Hit the Ground Running

When I wake in the mornings, I feel like I hit the ground running from that moment until evening.  I am convinced this is true for the majority.  This can be a good thing, but not always for me.  I love those golden silent moments when they occur.  This morning, I woke very early watching the sunrise and listening to the singing birds.  Usually my mind races making mental notes and lists to fill the day, but today's golden moments have set me up for the day with a smile on my face.  Just to stop and take a deep breath, letting the mind rest which relaxes all the muscles in the body, is refreshing.   

Ok, with that said, I will get on with this post.  It's been too long since I last posted anything, but with good reason.  

We went on a three week vacation with our DS.  It was wonderful to get away and spend time with him.  
We've also been so busy with the gardening and repairing the shed.  Skunks, rabbits and snakes seem to love making holes digging under our shed making a mess along with being somewhat of a danger.  The skunk in our area have been reported as being rabid, so we had to come up with a way to deter the animals.  

DH has filled in all the holes with rock and dirt.  Then, dug a trench and buried half of the wide planks against the sides all around and replaced the dirt.  We will also put rock around all sides and hope they won't want to dig through all that.  He also removed some of the brush, tree trunks, weeds and roots from all around the sides.  It looks 100% better already. So hopefully, the animals will give up and move on.

On our walks, I have come across these flowers and couldn't resist taking some photos of these wonderful wild flowers.  In the back of my mind, I would like to make something very artful with them.  Holding on to files and files of photos for reference.  Maybe you do this as well?  

At the moment, I am working on a quilt for my cousin-in-law's daughter which is a 6' quilt.  She just graduated from Clemson University, so you can imagine this quilt is nothing but orange and purple.  What a combination.  I took the advice of some fellow quilters and just simply quilted this because she will use it for tail-gating.  So I did some quilting in the ditch and a meander pattern in the borders.  Honestly, I can't wait to be done with it so I can tackle my UFO's and start a quilt for my DS.   He has a space for a wall size quilt in his office.  I will make him a patch quilt with the Utah National parks theme.  

It is predicted to be over 90°F for the next 5 days.  That's too warm for me anytime of the year, so I plan on staying inside working on these sewing projects.   ;o)

Signs of Spring Away

I just got home from a trip to our Nation's capitol, Washington D.C., and had a wonderful time exploring the area and seeing the signs of spring. 

There are always a lot of people around, but this time of year is the annual Cherry Blossom festival and people from all over come here to take pictures of the beautiful trees and monuments. 

We had a dark gray day just before the blooms popped.   So, my pictures don't show those wonderful colors. 

On another day out, we went to the Air and Space Museum in Chantilly Virginia.  Again, a gray dull day, but their trees looked wonderful. 

 

 

Not a Cherry Blossom, but still beautiful.  And these were near our hotel. 

 

 

It was refreshing to see all the blooming trees and know that spring has sprung somewhere.
When I returned home, my neighbor told me that 20" of snow had fallen just two days before
and most of it is melted. 
Roaming through the airport shops I came across this bag.  Pretty pink color, good size, but
I felt it needed something. 

 

 

It's painted using acrylics and a freezer paper template.  I'm letting it dry and trying to decide
if I need more blooms or some branches or both....

A Walk in the Woods

Sometimes I need to just take a break from creating and clear my mind so something new will come about.  I've tried different ways to clear my mind; exercise (jogging), yoga and stretching, meditation,
hiking, photography, unplugging from all types of technology (which by the way, works very well), and simply deep breathing.  All of these are good at de-stressing and sometimes I end up with my mind racing with new ideas.  I keep a journal close at hand so I can document these new ideas.  And yet, most times if I just start on an idea or technique and let my mind wander, I can come up with a piece that is very pleasing like this one....just a few scraps, a little thread and viola! 


A Walk in the Woods

 













Crosses Baby Quilt

Here it is, finally.  It doesn't normally take me so long to make a small quilt.  However, taking my time has paid off and I'm quite happy with the outcome.   I used Rainbows varigated thread for the alphabet quilting and white Masterpiece cotton for all the rest. 

