Feline Friday - 9/14/18

Momma made me a quilt!!

Momma didn't take many pictures but I think you'll get the gist cuz you're smart, feline-loving people! And if you don't understand my directions, you can check out the MSCQ video. I highly suggest downloading the MSCQ app for easy access.

Auntie ChaCha even made 5 of these as picnic quilts for her family! Woohoo! She didn't use my excellent tutorial but she did really good without it...

You'll start with two charm packs - Momma used "Eat, Drink & Be Ugly" It has fantastic Christmas sweaters, martini glasses, trees and Santas.

Pick 72 charm squares and sew them together in a 6x12 grid, shown above. The grid has to be twice as long as wide so you could even do 7x14 or 8x16. I don't suggest 1x2 tho.

Once the grid is sewn you'll use your trusty rotary cutter and ruler to cut from the bottom right to the middle top and then from middle top to bottom left. For you more experienced quilters, it will look like a gigunda flying geese unit, if you space them apart a little, with the big triangle on the bottom and 2 smaller side triangles.

Next is the tricky part and I just don't know how to explain it other than to say that you sew the small triangles together to look like another big triangle. Then you sew the 2 big triangles together and you end up with a square. It's just like magic cuz now all the charm squares are on point.

A bit of advice - don't spend so much time arranging the squares like Momma did - when you make the square they have all been rearranged. It's part of the magic.

Now it's time to add the borders. Miss Jenny only added 2" and 7.5" finished borders to keep this a square quilt but Momma added a 3.5" border on opposite sides to make it rectangular. Now it will cover Momma me better on the couch.

Just for documentations sake, you should know the red fabric has hexies and the outside, bluish border is grunge dots. That Momma, she is almost as dedicated to those hexies and grunge as she is to me...

I hope all my furreinds can now get their Momma's to make them quilts too!

An InLinkz Link-up

Blogger Comment Fix!!!

Did you hear the news?
There is finally a fix for the Blogger comment notification fiasco!!!!

1. Open your Blogger Dashboard
2. Click settings in the left hand menu.
3. Then click email.
4. Delete the email listed and be sure to save settings.
5. Now add the email you want notifications sent to and re-save settings.
6. You will receive an email at that address that you need to confirm you want to receive notifications.

If this doesn't work for you, save an alternate address in the box then change it to what you want and re-save it.

Lemme know if you need help with this.
Looking forward to getting all your comments in my inbox again!!

Quilter's Christmas Lights

I was asked last week to provide some pictures of what I was going to do with the string of white lights and purple fabrics.

I currently have a string of lights in the doublewide door frame between my living and dining rooms. They add such a perfect glow when all the other lights are turned down but this string is made with homespun type fabrics and that's just no longer my style. BTW - they are hung with 3 tiny clear command strips. Because they are clear I leave them up all year and don't have to look for them again and again :)

It all starts by snipping the edge of the fabric at 1" intervals and then tearing the strips apart. They may get wider at the other end which adds variety. There is also no need to straighten the edges if the quilt store didn't cut your fabric straight.

Cut your strips into 7 or 8" long chunks and then tie them on to the string of lights. My lights were not evenly spaced so the number of strips will depend on the space available. Mine was probably 4 or 5 per space.  This is the boring part bur good for watching all those holiday movies I hear are on TV this time of year...

Apparently last year I had intended to make a string of lights with red fabric since I found a gorgeous TOT red in the bag with the new lights. Guess I better get on that one as well since it would also work for Valentines. I like to have lights up as long as possible....gotta love that soft glow!

Feel free to use scraps, holiday prints, etc. Wouldn't white on White be pretty against colored moldings? What kid wouldn't want to get up on his birthday and have a string of lights in his favorite color or to match a new quilt to celebrate?!?!

HeLP for Hexie-aholics for 11/17/14 - using binder clips

Hello and welcome to a snowy edition of HeLP for Hexie-aholics. Yes! You heard me right - we've finally got snow here in Western NY. Don't worry, I'll be sick of it soon enough...possibly even after the 2 feet we are due to get tomorrow which will probably cut our guild meeting short. Grrrr. I guess I best dig out my boots...

