Sunshine - a finshed quilt

This quilt is made from 15 1/2 sun blocks that I won from Block Lotto a year ago. I was determined to finish it before the year was up and I have achieved my goal. I won the blocks in June last year and they started to arrive during July. As I recall the weather was cold and grey, so these blocks were a sunny addition to the design wall.

I started out by making an additional 1/2 sun block so that I had 8 pairs to match up. I made the large center sun by enlarging a pattern that I found here.

Then I was a bit stuck and couldn't decide what to do in the corners. I was too lazy to make 8 more of the 1/2 sun blocks, so I ended up making an enlarged and simplified 1/4 sun using another pattern from the same site that I used for the center.

I had debated doing quilting around all of the detail, but I know that this takes me a lot longer and I wanted to do something quick. So, I designed a geometric spiral pattern to use for the quilting that would create a kind of grid of spirals connected with lines. I had also picked out a very fine aqua polyester thread - it's the same thread that I always use in the bobbin for quilting and I thought I'd try using it on the top as well. It's so fine it practically disappears and I thought this was a good idea. But, it was not to be.

I had a lot of trouble with breakages and also decided that my spiral grid was ugly and uneven. So out came the seam ripper. I might add that it is not easy to unpick stitches while a quilt is mounted on a frame, but I persevered and it took me a few weeks to undo the 1/2 row that I had completed.

When I finally started again with a new design and new thread, it was all smooth running and I finished it in one day. I always swear by Superior threads - I use King Tut a lot, but this one was done with Magnifico in white and it was magnificent to work with. Too bad I have to order the big spools from the US, but it's always worth it.

The design is a meandering spiral, sun-rays, and bouncy echo combo that I came up with on paper. It's a variation of something I've done before and it was really quick and well-suited to using the frame. I also think that the all-over design slightly softens the bright colors and doesn't detract from the graphic suns.

I tried a new method for the binding using instructions that I found here for a piped binding. This proved to be a good solution because I didn't have enough of either color to bind it, but I had enough to create this two color binding. I like the effect, but need to practice my stitch in the ditch (probably why I like organic quilting and rarely use straight lines).

Making progress

My sunshine quilt is all pieced and ready to quilt. I debated how I would quilt it and finally decided that an all-over pattern would suit me best right now. My instinct is to quilt around all of the piecing, but this takes much longer and has a much higher frustration rate. The truth is that my Swiftquilter frame setup is best used for all over designs and I seem to forget this fact.

Of course, there was still a quilt on the frame, but now that is off an I am working on the binding. This quilt seems really heavy, but I think that's the result of all of the piecing - it's easy to forget how much fabric is hidden in all of the seams. I'm looking forward to sleeping under it though. I used a wool blend batting which is softer and puffier than cotton. Perfect timing now that it's getting a bit chillier.

Here's a peek at the quilting.

A new project is a paper-pieced block that I made to help Robyn test her new pattern. I'm not sure what I will make with it, so it's hanging on the design wall waiting for some attention.

More sunshine

I finally managed to do a concentrated burst of sewing to move this project forward. I really ran into a creative wall when I finished the center medallion because I couldn't quite work out what to do with the corners. Sometimes putting a project away for a while is the best approach.

I put together the corner pieces on the weekend after making an emergency run to the fabric store - it seemed like I had only small pieces in the colors that I wanted to use. I made each corner different because the 1/2 sun blocks came from a variety of contributors and the colors and fabrics are all different.

I started sashing last night. I have 2 blue solids that are similar but different. Every other block around the edge will be bordered with one fabric, the others will be bordered with the second fabric. I was struggling with the strange sizes of the blocks and didn't want 6" sashing which is what would be needed to have evenly separated them. By using two blue solids it (hopefully) won't appear like there is uneven sashing, but instead a distinct border around each smaller block.

I'm hoping to get the top pieced by this weekend. Then it's in queue for quilting because my green/white HST quilt is still on the frame and about 2/3 finished.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Let the sun shine in

The weather in Auckland has been pretty patchy this week - I woke to hail this morning. But, my day off yesterday was filled with sunshine - at least in my sewing room.

I won 15 sunrise blocks (7" x 14") from Block Lotto in June and a while ago I started piecing a giant sun to go in the center of a quilt to be surrounded by smaller ones. The half-sun blocks needed to be paired up to make full suns - and this was no easy task. It is always a compromise when you are working with elements in a quilt that were made by a variety of people.

I thought I would share my experience trying to put together some of these blocks. My goal is not to criticize any of the lovely quilters who contributed blocks - but there are challenges, and since this is the fifth quilt I've made from blocks that others have contributed, I have learned some lessons on how to best deal with some problems that come up.

I think that this block especially was at risk of being inconsistent. Different methods were offered for piecing (by hand or foundation paper pieced) and some people (including me) had trouble convincing their printers not to re-scale the patterns that were provided. A lesson to any of us creating a pattern for others: include dimensions on the pattern in both horizontal and vertical directions. My printout seemed correct in one direction, but I realized (luckily, not too late) that it was not correct in the other direction.

In my case, the variation of the width of the suns among the 15 blocks was almost an inch. Most were within 1/4 inch of each other. The sizes of the center half circles also varied, although not as much. My usual approach is to come up with a layout that obscures these differences - either with sashing or offsetting the blocks. But, some block designs are made to be interlinked and can often form intriguing secondary designs between them. For this project, I really wanted round suns, so I had to get creative.

