McCall's Peace Cottage Quilt Along - Lesson 5 and a #Giveaway!

Lesson 5! We are crusing right along!  I hope you are having fun. Have you figured out that this is a row quilt yet? Row quilts are great, they offer variety. If you are one of those people who get bored easily doing a large quilt with the same blocks over and over and over again, well this type of quilt will be right up your alley!

TIP: Value plays a key roll in keeping this part of the quilt interesting.  Select fabrics that are light, medium and dark. Before you stitch them in place, take a picture and see how they look to you.  Taking a photo will give you a perspective that will help you with your placement.

These blocks will go quick for you, stack them next to your machine and chain piece them.

TIP: Make sure that you finger press your piece open first and then press to get that seam open completely.  Take your time when pressing, don't scrub your piece, press it with an up and down motion.  Doing this will help prevent distortion and will give you a nice accurate block.

If you have been following along, you know that I have raced ahead.  We had a pretty large forest fire going here and sewing kept my mind occupied.  The fire is out now and we are all very grateful to the many men and women that worked so hard in the heat and smoke to take care of us!

Tanker 131 on the Trailhead Fire. Photo July 1, 2016 by Matthew Rhodes

Yesterday my friend Brenda Allen and I took a drive out to Grass Valley and visited one of our favorite little quilt shops, Sugar Pine Quilt Shop. They have a great selection of Civil War Repros and that is just what I needed to finish off my quilt borders  They are wonderful, they have lots of fat quarters pre-cut and if you don't see what you want they will cut you a fat quarter right off the bolt, no problem!

This is such a fun little quilt shop, they have several rooms, each one is chock full of incredible fabrics, notions, patterns, books...you name it, they have it.  There is an eclectic mix here, a little bit of everything for everyone. Their fabrics run the gammit from Civil War Repros to Kaffe Fasset, Neutrals, Solids and Batiks to Modern Prints, Soft Pastels to Bold Colors, Orientials, 1930's Repros, Landscapes, Skys, Childrens Prints everything for everyone! 

I spotted an owl print (Brenda loves owls) and when I pointed it out to her she had to have it. It is so cute and of course, they had the perfect colors to blend with it!

I will be working on the piano key borders today. I was successful in finding the bits I needed to complete this quilt. These were my choices, they will blend with some of the fabrics I have left from my construction.

I'm planning to insert the strip piece in the border where she has the two little pieces and then do the piano keys beyond that...I think it will look nice. You can see my audition below.

OKAY!  I promised you a giveaway!  Right now on our Facebook site we are giving away Moda's All in a Row!  Yes! A book that features 24 different Row-by-Row Quilt Designs. Discover the mix and match possibilities for fabulous quilts with row patterns by your favorite Moda designers including Lissa Alexander of Moda Lissa, Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles Quilters, Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms, Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts, Pat Sloan and many more.  

To Enter:

LIKE our Facebook Page www.Facebook.com/SisterOfTheDivide

COMMENT on the giveaway post which is pinned at the top of the page for you.

SHARE that post with your friends on your Facebook page

That's all, there is nothing ever to purchase. My goal is to inspire a next generation of quilters.

Drawing will be held on July 30th and the winner will be announced on our Facebook page on August 1st.

Good Luck Quilters! 

If you are quilting along with us on the Peace Cottage check back next week and we will have another post for Lesson 6. If you missed the previous lessons, you can visit our older posts or go to McCall's website at http://www.mccallsquilting.com/PeaceCottage

Okay, I'm off to get my borders made! Make something beautiful today!

McCall's Peace Cottage Quilt Along - And A Fire To Boot! Lesson 4

We are moving right along with the Peace Cottage Quilt Along! How is your's coming?  I made a little change on mine, I decided (due to a shortage of the scraps) that I would change the lower right front window dimensions. I'm happy with the results and moving along on this row of the quilt, ahead of the planned weekly guide.

TIP:  Audition your fabic and make sure it is looking the way you want before you stitch it all together...

First I thought I would like this little stone pattern for the cottage but after assembling the first two sections of the cottage, I decided not so much and started over with a small brick.

Did not like the way the roof looked, unstitched it and started over.

Still not content with this either, I started over...

Finally happy, I settle on this little Cottage.

The next steps were ahead of plan. Stitched up the little stars and the trees.

Well, I got a little excited about putting this row together so I proceeded and stitched up the forest blocks and the silo. 

Now, you may be thinking this all looks very complicated. It's not. This is basically a row quilt, everything is broken down into nice little rows for you to stitch. Just keep that in mind as you go along.

Sunday, I took a little break from the action and headed up to Tahoe Donner to visit my son and see his new home. Imagine my excitement when he showed me his sewing room! Now mind you, I bought him a little Singer sewing machine about three years ago and he fell in love with sewing. He has a very high stress technical consulting career and he says this is his therapy. That apple didn't fall far...lol.

