More Wiggling

I was able to complete three more squares last evening.  I was glad that I read about pressing and the importance of it.  These 3 squares were more complex, but they came out square! 

As I reflect on the process of sewing the pieces together, I see how with practice I am becoming better and faster at making the squares. They are coming out square and I am more confident. I understand the importance of pressing each seam before sewing the next one. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes. Students get better in inquiry the more they are allowed to practice it and the more they are allowed choices, as we were allowed choices with our inquiry subject.

Webbing Again

I did a little research on how to press the seams.  I found an article online by Janet Wickell, "How to Press Quilt Blocks."  She spoke about the importance of pressing the seams as you go. 

"Your piecing accuracy will improve immediately when you take a bit of time to press your quilt blocks as you make them. Pressing is an extra step, but you'// love the payoff in time saved when your quilt blocks fit together just like they should.

http://quilting.about.com/od/pressingtechniques/ss/press_blocks.htm

I did find that if I pressed each seam by blocks came out more square and the points were more exact.

But my real question was how do you determine which way to press, open or to the side.

I found another web site that says " ...most quilters today press seams to one side."  They tested it and "found that blocks with seams pressed to one side are usually a little smaller than those with seams pressed open.  Hand-sewn blocks need the security of a seam pressed to one side, but machine sewers should determine what works best for them." 

This comes from Ask Jinny at 

http://www.jinnybeyer.com/jinnys-corner/ask-jinny/answer.cfm?questionID=466EE625-B054-177E-6D5ABFE737BAF506

I guess it answers my question.  So I will follow directions!

Dr. Lamb has stressed that "information inquiry is not linear!" This proves her point. I have gone back again and again to gain more information. I see the process in a bunch of curly little circles that goes back to wondering and webbing many times.

Wiggling some more!

Last night I excitedly opened the package to the first quilt square. The instructions were very easy to follow.  I put the 1/4" press foot on my sewing machine as my friend told me to do.  I pinned the pieces together and very carefully made sure they were 1/4" seams.

An interesting thing I found was that there are different ways to press the seams in quilting. You can press them open, or press them to either side.  The instructions illustrate which way you are to press each one.  I'm not sure what makes the difference.  I have always pressed seams open, but for now I will follow the directions and look up "how to press seams for quilting" later.

This is the first quilt piece.  The 3 middle strips are pressed toward the center strip.  Maybe because it is darker?  Anyone have any ideas?  After pressing, I pinned and sewed the 2 brown triangles. They are to be pressed toward the brown triangle.  See the little bit of fabric that is left hanging over the 3 strips block?  Those are dog ears; you cut them off.  (The instructions told me this).  Otherwise I would have had a pucker at all four corners when I sewed on the other two brown triangles.

Here it is with the four brown triangles and the first two gold triangles.  The seams are also pressed toward the triangles. The dog ears are again trimmed off.  (Sounds like I know what I'm doing doesnt it?) Next add the final two triangles and press!

Here is the finished first quilt square!  I continued and completed three more yesterday evening.  They are below.  Tonight I hope to do a few more.

 The hardest was the pinwheel, getting the points to line up were tricky.
I need to find out the mystery of Pressing!

Wiggling

Ok, I did it. I have a plan for the quilt.  You are probably going to think I am cheating, but oh well.  I don't want to get discouraged by lack of time, having to spend so much time cutting out the pieces, and I want to get started sewing.  So I bought precut quilt pieces. 

Here is my reasoning.  I really don't know what I want to do with this.  I may hate quilting once I get started.  There are so many patterns and ideas and colors to choose from.  I don't know enough about how to put the different patterns together that it would take me forever and I am afraid I would end up quitting.

While I was at JoAnn Fabrics, looking at fabrics, I went to the clearance area. (My very favorite aisle).  There was on the clearance shelf a complete set of the Quilt of the Month pattern for fall.  I started looking through them and decided this is what I need to do first!  Make a quilt with directions to follow.  (I hate directions).  These Quilt of the Month ideas are pretty cool.  There are 12 different patterns (duh) and directions for completing each design.  When I am finished, I will know how to design twelve different patterns.  It's cheaper than buying a book, because it comes with the fabrics too.  I don't have to think about what looks good together.  I simply learn by doing!  What a concept.  I should be a teacher!  Oh, wait, that's what I am!  So I was putting myself through all this stress, when the answer was right before me.  So I bought the set.  Regularly 7.99 a design, they were on clearance for 3.19, quite a deal right?  But wait!  There's more!  I had a coupon for 20% of my entire purchase.  Boy was I happy and couldn't wait to get home and get started. 

Here is a photo of what it's supposed to look like when I am finished.  

I find that I am happy with my decision on how to proceed. The stress is gone because there is a plan in place that is "do-able" for me. Is this a type of inference? I did the research and found what making the quilt would involve and considered my personal characteristics and made a decision. According to "The Blue Book", inference involves "the actions or processes for deriving a conclusion from facts and premises. Inference may involve personal choice and actions taken based on conclusions that seem most relevant and meaningful for the situation" (p. 7).

