Second Memory Wreath Block

Day 94: From the onset, I decided I was not going to push to complete a 12-block Memory Wreath lap quilt in a particular time frame. Rather, I'll work on it when the mood strikes me. I completed this second block yesterday and already had the pieces cut for a third. I glue-basted them to the paper forms this morning, and have started stitching the large triangles to the center. The unifying factors in this semi-scrappy quilt are the white bits and the dark green outer triangles. The centers will lean strongly toward green, and the interior triangles will be in two shades of a colour also represented in the center. Here, I chose aqua to be my "B" colour. The third block picks up yellow/gold for "B." This design doesn't stitch together quite as easily as Ring Cycles did, but it doesn't present any major issues with assembly.

Autumn Oranges, Quilting Done!

Day 78: This is a "for the record" post. I finished the quilting of "Autumn Oranges" this morning despite multiple interruptions. I began this phase of its journey on November 7 as close as I can tell, meaning that I completed the hand-stitching in just under 8 weeks. There's a reason ladies used to get together for quilting bees, half a dozen women working side-by-side on a single quilt. Nobody in their right mind would try to stitch a whole quilt by themselves. This year alone, I've made two fully hand-stitched quilts, plus a hand-stitched (EPP) quilt top (not yet backed and batted), as well as finishing up this one. I still have to apply the binding, machine-stitching it to the front, but hand-sewing it on the back. That should take 7-10 days. For now, the quilting frame has gone back into the closet until such time as I can make a run to Ben Franklin after something to back it with. Meanwhile, I'll be working on "Memory Wreath," another EPP quilt (i.e., fully hand-sewn, but smaller).

First Memory Wreath Block

Day 76: And in other news, I completed the first block of a Memory Wreath quilt on Christmas Day. Memory Wreath was the pattern I used in the first quilt I ever made, some fifty-plus years ago. I dived in with both feet, totally unaware that it was not a "beginner level" project, but in the end, I have to say that it turned out quite nicely even if some of the meets were less than perfect. I sewed it by machine, as opposed to by hand using English paper piecing as I am doing here, and I have always regretted allowing my husband to talk me out of it when we separated. It was themed around birds. This version will use the same dark green fabric in every block, with the centers and inner triangles in a different colour. Next up, I'll be using aqua prints where I've used red here, picking up a hint of aqua from the center. The quilt will be lap-sized, only 12 blocks, and should come together fairly quickly even though I'm still polishing off old projects as my primary goal.

Stages of Development

Day 52: After exploring multiple options for how to lay out "Memory Wreath," my plan is finally carved in stone...or fabric, as it were. Did I want a dark background or a light one? How many colours did I want to use? Did I want the center to be the same colour as the corners? Where did I want to put the darks, the lights? I settled on a layout I've not used before in this design: white background, two colours, darks for the outer points, the center a lighter shade of the same colour, dark in a second colour for the big triangles and inward-pointing small triangles, and a lighter shade of the second colour for the interior points. Having come that far, it's time to put together a test block! For it, I used leftover solids, and have laid a few paper pieces on the sample for the sake of illustrating. Each piece gets glue-basted around a paper piece to hold its shape while sewing them together. The paper is not removed until additional pieces are attached to all sides, and in fact are often left in until the quilt is completed. However, the finished product will not look much like the test block because I'll be using prints, and I will make the outer points in all blocks (12 total) using the same green fabric. The center will also be a green print, different from the points. The remaining points and large triangles will be made using lights and darks of the second colour. Corners and edge triangles will be white. I've started sewing the test block together, although I may not dive into making the actual quilt until after the holidays. It will be smaller than usual, lap-sized, three blocks by four.

