Whole Cloth Quilts

As I mentioned in my last post, I practiced my FMQ with my new Tiara quilting machine on whole cloth quilts.  All six of the quilts are now finished.  As promised, here are some close-ups.  ;)

Quilt Stats #92
Name: Christmas Paisleys
Pattern:  Whole cloth
Quilting Design:  Large Stipple
Fabric:  Hoffman fabrics from my stash
Amount Used:  3.5 yards
Batting:  Frankensteined Warm and White
Size:  About 42 x 53 inches
Date Finished:  March 2014

Quilt Stats #93
Name: Baby Rose
Pattern: Whole cloth
Quilting design:  Loopy line with flowers
Fabric:  floral and pinks from my stash
Amount Used:  2.5 yards
Batting: Frankensteined Hobbs 80/20
Size: About 36 x 42 inches
Date Finished: March 2014

Quilt Stats #94
Name: Hidden Fairies
Pattern: Whole cloth
Quilting design:  Paisleys
Fabric:  from my stash
Amount Used: 2.5 yards
Batting: Frankensteined Hobbs 80/20
Size: About 35 x 42 inches
Date Finished: March 2014

Quilt Stats #95
Name: Leaves and Berries
Pattern: Whole cloth
Quilting design:  loopy line with leaves
Fabric:  from my stash
Amount Used:  3 yards
Batting: Frankensteined Hobbs 80/20
Size: About 40 x 42 inches
Date Finished: March 2014

Quilt Stats #96
Name: Pink Iris Flowers
Pattern: Whole cloth
Quilting design:  hook swirls
Fabric: floral and pinks from my stash
Amount Used:  3.5 yards
Batting: Frankensteined Hobbs 80/20
Size: About 42 x 54 inches
Date Finished: March 2014

Quilt Stats #97
Name: Iris Garden
Pattern: Whole cloth
Quilting design:  hook swirls
Fabric:  from my stash
Amount Used:  3.75 yards
Batting: Frankensteined Hobbs 80/20
Size: About 42 x 57 inches
Date Finished: March 2014

And once again, here is the new set- up in my craft room...

What I learned from all these quilts: 

• I love quilting with my Tiara, Princess. 
• Adding tables to the right and left help a lot.
• I needed a better chair.  (My sweet hubby bought me one last weekend.)
• The Aurifil thread works great with my Tiara.
• The stitch regular takes some getting used to, but I like it. 
• This was a great way to learn my new machine while helping others.  (These will all be donated locally.)
• It also used up a bunch of fabric... 18.75 yards for all six quilts. 

And just in case you were wondering if I have any fabric left...  Here is a peek at my newly organized closet.  I have made a dent in my stash, but there is still lots to use.  :o)  I have used over 100 yards in less than two and a half months.  As my husband said, "That's a football field!"  Wow!  it sure adds up fast. 

You can also see some more detailed pictures of my stash on my Stash Busting page just under my header. 

Plus, I bought 4 yards of fabric I found in the clearance section in my LQS. It was more Richard Scarry fabric. 

XX,
Jasmine

My New Baby Lock Tiara

Meet the new addition to my craft room...  It is a sit down quilting machine, a Baby Lock Tiara which is basically the same thing as the Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen.   I purchased it on Monday and have had so much fun playing with it for the last few days. 

For a long time I wanted to get a Bernina with a BSR.  However, when my friend Kathy of Kayak Quilting mentioned her sit down HQ 16, the wheels started turning in my head.  I realized that for what I really wanted to do the quilting machine would be so much better for me.  :)  So I test drove this machine on President's Day.  I totally loved it! 

I actually bought the floor model I test drove at my dealer (also one of my favorite local quilt shops), and I am so glad I did.  I went in the morning and purchased the machine.  Then they serviced it and got it all ready for me.  I went back in the afternoon and they taught me what I needed to know to get quilting.  It was so nice bringing home my machine already threaded with great tension.  After finishing the last three seams on my twister quilt (my mini-tutorial on how I pieced the blocks is here), I got my craft room set up and started playing with my new toy.  Sewing all the blocks of my twister together was a great way to keep busy before I could go pick up the Tiara.

This set-up does block part of my design wall, but when I need to use the whole thing (which is often) I can wheel my cabinet to the middle of the room or in front of the closets.  This little inconvenience is. so. worth. it. 

First, I finished the little sample the dealer sent home with me.  [Fabric added to stash .5 yards.]  Cheetah thought that it was so cool, that he said I should finish it.  So I did.  Here is my Modern Whole Cloth quilt. 

It was my first time ever quilting pebbles and paisleys.  I love that I will have this sample of the first thing I ever quilted after purchasing my Tiara. :)  It will be great for comparisons later. 

