One Monthly Goal Finish

My February OMG was bring these Ameliorate Sampler blocks to the flimsy stage. I wanted to completely finish it using quilt as you go, but after trying a couple of QAYG methods, I decided to just finish the top and will probably hand quilt it. I finished it this afternoon, a whole 32 hours before the end of the month. Making those two trial quilts put a little pressure on this deadline, but I'm glad I did them before trying it on this quilt and being unhappy with the results.

Linking to:

To Do Tuesday Week 25

I burned the midnight oil working on that QAYG and made a decision about how to quilt Ameliorate Sampler - I am going to finish the top into a flimsy and put it aside until I have my quilting frame up. This method of QAYG seems to be as much work, or more, than traditional quilting. Or maybe I just need a lot more practice. I still need to put on the top row and I am not looking forward to it. If I start dreading something about quilting, I might as well not be quilting.

Here it is after last night's marathon:

It absolutely didn't work to put the sashing on the blocks first, and yet, adding it as another row with new batting was also difficult. With the last row, I'll put an extra length of batting on the blocks and add the sashing as a row and see if it has less bulk that way. However, my chief objection to QAYG is that no matter which method used, there is always going to be the telltale stitching on the front, and I can't find a way around that.

But on to my weekly goals, and actually on Tuesday too. Here's how last week's goals worked out.

✔1. Get Celebrate Freedom to the flimsy (or fluffy) stage.

✔2. Make two rows of blocks for the next trial quilt.

I even finished more than two rows of blocks for the second trial quilt. I need to be a little more ambitious for this last week of February though since I haven't even finished all the blocks for Ameliorate Sampler. Since I need to finish it for my OMG, it is my number one priority. The other goals are just in case I finish it.

1. Finish Ameliorate Sampler into a flimsy.


2. Have a quilting weekend Friday and Saturday. Easier said than done since we may buy a new-to-us travel trailer today and have no where to put it.
3. Take down my design wall and finish the wall behind it. If this sounds familiar, that is because it is one of my goals from the first week in January. I didn't really know what I wanted to do with the wall then, but I do now. This alone should keep me busy for a week, but I'm going to try to get it done in a day.

4. Find a March UFO for One Monthly Goal

Linking to:

What is on the Wall Today

I've named this QAYG trial quilt, Barnyard. I've already finished and quilted the middle row and quickly learned that the outer borders have to be added later. I had to rip the stitches in all the red blocks and reattach after the blocks were joined. I had already done the right corner so now I need to rip that one too. It's going fast because I'm only basting quilt the layers. I thought these would be the perfect blocks to practice ruler quilting - as soon as I find my rulers. And I'm running out of time for my OMG quilt, so I don't have time for quilting right now; I just need to concentrate on the joining process.

Here's the back for the blocks that are done so far. Not loving it, but it's going to stay this way.

I'm joining these linky parties with this post:
AND

Sunday Sewing Reports Week 8

I feel like I have been sewing up a storm this week, but have nothing to show for it. I got in 15 minutes or more each day, didn't add any new fabric, and used some fabric, so at least I can report success there. Now if I can just finish these quilts!

Good news on Buddy though. He is feeling much better this morning so it probably is an inner ear infection. The vet gave him a shot of antibiotic at the office and I think that helped more than anything we are giving him. It was so scary to see him fall over and in scrambling to get up, he just kept tumbling over. He didn't fall once Saturday but I am keeping him away from the stairs.

Now if I can just remember to join these linky parties before I leave in the morning:

Sunday Stash

Second Trial Quilt As You Go

Wondering why you didn't see a finish for the first quilt as you go trial? It was a disaster. I don't know if I can save it later, or if I even want to. I've given up on the Karen Charles Method. Putting on long strips with that method was maddening. The batting stretched, the front bunched, and quilting it was just as difficult as quilting a whole quilt. There is a reason she only does a table runner on her video.

By Wednesday midnight, I had the bottom row attached, and called it a night. When I got up Thursday morning, I saw that the row had been put on AND quilted, upside down. Luckily, if you can call it that, my tension had messed up after a wound the last bobbin, so most of the stitching pulled out easily. Still it was a lot of work. So I flipped the row around and stitched it on AND quilted it. And it was still wrong. I threw it in the corner and moved on to the next trial.

