16 Snowmen Blocks Done!

All my log cabin snowmen blocks are now done! Here's the final layout:

I have to say that my plan to randomly select my next project has been a success. Even when I was tempted to start something else over the past couple of weeks, the inital burst of energy from the quilt "lottery" generated enough momentum to carry me through. Fortunately, the chosen project was not very large, so that helped too!

The next step here will be to sandwich and quilt the blocks individually, and then join them at the end. But before I get to that, I have a backlog of projects to quilt. More on that in the next post!

Four More Snowmen Blocks

I haven't had much time to sew this week, but I do have another four of the log cabin snowmen blocks to show you.

My original plan was to use just the almost-solid blenders on the front of the quilt, and have a very graphic, more modern look. The white snowflake fabric in the block above was intended for the back. However, once I started cutting the strips for the blocks I realized that I didn't have enough for the top, and I had to "borrow" from the back.

That's what I get for buying the fabric before I finalize the design! But, I'm actually quite pleased with the way it looks, I think it adds a little sparkle to the quilt.

I hope I still have enough fabric for the back!

First Four Snowmen Blocks

I've had a fun day today, cutting the rest of my flannel strips and piecing the first four snowman blocks for my lap quilt, It's Warm Inside. Flannel is great to work with, I've found. All my fabric goes through both the washer and dryer, and the flannel is practically felt when it comes out. It doesn't fray, it doesn't stretch, the pieces stick together when you sew...easy!

I finished the first four blocks and while I was ironing the last seams open and congratulating myself on a job well done...

Whoops! LOL. Time to call it a day. But I did fix it first.

Last time I said I would give all the measurements, which I am now regretting because I don't know if anyone really needs measurements for a log cabin block. These ones will finish at 12" square. But I know estimating yardage can be tricky, so I think what I'll do is write the whole thing up in a proper pattern once the quilt is done.

So, here are the first four blocks finished, with the red and green block fixed up:

The flannels are all from Connecting Threads, by the way, from their Quilter's Candy Flannel Basics collection. And still available too!

Strip Chain Piecing

Here's my next new project, which I'm calling "It's Warm Inside." This is one of my randomly selected projects from a couple weeks ago. The concept is that we are looking out at the snowmen through window frames, while cozy inside. I was inspired by a photo of this project that was posted on Sew Mama Sew, but made by Shruti from 13woodhouseroad.com. And yes, it's just taken me half an hour to track down those links!

Anyway...my project will be a log cabin lap quilt with several "new-to-me" techniques, including a version of quilting in sections and the strip chain piecing that I used to make the framed snowmen above. Judy Niemeyer uses a variation of this with paper piecing, which I'll be using when I get back to Riviera Star as well. So it was good to get some easy practice first!

Strip chain piecing is a fun technique that I will definitely use again. But, I made a couple of wrong moves, so I can share a few tips so you can learn from my mistakes! Plus, I'll give you all the measurements in case you want to make it yourself.*

I started by fussy cutting the 16 snowmen into 2.5" squares from two suitable fabrics I found in my stash. I had another fabric with snowmen too, but they were too small for the frames and it didn't look good. The white strips are cut 1" wide by the width of the fabric (WOF). For the 16 blocks I only needed 5 strips.

I started the strip chain piecing by putting just the white strip in the sewing machine and taking a few anchor stitches 1/4" from the edge. My fabric is a solid, but if yours is printed put it right side up. Then, with the needle down, lift the presser foot, lay one of the squares face down on the strip and right against the needle. The square and the strip should be right sides together and lined up along the right edge. Lower the presser foot and continue sewing your 1/4" seam. Once you've sewn down the square, keep the needle down, lift the presser foot, lay down the next square, and repeat to the end of the strip.

Benefit #1: No pins are needed, because the presser foot holds down the top of the square, and you can just keep a finger (carefully!) or a stylus on the bottom edge until it's sewn.

Benefit #2: All my snowmen were cut on the bias, but the strip underneath stabilizes the seam so it doesn't stretch at all.

Tip #1: Iron the seam open before you cut apart the blocks, it is more accurate. I didn't do that for the first strip, and some of the edges came out a little wonky.

Also, make sure the seam allowance is pressed away from the centre, which you can see is wrong in the photo. I had to go back and re-iron all these after I cut them apart!

Once you have cut apart all the blocks, you can start another strip and sew as before, laying each block in face down and sewing them to the strip one at a time. When you work clockwise around the block, and you iron the seam allowances away from the centre, all the seam allowances will be "down hill" as you sew, so no pins are needed.

Tip #2: Use a ruler to cut the strips apart, and keep squaring them up as you go. The next raw edge should be 2 1/4" from the opposite seam. I tend to sew a scant seam, so I often trimmed away a sliver of fabric from the centre while I was separating the pieces.

Once the four sides were sewn on, I gave all the pieces a final trim to square them up to exactly 3.5".

