A Finish

I have finished the second Framed 9 Patch. This one is smaller than the first one by 2 blocks in each direction. F9P 1 is 9 x11 blocks and F9P 2 is 7 x 9 blocks.  This one was a little easier to handle physically. 

This is the back of the quilt and I was happy to see that the pattern of the floral stripes worked out the way I planned. The pattern is symmetrical and straight along the sides and where the quilted sections are joined. It was quite an effort to get it layered up straight. After the first section I gave up trying to do it in my sewing room on the plastic top Lifetime tables and put another leaf in my dining table and put my big cutting mat on the table and used my bulldog clams on the ends to get the backing taut and smooth and I used masking tape along the sides to tape it where the sections were too narrow to reach the sides of the table. I could move my cutting mat to protect the table under the whole layered section when I was pinning. It was frustrating but it was worth the effort to make the floral strips work. 

I cut the inner border fabric 2 1/2 inches wide so it finished 2 inches and I like the 1 1/2 inch better on the first quilt. It seems to me the narrower looks better when the quilting is in the ditch. I made 5 inch Nine Patch blocks for the corners using the green from the inner border and four of the prints that have a white/light background.  

I thought I made all the corner blocks the same. I had cut the strips at the same time even though I didn't make them all at the same time. I never notice there was anything wrong when I layered up the borders. I had concentrated on having the length of the piano keys exactly the right length because the corner blocks had to line up with end of the inner border to which I added a 2 1/2 inch wide strip which would appear to be part of the side border. I measured and measured again and then again before adding the piano keys to the inner border. It all looked good and I proceeded to layer it up and quilt it. The first end border was good. The second end border had a block the was a half inch too big.

Here are the two corners on the second border. I just trimmed it square so it fit and sewed the binding on. Because the border was already quilted and sewn on to the quilt, I decided I can live with it.

I like this quilt and I am keeping it. I don't mind that there are similar solid colors close together.  I didn't pay much attention to that aspect. I laid it out  alternating light and dark blocks. That checkerboard pattern is not so apparent because the value range is somewhat narrow. There is not any really high contrast.

For the most part I relied on contrast between size and density of the prints for contrast.

This shows two of the darkest blocks and they do not really appear dark except in the photo.

The areas where similar colors are close or lumped together don't bother me. I did spend some time arranging the blocks but I didn't agonize over each decision. I only wanted each block, in some way, to related to the adjacent block. 

I wanted light, bright and cheerful and that is what it looks like to me. There are a few other issues, like that corner block, and the binding is folded over a little too wide on the back in a couple of places. Overall the workmanship is good and I make no apologies for the things that didn't turn or quite right.

As I was nearing completion of this quilt I knew it would be the last large quilt I would ever make.  I had to push myself to work on it. From now on, I will not make anything larger than a baby quilt. I will make only things that do not require moving furniture to accommodate each step of the process. 

I am scaling back on the amount to supplies I need to keep on hand. I am still paring down my scrap stash. After all, you have to make sure the people who receive your scraps will use them well. As I write this I am laughing at myself.  I have never given a second thought to what has happened to what I have given away. I love seeing how someone has used my leftovers but I never worry or wonder about them once they are no longer mine.

I do have something in the works now. I needed thread and I went to the quilt shop and saw an alphabet panel and some coordinating fabrics and they came home with me. I almost walked out of the shop without my thread. So I will still be quilting for a while but only the small stuff and only when I feel excited to make it.

What happened to September?

Here it is October and I'm still here but something seems to have happened to September. I'm not sure how I missed a whole month without posting.  Well, I suppose it is because there was no quilting to post about. I did get all three sections layered up and quilted. There were a few roadblocks along the way. I didn't have the color thread I wanted to use for the quilting and I had to order it from Superior Threads. It really wasn't a long wait till it arrived but it was an interruption and I didn't get started on the quilting right away. When I got started it did not go smoothly. My foot pedal quit working on and off. My sweet cat, Lucy, had chewed the cord a couple of years ago ( I did forgive her because she was a sweet cat). Jack had spliced the wires together  and it worked well for a long time. Several months ago the pedal quit working and I tackled the job of fixing it because Jack can't see well enough now to do it. It took me a few tries to get it right. The foot pedal worked well until I started quilting the FNP. It worked on and off but then it quit. I could see there were other places that looked like Lucy had chewed and I could see cracks in the covering. Probably with the foot pedal moving all over the place the wires cracked. I ordered a new foot pedal and all was well ......... until my tension was a problem. I cleaned the machine and changed the needle and it was OK on and off. I changed the needle again but the stich balance was still not really OK. I went to the quilt shop and  got different thread. Finally, everything was good to go.

I trimmed up the edges where the sections joined and I sewed the three sections together.

This is the back where I sewed 2 sections together. After I stitched the front together I turned it over and made sure the batting butted together along the whole length of the seam.  I carefully pinned the backing edge over the stitching line on the back and pressed it then removed the pins and fused the back edge down with 3/8 inch fusible web. You can see the seam here where I have stitched in the ditch from the front. I don't sew by hand anymore because my hands are too arthritic.

This is the same section form a different angle. I had planned to have the sections joined in the wider stripes where it would not be so noticeable if they were not perfectly aligned. I am happy with that decision. Getting the front and back lined up was a pain in the neck but it was worth the effort.

These next 2 photos are shots from different angles of the quilt thrown across my bed. I didn't worry too much about the center nine patch color placement. The blocks a light and dark checkerboard. That is not so apparent because there is not high value contrast. I wanted this quilt to be light and bright.

 I am starting to sew the piano key borders for the top and bottom. I was going to use foundation paper piecing and when I finally fund my Carol Doak paper I found that the whole package of paper had blocks printed on it.  I have no idea why I printed those blocks; they don't look like anything I remember planning to sew. Anyway I cut them into 5 inch wide x  11 inches and used them as foundations without lines and stitched on the front and it works fine to make the 5 inch width I want. I hope I can finish this quilt this week.

I wonder if there is anyone who is happy with the changes in Blogger.