Stonefields Block 17 Remake + Mistake Discovered in Block 16

 You guys, I was so proud of myself when I switched off my sewing machine last night, put my new Stonefields Block 17 "Square Peg in a Round Hole" on my design wall, and went to bed thinking all mistakes had been corrected.  (If you're wondering what was wrong with the first one I made, read this blog post from a few days ago).  I strongly prefer the on-point orientation of that square with the circle cutout now that I've fixed it in my purple block.  The square on point element is repeated in many of the blocks in this quilt, and repeated design elements are one of the things that gives cohesion to a sampler quilt like this one.  

Stonefields Block 17, Just as Susan Smith and Rebecca Grace Intended

Before remaking the block, I took the time to trace over the ridiculously faint lines of the block pattern with an extra fine point Sharpie pen to make sure I could clearly see it through my fabric, because even with an LED light box you can't see these patterns well enough through most fabrics.  If I'd done that tracing and darkening of the pattern right off the bat, these mistakes would not have happened in the first place.  And I am hugely annoyed with pattern designer Susan Smith that I have to take all that extra time to trace over every stinking block pattern with Sharpie before I can use it, because the pattern cost $200(!!!) and there are hardly any instructions whatsoever, just vague hints and clues and anecdotes about the blocks, and how difficult would it have been to have these patterns printed with thicker, darker lines like every other quilt pattern author uses in their patterns?  GRRR...

So this morning I walked into the studio, admired all my pretty blocks on the wall (I finished a couple more EPP hexagon rosettes for the border yesterday as well:

Slow But Steady Stonefields Progress: My Design Wall Today at 8:19 AM

I am so glad I remade that purple block!  It only took me an hour or two and whereas the old block made me feel disappointed and annoyed with myself, the new block makes me feel DELIGHTED and pleased with myself for identifying what went wrong, adjusting my process to make errors less likely, and successfully creating the block exactly the way that I wanted it to look instead of settling for less.  

A Spoonful of Sugar, A Capful of Starch + Quilting That Is More Fun Than Stitch In the Ditch

Well, my plan was to complete all of the SID (Stitch In the Ditch) quilting throughout the entirety of my 102" x 102" Deco quilt before starting to quilt the fancy designs.  Instead, I got this wild Mary Poppins idea in my head about how a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down and it probably wouldn't hurt to quilt just a few fancy designs on my quilt before I advanced to SID the next row, just to see what they will look like...

Finally Some Quilting I Can See!

In hindsight, the designs I stitched in the light blue squares are more densely quilted than I had intended.  I knew this 10% into stitching the first one, and I could have stopped the machine right then, picked out those stitches, and chosen a less dense, faster stitching design.  But I didn't want to spend 30 minutes picking out those stitches.  Now I'll have to quilt the rest of the behemoth of a quilt more densely to balance it out, which will take an extra hundred hours or so...  😳. I have a very peculiar and inefficient laziness whereby avoiding work creates much more work.  Anyway, it's gratifying to see some quilting texture on this quilt.   As this is a bed quilt and I want it to finish softer than cardboard, I"m using 50 wt matte polyester So Fine thread in my needle paired with MagnaGlide 60 wt thread in my bobbin.  This is going to take forever...  Wicked thought: What if I just CUT THE QUILT OFF at the bottom of this row, and instead of a bed quilt it can be a TABLE RUNNER?!  

Here's how those designs look in the setting triangles across the top of the quilt stitched in contrasting Teal thread against the solid Indigo background fabric:

Setting Triangles Quilted in So Fine Thread, Color Teal Against Indigo Fabric

All day today and yesterday, in between forced frisbee outings with His Little Highness the Dog, I was working on my Deco quilt.  But wait -- there's more!  A few days ago, I started prepping appliqué for my Stonefields quilt!

