Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop!

Thank you all for visiting!  Also, please let me take a minute to thank Beth, at Plum and June, for putting this awesome blog hop together!!  I have learned so much from the guest speakers and the other participants.

OK, let's get down to it and get acquainted!

Hello, my name is Jen.  I started quilting 3 years ago.  I took a beginner class at my local quilt shop and was hooked.  I completed 3 of the sampler quilts (baby sized), and promptly stopped quilting for about 6 months.  A few more periods of quilting and hiatus followed, then before the holiday season last year, I discovered blogland. It was amazing!  Creativity everywhere, cheerful voices, support groups.  I decided to start my own blog to chronicle my own projects.  I kept my expectations low - sending my words and projects out into the universe was enough for me.  Because I wasn't expecting much in return, it has made me so much more appreciative of the extras I have gotten out of the experience.  Friendships, advice, FUN!  I love it, and I plan on stickin' around.

My quilting "style/personality" can best be summed up as: haphazard.  I have quilting ADHD.  I am notorious for getting super jazzed about a project or technique, getting partially through a project, and then switching to something different entirely.  My list of UFO's is impressive.  But, blogging is actually helping me focus.  There is nothing like a scheduled quilt along, or a deadline for a blog hop, that can keep you on track.  I like to think of it as using peer pressure in your favor.  I need that external motivation, not everyone does.  Do what works for you, right?

Quilting tips:

• that whole, "measure twice, cut once" thing has gotten me quite a few times!
• I love re-using clean plastic produce containers to store my fabrics, WIP's, even patterns
• practice, practice, practice (especially things you find difficult)
• take classes
• challenge yourself with something new!

Blogging tips:

• Join up!  Join linky parties, blog hops, and quilt alongs.  They are fun, and it is almost guaranteed that you will get at least a friendly "hello" out of it.  Who doesn't need an interweb smile?  There is something for everyone - Diane at Blank Pages has put together a great list of linky parties for virtually every stage of a project.  You don't have to link up to all of them; pick and choose what is best for you.
• Just be yourself

Favorite Fabric:

• I still love my Flea Market Fancy so much I haven't cut into it.
• I also just got a bunch of Polka Dot Stitches from Lori Holt at Bee in My Bonnet
• I love my solids too
• pretty much anything on sale - I am totally a compulsive shopper!  In fact, the Peak Hour I used for this project was a compulsive/it's on sale buy.  

Favorite Craft Book (this is a tough one!):

• Elizabeth Hartman's, Modern Patchwork - I know everyone loves her Practical Guide to Patchwork, so I bought it and DO like it.  I just like the patterns in Modern Patchwork more.
• Quilting Modern by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pederson - I can't wait to have some time to start some of these beauties!

Favorite Book:  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin - it brings out the romantic in me!

Binding by Hand or Machine:

• Both
• When I am making something that I know will reside in my house, like the place mats I do for the Free Motion Challenge, I machine bind those.  I also machine bind things that I am in a tremendous hurry to finish (like the Bee Happy charity quilt that was nearly late for the deadline due to all kinds of issues with my old machine)
• But, if I am making a gift and I really want it to look nice, I will take the time to hand bind.  Since I mostly make gifts for other people (I still haven't made a quilt for my own bed!), this is fairly often.  Enter some of my favorite tools....

Favorite Quilting Tools:

• Kwik Klip - I like to pin any project larger than a place mat.  I tend to use spray baste for smaller projects, but I find things still shift a fair amount and for my larger projects the good 'ole safety pin method works best for me.  This tool allows me to complete the process so much faster and my fingers aren't sore at the end of the process.
• Clover Wonder clips - when I am hand binding, I like to use these clips to hold the binding in place ahead of where I am stitching.  It helps keep things straight.
• The binding tool - Maybe it is my "mommy brain" but making my binding tails come together properly was a huge challenge.  I got this tool and now I have no problems, and it requires little THINKING on my part. I got mine here.

What do I wish I knew about blogging before I started? - well, I could still use a little more computer savvy. But, this has been a journey and I am glad I didn't know much going in.  Everyday, I am surprised and pleased at something that happens.  It makes me happy!

My word, am I long-winded!  You guys are probably thinking to yourself, "can we get to the project already?".  OK, hold your horses.

