Sugar Stars, Baby!

Picture time!

2009-11-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

Update on the design wall contents...

Here's a better pic of the disappear nine-patch that still occupies one of my walls. It doesn't need to be there, since it's all sewn together, but I like to look at it. I also just noticed a boo-boo in the bottom row. Oh well, it's going to be quilted like that! :)

On my other wall, there's my Kaffe Fassett. Only the rows are sewn together, because this dummy needs to buy more white for sashing. ::smacks forehead:: I'm a little concerned about the orange being too bright for 2 or 3 of the squares, but maybe the white will help to tone it down a bit. Have I ever mentioned orange is like a neutral to me? I love it.

On a non-quilting note, here's a knit dress I finished. Originally it was going to be for a friend's baby, but since the baby's here now, it doesn't fit her personality. :) So I'm selling it.

I've had to put my pretty/crazy quilt on hold for a bit to work on a hockey blankie for a present. My middle finger looks like a pincushion, even with a band-aid for protection. I finally modified a leather thimble to work, but it's still slow going. ::sigh:: The things you do for family...or just to make something hockey related. :)

::sigh::

2009-11-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

These are the days I wish I could afford to send *all* of my flimsies to a longarmer.
Having to piece a backing because it's 3" too short widthwise.
Batting is about 2" too short widthwise.
Batting is some pretty thick 8oz stuff from JoAnn's, because neither store near me had the 4oz batting that was on sale.
I ran out of safety pins to baste the layers together.
I decided to try out my idea of basting on a wall so I could work without my dog helping. :) Worked pretty well, except I needed a chair to work near the top. Oh, and the backing needs to be less than 84" or so, otherwise it's touching the floor. Where the dog hair is.
I'm straight line quilting this baby...I could quilt the batt down, but I think I might kill myself first.
My machine's bobbins hate me. They always run out of thread at the worst times.

The big positive to what I'm working on is that I *love* the quilt I'm working on, super thick batt and all. It's orange, green, pink, purple, and teal, it's crazy and has gingham and stripes and circles...it's all mine. This is the quilt that my sister thought was going to be crazy when she saw my fabric combination, but wanted it for herself when she saw the flimsy put together. Thinking about it, this is the 3rd top she's wanted that she thought was going to be ugly or weird. ;)

Some completed projects!

2009-11-13T16:36:00.001-08:00

I finally have pics from the Disappearing Nine-Patch quilt I finished a few weeks ago. It's small, about 30x30 inches, so I decided to give it to the cat. :) These are cell phone pics, so they're not great, but I think he likes it.

It has a lot of burgundy and dark red in the top, so I backed it with dark green fleece and quilted it on my machine. It's finished with a green and white gingham binding. He's slept on it every afternoon/evening since he received it while he waits for my sister to get home from work. He's a cute little old man, isn't he? This was my cat who liked to pee on fabrics when he would "assist" my sewing. Luckily, he didn't get many of them!

Before my sister surprised me with a trip to Denver (at the end of January), I finished this flannel and fleece blanket for our annual trip to the Texas Rangers' Fan Fest. If the Rangers have it scheduled for the last week of January, technically we can still go, but it might not happen. Last year was *so* cold and windy, and I wanted to be prepared this year with something warmer than a thermal and jersey! It's based on this Piece 'N Quilt design. Instead of using jelly roll strips, I used 18 3" wide strips from 9 different flannels, a lengthwise strip of light green striped flannel, and green mottled flannel for borders. All from the stash--awesome. I still want to applique some stars or flowers in the lengthwise strip, but I'm going to have to steal it from my mom--she's been using it as an extra blanket at night. The backing is teal, purple, and lime green fleece pieced together, and the binding is pink gingham flannel. (I love gingham--can you tell?)

While looking for a book today, I came across these glass ornaments--the type you decorate yourself. I decided to put those slivers of fabric from squaring up blocks and dog ears to some good use.

Both contain scraps from my Kaffe quilt--the left one from the teal bordered blocks and the right one from the orange bordered blocks. There's also some scrap batting in there to help poof them up a little. I've finished another one with snippets from my kaleidoscope quilt I've started, and started a fourth one with slivers and dog ears from my sister's birthday quilt. (I've finally decided on a design and completed 2 of 20 blocks--pics soon)

Challenge completed!

2009-11-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

I finally finished my One Charm Pack Doll Quilt...

Here's the closeup of the hand quilting...sorry about the lighting. It was either no flash and the pic a bit darker or the flash whiting it out--not a good thing when you want to show detail!

I made it with a Mill House Inn charm pack. I was really surprised how hard it was to find charm packs around here. My original plan was to go to a quilt shop about 5 minutes away to buy one (I've been there 3 times in 10+ years-rude, rude people) since I had a gift certificate to use. After getting no help, I finally found one pack--I don't remember the name of it, but it looked like Civil War repros and had 25 squares for $10. Seeing as this girl is on a tight budget, that just wouldn't do. :) So I used my gift certificate on some scrap bags, and wandered over to another shop about 20 minutes away. I wasn't sure if they had charm packs, but since they're on the Fab Shop Hop, I thought they might. Whereas the other store had about 6 different jelly rolls and the 1 charm pack, this store only had 1 charm pack, 1 type of jelly roll (Wicasset?), and the Rouenneries pack. Seeing as this charm pack had 42 squares for $9, I was much happier. Nevermind that I could have used my GC at the other shop and saved gas and cash getting the charms from the other shop...

