"Completed" Table Runner

Here is the assignment from the book:

Here is my runner as it lays on the board:

I'm still hoping to figure out how to attach the pointy ends, otherwise my runner will end up short. I will probably send an email to Quilter's Academy and update you all later. I'm disappointed that I didn't choose a lighter value green. This darker green, although it is a fine match with my floral, is too dark, and brings out the "square" too much as compared to the example in the book.

As always, we attach borders later.  This border will be in the same print as the large floral.

I also took note of what to watch for when sewing my rows together.  Harriet talks about making sure that you send the raw edge of a butted seam through first, when you can. Like this:

I found that the seams running this way push the corners into each other better than if the raw edges are running down the same way I'm sewing. Which is why I think I had the untidy corners.  The problem is... every other row is always running the wrong way!  Those rows take extra care.

Lessons learned on this project:

1. Read the entire lesson for the project before starting anything.  I didn't realize until way late the key words, "if you decide to create the diagonal ends..."  as if there was a choice! 
2. Mock-ups shall be done in real fabric from here on out.
3. Pay attention to which way seams are running. I may want to sew from different ends, not simply in order top to bottom in same direction each time.
4. Steam helps set the seams.
5. Unpicking sewed seams takes time and is no fun.

Next lesson is another project!

I think that this particular project is a bit ambitious for Year 1!  There is so much going on with different angles.
Update:  See my post on trying to finish this thing!  THIS IS WAY TOO HARD AS WRITTEN.

Class 150: Project Table Runner

My fabric arrived! Unfortunately I felt so underwhelmed that I carried the box to the sewing room, looked at the fabric for 2 minutes and went back to bed.  I must have been sicker than I thought because I would not have guessed that after waiting almost 2 weeks to get to this next project, that I would rather sleep.  Now, I'm feeling better and have set myself to sewing.

The mock-up from lesson 5 was first on my list.

First thing I did was make photo copies of the fabrics, which didn't work so well. It used ALOT of ink, and the colors still didn't turn out correct. The solid "brownish" strips in the rail fence are actually a green. The center squares are black, and the 2 other squares in the 4 patch are a solid tan. UGH.  So much for getting a real idea of how these fabrics will work. But, I like them when I lay the fabrics together, and since this is what I have I will continue! Note to self: next time just cut the real fabric for the mock up. Here is a picture of the fabrics together, even though they still don't show well. My camera is away on a journey, so I'm using the ipod here. I find it moves when I snap the picture. Sorry, all these photos will look a bit blurry.

Next step was to press and align the fabrics.  I was doing fine until I came across one fabric where it seemed that when I had my torn edges and salvage aligned in the first fold, it appeared that the torn edge bows inward. Sure enough, when I fold the fabric again there is NO WAY I am going to get my torn edges to meet and still have the top edges straight.  How can that be??  Has anyone ever torn fabric where it bows like you were rotary cutting badly?  If it is terribly off grain before we tear it, wouldn't that mean that when we cut at the fold, it is NOT going to tear straight?  Please leave comments!

The floral fabric was purchased in a 1 yard increment, and when I folded it after ironing out the center crease, there was no way this fabric was going to align.  I've never had to "work" a fabric this far. It had at least a 1" fold half way down.  I went back to the book and re-read about re-aligning fabric. I cut the yard in half so I would only work with 1/2 yd at a time and got out my pins. I pinned the salvage together and worked from there down and toward the center and what a surprise!  After a good 15 minutes of being very gentle and patient with my iron and fabric, I got it to re-align the grain so that all edges are straight. I had never had something so far out of wack, so this was a first and came out well.  Here's a case of "trust Harriet, it works!"

Here is a picture of the work in progress:

I've gotten better with keeping all the attached lines moving through the needle, somewhat.  I also have found that using a paper weight to keep my place on which row I'm working from on the right side helps.

I'm not feeling the excitement with this project.  I think the colors just aren't that exciting. I really like the floral pattern.  It was what I was looking for at the quilt shop, but couldn't find anything close.  The patterns work. I have a floral, solid, 2 tonals, and small print. I'm thinking the green tonal should have been lighter?  And, I think I just have a preference to more colorful fabric.  This is.... blah. I'll chalk this up to learning experience.