So let me help you with this photo, because I needed help. The Juki in the front is an industrial coverstitcher. Yes, it's kind of like a serger but no blades and it does really cool stuff, like if you wanted to bind your quilt, it would do that for you...both sides at the same time, perfect.  If you wanted to hem something, it would do a two or three needle hem, perfect...oh the list goes on. AND IT'S FAST, don't get your fingers in the way!

Right beyond the Juki is another Juki serger.  And at the far end of the room is his Bernina 530 sewing machine. It was a fun day, he showed me all the tricks it could do and shared his stash with me, oh yes, he already as a stash. Below is some of the thread stash.

The closet was stacked with bolts of fabric! I love my son. And as he was unpacking things, there was the little Singer in the bottom of the closet...lol.  Then he pulled out a big box and proceeded to unpack another machine. This one is a Janome Coverstitcher he says. I want you to have it because I have the Juki now. So I was gifted with this brand new Janome!

Yup, that is my little Singer Featherweight 221 in the back. It was a sewing day, what can I say, I brought my machine too! So here is my plan, I'm going to finish up the quilt I have on my longarm this weekend, then I'm going to put some fabric on there and quilt it up randomly, take it off and cut out some placemats. Then I can practice using the coverstitcher and perfect my technique before tackling a quilt binding!

This week, started out rather uneventful and then a fire started in the canyon below us. You may have seen it on the TV. It's called the Trailhead Fire. We are located in Todd Valley, right above the north line of the fire. Driving home from work, this is what I saw.

As I got to the turn off for our home, the road was blocked by police and the little firehouse near us had about 20 fire trucks parked out front. So I flipped a U and drove in the back way to our home.  This was the view from our front porch.

Way too close for comfort. My husband is home during the day with our kitties and has been keeping me informed but it has been difficult to go to work this week, especially since I can see the fire from our office which is 17 miles from the house. I'm thankful for the firemen who are on the front lines, the airmen who are flying the huge DC 10's, the helicopters and all the other folks that are manning bulldozers and who knows what else to fight this fire for us. Our community and those across the canyon from us are grateful.

Our little Todd Valley is directly north of the fire which is down in the American River Canyon on the Middle Fork of the American River so we are on pins and needles around here. The fire is down in the canyon and the winds change in the mountains all the time so with that and the difficult teraine, the very dry conditions after several years of drought and 97 years without a major fire, it can be very difficult to fight these fires. 

This is the same view as that which is at the top of my masthead on this blog. Looking east toward the backside of Squaw Valley, you cannot even see the mountains.  This second view is looking down the canyon from Wartons' early this morning before the inversion layer lifted. 

A local photographer, Joe Dondelinger took this photo below from Mosquito Ridge Road June 29th. 

So to keep my mind off the fire, to stay focused and not worry, I am sewing ahead on the Peace Cottage and it is giving me peace.

I hope you are enjoying the sew along, if you haven't started yet, jump in anywhere, it won't matter! It's a row quilt that's fun with lots of easy and fun little blocks to put together. Take your time and find your Peace Cottage!

Peace Cottage Quilt Along Step 3, Log Cabin Blocks

How are you coming? If you are still working on your stars, fret not, this weeks blocks are incredibly easy. If you need to take a break from the stars, set them aside for the moment and start in on these quick fun blocks.

The history of the log cabin block can be traced all the way back to Egyptian times!  It's true!  In the early 19th century tombs in Egypt were being discovered.  There was a fascination with all things Egyptian and many of the funerary objects were shipped back to England.  Below are photos from the British Museum which demonstrate mummy wrapping, you will notice the design of the linens and how they were dyed. 

Animal Mummies, Mummy Wrapping, The British Museum

Cat Mummy, Mummy Wrapping, The British Museum

The log cabin block became popular in the United States of America in the 1860's during the Civil War. The color chosen for the center of the blocks was traditionally red to symbolize the hearth or heart of the home, or yellow to symbolize a light in the window.

There are a multitude of settings and styles of creating this block. The White House Steps, Court House Steps, eight sided Pineapple, Barn Raising, Sunshine and Shadows are but a few of the many names attached to variations on this block and it's layouts.

So let's get started, here is the video for Lesson 3 the Log Cabin Blocks.  Watch this first and I will provide some tips after.

TIP: As I was watching the video, I noticed that she deviated from the actual instructions that were posted in the original magazine article. In the article, the designer has you arrange all of the blocks with the 8" strip at the top.  Since they are square, it really doesn't matter how you arrange them, you will get the same effect but I opted to stick with the original design.  

