And Now.. The Last One

I put the words in the signature panel for the Not Paper Pieced quilt together. I love the lady at the sewing machine in the counter of the zero.

This is harder than it looks.

I call this part "quilt wrangling."

Here is the signature panel for the back of the Not Paper Pieced quilt.

OK! It fits! Yes, this is the wrong side of the Not Paper Pieced quilt, and yes, the wrong side of all my quilts are this neat and clean.

So now all my quilt tops have backings. Woo Hoo!

Year 2019

I made the numbers for the year on the signature panel of the Not Paper Pieced quilt.

And you know me, I couldn't resist adding a fun element to the hole in the zero. The lady is saying, "I'm watching you! No paper was harmed in the making of THIS quilt!"

So here it is. I've got to add fabric around the word sections to make it a big panel and then piece it into the rest of the backing.

I briefly considered making the numbers pink, but I felt they would draw too much attention, so they are gold.

AND BEFORE ANYBODY SAYS ANYTHING... I think there is a bit too much space between the T and the Y in TYLER, and a smidge too much space between the 0 and the 1 in 2019, and the diagonal leg of the 9 is too narrow. The second Y is made of components that are probably a bit too thick. Of all of those things, what I might fix is the numbers.

Otherwise, as the French say, "Tant pis." (And I'm 90% sure those of you who don't speak French can figure it out.)



In my tutorial on "Liberated" letters, not only do I tell you how to make all the letters in the alphabet without patterns, templates or (god forbid), paper-piecing, I also tell you how to make numbers.  You can get it here, on my Etsy shop. It's full of absolutely everything you need to know to make letters and make them well.

Signature Panel & Maiden

First things first. When I got an alert on my phone that the movie MAIDEN was showing an hour's drive away, I made plans to go see it with my Dad, who loves sailing. It was a terrific movie, and it's a hell of a story. (It got a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes). You ought to find, and see it if you can. Click the link for more information.

I am working on getting the backings ready for quilts to bring to Janet Lee next week, and I had to make the backing for the No Paper Pieced quilt.

As soon as I laid the fabric on the floor to figure out how I was going to sew it into a backing I realized this quilt (of ALL my quilts), needed a signature panel. So I got to work making letters.


My letters are free-pieced, meaning they aren't made with templates or patterns and they are most decidedly NOT PAPER PIECED!! If you would like to make your own, you can get the tutorial here, at my Etsy shop. It's an instant download so you can get started right away.

The Big Sig

The signature panel for the Early Autumn quilt is finished. Now I will clean up the studio and eventually make the backing for the quilt.

The house is decorated and I've mailed gifts to my granddaughter in sunny LA.

Gosh, she's getting so big. I love her outfit, like an elf!

A Bird in the...?

OK, so I tried a bird. Looks passably successful here but...

The body disappeared. Birds need contrast, and I didn't want this guy to take over.

Along with everybody else I really liked the little red tree. Maybe he just needed a friend? Yup.

Yup indeed. This is it. This is what I will sew up for the signature panel of the Early Autumn quilt. Regular readers know I do not "drop the ball" on the back of my quilts. The backings are always chosen specifically for the quilt.

This is pretty much what it will look like. All the bits you see aren't sewn together and that is what I will do next.

I am teaching a Birds class at Quilted Threads on Saturday December 1. I have to prepare for that, so that will take precedence. And my studio is a mess and I want to clean it. I don't know what I will do next, but I am sure I will figure something out.

Signature Panel Part Two

Ten years ago I made my first signature panel for a quilt. This was the year. I really liked the number 8.

 NIne years ago I made a sampler quilt and included numbers. Nobody had made numbers before and I had to figure them out for myself. I made the 8 by starting with an X. I wasn't sold on it then, and decided that if I ever had to make another 8 I'd make it the way I did the first time. (see top photo.)

Well, it took me a couple of tries, and I think this one is "serviceable."

So anyway. I know you all like this little red tree...

but no matter where I put him he sticks out like a sore thumb. (Because, hell-o-oh, CONTRAST!)

No matter how cute the little guy is, I am the architect of what I want you to see and I do NOT want the little tree to be a point of interest in the back of the quilt. So here is a version without any trees.

Of course, it needs something.

I will need a transition between the signature panel and the rest of the backing fabric, and this red looks good.

Here is the backing fabric next to this, and yes, I like it. But yeah, I can see that big empty space and I can hear you all already... "Hey Lynne, why don't you put one of your BIRDS there."




... Because it's time for bed, that's why!


oh yes.... some of you have questions.

1. the new refrigerator is 20 cubic feet.

2. a letters tutorial (or several) is in my future... If something as simple as binding takes 60 pages, the letters will take lots and lots more than that.

3. why don't I like binding clips.. because you can't sew over them with a sewing machine, and they get in the way when I'm trying to hand sew.