This shop (Sew Contempo) had much nicer employees, and that counts a lot on where I spend my money. Maybe because the ladies were closer to my age? I'm not sure. I went to the first QS when I was about 20 and they first opened up--I got followed around, asked a half dozen times if someone could help me (not in a polite way either!), and when I settled on getting some pieces from the scrap bin, the lady checking me out was very dismissive ("Oh, I see you've settled on some scraps...") I went back several weeks later with my sister to see if it was just my imagination. She looked more "conventional" than I did at the time (I had blue streaks in my hair, eyebrow piercing, 3 piercings in each ear, band shirts, platform boots...you get the idea. She was more soccer-mom-in-the-making) so if they were rude to her too, I wasn't going to go back ever. We bought 2 or 3 yards of fabric, and when we left, she asked if they were always that b****y. Nice to know that 10 years later, they're still the same. ::eyeroll:: They've opened a 2nd location closer to me here in The Woodlands, and I'm tempted to check it out. The only reason I went to the original location is because I was visiting my mom that day.

Ugh, I didn't want this to turn into a rant on the evil store. This is a good example of why chain stores get more money from younger sewers though. I can walk into JoAnn's or Hancock's, get my fabric, not be followed around as I browse, and not pay through the nose in the end. I'm trying to buy more from the independent quilt shops, but I'm not going to patronize one that has that snooty attitude. The ones I've dealt with online have been awesome, and hopefully, I'll be able to visit the actual store someday and not get a bad feeling when I go. I'm always polite and smile, even when someone is rude to my face (my mama taught me right!), but I don't like having to take rudeness just to get some Amy Butler or Kaffe Fassett fabric. ;)

Rescue complete!

2009-11-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today, I just needed a break. I've been working on my One Pack Doll Quilt for Vickie's giveaway, for about 2 days now (I can't believe how hard it was to find a Moda charm square pack around here!) and my finger's a bit sore from the quilting. Granted, it's my own fault to do more hand quilting than necessary, but I figure I need the practice. :)

So I went to the library, looked for some new ideas for my sister's Christmas gift (she's been asking for a new quilt for about 3 years now?), was disappointed that the copy machine was out of order so I couldn't copy a layout from Kaffe Fassett's Glorious Patchwork...

On my way back home, I noticed the resale shop that I thought was closed was actually open! (They're open 3 days a week, but sometimes closed on days they're supposed to be open--it's a little church-run store). Wandering inside, I looked at men's shirts for some cute patterns to cut up. Not really finding anything useful, I wandered to other parts of the shop. I found an Astros giveaway bag that would be cute to use next season instead of my purse for game days, and then made my way over to the bedding area of the shop, hoping to find an old blanket to use as batting. I found something much, much better...

Take a look as this double-knit beauty! It's a full sized coverlet, with foundation-pieced blocks and the pinkish-salmon double knit to hang down the sides. Whoever made this also embroidered along some of the strips different designs--feather stitching, stars, etc. Some of the floss needs to be restitched, and it needs a proper backing, but this is going to be my outdoor baseball game blankie! When we travel up to Round Rock, I like the berm seating, and last time, my sister and I took some lap quilts to sit on. I think this little lady will handle a dirty ground just fine.

Since she doesn't have a backing, I'm going to take the pink off the sides to piece together a back, and tack quilt it in place. My fingers will probably hurt (I've tried 5 different thimbles with no success!), but it will be worth it in the end. :) I love the patterns and colors, and this little lady just grabbed me and said "take me home!" The price had already been marked down from $7.50 to $3.00, so I guess it was just good timing. I know some people wouldn't even consider buying a double-knit quilt, but she's got a purpose now.

If I had more cash on me, I also would have picked up a hand appliqued fall leaf wall hanging. I'm not big on wall hangings, but I do like to "rescue" someone else's handwork. I had to become very picky on baby afghans, because there are a lot of those floating around, but the quilts aren't too common at this shop.

Quickie post...

2009-11-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

My Kaffe blocks are back on the design wall, and they're in the process of getting solid borders and white sashings...I love the look so far! I've run out of teal (got 3 of 5 rows complete), so 1 row will definitely be orange, but what about the 4th row? Maybe brown? I really don't want to head out to Hobby Lobby again and try to find more of the orange. :/

Another concern I just thought of--can I keep a quilt with this much white clean? :) Pretty much all of my finished quilts have very little white in them, just because I don't want them to "show" they're not perfectly clean. I'm guessing Oxyclean will be an addition to washings from now on--3 of my UFOs on my "git 'em done!" list have large white areas.

I've been cleaning out the room that used to be my sewing room--when my sister moved out, I claimed her bedroom as my new room. :) At least I can sew at night now! Anyways...I'm clearing out the room to use as a 2nd sewing room/studio. I've already put up a new design wall, and it provides me floor space to baste quilts without too much help from the dog. :) He's cute, but when he sees fabric on the floor, he thinks it's for him to sleep on!

The other benefit to this room--the long desk that I can use for quilting! I can't move it to the other room because of angles and stuff, so if I can get a 2nd machine fully operational, I'll be able to piece in one room and quilt in the other!

