Sister's Choice Quilts

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!

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.

Half Square Triangles with Easy Angle®

There you see 224 half-square triangles.  These were an absolute breeze to make with the Easy Angle® ruler.  In all the current rage for triangle papers, you may have forgotten about the Easy Angle.  It is the fastest, easiest way to make half-square triangles that I know of.  

My son Ahren gave me a lot of the fabric to make this Holly Berries quilt using Cinnaberry by 3 Sisters.  I had in mind to get it finished by Christmas so he could enjoy it when he visits, but who knows if he will be able to come home from Ireland this December.  At any rate, the pattern calls for 224 four-inch half square triangles.

It was a warm day on Sunday, so I got my fabric all starched* and hung out to dry in the sunshine.  Would you believe that fabric was dry in less than an hour?  What a difference from trying to starch fabric in February and waiting a day and a half for it to dry!  Since the fabric was all starched, dry and ready, I jumped in and cut my 4 inch strips.

The first step in making half-square triangle units with the Easy Angle is to cut strips exactly the unfinished size of your HSTs.  You can cut wider strips, thus making larger half-square triangle units, which you then trim down to your perfect size.  I have often done this in the past, but this time I decided to live dangerously, and just went ahead and cut my strips 4" and hoped for the best.  What you see above is two strips of fabric, a dark and a light, right sides together, which will be cut into units ready to be stacked and stitched.

With the Easy Angle ruler, you just move the tool along the strip, lining the markings up carefully to your desired size and cut. After each cut, you flip the ruler and cut your next unit.  I was using fat eighths cuts of fabric and could cut two 4 inch strips from each, making a total of 16 half-square triangle units from each piece.  I had fourteen lights and fourteen darks.

I swear this process went like lightning, it was so fast.  The photo above shows half my units all stacked up ready to sew together.  The light and dark fabric for each HST is layered together so all I had to do was pick up each unit, make sure the fabrics were still lined up properly and stitch.  I got those 224 units done and dusted while I listened to two book review podcasts.

No trimming, no lines to draw, no papers to pick off.  And every single one I checked was right at 4".  I think the practice of starching fabric before cutting and sewing makes a huge difference in piecing accuracy.  All the same, I was very pleased to re-acquaint myself with my Easy Angle ruler, and get all those half-square triangle units made in no time at all.

You probably have an Easy Angle tossed into one of the drawers in your sewing room.  I encourage you to dig it out and get to know it again.

*NOTE:  I am getting questions in the comments regarding my starching technique.  I use cans of Faultless Heavy Duty Spray Starch to starch my fabric.  I completely saturate the fabric so that it is literally dripping wet with starch.  I dry it on drying racks on my porch.  I buy starch cans by the dozens and go through them really fast.  I use a LOT of starch.  When the fabric dries it is stiff as paper.  I do iron it before cutting.  It is a dream to sew with starched fabric.  Your piecing will never be more accurate as it is with starched fabric.

 

Creative Grids Mask Template

I tried a new mask-making technique and found it so much better than the rectangular ones I had been making. The template is by Creative Grids, and as usual with their tools, it is fantastic.  This mask is more fitted than the rectangular style and scoops out slightly under the eyes so your glasses don't fog up.  Three sizes are included on the template:  child's, women's, and men's.  (S-M-L).  I found it faster and less fussy to make, and much preferred the results to the other style.

I made five of them in no time flat.  The fit is vastly superior to the baggy pleated rectangular style.

There are good instructions that come with the template, but there is also a YouTube tutorial created by Creative Grids that explains things even better.  Shabby Fabrics also has a tutorial that I watched that is very good as well.  Shabby's tutorial is quite long, however.  I made three masks while I watched it.  lol

I purchased my Creative Grids Mask Template on Etsy.com.  I received it in about a week.  There are other acrylic face mask templates out there, but make sure you order the one by Creative Grids.  It has their trademark grippy strips on the underside so the template doesn't slip during cutting.

One tip:  when cutting your mask fabric out using the template, your 45mm rotary cutter works fine on the convex curve.  On the concave curve, I recommend using a smaller 28mm rotary cutter.

Our 4th of July celebration was terrific.  My son in law grilled tri-tip and I brought along a big bowl of potato salad.  His next-door neighbor had really enjoyed the "back of the truck" concert Ryan hosted after his recent wedding, so the neighbor hired the musician to come back and play for the neighborhood again.  We all observed social distancing and placed folding chairs far apart right out in the cul de sac.  It was such fun!

And there's Grover Anderson, singing his heart out from the back of his truck!  We old folks sat and sipped wine, younger couples sipped beer or sodas and all the little kids danced around us while we listened to the music.  It seemed like such a nice community thing for everyone to share.  I hope your weekend was wonderful as well!

Cabin Skein

This little mini quilt is called Cabin Skein.  Designed by Carrie Nelson, her explanation for the name is that a group of flying geese is called a "skein".  Since the quilt involves both Log Cabin Blocks and Flying Geese, she thought the name was appropriate.  The pattern is in a book called Moda All Stars Mini Marvels.  

Making the quilt is a cinch, particularly if you have certain sewing tools to make trimming your blocks to the correct size.  I used the BlocLoc Flying Geese trim tool in the 1" x 2" (1 1/2 x 2 1/2" unfinished) size, and the Creative Grids 4 inch Log Cabin Trim Tool.  My little block units came out just the right size with these sewing aids.  

