Finished -- The Good "F" Word!

I haven't posted for a while.....life happens! I have had quilt visitors in town and we all went to a four day retreat. I got a lot done at the retreat and we had a great time. One thing we discussed is finishing our projects. One retreater brought a red and white top that just needed borders. The blocks have been pieced together for over a year, and the border fabric has been stored with the top for all this time but for some reason the borders have not been attached.

I, myself, brought a backing that needed finishing. I pieced a complete a t-shirt quilt top for my daughter over a year ago and sewed two pieces of fabric together for the backing. I had 12 t-shirts prepared to applique to the backing and that is where I stopped. I brought this backing and t-shirts to this retreat because I am tired of looking at it sitting on the table in my sewing room. I vowed to finish this backing at the retreat before I started on the project I brought. Wanna know what happened?? I finished it in just under 30 minutes. Why the heck did I wait for over a year to do this and how did I get it done so fast? I think the anticipation and dread of sewing on those appliques did not appeal to me so I put it off.

I was able to finally finish this little project because my reward for finishing was that I could begin a new, fun project with a clear conscience and no unfinished project hanging over my head. One of my goals this year was to complete each project before moving on to the next one. I have always admired quilters who work on one project at a time and complete it before starting on the next one.

This year I have been able to start and finish 10 quilts: 2 service projects and 8 niece & nephew quilts. I have been able to do this because of two things:

1. I set a goal for this year to make a quilt for each nephew, niece and all their children who have not received quilts from me. These family members are on my husband's side of the family and live out of state (four different states). I didn't see them much when they were growing up but over the last few years we have been able to attend their weddings and meet them as adults. Giving them quilts is something I want to do. At the beginning of this year there were 28. When two nieces have their babies later this year, there will be 30. It is the end of April and I'm not halfway there yet!
2. I decided to start and finish each quilt before starting another one.

I really love this working-on-one-project-at-a-time thing:

• Using up scraps, kits and fabric I already have = saving money.
• Organizing patterns and fabrics into kits = a cleaner, more organized sewing room.
• Getting projects done = a really happy quiltmaker!

Here is what I've done so far:

I did two service projects but didn't take a picture of the second one. I had picked up these blocks at a guild meeting and pieced them together. this quilt is nice and bright. Love the yellow binding.

Service Project Quilt #1

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Service Project #1.

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I made two of these quilts from kits I purchased. The pattern is Swirly Girls Design Perfect Ten.

Perfect Ten Quilt for Amelia and Kristy

Read my online journal for these quils on QuiltNotes - Perfect Ten For Amelia.

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This is my Jelly Roll Race quilt. It was so much fun to do. It is for my niece Claire.

Jelly Roll Race

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Jelly Roll Race #1.

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This is for a niece, Kim. It is made from scraps from Bali Pop projects. I only had to purchase fabric for borders.

Scrap Quilt from 3 Dudes

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Scrap Quilt from 3 Dudes.

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I made two of these quilts from kits. Both are this lime green. One is quilted and one is not so far. I made one like this two years ago that was red instead of lime green. That one went to my cousin in Colleferro Italy. We visited them in June 2010. I want to go back!!

Turning Twenty

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Turning Twenty Green.

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This is made from left over strips from several Bali Pop projects. The pattern is Gemini from Blue Underground. Very easy, quick pattern to stitch up.

Scrappy Batik

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Gemini.

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This Log Cabin was made from a kit I purchased many years ago. It is for my nephew, James.

Log Cabin

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Piecing Rows and Columns

Here is how I keep track of the rows and columns when piecing the quilt top. In October of 2011 I purchased Cheryl Ann's Design Wall for laying out quilt blocks. It has been one of the best purchases I've made in a while.

I cut pieces of paper and number them starting with 1.

Here is a diagram showing four rows A-D with seven columns.

Once I have laid out the blocks how they will be pieced into the top I start with block 1 in row A. I pick up 1 and place it on top of 2 then pick up 1&2 and place them on top of 3. Continue stacking the blocks in row A until you have one stack with 1 on top and 7 on bottom.

Next I label this stack with the number 1.I pin the paper near the upper left of the top block and out of the way of any seam allowance. The picture below shows the number 6.

Next I sew these blocks together in the order they are stacked. I prefer to sew one block at a time, using my thread cutter between blocks. Now I have row A stitched together and I put it to the side. I stitch each row in the same way, making sure to pin the number before piecing. I don't press anything until all the rows are pieced.

