Playing Around With Foundation Piecing

In keeping with my habit of starting new things before current and old things are completed, I had a fun evening of trying to remember how to foundation piece. Years ago I did lots of paper piecing, but over time had forgotten quite a lot of the tricks and tips I once knew.

 Last week when Sharon and I met Dee in Columbus, we made time afterwards (after making a wrong turn on the interstate - honest, it wasn't intentional!) to stop at a quilt shop just to snoop around. I mean, come on, we were right there near a popular shop, so why not? We certainly had no intention of buying anything. But, when I saw a shop sample of the beautiful Wensleydale Quilt, I just had to get my hands on those foundation papers.

Wensleydale is a creation by Jen Kingwell and I had seen many versions of it on Instagram, so I knew it well. It'd always appealed to me, but I really didn't ever consider making one. If you'd like to see a whole bunch of gorgeousness, search the hashtag in Instagram - #wensleydalequilt - it's a feast for the eyes!

Just for a refresher in the foundation technique, I pulled out a very special little bundle of scrap fabrics and made one block. Lots of mistakes. Lots of reaching for the seam ripper. Lots of wasted fabric. Waaahh!

I recall that one major reason for not further pursuing foundation piecing was the waste. Fabric costs too doggone much to cut away big hunks of it in this technique. I suppose one would get better at "eyeing" the amounts needed, but this first attempt in many years was hugely fraught with waste.

That said, I am pleased with my block, yet have absolutely no idea what I will do with it. Surely, it will be an orphan block as I do not have much remaining of this fabric collection to make a whole quilt. Perhaps It could be the center medallion of a table topper or wall hanging. I will think on it.

Back to reality. The clutter remains. The long arm thread still breaks. The Tiny Nine Patch quilt still needs its binding. Baby quilts need to be finished. Chelsea Garden and Winnemucca and more await. (See previous 2 posts for explanations.)

All will get done. I foresee major progress in the next few days.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

September Wrap-Up

It seems these monthly wrap-up posts come way too frequently. How months can just fly by like they do mystifies me! 

Let's dive into a recap of my September highlights.

TOP ROW: If an overall look at this collage indicates not a lot of sewing, that would be accurate. The consolidation of 2 sewing rooms into one has taken f-o-r-e-v-e-r! I'm still not done. For an admitted pack-rat, letting go and getting rid of things has proven daunting. I am determined, though, to keep at it until it's done. The first pic is from the beginning of the purge, when I was ready to move out the big cutting table. The next picture shows my crowning glory quilting achievement for the month - quilting my Tiny Nine Patch Challenge quilt was such a milestone finish. I have the binding prepared, but I have yet to sew it on. The final pic in the top row is of Emma in all her 8.5-months' pregnant state. We attended a shower for her with lots of family and friends in attendance.

MIDDLE ROW: One fine Friday afternoon, Kevin and I got to attend our first 'Grandparents' Day' at Cate's daycare/school. Afterwards, we had a good time walking her home with lots of 'flying' and 'swinging' along the way. Mid-month sometime, we hosted the daughters and their families for Sunday dinner. You see that I've engaged Cate's help with washing the potatoes. (She liked playing in the water.) Another family pic, this one of my mom holding little Ruby Jean, at the time, her youngest great-grandchild. Mom's name is Jean, so this little one is a namesake.

BOTTOM ROW: Towards the end of the month, I was finally set up well enough to quilt in the big sewing room where all sewing and quilting will now be housed. That earlier quilt was the last to be quilted in the previous room; the two Kaffe quilts shown in the middle picture are the first to be quilted in this room. And the month ended with the best news of all - the birth of Reagan Jayne, Emma's little one, and our second grandchild. She was a week overdue, so we were all on pins and needles with anticipation. 

October will see me continuing with purging and sorting through several more tubs and boxes of miscellaneous sewing items. Much of what my grandmother gave me is going to be offered to some cousins who are also into various facet of stitching, so I will gladly unload her things to them if they are interested. 

I should have included my impromptu project with Chelsea Garden fabric in yesterday's post. It is definitely one that I want to get back to in the coming few days. It's nothing more than a 9-patch quilt, but these fabrics along with that neutral (it's not from the Chelsea Garden line) looks spectacular.

