Win a Janome 6600 NOW

TIME'S UP. WINNER OF THE JANOME 6600 SEWING MACHINE WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW. GOOD LUCK TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU.

So this is it. The moment you all have been waiting for. I'd like to think that the quilt along and all the giveaways along the way have been fun. And educational. And worthwhile. But let's face it. They don't mean squat in comparison to this.

I know things people. I've been to college. And around the block a time or two.

I've got my finger on the pulse of the human spirit.








You have been waiting for the mac daddy. And today is the day.




Leave a comment to this post for your chance to win the miraculous Janome 6600.


It is fantastically amazing. I love it so much that I missed it while on vacation. For real.

Some of my favorite features are:

-- the independent motor for bobbin winding
-- speed control lever
-- the start/stop button
-- the almighty automatic thread cutter!!! (can't I get a Amen on that one?)
-- extra high pressure foot lift
-- knee lift!!

Oh. I. Could. Go. On. For. Days.

What? You don't want me to go on for days? Hmmm.

Ok. Well, let me just summarize by saying that I love the Janome 6600 because it allows me to make quilts with absolute ease. Like this.




::Deep cleansing breath::





Leave a comment to this post for a chance to win the Janome 6600. Only one comment per person. International entries welcome. Contest will run from now (June 29, 2009) until next Monday, July 6, 2009 at 6:00pm EDST US. A winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 7th.

Good luck!

-dana

Quilt Along Week 7 How to Bind a Quilt

Dude. I must apologize in advance. You are about to encounter an obnoxious number of photos. Bear with me as I'm about to cover trimming and squaring up your quilt, making the binding, sewing the binding on the front of your quilt, and hand sewing it onto the back.

Whew.

Can you handle all that? Of course you can. Because this is it. This is the final step in making your quilt. The end is so close you can almost taste it, right?

Ok.



You have your fabric for your binding. You can figure exactly how much you need depending on how big your final quilt is. My final quilt (after trimming . . . which we'll get to here in just a sec) measures 66"x77". I am cutting my binding from selvage to selvage because I want the stripe to run horizontal once complete so that means that the length of each binding strip will be 42"ish. If I add up the total length around the perimeter of my quilt I will need 286 inches of binding to sew onto that. So, I divide 286 by 42 and get 6.8. Therefore I need 6.8 strips for my binding . . . so 7 strips.

With me?

If not, don't feel bad. When I first started quilting I always had to have the kind woman at the quilt store help me figure it out.





To make the binding, you are going to cut 2.5" strips. You are a pro at this by now cause our entire quilt top is comprised of 2.5" strips. So, fold your fabric just like we did in Week 2 and then straighten up your edge just like we did then too.




Then cut however many 2.5" strips you need for your binding. Still wiggin' out? Get to the Flickr group and we'll help you do the math there. There are some real math geniuses over there. Real smart cookies I tell ya. Rumor has it that some of them were math writers for the movie Good Will Hunting.

Not really but it sounded impressive, right?



There are my 7 binding strips that I need for my quilt. You may need more or less depending on the size of your final quilt. I went ahead and cut extra strips for my littler quilt that I made with the leftovers. If I'm making binding for one I might as well make it for the other to, eh?




Let's take a minute and get your quilt trimmed up. The quilting is done so the extra batting and backing needs to be trimmed off. And you want the final quilt to be nice and square.






I always use my cutting mat, straight edge and rotary cutter to trim it up. It has all the nice lines and it goes quickly this way.





Even if your quilt top was square as square can be after you made the top, the quilting process can sometimes pull or stretch it a little bit and make it a little off. Trim right down to the original quilt top size. Then I like to fold it corner to corner and just make sure that everything matches up nicely . . . and if not then adjust the trimming accordingly.

Yes, I'm sure there is a more mathematically and technically sound way to achieve the perfect squared-up quilt but this method works great for me. Besides, haven't you learned by now that there is really no right or wrong way in quilting? Your way is just as good as any other way. I promise.




Ok. So back to the binding strips. You'll see I've got one laying horizontal and one vertical. Right sides of fabric together.






