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Great Granny Along Quilt

Ages ago -- like back in 2012 -- I joined the Great Granny Along.  The blocks were a lot of fun to make and I stitched up most of them in a frenzy.  Then they sat in a pile for months.  

After much procrastination, I cut the strips I needed to join them together and got stitching. It took me ages because of an unfounded fear. I thought that when I stitched the blocks -- which were on the bias -- to the strips, there would be lots of stretching and problems. In reality, it took a few more pins then I usually use, but nothing bad happened at all.

Another 6 months or so passed while I contemplated a border. I knew I wanted one because of the bias thing, but wasn't sure if plain or fancy was the way to go.  In the end I opted for plain and in only a couple of hours it was finished.

Thank you to Maddie for trying to hold up this quilt. She's been growing like a weed, but this quilt was still just a tiny bit to big for her reach.

As a side note... I tried to find the page for the quilt along, but things seem to have moved around in the last 2 years (go figure) and I ended up at a lot of broken links.  The flickr group still exists here. 

 

Quilt Progress

I finished up the squares for my latest quilt... well, almost finished.  I think that square in the lower righthand corner stands out a bit too much, so I'll probably trash it and make a new one.

In other news, we have started our school year -- 9th grade!  We're using the iPad a lot this year -- especially iBooks textbooks, which are interactive and include quizzes and reviews.  Very nice and much less expensive than a print textbook.  

I'm still looking for my next knitting project.  Time to go search Ravelry!

Granny-ing Along

I'm finding the Great Granny Along blocks to be addictive.  After sewing 12 of them, I'm more than happy to continue making more.  At this point I'm thinking 24 (for a 4X6 arrangement) or 25 (for a nice square quilt) is where I'll stop.

In other news, only one of the many sunflower seed I planted was nice enough to germinate.  I'm blaming it on the ridiculously dry weather.  I'm happy though becasue the one that did grow is gorgeous and appears to have quite a few buds.  Crazy drought.

Quilt Along

So, I stared another quilt and joined the Great Granny Along.  I've only finished one block, but I'm really having a lot of fun with it.  I love the scrappy feel and I'm trying to using a ton of different fabrics to mix things up.  I love the look of the quilt so much, that I actually dug into my stash of Flea Market Fancy fabrics.  Photos soon!

More than Just Eating Cake

Besides making delicious Hummingbird cake, I've been doing a little of this and a little of that.  I think I mentioned that I finished Maddie's quilt -- my first log cabin style quilt.  She was sick the day I finished it, and was very eager to wrap herself up in it, but I managed to snap a few photos. 

Here you can see the backing I found, and also see the simple quilting pattern I chose.  I've found that this size quilt is manageable on my little Pfaff, but anything bigger and the quilting becomes a serious chore.  If I stick with this quilting thing -- and it appears that it is rapidly becoming my creative outlet of choice -- I may need to look into a larger machine or something.

I've also been reading -- *a lot* -- so I need to do a post soon on the books I've read in the last few weeks before I forget them.  I have found that that blog has been my best source for keep track of my reading habits.  I've joined every book reading site (goodreads and such), tried a written journal, and even tried keeping a spreadsheet, but the blog seems to be the only place I religiously keep updated. 

Here's my little sickie, now nearly recovered, sitting on the warm radiator, wrapped in her new quilt.  It's always satisfying when a recipient of your crafty endeavors loves what you have made for them.

Mistakes

Did you ever continue working on something, knowing it just wasn't right, but hoping that it would be okay in the end?  That's exactly what I did with the binding on this quilt. 

This quilt was claimed by Maddie before I even finished the sewing, so I figured I'd save a lot of time and do a machine sewn binding.  While I do like the look of a hand sewn binding, I'm not that patient, and neither is Maddie.  I think last time I must have made my binding wider, or used a small seam allowance when sewing it to the front of the quilt.  I don't remember having any problems like I did this time. 

So, I sat and riiiiiipped the entire thing out, started over and this time I sewed the binding with the front of the quilt facing up.  Much better.

More photos of the completed quilt soon!

Jo-Ann Fabrics is a Scary Place on a Saturday Afternoon

We were out and about on Saturday, so I decided to stop at Jo-Ann Fabrics to see if they had the new Denyse Schmidt fabrics in stock.  They did, and at 30% off too!  I spent some time making my selections and had Pete carry them over the the cutting table.  I was shocked to see that there was quite a long line, but at this point I decided to stick it out and I got in line. 

There was one teenaged boy working the counter, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry.  The people around me in line were all in the same boat and everything was fairly civilized... until the nasty lady arrived.  See, we were all waiting in line like well behaved citizens -- they had a little "take a number" machine, but apparently the guy working the counter wasn't using it.  After all, there was a line and that was working out okay (although slowly). 

This woman comes up after we had been in line for about 30 minutes, takes a number and demands to be taken care of before all of us.  Seriously?!?!  She is going on and on -- making a big fuss.  Talking about systems being in place and how they must be used.  Good lord!  You almost had to feel sorry for her, she was so horrid.  In fact, it was getting very uncomfortable and those of us who had been in line for so long were just trying to ignore her for the most part. 

Eventually I got my fabric cut (not before the guy's price scanner/printer went dead -- it was quite an ordeal).  I love the colors in her new line, and am planning some sort of zig zag quilt which I will hopefully start soon. 

And next time, I think I'll buy my fabrics from Jo-Ann's online.  I don't think I can hack the intensity at the store!

A little quilting...

I finally finished up piecing the top of this little log cabin quilt.  Now I need to find some backing fabric, and determine if the two fat quarters I have will be enough for the binding. 

Other things I've been doing:

Making granola -- I don't think I ever posted my new and improved granola recipe.  Maybe tomorrow.

Eating Chocolate -- specifically Vosges Holiday Truffles.  See my review at the Chocolate Blog.

Sprucing up the house.  Went to IKEA and got some new things like this Matisse print for the vacant dining room wall.

I've also been reading, baking and watching too much Battlestar Galactica.  Thank you Netflix.

Progress on a couple fronts...

In the last 7 days, we have been without water and then power.  Things are back to normal now and I'm looking forward to a weekend of cooking, eating, relaxing and watching Harry Potter movies.  (It's hot here -- and I don't do heat well, so indoor activities are called for.)

Despite the troubles of the past week, I've made progress on my first log cabin quilt.  These 12 squares are just laid out together so I could get an idea of size.  I believe I have enough fabric to add another round to each block, which should get it to a more usable size.

And while it hasn't rained much here in the last several weeks, the garden is starting to show signs of activity.  Here is a little cuke that is starting to grow (thanks to my daily watering).  And this morning while picking strawberries, I saw a tiny green tomato.  Onions look like they need to be pulled up soon and I probably need to pull up a carrot to see if it's doing anything.  We can't seem to grow carrots very well here in our clay-ish soil, so my hopes are not high.  Oh, and also the baby bunny ate a bunch of the carrot tops when he/she was still small enough to get through the fencing around the garden. 

Time to go find a butterbeer recipe!

New Project

I've been wanting to try making a log cabin quilt for a long time, so when Modern Log Cabin Quilting came out, I grabbed a copy.  Of course, I'm not doing any particular project from the book, because that would be too easy.  Instead, I read the opening chapter that gives you hints and tips, grabbed a FQ bundle I had laying around and started stitching.

The blocks are going together quickly and easily, so I'm thinking there may be more log cabin quilts in my future.

Going in the Right Direction

I sewed up the scraps and now have a little mini quilt -- or maybe I'll incorporate it into a larger quilt -- but at any rate, I have made some progress on something and that's a start. 

A few books arrived in the mail yesterday, and one in particular has me planning another quilt...

Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal has been all over the blogs lately and I simply couldn't resist.  I ran out to B&N to grab a copy and -- get this -- they didn't have it.  Argh!  Why are "local" bookstores going out of business?  Because they aren't stocking the books people want. 

So, home I went, logged onto Amazon and ordered a copy.  It was cheaper ($14 vs. $23) and arrived in only a few days.  We already lost our nearest Borders, and I fear B&N is close behind. 

About the book... at first glance it looks fantastic.  Lots of great info on log cabin quilts up front and the projects are all updated versions of the traditional log cabin quilt.  There are even a few smaller projects in the back for those who just want to dabble. 

Look for a new quilting project coming soon -- looks like my crafting energy is on its way back!

Color Study

I've been feeling a bit uncreative lately.  After a tragic bout of spinning (or more accurately, plying), a large block of time spent browsing Ravelry and a couple hours of TV while looking at photos of quilts on Flickr, I was still uninspired.  So yesterday I took out my scraps and decided to see if anything would grab me.  I found these little colorful pieces that I bought *years* ago and started playing around with them and the color wheel.

I think today I'll sew some up and see what happens.  They are pretty tiny and once they are sewn together, they will make tiny little blocks, so a mini quilt is the best I can hope for.  At least it's a start though.  Maybe it will get me moving on a bigger project.

 

Hexagons and English Paper Piecing

This weekend I took a much needed trip to the local quilt shop to browse and get some inspiration.  I came home with a bunch of cream colored 1/4 yard cuts of fabric for a project I've been thinking about, some cream thread (boring, right?) and some tiny paper hexagons.  I've been wanting to try English paper piecing for a long while and I vowed that this year I would do some of these projects I've been thinking about. 