I had three background colors to work with, so I grouped the blocks by background (blue, white, and yellow). Then I matched them up into pairs fitting them together as much as possible. Two blue ones were much bigger than the others and one of those was the biggest of the lot. For this one, I took in the large curved seam, especially at the edges by sewing outside the original stitching. This did slightly distort the block, but I knew I would trim them all square once they were paired up.

I needed to make one more half sun block so that I could have 8 pairs, so I made one with a yellow background to match the orphan that I had left. I admit that no pair is perfectly matched, but I don't mind. Now that they are all squared and trimmed, they look quite good on the design wall. I'm glad I kept every one that was sent to me and didn't give up on any of them by judging them too difficult to save. I can't imagine putting together 16 of these blocks myself - so I have 9 other quilters to thank. I made four of these blocks and they were pretty tricky. Three of them are in this quilt and the fourth (and best one) was sent to another winner.

The blocks were designed to finish at 14" and I've trimmed them down to finish at 13". The big center square will be a 32", so I'll need some sashing so that I can put two small suns on each side edge of the center. I also don't know what I will do in the corners. I guess I'll figure that out once I finish the two other quarters of the center sun.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Quilting and Newton's laws of motion

The other day I was contemplating some physics - okay, that's a lie. But, there was a time, a long time ago, when I was quite embedded in physics and I was pretty good at it. Now, my applied mathematics is limited to calculating the size of a half square triangle, which I often get wrong the first time round.

But, I am a fan of Brian Cox and I'm sure he has never applied Newton's laws to quilting and creativity, so I may be the first. This is ground breaking stuff.

First law: Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

This is me and quilting - once I get going, I keep going, but if I stop I stay stopped. What is the force that starts or stops the motion? The stopping part is easy - they are the usual trappings of life: work, kid, pets, weather, cooking dinner, and whatever excuse I can come up with... But what is the force that gets things moving?

Second law: The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.

This one's a bit trickier, but it's all about force and acceleration. Basically, if the mass is constant, you need force to make it go faster. I'm considering my project as the mass, so I need to exert some force to ramp up rather than drift along at the constant speed that law one suggests.

Third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

So, as my creativity and productivity accelerate because of the force I exert, there is going to be an opposite reaction to compensate - how about we get take out for dinner tonight (again)?

Stop rambling - tell us how this translates to the quilts?

The blue snowflake quilt is on the frame and I started quilting it (for real) yesterday. I had a few false starts on the weekend, but this quilt is 3+ years in the making and I was a bit nervous about taking the first stitch. Free motion quilting is hard to unpick, so there is a certain amount of commitment required.

I debated the quilting design and changed my mind 100 times. I wanted something that took advantage of the Swiftquilter setup and showcased what could be done. But, there are always those limitations to consider and these are half of the design challenge.

I did a lot of doodling and reviewed Angela Walters' Craftsy class Machine Quilting Negative Space. I took away some good ideas about changing the scale of the quilting design and echoing the piecing motifs in the negative space (thank you Angela). Progress is good and although I'm never 100% thrilled with my work up close, the overall effect is working well for me. I'm 1/3 done, so a few dedicated afternoons should get this one done.

I've also started piecing the center of a quilt that will use the sunrise blocks I won from Block Lotto a few months back. I found a pattern that I originally discovered as part of a New York Beauty Quilt Along a few years ago. The patterns are here (note: they are in German, the English links seem to be broken). I've chosen number 7 and scaled it up to finish at 16 inches.

So far I've finished one quarter and am working on the second. I don't always like foundation paper piecing, but it's the best way to get good results with a design like this. This time I am rough cutting the pieces because they are quite big and it's easy to misjudge the size and placement. I made templates with a 3/8 seam allowance and free-hand cut the fabric with my rotary cutter.

Of course, sometimes I still get it wrong - like this wedge that I sewed on backwards.

I hope to have both quilts done before the end of October. There's also a sewing day Saturday scheduled with a group I belong to - perhaps I will power through the rest of my green HST quilt...

A sunny Block Lotto win

June's Block Lotto was a 14 x 7 sunrise in aqua, turquoise, yellow, and white. I was so pleased to win because the block was challenging and I can't imagine making enough of them to put together a quilt. I was also happy to win so that I could keep two of the three blocks that I made. I was not pleased with how they came out and was wondering if they were not good enough to send to someone else. Luckily, as a winner I can choose to keep some or all that I made. So, I sent on the best of the three and kept the other 2 for myself.

I will receive 15 more making a total of 17. I'm not sure how I will arrange them or if I need to make a few more.

I made mine using different methods. For one (bottom one in photo), I paper pieced the sun rays, machine appliqued the center circle, and machine pieced the background onto the semi-circular sun. The problems with this one were with the scaling of the printed pattern, which I realized too late was wrong. It did turn out close to correct, but was not perfect.

The second one was entirely hand pieced (middle in photo). I made it while I was moving in to my new house and thought I could do it sitting by the TV in the evening. I don't think I've ever hand pieced something like this. I think the worst part was marking out the pieces. I also had some inconsistent seam allowances. Like the first, it was close to right, but not quite.

The third that I sent away was a combination of the two methods - paper pieced rays, hand appliqued centre, and hand pieced background. This turned out to be the best of both worlds and definitely the approach I will take if I make a few more.

I've received three so far and am eagerly awaiting the rest. It's so fun checking the mail!