Friday, October 8, 2010
Not much quilting this week
I started to tackle the guest bedroom on Wednesday. Painting is done, carpet is cleaned. Today DH and I moved the furniture back in. I still have to hang the blinds back up, and I need to make a curtain, or some kind of window treatment. I did buy some new rugs for the room. I'm going to hang some of my small quilts on the walls, I might as well use them. I will post pics when I get my window curtain finished. So glad that we didn't have the problems that we had in the bathroom.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
New crop of strings
Does it ever end?
I did get all of my unruly scraps cut into nice stacks, but you know it generated a whole bunch of strings! That's not bad, it refreshes my string and crumb collection, giving it new life. But it never ceases to amaze me how far one piece of fabric goes, even a fat quarter! I've never followed & documented the life of a fabric in my possession but wouldn't that be interesting?
These strings are more generously sized than normal, truth is, I was getting tired of cutting and just wanted to finish. But I have found in the past that some fatter strings are nice to have.
I did get all of my unruly scraps cut into nice stacks, but you know it generated a whole bunch of strings! That's not bad, it refreshes my string and crumb collection, giving it new life. But it never ceases to amaze me how far one piece of fabric goes, even a fat quarter! I've never followed & documented the life of a fabric in my possession but wouldn't that be interesting?
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| New crop of strings and crumbs |
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Scraps are project-ready
It took me a couple of days but I was able to get that pile of scraps cut into nice stacks of 10" squares, 5" squares and a nice bunch of 2.5" strips. Now I can get out my pattern books and think of which pattern to make with these goodies.
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| Before |
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| After |
Monday, October 4, 2010
Some goals for the week...
I sometimes hesitate to list goals because life takes different turns and I'm always adjusting to get through the day. But things do seem to be piling up and there has to be some control!
My committment to a healthier lifestyle is a major part of my day/week. Making it to the YMCA for workouts and then eating healthy can really take up some time. My quilting business is a major focus and I try to keep customer quilts moving and finished on time. Then there is the usual household stuff, laundry, grocery shopping, blah blah. I also hope to get a bedroom painted this week, clean the carpet in that room, and find a new curtain, hang up pictures, etc. I hope this endeavor goes better than the bathroom "sprucing up".
And then there is this:
My fabric stash is huge, I'll admit to that. But the yardage is all arranged nice and neat on shelves by color. Fat quarters and half yard pieces are all organized in bins, 2.5" strips, smaller strips and smaller blocks are all tucked away, but for some reason I always have two bins full of what I call chunks. That is anything smaller than a fat quarter, or a regular 1/4 yd. And it includes all the trimming from my backings after I finish one of my personal quilts or charity quilts. And it grows and grows.
The problem is that I usually hesitate to cut scraps up until I know what I'm going to need them for, but after a while it gets out of hand. So my thought for this week's, down and relaxation time, is to cut 10" squares like layer cakes, and 5" charms from this unruly pile. What is left can be cut in 2.5" strips, which I use a lot. After that the small stuff goes into my string and crumb bins, which are all sorted by colors. I'd really like to get all of the above into packages like this:
Here is the the result of a couple of hours yesterday, cutting into 10", 5" squares and 2.5" strips. Since I have a fair amount of quilting books that use cake layers and charms in the patterns, I'm hoping that I can get a handle on this mess. That little bag of neatly trimmed squares sure looks better than the piles.
My committment to a healthier lifestyle is a major part of my day/week. Making it to the YMCA for workouts and then eating healthy can really take up some time. My quilting business is a major focus and I try to keep customer quilts moving and finished on time. Then there is the usual household stuff, laundry, grocery shopping, blah blah. I also hope to get a bedroom painted this week, clean the carpet in that room, and find a new curtain, hang up pictures, etc. I hope this endeavor goes better than the bathroom "sprucing up".
