Finishing Things

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We spent a couple of days out east of us doing a little pheasant hunting. The first day turned out to be pretty miserable - but we perservered for about 4 hours - then headed back to the hotel to SWIM!! Much warmer.

This is my Dad, Goombah #1, Goombah #2, and Wrangler Man. I, of course am behind the camera. - oh and the dog is Hagen. Emma is ready to have puppies so she was back at the hotel with Grandma and Goombah #3, who was all worn out from the day before. We walked thru a million miles of corn fields and not down the rows either - across them - lots of stepping!

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We came back in time to cook turkey for Thanksgiving day, and I even did some experimenting. I ended up making a really good rice stuffing that was competely gluten free. Everyone except middle son liked it. But he doesn't really like rice anyways. So my feeling were not hurt (grin)

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Today the boys all headed out to the WYO vs CSU football game. A boys bonding moment, that has let me take over the whole house. And I started finishing things. First I finally finished the borders on my Chunky Churndash!

http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/2009/10/chunky-churndash-tops.html

Remember way back when... I asked if you all thought it was finished. The majority of votes said I needed a skinny white border and a large red border. And you know what... I LOVE it!! You all have great ideas.....

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These are the tops in progress. The Green and Black one in the back is all put together and now it needs a border, but I need to go get fabric for it. I *surprise* do NOT have any of this in my stash. My sweet Friends Charlotte and Myrna gifted me with the fabrics - and I LOVE them. Can't wait to finish it and get using it!

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The quilt in the middle is the wonky log cabin blocks that the 5th grade kids made as practice blocks. They are all set in a top and now I will work on the borders. You can see on kind of laying there on the left side.

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I know there are a few sew alongs going on around in blog world - and I think they finally inspired me to finish up some things.... so back to work!

From Denise in Colorado!!

This was a fun box to open!! I have a friend in Denver. We met a long time ago thru the internet.... and she is quite the quilter! She also has 2 of the most adorable daughters. I think if my boys play their cards right..... I'm just sayin'.....
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Denise did the Not So Top Secret 2
http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/search/label/Not%20So%20Top%20Secret%20Project%202

project along with us - and used black setting triangles. I LOVE it!! She even quilted it on her domestic machine, and did an awesome job.
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Next - she sewed along with the Quilt of Valor Mystery that turned out to be Chunky Churndashes from Bonnie Hunter. (Bonnie gave me permission). She quickly decided that it would be great to make two quilts with all those blocks - and voila - here they are!
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http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/search/label/QOV%20SEW%20ALONG%201

And of course - these are quilted too! Didn't they turn out cool? Thanks Denise!

Chunky Churndash Tops

I rarely post Quilt tops before they are quilted - but I am in this case - because - I need an opinion, and mine at the moment may be the lazy opinion..... and you all know I am ALL about perfection and not laziness right? - If you believe that - you probably don't know me as well as you think you do!!So in order to get your honest opinion I am going to bribe you.... with scraps.... see that pile in the picture above.... give me an opinion, and on Friday I will draw a random number and send them to you - only if you want them. There are strips and odd squares in there! Who knows what fun you could have.... I have had a lot so far!!

Okay - so this (above) is my Chunky Churndash top from the QOV SEW ALONG 1. I did decide to make 2 tops with it - and this one is 54 x 64 with the little borders on it. My question - is it okay like that? Or does it need something else? What?

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The more I stare at it the more I really like it just as it is.... but.... am I being lazy? Does it need another border??? You tell me ( please) I am running low on chocolate and caffiene at this moment...

These Chunky Churndash Top's are one's my Mom made. I like the one with the flag in the center. She is getting pretty creative in her quilting - Go mom!

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Have a great one!!

Quilt of Valor Sew Along - The Layout

So - are you ready? Did I keep you waiting long enough? Do you recognize the quilt yet?
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The Layout!!

