Better Done Quilts

Reflecting on Quilting in 2020

Post author By Better Done Quilt
Post date December 26, 2020
1 Comment on Reflecting on Quilting in 2020

One year ago, none of us could have imagined the year that we have had. In January, my husband and I took a Caribbean cruise (that he won) and I took dozens of pictures to plan a quilt or two to commemorate the trip. Little did we know that would be our last trip for a long time.

While my day job has been busier than ever during the pandemic, I have been on full-time telework. Which means that the 5-7 hours a week I formerly spent commuting have been available for quilting. A year ago, my goal for 2020 was to plan and contract for at least one guild presentation (which I did), and to write up my Tree of Life wall hanging pattern (which I also did). I had not planned on getting Better Done Quilts launched as a business, or of getting this website up and running. I certainly didn’t plan on the EQ8 October Design Challenge win.

I started the year with a plan of taking one day a month for quilting. Not piecing, quilting. Whether done on my Bernina or renting time on the long arm at my local quilt store, I would spend the second Saturday each month finishing the tops I had sitting around. Appropriately, my first quilt finished for 2020 was a top I pieced in 2019, Everything Old is New is Old Again.

Everything Old is New is Old Again – Picnic Petals Pattern by Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill 2020

I started piecing this in a workshop with Sheri from Whole Circle Studio at Mid-Appalachian Quilter’s Annual retreat. I loved the modern take on the traditional flowering snowball block. I chose old fashioned colors and prints to coordinate with another quilt I have, so I could use them in my guest room. The top was done, and I spent time in January quilting it. The quilting is simple, but I love the way it turned out.

My next two quilts of 2020 were baby quilts for family. I forgot to get a picture of the first quilt before I sent it, but the parents were kind enough to send this one. The quilt was on their doorstep when they brought the baby home. This one is particularly meaningful because the medium green fan print is from my mother-in-law’s fabric stash. I kept a box of her fabrics and I include some in special quilts for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The next baby quilt was the first quilt I designed using EQ8. Bunnies for Belinda is a fun, gender neutral quilt. The mother’s favorite colors as a child were lime green, orange and purple. I tried to design a quilt with these colors that did NOT look like a Halloween quilt. I think this quilt succeeded. The purple fabric is rabbits, which is fitting because we raised rabbits. It is also quilted with bunnies (quilting by Sesvold Designs).

The first weekend in March, which was the last weekend that I was not in quarantine or pandemic lockdown, I used the longarm to finish my daughter’s T-shirt quilt.

I started collecting T-shirts for all my kids when they were young. I planned to make them each a T-shirt quilt when they graduated from high school. None of them got them as graduation presents, but I am slowly working my way through the box of T-shirts. This one had clear ideas of what she did and did not want in a T-shirt quilt. She selected the batiks and helped me lay out this extra-extra long twin quilt. She also wanted a “fun” back, so it would look good no matter which side was up.

This quilt definitely has a “party in the back”. I ran short of the purple and teal batiks and finished up with similar fabrics from my stash.

I also finished “Mai Tais on the Lanai”. I won a pack of Island Home batiks designed by Natalie Barnes for Anthology Fabrics in September 2019. I designed the first of my “cocktail quilts” using the Drunkard’s Path block. I only used fabrics from the collection and the only fabric I purchased was for the border and binding. The back is pieced with the fabrics in the collection that were left over from the front. This has become my TV watching quilt.

Next I turned to my guild small group challenge. We decided in 2019 to make 2020 challenge quilts. They needed to be 20 inches square, use black, white and one color (no gray) and somehow include “20”. It could be 20 items, the number 20, etc. I am a nurse, and 2020 is the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, as well as being the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale. I decided to honor Florence’s contributions to nursing with my quilted portrait of her.

I am really proud of this little quilt. It was a real stretch for my skills. It is raw-edge applique based on a photo and poster. The hardest part was replicating Florence Nightingale’s signature.