According to Carol Kuhlthau students go through a number of different feelings as they proceed through the stages including uncertainty, optimism, confusion, frustration, doubt, clarity, sense of direction, confidence, relief, and satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Their thoughts go from ambiguity to specificity and their interest increases. Their actions move from seeking relevant information to seeking pertinent information.

As I analyze my thought processes and my decision to use the precut pieces with instructions, her statements ring true.

Webbing Continues

I still haven't decided on what design to make for my quilt.  I browsed through the quilting books at the library and settled on two.  There are hundreds!

1. Learning to Quilt the Traditional Way by Annlee Landman. I chose this book because it was full color with lots of illustrations.

2. New Ideas for Lap Quilting by Georgia Bonesteel.  This one is also full color, but I chose it because I wanted to read about lap quilting. In addition this lady is a teacher, and I quote from her introduction, "As a teacher, I'm aware that quilting guidelines and standards have long been established, but I also know that new ideas in quilting abound."  Hey, I thought, she's a life-long learner and willing to explore new ideas.  So I'm toting her book home too.

My plan is to decide what I am doing and get fabric this weekend.  We are expecting an ice storm and I thought beginning my quilt would be a good thing to do if I was stuck at home.

My friend sent me an email with a photograph of a quilting machinine made by Gammell. I am attaching it.

She also sent me this email about the AccuQuilt:

Want to have some fun? Go to this website and see a list of 82 bloggers who have GOs and see what they are doing with them!! They will give you all sorts of ideas! Eleanor http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/bloggers-with-accuquilt-products.html

Webbing

So, I called my friend and spent about an hour on the phone with her discussing how to begin.  I guess I should mention that I do sew a lot.  I have made many things and have even made wedding dresses for people.  This being said, it takes away the beginners stuff like how to thread the machine, etc.  I also have a medium priced sewing machine.  I bought it when a new model was coming in, so I got it pretty cheap.  It is a quilter’s machine and has lots of attachments that I have never used.  This will come in handy I’m sure.

In answer to my first question, she said she likes to cut with a straight-edge, rotary cutter and mat.  As for an Accuquilt, she does not have one but several or her friends do and they love it.  She just hasn’t invested the money in one.  www.accuquilt.com is the web site.  What it does is it cuts the shapes with dies.  You can cut about 6 layers of fabric with one.  I would like to have one because I don’t have that much time to quilt and don’t want to spend much of it cutting the fabric.  So this is a consideration for me. But first, I want to make a quilt before investing a lot of money.

The next question was batting.  She likes to use 100% cotton batting for quilts.  For wall-hangings she uses the polyester batting because it is lighter weight and easier to handle.  Cotton batting makes warm and cozy quilts! Her preference is Warm & Natural, cotton batting.  It can be purchased pre-packaged or by the yard; available at Walmart and also JoAnn Fabrics, and probably lots of other places.

For the back of a quilt, she likes to use cottons and flannels.  Flannels are cozy, but just pick what you like in a lightweight fabric.

Tips before piecing the shapes – She suggested washing all the fabrics first, but if you don’t wash all of them, then don’t wash any. That way they can all shrink the same.  Before beginning to piece the quilt, she suggested using a ¼” presser foot.  I looked through my attachments and found I had one!  She told me it was very important to make all the seams 1/4” if one wasn’t take it out and redo it. 

For the rest of the questions, she told me to call her back when I get it pieced together.  She did say that she did not recommend machine quilting a large quilt with my machine.  She said she sends her big quilts to a friend that has a long-arm quilting machine to finish for her.  She said we will talk about that after I get it pieced.  Her biggest recommendation was to be precise with measuring, cutting and sewing so that the quilt comes out even.  She said you will be surprised how getting off just a little will affect the look of the quilt.

My research to come: rotary cutters, mats, and long-arm quilting machines; the subjects of my next post!

I noticed that she stopped giving me information when she thought that I had enough to begin my project. She didn't want to overload me with too much information. She wanted me to explore the information and develop better questions. "At a more informed level, the questions become more focused. Exploration becomes a systematic search for and examination of resources and information to address specific questions" (Callison, p. 7).

http://www.joannfabrics.com

I went to Joann Fabrics web site for information on prices of rotary cutters and mats.

By choosing this lady as my primary source of information, I need to have confidence that information she gives me is correct. How do I make that determination? This is often a question students need to ask when they are doing research, particularly on the Internet. Students need to be taught to be discretionary in the information that they find. Everything on the Internet may not be true. New information that is assimilated should include "the interactive processes of critical analysis, debate, as well as comparing and contrasting facts and ideas (Fitzgerald 1999).

I know the information I am receiving from my friend is reliable because of her credentials. She teaches workshops, speaks at seminars and has been a quilter all her life. Children need to learn this discretion. Teachers can do inquiries into good and faulty information with students to help them understand this important technology education concept. There is a teacher web site to help you learn to evaluate Internet resources. http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm This also addresses the ISTE student standard of Research and Information Fluency - Students apply digitals tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards.aspx

I can see a quilt project being used across the curriculum in many content areas and many grade levels. It can be used in Geometry class to study shapes, in Math class to learn the concept of patterns and measuring. Quilting can also be used in Literature and History courses to study the Civil War. Quilts were made as pictorial representations of directions to the underground railroad for slaves. It was illegal for slaves to learn to read. Pictures were their means of communication.