After I completed sewing all the blocks into rows, I found the next step was to sew the end pieces. This is not a square runner, it has nice points at the ends.  I've noticed others doing these projects have omitted the pointy ends, so I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

I sewed the line of three down, but can't get the end piece to sew on. As you can see, I would be sewing right over my seam lines and the edges would be "out there" flopping around.

And, If I sew the end piece on first it will obviously give me the same problem with overlap outside the seam allowance on the top and bottom seams. 

The instructions do NOT get me the corner units as I would envision they need to go. There is no explanation as to how it should look different than normal. ie. "notice your seams are not all tucked under" etc...  I don't think that when I cut the diagonal that it would get sewn inside the seam allowance..??


I do not have sewing experience.  I've enjoyed quilting because it is not like sewing patterns. I am stumped because clearly there is some assumption here that I'm not getting.  Anyone out there with some clearer instructions?  I think I know why others made it square!  We have not been given lessons on this kind of piecing yet.

In the mean time, I went to sew my rows together, and I've not yet had this problem either!!

My blocks are not meeting up in the corners.  Since I don't feel like seam ripping at the moment, I think I'll go find something else to do for my Saturday afternoon!

Behind the Scenes Stuff

I still don't have fabric for the next project.  I've been selling off homeschooling books no longer used, and was able to win several auctions of fabric on Ebay.  Now, I. Just. Need. To. Be. Patient. Ebay has many quilt shops selling off Out Of Print fabric lines.  Nice quality for nicer prices. Of course, I will be very happy if all the fabrics I chose on a computer screen actually work together and look like my monitor said they did!

Last week, I took a mis-step off a landing at the job, and twisted my foot.  Seems fairly sprained so I've been hobbling around, but much more sitting than normal. Then, my son brought home a Sick Bug. He shared it with me.  We got MORE snow these last 3 days, so here I sit, WISHING even more for fabric to work on my next project. What a terrible time to be without fabric :(  Harriet talks about fabric in the next class.  Of course she mentions two types of quilters. Those like her that have STASH and pick from it to make the next quilt. Then, there are those like her daughter Carrie, that buy fabric for a particular project.  That's me.  My only stash is the left overs that I buy extra of. 

Sitting in my sewing room and looking around, I got to wondering what all those lines were for on my Creative Grid rulers, and wondered why there were no instructions that came with it.  Did ya know??  They have a web site, with videos on how to use each kind of ruler! Curiosity won this time.

I picked up the QA book, and wondered what else I could work on, without fabric.
First, I read ahead, All About Fabric.  I think I've read that Lesson 3 times now.  Maybe it will sink in some day. 
Next, I used my grid paper and made the "mock-up" drawing part for the Country Lanes Table runner that is next up.  First, I made the grid ready for the fabric mock up. All I'll need to do then is make photo copies of the fabric and paste.  Then, I realized that the table runner is 66" long, before the borders.  I got out a measuring tape, and discovered that is TOO long!  My table is 70". I don't really need a runner that hangs off the edges.  So, I sat and put my new found drafting skills to work, and shortened the measurement to approx 40" and did all the calculations to determine how many strips of fabric to cut.  I'm ready, and waiting. Again.

But, this time, I went back to Ebay, and ordered the fabric for the following project too!  I'll have to be getting fabric ahead of the projects.

Class 150: Lesson 6: Four Patch Blocks

It's Winter. And, although yesterday we had our first day above freezing since Christmas, I am in no mood to hang outside. In hopes of continuing with my quilting class I headed back to the book to see what else I could accomplish considering I don't have the fabric for the Lesson 5 Fabric mock-up blocks. 

I think the book needs a little tweaking, so I'm providing my solution here :)
Lesson 5 is the fabric mock up for lesson 7. In between these two, we have lesson 6 on piecing a four patch block on our sampler unit.  I think I'd rather do the mock up as the first step in lesson 7. That's where we get our information about the project, and it makes for practice of the drafting lessons we did earlier in the class. So, no need to sit and stew about having no fabric on hand!