So much for a quickie...here's another giveaway that's going on--Sweet Home Quilt Co is cleaning out too! I'm sad I missed out on last week--I added them to my blogroll, but forgot to leave comments! Ooh, and Sunflower Quilts is celebrating her first blogiversary with a giveaway, so go by and say hello!

Giveaway alert

2009-11-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

Jaybird is hosting a giveaway to commemorate her 100th blog post! Since I think this is #14 for me, 100 sounds awesome!

Playing with my new design wall...

2009-11-04T22:11:00.001-08:00

Well, this isn't a good pic by any stretch of the imagination, but here is my latest quilt top center finished...

It's a disappearing nine patch in shades of blue, pink, green, purple, teal...lots of batik/hand dyed looking fabrics in there, along with abstract prints and star prints. :) I tried to be spontaneous with this top, just to see if I could. It's almost a charm quilt, but two of the squares used were the same (a dark green with gold pindots). If there wasn't that repeat, could it be considered a charm quilt? Even if some of the fabrics appear two or four times? Hmm.

I started out with 6.5" squares collected a *long* time ago in a big swap. I had a stack of maybe 300-400 squares put up, and I started to separate them out with all intentions of using them in something. I have an all blue pile (separate from the all blue pile that was used for drunkard's path blocks), a novelty pile, a baseball themed pile, a autumnal pile that was already turned into a tumbler top, and other smaller piles that are meant for small projects. This pile was for all of the really "pretty" fabrics--bright, lots of colors, batik or hand dyed looking...I added from other piles to get to my 81 squares needed for my top.

Instead of taking a lot of time to position and reposition squares among each nine patch, I just grabbed my stack and laid out 9 groups--not paying attention to what went into each group. Then I took each pile to the machine, and selected 4 fabrics that I wanted to be the main squares, 1 to be the center (so repeated 4 times), and the other 4 were used as the slicer squares. There's a lot of blue-blue, green-green, etc because of this, but I like the look. It was hard to plan the nine patches as much as I would allow myself because there wasn't always a good 5-4 split of lights/darks, blues/pinks, whatever.

After my nine patches were sewn (measured around 18.5" square), I sliced them in half both ways. Then it was off to the design wall to audition spots. I split the pile into light/dark main squares, then alternated them on the wall, up or down with the small square on the left, then up and down with the small square on the right for the following row. Not too complicated. The only "control" I had over placement was not putting two of the same fabric next to each other. I pinned them to the wall (my flannel doesn't stick as well as I would like, so security with pins) and evaluated. I made one switch before starting to sew them together.

Start to finish was approximately 4 hours. Top measures approximately 53" square (6x6 setting). Now I just need to add borders--I'm thinking 4 different fabrics, one in each predominant color (pink, purple, teal, and either blue or green).

I also repinned the top to my design wall, mostly to keep me from procrastinating on other already started projects. :) I need to work on a hockey baby blanket, border my Kaffe blocks, decide what to do with my Bento Boxes...you see the issue, right? It's bad enough this was a spur of the moment decision to make--I guess it was better than leaving the 36 quarter blocks to sit for a while?

Maybe I can just qualify this as practice for my red and aqua swap blocks from Jane's swap ...hopefully I'll get my blocks back early next week!

When will I ever get pics up?

2009-10-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's cold outside...after raining a good chunk of yesterday and this morning, the cool front has finally come to SE Texas. I won't complain--I love when it gets a little chilly, even when it's a day to open the windows and air out the house.
I've been diligent about finishing what I start--sort of. My Kaffe blocks are done--but I need a piece of teal to use as mini-borders on the blocks. So, I started to work on my Bento Box blocks...and now they're done. I don't know how I want to set them though. I need to replace my design wall so I can play on it, but I've taken the lull in sewing to do some organizing.
My cutting table was piled with fabric and slivers from squaring up blocks. Put the fabrics back in the cabinet, save what slivers were worth saving and dump the rest. I reorganized my UFOs into large plastic bags so I know what I've got to play with. I realized I need a 4th tote--one holds all fleece, one is all flannels, and the third holds toweling and towels to make hooded towels. I need the 4th tote for my scraps! They're currently residing in at least 5 different locations-and these are little scraps and strips. My 6 inch fabric squares are separated, as are the FQs. I'm dreading the day when I decide to finally iron all of those scraps and cut them down. Obviously, that will not be a one day job. :)
Now that I've got a little more organizing finished, I'm going to pull my blue squares...I saw a quilt I really liked...

I'm sorry.

2009-10-27T03:08:00.000-07:00

To all of those quilters, sewers, and fabric aficionados (or hoarders), I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart.
I apologize for mocking you behind your back at the fabric shops, snarking and shaking my head at someone who would pay$7-10/yard for fabric. I apologize to the aficionados who *need* every fabric in a line by their favorite designer. I mostly buy calico prints--I don't know who designs those.
What's behind this "apology," you ask? I'm begging for forgiveness because I know what that hunger is now. The one that makes your eyes spin, your heart flutter, and your knees weak. The one that makes all common sense fly out the window as you whip out the cash (and debit cards, and credit cards...heck, you'd offer the kid as payment if the fabric shop would take him.)

I'm in love...with my Kaffe Fassett jelly roll.