Quilting - Rock or Stab

Day 45: There are two principal ways to stitch the layers of a quilt together by hand. The first is with a "rocking" stitch (upper photo) and the second is with a "stab" stitch (lower image). The rocking stitch has an advantage in that it is faster (i.e., several stitches can be made before pulling the needle all the way through). Its disadvantage is that the stitches on the reverse side of the quilt are usually noticeably smaller than those on the top. The stab stitch is slower, but with care, the stitches top and bottom will be almost identically sized. The rocking stitch is preferred by people who quilt in the lap, and the stab stitch is not generally done without the quilt being mounted in a frame. I have seen quilters who "rock" when the quilt is stretched taut, and I've often wondered if they have looked at the back side to be sure their stitching has caught through all the layers. Because of the advantage of the rocking stitch with respect to speed, those of us who stab are becoming an endangered breed.

Memory Wreath - A Plan

Day 32: Back in the days of my innocent youth, I decided I wanted to start quilting. I browsed through all my books (I had quite a library of needlework references even then), and I came across "Memory Wreath" (aka "Crown of Thorns") in the "Woman's Day Book of American Needlework." I had no idea what I was getting into or what problems I might encounter along the way, so I just dived in. In the end, my "meets" may not have been as perfect as I would have liked, and some of the blocks required a substantial bit of easing to get the seams to line up, but the quilt was beautiful nevertheless. I made at least two more on the same pattern over the years, each one coming together a little more accurately than the earlier versions. Since then, my skills have improved even more, and I kept thinking, "I'd really like to make one more 'Memory Wreath' before I leave this world." And then I discovered English paper piecing, and a whole new vista opened up. Now I have a Plan. While I don't intend to make it "scrappy" like most of my quilts, I have a lot of fabrics to choose from. I want to theme each block in a different colour combination. The pieces shown in black here will be solids of the basic colour of each block, as will the center square (at least I think that's what I want to do, because it gets some solids out of my stash). Prints will be used for everything else, repeating as shown in the illustration. I will probably only make twelve blocks (lap size).

Autumn Oranges

Day 26: While listening to the crew chatting as they installed my new ductless mini-pump, I was able to stitch fully half of one Dresden Plate motif in the quilt I have now dubbed "Autumn Oranges," proceeding faster than I'd expected. First, I quilt just inside the yellow center, then again around it on the outside at the same distance from the seam. Next, I work on the blades, up one side, around the point, down the other side until I meet the outer circle. Then I take the thread across to the next blade and repeat. Working it in this manner means I can stitch a continuous line, only knotting when my thread runs out. Later, I will stitch around the outside of the plate, and then will put a design in the open area of the brown base fabric. I know I won't be able to complete the quilt before Christmas, but this one does have an appoointed destiny, and I have to finish it before I can start quilting "Ring Cycles." Good motivation, having one in reserve.

Celebrating Ring Cycles

Day 25: I slowed down quite a bit right here at the end, partly because I was working on a couple of new projects, but more to the point, I didn't want this thoroughly enjoyable project to be over. "Ring Cycles" is my first venture into English paper piecing (EPP), and is entirely hand-sewn. I started it on August 16. I was immediately surprised at how quickly it came together, although the large rings didn't truly reveal themselves until I had it a third of the way assembled. I'd studied several methods for assembly on line, and all seemed to have drawbacks, so I invented my own. Starting by making six 9-patches, I then added a triangle to the left side of each. One by one, I installed them around one of the hexagonal centers to form what I referred to as a "unit." Before I could add a second unit, it was necessary to sew on two "cat's-ears" (triangles) to make a nest for the new unit to fit into. Likewise, some partial units were created and sewn in as fillers to make the edges less curvy. The goal was to never have to fit a triangle into a deep V, and my order of assembly prevented that entirely. I honestly don't think I could improve on the method. It went very smoothly, and allowed me to make pinpoint "meets" (the places where corners join). Now "Ring Cycles" moves into the queue to be backed and batted, and in the meantime, "Autumn Oranges" will occupy the Q-Snap frame, and hopefully, I'll be able to keep Merry from using it as a trampoline.

