Autumn Bunting - Part I

Ahhhh, the colors of fall! It's such a wonderful invitation to a new season. I love the new modern fabrics and prints available today. Traditional is good but something new is so fun too!

Here I've made several triangles about the size of the flags you see at car sales lots and open houses. These are much more enticing and last a long time. You might remember the patriotic bunting I did last summer and it's on my agenda to have one for every season so I can enjoy the colors and patterns for every part of the year.

Ok, I recycled a piece of cardboard and made my measurements.

It's good to mark the correct measurements on your template so you always have your directions right there. And...in theory...it might not get thrown away because there ARE measurements written on it. Another story, another time.

Lay several already pressed pieces of fabric on top of each other with a self-healing cutting board underneath. With a rotary cutter, and a steady hand, cut around your template pressing through all layers. Please pay the money to have a sharp blade on your cutter. It is so irritating to pull your fabric only to find it stuck by little fibers that weren't cut. My measurements were around 7 1/2 inches wide and 9 inches tall. It really doesn't matter as long as they are all cut the same.

Once you have all of your triangles cut, you put two pieces together and randomly alternate where you put each piece. I think I usually have about 18 pieces and that makes about 6 yards.

It doesn't matter if you have duplicate fabrics right next to each other or if you selectively put "random" together. Yes, I meant to say that...random is actually methodical.

Once you have these pieces ready, flip the fabric around to right sides are facing each other, line up your points and begin sewing at one end. No need to pin this together because it's not very big and is not going to be worn (that's when the measurements really matter). Don't sew across the top quite yet, we will sew that in another step.

Sew with a 1/4 inch seam from top right, down to the point, pivot your needle (with the needle in the fabric to keep it in place) and then sew back up to the top left.

Do this with each piece....more to follow on completing this bunting!

My Journey Through Quilting - Phase I

Let me start with "I've never made a quilt before." Now let me tell you that I've been scared. Yes, I'm very apprehensive about making a quilt. I have lots of friends that just whip these babies out while I think to myself "how did they do that?" I've been in love with Amy Butler fabric for a long, long time and I found the perfect starter quilt pattern drenched in Amy Butler!






The quilt is called Amy's Lotus Brick Path Quilt...





http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/free_patterns.php




This pattern is free (that's amazing in itself, thank you Amy) and it is truly a beginner quilt. Why? There isn't a binding around the edges, just finished edges, which is so awesome! Another reason this is a beginner quilt is that none of the points, or corners, match up, another awesome. So far? Easy + easy = easy. Please don't mistake easy for fast. I didn't say that, but the work is doable! I've been working for a long time on this quilt and I can say it's "easy" to put away when needed then pull it back out and continue where you left off.


The pattern says to cut out lots and lots of "bricks." There's my 1960's tank of a machine in the background. It seriously weighs about 50 lbs! I can't talk and carry it at the same time.



I've started putting the cut pieces together ....whoa, whoa, whoa. I need to back up. This is a "random" quilt and there is a method to the madness. My mom and I worked really hard at arranging the randomness before I ever sewed two pieces together. She told me that I have lot of blends of colors (that's good) and a few pop colors (also good.) So, all we had to do was make sure I didn't have too many of the same styles of blend fabrics together, i.e. no dots with dots or stripes with stripes. Then we took the pop colors and started placing them at wide intervals around the quilt. Step back and look, defocus your eyes a little and you'd be surprised how easy it is find the void that needs some "pop" color. I labeled at the top of each row what number row it was and then stacked the pieces starting on the upper left, straight down, then row 2, straight down, etc.







Here's the top of row 3 with a half piece as the start of the row (it's not cut just folded over.) I sewed each piece, just like I picked them up, starting with row one, piece one. With a 1/4 seam allowance I sewed all the way down one row (set aside with the sticky still on top of the row.) I kept sewing until I got all 18 rows done. Time gauge = 5 rows in 2 hours approximately.




PRESSING MATTERS! You must get your iron out and press your work. Some people hate this part but I love it because it gives that finished look with one swipe. The seams need to be told which way to go and that's what the iron does!




1st row - press seams down


2nd row - press seams up , etc.




- or - press odds down, evens up



whichever works better for your brain



This is a different angle but you can see the sticky notes along the left side of the picture (which is actually the top of the quilt.)




When you put the rows together make sure the seam of the first row pieces are in the center of the second row pieces. To double-check yourself, fold a "brick" in half and mark with a sewing marker then match that up with the seam on the other row. This will stagger the rows but keep the measurements aligned so the whole thing matches up. You want to press the seams away from the center. I promise, it's worth the work. Since I don't know all of the little quilting techniques, my mom told me to do and so I did it like that. Mom was right, here's how the diligent work turns out.





This is the top of the quilt. Notice the edges are staggered and will be trimmed and all sticky notes are removed (except for row 1 as a guide.) Also notice the blend colors and the pop colors. I want to use the quilt just like it is but I'm going to see this through and finish the task.





Watch for Phase II...