Last BOM

I squeezed in September's Block of the Month the very last day of the month.  It's entitled Lucky Last since it is the last block in the Blogger's series.  Next month we'll be deciding how to put all the blocks together.

 Here's a look at all 13 of my blocks:

I also finished the Sewing Machine cover, but I'll wait until it's safely in the mail on its way to my swap partner before I show any pictures.  :) 

I'm linking up to BOMs Away on this fine Monday morning.

More Quilting

This week's design was Snake Paisley, and I liked it a lot.  It kind of reminds me of flames.  I was also looking for a fun and easy filler design for 2 more sections of the quilt and I found Spiral Knots in Leah's archives.  I had a feeling I would love this design, because it's very similar to Loopy Lines (one of my favorites).  It's definitely a great choice for quickly filling an area with the ability to space the quilting out a bit. 

Quilting Options

Tonight I'm teaching a class for some basic quilting options.  I thought I would give a run-down of some simple techniques for the beginner.  I think it's always good to see what other people are doing as well, so check out some other posts that are great from Alyssa here and here.  If you really want to go to a fabulous source I suggest Leah Day.  She is so talented and has so many wonderful tutorials/videos.

I decided to categorize some quilting options for you the way my brain works.  Disclaimer - I'm pretty sure your brain works different than mine and that's probably a good thing, but I needed a way to organize my thoughts: (Remember that you can click on any of the pictures to make them larger)

Straight Lines: 

• Stitch in the Ditch- It is just what it sounds like; you sew along the seam of the fabrics, so that the sewing is not seen.  The most common use for this is to stitch around squares and blocks as an outlining tool.  If done right you should really only see it on the back of your quilt.

Notice the outlining of the octagon and center square of the block on the back of the quilt

• Straight-Line Echoing- I've also seen it referred to as Outlining.  You sew a set distance away from the seam (usually 1/4"), and it brings attention to the shape you outline.  You can also do multiple echoing:

• Parallel Lines- Straight lines down the length or width of your quilt.  You can vary the distance or keep it the same distance between lines.  This particular quilt is parallel lines.  It looks wavy, because I used a decorative stitch at it's longest stitch setting, but it was created the same exact way you would make straight lines.

• Perpendicular lines: Straight lines on the diagonal forming diamonds.  Sometimes the lines go in the direction of your blocks and sometimes it's fun to make the diamonds running through the straight, square blocks.

• Straight-lined designs:  You can also create really cool effects simply by using straight lines.  In this case I chose an echoing diamond:

Organic Lines:

• Parallel Organic Lines:  It's the same idea as Parallel straight lines except you use a walking foot and randomly let the line wiggle as you travel down the length of your quilt.  Again, you can vary the space between the lines.  They can be very close together or several inches apart depending on the look you are going for.

• Random Organic Lines:  This quickly became one of my favorites, because it's different every time you do it.  You randomly place lines from edge to edge of the quilt.  I like to arch my lines and make curve shapes for an added effect, but you can also make then wiggly or all straight depending on what you like.  You keep making lines until you like the amount of lines on your quilt.

Free Motion Quilting:
This is where people tend to get crazy nervous.  Up until about 6 months ago I did very little FMQ.  It scared me to death, because I was convinced I would ruin my quilts.  A couple tips that have really helped me. 

1. You need a free motion quilting foot (sometimes called a darning foot).  It doesn't have to be anything fancy, and you can buy a generic one if your machine doesn't come with one.
2. A common misconception is that you have to lower your feed dogs.  It's actually better if you don't and just lower your stitch length to as close to 0 as possible.  When your feed dogs are down your needle punches larger holes in your fabric.
3. There are all kinds of tools out there that you can purchase to help with quilting, but one that I think really helps is to have quilting gloves, so that you have a firmer grip on your quilt and can maneuver it easier.  If you want the whole ultimate package of quilting tools go here, but you can find quilting gloves at places like JoAnns.  
4. Practice is the key - seriously though.  You don't get good at FMQ by sitting and watching other people do it.  I keep all of my extra strips of batting and fabric that I don't particularly like and form my own mini-sandwiches.  I practice using these scraps, so I don't feel like I'm wasting materials.  It's the perfect use for them.
5. I practice on my "sandwich" a little before trying any new design just to make sure my tension is correct on my machine, and then I continue with my FMQ on the desired quilt.  (You don't have to do this, but I find that it keeps me from having to pick out stitches because I realize too late that my thread tension is off).  Play with the settings of thread tension until you find one that works for your machine.
6. When practicing it's often helpful to use a thread that is a high contrast in color from your fabric so you can easily see what you're stitching.