You should have 121 blocks total. You probably didn't know you made that many blocks did you? I sure didn't. I mean, I did, but I didn't really "get it". But I love it!
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Remember way back this summer - when I was trying to do quilts on point? Well this one jumped out at me, because it is NOT on point, but gives that look. I really thought I wanted to try it. So - thanks for joining me! It helps to know that others are waiting on you to get things done. Maybe I should try cleaning the house that way? Nah - not as much fun!
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Your layout will be 11 x 11 and you alternate a Triangle Block with a nine patch block.


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Note that you rotate the triangle blocks to surround the 9 patch block, therefore alternating your dark and lights. Pictures tell the story better than words.



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With this layout your final quilt will be 66 x 66. This is a great size for a Quilt of Valor. Without borders. And my boys really liked this look.
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I don't like sewing in rows. I took 9 blocks at a time and sewed large 9 patches out of them. Then was able to put them together in sections. Some sections were only 6 blocks. It was easier for me to do this, less bulk to carry around from the floor to the machine.

**And Now Another Option**




But then, my youngest started playing with the blocks. He said - Mom I bet we could get 2 quilts out of all those blocks. Far be it from me to argue with him. Some day he will be bigger than me, then what will I do?



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So he and I split them up and came up with 2 different quilts. The first one the layout is 8 x 10 which should be 48 x 60. So I told him that is not quite the size we need. He is picking out fabrics he thinks will make a great border. We thought about a small light 2 inch border, then a 5 inch darker border. The jury is still out.


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The smaller quilt is 5 x 8 so 30 x 48. So this one will need a lot of borders. My goal is to get the quilts to a minimum of 54 x 64. He doesn't have a plan to get this one to size yet. One thing at a time mom. ( I see a boo boo in the little quilt layout - bottom row, 2nd from the left)





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I am not going to tell you which layout or layouts we did. I want to surprise you. But I wanted to give you both options - as I was impressed that Little Bit was even paying attention.


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**************THE GIVEAWAY****************

I promised you a great giveaway. There are Two!
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The first one is easy!!
Leave a comment before Thursday September 17th at 9pm and the kids will pick a number on Friday to announce the winner. If you are set to no reply on your blogs BE SURE TO CHECK BACK as I have no way to contact you!!
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The Prize: a $25 gift certificate at http://www.equilter.com Luana was one of the very first contributors of fabric to our Quilt of Valor project 5 years ago. Plus she has everything in her shop. You can't lose!


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The second one:
Well - this takes a little more thought (on my part).

I want you to guess who the pattern designer of this quilt it. BUT I don't want you to post it in the comments cuz then everyone can read your guess and well - its like cheating on a math test!! SO:

The Prize: A quilting book. An AWESOME quilting book by the very author of this quilt pattern. So you see the reason for the secrecy.
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How to win it:
SEND AN EMAIL TO: ALYCIAQUILTS@GMAIL.COM
WITH: The pattern name or the pattern designer in it. And an email to be able to contact you should you be the lucky winner.
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We will take all the correct answers and draw a name out to choose the winner. Again send the email before Thursday September 17th at 9pm and a name will be drawn Friday.
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Any questions?
Have a fun day working!!

~I would love it if you want to send me a picture of your quilt. I would love to post them on my blog or link back to your blogs to see what you came up with.

Confessions

Yesterday I was supposed to post another step on our Mystery Quilt Sew along. And I had really really really planned to. But now I must make a confession.
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Are you ready? Are you sitting down?
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I didn't do it!!
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It's really not my fault though ( evil wicked laugh) I blame my children! And because they don't read my blog - they will have no clue about the havoc that they are wreaking on all of your lives!!
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And then Thursday I had to recount all of my FQ's to make sure I had enough for each and every student to start cutting, and then I had to lay them all out - because, I mean really, if you are going to play in fabric you might as well enjoy it and see it all. And when I surveyed my front room - it sort of looked like a flag factory had moved in. Patriotic fabric EVERYWHERE.
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But there was no room to lay out the mystery pieces to show you the next steps. And pair that with the fact that I am a failure, a flub, a dork if you will.... I still have 10 blocks left to make!! Wait - you ask - shouldn't you be steps ahead of us... almost finished, leading us with great skill and expertise? Well I was, and then again - the kids... again - it is ALL there fault!!
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Boy Am I getting really good at blaming other people or what? This is really a life skill I could have used earlier in life had I thought of it!
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So - knowing what this weekend has in store for us ( can you say Hay?) and knowing how much you all want to enjoy your labor day and just hang out, eating hamburgers, and corn on the cob. Oh and maybe even a chocolate cake... yum. How about we plan on the next step being posted next Friday - along with another really, really, really, cool give away - that you will so totally want, that you will love me for leading you astray and leaving your sewing tables a mess.
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Enjoy!!

Quilt of Valor Sew Along Step 4

Before we get started - remember this is a mystery designer's pattern. If you think you are guessing the designer - keep it to yourself... as you will have a chance later to win something cool with that knowledge!!

So - On to Step 4

Remember all those strips you sewed early on? You need those now. The strips should be about 11 inches long. You are going to cut each strip into 4 ~~2 1/2 inch pieces.

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I kept each strip into its own pile of 4 pieces - as you will use all 4 pieces in one block.

Remember all those 2 1/2 inch pieces you cut of a Dark and of a light? Now it is time to lay them out into the block and Start sewing. I layed mine out like a 9 patch block, and chain sewed. As I got more confident - I layed out 4 blocks and chain sewed 4 at a time. I was impressive (giggle)

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After I got each of the three rows sewn together I headed over to the ironing board. I kept each block chain pieced together until I was ready to iron it.

I have no clue if this is the right way to do it or not - but it kept all the pieced of each block together for me. And because I am usually sewing and ironing to the tune of - Hey Mom... I need to be back at school at 5:30 tonite ( and it is 4:45). Or Hey Mom - I can't find a towel. ( Oh you mean the two towel closets filled with 40 towels are completely empty?)

Mommmm - I'm hungry -what can I eat? ( Oh I don't know - check the 3 drawers of snack foods, or all the fruit on the counter, or check the leftover list....)

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Oh and when I press them I pressed the top and bottom rows in, and the center row out, so when I put the block together the seams will interlock.

And tada - after this large amount of sewing you will have 61 of these little blocks that finish up at 6 1/2 inches.

GIVE AWAY

This week I am giving away 12 Patriotic Fat Quarters.

This should inspire you to make another Quilt of Valor - because - well its patriotic ( grin) But, of course, you don't have to make a quilt of valor with them... they are yours.

All you need to do is make a comment on this post by Friday the 4th of September at 8 am Colorado time. Be sure to leave me a way to let you know if you won or not. I will do a random drawing for the winner.

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Have a great weekend!!

Quilt of Valor Sew along Step 3

***Shameless plug***
This weekend is the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival (http://www.rockymountainquiltfestival.com )at the Ranch in Loveland. I WILL BE THERE!! So come and see me. I will have a booth for QUILTS OF VALOR. So come sign a card, a block, or just say Hi to me.
It is Sat 10-5 and Sunday 10-4
*****Back to our regularly scheduled program******




So when we last left our sewing table we had a lot of half square Triangles. - Now we are going to make them into hourglass blocks.
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I kept all of my pairs together. I don't think that is necessary, but I did just because (grin)





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I paired one Half square Triangle and layed it on another one. Right sides together, BUT opposite colors together. I then pinned the pairs - because on that day I was all into accuracy.








~Then I placed my ruler diagonally across the pair and drew a line.









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After all the marking are made, then sew 1/4 inch away from the line on EACH side of the line. Once they are all sewn, I headed back to the cutting table, layed my ruler back on the line and sliced with my newly Bladed Rotary cutter.












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And when you open them up - this is what you get! Take them to the ironing board and press them open. Mine all measured at
6 1/2 inches. Hopefully yours will too.


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Isn't this a lovely pile. I did mix a few of the pairs - just to see what the hourglass blocks would look like. They are the 3 on the right. I liked them!

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It has been brought to my attention that you all can sew faster than I am posting the instructions. So if you are bored - you may come clean my house, or make us dinner... is that a good compromise? Just kidding... I don't want anyone to stress out ;-)

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Quilt of Valor Sew Along Step 2

Step 2

This week we will be working on our 30 7 1/4 inch squares. You should have cut 30 Dark Squares and 30 Light Squares.

First - Take the 30 Light Squares and on the wrong side of the fabric draw a line diagonally on the fabric. I place my ruler on it, and use a light pencil to make the line.

~Next Lay the Light Fabric Square on Top of the Dark fabric square. Right Sides together. Then sew 1/4 inch on each side of the pencil line that you have drawn. You will then have a nice pile of 30 blocks with two seams on it.

Place your ruler on the line and slice the blocks. I kept them in their pairs as you will sew them again. If you will want a more scrappy look - don't worry about keeping the pairs together.

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After you have sliced them all - take them to the ironing board and press them open.

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Well - I have to tell the truth, I don't do them all at the same time. I did them in groups of 10 because I am easily distracted.

Questions:

Laura asked how many steps the quilt would be. Truthfully I am not 100% sure. There is probably 4 more steps in putting the top together. But you can't hold me to that - because sometimes I just don't know ;-) Plus I want to leave you in suspense as long as I can as to the identity of the designer.

Give Away:

This give away is my 2 1/2 inch strip bin. It is not large - but there is enough to make 1 or 2 more 50 x 60 quilt tops. They are all patriotic strips, in varying shades of Red White and Blue. And quite possibly it will grow between now and when I send it out. They would be a great addition to anyones 2 1/2 inch strip bin, and add some new variety!

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How do I enter for this?

Leave a comment and a link to your blog. If you are participating in the QOV sew along - link to your post about it ( ify ou have one) If not just leave me your blog address - so that I can come and visit.

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Leave a comment by Monday Night at 8 pm so I can do a random draw and notify you the next day as to where to send the strips to.

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Have a great Quilty Weekend!!

Quilt of Valor Sew Along Step One

Step One:
Take your 61 Dark 1 1/2 inch Strips and your 61 Light 1 1/2 Inch Strips and sew them together using a 1/4 inch seam. I tried to time me, to see how long it takes - but I am one of those that sew for 15 minutes then have to go do a chore, and then come back. And I lost track of time.

Press them. I always press them to one side, not open. But that is your choice.

And then you have this lovely pile of strip sets.

Will this keep you busy for a week?

Quilt of Valor Sew Along Cutting Instructions

As you all know - I am really into using up my patriotic pieces and making more Quilts of Valor. And it is working! I contacted a nationally known designer and asked if it was possible to use her design as a Mystery Sew Along.... and she said YES! It is a copyrighted pattern, and it belongs to her. This designer and the name of the pattern will be revealed at the end of the sew along. If you figure it out - keep it to yourself, as I will hold a drawing to see if you can guess - and there will be a prize!!
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So here we go: My cutting instructions are for scrappy - but I will try to give you an equivalent in FQ's or yardage. Using yardages you may have some leftovers.





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Cutting Instructions:

You need:

61 1 1/2 inch by 11 inch strips in a Dark. ( I used Reds in mine)
61 1 1/2 inch by 11 inch Strips in a Light. ( I used Creams and whites)

* You can get 24 - 11 inch strips per fat quarter - so by using FQ's you would use 2 1/2 FQ's for each color

61 2 1/2 inch Squares in a Light ( I used Creams and white)
244 2 1/2 inch squares in a Dark ( I used Reds)

* you can get 56 2 1/2 squares per FQ. I think you could use one for the white and use the leftovers of strip cutting to make up the next 5 square for the lights.
* for the Darks you would need 5 FQ's.

30 7 1/4 inch Squares in a Light ( again I used Creams and Whites)
30 7 1/4 inch Squares in a Dark ( I used Navy... It is peaking out under the whites in my photo)

* you can get 6 squares per 44 inch long strip of fabric. So you would need 5 strips ( 44 inches long) or 37 inches of each color.

So... are you excited?

Shall I post the clues weekly? Thats what I am thinking - especially since it is still summer.