Sister's Choice Quilts

Jelly Roll Jammin'

The Internet has been all a-buzz about jelly rolls in the past couple of weeks, so of course, I had to do something with them too. Primitive Gatherings has just come out with a really pretty new collection called "Redwork Gatherings," as well as a pattern, especially for jelly rolls.

This quilt is so easy. As a matter of fact, the name of the pattern is "Take It Easy." Honestly, I think you could make it in a weekend! The quilt is good-sized, 72" x 78". If you love red and white quilts, this could be a lovely addition to your collection.

I got my strips all starched and ironed, then cut into the strips required by the pattern. I can plug in a podcast or an audible book and stitch away.

Did you start any jelly roll projects as a result of the recent promos of them? I know I don't use them enough. It is a fun way to use up every bit of a couple of jelly rolls! You could even make it smaller and go with just one.

Saying goodbye to September. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Sewcialites Block 1

This is the first block in the new "Sewcialites" sew-along I couldn't resist joining. The block is called Harmony and was designed by Lissa Alexander. Fatquartershop.com is sponsoring the completely free sew-along, and a lot of well-known designers are participating with block designs.  The sew-along goes through next June.  Block sizes are 3", 6", and 9". I have opted to do the 9" because I want a bed-sized quilt. A new free block pattern will be released each week.

Do check out Jolly Jabber (FQS's blog), the Sewcialites Lounge FaceBook group, and Fat Quarter Shop's Behind the Seams YouTube channel for tips and tutorials. On Jolly Jabber, there are suggestions for fabric collections to use, and a suggested setting. Clever individuals on the FaceBook group have offered even more settings. The support for this sew-along is phenomenal. If you are a beginner or intermediate quilter, there are so many tutorials and helpful tips you can take advantage of.  And if you are an experienced sewer, consider giving those 3-inch blocks a try! 

The FaceBook group seems quite encouraging.  A surprisingly large number of folks all got their block units oriented incorrectly, and others were so gentle about pointing out the mistakes. "You might want to have another look at that bottom left-hand block unit..."

I had a rummage through my stash and came up with even more fabrics that tie in with the Evelyn's Homestead collection I am using.  The main fabrics I am using were designed by Betsy Chutchian for Moda.

Goodness, how I love a good long sew-along.

It's All About Contrast

See what I mean?  I made the block on the left as part of the Moda BlockHeads 3 Sew-Along.  Block #37 "Broken Dishes" by Laurie Simpson. My first effort did not have much contrast.  It's ok but look at the difference in the block on the right. Greater contrast in the color tones makes the block on the right much more interesting, I think.

This block pattern is worth printing out, even if you are not doing the Moda BlockHeads 3 Sew-Along.  The construction of it is totally unique. You might think it is four hourglass blocks with larger background corners attached, but you would be wrong.  The construction of this block is so different.  Go ahead, make one. It will blow your mind!

Much starching of fabric has been going on. Out on my side porch, rack after rack of fat quarters has been saturated with spray starch and hung out to dry. I got it all ironed yesterday, and I am ready to start a new project.

Aaahhh. Just look at those beautiful fabrics.  Evelyn's Homestead by Betsy Chutchian for Moda. Plum, green, black, pink, and navy. I will use these in a new sew along sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop, called Sewcialites. If you haven't heard about it, you must click on the link and read up on it. I think it is going to be so much fun.  Whether you like modern fabrics or more traditional ones, this may be a project that appeals to you. Kimberly Jolly of FQS will do videos every Friday on how to make the blocks, setting suggestions, and more.

I need another sew-along, or any new project whatsoever like I need a hole in the head, but what the heck.  Life is short; you might as well be sewing. And that's what I'll be doing this weekend.

Moda BlockHeads Catch-Up= Block 37

This beautiful block is Block #37, "Fixer Upper", of the Moda BlockHeads 3 Sew Along.  You can check the Moda website/blog for a complete archive of the blocks so far released in this sew-along.  There are some wonderful free patterns in four different block sizes, so you would be wise to at least download them for future reference if nothing else.

