Template Time

It's been forever since I've made a quilting template but we needed one to mark the quilting pattern for the Double Wedding Ring. I'm thinking that a purchased stencil may have been used for the portion that is already quilted but there was no sign of one when the quilt was dropped off for us, so I brought it home to try and figure out a way to do it.

As a reminder, my mission was to create a template for this pattern. After a little pondering I decided to just make an oval for each quadrant rather than attempting a stencil for the entire pattern, so I rescued a cereal box from the recycling bin and proceeded to draft one. It went quicker that I had imagined.

I just measured one of the ovals from the existing pattern from end and then determined it's overall width at the mid point. Once I had that cut I made it 1/4" wide and cut the centre out. 

The maker had pressed the centre panel of each block so as to mark it's centre, so I just positioned one end of the petal point at the centre of the block and the other end pointing towards a corner. For the circle that encased the petals I was lucky enough to find a plastic container the same size as the outer ring and then marked an echo line 1/4" inside of that. Easy peasy.

It took several hours to mark the remaining 32 blocks that need quilting but I was determined to do it all in one day. For whatever reason, it was tricky getting a light pencil line to show up well on the fabric but I eventually got to the point that things moved along. I don't like a heavy quilting line but also wanted to ensure that the quilters could see the pattern.

It's been up on the frame at the church since early January and we are seeing good progress. Because the edges of the quilt are scalloped, we first hand basted all of those outer circles so that everything was stabilized, which took a fair bit of time. Eventually we were able to begin quilting and this past Friday we finished the first column of eight blocks and were thrilled to roll it for the first time. Woohoo! Only 24 more to go!....M

A Special Double Wedding Ring Surprise

Back in November, just as we were prepping for the bazaar, Jan sent through a note about a gal named Carrie who had contacted her guild in Kingston enquiring as to anyone who might be interested in finishing a Double Wedding Ring quilt.

It was made by Carrie's mother who had passed away in 2010. After her death, Carrie's dad had bundled it up and tucked it into a drawer, not quite sure what to do with it. They recently discovered it safe and sound. She is keen to have the hand quilting finished up and getting it bound so that she can gift it to her daughter for her upcoming wedding this spring. It's to be a surprise.

It is beautiful. About 2/3 of it is quilted and her work is lovely. It proved to be a challenge that we couldn't refuse. I mean, to be able to work on a sentimental surprise like that? Really? 

So we've put our heads together to develop a line of attack, not the least of which is drafting and marking this motif for the centre of the rings.

So far, it's been quilted in a hoop and it is very well basted with pins, so there's been little or no shifting of the quilt sandwich....M

Something From Nothing

I'm a little giddy with my Quadrangle quilt progress this week.

A few evenings of hand stitching while watching TV and I now have seven (eight?) blocks made and ready to be pressed. It's particularly welcome on those days when I'm pooped and don't have the motivation to trundle down to the machine.

With everything cut and the coloured squares bundled and ready to go, it's easy to pick things up and make a little progress every time. The greatest part of this type of sewing is that, with the exception of several neutrals that I am using, almost everything came from my 2.5" scraps. That's when I pat myself on the back for taking the time to trim remnants rather than pitching them in the trash. A beautiful way to get something from 'nothing'!....M

A New Hand Stitching Project

New year, new project. I've been missing having a quilt to hand piece and my recent Pinterest trolling has filled that void for me. It's a free Moda pattern called Quadrangle. 

Of course it's scrappy and there are lots of neutrals to play with, too. 

For whatever reason, I printed a photo of the inspiration quilt but didn't have the smarts to Pin it so it's taken a bit of time to track down the source again. It would have helped considerably if I had been searching for 'quadrangle' rather than 'quartile'. Sigh. If I only had a brain... 

Anyway, huge thanks to suepatch12 (her photo) for her inspiration. Isn't it lovely?

I was somewhat surprised when I saw the original pattern as it is much denser than Sue's. By choosing to make every alternate block a neutral instead of a pieced block she has made it beautifully light and airy. 

I'm taking the neutrals up a notch, using a random assortment in each block rather than only a single neutral in each. Thinking I might forgo the cornerstones in the sashing too, but we will see. Love being able to work on something without running down to the machine; so relaxing....M