Practice Pony

I had picked two horses per background fabric and started with the black on greenish-blue. With all my mistakes from following the pattern, I didn't have the material to complete that square. I did get those finicky legs together, though.

The other horse for that background is the white one... Not one for Nana's quilt.. (Ben's step-mom is Nana to her grandkids) ..I thought it would make a pretty unicorn, but forgot the horn in my fatigue and desire to Just Have One Done!! So, the un-horned horse:





Good morning and good night!

Horsey

Continuing from the Paper Ponies post:

26. To make the tail, measure 2" x 11" of tail fabric and 2" x 4-1/2" of background fabric. Sew the pieces together along the diagonal and attach along the rear. Sew a 3-inch square diagonally at the top of the tail.



27. Create the horse mane from five pieces of 2-3/4" x 4-1/2" mane fabric. Fold the mane strip in half, and diagonally to make a triangle. (I sewed from corner to 1/8" from fold)


Measure and cut a 3-3/4" x 6" of horse fabric. Draw a diagonal line along the front of the horse fabric and line up the triangles along the line evenly. (I'm guessing within the seam allowance, so don't touch the edges- remember, the paper pieces don't show the seam allowance)


28. Place a 6-inch square of background fabric right sides together over the mane. Sew along the diagonal and press open.


29. Attach a 2-1/2" x 6" piece of background fabric over the mane. Measure and cut 5-3/4" x 10-3/4" of background fabric for the right hand upper corner. Then, join a small 1-1/2 inch piece of saddle fabric to the unit.

Looking Good. Now for the head.

30. Join a 1-1/2 inch square of hind ear fabric (Mane?) to a 1-1/2" x 2-1/2 inch piece of BACKGROUND fabric. Sew along the diagonal. Then, attach the 1-1/2 inch square of HORSE fabric along the diagonal in the opposite direction

31. Measure and cut 2-1/2" x 3-3/4" of BACKGROUND fabric, and sew to the block.




32. To make the horse face, measure and cut 4-1/4" (tall) x 4-3/4" (wide) of HORSE fabric. Mark 3-3/4 inch from the TOP left hand corner along both the top and left sides and draw a diagonal line.




Measure and cut a 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" rectangle from the forelock fabric (Mane?). Fold the forelock fabric in half vertically and fold the bottom right hand corner up along the top of the diagonal line.





33. Place a 3-3/4 inch square of background fabric on the face unit, right sides together, and draw a diagonal line through the center matching the face unit. Sew along the line and press the fabric open. Form the jaw line with a 1-inch square of background fabric.




Create the mouth from a 1 inch square of background fabric, 1-1/2" x 3" of horse fabric, and 3-1/4" x 1-1/2" of BACKGROUND fabric. Finish the block with a 4-3/4" x 12-1/4" rectangle of background fabric.





My head hurts.

Paper Ponies

We're going to paper. I'm creating the pieces the pattern asks for minus the seam allowances. The numbers I write in my directions will include seam allowances for when I sew the horses up later.

17. To make the front legs, measure and cut 3-3/4" (tall) x 4" (wide) from HORSE fabric and a 3-inch squares from BACKGROUND fabric. Place the 3-inch square right sides together with the upper LEFT hand corner of the horse fabric. Draw a diagonal line from the lower left hand corner to the upper right hand corner, and sew along the line. Repeat with 2-3/4" square in lower RIGHT corner.

Cut a piece of HORSE fabric 1-3/4" x 3-3/4" and attach to RIGHT edge of unit just made.




18. Measure and cut 2" x 3-1/4" of background fabric and 1-3/4" x 3-1/4" of horse fabric. Join these two pieces together to make the second leg unit.





19. To create the hooves, measure and cut THREE 1-3/4" x 2-3/4" of HORSE fabric and THREE, 1-1/4" x 2-3/4" rectangles of HOOF fabric. Connect a 2-1/2 inch BACKGROUND fabric square to each hoof unit.