Margaret Willingham's Reverse Appliqué Workshop, Charlotte Quilters' Guild + My Deco Quilt Progress

Happy Fall, Quilters!  Guess what -- I took an actual, in-person workshop with the Charlotte Quilters' Guild last month AND I finished my workshop block after I got home!  I'm so proud of myself for 1. Taking a day off, 2. Trying something new, 3. FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS during the workshop 😬, and then 4. Adapting what I learned in class to suit my personal preferences once I got home to my own studio.  

My 12 x 12 Block from Margaret Willingham's Reverse Appliqué Workshop

I'll tell you more about the workshop in a minute.  First, I have other news to share -- I've made some progress and gotten over the Cutting and Kitting Hurdle with my Deco Quilt that has been in-progress/abandoned for the past two years!  Well, better late than never.  I am supremely pleased with my clear plastic tote bag containing all of the pieces for all of the blocks, neatly organized and labeled in little Ziplock bags.  Our guild has lots of social sewing opportunities throughout the month and, as President of the guild, I try to attend as many of them as possible.  Having a project packed up and ready to go (versus strewn around my studio!) is my biggest challenge, but now I'll just be able to grab a Ziplock bag of block pieces and wheel my travel machine out the back door.  I have a feeling this project is about to pick up STEAM!

My Deco Quilt Completely Cut Out and Kitted, Block One Variations In Progress

Now that I've finished ALL of the cutting for my Deco Quilt, I am officially caught up with Week Two of the Deco QAL (Quilt-Along) that I committed to in the Fall of 2021!  😂. Week Two was cutting out all of the fabric pieces for the entire quilt.  I am like that last straggling marathon runner who crosses the place where the finish line used to be, two years after the race has ended...  Not only am I caught up with Week Two, but I'm also about a third of the way through with Week Three of the Deco QAL, which is the week where you piece all of the Block One log cabin variations.  All 16 blue/green log cabin blocks are finished and all 12 of the half blocks in both colorways are finished and I have 32 blue/purple log cabin blocks remaining to be sewn. The cutting for this quilt was monotonous, but the actual sewing is pretty easy.  I think that completely finishing this quilt top was supposed to be my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for November of 2021; maybe I can get it finished by November of 2023 instead!

Quilt Block Surgery: How To Change The Center Patch WITHOUT Taking the Block Apart. Also, I Just Remembered I Love Embroidery.

You guys -- I am so excited about my Jingle BOM quilt right now that I'm GIDDY!  Thanks to all of you who reached out and shared your opinions about the crooked tree block and my idea about embroidering dates on the front of this quilt.  I especially liked the idea of putting my initials on the front of the quilt somewhere -- MONOGRAM!!  As for the tree -- ironically, it was Frog Quilter who said that I should leave the tree the way it is (rather than frog stitching it) because it "shows character and makes the quilt uniquely yours."  When I thought about it that way, I realized the tree HAD to come out, because leaving the crooked tree would NOT reflect my character -- MY character is all about analyzing the details and wanting to make a good thing even better.  Also, removing the center patch of that block without disassembling the border OR taking the block apart is a challenge -- and I love a good challenge!

French Hare Embroidery Scissors for Quilt Block Surgery!

So the first thing I did was make sure I had this block-within-the-border pressed and starched so it was very crisp and stable.  Then I carefully used my seam ripper to cut every 3rd or fourth stitch holding that green tree fabric to the adjacent gold fabric patches, working from the back side.  The corners of the green patch were secured by subsequent seams that I didn't want to take out, so I used my new French hare embroidery scissors to clip the green patch's corners right up close to those seam lines, and then carefully pulled the green patch out of the seam without disturbing the stitching.  A few green threads remained caught in the seam, and those pulled out easily with a tweezers.

At this point I was able to audition replacement fabric possibilities through the window/gaping wound in the center of my block.  I decided the original Christmas tree fabric was too cutesy and I didn't like it with the other fabrics in the block anymore, so I replaced it with a red metallic instead.  I used the old patch as a template to cut out the replacement patch.