It all started at the Quilt Festival here in Houston a few weeks ago. I was on a budget, but I was excited that I had the whole day to go (if I could make it that long!) and look at fabrics, ogle quilts, and people watch.
I'm convinced that the convention center people set me up to fail--instead of leading my line past two other entrances and letting us enter on the actual quilt exhibition side, they led us to the entrance that was the last door into the vendors' side. With all that eye candy just sitting there, who could resist? I made it approximately 20 minutes before making my first purchase--a solid colored, hand-dyed jelly roll. This was my first jelly ever, and I couldn't resist it for the price ($20). Once that jelly was in my hand, my restraint was gone.
I picked up some decorative threads, FQs here and there...and there it was. The first booth I noticed that was (almost) all Kaffe Fassett fabric. I've heard of him through the knitting groups I've been in before, and love his use of color. I've looked at his quilt books and been unable to tear myself away from them, wanting to make every quilt.
As I poked and prodded through the precut half-yards, I noticed some small jelly rolls on display. One was mostly blues with gold, I think there was a brownish one, and there it was--a pink/orange mini-jelly roll. I don't remember much about anything after grabbing that little piece of yummy, except going straight to the cashier, and her having to run my card twice (the 2nd time, overcharging me 30 cents). I put it in my big blue Handi Quilter bag, and took it out several times just to look at it. It sounds a bit silly, but I was instantly in love with it.
My only other major purchase of the day was a Retro Hello Betty jelly roll that was marked down to $20. Considering there was an online shop that was offering the same roll marked down to $18 (I would have bought it if I hadn't spent all of my money at the Festival), I grabbed it and paid right off. It would have been about the same, if not a little cheaper, than ordering it, and I had the instant gratification.

After some of my impulse purchases, I decided my debit card would appreciate a break, so we went to look at the exhibits. My favorites tend to be of two types--the antique looking quilts, with their poison green, turkey red and cheddar gold schemes; and the super-colorful, maybe just a little crazy quilts. Luckily, there were plenty of both for me to take pics of (which I might want to get off my camera someday...)

So, a few weeks later, I'm finally brave enough to cut into my rolls. I keep wanting to find the "perfect" patterns for them, just because I want to feel like I've used my money wisely. The lady who sold me the Kaffe Fassett mini-roll said it was the right amount to make the table runner they had displayed on the other side of the "tent". No offense to those who like to make table runners and stuff, but I don't want my Kaffe to be on a table...I want a quilt out of it! :) With only 20 strips, it was going to be a challenge to make something of a decent size...no baby or mini quilts here! Using this from Moda Bake Shop, some muslin, and very careful cutting, I now have 20 approximately 10 inch blocks to work with. Each block contains 2 prints and the muslin is used as the 5 piece part of the 9-patch. They're a little crazy right now, but I love them. I'm going to find some teal to border each of the blocks, and then probably use white for sashing. My "table runner" is probably going to top out somewhere around 60x72 inches or so. I'm probably going to use the solid-looking fabrics just because the blocks are so busy looking--plus, I'm not sure if I can find something to match the same "look" without using another Kaffe print. Hey, just because I'm apologizing for snarking on paying $10/yard doesn't mean I can afford it! I have to decide on either waiting to be able to afford a Kaffe print as a border or finding something compatible for a little cheaper price.

My hand-dyed roll is getting some love now too--Bento Boxes! Looking at a few pics online, I figured out the jist of the pattern, and have been making 12" boxes from 2 strips. I thought about leaving the quarters separated and mixing them up, but I like the look of the complete box. If anything, it might be the sanest looking quilt top I've produced in a long, long time. :)

My poor Hello Betty roll is still sitting on the shelf, getting admired and petted, but not used. The MBS pattern I used for the Kaffe prints was my orginal idea for the HB, but I don't want to repeat myself so soon. Maybe something with stars will pop up as an idea. It really does seem silly, but these rolls are the most expensive fabrics I've ever bought. :) I'm usually shopping at JoAnn's, buying the $4-5/yard prints, or digging through my enormous scrap piles.

My biggest issue is now I'm addicted. I'm trolling eBay for jelly rolls, charm packs, and honey buns...getting frustrated that someone outbids me at the last minute. Amy Butler, Kaffe, any one of 7-8 different Moda offerings...I want them all. Would it be weird to get a sugar daddy just to keep me in fabric? Oh, and a roof over my head, food, and utilities would be awesome too. :)

The perils of perfectionism

2009-10-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

I've been trying out different ideas, hoping to find something I'd be satisfied with listing in my Etsy shop (which is barren right now). I tend to overthink and, I guess, not value my time as much as I should. My cousin told me the other day about a woman she knows who glues scrapbook paper to a block of wood, attaches a clip, and sells them for $25 a piece. Something that might take her 5-10 minutes to do, whereas I tend to price something I've worked on for 3 hours at the same price. Is it bad that I want to make sure someone is getting a quality product for a fair price? I actually stopped participating in swaps on a large crafting site because I was tired of putting hours of work into something just to receive back an item that looked like it was slapped together in 20 minutes. I expect perfection (or as close as possible) in my projects--I don't hold that against anyone else. If I received something that looked like someone put a lot of work into it, I was happy with its imperfections.

