Wyoming Breezes

binding Tavern Blues June 2018 Tavern Blues  simply would not be ignored: it taunted me every time I passed the crumpled mass on the sofa. On Saturday, I finally bit the bullet and began hand stitching the binding. I listened to High Profile (a Jesse Stone novel) by Robert B. Parker as the needle slowly inched its way around the quilt. turning the last corner Tavern Blues completed June 2018 Tavern Blues is now officially finished.

attaching the binding to Tavern Blues June 2018 Tavern Blues is one step closer to being finished. I attached the binding to the front side of the quilt and will begin hand stitching the binding to the back. The hand stitching is a task that I do not enjoy. This quilt is large (96 inches square), so I may have to bribe myself in order to get it done. How do you motivate yourself to work on tasks that you dread? * * * Blogger reported that the problems bloggers have been experienceing the last two weeks are now fixed. My fingers are crossed that they are correct.

pieced border fabric March 2018 I really wanted to finish the Tavern Blues quilt in January, but my motivation flagged when I discovered I didn't have enough fabric for the borders. Last week, I bit the bullet and cut and pieced the border strips together. The fabric didn't cooperate well with my efforts to piece it, but I decided it was good enough and probably wouldn't be that visible when the top was quilted. finished Tavern Blues quilt March 2018 As I've mentioned before, this quilt is a beast (96 inches square) and I don't have a large enough area to hang the quilt to get a good photo. I had to move the kitchen table out of the way to even measure the final borders. cornerstones instead of mitering March 2018 Because I was short of border fabric, I could not miter the corners, so I added cornerstones, using the same fabric as the sashing cornerstones. The backing is made, and the quilt is ready to take to the longarmer for quilting. I am thr...

Tavern Blues blocks being sashed December 2017 Since I stayed home for Christmas, I challenged myself to assemble the Tavern Blues ' blocks. I knew this quilt was large, but finding an adequate space to lay out the blocks and sashing required moving some furniture. Tavern Blues with the first border attached 85 x 85 inches December 2017 I started Tavern Blues on January 23, 2107, so I'm pleased that I "might" have it finished by the end of January 2018. "Might" is the key word in the previous sentence. You may remember that I didn't purchase a kit for this quilt and that I amassed collected the fabric over a period of time without consulting the pattern. The only problem that created was too much fabric for the blocks. Fast forward to December 2017 when I get serious about assembling the quilt. I open the box that contains the fabric for the sashing, the setting triangles, and the borders and discover a major glitch: I hadn't purcha...

Non-quilters often ask about how a quilt block is made, so I decided to show the process involved in making one blocks for the Tavern Blues quilt.  first all the pieces are cut to size and selected for the individual blocks I like to place the pieces on a 16" square of poster board. The boards can easily be stacked on top of each other and placed on the sewing machine cabinet for quick access. all of the pieces that remain intact are kept on the poster board. pieces that require sewing are stacked near the machine squares are selected for each component and positioned for sewing sewing lines were previously drawn on the squares for accurate sewing. I stitch all the units (one after the other, which is called "chain-stitching") the chain-stitched units are snipped apart excess fabric is trimmed a quarter inch from the stitching line.  the fabric has been pressed the next pieces are placed on the units and prepared for stitchin...

ten Tavern Blues blocks January 2017 Once the fabric was cut, I selected pieces for each block (26 total) and began sewing. Lots of pieces for each block - 57 to be exact. Since the fabric has marinated for nearly five years, I'm not going to be in a rush to finish them. Ten completed, and all 12.5 inches square.

Tavern Blues fabrics were cut for blocks January 2017 Last week, I decided it was time to begin the Tavern Blues quilt. You may remember an earlier post about the fabric I amassed for this project. I am happy to report that I didn't purchase an overabundance of dark colors since the pattern required 13 different dark colors. these fabrics didn't make the cut Most of the fabric that will not be in the quilt are mediums and lights. While they will not be in  Tavern Blues , they will be put to use in other projects. I don't know why I delayed so long in starting this quilt. Sewing has begun: photos will be posted later this week.

fabric collected for Tavern Blues Tavern Blues, a pattern by Bonnie Blue Quilts, now called  Red Crinoline Quilts , caught my eye about four years ago, and I began collecting fabrics: deep indigo bus, medium indigo/beige prints, light indigo/blue prints. I pursued the indigo selections in nearly every quilt shop I entered, and in some I spotted just the right shade. One of the shops Marilyn, Brenda and I visited last summer had the fabric for sashing and the setting triangles that was highlighted in the pattern, and since it was perfect, I bought yardage. Tavern Blues by Bonnie Blue Quilts Fast forward to last week, when I was straightening fabric in my sewing room, and decided the Tavern Blues collection needed to be in one box instead of stored in bags throughout the room. Most of it was in a plastic bin, but I found the odd shopping bags here and there in the sewing room. What on earth was I thinking when I blindly purchased this fabric (without referencing the pa...