This picture does not do justice to the actual quilt, but the neutral squares in the pieced blocks really create a nice chain across the quilt, which is the look I want. More to follow on this, for sure.

Okay, I am determined to be more diligent with my blog-posting in October. I've really gotten away from my computer and the blog, and I really do not want to let that trend continue. I must make an effort!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Welcome October!

Ahh! I simply cannot believe we are already welcoming October! 

It's a big birthday month in our family - my mom, my husband, my granddaughter, my twin nieces, and more. With all that celebrating, the month will go fast.

So what might I accomplish this month? 

First, I need to get the long arm going. Again, I am having trouble. The top thread breaks after just a few stitches. Last time this happened, I changed the needle and that made all the difference; this time it is not making things better. I have a baby quilt halfway finished, and I would really like to get it done and put some more quilts in.

Also, I have borrowed a pattern from a friend, and I would like to make a couple of these bears for the 2 grand babies. In addition to making a fun 'stuffie' for each of them, I would also be able to use up a couple of bags of polyfil that I've had around here taking up space for about a decade.

 

I have checked my 2024 goals list and see that I still have not worked on several things. Maybe it is actually time to do something with my Winnemucca fabrics? It's been on the list for more than just '24! I also would be happy to work on All The Blues or Cheddar and Navy. Of course, I have a few UFOs to remember, also, most especially Lake Effect.

 

This Saturday is History Day in Greenfield. Once again I will be demonstrating hand quilting. I have a quilt loaded on the frame from last History Day (shame on me!) and I will work on it. Perhaps it will give me incentive to keep going and actually finish it!

Of course, I will drop everything in a heartbeat and head to Columbus to see the granddaughters! We have 2 now to love on, and the girls don't live just steps away from each other any more. Emma is out in Westerville while Erin is still downtown. We will adjust! Where grand babies are concerned, we will make it happen!

I hope your October is blessed and productive.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

A New Baby! And Baby Quilts

 A few weeks or maybe a month ago, I dabbled in the Kaffe Fassett fabrics and made some blocks for a baby quilt. Actually, two. We seem to be having so many babies coming lately - our own daughter, and friends and family are adding babies one after another it seems.

Anyway, I used some KF fabrics paired with some solids from my stash to come up with 2 baby quilts. One is definitely for our daughter's new baby, and one is an extra for any of the little girls already here or are coming soon.

My thought was that I would imitate the quilt I made in 2022 for Cate. Click here to see it. Since I didn't use a pattern and made it up as I went, I did the same thing on these 2 new ones. The sizing for these two new ones is smaller, but still they'll be okay for newborns, I think.

The two quilts are identical except for the binding. One is bound with a remnant binding made from lots of scrap strips. The other is bound with a single fabric cut from some yardage. The backing is a blue solid - and yes, these are intended for baby girls, but I didn't have pink yardage - and all has been from the stash. Use it up!

And, YES!! Our little one arrived early this morning! Reagan Jayne Storey stormed into the world at 6:53am, and weighed in at 8lbs. 3oz. She's a long girl at 21 inches. We are a tall family, and so is Glen's, so length was to be expected. Emma is doing great and this sweet new family has a whole lot of love surrounding them.

Happy Birthday, Reagan! We got up to the hospital before she was 6 hours old, and to say we are in love is a major understatement. Emma pulled off quite a surprise with her name! Neither Kevin nor I had any idea they were planning that middle name for her, and consequently I have been a borderline emotional mess all day! A happy mess, though, to be sure.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Binding A Special Quilt

A very special bride in my Frienzies group will at last be getting her wedding quilt as soon as I finish this binding and return it to the group at our next gathering.

Susan's daughter Kenly requested a neutral quilt with grays and beiges. A few of the girls shopped for just the right combination of fabrics to make this gorgeous, subtle quilt with a modern vibe that so many of the younger girls prefer. One year ago to the date (!) we had a fun sewing day making this quilt (detailed in this post). Even our dear Frienzie Kay, who has been in memory care for a few years, contributed to this quilt b/c one of the girls had saved the great dotted grunge fabric from Kay's stash. Doesn't it work perfectly as a backing?

