Hand piecing prep!

We are headed to the NW in a few weeks and I was looking ahead to some of the 5 inch blocks in Month 4 of the Cheddarback quilt.  There are three of the four that I think I want to hand piece.  Something that I could do in the car, as we are driving, and help make the time pass.  I don't want to be too distracted as I do love sight seeing.

So today,I need to get out some baggies and prep the three blocks so they will be ready to pack.  I started by picking my fabrics for the three blocks.  So after another cup of coffee, I will start cutting out the templates to cut the pieces.  I like to hand piece blocks that have templates that I can easily cut with a ruler and a rotary cutter.  The next step will be marking the seams so that when I get ready to stitch all I have to do is pin the pieces together and stitch!

Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts reminds us how good hand stitching is for us!  I agree, so I am really excited about hand piecing these three blocks while on the road.  Hopefully, when I get home at the end of August I will have 4 months of block completed.  August will bring us the 6th series of block so maybe I can get caught up before the BOM comes to an end.

Accuracy, Pressing, Hand piecing!

As I have said more than once on my blog. I learned to piece so I would have something to hand quilt.  However over the years, I have tried to get better at my piecing and for the most part I am pleased with the results.  I also remind myself once the quilt is washed all those not so perfect points will never be noticed.   Perfection was never my goal,  but having a quilt that lays flat, and that I can sew together with a smile on my face makes me a happy quilter.

Looking back, most of my problems were due to pressing!  It's so easy to get a block out of whack when you press it. I try to pay much more attention to bias and how I press.  I am also on the starch your fabric first band wagon.  Recently, I watched an episode of Fons and Porter on PBS, and they were using a wetting pen to run over the seams before pressing.  We all know that when fabric get wet is relaxes and it made sense in my mind that wetting that seam could be helpful.  Well being a inpatient quilter I just got an old medicine bottle and a little paint by number paint brush and tried it out.  I was really impressed with the results.  I know some use steam but I don't have much luck with putting water in my irons,  so I use a spray bottle and when I spray the whole block I easily distorted my block.   I am so happy to have found a compromise that really helps get that seam to relax without stretching it.

The following block is a 5 inch finished block from the Cheddarback quilt I talked about in my last post. Sometimes an old fashion block is easier to hand piece in order to get accuracy.  Gay, offered two ways to make the block one by machine and then hand piecing.  The hand pieced block was the identical block from the quilt so I went for it.  It came out quite well.  My first attempt was about a quarter inch too small so I was careful to draw my stitching lines with a bit narrower seam allowance the second time around.

It is also possible to machine stitch the hand pieced block by stopping the stitching at the seam lines as if you were hand piecing it. But, why not enjoy making a block with just your needle and thread? Quilting has been such a challenging hobby for me.  There is always room for improvement and the added plus of the simple enjoyment of stitching.  So mixing up how we construct a block can get you the results you want and also allows you to relax and make a complete block with slow stiches!

Cheddarback Quilt

When Gay Boomer over at Sentimental Stitches  takes an antique or vintage quilt and offers a BOM it always peaks my interest.  Cheddarback Quilt is her currect BOM.   This one really tugged at my heart strings enough that I decided to give it a go.

The BOM started about five months ago.  I just started making blocks a few weeks ago.  It's been a busy summer and making a block here and there when I have a few minutes really appealed to me.  I also decided it would be a great way to use up some of my stash.  Heaven knows, I really don't need another quilt at my house, but one more couldn't hurt.

The photo above is month one's set of blocks. So far each month she releases a 12 inch block and four 5 inch blocks.  I think the combination of the two sizes really makes this an interesting sampler quilt.  It's rare that a sampler quilt with sashings will catch my eye, but this one did.

I have also completed month two's blocks!  I know some quilters in the facebook group are trying to use similar fabrics, but I am not taking it to that extreme.  I am excited about using some of my stash and some plaids that I have collected and I ordered a shirting for the sashing and a red print for the cornerstones.

There are alot of blocks in this quilt that I have  never made and some are quite challenging for me.  I am using both my machine and will turn to hand piecing when necessary.  As usual I don't have a deadline and once cooler weather arrives it may get put a side so I can hand quilt.  I love that I no longer feel the need to keep up with a BOM or make every quilt I love.  It's just fun to fit some sewing into my life!

Binding Completed!

I finished up the binding yesterday as I watched the US Women's Soccer team win the World Cup!  Fortunately I had most of it done before the game started.  I am not sure what this pattern is called but it's similar to a Double Wedding Ring.  It washed up nicely with only a few minor stains left.

The rings are not circles but squares with rounded corners

Soccer and Stitching!

It's been a while since I have written a blog post.  I sure am not getting too much done this summer in the sewing room.  I haven't purchased any fabric yet for the sashing of my hst quilt.  Maybe that will happen later this month, we will see.  One of the projects I wanted to complete this summer was replacing a binding on an old quilt my mother in law owns.  She said she thinks it was made by husband's great grandmother but she isn't sure. The top was given to her when she married into the family and she not being a quilter, had it machine quilted.  It looks to me as if it was made in the 1930's but I am no expert.  She said they used it alot when they first got married so the binding was quite worn and it has a few stains.  Hopefully a new binding will let her enjoy it again!

New binding ready to be sewn on!

The walking foot really makes it easy to sew the binding on by machine!

The old binding was a single fold and I will replace it with a double fold as I prefer working with double fold binding.  I was able to stitch the binding on Saturday and spent the afternoon getting two sides of the binding stitched down.  So today, I plan to get the other two sides finished.    Hopefully, I will get some stitches in while I watch the final game of the Women's FIFA World Cup.  The USA plays the Netherlands a tough opponent.