Scrap Quilting Club

Due to the quilt guild having retreat during our regularly scheduled date, the scrap quilting club met on Saturday.  We had a few new members and a lot of quilters return for their 4th year!  I can't believe we've been having the club since 2010.

This month the project is Simply Woven which isn't due until next month's meeting.  However, I had my top completed so I could have a sample.  I only required the group to make 20 blocks instead of 48 in the event they only had one jelly roll instead of the two that are required in the pattern.

This one is my quilt top with the minimum requirement of 20 blocks.

Connie, being the group's overachiever completed the quilt top with two jelly rolls and have it basted ready for quilting!

Carol has the completed modified top from 2012 yearlong project. Way to go Carol!

LeeEtta has the Rouge Rive Log Cabin quilt made from a UFO kit.  This quilt top has already aged... LOL

LeeEtta has been busy. She was working on Bonnie's Easy Street Mystery during the meeting.

Drew is working on the string triangles quilt. I love what she is doing with this one.

Norma shared her embroidered tote she made using the features on her new Bernina embroidery/sewing machine.

That's it this month, but come back in February for more simply woven quilts (when they are actually due). Until then, keep quilting!

-------------------------- Type-u-later, http://www.teaquilts.com

Playing With Accuquilt Studio and GO! Dies

I've been doing a little playing with my dies I recently purchased.  I tend to leave them in the packages and then the one year warranty will usually expire before I've even opened the package.  Since I've purchased over 25 dies within the last month I decided I should test them out!  I'm trying to build my library so that I can cut just about everything on the Studio or GO! cutters.

Of course I needed some square dies. I ordered the multi-squares for 1.5" and 2.5" cut sizes. The 2.5" squares and shown. I cut these with the GO! die on the studio cutter.  It's a sliver shy of being 2.5" but I can work with that. I also have 3", 6" and 8" finished sizes.

If you need squares, then you also need strips.  I order the multi-strip die created by Ebony. It has 1.5", 2.0" and 2.5" strips across the blade in rotating order. I'm going to love this one when I need to build my strip collection. Most times, I need 2.5" and 1.5" strips so having them on one die in that order is very beneficial.

I also ordered multi 2.0" finished HSTs.  I love cutting and piecing HSTs without paper piecing or the need to square them up. I did note a little bit shy of 2.5" unfinished but again, I can definitely work with this.  The same comments for the 4", 4.5" and 8" finished HSTs. At the rate I'm going, I'll never have to worry about squaring up another HST! I already have in my collection ability to cut 1", 3" and 6" finished HSTs

 This 8.5" I probably need to use a paper layer on top as I only cut 2 layers of fabric so that could be why this one is way off!

I'm getting around to my favorite dies. First up is the alphabet die. I had some scraps that already had fusible on the back so I got to play a little.  Got to remember to turn the fabric face down so my letters are not backwards (see the B, E, M and one or two more probably.)

Then I got to the signature center strip die.  I don't want to sew those tedious squares on the corner, trim and flip ever again.  I made a few blocks, using my 3.5" cut HSTs die. They are just shy of the size they should be. Maybe I need to check my 1/4" seam you think?  I did use a different sewing machine than the one I usually piece with. These should finish 4.5" so I'm a little short.  I love that I will not have to sew these the loooong way again, but I wish they finished 3".

My most favorite die is the Take 5 die!  I cut 9 FQS to make a baby quilt.  I see so many possibilities with this die.  I rearranged the stacks right on  top of the die so that no two fabrics matched.  Usually this quilt is made with five fabrics but you know scrap quilters will not conform to that notion!  I will create all kinds of quilts with this die.

 Here is the top block pieced. I didn't want to stop sewing it, but I'm working on another project. It should finish 12".

If you have any questions about these dies, shoot me an email and I'll try to help or check it out.

One thing I stumbled into today is that Ebony Love of Love Bug Studios has a equivalent die cutting chart to tell what dies to use to cut various shapes.  Click HERE for more information.  This is just awesome.  Now cutting for a lot of quilt projects just got easier.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, http://www.teaquilts.com

Design Wall Monday

I'm late posting today as last evening I got a message that my 221 GB hard drive had no room to download my photos and videos.  Lucky for me, I have an external hard drive that I back up to. So, after searching for an hour or so for the "special" connection cord, I try to plug it into the devise and it will not stay in.  After investigating, including opening the drive up, I see that the connector on the motherboard has broken off.  Now, I'm always one to see the positive side of any situation.  All I could think is that I'm so glad the hard drive hasn't crashed! So after I post this blog, I'm installing the new software for my NEW external hard drive and backing up this puppy tonight.