You will sew right along where the pen is laying. From one corner to the next.












Then when you open up the seam you'll have one long continuous 2.5" strip. This makes for a good strong seam that will last and last through all of the tugging and general abuse your binding will take over it's life.





Press open this seam nice and flat. Open this time. Not to one side. Open.

Repeat this process for all of your binding strips. You'll have one super long 2.5" wide strip.





Once you've got them all sewn together then on each of the two ends, iron down a flap about 1/2 inch. Technically you only need one end folded and ironed this way, but I like to do both so that it doesn't matter which end I start with when sewing it on my quilt. It only takes a second and it will make it impossible to accidentally do something wrong in the sewing on phase so I highly recommend it.

Can you tell I've made this mistake before? And maybe more than once? Shhhh. Please don't blow my cover.





Now, fold your strip in half and press. The whole dang thing people!

So in my case all 286 inches of the binding. Once you've completed that your binding is made and your ready to machine sew it onto the front of the quilt.









The raw edge of your binding lines up with the raw edge of your quilt top. DO NOT start at a corner of your quilt. And, DO NOT start at the end of your binding. Look closely at the photo.

Leave a few inches of the binding free and unsewn. This is because when the binding comes back around to meet up with this the end will tuck inside of the channel and all the binding will be sewn down together to make a complete and continuous binding. Stay with me. You'll see.

Just start down from a corner of your quilt top by at least 8-10 inches.





Again, with the raw edge of your binding lined up with the raw edge of your quilt, sew the binding on using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.



Ok. You are approaching a corner of your quilt. The most important thing to remember is . . .


DON'T PANIC!





Stop sewing approximately a 1/4 inch from the corner. Lock in your stitch (forward and back one or two stitches does this well).

Then take it out of the machine.




Turn your quilt so that you'll be in position to start sewing the binding onto the next side of your quilt.



You are going to make a nice clean corner by folding your binding first up like this.





And then down like this.





Your needle should go down 1/4 inch from the back edge of the quilt and 1/4 inch from the side edge of the quilt. And your stitching will pick up right where you stopped it a second ago before you removed the quilt from the machine and turned it. It will make a perfect corner and you will be tickled pink. Guaranteed!






Keep sewing your binding on all the way around.


As you approach where you began stop. Keep your needle down into the fabric. Look what you've got.

The end of your binding strip (you'll probably have to trim it a little cause it is probably longer than it needs to be. Trim it so that it overlaps with the beginning by at least 1 inch) needs to tuck right inside the channel of the already sewn down binding strip. This is why you didn't start right at the end of your binding in the beginning. You needed this extra bit flapping in the breeze to allow you do join the beginning and end now.

Study the photos. I think they make it clear.








Now you're ready to flip the whole quilt over and begin hand sewing the binding to the back.




Don't start at a corner. Just start at some point along one of the straight sides.




Get your needle started by getting it into the actual quilt.



Right where your thread is located is exactly where the needle needs to come up through the binding. And right as close to the edge of the binding as you possibly can.

This series of photos show you the stitch. It's called a blind stitch. My stitches here in the photos are a bit exaggerated so that I'm sure you can see them. If you just catch the very edge of the binding then you will barely be able to see the stitches at all once complete. Hence the name "blind stitch". Catchy eh?









Ok. Corner ahead. Don't panic.





Continue sewing all the way up the edge of the quilt.







Then fold the corner down. OH!! Look at that perfect corner ladies and gentlemen!!




Use the same blind stitch technique to sew the corner down. Again, I'm using exaggerated stitches so that you are sure to see them. And since this is a corner that will get lots of use and abuse during it's life I'm sure to do short stitches and sew it well.







Now keep blind stitchin' all the way around. And before you know it you'll be done!!

Ye-haw little cowboy!! You've done made yourself a quilt!!!

Now check back later today for the mac daddy giveaway post.

How do cowboys sign off?

Adios pardner?

Giddy up?

Get along little doggies?

-dana

Um. Yea.

So.

Dang.

Cute.

Harpo and Scout.


-dana

Garden Dinner

Much has been happening here since the beginning of the quilt along. But not much of it has been blogged.

