Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers, Week 2

 Hi all -

I hope everyone is doing well! A good friend of mine is having knee replacement surgery today so my thoughts are with her. I know so many people who have had this surgery. I hate that anyone has to go through this, but am happy that the doctors have had so much practice so it should go well! I'm very lucky to still have all of my original parts!!

Last week was week 2 of Angela Walters' Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers quilt-along. This was a very quick week to complete because we only had to do two new rounds on the quilt. 

Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers - Week 2

As with last week, I found that I had to mark my target spots or things went awry for me. But I don't mind making these small marks before I begin. It's better than having to pick out the stitches! I did start without the marks but had to pick that part out and redo it. For me, it's just too hard to see around the sewing machine to do the stitching without the marks. I don't know how others do it!

Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers - Week 2 Close-Up

Here's a picture of the back of this week's quilting so you can see the quilting better:

Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers - Week 2 From the Back

I might go back and add some free motion quilting in the top area of the second motif for this week. I'll see how the rest of the quilting goes to see if I think it needs it. I like the softness of the quilt when it has less quilting, but love the look of more quilting!

I was also able to finish my Lemme Hat designed by Laura Nelkin.

Lemme Hat

The yarn is actually a deeper red than it appears in the picture. This is a really nice hat pattern. The stitch pattern acts like loose ribbing so it has a comfortable and secure fit, and it looks really pretty. After finishing the hat, I started working on my Lemme Cowl using the same yarn.

Lemme Cowl

Since I have plenty of yarn and beads, I decided to add a couple of pattern repeats in this cowl so it will be a little wider than my last one.

Finally, I picked up another old Laura Nelkin project. This on is the Flowla shawl. It was a mystery knit along (MKAL) from 2022. I had started with the group, but put it aside when a strand of the yarn got caught in my stitch marker. I tried to get the strand out of the metal loop, but nothing I did worked. I thought I was going to have to either destroy the stitch marker or cut the yarn, neither of which appealed to me. A couple of years ago, I pulled it out and tried again with still no luck. Last week I pulled it out and everything was now okay. The jostling around of the project bag must have fixed the problem for me! So I picked it up and continued on.

Flowa

I had previously finished the first two clues, which were the white center and one of the striped sides. Last week I knit the other striped side and the integrated I-cord edge on the bottom. That completed clue 3. Now I just have one more clue to go!

Nancy

Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers Week 1

 Hi all -

I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm and healthy! We're on the edge of the cold weather so have missed most of it, but have had a few days of cold with a little bit of snow. But it sounds like it's supposed to warm up again this week. As usual, I'll keep hoping for more snow!

Last week was the first week of Angela Walters' Arcs, Curves & Points with Rulers Quilt Along (QAL). The first video came out on Tuesday and I got right to work.

Arcs, Curves & Points - Week 1

I really like the look of the center motif, but don't like the build-up of thread in the middle that it causes. Here's an earlier photo that shows the center motif better:

Arcs, Curves & Points - Early Progress

I like to use an air-soluble marker to mark lines to help me with my quilting. For example, I marked a line across the widest part of each of the white sections so I could easily tell where to change direction in my quilting. I'm not very good at eyeballing this type of thing while quilting and am really bothered when things like that don't line up, so this is a quick and easy solution. And the markings go away on their own so I don't have to worry about getting rid of them when I'm done. If you look at the first picture, you can see that the markings are all gone now.

Arcs, Curves & Points - Helpful Markings

You can also see in this photo the swirl hook design in the red areas. This is a free motion design that Angela uses a lot. I've only practiced it a few times in the past. I knew I was terrible at making the swirl hooks but wanted to practice them a bit. Since I knew they would be bad (by bad I mean very inconsistent), I used red thread for this part of the quilting. This allows you to get the texture, but not see the inconsistency unless you are really looking for it. One of the difficulties I had with the panel is that the line between the "patches" got subtle in some places. This was especially true between the white and pink areas.

Arcs, Curves & Points - Subtle "Seams"

You can really see that in this picture. I was lining the ruler up with what I thought was the line between the two areas. Halfway across, I got confused about where the line actually was and ended up shifting the ruler and creating a jog in the quilting line. I'm trying to be more mindful now about checking the end points of the seams when lining up my ruler since those seem to be better defined. Finally, since this is a QAL about using rulers, I thought I'd share the rulers that I'm using. Angela has suggested three of her rulers for this QAL, although she emphasizes that you can use any rulers that you like and demonstrates other rulers in her video.