I Was NOT Supposed to Cut Those Corners Off!

Yes, I forgot that I'd cut the green patch away from the block right at the seam line on all four corners when I was cutting the new patch -- after I took this photo I cut a new red patch and left the corners on this time.

Positioning and Glue Basting Replacement Patch, WITH Corners

I wanted to use my Roxanne's Glue Baste-It for this step, but I found my fabric glue stick before I could locate the Roxanne's liquid glue so that's what I used.  The liquid glue in tiny droplets would have worked better and given me more control of where I was putting glue rather than gooping up all over the place -- but if the glue stick is all you have on hand, you can certainly make do with it.

Anyway, I applied the glue to the seam allowances of the gold fabric and then, with the new red patch right side up on my worktable, I positioned the block -- also right side up -- over the new patch, trying to keep the wavy gold lines in the new patch fabric as straight as possible.  Then I pressed down with my fingertips so the glue would adhere the block to the new patch along the seam allowances, and carefully turned the block to the back side.  Next I used my fingernails to push those corners all the way into place beneath the overlapping seam allowances.

I wasn't trusting the goopy glue stick to hold this patch 100% securely throughout hand stitching all by itself, so I added pins along all four sides of the patch, going through the seam allowances, as well.  These are the 5/8" Essential Applique Pins from Piece O'Cake that I'm using, by the way.  They are just a smidge longer than the more common 1/2" sequin/applique pins, they are super sharp to glide through fabric without resistance, and that extra eighth of an inch makes it easier for me to manipulate them than the smaller pins.

Replacement Patch Glue Basted and Pinned, Ready for Reverse Applique

Now all I had to do was reverse applique the new patch in place!  I used YLI 100 weight silk thread in a cornsilk shade that disappeared into the gold feathery fabric, with my favorite size 12 Bohin applique needle.

Glue Basting Plus Pins Keeps New Patch From Shifting During Stitching

The trickiest bit was when I got to the corners, getting them nice and sharp again.  I had to sort of finesse the fabrics into place at the corners with some additional stitches there.

Back Side of Block, Surgery Completed!

Here's the back side of my block following surgery, with the new patch hand stitched into place and the excess fabric trimmed away at the corners.  Isn't that cute?

Surgery Was A Success!  The Patient Survived!!

I like this block SO MUCH BETTER than the original. Remember that this Jingle quilt was a BOM (designed by Erin Russek of One Piece at a Time, complete patterns available here) so I didn't have a vision of what the entire quilt was going to look like as I was making each block.  Then I decided to alternate red and green fabrics for my setting triangles rather than using all red as directed by the pattern.  Seeing it up on my wall now, I just felt like I wanted a red in the center of this block.  Here's what my block looked like pre-surgery:

Crooked Tree Block, Prior to Surgery

See?  Now, if you happen to like this block better with the crooked tree in the center, feel free to keep that comment to yourself...  ;-)  Just kidding!  Maybe I'll stick that little tree patch on the back of the quilt and incorporate it into the label somehow.  We'll see.  

The surgically altered block is in the right side border, so once I'd replaced the leaning tree I went ahead and attached that border to the center medallion.  It fit perfectly, and the stripe came out exactly as I'd hoped it would...  So I turned my attention to the other last-minute details I had in mind.  Embroidery!

OH MY GOODNESS, you guys -- I FORGOT how much I like embroidery!  And the only hand embroidery I've ever done was the chain stitched stems on the applique blocks for this very quilt.  I gave a lot of thought to the style of the lettering and numerical fonts that would add something aesthetically to this quilt, and I decided I wanted an Art Deco vibe.  I found a font on my computer that I liked for my dates -- after changing the zero to a capital O for a little more oomph -- and printed it out in several sizes until I ended up with a printout that fit my block nicely.