The next step will be to cut the rest of the outer strips, which will be in flannel, and finish the blocks. I'm hoping the contrasting fluffy and smooth fabrics will be interesting on the finished quilt. It's a lot of cutting...

...but, working with flannel like this is also "new to me," and it's been fun too, so far!

*Everyone is welcome to make this quilt for personal or charity use only.  Design, photos and text are copyrighted. Please contact me in the comments or via my profile with any questions.

BFF Month 3 Finished

Here's the last motif for Month 3 of Rosalie Quinlan's Best Friends Forever. I am continuing to "Canadianize" the motifs where I can, so it seemed clear that the girl with the pigtails should be a redhead like Anne of Green Gables.

But I didn't know what to do with the character on the right. Shades of purple, perhaps? Then I remembered this illustration from Frances Tyrrell. If you look closely you can see one of the fairies in a very similar hat and tunic. Maybe it is a standard fairy outfit? Anyway, I went with green and I'm quite pleased with the result.

I also tried to do the flowers in light purple, but it made the piece too cold, and I wanted it to be sunny. So once again, there is no purple here. I'll try again in Month 4! Although, Month 3 was not completely purple-free:

Regular readers may have noticed that is it just three days since I said I would be packing this project away. But, after several days of doing nothing but Texas Star in the evenings, my hands were complaining. So I added BFF back in the mix so I don't strain one particular set of muscles. There will be one other change too -- the Trick or Treat baskets were not as "ready to start" as I thought. I may need more background fabric. So, I think I'll go back to Home Sweet Home, which at least is all blocked out, and the fabric choices are done.

The next post, though, will probably be some snowmen, because that's my plan for tomorrow!

BFF Month 3.3 Stitching

Before I pack it away, here's the third motif from Month 3 of Best Friends Forever, all finished.

I experimented with a couched lattice in the centre of the motif. This was my first try at a lattice, and I was quite pleased with how it turned out. I'll be using it again in other projects!

The fourth motif is almost finished too, but I'm going to stick to my new plan and pack it away while I work on L'Herbier. I hope that knowing this one is so close to the finish will motivate me to keep on track with L'Herbier. Something else to look forward to!

Bad Behaviour and a New Approach

Well, I'm back. I've had more than my fill of doctor's waiting rooms, and I have no intention of going back any time soon!

I have not been able to do a lot of sewing, but I've definitely had lots of time to think! Back at the beginning of the year you may recall that I had bold plans to shelve all my old UFOs and start anew with a clean slate. After just four months it's clear that was a complete failure. All my UFOs have crept back onto the to do list.

Plus, I started one...

...two...

...new projects over the break! And, I've noticed that I compensate for not sewing by buying more fabric, but I better not go into detail about that, lol. Both the new projects are foundation paper pieced. The maple leaves are batiks that have been waiting for their moment for a long time, and the winter star is new fabric, the Jack Frost 10" square collection from Keepsake Quilting. Beware -- most of these fabrics are home dec weight, and not the best for detailed piecing!

Anyway, I've forgiven myself for the new starts. It's been a stressful time, so a temporary distraction was helpful.

But I also still think I need fewer current projects. I've decided to cut them down to five categories and choose just one from each:

1. Machine Pieced
2. Hand Applique
3. Stitchery/Embroidery
4. English Paper Piecing
5. Cross Stitch

I've realized that I am much more productive when I have fewer decisions to make. So, I made lists of all started or ready-to-start projects in each area and used a random number generator to choose which ones to work on now. I was worried that I wouldn't like the results, but actually I love them. Each time the random number came up, I felt a big sense of relief when I checked it against the list. I think any result would have been a relief -- sometimes it's just helpful to make a decision. 

So, the first round of projects will be:

1. It's Warm Inside -- a log cabin lap quilt to be made with this cute snowglobes flannel fabric I bought from Connecting Threads last fall. A brand new project!
2. Trick or Treat Baskets, designed by Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs, in their book When the Cold Wind Blows. I saw this quilt recently on Supergoof's blog (it's the second basket quilt in that post), and I had to add it to the list. I've seen others working on it too. I like the Supergoof's pink and white blocks, and I bought a little of Connecting Threads' new Hampton Hues collection to add to fabrics from my stash. Another brand new project! And a big one...
3. L'Herbier -- Two of the 16 embroidered blocks are done. I'm hoping this will move along easily, now that all the kinks are worked out.
4. Texas Star -- There were only two choices in the category, this one or the setting for BFF. I guess BFF will be on hold for a while!
5. A Kiss for Snowman -- I had an absolute craving for cross stitch over the break, and this is the project I've been working on. I did not choose a random number on this, I'm determined to get it done soon!

It will be interesting to see how this new approach works out. Two winter projects, just as summer is starting! Right now I'm feeling pretty motivated, so, fingers crossed!