Archive for the ‘Quilting’ Category

New Ruler and Pattern Play

Tuesday, March 18th, 2014

This past week I played just a bit with a new to me ruler. Creative Grids 90° Double-Strip Ruler. I used the pattern Savvy by Rachel Griffith Designs and Moda’s fabric line Hearty Good Wishes. I do like the ruler, but have to warn you that there will be bias edges when working with this ruler. So do be aware of potential stretching due to the bias cuts. Rachel’s pattern is well written and easy to follow. Since I didn’t use her color way, I wrote out a chart with my colors to keep track of fabric placement. This was my first time to use a Rachel Griffith Designs pattern and I must say, I’ll be looking for her other patterns. I just love it when I find patterns that are well written. I’m putting Rachel’s Smitten pattern on my wish list!

I finally got caught up on my Building Blocks Quilt Along hosted by Leah Day. Dare I show you my blocks? When you see them, you will realize my desire to improve my free motion quilting. I’ve got a long way to go before my FMQ is pretty. ☹

And, crazy as I am, I started a new project that I’m calling Eat Your Fruits and Veggies, or Whirled Peas. I’m using Amy Gibson’s foundation piecing pattern Tilt-A-Whirl. I’m reacquainting myself with foundation piecing, its been a while. I think I’m going to enjoy the process once I get it going assembly line style. Only two blocks completed so far:

I’m linking up with To-Do Tuesday
Here is my list from past week :
-continue working on client’s quilt ✔ embroidery label completed
-continue to catch up on Building Blocks Quilt A-long ✔ all caught up!
-work on Savvy quilt ✔ Top ready for quilting!
-celebrate birthdays! My hubby today! Mine on Friday! ✔ Lunch and movie Friday, and dinner out with eldest son Tuesday
This week’s list:
-continue working on client’s quilt, applique center block
-bind signature quilt
-today, take daughter to doctor appointment to remove her cast from January 24th ankle surgery. Oh Boy! Has she been counting down the days!
-work on Luke and Kim’s quilt, I should aim for 2 blocks a week
-piece a few more blocks of Whirled Peas
I’m also linking to  Linky Tuesday.

 

 

First Pineapple Quilt Top!

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014

It’s finished! That is, the top of the Pineapple Quilt using Cut Loose Tropical Fruit Pattern and Creative Grids Pineapple Trim Tool is finished. And on its way to the longarm quilter, Paula Reuille. I have to say I really love this quilt. It is my first ever Pineapple quilt, and I admit, I was leery of the trim tool/ruler before I started using it. That all changed as I worked on the quilt blocks, the instructions and method just all clicked as the quilt blocks progressed.

When I added the white logs, I used the white lines on the ruler to trim. When I added the bright/dark logs, I used the dark lines on the ruler to trim. The blocks came together very accurately. The ruler is very well designed. Just how do these gals come up with these rulers? They must all have math minds!
This week I’m playing with another new-to-me ruler. The Creative Grids 90˚ Double-Strip Ruler. I’m using the Savvy pattern by Rachel Griffith Designs and Moda’s Hearty Good Wishes fabric line. 
I’m linking up with To-Do Tuesday and my list for this week is:
-continue working on client’s quilt – last week I designed the embroidery label, this week sew blocks together
-continue to catch up on Building Blocks Quilt A-long I’ll post photos later
-work on Savvy quilt
-celebrate birthdays! My hubby today! Mine on Friday! ☺
I’m also linking to Linky Tuesday.
Have a great week gals!

Playing with Pineapple Blocks

Tuesday, February 25th, 2014

… And a new-to-me tool. The Creative Grids Pineapple Trim Tool.

20 blocks made, border fabric, Pineapple Trim Tool.

I used Andover Fabric Line Kim’s Hand Dyes, filling them out with some dot fabrics for 14 colorful fabrics. I used Moda white muslin for the background and will use Moda Simple Marks for the border. The bright colorful fabrics make me happy!

I will be demoing this tool Saturday, March 1st at Fabrics and Friends Quilt Shop, Roanoke, IN. Shop hours 10 -3.

Linking to Freemotion by the River Linky Tuesday

and to To-Do Tuesday Link up Here is my list for this week:

Finish and photo Pineapple Quilt

Work on client clothing quilt

Catch up with Building Block Quilt Along

 

Building Blocks Quilt Along

Wednesday, January 29th, 2014

I’m taking part in Leah Day’s Building Blocks Quilt Along to learn Free Motion Quilting. Leah has us starting out with the basics. This will be a skill building quilt along for the year. So far, so good!

Stitching Merrily Along

Monday, January 27th, 2014

Stitcher’s Garden Block No. 7. Twin needle stitching in background.

Stitcher’s Garden Block No. 8. More twin needle stitching in background and pintuck foot used in center of flower.

Close up of pintucks. I used two different colors of thread, and the lighter thread is showing up better.

Stitcher’s Garden using Batiks Classes at Fabrics and Friends Quilt Shop, Roanoke, IN held the third Tuesday and third Thursday of each month.

First Finish in 2014

Friday, January 17th, 2014

Here is my first completed quilt for the new year. Toes In the Sand Pattern by Jaybird Quilts using the Hex N More Ruler. Love Julie’s ruler. Julie’s patterns are very well written with clear and easy to follow directions and diagrams. I was very happy that all the points in the blocks matched up so perfectly. The Hex N More Ruler is designed  including four shapes, each with four sizes, all in one ruler. The shapes are triangles, hexagons, half hexagons, and diamonds.

