Everyone should have a friend who sews

I play Bunco.  There, now you know.  One of my Bunco Babes (friend who plays with me) is helping to organize a big craft fair at her church.  She asked me to have a table at the fair to sell my bags.  It didn't take me but a second to say "yes"!  Now I have to get busy.  I created this fun little pattern with a ruler and a pen.  These quilted totes are so much fun to make.  I think  I will put together a tutorial on it.  But not today.  I have to go vote.  Women in America are allowed to vote, I would never miss.  Then I will make a few more of these.

 I used two jelly rolls.  Only a little of each.  They are just the most fun way to buy fabric.  They really are yummy.  One is Batik Jelly Aqua made in India.  I think it is actually batik and not printed. It feels like there was once wax on the fabric.  How cool is that?  The other is Fabric Central's Paisley Pop Jelly  collection from Joann.com.  I have enough to make two more from each collection.  Hmmmm, maybe I'll mix them together and call it Paisley Batik!

 I used a light weight cotton batting and did a quilt-as-you-go method.  It was so fast.  I love instant gratification.  Each bag took me about an hour and a half including letting the goofy lab out twice.

I even added a zipper inside the top.  I always wanted to try this inset method.  It was so easy!

Gift To The Bride And Groom

Here is the completed Purple Sampler Quilt.  I chose the blocks from http://www.jinnybeyer.com.  They have a huge collection of historical blocks in several sizes…all FREE.  Love that.  I used the 12" blocks.  I also added my own little house, a log cabin block, a paper pieced Chinese Lantern block and a bird house block.  I just really wanted to make all of those.  It fished at a generous twin size.  The back is solid dark purple.  When I asked my niece-to-be what colors she would like in her quilt she lit up and said "purple" with all the love in her heart.

The hardest part wasn't cutting, piecing, choosing fabrics (though I bought about every deep purple on the market), it was wrapping it up and giving it away.  While I love my nephew and his sweetie so much, this was a real work of heart.  I'm glad they have it though.  Now I can work on one for another niece.  Guess what colors she asked for….PURPLE.  Again!  She's getting some prints.  Photos soon.

Pin Cushions

While resting in bed with a nasty cold, I spent a few hours on Pinterest.  I never thought I would do that but now I'm hooked.  I discovered that I can be a hoarder without any guilt.  I discovered pin cushions. Yes, I have several that I use everyday, but I never thought that they could be darling little bits of art.  

So I pinned, and pinned and pinned.  Then I got over the cold and dug around for my box of felt and my box of fancy beads and my beading needle and the stash of empty and very clean tuna cans and my embroidery threads that I haven't used in over 20 years.  Well, I can see many a late dinner coming to my table.  This is so much fun and I have hundreds of ideas to create.  Here are the ones I've completed so far.  Now I really do need to make some dinner.

 No, I do not know what I'm going to do with them all, thank you for asking.  I have already given four away…not shown, because they are no longer with me.

 Maybe I will put them on Etsy.

 Maybe I will give them as Christmas gifts.

 Maybe I will make a tutorial and put it on YouTube.

 Probably I will make lots more.

 In team colors or holiday themes.

 But one thing is for certain…..

 I'm going to put them on Pinterest!

Some of this, some of that

The morning started with teaching an appliqué class at Joann's.  Three sweet little girls learned to trace, iron and place an appliqué.  Next week we will zigzag it on and learn to make a little back pack.

Home at noon and I broke out an old project.  I want to design and create a geography quilt of my little town here south of Miami.  It has a long way to go, but here is a tiny preview.  It's on the contemporary side….new genre for me.

I spent about 30 minutes working on a project that I have long wished to begin.  An organization called Days For Girls http://daysforgirls.org provides sanitary napkin kits to young ladies in far off places.  It changes their lives.  I have started making kits.  I hope to spend a few minutes each day on this very worthy cause.  Sewists can, indeed change the world.

Then my daughter popped into my studio and asked me to make a choker for her with a little charm that she bought with her BFF.  We dug around till she settled on a black pique satin ribbon.  She was very pleased with the result.  10 minute project including routing around for ribbon.   I put a barrel type clasp on the ends so she can easily remove it.

What to do today...

I'm working on a commission for a t-shirt quilt.
Working on draperies for a child's room.
Working on some clothing alterations.
Wishing to start some new patchwork….some days the needs outweigh the wants.

On a happier note, I just completed two fun baby quilts.  The dog quilt is titled, "Good Boy", for my new nephew, Caleb.  The paper pieced dogs are from FonsandPorter.com.  The pinwheel quilt is for my new niece, Emery.  This cute little block is from www.missouriquiltco.com.  It's the easiest thing and a bit addicting I must say.  Kinda like grabbing one more cookie.  I find it hard to stop!

Pink Jeans

Yes, that's right, PINK jeans.  Today is the beginning of National Sewing Month.  You know that lights me up.  I saw an article in O Magazine www.theoprahmag.com about pink being the new pink or something like that.  I decided that I had to have pink jeans.

Joann's had a 50% off clearance sale and guess what?  They had a pink cotton, spandex blend for $3.00 per yard.  The pattern called for 2 1/8 yards so with $1.99 for the zipper, these sweet britches cost about  $9.00 with tax.

