Holiday backlog, sewing machine still in the shop...sigh. There are some things I'd really like to get started on, here.

When I got married, my aunt gave me a quilt made by my great-grandmother. She had saved one for each of the female cousins. My sister got a grandmother's flower garden, and I got this:I had stored it in a chest until the beginning of this month, when I figured I might as well quit being afraid of messing it up and enjoy it a little bit. I will take it off again and put it back up in a few weeks. It is pretty old, but I'm not sure exactly how old. The quilting is all by hand, and much of the piecing appears to be, as well. I love the color scheme, the egg yolk yellow and the bright red. The fabric of the top seems to have been purchased just for this quilt, but the backing looks like it might be partly of bleached feed or flour sacks.

I looked on the Internet to find out what that pattern is called. I looked and looked, but it is hard to google something you don't know the name of. I looked for round quilt blocks, starburst blocks, sunburst blocks, and just paged endlessly through online lists of quilt block templates, and got nowhere.

Then I went to the library (have I mentioned how I LOVE THE LIBRARY?!) and paged through random quilt books until I found a picture of a quilt in the same pattern. It is called a Sunflower, or Russian Sunflower. Knowing the name, I found a few examples online, and a template, which I will try someday when I learn how to do curves and set-in seams. It's a little beyond my ability right now.

Christmas Project #1

You would think, since it is the day before Thanksgiving, my mom is coming this afternoon, and my house is still somewhat of a mess, that I would have better things to do than post a blog. You would be right, but I just finished this quilt, and want to show it off.

I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out, but I wish I had done a little more planning during its construction. I just sort of made it up as I went, making the center blocks first and proceeding outwards from the center, and it was kind of a pain to quilt because of the different sizes of blocks.

I originally started with the idea of a star theme, but then I thought airplanes would be nice, so I put some of those in, too.

I tried to use only scraps, and not purchase any more fabric for this (my stash is getting out of control) and I did manage to do that. I purchased the bias tape for the binding, but even the backing is pieced out of fabric that I had in my stash, which had already been used for other projects.

There are some wierd puckers in the quilting, but in the welter of plaid I hope they don't stand out. I really like the quilting on the center rectangle. It's the first time I've done anything other than outlining blocks by stitching in the ditch.

I keep thinking I will post pics of my sewing shack, but I haven't got the curtains done, and right now it really needs cleaned. It looks like a plaid factory explosion.

Another Quilting Project

To practice quilting BEFORE I did any on the baby quilt, I made this little table mat from a free pattern at Perkins Drygoods.

I love the way it turned out! It is strip pieced, so it went very quickly, but the scalloped borders make it look unique (and more complicated than it is). I am also in love with the fabric I used, although the pitfall of buying fabric at Alco (which is like Wal-Mart's country cousin) became apparent. The girl who cut it out for me was obviously annoyed to have to come cut the fabric, and she was muttering and jerking the scissors around (I don't think she was upset with me, just frustrated with the fabric, which wasn't on bolts but folded). The cuts of fabric I got weren't straight at all, and varied two to three inches between the low side and the high side. For one of the wide border sides, I had to piece two rectangles together because of the badly-cut material. You can hardly tell, though, because the print is so busy.

I also had to piece the batting together because I was using odds and ends leftover from my Christmas projects. There was a large piece that was big enough except a square was cut out of one corner, so I just cut a square to fill it in and zig-zagged the two pieces together.

I don't think I attached the bias binding in the approved quilter's way of attaching bias binding. I thought about it, but my only instructions were the "Quilting for Dummies" I borrowed from the library, and I couldn't make heads or tails the directions. So I made bias tape and put it on like I usually do, folding it in half across the raw edge and stitching through all layers. The top looks fine, but I had to go back and tack down some places on the back where the stitches didn't catch the back half of the bias tape.

The pattern was very clear and easy to follow, however there was one small error. I emailed the owner of the site/pattern designer, and she told me she'll get it fixed soon as she can, but just in case, be aware. The "outer border" instructions say to "Cut two strips 3.5" x 20.5" Those strips actually need to be about 22.5" long. Just to make sure, cut the first two (16") outer border strips, sew them on, and then measure to see exactly how long the last two outer border strips need to be. For this kind of project, especially if you are a beginner like me, it is probably better to measure all the border strips and do them as you go instead of trying to cut them all out beforehand. That way you don't waste any material cutting to the wrong measurements if your seam allowances are a little too wide or narrow.

I am getting addicted to this quilting thing. It allows me to buy small amounts of fabric, and in patterns that are cool, but that I would never use for a whole garment. Also, to make someone a quilt gift, you don't have to know their measurements.

Quilting and Novel-Writing

This is the first quilt I did. I finished it almost three years ago. It's completely a scrap quilt. Many of the pieces are leftover fabric from dresses or other projects of mine over the years. Some were pieces my from my mom's stash, and some were pieces she received in a quilt block swap. As you can see, it's throw sized. I didn't give much thought to color and composition, I just sewed blocks together and tried not to get any two of the same design too close together. Like most first projects, I learned a lot.

Making a quilt (yes, even a baby quilt) seems to me the sewing equivalent of writing a novel. It takes a long time, and planning is required. As you go (or at least, as I go) your plans change and morph. You take the pieces and lay them out, shuffle them around, see how they look one way, and then another. Although I will say that "cut and paste" is much easier than "rip out and re-sew". You add some things and take some away. Maybe you let it set awhile and then come back to it much later and finish it in a burst of inspiration (that's how my first quilt went, anyway, and many of my short stories).

And when it is all over, you have something to be proud of, even if it is a little bit homely by other's standards. :) Although, it's much easier to go back and revise the rough draft of a novel than to revise a whole quilt. (Well, I say that, but ask me again later when I'm actually doing the revision of my novel and we'll see.)

Speaking of novel writing, I am not doing so well in that department. I've written maybe six whole pages this month. I have been doing a lot of research reading, however, which is good. It keeps the novel on top of my mind, so that I am thinking about it and planning and trying out different ideas. When I will really get worried is when I'm not thinking about it anymore. It's a short jump from not thinking about a story to not finishing it.

Starting the baby quilt

Ever since my sister found out she was pregnant, I've been planning a baby quilt for her. I've had the main fabrics for months. Originally I was just going to make it with plain squares in a sort of checkerboard, but then the fancy-quilt bug bit me, and I wanted to do the star square (it is paper pieced). I've had the design picked out and all planned. It turns out I will not be using the star square. I just don't like how the monkeys in the star are going all different directions. It would take a lot of care to line them up on every square. For me, it might be impossible.

Realizing this, and realizing that I was running out of time, I had to pick a new pattern. Saturday I found a different pattern in a book from the library, that just uses squares and rectangles. Now I have all the pieces cut out. Her shower is March 9, and the baby is due around April 8. I doubt I will make it to the shower with a finished quilt, but we will see.

The sashing will be orange. For a baby quilt, it is very bright, but I like brights, and I figure that it will be something my nephew can keep in his room even when he's older and it won't look too babyish.