New Series - Under the Pressure Foot #1

Welcome to my new series Under the Pressure Foot. In these posts I am going to share with everyone what I am working on at the sewing machine. It may be a new design, a sample for the shop using one of patterns we stock, learning something new, sewing a pattern that I just want to make or just some scrap busting. You just never know what might be under my pressure foot. So here is what I am working on today.

My Inklingo Star project using Riley Blake Designs To Norway With Love, a Sue Daley range and yes there is a little bit left in the shop if you like what you see.  The shop tab is at the top of my blog. With all the block completed I am up to sewing the blocks into row. Yes I did hand piece the star blocks if you have seen earlier post on this project. This is one of the great things about Inklingo - Hybrid piecing as Linda calls it. Hand piecing and machine piecing in the same project and often in the same block. This time I am only machine piecing the quilt top together. I have set the star blocks with an alternate plain block between them. You can see the fabric at the top of the picture below.

Now the rows are done you can see my layout better. As I sew these rows together I better decide if I am doing borders. I am considering the light pink stripe(the inner star fabric) for a small inner border and binding but not sure if I use the outer star points fabric for the outer border or there is a cream with the same little motif on fabric or may be I will only do one border in the dark pink.

I am amazed I don't twist any of the solid blocks around and ended up with them on the wrong way. 

Yippy all the blocks sewn together.

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Kaleidoscope Stars Update

In October I mention my Inklingo Kaleidoscope stars that I have been playing with. I did finally choose a background for my stars. Unfortunately it is a dark fabric I wanted to use, so it is not printer friendly but fortunately Linda has a way around this using the Inklingo template method for dark fabrics and other situations. If I had my dark fabric when I printed my diamond for the stars I could of easily laid the dark fabric under the uncut diamonds and cut both out at the same time then I won't of needed to use the template method. This happens when you are just playing with a block with no final project in mind.

Not the best picture it is more blue than black.

 I haven't tried it so this would be the perfect time to try it. So far I have been very selective when picking fabrics for my Inklingo projects, that way I could always print directly on to the fabric.

My next problem was layout- how did I want to lay this table runner out? 

At first I thought I would applique the stars onto the blue fabric, why I don't know I'm not very good at applique. 

Then I was thinking of putting hexagons in between the stars. That would work.

A few days of pondering this and I thought why not use the diamond to turn the stars into hexagon blocks and I was sold on the idea. I may have a hexagon addiction. So this is where I am up to.

What do you think about this layout? 

I need to make some half stars to fill in the spaces but I think it will work. The next question is do I have enough blue to finish and bind it as I did not take binding in to consideration when I bought the fabric. I may need to make a return trip to get some more. (I hope they still have some. If they do I better get extra for the backing.)

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching 

Cynthia

Unfinished Projects #4

Not at lot of sewing has been happening here, at least not at the machine. I have managed a little hand piecing on my star quilt and consisting it is the Independence Day long weekend in the US, I thought I would share an update on my reworked star quilt. If you saw the last post on this quilt you will know the pattern and most of the fabric used in it has vanished. While looking for a triangle ruler I found a handful of offcuts from this project in the bottom on my project drawer in my filing cabinet but still where is the rest! I didn't find the right triangle ruler either; I have used it and not put it away. Damn it! You know I will find the pattern, fabric and the missing ruler after I didn’t need any of it, don’t you.

Maybe today I can get to the sewing machine as the sewing pile is growing. I may not have time to sew but when I have had a spare 5 minutes here and there I have been cutting for projects. It make me feel I am at least going the prep work done so when I have time at the sewing machine I am ready to sew.

Only one more row to sew on this quilt.  Maybe by the end of this coming week the top will be finished. Then it will be quilting time. Then I will have to think up a name for my new quilt. Any ideas on a name for this quilt? Please share any ideas.

Until next time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Unfinished Projects #3

I have to report I have found another unfinished project. I was looking for something else when I came across a flat box full of star blocks in 3 sizes. The problem with this project is there is no pattern and only 2 of the fabrics from the project with the blocks. So what did I do with the pattern and the rest of the fabric?

My continued search has not turned up the pattern or fabric. So I am going to wing it and just create a quilt with what I have. To start with I have 35 stars blocks in 3 sizes I need to turn all of them into one size. The largest is 12 1/2 unfinished so that is my goal. The small stars I turned into a four patch with some extra fabric and to the medium stars I added a border around them to bring them up to size required. These blocks were hand pieced so I will continue hand piecing them.  I have ended up with 25 blocks. Here are the first 2 rows completed.

Until Next Time

Keep Stitching 

Cynthia