Four Units Remaining

Day 5: For this purpose, a "unit" refers to a central white hexagon surrounded by six 9-patches and six fill-in triangles. I have four units to go (up the left side), and the Ring Cycles quilt top will be done! Of course, that leaves the backing, batting and quilting to do, but that's a whole 'nother story. There have been a few rare days when fulfilling my quota of stitching has felt like pulling teeth. On others, I've gotten ahead of schedule because I was enjoying the process. Persistence pays in the end, and as my grandmother used to remind me, her lessons were not so much in the needlearts as they were in patience. I have not yet decided whether I will put Ring Cycles or the orange Dresden Plate on the quilting frame first. In either case, the long work is yet to come.

Merry's Square

Day 341: Today, I will be installing Merry's square in the quilt, his "signature" (if you will) for all the help he's giving me in constructing it. Tippy and Skunk each appeared in several cat-themed quilts over the years, or at least in representations which looked somewhat like them. The Russian Blue on this print looks very much more like Merry, right down to the thoughtful "You're making this one for me, aren't you?" expression. Of course, finding this square will be one of the "Quilt Game" challenges when it's completed. It's one of a kind, like the black-and-white wedge in my great-grandmother's "Double Wedding Ring" which I could never mate up with another piece. There will be lots of "Quilt Game" puzzles in this one, like "Are any two 9-patch blocks identical?" and "How many times was this print used in the center of a 9-patch?" Some of the puzzles have been deliberately composed; others are random, and up to the imagination. My quilts aren't just for keeping you warm! They're meant to provide intellectual stimulation as well.

Halfway Point

Day 340: On 6 September, I posted that I was four weeks into this project and was almost a third done. I can't count worth beans. Turns out it was three weeks in. Now it has been four and a half weeks, and I just finished adding the piece which brought me up to the halfway point. Halfway done! And entirely hand-stitched! The coloured squares each measure one inch on a side. What utterly boggles my mind is that this quilt is coming together faster than if I had machine-sewn it, and I don't think quite the entire rate of progress can be due to the fact that I hate sewing on the machine. When I think about the time involved in pinning, sewing and pressing each step in the assembly process, I can see why hand-stitching actually goes faster. Here, there is no real need for pressing until the whole top is completed, due to the fact that the pieces are whip-stitched together on the back, essentially locking them into the "pressed" position. Hand-basting the fabrics around cardstock shapes is as fast as pinning, and has the advantage of ensuring accuracy, i.e., no having to do over any imperfect meets. Sewing is slower, of course, but more enjoyable and easier to lay aside. The pattern (Ring Cycles) is a variation on Jack's Chain, and is a definite winner in my book.

Where the Quilt Goes, There Go I

Day 336: I was getting tired of rolling a cat around while I tried to lay out the next set of 9-patches in the quilt, so I thought, "I could put it on the bread board on the kitchen table. I could at least see enough of it that I wouldn't get prints too close together." Well, you know what they say: "It seemed like a good idea at the time." I laid the bread board (a sheet of formica) on the table, draped the quilt over it, went in the living room to get the bowlful of little clips I use for marking where the next triangles go, and this was what I found upon returning thirty seconds later. I think there's no way I'm winning this debate. And yes, he's going to get to keep this quilt.

Three Weeks In

Day 329: I'm three weeks into my first English paper piecing quilt, and I'm almost a third done with the top. Operative words in that sentence: "the top." This is not like the hexagon quilts I've zipped through recently. When I'm done with this top, it will have to be backed, batted, bound and hand-quilted, a process which will have it on the quilting frame for at least a couple more months. I've discovered that while I like putting together the 9-patches, sewing them to the center hexagons is less enjoyable. However, sewing the completed blocks into the quilt is very satisfying. The good thing is that this quilt can be assembled one block at a time ("block" being the center hexagon and the six 9-patches and triangles surrounding it) with the addition of a few "filler" triangles to round out the curves where the next block fits in. There are other ways to build the pattern, but this one works best for me. Using this order of assembly, I never have to stitch the apex of a triangle into the bottom of a V-shape. When sewing the longer seams, I tack each junction first to be sure the "meets" stay in place. It's an extra step some might not wish to take, but I find it increases accuracy and saves time in the long run.