Perhaps some bullet points are in order.

-- The school year ended with a bang. Field day, talent show, parties and such.

-- We took a two week trip to Missouri to help Razor's parents move out of a home they have lived in for nearly 40 years. Pictures and stories of the mayhem soon to come.




-- We came home to a garden full of weeds . . . er . . . uh . . . I mean the first zuchini of the summer. Yum. We ate the last of the spring peas right before we left and it seemed only appropriate to find a new season of vegetables to be waiting for us.

-- We will be getting two puppies tomorrow. You'll be hearing so much more about this you'll be sorry you even asked.

-- My show and festival season starts in full swing this weekend.

-- I'm giving away a Janome 6600 sewing machine here next week as part of the conclusion of the quilt along. Eeekk! I can't wait!




Wanna help me weed the garden?

Please?

-dana

Winner of "Quilting Among the Sunflowers"

"Quilting Among the Sunflowers" is complete and it is time to announce the winner.







Congratulations #169 Julie in WA. Please email me at dana@oldredbarnco.com to claim your prize.

Now, won't you all go thank Summer for painting this beauty for us?

-dana

Quilt Along Week 6 (& giveaway too) A real full circle kind of thing

TIMES UP. WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED IN NEXT POST.

So this is week 6 of my quilt along. And since I've been like Willie Nelson . . . On the Road Again . . . I had already told you that this week is an extra week to get your quilting done. Two weeks for quilting instead of one. A little lagniappe if you will.



Next week will be the final step. I'll show you my favorite part of the whole quilt making experience. And I will give away the Janome 6600. Can't wait. Now that is gonna be fun!

Before I get to this week's giveaway I wanted to share some full-circle moments that have happened to me while putting this whole sha-bang together.



First, last July I gave away a quilt. I made a quilt very similar to what this quilt along quilt is like. Same fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants style pattern. Same kind of strip cutting and arrangement. Same basic size.



And I got emails for months afterward asking me how I made that quilt. What should they buy? How much fabric? How do they do it? And on and on and on.

Well, anyway, the person who won that quilt was Sarah. And Sarah had earned extra entries into the random drawing for the quilt due to this adorable video entry . . .



She won the quilt and was very excited . . .



As it turns out we kept in touch via blogland afterward. And as I later learned she was in graphic design school.

Did you say graphic design school?




I'll give you three guesses as to who made the graphics for this quilt along. Sarah is the genius behind Revel Design and I have her to thank for the posters, buttons and graphics. Thank you Sarah.


Ok. That's not all. Also some time last year I stumbled upon Summer's blog Artfulife. Soon thereafter she opened an Etsy shop where she sells original paintings. One of a kind stuff. No prints. All originals.




We too have become blog friends and when I told her what I was planning she offered to paint an original painting. Just for me. To giveaway to one of you.




I asked Summer about what she might paint and this is what she said . . .



I have such a love of vintage children's illustrations and this painting was definitely inspired by paintings of old. I love the idea of little animals gathered in a thicket of sunflowers sewing together. What could be more charming than a big mama bear teaching her cub the lovely tradition of hand quilting that has been passed down from generation to generation. "Quilting among the Sunflowers" is a one-of-a-kind original painted with acrylic paints on an upcycled 2' 3" x 1' 7" canvas. The border of the painting and edges are covered in scalloped scrapbook paper for a crisp finished look. "Quilting among the Sunflowers" will come ready to hang on your wall. All you need is a nail, oh and luck to win this painting.







The photos are the work in progress. I just can't wait to see it complete!!

Leave a comment to this post for a chance to claim it as your own. Comment before noon US EDST on Thursday, June 25 2009. I'll pick a winner by random draw soon thereafter. Only one entry per person. International entries welcome.

Good luck. Happy quilting. And wishing you some full circle moments of your own.

-dana

Mettler thread winner!

Have I mentioned before my devotion to Mettler thread? Dude. I love that stuff. I love it so much I want to marry it and have all it's little babies. I think I'd name them Bobbin and Thimble.





ETA: June 22, 2009 I've not heard back from the winner so I'll give it away in a future post soon!