I used all Batiks for this quilt.

Close up of a few blocks.

I love the Moda Batik for the back, and also the All-In-One Flange Binding made with left overs from the pieced blocks.

This quilt is being offered as a Block of the Month at Fabrics and Friends Quilt Shop in Roanoke, IN.

Playing Along with Leah Day’s Building Blocks FMQ Project

Saturday, January 4th, 2014
Do you follow Leah Day’s blog? I have been doing so for a few years and each year I say, “This IS The Year I’ll put effort into learning to Free Motion Quilt!” Then I do some FMQing, but not much. For 2014, Leah has designed a pattern for a quilt along to learn piecing and FMQing called Building Blocks. Check out her blog to purchase your piecing pattern and instructions on free motion quilting. She also has fabric available at Spoonflower if you don’t want to do the piecing.
Leah recommends using just 2 fabrics in solids for this project. I understand her logic for the solid fabrics, in that we can see our mistakes and learn from them. Even so, I’ve decided to bust my stash for the monthly blocks. I think it will end up being a scrappy quilt. Altho, I do have lots of fabric and could make it out of 2 color families. At this point I’m just going to wing it, and see where each month leads me. I’ll be posting and linking up with Leah showing my progress.
This is my 2014 Personal Challenge! Piecing along with Leah, improving my free motion quilting, and linking up with the Building Blocks Quilt Along while using fabrics from my stash.
Anyone care to join in!?

Week 3: The REAL Studio Tour

Friday, December 20th, 2013

Today is the final stop on Vicki Welsh’s Real Studio Tour. We are to share photos of our spaces where we work/play/create!

My sewing set up is now in a room that my girls out grew. It is a good sized room of about 14 feet by 24 feet. It is what we call the bunk bed room because of the two sets of built in bunk beds. Fifteen years ago, while hunting for a larger house for our growing family – we have five children – a friend recommended this house to us. When we toured it, the girls named it the bunk bed house. The girls, then 3, 6, and 9 all shared the bunk bed room. Their older brothers each got their own room. I set up my sewing area in the fifth unclaimed bed room. Then the brothers grew up and went off to college and the girls decided they would like to have their own rooms. So everything got switched around and I ended up setting up shop in the bunk bed room! I like it for the space, but I really don’t care much for the bunk beds as there is just so little wall space in this room. But there are also 2 built-in desks, one built-in dresser, a walk-in closet, and two side-by-side closets. So lots of space and storage to utilize.

Here are photos of it all clean and organized when I took over the space three years ago.

Above picture is what you see when you walk in and look to the right. The kids use the bottom bunk as a day bed and watch movies on the computer.

Above, is the room to the left as you walk in the door. I’m using the bunk beds as storage at this point and hang up the most recently made quilt to cover up the messy storage.

Oh look at that clean floor! I’ll be showing you ‘real life’ in just a bit. The book shelf on the right are mostly my husbands books. In the units are the left, I organized my fabric by color. So pretty to look at!

Here you see my cutting station on top of a Lowe’s cabinet with lots of storage. The built in dresser is full of UFOs. Eeck! Too many of those! The book shelves are full of thread,  quilting books and supplies.

And what does this space look like today?

(Taken with a wide angle lens). See the blue fabric in the front right? Which is in front of the book shelves, it is covering up storage boxes, serger, UFOs, bits and pieces.  How many of my Protect-n-Store boxes do you count!? I have personal WIP in some of the boxes, and demo boxes for Fabrics and Friends Quilt Shop where I work  play.

Oh, I made new curtains for this room, which I like. And I have even done some cleaning out. Over Christmas break I hope to finish up a Block-of-the-Month for the quilt shop and also a clothing quilt for a customer. Then I hope to organize some for the start of the New Year.

For those of you who guessed at the number of Protect-n-Store boxes in my possession, the current number is 22. ☺

Hop on over to Vicki’s blog to see how other quilters have their studios set up and to also add yours to the link!

 

 

Week 2: The REAL Studio Tour

Friday, December 13th, 2013

Vicki’s week #2 for  The Real Studio Tour, Storage Solutions is up. Check out the links to see how fellow quilters are solving their storage issues! And link up yourself.

I learned about these Protect-n-Store boxes several years ago and asked my local quilt shop, Fabrics and Friends Quilt Shop in Roanoke, IN, if they would carry them. And they now do! $6.99 a piece. They are a good size at 12 1/2″ square and 3″ deep. I use them for projects-in-progress.

I’m NOT going to tell you how many of these great boxes I have in use! Want to guess?! ☺

 

The REAL Studio Tour with Vicki Welsh

Saturday, December 7th, 2013

Vicki is hosting a Studio Tour for bloggers to link up answering three questions over the course of three weeks – using pictures from our own studios! The first week, we are to show a non-traditional tool we use in our studio.

I use a hemostat for turning applique pieces and tubes right side out. They also are handy in place of a pair of twisters. For example – dislodging thread stuck in the bobbin case. And they are good for pushing out the corners of projects like pillow cases. I keep a pair handy right next to my sewing machine. This curved tipped hemostat in the picture is actually my ‘stand in’ pair, as I have misplaced my favorite straight tipped hemostat in the current clutter of my studio. (Yes, I’ll reveal that creative mess to you December 20th!)

To join in the fun, visit Vicki’s blog post: The REAL Studio Tour!