20. To make the crook along the horse's foot, sew a 1" x 1-1/4" inch piece of HORSE fabric to 1" x 1-3/4" BACKGROUND fabric piece along the diagonal. Connect to back of TWO of the Hoof Units, then trim top of hoof by 1/2" to match height of crook. (set one complete crook-unit aside for hind-most hoof)









Connect to leg unit just made.




21. Measure and cut 1-1/4" x 2-1/2" of BACKGROUND fabric and 1-3/4" x 2-1/2" of HORSE fabric to create the unit. Connect this component with the second hoof section.




Connect the lower legs together.




Then, join the unit beneath the upper leg unit.




22. To create the rear legs, join 1-1/4" x 2-3/4" from the hoof fabric and 2" x 2-3/4" horse fabric.




Place this unit right sides together in the lower right hand corner of a 6" (wide) x 8" (tall) piece of background fabric. Sew the components along the diagonal, and press open.




23. Measure and cut 1-3/4" x 2-1/2" of background fabric and 1-3/4" x 6-1/2" of the horse fabric. Place the background fabric horizontally along the bottom of the horse fabric strip. Draw a diagonal line across the background fabric and sew along the drawn line.




Join that leg to previous piece (background w/hoof)

24. Place a 2-3/4" inch square of HORSE fabric on the rear unit in the upper right hand corner. Draw a diagonal line through the center from the lower right hand corner to the upper left hand corner, and sew.





Join diagonally 2" x 4-1/4" BACKGROUND fabric to 2" x 4-1/4" HORSE fabric.




25. Join 1-3/4" x 3-1/4" background fabric and 1-3/4" x 5" of horse fabric diagonally. Attach to previous unit, and attach this piece to the hoof unit.



Now attach that unit to the rear unit. Attach to front legs. Then connect to the body (saddle & neck unit)

Started off Right

This is what the HGTV website started with. Up to step 16, it is correct. I'm copying those steps to this post because I'm making the quilt blocks.

"Pattern designer Janet Ludwig demonstrates her Steadfast Steed quilt. This pieced horse quilt uses the diagonal corner technique in various ways."

Materials and Tools:

variety of fabrics (How much?? I picked up 1/4 yard of horse fabrics, and 1/2 yard of background fabrics and ran into problems and will be getting more)
quilting ruler
rotary cutter
pencil
cutting mat
coordinating thread
iron


Steps 1-3
Steps:
1. Begin the block with the horse midsection. Measure and cut a 3-1/4" x 5" rectangle from the saddle fabric. Tip: Label the sections as you cut the different components.

2. Create the saddlebag blanket with two, 1-1/2 inch squares.

3. Draw a diagonal line through the center of the small saddle blanket squares with a ruler and pencil.


Step 4
4. Pin the squares to the large saddle fabric rectangle in the lower two corners.


Step 5
5. Sew directly along the pencil line, and remove the bottom triangle-shaped fabric. Press the top fabric flap down.


Step 6
6. Add two pieces of saddle blanket fabric cut to 1-1/4" x 3-1/4" rectangles to either side to create the piece.


Step 7
7. Measure and cut two saddlebag pieces 1-1/4" x 3-1/4" and two pieces of horse fabric 2-1/2" x 3-1/4". Join together the saddle piece to the top of the horse piece.


Step 8
8. For the saddle cinch section, sew a fabric strip 1" x 3-1/4" between the two horse sections.


Step 9
9. Sew the saddle to the top of the horse section.


Step 10
10. Add a section of horse fabric 3-1/2" x 6" to the left side of the saddle unit. Then, add a 4" x 6" piece of horse fabric to the right side of the saddle unit.


Step 11
11. Measure and cut a 1-1/4 inch and 1-3/4 inch square of background fabric. Draw diagonal lines through the centers of the squares from corner to corner. Place the 1-1/4 inch square to the left hand corner of the horse body and the 1-3/4 inch square to the right hand corner of the horse body. Sew along the diagonal line and cut away the excess fabric.


