Very Cute

So I managed to finish off all my blocks...

...and today started to put this together. Have to concentrate and go slowly as my piecing is never accurate, hence have to straighten and adjust while I go along.

Managed two rows today and am very pleased with how it is going. This is going to look ultra cute!

Already thinking ahead of the quilting and thought that I might leave it at a minimum level, i.e. outline the birds, echo the sashing and echo the foot shapes of the block (hmmm...not sure about that as they are all different colours!) and then just put curves in the middle sections of the Fancy Foot block. Alternatively I could do an allover design in a light yellow colour. Decisions, decisions...!

Linking up to Sew Fresh Quilts for Let'sBee Social

Karin

Fancy Foot Block

Made a start on my blocks for the Funky Bird Quilt recently but was too busy to post about it and then forgot all about it.

This is the Fancy Foot block. It can be found in Maggie Malone's book '5500 Quilt Block Designs' (#2164). It is a simple four patch design that looks particularly striking in these bold colours.

I used the Accuquilt GO cutter to cut out the shapes which made this a relatively easy affair, particularly for the elongated triangles which were cut with the 4in triangles in square die (the die that you use for the Storm at Sea design). While you can cut this yourself, a die like this makes this very easy and quick. The pieces align perfectly and come together quickly. Helps of course, if you think about direction beforehand...I had a whole stack of triangles the other way around and needed to re-cut them to get them the right way around!

Have everything cut out and just need to find some spare time to chain-piece my little heart out and put it all together. My HQ Sweet 16 has gone in for a service, so there is no excuse not to finish this  up in the meantime.

Karin

Progress on Funky Bird Quilt

Almost done all of the birds

Little bit left on the last three and then I can get to cutting out the fabric for the piecing...bit work intensive but it will be very cute. This is what I am planning

How cute is this!
The block is called Fancy Foot and I first came across it  on a site which show-cased antique quilting blocks. Unfortunately this website is now defunct, but I also found this block in Maggie Malone's 5500 Quilt Block Designs. I constructed this four patch before and thought that this was the perfect companion for the birds.











Apart from that I am still in cleaning and re-thinking mode to make my sewing set up a bit more user friendly. I have moved my cutting table over into the corner and created some space for a potential extension flap for the Sweet 16...will trial this for a moment to see whether this works for me with the table.

This re-thinking has been such a brain teaser...really want to make do with what I have and make it work somehow. Ideally, you could get a height adjustable table, looking a bit like this and create one seamless surface when you need it for the Sweet16 and put it up for when you working on cutting out a quilt. This would be great but those tables come with a fairly hefty price tag, so my extension flap for the Sweet 16 is the cheaper option. Some of the items on the table would then move over onto the extended bit and my table would be a bit more empty when working on it.

Anyway, back to those birds!

Karin

Re-Thinking The Sewing Room

I had a delay with my HQ Sweet 16 going for service...it will now go in the middle of this month. Not sure whether this prompted me to re-think my sewing room, but that is what's happening at the moment. I have not been entirely happy with my set up.
This is how the Sweet 16 is situated

See the gap between the cutting table and the Sweet 16 table...initially I had this at the same height, which was brilliant for the Sweet 16 but unworkable for the cutting table. Was doing my back in as the table was too low. I am thinking about getting the right extension flap for the Sweet 16. Probably should have done this when I first got the machine, but thought I could save some money. If I get the right extension the whole wall will be taken up with Sweet 16 and cutting table, in fact the cutting table would have to go right into the corner and .the right edge would be somewhat less accessible...

...as there is a shelf right next to it. All a bit messy and cramped but I need that shelf with all my stuff!
On the opposite wall is my Pfaff machine...I have a Horn sewing cabinet (Outback)
Fully assembled it looks like this

Image from Horn Sewing Furniture

The dimension is approx. 165cmx120cm. This has been absolutely great for many years, however now that I am using the Sweet 16 for all my FMQ my time on the Pfaff is limited to sewing my piecing together. Having it in the room limited my floor space and the extensions to the back served mainly as a rubbish dump for all sorts of bitses and pieces...again, all very messy.



So on the weekend we took the extension off, but left the flap to the back which neatly folds down

If I need it, then all I have to do is pull the cabinet to the middle of the room and lift the flap.

Created heaps more floor space this way which I seem to need when I am putting a quilt together

Not finished with my re-think of the room, but it's a start. Really need to create more order and functionality. If I get the right extension for the Sweet 16 then it will only have to move over by about 20cm as the cutting table is not exactly in the corner. Good thing is that the extensions can be folded down, so I do not necessarily have to have it up on the left all the time, allowing plenty of room for window cleaning (😂 as if that is going to happen!).