Next was “From Every Direction”, which was described in my last post.

Then I decided to write up the Tree of Life pattern, so I made the Triadic Tree with fabrics I had selected for it about a year ago.

This is the point where I started the blog, so you have already heard about my Mama Bear jacket and “Which Way?” quilts. I have a couple of other quilt tops I made this year in 100-day projects. I finished one other small quilt, but it is for the Modern Quilt Guild mini-quilt swap, so it is a mystery until we exchange quilts in 2021.

2020 was also the year of the masks. All together I have made nearly 100 masks, and continue to make them as they continue to be needed.

While this year has certainly been filled with the unexpected, it has not all been bad. I have finished some big projects and started a few more. My most important quilt accomplishment has been getting Better Done Quilts launched and publishing my first pattern. I hope you had a productive quilting year, and that you stay safe and healthy in 2021!

Uncategorized

Rejected?

Today I got notification about my QuiltCon entries. Last year, I submitted two quilts for two different shows. The one I thought would be accepted, AnteMeridiem, was rejected for QuiltCon2020.

Ante Meridiem – Original 2019

The one I entered as a lark, Tree of Life, got accepted for American Quilters Society Lancaster show. Unfortunately, COVID-19 cancelled that show, so while it was accepted, it was never shown.

Tree of Life – Original Design 2019

This year, I submitted four quilts to QuiltCon. Which Way? was my entry for the Modern Quilt Guild 2021 Fabric Challenge.

Which Way? Original Design 2020

I’m not in love with this quilt and I’m not at all upset that it was rejected. In fact, I would not accept it. The spacing is off. I had a great idea, but couldn’t execute it. This is what I did with the pieces left over. I have found that it is the perfect size for a lap quilt at my desk, so it is getting a lot of use.

My second entry was my Triadic Tree of Life.

Triadic Tree – Original Design 2020

While this is not screaming “modern”, I thought the colors brought it up. Again, I’m not upset it didn’t get selected. I didn’t think it really fit the esthetic of QuiltCon.

My third quilt was From Every Direction.

From Every Direction – Original 2020

This is my coronavirus quilt. I made it as part of a challenge from my local quilt store, Capital Quilts. They sent small amounts of fabric to people who accepted the challenge and we needed to make a quilt reflecting on coronavirus using the fabric. The twist was that each quilter got a different fabric. I was sent the orange and yellow print at the top and bottom of the back. I only used materials I had at home, with the exception of that print.

I am sad this one was not accepted. It may not be technically difficult, but it is striking visually and to me it has come to represent the chaos of information about COVID-19.

My fourth submission was AnteMeridiem again. I had heard from other quilters that a rejection to QuiltCon did not mean it was not a modern quilt or that it was not good, just that they did not want it for that show. So I tried again. I took new photos with better lighting. I included pictures of the back, corners and details, as requested.

Ante Meridiem 2019 back

Ante Meridiem 2019 corners

Ante Meridiem 2019 detail

This quilt is very personally meaningful. Changes in the color of the sky from midnight until noon were the inspiration for this quilt. Each strip represents 15 minutes, and each quilting line represents five minutes. The time of nautical, astronomical and civil dawn and of sunrise varies with the time of year and the latitude. I researched the times based on the latitude of Madison, Wisconsin on June 18, 1981, which is where and when my husband and I began our romantic relationship.

Amazingly, this year, Ante Meridiem was accepted and will be displayed in QuiltCon 2021!

This is a huge step for me – it will be the first time I have a quilt displayed in a juried show. I am really excited, and humbled. I don’t think my work is “good enough” to be in a show. I see all the flaws, corners that don’t match and things I would do differently. I was sure the holes in the corner from the push pins I used to display this quilt would keep it from being considered. But I am glad that someone sees something interesting in my quilt. I am looking forward to QuiltCon Together in February. I will let you know how it goes.