I'm still way too busy but it's all fun too. My family also had a New Year's Day celebration too. It was scheduled for just a few hours but we started socializing and playing dominoes and before you know it, many hours had passed.  I also attended two line dance parties, one I coordinate and another as an attendee.

On Saturday it was my turn to host my quilt guild in my home, including providing lunch. I managed to sew though all this craziness.  I finished the 12th block in the Accuquilt angle play BOM (sorry, no photo). Did you know you can download 22 free patterns from Accuquilt by joining their e-mail list?  Click HERE for the link. The patterns are easily convertible for none GO! and/or Studio Users.

In addition, I made more tree blocks; I now have 45 trees and only 5 more to go for a total of 50.  I got a little bored and embellished a few of them in week 6. I'm way ahead of schedule here as the 50 trees are not due until April 2013.

I have been using my Studio die cutter a lot. I love it so... :0) I made these windmill blocks and have a video and tutorial I will upload when I get a chance to edit the video files.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more design walls, visit Patchwork Times. .

------------------------- Type-u-later,
 http://www.teaquilts.com

Design Wall Monday

I had a very full week but still managed to get a lot of sewing done.  I started making blocks for the scrap quilting club's 2013 yearlong project.  I try to start them a little bit before assigning them so I can get the kinks out so to speak.  I now have 24 of 50 paper pieced trees done.  I have one more week of trees that are due by the end of February so I'm way ahead of schedule.

On Friday, I received all the pieces I needed to work on the Accuquilt Studio's 2013 BOM.  So after work, I cut out the entire quilt and by Sunday evening, I pieced blocks 1 through 11; number 12 hasn't been released yet. This has to be the fastest sampler quilt blocks I've ever made.  I used Studio and GO! dies in this quilt. I was missing a couple of dies used to cut the pieces so I used a rotary cutter to cut those. It makes a difference cutting with the cutter because all the triangle points are clipped, making it easy to line up pieces.   I'm really excited about my upgrade.  Also, my GO! cutter arrived on Friday too. I didn't get my cutter back, but one that was refurbished. I really don't mind and it's working very well. Now I have a cutter to use at home and one when I go on retreats or loan to friends.  I'm a happy Accuquilt customer. LOL

Also on Sunday, my daughter decided to start working on a jacket she wants to make (with my help, of course). She came over yesterday to start the cutting. She is a hoot.  She reported fours late, brought food to eat first and checked the social media sites.  In the 3-4 hours of her visit, she learned how to layout the pattern pieces, cut and mark the fabrics.  I sent her home with the assignment of cutting the lining fabric. I'll keep you posted if she ever come back.

Oh, and she did not come alone, she brought Paige with her. We all had a great time and it was a treat to sew/create with my daughter.

Wishing everyone a safe and propserous New Year!  To see more design walls, visit www.patchworktimes.com.
--------------------------
Type-u-later,

http://www.teaquilts.com

Finishes and Scrap Club Project

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. My family all came to my home for dinner and we played Apples to Apples card game. We had a blast and it was a great treat to see people I hadn't seen in a while.

I didn't get a chance to make all my Christmas gifts this year. However, I did finish two more on Christmas eve. This one, called Hugs & Kisses went to a friend.

This one I called All About Chris when to my daughter's boyfriend/fiance'.  He loves here quilts so that immediately moved him up the list of quilt gifts I need to make. LOL

I'm still prepping for Scrap Quilting Club for 2013. Since I was off work today, I decided to start the yearlong project which is all paper pieced.  Week #1 required four trees.

Week #2 required eight trees.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, http://www.teaquilts.com

Bigger is Better

In my last post I told of how I needed to have my Go! cutter from Accuquilt repaired.  I did send it back last Thursday.  However, the Studio cutter is on sale and I decided to upgrade as well.  That way, I will have a back up cutter in the future.

