Sylvia's Bridal Sampler done!

I finished up the binding for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler on 30 Dec 2009, so I met my goal of getting this finished in 2009, just barely :)


The working title has been Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. It's temporary name is Elm Creek Sampler, because all of the blocks are from the Elm Creek books, and it is not a Bridal Sampler for me, not after being married for 27 years. (picture is without binding, but close to what it looks like now, binding is finished narrow, only 1/4")
Quilting and photo by Sue Baddley of Summit Creek Quilts.

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler is Home!

Yesterday I came home to a fabulous box, my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler is home. Sue Baddley did a fantastic job. We e-mailed back and forth about designs and layouts and she put it all together and made my SBS super wonderful. So far I have just looked at it, and oohed and ahhed over it. Someday soon I will pull out the fabric for binding it and do it. I plan on using Sharon Schamber's binding technique again, but first I need to get a few supplies. I plan on getting it show ready, with attached sleeve, when I do the binding. Also need to get a label made. Love this quilt!

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler is Quilted!

O frabjous day! Sue Baddley (Summit Creek Quilts) recently finished quilting my SBS quilt and sent me a picture. If you want to see more detailed pictures, check out her webshots at http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2680391290100365634hXepcM . She did a fabulous job, and now I am waiting patiently (NOT) to get it back. But I will be patient, after all she did get it quilted without any delay on her part, now I need to wait for the post office.
Each block is quilted individually, lots of feathers (I love feathers), and one has my initials and another has the year.

SBS top done!

I pulled a late-nighter on Saturday and got the top done! Almost left the last border and mitering the corners until Sunday, but decided I could get it done. Most of Sunday was spent re-arranging my sewing room, I had to pull a few things out so I could free up some wall space to take this picture. Wall wasn't quite long enough, or tall enough. I am holding one corner up, and it is draped on the floor. Backing is on order, just didn't have quite enough of the coordinating fabric, but will use that for pillowcases. So it's all good. Yeah!

SBS center is done!

Here is my center! Well most of it, still can't quite get it all in the camera lens. It will be even harder once I get the borders on. The only way I could get a good picture of "Dear Jane My Way" was when it was hung at the quilt show, and it was not as big as this one will be. I love it (GFETE)!

Sashing SBS and Beet Pancakes

The horizontal rows of sashing take a bit of doing, and I am still doing them. Lots of pins in each seam, and then slow stitching, but it is getting done. I did two seams last night and have two pinned to sew tonight, then just two more and it will be a center. I'll need to get the iron out then, to press the seams and the border fabrics.

My CSA box has been giving me lots of beets, and since they hold up pretty well they haven't been the first thing I have used each week. Last night I thought I better use some before I got more on Thursday. Cooking them for 45 minutes before I could use them wasn't in the cards, so I started looking online for a "quick" recipe and found "Beet Pancakes and Frittatas with Bittman" ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4670696 ) which turned out pretty good, a bunch of beets (a literal bunch, connected with a rubber band) got turned into two pancakes. I think I used more flour than called for, and used dried rosemary crushed with my morter and pestle, fresh would be better. I will definately try these again!

Assembling Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

The last few days have been working on sashing the blocks. So far I have made rows, all twelve of them actually . You can't see them all because I can't get back far enough, and there is stuff (my cutting table that does not move easily) in the way that makes it harder yet. They haven't been ironed yet, and are just stuck on the flannel sheet, more or less (a few pins to make it harder for gravity). Once I got the layout how I liked it I updated my EQ virtual quilt and exported it to my desktop. Now I have a visual reference for getting the blocks in the right spot. On the plus side, it is not affected by gravity, or being able to get back far enough. I updated the earlier post with the new version, just don't think I need two of them here. Now on to the horizontal rows of sashing with cornerstones!

Virtual SBS quilt

I imported my real blocks into EQ and set the pictures into the quilt layout. Hopefully I didn't duplicate any. I was trying to scatter some colors around, that didn't have a lot of use, and putting some of my favorites in the center so they would be seen on the bed. This quilt will be 100" square, before quilting. The green sashing isn't the real fabric, a bit darker than shown, it is the darkest green in the blocks. I need a large flannel sheet to pin to the wall to really lay these out! (new picture as of 7/25 shows final layout and darker green skinny border - CAB)

Finished my Blocks!

The Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks are pieced, appliqued and ready to trim. Yes, I did not trim as I went, or sash, so that is next on the list of steps to get this to a completed top. Do you think of what you were doing (or in my case watching) when you do something? For me, when I look at Tumbling Blocks, I will remember Atonement, the movie I was watching when I pieced and appliqued this block.

K-10 tumbling blocks - used template made from Jennifer's pattern, hand pieced and hand appliqued. I even changed the thread colors.

K-4 glorified nine patch - made the nine patch with EQ6 patterns (basically a five patch), then used a freezer paper method to prep the curves, then hand appliqued them to the nine patch.

N-5 whirlpool - Marti Michell templates, machine piecedJ-7 pinwheel - a combination of Marti Michell template and EQ6 template, not crazy about this block, but it will do.

N-10 Friendship Diamond - the last block I did!

144 blocks to be set 12 x 12, 3882 pieces so far. I started with F-10 Aunt Sukey's Choice on 4/13/2008, trying to just do a block a week. I sped up after a while .

On a Roll - more SBS blocks

I spent much of the day at my sewing machine and got the last couple of blocks prepped and 6 more SBS blocks made. 139 done, 5 to go!

