Quilting Update

Thought it was time to give a quilting update for anyone interested.  This week is my BOM class  -  it was moved up 2 weeks because of other things going on in the quilt shop later.  I was not entirely happy with my blocks from last month and hope I'm not totally humiliated in class this week.  This month's block might be even harder.  Anyway, I was off the quilting bandwagon for awhile and working on other things but now I'm back.  I started a new quilt and I'm excited to share.  Years and years ago, when I took a class with a neighbor, I learned how to do the cathedral window block.  I just loved the jewel-like pointed windows on that off-white background and when I retired I vowed to do one of my own.  This is usually a hand stitched quilt done in small pieces and then sewn together to make a quilt but with no batting.  Recently some creative people have developed a machine stitched version and that's what I'm doing.  My magazines only showed 2 versions, one in flannel and the other a table runner but both multi, and I emphasize the word multi, color and print.  Way too much for me because you can't even see the cathedral window itself.  So I scaled it down to 4 colors and made them bigger to make a throw.  Changing the size gets me every time because I always forget the seam allowances, somewhere, but as long as I have enough for a 12 " circle I'm good.  Last night I made the front of the block to get the dimensions of each piece and it looks nice.  I'll keep you posted on the progress and my class.  Wish me luck!

New Purse

Well, the other day I finally made that new purse I was vowing to sew for quite a while now.  My goal was to make it by the end of the month so that's what I did.  What a difference from the first one!  That one I made in a morning with so few pieces.  I did need a bigger one and had this in mind  -  a bow purse.  That's just a bow in the front of the bag  as decoration.  First there were a lot more pieces including separate handles and a side panel.  Of course, I tweaked the pattern to suit myself as I always do.  This one also has side outside pockets which will be nice for the cell phone and sunglasses.  I also put magnets in the top to keep it closed better.  I never had to worry about that with the other one because it was so small.  Now what surprised me when I moved all my stuff to the new purse was how quickly it filled up, despite being so much bigger.  I guess a girl never has enough room in her purse!

First Quilt

Well, as promised, here's my first quilt of this year.  I'm calling it a modified garden twist.  It's a twin size quilt with floral squares from the fabric book from my sil and a lot of pinks and greens.  I also have a pillow sham almost done for it.  Now I have to decide how to have it quilted.  To tell you the truth, I'm so preoccupied with the BOM class of mine that quilting this is taking a back burner.  After I get the block 2 done this month, I will post a picture of both the blocks and show you how that is progressing.  Even after block 1, I have no idea how this will look.  I kind of thought it would be a starburst pattern but if they were put together like that there would only be three and I don't know how that would work.  Anyway, that's what I've been up to and tomorrow I'll fill you in on a recent purchase.  It's exciting!

Class Time

OK, I'm back and ready to start writing some more blogs.  I still have to take a picture of my first quilt of the year and show all of you, then I will talk about what I've learned from it.  I had one class in Jan. for my mystery quilt of the month paper pieced quilt (in the future it will be BOM class).  I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple teachers that I knew in my class.  The first class was practice for the paper piecing and included a heart square.  I have yet to finish it but I will before the next class.  I was a little too busy with other things since then but I now have a ton of homework to do.  We were assigned the first group of colors to buy and cut in the required size pieces for our first block.  I thought I already had this one but after getting the list of amounts for each color, I realized I needed to do more shopping.  So on the way back from Mechanicsburg I stopped at my favorite LQS' in Belleville.  Boy did I find the material and they are so nice and helpful there.  So I think I'm all set as far as fabric  -  now to the cutting.  I'm assuming that each month I will have a fair amount of homework to do so my idea that I would spend just 2 hrs. of class time was a little silly on my part.  I do have some other projects to work on such as my idea for a memory quilt.  Just like I knitted an afghan using leftovers from previous projects, I'd like to make stars with scraps of material from the quilts or project I make.  Looking back at all of these is really fun for me  -  can't wait to start!

More to Learn

Yes, there's a lot more for me to learn about quilting or maybe there always will be if I'm doing different things all the time.  I started this new quilt the first of the month and all went very well, or so I thought, the first week.  In fact, I was starting to get a little cocky and thinking I'd be done with this in a couple weeks.  Then the reality set in as I laid everything out to look at.  Evidently I was not as precise as I should have been in fussy cutting all my florals.  Once I set them on corner, some were not facing the top of the quilt like I had intended.  I also sewed some together too soon so a bunch had to be taken apart.  I also thought I had plenty of squares but once I started moving some around I realized that some wouldn't work on the edges.  Really, it was just a slight setback but it's a lot of small pieces to put together and I feel I'm losing some motivation.  I'm giving myself a goal each day to complete a certain part so I can think and reflect on each step.  I realize this is not an easy first project by any stretch of the imagination and in that sense I think I'm still doing pretty well.  I have my first class this week and I'm sure I'll learn something there that maybe I can bring home with me.  Then I'll be wondering what my next project will be.

