Hang up those quilt blocks!

written by Serena Smith

original idea by Vivian Goetz

One of the ladies in my classes, Vivian Goetz came up with this great idea and because I thought it was such a good idea, I asked her if I could share it with you! It's a great storage idea!!! :)

It never fails. You just finished a quilt block. All the seams are lying flat. It's pressed and ready to be trimmed down or put into a quilt top. You store it in the end of the table or pack it in a tote and when you get it back out - viola! - there are wrinkles and creases in that once oh-so-flat-and-pressed block!

What do you do? How about storing those quilt blocks by hanging them on a skirt/pant hanger! One afternoon, one of the ladies in my classes, Vivian Goetz, came in carrying her quilt blocks hung on such a hanger. What an ingenious idea! It keeps them hanging flat and ready to use without having to press out the wrinkles every time you move the blocks. Plus it's easy to clip onto the back of your chair if you are taking quilt blocks back and forth to class.

Just think: you could devote a whole closet to storing your quilt blocks! That is, if anyone would ever have a free, unoccupied closet! :)

A quilt in less than 5 days - part 7 FINISHED

Binding is finished, quilt is pressed and on its way to its new owner!! I think I'll make another one, but with a few more days scheduled in to complete it! :)

stitching down the binding

finished!! :)

A quilt to stitch in less than 5 days - part 6

I'm right on schedule! The binding is stitched on and ready to tack down on the back. A couple hours of hand work and it's complete!!

Having trouble attaching your own bindings on your projects? Check out this post for how I attach my binding to my quilts and wall hangings.

A quilt to stitch in less than 5 days - part 5

Yesterday was a terrific day for quilting!! I wasn't able to devote my entire day to the quilt, but I'm satisfied with what I was able to get done.

All the stitching in the ditch around all the blocks and border is complete. The green outside border is quilted with freehand loops. And I was able to get all the blocks marked for diagonal stitching.

Which, btw, I have started using a new kind of marking chalk instead of the marking pens I have used in the past and it has worked wonders! I'm so happy with it and will let you know what it is and how I've used it soon!

According to my calculations, which I deem to be pretty accurate this time, I should have at the most 5 hours of quilting left!!! I should easily be able to get that done today. My binding is made, I just need to stitch it to the quilt and the tack it down by hand. I'm just about done!!

My goal for today:

Complete the quilting - 5 hours max

Stitch binding on quilt - 1 hour max

Then all I will have left for tomorrow is to tack the binding down by hand and press it and it's done!!! Hip, hip, hooray!! :)

marking chalk and ruler

quilting the outside border

A quilt to stitch in less than 5 days - part 4

The quilt is pinned together, ready for quilting. And it's not even 9 pm yet! I was able to make fantastic progress today!

all safety pinned together

The first quilting I will do is stitch in the ditch around all the blocks and borders to stabilize the layers together. Then I will proceed with more quilting in the blocks and borders. I haven't made up my mind to all the designs I'm going to use, but I have some ideas.

all rolled up and ready to put under the machine

If you would like to see how I lay out my quilt top, batting and backing and safety pin them together without any tucks or wrinkles, see this post.

Also, see here to see how I use the Kwik Klip with curved safety pins for pin basting my quilts.

A quilt to stitch in less than 5 days - part 3

Hooray!!!! I'm right on schedule!!!

I had all the quilt blocks pieced and pressed by noon as originally planned.

And the top is complete with borders, pressed and ready to sandwich with the batting and backing.

before I started stitching...

I've been busy...throwing scraps on the floor! :)

A quilt to stitch in less than 5 days - part 2

I did not get all the blocks done as planned yesterday for several reasons. (1) I'm not sure how I calculated 15 minutes per block, but that was stretching it by a whole lot. I was a little too optimistic. It's been taking longer even with chain piecing and doing one step on all the blocks at once. (2) Yep, I ran out of fabric, which was one thing I was worried about the entire time I was stitching.

I needed about 18 more inches of the pink fabric for the pineapple blocks. That required me to stop, dig around in my stash of fabric and come up with some other hot pink that would blend well. I found something which will work great, but that took a little figuring that out and cutting more pieces.

