Fancy Forest 2018 Finish Along

This is the first quilt I finished for the 2018 Finish Along. I didn't have a photo of the finished quilt because my camera was not working that day. My daughter took one with her phone the day she picked it up; she forgot to send it to me until I reminded her. I finally got it 2 days ago.

This was one of 2 quilts I listed to finish for the first quarter of  the 2018 Finish Along.  You can read a little more about it here. I really love the Elizabeth Hartman pattern and and the finished quilt but I had construction issues with almost all the blocks. This was not the fault of the pattern but my own inclination to not follow the instructions in the order they are written. I also made some cutting errors. Nevertheless, I think it is a great pattern and the quilt was well received.

I did a little more outlining of the bunny ears because or the low contrast with the white fabric and the icy blue "Grunge" background.

I took the easy way out and stitched in the ditch. My arthritic hands are not up to the challenge of free motion quilting.

Be sure you check out all the quilts in the first quarter Finish Along

Fancy Forest Flimsy

Finally, a flimsy. I finished the second Owl block on Wednesday and thought I would get the top put together later that day or the next day. I had a really hard time deciding on the colors.I didn't want the same fabrics too close to each other and though I had some flexibility  the different  block widths dictated the rows where they would fit. I think the reason for my indecision about the fabric choices is that my design wall is not easily accessible because my sewing machine is in front of it with a table beside the machine forming an L shape. So, I can't reach the design board to layout the whole quilt without moving the machine.

I did finally move my machine and put all the blocks up on the wall in the order I thought I would use them. I decided to replace the yellow Bunny because he looked out of place with the richer colors in the other blocks. Some of the other blocks ended up being moved around and in the end I think I came up with a better balance of color and value.

I think maybe the turquoise Bunny is a bit on the pastel side also but after dealing with other issues I would have chucked the whole thing if I had to remake over another block.

I had to fiddle with the Firefly blocks and ended up taking the orange and purple one apart and re doing the body and the feelers. I should have done it as soon as I realized I messed up the order of the construction steps.





So here's the flimsy, it is 35 x 47 and looks pretty large for a 5 pound baby.






































I went to the quilt shop Friday with my granddaughter in law (who wants to learn to quilt BTW) and found a colorful backing. I bought enough of the backing fabric to use for a small  drag around quilt and I think I will use the yellow bunny with some scrappy blocks from the rest of the left over fabric from the big quilt. The bunny is 8 x 13 and laying on top of the backing shows the scale.


I am going to layer up the Fancy Forest today and I hope I can get the quilting started,  Nothing has really gone as planned as far as my time management goes so as the saying goes "We'll see".

One Owl

I cut and almost finished the first of two Owl blocks yesterday and I finished it up this morning. I could have finished it quickly yesterday but after agonizing over the fabric choices, I took time to run out to the quilt shop and buy one more purple fabric.  It is not that I didn't have several purple fabrics from which to choose;  I just couldn't settle on three that looked good together. The new fabric is the center purple strip on the wings and around the eyes.


So here he is, not perfect but pretty good. He did go together easily.  I am calling him a he instead of a she because this quilt is for a boy. I have been thinking about my difficulty making fabric choices and I think it has been influenced by my hesitation to use certain colors for a male quilt. Not that I think a baby is going to notice but I think I consider what his dad is going to think. I don't believe this is even a conscious consideration but I rejected some hot pink fabrics that I liked and only later did I realize why. Well anyway, I am ready to cut the next Owl block and it is, by the way, all blue green fabric. I made this choice because I need to use a particular fabric another time for continuity.

After I cut the next Owl block I am going to put away all of the fabric I have dragged out while searching for the "perfect" fabric for these Fancy Forest critters. My sewing room has reached the chaotic stage where it is affecting my serenity.




When I get the blocks down from the design wall and start putting the blocks together, I am going to put this panel on the wall.  I saw it in the quilt shop when I was having my purple fabric cut. It is digitally printed and the panel was precut in the shop so there is no selvage on the edge with the name of the company. I have no idea what I will do with it but it will decorate my wall with color while I think about it.

Fireflys

I finished the 2 Firefly blocks; it did not go smoothly.  First off, I had a really hard time selecting the fabrics and it didn't  get any easier. I didn't want to introduce any new colors but fabric I wanted to use either came up short or I couldn't find anything that looked good with it. Then I made it all harder by mixing up some of the different size strips and having to decide if  I wanted to start over with a new fabric or deal with fixing the problem so I could use my tiny bit of fabric that was my first choice. I did a little bit of both starting over and fixing.

