Sewing

I started this bag last weekend at Betsy's.  She got the fabric   in a box lot at an auction.  I was trying to figure out a lesson for our class.  I got distracted by this.  It is a print of a quilt design.  I don't like it but I had to finish it.   On Wednesday I "quilted it" on the Singer 66 treadle.  I just followed the lines of the pattern.  It was tedium defined.  The lining fabric is an old bedspread and so it did not have much loft at all.  The quilting improved it only a little.  Today I attached the straps after I zig zagged them on the Kenmore 18031.  Then I tried stitching the straps to the bag with that machine and it just would not handle it.  And the motor is growling at me.  It is not at all quiet the way my 158.1760 is.  I found sewing with the 18031 an altogether unsatisfactory experience.  So I turned around in my chair and tried the 31-15.  Magic.  It sailed right through everything.  I had some trouble getting the knack of the needle lifter but I love that feature.  Now THAT was an altogether satisfactory experience.  So I finished the stupid thing and now I have another odd shaped bag.

Betsy is teaching triangle construction  She assigned me the task of teaching how to make a nine patch square.   I made a nine patch block quilt several years ago.  I got that pattern out and played with it a bit today.

Of course I don't want to make the whole quilt......  But I did want to review the process.  This is what I have so far.

I started with the purple print.  It was a scrap from my very firt quilt and I LOVE this fabric.

 I had an odd shaped piece so I cut   21/2 inch strips out of the biggest part of that scrap which yielded six 32 inch long strips.

I cut six 2 1/2 inch strips out of the lighter green

and sewed them together in strip sets.  One strip was purple/green/purple.  The other was green/purple/green

Each strip set is then cut into smaller strips 2  1/2 inches wide.  Then you can place them in blocks and determine which design you like the best.

MY CHOICE

Next I stitched the strips together to create the block.  I like to preserve time and thread so I sewed them in a chain.

 Paying careful attention to matching the seams.

 Tomorrow I will show you how I connected the squares.