Which gives me something I could work on today.
Step 1: cut the 2" strips, Step 2: Sew together,  Step 3: Press, Step 4: check measurements. Here are my 2 strips. I am SO jazzed because they measure perfectly!!! (um... my left strip got moved, but it IS perfectly measured)

 I think I've finally got all the kinks worked out.

1. I purchased a smaller 2.5x12.5 Creative Grid ruler. I was using an Omigrid 6.5x12. Believe it when they say a smaller ruler works better when cutting strips like these. Don't know why, it just does. Which is why they tell us in the book to have these different sizes!  Don't try to skimp.  I also should stick with the same maker of rulers. Anyone using Omnigrid and have a Creative Grid they want to trade? I'll pay shipping :)
2. I have determined that I should use the outside edge of the lines gaining the full measurement. I was trying to line it up down the middle of the line, or to the line.
3. I wasn't steaming the seams to set them. I got a tiny spray bottle and give the seams a squirt before I set the iron on them.

The next steps gave me stress!  I was completely confused. So much that I came downstairs to the computer and checked all the blogs I could find to see if anyone described these next steps. No such luck.

Step 1: I had no problem cutting the strips and sewing the 32 segments into 16.
Step 2: I opened the units and checked to see that all seams butted tight. Yeah. They look great.
Step 3: Check width of block.  EH?? We always press after sewing. There is a yellow "Fanning the Seams" block of "how to" .  Considering step 3 did not incorporate this info, I decided I could do a couple different things.  Once I started writing it out as a question on a blog comment, I decided I would do this:
Step 2.5: Cut apart the chain stitches(we usually don't do this), set seams as usual, and then fan blocks as described in the above "highlighted block" and press.
Step 3: Now move to checking measurements.   Perfect!! Oh, this is exciting! And, fanning the blocks was really neat.

This is what it looks like when completed:

And, I didn't even have to square up my blocks. That's a first for me.  I'm really happy with how much my accuracy has improved so far. I should have taken pictures of the back side. :(

I'm also happy with my new purchase. This is my new rotary cutter. My old one was "old" in that the screw on the back would continually back out with every roll of the cutter. This one was 50% off at Joann's and I had a 25% coupon. I also had $4 remaining on my Joann's card from my birthday so I paid $4!  I really like how it automatically engages/disengages when the hand grips the bottom. I'm sure it is not even close to an Olfa, but I was using a Fiskars before, and this one works great.

I have been selling off our homeschool books that are no longer needed. I have $93 from sales in the last couple of days! I have put bids on some fabric bundles on Ebay. I just have to be patient now and wait for the wonderful fabrics to come.  I figured I could get some good quality fabrics at a better price this way so I won't have to use the cheap stuff I've been buying.  Afterall, the projects are getting more interesting.

Next up: Projects from Lesson 7 (and 5) Carrie's Country Lanes Table Runner and Town Square Quilt.

Fabric Hunt a BUST

Quilters are supposed to fall in love with fabrics. Lots of them. So much so that husbands are supposed to get a little put out by the stash the wife feels she needs to accumulate.  So, why is it that I can't find any fabric for my next project? I don't have a "stash" of fabric, and I can't find anything that strikes my fancy for this project.

I followed up on the ad for a lady's quilt stash last night.  "A lifetime" of fabric the husband said. She was awarded fair ribbons for her quilts. From what I could tell, she used all her good fabric and all that was left was scraps of stuff  from the craft store that I would never use.  He acted like it was a treasure chest.

I headed to the local quilt store today, and stood there for a hour debating over how I could come up with something, anything that would work for this table runner project. I need to find the large print fabric to start with, then the other fabrics can follow.


So, I went to Joann's to see if I could find some fabric to get by with. Nothing.

I then drove to the other quilt store that is a few more miles out of the way, and although I like this store so much more than the one closer to me, I STILL could not come up with a set of fabrics to work with!! I know I am fabric/color coordinating challenged, but this is depressing. I must have spent at least another hour or more there looking at all the wonderful fabrics.

I came home with only having to put gas in the car, and knowing that I cannot proceed until I can figure out how to get some fabric to work with.  Oh well, I over spent my budget this month anyway.  This will keep me at a slower pace.  But, then again, it's winter out there.  Literally Freezing.  It's a perfect time to snuggle inside my quilting room and spend some time there. 