I do love the Square in a Square block, although it can be tricky to get right.  This pattern allows for just a smidge of trimming, which was mostly enough for my units to come out accurately.  It was fun to make, and the results are pretty striking.

I made one other block yesterday when I was trying to catch up on my BlockHeads progress.  This is block #36 "Broken Dishes". It was a truly unique block, due to its really unusual construction technique.  I didn't have my head completely wrapped around it, so my fabric choices were off.  I am going to re-do this block and show you all what I mean.  Here is what I accomplished yesterday.  It missed the mark due to a lack of contrast in the fabrics I selected, but I have a plan to rectify that with my second attempt.

Stay tuned.

 

 

Cupcake Papers Quilt

Oh my, I am in love with this!  These blocks are made with Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. Cupcake Mix Foundation Papers #1. What you see above is 16 blocks made with the papers and a charm pack of "Late Bloomers" by Sandy Gervais for Moda.

I have loved the experience of paper piecing, and working with this vintage fabric collection has been a blast.  Sure wish I had some extra for a border. I have played around with block placement and have not decided if I want a small square table topper as shown above, or a longer runner.

I dunno, what do you think? Square or rectangle?  I could use either shape for a table topper.

There are a lot of new projects in the works over here at Sister's Choice. A good amount of fabric starching has been going on, and you know what that means....

I currently have more projects than I can shake a stick at, so I should probably take on another sew-along, right?  Yes!

It's Sew Emma Log Cabin Foundation Paper

After prepping my honey bun over the weekend, I was all set to try out my new It's Sew Emma Log Cabin Foundation Paper.  I used the 6-inch size with my honey bun of Squirrelly Girl. The papers were straight forward enough, and I got up to speed by watching a YouTube video first.

Here is my completed stitched log cabin block.  

After stitching, you are directed to trim your block on the outer marked lines. I used my 6.5" Creative Grids ruler.  Gosh, I love those things.  I wish I had them in every size!

Ack.  Of course, I goofed with my first block.  In fact, I goofed with the first square I positioned in the block.  My pen is pointing to where the center brown square is supposed to be. Live and learn.  It's a process.

This is what it is supposed to look like. Well, that is one mistake I will only make once.

I completed four blocks.  They were fun, they were easy, the paper came off easily, and I can't wait to make more! There is no wonkiness in the shape of the block, which always happens to me when I make a regular Log Cabin block without foundation piecing or a special trim tool.

My plan is to make a table runner, with maybe twelve or sixteen blocks in all. Love that fabric. One of the prints features darling little squirrels which I may need more of for a border. Oh, as a side note, I added in some of Fig Tree's All Hallow's Eve collection, and it ties in very well.

Hope your week got off to a great start.  I have loads of content for you this week, so be sure to check back every morning this week!

Happy first day of Fall!

Great Tip for Jelly Rolls and Honey Buns: Lint Control

We are all familiar with Jelly Rolls and Honeybuns, right? If you are not, both are popular pre-cuts offered by fabric companies.  They are super convenient, and there are loads of books and patterns out there with wonderful ideas on how to use them. Pre-cuts are fabrics that are part of a complete designer collection that are cut into specific shapes.  If you buy a pre-cut, you get every piece in the collection, in a particular size package.  Charm packs are 5 inch squares.  Layer cakes are 10 inch squares. Jelly rolls are 2 1/2 inch by 42 inch strips.  Honeybuns are 1 1/2 inch by 42 inch strips.  The edges are pinked, not straight cut.

Which leads us to the main problem with pre-cuts:  the lint issue. Once you take them out of their protective plastic wrapping, the lint from the pinked edges gets everywhere. Every.Where.

