2011 Christmas Quilt Show

Christmas is just around the corner and it's time for  SewCalGal's  2011 Christmas Quilt Show.

Stop by and see all the wonderful Christmas quilts.  It's not too late to enter one yourself.  There are lots of wonderful prizes to be given away. 

My entry is Comfort and Joy a pattern designed by Pat Wys.  

It was a block of the month quilt at Sweet Home Quilt Company.  

Merry Christmas everyone

Nancy

Beyond the Cherry Trees Oh My!

It was a nasty day here yesterday power blinking on and off and I didn't want to use my machines so I decided to square up my Beyond the Cherry Trees blocks...all 24 of them.

Squaring up blocks has always made me a little nervous so I bought a 16 1/2" square up ruler to use.  These rulers are not cheap but I thought if it would make squaring up a little less stressful it was worth it.

The first few blocks were easy no problem even if some of the pieces were just barley a 1/4 inch from the sides. Then I started running into trouble.

The applique pieces were outside the 16 1/2 inches.



 







I thought I was being very careful putting the patterns together just right.  I guess I should have been checking each block to make sure but it never occurred to me they would not be correct and I didn't know what size the blocks were supposed to be until a couple of months ago.  I have 10 blocks to go back and fix.

They say we learn from our mistakes.  I think what I have learned is not to assume a pattern is correct.

To always check to be sure before you just go blindly stitching away.
All this can be fixed with a little time and patience it just means I am not as far along with this quilt as I thought.
I hope your stitching is going better than mine.
Nancy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving!

Why didn't I think of that?

I just had to post about this clever idea Nike at Choose to Thrive had.  I think I will start cutting up sheets.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Beyond the Cherry Trees!

Just completed Block 24 only one more block to do.
I still have the borders but I thought I would wait until I got the center put together so I could be sure of the size.  I always get so nervous when I start squaring up blocks and cutting borders.
You put all that work into the applique'  one slip of the cutter and your starting over.
I wonder how some of you square up your blocks?
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Lucky Number 12!

We have a winner.  Pam lucky number 12 has won the copy of QuiltAlbum.
Congratulation Pam!
Thanks for all your comments.
If you didn't win and would like to have a copy.
Remember there is still a coupon for $5 off on my blog.

FriXion Erasable Gel Pens- Yes or No!

There has been a lot of discussion lately on the Yahoo Groups about 

FriXion Erasable Gel Pens.

The ink disappears when you iron it but comes back if you put it in the freezer.

I am not one to put my finished quilts in the freezer but still I don't like any residue from the ink to be left in my quilt.  Who knows what would happen over time.

So I decided to experiment for myself to see what happens.

 I traced a pattern on some white fabric with a blue FriXion pen.

Then I ironed part of it with a medium hot iron.
It went completely away but I could still see a faint
shadow where the lines had been.

I put the piece in the freezer for a while and all the lines came back so there must be some chemicals left in the fabric.

 I took the piece and washed it with Synthrapol and everything came out.  Back to the freezer it went and the lines did not come back.

I believe I will use these pens to mark my applique blocks because I always wash them when I finish each block to remove any oils or dirt from my hands.  They are less expensive and have more color choices then the pens I have been using.

This is the wool applique quilt I just finished using my Rose of Sharon die from Accuquilt - read more here.

I don't think I would use them to mark a quilt like this one for quilting because I tend not to wash my quilts when I finish machine quilting them. The chemicals would be left in the quilt and I don't want that.
Happy Stitching,
Nancy