Don't Tell Quilts

Sneak Peek- The Binding

2012-02-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

When telling me what colors she wanted, the Mom-to-be also asked for some black and white on the binding. No pictures of the whole thing yet, but it looks great! [...if I do say so myself :) ] The black and white adds a great touch to the little quilt. It gives it some more personality. And we know I love personality in quilts.

Doesn't it look great? Good call on the binding, Mom-to-be!

In my Hoop

2012-02-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

I purposely chose this picture as you can kinda almost see slivers of monsters. But it gives a good sense of the colors; nearly every fabric is here, I think only three aren't. No, take that back, there are only two you can't see. And the monsters of course.

Sneak Peek- Quilt Top

2012-02-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

This quilt is going to be like the monster quilt in my etsy shop, but different fabrics and a broader color palette. I assembled the quilt top yesterday, and today when everyone is sleeping I will start on the monsters. I'm pretty excited for the next step.
One fun thing about it being custom is that I'm able to etsystalk my customer's favorites and see what kinds of monsters she likes so I can put similar on the quilt and bumper. There's some awesome monster baby stuff on etsy.
I am torn about showing pictures. Technically this order is a gift, even if she did pick it out herself. But, a quilt blog with no quilt pictures isn't very fun. So to satisfy my two theories, I'll be posting some in progress shots but no clear obvious here's-what-it-looks-like shots until after it's been gifted.
So here's the first of the sneak peeks:

My First Custom Order

2012-01-30T18:00:00.001-08:00

My sister recently attended her ONLY college football game. It's all in the name. In that same vein I am calling this my FIRST custom order. I know!!! I am making something for a someone I don't know! At their request!
As you can tell, I'm pretty excited about it.
I was asked if I could make a bumper to match the monster blanket. Alas, I don't have the fabric for it, but we worked out Plan B. I'm making it custom, in case you missed that.
I started cutting this weekend and it's starting to take shape. I'll be posting sneak peeks along the way. I am having so much fun with it already.

Excited Squeal

2012-01-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

My monster quilt is featured over on Cuteable today. How exciting is that?! Check it out, she has some great stuff over there. (and I don't just mean me)

The State of the Sewing Room (Don't Tell Jeremy Part Two)

2012-01-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

While I'm in brother mode, this post's random picture is of my ninja cookies. My third brother sent us a fantabulous cookie cutter last year. He sent us moustache cookie cutters this year. I'm trying to decide if I just wanna food coloring my dough brown or if I wanna look for a recipe that will yield brown moustaches. Decisions, decisions.

On the Jeremy Quilt Front, we have had a few developments. First off, my brother is going international for a year. A tropical international. Consequently, his t-shirt quilt just got demoted to back burner. And good thing, too.
You may recall, the last update showed this:

The current status is this:

As you can clearly see, I've cut out out some of my white squares and some light gray and got some more of the layout in place. Oh, and we have a pac n play on it all. My sewing room is the guest room is my sewing room. We will be having a guest during the day for a while and as our guest this will be his room for napping. My quilting will be strictly bedtime for a while. Not a problem, seeing as the bro-dawg is island bound.
Here's a peek at what just got front burner status. Am I the only one who is geeky excited? I'm going all OCD on the details. My husband tells me I must be German at heart. I only claim Northern Europe and Scandinavia. I don't think I'm stubborn enough to hang with the Germans I know. Either way, this will be way over thought.

Don't Tell Jeremy (Part 1)

2012-01-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

I've gotten some of my cutting done on my brother's t-shirt quilt. I didn't sew today, but I did clean my bathrooms and mop. You get a little peek at the kids' bathroom because my sister's blog has a blog roll that shows the first picture on everyone's post. So in order to keep my brother from seeing his quilt in progress, you get to see our whale.

You even get a little story about our whale. I have no idea when I learned of the existence of such things. Shortly after we were married, I saw my husband drink from the kitchen faucet. I immediately told him we needed a faucet spout. We never were able to find one and he didn't feel the need for one like I did. Fast forward seven years, our kids find one in the grocery store, in the light bulb aisle of all places. Of course we bought one. It has taken teeth brushing to a whole new level in the kid bathroom. The whale (when you close the underside) redirects the flow of water out its spout like a drinking fountain. It works great.

Okay, enough about the whale, onto the quilt.

I didn't want to just slap the t-shirts together, I like to add some pizazz to my quilts. I was planning on incorporating the extra shirt fabric, but my design really came together accidentally; I spaced when I was cutting I heart NYC. I cut it as a rectangle. So I went with it. I cut the shirts to either a square or rectangle based on the design on the shirts. I'm going to surround the shirts in 2 or 4 inch squares. I'm still in the process of cutting the extra shirt fabric into squares.

My layout is still pretty haphazard. I'm pretty much throwing my squares and trying to get the distribution right. They are so gonna be moving around as I cut more. I already see a blue I need to move.

Not my general style, but t-shirt quilts really only get so fancy. I'll do what I can.

Get Ready Not to Tell

2012-01-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Check it out! My brother sent me a whole box of his old t-shirts! This actually is exciting. It's a whole new free to me project. (Technically I think most of these shirts were free themselves, my brother has a reputation for his free shirts...)

A while ago my brother was asking how one would go about making a t-shirt quilt. His actual question was "what is the easiest way" to make one. My mental response, "send them to me!!!" but far be it from me to rob someone of the opportunity to quilt, so I told him various ways his wife could make them into a quilt. Next my brother started asking how one would go about getting me to make them a t-shirt quilt. Twist my arm!

I expect my brother is thinking more along the lines of The Blanket of Heat, but really, I made that when I was fourteen and it's tied. I've come quite a bit farther in my quilting in the last fifteen years.

The Blanket of Heat has served us all well, but Jeremy's is gonna be awesome. Be sure you don't tell.

In other sewing news, Susie has me totally inspired to bust out some yo-yos. I have a few ideas in mind for these babies... and a whole bunch of their friends.

The Princess and the Pea

2011-12-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

I had fun making this one. I have fun making all my quilts, otherwise I wouldn't be a quilter, but I had mucho fun with this one. I don't think I ever hated this one. I pretty much always have a moment of doubt bordering on what was I thinking quilt hate; but I can't think of it with this one.

I used nine different pink patterns for the mattresses, a light pink for the "background," white for the bed frame, and yet another pink pattern for the backing and roll over binding.

I hand quilted of course. Pink around the pinks and white around my appliqued bed frame. (The white and light pink are easier to distinguish in real life.) I patterned the bed frame shape off my daughter's bed.

The sheer amount of pink in the border and edging was kinda a bit much to work with, but my pink sister assures me there is no such thing as too much pink. My mother, who had three boys before little me, agrees that for a baby girl there is indeed no such thing as too much pink.

I hand stitched the border and mitered the corners. I did a piano key border in the nine pinks of the mattresses. I like the play of the patterns all together.

And of course I love the pea. I used some green from my stash (read closet pile of random fabric) and it was the perfect green to go with these pinks. I dryer sheet appliqued it again and the seam allowances shoved inside function as make shift stuffing and give it extra poof. It's a perfect little pea.

This is another blanket for my etsy shop.

linking to tgiff

For Grandma Birdie

2011-12-19T15:33:00.000-08:00

Our daughter loves birds. She always has. She got a pair of bird feeders for her first birthday and has been known to cry when they are empty because the birds are hungry. She makes sure our feeders are always full. Consequently, we have a lot of birds in our yard, especially in the winter.

