Such A Cut-Up Quilt Progress and a Tip for Stretched Block

The top is finished and I like it so much better than the original.

Now the tip, which you may already know, but was new to me.

I knew the bias cut triangles were going to be a problem, especially the larger ones, so I spritzed them lightly with spray starch. (That's not the tip for you, I already knew that would help prevent stretching.) I had a problem with the spray can and soaked one of them. Afterward, I noticed that it shrank as it dried but ironing it straightened it out. Originally, the strips were 7 inches, which was actually good for me because after I sewed the pieces into 12 inch blocks, there was enough excess to square them up nicely. Still, when I put the rows together, I found that one was a half inch longer. It had two of the large triangles in it and they had stretched. I pinned them together, matching the seams and spaced out the "ruffle" of the stretched triangles and pinned them. Then I saturated it with the spray starch. When it dried, no more "ruffles" and it sewed together perfectly. After ironing, the starch relaxed and it looked fine.

Have You Ever Wanted to Cut Up a Quilt Top You Just Finished?

I do, and I did.

A few months ago at our quilt guild meeting, someone demonstrated this fast and easy quilt. Online, it's called a strip and flip. I think theirs was in 1930's reproduction prints, and it was really cute. I thought I'd whip one out this weekend, and since our little quilt group needed some lap quilts for men, I chose masculine colors. The top went together in less than an hour, and was indeed fast and easy. But the more I looked at the finished top, the less I liked it because it was sooooo boring, so I decided to cut it up and see if I could come up with a more interesting pattern.

I did have to rip out a few seams, leaving three sections of two joined strips. I also left the reversed strip as it was.

I first cut the two strip rows into squares.

Then cut each square into two triangles.

And then cut each triangle in half.

Then laid out the pieces so the patterns and colors are spread out and started sewing them back together.

I have one leftover strip but haven't decided if I am going to use it or not.

New Quilt Project, Ragged Hearts

I went to a quilting group last week and a lady demonstrated this block and gave everyone the instructions. I was too late for Valentine's Day but this week I've worked on it, between coats of drywall mud.

I changed over to feedburner today. If you have any problem with links or your reader, please let me know.

Linking to New Beginnings - February at California Dreamin'

Singer Featherweight Added to My Collection

I've missed several of these machines at auctions and estate sales but I finally was first to get to this one last Thursday. It was listed as pristine in the sales flyer, and the machine may be (although there are a lot of light scratches), but the cord is not. It worked at the estate sale when the cord was held just so, but when it isn't held up, power is cut off. It looks like mine has been repaired a couple of times and that someone unplugged by pulling on the cord instead of the plug. So now I need to replace the plug.

My neighbor has a featherweight, so I borrowed her cord to see how well my machine works and I compared cords. Looks like mine has had several repairs, hers has just one. When I looked online to find out how to replace the plug, a lot of people say they don't like the button foot control and recommend replacing with a clam shell type pedal. I'm still trying to figure out how to thread the machine, so I haven't spent any time with this pedal yet.

The machine came with a box, a tray that slips onto the side of the box, a spare screw (or it could be a screw from something else that the previous owner just threw in there), a bobbin, and a bobbin case. If anyone knows what the screw is for, please let me know.

Also, if you know what the two holes in the base are for, please let me know that also. My neighbor said she figured they were for oil, but they are threaded so I wonder about that.

Now I'm off to find out how to thread it and how to fit it in the case. The way they had it at the sale, the screw on the face of the machine rubbed a spot in the fold up bed extension.

The 15 Minute Sewing Challenge, a Top Completed

I'm not going to take the time to make a chart. For the first time in a very long time, I sewed every day this past week. That is probably the end of my current sewing streak though. I wanted to get this top off the floor so we could move furniture out of our bedroom and get floors done. Also, the tiller and I had a major disagreement about starting, and a finger joint on my left hand and a muscle in my lower right arm were wrenched. I can't even open a water bottle right now.

The Concert Memories quilt top is finished, back is stitched, and I have the batting. All I have to do now if find a place to lay it out and pin it. Then I'm going to try quilting it myself. It's not worth it to me to send it out for quilting.

I'll update my stash list next time. This is all the typing my fingers can do for now. Join me at Kate's Life in Pieces to see how others have used bits of time this week, and let us know what you've been doing too.