Finally - A Finished Project!

I've started lots of new projects this year and today I am happy to say that I finished a long-time UFO.  Last year (or was it 2013? or 2012?)  I took a class with a great teacher and friend Kathy Pflaum at Stitchin' Traditions in Topeka. We made a wall hanging from the book 3-D Folded Blocks  by Geesje Baron and Esther Vermeer.  And today I finally finished it - quilting, binding, hanging sleeve and all.






The blocks look like regular traditional quilt blocks. But they aren't! Each of the shapes in the block is achieved by folding fabric into squares, rectangles or triangles and layering them.  It was really fun and a very unique way to make blocks. The shapes are layered and sewn together around the outside edge of the block. 

For example, in this block, the shapes would be sewn together about where the cream border is. Then the borders (cream and green) were added, and then they were set with the red background.  One very important tip for the folded blocks is to really get a good, sharp crease. I used Faultless Extra Crisp Magic Sizing and I really like the result. It's a bit hard to find here in Lawrence, so I order it by the case. 


I decided to quilt this myself. One of my favorite quilting motifs is pebbles (are pebbles?). I started quilting this at a Stitch On retreat last year (or the year before? I see a pattern emerging here - I can't remember stuff!). Pebbles take a lot of time for me, as well as a lot of thread. Luckily I kept the thread with the project so I could complete it with the same thread - at least on the top! One would think after doing this many pebbles that I would be good at it. No such luck. My pebbles are still irregular and my "sew-overs" aren't exact. I'm not good yet, but I'm better than I was!
I really enjoyed these blocks and I imagine that some day I might make a sampler from all 71 different folded blocks in the book. 
Keeping Curious!