I had several issues with construction due to not following the steps in the order given in the pattern. My two blocks are not perfect and they are not exactly the same but they are done.

I have the two Owl blocks to make and then I can get this put together. Putting it together should be easy because all of the blocks measure exactly what they are supposed to, even though it was a circuitous route to get there .

Thistles

I made the thistle blocks today, no problems this time.

I changed my mind about the color of one block; the lavender block was originally  going to be red but I didn't want it to be the same as the spines on the hedgehog. I wanted one of the Thistles to be a warm color but I couldn't settle on which color. If I am not happy with the lavender after I make the rest of the blocks I can just change the flower part without a lot of trouble.

These are all of the finished blocks so far. I still have two Owl blocks and two Firefly blocks and I haven't decided on the colors. I think one warm and one cool is what is needed and I will repeat some of the fabrics that have been used.

I hope I can get them finished and the top sewed together before the end of the week.

Hedgehogs

I finished the 2 Hedgehog blocks , which proved to be a lot of trouble for me. I thought  I was being so careful when I cut all the pieces but clearly, my mind must have been running around after other things. I had a number of pieces cut the wrong size. However I have 2 Hedgehog blocks that measure the correct size even though they are not exactly the same due to a "fixed up" cutting error. I don't think anyone will spot the difference easily. Besides that,it is only normal for different people/animals to have slightly different sized foreheads.






After I clear away some of the distraction in my sewing room I will move right along to the rest of the blocks. Baby Caelen, who was due in January but was born the first week in November, at less than 2 pounds, is now 3 lb 11 oz and meeting preemie milestones. He will be coming home before long. I want to get this finished and also to make a smaller "hang on to/mess up" quilt, something more practical for a little guy.

Bunny Blocks

Yesterday I cut another pile of 1.5 inch log cabin strips and then decided that I needed to straighten up my space  in order to work more efficiently. I had the Fancy Forest pieces cut for the blocks and they were taking up a whole table because I had 2 blocks laid out for piecing.  I finished the 2 blocks but it took the entire rest of the day and an hour this morning.

I wanted to completely outline the ears due to the value of the background not having enough contrast with the white inside ear fabric. I started with the yellow bunny and the ear section didn't line up at the connector corner points. I fiddled with it and never got it right. I decided I would scrap it and start over but first I put the turquoise bunny together . I had cut some of the connector corners the wrong size and didn't find my mistake until I was ready to add the ear section to the eye section. I fixed it and the rest was  easy  easier. Making the turquoise bunny showed me how to fix the yellow one and I didn't have to scrap what I had already done. 
For the rest of the blocks, I will check the size of the cut pieces as I lay them out. I knew I should do this already from my experience with the first Fancy Forest quilt.

My plan for today is to cut more strips for the log cabin blocks. Doing this is also helping me to tame my scrap basket and that is a real plus. Working through that with a purpose is better than to dump it out and try to sort it, which gets discouraging very fast.

Fancy Forest 2

Yesterday I started sewing the Fancy Forest Fox blocks. I had some of the pieces cut before we moved on October 1. I had everything put away in a box waiting for the background fabric; I finally bought it this week. I cut all the strips for the background and I am moving forward even if I have second thoughts about my fabric choice.

I revisited my rules for myself about making these blocks (after I made some mistakes in cutting).
One rule was to lay out the pieces for each block on a flannel board before I started sewing it together.

This helps me to understand why the instructions say to sew things in the order given. I can also see before I sew if something is not the right size, like cutting that 2 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch blue background strip 5 1/2 inches (yes, I did that and I saw it before I sewed onto it the connector corner ear squares).

















These 4 Fox blocks went together quickly and with no problems; however there is a problem with my background choice. It is too close in value to the white in these blocks.
I photographed them in a blue flannel board and maybe the blue shows through on the white ,in the photo, making it seem closer in value that it is. This is the only block that the white and blue are next to each other. I am going to continue using  the background as I have already cut all the strips for the blocks and sashings.  I will think about what I can do To make a definition between the white and blue when I get ready to quilt it. I don't think this is going to hang on the wall and baby will probably not care.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Fancy Forest is my entry for the Bloggers Quilt Festival. I made this quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Foret pattern. I do not usually follow patterns exactly but I saw the sample baby quilt in The Quilted Thimble quilt shop and found it so charming I decided to make it for a great grandchild shower gift.

I chose what it consider a neutral green for the background.  This is the backing and binding fabric which had nearly all of the colors in the quilt top.