Just a few of the many standards that can be addressed are:

Geometry Standards for 8th Grade Students deepen their understanding of plane and solid geometric shapes and properties by constructing shapes that meet given conditions, by identifying attributes of shapes, and by applying geometric concepts to solve problems.

8.4.1 Identify and describe basic properties of geometric shapes: altitudes, diagonals, angle bisectors, perpendicular bisectors, central angles, radii, diameters, and chords of circles. (Core Standard)

8.4.2 Perform simple constructions such as bisectors of segments and angles, copies of segments and angles, and perpendicular segments. Describe and justify the constructions. (Core Standard)

History Standards for 8th Grade

Students will examine the relationship and significance of themes, concepts, and movements in the development of United States history, including review of key ideas related to the colonization of America and the revolution and Founding Era. This will be followed by emphasis on social reform, national development and westward expansion, and the Civil War and Reconstruction period.

8.1.20 The Civil War and Reconstruction Period: 1850 to 1877. Analyze the causes and effects of events leading to the Civil War, including development of sectional conflict over slavery. (Core Standard)

Example: The Compromise of 1850, furor over publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott Case (1857), the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858) and the presidential election of 1860

Reading Comprehension for 3rd Grade READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text

3.2 Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. The selections in the www.doe.in.gov/standards/readinglist.html illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. At Grade 3, in addition to regular classroom reading, students read a variety of nonfiction, such as biographies, books in many subject areas, children's magazines and periodicals, and reference and technical materials.

Social Studies for 3rd Grade

3.1 Students will describe how significant people, events and developments have shaped their own community and region; compare their community to other communities in the region in other times and places; and use a variety of resources to gather information about the past.

Geometry for 3rd Grade Students describe and compare the attributes of plane and solid geometric shapes and use their understanding to show relationships and solve problems.

3.4.1 Identify quadrilaterals as four-sided shapes.

3.4.2 Identify right angles in shapes and objects and decide whether other angles are greater or less than a right angle.

Wondering

I’ve been thinking about what I need to know before I begin my quilt.  I have made a list of questions to ask my friend when I call.  Here is the list:

1.      What is the best way to cut the shapes?

2.      Have you heard of or used an AccuQuilt?

3.      Is it worth purchasing?

4.      What is the best batting to use?

5.      How about backing?  Is there a best choice?

6.      What tips do you have before I begin piecing the shapes?

7.      What do I do once I have the top pieced, the batting in between the top and backing?

8.      Do I quilt from the inside to the outer edges?

9.      How do I get the large, bulky thing in my machine?

10.   Do you have any preventative tips that will keep me from really messing up?

With the list in hand, I am going to call her tomorrow afternoon after church.

"The important thing is to never stop questioning." - Albert Einstein "The real objective of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions." - Bishop Creighton When I think about the kind of questions I ask as an adult, compared to the questions asked by children, I see that my questions tend to be about what interests me or about something I need to know about work. Children ask to understand basic needs. They develop more sophisticated questions as they themselves mature. "As children, our research focuses on understanding and manipulating our environment, usually aided by toys and parents and later by friends and teachers. As adults, our research needs diverge to unique interests - often related to our occupation, but also covering our family concerns and leisure activities" (Anderson and Kanuka 2003, 2). According to The Blue Book, questioning is the first of the five elements in information inquiry. The others are exploration, assimilation, inference and reflection. According to Dr. Lamb, Wondering is the questioning aspect in her model that I am following in the inquiry.

Watching

Watching – I have watched and admired the artistic qualities of quilting for many years.  I love going to the county and state fair and experiencing the heritage reflected in the quilts.  I love to read about the times in American history when quilt making was a way of life and a time of social activities for the women.  I think we still have a need for the social aspect of quilting.  It’s fun just to get together and talk but create something at the same time.  Scrapbooking is a modern rendition of this social network.  Twice a year, I go on a scrapbook retreat with my friends.  We work on our family scrapbook, reminisce and have a great time.  I found that quilters do the same!  They pack up their fabrics, machines and supplies and retreat for a time of socializing and quilting.

I have purchased quilts for my home, but want to make one.  How to begin?  Many times when I want to do something I just jump in and do it. Sometimes the results are good, sometimes not so good.  I think I will get advice first.  I have a long time teacher friend whose mother is an expert quilter.  She has made many, many quilts and all are beautiful.  She gives them to her family as birthday and Christmas gifts.  The family treasures them because they are a part of her.  My friend’s mother also helps others develop their quilting skills at workshops and retreats.  My first inquiry will be to call her for advice.  Before I call her, I need to write out what I want to ask.  The subject of my next blog!

While I created this blog, I also created a Mobile version that can be accessed by a smart phone. I am attaching a screenshot of the Mobile version.