Wednesday Wisdom

Deadlines Met and Missed

I am driven by deadlines. I have regular deadlines in my profession and I work hard to get everything submitted on time, or better yet, early. I have found that having a deadline for a quilting project helps me get it done. The projects without deadlines are the ones that turn into UFOs. This month I had multiple deadlines come together. I had a big project at work, papers to grade from my class, QuiltCon submissions due 11/30, my One Monthly Goal, and St. Nick’s gifts I was making for my (adult) kids.

I am used to juggling a lot of deadlines, but then I had one unexpected quilty deadline thrown in just before Thanksgiving. I can’t tell you more about it yet, but it meant pushing back my other quilting projects by 2-3 days. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, it was 2-3 days I planned on spending on other projects. I was committed to submitting to QuiltCon because I accepted the fabric packet for the Modern Quilt Guild Floral and Vine Fabric Challenge. By accepting the packet of these lovely fabrics, I agreed to submit a quilt. The rules were simple – I needed to use 3 of these 4 fabrics, could add any solid I wished and any size up to 440 inches in diameter.

Because this challenge involved a promise to someone else, I prioritized it over my One Monthly Goal, which is a promise to myself.

I cannot tell you how many times I tried to figure out what to do with these fabrics. I ordered coordinating solids and cut out a great Mariner’s Compass, then realized I cut the wrong pieces in the wrong colors. I was determined not to buy more fabric, so I redesigned the Compass with the fabrics I had. Then I tried to sew the Compass together, but I used templates that didn’t work well for me and it was not laying flat. So I cut it into pieces.

I tried to use the extra pieces I cut in improvisational blocks, but they didn’t work. I set it all aside and worked on a couple of other projects, and put time on my calendar to figure it out. I finally decided to work off of the compass idea and made some arrows and a kind of a road. Here is the final quilt, named “Which Way?”:

I can’t decide which way should be up on this one.

I spent the day after Thanksgiving on my St. Nick’s gifts, and the rest of the weekend on the Which Way? quilt. Which meant that my One Monthly Goal of finishing the quilting on this table runner didn’t happen.

I thought about working on the table runner, Monday after work, but I was very tired, and could not get the runner completed by midnight. So I decided to let it go. It is unusual for me to miss a deadline, but I am glad that I decided to take care of myself and get some rest. The table runner will get done (eventually) and I will be happy to use it next fall.

How are you with deadlines? Do they motivate you? Make you nervous? Or do you just avoid them?

Tools and Tips

Where Do You Iron?

Since 1992, I have used my mother’s ironing board.

She bought it about 50 years ago and it was the Cadillac of ironing boards. It is heavy-duty and heavy. It was corded with an outlet on the board, and has a springy guide to hold the iron cord away from fabric. Over the years, the cord got cut off. I always tuck the springy guide under the board because it drives me crazy. Mostly, I get frustrated because it is not wide enough and the angled end means my fabric never seems to get fully ironed.

After a lot of research, I decided that I wanted an ironing station with storage. I looked at all of the Pinterest ironing stations and I even considered buying the Singer Ironing and Crafting Station, but at $350, I thought I could figure out something that was less expensive. I bought a 15-drawer rainbow drawer organizer, a 3/4 inch sheet of plywood that is 2 foot by 4 foot, Insulbrite, 100% cotton quilt batting, and silver ironing board cloth. All together I spent less than $120 (not counting what my husband spent for a new hammer stapler).

I brought it all home and left it in the living room, because work got crazy and I didn’t have time to put it together. Enter my husband, the hero! He put together the drawer unit, rounded and sanded the edges of the plywood so the corners would not wear through the fabric, and created these cool latches that hold the board onto the drawers, but can be easily turned to remove the board for storage (as if I will ever put my new ironing station away).

This weekend, we decided to work together to get the board upholstered. I started with a layer of Insulbrite to protect the board and reflect heat back up to the fabric. Then we put on 2 layers of 100% cotton batting.

