Quilting

Monday night we called the wee ones at 8:30 as they were getting ready for bed. Michelle answered the phone.

Me: Do the kids want to spend the night and go for a late swim.

Michelle: Let me ask. "Do you guys want to go swimming at Gammy's and spend the night?"

Wee Ones: ((no words, just screams and shrills of delight))

Within 10 minutes they were over, we swam for a couple hours, made s'mores, then crawled into bed.

In the morning they got up one at a time. First Bug came down at 6:00 a.m. (And me without caffine yet!) I introduced him to the online sight Pottermore and opened an account for him. He has read the first 4 novels, and was thrilled to read more about Harry's world.

Pixie came down next. I was working on some embellishments for the Little Guy's quilt. She wanted a quilting project, too. So after some discussion, she decided she wanted to make a dog bed for one of her stuffed friends, picked out a lovely rainbow print, and got to quilting.

Finally, Fairy came down. Of course she needed to busy her hands, too. She decided to quilt a head band, and chose a beautiful celestial print.

We spent the day stitchin' and swimming and reading Harry Potter. Isn't summer just grand?

So, a couple of days ago I told everyone about the baby quilt I'm making for the Little Guy. I was so very excited, nah, I would say I was all a twitter to be using my Woodsy Wonders fabric that has been in my stash for two years. After posting the blog, I got to work. Progress was good.

Then, that evening, I got an email from my son Drew... the father of yet to be born Little Guy. The email was titled... "A Little Eerie", and the text said, "Is this based on Sweeny Todd?" He attached this photo:

Holy Schnikes! This looks bad... really, really bad. What's that frog doing? Is that a sinister look in his eyes? Sure looks like the razor Sweeny Todd used!!! No, no, no I tell myself. It's a sweet print. It's adorable. It's a butter knife used for spreading jam. Must be... has to be!

Well, one of our lovely readers, Bonney Teti, had emailed me to let me know I could still buy the fabric from Fabric Attic. http://www.fabricattic.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=159. I want to make a couple of matching things and needed more fabric. While I was at the site, I noticed a companion fabric...

So, see Drew!!! Not a Sweeny Todd reenactment... just a very hospitable frog, with a mirthful twinkle in his eyes, preparing a lovely strawberry jam sandwich for a friend.

As far as the quilt progress goes... I've finished the top of the quilt. It is a "quilt as you go" so if I wanted, I could just add the binding and be done. However, I want to do some hand stitching on the quilt, so I'll wait to bind it til I'm done.

Just a little aside... Knowing my family, this quilt will forever be known as the Sweeny Todd quilt. Thank you, Drew ;)

I must admit I've been a slacker the past few weeks enjoying some guilt free R and R. Although I'm not done slacking completely, I do need to get a few projects done and start making plans for the fall. The first order of business... make a baby quilt for the Little Guy. He is due August 31 and I have a few other projects I want to make for him (and, of course, a couple for the Little Lady so she doesn't feel left out!) so I need to get to work!

I have this wonderful piece of fabric that I bought before Little Lady was born. I was going to make her a quilt, but then Michelle did, so I've kept this fabric put away for the next baby in the family. It is a wonderful print in J. Wecker-Frisch's "Woodsy Wonders" collection. Adorable, right? Unfortunately, I don't believe it is still available. (If you know of a source, I'd love a link :)

I plan to use this fabric as the backing, and make a simple diagonal striped quilt front using these colors.

I haven't decided whether I want all the edges finished or leave one side of each strip unfinished so it will fray. I also want to add some of the Woodsy Wonder print on the front... not sure how I'm going to do that either. I'm sure it will come to me as I start working! One way or another, I'll take plenty of photos and turn this into a tutorial :) 

Actually, I made a diagonal quilt for the gnome house a few years ago :) Directions for this wee quilt can be found HERE.

Enough work for one summer evening! Off to take a dip in the pool before bed. Life is good :)
 

Here are the directions for turning those freezer paper stenciled blocks into a toasty warm blankie. Of course, you are welcome to make up your own quilt pattern, too. Just a head's up, this isn't a step-by-step tutorial on how to quilt (I didn't take photos along the way and actually... this is a pretty old project, completed a couple cameras ago, so please forgive the photos ;) ... but I do have all the measurements and such that you will need to recreate the snowflake lap quilt. If you need more advice on how to quilt, check out our Quilting Basics Series or read over our Pinwheel Quilt Tutorial for help :)

Snowflake Freezer Paper Stenciled Lap Quilt... Finished size approx. 46" X 67"

Materials Needed:
FABRIC...
Navy A - 1/2yd
Navy B - 1/2yd
Navy C - 1/2yd
White - 1 2/3yd
Med Blue - 2 2/3yd

White Fabric Paint
Stencil Brush
Freezer paper
Batting
Embroidery Floss (gold)
Embroidery Floss (med blue - opt)
Embroidery Hoop
Thread to match
Snowflake Pattern (120%)
click here for tips on enlarging
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Pre-Wash Fabric (very important!) Due to the high contrast of Navy and White I also used a 1/4 cup of vinegar when washing the blues to help color set the fabric. Remove fabric promptly from the dryer to reduce/eliminate wrinkles. Iron if needed.

