Antique Rose Star Workshop

Recently, I had the pleasure of teaching the Antique Rose Star workshop to 7 students locally.  This is a wonderful old block that has found new converts in the Internet age and the resurgence of handwork:

Here are two blocks from my sample quilt.  Each is made from 72 kites, all the exact same size:

My quilt was made both by hand and by machine, what I call the "hybrid method", but it can be made completely by machine.  That was the focus of this workshop.

Using templates makes it easy to cut the "kite" shape. My template came from Australia--I've written about this process numerous times.  A hand-piecing workshop is featured here.  Now there is a template set by Marti Michell's Perfect Patchwork Templates that makes it easy to buy these templates.  It also includes a "crown" template that greatly increases the design options. These template sets come in two sizes, 2" and 3".  In addition, a Rose Star pattern by Marci Baker shows a very easy way to sew the "Y" seam by machine, without having to mark "dots" or stop 1/4" away from the edge:

The students quickly got to work cutting fabrics:

Michelle came to class with a Fabric Plan

Michelle's Option 2

Throughout the day, units were made, wedges were sewn, and then finally blocks appeared:

Michelle's Option 1

Mary M has the first half laid out

Mary E was thrilled to be sewing quilt blocks again and is eager to finish this

Susan worked in the 2" size and did a variation  with a Hexagon center and Crowns as well as Kites

Anna made a beautiful block, two halves here,  and was well on the way to a second block by the end of class

Mary M has two halves sewn

Judith made a beautiful block, two halves, and really enjoyed the process

Unfortunately, I missed getting photos of Charmaines' efforts--she was in the hand-piecing class almost 3 years ago and decided if this quilt was to get done, she would switch to machine piecing--she did a great job!

I'll be teaching this workshop again, later this year to a guild out-of-state.  It is fun to teach and see how quickly the students get units and ultimately, blocks made.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Rajah Revisited is Done

Might be a record:  a Block of the Month quilt finished in less than 13 months.  Rajah Revisited, the 2016 Block of the Month from The Quilt Show is done:

It's about 67" square.  The pattern was based on a quilt made by slave women in 1841, as they were transported on the ship Rajah from England to Australia. A lot of historical information was presented each month, along with the monthly pattern.  My center is a panel I bought from Quilt and Textile Collections, owned by Kay Triplett.  It and several other printed fabrics are still available.

While I enjoyed working on this, I am glad it's done and look forward to spending 2017 making the Halo Star Medallion and finishing Ruffled Roses, the 2011 Block of the Month, also from The Quilt Show.  This year will also be spent developing some new classes I want to teach.

Stella's Splendid Sampler will be finished in 2017--I plan to enter it in my guild quilt show this Fall.  The other day I figured out what quilts I could have done for which categories for our show so now I have a plan.  Just have to execute it.

AND it wouldn't be me if I didn't start something new, right now, when I have so much to finish.  I'm a sucker for projects from Temecula Quilt Company, here is their 2017 Wild Goose Wednesday:

Each week, for 33 weeks, we'll make 8 Flying Geese until we have 264, or I get tired of them.  This is one of my favorite shapes, though this is a larger size than I typically make.  There are so many ways to use these.

I hope some of you are working on the Sew-A-Long.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Sew-A-Long Part 3 The Old Italian Block

Welcome to our first Sew-A-Long.  If you missed the earlier posts you can find them here:

Part 1 Introduction

Part 2 The Shoo Fly

For years I have called this block the "X" block.  In searching for a real name I found it in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns, #2881: The Old Italian Block. So that is what we call it:

We'll be making 6 of these 6" finished blocks.  You can make them scrappy or all the same fabrics, your choice.  Each block uses 3 fabrics, one large square for the background triangles, one small square for the center, and four rectangles for the "X":

I am using a small polka dot for all of the background quarter square triangles, the same stripe for the center square that I used in the Shoo Fly block centers, and 6 brights for the "X"'s.