My husband was using a hammer stapler to staple everything down. He didn’t want to catch my fingers, so on the corners, we used tape to hold the miter in place until he stapled it.

Finally, we stretched the fancy silver ironing board fabric on top.

Doesn’t it look great!

It is about 1 inch higher than a normal ironing board, but I am on the tall side, so I don’t mind. And it is 24 x 48 inches so I can iron the full width of a cut of fabric. I can get a sharp press on it. And check out all that lovely fabric storage. Fifteen color-coded drawers. I have already started moving my scraps from shoe boxes randomly placed around my room into this neat stand. There is even room for my power bar between the cart top and the board!

I am SO grateful that my husband put everything together and made my new ironing station happen. Happy ironing and pressing!

WIPs and PhDs

Making Old Things New

Let me start by saying that I didn’t want to do a “rework” project for UFOvember. When Bobbi Gentili from Geeky Bobbin sent the sign up sheet, I was on vacation and by the time I got home, the only slots left were for “rework” or “rehome”. I knew I didn’t want to give any of my UFOs away, so I signed up for “rework”.

I knew exactly which project I would work on. These 25 quilt blocks were first made between 1992 and 1995. The original plan was for a king-sized Bear’s Paw quilt for our bed with cream sashing and cornerstones. I finished all of the blocks, started sewing some sets of two together with sashing before I got busy, packed all of the blocks and the fabric in a large paper bag and set it aside in our basement. (Note, that was before 1995 and I still do not sleep under a quilt I have made!)

Unfortunately, around 1999, we had a 100-year flood in our town and sewage backed up into our basement. Yes, the same basement where I stored a paper bag full of cream, navy, blue and green fabrics with my blocks.

It took a few days to find the bag and we promptly threw all of the fabric in the washing machine on the hottest water to disinfect it. At the time, we were washing every piece of clothing and fabric we found, so it was quickly washed, dried and put into a plastic bin. When I got around to looking at it, the navy had bled onto the cream on almost all of the squares. Here are a few examples:

I really loved some of the fabrics in this quilt and I wanted to find a way to redeem and reuse these blocks. So I sorted them, pressed the blocks and the fabric, and put it in a bin until I decided what to do with it. Over the years, I raided the bin and used the navy border fabric for other projects. When I needed a patch for a quilt made with fabric that matched one of the blocks, I snipped it out of a block because the washed and worn block was a closer match to the quilt than the new fabric.

When I pulled out the box, I had 25 blocks (including the one with a square missing and these fabrics:

So, I decided to make a quilted jacket. My style is pretty tailored, so I took this jacket pattern, which I already had at home.

I cut out some oversized backing pieces from plain muslin, then fitted quilt squares to them. I used some of the existing sashing strips to extend key parts of the pattern. I also discovered that when quilt squares have been washed, they create these lovely nests on the back.

I had a nest this size for every couple of squares.

I decided to quilt a chevron on the back center panel, cross hatching on the front and back side panels and the sleeves, and angled lines on the front center panels.

I even got my serger out – I don’t think I have used it for at least 5 years!

I finished it with facings cut from the border prints. On the straight hems at the bottom and for the sleeves, I did a wider border print.

For the facing around the neck, I cut a narrower strip to accommodate the curve of the neckline.

I like the overall look, but it is still stained. (Check out Bruce the cat in these photos, when I am turned to the back, so is he!)

I decided to overdye the whole coat.

I wasn’t sure I could get this done in time because as of Monday noon, the dye hadn’t been delivered. But it came in the afternoon, so after dinner I boiled up some water and had a dye party.

At one point, I was very worried that it would come out dark blue, but I got the effect I wanted. Here are some pictures of the finished coat.

I carefully used Aurifil 100% cotton threads so they would dye the same as the cotton fabrics. You can see above that the serger thread was not all cotton and stayed cream-colored.