I had already cut all the fabric into strips, so it was just a matter of cutting those into blocks. By Thursday evening, I had the basic quilt laid out. I wanted to get up and get an early start Friday, but something was wrong with Buddy The Cat. He kept losing his balance and kept falling. So Hubby and I spent the morning and half his paycheck at the vet and came home with four prescriptions to give to a cat who refuses to cooperate. After lunch, we needed to look at yet another travel trailer (did I tell you we are trying to buy a trailer for our daughter and grands so they can move here?) so I didn't get back to sewing until after dinner.

By bedtime, this is what I had on the wall:

For quilting this trial, I am going to use a combination of methods from QueenofStitching and Joy Morgan. I am not the least bit interested in hand stitching or anything fiddly, but I think I can take a few tips from each of them and make this quick and easy.

Last night, I also pulled enough fabric to do the back. I'm not even going to try making pieced blocks. I'll use the cat fabric in the center, if there is enough, and the plain fabric around it.

All this just to put together my Block of the Month sampler! If I don't like this method either, I may end up hand quilting it, and that will take me months if not years. Remember that Ameliorate Sampler is my One Monthly Goal for February?



I'm joining

Quilt As You Go Progress

I've joined six blocks so far, two single blocks and two sections of two blocks each. The two single blocks were easy to join and easy to quilt. The first two block section was difficult to put together until I decided to use spray basting. The batting definitely needs to be stitched on the least stretchy side. The first time I put it on, it stretched and made ripples all along the seam. The second two block section went on easier, but was a lot harder to quilt because of the extra bulk. I have had my free motion foot since we moved here, but when we moved all of my mother-in-law's stuff here, I had to pack up all my sewing and I haven't seen it again. So at the moment, I'm limited to using my walking foot for quilting and that means a lot of turning the bulk of the quilt. When I do the next trial quilt, I'll quilt from one side to the other to alleviate that problem.

Today, I'm joining:

Design Wall Monday and To Do List Tuesday, Week 8

This week, my Design Wall is also one of my ToDo projects. I wanted to buy thin polyester batting for the design wall boards because I thought fabric would stick to it better, but I ended up with cotton. If it doesn't work on the design wall, at least I can use it in quilts. I covered two more foam panels and put them beside the flannel ones and so far, I am very pleased with them. Even a heavier quilted block stays on them.

I did not talk Hubby into finishing the sheetrock on this wall, so I worked with what I had. Luckily, the tallest part of the wall is done and that is where I wanted to hang my quilt rod anyway. When the sheetrock is completed, I'll be able to add a few more design wall panels. I thought of using 4x8 sheets of foam insulation, but I decided to use the 13.5"x48" panels instead for a couple of reasons. For one thing, they are easier to handle, which is important for me since I'll be moving them from time to time. And I like that they are white on both sides so I don't have to worry about any printed words showing through.

I thought I'd have to attach some brackets on the wall to hold the panels in place, but I found that I could hammer six finish nails into the wall, leaving them sticking out of the wall about 1/2 inch, and just press the panels onto them and they didn't move. In the picture, the boards with batting look like they are thicker than the ones with flannel, but that is an illusion created by the brighter white.

On the design wall, I have my first trial quilt-as-you-go blocks. I want to try the Karen Charles method but she never shows how she does a bigger quilt. She mentions building around it and other quilters have said they start in the center and move outward. Still other quilters quilt the center row, and then build outward with rows. I have actually made two sets of trial blocks. The one on the board now is sewn into groups so they can be added around the center.

Instead of making identical blocks for the back, I decided to use plain white. I don't have time for even simple pieced blocks and I don't care for the fabric in this quilt, so I don't really care what the back looks like. I've quilted the center block and ready to start adding to it.

That takes care of the design wall. Now for my ToDo list, which has grown a lot because of these trial quilts. And I still haven't completed all the blocks for the Ameliorate Sampler either.

Here's how last week's list turned out.

x1. Finish the sweater makeover. I worked on it one day, but the design wall has taken priority this week, so I put the sweater on the back burner. I'm not even going to try to work on it this week.

✔2. Put borders on Sampler blocks. I did go to the quilt store for more border fabric, and still have one block to be finished.

✔3. Think of a name. I'm going to call this Celebrate Freedom. Seems pretty obvious. lol

✔4. Buy design board batting.

This week, my ultimate goal is to finish Ameliorate Sampler, so I am only going to list two goals.

