Last week of the Lost Lake QAL

It is the final week of the Lost Lake QAL! If you have missed any instructions they can all be found in the Lost Lake QAL tab under the header. This week we are piecing the top. I pieced each quadrant as a four patch sewing the top two blocks together and the bottom two blocks together pressing the top seam to the right and the bottom seam to the left. Nesting the seams, I pieced the top blocks to the bottom and repeated these steps on the other three quadrants.

Four quadrants pieced.

Then I did the same with the four pieces I had left to finish the top. While piecing, there are a lot of seams that need to match up instead of pinning I held the next seam and just worked seam to seam. I got the best results that way.

Top and bottom pieced.

That is it for the Lost Lake Qal now all you have to do is quilt and bind it the way you prefer.

Finished top.

I'm almost a quarter of the way done quilting mine and hope to share the finished quilt on Friday. If you have any questions I would be happy to help. I will be back tomorrow to share my plans for a leader/ender project and Wednesday with an update on the Carpenter's Star quilt.

Carpenter's Star Part One

I meant to start my Carpenter's Star quilt on Monday, but instead I was ripping my husbands dress shirts apart for fabric. I have a plan don't worry I'm not just being destructive for no reason. As a result of the shirt distraction, I am not as far along as I wanted to be but that's alright.

As I said on Sunday, this quilt will finish at 88" square so not quite queen size but my sister will accept it and be happy right Tina? Just kidding if she doesn't like it I will keep it.

If you want to make a quilt this size you will need 3 1/2 yards background fabric and 2 1/4 of each of the main colors.

Background

Cut 4- 11.5-inch strips and subcut into 12 11.5-inch squares.
Cut 6- 12.25-inch strips and subcut into 16 12.25-inch squares.

Main Colors (follow instructions for both)
Cut 6- 12.25-inch strips and subcut into 18 12.25-inch squares.

Eight of each color will be paired together and the other ten of each will be paired with white to make half square triangles two at a time. The half square triangles need to be squared down to 11.5 inches. You will have 16 background/grey hst's, 16 background/yellow hst's, 20 grey/yellow hst's, and 12 background squares.  That is it for piecing and it just needs to be arranged in the right order. 

I finished the two-color hst's and half of the grey ones. I'll be back next Wednesday to update you on my progress. If you have any questions about the layout or anything else comment and I will get back to you by email.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Sew Fresh Quilts, please go check out all of the awesome projects people are linking!

Lost Lake QAL Week Four

Welcome, back! This week things get pretty exciting and the end is in sight. If you missed any of the previous instructions they can be found in the Lost Lake tab under the header.

Alright, let's jump right in. Every block is constructed the same way no matter which color it is. Layout your large half square triangles with the darker fabric in the bottom right. Then you will take sixteen of the smaller half square triangle units (same color as the main block) and arrange them around the center block. Five on top, five on the bottom, with three on each side. Here is a picture of one of mine layed out before sewing.

Take the five from the top and sew them together with a strict quarter inch seam. Do the same with the bottom five. Then sew the three from each side. Since there are so many seams in this block I pressed them all open. 

Once you have pressed the seams with a hot steamy iron sew the left and right sides to the center first. While sewing, I like to keep the smaller HST's on the top so I can watch the seams and make sure they don't flip. Then sew the top and the bottom seams, again pressing open. Block so be 15.5 inches at this point.

Repeat for the other 15 blocks and you're done for this week! It is starting to come together. Next week we will be piecing the quilt top! If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments and I would be happy to help.  I would love to see your blocks. As always you can share on Instagram with #lostlakeqal. 

Chatty Update

It has been so busy around my house lately. My sister and nephew came to visit which was a lot of fun and a nice break from our normal life. We got our school shopping done. Well, the clothes part anyway I still need to pick up some supplies. It was a little intense this year having to shop for two kids instead of one. I survived, but the pocketbook is a little bit lighter these days.

The big thing that I worked on this month was a secret quilting project. I tested a pattern for Nightingale Quilts that will be coming out later this month. I shared a few peeks on Instagram, but I can't share the finished project until the pattern comes out.

Have you joined the Meadow Mist Midnight Mystery Quilt Along? If you haven't you definitely should; I'm having so much fun with it. Cheryl has a very active FB group and everyone is sharing their progress. I still need to trim most of my flying geese from this month's clue.

