Another one prepped

     When making comfort quilts, I always try to have some that are more male oriented in fabric and color. When I find a reasonably priced jelly roll in this vein, I will purchase it for the big variety it gives. This is another kit I made for my mother. The pattern is a freebie, Meet in the Middle. Originally, I cut all the strips 10" long and had her sew 5 of them, short ends together, and then sew a white piece, 2 1/2" x half WOF, to make a tube.
     I cut the tubes randomly and layed them out. Then I numbered them. I glued the strips with dots in pairs, down the long sides and hung them on a hanger. Next time I see my mom, she can sew the long pair seams and press them open. Then I will have to glue up the next seams until all the strips are joined. It may need a white strip at top and bottom to make it long enough for a comfort quilt.

All numbered. I glued the long edge of pairs, 16 pairs of them.

Postscript: My mom did not sew all the edges I glued, but sometimes on the opposite open side which means the numbers do not line up across. I thought by glueing the one long edge, like the one between 1 & 2, and 3 & 4, and 5 & 6, etc., there would only be one side obvious to sew. If I would have pinned all the right edges, it would have been a nightmare transporting and untangling them. My plan did not work, and so I have to rip long rows that are not sewn on the glued edges in order for the strips to be in numerical order. Sigh.

Strips with blacks quilted

    This quilt is made from an assortment of dark jelly roll strips from jellyroll.net and solid color ones given me by another quilter.  I asked my mom to sew the strip tubes, I cut them, arranged them, and then she sewed the strips together as I had taped numbers at the tops and pinned them for her. I quilted this today on the Nolting trying a different idea in every strip. I would rather do this than waste fabric and batting on practice sandwiches. Not yet bound. This will be a comfort quilt. For a few of the diagonals, I used my new ruler and template base. More learning curve. The ruler squirts around all over the place. Still pretty stinky quilting. 

Back

Back detail

Front detail

Front

Lots of sliding color strips!

     I have made a similar quilt (the rainbow one a few days back). I cut the batiks this time and the white was left intact as the strips were placed. I used 2 1/2" strips of batiks WOF and 2 1/2" strips of white, half of WOF. They were sewn into tubes- that is the batik to the white on both short ends. Then I laid them on the floor (getting too old for the floor), and arranged the colors. Satisfied with the color strip arrangement, I cut the colors to stagger the whites and have different lengths of batiks at the top and bottom.  When all were cut, I used blue painters tape and numbered each strip from left to right. I put the number 2 strip face down on the number one and pinned the right edge. Every pair was pinned the same way. Now all the strips are in an envelope and I will see if my mom will sew the long edges. She is having some eye surgery next week, so I may have to wait. I have plenty of other quilts to sew. I took the photos at night and the colors are a bit tough to see, but I needed to get those strips off the floor before Tugger the terrible cat rearranged them.

Fabric tubes

Cutting and laying out

All laid out, ready for numbers and pins

Quilted, not bound

     The jelly roll rainbow quilt was quilted with some rainbow thread that was given to me. The bobbin thread was lighter weight and so the back is a little funky, but ok. I made this as a comfort quilt for a little girl to be determined. I hope this is not construed as a co-opted symbol of a political stance, but as a cheerful, colorful, and aesthetic comfort quilt. Quilted on the Nolting.

Detail

Backing is one piece wide fabric from Ikea

HST sewn and other finishes

     I spent a lot of time sewing. I was able to finish the top of my HSTeria quilt along quilt. I will not put borders on it. Although a black one might look nice. Hmm. Now I have to figure out the backing. Backings are my least favorite part of quilting. I like all aspects except this.

2 charm packs and yardage cut squares

    In addition, I put borders on a floral Exploding Squares and an animal diagonal tube quilt made from jelly roll strips. Borders are fussy and time consuming, but they are the frame and make the presentation stronger.

