rough circles quilt along...part five

I know at this point in the quilting process you are chomping at the bit to get this thing together and finished!  You have worked hard, you can see the finish line and you know what your quilt is actually going to look like.

Sewing the blocks together are about as simple as a step as you have had yet.  The only pointer I have is to make sure that your squares are lining up.  Check to make sure the middle seam line is even on both blocks.  Also make sure you are pulling from your stacks in the same order that you stacked them. You do not want to undo all the hard work you put in organizing your blocks.

I am not that fond of constant repetition, I need a break in the pattern (or I get a break in my back).  How I went through this process was sewing together a row, pressing it and attaching it to the next row over.  I went that way through all ten rows.  I was careful when attaching row to row, to make sure that it was pinned very well before sewing.  I wanted to make sure that that the rows went together as nicely as possible.

After you have the whole quilt pieced it is time to start thinking about the fabric backing and the quilting style you wish to have on your quilt.  Here are a few of my favorite blogs that I read, some great examples of different types of quilting and some handy tutorials that they have put together.

First up: Sew Katie Did, the way she has quilted this quilt reminds me of the rolling hills of Kentucky.  I have done something close to this on Benjamin's birthday quilt a few months back and it was very easy!

Next, over at Oh! Fransson, she has some great examples of standard meandering quilting.  Simple and beautiful looking, this definitely takes skill and practice.  I am still working at perfecting this technique!  She also gives some great tutorials for you to use as well!

I find this pattern extremely charming over at ps i quilt.  I have never tried anything like this, but I can tell it would take a good deal of control and practice!

Last but not least, a quilt is nice shows a very simple basic quilting of just rows.  I have done something like this in my beach quilt and I love the simplicity.

I hope this gives you some great ideas and maybe your imagination is starting to run a little wild!  Charlotte thinks our rough circles quilt is coming along pretty nicely!

-melissa

sleepless nights

I am currently sipping on a diet lemonade that I found around 3:30 this morning in the dining room from last nights dinner.  Gross, I know, but I guess I think if I was drinking it at 3:30 and didn't die I can keep drinking it now, at 6:30. Last night was another long night.  Better than the previous night, but still full of drama.  After borrowing a friends machine and deciding that there is no way I am going to be able to quilt on it Jay, C and myself headed out  shopping for a new machine.  The closest JoAnn Fabrics that is currently not under major renovations and sells machines is roughly 45 minutes away.  We made the long haul, ended up getting a way better machine than I thought I would get, spent more money than I thought I would, had dinner at chick-fil-a (hmmm...diet lemonade) and made the long journey home.  After putting C in the bath and then in bed it was time to start sewing, or so I thought.

It turns out suddenly owning a very smart machine + being pretty tried at the end of a long day + flenching at every noise the machine made (remember the flying shrapnel) = one night of nothing but tears, stress and going to bed at nine.

After I had been awake  for a little over an hour after feeding C at 2:15 last night, I decided to just get up and try again.  Needless to say, I figured it out, kinda.  Me and the machine are still not old chums like me and the old one, but I know relationships take time.  After all, doesn't everything new you bring into a family unit cause you sleepless nights? Husbands (giggle), puppies, babies and now the sewing machine.

-melissa

out with the old...

in with the new...

flying shrapnel

 

I have written my share of sewing posts.  Typically these posts share the love I have of sewing, today is a different day.  I have always been interested in sewing and roughly seven years ago Jay bought me a fairly inexpensive machine from Target for my birthday.  Like most things you get what you pay for, even machines...except for mine...she is/was a beast.  I know that I have put far more miles on that machine than was intended.  She has sewn all the curtains in my house, dresses a plenty including a bridesmaid dress, window seats, lawn furniture slip covers, purses, bags, stuffed animals, bed skirts and roughly seven quilts.

She has been so good to me.  Pushing through layers of fabric, long hours, not all the time treated kindly, sometimes even shamefully I will admit cursed at and at times hit her.  She has been telling me that she needs to retire, dropping stitches and getting louder and louder.  Tonight she really told me.  She cursed a little and hit back.  After going through two quilters feet, dropping countless stitches and breaking three needles (one hit me in the chin, one in my left eye) I threw up my white flag.

She won, I will retire her.  All it took was flying shrapnel.

Okay my sweet dear old lady I give up, I will retire you.  Thanks for your devotion and all the good hours we put in together.

-melissa

rough circles quilt along...part four

If you have been hanging in there with me I am so proud!  I know that quilting can be daunting, but it is so rewarding when you are finished. Today you will get the first glimpse of your soon-to-be finished quilt! For most people, right behind picking out the fabrics themselves, piecing the quilt together and matching up the fabrics are the most difficult/intimidating task. Here are some pointers that I have learned:

1. Don't Fret. You/no one else will ever stare down each piece of your quilt and think critically of it ever again. So do not stress too much!

2. Decide what you like.  Do you like it when no two pieces touch, do like some corky type piecing, letting some like fabrics touch on purpose? What is your style? Remember this is art and there is no right answer. Do your homework, look all over blogs, pinterest and in magazines for styles you like.

3. Take a picture, it lasts longer. When making the final decision when the quilt is laid out on your floor/table/bed take a picture, really. Stand back as far away as possible while still getting everything in the shot and snap away. By looking at the picture instead of the quilt itself you will be able to see the quilt as a whole and not individual pieces. This will help you see patterns that you may be too close to see without the picture.

Okay so back to you and your quilt...

First take all of your square quarters, match them to a partner, sew front sides together and press.  Your pile should have been cut in half.  Now take all of your halves, match those with a partner, sew front sides together and press again to create one whole wonky looking block.

When you are matching quarters and halves together, be sure to be aware that your circles edges are matching together. I found that when forced to choose I would of rather have the edges of the circle match more precisely than the inside circle. If you are a dynamite cutter and piecer, you will not have this problem. Me, I am not detail oriented enough to do anything that perfectly!

When you are sewing all these small pieces together, do not, cut each one off after every individual square. Create a chain...feeding one piece in after the other, letting them all stack up behind your machine. You only need to leave one or two stitches in between each piece. This will make things go much quicker...when you are finished you may have something that looks like quilters garland!

So now that you have all of your fully pieced squares it is time to lay it out. The size of this quilt forced me off of the table or even bed and onto the floor. It was the only place it would fit. I always lay out a blanket before I start piecing to avoid dog hair and this allows me to quickly roll it up if I have a crying baby or enormous amounts of indecision and have to come back to it later.

After you have it all the way you like and you are ready to move on, stack all the rows and label them by numbering them. This will help you get these squares back in the same order that you laid them out in.

If you make it through this step you are rounding third and heading for home! Good job! Next week we will sew these bad boys together and start thinking about quilting!

-melissa

If you have joined the quilt along party late in the game here is what you missed! parts one, two and three.