Mini Quilt Stats:
Name:  Modern Whole Cloth Quilt
Fabric:  Various solids
Stash Used: .75 yards
Batting:  Hobbs 80/20
Size: About 18 x 21 inches
What I learned:

• My Tiara is totally awesome!
• I like the stitch regulator, too.

Then I got playing with other fabric.  [Stash used 1 yard.]  Practicing quilting is a great way to use up fabric I don't want to use in a quilt.  This example is what was left from my red strings coin quilts.  I didn't want to use it in a quilt because of how much it absorbed the dye.  I also used some other ugly fabric. 

After some practice quilting, I wanted to quilt a bunch more.  But I was not ready to quilt on something I pieced as I am still learning the ins and outs of my machine.  So, I went through my stash and pulled fabric for six whole cloth quilts.  The fun thing about these six quilts is that every single one has batting which has been stitched together.  It used up all my large scraps of batting and emptied one cube of my Ikea Expedit.  I felt so thrifty.  :o)  It also made a dent in my floral fabrics and used some of my pinks (my March goal). 

Making whole cloth quilts is something I reccomend to people who are learning FMQ.  And this proves that I follow my own advice!  The six quilts range in size from 36 x 42 to 42 x 54.  I plan on donating them locally.  I hope my practice can do some good for someone else. 

Here you can see the machine in action with the sixth whole cloth quilt. Well, if I was actually sitting in the chair.  LOL.

It is wonderful having the extra room with that sixteen inch arm, but what I am enjoying the very most is the view.  I can see all around the needle without having to hunch over and look behind the machine.  Because I was used to quilting with the wall behind my machine, I am used to the quilt just pushing against something like back of the machine.  So on these baby and lap quilts my space feels unlimited on the right and left.  It seems like I gained a lot more than just the sixteen inches. 

Here it is from a different view.  You can see that I have added tables (or an ironing board) to the right and left of my sewing chair.  It is helping me hold the weight of the quilt and I am not fighting gravity at all.  The sewing cabinet to the right is also very handy for my scissors and thread catcher. 

The black knob that you see to the right of my needle is the stitch regulator.  I am getting used to moving it around every time I adjust my hands.  It is working great!  Can you tell that I am just a little bit  SUPER DUPER excited? 

Here is a close-up of the quilt you see on the on the table now. 

So after I finish this quilt and machine bind the other whole cloth quilts, I will be quilting my twister quilt.  Most likely with pointy spirals.  I will also do a post with close-ups of all the whole cloth quilts once they are all bound. 

Thanks for sharing my excitement with me!

Update January 27, 2015:

I have now been quilting with my Tiara for nearly a year, and I totally love it!  Check out this post for what it was like quilting a queen/king size quilt.  

Quilting my Modern Farmer's Wife Quilt with my Baby Lock Tiara ~ January 2015.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I am linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, and Can I get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  (I am totally
doing a happy dance, in case you couldn't tell.)

P.P.S.  I am thinking about naming my Tiara something cheesy like "Princess" what do you think?  I have never named one of my machines before.  I just call them my Janome or my Pfaff. 

Twister in Progress II

Piecing the Blocks

After cutting out the quilt and putting everything up on my design wall for my twister quilt, I was so excited to start piecing the blocks.  (Check out this post to see my way of cutting out a twister quilt without the specialty ruler.)  The blocks actually went together very easily.  I thought I would do a mini-tutorial. 

1.  I laid out the pieces for my block. 

2.  I pinned the seams which needed to be sewn.  Note:  The pin just marked which side I needed to sew. 

3.  I sewed those seams starting at the right angle at the center of the block. 

4.  I pressed the seams towards the dark piece and laid the block back out.  Because the block was sewn with a funny angle, the short side sticks out about a quarter inch. 

5.  Then I pinned the center point.  Notice that the other edges just barely meet. 

6.  Sew that seam and press towards one side. 

7.  Lay the block on a rotating cutting mat. 

8.  Figure out what size you need to trim your blocks down to.  I trimmed these to 9.25 inches.  I added some Glow Line tape to the top of the ruler as a general guide.  I still measured with the lines originally on the ruler. 

9.  Trim the right and top sides.  

10.  Rotate the mat, and trim the other two sides. The block now looks like this. 

11.  Place the block back up on the design wall and make sure all the fabrics line up with the surrounding blocks. 

So, that is how to piece one block at a time.  Doing that drives me batty, so I worked with a column on my design wall at a time (10 blocks).  I would sew the bottom half of every block, pinning the side to be sewn.  I kept them in order by stacking the pieces and chain sewing them. 

After pressing the half blocks, I put them back up on the design wall to check their order. 

Then I would pin and sew the top half of all the blocks.  Followed by the center seam on all 10 blocks.  I trimmed them individually and put them right back up on the design wall.  I continued doing so until all the blocks were pieced. 