The next picture shows several rows pieces together waiting to be pressed. I placed them like this for illustration purposes.

Here is a picture of the last few rows still on the design wall.

Once all the rows are pieced it is time to press. To alternate the direction of pressing the seams I press the odd numbered rows to the left and the even numbered rows to the right. To keep track of this, I write on my notepad "ODD - LEFT" because I always forget.

Finally, I sew the rows together. I don't always start with 1 but I make sure I keep the rows in order. Keep the numbers pinned to the blocks until all rows are finished. Remove the numbers and save them for next time.

Quilt top finished and ready to quilt.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Gift Quilts, Who Cares What Their Colors Are!

I am a prolific quiltmaker. I have been known to start a quilt three days before a wedding and give the quilt as a wedding gift at the wedding. With tons of quilt kits, patterns and scraps at the ready and with my longarm quilting machine, I can crank out a quilt from cutting to binding and label in three days, no sweat. I'm not bragging here because most of the quilts I make are from either scraps or kits and most of the patterns I choose are of the "quick and easy" variety. Applique quilts are beautiful and amazing. I admire people who applique but unless it's hand pieced, if it takes more that a week to piece, I'm not interested. With all that in mind, I will tell you how I approach giving quilts as gifts.

A few times I have actually asked someone which quilt design they wanted and what colors they like. I have even gone so far as to let them pick out the fabric they wanted. FORGET THAT!
I did not enjoy making any of those quilts and was not happy with the finished product. For a long time now, if I am giving a quilt as a surprise or if a family member asks me to make them a quilt, they get what I want to make. I don't care what color paint is on their bedroom walls. This quilt will outlast numerous paint jobs and even a move or two or three so what difference does it make what color the room is at the moment. I choose colors I like and colors I think represent the personality of the person receiving the quilt. Most of the quilts I make are scrappy anyway so the colors are all tumbled together.

Here is a quilt called Stepping Stones by Judy Niemeyer I made for my grown niece. I know this quilt will go in any room in any home she lives in. I had fun making this quilt and the fabrics, Bali Pops were amazing to work with.

Now let's talk about  the pattern or type of quilting technique. I have had lots of clients over the years bring in quilts they pieced because their granddaughter, son, niece, whatever wanted this pattern or that t-shirt quilt. You would be amazed at the number of first time quilters choosing Double Wedding Ring to give as a gift. Often these quilts turn out to be a disaster and in the end, the makers are frustrated and unhappy with the results.

If I don't like doing applique or some other quiltmaking technique, I will not make a quilt using that technique. I don't care if my favorite family member LOVES that quilt they saw in the magazine. If they like it that much, they can learn to make it themselves. I will make my scrap quilts because the times I have made quilts using techniques I am not fond of, the entire experience is drudgery and life is too short for that.

The last thing I want to mention is the quilt size. I don't assume that all my quilts will be used on beds. Children grow from the crib to a twin or double bed and the quilt will out last those changes. The Stepping Stones quilt pictured above is 60" x 68", just a little smaller than I like but the perfect size for my short niece to snuggle under in the evening. A quilt that is easy to drape over a couch, throw in the car or carry in a suitcase will be used often. This is what I want. I love to hear "Aunt Carol, I need another quilt. The one you gave me 10 years ago has holes in it."  Those words just warm my heart!!

 So many of my clients bring in these huge king size quilts intended for young family members. They admit the person does not have a king size bed. What is a 15 year old who sleeps in a twin size bed going to do with a huge king size quilt? He's going to fold it and stuff it into the top shelf of the closet and forget about it. My target quilt size is 75" x 95" because it's portable. It can go from bed to couch to basement to friend's house to dorm room and be used for years to come.

Even babies not born yet get quilts in the 75" x 95" range or slightly smaller. Before they learn to walk they can be placed on top of the quilt to play or nap. As they get older they can sleep under it or cuddle on the couch with it. It's perfect for road trips and camping and visiting relatives.