For me, 2010 was a thinking year.  I don't feel like much doing happened.  This year I want things to be different, which probably means less internet and more crafting, baking, homemaking and such. 

So back to the hexagons.  Maddie wanted to watch the 3rd LOTR movie, so I sat down with my bag o' scraps, the die cut hexies and a needle and thread.  And while I did discover that my eyes are so bad that threading a needle is pure torture which requires many minutes of squinting, attempting and mostly failing, I also discovered that I love this kind of handwork and I can mostly do it even with my bad eyesight. 

This is all sort of a revelation, because I had thought this kind of work was behind me.  I used to love piecework, cross stitch, embroidery and the like, but lately it is more distressing than relaxing since I just can't see well enough. 

So I'm going to continue with my hexies, and even try getting a new pair of glasses.  Hopefully this will get me moving on projects I can still do instead of worrying about projects I can't.

Complete Quilt

In spite of (or perhaps because of) the recent craziness around here, I managed to complete my latest quilt.  This was done using some of those charm packs, some white Kona Cotton (I think the actual name is "Snow") and little to no fancy technique. 

In fact, I didn't even hand sew the binding.  I simply sewed it onto the front, folded it over and machine stitched it all the way around.  You can see the front and back in the photo and judge for yourself.  In my opinion, it looks perfectly fine.  In fact, finishing up this quilt made me realize that I have to stop worrying about technique and lining up seams perfectly and just sew.  After all, I'm not entering my quilts in any competitions. 

Perhaps not the best photo, but here is the entire thing laid out.  I'm happy to say that while last night was quite chilly, I slept under this new quilt and was toasty and snugly. 

Next up is another quilt that has been lingering around here for a long while.  I'll have to drag out the pieces and see how much I have done so far.

Pinned

Yesterday my Mom took the grand kids for a day of fun, so I was without the child.  And what did I do with my freedom?  I crawled around no the floor,pinning a quilt together.  I guess this means I need to quilt it now.  I wish I had more confidence in my quilting skills, but shoving this large-ish quilt through my little Pfaff sounds like it will be a struggle.  Cant I just skip right to the binding? 

Summer is for Quilting

I'm not sure why, but as the weather gets warmer, I start thinking about quilting.  Recently I took out the quilt I started working on last summer and got to work.  

 

The top is complete, and I have even purchased the binding and backing fabric, as well as the batting.  

 

I love all the fancy backs that I've seen around the blogs, but I think I'm going simple on this one.  There is already enough bulk where the points on all those triangles come together, so I don't want to risk adding even more and causing myself difficulties in the quilting stage.

Let's see if I can keep up the momentum.

New EQ7 Coming out in May!

I've been using Electric Quilt Software for ages.  In fact, I posted about EQ5 way back in 2006.  I loved EQ5 and I hope to get a chance to try out the new EQ7 and share the goodness.  In fact, they are having giveaways on 10 blogs, and I'm hoping I'm one of them!  Fingers crossed!

My first Liberated Quiltmaking block

I mentioned yesterday that I was loving Gwen Marston's new book -- Liberated Quiltmaking II -- and here's proof!  I took out the scrap bag and just started playing.  It's fun and seems to work best when you stop thinking too much.  My only issue is having the iron and sewing machine in two different rooms, which slowed down progress considerably.

Oh, and the Pfaff is having serious tension issues.  Any suggestions on a fix?  I was going to Google it today in an attempt to accomplish a home repair, but I'm afraid this means a trip to the sewing machine repairman.  Boo.

Loving: Liberated Quiltmaking II

Liberated Quiltmaking II by Gwen Marston

I Love Flea Market Fancy

I love Denyse Schmidt's gorgeous Flea Market Fancy fabric and wish I could get my hands on some more of it someday, don't you?  If you answered yes, then the Flea Market Fancy Freaks website is the place for you.

Pinwheel Concept

I finally got a chance to finish trimming the pinwheel quilt blocks and I wanted to lay out a few of them to get an idea of how the finished quilt might look.

I started with four charm packs, using two to make blocks that are mixed up and two to make single fabric pinwheels. I decided early on that I would stagger these two types -- kinda an ordered chaos type of thing.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to finding a spot to lay out all 80 blocks, which I think I have to do if I want to get a good distribution of colors. While I'd love to be able to pick random blocks and just start sewing, I don't think I can do it. Perhaps it's my need for control or perfection (oldest sibling issues -- can't fight birth order). I'm not sure this week will give me much free time, but I'm really looking forward to finishing up this quilt top.

Work In Progress

There is something that I find extremely appealing about a pile of fabric scraps. Maybe it's the feeling of having accomplished something, yet I don't think that's entirely it. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Being somewhat late to the game (a sports metaphor -- will wonders never cease?), I recently discovered charm packs. Well, not so much discovered them since I knew they were out there -- I just didn't think they had any real purpose. Was I ever wrong! My least favorite aspect of quilting is the cutting -- I demand perfection of myself and labor over each cut. These charm packs remove this from the equation almost entirely. I did still have to cut up the white fabric, but that was a breeze in comparison to cutting up squares out of 40 different fabrics. Yikes!

When I was at the quilt shop the ladies there told me about a fun little tool called the Quick Quarter, which led me to making lots of triangles which I decided to turn into pinwheels. After going through one charm pack, I decided that this was so much fun that the originally planned mini quilt was to become a full sized quilt and luckily the quilt shop had several more packs of the came fabric in stock.

I have a feeling that this will be done soon as I can't seem to stop working on it!

Maddie is making her first quilt!

As Maddie turned 4, 5 and 6, I started to introduce crafts to her. While I saw a spark of interest now and again, nothing really seemed to stick. At 7 I took a step back and waited. Now she's 8 and suddenly she's turned crafty!! First there was the potholder business ( which is still going strong! She's sold 4 potholders through etsy and now she's making some for Grandma.) and this past week she started sewing. Be still my heart.

We stopped by the local fabric shop -- Robert's Sewing Center -- after a failed trip to an estate sale that was a total dud. We were looking at all the pre-cut Moda packs and she fell in love with the Fresh Picked fabric pack and I told her she could get it and try sewing on the machine. She was nervous at first, but soon she was off and running! She's sewed 3 strips of her 6 strip quilt already and has plans to make a pillow after finishing her quilt.  I'm so proud of her!

Quilt Inspiration

I recently found this zag quilt tutorial and haven't been able to get it out of my head. Perhaps I'll have to start cutting out some squares this week.

Cute Teapot Quilt Tutorial

I've been thoroughly enjoying the goings on at Pink Penguin lately -- everything from the whimsical teapots to the cute pincushions. So I was very excited to see that she shared a tutorial for the teapot quilt squares on her blog today! Really, you should stop by and take a look at her blog if you don't already subscribe -- very cute stuff!

Maddie's Quilt is Finished!

I don't think I've mentioned it here on the blog, but I've been making an effort to finish up projects that have been sitting around for a while. First there were the STR socks and now I have finished Maddie's Quilt! This was a long time coming as I started it back in July. (And sadly, called it a "quick quilt" -- 5 months doesn't seem very "quick" to me.)

It was a great way to use up a lot of FQ's and scraps and was very simple to make. I did learn that I need to find a new technique for quilting on my little Pfaff -- or I need to get a bigger one -- because pushing this monster through that machine nearly did me in.

And I changed stitches partway through the hand sewing of the binding. At first I was using some sort of blind stitch, I think. For the final stretch I changed my technique, sitting with the binding toward me and the back up and I worked from right to left using a ladder stitch. It was much quicker and looked just as neat. I'm also glad I went for the black binding, I think it gives it some nice contrast and a little more interest than it would have had if I went for another pastel.

Maddie seems to like it and that's really the best part about finishing it up.  And now I need to block out the Keepsake Shawl which is another recent finish.  Looks like 2009 is going to be wide open for new projects and this rate!

Coins Quilt Top Complete

Quilt #1 from Piecing the Piece O'Cake Way is complete!  Well, to be more precise, the top is complete.  I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with all these tops since my fear of machine quilting hasn't quite subsided.  Perhaps I'll find a local class that gets me more comfortable with it -- and maybe I'll bite the bullet and get the larger machine I need for quilting.  In the long run it would be less expensive then sending these quilts out to be quilted by someone else and the reality is that if I decided to hand quilt them, they would never get done. 

The final sewing -- with the borders and sashing -- went very smoothly.  Even though the size was off by 1 in. I was consistent in my errors so there were no adjustments to be made other than to cut the sashing and borders a bit longer than the pattern specified.  I'm already feeling more confident in my piecing and I'm looking forward to the next project -- a log cabin quilt!

Coins Quilt Progress

Last weekend I found some time to stitch together the strips for my coins quilt -- paying special attention to the seam allowances.  Despite my best efforts and the use of a 1/2 in. foot on my machine, my final strips are 1 in. too long!  Each step along the way I measured and adjusted and re-measured.  A little math explains the difference -- there are 26 pieces in each strip for a total of 25 seams.  So each seam is off by only .04 inches.  I suppose no matter how well I measured, this small difference was bound to go undetected.  And I can't really determine if the difference was in the cutting or the sewing. 

At least I can take solace in the fact that all of the three strips are the same size.  So I'll just have to cut the middle strips and side borders one inch longer.

Here's my question to all experienced quilters out there.  Is this acceptable?  Or should I be worried about this 1 inch difference?  In the end, I guess the simple fact is that I really did try to get the seams exact and I was still off, so I probably have to live with it.

In other news, thrifting season has begun!  While there haven't been too many garage sales yet, the church rummage sales are in full swing and today I picked up these sweaters for $1 each.  Two are cashmere and the other is 100% wool.  Combined with some thrifted sweaters I got last summer and the bag of colorful scraps I purchased from Betz, I'm ready to try out some projects from Warm Fuzzies!

There are a few more sales tomorrow, so we'll see what they bring.  Last weekend I missed out on 2 looms at a church sale -- and we arrived only shortly after the sale began.  Tomorrow we're getting up bright and early!

Quilt Strips

As I begin to work my way through Piecing the Piece O'Cake Way the first skill I have encountered is rotary cutting -- specifically cutting strips.  Now I've done rotary cutting before and it seems that everyone has their own way to go about doing it, but I think that focusing only on the way in the book was good for me.  Before this I had my own method which was confused by the quilting teacher that I took a class from about 1 1/2 years ago -- leaving my method a mixed up, sloppy mess.  So I think it was good for me to really focus on this one simple skill without distraction. 

Next skill -- accurate 1/4" seam allowances.

Piecing step by step

I mentioned that I was awaiting the arrival of Piecing the Piece O'Cake Way: 17 Skill-Building Projects a while back -- well, it's here and I really like the look of it.  In fact, I've chosen my fabric for the first of those 17 skill building projects -- the Chinese Coins quilt. 

This book starts off with a lot of useful information about choosing fabrics, sewing machine usage, seam allowances, bindings, etc., and I was able to sit down and read through it easily.  There are plenty of photos to help explain things and I did learn a thing or two -- like that you should never pull the thread back through your machine -- always cut it off at the spool and pull it down through the mechanism.  I did not know this!

After the info, they present the quilts which are all made up in a manageable size (although they do provide instructions for sizing up) and are presented in several colorways.  As you would expect, skill level advances as you continue through the book with things such as curved piecing and complex stars toward the end.

I'm looking forward to working on the Chinese Coins quilt because it should be well within my comfort level and allow me to really focus on the details.  Progress pictures as soon as I get started.  I'm still recovering from the lovely stomach flu that hit me on Monday, so I need to take it easy this week.

Quilting Goals

Looking around the still torn apart spare room, I spotted something. . . a UFO that definitely needed my attention and soon.  Which brings me to today's craft:

Last year I did make some progress and actually finished a couple of quilts.  But the "quick and easy" quilt I was making for Maddie has languished.  (I started it back in July.)  The quilting was a *terrible* ordeal!!!!  My little sewing machine was not up to the task, but I ventured on -- machine quilting it on my little Pfaff.  Never again.  I'll either purchase a larger machine made for quilting or send out the next quilt because this nearly did me in. 

So, after an argument with Maddie in the fabric shop (this quilt was neither quick nor easy in retrospect!) we decided on the binding and I machine sewed it onto the front of the quilt.  Now I just need to hand sew it to the back and it will be all done.  I'm thinking this will be my TV project for the next month.

Other quilting goals include getting to work on the "quilt block a day" quilt which I have completely abandoned since around February of last year.  And I would also like to make a quilt for the family room that I can snuggle in while lazing on the couch.  (Using fabric from the stash, of course -- leading to another goal I'll talk about another day.)

Quick Quilt

Last week I washed a ton of my quilting fabric -- like 4 loads of it.  So over the weekend I had a lot of fabric to play with.  My goal was to make a quick, easy quilt top without using any pattern.  I separated out the pinks and blues and started cutting up strips.  The darkest were cut in 5 1/2" strips, mediums in 4 1/2" strips and lights in 2 1/2" strips.   After that I just started randomly sewing strips of the same width together.  It was very convenient that our bedroom floor is huge because I quickly outgrew the floor of the sewing (/writing/spare bed) room. 

After I arranged them how I wanted them -- making sure that no seams met anywhere by adding a bit to one end of a strip here and there -- I ironed the strips and started sewing them together -- taking 4 at a time and sewing 2 sets of two together and then sewing these to each other.  At the end I sewed the sets of 4 strips to each other and was all finished before dinner! 

I just need to find a backing and get this pinned and quilted.  Maddie has her eye on it -- flattering me by telling me how beautiful it is -- so I think it will probably go to her.  After all, if you know me and my color preferences (think autumn) you know that this would go absolutely no where in my house other than Maddie's room.  wish me luck quilting this monster on my little Pfaff!