A month or so ago I was watching the birds out the window with her and apparently I think in terms of fabric. I saw the birds on the fence and thought quilt. I so had to make one someday.

And who better to make a bird quilt for than my Grandma Birdie.

I had thought I'd make it for her birthday next year. I mentioned it to my mom and she thought it sounded great. So I added it to my mental list.

Then, a week or so ago, I couldn't shake the feeling to make it now. So I checked my stash and actually found the perfect brown. I don't do brown so it was pretty amazing. This quilt was one thing after another that was amazing. I began to joke to my husband that the quilt would quilt itself. No such luck, but despite three little ones, it did come together in less that a week.

And now some details on the Quilt That Took Less Than A Week, I appliqued the birds with dryer sheets again. My new favorite method, by the way. I hand quilted along my seams on the fence posts and made little Xs at the white intersections of my plaid sky. I couldn't stomach the idea of blue binding framing my fence or brown in the sky and I couldn't envision some other color, so I bound each in itself; fence in brown, sky in blue.

(this little birdie is my favorite, I think his paisley looks like a sweet little wing.)
They are all scrap material from various things over the years. The pink on the far right is actually from a dress my mom had made for Pie when she was teensy.

I used a flowery blue on the back. The selvage said Disney on it and then I had a total moment of panic that there were fairies on it somewhere I had missed. False alarm, no fairies.
This quilt turned out great. I am really pleased with it. And I have a crazy love of the plaid sky. If I ever make this design again, I'm making it all plaid. It will likely be too much, but I seriously love the plaid sky.
This is one of my favorites so far.

linking to tgiff

Monsters Squared and a Plan

2011-12-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

Periodically, my in-laws tell me I could/should sell quilts. I know somebody somewhere buys quilts, but I sure don't, I just look until I figure out the pattern and then go at it. Anyway, seeing as I do love quilting and I only know so many people I can give them to, I decided to go ahead a give it a try. So I opened up an etsy shop.
I figure I'll quilt for fun, to try out new things, and just because, and then list them on etsy and see if anything happens. If nothing happens I already have a home picked out for my quilts. They will be heading to Project Linus if they don't leave for somewhere else first.

I've never made a quilt for anyone and no one before, it was a bit of a different experience.

It started out as just a bunch of squares, but as that's lacking in the pizzaz department, I added some monsters. I did something different for each one; three eyes, bow tie, glasses, two heads, horns, that kind of thing.

I blanket stitched around all the applique stuff and then couldn't decide how to quilt the squares. I thought about a few different things, but nothing felt like it really went with the quilt. I ended up blanket stitching in contrasting thread around all the patterned squares.

I used my first ever striped binding and really had fun with that. I liked that I was able to place the seams just right that the joins were hidden. It was dorky fun.

And here's a sneak peek update of the one with all the pink rectangles. It's destined for an elsewhere home, too. It's about half way done, it had to wait while I made a Secret Quilt. I'll show you that one soonish.

Remember This One...

2011-12-06T10:32:00.001-08:00

This quilt was the "girl" quilt I made when a friend was pregnant and not finding out gender. I had left the center blank, thinking that I would add the kid's name.

Well, that baby ended up being a boy and he got monsters instead. So the girl quilt sat waiting, like patience on a monument as they say.

Our Kindergarten teacher is having a baby in February, and score, it's a girl. Check it out, she is so getting a quilt. Done and done. But we really weren't all that sure we would manage to find out exactly how they are spelling the name (I'm related to an EmmaLee, so even a "usual name" can't be assumed) and coordinate that with when she is at school considering maternity leave and all that.

So we went with Plan B; and around here, B is for butterfly.

The butterflies are all applique. I used dryer sheets as the underside of my applique, I read about it here. It worked out great! I like the bit of dimension it gave the wings. I am all about poof, remember.

The thing that surprised me, and really if I had thought about it I should have seen this one coming, but it smells a bit more spring-time fresh than you'd expect in my full on winter.

The butterflies are all a bit different as I didn't use a pattern or anything. I just drew a wingish shape for each of the four wings on the butterfly. I then stitched those together and voila, a butterfly.

I had planned on hiding my stitching, but it was taking way long, so I switched to visible stitching in purple on all the butterflies, as opposed to pink on pink and blue on blue. I ended up really liking the way it turned out. I think it fits with the visible purple stitching in the little square border.

We are going to be gifting this one, along with some cookies or whatnot, to our teacher for Christmas. Here's hoping she likes butterflies...and the smell of fresh laundry.

Someday Soon...

2011-12-01T11:58:00.001-08:00

my sister will be jealous of this.

In My Hoop

2011-11-10T07:13:00.001-08:00

This is what I'm currently quilting. It started as just some squares, but I added some monsters. My favorite again is the cyclops. Turns out I just really like cyclopes. Go figure.

This one is still being pieced. I have a border cut and soon to be sewn, but for now this one is just this. Pie is in love with this one. She asks about it every time she wakes up; we've been to visit it at least once a day lately. It doesn't look like much now, but its moment is coming...as soon as I finish up the monsters.

Me and This Quilt

2011-11-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

(this one is for the Bloggers' Quilt Festival, that's why you're seeing it again people)

My mom is a youngest and has instilled in at least me, that youngests (and really any child not the oldest) needs things that are special, just for them. My sister-in-law had a boy and while he was on the way I made him a quilt. Really though, I made it for the son of my sister-in-law so I mostly thought of her. Although I did occasionally think of my brother-in-law too. But mostly his wife, 'cause come on, we know she's the one decorating.
I decided on a fabric personality for the mom (graphic, bold, clean) and set to work coming up with a plan. My plan looked great on paper. I was way excited. I called her to find out what the color's were for her baby room and from there I bought my fabric.
Again, my plan looked great on paper. It felt like a train wreck while I was piecing. Seriously, I came up with about a million alternate designs. I nearly scraped it at least three times. I tend to have some doubts about my quilts while in the piecing process, but this was a whole 'nother level. I was even to the point of sending my own sister pictures of my new designs for her vote.
So half way through piecing my train wreck, we went of vacation. We actually visited this sister-in-law. I saw her baby room and the fabric she had chosen and knew I was so right about her fabric personality. The curtain fabric even went with the quilting method I had in mind.... but I still thought my quilt was maybe too busy. I was back to slight apprehension as opposed to full on disaster.
When we got back my husband actually was the one to made the final call. He saw the quilt top and said it totally fit and I should just do it. The mom is his sister after all, so I listened. And besides, it looked so good on paper...
As I started adding the "elements," it really starting coming together. By the time I got to the actual quilting, I was so confidently in love with the quilt top that I cringe at the memory of how close I was to ditching the whole thing.

I am in love with the wrenches. They turned out perfectly. The extra layer of batting was a stroke of genius. The whole thing turned out great. I really need to work on my quilt confidence. Next time I hate a quilt in progress I will have to remind myself of this one. Seriously, I've never hated a quilt more and it is now one of my all time favorites. And you should just see it with my handsome nephew on it; he's so the best part of the quilt.

I used three different patterns for the yellow squares and solid for the orange. I used my main blue dot fabric for the "blank" squares and the secondary smaller dot for the robot background and the occasional small square.

I included a number pad for inputing things with the robots. I also threw in some binary (this was for the brother-in-law), it's their last name.

Gears and bolts for robot parts.

I handquilted around the squares to connect some of the checkerboard more, and it so went with the lattice-type curtain fabric. I handquilted around the wrenches and gears and stuff too.