All of that aside, I am deciding on my "focus". I can sew and finish faster than crocheting, and definitely faster than knitting. That would put my main items as bibs, burpcloths, receiving blankets, and maybe quilts. I'm worried about entering that niche, because there are plenty of established people there, and I'm not sure I can stand out in the crowd. Maybe I can stand out with fabric choices, since there are the "classic" people who work in pastels and the "modern" group who favor brights.

Back to studying Etsy to see what's out there and for how much. I did make a quilt top center earlier this week when I was dogsitting...tumblers made in shades of brown, gold, pink and green. Very fall-like. :)

ETA: I jumped in...I now have an Etsy shop and an Artfire studio. :)

Quick "doodles" with fabric...

2009-09-20T17:40:00.001-07:00

Wow...two posts in the same day. Same topic though!

I busted out my pile of nine-patches, eager to experiment with disappearing nine-patch settings. I was originally going to work with a combo of all-pink and all-black blocks, but I can't find them :( I did find my very first set of nine-patches though. They're obviously made by a sewer unfamiliar with a consistent 1/4" seam. I think at the time, I was more impressed that I could almost match all of my intersections (ignoring the odd combos of fabrics, of course.) They're supposed to be 6" finished blocks--um, yeah. Not quite.

First step was introducing my 6" square ruler to my pile of patches. Instead of stressing over their size, I just decided to trim them all down to exactly 6" square, rather than their current 6.25"-7" (?!?) size.

After squaring up 4 of the blocks, I sliced them in half on the vertical and horizontal. Then came the fun part!

left block: small corners on outside corners--sort of like a puss-in-the-corner block
right block: small corners all in the middle, forming a 4-patch/2 log rail fence/solid block combo

left block: a pinwheel in the center
right block: all pieces with small corner in upper left side-like a off center log cabin with cornerstones?

this is with 4 full blocks, 16 cut pieces--alternating where the small corner is located

These are a few of the "doodles"--I'm not sure if I'm going to use one of these layouts or keep fiddling. I like the scrappy puss-in-the-corner one, but I have another set of orphan blocks to mess with that are puss-in-the-corners, I'm not sure if I want to keep repeating that block. Not that it would be an issue--there's plenty of quilters who use a block they're comfortable with multiple times :) I know I can say that this will be a predominantly red top--lots of burgundy and dark red prints mixed with the miscellaneous prints. These are from the days when I would grab all of the cotton remnants from the JoAnn's markdown bin--I was the cashier's nightmare. I still do that every once in a while with fleece and flannels when they're on sale--probably why I have full totes of each!

Turning something old into something new...

2009-09-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've put in a request to join my first quilt block swap in a very long time. ::fingers crossed:: Until I find out if I've been approved to join, I'm going to take the same idea of the swap and play with some blocks I have in my stash.

I have 9-patches...probably around 200, all 6" finished. Some are all pink, some are all black,some are really random scraps that probably should have never been put together :) I'm going to go through them and pull some out to test disappearing 9-patch layouts. Even if I didn't make the cutoff for the swap signup, at least something will be done with these poor blocks that have been sitting for 8-10 years. Wow...when I put a time stamp on some of my old projects, I feel really old! I'm only 30, I swear :)

ETA: I'm in! I'm now signed up for Jane's Red/Teal swap!

I've ::sniff:: grown up

2009-09-19T02:26:00.000-07:00

(please forgive my use of a camera phone here)

I finally did it. After years of making patchwork tops and either stitching in the ditch or tying the quilts (if they were even layered), I finally had a semi-successful attempt at free-motion quilting.

Even though the pics are blurry, you can see that this is my first time--uneven stitches, no real idea of how to space the squiggles--but dangit, it's pretty good for a first-timer, right? :)

I was inspired (yet again) by the blogs, seeing Elizabeth's tutorial and Amanda's video, and thinking, "hmm, I can do that." I found the free-motion foot I bought years ago for a different machine, hoping I can put it on my new one. It fit perfectly, and interestingly enough, works better on this machine than the original one. Go figure.

Using the leftover orange bobbin from another project (will post soon), I sandwiched two 6" squares with some thin poly batting, pinned and began. First, I forgot to set my stitch length to 0, so I had some control issues in the beginning. Once I fixed that issue, it was pretty smooth sailing! I need to learn to control my tempo (the area with longer stitches is pretty easy to find on the back, where there are some long, long stitches), but I think I can attempt something small with an inconspicuous thread.

(closeup--sort of)

The Insomnia Quilt Top

2009-09-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

Last night was just one of those nights...tired, but not sleepy. I was bored playing on the computer, and nothing on TV was very interesting, so I decided to play with my sewing machine. :)

I remember seeing an idea for a quilt top while reading through some of the blogs (but I can't remember where I saw it!) that involved sewing tons of the same width strips together into one humongous strip, then folding it in half and sewing it again, and repeating until it was the size you wanted. I think the blog I saw used it for blocks, but suggested that it could possibly be used for a full size top.

This idea stayed with me for a few days, but I originally thought of using my string scraps, and well, that would take forever to even up. While poking through my unfinished projects to find something to work on, I came across a couple of fat quarters that were to become a sudoku top. I remember they were put aside because some of the FQs I wanted to use weren't the right size to get all of the cuts, so instead of replacing them, I just put the whole project aside for about 2-3 years. These were my sort of "icky" FQs...colors that I usually don't work with, prints I don't like, etc, in muted shades of yellows, sage green, and pinks, with an oddball black FQ tossed in.
Only two of the FQs had been cut into the pieces for the sudoku top, and the rest were intact. In my sleep deprived/sleep rejecting mind, I decided to put these guys into an experimental top.

