Figs and Ginger - blocks pieced and a mini lesson

All the Figs and Ginger blocks have been pieced, and I've begun trimming them down to size!!!  

Oops!

As I was piecing the green and tan blocks, I had a wee problem, finding that I had reversed the deck as I was stitching the pieces together, and you can tell I wasn't paying attention, because I had sewn several pieces after the error, before catching it.  I decided to finish piecing the blocks and then go back and fix the problem, because there would be less chance of making another error, or larger mess.  Instead of ripping all the pieces off, I just rip about a half inch past the patch, to give me space to sew the correct patch back in place (a partial seams technique, in reverse).

And as I was ripping this block, I found that the first two pieces should have been sewn together, but needed to be swapped with another set of two patches to fix the problem, so ripped it out as well, and on the remaining blocks, I ripped the two joined patches out as one unit.  Now, after matching the units to the correct blocks, I'm ready to sew them back together.

A fixed block:

I'm starting to trim, and very happy I cut the fabric squares an inch larger than Karla had said to cut them, because now I can not only square them up, but am able to fussy cut them, centering the colors as I choose!

Figs and Ginger Quilt-a-Long

I've made lots of progress on the Figs and Ginger quilt lately, especially today!  In case you missed my first post, this pattern is from Karla Alexander's book, called "Stack the Deck Revisited", and I've decided to make two, one being the mirror image of the other, so that I can put them on a pair of twin beds and they will point towards each other, creating a chevron of sorts.  I thought it would be nice to do a quilt-a-long, hoping to see other people's versions of the same design.  Next time, I do a quilt-a-long, it will be one of my own designs, or a take-off from my book, making another project with those flowers.......

Enough talk, right now I'm piecing the red / yellow decks:

Here is my collection of pieced blocks, stacked  by color:

And the remaining decks are green / tan, but are the last pair of colors!

Once I have all the blocks pieced, then I'm going to have fun choosing where to crop the blocks as I trim them down to size, but right now, I just need the rest of the blocks pieced!

If you missed my last post, go back and read it, and then leave me a comment to be in the draw for a copy of my book!

Garden, Quilt, Knit, Knit, Weave... and Book Giveaway!

Since April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, I thought it might be time I offered to giveaway a copy of my book!  Post a comment to this post before April 15th, and on April 15th, I'll draw a winner, so you can start making a floral quilt in May! 

This year, my gardening started indoors, planting seeds in flats, but is now moving outside.  Space has been cleared for the peas, and they're now all in the ground. There are two kinds, snow peas and snap peas, and we're looking forward to eating the fruits of my labor in the future.  In the meantime, I'll be watching over these, as well as the other babies that will be to small to go outside for a while, like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and some others.

The stack of sewn blocks for the Figs and Ginger quilts is growing, and I get a feeling of satisfaction every time I get to change to the next set of colors!

I've ripped back to my mistake on the Aquitaine Cuffs, fixed the error, and am now ready to move on:

My green Oatmeal Sweater, is moving along, and for those that were wondering what I was going to make with the yarn I'm spinning, this is the project that inspired the wool purchase, but since I'm making it in the green yarn, I'll probably choose a pattern when the yarn is finished.  The sleeves have been attached, and I'm now working on the pattern at the bottom of the yoke and working up, so I'm nearing the finish line! (Sorry, this isn't the best picture - the sweater is really green.)

On the weaving front, I've finished the scarf I showed you last time, and have begun to weave the last scarf on the warp.  This one will go much quicker, because the treadling pattern is easier, and I'm only using one shuttle!

Quilt, Knit, Weave, Spin...

Between yesterday and this morning, I shuffled and cut decks for the Figs and Ginger quilts:

I decided the quickest way to go, would be to cut each deck and place the sections onto card stock to keep everything in order.  These can then be stacked, ready for sewing.

Three stacks have been sewn into blocks, so I'm making progress:

My Aquitaine Cuffs are coming along nicely, and I'm halfway up the second chart!