Anyway... a week or so ago, I was asked by JoAnn, friend of Margaret, where on my blog was the link to my tip/tutorial for using binder clips. I told JoAnn that I didn't have an actual tutorial on my blog but I would be happy to post it today for HeLP.

As I was getting ready for today's post I remembered the twisted hexie tutorial I had done back in August. There actually were photos in that tutorial showing the clips but also this next photo showing lots of clips and curving the pieces with the larger piece on the outside so I can fit them together if my basting wasn't quite as accurate as it should be. Be sure to got check out my comments on the other post.

For today's post I decided to work on a POTC block. My basic premise is that I have seen people who just hold the fabric to the papers, they use paperclips or they use Wonder Clips. Fingers can slip and if you need to set the project down it can all go wonky. Paperclips can snag on the fabric and I find Wonder Clips too big.

I use the mini binder clips found at Walmart - I think they were a box of 75 for $3.00 and yes, I've got two boxes of them for all my UFOs but that's a different story. I've also been known to hand over a couple to someone who is just learning to EPP...anything to get them addicted faster!

I start by using two clips, one on each side of the honeycomb paper. Some shapes only need 1 clip and others need more. I also use more clips if a piece is fussy cut so I can properly align the fabric to my paper.

As I put pieces together, I use a clip on each side of a seam.

Or as I need to put the odd shapes together I use a clip. I prefer a gentle rounded fold instead of actually folding and creasing the papers since the creases will make the paper deteriorate faster. I've been able to re-use some of my papers 15 to 20 times.

I hope these photos give you some idea on how I use the mini binder clips. I really like that the clips do all the work to hold things in place and especially if I have to set down my project so I can let his Highness outside. Not that I have to do that more than like 3 times a day or anything...

I appear to have left the block at home so I can't show you how far I got...maybe for Wordless Wednesday...

An InLinkz Link-up

T is for Tyler tutorial

Last week when I showed my T is for Tyler update there was some interest in a tutorial...

This is a 2 color project so gather up some fabric - I can't exactly tell you how much since I modified the directions I found in an old book and I've just been winging my project so far. I know, kinda useless info but I trust you can deal with it.

We are going to start by making "strata" or strip sets. For the sake of the example, lets cut 4 of each which would be a total of 16 strips. You can make wider strata if your cutting board can accommodate the later steps, just remember to work in even numbers of pairs.

• From the dark fabric cut an even number of 4" and 3.25" strips.
• From the light fabric cut an even number of 4" and 3.25" strips.

 Separate them as follows:

1. 4" light strips are piled with the 3.25" dark 
2. 4" dark strips are piled with the 3.25" light

Starting with pile #1, sew the strips together so the colors/sizes alternate. Press towards the dark.
Repeat with pile #2, still pressing towards the dark. I find it's best to put all the wider selvages together on the same end, making it easier to trim later. Each strata will consist of 8 strips.

Fold the strata in half with right sides together and trim the selvages off. Your cut should be perpendicular to the center/folded seam.

From the remainder of your strata you need to cut 4.75" strips. I was able to get 9 from each strata.

The original directions had a template to trace and attach to a clear ruler but I was keen enough to notice that the template was pretty much the same as my Companion Angle (CA) ruler. woohoo.

Back to pile/strata #1 ... lay one strata strip in front of you so that the 4" light piece is on the left. Using your CA, line up the "4.75" dotted line found in the middle of the ruler with the bottom edge of the fabric and center the tip in the middle of the first 3.25" dark piece. The blunted tip should line up with the top edge of the fabric. Trim on both sides of the triangle and save the piece you trimmed from the left - I figured out a way to reuse it!! As with when we normally use the CA, flip the ruler 180 degrees and trim another triangle centered on the dark piece with the blunt tip close to you. You'll have a bias scrap piece between each triangle that is about 1" wide. Keep rotating the ruler across the strata to cut a total of 3 triangles.

Repeat for pile/strata #2 centering over the light fabrics.

Once you get across the strata you'll have a right most piece that looks kinda large. However, if you sew the first piece you trimmed to the last, it's big enough to cut another triangle from!

