rainbow chevron - finished!

Well, I've finished my rainbow chevron quilt. My sister-in-law Emily was here a few weeks ago and brought it back with her to quilt. I asked her for Denyse Shmidt loops (is there another name for this?) because that's my favorite and I can't do it at home (or I'm horrible at it at home.)

 I love everything about this quilt! It's one of my faves for sure. I originally got the idea for the back from Crazy Mom Quilts (this quilt). I didn't quite leave as much white as I wanted on the left side or the bottom, but it turned out great anyway.

Here's another good close up of the quilting. If you're looking for a good quilter Emily is very meticulous and is great at this pattern. (I think this is the 3rd quilt she's done for me with this pattern.) Go check her out at Emerson Quilting.

For the binding I used Alexander Henry Heath in gunmetal. I really love that Heath print - I wish it came in every color!

And there you have it - I do finish things sometimes :)

And don't forget that I've got a tutorial for this quilt here. Thanks for stopping by!

WIP: Bee Tweet quilt

Last year I joined my very first quilting bee - Bee Tweet. It was a great experience! I loved making new blocks each month, some I'd never tried before. I loved making new friends and getting fun packages in the mail. When it was my month, somehow I never blogged about it.

This was the fabric I sent out.

The blocks I picked were based on Nettie's quilt that I had pinned.  These are my test blocks, below.

As of the beginning of March - here are the blocks I had gotten back. I'm loving it! Today I am only waiting for 1 more block, but I still have a lot of blocks to make. I think I'll make this twin size - my usually go-to size (that way, if any bed is missing a quilt, there's one all ready for it).

I should finish something

Before I start this post that could just keep going on forever, I want to let you all know that I really appreciate all the love from my last 2 posts. I know blogging isn't supposed to be about the comments, and I know they were giveaway comments, but I LOVE COMMENTS! So thanks for that. Also - I have contacted the winner and will be sending her the ruler. Too bad I didn't have 100+ so I could send you all one.

Now - I have a problem. The problem is that I LOVE to start projects but I don't really love to finish them. Something always comes up that has to be done, sometimes I just don't know what to do, or something else just pops up that is more appealing.

Last week I started the snake trail quilt. And while several of the other bloggers in the EZ Dresden Challenge actually finished their quilts, mine sits there with only 8 blocks. (The first 4 I messed up, but I'll still include them in my final quilt.)

I also finished my 48 blocks for my granny square quilt (pictures to follow as soon as they're uploaded.) But I didn't quite feel like sewing them together (maybe because I know basting comes next. I hate basting.)

I did okay on the teacher quilts because there was a deadline.

But what is my problem? And what am I going to do about it? If any of you have any suggestions - I'm all ears.

For now, I think I'll start posting my WIPs (works in progress) here. Maybe it will help me to be more accountable? We'll see.

First up - which is something I have been working on for at least 2 years (and will probably be working on for longer than that) is my hexagon quilt. It is English Paper Pieced and it's kind of my work-in-the-car-on-long-car-trips-project. I have no timeline to finish it, and I tend to like big quilts. So it will be a while. And I'm okay with that. I have a few other hand projects on the list, but haven't started any and don't plan to until this one is done.

When this photo was taken, a few months ago, there were 88 flowers on the quilt. Now there are 110. So it's a bit bigger. The size of the sides of the hexagons are 3/4 inch. So they are rather smallish. Not the smallest size you can get, but not very large for sure.

The next WIP I'm going to admit to is one I started sometime in 2009. It is a Hello Betty double hourglass quilt. The top is completely done at this point and you can see a little bit about it here.

I got stuck on what to do on the back. I've got 4 FQs of the line still left. I'd be okay with a nice solid turquoise or dark orange, but I can't seem to find one (I've only looked at JoAnn.) I thought something pieced might be nice, and I kind of wanted flannel. If I would just decide on something and buy it, I could probably get my sister in law to quilt it for me. I just need to do it!

Are you like me - do you have quilter's ADD? Or are you really organized and focused and finish one project before you start another one.

I will be back with more WIPs. And I'm not even organized enough to get them linked up to Lee's WIP Wednesday. But I've got a long list I plan to post. Unless something else comes up.

EZ Dresden Ruler post 2 - the Snake Trail Tutorial

I love this quilt. I cut this picture out of a Garnet Hill catalog years ago and stuck it in a file so I could recreate it someday. I wasn't sure of the name of it and asked around. Elisa found out some great info on it - thanks Elisa!