And here are the robots. The second one's eyes are made to be snipped to his birthdate. I sewed each loop on the eights separately so my sister-in-law could make it exact.

This quilt and I had many ups and downs, but I'm glad I went with it. It's just stinkin' awesome. (and I'm so humble about it)

Finished Quilt Under There Somewhere...

2011-11-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

I really couldn't get a picture without them; for my binding shot I had to block them with my arm. Considering O had to wait while I made this, and these, and these, I can't say that I blame him for not wanting to part with it. And really isn't joy and love in blanket form why I make these?

It's twin sized for his bed. The boys room has planets hanging from the ceiling and I used the same planet fabric on their drapes. I call it his planet quilt, O calls it his outer space blanket. Either way it's finally finished.

I used the stars fabric for the binding. It's just like the planets but without the planets. It ended up being so the right decision. (by the way, how awesome is Saturn?)

The bright nearly primary color solids took some getting used to and felt kinda jarring while I was cutting and piecing, but as a whole I really like the look of it. And really, I made it for a boy, not his mom. O loves it like crazy and is so excited to have his big blanket made by mom.

I hand quilted this one just inside the seams. Well, not just inside, but inside. I like the crinkliness it gives the quilt (and it let me get away with having six inch finished squares of the planets without having my quilting distance be too far and without having distracting quilting all over the solids). And, with the seam allowance tucked inside there it gives it a little more poof. If it weren't for summer I would make everything with a super high loft batting.
So big blankets for beds: two down, one to go.

Luke's Planets

2011-10-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

I'm nearly finished with the quilting on Owen's, so I've been taking inventory of what I still need to cut for Luke's quilt. I had run out of a few colors when I was initially cutting. Turns out my new yellow and green don't match what I already had. The yellow I think I can pass off in the quilt as long as it's not caddy corner to an original yellow. The green though, not so much. Seeing as I was planning on backing Luke's in green anyway, this isn't really too terrible a happening, I had to buy more green anyway. Luke's green won't be quite the same as Owen's green, but the bunk beds should take care of anyone noticing.
The only down side is that now I have to cut all new green squares and rectangles as I can't use the ones already set aside for Luke. I suppose my eventual dollhouse quilt just planted a garden.

Finally, Some Pictures

2011-10-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here it is. The finished product. And of course, the ever present three year old model.
I've known this sister-in-law now for going on eight years and I've seen some of her fabric choices and how she's decorated. I have a theory that people have fabric personalities whether they know it or not. So with that theory I tried to go with a geometric, clean, graphic look that can sometimes be bold. It was about that scientific. Although I did use graph paper when I was planning this one, so maybe it was a little scientific.
I did robots and a bunch of checkerboard bits. Deconstructed checkerboard is the glorified name I've given it, but really it's just overlapping checkerboard bits.

As you can see it is exactly one three year old long. Here are close-ups of the robots. Turns out it was kinda tricky coming up with the robots. There's the classic robot, but then what? The girl actually designed the third one.

This is the girl's robot. She chose his shape and I tricked him out. His numbers can be made into B2's birthday. The loops on the 8's are each sewn individually so that his mom can snip out the extras and make it B2 specific.

I put a bunch of nuts and gears on the blanket, robot parts of course.

And wrenches. I love the wrenches. I made them with an extra layer of super fluffy batting so they have tons of poof. I love me some poof. Then I appliqued my little wrench quilts onto my quilt top.

I did the same for the big gears and the number pad square has extra batting too. It's for imputing things with your robot. I don't have a robot so I don't know what kind of things you would input, maybe how many scoops of ice cream to bring you.

And then there's the binary. Sigh. I used geeky translators to get their last name into binary and used some of my fancy smanchy embroidery floss to really carefully put it in all equidistant. Doesn't it look great? What's that? You can't actually see it? Yeah, shouldn't have use yellow. Curse you farsighted eyes. I promise if you were holding it a foot from your face you would be able to see it perfectly. Next time, no yellow on a patterned fabric. But trust me, it looks good. And really, B2 will have a pretty close view, so he can back me up on the actual beauty of the binary.

Here it is sans child measuring stick. As a whole I think it works. That's not to say that it doesn't have a lot going on, but I think it's a good kind of lot.

See the poof. My future quilter wanted to pick it up.

The quilt method on this one was to quilt outside the squares. I thought it might connect some of the checkerboard a bit more and it would work with the lattice-esque fabric of B2's drapes. Since it's the opposite of my vanity quilting I'm calling it my modesty quilting. I have a dorky love for words.

I used three different yellow patterns and as orange patterns were all too girly for my taste I used a solid orange. The solid turned out being a nice balance to the patterns. I used two blues. The main blue for my blank squares, and a secondary blue dot for the background of the robots and the occasional little blank square in some of the smaller checkerboards.

Here's the view once B2 starts holding his head up.

There are a few things I would do differently and a couple squares I wouldn't include again, but I had fun on this one. I love the wrenches so much that someday I might just make some crazy quilt with tools everywhere.

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

2011-09-28T18:55:00.001-07:00

I finished the quilting during a marathon nap. And good thing, too; B2 will be arriving in the next couple/ few weeks.
Lily, being the only other person home and awake, was the first to see it. She was at a loss for words, which seeing as she's been talking nonstop since about thirteen months, is saying something. Eventually she got out that "it's a little crazy." I then tried the standby of thumbs up or thumbs down. Even that took some time, but did garner a thumbs up.
All I have left is binding and a few more details, then its off to California. Then I will post pictures and see who else we can leave dumbfounded.

Ready To Quilt

2011-09-19T12:14:00.001-07:00

Lily and I finished the quilt top (and unspooled my ribbon stash) today. It's now basted and waiting for some quilting.
It still may be a bit busy, but I like to think of it more as... not sure what, but a good kind of busy. Mentally stimulating maybe. I'm excited to see it finished.

Oh, It's More Than Hope

2011-09-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

It's all coming together now. I really should learn not to doubt myself in the process. I think it's gonna be awesome, one might even say it will totally rock. I am looking forward to the actual quilting; I have a new method I want to try that I think will really tie it all together. If I love it as much as I am beginning to think I likely will, Jenna's might just find she has one in her house someday too.
I really, really wanna show some pictures, but alas, I love the element of surprise with gifting. So we all have to wait until B2's momma has it in hand. Then there will be more than enough pics to make up for the current lack.

There's Hope

2011-09-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

I've been slowly adding what I'm calling "the elements" of the quilt. It is looking good. I still think it might tend toward chaos, but I'm shooting for organized chaos.

Decisions, Decisions

2011-08-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

After having been away from the infamous quilt and now seeing it again, we are torn. Nathan says I should just go with it. He thinks it goes with the fabrics B2's mom has in his room. It's still maybe kinda busy, but if I make it and am still undecided I figure I'll just email a pic around and get third and fourth and fifth opinions. I can always scavenge it into a quilt with less going on. I am excited about all the individual elements, but as is my usual, I'm doubting the unseen final product. So for now we are back to Plan A. Again.

More Than The Usual Quilt Hate

2011-07-31T19:52:00.001-07:00

Seriously, it was just too busy. I had to change the design of B2's quilt. I was nearly half way done with Phase One, but it wasn't getting any easier to look at. So I have a new design. And my brain is sighing in relief.
Now I can't be held responsible for an overstimulated nephew.