 

Now on to other things. In the evenings I like to sit and crochet.   I've started crocheting some placemats for my DS.  They are easy to do using cotton yarn with a size K (6.5) hook.  I have completed this one and have 3 more to complete.  The next one will be dark olive green with light blue. 

Cleaning up my studio today so I can move on to the next project.   I will go into my UFO basket and ressurect the oldest one to work on, maybe even complete. 

Design Digress

 

I've sewed the squares together on the diagonal as I described in an earlier post.  Yes, it looks great, however I forgot all about the fact that sewing these together on the diagonal will reduce the overall size considerably.  I would say, around 30% or better.

The problem now is to try and increase the size of this baby quilt.  This being the center now only measures around 23" X 29".  I will need to increase by about 6" to 8" all around.  I thought about a pieced border and auditioned a few different blocks....didn't like it.  It became distracting from the center.  So ultimately, I just added 3 simple borders and will do some decorative quilting stitches. 

Here, I've got it pinned and ready to start quilting.  These borders increased the size to 33" X 38", which is a good size for a baby.  Not too large or too small and can be hung on the wall.  The backing fabric is the solid blue used in the middle border and I will work on a label to add later.  ;o)

Back to the Design Board

Some of my first thought ideas get nixed almost immediately.  This is one of them.  I talked about making a "No Y seam Tumbling Block" baby quilt in my last post.  I've changed my mind to a "Scrappy X's" baby quilt so I can use up some charm squares I have on hand which are already cut into 2.5" squares.   I am not doing this up to the instructions as I am not a fan of sewing triangles for the background squares and having too many seams.  The background will be white and cut into squares of 2.5" but sewn on the diagonal so that the X's are on point like they should be. 

Today I am just planning, cutting the background squares, and laying it out on my design board.  The only picture I can share with you so far is this...

I'll share more later when I start to sew the diagonal rows together.  Have a good sewing day!  ;o)

Mid-Winter Rambling

Wow, we're looking at a lot of snow this morning, 2+ feet!  Best thing to do today is just stay in and do some sewing.  Shovel a little later.

My DH's nephew and his wife are expecting baby #2 sometime in June.  There is a way to do "tumbling block" without "Y" seams, so I may give that a go for a baby quilt.  I still have plenty of scraps to use up.   

 

I love to do quick projects that are both pretty and functional like this pear pin cushion I made.  It is made from 6 different scraps of decorator fabric samples my friend gave me and scraps of leather for the stem and leaf.  It's stuffed with scraps of batting that would have been thrown away after trimming a quilt.   It's stationed on top of my moveable design wall board, which by the way, is made from a piece of rescued thick rigid foam core and covered with white flannel-like batting.  It was "rescued" from being trashed from a local business and measures 36" X 65".   It's one of my most important tools in the studio. 

Time to do a little clean-up in the studio and get to work on the next project.  ;o)

Threads and Such

Anyone can sew.  I've taught classes where students utter the words, "I can't sew", before they even try it.  It takes a little practice and some know how, but once you have some basics down, you'll be machine sewing with professional results.  

In my experience, threads make all the difference.  I learned to sew when I was young, around 9 years old, making doll clothes, then my own clothes, later my son's clothes and quilts.  I've used all kinds of threads like cheap polyester, rayons, metallics, viscose, nylon and cotton, and expensive polyester, cotton and silk, glitter, metallic, Charlotte's web thread, and neon light sensitive threads.  If you're going to spend the money and time making expensive quilts, textiles, or clothing, why cheap out on the thread?  The thread is what holds everything together and gives a finished look either in top stitching, decorative embroidery, embellishing and quilting, or just holding seams together.  I started out using very cheap thread and the results were clear.  My seams came apart after a few washes and the stitches didn't look neat.  I had spent hours and hours, sometimes extending into years working on a quilt and in the end, I was extremely disappointed in it.  I hate to admit that I have thrown away a couple quilts I've made, one being a twin bed size. 