Joel Dewberry Fabrics

The Joel Dewberry fabrics are up on the Westminster Fabrics site. There are so many that I love, but the one pictured here really stood out for me. I cannot wait to see this fabric in person!

Baby Quilt for TJQ!

My sister's baby shower was this past weekend, so I can finally show you what I've been spending a lot of my crafting time on!

I made her this baby quilt.  Here's the back:

I had a lot of fun making this -- baby quilts are pretty managable and I was able to quilt it on my sewing machine much more easily than my first quilt (which I don't think I've ever posted a photo of!)  Here are some "in process" shots:

Back taped right side down to the floor.

Here's the whole "quilt sandwich".

I used masking tape to get nice straight lines for the quilting

After quilting I give the whole thing a nice trim.

Binding machine sewn on one side.

After this point I simply hand-stitched the binding onto the back of the quilt.  Okay, I say simply, but it took so long!  It was good practice though and I felt like I was getting quicker near the end. 

I was so happy with this project that I've decided I might make a few more to sell.  I need to see how much time it actually takes me from start to finish, so one of the next projects on the list is making another one and keeping records of time and costs.  I'm kind of excited about it!

busy, red fabric, henna questions

I've been busy with work -- packing up orders for Stamping Online (my rubber stamp store) and making patterns for Black Sheep Bags.  However, I did sneak in some time for a little fabric shopping.  Do you see that bag on the left?  Well, here's what's inside:

Those are some fun red prints for my next quilt project -- a red and white quilt.  I love the graphic loveliness of this combo and have been itching to try one, so I'm starting to collect 1/4 yards and fq's in different red/white prints.  Oh -- and I had to pick up that orange print and those little remnants.  I'm thinking there will also be a 30's, Aunt Grace-ish, quilt in the future too!

Time to get back to work -- more packing and shipping to do!

Two New Quilt Blocks & a note about Stitch-Cast

Two new quilt blocks in the Flickr set.

And I'm thinking of starting to record some new episodes of Stitch-Cast now that I have my crafting mojo back. I'll probably go with a bit looser format -- talking about whatever strikes my fancy each week -- but I'd love to hear any show ideas you have. Is there a craft that you want to know more about? I'm willing to go find out about it for you! Just leave me a comment or email me (email link is up at the top of the right hand sidebar.

Pieces

While I haven't completed a quilt block in the last few days, I'm all set to get one finished today (and hopefully several this weekend).  I spent some time cutting and have quite a few pieces to show for my efforts.  I'm looking forward to sitting down at the machine and getting some sewing done, but I need to take a trip out to the quilt shop to get some thread first -- a minor roadblock.

I've been thinking of sewing a lot lately (when I'm not thinking about cross stitch) and I wanted to share a new book with you.  I purchased this a few weeks ago and have been meaning to write about it, but time has gotten away from me:

The book is called Simple Sewing with a French Twist and is written by Celine Dupuy.  There are a huge number of projects in it -- everything from simple bags and aprons to upholstery and home dec projects. 

The first section of the book is an illustrated sewing guide that coveres everything from handstitching an opening to inserting a zipper.  French seams are covered too -- which I appreciate because I always have to search the internet to remember how to do them! 

The middle part is filled with the projects which are divided into several sections including a "First Steps" chapter filled with simple projects -- perfect for a beginner, but fun for even an advanced seamstress.  There are also projects for the kitchen, bath, bedroom and even the garden!

The final section is devoted to fabric selection and she includes a list of suppliers, which is very useful if you want to duplicate the projects exactly as pictured.

There is so much in this book that it is fun just to page through it -- many projects can be adapted as you wish and are an inspiration from which to plan other projects.  Lots of photos and diagrams make this a joy to page through and remind me a bit of some of the Japanese craft books that I love so much.

Speaking of Japanese craft books -- I need to find time to give you a peek into the stack of the ones I received last week!

Not Quite Block-a-Day

Well, I haven't made a block *every* day, but I'm still keeping up with it on a pretty regular basis.  (As always, all blocks are here in my Flickr set.)  In fact, I cut out some of the plain squares today so I could get a little glimpse of what the quilt will look like when I'm all finished.  What do you think?

I'm back!

Quilt Block a Day is not dead!  Yesterday I was sore from the accident (Very stiff and my neck was aching), but today I'm much better (still achy neck, but all other stiffness is gone.)  So I'm back to quilting -- yipee!

As always, all quilt block are in my Flickr set.

So busy -- bad lighting

I was so busy today that I didn't get my block made until just now and it's already dark -- thus the lousy photo w/ flash. Today I didn't have any cutting to do (thank goodness!) and this block took very little time to put together.