Will have to think further on this as these extension flaps are not exactly cheap.

Karin

Funky Bird Quilt

Made a start on the Funky Bird Quilt. This is also a project that I have listed in the second quarter of the 2019 Finish-A-Long.

I am not a great applique person, so finding this quite challenging...have done four of the nine birds so far. My admiration goes to those quilters who do those intricate applique designs. Seriously, I am finding these little birds quite labour intensive. The bird design 'Funky Bird' is from the applique section of the EQ8 program.

They are very cute...have another two alternate versions to go through. In order to not get confused I have a copy of the mirror image to trace from but then also have a copy of the original next to me. So far, so good...have not got mixed up as yet.

Also getting re-acquainted with my Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2 in terms of stitching around those birds. For the main body I chose my favourite stitch (no. 159 on this machine), one of the satin-like stitches of the machine.

That stitch is great for someone like me who does not do applique that often...as it is uneven it hides all sort of things as you go along. Also had to read up on the tapering again, as in one of the red birds the top feather was in the way for the stitch (which starts with a wide swing out). Set the taper for 45 degree at the beginning of the stitch which made it possible to miss the adjacent element altogether. Was pretty impressed with that and also started to use the taper on the corners, so I would not get a huge thread build up. For the wings and feathers I used a simple blanket stitch and the eyes and beak were done with a simple zig-zag.

This is going to be a very cute quilt. You will have to wait and see possibly a number of weeks to find out what else I have planned for this.

Karin

2019 Finish-A-Long: Second Finish for Second Quarter

My second finish for the 2019 Finish-A-Long: The Camden Bowl.

You can find my list of proposed finishes for the 2019 Finish-A-Long HERE.

Approx. 8 1/2in by 6in high

How cute is this! I constructed the bowl from leftovers from a jelly roll of French General fabric (and still got bitses and pieces left over!). The pattern for this bowl comes from Aunties Two, however I just loosely followed a YouTube video from Mom and Pop's Quilt Shop. Working on this, I realised that the bottom is done somewhat different in the original pattern...they insert some stiffening into the bottom which would have been better. While looking around, found some more helpful videos (see HERE and HERE) that explained the bottom and how to sew all this together. So this bowl has some flaws but still looks pretty great. Very enjoyable little weekend project.

Please visit Leanne's blog She Can Quilt for more information on the Finish-A-Long. You will find  detail on how this link up works and also find the list of bloggers who are hosting this great event. The Link up for the Second Quarter Quarter Finishes is on July1st.

What will I use this for?

Great  bowl for keeping your knitting handy.

Karin

2019 Finish-A-Long: Camden Bowl

I have been talking about the Camden Bowl in previous posts and finally made a start. The idea came from leftovers that I had from the Moda French General fabric range. I have been holding on to this fabric for years. Out of the original jelly roll, I made a bag, a Dresden Plate table runner and still had some strips leftover!

First I made the bottom...for this I used a piece that I am obviously also saving for something...how ridiculous! Cut it up and used it. In order to make the centre nice and stiff I used this as a bit of a workout on the Sweet 16 with my circle rulers, then bound it and put it aside.

The sewing of the strips was good fun...

I used pre-cut batting strips (Mathilda's Rainbow batting 2"). This made the strips very solid and I am actually thinking that this would make an excellent bathroom mat, if I could find something that would make the bottom non-slip. In terms of process, you take your 2 1/2in strip, put the batting on and then fold it in on itself towards the middle. You then sew along the edge and when you have two of them, you sew them together with a zig-zag stitch, then add the next two and so forth. For Pfaff owners....this is where the Start/Stop button becomes very handy...

Just make sure that you set your speed to 'slow', otherwise the machine will take off like a rocket and give you a hell of a fright. At the slow speed this leaves your hands free to ensure that you zig-zag along the middle in a straight manner which is important in terms of not bowing your piece out of shape.

This is how far I got

Bottom done, panel done and binding prepared! I used 10 strips  rather than the 8 strips that the lady in the video had used. Felt that the whole thing should be a bit higher. As you can see the panel will overlap, once attached to the bottom and then will be adorned with some decorative buttons, ribbons or similar. 

The original pattern is from Aunties Two however I am just loosely following a YouTube video from Mom and Pop Quilt Shop. I did  get my daughter to get me the bag pattern (called Bali bag) from Aunties Two for Mother's Day though as there is no way I could just 'wing it' and construct a bag. Will have to closely follow the pattern. Looks like good fun though.

Linking up to Oh Scrap! 

Karin