Another aspect to consider is your stitch quality.  Make sure your stitching on the front and back are the perfect tension, length and quality. Do a practice swatch before sending your quilt through the machine.  Adjust the tension knob to get the stitch to look the same on the top and bottom, either tighter or looser.   One way to check if your thread is a good quality is to pull on it until it breaks.  How easily does it break?  Does it curl up at the break?  Look on the inside of your bobbin case, is the thread breaking or shredding and leaving a lot of lint?  I've thrown out spools of thread due to this problem.  For years I sewed with Mettler silk finish cotton thread, but now I mainly sew with Superior thread's line; Masterpiece, King Tut, and Bottom Line threads.  I also like YLI threads.  The Mettler brand, Coats and Clark, and Gutterman brand thread shreds lint more than the Superior Thread brand.   If you've inherited fabric or threads from your Nanna or Mum, be cautious and check them out before you use them.   Old threads can rot, fade, bleed or just break easily.  If in doubt throw it out. 

Your stitch quality may also be affected by the needle you use.  Change your needle out with a new one every 4-6 hours of sewing.  A poor needle can cause skipped stitches, broken needles and broken thread, and thread nests from the bobbin case.  The needle makes thousands of passes through the hook and can become dull or a burr may develop.  If you're very frugal, you could use emery or pumice to smooth out the burr, but I find this very time consuming and tedious, so I just opt for a brand new needle.   Be sure to clean the lint away from the feed dogs, bobbin case and surrounding area with a dry swab every 4 hours of sewing.  Use just a drop or two of machine oil on the racer and near the hook after you have swabbed the lint away.   Bobbins should be wound with even tension and consistently around until filled.  A big no no, is sewing over pins.  It's the worst habit you can get into.  It will destroy your machine and break needles and pins.  These broken pieces can get lodged in the machine and move around into the works completely ruining your machine.  I'm lecturing here, but this is a cardinal sin of any sewer that has this bad practice. 

Buying fabric on sale is my mantra.  If you're stash building, this is the way to go.  Wait until fabric goes on sale and buy a yard or two.   Stick with brands you know will be of good quality.  I love to sew with Moda, Robert Kauffman and others.  If you can see through the cloth, you may not want to use it for quilting.  If it feels rough to the touch, wrinkles easily, or the print looks cheap or bleeds when it's blotted with a moistened swab, again probably not a good choice for a quilt or clothing. 

I hope you will go away with confidence and a curiosity to learn more about your machine and perfecting your sewing.   Happy sewing....;o)

Binding a Quilt

 

I am starting this post with a beautiful sunrise picture I took this morning.  Though we've had temperatures in the 50's, we still have snow on the ground from November that's shaded during the day time hours. 
 
Now for my explaination of how I bind my quilts.  I am working on a twin size t-shirt quilt for a friend.  The borders on the top of the quilt are flannel and the backing is batik fabric, not the typical fabrics, but it is do-able.  For the majority of the quilts I produce, this is how I bind them. 

1.  Finish quilting your quilt out to the edges.  Lay the quilt flat on a large table or the floor. 

2.  Place a cutting mat underneath the edge.  Square up the edge using your long ruler and rotary cutter.  The top, batting/wadding, and backing is going to be cut in this step.  You could do this step in the end after the binding is attached, however you have to be extra careful not to cut into the bound edge.

3.  Cut (if you haven't already) the binding strips straight with the grain, if you have no curved edges, 2 1/2"wide by the width of fabric (usually about 44" after cutting off the selveges).   If your quilt is not square and has curvy edges cut bias strips.  You will need to measure the perimeter of your quilt to determine how many strips you will need to join together.  Be sure to add about 8-12" to this length so you can join the binding in the end.

4. Join the strips together with a bias seam.  So, one strip will be laid down right side up, the next strip will be right side down and at a right angle on one end.  Sew a seam from the outer edge to the inner edge at a 45 degree angle.  Trim off the triangle.  Join all strips together and iron seams. 

5.  Iron the entire strip in half lengthways.  This will take some time, but be sure to place the strip edge to edge and iron down flat. 

