Ft Leavenworth Quilt Club BOM #1 - Simple Star

OK, I know this was supposed to go up last week, but too much is happening around here with Quilt Market sewing and quilting to make this a good post. Forgive me. Lots of pictures and they are worth more than words anyway right?

Background 1 (7.25 inch square)
                    4  (3.5 inch squares)
Star Center  1  (6.5 inch square)
Star Points   1 (7.75 inch square) or 4 (4 inch squares)

Draw diagonal lines on the backs of the star point square(s). One line diagonally, then two lines 1/4 inch on either side of the center line. The center line will be the cutting line after you have stitched on the 1/4 inch lines. Does that make sense?

After you have sewn down each of the sew lines cut down the center lines and press the blocks

DO the same thing with the remaining 2 star point squares

Lay your block out and sew it together

Nest your seams

pin seam in place

All I did different for the fancy block is a pieced the center until I got a 6 1/2 inch block. This is an option for you. If there is interest please state in the comment section and I will do up a tutorial.

Yay! First Blocks!

I know this was quick and dirty, but I am too busy to make it pretty. Please ask questions if you have any.

Fort Leavenworth Quilt Club BOM quilt 2016

Hey there Quilters!

I am super excited to share the next Block of the Month I will doing with the Ft Leavenworth Spouse club. I chose several traditional blocks that we will be making together with the club, but I will also be sharing each block here on my blog for those of our awesome Quilt Posse who have moved to all reaches of the planet. Heck if you want to follow along you are more than welcome. There are all sorts of blocks here, nothing too crazy but enough of a challenge to be fun.

Like any quilt there are several ways to put it together. I choose the blocks on point because I thought I was going to do fancy pants quilting...but turns out I didn't have the time. I mean the quilting is intense, but it was mostly done digitally.

This was my second favorite layout. So you can choose this one.

Or this one is a bit less busy. I liked it too.

This is the on point version I chose.

I decided to add a time stamp so this will be an option for you and I made some fun New York Beauty blocks for the corners.

I kinda dig the back and can't wait to wash it, but I have to find the time to bind it first.

I still need to trim this puppy with all the stray threads, but it is pretty fun.

The body of the quilt was an E2E design and I trimmed out the center block so I could quilt that one free hand.

OK, the fun all begins on Tuesday the 6th of October. I will give cutting instructions ahead of time so we can all piece the blocks together at my house, or you can do it at your own dwelling.

Cheers!
Tia

Some Quilts I have quilted recently

Hey there quilters!

Long time, no blog right? Well no blogging means much quilting, and a new puppy and an ear surgery for my daughter and top secret quilting for Quilt market at the end of this month. You can see a bit of the puppy in the background of the picture below. Many many more pictures on Instagram...as well as more quilts.

This first quilt is a Super Nova quilt by my friend and fellow KCMQG member Lori. She took a workshop with Katie Pedersen and wanted me to quilt it like a super nova. So I did. I looked up Super Nova pictures on the Internet and went from there.

I was a bit intimidated by this quilt. I am not going to lie. I knew I wanted radiating lines from the center. Even though my long arm machine is really big and with a 31 inch quilting neck, I couldn't make it all the way to the center with the first go. So I didn't. I only went to the first bit of color and radiated from there. I LOVE how it turned out and as soon as I figured it out it basically quilted itself...even though I was actually doing the quilting.

Lori wanted a bit of variegated color thread involved with eh natural linen color thread I also used.

All in all I just adore how this quilt turned out.

The above quilt is a memory quilt made entirely from a man's flannel shirts. I had no idea the pockets with snaps (and really thick seams) would be involved. The quilt was exceptionally pieced but no long arm quilter likes to see buttons or beads or whatnot stitched on the quilts they get to quilt. The thought of my machine crashing into one of the opal snaps and the shattering needle that would be the result or even a broken needle bar is enough to really make me sweat. The plan was to not quilt the pocket blocks. I used my trim feature on my Statler Stitcher to outline what squares I didn't want quilted. It worked out Awesome. It is so nice to get to operate a machine that does EXACTLY what it is supposed to do with no drama at all. I do love my Gammill. I used the Overlapping Crop Circle design for this quilt, it will be so nice and warm. And what a sweet friend to make this quilt out of a beloved man's shirts. It makes me a bit teary.

This was a tricky E2E as well. This quilt was made by my friend Nicole (she has a great little etsy.com shop too.) It is a chevron quilt with Wizard of Oz fabric. Super cute, right? Well I looked for wizard of oz e2e designs that would look good. But I didn't find any I was wild about. So we decided on a twister design. But the angles of the tornadoes was bizarre, so it looked stupid in the chevrons. So we were still looking...and I had this Aphrodite design that I thought would work well and that is what I used.