1. Get Celebrate Freedom to the flimsy (or fluffy) stage.
2. Make two rows of blocks for the next trial quilt.

I am linking up here:
AND
To Do Tuesday at Home Sewn by Us

End of Week 7 Sewing Reports

I used a bit of fabric this week and have finally dropped below my first of the year fabric total again. The reason I used this much fabric is that I started a new quilt. I know, I know, I said I wouldn't start any new quilts until I finished all my UFOs, but there is a good reason for this quilt. I want to quilt my Ameliorate Sampler using a method of Quilt-as-You-Go that I have never done before and I need to make a similarly constructed quilt to see if it will work. I certainly don't want to ruin the sampler at this point.

I have spent a lot of time in the sewing room this week too, well over 15 minutes every day trying to get this quilt ready to quilt. I cut the strips and some of the blocks Wednesday night, and started making blocks Thursday. Friday we decided to make a run to Fort Worth and I didn't get into the sewing room until late. We had to go back again Saturday, and that wiped out a good part of the day. By late Saturday, I had most of the blocks sewn into strips and felt a rush of triumph that I would finally get to start quilting. Then I remembered I have to make the same number of blocks for the backing pieces. Bummer. I'll start those this afternoon, and may start quilting on a couple just to see how it goes.

Linking to:
and
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Design Wall Monday and ToDo Tuesday, Week 7

Not much has changed with my sampler blocks. I ran out of the off-white fabric early last week, but a last-minute trip to Tulsa and a busy weekend didn't allow for buying any more. The rain is supposed to clear out Thursday, so that's my next chance to make a trip to the quilt store. In the meantime, I've been playing with arrangements and this is what I have on the wall today.

I didn't get as much done on my ToDo list as I would have liked, but again, I wasn't home for a couple of days and the weekend was a bust. Here's how last week's list turned out.

✔1. Put name and date on the Snowball Blossom quilt.

✔2. Finish the one side of sweater makeover.

x3. Put borders on all the Sampler blocks.

✔4. Think of a name for the Sampler blocks. It's name is Ameliorate! As I've completed the three unfinished blocks, and worked on a plan to make all the blocks the same size, I could see where my quilting skills have improved, or ameliorated, since I first began.

x5. Buy design board flannel and get it washed and ironed.

So this week's list will be much the same.

1. Finish the sweater makeover. This has been a challenge. I bought wide twill ribbon to replace the zipper, which was also held on with twill ribbon. I put the ribbon on the one side where I had removed the zipper, and it was really stiff. So I ripped that out and tried to think of something that was soft and a little stretchy. I finally decided to use strips from an old bar towel and it worked perfectly. Now I need to shorten the sleeves. The sweater was also a little short, so I decided to add some fringe. I'm not sure if I like it or not.

2. Put borders on Sampler blocks. I hope I can get to the store for more fabric.
3. I still haven't thought of a name. Maybe when the blocks are all finished and up on the wall, something will come to me.
4. Buy design board batting. I am not thrilled with the flannel on the other boards and decided to try some batting on the next ones.
5. Make a receiving blanket. Nothing special, just something to go with the Snowball Blossom. I don't piece these, just put two fabrics back to back.

I'm late getting to the party, but there should be a lot of inspiration there by now. I'm joining these:

Sewing Reports for the Sixth Week of 2020

I had to say goodbye to my 100% sewing success this week. Hubby had a business trip scheduled and at the last minute, I decided to go with him. I wanted to see Daughter and the Grands even if it was just for one evening. We had a good visit and may have some news to share in the next week or two.

I have continued to work on the sampler blocks and ran out of the off-white fabric. It looks like I used a lot of fabric, but that's only because I only count things to the nearest quarter. I don't know how other people would count five inches off a yard of fabric, but I count it as a quarter used because I don't have a full yard available for the next project. I'm still in the red for fabric used (I have more fabric now than I started with on January 1st) and have to buy at least another half yard as soon as the weather cooperates. We are supposed to have rain every day until Thursday, so I probably won't make the 50 mile trek to the fabric store until then.

Linking to:
and
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Starting the Week with Design Wall and Week 6 ToDo List

Not much has changed on my design wall since Saturday.  Ameliorate Sampler hasn't moved. Weekends are not meant to be my sewing time. What little time I did spend in my sewing space wasn't very productive.

