Laura Nownes

[Renata L.]

Thank you, Nancy. What you say makes sense and is also useful for me because, while I have the Bernina 830, I also have the much, much smaller Bernina 380 for travel and it does not have all the bells and whistles of the other machine, so I need to be able to do things without the benefit of dual feed as well.

I did the log cabin Laura's way because I'd never done one before, but while I was sewing I realized that I would much prefer to precut my pieces as I do for the pineapple blocks. I found that precutting and lining up the different pieces makes the process go much faster with the pineapple quilt. For the log cabin, I think I would like precut pieces because I would not have to trim afterwards and probably the need to ease a seam would be less likely with precut pieces.

[Nancy R.]

Hi Renata - I precut my logs after reading Judy Martin's log cabin book and she says the same thing -- precutting creates more precise blocks and no need for easing later on. Judy Martin books are great if you want to learn precision piecing because she precuts everything and stresses careful piecing to get the best results. And I find her instructions to be very clear and easy to follow. (She was an engineer in a past life, so is very precise.) In case you couldn't tell, she is one of my favorites and I buy every book that she publishes!

Nancy

[Annis C.]

I'm not doing sashing, but on top sounds good to me, especially on smaller widths. I've probably done it both ways, putting it on the bottom sometimes to keep from cutting off points. I seldom have the underneath seams flip on me because I use my seam guide which gives a smooth surface almost to the needle. There's no needle plate for them to get stuck on. I prefer cutting the logs first too.

My sister did a great job today helping me clean out kitchen and laundry room cabinets. Now to get what I need back in so I won't keep forgetting and open the cabinet doors looking for things! We almost finished cleaning the paneling in the back den when I pulled the sofa away from the wall and got a surprise. My DH is not going to be happy that a couple sheets of the 35 year old paneling have major water damage and will have to be replaced. It's on an outside wall so there will be insulation to replace too and no telling how far the damage goes. Such is life.

[Renata L.]

Never heard of Judy Martin, Nancy, so I am double-happy you posted about her--will definitely look her up as I have a penchant for precision (must be my military persona that requires both precision and flexibility, not unlike it is for engineers). I think the reason I like a little more precision up front is that there is less to troubleshoot at the end--you narrow down the set of variables that require manipulation to get the end-result you want (less to get confused about at the end :lol: ).

Thanks, Annis, for your comment on how you piece sashing. This evening, while working on sashing, the first time I sewed with sashing on the top and missed a point, I decided to do those blocks with sashing on the bottom. However, I left sashing on the top when I did the nine-square blocks because there were no points. Good luck with your house--loved the picture of the exterior of your new place on the blog entry you made.

[Renata L.]

And she was a guest in show no 912.

Thanks for the heads up on her, Nancy, a good reminder. I guess what I am really after is to see different ideas of how to approach designing the quilting to fit the piecing - there is so much information available for piecing, blocks,colour theory, applique..... but it is much harder to find information about how to go about designing the quilting side of things :evil: - ok rant over. But boy am I glad that I watched the latest show, with Ricky's top 5 machining tips, the one for cutting the thread has been a sanity saver today, as I am starting & stopping all over the place (sigh), still love the design, but it is a heavy old blanket to push & pull about :roll:

I sow this posted on fb "Meet Cindy Needham, the Craftsy Quilting Instructor of the upcoming class Design It, Quilt It! Learn how she began quilting, why she loves teaching others, and more! To take a closer look, click: http://www.craftsy.com/ext/FBBP_Quilting49_1" you can sign up on their website for free and have access to the free videos, classes, etc. they also offer lessons you have to pay for. I sow this free video at the website: Free Machine Quilting Tip #2: How To Begin and End Quilt Lines, here's the link http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2012/09/...uilting-lines/ kind of like a sample of what she'll be teaching, in it she uses a domestic sewing machine.

Hope this helps!

[Marianne G.]

I cannot believe how productive you all are. I'm finding it difficult to keep up with the forum AND sew blocks every day. Just wanted to say Thank You to everybody for sharing pictures of your blocks and finished tops. They are all so very nice and inspiring. A big thank you for your sharing of information like Judy Martin's books (never heard of the lady before) and the website for machine quilting as well as all the other tips and tricks.
Now I must get my skates on if I'm to get a block made today before I start what I'm meant to do with my time :lol:
Marianne

[Marianne G.]

Here are my week 3 blocks. The one on the bottom is the one I made 2" too small. The others are the right size. Interchanged the colors and direction on purpose.

[Rita C.]

your blocks look perfect Limbania. I like the way you have alternated the centres. I look forward to seeing it when you put it all together.

[Rita C.]

