Thursday, January 30, 2014

Time for a Quilt



Several years ago, I forget how many, I cut out (well, mostly cut out) a quilt using this pattern from Quilter's Newsletter, January/February 2001. At the top of the page it says it is an intermediate pattern. It looks more advanced to me.


Lately, this unmade quilt, residing in an under bed plastic storage container, has been giving me very dirty looks, implying I should finish her. (Somehow I think of quilts as feminine, don't you?) While it may look rather messy, this is actually fairly well organized. I have each set of pieces in a plastic bag with a note that says how many pieces are needed and cut, along with some extras. As you can see in the magazine, this quilt is full of triangles which are a challenge to sew. Extras are always needed to replace all the poorly sewn pieces, of which I seem to have far too many.


These are the two blocks I'm working on right now. The Rising Star block on the left is completed, with all 20 made and trimmed. Not all of them have that slightly wonky four patch in the center. I need ten more of the star blocks on the right, with six of them getting larger Flying Geese to make an even bigger block. Then I have to make them in the reverse colors. This will take quite a while!


Piecing away! I found that most of the pieces that I had sewn years ago are so sloppy as to be unusable, so I'm redoing almost all of them. Over the years I have become much fussier in my work, which I think is a good thing. Luckily I have so much fabric I don't need to buy any more. I'm sure I also have enough for a backing. The pieces shown above are starched very well, which helps to keep the fabric from stretching while stitching. I didn't starch the pieces years ago when I started this quilt, and I'm sure it contributed to the poor piecing.

This quilt measures 76 1/2 inches by 93 1/2 inches, which will cover a queen sized bed. However, my bed has an extra high mattress, so I will have to make this wider. I can either add another border (easiest option) or add another two vertical rows, which will make it 93 1/2 by 93 1/2. As a rule, I like to make interesting borders, so I'll have to think about it. Luckily, I have plenty of time.

I hope to get quite a bit done today. We have plumbers coming in to fix a leak in the pipes which completely destroyed our new hardwood flooring in the living room. The floor hadn't even been in for two months. Oh well, it's only money, not something actually serious.

Happy Stitching!

8 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous pattern, Cynthia! I thought you were done with quilting. ;)

    I've heard that starch is a good way to tame bias edges. It looks like it is going very well now. I think I would add the rows and make it square.

    It seems like everyone has burst pipes recently (knock on wood). But you can't blame the cold winter! I hope the disruption will not be too bad. :)

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    1. I'm done with the actual quilting, not the piecing. I already had this one taking up space so I thought I would finish it. I have yet another kit in the pipeline.

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  2. That quilt is going to be a lot of work but it will be worth it and it looks like you are well on your way already. It is absolutely gorgeous. Good luck. Looking forward to progress reports.

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  3. It looks pretty advanced to me, too! I've never made a quilt - how do you starch the pieces?

    That's rotten luck with your floor. Is it covered by insurance?

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  4. It looks a very complex piece of work - just think how you will feel when it is finished!

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  5. wow, that quilt is incredible! Definitely advanced, but you seem to have it down already

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  6. What an intriguing pattern! If I didn't have 8-9 more years of sewing for g'children, I'd be pillaging through my fabric stash right now so I could make this. I can't wait to see your finished product, since everything you make is stunning and perfect. (I don't know why my profile comes up as L. Ferguson but this is Janice Ferguson commenting.

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  7. I love the colours of this quilt. It's a classic design - and won't you feel good when you've got this quilt (and yes, I think of them as feminine, too) done

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