Scrappy hearts

I'm still in my scrappy phase and just finished a scrappy hearts little quilt. It was inspired by a book that I have had for quite a while and have used a lot. LITTLE QUILTS ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE by Alice Berg, Mary Ellen Von Holt, and Sylvia Johnson. I never follow patterns exactly but they have great ideas for little quilts. The hearts and background were from my scrap pile but I must admit that I did buy the border. I found this fabric one at JoAnne's when my quilting buddies and I went to Dover. It just fit so well that I bought it. I used the freezer paper needle turn applique process and pressed open seams. Both methods worked well. I still want to get a little better on the hand turned ...some of the hearts weren't quite the way I wanted them but the more I made, the easier it got. It is hand quilted.

I just cleaned my quilting room like I do after every project. Hmmm... what should I do next. I have so many ideas in my head - the biggest decision is what to start!

I just got the DVD Eleanor Burn's Christmas at Bear Paw Ranch....she has some great ideas in that! Maybe I should get my Christmas fabric out!!

Little quilts and other fun stuff

I have been busy for the last several days. Lots has been happening. I started to work part-time at a bookstore within walking distance of my home. I always joked that I was going to retire, become a beach bum, and work in a bookstore....my prophecy came true! Actually, I told my husband that I am working to support my addictions...books and fabric!

But that's not all. I have begun to make some little quilts for several reasons. First, I want to try out some new techniques. Second, I want to use up some of my scraps, and third, my guild sells little quilts at the quilt show that is held every two years. I figured I'd better get busy and make some even though the show is still about a year away. Here is my first one. I wanted to try open seams on a small log cabin block. The open seams worked wonderfully!!! I am now making a little quilt using freezer paper for applique - something I've never tried before either. I wasn't really into applique even though I have tried it off and on over the years. So far so good ...will have to upload a picture of that later.

Last night, I had a great time. Several of our guild members really love the work of Pat Sloan and since she was going to be doing a workshop and lecture in Dover which is about 45 minutes from here, one of my good quilting buddies asked me to go along to the lecture with her. Pat Sloan is so personable and creative. She showed many of her own quilts and talked about being free to experiment and not necessarily following the quilt rules! Girl after my own heart. (I have a plaque in my den that says IF YOU OBEY ALL THE RULES YOULL MISS ALL THE FUN). This is my friend and the quilt she made using Pat Sloan ideas.

Still practicing with seams

I did some more cutting into that WHAT WAS I THINKING fabric because I wanted to try some blocks with matching triangle centers. Here are some of my samples. I was playing around with designs but I found that the fabric was trickier than I thought. The repeat was very confusing. The birds might look alike at first but upon closer inspection, there were slight differences so the design I had in mind didn't quite work. The smaller star was made with the technique of folding the triangle in half and sewing a seam across the top, turning the fabric right side out and pressing. I figured I'd use it for an applique. I was pleased with the way the seams came out on the back of the turquoise patch.

finished a thought

I did finish a project with that WHAT WAS I THINKING fabric... I made a table topper for the bistro table in our kitchen. Since it is summer and a fun time, I figured the pattern was appropriate. It was a quickie project and I did some fast handquilting as a test. I did learn a few things about pressing seams open...I like it.

1. It eliminated the worry about am I pressing in the right direction. The rule about pressing to the dark doesn't always work and sometimes you have to press a different direction and don't realize it until you start putting the blocks together.

2. The corners are not so bulky and the top seems to lay flatter. No big bumps

3. The seams are actually easier to match. ..Much like dressmaking

4. Hand quilting was a lot easier, especially when the quilting got near seams.

I have already cut some more of the fabric to try the open seams on some different block designs.

Pressing issues

The company is off to the beach so I decided to take a little blog time. Some of us quilters have been having a discussion about the issue of pressing seams. Some feel that the "quilt police" enforce the press to one side rule. Others say that the press to one side rule comes from old times when most quilts were hand made and pressing to one side made the seam stronger. Yet, recently I have been finding many places that say that the rule isn't necessary because machine stitching already makes a stronger seam. They suggest that pressing the seams open makes the seams less bulky for joining and for quilting. Several websites have mentioned this. Hmmmm, what is right?

I am really into traditional quilting and have many quilting books that were my grandmothers' - grandmothers on both sides were quilters. I was just looking through a book that belonged to Grandmother McCune published in 1934. I am attaching an image of the page. See what it says!

The title of the book is : Quilting - Leisure League Little Book Number 8 by Elizabeth King (New York: Leisure League) 1934.