As for the fabrics, they were honestly all from my stash.  There is a mix of Jo Morton, Renee Nanneman and Pam Buda for sure, others as well.  My taste in orange tends to run towards the rusty side of orange, so I was drawn to those shades.  Renee Nanneman comes out with a black and orange collection every couple of years and I always buy it.  This one was called Harvest Moon I think.  She designs for Andover Fabrics. If you Google "Harvest Moon fabric by Renee Nanneman", you might just find it.

This little quilt is about 20" square and was so much fun to make.  I got it done in no time, mainly because I couldn't stay away from making those blocks once my Log Cabin trim tool arrived in the mail.

I will send this off to my quilter, along with a full-size Halloween themed quilt I made a couple of years ago.  That was "Lucy" another Carrie Nelson pattern.  I decided to add a black containment border and an orange print border to make it big enough to hang over the sides of my queen-sized bed.  I am just waiting on getting the border fabric and I will be good to go.

I'll share a picture when I get the borders on!

Have a great weekend everyone.

I Couldn't Just Make One...

My new 4 inch Creative Grids Log Cabin Trim Tool arrived Tuesday afternoon and first thing Wednesday morning I was up and at it.  My first block was completed by 7:30 AM.  Do you think I could stop with one?  No, I could not.  Have you ever seen anything so cute?

Unfortunately, I had things to do, so I only could get 12 made.  I'll make four today, for the total needed of 16, and start assembling this little table topper.  I have plenty of fabric, I  may have to make another for a gift.  Or, I could maybe make a Christmas one?  Now I'm talking.

But, my little paper pieced stars are calling to me too.  I'm like a girl who is secretly dating two guys at the same time.  Excited, but feeling guilty whenever I am with one of them instead of the other.

Ruler Organizer and Mother's Day Haul

This little blue gadget is called "Your Nest Organizer" and is one of my most appreciated sewing accessories. It is a little rubbery gizmo with slots that perfectly hold rulers and other notions.  I use mine to hold smaller rulers that I am frequently grabbing for a project I am working on.  I hate having three or four rulers laying on my cutting table surface, taking up space, yet never right where I need them when I reach for them.  This invention corrals everything neatly together in one place.  It is hard to tell, but I think I must have at least six or seven plastic rulers, instructions and other tools on it.

For Mother's Day, my generous son gave me a gift certificate to Fatquartershop.com.  My order finally arrived yesterday, taking nearly a month to get to me.  They say they are short-staffed during COVID-19, but this sort of delay in delivery is pretty unprecedented.  I got a big spool of Aurifil thread, one of those new Olfa Endurance rotary cutter blades that last forever (they really do) and a fat eighth bundle of a 3 Sisters collection called Cinnaberry.

I have a plan in mind for this that I'd love to execute before Christmas.

I have a lot of irons in the fire right now, so we shall see if this gets made!  I love the simple elegance of the design and color scheme.

Square in a Square and Hourglass Quilt Block Units

I enjoyed making Week 8's blocks for the Piecing the Past sew-along.  It gave me a chance to re-visit my favorite ways to make two common (but tricky) block units.  Those being, the Square in a Square unit and the Hourglass unit.  

For the Square in a Square unit, my favorite method is actually to use a ruler.  The ruler I like is the Square Squared ruler.  I found a fantastic YouTube tutorial by Ruth's Stitchery to refresh my memory on how to use it.  Do watch the tutorial, she explains things so clearly. The ruler was invented by Deb Tucker for 180 Design, and Fatquartershop.com actually has a pretty good price on it.  You can make units from 1" up to 6" (finished size).  The reason a ruler is helpful for this unit is that the center square is a very odd measurement and a template or paper piecing has been the best way to achieve it.  The ruler has the center square all marked out for easy cutting.  You also trim the unit down to the precise size after constructing it, using the cutting guides on the ruler. I highly recommend this ruler for making this fussy block unit.  If you do buy one from FQS, just know they are seriously backlogged on getting their orders shipped right now.

For the Hourglass units, I used Monique Dillard's foolproof method of making the units for constructing the Hourglass block.  She has a ruler called the FIt to Be Quarter ruler that takes all the mystery out of this block unit.  She has complete instructions on how to make just about any size Hourglass unit.  The trimming is easy peasy with her ruler.

My blocks for the project are coming along well.

Hope your week got off to a good start!

 

 

Scrap Quilt

Greetings fellow shut-ins.  Hope you all had a good weekend.  We cleaned the house from top to bottom, spent a lot of time on the front porch, planted some summer annuals, and got in a wee bit of sewing.

I tidied the sewing room as part of the cleaning effort, and somehow the project box with my Scrapbusting blocks ended up on the top of the pile.  I listened to book review podcasts while I stitched up a few more blocks. I will actually be really happy to use up this fabric, which has been taking up a lot of space in my stash bins.

To refresh your memory, the instructions for this block can be found at Border Creek Station, Ontario, Canada.  They call the project "Bust That Stash", and it is their 2020 Stashbusting Challenge.  There are so many ways to put these blocks together.

I have been using this BlocLoc Strip Set Ruler to cut out my little sections for the four patch units.  It certainly does keep your units nice and straight.  There is a groove in the ruler that nestles right into the seam "ditch", which keeps things perfectly lined up.

I think the Typepad issues are mostly worked out by now.  The technician suggested I publish my post manually, so it had to wait until I got up this morning at 6:00 rather than posting at 4:00 PDT as usual.  With luck I will be back on schedule tomorrow as usual!