I marked chalk positioning lines on the front of my block from corner to corner, and marked corresponding centering lines in dark pencil on the paper printout of my dates.  Then I pulled out my seldom used but OH SO VALUABLE WHEN I NEED IT light box, slid the paper template under my quilt block, matched up the diagonal centering lines, and carefully traced the dates onto my quilt block with an ultra fine point, archival ink, permanent gold pen.  Now there was no going back!

Dates Marked in Permanent Archival Ink!

At this point in my Jingle project, no more shopping is allowed -- and no stores were open anyway when I was doing all of this last night.  So I chose embroidery threads that I had on hand.  For embroidering the dates, I chose a shiny YLI Pearl Crown Rayon in Gold, color #772, that I found in a bin of heavier threads that I've played with for bobbin work on my Bernina machines.  I wanted the dates to be subtle but legible, and I wanted the numbers to be really delicate as though they had been engraved, so I just did a simple backstitch.  It was so cool to see the embroidery bring these simple numbers to life one stitch at a time!

Embroidery Magic!

How can something SO EASY look SO BEAUTIFUL?!!  I love my dates and I think the block looks like they were meant to be there all along.  Seriously, I'm so glad I did this!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

I know I'm a dork, but you guys have to remember that this is my very first ever applique quilt, my very first ever diagonal block border, my very first time doing a mitered stripe border, my very first ever hand embroidery...  This has been six years in the making with lots of setbacks and challenges along the way, and I am just amazed that after all the blood, sweat and tears, it looks like this is going to be a finished quilt after all.  It might even be a finished quilt that I can be proud of!  And to think, there were moments along the way where I thought it was just an awful mess and I nearly tossed it!

Last One, I Promise

I've done some machine embroidered personalization on the front of quilts for children before -- special quotes, monograms, the baby's name or birth date.  I couldn't bring myself to machine embroider on hand appliqued blocks that had hand embroidered stems and hand embroidered bird eyes.  I'm really liking the look of the hand stitched dates, and there is a strong chance that you will be seeing more of this from me on future projects.

The other fantastic idea that several of you suggested was embroidering my initials on the front of the quilt.  I loved that idea, and decided to do it as a monogram.  I did an Internet search for Art Deco 3-letter monogram styles and cobbled a few things together on the computer and then adjusted the size until I was able to print a template that fit inside my block properly.  I used the same chalk positioning lines and light box technique as before and traced the monogram design onto my block using fine point archival ink pens in the thread colors I'd chosen for the embroidery.

Monogram Drawn on Block, Ready to Stitch

Now, doesn't it look like the monogram just belonged in the center of that tulip wreath all along?  I wanted the monogram to be bolder than the dates, so I went back to the chain stitch that I used for the stems.  I attempted to stitch French knots where the gold dots are but they didn't come out very well -- I might snip them off, find a YouTube video to figure out what I did wrong, and do them over again.  They're in the same gold Pearl Crown Rayon that I used to stitch the dates on the other block.  The R and the D (for Rebecca and Deming, my maiden name) are stitched in the same emerald green thread that I used to stitch my stems six years ago -- DMC size 5 Pearl Cotton, color 699.  The larger R in the center is for my last name/married name, and for that I chose a DMC cotton embroidery floss in variegated Garnet red, color 115, and separated out four threads to get a similar thickness to the size 5 pearl cotton.  You can't tell from the pictures, but I like the way the subtle color variations of the variegated red embroidery floss mimic the color variation in my red batik berry fabric.

Monogram In Progress During Late-Night Television

This is how far I got before I went to bed last night:

One Letter to Go...

So obviously my To-Do for Tuesday is that I want to finish this monogram -- not just because I'm excited about it, but because I don't want to leave it in the embroidery hoop too long and risk hoop burn marks that I can't press out.  It was probably a no-no to leave it in the embroidery hoop overnight, but I don't know what I'm doing and I'm making this up as I go along...  I might go back and add a little something extra around the big "R" of this monogram, or maybe I won't.  And then, once I'm satisfied with my embroidery efforts, the three remaining block borders can get sewn on...  And then the final outer borders will go on, which are also border stripes that get mitered at the corners, but they aren't as wide so they should be a snap compared to the inner border miters.  Then, at long, LONG last, my Jingle BOM UFO/WIP/WWIT (What Was I Thinking?) will be a completed quilt top, ready for quilting!

