Quilt For Baby

This darling little quilt is nearly done. I posted pictures of some of the blocks on March 19 and since then I set them as shown and recently completed the quilting.

The colored blocks are simple string pieced squares on a muslin foundation, made from strips cut from a purchased scrap grab bag. I bought them while I was staying in Virginia at the Cottonwood Quilt Shop. I really liked the colors and patterns and whimsical designs.

I like kid prints. I admit it. I like cute.

I quickly ran out of long strips so I had to get creative. I didn't really want to buy any more fabric beyond the scrap pack because at the time, I was staying at Dad's house temporarily. I didn't want more stuff to have to pack and bring home.

I like a creative challenge. First, I bought a small pack of solid fat quarters - I needed them for the other projects I was making with the scraps. Then I looked around the house for fabric. None.  I found the backing fabric also at Cottonwood (deep discount - on sale!!) and I used a few strips of it in the blocks. I used some of the muslin I had picked up from a Joann's remnant bin. Finally, there was some fabric ribbon and I sewed some strips of grosgrain ribbon in.

When I got home, I made a few more blocks to make enough for this top. If Mom and baby are really clever, they will find fabrics from Mom's bed quilt made 10 years earlier and Mom's brother's baby quilt, made 11 years earlier.

Quilting Pattern

Deciding the quilting pattern is always a challenge. Quilting is fun, but marking the quilt for quilting is not fun. What can I do that doesn't require marking?

This design is featured on several Denyse Schmidt quilts.

Honestly, this pattern is a little tricky. You think the loops need to be opposing, but they do not - they are offset from one another. Once you realize that, it gets easier and the nice crosshatch pattern between the loops emerges. I must have started this design and taken it out at least 5 times, and that's after I filled several pages practicing with pencil and paper.

 

That was fun. The last step remains - binding. Should be done in a few days.

Melting in Kansas City

It is dreadfully hot here (100 degrees F) and there's no end in sight! the heat wave is supposed to be here for around 10-12 days total. Whew!

Sounds like a good day to:

• Go hide down the basement where my sewing room is conveniently located
• Sew - both mending (my serger is back from repair!) and quilting
• Install Aperture on my computer
• Play with Aperture and the pictures I took this morning at the garden
• Post to my blogs.

I usually get my best sewing done in January and July, when it's just dreadful outside. July is just around the corner. My current quilting project is to finish a quilt I'm making for a charity silent auction. Hopefully I will have a photo of the top for you today!

Fab Shop Hop, again

I got a little addicted to the FabShopHop and hopped around in March, qualifying for the first prize contest. And, OMG, I won a promotional prize! I got a $10 gift certificate to one of the shops, and coincidentally, it's a shop I visited in person last November, in Albuquerque!

So, check it out: Southwest Decoratives and Kokopelli Quilt Company

If you want anything for your quilts that is:

• Native American in theme
• Mexican culture
• Dia de los Muertos
• Catholic themes (our lady of Guadalupe, crosses, saints, etc.)

This is the shop for you. I have never seen such a selection chili pepper fabrics. Need tortilla chip fabric? They've got it. They have patterns for southwestern themed quilts, too.

I don't win Internet stuff very often. I'm kinda excited!

Presser Feet: The Quarter Inch Foot

The Quarter Inch foot is a mainstay for quilters. This is because piecing a quilt usually requires a 1/4 inch seam allowance. That is, the seam is sewn 0.25 inches in from the raw edge of the fabric. An accurate 1/4 inch seam is necessary for accurate piecing, in which the pieces fit the design precisely. For example,
here is a quilt block:

Here is the back of the block, notice the seam allowance as indicated.

Other sewing techniques use a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure why it's a quarter inch for quilting. That's what I was taught, and everyone does it that way. It's probably to reduce the bulk of the block.

Anyway...it makes sense that you'd want a presser foot to help you make nice, straight, accurate 1/4 inch seams. Here are my quarter inch feet for my Pfaff:

Above, the upper foot is a plain quarter inch foot. The lower one has a guide (a non-sharp blade) on the right side.  You line the raw edge of your fabric up along the blade as you sew.

In the photo above, the arrow on the upper foot shows the slot for the Integrated Dual Feed feature of the Pfaff. Yes, you can disengage Dual Feed, but I find my piecing is more precise while using it.

The arrow on the lower foot points out the guide.

I almost never use the foot without the guide. Try as I may, I just can't sew a straight accurate 1/4 inch seam without the extra help of the guide. It really does make that much difference for me.  I ended up with the plain quarter inch foot because it was included in the Quilter's Toolbox accessory pack for the machine.

Notice also that the opening for the needle is a small hole, not a slot. This foot is intended to be used for straight stitch, not zigzag or decorative stitching. It works best with the straight stitch needle plate.