And then there is this:
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| Chunks |
The problem is that I usually hesitate to cut scraps up until I know what I'm going to need them for, but after a while it gets out of hand. So my thought for this week's, down and relaxation time, is to cut 10" squares like layer cakes, and 5" charms from this unruly pile. What is left can be cut in 2.5" strips, which I use a lot. After that the small stuff goes into my string and crumb bins, which are all sorted by colors. I'd really like to get all of the above into packages like this:
Here is the the result of a couple of hours yesterday, cutting into 10", 5" squares and 2.5" strips. Since I have a fair amount of quilting books that use cake layers and charms in the patterns, I'm hoping that I can get a handle on this mess. That little bag of neatly trimmed squares sure looks better than the piles.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Some potholders finished!
Since I went on and on about the potholders earlier I figured I'd better get some posted for you all to see.
These are going to get put away for Christmas gifts. And as you can see, I used crumbs and strings. Yards and yards of pretty fabric, and I have to play with scraps, but I can't help myself.
These are going to get put away for Christmas gifts. And as you can see, I used crumbs and strings. Yards and yards of pretty fabric, and I have to play with scraps, but I can't help myself.
Pot holders, Potholders, Hot Pads...Oven mitts...What do you call them?
My Sunday is going to be a quiet one. DH will be sleeping most of the day, he worked last night. I'm looking forward to watching some football, but you know I can't just watch TV, I have to be working on something "fabricky". I thought I'd make a few potholders, hot pads, whatever you call them. I like to have some items ready to gift for the Christimas season. Yesterday I did a search for free patterns but nothing really got me all that excited...I guess maybe potholders are not all that exciting...but they could be. I did find a few patterns from my searches which I will share a bit later.
Oven mitts are fairly straight forward in my opinion, an oversize shape of a hand, make two sandwiches, sew them together and turn inside out. Trim with bias tape, Got it.
I like oven mitts but I prefer the flat hot pad with a pocket for your hand and no thumbs. One of my favorite purchased patterns is from Calico Moon Handcrafts and the pattern is called Too Hot To Handle. It features 5 different patterns with a common theme of a rectangle or square shape with a pocket. Hence the Five Pocket Potholders. The pattern is written with such humor that one can't resist the impulse to sit down and make a few right then and there.
The pattern on the left is another of my favorites. Handy Heart Potholders by Classic Crafts, Eva Holen, 425-827-2313 and has an email address seweva@hotmail.com but you can find it here on Lisa Moore's website, Quilts With A Twist, Lisa Moore from Sitka Alaska. I use this pattern if I'm being fancy shmancy.
I did find some free patterns in my search yesterday, I promised I'd share with you. The first one is from Moda Bake Shop and it's a Chenille Hot Pad and there is another free pattern on Moda Bake Shop called Quilted Hot Pads by Bonnie from Cotton Way. Both are worthy of a try. The third and favorite free pattern I found is Retro Fun: Quilted Mitt Pot Holders from http://www.sew4home.com/. Be sure to check this one out because it is cute, cute cute!!
If my creative juices are flowing I can come up with a few of my own creations and I like to start with a sandwich that I do on my longarm machine. This one pictured is a layer of that silvery stuff, a layer of Insul-Bright, a layer of cotton batting and a layer of terry cloth (100% cotton). I make the sandwich about 36" long by about 20-22 inches wide, or as wide as a chunk of Insul-Bright (by Warm Company). Then I quilt the whole thing in a few quick swipes and I have the base of a hot pad.
From here I slice the size I want and add a top pocket of whatever I choose. Remember those Halloween pot holders;
I flipped the terry cloth side facing up of course and added a pocket inspired from the Too Hot To Handle Pattern. BUT I should have rounded the corners on these, and I will on my next ones.
I'm not a huge fan of that silvery stuff, but I purchased 2 yards of it (what was I thinking?) and it is taking me forever to use it up. If I don't want to use good fabric on the side of the hot pad that will get hot, I like to use a heavier fabric, and that old fashioned pillow ticking works good. But a heavy cotton twill or duck cloth would work, I'd think. I've heard of people using old blue jeans too.