I sliced the remaining FQs into 2" strips, then cut the pieces into 5"x2" strips. From the longer FQ strips, I separated them into piles--one pile would be left in full pieces, a second pile would be cut in half, and a third pile to be cut into three uneven sizes (like an 18" strip cut into 7", 6" and 5" pieces). I then took all of the strips and seamed them into longer pieces. To make this less frustrating, I did them in sets of 4, ending up with 12 very long strips. Then I put the long strips together (this will test your frustration level!) into one gigantic, very, very long strip. By rough calculations, not including seam allowances, this strip was 135 feet long. Have I ever mentioned I usually bite off more than I can chew? :)

Then came the tedious part (what? you thought piecing together hundreds of strips was the tedious part?) where I, swamped in fabric, tried to find the ends and sew them together (turning that 2"x135ft strip into a 3.5"x70ft strip), and repeated it over and over. Until I finally ended up with this:

Thanks to my neighbor's fence for being a good modelling prop. :) The finished size is approximately 38"x48", and will make a good lap or large baby quilt with borders. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with the border, but I'm thinking applique will probably make an appearance. Usually I would be a little peeved by the "pooling" of some of the colors (where the print appears in consecutive rows), but overall, I like it. From cutting to finished was about 3-4 hours. My big boo-boo was not pressing as I went along, so I'm in for a fight to get this pressed neatly, but sometimes you just want to keep sewing! My machine was very happy when I shut down for the night--around 6am.

close-up...

For the record, I think I'm going to keep this one. Sure it's not all orange/bright pink/lime/insert other funky, bright color, but it's growing on me. :) Of course, my sister might try to claim it when it gets finished--she usually tries to get all of my more "muted" projects.

ETA: found the tutorial at HappyThings. It's based on an idea from a Project Linus group she works with.

Catching up!

2009-09-01T15:36:00.001-07:00

Wow...it's been over a month since I last posted! I've been keeping very busy though--finishing some afghans, pulling out old quilting WIPs (works in progress), and starting new sewing projects. I do find it interesting that I tend to crochet/knit more in the summer and quilt/sew in the winter, but I'm starting to feel the quilting bug a bit early this year.

I need to pull out my camera and get some pics of my latest projects. I tend to work mostly at night, so the lighting isn't all that great... (what? Get up in the morning and take pics? That's so silly...)

Finished

The "squishy" blanket. Knitted on size 15 needles with doubled worsted weight acrylic yarn. Probably the easiest blankie I've ever made, but did it at the most ridiculous time of year (late July-early August). Doubled acrylic is not fun in 90+ degree weather!
Blue Drunkard's Path blocks. These were started about 10 years ago--back when I didn't know not to trace out my templates in ballpoint ink and the purpose of a good 1/4" seamline. Some of them are a little wonky, but I finished up the last 60-something 4.5" blocks (out of 86). I tried a couple of different layouts, but settled on joining 4 together to form a circle, alternating the colors of the wedges. Of course, this means I have 19 blocks. So, I'm digging through my stash to find similar blue prints to make 4 more blocks.
Ragged edge 30's print blocks. I've always wanted to make the ragged edge blocks--you know, the blocks where you layer fabrics and sew them on top, leaving the seam edges exposed. I found a set of cut 9" squares in 30's reproduction fabrics and some 6-7" squares of white muslin. I cut each of the repro fabrics into four 4.5" squares and recombined them into four-patches. Then I used a circle ruler I have to draw out a 5.5" circle on the muslin, cut it out, and appliqued it to the four-patch, leaving a little more than a 1/4" seam allowance. I very carefully cut behind the white circle, removing the covered part of the four-patch (leaving a seam allowance), trimmed the new circle to 4" or so, then appliqued it to the center of the muslin. I really like these blocks, and made 16 of them, each about 8". I'm thinking a combination of muslin with a 30's appropriate solid for the sashings and borders, and hopefully, I can get this close to a 50" square quilt.

Back to the crochet...I have (almost) finished the duckie afghan! Combo of navy blue duck blocks and bright stripy blocks in magenta, orange and yellow, sashed and bordered in bright green. It's colorful, that's for sure! :) I still need to finish the duck bills and eyes to sew on, but the main part is done!

I've worked on other projects here and there, making some progress and starting others. I remember when I was heavy into quilting, I always had 6-7 projects going at once, just because I found the perfect fabric for something else. I'm trying to control that impulse, and doing a lot of sketching and bagging to keep stuff together. Sometimes, though, I go back and decide I want to use the fabric for something else (the 30's were precut for a different project that was scrapped).