I'm weaving some grey scarves in between other projects.  The warp is long enough for three scarves, each will be woven with a different pattern, and the first is finished, it's the swirling stars design in medium and light grey.  Now I'm working on the second scarf, which I would describe as interlocking tabs, as I don't know what the pattern would really be called, as it is only a number in the book, I'm using, which is A Weaver's Book of 8-shaft Patterns:

I'm also trying to do at least a few minutes of spinning each day, since I've decided to spin for a sweater.  When I was at the Allyn Knit Shop, I purchased a 3 lb bag of wool, which I seem to have lost the tag for:-(  It's soft, and I think it is a merino blend that is from local sheep.  There is some veg matter, which is seriously slowing me down, but otherwise, it is a dream to spin!  I'm spinning this wool woolen style, as it is a roving, and almost spins itself in that method, but there is so much wool, it is going a long way, so much so, that I feel like I'm spinning an endless bag of wool!  This is what I've spun so far (the numerical tags are to help me decide the order of bobbins to use when plying):

I still have quite a ways to go, and am wondering if I'll have enough bobbins, or if I'll need to start plying to empty some bobbins so that I can finish spinning.

Because this is such a large project, and the roving is quite thin, not needing to be pre-drafted or split, I'm spinning right out of the bag, only breaking the yarn when I get too thin, or have filled a bobbin.

A Little Progress

The fabric squares have been cut for the Figs and Ginger quilts, but I've cut them an inch larger, so I could cheat and just unfold and cut squares from my fabrics, and save pressing for later.  Well, now is later, and I'm pressing and sorting the squares into decks.  Sorting decks for two quilts will take longer than if I was just making one quilt, but I'll do it all at the same time and be ready for cutting and sewing.

Here are my squares, and fabrics I'm considering for the borders on the right:

Even though I was tired last night, I couldn't resist knitting  a few more rows on the Aquitaine Cuffs:

Figs and Ginger - fabrics found

Yeah!  I managed to find all the fabrics in my stash!!!  So far, I believe I have enough for two twin quilts, and have also pulled out two fabrics that I think may work for the borders, but I'm going to wait to decide on the border fabrics, until I have the center panels complete.

Here's my fabric:

In case you missed my previous post, I'm making the Figs and Ginger pattern from Stack the Deck Revisited, by Karla Alexander, and have invited my readers to quilt-a-long.  I've decided to make two for twin beds that are in the same room, but I'm making one the mirror image of the other, so that the angle of the design can point towards the other bed / nightstand, making a chevron design.  Have you chosen your fabrics yet?

How about a quilt-a-long?

I've been flipping through a stack of books from Martingale, and pulled out two of the Stack the Deck books by Karla Alexander.  I really love her books!

Book review:  The blocks in "Stack the Deck Revisited" are cut and pieced like crazy quilts, but many go beyond, making the crazy piecing only part of a more refined block, or set with other pieces and colored to make them into a very artistic quilt.  When other shapes added, you will end up with a quilt that I imagine will have many asking "how did you do that?"  The color washed quilts like Summer Solstice, Figs and Ginger, and the Scrappy Crazy Quilt Sampler are my favorites, but Goin' Green isn't far behind.  The stack the deck technique is easy and it's always fun to see how the blocks come out!

Yes, some of you may remember that I already have two projects from her books in progress, waiting to be finished, but they are larger projects, but I'm still collecting more fabrics for them (I've decided to enlarge them to Queen and King sizes).  My husband thinks making new quilts for our boy's twin beds has a higher priority, so I have a great excuse to start a new project, and thought some of you might like to quilt along with me!  If you do, I'd love to see your progress and quilt, and if you post it on your blog, I'd love to add a link to it from mine, so that everyone could see your version too!

The first quilt is going to be made from the "Figs and Ginger" pattern that is on p. 42, in "Stack the Deck Revisited", and I'm thinking that it might be fun to make a second that is a mirror image of the first, because I could put the mirror image quilt on the bed to the right of the first, and the diagonal stripes would move up and towards the center, towards the nightstand between the beds.

I usually take my time choosing fabrics, and will start with my fabric stash, hoping to find enough for two quilts (just in case I want to make the second, mirror image one coordinate with the first).  Since the fabrics wouldn't have to bee identical, just the same color families, and you only need 1/ 3 yard of most of the fabrics,  I think I might be able to find all of them right here at home!  Well, off to hunt for fabric!!!