New Quilt Project

I'm ready to start a new quilt.  I'm excited but still a little apprehensive.  I realized this week that I never really follow a pattern strictly.  I always manage to tweak it a little depending on the size, material or pattern.  I'm a great one for combining a couple different patterns, be it quilts, afghans, hats, pillowcases, purses or scarves.  That's what becomes frustrating for me when I have nothing concrete to follow.  I suppose I'll never change so I may as well revel in the fact that projects are truly mine.  Anyway, I talked before about this quilt, I'll call Garden Twist, and where I got my floral squares.  Soon after I retired I went shopping with a friend and bought 2 shades of green for the strips that intertwine (that was over a year ago).  Since then I've made a bunch of fall table runners and some of that green fit in perfectly.  I originally guessed as to how much to buy so now I'm faced with not enough, I think.  I went to JoAnn's with a long list of fabrics to buy for it and believe it or not, found the 2 shades of green so I could buy more of that.  I also lucked out with the outside border, which I wanted something in pink and green.  I found some on clearance that was exactly what I wanted.  Now the hard part  -  2 fillers in different pink geometric prints.  I needed something that wouldn't fight with those big florals but would still look nice.  I ended up buying a small pink check and a pink with white polka dots.  I'm still not sure about the pinks  -  time will tell on that subject.  So today my project is to determine what width I want my green strips, cut all my strips and sew the green squares to each corner of the florals.  Remember I'm making this up as I go even though I have two patterns I'm looking at but neither is exactly what I want.  Sometimes I think I'm the only one going through these kind of decisions but when I was at JoAnn's I realized we're all the same.  There was a mother-daughter team in there trying to decide what colors of pink and green to put in the little girl's room.  At least I had only myself to argue with!  Another lady and I kept passing each other, smiling and without saying a word, acknowledging our indecision.  Wish me luck.

Craft Update

The new year is bringing some new projects to the house that I'm excited about.  I had a few things over my head in the fall that I had to finish before I could focus on anything else.  The two quilts I made for my niece and nephew are finally done but not without some major issues.  Remember me writing about the sewing machine breaking down in November  -  well, I was trying to finish the second one up that week.  Both of those were months in the making and should have been a snap, but they weren't.  Part of it was the technique, which was not what it was cracked up to be, and the other was my machine.  Anyway those are done and I was ready to move on.  I was feeling pretty guilty about not having something homemade for the grandkids so I made them pillow cases.  Those turned out really nice due in part to the rolling technique I found to encase the cuff.  I also made some infinity scarves for myself that solves a couple problems for me  -  one is how to cover my scar and the other is adding some pizazz.  This was a very easy project and one I think I'll get a lot of use out of.  So when Christmas was over, I signed up for a Mystery Block of the Month class at my LQS!  This is very exciting for me despite the fact that it will take over 10 months to complete.  I'm looking forward to learning all the ins and outs of quilt making, at least in regard to this paper pieced project.  Of course, that still leaves me with some time to explore other projects and I've already begun.  Years ago my sil gave me some wallpaper and upholstery books from Padden's that they were giving away.  The wallpaper went really fast, what with preschool and girl scouts, and I managed to use some of the material on canning jar lids, etc.  But I still had all this nice floral material that I didn't even know if I could wash.  I had it cut out of the books a long time ago but it wasn't until last fall when I actually washed and dried it.  It came out really well so my mission was to find a quilt to use them in.  I found 2 that would work with the florals and I'm in the process of combining the best techniques of both to make one I like.  I'll keep you posted on that one and my experience in the class.

Sewing Machine Update

You may recall my previous post about my sewing machine breaking, the rude behavior at the sewing store and the guy who supposedly fixed it.  When I returned with the machine I did try it and it sounded good and seemed to work fine.  I commented on the short amount of time it took to fix my machine but I was glad it didn't cost more than it did.  I've been busy with shopping and other chores but yesterday I decided I better get to work on my project.  At first it was going very smoothly, then it froze up like it did before.  I do remember telling the sewing lady that this issue and the thread tension problem came and went.  As long as it goes in a timely fashion, I guess I can deal with that.  However, more things started to happen with my bobbin so I took it out and found the one side was bent and that was what was making it jam up.  It still seems like the tension is not on track but it's working.  Also the last thing to happen was my needle falling out.  I realize I've been pulling a lot of material through that small space under my machine and theoretically the screw holding the needle could loosen, but I know he replaced the needle and this has never, I repeat, never happened to me before.  So I replaced the bobbin and screwed the needle in, tighter this time.  But now I'm thinking  "Did he really service my machine and fix the problem or did he do a bunch of little things and as long as it seemed to be working, didn't dig any deeper?"  I think he just put the thread tension knob back together despite me telling Kelly that it wasn't working before I took it apart.  Why did that bobbin get so bent anyway and will it do it again?  He was a nice enough guy but if I take my machine to another store next time I need it fixed, will I get the same guy?  All I have to say is thank goodness I didn't have to pay more than I did however another $50-$100 and the assurance my machine was good to go would be priceless!

Popcorn Stitch Afghan

I couldn't wait to write a blog about the afghan I'm just about to finish.  This is one I've been eyeing up for a long time but until lately never thought it was in the cards to make. That's mainly because it's done in all white and it's a popcorn stitch.  I probably could have used another color but it just seemed appropriate to use the white.  I made it for a full size bed which I only have one other one and that's the scrap afghan done in a diagonal stitch that we use on our bed.  So I needed one for the cabin and started this one a couple months ago.  Well, like I said, it's almost done.  The last couple days I've been working on the fringe.  No one around here seems to like fringe on afghans and my first thought was to do a different edging.  But the fringe really completes it and besides, it's a unique way of doing it.  To do this fringe you first sc across the row then coming back you sc in a stitch, chain 30, then slip st in the same stitch.  It really looks nice.  The chains are supposed to twist and at first, I was trying to twist them myself.  I soon realized that I like it even if it isn't twisted.  I will definitely do this version of fringe again.  I will post a picture of it soon.

Visit to the Hospital

No, it isn't me or my hubby  -  sorry to scare anyone.  The patient is my sewing machine and this couldn't come at a worse time.  I've been struggling to finish up a few things for Christmas and deliver them this weekend but that's not going to happen.  I mentioned before about how I hate to do this stitch in the ditch quilting on big pieces with my sewing machine  -  I'm just not having fun with it.  Besides the fun part, my stitches are off, the upper thread tension knob is out of whack and last night it all froze up.  Time for a professional!  Hope it's not terminal but I don't have sewing machine medical insurance so it better be reasonable.  Who knows how long it's hospital stay will be.  I have another machine at the cabin  -  the Singer my mom had but that won't help much right now.  Anyway, instead of sewing I'll be running around today and then making candy to take down with me.  Just hope everything goes ok with that. 

More Table Runners

I'm on a roll with these table runners.  I've just finished 2 more, have one that needs to be hand-sewn and another for down the road a bit.  I've tried to use what I say in these blogs and come up with a project that I enjoy doing and I think I've succeeded.  The 2 that I finished are for my daughters and I made them to their specifications.  One wanted something a little narrower to fit on her counter and the other one wanted a square one.  Voila, done.  Remember I said I'd use bigger squares, did that and it was a lot quicker to sew together.  For those I used a Halloween material to back it so it was reversible.  I've been trying to use that stuff up forever.   I went back to the single-fold binding and that's been working pretty well except I made it a little too wide on those ones.  It still looks good though. This new one I have to finish created a new problem.  I bought a certain charm pack which is 5" squares of a certain theme so I don't have to cut them.  My problem is whether to wash or not.  I can't imagine washing a bunch of 5" squares and coming out with a size I can use so what I did was sew them together and then wash.  Worked perfectly!  Some people don't wash their material first because they like how it gets shriveled up once it's all done.  Sorry, not me!  Now, because my runner size has been altered, I put another small edging around the runner.  Then I used a slightly smaller binding on the edge.  The next one I have planned is for my Aunt Mary Jane.  I have some stuff in blue that I think she would like.  I'll tell you more about that later.  One thing I can say is that I'm enjoying making these and I'm tickled about that.  I put another presser foot on my machine to do the stitch in the ditch and it's working very well.  In fact, it is hardly visible from the front which is what I want.  It's funny how one little thing can make such a difference.  It seems to work so much better when I stitch to the right of the seam  -  go figure!  Anyway, just wanted to keep you all posted.  I think I'm ready to work on my next season and maybe a star pattern. 

Baby Blanket

Here is the blanket I made for Steve and Kristina's baby.  I used fleece for the center and flannel for the edge and backing.  The things I would do differently are:

1. Use the polka dot material for the backing.  It was very soft and I wish now it would have been on the other side, too.  It was also my favorite fabric.
2. I would have made the outside strips in different sizes.  It was difficult trying to get the fleece and flannels the right size for what I wanted the overall size to be.  The blue could have been a smaller width and maybe even another pattern mixed in. 
3. It wasn't until I was almost done that I wish I would have put a batting inside.  I was worried it might be too heavy with fleece and flannel.  I was also concerned that if I put batting in, it would involve more quilting which I didn't want to do.  Next time I will use fleece as a batting which will give it more weight but not require added quilting. 

All in all I like the blanket, it was soft and cuddly and easy and quick to finish.  Kristina got a ton of stuff at the shower so she should be all set.  I forgot the rosamarina salad I made so we're trying to eat that up.  It was a miserable day for traveling but nice to see everyone. 

Fall Table Runner

I've been accumulating a lot of fall material for quite awhile and thought it was time to make something seasonal for the cabin.  Here it is  -  my fall table runner.  It's nothing all that complicated, just squares of material sewn together and then backed with a non-seasonal fabric that I can use at some other time.  My questions after I complete a project are:

1. What did I learn from this project?
2. How would I make it different?

3. Did I have fun doing it?

Well, I learned that the walking foot I bought and put on my machine to help with the quilting isn't working like it should.  It wasn't until the next project that I figured out exactly what the problem is.  The next runner I do will have bigger squares  -  no, that isn't a joke!  I used up some of my fall stash (a good thing) and I can get the same effect with fewer squares and save me a lot of hassle.  I'm still not having fun but this was such a small project that it didn't matter that I wasn't jumping for joy at every step.  Don't get me wrong  -  I still love piecing things together, it's just the quilting that snags me up.  I still have to learn what I can do and what my machine will let me do, before I reach that point. 

My Floppy Hat

And it is very floppy! In fact my hubby says it reminds him of an old Petula Clark video where the background singers have on similar floppy hats. It will definitely do a good job of keeping the sun off my face and back of my neck. As I said before in my other blog, the pattern was a bugger. The brim alone was 9 pages that I had to piece together like a puzzle and tape. But I did it. The rest of the pattern was not too difficult. I realized early on that I would need more interfacing in both brims to have it hold up like I wanted. Everything fit pretty well but there was alot of easing necessary to connect the crown and side panel. I also added some topstitching to the brim and side panel, just to finish it off a bit. The last part that was my idea was to add eyelets to the crown and side panel to help let some air in. They went in very well, I thought.

Since it is a little floppier, I can fold the front up so I can see. Of course, you know by now I'm off on my next project. Keep you posted.

Martha Bashing

I guess I'm on a roll, nothing can stop me now! Decided yesterday to make a hat for our upcoming Field Days in Centre Co. Whenever I need a hat for the sun, I usually have to wear a baseball cap and don't particularly like them. I'm not even much of a hat wearer but some things demand it. So anyway, I ran across a pretty easy pattern in my Martha magazine and printed out the pattern last night. Wow, was Martha getting bashed on that site for a pattern that people said was too difficult and a waste of time. Then a little 9 yr. old said her Grammy said she could make it and it was easy. I went ahead and tried putting the pattern together as it was in pieces like a puzzle. Oh, I forgot to mention that after all these complaints, someone from Martha's got on and provided another site to go to for some help (didn't really help much though). I finally went back to the olden days when a good size window was the best tool you could have, especially if you didn't have a light box. Crafters will know what I mean by a light box. That would have been too small for this project anyway. What I had to do was make the hash marks darker with a marker, put them up on the glass in order to see through, line them all up and tape them together. It still got a little tricky with the last row of the brim when I had 2 rows already up there and had to tape a 3rd. Anyway I managed to get it together so it wasn't as impossible as all those people were saying. I've decide on a beige print with some pink flowers and a solid beige inside. We'll see how it works out. I realized that doing these small projects in between the quilts keeps my sanity intact!! I'll post a picture on when I'm done.

I Need Classes

Yes, I need classes, quilting that is. I'm trying so hard to find what works best for me with these quilts. I read the books, watch the TV shows, catch the Internet videos, buy the right tools and then try it out firsthand. So why is this so difficult? Each time something goes wrong, I understand why and set out to fix it, but there's always something different. Right now with this second quilt, it still seems so hard to maneuver all the excess around the sides. I'm contemplating tearing out a section because I'm just not happy with it, and I know from experience that would be my best option. It should be getting easier instead of harder. At this point I cannot see myself making a full size quilt and machine quilting it. I can do the top but the quilting is throwing me for a loop. The one thing I haven't tried yet is a wall hanging size (more manageable) or the lap quilting technique. The lap quilting is doing individual squares, machine quilting each square, sewing the fronts by machine and then the backs by hand. I definitely don't want to hand quilt anything for several reasons including I'm not good at it, it's too time consuming and finally, it doesn't last as long. But I kind of enjoy hand stitching. I find it relaxing, easy and I think I do a pretty good job of it so maybe that's my niche. Unfortunately, not all quilts utilize that technique to the fullest. I have to admit my hubby listened very well to my complaints yesterday and even offered some advice - take some classes! Isn't that what I was trying to do all summer but previous commitments and the store closing got in my way. I know that when I'm done with this quilt, I will lay it out and admire it and think of what a good job I did, but am I having fun during the process? That's what I'm striving for in the end and I'll know when I get there.

Old Dog - New Tricks

Thanks for the comment on the purse, Judy. The one thing that amazed me the most was that I was able to put everything I had in my other purse into this smaller one and I still have room! I'm on to my next project, well, sort of. I bought the material for a baby quilt to make in the next couple of months. I debated whether to wait for the new stuff coming in or get some stuff on sale so I opted for the cheaper stuff. This time I'm combining fleece and flannel, mainly because I wasn't able to find the flannel panel (it rhymes) that I wanted for the center. I'll wash them both before I start, as I always do (hot debate in the quilting world) but I know flannel shrinks so I want to be prepared. I won't start this until after I get another quilt finished (already begun). At least now I have some new tools to work with - I received my walking foot, quilting guide and darning foot in the mail yesterday!. I just have to figure out how to put them on my machine and use them. Who says retirement can't include learning some new tricks?

My Purse

Well, here's my purse I just made. I'm thrilled that I could put the pictures on my blog! Of course, the purse was not quite as easy as I originally thought. Measurements are critical to this as I found out. I think overall it turned out pretty nice and it showed me that I really don't need a big bulky purse to hold my bare necessities. It's also cute as can be, especially with my fabric choices. Now I'm off to Hobby Lobby to buy some thread for my next project.

On to the Next Project

I'm on the homestretch of one of my projects so I'm ready to move on to the next. I realized something about myself and my projects - I start too many of the same things, tire of them, get distracted with something else and then do nothing. What a scenario! I give myself alot of credit for even starting Christmas projects now but it's no good if I don't follow through. So instead of forcing myself to follow through with something else, I'm giving myself a chance to do a smaller project, something fun and for myself. What could be a better diversion? I'm still finishing up the quilt I started (yes, I said it, a quilt) and then I'm making a purse. This is called a grab bag or Japanese Knot purse that seems too easy to believe and for one of the first times I can remember, I'm following the instructions to a T. I think that's what usually gets me into trouble - I do it differently and then somewhere down the line I run into a problem and then I have to patch things to fix it. I've been heading to my local quilt shop (LQS, as they are called in the mags) where a great sale has been going on all month and buying material. This pattern for the purse calls for fusible fleece which I've never heard of let alone use, as have other people that work in the LQS. I was worried about the price ,as well I should have, as it was $7.99 yd. I managed to get a coupon at JoAnn's which gave me 40% off and doable so I'm excited to try that. So like I said this is a very simple pattern but has the details that I like and need such as inside pockets for phone, etc. I think what makes this purse is the selection of material and I'm ready for some brighter prints in my life. I'm using a darker print on the outside of the bag, lighter one inside (all the better to see you with my dear!) and a solid for the pockets inside. Wish me luck and google it if you'd like to see what I'm up to.

Scrapbook Completed

I finished the scrapbook for the kids yesterday and left it at the cabin to be picked up this coming weekend. I was pretty proud of myself considering how long it usually takes me to finish anything. I had mentioned before about how engrossed I get in scrapbooking and don't want to stop. Then I didn't do anything for a couple of days and wondered if I'd have the same enthusiasm for it when I started again. Well, I did! I was even loosing my light and kept plugging away to get it finished. I also realized why all those letters and things were so cheap when I bought them on sale - they are real buggers to use. Some of the letters are like cellophane and they break apart or stick to everything. I'll have to be more careful in the future to buy things that are easier to use. Now I'm ready to get back into some of my other projects. Just as a side note - we went to two craft festivals I had never been to before, one in Boalsburg and the other in State College. They both had some interesting things but for my price point, I'll take Boalsburg or even better - High Country!