I like the subtle color and you can’t see the stains anymore. I may add buttons, but I am declaring this a FINISHED project!

Check out all of the other great UFO blogs this month to see other ideas for cataloging, resuming, reworking and rehoming your UFOs:

Sunday 11/1	Bobbi Gentili	The Geeky Bobbin
Monday 11/2	Becca Fenstermaker	Pretty Piney Quilts
Tuesday 11/3	Joanne Kerton	Canuck Quilter Designs
Wednesday 11/4	Sue Griffiths	Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Thursday 11/5	Ashli Montgomery	Storytelling Tees
Friday 11/6	Anne Boundy	Said With Love
Saturday 11/7	Sarah Ruiz	Sarah Ruiz Quilts
Sunday 11/8	Teresa Weaver	Your Sewing Friend
Monday 11/9	Karen Brown	Just Get it Done Quilts
Tuesday 11/10	Bobbi Bridgeman	Snowy Days Quilting
Wednesday 11/11	Raylee Bielenberg	Sunflower Stitcheries and Quilting
Thursday 11/12	Althea Gyde	Blue Heron Quilting
Friday 11/13	Kenzy Hogan	Sewing Corals
Saturday 11/14	Leann Parsons	Devoted Quilter
Sunday 11/15	Jessica Caldwell	Desert Bloom Quilting
Monday 11/16	Laureen Smith	Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Tuesday 11/17	Karen Kehl	Better Done Quilts
Wednesday 11/18	Stacey H	Two Terriers Studio
Thursday 11/19	Cinzia White	Cinziawhitedesigns
Friday 11/20	Laura Piland	Slice of Pi Quilts
Saturday 11/21	Rachel M	The Barefoot Crafter
Sunday 11/22	Kathryn LeBlanc	Dragonfly’s Quilting Design Studio
Monday 11/23	Judit Hajdu	Quiltfox Design
Tuesday 11/24	Lyra McCabe	Quilting McCabe
Wednesday 11/25	Jill Therriault	Stitching in Heels
Thursday 11/26	Cristina De Miranda	Ships & Violins
Friday 11/27	Katie Starcher	Katie Mae Quilts
Saturday 11/28	Valerie Prideaux	Cozy Funky Cool
Sunday 11/29	Kim Mastomartino	Line Design
Monday 11/30	Natalia Knowlton	NerdyQuilter

Patterns and tutorials Uncategorized

Opportunities

I am so excited! This week I heard from the Electric Quilt Company that my submission in the October EQ8 Design Challenge – the Good Vibes challenge, was selected by Benartex as one of this month’s winning designs! You can see the announcement here and the original challenge with all of the entries here. I am particularly excited because I really love the Good Vibes fabric line from Christa Watson (also known as Christa Quilts).

Good vibes bundle from Benartex

I would like to encourage all of you that use EQ8 to participate in some of these monthly Design Challenges. I started trying them in January to learn how to use the EQ8 program my daughter gave me for Christmas, and to practice my design skills. This is the first design contest or challenge that I have ever won, so even though it may seem like a small little thing to you, to me it is a great opportunity.

Aren’t these fun? I can’t wait to get started!

So what does this have to do with UFOs? It gives me another project to get started. And another pattern to write up. This is another of my cocktail quilts based on the Drunkard’s Path block. In this instance it is distorted to be taller and skinnier, so I think it needs a name of a cocktail that fits in the tall, skinny Tom Collins glass. Maybe “Zombie” or “Singapore Sling”. What would you name this quilt?

WIPs and PhDs

UFOvember

Something about seeing the calendar turn so there is only one more new page left makes me think about what I want to get finished this year. I know there is power in numbers, so I have joined with other quilters for UFOvember. If you are on Instagram, you can follow us on #UFOvember.

My posts this month will all be focused on UFOs (Unfinished Objects), WIPs (Works in Progress), PhDs (Projects Half Done) and my progress. We will see if I get my “big” UFO done before my assigned blog on November 17th.