Footnote: I originally titled this "Four Weeks In." I can't count. I started it on 16 August, so this would have been THREE weeks in.

Quilted Word-Play

Day 325: Some of you may have wondered how I incorporate word-play into my quilts. This is an example, and it shows up in almost every quilt I've made over the last decade in some form or another. It was almost accidental the first time I put together a block with this theme. My stash of cotton prints usually includes quite a few pussycats and a small selection of owls, and as I was selecting fabrics for the block, I paired one of each with a chuckle and said, "Ha! An owl and a pussycat! I wonder if I have any pea-green?" Then the challenge was finding something nautical to represent the boat and, if memory serves, that first block had to do without, but the idea was there. I still don't have any boats, but thanks to a friend in New Zealand, I had a tiny crab to represent the sea in this three-inch 9-patch. Of course, you need to be familiar with Edward Lear's nonsense poem to get the joke, but that's part of the magic of the Quilt Game. Different blocks will signify different things to other people.

Piecing

 

Day 320: While we're on the subject of quilting...yes, I have been talking about that a lot lately...I have five full motifs done and assembled out of 32 in Ring Cycles. The illusion of large rings is now beginning to emerge, the characteristic which makes this variation of Jack's Chain unique and different. The finished quilt will have nine staggered rows of five motifs against four, with some fill-in partial blocks to make the edges easier to bind. I have no real theme for the patchwork, although generally, each 9-patch contains two coordinating pairs and a loosely-allied center, e.g., a pair of greens, a pair of reds and a center which picks up one or both colours. "Generally" is the operative word. This is a scrappy quilt. I do not want it to look ordered or disciplined. There are a few singletons in the coloured squares. One not yet included is a realistic grey cat face. For those in the know, that will indicate that Merry helped with this quilt...his "signature," if you will. Like Madame Defarge with her knitting, I like to hide secret messages, stories and puns in my quilts, although these one-inch squares make that rather more difficult than with larger pieces.

Closet Archaeology

Day 319: I pride myself on not having the crafter's usual surfeit of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) other than those currently in progress. However, occasionally something will relocate itself to the back of the queue. There's usually a good reason. Perhaps I needed something which was out of stock or backordered, or maybe I couldn't find exactly the right colour, so I laid the project aside until I had all the necessities in hand. In the case of this quilt, I hadn't figured out how I wanted to finish it. Did I want to join the blocks with "streets and alleys?" If so, did I want to go with another orange, or try to match the yellow? Other quilts came and went...close to a dozen, if the truth be told...and twenty finished blocks of Dresden Plate moved from a quilting box to the trunk in the closet, "trunk-ated" until recently when I was looking for something else and came across them.

This quilt's history goes back a long ways. I started collecting orange fabrics for it over forty years ago. Orange has never been particularly popular with most people and therefore was hard to find other than at Hallowe'en. I wanted to steer clear of the spooky-themed prints (Hallowe'en is not my favourite holiday). Orange prints began surfacing in greater number during the 1990s, and a lot of these fabrics came from that period. Evenutally, I had enough to make my long-awaited orange/autumn quilt. I machine-pieced the "plates" and then appliqued them to brown squares, the usual method of construction for this design. And then...well, I went through some difficult times and the quilt was forgotten.

That said, I am now under a geas to put my UFOs to rest. That's not to say I won't be working on other projects simultaneously, but it's time to get some older ones out of the way. This morning, I sewed together four sets of five Dresden Plates before deciding I'd put in enough time at the sewing machine for one day. I'll zip the remaining seams together tomorrow and then I'll be faced with a new problem, i.e., where to find backing fabric without going to Cult Corner. One thing is certain: the quilting frame is going to get hard use this winter!

