'Nine' is Pieced!

It's pieced! It's pieced! It turned out wonderful!

I can't believe how straight it is considering all those little pieces! And I can't believe how heavy it is.

 

 

Now it's time to decide on the quilting. I have narrowed it down to two choices - cross hatching through either the dark or light squares or a small meandering stipple.

 

After a big project I like to give my sewing room a good cleaning    

 before starting on the next project(s) so I got busy.

 

In this case I really needed to clean up. I spilled my pins all over a week ago but I was so obsessed with piecing I just kept walking on them.

 

Warning - graphic pictures below!

 

I was cleaning under my sewing desk, sitting on the floor when I noticed thread sticking out of the castor feet on my desk chair. I flipped it over...and

 

 

After digging out thread, fabric bits, and even a bit of interfacing...

 

 

Six feet later I had quite a pile!

 

I'm not quite finished cleaning but the worst is done. Later today I should be started on my next UFO!

 

Happy Stitching!

 

 

 

 

Obsessed

I have been sewing and sewing and sewing....this is a labor of love and I AM loving it!

 

Today I made great progress and then the decision - do I make it rectangular or square?

 

 

 

After debating most of the afternoon I decided it has to be rectangular so I have 4 more rows to make. I am hoping to finish piecing it tomorrow... 4 rows is a lot of sewing with these little blocks so it may be reaching a little far!

 

I am making it just a few inches smaller than the pattern (Nine from Primitive Gatherings) so that it will fit nicely in the space I want to hang it. Right now it is about 52" square.

 

I am so excited!!!!!

 

Happy Stitching!

 

 

 

 

Back to little nine patches!

Finally I am back to working on that little 1-1/2" nine patch quilt. There is still a lot of sewing but it's going to become a favorite of mine. I'm putting together the rows from the top corner and the bottom corner of the quilt. I can't wait until I get to the middle!

 

 

I have way too many UFO's and I have had them laying everywhere! I've been quite intrigued by the UFO challenges out there so I started to make a list thinking I may do one of those challenges. When I got to 20 projects and still had lots more I thought I needed to do something more drastic than a list. I put away all my UFO's except the ones I am working on right now. They are in a bin up high in the closet so I can't see them. For the next many months I am going to work on one machine pieced project until it is finished and one hand work project. I'm allowing small projects to creep in that can be done in a day or if its a gift I am making. 

 

My handwork project is the borders of the applique quilt I had been working on last year. Since rheumatoid arthritis came into my life I can't do a lot of handwork at one time so this will be slow going but it will get done and I am enjoying it.

 

 

The hard part of this is the temptation to start another new project. That is the hazard of blogs and Pinterest...there is always something to catch your eye and send you off the rails!

 

I'll be happily following UFO progress in blogland!

 

Happy stitching!

 

 

 

Peace and Healing and a little precision piecing

In early December, a friend sent me  the link to a Bock of the Week she was starting from Piecing The Past Quilts Although I probably should not have taken on another project (my UFO list is completely out of control), I thought one block a week was reasonable to get done.

 

 

Week 1

 

 

I decided to do mine in scrappy reds and white/cream all from my stash.

 

Week 2

 

 

 

All the blocks are 6" so some precision piecing is needed!

 

Week 3

 

 

I made 2 of these. My first one did not have enough contrast!

 

Week 4

 

 

This one was fun and cute!

 

Week 5

 

 

The easiest block so far!

 

A little about precision piecing...the last couple of years many of my quilts have been easy piecing. This project is a chance to keep my piecing skills working - if you don't use them you lose them as they say!

 

Here are a few of my basics to keep your piecing on track. I think most quilters know these tips but if any of you are like me you get lazy once in a while, especially when making easy blocks.

 

• Check your seam allowance before starting to piece. It's easy to take a little too much or too little.
• When piecing 1/2 square triangles I always cut my squares a little bigger and trim once the triangles are pieced together. So if you are cutting squares 2-7/8" I cut mine 3" and then cut into triangles. Sew those together and trim to size keeping that diagonal line perfect (here it would be 2-1/2").
• Be careful starting and stopping stitching so that your starts and stops are where they should be. Often we don't get the beginning of the seam lined up perfectly with the needle and a sewing machine wants to drift at the end of the seam. Even a little bit can really affect how a block turns out.
• Press carefully and for construction. Often the seam will hint what direction it wants to go. I always try to figure out my pressing so that it makes sense for the whole block. Sometimes that means pressing to one side and sometimes it means pressing open. And I always try to be aware of bias seams and to take extra care when pressing them.
• A little starch sometimes goes a long way. I used to hardly ever use starch because I was mostly a hand quilter and I didn't want to quilt through starched fabrics. Now with my arthritis hand quilting will be something that is rare so I have started using starch here and there. In this quilt I decided to use light starch on my fabrics. I still want my fabric to feel like fabric  (not stiff paper) so I'm careful. It does help keep the fabric from stretching so when piecing small components it can be helpful!

 I'll be practicing all these tips while doing this Block of the Week!

 

What kind of tips do you use to get perfect blocks?

 

Happy Stitching and Happy New Year!