Month: March 2021

Success!

I know nothing spectacular for all you wonderful quilters out there. However, I have had this quilt cut out for well over a year (It is really just cutting strips to length).

I find that one of the hardest things for me to do is accurately cut. I made the center block of this quilt multiple times and it always came out wonky. The entire quilt is based off the center block. You would think it would be pretty simple, but if you are off at all then it gets goofy, looks awful.

Cutting is the bane of my existence. It is my least favorite thing in quilting because I am so bad at it. I do not know why I picked this up last night to give it another whirl. But, for some odd reason (different ruler), I did much better.

I have a lot of rulers and decided to give a different one a try. It was a difference maker for me. I could match up the lines to everything.

So, this magic triangle ruler was the key. It helped me cut those corners of correctly. It is not a perfect block, but compared to the other ones, way better.

I did not save any of the disaster blocks. I was angry and put them in the fabric trash (to stuff dog beds) and they were horribly embarrassing.

I will continue to work on this quilt, but will have to move out to the sewing machine by my bigger cutting area. I have a small cutting area on my sewing machine cabinet, but the pieces from now on require a larger cutting area. At least I feel I can now go on without frustration.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Plaid Challenge Recuperation Top

I finished a top. It took me multiple weeks at a few minutes a day. It is something that would have normally taken me a few hours. It is not complicated in any way.

My quilt guild is doing a “Plaid Challenge“. Everyone brought in a yard of plaid, they were cut up and everyone gets a piece of each to make something quilty.

I found the fabrics pretty ugly, especially all together. I contemplated what I would do with these for some time. I did not want to make something that I would hate. I settled on this carpenter’s star. I thought using black might make it look a little better.

I don’t hate it. I cut this out prior to my surgery. I knew it would be something fairly simple to sew. I started sewing a few minutes a day about a week or so after my surgery. It took me nearly 5 weeks to get this simple top done. I found that very frustrating. I wanted to do more, but just could not.

I tried to use every bit of the fabric. I only had a very little bit left over, so I did not do too bad.

All things considered, I am doing very well according to the doctors. Spinal cord injuries and nerve damage take a long time to recover and may not be 100%. There is not way to know at this point. I do have feeling back in my arms and legs, however I still have some numbness in my fingertips. I am hoping this gets better over time. I am extremely weak, which annoys the crap out of me. I feel like a lazy slob. Super frustrating. I have no patience for this,, but also have no choice. Physical Therapy stars this week, so I will have something new to complain about.

It will be a while before I get back to using the long arm. That takes a bit of effort. I may try in the near future, but just don’t know.

Binding?? Would you use a plaid or stick to black? Let me know what you think.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Cool tool for Quilting, Wal-Mart, and other goodies

Wal-Mart

I know many many people hate Wal-Mart Fabric. Not always my favorite, but sometimes, I can’t help myself. This year’s Wal-Mart valentine Fabric was all Dog stuff. Being the crazy Dog lady, when I could by 47 yards of fabric of dog prints for under $20, I was not going to say NO. Even If I used this to make charity pillowcases, it could not be beat. And, it’s Dogs. Along with these 1 yard cuts I got about 50 fat quarters. I have a couple favorite dog rescues and hope to make something for them with all the cute doggie stuff.

Cool Tools – A RocketBook

So, at Christmas, I received a RocketBook. While I intitally got it for work, the first thing I did was use it for quilting…..

So, What is a Rocket Book? It is a reusable Notebook that allows you to save stuff to crazy places.

How it works: The Rocket Book uses erasable pens. You can write, draw and scribble and have them automatically save to wherever you designate. Sounds crazy, but the geeky nerd in me finds this little gem quite useful. The second photo shows where I am sending my pages to. You will notice that there is a QR code in the bottom left of each page. Once you download the rocket book app on your phone or tablet, you tell it where you want things sent. On the bottom of each page there are shapes that are tied to where you want your notes/drawings to go. Once you complete a page, you put an X through the picture (tells Rocket Book where to send) and use the app to snap a photo and it automagically goes there.

I have a Rocket Book Fusion – There are tons of different sizes with all different kind of pages. Project List, gridded paper, lined paper, calendar. Once you save your page, you wet your cloth (comes with it) and wipe off. It uses Frixion pens (comes with one), which many of us already have. I of course bought a pack of many colors (Wal-Mart has them, you can see my crazy quilt doodles)

Creative Notions Strikes again

This is my second subscription bag from Creative Notions. I really like this. It is $45.00 and I feel I really get my money’s worth. I love the panel and fat quarter pack that came in this month’s bag. I plan on making it for my front door. I better get moving, spring is right around the corner, hopefully. There is a pattern included (which I plan on using for the wall hanging). There is also a pattern to make a bag and all the straps/hardware are included. At my guild there are a couple of ladies that make the most beautiful bags, so I am anxious to try this. There are also two more patterns and a 45mm rotary blade and candy (always has some candy in there, which my daughter immediately claims). Just sharing something I think is cool. Looking forward to the next one. Happy Sewing, Happy Quilting