Lookin' Good

2011-07-18T19:50:00.001-07:00

I've started cutting B2's fabric and it looks great together. I always have my moments of doubt, but this time the fabric is not involved in the doubts.
The doubts this time are related to the actual layout. Not to give anything away, but this is really the first quilt that I consider to have come entirely from my brain; as opposed to inspired by something. I'm beginning to think my brain is a strange place. Nathan diplomatically stated that the things I make have some personality. That's one way to put it. Here's hoping B2 and the quilt get along, personality wise.

Just a Little Update

2011-07-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

BabeO's quilt is really coming along. I'd guess that I'm nearly half way done with the quilting. Nathan and I have been watching the extended editions of Lord of the Rings, which is helping in the quilting time department. AND quilting is keeping me awake, I even made it through Helm's Deep. Don't misunderstand, I love LOTR, I even read the book before the movies, but something about Helm's Deep gets me every time. Which I'm pretty sure baffles and amuses Nathan, seeing as I manage to fall asleep during a battle scene. I had totally never seen Faramir question them about their route and threaten Gollum! I'm glad that scene exists, it helps to redeem Faramir after Peter Jackson ruined him. It bugs me to no end when a good character is maligned in a movie just to add some drama. I'm annoyed just thinking of it.
Back to sewing... we are contemplating a road trip, in which case I am contemplating one of those back of the seat car organizers for cars, fairies, books, Friend magazines and the like. I'm also thinking about something else, but it's more exciting than the car organizer so you'll have to wait. Potentially more exciting that is, I love me some good organizing.

B2's Fabric

2011-07-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Pretty self-explanatory; this is gonna be a quilt for B2- our nephew on his way.

The Big Reveal

2011-06-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who was pregnant and they didn't find out gender. I wanted to make the baby a quilt, but turns out I don't do gender neutral. So I made two quilts; one for each possibility. And it was really fun.The baby was a boy and this is what we gave him; we call it the monster quilt. The lighting's a bit weird, it's not really that wrinkled.

The quilt is a bunch of circles that I appliqued and did a blanket stitch around. I used high loft batting so that it has a really good poof.
There are three different monsters in the mix.
Blue with googly eyes,

cute little green guy,

and my favorite, the cyclops. I think he just looks silly.

But what if they had a girl? Here's what she would have gotten. The safety pins are just holding it until someone has a girl and it becomes completely finished; you'll see in a second.

I used a fancy ribbon ruffle on the edging. As a former ribbonaholic, I thought it was a nice touch.
This blanket used more scraps from Lily's blanket, especially one that the Mom in question had pointed out as liking. And, my first ever fussy cutting. (meaning cutting to get a specific part of the fabric and not just space efficiently) I cut out little houses, one for each side in blue and pink.

Eventually, this quilt will go to a baby girl. The middle is blank until she has an actual name. The general idea is below, but seeing as I did that on my computer and not in fabric it's only the general idea, for visual people. In reality the letters will take up more of the center block and likely be made from the same fabric as the little squares for continuity. It will looks lots better.

Now all I need is a little girl to give it to.

(and Mom of B2, we are totally planning on making a quilt for him. We were thinking monsters or the equivalent of robots in squares. Or something traditional, we're letting you dictate. Think of it as a commission. But don't worry, if we don't hear from you we'll just use his room's paint color as inspiration and go from there.)

Vanity Quilting

2011-06-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I'm calling this method my vanity quilting. Seriously, each and every stitch is highly visible. I've done more since taking the pictures and the quilting, while being incredibly noticeable, I think draws more attention to the quilt than the quilting. I'm also really liking the dimension it gives the quilt. I am a big fan of poofiness, but for a general use quilt I use low loft. The little channels really look good. I'm liking the quilt right now.

Owen's Planet Quilt

2011-06-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

It's basted and ready to go. I even managed to quilt around a square and a half-ish. I'm not quilting along seams this time. I'm stitching about 1/2 inch or so in. The yellow rectangle isn't finished, but that planet square is. Of course you can only see it across the planet. I made a baby blanket this way and really liked the end result. I quilted that with coordinating thread, this quilt I'm quilting in all black thread. I'm hoping it will turn out nice.

Coming Along

2011-06-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

The fabrics aren't my usual, but I'm liking it as a whole. The fabric is a little less jarring when they are together. There's another half still to be assembled, but this gives the idea. Owen loves it. It's gonna be a hit.
Not sure whether to use my stars fabric (just like the planet fabric but without the planets) as sashing around the whole thing or not. We'll see what I think and if I want a couple more inches for sizing. I may just use the stars for binding. Owen's backing is going to be blue and Luke's will be green; so we can all tell them apart readily.

Really, Every Time

2011-06-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

Every quilt has a point where I really don't particularly like it. Even Secret Quilt #1, which is a favorite. Right now I am so there with Owen's quilt. I'm about half way done with Step Three and I'm not feeling it. I'm hoping that this is just my standard antiquilt phase and I'll like it better soon, but I really think it's the fabric. Owen loves it and that's really the important part. It's just not my color scheme. I'm having another sewing day today while Gma plays with the kiddos, we'll see if I end up with pics and you can see what I mean. Start thinking up reassuring comments in the meantime.

update: No worries. I laid it out to determine block placement and discovered that I do like it. It really happens every time. I should just go with it by now. I am afraid though, that one of these days I'll make a quilt that I end up hating.

Coming Soon

2011-06-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Grandma Cindy is with us for awhile and she's key in my goal. I want to have Owen's quilt ready for him this winter. I hand quilt, which takes some time, so I need to get his quilt top ready. My goal is to have his quilt top finished before Gma leaves us for California. I got a little done on it already while Luke napped and Gma played with the others. I got step one blue and green done. The quilt pattern is pretty simple, but it's a multi step process. See?

Step Four isn't really a step, it's pretty much just the result of Step Three, but about seventy or so Step Fours sewn together make the quilt top.
My square in step one is the planet fabric that matches the drapes I made in the boys' room. The rectangles and small square (step two's square) are solids in colors from the planet print.
The little I've done is looking good. I don't think I've ever sewn anything with so much dark fabric, but it's for a boy and I it totally goes with the planet scheme of the room. (The planet scheme being the glow in the dark planets hanging from the ceiling. The pic's old, but the planets are still there. Luke has since moved in and they have a new big dresser.)

As I know a certain youngest is concerned for my youngest, don't worry, Luke's quilt has not been forgotten, it's just lower priority as he is over a year away from sleeping on the bunk bed. He will have his own planet quilt, it's fabric is even already mostly cut.
So here's hoping I have a quilt top to show you soon.

For Mary

2011-05-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

Aunt Mary is off to the MTC. Tomorrow she starts her 18 month mission for our church. Curious? We wanted to send Aunt Mary away with something from us that wouldn't be a pain to have to carry along with her necessities. Here's what we came up with: PILLOWCASES!
Awesome, right? How functional. We brainstormed various Aunt Mary facts and then got to work.
First up, i heart cats. Because man, Aunt Mary and cats. (I have now confessed to Aunt Mary my feelings toward cats and she's not holding it against me.)

Aren't the creases great? Aunt Mary had to unpack this one for the picture and I so didn't bother to iron.
It's more applique, I've become a little applicrazy. I blame the Scrabble quilt and the left over fusible web. I did a simple blanket stitch around it all.

The heart is made with the over the top " I love my kitty cat" fabric that I used when I made Mary some flannel slippers a few years ago.

Next up, Godzilla attacking Atlanta Bread Company. Mary used to work there. On our end it was a great deal; she brought over the stuff that was getting less than fresh. The peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate are really good. (and yeah, the lighing's crummy)

Anyway, Godzilla. He's applique and blanket stitch with backstitching on the details. And my very first successful french knot for his eye.