Bubbles and feathers look so good together.

So this one turned out good too.

The last project for this blog posting it a quick rope bowl I made for my son's teacher. It is so fun to have a quick but useful project to give. My son picked out the colors and cut them in differing lengths, so he helped with the making too.

OK, have a great day.

Cheers!
Tia

Rope Baskets are addictive - a little tutorial for you

I have made a couple baskets over the last week. I saw people making these rope bowls on Instagram and figured I wanted to get onboard with this skill as well. My LQS has offered classes in the past So I knew they had the rope available for purchase. I bought 4 bundles and quickly zig zagged right through it. Do you ever need a project that just puts you in a creative zone where your spirit is soothed and your mind calmed? These baskets are that project for me.

When I was in college I took a pottery class. I find making these bowls is very similar to throwing pots on the wheel, but much lass messy and (for me) a much bigger success.

I really loved leaving some of the natural rope uncovered and then wrapping parts with fabric. I feel it gives each piece a bit more artistic quality.

Hello favorite fabrics just peeking out of the basket.

These were so fun, and such an instant gratification project I kept making them. I even moved one of my sewing machines upstairs so I could make the baskets while the kids were doing homework. It is nice to sew with my kids instead of always being down in my quilt lair sewing like a cursed princess in a fairy tale (I actually really love my job and don't mind sewing my days away at all, but it does get a bit lonely from time to time).

If you want to make some too let me share what worked for me.

You will need

• A sewing machine in good working order that has a strong zig zag stitch
• lots and lots of thread
• wind up a bunch of bobbins
• slice up your favorite fabric. I found 1" to 1.25" strips worked the best for me.
• And this Dritz clothesline rope. This is pretty cheap stuff, but my sewing machine handled it just fine.
• I used a little scrap of leather to finish my baskets. I think it looks pretty.

Many of the conversation threads on instagram were talking about all the needles they broke sewing through their rope, but I didn't break one needle. No problems at all.

Begin by making a coil. Do a tight spiral for a round basket, you can make an oval too. Your choice.

And start zig zagging. I didn't start right at the center, I went ahead a bit and came back to the center later when there was more for my feed dogs to grab onto. This machine is my fancy pants Bernina. She is kinda a brat when it comes to doing new things and needs to go into the shop for a good cleaning and servicing, but I don't want to  be without her for 2 weeks.  That is why some of her zig zag stitches don't look awesome. When I came upstairs to sew I switched to my older Bernina and she made lovely stitches with no drama whatsoever.

So, go around and around and around until you make the size bottom you want. I guess this bottom was about 7 inches. Now tilt the bottom up at and angle to start making the sides.

If you want to wrap your rope with fabric you can do this at any time. For this bowl I started after I had a couple of the side rows stitched. I didn't use anything fancy, I just wrapped my fabric strip around the rope. Don't worry about it being perfect, any mistakes will be hidden in the zig zag stitching.

Add more fabric by overlapping the ends and keep wrapping and zig zagging.

Round and around you go. This bowl is a flared out bowl, but for a more tall sided bowl (or basket) you put your hand under the side you are stitching and that reduces the angle. It makes the sides more straight. It was a little more tricky on the Bernina 820 because her bead is so big. It was easier on my little Bernina.

So, this is an important tip. If your sewing machine foot has mark to indicate the center keep that centered between the coils and the zig zag stitch is more likely to catch both pieces and make a stronger join.

Here I am sewing away when my friends came over and wanted to see how to make bowls. I didn't know Beth was taking my picture, but it was a fun quick demo.

And here is the first rope thing I made, a rag rug! Isn't it great! It is almost all Cotton+Steel fabric. I do love Cotton+Steel. I have a shop full in you need some. You can also get to my shop through my side bar widget. OK, go forth and get rope and sew up some baskets! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments and I will answer them ASAP.

Ok, I have quilting to do. I have been quilting some great quilts. Lots I can't show right now, maybe in a couple months.

xo,
Tia

crop circles...how I love you.

Hey there folks,

I get asked frequently what my favorite e2e (edge to edge pattern) is for quilts. Hands down, for the moment, my favorite design in Overlapping crop circles. I love it. Great texture, pretty design.

This is a quilt I made for someone special. It is hard to let go of, but I think it will be loved where it is going.

I used Crop Circles on Nicole's quilt as well. I did an E2E in the center and quilted fancy borders for her. This way you definitely get a custom quilted touch, but at a more affordable price. Sometimes all Custom Quilted pieces can cost quite a bit.

I know the feathers are hard to see in the outside border, but I took these pictures in my studio, in the evening when the light is not so fantastic.

Have the best day ever!

Tia