Maybe I could name them Patchwork and Binding. Or . . .

-dana

Long arm quilting winner . . . and something else too

So I'm out of town. I've been out in the sun all day in 98 degree weather and I'm starving.

So I'm ending the contest for the long arm quilting service one hour early. Cause I'm famished and we are going out to dinner momentarily.

And, I thought it might make you less mad at me for ending it early if I gave away 40 spools of my most favoritest thread on earth. This thread makes me want to pause and reflect on its greatness. And if I wasn't so blasted ravenous I probably would. I love, love, love Mettler thread.




First, the winner of the long arm quilting from The Back Porch Quilters is . . .

#302 Laine

Congratulations! Email me at dana@oldredbarnco.com to claim your prize.





Leave a comment here to this post by noon tomorrow (or June 18, 2009 at 12 noon US EDST) for a chance to win 40 spools of Mettler thread in a cool carrying case. Note that this picture has more than 40 spools. But I'm not at home and can't photograph the acutal thread. So I snagged this one from their website. But 40 spools is alot of thread so don't despair.

One entry per person. I'll pick a winner by random draw soon thereafter. Only one entry per person . . . did I say that already? Forgive me. I'm so hungry I'm starting to shake. International entries welcome.

-dana

Quilt Along Week 5 Free Motion Quilting Tutorial -- Stippling

TIMES UP. SEE NEXT POST FOR WINNER!

If you have made it this far with me in the quilt along then . . . well . . . er . . . um. Bravo! You are over half way there! Over half way to a completed quilt. Over half way to winning the brand spankin' new Janome 6600.

Let's talk quiltin'!

A quilt is composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing. The term quilting generally refers to the sewing together of these three layers. Securing them together. Making it so that when you wash the dang thing the batting doesn't get all bunched up and lumpy inside.

There are several ways to turn your quilt top into a quilt. There is hand tying, hand quilting, machine quilting and long-arm machine quilting. I am no expert on the first two. . . ok, on any of them . . . so if you choose to hand tie or hand quilt your piece then I won't be of any help whatsoever. That in no way minimizes the effectiveness of those methods. It merely means I don't know squat about them. If you want to hand tie or hand quilt then I would visit a local quilt shop near you and ask for some guidance.

Although I've only recently started machine quilting, my Janome 6600 makes it sooooooo easy. Like butter really. Easy peasy. So easy that it makes me cringe thinking of all the hours I spent on my 1950's Kenmore trying to free motion quilt.

Anywho. Here is what I know.

You will need:

- your completed quilt top
- batting (Warm & Natural 100% cotton batting is my constant choice)
- backing fabric
- masking tape (or blue painters tape)




- quilting safty pins
- scissors




-thread (You will want to go ahead and fill several bobbins full of thread to begin with. The larger the quilt the more bobbins you'll need.)



-darning foot (or a free motion quilting foot -- NOT a walking foot for this type of quilting. That's different. I'm sure this will come up in the Flickr group so if you have questions please go there.)





And let's see . . . what else? Oh yea! A sewing machine.






Here you see the special foot on the sewing machine. Totally different than your average sewing foot.



Oh. And before I forget. Make sure you lower your feed dogs. And check your sewing machine manual for the tension settings and such that you need to use for free motion quilting. If your manual doesn't tell you . . . well, then you'll have to play around with it. Practice and practice and practice some more.





To ready your quilt for quilting you will need nice open floor or work table space. Preferably a smooth surface but you could make it work on carpet. You'll just have to be careful when it comes to pinning that you don't accidently pin it to the carpet.

Take your freshly ironed quilt back and smooth it out flat on your work surface. Use your masking tape or painters tape to tape the backing fabric securely to the floor. Like so.







Then lay your batting on your taped down backing. You will notice that the batting is a bit smaller than the backing. However, both the backing and the batting are larger than my quilt top. Why? Cause I just always want to make sure that they are big enough and that I don't wonk it out and have batting showing when I'm done quilting and notice that it wasn't positioned right in the first place. If the backing and batting are both bigger then I can't make that error. Know what I'm sayin'?