If you want to follow all of the fantastic quilters and bloggers participating in UFOvember, here is the list:

Sunday 11/1	Bobbi Gentili	The Geeky Bobbin
Monday 11/2	Becca Fenstermaker	Pretty Piney Quilts
Tuesday 11/3	Joanne Kerton	Canuck Quilter Designs
Wednesday 11/4	Sue Griffiths	Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Thursday 11/5	Ashli Montgomery	Storytelling Tees
Friday 11/6	Anne Boundy	Said With Love
Saturday 11/7	Sarah Ruiz	Sarah Ruiz Quilts
Sunday 11/8	Teresa Weaver	Your Sewing Friend
Monday 11/9	Karen Brown	Just Get it Done Quilts
Tuesday 11/10	Bobbi Bridgeman	Snowy Days Quilting
Wednesday 11/11	Raylee Bielenberg	Sunflower Stitcheries and Quilting
Thursday 11/12	Althea Gyde	Blue Heron Quilting
Friday 11/13	Kenzy Hogan	Sewing Corals
Saturday 11/14	Leann Parsons	Devoted Quilter
Sunday 11/15	Jessica Caldwell	Desert Bloom Quilting
Monday 11/16	Laureen Smith	Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Tuesday 11/17	Karen Kehl	Better Done Quilts
Wednesday 11/18	Stacey H	Two Terriers Studio
Thursday 11/19	Cinzia White	Cinziawhitedesigns
Friday 11/20	Laura Piland	Slice of Pi Quilts
Saturday 11/21	Rachel M	The Barefoot Crafter
Sunday 11/22	Kathryn LeBlanc	Dragonfly’s Quilting Design Studio
Monday 11/23	Judit Hajdu	Quiltfox Design
Tuesday 11/24	Lyra McCabe	Quilting McCabe
Wednesday 11/25	Jill Therriault	Stitching in Heels
Thursday 11/26	Cristina De Miranda	Ships & Violins
Friday 11/27	Katie Starcher	Katie Mae Quilts
Saturday 11/28	Valerie Prideaux	Cozy Funky Cool
Sunday 11/29	Kim Mastomartino	Line Design
Monday 11/30	Natalia Knowlton	NerdyQuilter

The first few days are focused on making an inventory of your UFOs. You can’t finish it if you don’t know it is there. I actually keep a list of UFOs, WIPs and new quilt ideas on my phone, so I can add to it when I get a new idea. Here is my current list. I included every project where I have started sewing and that is not ready to be used. Fabric purchased for projects that have not been started doesn’t count in my book.

Quilt Name	Year Started	Current State	Why I Didn’t Finish
Bethlehem Star Wallhanging	1993	Needs quilting	Was hand quilting, which I took out because I would never finish it hand quilting.
Bear’s Paw King Quilt	1995	Blocks pieced, some sewn into sets of 2 with sashing	Squares got stained in a flood and I couldn’t figure out what to do with them
Memory Sampler (Snow Day Sampler by Happy Cloud Creations)	2017	Needs quilting	I have an elaborate customized quilting plan that will require a lot of time and experience on a computerized long arm (and I don’t have the experience or my own long-arm)
Quilt Your Weight Off	2018	Some squares pieced	Waiting for me to lose more weight
What My Grandma Gave Me – English Paper Pieced Carpenter’s Wheel	2019	Still piecing	I will be piecing this for a long time – it is hand sewing and takes me forever!
Rainbow Hand Dye	2020	Front pieced, back partially pieced	Set aside to finish Tree of Life quilt and pattern
100-Day Transformation	2020	At long-arm quilter	Almost done! Ordered the binding fabric today!
Texas Broken Star Wedding Quilt	2020	Diamonds pieced but not assembled	This is one of my active projects.
Tree of Life Table Runner	2020	Partially quilted	Set aside to work on other projects with deadlines. Completing this is my one monthly goal for November!
Charity Baby Quilt	2020	Needs quilting	Missed the deadline for the challenge.
100-Day Improv Quilt-a-Long	2020	Still piecing	100 days ends 12/23/2020. Quilting is already planned out.
Modern Quilt Guild Fabric Challenge	2020	Still designing and piecing	Plan A and B didn’t work so I am trying an improvisational salvage using some of the piecing from previous attempts. This has a deadline of 11/30/2020.