I'm enjoying doing the quilt block a day thing even more than I thought I would. It's like I have a little something crafty to show for my day even on a busy day. It's just a little thing to do one block and I'm having no trouble fitting it into my schedule which is nice.

Oh -- I've posted more chocolate bar reviews over at the chocolate blog -- curry & chocolate is today's theme!

Now this is fun!

Okay -- something a little different!  Today I made my first "complicated" quilt block.  I can hear the seasoned quilters laughing at me -- but it's the trickiest block I've made to date so I am calling it complicated.

My biggest fear was getting the corners to line up properly and I guess my insane quest for prefect cutting paid off, because everything lines up nicely.  Whew!

My second worry was that my seam allowances wouldn't be right and the block would end up too small.  All is well though -- I actually had a smidge extra to cut off to square it up and the block now measures 12 1/2 X 12 1/2.  Whew, again!

While these are a bit more work than the blocks for my other quilt, they don't take all that much time and I feel like I could have this quilt top finished up before long.  Yeah!

And on the 7th day. . .

I made strips.  No quilt blocks today, but really the whole idea was to get me quilting/sewing every day and I definitely put in my time today.

For me the worst part is the cutting -- I get so crazy over it!  I try to make everything perfect, but I have a terrible ruler (must put that on my list next time I visit a quilt shop) and I get stressed out.  I also don't have a good cutting table, so I do it on my packing table which is too low -- back pain ensues.

But after all that cutting I got to sew together these strips and that was the fun part.  I should have plenty of strips to get me through the week, so stay tuned for my attempt at some 4 patches!

Study in browns & golds

Block #5 looks a lot like Block #2, so I thought today I would spare you the quilt block photo and instead show you a little something I've been working on.  (All blocks are in my Quilt Block a Day Flickr set.)

I mentioned a while ago that I have EQ5 (Electric Quilt v5) and that's what I used to design the quilt that  I've been working on lately.  The blocks are very simple because it was the first quilt I designed and only the second quilt I have made.  Now I'm starting to think that I need something just slightly more challenging -- so I worked up a new design!

This isn't much more difficult, but there will be some corners that have to meet in a nice lined up way -- so it's a step forward for me.  I'm using more Denyse Schmidt fabric -- but this time I'm pairing it with Espresso Kona Cotton (vs. white -- well, "Snow" is the exact color if I remember correctly.)

So hopefully some new blocks soon.  I'm just waiting for the Espresso fabric to go through the wash -- why I didn't wash it the moment it entered the house, I don't know.  Now I have to wait -- maybe this will make me learn my lesson.

I know they look the same. . .

I promise this is different than yesterday's block even though it looks the same.  (If you want to see all the blocks -- they are in my Quilt Block a Day Flickr set.

And if you are interested in hearing about the Coffee Crisp than stop by the Chocolate Blog.

21 days?!?

So it sounds like it takes somewhere between 21 days and a month to form a new habit.  Well, I'm on day 4 so I guess I have a way to go yet.  This is actually quilt block 3 which I made yesterday -- so I'm still on track with the block making but I'm behind with the posting already.

I've had a question about the pattern I'm using.  I actually made up the design myself and posted about it way back in April of last year.  The fabrics are Denise Schmidt Flea Market Fancy paired with Kona Cotton (the solids). 

I realize that these block are a bit boring since they are just a square in a square.  I'm thinking about starting up a second quilt so that I can have something a bit more challenging to work on when the mood strikes.  Looks like it's time to pull out the quilting magazines for some inspiration!

Quilt Block a Day - Day 2

I made it to day 2!  How many days does it take for something to becaome a habit?

Quilt Block a Day

I have a new project -- Quilt Block a Day. As the name suggests, I plan to make a quilt block every day this year. I'm starting a bit late, but I had a pile 'o blocks:

from the quilt I started last year. And I'm not much for the New Years resolution thing, so I'm starting it today (well, yesterday really.) I'll also be keeping the quilt block photos in a Flickr photo set.

Oh, this all came about because I was showing Pete the Gammill website and threatening to purchase a quilting machine. He said that if I finished 10 quilts this year, I could get one. Okay, I still probably wouldn't buy a Gammill -- they are a bit out of my price range. Although I love the pink one! If this comes to pass, I'll probably opt for a short arm like the Pfaff GrandQuilter. Hey, I can dream, right?

Quilt Obsessed -- please help!

Yesterday Material Obsession had this post which shows a bunch of beautiful completed quilts. Well, the one at the top just blew me away! It's from a pattern called Candied Hexagons that was in an issue of an Australian quilting magazine called Quilters Companion. Here's the issue with the same quilt right on the cover:

Now I think this is issue #18 maybe? And I want it!! I would really like to make this quilt! I've been looking for a quilt that I could hand piece -- a TV project that I could work on a bit each night. I think this may be just the thing. I can't stop thinking about it. If you know how I can get a hold of this issue, or if you have a copy you are willing to part with, I would love to do a trade or something!

