Monthly Archives: January 2011

Piecing a Seven Sisters block — lots of photos

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There were a couple of questions last week about how I pieced a Seven Sisters block so, rather than try to explain it in words, I thought I’d do this mini tutorial.  Lester is hoping this is relaxing and easy to follow.

The first step is to make the seven 6-pointed stars that will be in the block.  For each block, I need 18 white diamonds, 6 half elongated hexagons and 42 blue diamonds for the seven stars.

Once that’s done, the next most important step is to press them making sure that the seam allowances of each star are pressed the same way.  This photo is of a star in a different fabric, which shows the seam allowances a bit better.

My next step is to surround one star, which will be the centre star in the block, with white diamonds.

Because I hand piece, the inset seams are something I look for as it offers the opportunity to continuously stitch around the star.  To add the six white diamonds around the blue star, I used one length of thread.

In this photo you can see, on the white diamonds and half elongated hexagons, that each has the stitching line and crosshairs at the end of each seam.  The lines are printed on my blue fabrics as well, but they don’t photograph as well.  Because of the perfect  stitching lines and crosshairs one gets when printing templates on to the fabric using Inklingo, it makes stitching a block like this a breeze.  I simply match up my crosshairs, pin and stitch.

My next step is to join the six remaining stars with white diamonds so that they’re ready to stitch to the centre star.

Then I pin the first of the strip of six stars to one of the white diamonds surrounding the centre star and start to stitch.  Again, lots and lots of continuous stitching.

A couple of threads are all it takes and the centre star is completely surrounded.

All that’s left to do now is add the six remaining white diamonds and six half elongated hexagons around the outside edge and the block will be done.  Once again, lots and lots of continuous stitching.

The block is finished.  While I didn’t really keep track of the time it took to make the block, I think that it took somewhere around 3 hours in total from making the seven stars to adding the final white diamonds around the outside of the block.

A quick press and it’s ready to be added to the stack of the blue and white Seven Sisters blocks that I am making.

Smudge hopes you found this as relaxing as he did.  He had to go curl up with some softies and have a nap!   He had lost a pound again when we went to the vet.  So we’re continuing the syringe feeding for now and have gone back to the vet-suggested foods.  Sunday night he finally started to eat hard food again for the first time in two months.   We were really encouraged to see that.

Pink and Cream Stars

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All the hand piecing is done and everything is ready to put this top together.  As I’m planning on doing that by machine, I have some hope that it will be a finished top by the time the weekend is over.  As I so rarely use my sewing machine, the sewing table ends up as a collection spot for fabrics I’ve been auditioning for blocks, stacks of blocks for yet unfinished tops, notes that haven’t quite made it into my ideas book and who knows what else is lurking there.  It’s going to be a small treasure hunt organizing and putting everything away.

Every time I need to use the sewing machine I seem to go through this.  Maybe this time I’ll learn my lesson and keep the table clear so that it’s not such a production getting to the point of being able to sew by machine.

Thursday Smudge showed a little interest in food, but nowhere near what he was showing earlier in the week so the syringe feeding continued.  I’m starting to wonder if he has lost his sense of smell which would affect his appetite.  We’re off to the vet with him this afternoon.

Lester has definitely been enjoying all the various foods we’ve had on offer trying to get Smudge to eat.  I know he has put weight on, which isn’t necessarily a good thing for a kitty with a heart condition.  So that’s another thing we’ll be asking the vet about.  Somehow we’ve got to balance the two issues.

Works in Progress

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There’s still a little hand piecing to do on the pink and cream quilt, but I am thinking now about what projects jump to the head of the queue once it and the baby quilt are finished.  Along with the Stormy Seas and Pickled Ladies quilts, the Summer Picnic Dish is definitely moving up the list.  A little more has been done since this photo was taken, but not a lot.

The POTC blocks definitely have to move up the list to be finished and the top put together.

I want to get this piece, which I’ve dubbed star of stars,  basted and quilted.  I know why it has languished this long — because I kept thinking I need to add to it and make it square or rectangular.  But I’ve decided to leave it in a star shape.

I’m going to arrange these applique blocks and get the top put together.

Of the above projects, the one that will take the longest is likely the Patchwork of the Crosses blocks.  On top of this I’m still working on getting to the point I feel confident using EQ6.

My plan for the weekend is to get the fabrics ready and printed for the Summer Picnic Dish as well as finally select the fabric for the 2″ squares used when connecting the POTC blocks and get it printed.

Smudge has a new habit.  When we empty the dishwasher in the morning, he likes to sit on the door.  I may have been a bit premature in thinking we were over the worst of this eating thing with him.  Wednesday he wasn’t interested in food again at all so we immediately went back to the syringe feeding.  I am very grateful he’s so accommodating about that process as I can only imagine how difficult it would be with many kitties.

