Saltwater Taffy!

I finished the sixteen side triangle blocks this morning and then laid out the quilt.

I left it on the floor and sewed one row together at a time.  I started at the top left and bottom right corners and got each half sewn and then put them together.  I pressed each row after putting it together.

Here it is in the evening light sans borders, which will go on next week.  I'm going to Salt Lake for the weekend for a well deserved break.

More of the Process

I worked on the next set of blocks last night and this morning.

Instead of having four cream triangles on each corner there are three and then one of the red dot print.  I made 14 of these, they will go along with the 17 blocks that I made the other day totaling 31 blocks.

Next, I put together these red and cream half square triangles.

I sewed two together and then

A third.

It's time to trim again so I got out my template.

After trimming it looks like this.

I then started sewing triangles on the three corners,  two red and one cream.

I trimmed again so all the sides were straight.

I used my long ruler to measure 1/4 inch past the center and then cut off

 the excess fabric.

I have 16 of these to finish trimming tomorrow.  I made 18.

I will start putting it all together tomorrow.  This is what the bottom right corner will look like.

Today!

I started today by cutting squares that are 3 1/2 inches square from the cream broadcloth.

Then I cut each of the squares in half.

I placed the triangles over the print to be sewn like shown in the picture.

I sewed a cream colored triangle on each of the 4 Fresh Cottons print triangles.

This is now starting to look like a block.

I pressed each block in preparation for trimming.

I trimmed one side and then the opposite side so it measured 8 inches across.  Then I trimmed the last 2 sides.

Here is the finished result, a perfect 8 inch square.  I made 17 of these for the center of the quilt.

The Process So Far!

Well, here I am with 62 five inch squares of Fresh Cottons prints and 62 five inch squares of cream broadcloth.  Notice I have drawn a line diagonally across each of the cream squares.

I am now sewing one cream square to one print square, stiching 1/4 inch on each side of the drawn line. 

Next I cut on the line.

And I have two squares that look like this.

I always press to the print or the darker fabric.  This works very well for pinwheels because when you sew them together the seam allowance will fall on opposite sides.

I put four half-square triangles together for each pinwheel.  I sewed the bottom two together and then the top two then pressed the seams again and sewed the two halves together.

It will now look like this.  If you are very careful about your 1/4 inch seams and press well and pin carefully at the seams, your points should come together very well in the center of the block.

I then made a plastic template from the pattern that came with the quilt pattern.  I traced around the template with a pencil on each of the four corners.

Now it is time to start trimming.  I used my triangle ruler to get a nice straight edge instead of just eyeballing the pencil line.

This is what it should look like after it is fully trimmed.

Here are a few more.  I really like the look of these octagons.

Here is the pile of pinwheel blocks ready to be trimmed.  The quilt pattern calls for 31 of them so I guess I'd better get busy.

Fresh Cottons!

The fabric for my next quilt came in the mail on Tuesday, I'm so excited.  Ever since I first saw the Fresh Cottons collection I've loved it.  I will be making the Salt Water Taffy pattern by Fig Tree Quilts and hopefully entering it in the county fair in a few weeks. I started cutting yesterday and today I will be sewing the pinwheels together. Wish me luck.

Also, check out my Etsy shop.  Some of the quilts from the July Jamboree are for sale.  Just click on "jennteach" and it will take you right there.

Whitney's Quilt!

My daughter Whitney wanted something to do with her Darlene Zimmerman fabrics so this is what she decided.

She started with a central block and then just kept adding around.

She did all of the piecing and quilting herself.  I did the cutting, backing and binding.

We bound it in the purple because we didn't get much of that color in the quilt.

The backing is pieced also.  The quilt measures 51x56.  I think she will use it as a lap quilt or she can save it for a little girl toddler.  We used a polyester batting so it can hold up to a lot of washing.  I love it Whit!

The Last One!

There is some debate in the family about what this quilt looks like.  Turned on its side like this, some(Miranda) think it looks like a city skyline.

Like this it just looks cute.

Do you see a profit and loss graph when it is right side up?  That's what my nephew Noah thinks.

The back is cut from a white Ikea sheet and I quilted it in a circle in a circle pattern.

As you can see I used leftover strips of Riley Blake Just Dreamy fabric.  I got this idea off of the Moda Bake Shop and then made it the size that I wanted.

It measures 36x42 and has an 80/20 cotton poly batting.  It has been washed for that antique look.  This is the final quilt made for the July Jamboree.

Frolic Fun!

I put this quilt together on tuesday and then quilted and bound it yesterday.

The fabric is called "Frolic" by Sandy Gervais.  I used one charm pack and then four different fabrics from the collection for the borders, back and binding.

I think the colors make this a nice quilt for a baby boy.

I quilted it in the "mouse maze" pattern which went really fast.

The final measurements are 36x40.  This is another quilt that I will be trying to sell at the July Jamboree this weekend in Cedar City.

It Took Awhile!

The quilting is finally finished on the Nicey Jane quilt that my daughter Miranda made for her husband.  She has taken the quilt home to finish the binding. 

These are such fun fabrics and I love the simple pattern of rectangles framed by cream colored sashing.

I quilted it in a three loop meandering pattern. 

Here is a closer look. 

The quilt measures 88x102 before washing and will probably shrink a couple of inches when it is washed and dried.