Some finished progress

    I just love to create quilts. I have a lot of them going. People look at my accumulated starts a little amused. But I do finish quilts. I just get excited and start new ones. If I did not have the passion, I could not finish quilts. 
    The kids disappearing 9 patch is all quilted and bound. For the binding, I used leftover binding strips pieced together. I had been saving them in a basket and this quilt seemed like it could use scrappy binding. It was great to use these leftovers to create something new. The backing is flannel someone gave me for tuning her machine.

Final

Backing and binding, quilting visible

Quilting with Singer 301

    The animal skin jelly roll strips from Liz, along with white on white strips from her, are making two lap size comfort quilts. It is a pattern from Liz where one set of strips is cut in half the long way and alternated with full strips. Then they are sewn into a tube and cut into triangles that open into a square. The first one used borders from scrap backing strips someone gave me and leftover black and white strips from a black and white quilt I made (still not quilted). The second quilt has yet to be sewn together.

Only one border

Second Black and White scrappy border

Some quilt progress

     Finally, the Red, White and blue quilt, 60 x 60, from the Cozy Quilt Pattern is done. I used the walking foot to do the straight line quilting in the diamond shape. I have difficulty with it because it has a tendency to put some pleats in the background fabric. I never have trouble when I FMQ. Any suggestions? I did the borders in free form red stars.

    I layed out all the blocks for the diagonal variation using the animal skin jelly rolls and numbered all the rows and blocks. I have two of them to piece, but I only took a photo of one because the other was on the floor. 

   I also finished a half sheet watercolor painting of my hydrangeas in the snow.

It's kid stuff!

     My mom finished sewing strips I gave her from jellyrollfabric.net/  One set of the blocks is the pattern from there, diagonal variations. I cut the animal skins jelly roll in half the long way and paired it with a greys roll and a white on white roll. This will make two comfort quilts. After I cut the tube, they really need squaring up, so I have to trim all 58 blocks to 8". Then I will have two quilts, 5 blocks by 6 blocks. Then add borders. These could be for a child or a man, I think.

Blocks cut from a tube of strips

     The next quilt I forgot to photo while on the design wall. I labeled the block numbers and took it down before I remembered. These blocks are 12.5" each and are made from 5" squares. I only used kid fabric in four squares so I could stretch the kid fabric I have.

    The next quilt is from strips again. It is the 3 Dudes pattern. I only had enough strips to have them sewn in groups of 4. This makes for small blocks. I think I will sew the 4 as shown and put sashing in between so I can get a decent size lap quilt.

Four blocks cut from one set of squares

One of the squares, another one sewn with stripes in the opposite direction

Surprises and Finishes

    By mentioning surprises, I don't mean the weather- it's winter, it's Buffalo, I accept that. The first couple days of the new year brought some unexpected big delights. First, Quilting by the Lake, a program from the Schweinfurth Museum in Auburn, NY with extraordinary teachers, called me and offered me a 5 day scholarship for classes in July!! By July, I thought I could have scrapped up enough to take a 2 day class with Victoria Findlay Wolfe, but never 5 days there. What it would have cost for an entire 2 days, I can stay all 5! Just the lodging to come up with, and if I had a room mate, it could be even cheaper. So, there is still room for her classes or others, so maybe think about coming. I love scraps and colors and Victoria is a master with both. I never win anything and wow, here it is.
  Second, I have a good friend who is a fantastically talented jeweler. She is an art teacher and a Roycroft artisan jeweler. In the mail, I got a pair of silver angel earring with glass beads that are just terrific. I can't take a picture of myself with my camera and I have a stupid phone, so have to get someone else to photo them for me.
  In the cleaning department, I finished the Kenmore and it is ready to go home. I was going to deliver it at the quilt guild meeting tonight, but it got weather cancelled. It is pretty spiffy and sews up a storm.

In its zipper case, ready to be used. Power cords and pedal in made bag.

