Bargello Flag Wall Hanging

I started this project from Becky & Me pattern a few years ago. I came across it a couple weeks ago and had a little free time so I decided to finish it.

All of the strips were already cut. I cut them using my QuiltCut2 Fabric Cutting System when I first started the project. I had the stars all sewn together and a few of the red and white strips. I finished sewing all of the strip sets. Then I sub-cut them into the different sizes, again using my QuiltCut2.

I cut all of the strips into the correct segment sizes in less than 5 minutes. Here are all of the cut strip sets.

Next I needed to arrange them on my design wall into a pleasing setting. This is what I came up with. I put pins on each strip to mark where to line up the next strip since everything is staggered and very free form.

Once I had them all sewn together, the whole top was done. Super fast and super easy.

I basted and quilted this little wall hanging. I quilted 50 stars into the star portion of the flag. Then I did some curved lines that follow the red and white stripes. I trimmed the top and bottom so that it had smooth curves.

The binding for this project uses both the red fabric and the blue and white stars. In order for the binding to follow the curves of the flag, it needed to be bias binding. If you want to see a very easy way to cut bias binding check out this earlier blog post. Instead of mitering all of the seams that join the binding you do straight seams where the colors change. I thought it was going to be really tricky to bind this quilt but as you can see it turned out great.

For more information on how to use the QuiltCut2 for Strip Piecing visit this Tutorial. 

One more UFO finished this year. What a great feeling!

Happy Quilting,

Carol

A Fun Non-Sewing Project

My oldest daughter is expecting a baby girl in March. Her two sisters and I threw a baby shower for her over the weekend. I had seen pictures of Diaper Cakes on Pinterest. There are a couple cute diaper themed gifts on my Grandchildren Board. I decided that I would make a Diaper Cake for her shower gift.

I found a great tutorial that has a video. I opted for doing one where the diapers are flat instead of rolled. I used an 8" cake pan and a 10" basket (because I didn't have a larger cake pan) as my "molds" and my reusable water bottle in the center to build it around.

I used Pampers Sesame Street diapers (that is what I had leftover from my granddaughter who is potty trained now). Tristyn is really tiny and I figure you need every size diaper so why not use what I had. They actually worked great because there is a lot of subtle color in them so it wasn't a stark white cake.

When I removed the water bottle I put burp cloths and washcloths in the openings. I used raffia, which I removed later, to tie the diapers in place at the top and bottom. I wrapped a wide ribbon around the middle to permanently secure it then added a thinner pink ribbon to add a little more color. I built it on a  plastic cake plate so it could be easily moved later and to make it look more like a cake.

I wanted to add some other little goodies. I was going to make roses from the washcloths and some Onesies but I wasn't happy with the look. In this case, less is definitely better. I finally decided that I would put several pairs of socks in between the layers. I folded each sock so the ruffled edge was facing out and put them in place all the way around. They were the icing between the layers. There were a lot of comments about how cute that looked when she opened it.

One of my favorite books is Love You Forever. I wrote a message to my daughter inside the cover and put that with it.

The baby's room has a giraffe theme and I made two stuffed giraffes. I used one as the cake topper and the other next to the cake. Here's the finished product.

I wrapped the whole thing in pink tulle and made a bow with ivory tulle. My daughter loved it. 

This was a fun and very easy project to make. It is a functional, practical gift but done in a fun way. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for an interesting gift for a baby shower or a newborn baby gift. Anyone can do this.

Enjoy a fun no sewing required project.

Carol

Why Value Is Important

When we choose our fabrics for a project we generally think about color. We find that one perfect fabric and build around it with others that compliment it. But color isn't the only thing to consider. We also need to think about the value of those fabrics. In other words is there enough contrast within the lights, mediums and darks to make the actual block design work?

One of my "must haves" since I started quilting is a Value Finder. I actually have two of them, a red and a green. In my case they are pieces of acrylic.

C&T Publishing has the Ultimate 3-in-1 Tool. It is in its 3rd Edition. Not only does it have the value finders, it also has swatches (like paint chips) that show the lights through the darks within the different color ranges.

Here's how it works. I use the red one for warm colors and the green for cool colors. Think of nature. Things like fire are warm and things like grass and water are cool. You audition your fabrics by looking through the colored "glass." You will notice that some fabrics appear lighter and some appear darker. That is all you see - the contrast between lights and darks. The color is removed; you just see the shading.

Here are four different fabrics.

These are what I would consider to be cool colors for the most part. The print is yellow/orange so that could be considered warm. However the other colors within the design and the companions are all cool colors.