I use the large number 2 on each side of the ruler to center it in the light space

Remember how I said that you should make the strata in even numbered pairs? I learned the hard way by making a strata with just 3 pairs that the first and last chunks don't fit together so I made another pair, cut it into 4.75" sections and sewed it between the 2 pieces, allowing me to cut 2 more triangles.

I'm betting you can guess the rest of the process: you've made 2 "opposite" triangles so you'll need to pair opposite triangles, match the seams and sew them together. Just to be consistent, I then pressed towards the side with 2 dark pieces. Trim the dog ears.

All that's left is to lay out the blocks in straight or on-point rows and you've got a quick and easy quilt. If you decide to go with the on-point layout, like I am, I've using the half block triangles as setting triangles for the top and bottom edges of the quilt (see the first photo above) and I used the CA to cut setting triangles from the border fabric for the sides.

Please feel free to let me know if you have questions on anything...

Twisted Hexie Tutorial

Today's post is my final vacation post. As you may know, I love to hike in the Adirondack Mts. and when I was asked for this tutorial shortly before I left for the ADK I asked if she was in a hurry because I thought it would be fun to tie it in to my hiking trips. Let me know if you would also like me to post a tutorial without all the "extra" info.

My first hike, on Tuesday, was around Moss Lake.
 I had hexies with me but the weather wasn't promising so I didn't stop to enjoy much of the view.
When I finally found a signal and called my brother, he insisted on telling me how bad the radar looked so I really had to get moving on my 5.5  mile hike.
Luckily I finished about 30 minutes before the torrential rain finally arrived.

I just love how the trees make due with where ever they landed as seedlings.

On Wednesday, I took the chair lift to the top of Mt McCauley in Old Forge, a local ski mountain. Obviously the weather was greatly improved. Still a little chilly but sun can make a world of difference.

To start a twisted hexie I baste one of the half hexies. I use 3 clips to hold the fabric in place
and start basting in the bottom right corner, working counter-clockwise to the bottom left corner. 
I do not baste through the papers but because I use 2" half/hexies, I do catch the fabric with the thread once on each of the sides. It helps to keep the fabric taught and I'm less likely to snag the thread later on.
Tie off/cut the thread after basting this half hexie.

Baste a second half hexie but do NOT tie off the thread.

We are going to start attaching pieces now.
Layer the 2 basted half-hexies as shown above, being careful to line up the ends and hold them in place with a couple clips.
Whip stitch the pieces together along the short side of the first half-hexie
(which is half of the long side of the second half hexie). Do NOT tie off the thread.

When you are finished basting the short side and open them up, it looks like this.
 

Don't get lost in the view as we have more work to do!

Next we will be starting to add the central hexie the half-hexies are twisting around.
One side of the (black) hexie should fit along the remaining half of the (red) half hexie we just whip stitched in place.
You can cut your thread after attaching the central hexie.
Leave the first half-hexie hanging in the wind - it will make finishing the rest of the block easier.

After a few hours of stitching and hiking the trails at the top of the Mt. I decided it was time to hike down the mountain. I could have taken the chair lift back down but I never would have spotted all the butterflies or little streams had I done that.

You might find (on any project) that for some reason your pieces don't seem to be the same length.
Can you see in the photo that the clips are holding this in an "S" shape?
I clipped the ends together to match and then I clipped the center seams to match.
I then gently bent the project between the clips so that the longer piece was on the outside.
When the pieces were matched, with no gaps between the layers, I added clips to hold them in place.
Once you finish whip stitching, no one will ever know that one side was too long!!



On Thursday I climbed Sawyer Mountain. An easy hike but the cold front that came through overnight made for a chilly start and a chilly rest at the top. Translation: I didn't stay long.

After basting the next half-hexie, clip it to the central hexie/short side of the red half-hexie and whipstitch in place.
Tie off the thread.

Repeat basting, clipping to the central unit and whip stitching until all 6 of the half hexies are attached.

On Sunday, after packing up my campsite I always hike up to Bug Lake to scope out the Loon family before heading home.
This is the inlet from 7th to 8th Lake.

This year I finally took the spur over to Eagle's Nest Pond. It was a nice quiet area but not much in the line of seating opportunities. I did manage to finish adding the final 2 half hexies here. I would have been happier had I  which would have been much easier had I remembered to bring more clips with me. I am used to using three but only had 1 with me. I had to fudge some pieces that didn't fit perfectly.