And she was a guest in show no 912.

Thanks for the heads up on her, Nancy, a good reminder. I guess what I am really after is to see different ideas of how to approach designing the quilting to fit the piecing - there is so much information available for piecing, blocks,colour theory, applique..... but it is much harder to find information about how to go about designing the quilting side of things :evil: - ok rant over. But boy am I glad that I watched the latest show, with Ricky's top 5 machining tips, the one for cutting the thread has been a sanity saver today, as I am starting & stopping all over the place (sigh), still love the design, but it is a heavy old blanket to push & pull about :roll:

I sow this posted on fb "Meet Cindy Needham, the Craftsy Quilting Instructor of the upcoming class Design It, Quilt It! Learn how she began quilting, why she loves teaching others, and more! To take a closer look, click: http://www.craftsy.com/ext/FBBP_Quilting49_1" you can sign up on their website for free and have access to the free videos, classes, etc. they also offer lessons you have to pay for. I sow this free video at the website: Free Machine Quilting Tip #2: How To Begin and End Quilt Lines, here's the link http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2012/09/...uilting-lines/ kind of like a sample of what she'll be teaching, in it she uses a domestic sewing machine.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the heads up Limbania, that tip is pretty much what I have developed doing, although I am using a walking foot for my sewing, rather than fmq. I also had an email from craftsy this morning advertising Cindy Needham's new course 'Design it, quilt it: freeform techniques' which looks to be just the sort of information I am after, so for the price of a good book I have signed up for it. I think that I should have a good look at what else they have over there too :wink:

Feeling a bit more cheerful this morning, I finished all the leaves on the outside border, & I worked out that I can use my machine with the fast speed setting, rather than the slow one

[Rita C.]

I think I am going to sign up for that Cindy Needham class too, it looks interesting. There is also one there with Pepper Cory which tickles my fancy.... the list goes on. I have just done the Craftsy BOM which I am pleased with.

Glad you have made progress on your quilt Rosemary. I finished the quilting on mine late last night and I am about to put the binding on now. Then there is just the label and it's all ready to go.

[Rita C.]

Thanks Rita! Awesome, looks like you're on a fast track. Photos please.

"Ask and you shall receive" so glad you found what you're looking for and things are working out for you Rosemary let us know how it goes with the class. I might sign up too.

Slowly but surely I'm making progress. I just find out what seems like a fast and no waste way to do the star block. I'll try to document it and post pictures of the process. I'm hopping to finish this quilt at least before Hallowing, sooner if possible :lol: :lol: :lol: There's an advantage been behind though, I'm getting lots of tips on how to approach each step the best way possible :wink:

[Nancy R.]

Limbania - Love your blocks! I think they look perfect. Can't wait to see them together with the rest of them.

Rita - You've already finished the quilting???? What a machine you are! Can't wait to see it!! You do such beautiful work.

The Craftsy class sounds interesting. I'll have to look at it, too. I haven't put my blocks together yet. Should get them done this weekend, but then it'll be put aside while I wait for border fabric.

Nancy

[Renata L.]

Limbania, your QST blocks look delicious and love the dual color that renders the look of a pinwheel inside a pinwheel. Can't wait to see your Halloween quilt. Thanks, too, for the info on Craftsy classes, another thing I did not know about. Wonder what else is out there? Rita and Rosemary, you are on a roll with your quilts... pictures!

[Rita C.]

I am not sure if I mentioned that the quilting I am doing is for an entirely different quilt. It's actually my daughter's first quilt which I supervised the making of. She did all the cutting, piecing and the SID but we both ran out of time and she couldn't get enough FMQ practice in to feel confident enough to tackle a whole quilt and as the wedding in on Friday this week I offered to do the rest of the quilting for her. I will be binding for the rest of the day and I will post a photo tomorrow.

[Rita C.]

Ok, here is Too Loud, you can just about see the 'bones' of the design, which I got stitched before doing my Sottt's quilt back in feb/march (the frog centres were originally a pair of culottes I used to wear 8) :lol: )
And the Dog rose side - by the way the tops were made to be 6' x6' 6", which gives me a subtle rectangle to the blocks on the back (front-whatever!)
The diagonal leaves I have still to work out the placements for a spiral style of design, but the rest of it is marked with the various echo, cross hatching and leaf veins. I have managed to complete all the small leaves around the edge (most visible on the yellow points), and am looking forward to doing some cross hatching, because then I won't have to keep turning the quilt, as I am using a walking foot, and I only have a 6.5" throat to my machine. I want to get on and finish this quilt so that I can get it washed and remove the pen markings & the 505 spray.

ps reminder - click on the photos for closer look.