Writing it all down is always revealing. First, I didn’t think I had 12 UFOs. I would have guessed about 6. Second, quilting is an issue, with 1/3 of the projects needing quilting, and another that I sent to a long-arm quilter. Finally, I see is that if I am driven by deadlines. Quilts without deadlines get set aside, as do quilts that were not done before the deadline. But deadlines also help me complete important projects.

What is your oldest UFO? Is there a UFO you want to finish in 2020? What are your UFOvember goals?

Wednesday Wisdom

Monthly Goals and Letting Go

Post author By Better Done Quilt
Post date October 28, 2020
No Comments on Monthly Goals and Letting Go

I have been participating in the Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal (https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/p/omg-one-monthly-goal.html) for a couple of months. I am very goal oriented and I know that setting regular goals, and sharing that information somewhere where I need to be accountable is a good way for me to achieve hard things. I have been using the One Monthly Goal (OMG [isn’t that a great abbreviation]) to do something that would otherwise be put on a back burner. I don’t use it for the pattern deadline, which I WILL meet, or the 100-day project which only requires a little time each day. Last month I used it to move forward on a wedding quilt that is more than 18 months late. This month I used it to finish up this glorious quilt top. This was my first 100-day quilt project. I started it on June 1st this year. One of my quilty friends was posting her 100-day project and I figured that with being in quarantine, it would give me a little goal that I could achieve every day – just one square. It was also a great way to use up the big box full of irregular strips I had been saving. The 100 days were finished on September 8th. I had already ice dyed the fabric for the back. But by October 1st, I still didn’t have the borders on and I had no clue what I was going to do about quilting it. The finished top is 103 x 103 inches and I was dreading trying to baste it and quilt it on Bernie, my trusty Bernina 1260. So, my OMG for October was to finish the top and decide on the quilting. In early October we met some of our adult children in Memphis for a family holiday. Because we were driving (13 hours each way) I was able to take my 1951 Singer Featherweight. I cut the borders before we left and I took the quilt and borders, along with my mask making stuff. I got the borders on while staying in an awesome mansion in downtown Memphis. And I made a decision – While my husband really wanted me to quilt this and emphasize the diamonds. I knew that I couldn’t get started until January with my crazy schedule. So I decided to take it to a good friend who is a long-arm quilter. This was a huge “letting go” for me. I have always done everything on my quilts myself. I have had this friend quilt one baby quilt when I got really backed up, but letting her do a quilt that was important to me was a big step. I dropped the quilt off a week ago and I was thrilled with her ideas for quilting it. I can’t wait to see it and share it with you all.

100-day quilt mock up in EQ8

In the meantime, I am celebrating achieving my OMG and starting to think about what goal I want to set for November…maybe it is time to look at some of my UFOs?

I encourage you to take a look at Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and consider trying it for a month – you may be surprised at what you get done!

Tools and Tips

Pins

Pins are such basic sewing tools that we don’t think about them very often. For years, I used whatever pins were available. I didn’t pay attention to whether I was using quilting pins for sewing satin clothes, or silk pins for a cotton quilt. A dear friend taught me that quilting pins are for quilts and you need the appropriate pin for the fabric you are using. But I didn’t understand the finer points (pun intended) until recently. I have a toolbox of pins. My all purpose pins are on my red magnetic pin holder. My large safety pins for basting are in the clear container. I also have small safety pins that are used primarily for costumes and quick repairs. I have become a lover of the lowly pin. As I discuss my favorites, please be aware that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases through the links.

