Diamond In A Square Paper Pieced

Making 380 Diamonds in a Square to Finish at 2"

After printing the needed number of paper foundations,

I drew the square, plus seam allowance, on the wrong side of the my main color fabric.

Cutting from strips would mean wasted fabric. The diamonds are basically squares set on point, which means the cut edges are on the bias.

 With center squares pinned to the foundation papers,

 I stitched each "corner" to a bias cut strip of background fabric, 1 - 1/2" wide.

The strip was pressed to one side, and with wrong side up, the corners were cut to size.
The triangles between that are cut off will be sewn to the next side.

A bias strip, cut selvedge to selvedge yielded 27 corners, approximately.

UPDATE: today is 12/31/2019
I am still making diamonds...progress, not perfection.

 

 

Fabulous Free Motion Quilting

"It's Not a Quilt Until it's quilted"

I forget who said this, but it has been a standard for years. 

I didn't really  "retire" - just changed jobs...now I am a full time quilter.

Quilts by Rosemary

Rosemary's blogspot has an excellent tutorial on using "Press N Seal" ®

to "mark" quilts for free motion machine quilting

without marking the quilt.

Check it out

 

Neocolor II Water Soluble crayons

A shaded tulip in Block 4 - Diamond Hill pattern by Esther Aliu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Fabric Medium is "Golden GAC 900" - The coloring agent is Neocolor II

I love the way the Neocolor II Watersoluable wax pastels work with fabric in applique!

These pencils open up so many opportunities to practice creativity!

Glue Sticks! Love em!

I use a lot of glue sticks - especially for absolutely awesome applique - to assemble the units, and then to apply the unit to the background in preparation for stitching.

A piece of scrap wood, and a couple of hole cutters for the drill, and presto, I had a glue stick holder to clamp to the table. The lid of the glue stick is screwed into the wood.

I put my palm on the clamp handle and lift the stick out of the lid.

Ami Sims - Applique Artist Extraordinaire

http://amisimms.com/stbascat.html

Ami's awesome St. Basil's Cathedral

done entirely in her "invisible applique" technique

 

Martelli Tools and Techniques for Sewing, Quilting, Arts and Crafts

Using the Martelli Rotary Cutter

Here I am trying out my new Martelli Rotary Cutter

***Click on the Red Text to be directed to a YouTube video***

The Martelli cutter is ergonomically designed for maximum comfort. It has a spring loaded guard, and will cut up to 30 layers of fabric at one time.  The 24" No-Slip Strip Ruler guarantees perfectly cut strips every time. I also picked up a "No-Slip" mat for my sewing machine pedal, and unlike some, THIS ONE WORKS!

I got this beauty at the Azalea Quilter's Guild quilt show in Mobile, Alabama - with great "show special" pricing. Martelli goes to trade and quilt shows all over the country - check out their website to see when they are demonstrating at a show near you. 

Update: 12/31/2019 - I found I NEVER use the 24" No-Slip Strip Ruler. I think that is because I can't see through it! But I am addicted to the Quilter's Select rulers which are truly non-slip. I used mine frequently to draw patterns with a Sharpie - leaving a black line on the edge. One day, I decided to clean my ruler with alcohol. Yes, it removed the black line, but also removed the non- slip coating on the ruler. It wasn't a disaster - there is enough coating left to keep the ruler effective.

On A Quest for color!

In Search of the Best Solids

 On the left is Riley Blake's Confetti, by Lori Holt. The fabric on the right is the American Made Brand by Clothworks.

 

 I am judging only the density of the weave of the fabric.

 It is obvious the American Made Brand is a closer weave,

 which means less fraying, and better "wearing."

 

As to judging color in this test - the Confetti solids are a range of pastels,

 while the American Made Brand was a sampling of intense colors. Apples to Oranges!

 

 However, comparing the two sources in the color "Black," 

American Made was the winner for deep, rich color hands down.