The pattern was well written and it should have been easy to follow but I am not a good follower of instructions.  I tend to jump ahead and start before reading all the instructions.That made problems for every block. However I hung in there and finished the quilt  and it was well received and it got a standing ovation at the shower. I am presently cutting fabric for another great grandchild quilt.

I did have one near disaster when my daughter called me away from putting the blocks together for the top, to have my eye brows dyed. Without giving any thought at all to what might happen I went right back to the sewing room and started working again. Of course, it had to happen; I got dye on one of the blocks. There was no way I was going to make it over again. I solved the problem with an appliqued leaf and now that is part of the
quilt story.

If you want to read more about the process as I worked on the quilt follow the Fancy Forest link below.

Fancy Forest is Done

I am so happy to have finished this quilt with a few days to spare. It has been a challenge and sometimes frustrating but I am pleased with the results.

Quilt and backing

The pattern was well written  and step by step it was easy to follow.  The difficulties I had were not the fault of the pattern.  It is a pattern that requires attention to everything, cutting, stitching, drawing diagonal lines on squares for connector corners (otherwise know as flip triangles).

I learned a few lessons that I will use when I make a second baby quilt from this pattern. Yes, I will make the second quilt.

1. When I cut the pieces for the blocks I will have a scanned and printed page with the cutting sizes that I can fold so that I am only looking instructions for each fabric in the block as I am cutting it.

2. Before I start to sew it together, I will lay out all the pieces for a block on a small design board and be sure I have all the pieces and understand where they go.

3. I will keep my work area clutter free and cat free.

4. I will not multitask when I am making the blocks.

5. I will make sure that I will not be interrupted in the middle of a block.

6. I will not dye my eyebrows.

Every quilt has a story and part of this quilt's story is one of an almost disaster. When my daughter and her friend do their hair they sometimes dye my eyebrows. I was getting ready to quilt the quilt which was layered up and pin basted. There was a scrap of the background fabric pinned on the batting on the side of the quilt for testing my stitch length and thread colors and I was ready to start testing my thread colors  when I was called to the other room for my eyebrow dye. Without any thought at all about the dye I went back to my sewing room and sat down and stitched some thread test rows. I looked at my hands and I had dark dye on my fingers. I washed my hands and looked the quilt over and  didn't see anything except a little bit of dye on the edge of the batting. I thought I dodged that bullet until I had quilted several blocks when I found  dye on the owl. I looked for any other spots and only found one that would be covered by the binding. My daughter said that is part of the story (She also said "I can't believe you were sewing with dye on your eyebrows").

As I finished all the quilting I thought about how I would fix this. In the end I machine appliqued a leaf over the spot on the owl.









There was no part of this quilt that I didn't have something to re cut, re sew or fix in some way. However the length of the binding strips when sewed together was absolutely perfect. It came together at the end with the exact overlap needed to make the diagonal joining seam. How often does that happen?

Anyway, that's the story!

It's a Flimsy

Fancy Forest is a flimsy. It went together without any problems. I guess fixing every little problem as I went along paid off in the end. All of the blocks ended up the correct size except for the Firefly blocks and I knew I would have to fudge something there.  It turned out that I just had to remove a strip from the top of the block, easiest fix of all for this quilt.
I changed one block from my original plan. I moved the red Fox from above the purple Thistle to below it.  When I studied everything on my design wall I thought the purple Thistle and the purple wings on the Owl were too close together. I had already sewed the 2 left side rows together and I liked them they way they were. Moving the red Fox was easy and it moved the purple Thistle up enough to balance the color distribution. The Fox/Thistle rows are 6  inches wide and the other rows are 8 inches, that limited the options but I think it was a good fix.

I don't have anything in my stash for the back so a trip to the quilt shop is in order. I am not going to piece a backing for this one because I want to get started on the quilting. I want this ready for a baby shower on August 12.

I think I will make another one from this pattern after all. It is a good pattern even though it is a bit fiddly for me and my habits. It certainly made me sharpen my skills and my concentration.The next great grand child is not due until January so I will have time to make it if that is what I decide. I will use some of the some fabrics and use a different background. I have a busy 2or 3 months coming up but even if I don't squeeze in any big block of sewing time I should have time to make it. After all, I have good experience. LOL, I might be kidding myself about how much that experience matters.