My Pink Jeans

I used Butterick (butterick.mccall.com) pattern number B5682 (http://butterick.mccall.com/search-pages-624.php?search_term=B5682&submit.x=0&submit.y=0). I chose the slim ankle length, View A.   I cut the size according to their sizing chart and at the first fitting, the pants were huge.  I had to take 8 inches out of the waist at the back and side and taper that down through the legs.  This is no small adjustment as each step requires surging,  edge stitching and top stitching.  I had only done this as far as the back seem so it could have been much worse if I had followed the directions all the way through.  I did have to move the back pockets as well because after taking four inches out of the back seam, the pockets touched.  That was weird.  Even with taking two inches out of each ankle, the fit is still rather loose.  They fit well now, but I wouldn't call them Slim by any estimate.

The directions were clear and easy to follow.  I have a great piece of pumpkin and navy toile that I want to use with this pattern.  I'll cut them two sizes smaller next time and hope for the best.

I think I will wear this with a white collared button down shirt and a scarf.  Can't wait.

Every quilter should.....Go

Here is  a little list of ten things every quilter must try.  Once you try it, take the time to perfect it.  The trying is the journey, the perfecting it the goal.  Either way, you will be enriched and your skill will grow and your quilts will be amazing.

1.  A miniature quilt.  It doesn't have to be complicated.  My first one was a six inch school house block.  The seams were 1/8".  I quilted and bound it just like a bed-sized quilt.  I gave it to a quilting friend who moved away.  She loved it.  Our friendship was sewn into that tiny quilt and my love went with her to her new home.

2.  Go to a quilting retreat.  Even if it is just a quilt-in-a-day.  Being totally immersed in a project with like minds is so relaxing and liberating.  You will return rejuvenated and full of inspiration.  If you can go away for a weekend or a whole week, it's even better.  Good luck with that.

3.  Hand piece an entire quilt.  Say whaaat?  I once read an article in a quilting magazine that suggested this.  I tossed the magazine in a basket and scoffed at it.  Yes, I actually scoffed..out loud.  Two years later, I cleaned out that basked and found the article again.  I felt that it had found me and blamed me for scoffing.  I put together a carrying case (one of those little clear plastic bags with a zipper that sheets come in; aren't they great?)  with needle, thread, tiny scissors, a dresden plate template, a marking pencil and a few bits of cloth.  I kept it in the car. Whenever I had to wait, I cut and pieced.  It turned into one of my favorite projects.  It's been 14 years, it's almost done and it is part of me and I it.  It holds the memories of doctors appointments, soccer practices, long car rides and too many Veggie-Tale movies.  Priceless!

4.  Curved piecing.  Everyone said it was easy.  It looked to me like a sure way to fail badly.  One day, I felt bigger than failure and made a template (afraid that if I bought one and failed that would be double failure).  Guess what?  It is so easy and fast and I made two baby quilts in one week.  And had to stop because my family was getting really hungry.  

5.  Pieced borders.  Anyone can cut strips of fabric and sew them onto the edges of quilts.  Personally, I like a little one-inch black border to frame my work and then one or two larger borders to pop the color and make the quilt bigger.  This is such a cop out.  Even if all you do is chop up your left-over scraps and sew them into long strips, your quilt will be enhanced ten-fold.  But pull up your big-girl panties and and do a few intricate borders.  There are jillions of border patterns out there.  Yes, I know you thought you were done piecing, but you are not.  A simple flying geese will take your quilt up twenty notches.  The Seminole patterns are stunning; make up your own.  There are not border police coming to check for historical correctness on this.  Bedazzle your quilt for goodness sake.

6.  Foundation piecing.  I will admit that I do not love this method.  To me it is cumbersome and it wastes fabric.  But it does bring another element to the game.  You might really enjoy it.  I find the shreds of paper at the end to be a bit annoying.  I guess I just love the accuracy of my 1/4" foot...we have a real thing going on.

7.  The "Y" seam.  Why, yes I am talking about hexagons, thank you for asking!  This is like a drug.  Just try to go to sleep once you have tried this.  Moda Bake Shop www.modabakeshop.com is coming out with pre-cuts.  I'm not sure that I can take it anymore.  Get a clear template that has multiple sizes printed onto it.  It is very easy to slide it around to get the size that you want.  It comes with directions that are one paragraph long. Make a small pillow and I predict that you will be hooked on this.  It's just so stinking adorable.

8.  An historical tribute.  I was at ground zero for Hurricane Andrew.  What a mess.  We were a month without electricity in Florida's summer heat and three months without phone...pre-cell phone era 1992.  Everything was crushed, crumpled and destroyed.  My Bernina had sea water in it.  Talk about devastating.  But quilters are special folks.  The local guild put out a challenge to make hurricane quilts.   My home was too devastated to sew in but I went to the quilt show where they were all on display and it lifted my spirits.  Some were filled with sorrow, some thankfulness for survival, some pure grief and some were really funny.  If you don't laugh,  well, you should.  When the power came back on  and the seaweed was cleaned out of the bobbin area, I began to heal through a quilt.  That quilt is raw emotion. I could control absolutely nothing at that time of my life, but I could command a needle to be precise and accurate and I began to heal.  I love spectacular amounts of color and I used the colors of mud, dust and fog in this.  That should tell you how I was feeling.

9.  Hand Applique.  I use freezer paper.  I will not judge you if you don't.  I learned this from a sweet lady named Bernice.  She taught with a heart template so you could learn points and cleavage.  We laughed our heads off.  Hand applique is a great way to center yourself after a stressful day.

10.  Clean out your stash.  Please forgive me but you will never use that poly-cotton blend with Strawberry Shortcake printed on it.  I know.   Trade it, donate it, anything.  Make room for something that you love.  Clear away the clutter and you will set yourself free.