 

I do like that Riley Blake offers a color card - our solids are like a box of crayons - even if we don't buy them all, we want to see what is available. When ordering online, it helps to have all the information you can get to make good decisions.

 

 

UFOs and Other Flotsam and Jetsom

Treasures of the Sewing Room

The Double Wedding Ring, threads from raw edges tangling in

the scrap of sole fabric for quilted slippers...

Moonglow neatly folded...

Sedona Through the Trees, forever wanting its final Stars,

Those sad and lonely earthbound UFOs 

I used to fantasize that as long as I had a quilt to finish, my life would continue. Nope, can't die tomorrow - have to get that border on.  Then the pile grew, and my thoughts changed to: I hope when I die whoever finds these will finish them. My treasures haunted me with their pointing fingers - damning me and my ADD to a hell of scraps and tangles threads.

UFOs served a purpose in their time - providing a means of learning and creative expression. the real treasure is the person who makes them and the things she has learned along the way. Therapy through rough times.

The work we did on these UFOs are the stepping stones in our education. Sometimes, life with all its chaotic demands intervenes, sometimes we just reach a point where the project isn't serving, or our skills aren't  compatible with the demands of the project, and we need to leave it and "practice" our craft on something simpler, till we can go back to the project and work joyfully - not frustrated and self castigating. 

I thought that when I retired I would have SOOO MUCH time! Okay, at times I never expected to be able to retire - sometimes life forces us into paths we wouldn't think of taking. But this thing about TIME...There still isn't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do - to try - to experiment with...(this is still after I gave up being a pit crew member for a local NASCAR team, even if all I did was sew the patches on the clothing). The point is I have to make every day, every hour COUNT for something. It isn't enough to make a quilt for the sake of having a quilt. I give most of them away, anyway. If a quilt project doesn't serve a purpose such as teaching me something or honing a skill - I don't have time for it!

70 petals!

Esther Aliu's applique pattern: Diamond Hill. 

Block 3 requires 70 individual flower petals. To speed up the process, I am using Jinny Beyer's template film as both templates and working foundation to build my motif on.

 I have used a piece of 100% cotton voile in the center that I can glue the petals to.

The school glue will go through the voile to hold the piece in place while I work.

Shaped Piecing - for Quilters

How would you like a beautifully shaped border on your quilt?

Or an inset to focus on a special applique or embroidery?

I have been using shaped piecing to embellish children's clothes, and make baby quilts since the early 1980's - when I was taught to do "Drunkard's Path" and decided there must be an easier way to do it. 

Then I thought, why not work on a larger scale...a bed size quilt?

It only looks intricate - but is actually very easy, if you take it a step at a time.

Cut a template, and draw the shape on the piece of fabric that will be on top.

Cut the shape out, with about 1/4" allowance for turning under.

Using the template and a medium hot iron, press under the raw edge. Test the iron on a piece of scrap template first. If the iron is too hot, the template film will warp.

Lay the top piece of fabric over the contrasting fabric

 and press with starch, then pin.

 

Set the machine to a blind hem stitch, and adjust to a long length of stitch. 

This is called "top basting" and the stitching will be removed.

This is how the back and front side of the fabric will look

 after you have "top basted" the two pieces together.

Trim the seam allowances to about 1/4"

Lay the two pieces of fabric right sides together and smooth out the crease in the top piece. 

In this illustration, I have drawn "between the dots" with a marker for clarity.

Working only an inch or two at a time, smooth the seam allowances and stitch from dot to dot.

The point in this pattern is a little tricky, but practice it. You may wish to sew from the other side when doing the point. Take is slow and easy. No stress.

Remove the basting, and press on both sides. Enjoy your border!

 

 

Stitching a closed circle, oval or other shape is even easier.

 Use the same method of top basting.

Be reminded that the text and illustrations presented on this page are protected by copyright.
Please feel free to use the methods shown,
 however, if you share, or teach the information, it is only fair to name me as the source. 
I am retired, and do not sell. But I am dedicated to furthering education
in the fiber arts in any way I can.  

HAVE FUN!