We finally did find a quilter who worked closely with us to come up with the perfect quilting, and now it's back here at my house to be bound. I am nearly finished - just one side to finish. I'll share full, complete pics once we've gifted it to our bride.

Joining up today with Kathy and her Slow Sunday Stitching party. It's always fun - and inspiring - to see what other quilters and stitchers are working on. 

Have a great day! We are still waiting on the arrival of a grandbaby - maybe soon! If you read Kathy's post, you've learned that she's just become a first-time grandma! She seems just as excited as you would expect. *smiles*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

The Current Sewing Room Status

The last 10 days have been a whirlwind of activity in the sewing room consolidation effort. Let me show you things as they stand at present.

This picture shows most of my new and improved sewing room - aka Jayne's Quilting Room. It's a big room, yet I didn't have room in the previous set-up for this long arm machine. This is what precipitated my needing to do a major clear-out. 

The big clunky desk is gone, and now Sharon and I are sewing on these matching former typing tables. These tables were discarded from the high school where we both taught. I took one, and didn't even know that she took one, too. When we were looking at options for where to sew and how to configure this corner, she told me she had a table in storage. So, she brought it over and look at how perfectly this works! I am very pleased with the layout; the TV trays can be scooted under the tables when not in use, which saves space. We have had 2 sewing days with this set-up and it seems to be working out pretty well. 

The giant cutting table is gone, and now the long arm machine sits in its place. It was necessary to figure out a new cutting area. The painted blue dresser has become my cutting table. To make the height work I put it on risers, and so far so good for this set-up. I've not cut any big stuff yet, so we may have to tweak it, but this is working for smaller cutting jobs.

Movement around the long arm machine has a couple of tight spots, but is totally doable. I've stored all the battings under the frame, and already have the 4th quilt on for quilting. (I've done 2 baby quilts; Sharon's done one.) 

So, the part I still need to address is the previous long arm room. I moved all the excess into that room, and now the big job is dealing with this remaining detritus. I save too much stuff; I am a lousy organizer; I would rather sew or quilt. 

In other words, making myself deal with all of this is going to take a huge effort on my part. I'm trying to make myself do one box or tub per day. Usually doing one gets me going, and then I can do more - sometimes. Things will look a whole lot better after we've had our garage sale. My neighbor and I are doing one together next month. Getting to clear out all of that excess will make a huge impact on organizing efforts!

In other news, we are still waiting on #2 granddaughter to be born. She was due on Monday, so any moment now we could get the call that brings us happy news!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

When The Move Is Completed...

I am going to be so focused on finishing both WIPs (works in progress) and a few brand new projects. 

Here are a few WIPs I am itching to get back to. Some are more urgent than others, but I'm looking forward to finishing them all.

This is one of my urgent WIPs. The Frienzies made this quilt over a year ago, then there was a big saga about getting it quilted (lady doing it suddenly retired; returned to us unquilted; searched for a new quilter, and so on). Finally, it is now quilted - and look at how awesome!! I volunteered to bind it. Then as if this quilt needed more saga material, my machine that has the walking foot went in for repairs. I have the machine back, and now my sewing space is a wreck. I hope to be working on this binding by the week's end.

And while I'm binding, I might as well go ahead and do this big cutie. I have no particular fabric picked out for her, so I probably will find something in the stash and make 20 miles of binding. It'll be nice to finally have it completed.

You saw these blocks that I made last month at retreat; I have made several more but I've lost count of how many are needed; I must take stock and finish the remaining blocks so I can begin putting them all together.

Then there are things to be quilted. Many things, actually, but the ones high on my to-do/must-do list are baby quilts.

I have this quilt top sewn together and another one that is identical. It will take no time at all to quilt them, and you can bet that this will be happening very, very soon. I also need to quilt Pinwheels, shown below.

Now, you know I have more quilt tops to be quilted, and pretty high on the list is Fall Leaves that I rushed to make last year; I really would like to have it quilted this fall, so I will prioritize it.

Then there are all the new projects calling to me from the depths of the tubs and bins I have moved all over creation in the process of consolidating these 2 sewing rooms. I will share those soon, as well as an update on the progress I am making toward finishing this major move.

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne