A quick idea

Rail Fence Pattern

I follow this blog.....she does some amazing work with Quilts of Valor.  They are just starting up this project and I thought if anyone wanted to quilt along it should be pretty accessible. ;)

In the meantime, the DARE for the sewing group is "Completion" this month so I promise I am going to get my blocks done.  I don't know why I am feeling so unmotivated.  sigh!

May there be many hours in the days ahead for quilting.  The next meeting will be on the 15th. k.

80%

Ruth here - I married into the Liddel family, but really I'm a Liddell at heart. In the Liddell family, the running joke is that we are all eighty-percenters. We start a project (could be a remodel of a kitchen, or a repair job, or a craft), we get 80% done, and then we leave it. Apparently, this habit has transfered seamlessly (pun intended) into my quilting world, with a varying degree of percentage:) We started out with the hand quilting project. I finished quilting mine, and was quite pleased with the result.
But I have yet to do anything with it. What I'd really like to do is make 2 more and then frame them.....some day. I need to finish that. A side note here - the thimble protected this finger

But nobody warned me about this finger.

Do you see the end of my finger and the hundreds of needle pricks? I think I need another thimble. Next up was my own quilt. I worked hard and got about 2/3 of the blocks made, and then stopped. Here is my pile of blocks, sitting in my room, collecting dust.

What I'd really like to do is to finish this quilt and put it on my bed for the winter. I need to finish that. Then came the dreaded hexagons. I slaved away to make this way cute top for a placemat (copying Kimberly's idea)

I love it, but it almost killed me, and I never made the actual placemat. What I'd really like to do is make 6 placemats (what's wrong with me?). See, I even have all the hexagons sorted out into baggies.

I need to finish that. Back in May (or was it April) I issued a challenge to everyone to make blocks to make a quilt for Quilts of Valor. Everyone did that, and then the blocks sat for a month at Kimberly's. Then she put together this top with half the blocks.

Then she left for her summer vacation and gave everything to me to finish the other top and take it in to get quilted. By the time she got back from vacation, I still hadn't done it. Yeah, I'm good. So I finally finished my top a couple of weeks ago. Here it is.

Those who were at the quilt group today saw these. Afterwards I took them in to get quilted. As soon as they are quilted, I will pick them up and we can finish them off. I wonder how long that will take me:)

I have to side note here again - when I dropped the quilts off today, the other quilting group went NUTS! They completely loved our quilts, and totally drooled over each one for about 10 minutes. They even took pictures. First of all, they couldn't believe that we were donating them to Quilts of Valor. Second of all, they were very impressed with our "skill". I told them that most of the people in our group are newbies, and have never made a quilt before. They were trying to recruit all of us to join their, big time, like a military recruiter. I told them that most of us have small children, and it's easier for us to meet at a home so our children can play. They immediately started trying to think of ways to work around this. I didn't want to hurt them and say that OUR quilt group is really just the best, thank you very much:) However, Kimberly and I talked about it and we thought it might be fun to have a "field trip" in November and go and work with them one time. So you should all be proud of what you contributed to this quilt, and know that there are people out there who are jealous of your skills!

The only thing I can think of that I have completed 100% was the wall hanging for the orphanage. Go Me! Wow, that's totally pathetic. So now we're working on our blocks for Darsha's challenge of a Korean Friendship Quilt. Here are the one's that have been made so far.

Joanna

Nicole

Kimberly

Lindsay

Darsha

I know that Karen has made some of hers too. I'm not sure about anybody else. Oh, and here's mine.

It says, "Cursed Quilt" in Hangul. When Joe asked his Korean tutor how to say cursed quilt in Korean, it took him a long time to get her to answer him - she just couldn't understand why you would ever want to say cursed quilt, hehehe. I have made, you guessed it, 80% of my blocks. But if all of you don't make your blocks, I won't have to make any more of my blocks, and you will be enabling an eighty-pecenter. Do you really want that on your conscience? Of course you don't, so make your blocks!:)

Sorry for the novel here, but now I can say that I have blogged 100% of all that I've done for the quilting group!!!