Tip: Obtaining your perfect 1/4" seam is easy if you use the Sewing Machine Seam Guide that is available here on: Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site.  Order her seam guide for $4.00 or get a pack of them and share them with your quilting friends! It won't matter what machine you are sewing on, you can quickly check and mark your 1/4 inch seam on your machine by dropping your needle through the premarked hole and noting that on your machine bed. Get one, it's a small expense for easy perfect 1/4 inch seams.

Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville Sewing Machine Seam Guide

TIP:  For this block, pull lots of fabrics. The greater the variety the more interesting your blocks will be. Don't be afraid to mix it up, have fun!

I got ahead of myself last weekend and chain pieced all my blocks. They go together really fast.  This morning I stitched them together and here is the finished portion layed out on the carpet...lol.

Please feel free to post pictures of your work, you know I always love to see your work! You can post it here or on our Facebook page.  Make sure you enter the drawing this month on our Facebook page, the link is at the top! https://www.facebook.com/SisterOfTheDivide/

Here is the link to McCall's Peace Cottage Quilt Along: http://www.mccallsquilting.com/PeaceCottage

McCall's Peace Cottage Quilt Along, Rising Stars!

Summertime and we are quilting along with McCall's Peace Cottage Quilt Along. We've only just begun, are you having fun?  I am blogging my process for you.  You will remember in my last post I pulled lots and lots of different fabrics.  As the time to start cutting drew near, I felt that this little quilt was singing a patriotic song to me and so I pulled some scraps that had been sent to me a few years back from a sweet woman.  I knew those scraps would be delightful in the right quilt and this is their time to shine!

There are several tips I have as we go along so you may wish to read through this before you get started if you haven't already.

I like to chain piece, it makes things go faster and I enjoy the repetitive nature.  So to make that process run smooth, I like to get my fabric bits in order first.  

TIP: In the photo above, you will see that I have cut all the pieces to sew the centers of the blocks and I have stacked them in little piles. I know exactly what is going to go with what.  Now, I may decide after the geese are made that I want to switch things a bit and that is just fine, but I have a plan in mind and I stack my stars as I plan to stitch them.

TIP: Wait! What is this? Well, these are my leaders and enders.  I don't use a scrap piece of fabric to start my thread, if I'm starting thread, I am making something. These are left over triangles trimmed from my prior quilt project. I save them in a plastic bag and then when I start my next project, there are plenty of bits to start and end my thread with and in that process I am making more blocks to use another time.

See! Look at all those bonus pieces that got made while doing something I was going to do anyway!  Start and end your projects with a leader and an ender, get in that habit and you will be sooooo happy!

Chain piecing is the simple act of starting the next piece in your machine without clipping the threads. It saves you money in thread purchases, it saves you time and effort because you are stitching the same pieces together over and over.

TIP: You can see the blue line that I drew across the little squares to create the geese.  My tip to you is this: when you are stitching on the right side of the geese, as shown above...stitch just one thread width to the right of your line.  As you switch to the other side, to stitch on the left, you need to stitch one thread to the left of your line.  This allows you to turn the fabric and have a perfect geese.

TIP: In the instructional video, she has you cutting away excess fabric with scissors. You should have a rotary cutter, a mat and a small ruler. I like things neat and this lets you cut a perfect 1/4 inch seam allowance. Just my personal preference, you may use scissors if you wish.

TIP: Pressing is important to accurate piecing. Finger press open your seams to make sure they are fully open before you apply your iron.  When ironing, press rather than scrubbing.  Pressing will give you the proper finish without distorting your piece.

Once you have your geese made, lay out your little block next to your machine, make sure you like how it looks and then you are ready to stitch it together.  

TIP: To get perfect points, you need to see the intersection of those points, so stitch with the geese on the top.  Stitch a thread or two toward the outside of the seam and you will have a perfect point. See example below:

TIP: If you are pinning to match up your seams, I recommend very very fine pins. Once you use them, you will never go back to the thick bulky pins. 

Clover Quilting Pin (Fine)

My star blocks are done! There is not enough room on my little design wall to spread them out in the quilt lay out but this lets me see them at a distance as well as to photograph them and see how they show in a photo. This will help me with the lay out. I can see what is popping out, what looks good next to the other, etc.

TIP: Okay, sashing the blocks together. DON'T FREAK OUT! I confess, my OCD kicked in and I did freak, just a little.  The end pieces do not match up like you think they should.  Watch the video, she tells you that the pieces are oversized, they won't match up and you will be trimming the piece down. Take your time and look at the layout of the pattern. Relax and roll with it. Do it just like she shows you and you'll be fine. I am not trimming mine until I have all the other components of the quilt assembled.  You will have funky edges.

It will trim up pretty, don't worry. The above photo is a more accurate representation of the color. I took the one below outside in the sun and it's kind of blown out a bit, but you get the idea.

So if you haven't started yet, don't worry, you can start anytime you want.  All the info, pattern, videos are on the McCall's website here: http://www.mccallsquilting.com/PeaceCottage