Then down with the quilt top.

I'm demonstrating with a smaller quilt that I made with the extra 7"x11.5" inch blocks left over from the bigger quilt. I could have demonstrated with the larger quilt but I'm having that long-arm machine quilted. By Russ. Cause it is impeccable. And beautiful. And mostly because I'm out of town for a bit and away from my beloved Janome. I only had time to do this little bit before we hit the open road.




Now you will use your handy quilters safety pins (they have a slight bend in the under portion of the pinning mechanism that makes pinning the three layers together easier) to pin all three layers together at about every 6 inches or so.

There are other methods. Basting stitch. Spray adhesive (specially for quilting). Um. That is all I can think of right now. But I like the pinning method. Choose your poison people. They all achieve the same result . . . keeping the layers together smoothly and securely while quiting.



Can you see the pins?





The whole thing is pinned. Then, if the backing and batting were lots bigger than the quilt top I usually trim them down a bit. You don't have to. I just like to cause it means less bulk trying to wrestle with through the machine. Plus it makes it prettier. I'm all about the pretty.





Now here is a video presentation of actual free motion quilting. Someday when I win an Oscar (or would it be Emmy? Or perhaps a Webbie?) for this masterpiece I'll be sure to thank the cinematograper, my lovely husband, Razor. You'll see I make a mistake in about the middle of the video. Since the feed dogs are lowered and therefore not pushing the fabric through the machine, all of the movement of the fabric is up to me. Part of mastering free motion quilting is getting the speed of the actual sewing and the speed of the movement of the fabric through the machine to be in perfect sync. Harmony if you will. And in the video you will see that I screw that up a bit. Just a small bit. And not a big deal bit. Just a bit. And I bet when the quilt is all done and washed and dried and given to it's new owner they won't notice it at all.

And if they do. Well. I'll. Um. I won't really care.






I haven't covered everything. You will have more questions. I know you. You'll have questions. So go to the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along 2009 Flickr group and get your answers fast. And speedy. And from the nice people that are so helpful there.

Da-da-dahhhhh!!


How about a giveaway.




The Back Porch Quilters (a.k.a Russ and Rhonda) are giving away 1 free long arm machine quilting service. Ya-hoo!!!

And get this. They are offering all of you $.01/square inch pricing plus only $5 shipping. Just mention Old Red Barn Co. when you contact them. You won't be disappointed. Guaranteed.


Leave a comment here to this post before 7:00 pm US EDST on Wednesday, June 20, 2009. I'll pick a winner by random draw soon thereafter. Only one entry per person. International entries welcome.

And I get this question alot. So I hope you're still reading. Some of you aren't reading and will ask me anyway. That's ok. Yes you can still enter the giveaways, ANY OF MY GIVEAWAYS, even if you are not making a quilt. Participating in the quilt along earns you extra entries. But you still can enter. Leave a comment. Only one comment per person counts. Comprende?


More cool stuff next Monday.

Ten-four.

Big buddy.

Over and out.



-dana

Warm & Natural Batting Winners

#345 is Frances!

#502 is Pepsilady!

Congratulations ladies. Email me at dana@oldredbarnco.com to claim your prize.

See everyone Monday where we will begin quilting our quilt tops.

-dana

Quilt along Week 4 How to Assemble Quilt Top

TIMES UP. WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED IN NEXT POST.

(If this is your first time here for the quilt along then you need to go back to May in the posts and find the beginning. And, for the love of Pete, you need to join the Flickr group too.)


Before we get going with the work for Week 4, I want to announce a slight change in schedule. Originally this was going to last for 6 weeks. I'm changing it to 7 weeks so as to give 2 weeks for the quilting phase. That just means an extra week of giveaways. Unless you have a problem with that.

Alrighty then.





At this point you should have all of your quilt blocks. As per prior discussion both here and in the Flickr group, the number of blocks that you ultimately have varies. I have a total of 39 12.5"x12.5" blocks and 13 7"x12.5" blocks.

Some of you may have 42 blocks. Others may have more or less. It doesn't really matter. What does matter is what you do with them.