Arcs, Curves & Points - Suggested Rulers

I purchased her suggested rulers to both try them out and to support the free videos. These are the rulers that I've used so far:

Arcs, Curves & Points - Rulers I've Used

The curved ruler that Angela suggests (Smiley) has nice curves and is easy to use. It fits in my hand well and is easy to move around. I used the curved Quilters Select ruler because I wanted a tighter curve for one area of the quilt. I like the Quilters Select straight edge ruler better than using Angela's Dot ruler (the diamond-shaped ruler) because the shape is better for my hand and I have an easier time keeping it in place. The advantage of the Dot ruler is that the angle on the side of the ruler allows you to reposition it more quickly when doing short connected straight lines. One of the things that I really like about the Quilters Select rulers is the coating that they put on the backs of the rulers that really helps keep them in place while quilting. Angela's rulers do have a rough texture around all of the edges of the back of the ruler to help keep them in place.

Arcs, Curves & Points - Rough Texture on Angela's Rulers

I am impressed with this edging. It keeps the ruler in place pretty well, just not as well as the Quilters Select coating, at least for me.

This week the guild had their outreach sew day. We used to have a separate meeting for the Quilts of Valor (QOV) group. But since we've changed our guild's meeting venue this year, we now have all of the outreach sew groups meeting together on the same day. I think this will be nice since the QOV group can still work together on our projects, but we can also help with other projects when our group leader is busy or out of town. This week we worked on sewing churn dash blocks, using the smaller 16-patch blocks we made last year as the centers.

QOV Blocks

I made several blocks with the group, then took several home to finish up. Our group leader is going to use these blocks to make quilt tops with panels.

I also did some marathon knitting this week. I really wanted to finish my Platy Shawl designed by Laura Nelkin.

Platy Shawl

I love the colors of this shawl, although the shape is a little weird.

Platy Shawl - Close Up

I ended up adding a pair of rounds before the bind off to get a little more of the yellow color.

I also finished my Thrumola designed by Laura Nelkin. 

Thrumola - Front View

Thrumola - Side View

This was a very quick knit! The hardest part for me was identifying the stitch in the previous row that I needed for placing the thrum. This yarn is so fluffy that the stitches were hard to find and some of my thrums cover two stitches instead of one. But I'm the only one who will notice that! This headband fits perfectly and will be really nice in the cold weather!

Finally, I made a little more progress on my Lemme Hat designed by Laura Nelkin. 

Lemme Hat

It's nice going back to this project because the yarn is so easy to knit! I should make more progress on this project this week, but also need to decide on some other Laura Nelkin projects to work on for the first quarter knit-along.

Nancy

Another Twice As Nice Pouch

 Hi all -

I hope you are doing well! Things are good here. We got a couple of inches of snow last night. It sure looks pretty! We're not expecting any more until possibly Friday, but maybe this is the start of some good precipitation! I can only hope!

Yesterday I made another Twice As Nice Pouch designed by Aneela Hoey. I've got a Tula Pink English Paper Piecing (EPP) kit that I got a couple of years ago at one of the local quilt shop's going out of business sale and I want to take it to my sister's house to leave there to work on when I'm visiting. So I need to put together my supplies (needles, thread, scissors, magnets, etc) in a bag to keep with the kit. And I love the Twice As Nice Pouch for this.

Twice As Nice Pouch

Twice As Nice Pouch - Inside

I really love the colors on this one! I can't stop looking at it! Now to gather my supplies.....

I also got my second panel pin basted for Angela Walters' Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers Quilt Along (QAL). 

Angela Walters Panel - Pin Basted

This is the smaller panel with the borders from the larger panel added. I also have the larger panel all ready to go. The first video for the QAL is supposed to come out tomorrow. It was originally scheduled for last week, but Angela pushed everything back a week because they had such a large demand for the panels and she wanted to give people more time to receive their panels before starting. I'll try to keep up with this QAL, but we'll see how it goes. I'm easily distracted!!

I've continued to do a lot of knitting this week. I made a lot of progress on my Platy Shawl designed by Laura Nelkin.

Platy Shawl

Platy Shawl - Detail

The rounds are getting LONG, but it's still a fun knit. I'm really looking forward to getting to that yellow section of the yarn!

I also started a couple of new knitting projects. First, I started Thrumola designed by Laura Nelkin. 

Thrumola

This is a headband that has thrums over the ears to keep you warmer. Thrums are bits of wool roving that are woven into your knitting. They appear as V's on the right side of the knitting, but as wisps of wool on the inside.

Thrumola - Inside

As I wear the headband, the warmth and perspiration from my head will felt the roving, making nice, warm pockets custom made for my ears. I've been wanting to try thrumming for a long time now so I was really happy to get this kit from Laura. This is the January 2026 project in her Lola's Choice club. This kit has enough yarn and roving to make two or three of the headbands, so I'll have more in my future.

Finally, I also started a Lemme Hat designed by Laura Nelkin.

Lemme Hat

This is the hat version of the Lemme Cowl that I made last week. I also have red yarn to make another Lemme Cowl to go with this hat. I'll start that after I finish the hat.

Nancy

Bluegreen Lemme Cowl Finished

 Hi all -

I hope everyone is doing well! Things are good here. We had a little more snow, which is good. Just a couple of inches, but every bit helps.

This week I finished my Lemme Cowl designed by Laura Nelkin.

Lemme Cowl

This cowl has a nice shape. It is fitted, but the stitch pattern makes it really stretchy and comfortable. And the accent beads at the top are cute. It works up pretty quickly. I have some read yarn to make another cowl and a matching Lemme Hat that I hope to start soon.

I also started my Platy shawl also designed by Laura Nelkin.

Platy Shawl

This is a fun shawl that is knit from one skein of color-changing yarn. It starts in the middle with Judy's Magic Cast On, which is a really cool cast on for things like this because it is absolutely invisible! If you zoom in on the picture, you will not be able to see where I did the cast on. The pattern is fun because you use both ends of the skein to really play with the colors. The Platy stitch, which is a stitch that Laura came up with for this shawl, is a bit fiddly to do and I don't think all of my stitches are completely correct, but they are close enough to look good so I'm fine with that. I enjoy using different stitches and creating interesting textures in my knitting.

Finally, I finished piecing the backing for my second panel for Angela Walters' Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers Quilt-Along (QAL).

Small Arcs, Curves & Points - Backing

It's a bit wild, but I used up all of the QAL fabric that I got. It'll be fun once it's finished. I still need to pin baste this one, but the QAL start date got pushed back to January 20 and I have the other panel to work on, too, so I'm all set. Angela said that the demand for the supplies was overwhelming so they decided to push back the start date to try to get everything to everybody before they start.You can join the QAL for free and just work with your own supplies, but I'm glad that she got this response for the supplies. She's a wonderful teacher!

Nancy

Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers Preparation

 Hi all -

I hope everyone is doing well! Things are good here. The new year has started and we continue to have unseasonable warm, dry weather. We need to get some moisture, but it sure is pleasant!

This year I've decided to participate in Angela Walters' Arcs, Curves & Points With Rulers quilt along. To participate, you purchase one of the panels she designed for this quilt along and her rulers, and then she'll provide videos and handouts showing how to use the rulers to quilt the panels. (You can participate for free without the panels, but it would be difficult to come up with a quilt top that would provide appropriate spaces for the quilting designs. Or you could just decide to practice the quilt designs on throw-away quilt sandwiches. I like to have a finished project even when practicing.) I went ahead and purchased the entire package -- the large panel, border strips for the large panel, backing/binding fabric and the rulers. If you bought the large panel, you could also get the small panel for a discount, so I went ahead and got that, too. When I started putting everything together, I decided that I didn't want to put the borders on the large panel. I have to pin baste my quilts on my kitchen floor and the borders were going to make the top too large for me to pin baste it. So I just prepared the large panel without the borders.

Large Panel Pin Basted

Since I didn't use the borders on the large panel, I decided to put them on the small panel. Because the top and bottom borders have the printed design turning the corners, I had to cut out some of the middle of the borders to make them fit the small panel. It's noticeable if you look closely, but it isn't glaring.

Small Panel With Borders

Since I only purchased the backing/binding fabric for the large panel, I need to piece a backing for the small panel using some of my own fabrics. I want to use up as much of the quilt along fabric as possible, so I started by preparing the binding for both quilts so I knew I would have enough for the binding.

Prepared Binding

To get enough for both quilts, I had to prepare 550 inches of binding! I made it as one long strip to make the most efficient use of the fabric I could. With all of that done, I could start piecing the backing for the small panel. I thought the panel fabrics looked the most like my batiks, so I looked in my batiks for some fabrics that looked good with the blues and reds in the panel, Then, I just started sewing pieces together without much thought. I got as much of the backing pieced as I could before I had to stop for the Broncos game. (We are hopefully going to win home field advantage for the playoffs today!)

Small Panel Backing So Far

I have one more piece of the backing fabric (the light blue fabric that makes up most of the backing so far) to include, but the rest of the backing will probably be the dark blue fabric used for the small squares you see. I hope to get the backing for the small panel finished and the panel pin basted this week. The first video drops January 13. Since I have the large panel basted, I'm ready to follow along even if I don't get the small panel finished. A couple of ladies in my Englis Paper Piecing (EPP) group are also participating, although they both quilt on longarms while I'll be quilting on my domestic sewing machine.

This week also marked the start of Laura Nelkin's annual first quarter knit-along (KAL). For the first quarter of every year, Laura has a KAL where if you work on any of her patterns and you post pictures of your progress, you are put in a weekly drawing for a prize. I started this year's KAL by finishing my Boublay scarf designed, of course, by Laura Nelkin. 

Boublay

Boublay - Close-Up

Boublay is a simple boomerang scarf with large bobbles (she calls them Boublay stitches) on one side and the bottom border.  You can't see it in the picture, but the Boublay stitches on the bottom border have a beads on them. After the Broncos game, I'll decide which project to work on next.

Nancy

Room With A View

 Hi all -

It's hard to believe another year is almost over! Time sure does fly! 

This week I made a Room With A View bag designed by ByAnnie. Or maybe I should call it a container rather than a bag? It's a cube with a vinyl window on the front so you can see the contents.

Room With A View

It has handles on the sides and top, and a zippered mesh pocket on the inside.

Room With A View - Inside

I thought this would be a nice container for storing quilting projects. I made the largest size so it could store the supplies for a good sized quilt. The main fabric is a fun Tula Pink design that I thought would be fun for a bag.

Room With A View - Main Fabric

I quilted a wavy line in the dinosaur strips and a loopy design in the other area.

Room With A View - Quilting Designs

Because the two quilting designs go in opposite directions, after quilting the fabric was really distorted and bumpy. I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of this! I was worried that I would have to throw away what I had done and start over again. But I ironed the fabric from both sides with a lot of steam and it flattened out really well. The construction of this bag is pretty straightforward, but the shape of the bag did make it difficult to get everything in the right position under the needle. This was especially true when sewing around the ends of the zipper, which were right next to the back corners of the lid. When sewing zippers on a bag, you generally have to zipper pull when sewing near it because there's not enough room for the zipper pull next to the sewing machine needle. For most bags, you can just leave the needle down in the fabric to hold the bag in place, raise the presser foot and then slide the zipper pull past the presser foot. With the corner next to the zipper ends, I had to instead pull the bag out from under the presser foot and cut the threads, then move the zipper pull. Then I could start sewing again at the point where I had stopped. That worked just fine, it just isn't quite as neat as a continuous sewing line.

I also was able to finish adding the stars round to my current rosette for my La Passacaglia quilt designed by Willyne Hammerstein. 

La Passacaglia

I also took out the papers from the inner shapes and ironed everything. I like to iron the seam allowances for each unit back into their original positions since they get folded back sometimes when I'm stitching. I also like to iron the papers after I take them out so they are nice and flat so I can reuse them. I still have several more rounds to add to this rosette. With how bright this center is, my next round will be a green or blue to calm it down a bit.

Nancy

Blingola

 Hi all -

I hope everyone is doing well! It was another tough week here. The winds were even stronger last week than they were the week before! We ended up not being part of the planned power outage on Wednesday morning, but the wind took out our power at 4pm that day. The power stayed out the entire next day and then on Friday, when the winds got even worse, we were included in a planned power outage. On Friday they had a wind gust measured at 113mph! All told, our power was out from 4pm Wednesday through 2:30pm Sunday -- just 1.5 hours shy of 4 full days with no power! And when I don't have power at my house, I also don't have heat, water or internet. I usually have minimal cell at my house -- enough to call or text the power company to report outages or get status. However, this time I only had blips of cell. I was pretty miserable! But I was definitely happier having a long power outage than if there were fires anywhere in the region with that wind! With the warning for the planned outage, I was able to fill some buckets with water so I could flush the toilet when necessary, and I was able to charge up the camping battery so I could recharge my phone and tablet so I could read and listen to books and play some games to pass the time. The difficult parts were the cold (the house stayed at 45degF) and the dark. I have flashlights, a battery-powered lantern and kept a candle lit when I was awake, but the dark is overwhelming when you only have sunlight for 10 hours a day this time of year! But, as I said, things could have been a lot worse and it's over now!

I did get some knitting done this week. I decided to make my Blingola Scarf designed by Laura Nelkin.

Blingola Scarf

Blingola Scarf - Close-Up

This scarf is made with a cotton/wool blend yarn held with a sequined yarn. It was surprisingly easy to knit with the large sequins in the yarn! And you can't really feel the sequins on your neck when you wear the scarf. This will be a fun scarf to wear! This was the project for the November 2025 Lola's Choice club. I really enjoy this club, which sends me a fun, small knitting project every other month. 

This week I also made some more progress on my La Passacaglia quilt designed by Willyne Hammerstein. 

La Passacaglia

I was hoping to get all of the stars attached to this rosette this week, but it was just too dark and cold to work on this while the power was out. Maybe this week!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!!

Nancy