Cutting and piecing the twister quilt this way, only created a small amount of waste.  (Less than my last hour glass quilt.)

I now have the entire top sewn, and I totally love it!!!  It is a nice twin-size quilt. 

I hope you enjoyed this mini-tutorial.  ;) 

XX,
Jasmine

The Month of February & March Goals

The month of February was really a month of lovin' for me.  Out of five finished projects, only two were for me.  I met my goal which was making something with my red fabrics...

and all my red strings.

I finished three red projects.  A red table runner for my home, and red wall hanging for my sister-in-law L, and a red lap quilt for my home.  These three projects used up 14.25 yards of fabric. 

I love the way they turned out, even though the red fabrics bled on the cream background.  I washed them multiple times with color catchers and even Synthrapol, but the sashings became a pinky peach.  I think it must have been something to do with the cream fabric itself that just wanted to soak up the dye.  I am disappointed, but they still look pretty good. 

I also finished this floral quilt, called "Country Rose," for a neighbor, which the women in the Relief Society at church helped me tie.  This quilt used up 11 yards of fabric. 

But my first finish for this month was actually another blue quilt called, "Night and Day."  It is an hourglass quilt for my uncle who has been having some health challenges lately.  This quilt used up 8 yards of fabric. 

So here is my stash report for the month of February...

February Stash Report
Quilting Cottons
Fabric purchased this month:  0 yards
Fabric used this month:  33.25 yards
Net stash this month: 33.25 yards less
Fabric purchased year to date:  0 yards
Fabric used year to date:  86.75 yards
Net stash year to date:  86.75 yards less

Plus, I even figured out a different way to make a twister quilt at the end of the month.  Here are all the pieces up on my design wall. 

So I think my goal for the month of March for A Lovely Year of Finishes will be to make something with my pink fabrics.  They are nice and springy. 

There is nothing like a head start to make me excited to finish something.  ;)

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with the Sunday Stash Report at Patchwork Times and the March Goal Setting Party for A Lovely Year of Finishes. 

Twister in Progress

Cutting out the Blocks

My husband and I recently watched this twister tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  He thought it was really neat and encouraged me to make a twister quilt.  I knew it would drive me crazy to sew a quilt top only to cut it up and make a smaller quilt top, so I tried to figure out a different way to do it. 

I first drafted a twister quilt on graph paper. 

Then I drew large squares on a big paper and tried to figure out a different way to cut out the blocks.  I realized that instead of cutting a piece out of each corner leaving a square in the middle, I could just cut a square in quarters making them equal in size.  Kind of like a crazy 4 four patch.  There is minimal waste doing it this way.  (Just when squaring up the blocks.)

I decided to use some of my pink fabric to make the quilt. 

I pulled out 17 fabrics, but only ended up using 16. 

I cut four 10 inch squares out of 15 of the fabrics for the middle, and I cut twenty 10 inch squares out of my border fabric.  (3 of the border squares will be for the center of the quilt.)

I wanted to add that when pressing the fabrics, I used some Best Press spray starch.  I knew I would not always be sewing on the straight grain and didn't want the pieces to stretch.  I am so glad that I did!

Then I made a template out of paper and taped it to the bottom of my 12.5 inch ruler.  The template was made from a 10 inch square with a diagonal from 2.5 inches on top to 7.5 inches on bottom.  I did a test cut to make sure it was accurate.  I learned from similar quilts that you must make sure all fabric is right side up so the blocks will all twist the same way. 

I carefully stacked 4 squares on my rotating mat and made one cut. 

Then without moving the fabric, I rotated the mat 90 degrees and made a second cut.  After making the second cut and separating the pieces it looks like this.  All four pieces are the same size, and what you see is enough for four blocks. 

Then I cut out all the squares this way.  I separated it into piles so that I could distribute it more evenly on my design wall.  There will be 63 center twists plus the border half twists.  I really like doing all the cutting before I do all the piecing. 

Then the fun part of playing with my design wall began.  I think I really like this layout.  (I realized once I put it on the design wall that my twists are going the opposite direction of my drafted pattern.)

I am excited to get sewing the blocks together.  I will sew each block together carefully like a four patch.  Then I will sew columns.  Then the columns together to make the quilt top.  I am estimating that the quilt will finish at 72 x 90 inches, if each block finishes at 9 inches. 

After sewing a few blocks, I know that they will finish at 8.75 inches.  I square them up at 9.25 inches.  So the quilt will finish a little bit smaller, about 70.5 x 88 inches. Click here to see how I pieced the blocks together, and click here to see the finished quilt.  

I just wanted to add that I think that the normal way for sewing twister quilts is really cool, and the rulers are an excellent design.  I just know that this will work better for me.  :D

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts,  Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict (I am totally dancing for joy that I can make the quilt this way).