This is what they look like through the green value finder. It actually isn't this bright but it is hard to photograph through the value finder.

Notice the contrast between the fabrics? There is even a slight difference between the dark blue fabric on the top left and the purple one next to it.

Here's what sparked this post. I recently finished two table runners. They are from the same design. I chose my fabrics for the first one and thought they would work well (I didn't use my Value Finder, I just assumed). They were all batiks. What I didn't take into consideration was that one of the fabrics ranged from a light medium to a medium value. The "Star Points" are all pieced. When I put the center block together, some of the points, especially the top right and the one next to it, blended into the background because it was too close in value to my background fabric. That one little part of the fabric just didn't have enough contrast. You'll see it on the left side of the table runner too in that first point. I actually stopped working on it after making the center block because it didn't have the desired effect. But I loved the fabrics and the colors so I ended up finishing it later.

My last post was about Machine Quilting. The project in that one was the second table runner from this same design. This picture was taken before I did the quilting.  

In this variation you can really see the star points. I used the same fabrics but lightened the background and it worked. I also changed the center fabric (because the original one wasn't available any more but that's a topic for another post). As you can see if you look at both of them together, the value (contrast between the light, medium and dark) can make a big difference in the success of a project. 

I still like the first version. It is very pretty and the colors are very rich. But as far as getting the desired effect, the bottom one achieved the look I was going for. Here it is all finished on my table.

Happy Quilting,

Carol

Machine Quilting Dilemma

I always do any Stitch in the Ditch quilting first when I'm quilting a quilt. The reason for this is that as you work your way through that part of the quilting you are removing the pins. This reduces the weight of the quilt making it easier to maneuver it for free motion quilting. I learned that tip from Diane Gaudynski's "Guide to Machine Quilting" book. It has been my Go To machine quilting resource for years.

I had a table runner that I wanted to finish and all that was left was the the free motion design. I knew exactly what I wanted to put in the three main sections but I was struggling with perfecting the design on my own.

Quilt Top before Quilting

I found the design I wanted in my "doodle Quilting" book by Cheryl Malkowski. I love this book too; it has 120 continuous line machine quilting designs. Cheryl teaches you how to start practicing by tracing the design with a pencil. Next you draw it without tracing. Then you start using your machine. This technique has really improved my free motion quilting when I have a specific design I want to use.

I chose "All Those Ls and Es" as the motif.

I don't like to mark my quilting designs on my quilt. I'm not perfect when it comes to staying on the lines. I like free motion quilting. I'm not an award winning quilter, but I do enjoy doing it. The stress of having to stay on the line takes away from the pleasure I get when I quilt. So I needed to come up with a way to get the design in the correct size onto my table runner.

I chose to use Sticky Fabri-Solvy. It is a wash away stabilizer backed with freezer paper that goes in your printer. I have been using it to transfer the designs for my stitching projects for a couple years now. I love it in that capacity and decided to give it a try here. A table runner is something that will get washed so it seemed like the perfect solution.

Another challenge I faced was that I needed different sizes than the illustration in the book. I enlarged the design to 135% of the original size for the center of the star and reduced it to 75% of the original size for the two spaces on either side of the star. To make the best use of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy I made 2 copies of the smaller image on paper. Cut them out and used a glue stick to glue them onto an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.

I copied both sizes onto the Sticky Fabri-Solvy using the Draft setting on my printer. Then I just peeled away the paper backing and finger pressed them onto my table runner. Here's what it looks like with the Fabri-Solvy in place. 

As is the case often times when I'm quilting a quilt it tells me that I need more. So I traced the exact size from the book onto paper and pinned it in place in the smaller squares and quilted on the paper. Then I peeled it off. I should have just traced it onto the Fabri-Solvy because I hated peeling off the paper; I didn't think of that when I did it. Next I decided that I needed the smaller size in the dead space where the flying geese are at the outside star points and on either end of the table runner. That time I did use the Fabri-Solvy - way better.

Here's the project with all of the quilting done. I also have the binding sewn on, but not tacked down yet. 

I sewed down the binding and the next step was to wash out the stabilizer. You can do it in the sink but I prefer to put it in the washer on Delicate. I always seem to have laundry to do. I have found that this method works best for me. I don't like trying to figure out if all of it dissolved in water in the sink. By the time it agitates in the washer it is probably dissolved. It doesn't affect anything else I put in with it and I know it completely washes out.

Here's a picture of the quilting detail in one of the squares. You can see that there is no trace of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy.

I put the table runner on my kitchen table which is too big but I had to see how it looks on a table when it was all finished. 

All of the fabrics in this project are from Sew Batik.

Happy Quilting,

 Carol