I was going to go to JoAnn's today to buy enough flannel to finish covering the foam boards for my design wall. But the wind is howling today and tends to push my little car around on the highway, and it is supposed to start raining soon. So that will have to wait until tomorrow. I may update my ToDo list if I get that done.

Let's see how I did with last week's list:

✔1. Decide on a layout for the sampler quilt.

✔2. Clean up the Snowball Blossom quilt.

x3. Make a label for the Snowball Blossom quilt.

x4. Attempt a sweater makeover.

Not good. That sweater may be in the trash by the end of this week. I took the zipper off one side and that side immediately started raveling. Turns out it wasn't the zipper that shrank; it was the twill ribbon holding it to the sweater. So I could put the zipper back on with some new, pre-shrunken twill, but I'm just going to leave it off. The metal tip of the zipper edge hitting my neck bugged me in the short time I wore it.

Here's my list for this week:
1. Make a label for the Snowball Blossom quilt. Instead of leaving it off, or even leaving a space for who the quilt was for, I decided just to put my name and date completed on it and call it done.
2. Finish the sweater makeover - or at least try to finish the one side I've started. If it doesn't lay flat, I'm done.
3. Put borders on all the Sampler blocks.
4. Think of a name for the Sampler blocks. That should be easy, but I struggle with names.
5. Buy design board flannel and get it washed and ironed.

Linking to:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
BOMs Away at Katie Mae Quilts
To Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

Sunday Sewing Week 5

I spent more time this week looking for the right fabric and planning a layout than I did with any sewing. And an evening was spent with a magnifying glass and the ripper. But all that is done now. Plans have been made and fabric bought. Yes, sad to say, I had to buy fabric to complete this quilt. After all the blocks have been made with reproduction civil war fabrics, I just couldn't put anything else with them. Buying that fabric put me over my beginning stash total, which set me back in my stash reduction goal. But a little stitching every day kept me at 100% with my stitching.

Linking to:
15 Minutes to Stitch at Life in Pieces
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Borders for Each Block of the Sampler

When I finished the last sampler block of the Ameliorate Sampler, I set it aside and started thinking about a layout and borders for the quilt. I had these three ideas for layout:



I was leaning toward the first design because it is different than I usually see with samplers, although I did like it on point too. Either way, it means coming up with a lot of filler before getting to the border and that means this UFO won't be getting done quickly. But thinking of that first layout, I went to the nearest local quilt store (nearest being forty-five minutes away) on Thursday and bought a blue floral background fabric along with more of the same off-white Moda used in the original blocks.

That morning before I left, a lady texted and said she was having a big sale on all her remaining fabric. She had closed her local quilt shop last year. And when I saw local, it was right here in my little town. How I hated seeing her close that store. I texted her and asked if she had any civil war fabric, but when she didn't reply, I went the other one. After I got home, she texted back with a picture of four or five bolts of reds and browns. I thanked her but told her I had gone to the other store.

That evening, I got out the blocks and started squaring them up and soon found that they weren't the same size. I thought it was because I had messed up, being brand new to quilting when I started them. But I had just finished one of the blocks and it was pretty near perfect. So I dug out all the instruction pages and sure enough, some of the blocks are 9-1/2 inches and some are 9-1/4 inches. Why on earth would they do that?!!! So now I needed to come up with a plan that included borders around each block so they would all be the same size. I did this with Microsoft Paint, so it is far from accurate or professional, but here are my three plans again, but with larger blocks and the blue floral outer borders. Just a few blocks for an idea, because doing this on MS Paint was time-consuming. I also left out whatever I would make for the center of the medallion.

 


When I showed these samples to Hubby to get his opinion on the colors, he said he liked the traditional layout best. Well that puts a kink in my plans. He seldom tells me he likes anything about quilts one way or the other that I am now reconsidering the traditional layout. To make a long story longer, the next day (yesterday) I went to the local quilt store and bought some of her civil war fabrics. She has a one yard minimum, so I bought way more than I needed, but I didn't want to make another ninety mile round trip and her prices were low.

I decided to make an inner border out of a color that went with the colors in the block, and an outer border of the off-white to make it stand out against the blue background. Here it is along with a sneak peak of my new design wall. Now I need to go to JoAnn's to buy enough flannel to cover the rest of the foam boards. But not on Saturday.

My One Monthly Goal for February is to finish Ameliorate Sampler into a flimsy.

Linking to:
UFO Busting at Tish's Adventures in Wonderland
One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts