Category: Crafts

I am Such a Slacker on Free Quilt Block Day

As I have mentioned in the past, Red Rooster  (Dublin, Ohio) quilt shop gives a free quilt block every two weeks.  There are thirty total that will complete a wall Hanging Quilt.  It is super cute and has a lot of Orange, which I love.  They are total geniuses for doing this.   These are about 6” blocks, so they are giving you maybe a dollars’ worth of fabric.  But, I am going into their store and spending money every two weeks.  So that dollar they are spending they have already made back more times than I care to admit.  I always liked the shop, but now I have a very specific reason to go every two weeks (which I would not normally do unless I specifically needed something.  Random visits cost money) and collect my block and whatever else tickles my fancy (the problem).  The other part of the issue is that my Day job as Nerd Whisperer keeps me about two miles from the shop.  So, when I have had my fill of the nerd squad I go to relax and wander around their store (probably not the best option for my wallet, despite the free block).

So, why am I slacker?  Well, I didn’t buy anything today when I went to get my block (I should probably see a doctor) but when I was checking out, the lovely lady at the counter asked me if I was up to date on my block creations.  As she handed me block #15, I had to admit that I just finished block #10.  Seriously they are 6 inch blocks.  I am such a slacker.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

I got Busted…

So I Started making my daughter Haley a library quilt.  She is a total bookworm.  I have been secretly trying to keep it from her.  I even contacted the school librarian to get me a list of books she has checked out.  I have been secretly going in her room and taking pictures of her book shelves so I knew all the titles.  I wanted to make it not just a library quilt, but her library quilt with all her books on it.

Well, the last quilt I finished, she decided needed to be hers.  I kept telling her no.  She

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One of my favorite pictures of her.  She usually hides from the camera.

kept giving me that sideways look where she knows I am not telling something.  Then the light bulb went off and she said “OMG you are making me a quilt”.  Then she ran downstairs to look for it.  I ended up telling her it was the LQ (library quilt) box so she did not destroy everything in her path.

Needless to say she is very excited and immediately began writing down other books for me to add.  Now she will continually bug me to get it done.  Wanted me to use it as my one Monthly Goal, which I may do for September, but I needed a couple of other things to do it for this month.  She will have to learn patience.  Sometimes these things take me a really long time.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

I wish you a Merry Quilt Along and One Monthly Goal for August

I Have decided to participate in the I wish you a Merry Quilt Along.  One block every two weeks.  I think I can manage that.  So far so good.  I have quite a collection of snowflake fabric, and I finally have a purpose for it.  It will be interesting to see what the next block will look like.  It wasn’t hard.  Took me about an hour total and this included hunting for the snowflake fabrics in my boxes of fabric.

I also have my one Monthly Goal project.  I am going to completely finish Oma’s 20170731_194705_resizedtreasure.  As you can see from the photo, I have already partially taken some of this apart.  When I posted my original picture I got a lot of good advice on what to do.  Now I just need to do it.  So, yes, I will sew on the beads, quilt and bind this for My One Monthly Goal for August.  This is of course after I fix what I started tearing out.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

I got brave on an actual quilt….

This was going to be my One Monthly goal for August, but I got carried away at the end 20170728_233052_resizedof July.  I just decided to stop being  a chicken and just go for it.  So I quilted my little batik baby quilt with my little flowers.  I am not sure I like the thread I chose, but I am stuck with it now.  Since this was a rainbow quilt I chose a rainbow thread.  I should have chosen something more pastel.  It looks OK, but since it is darker than I would of liked, I can see things I would not have if I had chose a lighter thread.

I quartered this quilt and worked n 1/4th at a time.  Made it seem20170728_233146_resized a little less daunting and scary. It went much quicker than I expected, which is why I can’t do it for my one monthly goal project.

I am becoming less scared of the actual process, which is good.  I will have to view a few more videos and learn a few more patterns.    The quilting on the back doesn’t look too bad.  I am not sure what I am going to do with this quilt, but when the right opportunity presents itself I will know what to do with it.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Practice Quilting makes quilted Minion potholders and One Monthly Goal-A Finish

So, after my June free motion quilting seminar, I have decided to branch out a bit.  I am going to quilt an actual quilt, in the very near future (could be my August One Monthly Goal Project) with something other than meandering or a version of meandering. Big scary move for me. So, my “Zipper Quilt” top, I want to use a flower free motion design.  However, I plan to do it on a smaller baby quilt first.  I already have that top ready to go.  Just need to get up the courage to do it.

Needless to say, I have been practicing (Using my cheap grill liner as a slider).  All the practice got me thinking.  My square sandwiches looked like potholders.  So, I decided to make my final practice pieces into potholders.  I bought a piece of the special thermal batting.  I made all my practice sandwiches and on the last couple,  when I had the hang of it, I made Minion potholders.  I need to bind them, but I have plenty of binding scraps I can use.  I have found that I make better flowers when I work from left to right and I like them best with 5 petals.  Then. as I bind my potholders,  I can also practice my corners.  I don’t like binding corners either.  Jeez, I have so many issues.  But now, I have a few handmade gifts when needed.

The quilting on my Minion potholders is not too bad.  I hope I can do the same on my baby quilt and then off to my “Zipper Quilt”.  It is hard not to smile at a minion.

20170716_122738_resizedMy one monthly Goal for July was to trim and bind my 9 patch.  Yeah. 20170716_122258_resized Completed.  This quilt has a loopy meandering.  It is not too bad.  Pretty sure I have meandering, and multiple variations of it, down packed.  At this time, I have no plans for this quilt, just glad I can consider it finished.

 

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

I guess I just don’t like anything this week.

Ever have one of those weeks when nothing looks right to you?  I feel like that is where I am right now.  I really loved this mum print fabrics in fall colors.  However, once I crated something with it, I find I don’t like it as much as I did when I was just ogling over the fabric.  I look at them and wonder If I should have used a dark blue solid instead of the green?  But, I like green.  I don’t know.  Maybe it will look better when it is all put together.  I just don’t know.

Maybe I should of just walked away last night when I sewed something completely backwards.  Usually a clear sign to stop what you are doing for a bit.  Unfortunately, I never take my own advice.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Happy Friday

Oma’s Treasures –Well, it certainly is bright.

Trying to decide if it is too obnoxious or loud.  My goal was not to take away from the embroidery.  I am not sure that I did that here.  I don’t mind the happy colors, but when you look at it’s like a slap in the face of color. I still have a couple things in mind to do.  One more one inch green around the outside, I think.  I plan to quilt the outside, but I am not sure how yet.  For where the embroidery is, since it is a such a long piece, I think I will sew tiny glass beads in the centers of some of the flowers to ensure the batting does not shift.  Of course, my binding is a bit crazy.  I have a striped piece of fabric (green/orange/pick/yellow) to add to the craziness of this piece.  Feel free to give me your opinion on my color choices and any suggestions on quilting (kinda stumped with that).  You will not offend me if you think it is awful.  I asked for it. LOL.

On a positive note, some good news, my older daughter, who was in a horrific head on collision nearly a year ago, has moved out.  I would say she is 90% of her old self, which is pretty good considering what I saw the first night in the ICU.  While it was a challenging six months after the accident. The outcome was far better than I anticipated.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

What not to do. Another lesson learned.

OK, I feel like a total idiot.  So, my one monthly goal project was to trim and bind a quilt. Here is the problem.  This was a UFO quilt that had been around for quite some time, so I decided to wash it before I quilted it.  So far, not to dumb, but wait…  At the lat minute, I got the crazy idea to wash the piece of batting that I was going to use also.  So far, not a problem, except for the fact that I washed them together and the pieced top was mostly black. Needless to say my quilt top came out with a ridiculous amount of lint all over it.  OK, so I deserve that for not thinking.  But wait there’s more.  I thought OK, so I will have to spend more than the usual amount of time removing lint and dog hair.  I proceeded to quilt it with all the lint all over it, like an idiot.  Then this morning as I was attempting to de-lint it and most of the lint was quilted into the quilt and would not easily come off with a lint roller.  I worked on if for …way to long and all the lint is still not gone.  I have to brush it with a toothbrush and then use the list roller before it even thinks about coming off.  I am so mad at myself.  It was like a parade of dumb mistakes.  In case it isn’t obvious, the photo are sheets from my lint roller.  Ahhhhh.  Stuff happens.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Not Exactly what I had Envisioned…

So, this is not what I had in my head.  I believe this is referred to as a Zipper Quilt.  I was laying out my colors in a way I thought would complement the design of the “Zipper quilt”.  I mean, it is OK, but somehow I had something else pictured.  Not sure why.  I laid it all out first, but then when it is all together I am surprised.  Usually, I don’t things things on my design board and like them better when they are sewn together.

The positive about this quilt, is that the blocks sew together really fast.  I chain pieced them, but in a sort of odd way.  I had 2 charm packs that I cut in half.  Then I cut 2.5 inch strips and sewed each of my 2.5 by 5.5 charm pieces to each 2.5 inch strip.  I had a 42″ strip with a bunch of my charms sewed to it and then just cut it apart.  Can’t remember how many strips I used, maybe 5.  Then it was just a matter of arranging and sewing them all together.

I do plan on quilting this in the near future.  May get brave and do something new (at least for me).  I will have to do some practicing first though.

 

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

An Interesting Quilting Hack

In my challenge to get better at the actual quilting, I am constantly reading advice etc, on how to do it better.  The truth is, practice makes you better.  However, I am always looking for products that might help me get better.  So, quilting gloves helped a bit, but it was only a $10 investment.  One of the things that I had been looking at was a Supreme Slider.  This is supposed to make the quilt slide more easily as you quilt along.  I had asked people and got mixed reviews as to whether it was a help or not, but I was still curious, however, not willing to spend $60.00 to see if it worked.

I had purchased 2 grill liners for the grilling season for $4.99 each.  After one use, I found it to be the pain in the but and the unopened grill liner sat on the counter, til today.  As I was making dinner a light bulb went off in my head.  The grill liner was silicone and super slippery.  So, after dinner I took it downstairs and cut a tiny hole in where the 20170709_181527_resizedneedle came down.  I took some masking tape and taped it down to my machine table (the original one sticks on it’s own).  Well, it worked like a charm.  It did make things slide easier and cost less20170709_182135_resized than $5.00.  I know we don’t all have an unlimited money supply, so every little bit helps.  If you don’t have a supreme slider, give it a try.

 

20170530_194122_resizedWe also had a sad weekend.  We had to say goodbye to our beautiful Clover Puppy.  Clover was a dog we were supposed to be fostering.  I knew the minute she walked into our house, she would never leave.  That was more than 10 years ago.  She was the kindest, sweetest dog that did not have a mean bone in her body.  She never let the fact that she was missing a front leg slow her down.  I know now that she is pain free and running with My Koko on all four legs.  We will as miss her dearly.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Treasure Your Family, including the furry ones

Rescue, whenever possible