Practising

...really didn't like to go back to work today.Could you tell? The weekend here was really REALLY hot with temps over 35 C and today it was 28C. Not the best conditions to work in an overheated school kitchen!

But i survived and even did some sewing.
I usually start a project with the idea to do it perfect. It never is and lots of times I end up frustrated. This time I sat behind the machine with a different attitude: I'm going to LEARN (here: machine-piecing) and the outcome is not important. I've decided to sew small blocks to practice and plan to machineQUILT them in order to master the technique. Omg. Me and my Husq.
I found this block on pinterest.

It's a paperpieced chevron.
This is what I got :)

(uhm, I took a pic up side down)
What did I learn?
- with the tiny white strips, it is VERY important to sew exactly on the line of your paper. Even a wee bit off, shows immediatly.
- When you paperpiece in rows, you should start the first strip on top and the second on the bottom. That way you can "snuggle" the seams together when sewing the strips together.
- I tried to flip seams over and press them in another direction. Not a good plan. The block got all out of shape and I had to square it again,loosing points and corners.

Next project was going to be this block (same website)

The theory of sewing in a way the seams would be able to 'snuggle" together went down the drain. The block has a specific sewing order and the seams all went the same way. How do you sew the parts together succesfully? You can't flip the seams with paperpiecing! So this one needs further study and it was just waaaay to hot.
I ordered a better open toe foot and will attempt to machinequilt the chevron first.
How do you paperpiece???

Quilting makes the quilt

After the hassle of choosing and cutting fabrics and the sometimes painstaking process of piecing all the scraps together, comes the relaxing part of QUILTING!
It's such a rewarding thing to see a bunch of patches sewn together transform from a piece of fabric into a real quilt.
Hard to capture in a picture, but I tried to make some "before and after" shots.

I like how a block changes after it's quilted and i LOVE to see a quilt emerge. Every now and then I spread the whole piece on the floor to see the difference between unquilted parts and finished blocks.

Happy Joy quilt is almost done: one border piece left to quilt and then, my least fav, the binding. Hopefully I can show it all done by the end of the week, just before a full workweek starts again..

Finished top!

Last weeks of my summerbreak and sewing almost every afternoon makes a finished top..Struggling to get the ever growing top under the machine, struggling to match points and...

 ...it turned out to be the biggest quilt i made so far, approx. 2.30mx1.67m (90"x66")
This one bit me over and over again!
First time I tried making points by machine (ough!) Still got a lot to learn and need much more practice! It took some effort to get a full pic but tadaa: here it is!

Now I have to dig in the cupboard to see if there's a batting there big enough and, more important, piece a backing!
When googling "patches and pinwheels" you'll find lots of patterns and tutorials. Mine is made after a pattern by Maybeth Oxenreider (book: Scrap-lover's quilts by better home &gardens)