 I will probably draw all of the blocks in Electric Quilt so I can play with the colors.  I drew the Firefly block in EQ before I made the second block. I could see different color options it helped me to see the fabric in colors I was using when I cut pieces.  I  use my EQ program for every quilt I make. I helps decide on colors to use, and color placement and I like being able play with all the options. EQ helps me to understand how to sew the blocks and see a better way sometimes and to try out all the "what ifs".  I didn't put the blocks in EQ before I started because I thought It would be too time consuming and after all, I had the pattern to follow. In fact, It was very easy to draw the Firefly block using the cutting directions from the pattern. So... another lesson learned.

Blocks Done!!!

I finished the last  Forest block this morning. I had so many problems with the Firefly block 2 days ago that I took yesterday off from sewing. The second block went much faster, as I expected it would.
I did have some problems with the lower wing units.  The pattern referred to Figure  12 twice. I think one time it was supposed to be Figure 11 because there was a Figure 11 shown. I sewed the patch on that strip corner to corner in the wrong direction. Into the wastebasket it went and I redid the right and left strips.
There are small differences in the blocks due to missing something in the directions about the top strip in the orange block. When I did the second block I read the directions correctly.  No matter, one is at the top of the quilt and the other at the bottom.  One is also slightly longer (top to bottom)  and that will be fixed with a bit wider strip of sashing.



Here are all the blocks arranged in the order they will be sewn.
It should be easy from here on. But who knows, I thought the Firefly blocks would be easy.

One Block to Go

 15.5 x 6.5 raw edge to raw edge

On Thursday I spent the whole day making one Butterfly Firefly block. Getting the name of the block wrong was only the first mistake. Not getting the name right didn't make the block more difficult but it is a good indication of the way I read directions. From there on it was one mistake after another. starting with the first 3 pieces I sewed together. It was actually 6 because it was the right and left of the first row of the wings. I cut the center patch an inch too short and of course I sewed both right and left and cut away the excess on the connector corners. Three rows later I found my mistake when I tried to figure out why the rows were different lengths. They went right into the waste basket and I cut new pieces and started over.  It didn't get any better after that, it was one thing after another, but I finished the block about 8 PM. I started out around 7 AM but I took a number of sanity breaks so I wasn't at it continuously. I thought this would be an easy block and it really should have been. I took today off from sewing and straightened up my work area. I even did some reading and I took a nap.



So, I have one more to go and if it works out like all the other blocks the second one should be faster and easier.
Here it is, kind of arranged on a design board that is propped up on my cutting table. The green background strips at the bottom go on the ends of the bottom 3 rows. This really looks confusing but I understand it.  I plan on finishing this block tomorrow. I will ban Lucy from my sewing room and if the door is closed maybe no one else will interrupt my train of thought.

Goodby To The Best Iron I Ever Owned

Today my Hamilton Beach iron bit the dust. About 2 weeks ago Lucy somehow knocked my ironing board over and my iron went down with a bang.  I picked it up and  turned it on and it seemed fine. The button that you push for a shot of steam had been knocked out and I found it and put it back in place. I couldn't push it for a shot of stream because I didn't get it in right. Today, I needed the shot of steam because the iron was not doing the job.  I pried the button out out and got it back in right. All good to go - - - - or not! The iron wouldn't heat up and it wouldn't turn off with the OFF button, then all the High, Medium and Low buttons started flashing. I bought this iron in February 2010 and I loved this iron. I loved it so much I went looking for another Hamilton Beach iron and I found one I think I am going to love just as much, the Hamilton Beach Durathon Digital iron with a retractable cord.


Now I can get back to the Fancy Forest blocks. I was halfway through the second Owl block when  my iron quilt. I had to wait till after dinner to go to iron shopping but I finished the block and fell in love with the iron, Jack likes it too; he ironed his shirts while I sewed.

I saved the Owls for almost last because they are the most fiddly. The eye section, just below the ear section and above the body and wings section, has 38 pieces. Ten of those pieces are connector corners. However, this block went together easier than the others. by the time I got around to the owls I had found my way to be organized. I got out a smallish design board and propped it up on my cutting table and I cut the pieces from each fabric I put them up on the board in the way I would be sewing them together. It was also easier because I had started using printed cutting charts that I could fold to only see the section I was cutting and I could mark all the pieces as I cut them.

 I plan on cutting and sewing the 2 Butterfly blocks tomorrow.  I don't  know if I will make this again for the second baby quilt I need. A few days ago I would have say "NO Way" but now I think I might. I have more than enough fabric from what I bought for this quilt and lots more in my stash.
I can take my time making the next one because the baby isn't due till the end of January.

We'll see!