There's a big discussion in cyber space about what to fill hot pads with. All agree that cotton batting is the safest, polyester batting will melt with the heat. But how many layers, whether to use the Insul-Bright, and how about old bath towels as a padding inside, sure why not? I say, keep safety in mind at all times, but use what you have on hand. Back in the day there was no such thing as Insul-Bright. And as for the outer fabric, heck use from your stash, scraps, strings, use it up, make it scrappy or make it fancy shmancy, after all they are just hot pads? pot holders? mitts?
Oven mitts are fairly straight forward in my opinion, an oversize shape of a hand, make two sandwiches, sew them together and turn inside out. Trim with bias tape, Got it.
I like oven mitts but I prefer the flat hot pad with a pocket for your hand and no thumbs. One of my favorite purchased patterns is from Calico Moon Handcrafts and the pattern is called Too Hot To Handle. It features 5 different patterns with a common theme of a rectangle or square shape with a pocket. Hence the Five Pocket Potholders. The pattern is written with such humor that one can't resist the impulse to sit down and make a few right then and there.
The pattern on the left is another of my favorites. Handy Heart Potholders by Classic Crafts, Eva Holen, 425-827-2313 and has an email address seweva@hotmail.com but you can find it here on Lisa Moore's website, Quilts With A Twist, Lisa Moore from Sitka Alaska. I use this pattern if I'm being fancy shmancy.
I did find some free patterns in my search yesterday, I promised I'd share with you. The first one is from Moda Bake Shop and it's a Chenille Hot Pad and there is another free pattern on Moda Bake Shop called Quilted Hot Pads by Bonnie from Cotton Way. Both are worthy of a try. The third and favorite free pattern I found is Retro Fun: Quilted Mitt Pot Holders from http://www.sew4home.com/. Be sure to check this one out because it is cute, cute cute!!
If my creative juices are flowing I can come up with a few of my own creations and I like to start with a sandwich that I do on my longarm machine. This one pictured is a layer of that silvery stuff, a layer of Insul-Bright, a layer of cotton batting and a layer of terry cloth (100% cotton). I make the sandwich about 36" long by about 20-22 inches wide, or as wide as a chunk of Insul-Bright (by Warm Company). Then I quilt the whole thing in a few quick swipes and I have the base of a hot pad.
I flipped the terry cloth side facing up of course and added a pocket inspired from the Too Hot To Handle Pattern. BUT I should have rounded the corners on these, and I will on my next ones.
I'm not a huge fan of that silvery stuff, but I purchased 2 yards of it (what was I thinking?) and it is taking me forever to use it up. If I don't want to use good fabric on the side of the hot pad that will get hot, I like to use a heavier fabric, and that old fashioned pillow ticking works good. But a heavy cotton twill or duck cloth would work, I'd think. I've heard of people using old blue jeans too.
There's a big discussion in cyber space about what to fill hot pads with. All agree that cotton batting is the safest, polyester batting will melt with the heat. But how many layers, whether to use the Insul-Bright, and how about old bath towels as a padding inside, sure why not? I say, keep safety in mind at all times, but use what you have on hand. Back in the day there was no such thing as Insul-Bright. And as for the outer fabric, heck use from your stash, scraps, strings, use it up, make it scrappy or make it fancy shmancy, after all they are just hot pads? pot holders? mitts?
Friday, October 1, 2010
TGIF Got my car back
I'm glad that it's Friday, I finally got my car back today after going without for the week. It wasn't that bad being down to one vehicle, but my husband's truck is so big and I have trouble parking it, backing it up...I remember my parent's only having one car for many many years. We didn't just hop in the car on a whimm, everything was planned as we did our errands & shopping. And I think I turned out okay.
I still managed to make it to my water aerobics all this week. And it was nice to be home more than I usually am. I worked on a customer quilt today and finished it. Tomorrow is Zumba!
I still managed to make it to my water aerobics all this week. And it was nice to be home more than I usually am. I worked on a customer quilt today and finished it. Tomorrow is Zumba!
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