Whoa, I love that quilt!!

WIP Confessional

It's time to lay it all out.  Well not all. . . I know I have more wip's than I'm showing here, but these are the ones I'll probably finish.  (Well mostly. . .)

Keepsake Shawl knit in many colors of Koigu.  I started this in 2004, I believe and I came up with a great system for knitting it so that I could just pick it up and remember exactly which yarn to use and which row I was on.  So why does is sit?  Who knows.  I really want to finish this one up, so I think I will make it my #1 knitting priority.

Ingeborg, oh Ingeborg.  I started you back when the knit-along began.  Was that 2004 also?  And every winter I pick you up and get re-invigorated . . . for about 15-20 rows.  Maybe this will be they year that you get finished!

Trekking socks started for the "Trek along with Me" knit-along.  I never did take a picture of me trekking along.  Is it still going on?  I'm *awful* with knit-alongs (see Ingeborg above) and should never, ever join them.  These socks will get finished though.  I love Trekking yarn!  It just takes me several months to finish a pair.

New felted bag design I'm playing around with.  It's a smallish bag and I'll finish it up in the next week or two.

What is this thing????  Why am I making it?  Okay, this is the Amineko and I decided to make it with Encore from the stash.  I should have gotten a different yarn.  I didn't really want a red cat and I don't really care for this yarn, so I never work on this project and the featureless head is all that has been made.  Time to rip this one out and start over with a new yarn, I think.  This was my only crochet project in the works and it's a failure.  Ugh!

Oh!  My quilt!  I love these fabrics and want to get back to work on this soon.  The last month has been so busy and I really need time when I want to quilt, so this has been neglected.  I know that cooler, quieter weekends are on the way though, so it will progress!

Mountain Colors woven scarf.  I love how the weaver's wool from Mt. Colors is sort of striping, sort of not in this scarf.  A free hour or two and some good podcasts to listen to and this will be finished!

I'm still making good progress on that lovely pink fiber from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  The third bobbin is well on it's way to getting filled up and then it's on to plying.  I have no doubt that this will be finished up very soon.

Paradigm Lost cross-stitch sampler.  I often want to work on this but there are several impediments to my progress -- First, I don't have good lighting pretty much anywhere in the house and I really need it to work with this dark thread on linen.  Second, it's in a small basket, so I have to keep it stored off it's stretcher bars.  So I can't just pick it up and stitch a bit -- it requires set up time.  Third, my eyes get tired at night and that's usually when I find time to craft.  Hmmm. . .

Elsa Williams Jacobean Crewel Embroidery.  Not sure why this has stalled, other than the fact that I have so much going on. 

I realized that I haven't listed the Kumihimo braid I'm working on either.  And I'm sure there are other things.  Maybe posting photos of my wip's on a regular basis will get me excited about them again.  It seems to have worked.  I'm already looking forward to getting in some rows on the Keepsake Shawl!

In other news, guess what tomorrow is.  It's not my birthday, or wedding anniversary, but it is *an* anniversary for me. . .

Sewing results (with some chocolate and a kitty on the side)

On Saturday I cut, pressed, sewed, pressed, sewed, pressed, sewed some more . . . you get the idea.  Pretty soon it was evening and I realized I hadn't eaten or anything!  (And had a terrible migraine to show for it -- yikes!)  But I did get a good start on my quilt. 

There was a minor set back when I realized that my strip cutting method was not as accurate as I hoped.  I can sew a lovely seam, but the cutting part freaks me out!  They always seem to gloss over that part in the books and classes and I still haven't figured out how to get it quite right.  So after Squaring up, my blocks were 1/4 in. smaller than I planned.  That's okay though, I'm designing the quilt, so it's not like I have to adjust things to fit a pattern. 

I have quite a few blocks finished.  And to tell the truth, I'm not sure how many I'm going to make.  I want to make this large enough for our queen size bed and there will be sashing between the blocks.  (You can see the original plans here.)  So I guess I should do some calculating.

In other news, Amy sent me a wonderful gift of chocolate! 

They are chocolate covered cacao nibs from Scharffen Berger Choclate.  As usual, I'll give a full review when I finish them -- all I'll say for now is that they are highly addictive.  Thanks, Amy!

And I leave you with a picture of Spike, who has been my constant companion this past weekend.  Here he is sleeping on the bottom shelf on the bookshelf in my office (yes, I actually cleaned off an entire shelf in my office!)