I also noticed that I hate to do the actual quilting. I love the patchwork side of it, and have plenty of tops to show for it, but the actual layering, basting, and quilting? Um...there's other stuff I want to work on! I've got at least 6 tops around here waiting to be quilted...some of them very utilitarian (a red/white, blue/white nine-patch), and some are very interesting (a teal, purple, pink, and orange quilt that uses faux nine-patches and puss-in-the-corner blocks). I am currently working on a "coins" quilt that was made in anticipation of a friend's daughter being born, but after she said "no more blankets", I put it aside after layering. (Granted, she was probably talking about receiving blankets, but I really liked the prints I used!) I pulled it out and started "big stitching" it with cotton crochet thread--the "coins" are about 2.5x6.5", so they're not that difficult to work around. I'm thinking of something special to quilt in the pale teal polka dot borders, but not 100% sure right now. It was originally sandwiched and turned, but I took that apart and bound it with a pink and white graphic print. It's really cute, and I'm glad I kept it, but these are the days I wish I had someone closer to me to make presents for--either kids of my own or nieces and nephews.

ETA pictures
blue drunkard's path blocks, individual segments

Drunkard's path blocks sewn together

30's repro circle blocks (need a better pic!)

Keep it simple, silly...

2009-07-27T04:29:00.000-07:00

Looking through some pictures from a birthday party I was at last week, I remembered some very conflicting feelings from that day. I decided to learn from these feelings rather than get defensive or hurt, which would be my normal response.

A little background first--when I was little, my aunt used to babysit my sister and me during the summers. She was awesome at cooking (the best German chocolate cake ever and super yummy pecan pralines) and she was the best crafter I've ever seen. She was totally self-taught and didn't need patterns to make clothes for my Cabbage Patch Kids or to make sock dolls and rabbits to sell at the bingo hall. I'd like to think I absorbed some of her craftiness, since I'm the only one in the family who is knee-deep in crafting supplies and projects. She has one or two daughters who crochet a little, and a few cousins own a sewing machine to make curtains or small repairs, but I'm the only hardcore one. She made lots of things for me--besides the doll clothes, sock rabbit and doll (I still have both), she made t-shirt dresses and my First Communion dress and veil. Let me repeat--she made all of these without a pattern.

Fast forward 20 years...I own my first, brand new sewing machine. I've played with my mom's machine on and off for the previous 3-4 years, but it was old and not really in that great of shape (my mom was not a sewer). Being a new sewer who wanted to extend past my rudimentary skills of sewing squares together (although I could have improved that--my seam allowances were atrocious), I bought patterns. Lots of patterns. I loved looking through the books at the fabric store and imagining all the wonderful clothes, bags, home dec items I was going to make with my brand new machine. Well...

I didn't exactly get all of those items from my new patterns. Actually, I only got 1 pair of pants out of it all, and they were ill-fitting and didn't have a button. My problem? The patterns. First, I learned that you need to know your measurements, because if you go by your "store size", it's usually wrong. Then, there were the patterns themselves--the tissue paper, trying to get the right lines cut, finding a spot to lay out the fabric and cut it, copying the proper size (to preserve the original pattern) to freezer paper or butcher paper, trying to refold the pattern and put it back in its envelope...just a nightmare.

After my first few horrendous experiences, I decided to just make kids/baby clothes--smaller sizes, a little more forgiving with sizing (they'll fit it eventually if it's too big!), an opportunity to use cute prints that I wouldn't wear/be able to afford to make in a larger size. Even then, some items were so oversized I didn't understand how any child could wear it!

So I started investigating how to draft my own patterns. Not having children of my own, I looked online to find standard sizes. When I was looking at different sites though, I noticed that many mamas weren't doing all of the complicated measurements that the books were showing--maybe they were getting a general draft block by using a piece of ready-made clothing or they were just using simple shapes. Then it hit me--babies and young kids don't really have a shape. A nice, roomy, general shape works just fine!

Back to last week: I had worked feverishly to finish a pair of duckie booties and a little newsboy hat for a birthday present. (http://sugarstarsbaby.blogspot.com/2009/07/breaking-out-of-slump.html) I knit them in cotton yarn on needles that made gauge, but they seemed to come out a little smaller anyway. A last minute addition to the present was the fleece blanket edged with crocheted shells. It was my first time making one of these blankets, and I wasn't 100% sure about it before the day of the party. My sister and I packaged them up in a monkey-decorated bag, and added it to a wrapped box of store-bought clothes. I have a craft shopping addiction--my sister loves to shop for little kids!

I felt pretty confident going to the party. I thought the parents would love my present, and that the baby would allow us to get a picture of her in the hat. This is when I first realized something was "off", because I'm usually really nervous any time I make a present for someone else. I've been nervous at all of the baby showers this year, but I figured this time it would be a little different because the baby was already here.

Sometimes when you get a little too confident, it hurts a bit more when the result isn't quite what you expect. Mommy was rushing around during the party and things were running quite a bit behind (rain delayed some of her family's arrivals), so we were hesitant to ask Mommy if she could go ahead and open our presents because we needed to leave (at this point, over two hours in a McDonald's--yuck). To sum it up--Mommy didn't seem to like the hat and booties, baby wanted nothing to do with wearing a hat...but Mommy liked the store-bought clothes. I felt a little embarrassed, to be honest. I don't know if my feelings showed on my face (hopefully I hid them until we were back in the car), but I was crushed. I had so many positive reactions at the baby showers, and they were family! This was a friend of my sister's...but even my sister's friends have responded more positively in the past.

However...the blanket did get some "oohs" and "aahs" from her family and friends. They seemed amazed that I made it. Confused?--me too. The two items that took the longest to make and were specifically made for the occasion didn't garner any reaction, but a last-minute addition that was nowhere close to perfect got all of the comments.