I'm linking up with:

• ·       To-Do Tuesday at Stitch ALL the Things: http://stitchallthethings.com
• ·       Midweek Makers at www.quiltfabrication.com/
• ·       WOW WIP on Wednesday at www.estheraliu.blogspot.com

Adventures in Reverse Applique and Fussy-Cutting: Jingle Applique Block 7 Complete, Pieced Block 7 Underway

Jingle BOM Applique Block 7 Complete!

Somehow, despite the trials and tribulations of my crusade to find the perfect jeans, I managed to complete the last applique block for my Jingle Block of the Month quilt, designed by Erin Russek of One Piece At a Time.  Ta da!  I used that mid-loft polyester batting for my stuffed berries again and I do feel like I'm finally getting the hang of them.  I also fussy-cut the birdhouse out of a piece of Hoffman Florentine fabric that I've been hoarding in my stash for several years now (I fussy-cut the corner squares for one of my pieced blocks from this fabric as well).  I wanted my bird house to look as though it had been elaborately painted. 

Hoffman Florentine fabric, stashed several years ago

Jingle Blocks Completed: 4 More Pieced Blocks Remain

That's just one of those fabrics that is WAY to gorgeous to cut up, don't you agree?  But now that I've started hacking it up, cutting little squares and birdhouses out of the middle of the yardage, I might as well get as much out of it as I can.  I'll be trying to incorporate more of this fabric in the four remaining pieced blocks for this project.

I deliberately put a bright yellow roof on my birdhouse, consciously trying to add more of that color to the remaining blocks to balance out the Bright Yellow Star block.  Finally, I tried my hand at reverse applique for the first time with this block, because I wanted the door of my birdhouse to recede rather then project outward like the center of a flower.  I didn't know how to do reverse applique with the starch and press method I've been using to prep all of my other applique shapes for this project, so I followed the directions for needle turn reverse applique in The Best-Ever Applique Sampler book from Piece O' Cake Designs.  I also fussy-cut the little partridge "inside" my birdhouse from a little scrap of Twelve Days of Christmas themed fabric (keeping the partridge, losing the pears). 

Fussy-Cut Birdhouse with Reverse Applique Door

I hope I got my applique stitches close enough together on that door and that I didn't clip the fabric allowance too close to the stitching line.  It will be quite the bummer if that fabric starts to fray and come apart once the quilt is finished!

I've been auditioning fabrics for the remaining pieced blocks and I think I have Pieced Block 7 all cut out and arranged the way I want it now.  I just need to trim those pesky corners off so the pieces line up properly and then I can start sewing them together.  I've fussy-cut the outer triangles from my Hoffman Florentine fabric and deliberately incorporated more bright yellow with this block as well.

Jingle Pieced Block 7 Cut Out and Ready to Sew

Each of the applique blocks for this project has taken me about two weeks to complete, start to finish, but sewing the pieced blocks by machine should go MUCH faster as long as I measure, starch, and press throughout the construction process to ensure the blocks finish at exactly 9 1/2" square with nice, sharp triangle points.

Erin's Layout for the Finished Quilt

Meanwhile, as you can see in Erin's layout design picture at left, there's still that large center medallion to do, all applique.  I've been prepping the shapes for that intermittently as I worked on the other blocks, but I still have the stems, a lot of leaves, and all of the stuffed berries left to make. 

I'm still not loving the bright yellow, but I'm hoping that the red and green setting triangles and borders will tone the yellow down significantly in the finished quilt.  We'll see.

I'm linking up to Applique Tuesday at A Quilting Reader's Garden.