Here is what she found:

There is an awesome post about variations of this type of block here. It has tons of pictures which could inspire you to come up with your own great project!

If you have EQ6 or EQ7 - you can download the Playing with Snakes project. This post will show you what it's all about.

This page from a book by Pepper Cory shows how you can change up the Snake Trail (also called a Drunkard's Trail because it is related to a Drunkard's Path).

And this post shows you how to draw your own block!


And now for my own tutorial on the Snake Trail

1. Cut a 3 inch wide strip of fabric.

2. Align your EZ Dresden Ruler so that the 1" line and the 4" line are on each edge of your strip. Cut along both  angled sides.

You will end up with a block like this

3. Flip your ruler over and line it up again with the 4" line and the 1" line on each strip edge. Line up the left edge of the ruler with the left edge of the fabric. Continue cutting along the length of the strip.

You will end up with blocks like these.

4. Once you get your blocks cut - arrange them so that you have 5 in a row. Sew them together and press.

Here is what you will have when you're done sewing. You will need 2 arcs like this for each 8.5 inch (unfinished) block.

 

5. Print a template and cut it out. (Download the template HERE). Make sure when you print it, you print it at actual size, 100%, or whatever it is that keeps the sizing correct for your printer. When you cut out the pieces, they should go all the way to the edge of an 8.5 inch wide paper. 

You will have 3 pieces (2 corners and a middle). Cut 1 of each for each 8.5" (unfinished) block. I doubled up my fabric to get 2 of each piece.

Here is what you will have.

6. Lay out your pieces like this. This is how they will be pieced. There is no need to trim your arcs into perfect curves. You can piece them as they are.

7. When piecing curves, you need to pin. I am usually not a pinner, but for curves it is a must. Start by finding the middle of each piece and pinning them right sides together.

8. Next pin the edges.

8. Next pin everything in between. You cannot have too many pins when pinning a curve.

9. Now you can sew them together. I would suggest sewing with your background piece on top since it is a more accurate curve.

10. Once you've sewn all the curves together (4 for each block), you'll have a block that looks like this. As you can see, it's a little wonky. Sewing curves will do that sometimes. I used starch and steam to try to stretch it into place, and then I trimmed it up to 8.5 inches.

And that is how you make a Snake Trail block! 

There are a few different ways to put them together ...

But I'm going to stick with my original plan. Maybe by the end of the summer I'll have an entire quilt!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you liked my tutorial. If you'd like to win your very own EZ Dresden Ruler please leave a comment on this post OR my other post telling me something fun you're planning to do this summer. I will pick a winner on Saturday, June 9th. 

I hope you've had a chance to check out the other posts and don't forget to check out the upcoming ones as well. All details on the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild website. Thanks so much for stopping by and have fun sewing!

EZ Dresden Ruler post 1 - Diameter Chart

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog! I hope you're excited about this Dresden ruler challenge. I've thought of so many ideas since I got the ruler and can't wait to make something great with it!

I decided to do a post about diameter since I couldn't find one out there. I wondered how long I should cut my Dresden blocks and how big that would make my Dresden plate. I looked around and didn't find anything, so I decided to make a chart for easy reference.

If you are trying to figure out how big you want your final Dresden plate and how long you need to cut each piece, this table is for you.

I've included the diameter for a Dresden plate with points, and one for and unfinished Dresden plate. I've added some photos to help explain this chart.

Here is the block. It could be anywhere from 1 inch to 8 inches in height.

Here is the pointed Dresden plate. The diameter that I've included on my chart is only with perfect 1/4 inch seam allowances. When I made this one it measured 10 inches instead of 10.25. Because there are so many seams, if you are off, even a little, it will change your diameter in the end.

And here is the unfinished Dresden plate. Outer diameter and inner diameter end up being the same measurement on my table. You will have to adjust the diameter for finished edges.

Another thing you might want to know is that you'll need 20 blocks to make a full circle with the EZ Dresden ruler. 

I hope that clears things up. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them if you leave me a comment or send me an email.

If you'd like to win your very own EZ Dresden ruler - please leave a comment on this post OR my other Dresden post. Please tell me something fun you're planning to do this summer. I will pick a winner on Saturday, June 9th.

I hope you've had a chance to check out the other posts and don't forget to check out the upcoming ones as well. All details on the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild website. Thanks so much for stopping by and have fun sewing!