Quarter Square Triangles (QST) have the straight of grain on the long side of the triangle.  Half Square Triangles (HST) like we made for the Shoo Fly blocks, have the straight of grain on the short side of the triangle.  For best results in quilt block piecing, you want the straight of grain on the outside edges:

Cut the background squares 5.5" square--you need 6 of these.  Cut each in half on the diagonal, then carefully move the ruler and cut the other diagonal, creating 4 Quarter Square Triangles.

I cut two layers of fabric at a time since I can be accurate that way. You can stack up all 6 squares if you like, but it takes more pressure on the ruler to cut 6 at once and if you mess them up, you messed up 6 instead of 2.  You decide.

Next cut 6 center squares, each 2":

2 layers, 2" x more than 6", trim one edge

Rotate and trim other edge, now this is 2" x 6"

Slide the ruler to the 4" line, cut, slide the ruler to the 2" line, cut

6 squares, 2" each,, 2 layers

Cut the sets of four rectangles, 2" x 5", in the same way. Here are my cut pieces all ready to sew:

Time to SEW.  Lay out a block near your machine:

Flip the middle row over, on top of the row on the left:

I use a leader/ender set of small squares, then chain piece the 3 units in order.  Pin if you like. NOTE:  The rectangle is longer than the triangle it is sewn to.  Be sure the 90 degree corners of the rectangle and triangle are lined up, the end of the rectangle will hang over the point of the triangle by more than an inch.  Sew slow, steady and straight.

Here are the units that have been sewn, on the left:

You can press them now, or wait until the right side row has been added.  I like to press now. Be careful--the cut edges of the triangles are BIAS edges and they can be distorted if you press them aggressively or use too much steam.  A dry iron is better at this point:

Lay out so you can press toward the rectangles

Use the edge of the iron to open the seam toward the rectangles

Now we'll add the final 3 pieces to the block, flipping the triangles and rectangle over on to the previously sewn units. Here you can see how the triangles are smaller than the rectangles and it is the corners of each you want to have lined up:

Once sewn, it is time to press, again, toward the rectangles:

Front view

Back view

We're ready to sew the three rows together to complete the block.  Turn the middle row over on the left side row, pin, and sew. I pin IN FRONT of the intersection, one seam is going up, one is going down.  This pin will keep the intersection in place as you approach and then sew it:

Ready to sew

Check those intersections

Pin the right side row onto the previously sewn rows

I leave the bottom pin in place to help me sew straight all the way to the end

Check those intersections

Before I leave the machine, I check the intersections to see if they meet as I want them to.  If they are off just a little I can leave them alone or un-sew a few stitches, fiddle with the intersection, re-pin and re-sew. When I am happy with the intersections, I get up and go to the iron.  Press toward the rectangles:

Lay the seam at the top you want to press TOWARD--open and press

Front view 

Back view

We are almost done.  It's time to "trim to perfection".  The block is now too big, you will trim it to a precise 6.5".  Using a 6.5" square ruler makes this easy.  Place the 3.25" marks at the four intersections of triangles and rectangles.  This also puts the center markings of the ruler down the center of the upper right/lower left rectangles:

Trim the excess from the right and top sides:

Rotate the block, again place the 3.25" marks at the intersections, be sure you are cutting a precise 6.5" square, trim the remain two sides and you are done:

Ta da!  Perfectly pieced 6.5" Old Italian Block:

Lather, rinse, repeat until you have 6 Old Italian Blocks done. My little pile of leader/ender 4-patches is growing too:

Next time we will sew 18 blocks together with a diagonal or "on-point" setting.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Sneak Peek, A New Finish and the End is in Sight

I've been busy writing instructions for the Sew-A-Long.  Doing  my own photos really slows down the sewing process.  Here' a sneak peek;

I still have to quilt both samples, make binding for both, add the bindings, sew both, and takes photos of each step along the way.

Guess what?  There will be a Link-Up party and a Giveaway after the five blog posts have appeared--get your top done and be entered to win a cool gift!