A week later, I'm re-examining how I felt about the party because I'm trying to turn every project into a learning experience. Maybe Mommy isn't used to hand-made items, so she didn't know how to react--maybe she was overwhelmed by everything that day and just didn't know how to handle it. I'm not sure. We stuck around for a little longer to see more presents opened (I really don't like when people get their presents opened then leave--seems rude), and it was strange, to say the least. She got clothes that were too big for the baby (she wears ~18 months, but some clothes she got were 3T and 4!) or way too dressy or just too small (someone gave her a pack of 6-9 month sized onesies!) Judging by the rest of the presents--and I don't like judging people--we were the only ones, outside of the babysitter, who gave her clothes the baby could wear now. Thinking about it, I've gone from alternately feeling miffed and embarrassed by the whole thing, to understanding that once you give the present, you "release" it. If she chooses to give my work to someone else, that's her decision. If it just gets buried in a drawer and cleaned out later, it's her choice.

But the most important thing I've learned--keep it simple. Don't overthink and make something that is very time-consuming for someone I've never made a present for before. For baby showers and first birthdays, simple toys and blankets get plenty of attention without all of the stress. Save the complicated and possibly too "cutesy" items for my own kids and nieces/nephews in the future.

It's hot, baby!

2009-07-27T04:06:00.000-07:00

...then why do I feel like knitting these days? Not just knitting--knitting with big needles (size 15 straights) and doubled worsted weight acrylics? I got a "shot" of inspiration while reorganizing my yarns and seeing how pretty the "carrot" and "dark teal" looked together. Add in "soft white" and maybe a chocolate brown...nice color scheme! It's a little darker than I usually work, but change is the spice of life, right?

To heighten my chances of actually finishing this project (baby blanket/lapghan size afghan), I'm working it in garter stitch on the aforementioned big needles. I love the look of worsted weight on smaller (like size 8 or 9) needles, but I just don't have the patience or attention span! I'm not a very fast knitter, so I tend to lose steam after the second or third day of work. It's a bad habit I'm trying to break--although learning to knit/crochet faster might be something to learn. :)

The heat has forced me to work in smaller (and cooler!) quarters in the house. The air conditioner hasn't been in the best shape since April, so I decided to not run it during daytime hours, and run a smaller unit in the bedroom instead. The problem with this arrangement is that my sewing machine is in another room. So, when I'm awake during the day, I'm working on smaller handwork type projects (knitting, crocheting, handsewing) and saving machine time for evening/overnight hours. My sleep schedule has been all over the place lately, so I get pretty equal time with all disciplines. ;)

Three positives have come from the "no air conditioner" situation--1) the electric bill is way lower than it would usually be at this time of the year (about 60-70% lower); 2) I've developed a higher tolerance to high temps, so I'm not "dying" in the sun outside like previous summers; and 3) July's almost over--only about two more months of mid- to high 90 degree temperatures! The rain that we've had the past week and a half or so has been a definite blessing to my plants outside--I only have to check them in the afternoon every other day.

Just keep remembering--two more months, two more months... ;)

Trying to reorganize...

2009-07-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

I'm a crafter...I'm also a packrat. I love to find sales and stock up on my favorite items, even if my hands and machine aren't quite keeping up. For the past year, I've had a room dedicated specifically to my crafty endeavors, yet, all of my purchases start migrating to other rooms.

There's the 20+ yards of flannel purchased when it was $0.99/yd, the 15-20 yards of fleece remnants collected when Jo-Ann's has fleece half price, the dozens and dozens of yards of cotton purchased when I was heavy into quilting--and the scraps that resulted from my work, which I kept (remember that packrat thing?) Oh, and there's the three large drawers full of yarns--mostly Red Heart and Simply Soft, with some cotton and novelties thrown in.

Then there's books. And magazines. And printed out patterns. And notebooks with patterns scribbled in that I found online and wanted to try, but didn't have my printer available.

Why am I revealing my obvious shopping addiction? Because it's chaos, and I thrive in it. I love to find a print that I thought I had used the last of and try to figure out what to do with it. I love to see all of the prints and colors jumbled together and let it inspire me in some fashion.

Of course, there's the downsides--not being able to find something you know you have, and therefore, buying more (doh!), having to re-iron fabric because it was squished in a very uncomfortable position for a year waiting to be used, finding prints that make you think, "Now what was I going to make with this?" and not knowing what it was for until, of course, you've used it and then find the original project (oops.)

So I'm trying to reorganize. It's painful (definently), but I need to return to my normal state of controlled chaos to set everything right. It might involve getting rid of some stuff, or getting new storage containers (I like the second option, of course). Whatever happens, I'm sure I'm going to find some old friends and it will feel like we're meeting for the first time.

Breaking out of a slump...

2009-07-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have just been...uninspiring. I was gung-ho about a month ago to set up an Etsy shop, get a blog rolling, a Twitter account for the blog, etc. I'm not sure if it's just the heat, my whacked out sleep schedule of late, or just being interesting in other things that don't involve yarn and fabric.
However, even with the little rut I was in (notice I said was), I still pumped out some presents for baby showers and birthday parties. I don't know why I decided to make presents instead of just buying, but I guess I just want to show some love to the little one.