After adding the 6th half-hexie you can see that the first is still hanging in the wind.

Next I finished the hike to Bug Lake, named for all the water bugs which were causing ripples in the water.
I did find the Loon family with 2 little ones but this was one of the two situations where I miss my real camera over my iPhone - the zoom is not as great so I decided not to strain your eyes trying to find the loons in my pictures.

To finish the twisted hexie, fold half-hexie #1 down to meet the center hexie and short side of half-hexie #6.
Whip stitch in place. The center hexie paper can be popped out now or after you have pressed the piece. You will notice that all my paper pieces have a hole punched in them so I can use my little scissors to easily pop out the papers.

Ta Da!!!!!

I hope I have included enough photos for you to understand how I assemble the Twisted Hexies but please feel free to ask questions!!

D4P - Puss in the Corner Tutorial

Have you ever had a million things to do and some of them had to be done yesterday? Yeah, same here but I have become obsessed with this new disappearing 4-patch block and the chores kinda fell to the wayside this weekend...

Start by making four patches with 2 squares of 2 different fabrics. I'm using 2.5" squares but it will work with any size squares. Remember to pinwheel your seams at every chance, which will make it super easy to put your blocks together at the end.

Let's start with a little math so you can convert this project to any size 4-patch. Essentially you will be cutting the right most squares in half based on its original size. I cut 1.0" to the right of the center seam because half of 2.5" is 1.25" and .25" was already used in the seam allowance. The first time I made these blocks I cut it backwards - it was the only time I cut them wrong. LOL.

Take the piece you just cut off the right side and sew it to the left side of the 4 patch as shown above in the black and teal block.

After pressing and pinwheeling those new seam intersections, rotate the block 90 degrees and again cut 1.0" to the right of the center seam. Sew the piece to the left side of the 4 patch. Tada!!! You have a Puss in the Corner block!!

There are a lot of opportunities to fussy cut and play with stripes in this block. If there is a fussy cut block I don't want to cut in to I place that in the upper left before I start cutting. If I am playing with stripes, when making the original 4-patch I make sure the stripes are perpendicular to each other if I want them to radiate out from the center of the final block or I run them parallel if I want them finishing in different directions.

If you remember to pinwheel all of your seam intersections (both while making the blocks and joining them together), by rotating a block by 90 degrees, you can nest all of your seams. This block is so easy that I think you'll be able to do them with your eyes closed in no time flat. This weekend I whipped up a few blocks and also readied a dozen or so 4-patches to use as leader/enders.

Saturday was town wide yard sale day in my hometown and I happened across 2 of these tins for a whopping 25 cents each - my new blocks fit perfectly :)

Friday night I picked up two "candy bars" packs at my LQS cut from the 1930s fabrics they carry. This doll quilt/cat mat came together super fast. 30's fabrics are a little wishywashy for me but I still think the quilt is cute and can't wait to see what my brighter L/E blocks become someday...

Please let me know if you have any questions on this tutorial and I would love to see what you make with the blocks...Have fun!

Disappearing 4 Patch tutorial

Earlier this week I showed a D4P block I had whipped up for a mug rug. Missy wrote and asked if I would be willing to share a tutorial. Of course!

The original Pinterest pin I stole it from is here which includes the math for different size blocks.



Sew (4) 5" squares together and spiral the center seam.



Use your favorite pencil to mark 2" to the side of each corner, for a total of 8 marks.




Without moving the fabric, cut 4 diagonal lines from mark to mark made in the previous photo.
You can barely make out the cut lines above - 2 from purple to purple block and 2 from striped to strip.

 


This is the fun step!
Move all the triangles one place to the right and rotate the center square a quarter turn.



Since my cutting mat is not on my sewing machine table,
I place all the bits and parts on a square ruler to move them to the sewing machine.



Essentially we are now working with a 9 patch.
Sew the 9 parts in to 3 rows and then sew the rows together.



Becasue of the angles, you'll need to square up your block.



My blocks have been 7.5" unfinished.


Hopefully that was clearer than mud but let me know if you have questions and I would love to see what blocks you make :)