Some really popular designs:  (There are hundreds, so obviously I'm only showing some basic options). 

• Stippling- This is what people generally refer to as a squiggle.  I used to randomly squiggle around on my quilts until I found out there is actually a method to the madness.  I'm not even going to pretend like I can make a better video than Leah, so here is the link to her video that gives a wonderful tutorial on practicing Stippling.

• Loopy Lines-  This is one of my personal favorites, because it can quickly fill a quilt and can easily be adjusted for less density (more space between loops) to make a baby quilt more snugly.  Here is Leah's tutorial on Loopy Lines.

More dense quilting

Less dense quilting

I hope this gets your wheels turning about what you want to do with your quilt.  What's really cool is that there are so many FMQ designs out there to explore and see what works for you.  You can even make an entire quilt with just quilting.  It's a fun experiment to create a wholecloth quilt:

Soccer or Football (Whichever Suits Your Fancy)

I know in most of the world it's called Football, but I'll stick with saying Soccer for now.  :)

Last week Joel and I went to the Columbus Crew Game against Chivas.  It was Mormon Night and also Latino Night.  I'm not really sure how those 2 go together - a lot of Latinos are Mormon maybe??  Anyway, what that did mean is that we got some yummy Mexican grub while watching the soccer game.   The other funny thing was that an entire section was a bunch of Mormon missionaries in suits.  I thought it was hilarious when the drink guy came up yelling about ice, cold beers.  Somebody was nice enough to tell him he was probably in the wrong section since Mormons don't drink.  He came back later yelling about water and Gatorade.  He caught on quickly.  Tee hee.

It was a lot of fun.  The Crew finally scored 89 minutes into the game.  Phew.  They won 1-0.

Basting Your Quilt

It's that time again!  2 months ago I gave some beginners tips for learning how to piece together a quilt top.  For starter tips & supply list go here.  4-patch tutorial is here and Pinwheel tutorial is here.

Next Tuesday I'm teaching a beginners quilting class at my church.  If you're in the Columbus area you should come - it's going to be fun!  First thing's first though - before you learn how to baste your quilt (put the 3 layers together) you need to decide which batting to use in the middle of your quilt.  There are a ton of options out there and it can really be confusing which one to buy.  I personally am a Warm & Natural girl, but that's for you to decide.  Sew, Mama, Sew gives a wonderful guide on all the different types of batting.

Some things to think about when choosing batting:
1- The most common thing I hear is that the batting just seems too thin and won't keep them warm.  It's the loft of the batting that determines the warmth not the actual thickness.  Most lap quilts and such are low loft.  It's what I almost always use, because it's a lot easier to work with.  However, if this is going on a bed and you really want a warm quilt you can use high loft batting.  It's more expensive, but well worth it if you want to be toasty roasty.  High loft means the fibers are woven closer together.  Remember- it doesn't refer to the thickness of the batting, so don't base it on how thick it is in connection to warmth.

2- Keep in mind how you are planning to quilt it when choosing batting.  Notice on the instructions of this particular batting that the furthest apart I can top stitch my quilt is 10 inches apart.   Each type of batting has different needs for quilting in order for it to keep shape and not warp or fall apart over time.  Some batting requires stitching as close as 5 inches, so check the label before purchasing it.