Recently I have started including washing instructions and a box of Shout Color Catcher with each quilt. I used to prewash all my fabrics but over the years I have gotten lazy about this. I had some fabric bleed and ruin a quilt so now I use this stuff if I prewash fabric and I use it for the first two times I wash the quilt.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Choosing Quilt Backing Fabric

Often when we are choosing fabrics for the quilt top, the last thing on our minds is what to use for the backing. And possibly farthest in our minds is how the quilt will be quilted. As a professional quilter I have asked hundreds of quiltmakers how they want a top quilted and many times the answer is "I have no idea!" I completely understand this. Many quilters, myself included, love the idea of choosing fabric, cutting it into small pieces then stitching them back together again. It is the process of making the quilt top that is the most fun. Quilting and completing a quilt is often not the final goal of many quiltmakers. Some of these quiltmakers call themselves "toppers". I completely understand.

But if you plan to have the top quilted and to actually finish the quilt then I ask you to consider the quilting designs, thread color and backing fabric as carefully as you choose fabrics for the top. Let me give you an extreme example of what I'm talking about. A new quiltmaker brought me a top that consisted of two solid fabrics: pure white and navy blue nine patch blocks. The finished blocks were 6" and the nine patch blocks alternated with solid white blocks. The quilt was a large king size. The backing was solid white.

The quilt top was very well pieced and was cherished by this quiltmaker.

One important thing to consider when choosing fabric and the quilting design is the quilting thread color. For longarm quilting and often for home machine quilting it is best to match the top and bobbin threads. Thread tension does not always stay perfect especially with free motion quilting so if you use white on the top and navy in the bobbin, you will have pokies, top threads poking to the back or bobbin threads poking to the top. This gives an unpleasant look.

The choices for quilting were allover design or custom quilting. Let's look at the allover design first. Choosing the design is no problem. I would suggest a curvy, swirly or flower design that interlocks and  is not symmetrical since there is so much symmetry in the piecing design. For thread color, I would suggest white since most of the quilt top and all of the backing are white. There will be a contrast of the white thread on the navy patches but overall the contrast is toned down with the large amount of white fabric.

For a custom design the client wanted a daisy type flower quilted in each plain white block and stitch in the ditch (SID) of the nine patch blocks. No problem with the daisy design because I used white thread which looked great on the white fabric for the top and backing but the stitch in the ditch was a different story!

The client only wanted stitch in the ditch so there was no compromise there. The problem comes when deciding which thread color to use. There are several problems:

1. SID means just what it says, you stitch in the ditch formed when the fabrics are pressed to one side. In many cases the seam is pressed toward the dark but it isn't always the case. That means the ditch moves from the white fabric to the dark fabric and back at different times.
2. If white thread is used to SID it will blend well when the ditch is on the white fabric but it will stick out like a sore thumb on the navy fabric.
3. Why not just stay on one fabric whether the ditch is there or not? Because then you are alternating SID with top stitching which would really be distracting.
4. Changing thread colors is time consuming and probably not a solution unless you have lots of time to get the quilting done.
5. If SID is not a requirement, one solution would be to quilt a large "X" in the nine patch blocks using navy thread. That would look nice on the top but  would you like the contrast of the navy "X" on the white backing?
6. Machine quilting, especially custom quilting, has lots of stops and starts. When using thread that contrasts with the fabric, these starts and stops are highly visible and can be distracting.

Lots of things to consider!

Here are pictures of the front and back of a scrap quilt I recently completed. I used variegated thread in the top and a coordinating thread in the bobbin.







For the backing, I pieced together 5 different fabrics. In the picture below you can clearly see the quilting in the light color fabric but it blends in with the busy print fabric.

Keep some of these things in mind when choosing fabrics for the top and backing. Have a general idea of what quilting design and thread color you might use to complete the quilting.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Jelly Roll Race Quilt - Finished!

I finished my first Jelly Roll Race quilt that I first told you about Jelly Roll Race - Tips From A Winner. 

This was a great quilt and I know I'll do more in the future.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Download Free Quilt Pattern - Rail Fence

This is a great quilt pattern for beginners and experienced quilters will find this a quick way to use up scrap strips of fabric.

Rail Fence Scrap Quilt With Borders

Strips are cut 2-1/2" from the width of fabric then sewn into sets of three. For variety you can cut strips in different sizes or sew your strips into sets of 4, 5, 6 or more!

Have yardage of two or three fabrics, use just those fabrics for a not-so-scrappy look.

The pattern shows two different block settings.

For beginners, some very basic tools include a rotary cutter, a cutting mat and ruler. The perfect set I found for beginners is the Fiskars 3 Piece Quilting Set. This set includes a 45mm rotary cutter, a large 18" x 24" cutting mat and a 6" x 24" cutting ruler.

Download the pattern from our Free Quilt Patterns Page

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen