Quilt as you Go Festival Quilt

Good morning!  I've had several quilters ask how I quilted as I went my Bullseye Blossom quilt that I entered in the Fall Bloggers Quilt Festival. So I've decided to give a little info on that. 

I cut a center backing 2" bigger than the final piece would be and cut a piece of batting to fit it. I then sewed a row of flower squares with the flowers only pinned on top of each block. Then I positioned the row where it was suppose to go on the partial sandwich of batting and backing, and quilted each layer onto the block it rested on. Some of the leaves I had to leave loose because they overlapped onto another square. I did this for each row working from the middle out. That way I worked with roughly half of the quilt under the machine. Made it a lot easier to quilt. Then I sandwiched each border and attached them and quilted the bullseyes and the remaining loose leaves.

I've attached a photo of the back in case the above doesn't make sense - LOL.  Let me know if you have any further questions.

QAIG Finale

I did finish this a while ago, but the Christmas prep and festivities kept me from posting sooner. I'm pleased with how it turned out. This is the next to the biggest one I have quilted this way. It came out to 60"x72". It got quilted in 3 sections and then I added the borders. I assembled the borders and did a minimal amount of quilting on them then attached them to the center. I then quilted the borders. I am next going to try a large one using a one piece backing instead of pieces. This one will have me piecing batting strips. But that will be further along in 2010. I must admit I found my set of chunky churn dash blocks (the ones I had kept when I made them to send to the swap mistress and then forgot about them. I added another row to the center of the quilt and made it wider that way. That is why you can see that one section of border is wider than the rest. Thanks for looking!

Progress on the QAIG

Added another border! Will have to find a new place to hang it once I add one of the horizontal borders. You can look at earlier posts on how I've been doing this quilt as I go project.

Quilt as I go Part III

Sorry it has taken me so long to post another part on this method. Life got in the way and I had to take things one challenge at a time. Last weekend I was finally able to devote some time to this endeavor. Here goes:

Section 1 - first one quilted. Section 2 - quilted and to be attached to 1.

1. Lay section 2 wrong side up and pin backing away from edge to attach - here it is done and both sides showing photo A.

When you lay it flat the excess batting will show. You will cut this off flush with the quilt top - photo B. Unpin the backing and cut it measure 1/2" larger than the quilted section. Set this section aside for now. - photo C

2. Now lay section 1 on your cutting table right side up and true up seam you are joining to section 2 as you cut off excess batting and backing - photo D.

3. Now to section 2, pin batting AND batting away from edge. Place the two sections right sides together wish section 1 on bottom, match seams and pin. The sandwich will be 4 layers thick now - photo E. Sew a scant 1/4" seam. When done, lay the quilt top wrong sides up and unpin th batting only. Pull the sections apart and smooth, so that the quilt top is flat. Now cut off excess batting close edge of the sewn batting - photo F. I use applique scissors so I don't accidentally cut the backing, or you could fold the top in half (right sides together) with the batting sticking out to trim. The two battings will now butt up to each other.

4. Fold the 1/2"of backing in half - raw edge under, pin to quilt back of section 1, hiding the seam and and whip stitch closed - photo G.
This may sound complicated - practice on two quilted squares before you do this on your quilt, but once you've done it - it will be easier than it reads.






My top is done - need only add the borders now!

For Anne Mary

Here's a baby quilt I made for my daughter's sister-in-law's new baby. Anne Mary was born Oct 1st. I'll try and get a picture of her soon. This quilt was made with left over 9 patches and with the quilt as you go method that uses a solid back. It is 30" square. That's my size for a baby's lap quilt.

Quilt as I go - Part II

Okay, I've ironed the backing section and smoothed out the batting. I place the backing with wrong side up and position the batting piece on it. Then I lay the sewn quilt blocks (3 rows by 7 blocks) on top and smooth all over. I pin the sides of the sandwich, turn it over and check the back to see that it is smooth and then pin the entire top.

Now I take the sandwich to my machine. I will use the same kind of thread in the bobbin as on top. I am using wonderfil Invisifil white and a 60/8 needle. I have the straight stitch plate and my darning foot ready for free motion quilting. You can see this segment is just the right size for the throat of my machine:

Since these are pieced blocks I'm going to do a medium meander across the rows. I just have to remember to slow down my movement on the curves and I'll have more even stitches. I get tense when I'm free-motioning and I have to remember to relax my shoulders and drop my arms to a more relaxed position. Helps, too, if I don't hunch over the machine and breathe - LOL. I'm going to quilt the middle row first. Here's a close up of the meander.

I'll finish quilting this section and make the other 3 row one. Then I'll be back with Part III of Quilt as I go.

Quilting as I go, Part 1

Hello, I went to see Julie and Julia the other day, and I just loved it. Since I can't get a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking at this time (Borders has sold out, all the copies at the library are on loan - can't even interlibrary loan it), I'm going to set a quilting goal rather than a cooking goal (I was only going to make a few recipes - LOL) like Julie in the movie.

I've decided to chronicle my "quilting as I go method" for getting quilts done with my Bernina. Yes, I have taken some to long arm quilters to do, but I've become intrigued in doing these at home. I read an article by Diane Gaudinski and she has me in awe for the fabulous work she does on her home machine. So after reading books by Diane, Kaye Wood, Marti Michell, Georgia Bonesteel, Betty Cotton, Sharon Pederson and others, I decided to try quilting my own tops. Here are two I have already done this way - posted in order made:

So first thing I do is take out the batting I will need for the quilt, wash it, dry it and plan how I am going to cut up the batting for the number of sections the quilt will have. I like to use batting that is 80% cotton and 20% polyester. I find that this doesn't shift as much as others and makes for smooth backs.

For UFO #5- I have decided on seven sections. I've already taken the blocks down from the design wall, so I can't show you that. So on paper I figure out what I need. This is just breaking the quilt down to segments that are easy to handle in my machine. The center has 70 blocks, so I decided on three sections. My squares are 6"squares finished. So one section is 4 rows by seven blocks And there are 2 sections 3 rows by 7 blocks. The other 4 sections will be borders. I add 2 inches extra to the batting and backing sections so that they extend beyond the quilt segments. With planning on graph paper, I can cut all segments from a twin batting measuring 72"by 90". It's not a complicated as it reads once you've done it.

Now I like to have a patchwork back, so I look in my stash for three interesting fabrics to be the backing for the center of this quilt. If I can find something big enough, I'll use one fabric for all the borders. Off to my stash. Time for cutting batting, and picking fabrics = 1 hour.

Part II later.