Pictures so far: Maze quilt

I was able to carve out a couple of hours to work on the maze quilt this weekend. I didn’t actually keep track, but I think it was between 4 and 5 hours.

Here are some of the strips sewn into sets of two.  I had some extra lengths that I left as is, and some small pieces that will do a single block where needed.

Next I sewed some of the two-sets together, to make four-sets. These will be a shortcut for the places I need four colored blocks in a row.

Then I cut the four-sets in half, so that each row of four is now the correct width.

The white fabrics I will leave as strips in the places I can sew a longer piece in, or cut as needed. As I sewed, sometimes I needed the equivalent of one block, two pieces, three, or four. Fewer seams that way.

Here is the top row completed. All the blocks are sewn together. You can see I have neon green sticky notes telling me this is row 1, blocks A-F. I have 9 rows total to do.

Here is the total progress as of Sunday evening! I’m so pleased with it. I was afraid the walls, with darks, brights, and lights in prints and solids, wouldn’t look so much like walls. I think it looks great, and I’m looking forward to making more rows, as I can.

Coming up, though, more of all my other projects going on right now.

• Circle quilts for my friend’s daughters – she’s getting more of the embroidery patches done for me.
• Plus sign quilt for my next grandchild – a girl who is coming anytime from early to mid-March. The top is complete, but I have to quilt and bind it.
• Doll clothes – I’m starting to get an inventory, but a few more outfits and samples are needed before I can open the Etsy store.

My full-time job sometimes gets in the way of my hobby! I’d much rather be sewing.

More design on the maze

I decided that sewing together my maze quilt will be done in 16-patch. Of course, with the odd numbers, the far right column will have patches that are 5 squares across by 4 squares high. The bottom row of patches will be 4 squares across by 5 squares high. The exception will be the bottom right square, which will be a 25-patch. I copied the maze design into Excel using the fill function. Then I spread the columns apart, then the rows. I had to fill with yellow in order to clearly see the separate patches. Click below to see the result.

quilt grid

Now I see how many rows of 4 color patches I’ll need, and I’ll be able to gauge whether I have plenty of the little blocks sewn together.  I’ll be working on it more this weekend, and hope to have a photo update by Sunday evening.

Progress on the maze quilt

I love a new project, I’m so excited to get going on it that it seems I have twice the energy and endurance of normal sewing sessions. I had to get started on the maze quilt.

I decided the first maze I showed would be the one I would make. I counted the blocks and found it to be 25 wide and 37 long. Odd numbers! I’ll put the characters in the border, so I’ll think about them later. I have a large version of the maze printed and posted in my sewing room to refer to.

I dug out all the bright and dark scraps I had, plus a few on the lighter side. I didn’t want anything too light, as the path will be white and I don’t want part of the wall to look like path. I discarded some of the fabrics as too heavy, or not appropriate for a baby or child. The squares will be 1 1/2″ square finished, so I started by cutting 2″ strips.

2" strips

At my sewing machine, I stitched together two random colors/prints. I left the strips whatever length they were, and didn’t care if the ends matched. Next would be trimming them.

trimming strips

Over at the cutting mat, I decided to trim the strips into 4″ lengths where possible, and 2″ if needed. Nothing smaller would work. My goal is to have a very random and colorful arrangement of fabrics as the wall of the maze.

stacks

I’m ready for the next part of the piecing. I’ll probably toss all the pieces in a small box and mix them gently so I’ll grab out two and have all different fabrics showing. Then I’ll stitch them together. (I started to describe the next step, but I think I’d better show it when I get there.)

If you plan to also make a maze quilt, I’d love to see it and hear about your ideas!

More thoughts on making a maze

I am delving deeper into designing a baby quilt with a maze. I found the website Here and Above with a handy rectangular maze generator. I input different numbers until I came up with a maze that I thought I could duplicate in fabric.

I wanted the walls and paths to be equal widths, so I can use a postage stamp-like piecing method. In fact, the more I thought about it, I’ll even use strips of white for the paths, so there isn’t quite as much cutting and sewing to do. I’ll make the walls from brightly colored scraps from my stash, which I’m still trying to whittle down.

Here are some mazes generated:

left entrance, right exit

I think I like this one best. Each time I hit the “back” button I could generate a different random maze, so I did several more.

top entrance, left exit

left entrance and exit

I think that one will not feel balanced. I like the chevron effect in the lower left portion, though.

top entrance, exit

All I could think was, why go through the maze when the goal is next to you? Again, I see a bit of design in it, this time a Grecian key effect.

I’ll have a wide border of a single fabric around the maze, and at the entrance point will be the “thing” and the exit point will have the “goal”. What should they be? Frog and a lily pad? Princess and a castle? Race car and checkered flag? Puppy and a ball? I’m thinking baby quilt, so I’ll take any suggestions you may have. I may like yours better than any of mine!

 

A maze quilt

It’s not often I think of my own designs for a quilt. I do tried-and-true traditional designs, or I find a photo of a quilt someone has done, figure out the dimensions for myself, and recreate it the way I want to.

I was wandering through Pinterest posts today and the thought hit me – I want to do a child’s quilt that ends up looking like a maze. A real one that the child can trace with her finger and find the prize at the end.

I started my Google image search for the maze design I will use, and found a few possibilities. What I love about the internet is that I can usually find what I’m looking for. These will be good places to begin to design from.

Stay tuned! At some point I’ll be posting photos of the one I have completed!

(more posts about the maze quilt HERE and HERE)

Odd critters

I had to laugh out loud when I saw these.

Some clever someone had converted old sewing machines into tractors. Add a few bits like gears, wheels, shafts, paint a bright color, even add a decal.