I-4 Anvil, Marti Michell templates, machine pieced

I-7 Right Hand of Friendship, more Marti Michell templates, machine pieced

J-3 Farmer's Daughter - EQ6 templates, machine pieced

J-4 Autumn Leaf - EQ6 templates, machine pieced, except for stem, hand appliqued

N-6 kaleidoscope , used MM templates for cutting fabric that was then paper pieced together

Christmas Star - the last extra block I am making. Taken from More Elm Creek Quilts, the Christmas Quilt. Used Marti Michell templates when available, then EQ for the rest, machine pieced. The 12" version will be all MM templates. The Christmas Quilt might well be the next Jennifer Chiaverini quilt I make. Those 12" blocks will seem huge!

Next, however, is hand piecing Tumbling blocks or finish up Glorified Nine Patch, then it will be the last three easy pieced blocks (which are all cut out) and all of the blocks will be done! Don't know if that will happen this week or not. I also need to make a baby quilt really soon. And I will be heading off to Sisters Oregon for the quilt show this week. Fun times with my sister :)

SBS Progress

I have spent the last few sewing spells working on the Snow Crystal block. Love it, but glad I decided not to make Carpenter's Wheel as my fourth extra block, too similar. With 14 left to make I thought I'd prep most of them today, which I did. I also decided to make a few of them, so made Puss in the Corner, Pineapple, and Sickle. (I had made Grandmother's Fan a few days ago).

Puss in the corner (above) (rotary cut, machine pieced)

Grandmother's Fan (above) templates, machine pieced (except brown corner quarter circle which was appliqued)

Sickle (above) Marti Michell templates and strip pieced four patches

Pineapple (above) paper pieced

Snow Crystal (templates, hand pieced)

More SBS blocks

I am getting closer to the end of these blocks. I finished up H-7 Odd Fellow's Chain late last night (or was that early this morning). I rotary cut, machine pieced the corners, but paper pieced the rest.

I did H-8 Pinwheel after finishing up the other three, just so I could say the H row was done . I used Marti Michell templates, or rather, template.

I had been dreading H-10 King's Star, but ended up piecing an eight pointed star (using the MM templates), then making a small pinwheel and appliqueing it to the center of the star. This was similar construction to a couple of Dear Jane blocks. I used a gold silk thread for the applique, and didn't bother to change it, silk blends in so nicely :)

Another block I had been dreading, I-10 Rocky Road to Dublin. I tried to piece it (one of them is pieced), but ended up appliqueing the quarter circles. I used freezer paper, printing them using EQ6. Kept changing my mind on fabrics to use, auditioning several different ones in EQ. The pink almost ended up green. It would have been appropriate I think, but decided I liked the pink better.

At this point I have one more block that I know will be hand pieced, all ready on my layout board, Snow Crystal (one that I added). And one more that will be too, now that I think of it, Tumbling blocks, but then they are getting to the easier (or maybe just quicker) blocks. 128 done, 16 to go!

SBS G-9 Dutch Tulip

I've been putting off this block, but now I have rows A-G all done! A combination of methods, the small corners done with paper piecing, then trimmed and added to template cut parallelograms, with the final triangle and the rest of the pieces cut with Marti Michell templates. All machine pieced.

SBS Offline Challenge

June's challenge was very husband and wife oriented. The two I hadn't done were True Lover's Knot and Contrary Wife. Got those done today. 123 done, 21 to go.

I-1 True Lover’s Knot

L-10 Contrary Wife

SBS Lancaster Rose

I had been putting off doing Lancaster Rose, mostly because of the green leaves. Done is certainly better than perfect with this one. I should have made my background square even bigger, not enough to hold onto when I was doing those corner leaves. After those were done, the rest went pretty quickly. 121 done, 23 to go. I will work on the offline group challenge blocks next. The challenge was to do six from a list, but I have already done all but two of them. One easy, one medium-ish. I am not sure if I have done three or four already this month, so will try to get at least one more done besides True Lover's Knot and Contrary Wife.

Second extra SBS block

This is the second block I am adding to Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, Star of Bethlehem, hand pieced. Very fiddley, and I need to pull the stitches together in the center, slight hole there... Last time I made this in 6" I said it was the last time. I guess I forgot. Love the block, but maybe as the center of a medallion next time? Gee, if I had only made it slightly bigger this could have been a center medallion :)

SBS BOW H-3 Sarah's Choice

This week's Sylvia's Bridal Sampler BOW was H-3 Sarah's Choice. I made it with Marti Michell templates A4, A5, and A6. This is number 119 for me, 25 to go!

Castle Wall - a SBS extra block

This is the first "extra" block I have made that is going into my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt. It is a Castle Wall variation (variation because I did not piece the center, I like the floral just the way it is). This is one of my favorite blocks, and since I am trying to add ones that Agnes pieced, this was an obvious choice to add to my quilt. I used templates from the Jinny Beyer website, except the center octagon, which I drafted in EQ6.

Laurel Wreath, SBS BOW

I-6 Laurel Wreath was the block of the week. I started this block on Monday, had it all cut out and it took me this long to get it together . Hand pieced. I also did a Star of the Orient, but forgot to take a picture of it and gave it away. I love Star of the Orient! And easy to sew together too. I use Marti Michell templates for everything except the center and things just match. Love it.

SBS Blocks

More SBS blocks got done, I finished off the M row, then the D row. Now I have all the blocks done in rows A through F, and M, plus a few more (116 done now!) Only 24 of the original 140 left to go, plus four more for my setting.

M-10 Key West Beauty - paper pieced

M-8 Dogwood Violet - paper pieced

D-1 Hands All Around - hand pieced