driving to quite another part of this sprawling city to attend a patchwork/quilting workshop. We met the owner of the business (Aussie Patches), Elizabeth Wallace, at the recent craft show. Somehow, we came to enrol in a quilting workshop - a long way from home.

DD and I have been discussing our options for several days.

The Floor Mat
Neither of us really wants to take the floor mat that we started for GS#1. It's not square and we feel a bit embarrassed about it. However, we do have the wadding and the backing (as well as fabric for the binding) and we have to finish it sometime - so it is going with us.

The 30 Completed Blocks currently 8.5 x 8.5 inches
blocks shown here, here and here

We decided that since we had used medium-quality cotton fabrics from the Big Box Store*, we should buy our sashing from the same place (thus - in theory - being the same quality). It doesn't make sense to us to buy higher quality fabric that will outlast the fabric we have already used. Decision made; but we were not able to buy enough of the fabric we wanted for the sashing on our quilt top.  So now we have the option of buying better quality fabric or waiting until (and hoping that) the Big Box Store gets in the fabric we want (navy - tending towards purple - homespun, in case you're wondering).

We were also unable to decide whether it would be better to make two twin bed quilts or one queen size quilt (we won't be keeping them; they will be donated to charity). We bought a piece of queen-sized cotton wadding which we may be able to cut down to two twin sizes.  I have washed the wadding (by hand) and dried it flat in the garage - my car had to stay out all night.

We think we have enough fabric to complete the quilt (queen or twins) - - - if we don't make the backing for the floor mat!

Neither of us is thrilled with fabrics we chose so long ago; which is why we are giving them away - we already have two change table mats and a floor mat from the fabrics, and photos of the blocks.

Our final idea is to turn the finished blocks into drawstring bags (lined with the fabric we would have used for the backing) and start a new quilt with better quality fabrics.

Result: the blocks are going with us.

Tomorrow's post will tell you which option we took.

* I call it "Big Box Store" - there are two of this type in my area; one is called Sp*tl*ght, the other is L*ncr*ft - both offer a range of fabrics, knitting yarn, craft materials, medium priced homewares, and no customer service! They are like shopping in a big box!