    On the vintage machine forums, it has been mentioned about using TR3 resin glaze to polish paint and Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish for metal. Wow, great stuff. I picked up some last week at Pep Boys and used it on an old 66 treadle both the paint and metal. I also shined up my new 15. I used cotton balls just like the forum people said. The old 66 was a real wreck. All the metal was rusted. I read about using cider vinegar to soak the metal. In a bucket, I piled all the metal pieces in with the cider vinegar, and in 24 hours, I could not believe it was all gone. Now with the Mother's, I can restore the shine.

Left side, 1/4 of it polished, rest with rust removed

Right edge with polish after rust removal

Top with TR3 and cotton balls

What the black surface looks like without polish

Great Products

     Comfort Quilt finish- orange jelly roll strips from http://www.jellyrollfabric.net/ and Liz has a great sale right now. I just bought some animal skin prints, plain white, and some gray/blacks. The pattern is the 3 Dudes quilt from Missouri Star Quilt company except I used 6 strips cut into blocks instead of 4. I auditioned colors to make the orange pop and be happy. I never decide my borders or binding fabric until the quilt is pieced because I can make better choices to highlight the center.

Auditioning for the border

Ready for basting and backing

     Another Comfort Quilt, the 4 patch B&W leader and ender, is all quilted and bound. The backing donated by Esta is a lot of fun.

Detail

Back

Detail

Finished Quilt

   Wow, that was a lot to get through, but I hate taking pictures off the camera, naming them, putting them in folders, so I tend to do it all at the same time. I did not photo my machine disasters lately, so I won't be sharing those!

Blocks, blocks!

     My mom can sew straight lines, though not a quilter, but garment sewer. For the comfort quilts, I have asked her to sew strips and squares. The exploding squares quilts have light center and dark center blocks. I cut, press, and sort them. I just got back a lot of them. I had to mark and cut them open, press. When pressed here, I probably have enough to make at least 2 quilts. Recognize any fabric donated, Vicki? 
 

Mixed light centers and dark center blocks

Light center blocks

Dark center blocks

I also used one jelly roll in orange brights from http://www.jellyrollfabric.net/ to make 3 Dudes quilt blocks (6 strips sewn together WOF, cut into 12 1/2" squares, one put on top going the opposite way from the bottom one, sew all 4 sides, cut diagonally twice). Here they are on the wall, have to organize them before sewing together.

  

    I used the left overs from the Exploding Squares Blocks to sew up some piano keys strips that I will use later in a border somewhere.

New Quilt and old machines

    Today, I speed made a comfort quilt for a 9 yr. old girl undergoing aggressive cancer treatment. I got an email from someone requesting this quilt for a girl in another city. I did not think I could do it. However, I remembered I had my mother sew strips together from a jelly roll I bought at Jelly roll fabric during a sale. I had her sew 4 strips together, light and dark alternating. She can handle straight sewing. I pulled them out and if I cut them into 8 1/2" blocks, it gave me 20. I arranged them in the split rail design and used the leftovers to make a strip of 2 1/2" squares for the top and bottom. I had some purple that I cut into 4" strips to border, and then a blue for the sides. It looks custom I hope. I quilted 4 heart shapes meeting in the center of each block with Glide. The borders I quilted with hearts in pink Isacord. I kind of made up designs for the scrap strips and side borders also in pink Isacord. A pink binding done with the glue method, sewed to the front, flipped and glued to the back, sewed from the front in the ditch with invisible thread, YLI, and Aurifil in the bobbin. I put pockets on the purchased tote bag and made a quilt card. I just need to get a book for her. I use When God and Cancer Meet by Lynn Eib for the adult bags, but have not found a good book for children. Any recommendations? I think I will try and find a kid Chicken Soup for the Soul quick.

   Besides getting the 201 up and running, two people brought me machines to revive. Ruthy brought me her grandma's White 639 which had a shredded belt and frayed wire to the controller. A guild member brought me an inherited Kenmore 158.1650 which also needs a belt and was frozen up. Soaking with Tri Flow has it moving. So, the order for parts is out to Sew-Classic and when it comes in, hopefully these two will be done and gone before the holidays.

Kenmore 158.1650 with yucky masking tape to get off, why do they do that?

White 639 soaking in the oil