Design Wall

Last week I decided to start a new project. Thought it wouldn't take too much time and was a fun little challenge. In 2009 I was the co-chair of our local quilt guild--as outgoing co-chair some of the members made a signature block and gave it to me. Earlier in the year I also got married and members put a fat quarter in a basket which was presented to me. So sweet. In this quilt, I've used our guild's logo (generally speaking) and used a piece from each fat quarter and the signature blocks. I added a few other fabrics where needed from my stash. I still need to add borders which will include 5 more signature blocks. Fun to have the center done!









And I just have to show you this client quilt I am working on. If you have ideas for the brown sashings and outer border...please feel free to share!

The left column in this photo is repeated 'mirror' image on the right column that you can't see in this photo.

Fun to intentionally design on such a 'blank slate'. This is a first for me!

Some of these are adapted from Sharon Schamber tutorials.
















More Design Walls at Patchwork Times.

WIP / BOM's Away

Found a few more linkups today....and just wanted to share about my Olympic Rings so ...here you go.

Progress

Out of the Darkness Block #6 - Pansy Block. Grateful to Ginny Hildreth and the Discount Vac & Sew in Kennewick that let me be productive while my car was in for a needed service. When you live an hour away from the dealer, it is nice to have a place to hangout for the day and still be productive.









Finished the top for my Olympic Rings, so it is now ready to quilt (along with the rest on the list)! I wrote about this design on Monday along with some research about my Grandfather's own Olympic connection. Once it is finished I'll write more since I've now received information recorded by my cousin's husband who interviewed my grandfather as part of a class project years ago. I have also written a tutorial on how to draw the blocks in EQ7 and a few additional tips to make it. Gets me excited about the upcoming Olympic Games. Maybe I can get it quilted and finished in time for this year's big event.


Ready to Quilt

• McCall's Mystery - Spring Time
• McCall's Mystery - Hot Jazz (still need to make the backing)
• Rose of Sharon Bird Block Wallhanging
• Irena Bluhm - colored pencil class project
• WWVQG 2006 Basket BOM

No Progress

• Skill Builder Sampler
• Honeymoon Storm at Sea  
• Oddie’s Wild Nature (O.W.N.)
• Snowflake BOM win/Blizzard quilt
• Alaska 2007 Shop Hop (up to date through July)

2012 WIP Stats:
Completed: 11
In Progress: 12

More WIP linkups at Freshly Pieced.
BOM's Away at Lyn's at What a Hoot --ok...I'm cheating by combining these posts, eh?
Someday Crafts
Rae Gun Ramblings
Show & Tell at BCD & SNAP!
Sew Much Ado - We Did It Wednesday

Tracing the Butterfly

As the final block in Leila's Skill Builder Sampler, she asked me if I had an EQ7 drawing of Alice Brook's Butterfly block.

Q is for Quilter had posted the pattern. I also went to Jinny Beyer's patchwork album and found one by Laura Wheeler that looked the same. Unfortuantely they were subtly and specifically different enough, so after using the same method as I did on the feathered star, with the grid overlay, etc. I decided that tracing the original image would be better.

Using the 'tracing image' feature of EQ7 here is a tutorial on how to do that.

Take the posted pattern image and crop to just the block in whatever image editing system you may have. You can also do this directly in EQ7.

Worktable...Block.

Block...New Block....Easy Draw.

Click on the Tracing Image tab at the bottom.

Block....Import Image (or the first icon on the left vertical menu), select the image you want to trace.

Now click on the EasyDraw tab at the bottom, and you can draw right on top of the image.  Notice the 'snapping options' in the Drawing Setup. While drawing the lines, use the 'snap to grid points'. While drawing the arcs, I'd encourage you to use the 3rd option which is to 'Snap to Lines and Arcs of Drawing'. Draw the straight lines first and then the arcs.

When drawing the arc, it might not sit exactly how you want it. Click on the 2nd icon on the left vertical menu which is the 'shape' function. Select the arc you want to 'shape' and you'll see some extra lines that you can drag on to shape the arc. Move it until the arc lines up with the tracing image.

Be sure to 'Save to Sketchbook' when you like what you've drawn!