I am a big fan of the Moda Fabrics website/blogsite.  You will find great ideas, sew-alongs, free patterns and tons more.  If you don't know it, you really should check it out. One of the more recent ideas shared on their blog was a tip from Moda designer Betsy Chutchian.  Here is her technique for reducing the lint issue. It is in an article about whether or not to pre-wash jelly rolls and honeybuns (no, don't do it, is what I say).

What she does is unwrap the roll and toss it in the clothes dryer on high for about 8 minutes. Stop the dryer, clean out the lint filter and do it again two more times, stopping after 8 minutes and cleaning the lint filter.  There will be a lot of lint.

You would think they would come out in a snarly tangled mess (which they would if you actually washed them). The dryer just kind of fluffs them up and they are not tangled at all.  And the lint has come off.

I got this amount of lint, three times, once for each 8 minute drying cycle.

This is what you are left with.  The heat of the dryer shrinks the length of the strip a tiny bit, maybe a half-inch or so.  But the 1 1/2" width was not affected at all. The lint is gone.  There is a frayed thread or two along the strip, but it doesn't bother me nearly as much as the annoyance of that lint getting everywhere.

And do you know what?  I didn't even need to iron them!  They came out smooth and wrinkle-free.  Now, I wouldn't leave them sit in the dryer after the cycle ended.  I removed them immediately when the dryer stopped.

I think it's a great tip and will do it again when I use jelly rolls and honeybuns!

Cupcake Mix Papers

Hello friends.  I hope you all are having a good week. I've been busy with homeschooling, so not much sewing action is going on.  I did get into the sewing room for a couple of hours, though. Pre-cuts have been on my mind from our discussion earlier this week.  I am itching to get into a honey bun or jelly roll project and am waiting for my Squirrelly Girl honey bun to arrive. I also may have ordered two jelly rolls of the new Primitive Gathering's Redwork Gathering Collection.  Ahem.

When I was puttering around, I remembered that I had a Cupcake Mix pad sitting around in a little bin of charm packs.

These little foundation papers are so nice!  I had not tried them before but will be getting more of them. The paper is super thin and soft and removes like a dream. They fit perfectly on a charm square for stitching. There are 44 papers in the pad. There are four different recipe pads to choose from.  I am using the Cupcake Mix Recipe pad #1, which makes the Birds in the Air block (or variations of it). 

If you are not familiar with this type of sewing technique, the idea is that you position the papers over two charm squares (right sides together), stitch on the dotted line and cut on the solid line. You pull the papers off and are left with four small half-square triangles and one large one. To make one Birds in the Air quilt block, you will need a total of four charm squares: two prints and two background. So my charm pack will make 21 quilt blocks, more than I will need for a table runner. The finished block is 6 1/2" unfinished.

My only criticism is that the printing on the papers is a bit light, but that may have just been the particular batch I had. 

If you are interested in learning more about these foundation papers, there are two good YouTube videos I will link to:

Fatquarter Shop Cake Mix video.

Fabric Garden Cake Mix/Cupcake Mix video.

I pulled out an ancient Sandy Gervais charm pack called Late Bloomer.  I have always loved Sandy's whimsical collections.  She used to design for Moda, but I believe she has moved to Riley Blake. She does fall colors so well, and I adore how she often adds in a beautiful teal to the autumnal palette.

I only had time to make three blocks, but you see the colors I will be using.  Sure wish I had a bigger piece of that tannish/gold to use as a border on the table runner I am making! That is the downside of hanging on to fabric for years-if you finally use it and need more, it's too bad.

Wishing you all a grand weekend!

 

Log Cabin Paper Piecing with Honey Buns

Here is something new I picked up recently. Fat Quarter Shop is offering piecing papers in a couple of different formats for common quilt blocks that call for accuracy, such as Log Cabin and Square in a Square. The Log Cabin papers are recommended for use with 1 1/2" strips, or the precuts called honey buns. I have exactly two honey buns, but plan to remedy that situation promptly so I can try out these papers with a new fallish project.  I ordered a honey bun of "Squirrelly Girl" and can't wait to get started.

I mean. Really.  How cute is that? Squirrelly Girl is a collection by Bunny Hill for Moda.

Do you buy honey buns?  I typically don't.  But I sure have a lot of other pre-cuts.

Here is one of my two honey buns. This one is an oldie by American Jane.  The other one, not shown, is by Fig Tree Quilts. I always meant to make a log cabin quilt with it, but haven't followed through.

I have loads of charm packs.  Don't really use them much either. No idea what to do with them!

Here are my layer cakes. I do find them quite useful for smaller quilts and definitely for runners. The 10 x 10" size lends itself to a lot of different block units.

I have a few jelly rolls but rarely buy them.

Fat quarters I have pretty much covered.  If I really like a new collection, but already have a good stash of fabric by the same designer, I might buy the fat eighth bundle.  But if I LOVE the collection and CAN"T LIVE WITHOUT IT, I buy the fat quarter bundle.  I am doing that less lately because of the cost.

I have a whole drawer full of fat quarter collections packaged by Fat Quarter Shop.  I would have to live to 130 to use them all.

What is your favorite pre-cut?  Any ideas on how to use them? I am hesitating to buy fat quarter bundles anymore both because of the cost and because I always seem to have lots of leftovers when I buy them for a project.

I'd love more thoughts on how to use honey buns, charm packs, and jelly rolls. Please share if you have any suggestions.  I bet I am not the only one who'd like to hear some new ideas.

American Pie in Progress

On Sunday, I put together nine or so of the American Pie blocks I've been working on hit or miss this summer. 

I found myself vaguely dissatisfied with them and can't put my finger on why. Do you think I should add another color or two into the mix? I've got red, rust, green, brown, gold, and black.

For reference, this is what one block looks like. Four quadrants, two fabrics, sewn into an X shape.

Here is another thought-what do you think it would look like if the blocks were completely scrappy, that is, with four different prints?

I'm open to any suggestions.  All I know is I feel kind of "meh" about the blocks. Maybe I just need to put them away and revisit them in the future when I may feel differently about them.

In other news, over the weekend,  my husband and I had our first getaway since January. I don't really mind staying home at all; in fact, in today's world, I feel safer there. But he is going stir crazy and just insisted that we go up to Lake Tahoe, a favorite place of his.

We stayed at the big Hyatt resort up at Incline Village in Nevada, just for Friday and Saturday nights. The hotel had a gazillion rules in place: mandatory masks, social distancing, hand sanitizer every time you turned around. The room was clean as a whistle, and just about every portable item had been removed from the room.  No glasses, no guides to local activities, nothing guests could pick up and handle and transmit COVID cooties onto. There was a clock, a phone, an ice bucket, and a remote for the tv and that was about it. And this was a posh hotel.

We went out for a meal, and masks were required at all times except if you were eating, and if the server came to your table, you had to put your mask on again while speaking to them. At the pool, all the chairs were sprayed down before a new person could sit on them, and the chairs themselves were all fixed in place so they could not be moved to a less precise "social distancing" spot.  It was kind of crazy.  I wished we had just stayed home, but my husband was happier for the change of scenery.

Honestly, we really didn't do much.  Lots of reading in our room, a couple of drives, an hour down by the pool wearing masks, and sitting in the social distancing arranged chairs. One meal at the hotel grill, which was such a strange experience, that we ate the rest of our meals in our room. We ended up coming home early.

The only advantage of the trip, in my opinion, was that the air quality in the town where we live was classified as "Hazardous" over the weekend-due to the smoke from the fires that are burning up our state.  The air quality at Lake Tahoe was somewhat better, rated "Unhealthy for Sensitive Persons." You could not see the lake for the haze, nor the surrounding mountains. 

Hope you all had a good weekend, however it was that you spent it.