August Meeting

It was a wild time and very raucous but also very fun. We discussed the blocks everyone is working on for the memory quilt. We already have too many people wanting to participate and not enough people actually getting their blocks done! hehehe

If you are participating in the Korea quilt block project, please please please get some done. Lindsey, who actually has her blocks done(!) will be leaving in October. Blocks will only be "traded" so if you want one of her kimchi pot blocks you are going to have to have something to show for yourself by next month's meeting!

The blocks we did see, and the plans we heard all sound wonderful. I think this will be a great project. (If we ever get it done!)

I also showed how to do the top band on a pillowcase (if you are interested in making fun pillowcases either for gifts or charitable giving.) It is very easy. There are a million tutorials on youtube. Here is one: tutorial And here is a review in pics: pics And here is an excellent blog: blog

The blog also reviews how to do the dreaded french seam so you have no raw edges inside or out. Don't be scared, just try it. It is easy and there is something really lovely about FINISHING something. heheheh.

If you are not up to sewing even that today, take some time to tell everybody what you did for summer vacation sewing or post about your Korea blocks (even if all you have so far is a plan!)k.

My first quilt finished!!!!

Here is the finished product of my first quilt. I am very happy with it. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and help in the process. It feels great to accomplish something. :)

Korean Quilt Material

Hi all! Since Kim will be gone this summer, I have the extra material for the Korean quilt. If you forgot yours or weren't there today, let me know and I will get it to you. I also have Kim's Accuquilt machine and stencils (if that is what they are called). Let me know if you would like to use it.

Half-Square Triangles Tutorial

I have finally figured out this blogging thing, so here is what I taught at our last quilting mtg. This is a nice way to get a lot of squares done quickly and they look good!

The instructions will have you cut 2 different colored strips of fabric. You will then put those fabrics together with the right sides facing eachother.

I then measured 2 7/8" squares (just as my instructions told me to) and marked it. I usually use a pencil but I did a blue marker so you could see it better. After you have marked your squares, then you will make a diagonal line just as seen below.

Now with your foot on the edge of your diagonal line you will sew an 1/4" seam on both sides of the diagonal. Sorry it's hard to see in the picture. The first picture shows it a little better. After you've sewn on both sides of all your diagonals, you will cut on all your pencil marks. (straight and diagonal)

After you have cut on all the lines you will have several triangles that look like this.

Open then up and press them to make your squares.

Here is the finished product. All the squares that have brown and the green together were done this way. Once you've done it one time, you'll love it. It really does help to make your blocks turn out better and more evenly. HAVE FUN!!!

Easy - Traditional - Cool? Sure, why not?

Log Cabin Loco

Quick, go look at that link! It is for a "pattern" called "Log Cabin Loco" and is a great way to get interest without having to bend your brain. :) I think I might try it using my strip cutter...now I just need more fabric (That is my evil laugh by the way. heheh)

I was also cruising THIS blog and thought they had some lovely things to inspire us. I "think" they do the strings by the same technique used in our first ever block. (And now that everyone has some experience, we can review it again if you want to try this technique.) This seems very versatile and a good way to use stash fabrics. :) k.

city skyline block

We were talking about maybe a Seoul sklyine/skyscraper block.  Maybe the upper half could be used to get it started...
Karen J

Quilts of Valor - Spring 2010

We still haven't decided quite how these will go into quilts...since we have so many we will try to do more than one. :) In the meantime, I have to say, I am really pleased with the way they ALL turned out. Congratulations to all the ladies who challenged themselves while working on this challenge! And Thanks to Ruth for choosing such lovely base fabrics and challenging us. More later on this project when it is closer to completion. Enjoy.

Paper piecing by Karen

Since my little paper piecing intro was so short this morning, and possibly not as clear as it could have been, here are two online primers that are very clear: www.mytimepatterns.com/basics.html
  (using the fold down method), http://www.winnowing.com/ppp.html
(no folding down)
 and also my own account of following the first primer:
 

Left, I've already cut the two longish strips of fabric, 2" wide for the black, and 1 1/2" wide for the white.  I've cut out a 2X2 square that matches the center square on the block pattern, plus 1/4" margin on all sides, and attached the back of the paper to the wrong side of the fabric with a tiny dab of glue stick. 

