Sunday's 15 minutes

Today's 15 minutes of cleaning was gathering together all my free-motion quilting templates and feet into a single container. My friend, Kim, bought a new sewing machine and we are going to learn and practice together, so I needed everything in one place so that I can easily bring it back and forth.

Then I pulled out an old project and assessed where I was at. I started Pat Sloan's Splendid Sampler Block Party and my last report was February 19, 2017 where I left off here:

I did make 8 new blocks in January, but forgot to take pictures of them. I'm still working on embroidering some of the blocks above.

I'm finishing these in quilt-as-you-go method, and started one block at a time. Because my sashing is 3 1" strips, finishing at 1.5", it has taken a bit of figuring out how best to attach them. When I made my first ones, I realized I can't really add the full sashing on all sides. Once I figured that out, I've started to sew the blocks together, by sewing machine on the front and hand-stitching the blocks together on the back. I did sew 3 pairs together before the project got put aside.

 Today I sewed two of those sets together by machine-stitching the sashing together. I had two pieces of the sashing on the right-hand side of the second block in the row above, and one piece on the left-hand side of the third block, and by holding the batting and backing back, I was able to sew the 1/4" seam. Next I'll trim the batting, fuse it together with a narrow strip of one-sided fusible, and then hand-sew the seam of the backing. I'll share that in another post this week.

I then decided I could probably sew two blocks together before quilting them. These are some of my new blocks. You can see here where I have attached the side sashings in pieces. I've also only added a single row of sashing top and bottom, as this row will be designed to fit as the second row. The backing has been added to this piece and I seamed it as individual blocks to be consistent with the first row. If this is successful, I might branch to 4-block units.

In between creating the sashing pieces and sewing the pieces together, I settled on a Leader & Ender project to do. More on that tomorrow!

Sunday's time in the room: 15 minutes cleaning, 2 hours sewing and playing with fabric.

Splendid Sampler - Update and linky-party

It's been one year since the Splendid Sampler quilt-along started and there is a linky party to celebrate. Sadly, I quickly fell off the bandwagon, mostly because I have too many projects on the go, and my room was a disorganized mess.  I've been working hard to correct both those situations!

I did manage to finish the following:

( I apologize for the poor quality of the photo - I need a new camera!)

• 6 blocks completed with sashing and quilted using the quilt-as-you-go method
• 2 blocks pieced
• 2 blocks prepped and ready for embroidery

Today, I plan on getting several more blocks cut and kitted, and maybe get the two pieced ones quilted.

Check out the other great quilts and marvelous finishes at the Splendid Sampler link-up!

Another one bites the dust!

One down, 4 more goals to complete!  I got my new hand-crank cleaned and oiled, and learned how to thread it properly.

Isn't she pretty? She's in excellent shape and such a beautiful smooth stitch. The case needs a good feed 'n wax, but is otherwise in good condition as well.  Better shape than the top of my treadle!

The serial number identifies her as a Singer 99, made after November 1940. I was kind of surprised she was that young, as there are no numbers on her tension dial, and there is only a knob for the length of the stitches - no guide.

The kids took turns turning the crank as I corrected the tension, then practiced sewing strips together.

My sewing room is still in disarray after getting a new table, but I was able to make enough room to finish one more block for the Splendid Sampler. 5 of 100 done now!

I'm using these blocks to improve my quilting skills.  Each block gets partially sashed, then quilted in the quilt-as-you-go method.  On Block 7 (Simple Simon) I cut the back too short so before I get too far, I joined it to Block 1 (Hearts Aflutter). It's taken a while, but I finally figured out how to do the sashing and still be able to quilt the blocks individually.

My latest start - The Splendid Sampler

Have you heard of The Splendid Sampler?  100 blocks designed by designers from all over the world, using a wide variety of techniques to expand your knowledge!

I actually sort-of got started, but with so much else on the go, this is simply a project for when I want to do something fun and distracting.

I completed Block 33 - Selvage Block - on June 16:

 

This is number 4 of 100.  So far, I have managed to make about 1 block a month. At this rate, I'll be finished in 8 1/3 years!

 

I am quilting as I go, and this block has now been sashed and quilted, but I forgot to take a picture!

 

The first block I did was #3 - Lots of Love.  This one is sashed and quilted.  This one is a corner block, so the sashing is complete on the top and left hand side (and the right for that matter - I screwed up and made a full sash instead of a partial.

 

 

(Pardon the lighting - it was nighttime in late February!)

 

The third block completed was #5 - Simple Simon, also sashed and quilted.  this one is also destined for the top row, but I have to figure out a method of adding my sashings so that I have room to work on them even after quilted. I think moving forward I am going to put two rows of the sashing on the top and left-sides, and one row on the bottom and right.  When they are sewn together, they will form a complete sashing (by the way, the sashing finishes at 1 1/2"..)

 

 

I have also completed Block # 6 - Focus Point, and quilted it with more than stitch-in-the ditch.  I don't have a picture handy, but will post it on my next update!

 

Stats: Splendid Sampler - started Feb. 28, 2016

4/100 blocks completed by June 16/16 (Blocks 3, 5, 6 and 33)

3 blocks cut and ready for sewing (#1, 2, and 8)

2 blocks hand-sewing in process (#7 and 36)

Fabric used: various '30s reproduction fabrics collected over last 7 years

Moda Bella off-white 9900-200 for background and sashing, estimate 2 metres will be needed)

Backing: garage sale find, approx. 3 yards (will have to mix in some solids or other prints)