RSC14 week 18 - Purple Pieces

Isn't this terrible?

All I did this week was cut out a garlic roll block (I'm sure that's not what it's really called). While really for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge I should make about 4 blocks a week. Well I'll catch up sometime.

They've been here since last Sunday!

I'm afraid that once again I was using all my free minutes to meet the Triangle Quilt Along's deadline yesterday. It was a never to be repeated week: I had no time to read my emails, or read other people's blogs. I barely gave myself the time to comment at linky parties. Shame!

Here is the garlic whatever with is purple partners.

I'm hoping I can get some more purple put together soon.


But now: here's to the green!

Rijswijk, Henri Ter Halsingel, April 2014 

I'm linking to Soscrappy for the RSC14 link up

so pop over there to see what other quilters have made this week.

Also linking to Freshly Pieced  for WIP Wednesdays and

Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social

Preparing to quilt

At the moment I'm trying arrangements to make cushion covers from the triangles left from the triangle quilt. I don't really need cushions, and I'd rather make another quilt, a wall hanging this time, with big hexagons on a pale blue/grey background. 

But I do need to practise FMQ on the fabric used in this quilt. It's my version for the triangle quilt along at the Sassy Quilter.

May I pick your brains? If I do an allover pattern, swirls or ripples, do I need to stitch in the ditch first to stabilize? The quilt is 1.80 x 2.20m (approx 6 x 7') and I'll be quilting on my Bernina 440 QE, so there's an awful lot of quilt to fit in to the right of the needle. I shall be pinning the quilt sandwich together with safety pins.

I welcome your ideas on this.

I'm linking up to:

Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesdays and 

Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social

Happy sewing

Marly.

Fresh Sewing Day and Small Blog Meet

In March 

I finished a quilt for my 7 year-old grandson. For its post-sewing rinse it needed 15 Colour Catchers, yes, 15, to absorb the excess dye in the dark blue batiks.

I made the top for a small lap-quilt/throw.

The fabric is Metropolitan Fair by Barbara Brackman for Moda, and the pattern is from Two From One Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott. I still have to make a trip to the LQS to buy fabric for the backing, but that probably won't be until next week.

I bought fabric for the Triangle quilt along being organised byThe Sassy Quilter, (click on the button on the right to find out more about that QAL)

and I started cutting it,














I also made a few sampler squares for the RSC14.

Somewhere in between all this I finished the fourth border, with EPP stars appliquéd on squares, for the Emma medallion quilt, only to find that it's too short for the third (the previous) border. I'm still working on fixing that. It looks as if I will have to take the third border off and make it narrower, so that the quilt so far will be 2" narrower than at present. This is really something I dislike.

On Tuesday I'm linking up with Lily's Quilts for 

and on Wednesday with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday,
and with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social.

Work in Progress on the Design Wall

Monday:

My Jigsaw quilt centre is finished. I'm working on the pieced inner border.

Jigsaw Quilt from Two from One Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott, made in "Metropolitan Fair" by Barbara Brackman for Moda

I love this pattern, and so far it has all gone together very smoothly. I think I shall be making another one soon, but in softer fabrics.

Update Wednesday:

Now the top is finished and it's off the wall and waiting for me to get some backing fabric. Meanwhile I have other projects to keep me occupied.

I'm linking up with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday,

with Stitch by Stitch for Anything goes Monday,

  with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.
and with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social

Happy Sewing

Marly.

Wednesday current progress

The Jigsaw Quilt is progressing well. 

Blocks 20 and 21 laid out ready to sew.

All subunits have been made, and after these two there are only eight more blocks to finish.

I'm linking up today to Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednsday

and to Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social.

So please join us and see what other quilters are doing this week.

Happy sewing

Marly.

WIP Wednesday

I'm turning this:

Metropolitain Fair Jelly Roll

into this:

Jigsaw Quilt block

I started cutting this morning and am about to finish putting the first block together. The next 3 are partially made too.

It's the Jigsaw Quilt from this book made in Metropolitan Fair by Barbara Brackman for Moda.