Short Stack

Day 317: Depending on who's serving and how big they are, a "short stack" of pancakes is generally two or three. In this case, my "short stack" is 13, the last row (minus one already sewn on) of my second completely hand-stitched hexagon quilt. Not counting small quilts, they were the quickest quilts I've ever made due, I am certain, to the fact that I prefer hand-stitching to working on the sewing machine. The first took a mere two months to the day. The current one has taken a bit longer (not quite three months), and I will have it done by tomorrow evening. Then I can devote myself entirely to Ring Cycles (seen here as the backdrop). It is also going more quickly than expected, at least as far as piecing is concerned. However, once I am done assembling all those little one-inch squares, the quilt will need to be backed and batted, and then mounted on the frame for hand-quilting over the winter months.

Ring Cycles - Two Motifs

Day 312: Ring Cycles (a variation of Jack's Chain) is going more quickly than expected, especially considering the fact that I'm working on other projects as well. Admittedly, my fingers are a little sore, and my bum is kinda chair-shaped! There were two challenges in figuring out how to "grow" this design. The first was how to piece the outer edges so that it followed a gentle curve. That was relatively easy, given that I'd drawn the design out with PaintShop Pro and had shapes to play with. The second was more challenging: how to join the large motifs without having to stitch the apex of a triangle into a deep ditch. That proved to be a matter of assembly order, putting on all the "filler" triangles until the edges created the shape where the next hexagon would fit in. Already, if I stand back and look at the pattern slaunchwise, I can see the arcs of the optical-illusion rings beginning to form. Two down, and only 30 to go!

9-Patch Addiction

Day 308: English paper piecing has earned a spot on the list of "Things I Wish I'd Learned Earlier." I'd always thought of it as being too fussy, too much work with all that basting, too wasteful, too much trouble having to pick all the little paper pieces out when a quilt was finished. As it turns out, the fussiness is automatic (i.e., corners match up perfectly because the fabric is wrapped over same-size pieces). The basting goes much more quickly than expected and doesn't have to be pulled out. There is virtually no waste because the papers can be reused until the edges become too worn. As for pulling them out, they can be removed as soon as all the sides of a given piece are stitched to another piece, and they come out easily, even those glue-basted to the larger pieces. These 9-patches are utterly addictive! After basting 5 prints and 4 whites, I select the print I want for the middle and stitch a white to either end of it. Then I make two more strips with prints on the ends and a white in the middle, and apply them to either side of the center strip. The paper in the middle print can then be removed because it is entirely surrounded. The pinpoint accuracy of EPP is what appeals to me the most. Any variation in the length of the sides of the shapes is minor, very minor, and can be eased when stitching the pieces together. My husband was a faceter, and was meticulous about "meets," i.e., the points made when the cut faces of a stone come together. "Meets" applies to quilting in the same way. EPP makes meets foolproof! If only I had known about EPP fifty years ago. I might never have made a quilt any other way.

My First EPP

Day 306: Well, here it is: my first adventure into English paper piecing (aka "EPP" in the quilting world). This was only a trial run, but I am so pleased with the results that I will probably appliqué this block to a background and stitch it up to be a pillow top or a mat. I have already begun working on a new block, the initial phase of a full-sized quilt using patterned fabrics for the 9-patch units. Just to put this in perspective, the hexagon quilts I've stitched recently have an average of 6-7 stitches per inch. With EPP, I'm averaging 13. Even so, the pieces go together fairly quickly. It took me three days to make this block. The proposed quilt required 33 blocks. The good news is that the various pieces can be cut in multiples, as opposed to the "fussy-cutting" of individual pieces I would normally do. I suspect there will be a few to fussy-cut...cat faces, a bug or two...but by and large, I am using calico prints. This oughtta keep me busy for a year or so!