My cutter arrived today and I set it up. I didn't have time to "play" for an extended amount of time, but I did cut 10 2.5" strips with the studio die cutter.  Well, I had to sit down. I liked my Go! but their is no comparison to the Studio. If you have trouble turning the handle on the Go! try the Studio because it rolled through so smoothly that I thought it din't cut the fabric!  Those white boards are to be used with the Go! dies on the Studio cutter and I haven't tried that yet.  If you want to see specs on the cutter, visit Accuquilt. As you can see, I purchased a few dies as well. I'm having such a hard time staying OFF Accuquilt's site. LOL Right now the only down side is that that cutter needs a lot of space. That is a kitchen counter top that I used to store some of my fabric stash. It needs all that space so the tray and enter and exit without bumping into anything.

--------------------------
Type-u-later,

http://www.teaquilts.com

American Dream

I've been asked about the American Dream quilt that I made as a block of the month in 2003/2004.  The patterns were not available for a while.  I was surfing the web this week in preparation for a lecture I had yesterday. I had this quilt in my lecture and wanted to see if I could find the pattern source. I found the maker quite by accident.  The name of the company on the patterns I purchased was Pickled Pieces. Well Jill has changed the name of her company and it is now Jillily Studio.  It's great I found out this information as I had a few attendees wanting the pattern.  If you are interested visit her site at:  http://www.jillilystudio.com .  I didn't see the pattern on the site.  However, I contacted Jill and she does have it available for sale; if you want it, drop her an email.

Here is the one I completed in 2004.

I like it so well that I made another when I taught the BOM at a local sew & vac.  This time I used black/grey for background.  Then I had a little fun with the star and log cabin blocks and added the two-state abbreviation in them.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, http://www.teaquilts.com

Design Wall Monday 12/10/12

I've been putting my AccuQuilt GO! cutter to work so much that the handle locked on me today. I really, really miss using it already.  I need 1.5" strips and I don't (and haven't) cut them yet.  I plan to contact the company to see if it can be repaired.  I've had it about 3-4 years so it's definitely not a bad out of the box product.

I finished piecing my version of Woven Stripes from Moda Bake Shop. I decided to make 20 blocks instead of 48 so that the scrap quilting club could use one jelly roll instead of needing two.  I do wish I'd stayed with the white background as in the pattern.

I now have all 48 blocks made for my string quilt.  I now have 12 great blocks that need to be sewn together. I had so much fun with this project.

Then I decided to make a few test blocks of this brick quilt. I need to slide my bricks a lot less; need to make a few corrections, but I had fun making the blocks.

Last but not least, I pulled so Kaffe Fassett fabrics from my stash and cut them into diamonds.  I saved the chevron stripe fabric to use as the sashing and realized two yards would not be enough.  I then got online and found some more so I'm a happy quilter! It should be here this week. I have about 66 diamonds cut and need to play with layout so I can see how many rows I can make.

Thanks for visiting. To see more design walls, visit www.patchworktimes.com .
--------------------------
Type-u-later,

http://www.teaquilts.com

Can't Count to 48!

I'm having fun piecing these blocks.  I ran home after dance class and started sewing the strips to the center units.  Oh, it's getting to be really exciting now!  I proceeded to press all the blocks, placing them as I got them pressed on the design wall. Oh my, I'm missing two blocks is my first thought.  I don't see them anywhere, sooooooooo, I must have missed counted the units; back to the drawing board.  Since I have all the other blocks pieced, I'll have to make eight individual strips sets just slightly larger than the template so they look scrappy. Jeez...that will be my weekend project.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, http://www.teaquilts.com

Design Wall Monday

I should be working on Christmas gifts, but instead I'm working on projects for the 2013 Scrap Quilting Club.  I apparently love to start new projects and then get the blocks pieced and sewn into rows then I'm done.  I have so many tops with borders waiting to be quilted and a lot more without the borders.  I guess I just need to spend about 2-3 months doing nothing but machine quilting. Ha! That will not happen any time soon so enjoy the suggested projects for next year. Also, I'll provide pattern source when I post club projects.

So, in my boredom, I worked on blocks for January's project.  For my SQC followers, I'll forward directions in the middle of the month so if you want to work on this one during the holidays, you can.  For now, I'm testing the block and deciding how many you need to make for a project.

I got so excited when I saw this pattern that I skipped February's project and went straight to March's project.  Laura is working on a similar quilt for her sister and when this one fell onto my computer screen, I thought we'd all love to do this one too in the SQC, especially since everyone loved Laura's.  It's pieced a little different, but the results are beautiful as well.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, http://www.teaquilts.com