Doesn't he look angry? He must not have tried the chocolate filled croissants yet. They taste way better than that car will.
The only potential flaw in the whole pillowcase scheme is that they could be wildly uncomfortable to sleep on. Guess she can always just turn it over. Although having Godzilla imprinted on her cheek would be pretty funny.
In other Aunt Mary sewing, I adjusted the sizing on the temple slippers I made her for her birthday. I had forgotten to factor in the nylon slippery factor, they shouldn't slip off anymore.

Growing

2011-05-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

Secret Quilt #2 was feeling like it needed a little more, so I added a little more. I'm thinking about diagonal quilting in the middle, but that's waiting on a few pieces of information.

One of the plants we're plant sitting is flowering for the first time ever. It gets more direct sunlight here than its usual spot, I was told.

The most blooming ones are in the middle of the plant jungle. These are the best shots I could get.

That's the latest in my sewing room; quilts and plants alike are growing.

Someday

2011-05-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

I'm intrigued by the idea of making a doll house quilt. I had a blanket dollhouse that is now Lily's. It's a panel with the dollhouse printed on it. I really want to make a quilt with a house. I figure the walls, floors, and baseboards can be pieced and the furniture and whatnot appliqued on. I like the idea of being able to put lots of little details in each room. I think it would be fun to make it match the actual decor in someone's house.
Right now this is on my board with my other quilt ideas. Someday I will make one of these. Maybe all the pregnant people I know will have girls and I'll get to make one soon...

The "Fake Pleats"

2011-05-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

I think they look pretty impressive, I mean come on, pleats are hard core. These were crazy easy. Well, okay there was some math involved, but as far as the physical making of them, easy.
I made a bunch of equidistant button holes on the back of the rod pocket. I did this before I sewed the pocket, so essentially giant buttonholes near the unfinished edge then I folded it over to make the rod pocket. (The equidistant part was where the math came in.)
Once the sewing was all done I just wove the rod in and out through the buttonholes. That way, the "out" part of the curtain pulls away from the rod when I open the curtains and creates a fake pleat. Easy.

Again With July

2011-05-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm quilting in the ditch and I'm not sure I'm loving it. The squares aren't really the main element of the quilt per se, so I figure it's not really an issue. I'm usually not totally sold until I see the full effect anyway; so in July.

A Sneak Peek

2011-05-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

This doesn't get a full reveal until July. But until then, if you look now, you can see part of his left elbow...
(geeky quote for Jenna's amusement, there are no elbows above)

Coast to Coast Admiration

2009-12-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

Nathan Lindsey has been spreading the word about the Scrabble quilt. Amazement even from the opposite side of the country. Now we just have to go international...

Success

2009-12-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

He has now opened it. And he didn't even have to pretend to like it...or he's the best actor in the world and needs to change careers.

(it even fits on his bed just like it was supposed to)

Safely There

2009-12-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

Uncle Nathan has his surprise wrapped in some rather festive paper in his apartment. It is now only waiting on the day to be revealed. At some point he'll call and then he'll be allowed to open it.

Shipped and Gone

2009-12-14T16:20:00.001-08:00

It will arrive Thursday. And I will be obsessively tracking it until I know Nathan Lindsey has it.

Ta-Da

2009-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

Here it is. I may post more pictures later when I have Nathan's help to take them.
There are a few things I especially like about how it turned out. One, the quilting along the squares meant that the white spaces essentially became a little channel. The quilting distance of the whites (each edge of the white) is only .5 inch apart, so the white is held down tight, while the squares themselves are not, making the squares seem more poofy. I like that they stand out and the way it gives the quilt dimension. I also like my little label. It was nearly the proudest moment of the whole thing once I got to "sign" it. This is on the back in a bottom corner. With its inspiration. I pulled out the board and Owen exclaimed, "it looks just like that!" I like the look of the quilting on the back. It makes it look like so much work. (I plan on wrapping it so that Nathan Lindsey sees the back first and realizes quilt before he turns it over and sees what it really entails.)

Here's a close up of the back, well closer.

It's Finished

2009-12-14T07:40:00.001-08:00

Last night I did all the final sewing. The border is on and there is nothing left to sew. I have to take out the basting (the "garbage stitches" that hold it together while quilting) and I have to clean up any loose threads from the underside that are peeking up in my seams. But I think I can take care of all that during Sesame Street.
Pictures of the masterpiece will be coming soon; this afternoon maybe. I'm planning on taking a ridiculous amount of pictures. Mostly due to the fact that I don't feel like I have enough pictures of the flip flop quilt and all its little quilted designs.
Essentially I'm glad to be done with it. I have been working on it all year. And now, despite my previous machine, vacations, two kids, pregnancy, and a horribly misguided but well intentioned plan of piecing the triangles, it is finished.

More Progress

2009-12-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

I got two sides pinned last night. I expect I could have done more in that same amount of time, but I was watching Harry Potter special features and kept actually watching them talk about special effects and things. So no special features tonight, just pinning.

Quilted, Trimmed, and Ready to Pin

2009-12-11T07:43:00.001-08:00

This is what I did yesterday while Owen watched Muppet Treasure Island and Lily made Christmas cookies with Dad, and occasionally came to stand in very inconvenient spots.

Next Step, Done

2009-12-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

I finished all the quilting the other night. Now I've just got to finish it and get it sent.

Almost!

2009-11-30T14:37:00.000-08:00

There are only thirty unquilted squares. I will totally get this done. The kids are pretty good about not climbing on me or the quilt during Sesame Street. Between that and quilting at night it's been moving along. But only thirty left. That means also that I can take a little breather from quilting this weekend.
Once all the square are quilted, there is still the matter of finishing it. It shouldn't be too terrible, but it is a king (CA king as a matter of fact) size quilt. Just that length of the sides means it will take a while to actually finish. A couple nights at least. I have to trim the edges and then fold and pin it all. Then sew it. With my new machine that part will be a breeze. The hardest part will be finding room on my desk to maneuver it.
Expect more excited updates.

Coming Right Along

2009-11-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't counted lately, but I'm approaching done with squares. I just needed more opportunities to work on it, so the other day I asked Owen if he thought he and Lily could handle it if I quilted by them during Sesame Street. He thought they could and he was right. So that's an extra hour a day that doesn't depend on Number Three and I staying up late.
There has been definite progress.

No More Books

2009-11-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

Mom and Jenna loaned me a book. And since I'll be getting Christmas presents together before too long, I thought I should read it in order to return it. Well now I've read it.
And while I've read it I haven't been quilting. I'd read it for like thirty minutes telling myself that I was waiting for the kids to fall asleep so I could go upstairs and get all the quilting stuff without all the noise. But really, it's not all that much noise. I could totally go get it.
So, tonight I will not read. I will only quilt.
(I have been predominantly quilting. I've actually been watching the Jonas brother's disney channel show while I did it. The first episode I tried to watch was so bizarre I couldn't make it through it. But it's grown on me. I'm all out and I'm a little bummed. I'll have to find some more random stuff on instant netflix.)

Bit of a Standstill

2009-10-31T06:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't made as much progress this week as I could have. A couple nights ago I took a break from quilting and read. A brother-in-law who shall remain nameless inspired me to reread twilight and new moon before the movie comes out.
The next night after that I was so tired that I went straight to bed. And again last night. Lily has been waking up around six. Sometimes before six. Not so great for a pregnant lady who sleeps about as comfortably as any pregnant lady. Really, it felt early when she was waking up at seven. So, until Lily's gut let's us sleep again, the quilting progress will be slowish.