4. Baklava... yes Suzanne I had also read that the baklava had to be HOT and the syrup had to be COLD when your poured it on, or the other way around. My recipe had me make the syrup the very first thing, and told me to get it COLD... so when it had cooled to lukewarm I put it on the front porch (where it was 11F). I had also read the other way around would work. I was rather wary when I took my hot baklava out of the oven and started to pour very cold syrup into the pan (it was a glass pan) but I knew it was Pyrex and could take it. Otherwise it would have made a hell of a mess.

Signature

When I make a quilt that's really special, I'll add a signature panel on the back.

This is the signature panel I am working on for the Early Autumn quilt. I don't know if the little red tree over on the right is going to stay, and I need to add the year, 2018.

The lower case letters are about 3" tall.

Colorado Quilt Backing Done

While this may not be the best photo of the finished backing for the Colorado Quilt, this is very accurate in terms of color.  The backing is done and I will bring it to the longarm quilter on Sunday.

The signature block is 21-1/2"  wide by 32" tall. The lower case letters are 3" tall.

The blue straightedge in yesterday's post can be bought at Home Depot, here. Like anything long and straight, you have to be careful not to bend it so it will stay "true." It works for me and I am happy. It's only 20 USD, so it's a heck of a deal. You will want to find a place to store it.

More ruler fun here.

This and That

The signature panel is done. Now "all" I have to do is sew it into the backing. I'll get there. The last few days have been spent doing all the things I avoid doing when I am sewing. I prepared the Birds class I'll be teaching at Quilted Threads on Saturday, Oct 14th (It's full).

I worked out in the garden a bit on Saturday, pulling out weeds and dead plants in the so-called herb garden, and I dumped out some annuals I had in pots. They were past their prime. We haven't had a frost yet, so the perennial garden still looks good, and I won't trim it down until it's all dead.

I cleaned the house, did the laundry, vacuumed every room and washed the kitchen floor. I did the groceries and paid the bills, cleaned the litterbox and Millie's water fountain. I made bread and lunches for the week and had dinner with my dad and saw a movie (Battle of the Sexes, very good).

At any rate I want to have the backing ready so I can bring the quilt to Janet Lee for quilting next Sunday.

And oh yeah, I upgraded my iPhone. Now I have an iPhone 8.

Options, Options...

I'm almost done the signature panel for the Colorado Quilt.

This one isn't right. The dark numbers make it too visually heavy on the right.

Too top heavy.

This is good. Doesn't take up too much space on the back of the quilt.

This is nice, almost the same as in the first bird quilt, Flight of Fancy, but I don't want it to take up so much space on the back of the quilt.

I have decided on the third one.





If you want to make your own flock of birds, get my tutorial here, on Etsy. It's an instant download, so you can get started right away.

Contrary

Last night I made the numbers 2-0-1-7 for the year and then sewed them together, then sewed my surname together. Tonight I'll finish the rest of the name panel, and assemble the backing for the Colorado quilt.

Oh, you are looking at the back of these panels. And yes, the back of every quilt I make looks just like these - neat, threads trimmed, pressed, and flat.

Signature Letters

I really want to get the Colorado Quilt quilted, so I am working on the signature panel for the back. I have made the letters of my name, and now I have to make the year - 2017. Then I will trim it all down to size and sew them together into a panel, then I'll assemble the backing.



If you'd like to make your own free pieced birds, click this link to my Etsy shop. The bird tutorial is an instant download so you can get started right away!

Of Birds, Eggs & Signatures

When Gerald Roy first appraised my quilts he asked if I signed them. I replied that I did, and I showed him. "Not big enough" was his comment.  Since then I've made sure to make them "big enough."

 This will be on the back of the birds quilt, Flight of Fancy.

Can you see what the letter fabric is? They're not rocks.

they're EGGS!! I thought it was perfect. This will be the binding of the quilt too.

The rest of the backing will be these green leaves.

 And, of course, there had to be a bird! (Yes, the beak is the egg fabric).

And if you don't think the signature is big enough, check it out next to my hand.

Signature

This doesn't have the strong contrast that black and white usually has, but I didn't want that. I wanted this to be a bit more low key.  Next up I have to make the date.

Btw, do you have any idea how frustrating it is to line up black and white fabrics with a ruler that has black lines? (And don't tell me to use the ones with yellow or green lines because I don't find those accurate at all.)

Signature

I decided to make a signature panel for the back of the Chicken Quilt.

Who would have thought that after making almost 200 letters for the chicken quilt that I'd be interested in making still more? 

I had wanted to include "FRICKN CHICKN" in the quilt, but as the design evolved the idea just didn't fit.  Then I thought I'd put it on the back, but by the time the flimsy was finished I couldn't see the point in adding those letters on the back of the quilt, so I decided to make a signature panel instead.

I made one for the back of No Rules for Julie,

 

 and the signature panel on Letters from Home is on the front.


 When I had several of my quilts appraised by Gerald Roy last year he asked me if I signed them. I turned them over and showed him. They signatures were all small and discreet, hidden within the pattern of the backing fabric.   

"Too small," he advised. "Make them bigger."

Yes sir!