Step 12
12. If you prefer to make the horse without the saddle, use a 6" x 13" piece of horse fabric for the body.


Steps 13-16
13. To make the lower neck portion, measure and cut a 3-1/2 inch square of background fabric and 2-1/4" x 3-1/2" rectangle of horse fabric.

14. Place the background square on the horse fabric right sides together, and line up the lower left hand corners and edges. Mark the point on the fabric where the edge of the horse fabric ends. Then, make another mark at the top left hand corner 1/8 inch from the corner. Connect the two marks with a straight line.

15. Pin the fabric pieces together and sew along the diagonal line. Press the background fabric out and trim away the excess fabric.

16. Measure and cut 2-1/4" x 3" of background fabric and join with the bottom edge of the neck unit. Connect the section with the horse body.

The rest of the pattern I'm rewriting as I make it.

Getting a Leg Up

I think I'm starting to get this. Or I'm hallucinating. Either way, it's a win-win situation. In my last post, I was reeling through a quilt pattern. This will probably be more of the same.

For the Legs:

If the horse fabric is a 4" square, join diagonally the TWO 3" squares at the upper left and lower right corners.



Wait a second. The hooves won't have points.





Say a prayer, have a glass of wine and start over on a more visible color.

Whoa, Horsey!

The legs have me perplexed!
First, I sewed the background on wrong. It just didn't work!
Now I'm thinking there's a step missing..
"17. To make the front legs, measure and cut 4" x 5-1/4" from the horse fabric and a 3 inch square from background fabric. Place the 3-inch square right sides together with the upper left hand corner of the horse fabric. Draw a diagonal line from the lower left hand corner to the upper right hand corner, and sew along the line."

Okay that's how I got stuck, but got the angle fixed now.. But wait, isn't there another 3" square for the lower right corner?


In the super grainy image, it looks like it's there, and a piece of horse fabric was joined!?



Okay, we'll go past that for the moment.

"18. Measure and cut 2-3/4" x 4" of background fabric and 1-3/4" x 4" of horse fabric. Join these two pieces together to make the second leg unit.
"
Got it, and made first hoof.. I think..
(I haven't sewn these together, they're just sitting there to show what I think is right).

Or is it supposed to be this:




"19. To create the hooves, measure and cut 1-3/4" x 2-3/4" of horse fabric and two, 1-1/4" x 2-3/4" rectangles of hoof fabric. Connect a 2-inch background fabric square to the hoof unit."

So, if the hoof is right, why is it being connected to a 2" square? The matching edge sizes for the horse fabric and hoof fabric are 2 3/4", so I'm assuming here the 2" is a corner. That's how I used it. But step 20:

"20. To make the crook along the horse's foot, sew a 1 inch square of horse fabric to 1" x 2" background fabric piece along the diagonal. Make two of these pieces, and join these units to the back of the hooves."




This gives us a "crook" piece which is only 2" long.. Maybe there are more hooves later?
I searched to see if anyone else has made this quilt. But for one post about it being a donation for a cause, there's no info out there. Come on, quilters, blog yer heart out!

Okay, where was I?

"21. Measure and cut 2" x 3" of background fabric and 1-3/4" x 3" of horse fabric to create the unit. Connect this component with the first hoof section. Then, join the unit beneath the upper leg unit."

Le sigh. Gonna take a break for a game of Go Fish with MissC.

Giddy Up

I noticed on Saturday that Ben's step-mom's birthday is coming up on Sunday. Yikes! I really need to catch up with my calendar. I think I miss 9/10 each year! Now that the baby's bigger, I can do s little more. I think I've missed her birthday every year, though. What to do?

I searched google for horse quilt. I was looking for something simple enough that I can do it in a week. And found the Steadfast Steed on HGTV. And now everyone has a cold.. So, hopefully less than a week. I'm aiming to have the quilt top done, at least.




