Christmas Lattice Quilt. Part 5.

I feel I am progressing quite well. I sewed all the squares into 13 rows of 12. Then I sewed each row together to form the quilt top. Here is this step in process. The bottom two rows haven’t been sewn together but the top section has.

 

Here are all the rows sewn together. I also sewed a border of the same red fabric I used for the lattices.

 

This photograph gives a closer view of part of the quilt.

 

My next step is to sew a second border to the quilt. I have chosen a quite muted golden fabric which I bought to make applique stars. I did only have one fat quarter though so have sent for three more. I like it as it isn’t too jazzy but picks out the golds in the quilt top. I’ll take a photo of that once the borders are on.

Christmas Lattice Quilt. Part 4.

Now all the blocks are made up (with varying degrees of success….though I’ll cross that bridge when I’m sewing them up). Today I put them in the order I want to sew them together. This is how I started:

 

It took a while as I was doing other things at the same time. Also as I kept changing the blocks about to get a patteren I liked. It is 12 rows by 13:

 

I then gathered up the blocks row keeping the far left hand side block on the top and labelling them A, B C etc.

 

I have some left over so I’m going to do a matching cushion. Or a placemat. Or something with them.

Christmas Lattice Quilt. Part 3

I’ve remembered to record the time I spend on this quilt and so far it has been nearly 6 hours. I’m three quarters of the way through making the lattice blocks. I do this by sewing 2 triangles to a red strip.

 

 

I checked Jenny Doan’s video again and she says she sewed them up 12 by 13 so I’ll see if that works for me. I did spoil one square though so I’m one down at this point. If I’m some short I’m thinking about putting in red squares maybe with an appliqued star.

 

Christmas Lattice Quilt: Part 2

I'm starting my Christmas Lattice Quilt in the hope it will be complete by Christmas 2015! The design I'm using is straight from Jenny Doan at the Missouri Star Quilt Co. and here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNUkLoGQY8.

I'm taking it direct from the video with no messing about as it's a lovely, simple design that I should be able to make up quickly.

 

An additional extra to this quilt project will be I am going to attempt to record how many hours it takes me. I want to start to get an idea of the time they take. Hopefully I will remember to do this!

My first step was to rewatch Jenny's video and make a note of the steps/instructions.

 

I am using the charm packs in the Christmas Lattice Quilt: Part 1 post below. I think they are glorious. I also purchased some lovely red fabric from High Street Quilting  which I have pre-washed and ironed (I didn't wash the charm squares so we'll see how that goes).
 

I transcribed the instructions from the video and will use these as the step by step for each post.

So the first step is to cut all the charm squares on the diagonal so I have triangles. Then cut the red fabric into 1 and a half inch by 8 inch strips.

The next step is to sew 2 triangles to each side of a strip.

It was a bit tricksy as Jenny advises pressing the strip and the triangle so the have a fold at the halfway mark then using that to match them up when sewing. Watch her video as she explains it much better than me. This is repeated till all the blocks are made.

Craft: Quilting: Bird Quilt. Part 7

The Bird Quilt is complete. Here is a photo of it:

I'm quite pleased though there are a couple of issues. I'm not going to say what they are, or even think about them though as Comparison is the Thief of Joy. It's the best Bird Quilt I have even made!

I decided to bind it with the same fabric as the back.

And I added a label when I was finished.

I will be changing how I do the labels though. I looked at a few places to check how it was done (freezer paper template) but even with the lace around it looks a bit dull. So I am going to try a more patchworky way. Maybe add a few strips or some hexagons. I have to add a label the the charm suare quilt I made so will see what I can come up with.

Just as a note about hand quilting though; I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped (I usually enjoy hand sewing very much) but maybe it was the size of the project. I wanted to record the needles I used, after much swapping about and trying different ones, were Sharps size 10. They were the best length for me (I hated those tiny little between types) and were just the right amount of bendy to manipulate in the fabric.

Craft: Quilting: Bird Quilt. Part 6.

I'm still hand quilting my Bird Quilt. It takes some time as I am not great at hand quilting so am learning as I go. Also I would imagine even if you are an expert it's still quite a slow job. I am not finding it tedious though so all is good.

I wanted to mention the technique I am using. I read lots about hand quilting and looked up videos on the interwebs so knew the most popular method seems to be the 'rocking' motion way of doing things. Sewing in vertical line from north to south, thimble holding the end of the needle and fingers of the other hand underneath the quilt. I have tried and just can't get the hang of this way. I tried with a hoop and without. Different thimbles, different needles. It was not pretty.

After much experimenting I have found I am quite satisfied quilting with an ordinary needle, a longish one, as if I hold the end I can get lots of stitches in one go. Those tiny little needles recommended for quilting don't suit me at all. I don't use a hoop. Instead I rock the fabric rather than the needle, though actually I turn both. So I rock the needle back and forth and manipulate the fabric. I find I get my stitches as neat as I can that way. Finally the saga of thimbles. Who knew they were so problematic. In an ideal world I wouldn't use one at all. It's much easier without, but the tip of my middle finger was looking, and feeling, sore. It's no fun when the end of the needle goes through flesh. I have found I'm best using a Roxette thimble. I still haven't found a way to stop the needle going too far through the quilt before bringing in back up again other than hitting my nail. Yes my nail is looking a bit sad but my stitches are small!.

Here are photos of 2 of the panels I've completed:

Craft: Quilting: Bird Quilt. Part 5

I've been steadily progressing with my Bird Quilt but realised I hadn't taken any photos lately. So here's where I am:

I've stitched in the ditch everywhere I need to. I also attempted some free motion quilting which is so hard! All the books advise to practise first but I'm rubbish at that. I like just to get started and see where I go. Also no matter how much I practise I always seem to go back to where I was when I started when I get to the proper piece I'm working on. So I skipped the middle step.

Is it the best free motion quilting ever? Nope. But remembering that Comparison is the Thief of Joy I am proud to say it is the best free motion quilting I have ever done. You can also see I have quilted a line all around the outside border to tidy that up.

The panels themselves are progressing nicely too. I started with the metallic threads Peter got me for Mother's Day. I'm not using them on every panel and some panels have just a tiny amount but I'm liking the effect. I won't be using this quilt for a bed or daily use so I can afford to be fancier with it.

I'm also attempting to hand quilt. Again all the books and tutorials give great advice. I have watched lots of videos where someone sits with their work in a hoop, between needle and thimble all in place then they do the rocking back and forth motion to make tiny, neat stitches. I have tried and tried with this and all I get are ugly stitches that don't even go through all the layers. It saddened me.

Then I saw a lady who hand quilts without a hoop. And who doesn't do the rocking back and forth motion with the needle but who bends the fabric into the right place. It was like a lightbulb switching on for me. Why on earth try to bend a needle when you can bend fabric? Perhaps the end result isn't as neat (and certainly my end result wasn't perfect) but it's so much easier. I managed to quilt which even stitches that went through all 3 layers. Success in my eyes. I'm going to try this method for this quilt and see if I improve.

I'm not sure how well it shows up but in this panel I have quilted the nest with gold thread and round some of the leaves, the trunks and the bird with hand quilting thread. Again is it perfect? No. Is it the best I have done so far? Yes!!!