For basting, I like large (at least size 2) curved safety pins. These work very well for me. I have a box of size 1 safety pins, but I don’t use them except for some wallhangings. Here is a handy size chart for safety pins:

Size	Length in inches (mm)
00	3/4″ (19mm)
0	7/8″ (22mm)
1	1 1/16″ (27mm)
2	1 1/2″ (38mm)
3	2″ (51mm)
4	2 1/4″ (57mm)

Straight pins also have sizes. Some manufacturers list a pin by the length and some include diameter to distinguish fine pins from regular or large pins. Here is a chart for straight pins:

Size	Length in inches
44	2 3/4″
32	2″
28	1 3/4″
24	1 1/2″
20	1 1/4″
17	1 1/6″
14	7/8″
12	3/4″
8	1/2″

Pin diameter also varies:

Diameter in mm	Size	Use
0.4 mm	Super fine	Sheers, chiffons, satins
0.5 mm	Extra fine	Cottons, sewing curves
0.6 mm	Fine	All purpose sewing
0.7 or 0.8mm	Heavy duty	Denim, corduroy, heavy fabrics

I have played around with a lot of pins over my nearly 50 years of sewing, and I am happy to share some of my favorites with you.

My favorite pins for keeping track of pieces for a quilt are these star pins from Dritz. They are long (2 3/4″) and thick, but the variety of numbers and marks works for most of my quilts.

There are pins numbered 1-10 and blank stars, and stars with up, down, right and left arrows.

If I need more variety, I add in my Wright flower pins . These are also long and are slightly thinner than the star pins. I wrote numbers 1-75 on my flower head pins, but some of the numbers have worn off. They work well in conjunction with my stars.

For piecing, I have two sets of pins. Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill of Whole Circle Studio suggested that better pins would improve my precision in piecing tight curves, and she was right! Sheri recommends (and I agree) the Iris 1 1/4 inch pins for tight curves. Iris also makes 1 1/2 inch colored head pins which are great general use pins.

These are European pins with a delightful tin. I love opening and closing it! The pins are fine and relatively short and work great on tight spaces.

For most piecing, my favorite pins are Clover Fine Quilting Pins<a href="http://<a href="http:// .

These pins are 1 1/2 inches long, with a glass head and a 0.5mm diameter.

They are long, thin and hold up to heavy use quite well. I have been using them for curves and straight piecing. Clover also makes a super fine which is also 1 1/2 inches long but is 0.4mm.

I don’t do much hand applique, so I have not worked with fine applique pins, but there are numerous short (1/2 to 3/4 inch) special applique pins to choose from

I am always looking for the newest, best pin. Do you have a favorite to share? Remember to change out dull or bent pins. I keep a “discard” bottle for old pins next to my sewing machine.

Happy sewing and may your pins be sharp!

About me

What is home to you?

I was asked this question recently, and it led to a lot of reflection. This week, home was spending time with my husband and most of my children, even though we were in a place none of us had been before. Home has meant different things at different points in my life – the house that I grew up in where my father was also raised, a hug from my mom, a favorite meal made by my uncle or mother-in-law. As I have gotten older, many of these things are gone – the house was sold, my parents, many aunts and uncles and in-laws have passed away. I still have some favorite foods that remind me of home, but somehow it is not the same when I have to cook. But one thing takes me home in a second – a quilt. The Dresden plate shown here is from one of a pair of quilts that my Grandma Ella made with her mother and sisters. I wore out one of the pair with constant use in high school and college. As soon as I touch it, I am at home. I feel Grandma Ella’s love and remember everything she taught me. Over the years, I have made and gifted many quilts. I hope they convey my love and become a source of comfort to those I love. That is one of the best blessings I can offer you as a quilter – may your quilt become the essence of home!