I worked all the centers at the same time, but I'm sure I'll mix up the backgrounds -I already ripped more seams than ever before because of simple mistakes- so I'm doing this part separately.

Eye Patch

The day I gave MissB her doll, the eye went missing. I was at a loss. How do I replace the eye without removing the hair or going in through the neck? It would be a fiasco of stuffing everywhere and wonky seams! MissB solved it by making her an eyepatch.

Finally, it dawned on me:




I had two blues and I picked the darker, but grabbed the wrong one! Oh well, I think it looks fine, and if she loses her other eye, I can (hopefully) still match it.

Polka Dot Frock

When my MIL was here, she'd let the girls pick a new pattern each. MissB chose McCall M5554. I managed to cut it out while Grandma was here, and now the girls have a new doll dress.

Princess Dora

I don't have my pattern any more! I'm sure it was lost in the Great Craftroom Gutting of '09. Le sigh.

MissC begged me to buy this Dora fabric last year. I gave in and bought a yard or so, and yellow polka dots to match. In the secret fabric stash it went until.. She outgrew her size small apron! (really, she doesn't seem to eat enough to outgrow anything!)

With all the doll sewing, she found the Dora fabric and started asking me for a dress (I bought it with an apron in mind). I pulled out MissB's check apron from 4th of July -wow, I do need to make some bigger aprons- and laid it out. First I measured the outside, then the center of the skirt, and twisting the pieces this way and that cut the yoke and waistband. I think it was about an hour, two tops, until the Dora dressy apron was sewn. I ran off to the fabric store after dinner and found the perfect yellow flower button to match -it closes with a button on back, no ties to tangle up the washing.

Dora and Boots can ride along:

Dora Needs a Mend

Every so often I shop for old patterns. Once I found an adorable size 2T dress. It had a scalloped neck edge with a few buttons, and it seemed to be a crossover bodice that continued onto just the front of the skirt. The sides and back were gathered for fullness. In the Great Craftroom Gutting, the pattern pieces were lost. How? I have no clue!! The instruction sheet remained neatly in its special tomb-like bag, but the pieces are gone.

On many of the older patterns, the pieces are drawn nearly to scale. So, off to the scanner I went and enlarged the page 200%. Our victim? Dora!!





She needs a new shirt, apparently. First order of business: mend the shirt!

Okay, so the pieces aren't perfectly to scale, but they're close enough. I tossed the facings after noticing they were quite ill sized for this. Facings patterns are easy enough: just trace the pattern piece that needs facing, but just leave off what would be a couple/few inches from the edge. In this case, about a quarter to half inch. :)





Oh no! I've put the sleeve on the wrong way! No loss without gain: there's one of the facings we just discussed.

I fumbled through the pattern, looking at directions only when completely muddled. I should have read step 3. It's made to be a pullover dress with ties for sizing. I thought it was buttoned closed, so I hadn't entertained the idea of connecting the bodice halves before sewing the skirt together. Dress makers in the day were clever!!

For Dora, I shortened the skirt by about a third, and could have shortened the waist by a scallop. I think it worked out nice, and I'd like to make it another 200% bigger for the doll I recently made.





when MissC saw Dora in her fancy new dress, she decided Boots needed a new shirt, so he was given Dora's hand-me-down. :) That's a little sister.

Wet Cat Syndrome

This poor dandelion is trying its best, but it is soaked to the stem! No fluff blowing wishes for this one.

Emerging

Like a freakish butterfly emerging from its cocoon..





"Just taking a breather.."





I've adjusted the body shape some. This is the doll pattern I used to make Chloe last week. I shaped her sides and neck. Somehow I managed to attach her arms at an angle and she looks perpetually ready to either hug or dismember anyone in proximity.





Side by side, "I don't understand why my sister thinks I'm prettier, at least she has a face."





They both can sit, the new one a little better than Chloe. When I quick fixed the head to fit the neck, I didn't fix the whole seam, so her head's a bit pointy on back. No worries, that's what hair is for!