My kitchen table this morning

This is what my kitchen table looks like this morning.  I'm continuing to sew squares together with the sashing.  The unfinished row in the front is the middle row so I'm almost half done assembling this quilt top. You can see the stack of quilt blocks in the lower left that are the other half.

 This is another view of the table with my four quarts of tomatoes.  I don't get enough tomatoes at a time to fill the canner so I figure four full quarts is better than no quarts at all. 

 The quilt has been spread out on my table all week.  I just sew a few rows at a time. This morning I sewed two rows with the long sashing.  Now, it's time for my shower.

It is already good and hot so a shower will feel so good.

Robin

It's coming together

I finished the last of the 113 (4 1/2") blocks for the S'mores quilt this morning.  I'm working on the corner and setting triangles and have renewed my friendship with the seam ripper this morning.  Sigh~

The original quilt in the February 2013 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting has a darker gray sashing fabric which is delightful.  But, I'm trying to use of my stash of Jo Morton fabrics so I using what I have.  I think the lighter brighter fabric for the sashing will work out just fine.  

I thought I would make some great headway today but the peaches are ripe and the tomatoes are ripe.  So, I'll pause and get back to it this afternoon. . . or tomorrow.

Thanks for checkin' in,

Robin

This is for Nancy

I don't pretend to be an expert.  But Nancy asked me; "How do you center the triangles against the square and the next round?  The only way I've found that works is to fold the square in half two ways and press the edge that will be sewn, and do the same with the triangles, and even then they come out crooked.  Is there an easier way?" 

I think the way it was described is the most accurate way to do it.  I  (like you said) usually just eyeball the triangles on either side and do my best to make them the same size.

Then I sew them with the triangle on the top and use the edge of the triangle as the guide for my 1/4" foot. When I get two triangles sewn on top and bottom of the middle square I press the seam.

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When I have the two sides sewn on I again just eyeball the next triangle.    Turn it over . . . 

and sew on the long side of the triangle.

I press the seams to the outside and then trim the rabbit ears off.  You can see that the edges aren't perfectly even (top right).  I just trim them straight.

 

Then I center the next size triangle and line it up with the beginning and ending edges.  You can see that there is a slight curve of the underneath seam on the right of the triangle.  Again, I use the triangle as my guide for the 1/4" foot.

When all the sides are sewn I press it and then trim it to size.  Sometimes I have to use the iron to make it square.  You can see once again the the edge on the right is not even.  

I line up my ruler so there is a 1/4' seam allowance all the way around and the black diagonal line on the ruler (45 degrees) is lined up from corner to corner of the inside square.

The block above had to be slightly repositioned  (with the help of the iron) so the bottom right triangle is big enough to meet the edge of the ruler.

 And this square shows how much I usually trim off.  Now, every block is not perfect so sometimes I trim more on one side than another to get it the 4 1/2" size.  

The key for me is to not be in a hurry because my seam allowances always suffer if I rush.

I hope this helps.  I figured it would be easier to add all the pictures in my blog instead of trying to send them through email.

Happy Sewing.

Robin

Brown Bird by Renee Plains

I just finished quilting this little wall hanging called "Brown Bird".  I bought this pattern years and years ago, it's dated 2000.  It was a delight to make.  But, it has been waiting to be finished for a long time.

I wanted to make it in the same colors as the original but my fabrics didn't look as vintage.  They just looked ugly.  So, I noticed that Wendy Reed of The Constant Quilter fame often used 19th century bright prints instead of the drab ones.  So, that is why this piece looks so bright.  They are all reproduction prints.

This is the next piece to be quilted.  I want to make sure it is available for fall decorating.  The black corduroy border is so soft.  Not exactly sure how I'm going to quilt it. . . 

I'm still working on the S'mores quilt in between all the other things that are going on. I've made 61 small economy blocks so far.

 My downstairs company has gone camping for 3 days and guess what?  I'm absolutely alone today.  My husband is golfing at two different places and will be gone all day.  I don't know why being truly alone fills my cup to the brim.  I can think more clearly, I accomplish a lot more in a shorter space of time,  I feel energetic,  I feel more creative, and I'm just happy.

This is on the counter waiting for me.  I need to bottle some tomatoes.  The berries are done and now it's time to preserve tomatoes.  Preserving what my good husband grows is necessary.  It's not one of my favorite things but I'm always glad for the food during the winter.

We got over 1/2" of rain yesterday.  It was so refreshing.  July was a pretty dry month for us.

Do you remember the book by Louis Lamour called Riders of the Purple Sage?  I always wondered when the sage looked purple because its a low scrubby looking plant  in a dusty green most of the time.   Well, I found out that there are at least two other varieties of sage and here is one of them.

This is the ornamental variety.  I think it's really Salvia but it looks like Purple Sage to me.

My husband had a concert in Logan last Thursday.  It was in the old 1st Ward building.  This is the painting that was at the front of the chapel.  I tried to find out who the artis is but could not.  The architecture of the building is really wonderful.  It was stadium seating with the pews slanted up with each row.  There was a balcony in the back which is unusual in LDS churches.  It was built in 1861.

The lighting wasn't excellent but the music was really good.  My husband plays for the Salt Lake City Letter Carriers band.  No, he's not a letter carrier but they needed more band members so they accepted this accountant and made him treasurer of the organization.

 

This was the sunset last Thursday as we drove home.  It was taken as we drove through Box Elder county.  You can see the edge of the Great Salt Lake if you look closely  What a splendid explosion of the last rays of the sun for the day.

Robin