Recently, I got this doll quilt done, using blocks I got in a swap.  They were sewn on interfacing instead of paper so I could not use them with all the other blocks I received in the swap so they had to play only with themselves:

Stella's Splendid Sampler is moving right along and the end is in sight, only 8 more blocks to go, so four more weeks.  Here are the last two blocks, #91 and 92.  For 91, I substituted a 6-pointed star and embroidered the title of the quilt on it--I just was not going to do another hand embroidery block at this stage:

So far, on the wall:

Now I know what my border treatment will be and I'm eager to start working on that.  I also have several new class ideas brewing and want to get samples started of those.  And Ruffled Roses is calling my name, and a gift quilt for a friend, and...  So many quilts, so little time.  Only non-quilters ask me how I spend my time now that I'm "retired"!

And here is why I am making this Sampler, the amazing Stella:

Daddy has a sense of humor

Christmas 2016

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

A Tribute to Sue Garman

The quilt world lost a wonderful woman on January 8, 2016.  Susan H. Garman ended her battle with lung cancer after less than a year.

In Memorium from The Quilt Show

More importantly, her family lost a mother and grandmother, and her friends lost a piece of their hearts and life.

I was honored to call her friend.  I first met Sue in Houston October 2008 when the block of the month she designed for The Quilt Show, "Stars for a New Day", was unveiled at International Quilt Festival.  I was gob-smacked at its' beauty and made a point of meeting her face-to-face.  As that pattern would come out monthly in 2009, I wanted to know if she had the complete pattern for sale. She didn't but she had one very similar, Washington Medallion that wasn't quite ready for publication yet.  This is the kind of sharing, caring, amazing quilter Sue was--she offered to send me her working patterns for free so I could make Washington Medallion in 2009 in time for our guild quilt show.  A life-long friendship was born that day.

I put my best work into Joyful Journey:

On Facebook I saw the work of an amazing quilter in California, Pam Dransfeldt, the Joyful Quilter, and made arrangements to have her quilt it.  Her quilting was just the best--it elevated this quilt to a work of art.

I dearly love this quilt for all it represents to me and my Quilt Life:  friends, fabric, effort, this is my gift to generations yet unborn. It changed how I think about my quilting journey.  It was my first entry in AQS Paducah, being juried in there in 2010. In 2014 it was featured as one of the 500 best Traditional Quilts in a book by that name.  Sue had 5 quilts in that book, I had 3.  This quilt went on to be exhibited in Houston, Chicago and Portland, OR in 2014 and 2015. It is only because of Sue's generosity to me that it exists.

Sue and I kept in touch from then on, and met up in Houston each year.  In November 2015 we had the most wonderful opportunity to spend an entire week at a beautiful beach house with 7 other professional quilt teachers, working on our own projects, eating great food we prepared for each other, and growing our friendship.  How much I cherish this snapshot I took that week:

When she wasn't on her computer, putting together one of her incredible Blog Posts, or designing the next quilt pattern, she was here on this window seat, doing hand applique'. We walked on the beach each day, sharing our lives, the similarities and differences. I was a sponge as I strived to learn all I could from her: applique', computer skills, quilt design.  We made plans to start a small stitching group of people we knew around the country--early 2016 we hoped to get that going, but it was not to be.

Her family will have a Celebration of Life for Sue January 20, 2017 in Texas and while I won't be there in body, I'll be there in spirit.  She was loved and admired by so many--the NASA folks she worked with for many years, her local quilting friends, and most of all, her family.  Sue's husband died in September 2016 after a seven year fight with cancer.  I can only take comfort that they are back together again, no longer in pain.

Sue's legacy lives on in her work and her patterns.  It was great news that her family will keep her business going for years into the future.  See her work:  Sue's Gallery.  Spend hours enjoying her blog:  Sue's Blog  She was amazingly generous to other quilters, so supportive of their work, and saw beauty and inspiration everywhere she looked.  I will love her and miss her forever and hope to be more like her.

My own Sue Garman quilts:

New Stars, New Day--featured in 500 Traditional Quilts

Ruffled Roses--this will be finished in 2017

Halo Star Medallion--2017 BOM www.thequiltshow.com

And the next one I plan to do, sometime, hopefully, 2018.  I bought the patterns in 2016:

Afternoon Delight

Sue was one of those special people, everyone who met her or was touched by her, felt she was their friend.  Let's all be more like that--the world needs more people just like her.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara