French Vintage Finish . . . .

French Vintage is FINISHED!

The pattern French Vintage is by Joe Wood for ThimbleCreek Quilts.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 80.

This quilt finished at 62" x 62" and has approximately 2,634 pieces.

I think I say this a lot, but it is definitely true this time, this quilt looks prettier in person. The outer blocks aren't as dark as they come across in the picture.

I really like the red and gray checkerboard for the outer border.

This is one of those quilts that takes a few minutes of studying before you take it all in.

Here's a review of the blocks:

center four

middle twelve

outer twenty.

I could not be happier with this project. It was fun to piece and I enjoyed watching it come together on my design wall. From the response this pattern has received, I'm guessing I'll be seeing a lot of these quilts on other blogs.

Well, now that French Vintage is all done it's time for the next project, a project that's close to my hearT, and I'll give you a hint, it doesn't start with the letter "B", it starts with the letter

The clock's ticking, are you getting ready to work on your March Schnibbles too? I can hardly wait to see the parade, I hope you're in it!

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Even More French Vintage . . . .

Here's a little more of my French Vintage project, the pattern by ThimbleCreek Quilt Shop.

The last border of blocks has an even darker background fabric than the first two sets of blocks.

All that's left is to piece the sashing and connect those blocks.

After my last post I got several questions about this project, the most popular question was how do I get such a neat block and would I post a picture of the back of one of my blocks.

As you can see, I press all my seams open. I think it makes the blocks lay flatter and helps me see all the seams to get everything properly aligned before I sew my seam.

Another thing I always do is make my half square triangle units larger then square them up. I think if you start with wonky hsts you end up with a wonky block. I still use the Easy Angler 2, but I just make them about 1/4" larger.

The most important thing about my blocks is my accurate 1/4" seam allowance. I can't take credit for it, my machine has a 1/4" foot that never lets me down. Additionally, my machine feeds the fabric through the machine from the top and the bottom, some machines only feed from the bottom. I think the dual feed machines help the fabric flow through straight, creating a perfect seam.

As to the fabric, the only French General fabric that I'm using is the background fabric for the last round of blocks. It is from the Panier de Fleurs line and the number is 13593.

The background fabric for the center four blocks is from Lily & Will by Bunny Hill Designs, #2807.

The background fabric for the second round of blocks is Puzzle Pieces by Moda,

#1008.

The majority of my grays came from Lily & Will and Putting on the Ritz, both by Bunny Hill Designs. My reds are an assortment of scraps and bits and pieces, I couldn't begin to guess their lines or numbers.

Thanks so much for all your comments, feedback, and interest in this project. Out of all the projects I've ever blogged about, this has been one of the most popular. I hope to see French Vintage quilts on your blogs soon, and if you don't have a blog, send me a picture, I'll put it on mine!

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More French Vintage . . . .

So the last time I blogged about French Vintage, the ThimbleCreek Pattern by Joe Wood,

you saw this.

Now it looks like this!

I'm very happy with my background choices so far, the center four blocks, with the slightly lighter background fabric, just ever so slightly out sparkle the surrounding stars.

The next border of stars are darker still,

they look like this . . . . .

One day it looks and feels like spring around here then the next day we wake up to snow on the ground, regardless of the weather, it's time to pack up the snowmen that hang out around my house through the winter months and break out some color! As much as I love that red and green star quilt in my living room I'm ready for a change, guess I'll haul out the big ladder and hang a new quilt this weekend. I'm not sure which one, but that will be the fun part, picking a new quilt, stop back by for an update!

Let's all think Spring!!

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It's A Very Special Day . . . .

Happy Leap Day!

I'm making the most of my extra day by spending the entire day in my sewing room, wearing pjs, and not cooking, but I do plan to eat! If you can't spend the entire day doing exactly as you wish, I hope you'll at least take the time to do something to make this day special. You won't be getting another extra day for four more years!

I've heard from a few folks that Joe Wood of ThimbleCreek Quilts mentioned in a newsletter that I was working on his pattern French Vintage, I figured I better post an update on that project to give those folks and you something to look at.

Here's the next border of blocks, all ready for their sashing. I think you can see the slight difference between the background fabric for the inner blocks and the background fabric for the next set of blocks. Next up, more checkerboard sashing for those outer blocks.

It's also Leap Day Superior Thread Giveaway Day!!

Elizabeth, at Occasional Piece Quilt, read my earlier post about wanting to do something special in my sewing room on Leap Day and asked if I would be willing to participate in a thread giveaway with some other folks on February 29th. Who would turn down free thread? So the deal was that I could pick any 4 spools of Superior Thread, I could keep one and giveaway three.

Up until this giveaway came along I never gave any thought to my thread. I use a brand of thread that someone recommended to me when I first started sewing. I've never had any problems with that brand of thread and I never took the time to research other brands of thread.

I have now learned that Superior Threads makes all kinds of thread in all kinds of amazing colors,plus they make silk thread, glitter thread, rainbow thread, vanishing thread, and NiteLite extra glow thread! There is thread for quilting and thread for piecing. They even make thread that is white indoors but changes color when outdoors!

Given all these fabulous choices what do you think I picked . . .

Master Piece thread by Alex Anderson.

I know, given all those wild and crazy options why did I pick something so generic? I wanted to try something that I thought I would use, and I thought I would use this thread.

Here's the skinny on Master Piece thread:

it's #50 / 3-ply extra-long staple Egyptian-grown cotton

comes in 600 yd spools

comes in 75 colors

is ideal for piecing, appliqué, lacework, bobbin, and fine quilting

is also available in hand appliqué thread packs and 2,500 yd cones.

Besides wanting a thread that just does its job, I thought it would be interesting to see how much lint this thread produced.

Here's my sewing machine all clean.

Here's my sewing machine after going through one full bobbin of thread. Some lint, not tons, but less would be better. I'm going to sew with my new thread and then report back.

If you would like to win those three spools of thread just leave a comment on this post relating to thread. What thread you use, is thread important you, anything will do. You have until Saturday, March 3rd to leave a comment. If the post office delivers to your address you're eligible. I'll announce the winner on Sunday along with the results of my lint test.

Several other bloggers are also participating in this giveaway, and may be giving away more exciting thread than what I picked, go check them out!

Elizabeth from Occasional Piece-Quilt!

Cindy from Live A Colorful Life

Lee from Freshly Pieced

Sherri from A Quilting Life

Leanne from She Can Quilt

Jeni from In Color Order

Amy from During Quiet Time

Carla from Lollyquiltz

Jennifer from That Girl, That Quilt

Corey from Little Miss Shabby

Terri from Sewfantastic

For more information on Superior Threads or to learn about their products, Superior University, and their Thread of the Month Club, or to receive their newsletter, check out their website here.

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More French Vintage . . . .

Hello, are you ready for a little more French Vintage....and by little I mean little, but here goes!

Four inner blocks all done.

Four inner blocks with sashing,

all done!

Here's a peek at the background fabric for the next set of blocks.

Just a hint darker, I hope it's noticeable!

For those stopping by for the first time, I'm working on French Vintage by ThimbleCreek Quilts . . . .and loving it!

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French Vintage Baby Steps . . .

I was so excited to read that several of you had French Vintage on your To Do List! The Country Sampler introduced me to this pattern. They have it kitted as a scrappy French Vintage, some kits are still available if you are interested. (click here)

I liked the looks of the version put together by the Country Sampler but preferred the quilt on the pattern cover a little better. As I mentioned, the Country Sample did their quilt using scrappy background fabric. The pattern calls for three background fabrics, a light background fabric for the center 4 blocks, a twinge darker background for the twelve middle blocks and a little darker still background for the outer twenty blocks.

Here's my inspiration block.

The quilt on the cover of the pattern was made using French General's first line of fabric, and would work great with their latest line of fabric, Rounneries Deux. For my version I only used a couple of French General fabrics. My lightest background fabric, shown above, is from Lilly and Will by Bunny Hill Designs for Moda. My inner background fabric is Puzzle Pieces by Moda, and my outer background fabric is Panier de Fleurs by French General for Moda.

My reds are an assortment from several lines and my grays are mainly Bunny Hill Designs, more Lilly and Will plus some Puttin' on the Ritz.

If you look at the center of the quilt on the cover, you can see the subtle change in the background fabric. I really like how the center seems to "light up".

I'm using my trusty Easy Angle to make my half square triangles.

Here are my strips, ready for the borders.

I always make my pieces bigger and square them up,

I think the scraps give you a great idea of what the finished quilt will look like, I like what I see so far!

I'm thrilled so many folks were interested in my Countdown to Christmas scraps and I loved hearing what everyone was working on. Random number generator selected number 10, Gloria, as the winner. Congratulations Gloria.

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