The double wedding ring quilt is getting a binding

My idea of trying to use a fold over from the back binding was very wrong headed and I quickly saw it was not going to work ( I trimmed and tried it out only a small bit where I knew it might be problematic-and it was!) So I've made some bias binding...quite a bit actually.

 I had some wonderful Brooklyn Dodger's blue and I cut a 27" square to start for the tube. You can find really good instructions here from the Oregon Coastal Quilters Organization. I don't make bias binding very often and found their pictures helped me to remember what to do. I do do one thing differently-I mark a 1/4" line (see the bottom edge)

 so when I pin the two marked edges together I can put the pin through the X

 and then I find the lines of each section match perfectly after sewing.

And now the binding is sewn on and pinned and ready to be finished by hand!

I've been quilting

I'm still not totally done with jet lag...I can't believe it is taking me this long but I'm hoping that I broke it completely today. Its not just the unusual sleep patterns-I just don't seem to have the same energy level. I have however managed to do some quilting.


I had rolled the Double Wedding Ring quilt in the frame before we left and I'm now here...

and I've already completed half of this roll.

I've also been doing some machine quilting...I had basted the embroidered Bonnet Girl quilt before leaving but hadn't started the quilting at all. I've done the straight lines on the embroidered bars and I'm thinking I'll put a cable in the narrow green floral bars.

 You can see I'm just sewing right over the embroidery...looks fine to me! :) and easy too!

Handquilting update and feedsacks

Hooray! I finished that roll of the frame...

 and turned the quilt in the frame

 and now I'm ready to start quilting here.

 Nice feedsacks in this section-here are some that just turned up :)

Week 2 Progress Report on Handquilting my DWR

Here's what I got done this week:

 I have to remember to outline quilt 1/2" at the outer edge so I won't just cover the quilting with the binding later. (Actually I'm not sure if I'll add a binding or do a knife edge but there's plenty of time until I get to that.)

So I've now finished half of this roll! Yeah!

I've started a new project-what I think of as the ultimate scrap quilt-a postage stamp quilt. I spent the week figuring out the sewing scheme-I'm doing it in rows-and cutting directions.
I'm using unbleached muslin and quickly cut that up. I needed 1 1/2 yards and I had a uyard and some large scraps so that was taken care of.

 Then I started on this mess of strips from my scrap strip drawer. I'm going for a dark quilt so I'm also sorting out the lights. Trimming them to 1 1/2" wide took a while.

 When I got tired of cutting, I started sewing some of the strips together in groups of 4 or 5. I'm going to need anywhere from 7-21 scrap squares sewn together in sections so I thought this was a way to get some strip piecing to speed things up and still have a lot of variation in those sections.

 Next I went to work on the smaller strips, squares, etc. Some of these were long enough for strips and some I just cut into 1 1/2" squares...again it will help with the variation though I don't want to sew all squares.

 I started to get a bit more creative in sewing the strips. From this weird bit, I'll get some 4s and some 5s, and at the end some 3s and maybe even a 2.

 See its working...some sections ready to be sewn together and some "strata" read to be ironed and cut and some strips to be sewn into strata plus those individual squares
I hope to have some rows sewn today and something to show soon. If you know the pattern, I've decided against using focus fabrics around the muslin-I like the look but since I'm using dark fabrics, dark focus fabrics didn't show up and I don't think I'd like the look of light ones.

Hand Quilting on my Double Wedding Ring: A Progress Report

I need some help. I put my double wedding ring into the frame in 2010 and I have only just passed the half way point. I've decided that I will shame myself into finishing it by posting weekly progress reports. I took this photo last Friday-I had just turned it.

  I'm ready to start quilting this section: my needle is right there in the center of the melon and my thread, candle to wax my thread, scissors and thimbles (the bigger one is for when I'm quilting away from me-I wear it on my thumb; when I'm quilting towards me, I use the smaller size one on my index finger).

And here's my progress pix for this week:

I know it doesn't look like much progress but it is some. I can only reach to quilt half the design so actually I've done 2 sections here. (You can't see it but I'm patting myself on the back. ;)
Thought you might like some close-ups of some of the feedsacks in this section.

 The top wedge in the next photo isn't a vintage feedsack...its a regular fabric from the 1950s.