Since I have 39 blocks I have decided to use 36 of them in my large quilt. Six blocks wide by six blocks long.

With the remaining 3 12.5"x12.5" blocks and the 13 7"x12.5" blocks I am going to make a smaller quilt. A smaller quilt to practice my quilting on before I tackle a larger project.

With me?




With my total number of blocks that I'm turning into a large quilt top, I want to randomly organize them. Just do whatever you have to do so that no two of the same blocks end up side by side in the final quilt.






As I stated, my quilt will be six blocks long by six blocks wide so I grab six blocks to start my first row.



Lay out your blocks as they will be sewn together into a row. You'll see that each block is turned 90 degrees from the previous block. In other words, the first block in the row has the strips going north and south while the second block they are going east and west.



Now begin sewing the blocks together.



Right sides of fabric together.



Line it up and pin it. Keep in mind that if your block that is underneath has seams wherein the pressed seams are facing counter to the way in which you are going to sew, that you will want to keep these flat as you are sewing. You don't want them to flip and be twisty once you are done sewing this seam. Hang with me and you'll see more explanation further along.





Sew your first two blocks together




Ta-dah!!




Now you're ready to sew on the third block in your row.



Again, right sides of fabric together.




You'll notice that this time I pinned it more frequently than the last time.

This is because of the seam-folding-twisty-thing that I was just talking about.



At each arrow in the photo below there is a seam. If you were to see the back side of where those arrows are pointing, you would see that the pressed seam is pointed "north" in the direction in which it will feed through the sewing machine as you sew on the next block.

So, I pinned at all those points to make sure that they don't do that folding-twisting-make-my-final-quilt-top-not-lay-flat-thing that they could do if I'm not careful.



Ok. So keep repeating this process until your entire first row of blocks is sewn together




Then you are ready to press all of those seams created from sewing the blocks together.

Press them all in the same direction.

(Make a mental note here. On your next row of blocks, you will press these seams in the opposite direction. This will make joining your rows together easier . . . and flater in the end result. I'll talk more about this in a minute.)




Row 1 is complete!

Lay your first row out. Lay your blocks for your second row next to them to make sure that you have rotated your blocks correctly so that they too are opposite of the first row. Study the next two photos if my oh-so-clear explanation doesn't make sense.







Sew your entire second row together following the same procedure as your first row.

Once your second row is complete, pressed and ready to go, it is time to join row one and row two.

A moment ago I discussed how the block seams should be pressed the opposite way in row two as they were in row one. This become important now as we go to join the two rows.



Lay your rows on top of one another with right sides of fabric facing each other.

Obviously you want to line up the edges but the really important thing here is lining up the block junctions precisely.



So, as you begin pinning your two rows together in preparation to join them by sewing, start with your first block junction and make sure that they line up precisely. Pin it well. Then work back to your left pinning and lining up the fabric.





Then on to your next block junction. Pin it. And again, work back to your left pinning and lining up the fabric until you get to the point where you meet your other pins.








Keep at it until your whole row is pinned. Then sew it.



Then press it.



Step back and admire your work.






Even the back will look pretty. All those carefully sewn and pressed seams will yield a nice and flat quilt top. A nice and flat quilt top makes the actual quilting of it easier . . . the final result prettier too.





Ok. So keep repeating this process until your quilt top is complete.

And don't fret. Or dispair. Or freak out. I remember thinking that assembling a quilt top took forever. But then I did more. And got better. And got faster. And learned my own tricks for making things work.




It's just like anything. Practice makes perfect.





How about a giveaway?



I'll give two people the best batting in the world to make their completed quilt.




I only use Warm & Natural batting. It is 100% cotton. It doesn't bunch or separate. It gives the final quilt that nice wrinkly, crinkly antique look that I love. And it keeps it shape wash after wash. I love this stuff. And you will too!


Leave a comment here to this post before 7:00 pm US EDST on Wednesday, June 10, 2009. I'll pick a winner by random draw soon thereafter. Only one entry per person. International entries welcome.

Peace. Love. And quilting, baby!

-dana

Easily sidetracked

I'm easily sidetracked.