I have discovered the magic that is Mary Ellen's Best Press. (Affliate link) I was at Joann's and picked up a bottle to try since I knew it was pretty popular. When I was ironing my fabric for the Carpenter's Star quilt (more on this in a second) I couldn't believe how easy it was to get the wrinkles out when I used the Best Press. I don't even care that it is a starch and sizing alternative I'll buy it just for the ease of ironing. The Lavender Fields scent is really nice, once I run out I am going to buy one of the big honking jugs of it. Okay, I'm done with the infomercial, but seriously go buy yourself some if you haven't!

Starting Wednesday I will be posting my progress on my sister's Carpenter's Star quilt. I will be sharing my measurements and the process I use to create it so if you are interested in making one I hope I can help you out. The quilt that I am making will finish at 88" square.

How has your summer been? 

Don't forget week four of the Lost Lake QAL will be up in the morning!

Lost Lake Qal Week 3

Welcome back! This week we will be working on the large HST units. If you missed any of the instructions they can be found in the Lost Lake tab under the header.

We will be using the two at a time method this week since we will only need a few of each color.

Take each 10-inch fabric D squares and mark a line diagonally corner to corner on the wrong side. Match them up with one of each of the other fabrics right sides together. Sew a quarter inch from the line on both sides and cut along the line. Press each HST to the dark side and square up to 9.5 inches. For a step-by-step tutorial see the link above. If you have any questions let me know I would love to help.

That's it for this week pretty easy huh? Next week we will be working on putting the blocks together. Don't forget you can check in on Instagram #lostlakeqal and in the Quilting It Out facebook group.

Linking up with Cooking Up Quilts MCM.

Lost Lake QAL Week Two

Welcome back for week two of the Lost Lake QAL all of the information that has been previously posted can be found in the Lost Lake tab under the blog header.

Eight at a time method

Match each eight-inch Fabric D square with an eight inch square of each of the other fabrics. Using the eight at a time method create half square triangles, press to the dark, and square them up to 3.5 inches. You will end up with 64 HST's with both Fabrics A and C and 128 HST's with Fabric B.

Two at a time method

Match each four-inch Fabric D square with a four inch square of each of the other fabrics.  Using the two at a time method create half square triangles, press to the dark, and square them up to 3.5 inches. You will end up with 64 HST's with both Fabrics A and C and 128 HST's with Fabric B. 

Next week we will be working on the larger HST units. I would love to see your progress please share on Instagram with #lostlakeqal or in the Quilting It Out facebook group. 

Linking up with Cooking Up Quilts Main Crush Monday. 

1928 Singer 66

Last week I found a vintage Singer machine on Craigslist that looked to be in good condition. The person was asking more than I wanted to pay so when she said her price was firm I decided to just leave it at that. A day or two later she emailed me again saying she would take $20 less than the original price. I wrote to the hubby and he gave me the go ahead. I emailed her back and settled on a date and time to meet.

That’s great everything is set right? No, not so much. I have a small case of stranger danger. As I was showering and getting ready all of these crazy ideas kept popping into my head. What if it's not a woman and it’s some creepy man trying to lure women in with vintage sewing machines? What if it's a thief and they are going to beat me up and steal my money leaving me for dead? These are actual thoughts that ran through my mind. I have a very active imagination. My solution to my fears was to write back and ask if she could meet me outside because I was bringing three kids with me. Obviously I believe that the line creepy craigslist stalkers won’t cross is hurting someone that has kids with them.

I have sold and bought things before on craigslist but always had my husband with me. I was nervous the whole ride there. Turns out she was just a normal person with a young daughter nothing scary at all. Once I came down from high alert I was too excited about getting my first older machine to really check it out. I had an hour drive there and the money in my pocket so I bought it without making sure that the woman hadn’t lied to me.

Turns out she fibbed quite a bit but that's fine because I am learning a lot about how to clean and service the machine myself. The only thing that really upset me is that I found out she paid about half as much for it than what I paid. You live and you learn I guess. I am happy that I bought it and I’m really looking forward to quilting on it. This will also be the machine I use whenever my husband needs anything fixed or added to his gear because it is definitely a workhorse.

It is a Singer 66 from 1928. These pictures were taken after I had done some cleaning to the shiny bits. I will be polishing, greasing, and oiling her up this week as well as replacing her motor and belt to be on the safe side. The wires are looking a little sketchy and I'm not looking for a fire so I decided to replace it to be safe. It is actually really easy and cheap to replace the motor on this machine since it is belt driven all I have to do is screw the motor on and put the belt on.

Look at all the space for quilting!

Once I have finished cleaning her up I will post some more pictures. She also needs a name so if you have any suggestions leave them in the comments. Just remember she is 87 years old so her name should reflect that. I'm apparently very technical on how I name inanimate objects. Do you have a vintage machine? I can see this turning into an obsession. I already have a list of machines I want.