And as far as the counter on the side: I've done more than it says. The deal is that counting them all is a pain, so essentially I'm forgoing counting. I may update occasionally, but I'm not counting every night. I think I've done over thirty, somewhere around forty maybe. I get nine squares in my giant hoop and I think I've moved it four or five times.

Quilting

2009-10-13T09:08:00.001-07:00

Last night I quilted five squares. The more I do the faster they get, I get in a groove. It looks nice, I'm really satisfied with how well the thread blends in too. It's gonna loook great. So, five down two hundred and twenty to go.

(i added a countdown to track the quilted squares)

No More Triangles!

2009-10-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

The triangles and I are finished. I will have no more direct interaction with them. I will be quilting very near them, but I will not be quilting on them. They are sewn and done.
Seriously the triangles were an ordeal.
Now I'm on to what will be much more fun; if for no other reason than because I'm not confined to my machine anymore, I can quilt downstairs, I can even watch a movie! I will be hand quilting. It's too big for my machine, and I like hand quilting, it's a little more homemade and I like the process. That being said, this is a king size quilt and perhaps I'll change my mind. Maybe this will be the last thing I ever hand quilt. I am only doing real quilting, not the embroidery type quilting I did on the flip flop quilt, I'm not that crazy, so it should go relatively fast. We'll see how long it all takes, hopefully it won't become a Happy 31 present. But really I think Christmas is reasonable.

Light Blue Triangles and Star...

2009-10-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

Done

Nearly There

2009-10-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

I ironed the final triangles on and the star. Once they are sewn it will be assembly time and then to the quilting. Finally.

Can We Dance On It?

2009-10-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Every time I get any part of this quilt out Owen asks me this very important question. Today I let them; nothing is just ironed on at the moment.

I'm totally going to put the star, it feels like it needs something as a focal point. I need to put the final triangles on the edge reds and light blues. The bordering light brown is a bit of an almost issue.

There's this cutter at JoAnn's, she's young, not quite as practiced as June and the other septuagenarians manning the cutting table. So far every time she's cut something for me it turns out to be a good couple inches short. The dark brown was short, Lily's drapes were short, and the light brown is short. The problem is that it doesn't line up. In some parts it's not a problems, but in one spot my foot border is only eight inches, well almost eight and a half. Maybe she just doesn't cut straight, something. I feel a little bad that I think of her as "the bad cutter," but that's really how it is.

So the almost issue needs to be resolved. Either I cut all the light brown to eight and a half and then make the dark brown binding (I'm doing a fold over binding, it's just easiest) a few inches wide to make up some of the difference. OR, I sew an add-piece to my light brown, which I think would look kinda dorky to have a seam a few inches from the edge instead of just a longer piece. Also, making this slightly more difficult: I have no king size bed to measure it all against. I have measurements for a king mattress, but I'm still doing this somewhat blindly.

I don't have to decide yet. I'll do the star and triangles and see what I think then.

Today's the Day

2009-09-24T08:55:00.001-07:00

It's today, but the quilt is not done. I did however have a great time in the SW. I called to commemorate the day and tell him again that his present is coming in December. Upcoming schedules will give me plenty of time to get it done. I'm hoping to have made significant progress by the time my mom comes for her next visit.

Time to Decide

2009-09-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

I'm fast approaching the moment of decision on a few things. First of: the star. Scrabble boards have a star in the middle the orients the board. I'm torn on this. If I do it the quilt then has a way that it "goes." If I leave it out any side could be the top. Next, if I do the star ought I to also do the Double Word Score type text? I think if I do the star I'll just embroider a label along the edges of it that no one will notice unless they know it's there. If I don't do the star I'll add a label to the back. As I am finishing assembly these become now or never decisions, once it's together I'll have missed the chance. SO, should I star or not? Double Word Score or not?

Triangles Are Finished!

2009-09-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

The kids spent the last couple days at Grandma and Grandpa's. Owen spent the night then refused to leave so he and Lily stayed while I went and bought more thread (I ran out of light and dark blue the first day). Then as neither wanted to leave after that they stayed until Grandpa dropped them off on his way to work.

The end result was that Owen and Lily had a great time and I got the triangles finished.

The quilt top itself is nearly finished. I have to add the border, but considering everything else I've had to do I pretty much reached the no-brainer stage of assembly.

Last night I ironed the fabric for the backing (all 9 yards of it, yep, 27 feet) and the light brown for the border. Next step cutting.

(here's a pic of the back. you can see all the seams and how much sewing and ironing were involved.)

Anticipation

2009-09-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow the kids are going to Grandma Cindy's house. She's even bringing them back for dinner, ribs. But that means I won't even have to go get them. My plan is to clean the downstairs bathroom (it's the one Owen uses all day, it needs to be cleaned) and then sew triangles all day. I'm curious how many I'll get done. Hopefully at least all the light blue.

I just remembered that I was supposed to post a picture, so here are two:

for some reason the pink looks really yellow; it's not, it's just the lighting.

see what I mean about the light blue, the thread is too dark now that it's sewn. It was the best match I could find though. Again the lighting is a little weird.

Progress

2009-09-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

I have all the pink triangles sewn on. I'm onto the light blue now. Next post will have a picture. It looks pretty stinkin' good. The pink thread was a total match. The light blue doesn't look quite as light as the fabric. The dark blue won't blend like the pink does at all, and I don't remember how the red matched; it was a while ago in JoAnn's.

Containment

2009-08-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

It has been brought to my attention that I don't know everyone looking at this, that some unknown (to me) individuals have even told Nathan Lindsey that they have seen his surprise. I would just like to point out that the key word is surprise. And, not that it needs to be said, but I'm saying it: if anyone tells Nathan Lindsey I will hold them responsible for ruining, that's right ruining, over nine months of planning and work to keep it secret. And they will have to live with knowing that they did it.

Triangles

2009-08-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

They are going on pretty fast. I have to place them just right, which takes like three seconds. Last night I got all the pinks and a couple dark blues ironed on. I have to sew around them all once they're on, but my new machine will make that a breeze. (and I expect it to be really fun too, I'll get to use my zig zag stitch!)

Two Halves

2009-08-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

I have to fix one spot and then I'm sewing the two halves together. Then the board part will be assembled. I've scaled it so that the gameplay area is the top of the mattress, I have to add border, like on the board, so that it hangs down on the sides. This thing is huge. Each square is five inches and the white is half an inch. It's big.

September 24th, December 25th

2009-08-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

Technically I think September 24th could be possible. Less so for me seeing as I'm not a retired grandma. But this morning I realized that it's really not all that attainable for me at all. I had forgotten that Nathan is taking off a big chunk of September. Grand Canyon doesn't exactly say king sized quilt to me. I will still be working just as studiously, but I'm thinking that September will have come and gone when it's finished. Which, with the adjusted mentality concerning the timeframe, I have more time to consider Double Word Score and all that and decide if/how I want to do that. So the "delay" could just be making for a more extreme Scrabble Quilt.

Another Unforseen Bunch of Ironing

2009-08-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

I was all set to sew the rows together with the white between, but I'm discovering that I'll have to iron the seams open before I can connect them. So now I'm sewing white to one side of each row so that after I iron I'll be able to finally put it together. If I didn't iron the seams open I'd end up sewing them to the white and the colors would show through. So, rather than using the next few nights to iron on triangles I'll be using it to sew together the board. But then it will be together! Finally! And it will start to really look like it will end!