I've been quilting

I've been busy with classes but I have done some machine quilting on the Drunkard's Path...I'm still working on the white areas and then I want to go back and add something in the yellow-I'm thinking of a diamond grid-the parallel lines are just too "straight" but I'm not sure yet. Its a lot of fun doing the free triple circle "flowers" in the white but they do take a lot of time and a lot of thread-I can't believe all the bobbins I've made!I've also been hand quilting on the Double Wedding Ring...I think I'm about half way now. I took this pix at night but I think you can see that I've quilted in my name-using a 30s style printing. (The color is a little yellow but with the flash it was totally washed out.)
Isn't this just a gorgeous feedsack? The friend that gave me this one, the next one and others that I used in the DWR is here visiting and will be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner! We'll be about 14 this year-American friends from all over Israel-its really a lot of fun and a lot of good food.

Working on 3 projects at once: Yikes!

Look what DH surprised me with....It vacuumed and I machine quilted on my black, white and red log cabin...I think I'm in love!

I'm almost half done...I knew it would be slow going. I have to remember to machine quilt in the early morning or in the evenings when its a little cooler and the air conditioner works well enough. (In other words, when its in the low 90s rather than hovering around 100!)

I embroidered all the vines on the batik star and rosette quilt top and I like it. The trail isn't as noticeable as with the leaves but its there and gives that something extra.
While I was at the LQS teaching last Sunday, I picked up some silk ribbon in shades perfect for this quilt. I think I better test wash the dark purple and the maroon to make sure they don't run...oh, I hope they don't.
I've also been hand quilting on my double wedding ring...I put it on the frame ages ago and really didn't quilt much but now its the perfect summer project. I'm about half done with this "roll" of the frame, once its quilted all along the width of the quilt, then I'll roll again and finish this design.
I used a mixture of vintage fabrics and reproductions for the arcs of the DWR. Here are some pictures of some of the 1950s vintage fabric "wedges" in the quilt...
and here are some 1930s fabric including a feed sack on the right. You can see I'm outline quilting-very traditional!
Now I'm off to watch a film with DH and DS who came up to "rest" after a big final exam this morning...well, I'll watch a film if they can decide on what to order from pay-per-view! :)

Yo-Yo quilt and Double Wedding Ring quilt updates

I've been working on the yo-yo quilt-mainly sewing "blocks" of 5 rows by 5 rows. It seems to make the whole thing seem more manageable! :) This pile contains 9 blocks. I've also been working on the DWR-I got it on the frame and I've started hand quilting! Yeah! I'm 1/4" outline quilting the ring wedges and I think it looks nice. (the top row looks like its quilted 1/2" inch because it is-I've left room for the binding :) and I'm very proud of myself that I remembered to do that!

I'm really happy with the way the design is looking too...wish it was a nicer day and I could get a better picture. I know I shouldn't complain but it has been raining for days!

Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Inspired by Karen's hand quilting and Eileen's posts about the wedding ring she's working on, I decided it was time to take this big block Double Wedding Ring Quilt out of the closet and get working on it.

I drafted the pattern a few years ago after seeing my friend Teresa's vintage wedding ring quilt-I had always intended to trace the pattern from her quilt but never did. ( They were transferred and so I lost my chance :) I loved the big rings and thought it would be easy to sew such gentle curves.

I was right. The quilt top went together quickly and easily...once all the fabric was marked and cut with scissors!

I finally decided on the quilting patterns and I hope you can see one here! I've marked about half of the quilt so far but then had to put it away as I got busy cooking and baking for Thanksgiving!

Here's the pattern for the "melon" pieces. This is an adaptation from a vintage Mountain Mist border pattern...I like the idea of echoing the rings in the quilting-the square to me represents the home!

You're probably wondering already about the fabrics used: part vintage and part reproduction.

Here you can see some more fabrics-on the top left arc the first two are vintage, next two reproduction, next vintage, last is a red dotted swiss that while a new fabric is timeless. The vintage fabrics range from feedsacks from the 30s and 40s to dress cottons from the 1950s and 60s .

I'm planning on marking some more tomorrow: DH will be playing bridge and I'll use the big dining room table, put on some country music and mark away!

BTW has anyone else had trouble uploading pictures to blogger? I tried at least six times starting yesterday and finally I was able to load the pictures one at a time and even then one timed out and I had to start that one over again!