Wednesday, January 11, 2023

First quilt top of 2023.............


The iron finally got turned on.  I don't know what my hang up is but I always procrastinate until I have a pile to press.  This top is finished at 45" x 54".  I just love this one.  The simple 9 patch wins again.  I read that 9 patch should be your first block when you are learning to piece blocks.  My first block was 8 point star with Y seams and I created it by machine.  Then I read that block should only be sewn by hand.  I just wasn't following the rules and now 65+ years later I'm having fun with 9 patch.  


Juliana asked in a comment yesterday:

I noted that you said that you don't have nesting seams everywhere in this quilt. Could you show the back and explain what you do in those cases? I just had that problem and I would love to know what an expert quilter does.
Thank you.

 Look where one block meets the next, the seams are going to same direction, not nesting.  I just matched the beginning and end of the blocks and if they were the same length, I just sewed the seam (no pins).  If they hadn't been the same length I would have peeled back the top layer and matched the seams as best I could and stretch or ease to make the blocks line up with each other.  I spent quality time sewing the 9 patches slowly for good accuracy on this quilt.  


I spent some time preparing this quilt for quilting.  I pieced the back and pressed it and then loaded it on the longarm.





I also was going through all of my leftover pieces of batting to find two that could be joined for this quilt.  I made a list of all of the pieces and then noticed 2 that would work.  I butted the edge together and used the 3 step zig zag.  I find that a plain zig zag compresses the join too much and is sometimes visible in the finished quilt.  This stitch keeps the join at the same level as the rest of the batting.  I haven't turned the longarm on yet.  I need to put in a new needle and hope I have better luck getting the eye centered than on the last quilt.  I use a pin inserted in the eye but it is still hard to tell if it in the perfect position.  Darn round top needles.  Why couldn't they put a flat back on these like regular sewing machine needles.


I got all of these sets sewn together while watching the 3 FBI shows on TV.  There are 12 in most of the piles, 16 in one and 8 in one.  There are 17 piles sewn now.






Here are the combinations left to sew.  I changed some of the pairs from the arrangement I showed a few days ago.  There wasn't enough contrast on some of them and I think these will work better.







13 comments:

Libby in TN said...

Thanks for the tip on the 3-step zig-zag! Now to replace the needle on the machine that will do it ...

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

one day I need to get the piles of scrap batting out and see what I can piece together - I find it such a pain to do though as I have so many long narrow pieces left over usually. Love the quilts don't recall seeing the second one you show - the stars.

patty a. said...

I have a pile of scrap batting, but I need to make some quilts before I start sewing them together. I used that same stitch when sewing the batting pieces together. I did use up quite a bit of batting scraps making 22 placemats, but I still have a big pile left.

Anonymous said...

Love the quilts! Do you ever use batting tape to join scraps? I've done it once and it worked great, but it does require turning on the iron 😆

Julierose said...

9-patch piece looks amazing...I can't imagine my having made an 8 pt. star as a beginner quilter!! As a matter of fact--even now it would be such a challenge!!
I didn't realize that the 3-step zig-zag would be less noticeable--thanks for that info...;)))
Only 27 degrees here this morning...and not warming very fast--BUT==at long last the sun has come out!! Hugs, Julierose

Anonymous said...

My first quilt block back in 1974 or so was a Drunkard's Path. I figured if I could do a set-in sleeve I could do curved piecing. That never became a quilt for other reasons. I didn't get around to actually making a quilt until the late 1990s.

JustGail said...

I've heard conflicting theories about what beginners should sew. One group says beginners must pick something simple like a 9-patch or pillowcase. Another group says beginners should pick whatever they like within reason - mariner's star or a ballgown would not be advised. IMHO, it depends on the beginner and their confidence and ability to slow down and think things through.

Pressing direction is something I'm still working on. I think pressing could be a whole teaching course of its own. The standby advice of "press toward the dark" just doesn't cut it sometimes.

I'm conflicted how I feel about the neutral triangles. Part of me says "blah, boring" yet when I look at the completed 16-patch quilt, I say "calm, relaxing". Maybe I'm simply tired of gray/brown winter when the only color outside is blue sky or the cardinals? The 9-patch is beautiful! I really like the color wash effect of light in the middle and fading to darker at the edges.

MissPat said...

I looked back through some of the posts on making the 5 light/4 dark 9-patch blocks. Did you know you were going to lay them out colorwash style? And, if so, how did you figure out how many blocks needed to be 5 medium/4 dark for the outer perimeter? And I laughed when you said your first quilt was a 8 pointed star. A fearless quilter right from the start.
Pat

JJM said...

Wow what a great post today, full of tips and awesome photos.

JJM

Juliana said...

Thanks for your answer, Wanda. I love what one of the other responders said--that you were a fearless quilter from the start!

Mari said...

Great finish! Sorry to point out that it is your first finish of 2023, not 2022. As Katherine Hepburn famously said "if you keep all the rules you miss all the fun!" I most often use the serpentine stitch to join batting pieces. It holds everything together and doesn't make a line in the finished quilt.

Ann said...

Your nine-patch is lovely. I've been wanting to make one for a while and have a stash of squares somewhere.

Vicki W said...

That quilt just glows! I've gotten lazy about my pieced batting and I now do it with strips of fusible interfacing. I bought a bolt from Joann when it was half price and cut it all up into 1.5" strips. I have so many bits leftover from veterans quilts that I do a lot of batting piecing..