Then, I folded the paper 1/4" above the line separating #1 and #2.  Left above pic is the back (of the paper).  I lined up the white fabric, unfolded the paper, flipped it over, and sewed on the line. 

Then I folded the paper down again and trimmed

both fabrics even with the fold. (right)

Below, I cut the strip even with the edge of the black square. Then I opened it up, and ironed.

I did the same with the other three sides (following the order of the numbers as always), then started with the corners.  Below, the first corner placed on the back (of the paper - right side of block), flipped over and stitched on the line.  This pic is the back of the paper again.

Below, I turned it over, folded down the paper again, and trimmed all of the fabric in line with the fold.

Below, all four corners done. 

I flipped it over and trimmed along the outer lines of the paper pattern, and that's it.

Below, finished, except for the removing of the paper, which Kimberly told us should wait until the whole piece is completed.  If using computer paper, carefully tear each section out along the sewing lines so you don't tear out the stitching.  Also, using a smaller stitch and/or doubling back at the ends will help with this. 

The Box is on its WAY!

As of yesterday, the box with our completed wall hangings is on its way to the Humanitarian Aid Center and from there to Orphanages around the world.  I am very proud of the number and quality of the products we have been able to make.  I know they will be enjoyed for their bright colors and beautiful designs and that the children seeing them will feel a whisper that God loves them.

If you have additional projects you would like to donate to this cause, I will still send them.  I just wanted to get this group on its way.  (I know I have a few more projects that I would like to make and send...)

The Challenge for this month was issued by Ruth to make 12 inch blocks (with the base fabrics of her choice...I have an extra packet if you didn't get one. :)  These blocks will eventually be put in to a Quilt top and sent to "Quilts of Valor" for individuals who have been injured serving in the armed forces.  We have a local quilt organization (Yongsan Quilters) who do a lot of donations with this organization.  They also do lots of quilts for the ladies who have to stay at the Stork's Nest when they have their babies.  If you want to help out with their charitable giving as well, let me know.  I have contact information for them.

They also are the group that has access to the longarm quilting machine here at Yongsan.  I will update you as we get more information on what services are available.  I hope to see it in action Friday.

I hope everyone is having a great week and finding joy in whatever it is they endeavor. k.
P.S.  Isn't anyone else going to post?  You don't have to make it fancy.....

Please note:  The colors in this pic are somewhat faded.  The purples didn't photograph well. :)

Wall-Hangings for Orphanage Modules with Humanitarian Services

I was just sitting down to post the pics I took of all the cute wall-hangings when the battery died on my camera. :( I will post them soon....but in the meantime:

The Challenge was to create a wall-hanging to brighten up the walls of orphanages around the world. They were to be bright and appealing to children, no smaller than 18X18 and no bigger than 40X40 with loops for hanging (and a pouch of nails for hanging on the back.) The detailed requirements are available at http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/humanitarian-services/
Look for the link on the right that says PDF Patterns. They have a wide variety of needs that can be met by crafters and designers of all levels of experience...including NONE. (Some of the things they need can just be purchased! :)

The Tote Bag Prize will be awarded to the wall-hanging with the most "comments" by the next meeting. This means you have about 3 weeks to send this link out to your Grandmas, Aunties and Nieces so they will comment for you...but only if you want the prize. (There will be a small amount of bragging rights as part of the prize package. hehehe)

http://cursedquilt.blogspot.com

All the members of our group are at very different levels of experience. The pieces that have been designed and executed by ALL of the participants represent great strides forward in technique with MANY being the very first effort by our members.

As I will just be posting the picture itself as a separate entry, each designer should comment with a little about their experience making it....that way everyone has to vote for themselves as well as others. hehehe With that in mind, as the host of the Challenge, I will post my pics with my explanations, but since I made the Prize I don't want to win it. You can comment, but they won't count. hehehe

In case it wasn't clear, ANYONE can comment on the wall-hangings, not just those who participated in the challenge.