Exhibit A:



My oldest was home from school yesterday. She is 9. She wanted to sew. And this is what she sewed up from nothing but scraps.



She never ceases to amaze me. I think I need to take a lesson from her on improvisational quilting. For real.

And look how cute the back is.

::be still my daughter lovin' beatin' heart::




Exhibit B:

I watched Amanda Jean make these little 9 patch squares for several weeks now. I swore I wasn't gonna join along. . . what with the quilt along I have going on here . . . and the fact that I still haven't sewn all of my cotton-pickin' strips together . . .

but . . .


well . . . I'm easily sidetracked.






Exhibit C:

Russ called. He is the long arm quilter that quilts all of my quilts. He said he had a couple of my quilts done.




Oh boy. This first one is the result of my first virtual quilting bee. Now, even though I have to finish sewing my quilt blocks up for my very own dag-nabbit quilt along, I so desperately want to bind it and throw it into the washer and dryer.




Check out that spiral quilting. It makes me weak in the knees to see all those spirals atop all the angles of the quilt blocks. My-oh-me-oh-my!





The backing is a spectacular vintage bed sheet. What a find that sucker was!




And last, but certainly not least, Razor's quilt is finished.




I gave it to him last week for our anniversary. He liked it well enough. He'd seen it before as I worked on it so it wasn't a big surprise or anything.

I asked him, "Do you like it?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Will you use it?"

He said, "Of course."

I said, "Is it the best gift you have ever received in your entire life?"

He said, "Yes."

I sat stone faced and dumbfounded.




I said, "Better than the children I gave you?"





He is so easy to tease.


-dana

Sulky Blendables thread winner

The lucky winner of the killer Sulky Blendables thread is number 455!

Laine that said "Wishing my sewing machine had the scissors button. Maybe some day I will be lucky enough to have a machine that does. Count me in on the thread giveaway. Never can have enough. Thanks."

Congratulations Laine! I have no way of contacting you so please email me at dana@oldredbarnco.com to claim your prize.

And if you haven't checked out and/or joined the Flickr group for this quilt along go there next. I find myself there dozens of times a day just to ogle all of the fabric choices!

-dana

Quilt Along Week 3 Instructions for Quilt Blocks

TIMES UP. WINNER TO BE PICKED BY RANDOM DRAW AND ANNOUNCED IN NEXT POST. THANK YOU FOR PLAYING ALONG!

(Disclaimer: Let me just get this right out there. I'm no expert. Nor am I a pattern writer. I'm just a simple girl, living in the middle of no where, that likes to quilt. And I never follow a pattern. I always wing it. And I'm winging it here with you all. But, I've made enough quilts to know that this one will work and yours will too. If you have questions be sure to join the Flickr group as it is the best place to ask and answer any and all questions.)

Week 3. Doesn't seem possible does it?



Well it is. You've managed to cut your twelve 1/2 yard fabrics into 2.5 inch strips. That is an intimidating step if you've never made a quilt before.

Let's start sewing!




Lay out all of your strips according to like fabric. Then you will pick six different strips. Above is one grouping of six strips. Below is another. Make each six strip grouping different. Different in fabric selection and definitely different in fabric arrangement.




Now, each of these six strip groupings are going to be sewn together.

First, take two strips.




Put the right sides of the fabric together.



Like so.

Line the edges up together as exactly as you can.




If you are a brand new sewer then it is a good idea to pin these 44 inch length strips together so that you can keep them lined up nicely as you sew them together.

If you've sewn a thing or two before in the past you may opt not to pin them and work them through your machine slowly keeping the edges lined up.

One method is not better or worse then the other.

I'm not here to judge. Do what feels right.




Now you are ready to sew these long strips together. Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance (standard in quilt making). You'll see that from where the sewing machine needle comes down to the edge of the presser foot is 1/4 inch. So as I'm sewing I am sure to keep the edge of my fabric lined up with the edge of my presser foot.





Once you've sewn those two strips together you are ready to sew on the next strip.




Again, like sides of fabric together. Line up the edges. Pin along the length (or not). And sew.