My semi-improvisational, stained-glass inspired, novelty print using, kid quilt:

Want to know how I made it?  I had to put it in a separate post, because of the long-winded-ness above!  Click here to be directed to the tutorial.

Also, don't forget to visit the other participants for this week!

Sep 18
       Lina from Smultonbo's Pieceful
       Chase from 1/4" mark  - I just love her patchwork bucket tutorial

Sep 20
        Anna from Pink Padme - she loves quilting so much, she tattooed a block on herself.  Now THAT is dedication to one's craft!

 Thank you for joining me today.  I hope you had fun!

Jen

Peak Hour Quilt - Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop Project

Since the theme of the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop is novelty prints, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try out a few new techniques.

I only thought it appropriate when using novelty prints to use a fussy cutting technique.  I mean, what is the point of all those cute little prints if you can't showcase them?  I haven't done much fussy cutting in the past, and it does seem a little wasteful, but I tried it anyway.  And, what better way to frame up those fussy cut items than a stained glass inspired quilt?

This is semi-improvisational piecing due to the random sizes of your fussy cut items.  The fabric I have chosen, Peak Hour by Riley Blake, has a rather wide range of sizes of the subject matter in the prints.  Because of this, the amount of fabric you need might vary greatly depending on your subject matter sizes.  Here are some approximations of what you need:

• 1 yard of solid for the sashing to frame up your blocks (I used black)
• 1/2 yard of large sized novelty print
• 3 times 1/2 yards of medium sized novelty prints
• 4 times 1/2 yards of blender fabrics to be used as "fillers" (I used the red dot, blue dot, the newspaper print and the stripe fabric as my fillers)
• 1/2 yard of binding fabric
• 1 1/2 yards of backing fabric

Step One:

Start fussy cutting out some items from your large and medium sized prints.  Just place your ruler on your subject matter and cut around it.  Remember to leave at least 1/4 inch around your focal point for the seam allowance.  I chose to keep my fussy cut items in squares and rectangles, but this quilt would work "wonky" too, and likely look marvelous!

Soon, you will have a whole pile of fussy cut items.

Step One and a Half:

You might as well cut some sashing strips while you are at it.  I cut mine at 1 1/2 inches wide, and yes, I starched the heck out of the fabric before cutting it!  Keep these nearby as you will be cutting them down to size as you go.

Step Two:

Take your largest fussy cut item and add sashing on two sides by measuring the side(s) and cutting the sashing to measure the same.  The picture below shows items completely framed by sashing - I learned as I went that I actually wanted to expand my blocks in one direction (say, right to left), and then in the other direction (up and down).  This was easier if I added the sashing on only 2 sides at the beginning.

Step Three:

Start adding blocks together, making sure there is sashing between each one.  Soon, you will have a decent start to your quilt.  Notice how I used the blender fabrics (below the red, blue, stripe and newspaper print) to "fill" in the block to make it square.  This is important if you have all different sized fussy cut blocks like I did.  Yes, this required math, I mean, a calculator nearby and  it was used frequently (especially since that target circle was actually cut at a size with 1/8 inch), and I did make a few mistakes here and there and had to rip and re-cut a few times.  Don't get too frustrated, it is part of the process.

Keep adding fussy cut items and fillers until the quilt is the size you want.  I found the more random the placement of things, the better it looked.

I chose not to add an additional border.  At this stage I just backed, sandwiched and started quilting.  I was going to go with an all-over quilting design of cars and trucks, but in the end I just quilted straight lines in the sashing and was pleased with how it looked.  If I had more time, I might have even hand quilted lines in the sashing to look like the dashed lines on a highway, but alas, I did not have the time this go around.  If you are interested in the car/truck quilting design, you can email me.

My finished quilt was roughly 37 inches by 48 inches.

Now, I am sure that there are easier ways to do stained glass quilts.  In fact, I know that Electric Quilt has foundation templates, but it would have been difficult to incorporate all the random sizes I had from my prints (one was as big as 14 1/2 inches long) without chopping some of the pictures in half, etc.  So this time, the semi-improvisational piecing worked nicely.  I might try the foundation piecing in the future with my leftovers, but who knows.

I hope you enjoyed this project.  This quilt is travelling with me next week to Prince Edward Island, Canada to be given to my cousin's baby boy.  They live in Australia, so the little kangaroo crossing sign seemed a bonus feature of this fabric!

Thanks for reading!  I hope you visit again soon.

Jen