Adding a flange

A few weeks ago when the temperatures in Kansas City reached 109 degrees, there really was nothing more to do than lock yourself inside, crank up the air conditioner, and dig out the Christmas fabric. After all, snowflake fabric somehow gives you hope that the summer inferno will soon come to an end.

A while back I picked up a "Christmas Spirit" jelly roll and the coordinating panels by Moda, and I finally had time to start making the table runners I had planned. I'll share them with you when I have them complete (hopefully before the snow flies). I really fell in love with this fabric line!

When I attended MQS (Machine Quilters Showcase) back in May, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon helping in the juding room. I got to hear the judges' comments and critiques about every aspect of the quilt entries. One thing they liked over and over was special edge finishes like piping and flanges.

I had never added a flange to a project before, so I thought these table runners would be a nice, easy, and small place to start. It turned out to be quite simple. Here is what I did:

I wanted the exposed flange to be 1/8 inch so I cut a strip of fabric 3/4 inch wide by the length desired. The flange is made from a folded strip, so I doubled 1/8 + 1/4 (the width of exposed flange + seam allowance). Then iron this in half, right side facing out.

Next, pin it to the edge of the fabric or block you want the flange to edge. Baste it on with an 1/8 inch seam allowance (so the seam won't show when you attach the next piece of fabric).

Continue around the block adding the flange pieces to each edge. Now you assemble the block as usual, stitching pieces right side together and using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. The flange is now caught in the seam.

This was a quick way to add a little extra zing to the finished block. Now I have to get busy and get the rest of the runners done. I'm afraid the holidays will be here before I'm ready!

True quilt love or insanity?

Last fall I went into one of my local quilt stores to browse. At least that's what I told my dear husband who chose to wait in the car. After all, I was only going to be a minute. (Surely he knows by now that quilt store time is different than standard time, right?) I was only a few steps in the door when the lights dimmed all around me except for this beam of light that shone down from what must have been the quilting heavens onto a quilt hanging across the room. I was immediately drawn to it. It was a Christmas quilt (my favorite holiday), depicting "The Night Before Christmas" ( a favorite all-time story), made completely out of the most yummy fabric collection (Moda's French General), and in delightful colors. I was in quilt love!

I was now a woman on a mission. I had to make this lovely quilt. I could already envision it hanging on my wall. I looked perfect! I asked the lovely sales lady about it. She said it was a kit done as a block of the month. Could this be any more perfect? But then she added, "...from last year. We don't have it any more. I don't think we even have the fabric."  My heart sank. How dare they leave such wonderfulness hanging on the wall to toy with my quilty emotions? They should have taken that thing down and locked it away so I never would have seen it. Quilt store cruelty, I tell you! Said sales lady should be banished to a dark corner to fold endless fat quarters of really ugly fabric.

But luckily another sales lady (we'll call her my quilt super hero) must have overheard my growl and swooped in to save the day. She quickly fumbled around under the counter and pulled out THE last pattern. I swear I heard angels sing. Then she floated around the room grabbing bolts of fabric, checking the pattern, grabbing more bolts, checking the pattern, grabbing more bolts, and finally lead me to a stack of fabric bolts at least four feet tall. She quickly pointed out that they had all but four of the original fabrics, but she had chosen alternates for each of them. Then she started cutting. And cutting and cutting. An hour later I had three big bags of fabric, a yummy pattern, and quilt love in my heart. True happiness!

Then life happened, (and other projects, of course.) So a few days ago I decided it was time to pull out the Christmas quilt and get this project under way. Then I really looked at the pattern. Applique. Lots and lots of applique. I don't mind applique so much. But for some reason I don't like to do anything the easy way. I'm not a fuse-it-down, machine-stitch-it kind of gal. I like to applique the old-fashioned way, needle-turn by hand. So I started tracing the pieces on freezer paper. I traced for three days. I used at least 9 square feet of freezer paper. Then it took me several more days to cut out all these little pieces.

Here's what I ended up with. There are at least 5 million little pieces. Except for those three big pieces you see in the upper-left corner. Aaahhhhh! What have I gotten myself into? Have I lost my mind? I vow before you now, I will have it done by Christmas (it just may not be of 2012!) You know it has to be true quilt love if I'm willing to take on all those little pieces! Time will tell if it is an everlasting love.