We caught Lester in the midst of a huge yawn.  This photo makes me laugh.

Seven Sisters

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The third of the blue and white Seven Sisters blocks is done.  This is a very long-term project, as I’ve only made 3 or 4 of them over the past year.  The little stars are amazingly quick to put together and I’ve finally found a stitching sequence when putting the blocks together that involves lots of continuous stitching and seems much faster.

The back:

The baby quilt didn’t get basted on Tuesday, but will this week.  I’m getting very close to putting the pink and cream star top together.  There are only two more blocks left to which I need to add the setting triangles and squares, which I can probably get finished today.  Then it will be time to add the sashing and borders which I plan to do by machine.  At this rate, I’ll be ready to baste it at the same time as the baby quilt — and a couple of other tops that will be wallhangings.

Our vet called on Tuesday and we’re taking Smudge in on Friday for a weigh-in and colour check.  He’s definitely eating more on his own, so it will be interesting to see what his weight is now.

A close-up of Lester.

Baby Quilt Top Finished

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It’s pressed and ready to baste.  Hopefully that will happen this afternoon.  It finished at 38 x 27.  Names for quilts usually don’t present a problem for me but not this time.  I cannot come up with a name I like at all.  Maybe once I start quilting it something will come to me that works for it.  Suggestions are more than welcome.

We’re in the midst of doing some reorganizing and, as part of that reorganization, I’m hoping to free up an area in the apartment where I can use a wall as a design wall.  That would be great for photographing something like this little quilt.  For today’s photo, we laid it out on the floor and Smudge had to immediately come to inspect.

Monday I spent a bit of time trying to get more comfortable with EQ.  Today I plan to spend more time.  I am not finding it a very intuitive program at all, but hopefully it will become easier the more time I spend using it.

We think that Smudge has turned a corner.  He started eating a lot on his own on the weekend.  And eating.  And eating some more.  That was a huge relief!  The next step will be getting him off the kitty junk food and back on to some of the better foods.  We also managed to find some foods that have no tuna in them that he likes.  Here he was relaxing after one of his meals.

This picture of Lester makes me laugh.  He looks like he’s sleeping sitting up.

Pink and Cream Stars

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The pink and cream quilt will be the next top finished this year.  All that’s left to do is the setting squares and triangles of the large blocks.  The cornerstone blocks and sashing are ready, so it should be relatively quick to put together.

The piecing of the baby quilt was completed last night and the final pressing will be done today.  I’m hoping to start quilting it this weekend.   That will depend on whether our neighbour whose floor I use to baste is around.  While I’m at it, I’m going to baste a couple of other small quilts that have been waiting too long to be finished.

I’ve decided to approach the work situation from the perspective that it’s giving me lots of time to play with quilt designs and finish up a couple of pieces.  I’m going to fall back on the therapeutic benefits of quilting to keep me centred through this.

We had a bit of snow on Thursday.  The cats decided it was a good time for a snooze.  Smudge found a soft toy to curl up with.

Lester headed for the kitty bed.

Getting Closer

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Another hour or two of stitching, and all the edge pieces will be attached and it will be time to press and baste the baby quilt.  I’m thinking that a scrappy binding made up of ’30s prints will be what I choose for this.

Because I normally match my thread colour to the pieces I’m stitching, to finish off a spool of thread isn’t something that happens frequently as a spool will last a very long time.  Because of the scrappy nature of the baby quilt, I’ve been using a peachy pink heirloom cotton thread which seems to melt into the seams of every colour for piecing and on Wednesday night actually used the very last bit on the spool.

I’ve not been doing well in responding to comments this week or in leaving comments.  There’s no real good excuse for this other than I’ve been dealing with some news about changes in one company with which I work which has left me rather drained.  I really do appreciate and read every comment and hope to get caught up on the replies and comments over the next day or two.

Smudge was posing for the camera Wednesday.  He has always been a camera ham but, for the past month or so, hasn’t been quite as interested.  However, on Wednesday when he heard the camera being turned on, he definitely started striking poses.  I think it’s another sign he’s feeling better.

Lester was caught in a funny pose in the kitty bed.

A Barely Begun Unfinished Object

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I’ve been going through partially complete projects and trying to decide what I want to do with them. This?  This was started around three years ago.  Obviously I didn’t get too far with it.  I printed many, many 2.25″ equilateral triangles for this project and had started putting together one row when it got put away. To be honest, I didn’t even remember I had it until I opened a drawer and saw the bag full of the triangles.