Fancy Forest Again

I finished the second Thistle block Sunday. Saturday night I had  re cut the background for the leaf section that . I had not cut all of the background pieces ahead of time and I am happy that I didn't. After looking at the wrong chart for the leaf section, I am taking extra care as I cut the pieces. I am scanning and printing the cutting charts and then folding them so that I am only seeing the section for what I am cutting from each fabric. I do learn from my mistakes.

It hasn't been easy to decide on the fabrics for each block. I am not sure about the leaf section of the block on the right. I want to repeat every fabric that I use at least once. After I make the Owl and Butterfly blocks will see if I want to keep that section or change it.

With each new block that I make the first one is slow and second one goes much faster. I am also taking much more care with the quarter inch seams and measuring each time I sew something together.  I fix each problem on the spot and it has made everything easier.

 I started the Hedgehog blocks yesterday; I finished the first one yesterday and the second one this morning, I only had to do one thing over on the first one due to drawing my diagonal line in the wrong direction for the outside strips. I did the same thing on the second block but caught it before I stitched it,





I have only 2 Owl blocks and 2 Butterfly blocks to make before I can put it all together. I am going to put what I have up on the design wall with the layout that I will be using; then I will make decisions about what fabrics I need to use for the rest of the blocks.
I feel as though I am on schedule for finishing in time for the shower on August 12.

More Fancy Forest

I made the second Bunny block and it went faster and the mouth didn't need any "fixing up" with a Pigma pen.  That is a black thread  on the pink Bunny's left cheek. When I saw it on the photo I thought it was a mark on the fabric. I'm happy to know I don't have to replace that strip.







This is how I spent most of the day yesterday. I took a long sanity break in the  afternoon. I started on the leaf section (on the right) about 8 AM. For starters I had cut the the background pieces a quarter inch short. I was looking at the section with the instructions for cutting the Colorful fabric for the leaves and stem,my fault, not the pattern.
I unsewed the seams and recut the background, marked the diagonal lines for the connector corners and sewed again. Most were OK but I had strayed from the marked line and I had to fix some of the sections (more than once).  When I measure each of the 6 leaf sections, they were not all the same size. So I fixed that, unsew, resew, stitch another line to take up a seam, whatever it took; this pattern requires accuracy.
When I sewed the leaf sections on either side of the stem they didn't line up, unsew, resew, repeat. I settled for not perfect.
I adjusted the width of the horizontal section at the bottom of the flower section to allow for some discrepancy in the length of the flower and leaf sections and sewed it together.

OH NO!! The six leaf sections were wrong. I unsewed the leaf section  and I went shopping for 3 hours and we stopped for dinner on the way home. Once home and back to work, I took out the leaf  pieces for the second thistle block, of course the background pieces had to be re cut because background fabric was cut wrong for 2 blocks at the same time. The block, on the left, from there on was easy. I will use a different green when I cut the left leaf section for the second block again. I really don't like the green I initially chose for the block.
So I guess after all I would have discarded that block section anyway. I just wish I had not spent the whole day leading up to that decision.

Fancy Forest Foxes

Yesterday, I finished the 4 Fox blocks for the Fancy Forest baby quilt.  The first block didn't go very fast because my 1/4 inch seams were not so red hot accurate. I had to rip out some seams and I also had to re cut a few pieces. Accuracy really gets important when some of the pieces are 1 1/4 inches.  I think that the fact that I have done very little sewing or rotary cutting recently had made a difference. The last 3 blocks went quickly so I guess I sharpened my skills on the first block.

I did have a helper  observer while I was sewing. I wasn't aware that she had joined me until I looked up and there she was. I had hoped she would observe from a distance but she wanted to be right there where she could grab the thread or the pieces as they moved along.

This morning, I cut the pieces for the 2 Bunny blocks. Once again, Lucy paid me a visit and decided to take a nap on the pattern book from which I was working. There many pieces to cut;  different widths and lengths and different numbers of each one to cut. I moved her a couple of times and finally decided to take a break. When I got back to it later, I found that I had cut some of the pieces the wrong size and not enough of some pieces and more than enough of others. I had to sort it all out and get it organized. This is a pattern  that requires one's undivided attention when cutting. Taking a break in the middle of working on it didn't work so well.

The instructions said to cut all the sashing strips from the background fabric before cutting the pieces for the Thistle blocks. As soon as I started cutting the background, Lucy joined me again and settled down on my long cutting ruler. I gave her some chin scratches and a massage and ruffled her fur before I banished her from the sewing room while I cut all the background fabric pieces for the rest of the quilt.
Tomorrow I will sew the 2 Bunny blocks; there are a lot of little fiddly pieces. I will be sure to close the door to the sewing room,