Basting Your Quilt:
There are a couple of ways to layer your quilt.  Alyssa at Pile O' Fabric gives a great tutorial on 3 different methods.  It doesn't really matter which method you use as long as you like it and it does a good job of keeping your layers from shifting.  I personally use Pin Basting.  This is the method I will be showing at the quilting class.

If you want to baste along with me during the class you will need to bring:

• Pieced Quilt top
• Quilt Back Fabric (ironed as much as possible) - It should be the size of the quilt top plus a couple inches around for a little wiggle room
• Safety Pins
• Batting (enough to cover your quilt back)

Persistance Pays Off

Oof.  I was having all kinds of issues quilting yesterday.  I had a little section of Zippling with Stars to finish up before doing the Lava Paisley.  I quilted an entire section, thinking that the quilt felt a little heavy and slow moving.  I checked it a couple of times, but thought it was just me.  You also have to understand that this is the same day that I almost put cumin in my cake batter instead of cloves, so I already thought I was going loopy.  Luckily, my bobbin ran out and when I moved the quilt I saw that I had quilted it together.  I still have no idea how I managed to get it folded under itself like that, but I am SO glad my bobbin ran out or else I would of had some serious picking out to do.

So, I get it all picked out and you're not going to believe it - I did it again!!!  The batting got folded under.  Gratefully, I felt it this time and stopped.

Ya - it was that kind of day.   I was going to throw in the towel and call it a day, but I really wanted to try the Lava Paisley.  I'm so glad I did, because I really enjoyed it and they went a lot more smoothly for me than I thought they would.  The spacing isn't perfect, but it was really great practice and I love how it looks in the overall quilt.  I love the sharp lines of Zippling contrasting with the curves of the Paisley.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

It's mid-September and I still have zucchinis coming from my garden.  It's actually getting a bit ridiculous how many zucchinis these 2 plants have produced.  We have tried a ton of zucchini recipes, but there are still 5 huge zucchinis sitting on my counter with more on the way.  

I saw this recipe for Zucchini Cakes (similar to Potato Cakes) that we're going to try.  I'll let you know if they're any good, but in the mean time my absolute favorite zucchini recipe is Chocolate Zucchini Cake.  I do love zucchini bread quite a bit, but this recipe is like combining zucchini bread with chocolate cake and adding chocolate chips on top- how can you not love that?!!

When you cut into the cake the chocolate chips melt all over the sides of the cake.  It's pure heavenly yumminess. Here's the recipe:

½ c. Butter, softened
½ c. Oil
1¾c. Sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp. Vanilla
½ c. Buttermilk
2 1/2 c. Flour
4 Tbs. Cocoa
½ tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Cloves
2 c. Grated Zucchini
1 c. Chocolate Chips
1 c. Nuts (opt.)

Combine all ingredients (except nuts and chips) in order given. Pour batter into greased &
floured 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chips & nuts on top. Bake @ 325F for 45 minutes. Needs no frosting.

As you can see above, the chocolate chips bake right into the top of the cake. We're not nut 

people around here, but I have heard that walnuts or pecans taste particularly nice. For the life of 

me I can't remember the origin of this recipe, so if you feel slighted that it's yours, let me know so 

I can give you credit. In the meantime I'm going to say it's a family recipe.  I'm linking up to  

Tuesday at the Table.  :)


Just a funny side note: When I was making it this morning I almost put cumin in the batter

instead of cloves. They both start with C. That's close enough, right? Yikes. Good thing I noticed 

the smell before it went in the bowl. It would have ruined some perfectly lovely cake.

School Yard Fun

For the last 15 months I've been doing Activity Days for the 8-11 year old girls at my church.  We do all sorts of things.  I was recently released from my duties, and this past Wednesday was my last time with the girls.  I was really sad, because I really love these girls.  This past activity was all about recess.  :)  They played one huge game of hopscotch, jumped rope and colored with sidewalk chalk.



Some fun facts about hopscotch - did you know it originated in England in the 17th century?  It is found in a manuscript of compiled games as early as 1635. 

 I love this picture of Cora's hair flying: