R-burst Quiltalong: Top assembly by chunking

This post is a part of the R-Burst Quiltalong.

You guys ready for block assembly? I am a big fan of assembling by chunking instead of in strips.  The assembly instructions below are for a 3x4 layout, so if you are using more blocks you will need to tailor to your layout.  You will need approximately 15 WOF strips of 2.5" sashing to complete the quilt.

So, to start with, sew a sashing strip on the bottom edge of each of the blocks that will land in the 1st and 3rd rows.  Remember that when you sew sashing to blocks, use pins!  I place a pin about every 4" and make sure that both the block and sashing are relaxed while I pin them - never stretched.  Also, when you go to sew the sashing should always go on the bottom against the feed dogs.   That way you can see your seam allowances and keep them going the right way, plus the feed dogs help the sashing move through without stretching. 

 Next sew on the block that attaches from the 2nd or 4th row:

Set aside the rightmost blocks and sew a sashing piece to the right edge of each of the other pieces:

 Next sew up the vertical seams to assemble the top and bottom halves of the quilt:

Sew sashing to the bottom of one piece and to the top and bottom of the other, then sew the two quilt halves together:

Two more sashing bits on the sides an you are done:

Speaking of done, I'm ready to wrap this QAL up!  I'll be back next week with info on finishing up your quilt and to share how my quilt turned out.

Oh wait, did you want to see a peek of the real thing??

SMS Giveaway Day

Edit:  This giveaway is now closed and the winner should have heard from me by email.

Oh happy day!  This is my third or fourth time participating in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day, and it has always been an awesome experience.

Jumping right in, today I am giving away 2 fat quarters hand printed with my sprouts design:

To enter, please leave a comment that answers the following:
1) What two colors* would you like (if you prefer a single half yard piece, just chose one color)
*To clarify - I will be custom printing for you!  You can pick any color you want, not just want is shown above.
2) Your base fabric preference:  Kona cotton or essex cotton/linen blend.

This giveaway is open to international participants.

Followers of my blog get an extra entry, so leave a second comment if you do.  :)

If you have some time to browse around, my Quilts page is a great place to start.  :)

Boo Bee Round 3 - Sheetal's quilt

I just could not for the life of me get a grip on Sheetal's Boo Bee (tehehehehe).

But seriously, where to start?  After Mallory's round, the top was here:
 

I threw around a few ideas, but nothing really inspired me.  I almost started on a round of zig-zags, like the red ones in this beautiful quilt.  Before I got around it starting, Sheetal told me that she was planning to add more rounds to make the quilt as big as possible after she got it back.  Her tall hubby requires a lot of lap quilt.  BIG?  I can go big. Ohhh yeah I can go big.  :)

Knowing that she wanted to greatly increase the size of the quilt gave me the idea to put what was already made on point and build it back out to a square, as if my rounds were "behind" the center portion.  I whipped up this awesome sauce plan and got the go-ahead from Sheetal:

I was just borrowing cornerstone placeholders from the lone-star center for my mock-up, but I ended up really liking the repeated motif so I decided to use them.

Due to Reasons*, I made the outer cornerstones, then the outermost row, then the inner cornerstones, then the middle row, then the inner row, then outer rows assembly, then inner triangle assembly, then full assembly.  Lots of taping things up on the wall (my design wall is baby quilt size, so this was too big for it).  Uh, do not recommend. 

And a little closer in:

Happy to report that Sheetal is pleased. 

*It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Anything goes

I joined another round robin.  No, technically my previous round robin is not quite finished - I still get do to one more round (we had a quilt that got a little delayed when it ran low on fabric).  For the new RR, my guild buddy Jen handed me a package with the rules "anything goes."  Way to be awesome, Jen.  

Her 12" starting piece was an improv-ish log cabin-ish frame around a piece of gorgeous upholstery weight fabric.  Along with it, she sent a hand-dyed blue stripe fabric.  

Around that I added a wonky churn dash round and some triangles, then finished it off with a border of the blue stripe.  I hope she meant it when she said anything goes... because I mixed in some of my own upholstery weight fabric and made the call to add another color to her quilt (yeep - I would probably not be ok with that, but I would also not have "anything goes" as the instructions for my quilt, so on the balance of things...)  I really hope she likes it.

Have you tried doing a round robin yet?  I think I am sold on this type of collaborative quilt making.  It is much more my scene than quilt bees.  There is more opportunity to own your part of the creative process.  It can be challenging, but it's the good kind of challenging - gets the creative juices flowing.

Handprinting

Doodled

Sampled paints and shapes

Drew and cut paper stencil

Hacked up an old picture frame (instructions)

Printed a sample (instructions)

Loved it.

Digitized design and ordered silkscreen (it was only $7).

Handprinted:

This was my first time screen printing, although I already had the paints from my previous foray into stenciling.  I improved a ton between my first sample and my last ones, but I still find it tricky and time consuming to print these.  My silkscreen is only 4" by 6", so there are 24 repeats in a fat quarter.  Next time I will definitely use a bigger screen! 

Curves class and the Drunken Star block

I mentioned before that I have been taking Rachel's Curves Class .  I just finished my last "homework" for the class.  At 18", this block is the start of a round robin that I'm doing in my local quilt guild:

I love this quilt on Flickr and I have been dying to make that block, so this seemed like the perfect time.  Also, since the curves class pace was super fast for me, the final posts were coming out while I was still on the week 2 homework.  Eeep!  I jumped ahead a bit and combined the homework for weeks 3 and 4 by using the week 4 lesson to draft a drunkard's path template in just the size I needed.  The template that I drafted is available here - feel free to use it.  It makes a 4.5" finished drunkard's path block where the concave section is smaller than normal.

I wanted to share some general thoughts about the Curves Class.  If you are thinking about taking it, read on.  If not, feel free to skip past the wall o' words and tell me if you've ever done a round robin.  This is going to be my second one and I'm pretty excited about it!  It is a much better fit for me than bees. 

So - Curves Class.  The class starts with really basic curves and moves through improv curved piecing, precise curves, and drafting curved templates.  Before the class, I had previously done improv curved piecing and set-in sleeves.  There is a lot of fear in the quilting community around piecing curves, and I guess I caught some of that without even thinking about it.  Setting in a sleeve is at least 5 times harder than a drunkard's path block.  Basically, I found out that I had already learned more than half of the material presented in this class.  I just picked it up here and there without realizing how much I knew about sewing curves.

One of the best things about the class is the variety of small projects.  I love creating things.  More than the act of pushing fabric through a sewing machine, or cutting, or ironing, I like the aspect of coming up with an idea and turning it into an object.  So, I don't want to sew a throw-away block just to learn a technique - I want to make something useful.  The projects for the Curves class include a table runner, rug, journal cover, bib, bunting, and notecard in addition to pillows and quilts.  You can try out the techniques and make an actual product without spending a huge amount of time.  There were 14 projects for the class, all with patterns and tutorials - three per week!  I only managed to complete three projects total.  I got the Premium class, though, so I have all the templates and instructions so that I can do the remaining projects anytime that I'm ready. 

I am finding out that I might not be much of a "class person."  I like to learn things on my own, when I want to know them.  However, all told I definitely don't regret taking this class.  I finished up a quilt that had been a UFO for several months, and I gained confidence at drafting and sewing curved blocks.  I could have roamed the internet for curved piecing tutorials and eventually learned the same stuff for free, but thanks to the class I did it now.  So, if you think you might also be the sort of person who doesn't love sewing classes - don't take it.  If you like classes and you have never sewn any sort of curve, it would be a great idea to sign up.  Another good reason to take the class is the projects - they are pretty cool and very plentiful, so you might find it to be a good value just for that part. 

Smaller sewing projects

I have done a lot of little quilting projects lately, and it's so much fun!  Generally by the time I have pieced an entire quilt, I'm tired of a particular block or color combo.  The little guys are perfect for a fun piecing session and for quilting or other techniques that would be killer to do on a whole quilt. 

The typewriter pouch...a staple.  I think it is practically mandatory now to make one of these.

A cushioned iPad case:

Can I just say... I love Anna Maria's feather pattern.  LOVE it.  Preferably small and super scrappy.  I have an informal formula when it comes to saving scraps - the more I love the fabric, the smaller the pieces that I save.  So when I find a use for teeeny tiny pieces, that means I get to use my most favorite fabrics.  Which is awesome.

The pattern/tutorial is by one shabby chick, and it's perfect. Velcro or loop & button closure, double batting for protection, and the tutorial has a million pictures so it's really easy to follow.  Recommended!

And a composition notebook cover:

 

I was shooting for the midwinter morning color scheme that Adrianne posted back in February, but it was quite difficult - I was lacking in olive-y yellows.  Don't worry folks.  I went fabric shopping later and fixed the problem right up. 

Anybody have suggestions for more little projects?  (Besides pillows.  Husband does not think that we need any more of those.)

Patterns and tutorials:
gathered pouch by Noodlehead (minus the gathering)
iPad cover by one shabby chick
Free feather pattern by Anna Maria Horner
notebook cover by Rachel at Stitched in Color