I Couldn't Resist

2009-08-02T10:13:00.001-07:00

I had the iron out for Owen's shirt and I did a triangle. Then I had to see what all three looked like; and I must say it defines fantabulous.

Triangles, Again

2009-08-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

I now have all the triangles ironed to fusible web and cut out. I am ready to start ironing them onto the white spaces. We had theorized it would be easier to do the triangles a few rows at a time, but I'd have to keep changing my bobbin thread (and I only have two bobbins!) so I'm either going to buy more bobbins or I'm going to sew the entire top and do one color at a time. I'm excited to iron them onto the top. It will be super fun to see this thing coming together.

Soon

2009-07-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

Well I've ironed all the seams and am ready to sew the white between the rows. After which the board itself will be together. Then I'll just have to do the triangles, which seeing as applique is essentially iron-on and then sewing around it, it shouldn't take too too long. And, with my new machine I can sew around it way fast, otherwise I had planned on hand sewing around the triangles. But soon the squares will be a single unit and that will be exciting.

He Came to Visit

2009-07-21T08:33:00.001-07:00

Now that Uncle Nathan's gone I can pull everything out of hiding and get back to work.

Happy Anniversary to Me

2009-07-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Technically five years is still a couple weeks away, but Nathan gave me my present early; a Singer Esteem II. It's amazing. I sewed a row in half the time if not better. I keep bracing myself expecting the thread to break soon. It's still instinct to expect it, but I know it's not coming and that's very exciting. And it's so quiet! There's no thunk when I raise or lower the foot. It's really very exciting. One of Nathan's main reasons was that a non-quirky machine would make everything go so much faster and I could finally be done.
And now what will become of my old machine? We're thinking about pawning it off on Mary to take to BYU to have for fashion emergencies. Basically we eliminated everyone else based on three reasons:
1 you are either crafty enough that we figure you need a real machine some day
2 you are either so unmechanical that we figured you would some how disrupt the Earth's spin with that machine
or
3 you don't live anywhere near us and I'm sure not paying shipping

Almost There

2009-07-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

There would be more but I ran out of pink. So I bought some. There would be more but I have to wash the pink. There would be more but my machine and I are on a break.

That's Half a Scrabble Board People

2009-07-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Technically it's more than half; it's 8/15ths.

Here We Go

2009-07-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

So sans triangles this thing is sewing itself. I'm already nearly done with the third row and that took maybe two hours. It's happening.
Thing is though, my machine. It's all fine and good, but on a big project it can get aggravating. For some reason the tendency is for the thread to break. I've tried all the troubleshooting things, bobbin tension, thread tension, different needles, but to no avail. Usually it's not an issue, I just rethread and kept going. But right now it's bugging me, I'm fantasizing about the singer machines at Target. But really it's just a quirk and I'm not in the mood for quirks right now.
It doesn't in anyway diminish the quality of the finished product or anything. In fact the only way anyone but myself would ever know would be to take the entire thing apart and look at the seams on the back of the quilt top; which would be crazy so I think I'm safe.
But it's coming along. I'll have to post pictures soon. It's even starting to look like a Scrabble board.

Applique

2009-06-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Personally I find it a little distasteful to switch to applique-just sewing some stinking triangles over the white stripes. But it may come to that. I showed Nathan my triangles a week or so ago and it surprised him. I showed my mom and she compared it to the Winchester lady who was crazy and thought she had to keep building to stay alive. In my case it was that I'd have to keep sewing triangles. It looks that bad. For some undetermined reason my triangle halves are not consistent height, which is some serious wrench action. It will really mess me up. So I am contemplating applique. I would be able to just bust it out. I have the white and the squares all cut. I could sew them together with very little effort and then come back to the triangles feeling like I've made progress rather than being up against a wall. Thing is though, I think piecing would look amazing and be so awesome and fantastic. But applique would speed up the process...I'm seriously thinking about it. It would go much faster and I would be able to really do some sewing. And this monstrosity could then be reasonably finished by Christmas at the latest, it makes September twenty-fourth seem like it might be almost attainable.

Slow Going, But Progress Nonetheless

2009-06-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Last night I cut triangles for over two hours, like two and a half really. And I have the right sides of the pink triangles cut. Just the right sides. I'm thinking another two plus hours and I could have the left sides cut too. Of the pink that is. I haven't started any other color yet. But it's progress.

Current Thoughts

2009-06-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

I would still like to have this done by September 24, but it may not happen. But really I still would kinda like that. I've been cutting out the triangles and man is it obnoxious. They are just so small and so numerous. I really dread doing it.
Also, after a recent mutual, I discovered that I've got some skill with puff paint. My instinctual puff paint reaction was essentially "ugh," but being significantly older than my last encounter with puff paint the result was pretty impressive. Trying to make a wide line with puff paint is never very easy, but I'm now more open to the possibility of fabric paints for the lettering, 'cause really if it said "Double Letter Score" it would just be awesome.

Motivation

2009-06-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

So September is fast approaching. I commented to Nathan that I really need to get with it or this will be Christmas rather than birthday. His expression gave the impression that he thought even Christmas was a stretch. Consequently I stayed up late last night prepping triangles. My goal tonight is to get to the point where I can sew a stinkin' triangle. So essentially I have learned that proving I can do something is a big motivator for me, I can only imagine what my textbooks would say about that; some kind of little sister complex probably.

Tick Tock

2009-05-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

This morning I was thinking about the fact that Owen is almost three. With that however came the realization that June is not far from September. And with that came the holy cow I'd better get on it with the scrabble quilt feeling. So tonight I was all ready. I have more strips to sew, I had run out of white. But I am almost to the cutting of the triangles. It's really pathetic how slowly this is going I seriously blame netflix among other things. Tonight however as I was just starting out Lily started to cry. She puts herself back to sleep, but when she cries I practically hold my breath, so I did not sew. I crept downstairs, wishing I was wearing shorts and not pants as my jeans were making that walking in jeans noise. Tomorrow they are going to hang out with Grandma, Owen is even going to spend the night. Which means, I will come home and mop like the wind and vacuum like the wind and fold laundry like the wind so I can sew like a meticulous nut.

Sewing at Night

2009-04-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

I finally tried it. And no one woke up. Total success. So, here we go. The only thing stopping me now is the fact that I have two Alias dvds coming today from netflix.

So Where Are These Fabulous Triangles?

2009-03-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

I'm getting all the strips together for the triangles. It's taking a long time as I'm hesitant to sew at night. I shouldn't be worried, but it feels loud. Owen sleeps through it, I'm so not worried about him. But Lily is a light sleeper and I live in fear of waking her. Sometimes I literally tip toe past her door. She sleeps deeper than she use to, but old habits die hard as they say. So the triangles are progressing but not like lightning fast or anything. I may try it tonight just to see if it's really an issue. The other thing about the triangles is that I have to iron every seam after I sew it. I can't let it go even two seams. And it's a bit tiresome to be going back and forth all the time. But I'll see what I can do tonight.

I'll Have to Think About This More, But...