This particular tracing altered the top of the center F1 pieces and the antenna lines and resulting J4/I4 pieces so that the J4 combo is a perfect square --upon the request of Leila.

The templates are included in Leila's tutorial.

Design Wall Monday

My Olympic Rings quilt top based on my EQ7 Tutorial is finished. Just need to quilt it now!

Wondering about textures to fill in the background, maybe to stitch some designs, words, dates into it and small fill around them. My grandfather went to the Olympic Trials back in his early years. Frank Wycoff, his best friend in high school, who he competed with regularly and traded wins, went on to win Gold at the Olympics in 1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, and 1936 in Berlin. Unfortunately at the trials, my grandfather pulled a hamstring and was no longer able to compete. My grandfather was still an 'Olympian' in my heart.

Here is a photo from the California State Championship Relay team in 1927. My grandfather, Russell Slocum, is on the far right.

More Design Wall's at Patchwork Times.

WIP

The weeks in the summer pass by very quickly, especially when we take off on Thurs. night and return on Monday evening making a round trip via car to California.  WHEW! Even drove through a tree!

This has had no special effects added (right)....that is a very tall Redwood tree caught at the edge of the fog at Lady Bird Johnson Grove parking lot in Redwood National Park.


















So, I got a couple of client quilts done, but on my personal projects, not a lot. But, I won the door prize last night at our local quilt guild (FABRIC! and a pattern written by the mother of the gal I was sitting next to! Pretty funny since the daughter moved back to town a year ago and it was her first time at guild and the mother has a shop about 2 hours away!!! p.s. I actually taught the daughter when she first started college....she is now a graduate, married and has started a company with her husband)


Here are some more images of my progress on the Olympic Flag Quilt.

Sashing pieces. Need to cut the color/background sets.

All color bits are now cut out. Need to cut out the remaining background pieces and start sewing!

Thanks for stopping by. More WIPs linked up at Lee's.

WIP

Happy 4th of July!

Seems like forever since I posted with this linkup, but since then we finished up in California, then went to Ireland for the first Int'l Quilt Festival of Ireland (I blogged daily, so you can still live vicariously!) and am now trying to catchup around the house and get back into some sort of a routine.

I actually finished my first customer quilting job since I returned --today...yes, on the holiday!

My husband is looking for work, so that means he is around the house most of the day, but is occupying his time creating more storage space! YEAH!

New Project
So excited about my Olympic Ring tutorial posted yesterday. Even today I added some instructions on the construction. Just had to show you my WIP of actually making it.

Here is my EQ version of it:

This was not on my list to be doing this year, but I was inspired by Becky at Solar Threads when she designed a different method. I just had to try to make it with real circles, but still totally pieced (no applique!)

Here are the fabrics I pulled from my stash on this holiday!

My outer blocks

My inner blocks

This is going to be a fun one to put together!
Other Progress

Skill Builder Sampler - here is the center of my quilt! Printed at 24.5" wide and over 31" long. I treated the fabric with BubbleJet2000, ironed it onto two pieces of freezer paper butted up against each other that I got from the local candy making store (THANK YOU Bright's Candies!) and carefully figured out how to print my desired image on an HPDesignJet 510 (a wide format inkjet printer most often used as a plotter in engineering firms).

Alaska 2007 Shop Hop
Harbor Light from The Silver Thimble, Ketchikan, AK











No Progress

• Honeymoon Storm at Sea
• Pam Bono’s Out of the Darkness (ready for #6 block)
• Oddie’s Wild Nature (O.W.N.)
• Snowflake BOM win/Blizzard quilt

Waiting to be Quilted

• McCall's Mystery - Spring Time
• McCall's Mystery - Hot Jazz (still need to make the backing)
• Rose of Sharon Bird Block Wallhanging
• Irena Bluhm - colored pencil class project
• WWVQG 2006 Basket BOM

2012 WIP Stats:
Completed: 11
In Progress: 12

The WIP linkup is over at Freshly Pieced with guest bloggers this summer! Because of the holiday you can link up through Thursday (July 5, 2012).