Cutting Directions:

Medium Blue:
Cut Two Pieces 34.5" wide by 47" long for backing
Cut 15 squares 3" x 3"

Navy (each):
Cut 2 strips 9" x 42", then trim to eight 9" x 9" squares
(you need 24 Navy 9" x 9" squares total)

White:
Cut 2 strips 5" x 60"
Cut 2 strip 5" x 47"
Cut 7 strips 3" x 60" then trim strips to 3" x 9" (need 38)

Quilt Directions:

Stencil the Snowflake design on 12 of the Navy squares (4 of each color) following our Snowflake Stencil directions.

Assemble the quilt top following the pattern chart bellow using a 1/2" seam allowance (the stars represent the snowflakes).

Add backing and batting (you can follow the backing/batting directions from our Pinwheel Quilt pattern). You will need to sew the two pieces of medium blue together to make a backing large enough to fit (approx 68" x 47").

Use safety pins to hold the layers in place while you quilt.

Quilt around each snowflake with gold floss.

I also used a wax pencil and traced a snowflake in center of each plain navy square. (Very hard to see in photos!) I quilted the snowflake in those squares with navy thread.

I also used 6 stranded of blue embroidery floss to tie off the small medium blue squares and white floss to tie the border.

Now, grab a book, some steamy hot beverage, and snuggle under your new Snowflake Lap Quilt!

Once you learn this technique for making freezer paper stencils, you'll find a 101 ways to use them. It is a fast, inexpensive technique that allows you to make more detailed designs than traditional appliqueing will allow. Materials listed below are to go with our Snowflake Quilt. The pattern for that will be available later in the week.

Note: The paint can bleed through your fabric, so if you are stenciling a t-shirt or other clothing, make sure to place a heavy piece of paper inside your shirt so the paint does not bleed through from the front to the back. 

Materials:
12 Navy 9" Squares of Fabric
Freezer Paper
Snowflake Pattern Copied on Card stock at 120% (click here for tips on enlarging)
White Fabric Paint (preferably one that has you iron to set the color)
Sponge Stencil Brush
Small, Sharp Scissors
Iron
pen

Wash your fabric! This step must not be skipped in order for the fabric paint to adhere. Due to the high contrast of Navy and White I also used a 1/4 cup of vinegar when washing the blues to help color set the fabric. Remove fabric promptly from the dryer to reduce/eliminate wrinkles. Iron if needed.

Cut out 24 9" Navy Squares (I used three different navy fabrics and cut out 4 from each print). Set aside 12 squares (2 from each print).

Cut out 12 8" squares of freezer paper. I cut mine as I would fabric with a rotary blade.

Lay 2 freezer paper squares on top of each other, wax to wax so they don't slip, and then carefully fold the squares in half. Repeat 5 more times.

Cut out Snowflake Pattern (enlarged 120%) on Card Stock. Fold the snowflake in half with one set of the mid points standing straight up/down.

Carefully center the pattern piece onto the folded freezer paper, aligning the folded sides together. Trace the snowflake half onto the folded freezer paper. Cut out the freezer paper... keeping the negative portion (ie the outside portion not the flake). Remember to save the center piece of the snowflake (the little hexagon)! I found that by folding the two square of freezer paper together wax to wax they did  not slip and I was able to cut out two at a time. If you find this awkward you can do each one separately.

Once you have all your stencils cut out it is time to iron them onto your fabric squares. Set you iron to the hottest non-steam setting. Iron your fabric square to be sure it is smooth. Then center the freezer paper stencil onto your fabric square. Right side of fabric up, wax side of freezer paper down. You should have a half inch border around the stencil to help you align your stencil properly. Iron your stencil in place. Be sure to add your little hexagon piece (note keep the little hexagon rotated the same direction on all pieces... as shown it is parallel to the mid hexagon section of the snowflake body). Repeat 11 times.

Set up your paint work station. You will need a mat to keep your surface clean (a piece of freezer paper wax side up works well, uncurl it by rolling it in the opposite direction), your fabric paint in a flat bottom paint pallet (again you can use the freezer paper wax side up on a plate), a sponge stencil brush and a flat surface for your squares to dry on (I used basic cookie racks).

Dip the brush in the paint, dab it off on the side of the pallet to reduce excess paint, and apply to the fabric square in an even up and down motion. Do not slide the brush or you will pull up the edges of the stencil, be especially carefully around the center piece. Repeat until the entire snowflake has been covered in an even coat of paint. You can try different amounts of paint for different effects. I was happy with a single coat with some fabric visible through the paint, if you would prefer a more opaque design you can apply a second coat after the first coat dries.

Move the square to a drying rack, wipe down your work surface and continue with the next fabric square. Be sure to follow the directions on your fabric paint bottle for drying instructions. Ours required 24 hours of air drying time followed by ironing with a piece of fabric over the design to set the color. Once the paint is dry to the touch you can remove the freezer paper.

Now you are ready to begin on your quilt.