Class 150: Beginning Drafting

Lessons 1,2 & 3 all involve the basics of grid sizes and drafting. I admit to you now, I would have skipped over this stuff (and all previous lessons like this I did skip) had it not been that I am holding myself accountable to doing ALL the lessons by blogging them here. I also admit I have not calculated my own yardage with previous assignments. I have a more recent book where the mistakes have been edited out, and I've been relying on the instructions. Since I do like to design my own projects, I figure this is something I should not be skimming over.

Hence, today I present my drafting lessons:
First one was very simple. I did not find anything challenging with this one, other than hunting down my colored pencils that had been stored away deep in the office shelves. This was a 9 patch  (3x3grid) and is Carrie's Cowboy Corral quilt, which I did in a Bird motif.

Next was a "more complex quilt". It is the Interlacing Circles and is also a 9 patch (3x3 grid) I purposely chose to do this in greens rather than the reds shown in the book because I wanted the extra challenge of not copying the model. After coloring in all these blocks, it's starting to get tedious and I think I'll skip trying it out in different variations of colors as suggested.

The third drawing is a "combined quilt" This one is a 5 grid model and I wasn't sure I was supposed to actually color it in or not.  It asked us to draw it out and not include any seam lines. I did that, but I could hardly see the pencil lines, so I colored it in most of the way. I left 2 rows empty, in case I need to come back and do something else with it.

The next lesson (#4) is a mock up of a table runner. Since I have no fabric stash to work with, I need to wait until I can get to the store. :(
I did find a Craigslist ad today that lists dresser drawers FULL of fabric from a quilter. I hope to get over there and take a look. It doesn't sound like it is fabulous quality stuff, but it would give me a variety to work with.  Until next time,
Dawn

Class 140: Rail Fence Project Quilt

In class 130, it was this statement that confused me here. "For your first 2 projects, we present a choice of 2 small quilts.."
I understood that to mean that in this class, being presented 2 choices, I would choose just one of them, just like in the previous class. However, after reading lesson plans over and over, I've decided that it was important to do this Rail Fence project. I'm not at all sure we were supposed to skip this quilt. So, I went back and did it.

I bought my fabric at Hobby Lobby, a local craft store.  I am not happy with it.  The edges fray way too easily, and I have strings everywhere. When I tore the fabric to line up the grain edge, it was so far off, that I didn't even come close to buying enough fabric, so I had to go back and purchase another 1/4 yard of 2 of the fabrics.  Here is an example of how much fabric I lost in the store's bad cutting.

I'm getting much better with the accuracy of the seams and cutting though. It isn't perfect, but I'm getting there. My lines are perfectly lined up with the yellow strip at 1 1/4" and I have exactly 1 1/2" on the outside strips except for just a smidge in the middle of the right side. That may be a messy iron job.




I had never chain pieced an entire quilt together.  In the very first project, I had a hard time not clipping the strings before I moved on to the next row.  With this project, I was more comfortable with it, and I really appreciate how the method described keeps my blocks from getting turned and getting confused as to which way is up.  However, I do still struggle with keeping it moving smoothly across my sewing table and evenly under the needle. I've never had so many rows to move at the same time. Notice in the picture how they are all chain sewed together. Anyone have any tricks/tips?

I've also learned to appreciate that I don't have to pin!  What a pleasant surprise.

Here is my finished piecing I completed just this AM. I have the fabric for the borders, it is the tonal purple for a thin inner border, and the large print for the outside border. But, I have to wait for later to finish it.

Overall, I think the colors worked to bring out the rails.  I wasn't too picky in choosing these fabrics since I don't have any plans to do anything with these practice projects. The loose threads about drove me crazy. They came out the front all over the place and I had to spend some time cutting them off.

I'm thinking that even though I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on these learning projects, the quality of the fabric may just change the settings and way I do things in the future with real projects and nicer fabric. At least I can turn on some soothing music and enjoy my room. This is a Craigslist find and it works perfect for my little space. (Both the Ipod, and the Ladybug player!) Someday I'll have Dave put up a shelf and it can sit there. For now, my ironing board is plenty big.

And now I am all caught up blogging with my current place in time.  Next up is a whole class on drafting!