Olympic Spirit

What better way to think about the Olympics than to try and draft those rings in EQ7 (Electric Quilt v.7 software)!

DISCLAIMER: This is not to be used for commercial purposes. Please respect the IOC's trademark. I do have permission to share this editorial and illustrative method for drafting my version of the image.

But, how would you go about drafting blocks so that you could get the effect of the Olympic Rings?

I've seen two ways of doing this so far, thought about a 3rd, but I will propose a 4th.

First, I was inspired by Becky at Solar Threads tutorial who did this one, using Snowball and Bright Hopes blocks. Very clever and quick!

A few other quilts I have seen used cut rings and appliqued them on. Another created a ring as if it was a double wedding ring set of pieces and then intertwined them and appliqued it onto a whole cloth. Lots of handwork with these!

What about using the "Pickle Dish" block? I did draft it up, but given the intersections at the end of the arcs, it doesn't 'look' like a circle, but could work if you're a fan of that design (no pun intended :-)).

I'd like to get completely pieced rings. I wondered if I could adapt a "Drunkard's Path" block and make that work.

Here is what I came up with.

Using EQ7.

Worktable...Work on Block.

I used a 4" block, with snap points and graph lines of 20 x 20.

Draw an arc from corner to corner.
Draw another arc inside at the 4th graph line mark, it is at about 4/5". Save to Sketchbook.

You can color in the colorways of your dreams and save each one to the sketchbook, or just use an uncolored block saved to the sketchbook to then place in the quilt and color when you're on the Quilt Worktable.

The sashing block is also easy.

Just draw a straight line at 4 ticks of your graph paper and save it to the sketchbook. (this is 4/5" of an inch. You don't have to worry about the dimensions of this, as long as it is relative to your other blocks it will line up. Save to Sketchbook.

I am only going to put a 0.5" sashing in the actual quilt so that the rings don't touch on a vertical axis when they are next to each other.

Now for the intertwined block.

Start with the arc block (re-draw it, or select if from your Sketchbook). Copy both arcs (select each arc with your mouse, holding the shift key down then Ctrl-C), paste (Ctrl-V), right click your mouse and choose 'Rotate' choosing 180 degrees. Now move the pasted rotated arcs to the opposite corner being sure that the end points hit the corner and edge of the block.

The only somewhat tricky part is to figure out which ring goes on top and which should stay on the bottom.

Save what you have to the sketchbook. Now each intersection has its own end point. Delete the lines where you want the ring to be on top. Looking at the picture below, at the lower left corner, there were two lines where the red ring is going behind the green ring, so I removed those. On the red ring, at the upper right hand side, there were two lines where the green went behind it. Save to Sketchbook.

This does leave little slivers of red and green, but you can color it in if you extend the background piece, or piece it, for real! Piece from the outside background corners towards the center.

To create the quilt, go to the Worktable...Work on Quilt.

Layout: Horizontal
Horizontal 6 blocks
Vertical 3 blocks
8" finished
Sashing: 0.5"

Borders: Top and Bottom: 7.5"
Left and Right: 4.75"

Quilt size result should be: 60" x 40".

Place the single arc/ring section block into all the outside blocks, except the lower left and right corner. Place the intertwined block in the 4 center blocks. Use the 'rotate block' button to then position the arcs properly and then color them in. Place the sashing block into each sash except the sashings on either side of the lower left and right corners.

I'm working on making this as I write, so there may be updates to this portion today if I discover any hints ;-)

Fabric Estimates for Top ONLY, add for backing and binding:
Background: 2 yards  (note, need 41.5" minimum usable width of fabric (WOF)
Each color: 1/4 yard

Cuts from Background:
Cut 1 - 9" WOF
From this,

• Cut 2 - 9" square blocks
• Cut 1 - 6 7/8" x remaining WOF then cross-cut to get 5 - 4" x 6 7/8" pieces (use in sashings)
• Cut 2 - 1" x remaining WOF; cross-cut to get 3 - 1" x 9" strips (use for sashing spacers between rings); 5 - 1"x 1" squares (use for cornerstones in the middle of the rings)

Turn fabric and from the Length of Fabric (LOF)

Cut 2 - LOF x 8" (save for border)

Turn back and cut from opposite end of remaining WOF
Cut 2 - 5.25" x WOF (save for border)
cut 6 - 8.5" x WOF then cross-cut to get 16 squares (use with templates for the arc and intertwined blocks) There are two spares here.