I started the nine patch blocks - stitched the strips together and then cut them apart. I found out a needed a few more strips. I cut those, stitched them and cut them again. They are ready to sew into blocks.

Needless to say it was well into this morning when I quit with this much done:

But all I have left to finish the blocks is the blue corners on the pineapple blocks and stitching the nine patch blocks together. Then the blocks will be together!!!

I was able to change a few things on my schedule today so I can get started stitching now instead of late morning or early afternoon. So here is my goal for today:

1. Finish the pineapple blocks and nine patch blocks by noon. (I should only have a couple hours max on those.)

2. Get all the blocks stitched together.

3. Stitch the two borders on and cut binding. (Hopefully this won't take too long provided I have enough fabric - which at this moment, I do. But I still have to cut the borders as well as stitch them. Should be at this point by 5:00.)

4. Sandwich the quilt top, batting and backing together. (I may not get to this, but I really need to so I can start quilting tomorrow. It should only take 3 hours to get the backing prepared, quilt laid out and pinned together.)

We'll see what happens today....

A quilt to stitch in less than 5 days - part 1

I always have lots of projects in my mind and always think they will take less times than they actually do. That's exactly the situation I am finding myself in right now.

I have a queen size quilt I am stitching for a customer right now that has to be done by this weekend for Christmas. I should now be at the quilting point, correct? And where in actual time do I find myself at the moment?

I just finished cutting out all the pieces for the quilt top minus the borders. My goal of getting started early this morning turned out to be about 2 pm this afternoon. Then I had plan A drawn out and calculated for cutting, when I discovered that there was not enough fabric for plan A.

So after typing in calculations for plan B, C, D, E and F in my Bernina Quilter program, I have finally come up with the combination for the quilt blocks. I think. I hope I will have enough fabric to get all the pieces I need. But who knows, by the time I'm finished, I may be clear through the alphabet.

Since this quilt needs to be done by Saturday and I'll be out of town Friday and I do have other things to do this week, my goal that I made late last night was to get all, yes, ALL 42 blocks pieced by tonight.

And I'm off to a really good start considering that it is 5:30 pm and I have one block stitched (I had to stitch one block to be sure all my measurements were correct, since I was scrimping on fabric) and most of the quilt top pieces cut.

I have a habit - good or bad, I'm not sure - to time myself with certain tasks and figure out how many repeats I can do in an hour and then figure out how long the entire task will take. It took 15 minutes to stitch the pineapple log cabin blocks and there are 20 left to stitch. That means I can stitch 4 in an hour. Which means I'll have half the quilt done in four hours or hopefully by 10 pm. Maybe I'll pick up speed as I go along???

Then I have 21 nine patch blocks to stitch. Although those will be quick since I can sew strips together, cut the strips and stitch the pieces together again. But it still does take time...maybe and hour or so.....???

And hopefully I won't run out of fabric and have to take time out trying to decide what to put in place of the missing piece.

And hopefully I won't run into difficulty with any of the blocks. Because, you know, I have to have all the points and seams match or I'm just not happy with it. :)

And the more I think about it, the more I'm certain that it may no longer be Monday, December 17th when I am finished stitching the last of the 42 blocks.......what do you think?

I think my best plan of action may be to quit typing and get to sewing....and on that note, I'm getting back to my sewing machine. When I start stitching crooked seams, I'll take a break and update you on my progress......

my hopefully enough pieces of fabric

one pineapple block complete!

all my pieces cut

Roll that quilt!

If you are like me, you have many quilts, but only a few beds on which to put them. Or perhaps you have many wall hangings and change them frequently according to the season or holiday. The extra quilts or wall hangings have to be stored or put away for a time until you are ready to use them again. How do you store them? There are many ways the experts say to store your quilt or wall hangings for temporary or permanent storage, but here is what I do!

My quilts and wall hangings are stored temporary; I am getting into my collection of finished projects every few months. With my wall hangings I do one of two things, depending how often I use the project and what it is. If it's something I change frequently and is lightweight and small, I will use straight pins to hang it on a hanger. Then I will store it in an extra closet and drape muslin over it to keep it clean. The finished project needs to be lightweight and small, so there is no stress on the pins as it is held to the hanger. Also, these wall hangings are on and off the hanger 4-5 times a year, so there are frequently being pinned and unpinned, so it will not leave permanent pin marks.

With wall hangings that I do not use as frequently or larger and heavier pieces, I will roll up the wall hanging. I lay the wall hanging out flat on the floor and then roll it instead of folding it multiple times. Then I will put it and multiple other rolled up hangings in a clean pillow case. Loosely pack them together and store the full pillow case in a closet or dry, dark area.

For my quilts, I will do the same rolling technique. Lay the quilt out flat, roll it up and then fold in half or thirds depending on the size. Then I will insert the rolled quilt into a clean pillow case and store. Be sure to roll before folding as this will help to eliminate the folds in the quilt.

Many of my quilts and wall hangings are embellished with printed photos, machine embroidery, ribbon, buttons and other trims, so the method of rolling instead of folding works much better and reduces the folds in the fabric that can harm the embellished areas.

New Photos in Gallery

I finally have all the photos uploaded of the Camp Memory Quilt I made in 2005. I had taken photos months ago and tried several times to edit the photos to upload the way I wanted, but came up with glitch after glitch. But now everything is uploaded and working great!

This quilt was so fun to design and stitch! I completed three quilts in a little over a month - not something I want to ever do again! I really enjoyed designing each block, printing photos on fabric paper sheets and stitching the over 300 designs.

Putting the Quilt Top, Batting & Backing Together

There are many ways that you can sandwich the batting between the quilt top and backing to prepare for machine quilting. Whether it is thread basting or pinning the layers together with safety pins, there is more than one way to get the job accomplished!

My favorite place to spread out my quilt top, batting and backing is the floor. I know everyone may not have the space to do this or may be unable to crawl around on the floor, but it works very well for me. You will need to work on carpet that does not contain loops where the carpet fibers could get pinned to the quilt.

My first goal is to spread out the backing, wrong side up on the floor. I want the backing to be as smooth and wrinkle free as possible.

Using t-pins, I will pin the backing edges into the carpet every 12 - 15". I usually pin two sides and then pin the other two sides, carefully pulling the wrinkles out of the backing. As I am pinning the other two sides, I stretch the backing a little to keep it taunt. You will not want to pull it tight, it just needs a little tension to keep it smooth as layers are being added.

After the backing is smooth and wrinkle free, I start smoothing out the batting on top of the backing. The batting just needs to be laid over the backing. You do not want to stretch it out of shape or it could cause problems later. I start in a corner, leaving a couple inches of the backing showing. I work on one side at a time, carefully smoothing and gently pulling the batting to cover the backing.

I take several t-pins out of the backing edge and pin through both the backing and batting to hold the layers together. This will prevent the batting from scooting or bunching as the top is laid on it. I also make sure that I can see the backing all around. This way I know where the edge of the backing is located and I can easily tell if I lay the quilt outside of that area.

It's time for the quilt top! Again, I start in one corner, leaving a few inches of batting from the edge of the quilt top. I smooth out the top, working on one side at a time. If needed I can gently pull the quilt top up, down or sideways to get it in position. Because the backing and batting is tacked to the carpet, the quilt top will move without creating wrinkles or ripples in either the backing or batting. Using my hands, I slide across the quilt, feeling for any bubbles, wrinkles or tucks.

I dump my safety pins in the middle of the quilt and am ready to start pinning. Usually I start in the center, although I have started on one side and pinned to the opposite side. Either way works great! I like to use medium sized (#2) curved safety pins. They are large enough to handle easily, yet small enough not to make holes in the fabric as the pins are inserted. The curved edge is a lifesaver as you are inserting and pulling the pin back through the fabric to close it. I put my safety pins about 4 - 5" apart. If I am stitching in the ditch, I will be sure to place my pins about 3/4 - 1" away from the seam, so they will not catch on the walking foot as I am stitching.

Working from the center, I keep pinning, rotating on all four sides and continue to pin until I reach the edge of the quilt top. As I am pinning, I am keeping the quilt top smooth, carefully pulling and stretching a little if needed. I also look at my sashing and borders to be sure they are lying flat and straight. If a strip of sashing is pinned with a wave or curve, it will be quilted the same way. Be sure everything lays flat and straight. Now is the time to change it before you start quilting.

After I have pinned the entire quilt with safety pins, I will cut off any extra backing or batting that extends 3 - 5" beyond the quilt top. The quilt is heavy and bulky enough without the extra that I don't need. Starting on one side, I tightly roll the quilt toward the center. On the opposite side I will again roll tightly toward the center. The quilt is ready for stitching. I will start quilting in the center and continue to stitch toward the edges.

A Pink Ebay - Quilt Pink Auction

Thanks to Gina at QuiltersBuzz for the following information on the pink quilt auctions for sale on eBay! Take a peek at the unique pink quilts; you are sure to find some ideas! :)

See hundreds of pink quilts that will be on sale on eBay over the next few months to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Thousands of quilters and quilt shops throughout the world participated in this event sewing over 4000 quilts to help raise money for breast cancer. The first set of quilts are on the auction block right now on eBay.

One hundred percent of the sale price goes to this non-profit foundation. Their mission statement is: To save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.

About the event:
On Saturday, Sept. 30, 2006, more than 1,000 quilt shops all across the globe held Quilt Pink events, attracting thousands and thousands of quilters sharing one common goal – to stitch together quilts in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s promise to save lives and end breast cancer forever. The result was overwhelming.

American Patchwork & Quilting is proud to announce The Quilt Pink Charity Auction to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This six-month auction campaign launched April 5, 2007. It will feature weekly auctions, beginning each Thursday, totaling nearly 4,000 handmade quilts that showcase the talent and hope of quilters to unite in supporting a cure for breast cancer.

Check out the auction...It's a pink site to see.

Hearts and more hearts

This is my current project I am working on. I needed to stitch some satin hearts to show and write directions for my method of satin stitching. Instead of just stitching 3 hearts on a block and then throwing it in a pile of unfinished blocks, I decided I would just do something with it. I had just a little bit of the purple floral and just a little of the purple tone on tone print, so I added an ivory swirling print for a border with scattered satin stitched hearts.

Hopefully I will be able to finish stippling the border today and then I will be ready for the binding. I am going to try the piped binding using the method that Ricky Tims uses. I saw that last week at our monthly Miss Kitty's Quilters meeting and loved the technique. It didn't seem that difficult to do and wouldn't take too long using the steps he described.

Quilt Sleeve Triangles

A quilt sleeve is a must if you plan to hang your quilt or wall hanging. We have discussed how to create and attach a quilt sleeve to the back of your quilt across the entire width of the quilt. This is a must for large wall hangings and full size quilts. But there is another simple method for hanging your wall hangings that measure 45" square or smaller. Try this method of quilt sleeve triangles for your next small project!

Note: The quilt sleeve triangles will need to be stitched on before the binding is stitched to the quilt.

For wall hangings 10" - 25", cut two squares that measure 4". For wall hangings 26" - 45", cut two squares that measure 8".

Fold each square in half to form a triangle. Place the raw edge corner that is created in the top corner of the quilt back. Repeat with the second triangle in the opposite top corner. Baste the corners to the edge of the quilt.

Stitch the binding to the quilt front as usual, sewing through the layers, including the triangle pieces. Tack down the binding as usual, covering the seam allowance and triangle raw edges.

Insert a dowel rod between the two triangles to hang your project. Place the rod over a nail to hang.To prevent the wall hanging from sagging in the center, be sure the dowel rod fits snuggly from end to end. If the rod fits snuggly between the triangles, the project will hang evenly and flat. If the bottom hem of your wall hanging wants to flap around, add the triangles to the two bottom corners and insert a dowel rod to help keep it flat and straight.

Keep in mind that the triangles need to be stitched before the binding is stitched to the quilt. Although it is easier to sew the triangles on before the binding is there, you could also sew the triangles on after the binding has been stitched on, but before it has been tacked down by hand to the back. Just be sure to skip stitching the mitered corner so the miter will turn correctly as the binding is flipped to the back.

For large quilts, the triangles do not give enough support to hold the quilt. A traditional quilt sleeve is the better method. If you do use the triangle method, your triangles will need to be larger and you may need a support in the center to hold the quilt to the rod. If you are entering a quilt or wall hanging for a contest or challenge, most shows will require a traditional quilt sleeve instead of the quicker method of sleeve triangles.