42 and counting down

I finished this quilt for a customer yesterday and have another on the machine I hope to finish today or tomorrow. It is just like this one but with different t-shirts.



A view of the other side.


There are different readers of my blog… toppers and machine quilters. I love knowing I’m passing along my knowledge to others. If I don’t pass it along now it may be too late later. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. So with this in mind here is my first helpful hint for toppers. Please be patient if I don’t post a helpful hint everyday. My customers are my first priority (smile) which means I may not have the time for hints.

TOPPER HELPFUL HINT:

You see this sashing? How the blocks are just a little off from each other and the sashing is friendly? (It waves at you)

What usually happens is a topper will sew whole rows of blocks together then sew one long sashing strip between them. Rarely are the blocks matched up at the corners doing it this way. It’s so much easier to match things up if the sashing is cut to fit the blocks and treated as a part of the block. Like this.

I usually sew the sashing to all the blocks by sewing it to two sides. The outside row of blocks along one side and along the bottom will get three sashing strips. One final corner block will get all four sides with sashing. This may sound confusing and I don’t have any pictures to show of the technique. I can draw a diagram for you though.

Here is a sample of squares that represent your blocks.


Next I draw in the sashing on one side of the blocks. They would be sewn onto the side of the block like this.



Notice that along the right side the blocks don’t have sashing? These outsides will get a sashing too.


Next is to put sashing on the top of the blocks. To get the right measurement the sashing should be sewn onto the left and measured. Now your blocks will look like this.


Notice that the bottom row of blocks doesn’t have a bottom sashing? This row will need a third sashing strip sewn on too, like this.


The very last block in the right hand corner will get a sashing strip on all four sides, like this. When the sashing is sewn as a part of the block it should all match up at the corners.


HELPFUL HINT FOR MACHINE QUILTERS:

I like to keep several battings in stock rather than order as needed. I prefer Quilter’s Dream Batting because I can order it in individual packages. For me this is the most convenient way to store batting. The packages fit neatly under my quilting machine.

It was a problem for me keeping up with what I had in stock and what I needed to order. I had to take an inventory each time I planned to order batting. Taking inventory required me to get down onto the floor behind my machine and count each size. I would then struggle to get up off the floor and figure out what to order. Getting up and down off the floor is hard to do with arthritis in my hip joints!

I do it differently now and it’s so much easier. I decided how many of each type and size I needed to keep in stock. I ordered the right number to start off my inventory. These days, instead of throwing away the label from the package; when I open it, I keep it. I stack them up near my machine. When it’s time to order I can just count the labels of the batting that has been used. Ta da! No more getting down to the floor or straining to get back up.

One more note before I finish this post. If you send me an email and I don’t answer right away, don’t worry, I’m not ignoring you. When I shut off the computer it is the equivalent of leaving home for an outside job. I can’t be late for work even if it is only in another room of the house. Time to go....