Repeat this process until all six of your strip set are sewn together.





I want to take a minute and point out one of my most favoriest features of the Janome 6600.

Dude.

See that button there with the scissors on it?

(Excuse me. I'm nearly hyperventilating just thinking about it. It is that good!)

When I'm done sewing and am ready to remove the fabric, I merely push that scissors button and it cuts the threads for me. Both the needle thread and the bobbin thread.





::deep cleansing breath::

Let's proceed.

Once you have all of your six strips sewn together it is time to press the seams.




In quilting, all seams are pressed to one side (unlike garment making wherein seams are pressed open). When my Mother-in-Law taught me how to quilt she explained it as a means of making a stronger, more secure quilt.

So press the entire length of your six strips.







Once you've pressed the whole piece, lay it out on your cutting mat. You'll see that it will measure 12.5 inches by the width of the fabric (generally 44 inches).






We are now ready to cut these into 12.5" x 12.5" blocks.




Remember when we were cutting the fabric into the strips in the first place? Remember we had to always square up the edge of the fabric before we made our 2.5 inch cut? Well, the same thing goes here. You will want to even up the edge of the fabric and be sure to cut off the selvage edges in the process.






Once that's done, you're ready to cut it into 12.5 inch blocks. Remember it is already 12.5 inches wide. Now all you have to do is cut it 12.5 inches long.

(**If yours isn't 12.5", who cares. All we are going for is square blocks. Square blocks that are all exactly the same. So, if yours came out to 12 inches then cut 12"x12" squares. 11.5 inches? Whoop-de-doo! Cut 11.5" x 11.5" squares. There is no right or wrong answer. You are going for square . . . so just measure.)




Like so.

You will be able to get three 12.5"x12.5" blocks from each set of six strip sets you sew.

You'll also notice you are left with an odd bit left over. Don't fret. And certainly don't spaz out with your rotary cutter and flail it all around. That thing is dangerous and you could lose a finger.

Cut that remaining bit into 12.5"x7". Really all you are doing is cutting it so that it is a seven inch cut here instead of the 12.5 inch you had done the previous two times. With me?

You will have the option to use these 12.5"x7" blocks later. You'll be able to use them to increase the size of your quilt or to make a table runner in order to practice your piecing and quilting skills.




So there are my three 12.5"x12.5" quilt blocks and my one 12.5"x7" quilt block.






And here they are from another six strip set.







When you are all done sewing and trimming your six strip sets you will have anywhere from 36 to 42 12.5"x12.5" quilt blocks. Why the discrepancy? Remember when you were cutting the twelve 1/2 yards into strips. Sometimes you'd get six strips and sometimes you'd get seven strips. That all depended on how straight your 1/2 yard was cut off the original fabric bolt to begin with. The straighter it was cut to begin with, the less you had to cut when you were lining it all up and preparing to make your strips.

Plus, if you prewash your fabric or not makes a difference in how many strips you get from each 1/2 yard too.

These two reasons are why I could never and can never give you a real clear cut answer as to how big your quilt will be in the end. And precisely the reason we haven't discussed how much backing fabric you'll need yet.

It all depends on the number of quilt blocks your strips yield.

And if you decided to use fat quarters instead of 1/2 yards then you have a whole other set of questions and answers.

Again, go to the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along Flickr group to ask and help answer these questions for others. Please. Pretty please?

How about I give away some of the coolest new thread I've discovered? Then will you help answer questions over on the Flickr group?

I knew I could convince you.






Have you seen this Sulky Blendables cotton thread?




Amazingly beautiful.




Amazingly high quality. (100% Egyptian cotton baby!!)




And amazingly fun to play with!

One lucky winner will win the above 17 spools of Sulky Blendables Cotton thread with the uber-cool storage case.


Leave a comment to this post by 7:00pm ESDT US on Wednesday, June 3, 2009. I'll pick a winner by random draw soon thereafter. Only one entry per person. International entries welcome.

Go forth and conquer.

-dana

ETA: My original post said that it would end today. However, that was an error as it will end Wednesday . . . just like the giveaway each week with this quilt along. Sorry!