I'm linking to Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday, and to Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social. Go and have a look at what some others are working on at the moment.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Fresh Sewing Day and Small Blog meet

My grandson's quilt is ready for binding. I should get that finished this evening.(Update Wednesday: the binding is still only half done)

Good Night.
Pattern by Maaike Bakker in "Strip-Pieced Quilts" (That Patchwork Place.)

detail

place-mat from orphan block

Before starting the FMQ I had a trial run with an orphan block from the quilt top which I built out with some of the off-cuts and made a place-mat.

the back of the place-mat

I also bought some more fabric in February:

from r to l:
2 FQ's with sewing notions design (impulse),
3.5m with flowers for background for Celtic Solstice,
1m with girls with umbrellas (sweet & impulse)
1m with houses for place-mat backing
(after many months resisting the impulse)

Celtic Solstice
(Bonnie Hunter Mystery)

And worked on the Bonnie Hunter Leader and Ender Challenge 2013

Bonnie Hunter Leader and Ender Challenge 2013

I calculated that I'm about 1/5 of the way to completion, so Bonnie took me by surprise when, this week, she announced this year's challenge, which wasn't expected (by me at least) until July. Apparently some people have finished already!



I also made pink blocks for the RSC14 .

Now I'm linking up to Lily's Qults for: 

and Guest host Stephanie from Quarter Incher at freshly pieced. go over there now to see what other people are working on.

Happy Sewing

Marly.

WIP Wednesday: Good night

Good Night!

No bobbin thread = forced halt.

I'm about to restart the quilting. The bobbin thread ran out yesterday (the two pins still mark the spot) at about 16:30, so I left it then to make dinner and then go to work. I've just spent 20 minutes unpicking a couple of inches to get enough thread to tie off. I decided yesterday afternoon to try quilting again, despite having issues with the BSR earlier in the week (see this post).

Saturday: irregular "regulated"stitches on "trial quilt".

I was trying to make a square pattern and stitches are excessively long when I changed direction and moved the material sideways. The loops (in the yellow) are, however more even in length so I decided yesterday to start quilting the quilt only doing loops.

Still all is not well with the Bernina 440 and the BSR (Bernina stitch REGULATOR!) 

If anyone has any ideas on how to rectify this problem, I'd love to read them. I'm waiting for an answer from Bernina.

Now linking up to Lee for WIP Wednesday

 

Design wall & Work in Progess

I'm doing the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and this month the colour is pink. Having my pink blocks on the wall makes it easy to see what combinations I've used already.



I am about to start quilting a quilt for my 7-year old grandson, and the main element is the yellow strip-pieced star on a blue background. Before I start the FMQ I want to practise on the one surplus star so I decided to build it out to make it place-mat size and practise quilting on that. Then it will be something other than just a practice block. Hence the two wonky log cabins left and right, made from the triangular off-cuts from the pieced strips. Now I have to figure out what to add top and bottom to make it up to size, and I only have triangles! 
Incidentally, now I like the wonky log cabins (my first shot at improv) more than the star!




Finally there are some split 9 patches for Bonnie Hunter's Leader and Ender Challenge, again so I can see what I've got put together so far and if the colour/neutral contrast is sufficiently strong.. At first I had far too many light solid patches, and there are still some blocks where the neutral half has too many solids. I've been unpicking and substituting neutral prints for the solids. It took me some time to understand what Bonnie means by neutral. I think I've got it sussed, but I hope I haven't gone too far in the other direction. I don't think so, because there is a definite line between the coloured and the neutral.

So, instead of sewing this week I've been unpicking, and cutting. I know, most people will have done all the necessary cutting for the L&E challenge months ago. But I didn't have many scraps (still don't). We brought two refuse-bags and a 12 gal storage box of dressmaking scraps up from the basement on Saturday, and I've been sorting them over the weekend. Polyester etc, and jersey to the rubbish bin, a few pieces of cotton to the washing machine, and the rest to the ironing board. 

It's not on the design wall yet, but look what I found, lurking in the storage box ...

Very cold ducklings and bears?

I can't remember buying this but the edges have been zig-zagged, so probably washed, but it hasn't been cut into. Which doesn't surprise me. I can't imagine what came over me when I chose this. Migraine maybe. But, cut it small; still ugly?: cut it smaller. I shall be making some double 9-patch blocks in blue soon; you know, with the patches that finish at 1/2"!



I'm linking up with  at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday, so just pop over there to see other people's design walls. 

Also with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Saturday link up week 6

I am taking part in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014.
This month's colour is pink and  I have made four blocks so far:

Hop over to Soscrappy to see what others have been doing with their pink scraps.

Linking up to WIP Wednesdays, so hop over there to see what other quilters are doing this week.