We were at an old gas tractor show in Scottville, MI last July and came across these.

How Fun!

Update on Mug Rug

I decided to join the 4 small designs into one and sell in my Etsy store.

I think it came out great. I adjusted the proportions so they look a little more life-like. The finished design is 3.82 x 4.76, which is larger than my little embroidery machine will handle, but others will appreciate having the complete design in one file.

So, click on over to my Etsy store and make a one-of-a-kind gift for someone special. Quilt it any way you want, backing fabric that fits the personality of the recipient.

Also, for a limited time, anything in my Etsy store is 25% off with cash transfer from PayPal. Use the coupon code IUSECASH to take advantage. This even applies to special requests where possible.

Mug rugs

At work, there are two hardworking secretaries, and I thought I would make some mug rugs for them as a token of appreciation. I started designing in my head beforehand, as I always do. I wanted to notice what they drink and how they might use the rugs.

They both get a large insulated glass of tea in the morning. One of the two also drinks hot coffee, and an occasional treat in the afternoons is a fast-food iced coffee drink brought in by her husband. That started the thoughts whirling.

I looked through some clipart to digitize as embroidery designs. I found four that I liked, and I happened to notice that two were coffee, two were tea, but they also represented hot and cold. I came up with the following design.

My embroidery machine is a small one, so I did the design as four small designs. It required a little shifting of the fabric, but I think I did well.

Barn Quilt – first block done

Thanks to a reader’s comment, I found some motivation to work on the barn quilt.

first block done

I took plenty of pictures to show you how I go about interpreting a photo or painting into a quilt block. Some of it is pieced, and some of it is appliqued. I’ve been enjoying the process of collecting fabrics, 1/4 to 1/2 yard at a time, so I have plenty of textures, shades, and colors to choose from. I keep them in a zippered plastic bag that some bedding came in. I find them very handy for keeping a project together.

I found a photo of a painting of a barn online, and printed it. I’m sorry I don’t have the reference for anyone, but if you recognize it I will surely correct that omission.

As I mentioned in a post last winter, I taped the printed page to a window, right side to glass, and drew basic outlines on the back side with a sharpie. I do this because I am not trained in art, and cannot see the shapes unless I do.

I laid out my fabrics and chose the ones I would use for this block.

Then I looked at the photo and realized I had approximately 1/3 sky, 1/3 other, and 1/3 grass foreground. I used a plain muslin for the center part, which will be covered by barn and trees. I used strips as wide as my block would end up to be, and sewed 1/4 inch seams.

Then I chose the tree fabrics and cut rough outlines. I knew that part would be covered by the barn. I goofed a little bit, but it’s easy to change or adjust. I used a bit of the darkest green to make a treetop peeking out over the closer (lighter) trees at the left.

I sewed the edges of the tree pieces with a narrow, short zigzag stitch, not quite as small as a satin stitch. Just enough to keep the edges from fraying, but not so that I  spend hours sewing small pieces. I didn’t use interfacing on the back, but you may want to. If your zigzag stitch is small enough, it’ll pucker the fabric and interfacing will help stop that. You can also use a double fusible web to fuse your pieces together before you sew. I pinned in place, held my breath, bit my lip, and did just fine.

I edged the barn pieces (and part of the roof) in white to mimic the white painted edges shown in the picture.

I added barn door and windows with white thread. I could do more with the trees, but I’m going more for representational on the other parts, and sticking to details on the barns.

One down, umpty-eleven to go.

Tutorial: Cell Phone soft case

I love making these. I’ve made two for myself, one for my mom, and put several in my Etsy store. Lined with soft flannel, they will keep the screen free from scratches and the interfacing makes the whole thing hold its shape.

Now it’s your turn to make your own. Put your personality into it! There are so many novelty fabrics that in a very short time you will find several you can’t live without. My solution? Make them all! Also a great way to use an orphan quilt block from a previous project.

Start by measuring your device. Smartphone, slider, clamshell, iPod, iPad, anything. Measure the longer side, shorter side, and depth.  For instance, my ancient iPhone is approximately 4.5 x 2.5 x .5.  Approximate is close enough.Add shorter side twice plus the depth. For mine, that would be 2. 5 + 2.5 + .5, or 5.5.  There will be bulk from the seam on the inside, so add a little, plus the fold takes up some bulk, and the seam at the top edge.

I’ve been using a 6 inch square, which works just fine, and you can see that the length will fit inside, as long as I take scant 1/4″ seams. You will cut a square of outer fabric, one of fusible interfacing, and one of flannel.

Note: if you have fabric with a one-way design, cut it 1/2″ longer than you need, cut the length in half, lay right sides together and stitch a  1/4″ seam. This will be the bottom of the cell phone case and the bottom of the one-way design should be at this seam. Now your design will be right side up on both sides of your cell phone case.

In this photo, I have highlighted the seam and the direction of the print in green.

Lay the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the outer fabric and press with your iron. Layer the wrong side of your flannel (if there is one) to the wrong side of the fused outer fabric and interfacing.

 

Use a strip of coordinating fabric or binding and bind opposite edges of the fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

Fold so that the flannel is to the outside and the outer fabric to the inside. Stitch with a narrow seam at the sides.

 

Turn.

It’s that easy!

 

Alternate method: no binding.

For this one I used two smaller pieces of flannel so there is a pieced seam.

 

 

Lay fabrics with right sides together and stitch at opposite ends.

 

 

Turn and press.

 

 

 

 

If desired, topstitch at the seams.

 

 

Turn outer fabric to the inside and stitch the side seams.

 

 

 

Turn right side out and press.