Finish – the Plus Sign Quilt

I’ve been unable to find much time for quilting or patchwork in the past month. My husband and I took a 10-day trip to our future home in Michigan, and that required a couple of days of loading the trailer beforehand. We moved more furniture and belongings (even some fabric and sewing machines!) and had plenty of work to do.

Once we returned home, I knew I had to get the plus sign quilt finished. This is intended for the granddaughter due at the end of the month. I started, then started over a couple of times. I tried to stitch in the ditch, and finally I decided to do something I hadn’t seen before. I call it a stitch in the meandering ditch.

You can see the stitches in this dark patch. I could not accurately quilt a straight line and wanted to follow the color outlines. I think it worked out well.

This photo shows a floral fabric that I used for the baby’s mother’s custom pillow to use in her toe-ring business. Something for the customer’s foot to rest on while trying on rings. I love putting significant fabrics into quilts.

Now I’m on the final 7 weeks of school. I hope to find time to work on the maze quilt, though I still have the second denim circle quilt to finish. Lots on my plate!

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!

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)

Confession time

One of the toughest parts of quilting for me has been the exact 1/4″ seam. I’ve tried different ways.

First there was the tape on the throat plate. Sticky mess if I had to move it, and it wasn’t something I could see at all times.

Then I got my new machine, Singer Professional 2010, and it has a 1/4″ foot. The only trouble is, when the fabric lines up to the outside edge, it’s more than 1/4″. If the fabric lines up to the inside edge of the “toe”, it’s more like 1/8″.

I found this one among my presser feet. I hadn’t had the motivation to learn about the presser feet I was unfamiliar with, but I realized the adjustable edge would make it perfect.

I put it on the machine, held a ruler to the needle and adjusted the edge marker to the right until the gap measured exactly 1/4″.

I have been using it on this, the latest baby quilt I am making for a grandchild, and it’s working absolutely wonderfully! This is the first time, as I’m sewing rows of blocks together, that the seams always line up just right.

This is a trial layout of the fabrics for the quilt. I don’t know what it’s called, as I have been calling it the “plus sign” quilt. I love it because I can use up scraps. There are only 3 sizes of fabric pieces: 2″x2″, 2″x3.5″, and 2″x5″. I had to lay out the pieces or I would hopelessly mess up the sewing order. This is for the youngest expected grandbaby, a girl due in March.

Side note, the friend I am making the circle quilt for has informed me that we won’t be trying to get them all done for Christmas, so I’ve been working on some other projects as well. I have the first circle quilt complete except for the 3 embroidered  blocks my friend has yet to stitch for me. We have a tentative completion date on them for next spring.

Tutorial: Fabric covered photo album

Last summer I had picked up a photo album at a thrift store. I used the hard cover to make over into a book purse.

Seaside Date Evening Bag

Now I find I have a need for a small photo album, so I remembered that I had kept the photo sleeves and decided to make a new hardcover for the album. It was very quick (about an hour) and pretty easy. In fact, no sewing needed!

Find a piece of cardboard larger than you need. In my case, 8.5×11 was plenty big enough. I wanted some overhang on 3 sides to protect the edges of the photos.

Trim the cardboard to the size you need. Center the photo sleeves and mark the two fold lines to form the spine.

Use something with your straight edge to score the two fold lines. I used a regular screwdriver. The scored lines will be on the outside of the folds.

Choose your fabric. Cut fusible interfacing the same size as your cardboard. Center it on your fabric and press, leaving a margin for turning under.

Use a craft or tacky glue, and first glue the spine, or narrow center portion of the cardboard to the back side of the fabric. Then, in turn, fold one cover and glue to fabric, then the other. It is important to fold as you glue, so that the book will tend to stay closed rather than try to flop open.

Squiggle some glue around the edges, eyeballing the distance that your fabric will turn under. First, fold the corners at an angle, as shown. Dab the corner fabric with more glue, and turn the rest of the fabric.

Choose your inner cover fabric. Measure just larger than the cardboard cover. Fuse with interfacing on the reverse side, interfacing being a little less than the size of the cardboard. Turn under raw edges.

Center the inner fabric to the inside of the album cover. First, glue the center (spine) portion, then fold and glue each end. Glue the spine of the photo sleeves and press to the spine of your cover. Finished!

Tutorial: eyeglass case

I needed a new eyeglass case, and I thought I would write the tutorial as I’m making it. It’s pretty simple and very fast to make!

First, I needed a scrap of cotton fabric for the outside, some fusible interfacing, and soft flannel for the lining.

Shown above is the old eyeglass case I had been using. It fit some previous smaller glasses I carried, but I needed something a little larger. I cut all three pieces of fabric 6 inches long and 5 5/8 inches wide. Fuse the interfacing to the back side of the outer fabric. I had to piece the fabric I chose because it was very long and not very wide.

Place the wrong sides of the flannel and the outer fabric together and pin.

Choose something large and round, about the size of a dinner plate, to make a curved corner. You are looking at the inside of the case, and the curved edge will be the upper left. Trim where you mark.

Use a short, narrow zigzag to finish the edges. On my machine, the settings were 3.0 wide and 1.0 long. Stitch only the curve first.

Fold in half, left over right, so that the edges meet. Starting at either the top or bottom edge, stitch around 3 sides. You are finished!

If you find this is too large for your glasses, it’s easy to cut at the right edge and stitch again.

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.

Need an iPhone case?

I’ve had a bit of fun working up some adorable and fast iPhone cases. I carry my phone in one, recently gave one to my mom after she bought an iPhone, and decided to make some from stash to sell in my Etsy store.