Archive | Quilt Along

#FreshlyQuiltedTP, my TP quilt.

By carolyn friedlander on May 13, 2020 in Featured on Home, Quilt Along, weekend projects | Comments: 3

Have you been following along with the #FreshlyQuiltedTP quilt along that @elisabew and I are hosting? It wraps up this week, and I thought I’d share the progress on my own TP quilt.

TP quilt in progress . carolyn friedlander

Over the weekend I was able to get a lot done on my project. I sorted out my quilt top, got it quilted and now I just need to get the binding on there.

To back up a bit, I was inspired to create a patterned background using some of my patterns (Everglade, Alturas and even Hearts). Many of my appliqué designs have reminded me at times of bathroom tiles, and so in a TP project like this, it seemed fitting!

patterned background . carolyn friedlander

I played with the scale of the designs and used different patterned fabrics to add another visual layer to the experience. I totally got carried away, and as a result I split my motifs into 2 different panels. One is now my TP project, and the other is something I might quilt up on its own. Or maybe I’ll let it get bigger, we’ll see!

pattern background quilts . carolyn friedlander

This project has been a welcome, creative challenge unrelated to anything else that I have going on. I think we all need a good break sometimes, and I hope that this TP quilt along has provided that for you too.

Here’s a look at where I’m planning to hang mine, which is right by my shower. It’s a super small space, but hopefully you get the idea. I normally hang different tea towels that I’ve collected there, and I think this quilt will be a good addition to the rotation.

#FreshlyQuiltedTP quilt . carolyn friedlander

A note on the quilting and construction

All of the TP and patterned background pieces are added via fusible, raw edge appliqué. It’s a speedy technique that can really make you feel like you are painting by numbers, but with fabric.

I used mostly Steam A Seam Lite 2, as well as some Clover fusible that I had on hand. With any fusible product, I use extreme caution to not only keep my iron and ironing surface free of sticky gunk, but also to keep my machine and sewing needle clean.

quilting my TP quilt . carolyn friedlander

Years ago I quilted quilts for other people, and the fusible projects were usually the most stressful. Gummed-up needles are not only bad for stitching, but they can transfer the gunk into your machine. For this reason, I highly recommend cleaning your needle regularly if you are using anything fusible. When I quilted this, I cleaned my needle after every 2-4 passes with an eyeglass cleaner. You could use rubbing alcohol or something similar as well. It seems extreme, but it makes the experience much much easier.

The top is all trimmed up, and my binding is cut and prepped. Hopefully I can get it sewn on tonight.

quilted TP quilt with binding . carolyn friedlander

Want to join in?

If you’d like to join in, there are still a few days left and you can grab a digital pattern to get yourself going. We are using the Java House Quilt pattern, We’re On A Bigger Roll.

To enter your project, post a pic or some pics on instagram using the hashtag #FreshlyQuiltedTP through 5/15/20 so we can find it.

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Hunt QAL #11 Check In.

By carolyn friedlander on April 30, 2020 in Featured on Home, my patterns, Quilt Along, weekend projects | Comments: 5

Hunt QAL #11 Check In.

Month #11?! I mean, I say that with some shock on the one hand, but then on the other hand I feel like the last couple of months could very well have been years. Either way, this has always been a sanity project, but especially so in the last month.

Ta-da! It’s a quilt top! I am really really excited with how this turned out. (So excited that I did a small update earlier this month.) For some reason I added 3 of the borders April 5th, and then it sat another week and a half before I was able to finish up and add the last (top) border. Slow and steady…

The white works well around the sides and bottom, but I wanted something a little more special for the top. Piecing together some scraps and new things gives it some interest while also giving it a little bit of color. I was most excited about the warmth added from one of the new Collection CF pieces in the top left corner. As soon as I auditioned it, I knew it was just what it needed.

collection CF fabric . carolyn friedlander

The backing is coming along. I’m going scrappy and did manage to pull out some pieces this week. Next will be to iron them out and piece it all together. This is a totally lame admission, but ironing these fabrics will be satisfying.

I like the overall tone of these picks, the variety of prints and the little bits that pop.

Yay for progress! Hopefully I’ll get these pressed and sewn together soon. Then I can baste and get going on the quilting. I’m still thinking I’ll big-stitch, hand-quilt with sashiko threads. I’ve been accumulating threads and needles, so I am ready.

Technical side note and PSA: Hanging a quilt top to photograph made me very nervous. Unintentional fabric stretch is something I nerd out on and always try to avoid. This being a queen-sized beast with some weight to it, I tried to be as careful as I could not to stretch any of the borders during this process. Being careful in this way helps with basting and quilting it later.

Pattern: Hunt Quilt Pattern

Fabrics: A mix from many of my collections including Collection CF, Jetty, Instead, Harriot, Gleaned, Botanics, Polk, Euclid, Architextures

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04/10/20 What I’ve been Making

By carolyn friedlander on April 10, 2020 in Featured on Home, life, my patterns, Quilt Along, weekend projects | Comments: 9

I always have my hands in several projects at a time, but lately I’ve been really hopping around. Do you do that? I thought it might be fun to share a little bit of what I’ve been making.

Hunt

We aren’t due for a Hunt QAL update yet, but here’s one anyway. With the appliqué done and the blocks sewn together, all I need are some borders to make it the size I want it to be. In this case, it’ll go on my bed, which is where I laid it out to figure exactly what needs to be added and what might look good.

If my bed weren’t already cream, I might be more tempted to go totally wild with scrappy/shiny/fun prints for the sides. However, I’ve decided to keep the borders mostly light/white to give it a little contrast. The fun prints will go on the back in all kinds of scrappy glory. In my mind, this will be a two-sided quilt. (Although, aren’t they all?)

Border tip: I always pin my borders before sewing them, with the border on the bottom and the blocks on the top. This way works for me.

Making more masks.

I’ve been making masks, with the first couple of batches going to healthcare workers as well as to a local nursing home. For those I used this May Chappell tutorial, which is fantastic. The size fits a wide range, including anyone needing to wear a cloth mask over their medical-grade mask.

The newest batch of masks is for me and for some friends. I thought I’d try a different style to change things up. These are the CraftPassion masks (tutorial here), and I used t-shirt yarn (tutorial here, although I just cut 3/4″ strips from jersey scraps that I already had). The t-shirt yarn is pretty genius. It’s soft, easy and accessible if you have jersey scraps or old t-shirts lying around. I’m a big fan.

Have you seen the jokes about using bras as masks? It’s gotten me giggling, but in all seriousness, after sewing this style of mask (and having sewn bras), I’ll tell you that there are some real similarities!

Picking the colors and fabrics are just as fun as picking them out for a quilt or a garment. Although thinking about prints and colors to wear on your face is a new consideration. I can’t say that I have any concrete conclusions to draw on that…

Just for reference, I have a couple of May Chappell style masks on the left and the CraftPassion masks on the right.

Handwork.

Handwork. I have to have it, especially now. Do you? With Hunt being done, it’s been weird not having an easy go-to for winding down in the evening. To be honest, I was hoping to get Hunt finished and basted so that hand quilting could fill the evening handwork needs, but it’s been a couple of weeks, and I can’t help myself. I need it. My scrappy Everglade blocks (using my pattern here) are exactly what I knew I’d be coming back to after Hunt. I am excited.