Cuts from Colors:
Cut 2 1/8" x 4" for each color (used in the sashings).

Use Templates to create 3 arcs from blue and red, 2 arcs from yellow, green and black; sashing rectangles and 1 intertwined arc from blue and red and 2 intertwined arcs from yellow, green and black.

Create the arc blocks, then create the intertwined blocks, create the sashings. Layout your quilt so that you see all parts are ready to go. I pressed towards the arcs on all background vs. arc seams. With good quality white background fabric, you should be able to press towards the inner part of the circle on each block.

Sew the vertical strip together including the first column of blocks and the sashing to the right. On the righthand end, sew the last sashing and the final column together, then sew the column together and the bottom block will already include the sashings. Then sew vertical columns together and then add side borders, and finally the top and bottom borders.

The outer arc and sashing blocks are fairly straight forward.

I have printed a set of templates (PDF, be sure to print with NO SCALING of the image) for the intertwined block based on an 8" finished block. Note the littlest piece cuts off at the point, but if you want it to line up with the edge of the block within the seam allowance, be sure to add another 1/4" to the end. You can use these pieces to figure out the other block if you want to go ahead and make it for yourself and don't have EQ. Cutting the fabric out as templates and then sewing together is the easiest way. There really isn't an EASY way to do this, as far as I can tell. Sew a corner to the tiny piece, and then the arc. Do both corners. Sew one center to an arc corner set being sure to stop at the seam allowance. I set the templates together and made markings where each piece starts and stops to help for placement. Sew two arc sets together (stop at 1/4" ends), leaving the partial seam to come back and finish. The partial seam is necessary.

Please note: you are welcome to use these for your personal use only. Olympic trademarks may not be used for commercial purposes.

Thanks for reading!

 

UPDATE: Here is my completed quilt. You can read more about it and my personal connection to the Olympics here.

 



Design Wall / BOM's Away Monday

Haven't been here for a while to show any progress with respect to a Design Wall or BOM's progress.

Today I've got a few photos to share.

In May I won our local quilt guild's Block Lotto. They were crumb blocks. So, I've been experimenting with what I might do with them.

Here are some attempts. Maybe in the shape of a birthday cake? ...it was my birthday last week! :-) or how about a graph? or a border with something else in the middle? Any other ideas??

Our Fearless Design Group decided to take on 'marbling' of fabric at our last meeting. Here are the pieces that I got to take home. The two with words or shapes, I added stickers to the fabric before putting it onto the 'bath' of paint. I'm thinking that perhaps cut into squares I could incorporate these into the crumb blocks. Perhaps ultimately being given to our local shelter.

Maybe get some butterfly wings out of this one? I even see a few yellow hearts.

I really liked the drama of the purple bits in the one below.

If you've never marbled...it's not that easy. Glad we had a group of women willing to get paint on us and just act like kids experimenting with our paints and trying to figure out the gel like substance that you lay the paint onto in order to 'get it right'.

On other fronts, I successfully printed onto cotton sateen from a large inkjet printer sometimes referred to as a plotter, but specifically a HP DesignJet510.

Unfortunately there was a leading margin that I wasn't aware of required on the printer and after 3 days of trying and believing we finally got it right, I did print the whole thing, except the leading 3/4". rrrrrr.

Here it is drying. The printed portion is almost 24" wide and over 31" long. So, do I try to line it up and print the leading edge, treat more fabric and secure more large size freezer paper to get it ironed onto (any ideas if I can reuse freezer paper?) or just make it work within the 24.5" wide requirement that I was planning for.

If you've been following my progress on my SkillBuilder, yes, this is a sneak peak at something I will be incorporating into the quilt.

Come by on Tuesday to read my tutorial for a design inspired by the Olympics!





More Design Walls at Judy's
More BOM progress at Lyn's

It is good to be back! Hope I can keep up with my own schedule again!