2009-03-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

I may have solved the letter conundrum. (What conundrum? Think for a minute about the logistics of putting Double Letter Score and the like on the squares, to scale too.) I was looking at a JoAnn's ad, I get them in the mail, and apparently iron on letters are on sale. Excuse Me? Iron on letters!!! Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles!
Then of course I googled 'em and seeing as I'm not in the market for metallic or fuzzy the options are rather limited and not to my scale. Then my little eyes beheld what just may be the solution. There was a sidebar HP ad. And how you may ask is Hewlett Packard going to solve this?
I can print my own iron on letters. I've done it before, a la Julie Veroff. So I am currently thinking iron-on and I'll embroider around them to finish it nicely, but for now that's the plan. Maybe on further analysis I'll find some gaping hole in this proposition, but let's hope not. I'll just have to tell Nathan Lindsey not to wash it on a daily basis, but seeing as it's a quilt I don't imagine that will be an issue.
I'll have to test this method though, I don't want it to tackify my endeavor.

In Theory and Actuality

2009-02-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

I tried my triangle theory. I only got one side of the triangles. So when I do this with the real fabric I'll essentially have to do it twice; cutting one set at 60 degrees and the other set at the opposite 60. So that will be rather time consuming, but seeing as I'll already have some sewn it will also skip a step.

So here are the strips (made with leftovers from the flip flop quilt), an inch and a quarter wide.
I used my pincushion as a standard so the size was evident. (I have enough biology to know that pics "in the field" need something to give a sense of size.)Cutting at sixty degrees, notice the acrylic ruler, I seriously adore it.One strip, three quarters inch wide-ish.One half of a triangle. In the actual I'll have to cut mirror images as well and hook 'em together. These are little by the way. The squares on the ruler are an inch.
And for those who missed it: the flip flop quilt. The flip flops have ribbon straps and really fit Jenna's feet. The best part though is the quilting, if I do say so myself.

The Triangles

2009-02-16T09:49:00.001-08:00

On a Scrabble board there are triangles across the white surrounding the colored squares. I've been... dreading is probably the best word, the task of cutting out the triangles, seriously they're small. Last night I finished cutting all the white stripes out and starting brainstorming on the triangles. I think I can presew strips of white red white blue white etc and then just bias cut at sixty degrees and have the squares of triangles if you will. (I don't expect that to make sense to everyone.) The issue once again is seam allowances. The white and colors will already be sewn, but I'll need seam allowances on all the other sides. Last night I couldn't quite think my way around it, especially as it needs to be just under 3/4 inch. But I'm thinking this is totally the way to do it. I may have to pick up some more white but I'm heading into Thornton tomorrow anyway, the kidos are playing with Grandma and Grandpa. And being as I am on JoAnn's mailing list I get coupons emailed to me all the time.

As Promised

2009-02-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

And that's just the squares. 225 to be exact. And the stack is four and a half inches high. I still have to cut the triangle parts that go in the white around the colored squares and I'm working on my pile of white strips. But, the squares themselves are all cut. I think I could be to piecing within a week or two, it really just depends on how motivated I am once the kids are in bed. Honestly sometimes I'm not all that super motivated.

Resolved

2009-02-04T17:03:00.001-08:00

So double meaning here: the white issue is resolved. Essentially I'm just going with half an inch, really one tenth of an inch is not a huge deal, that's what I'm telling myself, maybe when I'm poised to cut I'll decide that it needs to be .416 of an inch, but let's hope I can handle the difference.
And the second resolved meaning: I'm finishing Lily's drapes tonight so I will be all cleared to go scrabble crazy and consequently I will have pictures to post. Right now I could take a picture of my huge stack of squares, but I'm thinking that I'll hold off on that 'til I have the extra 20 brown ones cut; just so it's more ridiculous looking. Because really it's a lot of squares.
So essentially, exciting pictures to come. (cause honestly, how boring is a blog of quilting progress with no quilting progress to show.)

Fractions and Shark Tents Don't Mix

2009-01-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

I got all my squares cut last night. I cut while watching Monster-in-law of all things, an old recommendation of Aunt Ann's. It had it's moments, but all in all, I'd have been fine missing that one. Anyway, next up was the white for the betweens. But it was late-ish for me and I didn't trust myself to cut this one; the measurements got cloudy and I was thinking that I must have done the math wrong. So I'm now trying again and still having no luck. Part of the issue is that I'm trying to figure this all next to two kids having a great time in the shark tent laughing hysterically. Nothing so terrible in and of itself, but coupled with the fact that I'm trying to convert measurements in sixteenths of inches to twelfths so that I can multiple it all by a factor of six and two-thirds and then add half an inch, it all gets muddled. I'm having unit trouble I suppose. I will likely have to go metric. It really is easier for figuring, being ten based and all that, 'cause really twelve is just weird enough to cause me all sorts of problems, actually I think it may be the sixteenths. So, if anyone wants to help out...
the border is 1/16 and the squares and 12/16 (notice how I'm trying to simplify with the 16 not 3/4). I need to keep the same ratio, the square finished will be 5 inches visible, with an additional 1/2 for the seam allowances. The border needs the same extra half inch seam allowance.
I expect I'm just overthinking it, but really, unless I can get a moment to actually think this through Nathan is going to have to do it when he gets home, and I'd feel a bit like a dork. I can get as far as it's just one twelfth of five inches and then add half an inch, but .4166of an inch before seam allowances is as far as I can get before someone starts shouting and it's really frustrating me.

Here We Go

2009-01-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

I'm all washed and ready to cut. Last night I cut the pink and had enough. That means I'll also have enough of the light blue as they are the same measurements. The red and dark blue remain to be seen. Basically it's all just squares except for the little triangles that flare out from the colored squares, but those shouldn't be too tricky really, I'll just have to pay more attention to make sure I don't cut them backwards or something. That'd be lame. But before too long I will be cut and ready to piece it together.

Three Days In, and Already a Problem

2009-01-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

So I had planned on getting eight squares across, but am only getting seven when I cut. Which doesn't sound so awful, but it throws off all my figuring. I cut all the brown and I'm twenty short. I have 154 and need 174. Who realized a scrabble board had so many brown squares. Anyway, not the end of the world just a little annoyance seeing as all my fabric could be off. And then there's the debate do I cut them all and go once, it is thirty minutes away, or do I go as I finish a color and know how much more I need, lessening the chance that JoAnns will no longer carry my color. So that's where it stands now. In other news, I've washed the pink and am ready to cut it next.

I Heart My Acrylic Ruler

2009-01-26T09:02:00.000-08:00

For my bday I got a rotary cutter, a mat, and an acrylic ruler. I am busting out the brown squares. I had been using the grid on my mat until it dawned on me that I can just use the grid on my ruler. It has totally changed the way I'm cutting. I don't preticularly expect anyone to understand this, but believe me, it's love. This will go so much faster.

Stinkin' Red

2009-01-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

So I was all set to start cutting tonight, Nathan's working, and then in talking to Jenna I realized that I need to prewash it all. And, get this, I have to prewash it all separately. I don't want the red to bleed on the other colors. Really I spent enough time matching that I won't even wash the pink with the red. So, rather than cutting I'm washing the brown and the cream, 'cause really, has anyone ever heard of brown bleeding.

It Starts

2009-01-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Lily and I went to JoAnns. We took the Scrabble board and stood there in the solids comparing bolts to our board and debating. Seeing as only one of us is technically verbal I'm sure we were quite a sight. I'm super satisfied with how we matched, the darker teal blue isn't quite as teal-y as the board, but that's really only going to bother me when I'm holding a board next to it under flourescent lights. We even got it all on sale and it cost about a third of what I had feared, including the batting even! I will have to buy more later, like border and backing, but the actual board is upstairs waiting to be cut and assembled.