Great work for our very first Charitable Adventure! k.

Hexagons Tutorial

I am sorely tempted to just show the pictures (I was very careful and took a pic at EVERY step. :)  I think my tendency is to write too much which probably confuses rather than clarifies....but that's what I do best right? hehehe  So here goes:

Your basic Hexagon.  My template is called "Quilt Sense" and included 3 nested hexagons and a 60 degree triangle our of plexiglas.  Manufacturer's Website  You can use any size hexagon you want.  These end up (after the sewing) as 1 inch on a side....which are very tiny. :)

Take your first hexagon and mark as shown here on the right.  Those are the points where the 1/4 seam allowances meet up.  This is the secret to doing these by machine.  (The traditional method is to piece them by hand.)  You will always start and stop on points like that....never sew to the edge.  If you are worried about your estimation of this 1/4 inch, you can mark each hexagon.  I only marked the first one (and picked out a few stitches occasionally when I over shot the end mark.)

An alternate idea would be to put a piece of tape on your machine to mark the edge of the hexagon when you are supposed to stop.  After the first one you will always know where to start.  You only have to do the stopping.

I also back stitched 1 stitch on start and stop so it would hold together and not pull apart while I was getting the next pieces in to position.

Doing hexagons on the machine is very thread intensive as you take the work off the machine every time to re-orient it.  I am sure that you can chain quilt some of the steps and then put bigger pieces together, but since this is my first project with these I did them all separate.  I use cheap cone thread (1000 won at Dongdaemun) so the waste of a little thread was not too worrisome to me this time.

I didn't worry too much if I missed the mark by small amounts since my final project is going to be quilted, is fairly small and not subject to the stresses of fort building.

So this is what you should have so far.  The reason you have to stop and start 1/4 from the edge is so you can get the layers you DON'T want out of the way.

So with the "pink" folded out of the way, line up your next hexagon.  Turn it so you can see the end of the last line you sewed and start there, sewing down to your marked or estimated stopping point.

When you start adding more and more hexagons, there are more pieces that need to be kept out of the way, but just go slow and make sure you are only sewing through 2 fabrics at any given time and it WILL work. :) I promise.

See how the stitching lines make a corner where they meet up on the palm tree? That is what you want every time.  If you look really closely at the palm tree pic you can see the shadow of the pink fabric that is folded back out of the way.

Now open it up and it will look something like this....and you can probably guess which seam you need to sew next.  It is just the exact same process.  Line up the two floral prints along the edge.  Make sure the palm tree fabric is out of the way.  Start where the previous stitching ends and end where you estimate your seam allowance. :)

In the pic on the left, you can see how the palm tree will be folded in half if I hold the two floral hexagons lined up and flat.

When you open it out this is what you will see.  With "normal" quilting shapes like squares and triangles you have right angles that you can sew off the end.  When they go together they make right angles.  These Hexagons come together not in a 90 degree angle but a 120 degree one.  Whenever you have a quilt block that can't be neatly divided in to squares you can use this technique.  (Even some 90 degree angles can use this technique if you need it.)  One very well known traditional block that uses this technique is "Lone Star" . If you read down in the article it talks about how "difficult" this is and one of the reasons is THIS thing we just did.  Not difficult, more like "tricky."

Now you keep adding in rows or circles until your work reaches the desired size, or you use up your hexagons. :) It will probably curl up and not look like much at this stage. Just wait until you give it a good pressing. On mine, I pressed the seams in the directions they seemed to prefer. When you are planning to machine quilt it is less worrisome where you place your seam allowances. If you are planning to hand quilt you may wish to press the corners open to spread some of the bulk.

When the place mats were completely constructed I pressed the piece out with the seam allowances up so I could see what they were doing. Once they were behaving, I turned it over and gave it a good hot steam press and everything turned out smooth and even.


In a few days I'll take pics of the place mats and their finishing process. But until then, feel free to get started. We will swap hexagons at the April Meeting. (In my I Spy placemats I have about 120 different fabrics. The more the merrier.) k.