This is one of the projects for which I used the sewing machine to stitch the triangles together into pairs.  I only printed the templates on the cream neutral fabric and then stitched along the stitching lines before cutting the triangles apart into pairs.  It certainly made that part quick.  Then I decided I wanted to hand piece the pairs into rows, it seems, so a little hybrid piecing.  I think I know why this got put away.  The colours are totally outside my normal comfort zone.  How much more of this I will put together is anyone’s guess as, at this point, I’m not enthused about it although Mr. Q.O. definitely likes the colours.  This may be one of those projects on which I will work for an evening or so every few weeks and slowly put together a lap quilt for Mr. Q.O.  But for now, it’s being put away again until I get a few other projects finished.

Smudge was very alert Tuesday night.  He is eating more on his own each day and we think he has put on a bit more weight.  I talked to our vet on Tuesday and for now we’re watching to see if there’s any return of the jaundice and continuing with the syringe feeding.  I’m a little concerned about the amount of tuna in the cat foods that he is eating in light of the recent warnings by Health Canada about the levels of mercury in tuna.  I asked our vet about it and he said that, while he hasn’t read any studies about the effects of the mercury in tuna in cat foods, it may be an issue if that’s the only type of food Smudge will eat.  So we’ll slowly start trying some foods with no tuna and see what happens.

I often wonder why cats are so likely to love cat food with seafood of some sort or another in it, as that is not their ancestral diet.  Smudge is so finicky about food but always seems to love anything with tuna.  Lester?  Lester likes every kind of cat food.  Here he was having a snooze after dinner.

Sparkling Stormy Seas

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Two of the batiks I’m using in the Stormy Seas blocks have some metallic gold which I’m hoping will give the impression of sunlight sparkling on the waves.  I couldn’t resist making at least one block with both of those batiks.  It’s going to be fun when all the blocks are done and I start playing with their placement.  I’m thinking that I may concentrate the blocks which have one of the metallic batiks in one area to really give the impression of light on the water.  But that’s way off in the future.

More of the setting pieces are added to the baby quilt top.  It’s going to take slightly longer than I had anticipated to add them, but I think I’m still on target to have the top completed by the end of the weekend.  Between now and then I’ll get the flannel for the backing washed so that as soon as the top is done and pressed I can get it basted and start the quilting.

Smudge is still being syringe fed, although he is eating a bit more every day on his own.  So there is progress.  And he definitely feels like he’s gaining more weight. Here he was having a snooze after a feeding.

Lester was once again posing for the camera.

Baby Quilt Almost Done

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The main piecing, other than the pieces around the edges, is done.  I’ve started adding the edge pieces along one side so know it won’t take long to finish adding them and then it will be complete.  I have a piece of flannel that’s perfect for the backing and there’s batting on hand, so this won’t take long now to finish and have ready.  The only thing I’ll be waiting for is what the baby’s name is once it’s born and I can add that to the label.

I’ve been contemplating what, if any, quilting goals I have for 2011.  I am not making resolutions because I know I’d break them.  But goals?  Goals is another matter.  I have a few.  I’d like to try making a small quilt in solids.  I’ve never worked with just solids and am not sure how much I’ll enjoy that, but I want to give it a try.

My second goal, and probably the biggest one, is to try to limit myself to making small quilts when I start anything new this year.  I have many UFOs that are going to be large quilts on the go as it is, all of which I want to spend time on, and hopefully complete, this year.  Summer Picnic Dish, the Harpsichord quilt, my POTC blocks, the Pickled Ladies, the clamshell diamonds in Kaffe fabrics, the Christmas Feathered Star quilt (and probably some others I’ve forgotten at the moment) are quilts I want to finish sooner rather than later.

I also know that when I get ideas, some of which are in the ideas book already, I want to be able to play with fabric.  Playing with designs on the computer, while it is a good way to get an idea about how something might work, just doesn’t seem to be the best way for me.  I want to see what it looks like in fabric. So small quilts is the answer.  Then, if something I’ve made as a small quilt top really appeals, I can set it aside to make as a larger quilt.

A third goal is to make sure I have one thing added to the Christmas box every month.  2010 taught me a very good lesson; that I can’t count on having all the time to do things for Christmas in the last 4 or 5 weeks of the year.

Saturday was an incredibly mild day.  We broke records and had temperatures in the 52 Fahrenheit range.  It was lovely to think it was that mild on January 1.  Only a dozen weeks or so and we’ll be starting to get spring weather.  I’m already counting the days until we go back to Daylight Savings Time. Along with the mild weather on Saturday, we had fog.

Smudge seemed to be looking at a quilt book as he reclined on the couch.

Lester posed for the camera Sunday night.