6.  I've made a cheap binding tool/spool to contain the binding while I sew it to the quilt edge.   Made from cardboard and slit at both ends so you can wrap the ends onto the spool.
 

 

7.  Leave about 5" tail on the edge you are starting from.  Lay down the binding on the quilt top edge.  I use one pin to start.  Attach the walking foot, thread your machine (I use King Tut thread and size 14 topstitch needle).  I also use a little longer stitch length, 3, so if I have to rip out I can do that eaisly and not have tiny holes in the top to damage the quilt.   Start sewing the binding down keeping all layers flat, even and smoothly feeding through.  Use the needle down feature if you have it.  Stopping and adjusting as you go. 

 

 

8.  When you come to a corner (90 degree).   Stop with the needle down 1/4" from the bottom edge. Lift presser foot and turn, reverse 3 or 4 stitches so you can fold back the binding strip as if you are making a pleat or dog ear.  Now, line up the binding edge to the quilt edge and start sewing seam. 

 

9.  When you come to the final few inches (leave at least 10" to 12")...STOP.  Be sure to leave another tail about 5-8" long and from the beginning stitching.

 

 

10.  Now, fold the edges of the binding toward each other until the meet somewhere between the gap.  Iron the fold so you can see a cross hair in each strip when it's unfolded.

 

 

 

11.  The picture above shows the seam line on the bias.  You fold one edge out right side down and the other end is folded out at a 90 degree angle right side up.  I pin the seam line and test the edge by fold back on the edge to make sure before stitching. 

 

 

 

12.  Sew the bias line and trim to leave a seam allowance.  Fold back and iron  flat before stitching the remaining binding edge to the quilt. 

 

 

13.  Turn the quilt to the back and fold the bound edge over.  I like to hand sew the binding the the back as it looks invisible and gives a neat edge.  When you come to the 90 degree corner, carefully fold the edge down and take a couple stitches in the corner. 

 

 



 

 All done!   Now to get this quilt back to my friend, her daughter needs it for her college dorm.   ;o)

 



Moving On

Ok, I've decided on the backgrounds and have pieced them together, placed the "seed" shapes where I wanted them and sewed them down.  The triangle shapes were left over from the seed shapes I cut.  These were also sewed down to the edges, squared up and pin basted.  Now the top is in the line-up for machine quilting.  

 

 I have to move on to other things.  I am a member of an internet group and will participate in a swap for next month.  The dimensions are 5"X7" which is the perfect size to try something new. 

I placed a foundation fabric roughly this size down on my table.  On top of this, I placed a piece of  misty fuse and started cutting small pieces at random over the fusible.  Covering the entire piece with snippets and placing a piece of paper over the top to protect my iron, I ironed the whole piece very carefully.  I had some scrap pieces of organza and placed that over the top and used monopoly thread and sewed the piece on top to hold together.  Now, using different color threads and different fiber threads, I sewed at random all over the corresponding color scraps.  Next, I took some black strips and sewed them over the top.  I will add a fusible pellon as my filler/batting and a plain white backing.  I want to zigzag the edges to finish the whole piece off.  It will be like the postcard quilts I've made before.

  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  This is as far as I've gotten and it's pinned on my design wall.  I'm thinking more stitching is needed, then I will finish it off. 

 

 

At night when I'm too tired to sew, I like to crochet.  Right now I am working on a prayer shawl made with Lion Brand Amazing yarn.  It is a soft wool and acrylic blend yarn.  It's a colorful skein, but I am liking it so far.  ;o)

 



 

 

More Interest in Strippy Improv

Now it just got interesting.  My last 2 posts have been about making the strippy pieced blocks.  Today I've cut them into seed like shapes and added some strips to each edge.  I'm considering the background fabric now.  Not liking the gray idea as mentioned before as this brought the colors and feel way down almost depressing.  I want to keep it light, bright and happy looking. 

I'm thinking about adding pieces to each edge of the seed shapes to connect them into one piece and then possibly cutting into segments and resewing them together.  It's ongoing and slow, sorry I can't show you a finished top yet.  ;o)