WIP Wed

Working on my hand quilting, amazingly it is much faster than I imagined.  I have started with going around the appliqué and have finished 2.5 of the 7 blocks.  Now you have to see one of the panels, it really can not be considered a block as it goes across the whole top.  I started this in 2009 according to my computer when I scanned the pattern for printing on freezer paper.  Took me quite a while to make all the pieces and then get them sewn onto the background.  I am pretty proud of the fact that I am as far into it as I am. There are bits of space between the flowers that are going to need some kind of quilting as I want to push the flowers forward.  Any suggestions?

Pictures

Beth at Plum & June challenged readers to talk about their photos of fabric this week.

 

I primarily take my photos with my iPhone and edit them before posting.  If not, I use a Sony cyber shot ?? And edit in Lightroom.  That is the standard program on my old desktop that my daughter used.  I have gotten much better at the Lightroom but usually opt for the quick photo.  Here are a couple I took today on my current project.   BTW I just got this cool new ap to post my blog from my IPAD.  I used to just use blogger but had issues loading photos so I would switch back and forth to the blogger ap.  This new ap is called Blog Touch and it works great so far....these are both edited. 

  Things I could have done better? Taken them outside for some natural sunlight or opened the blinds.    I have the house closed up because it so hot right now.  I should have cropped the bottom one more.  I definitely could take a lot more photos and find the best to post.  I'm too impatient.

One persons who's fabric photos I always admire is Red Pepper Quilts.   The fabric is always in the same format and always looks so crisp in the picture.  I will aim for that next week.

New IPAD Blog Touch App. LOVE IT!!!!

Hello To My Quilty Friends

I have just this minute Purchased a new app for blogging on my IPAD.    It looks like it has lots of fontchoices, bold, italics, underline, and strike thru. Yeah I could never figure that one out.      I have font choices, I can change font color, oh so much fun. Font sizing is super easy too...

It has centering buttons here

Here

Here  and 

Not sure what this one is going to do...it looks like it is supposed to justify but I'm not getting the correct look here.

You can insert YouTube or Vimeo videos 

or photos right from your camera roll. Which doesn't work good on blogger.com and the iPad.  Super easy here.

 And you can resize and reposition.  Woohoo this is great!!!!

I will be quilting this baby _today.  ^{This is a unique font choice.}  _{It posts font above or below the current line of text...}

You	can
Add a	table

1.  And customize its size.

• Bullets can be numbered or bullets
• Super cool.

You can make a tabbed list

Like this

And this

Nice feature

You can use the lightening bolt to do ??

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or this cool 

It has a forward and back button  and a HTML button that you can toggle back and forth to your page.the is a link button also, so I will add one here.  This is the pattern I am quilting in the borders of this mini quilt. 

This is my oopsie block that I had to pick out and reposition.  And a pretty cool feature is you can copy and paste the entire post.  I just did that because I wrote my entire post in the pages instead of the posts section of the blog.  Now I can go back and delete the page.

You can even see all your comments or lack of while you are viewing each page and write back.  I will definitely recommend the app for $4.99 totally worth it.  Off to go sew, Happy Sunday, K

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Making a Sandwhich

         Oh yummy it's time for Sandwhich making....not the food kind, the quilty kind...... I have 2 mini quilts all sewn up and ready to make my Sandwhich.  Backs are all pressed and ready to cut.  Have to add a little border to each but that's gonna be real quick since they are both 24 x 30ish.   They will both get simple stitch in the ditch quilting due to the Many seams and amount of starch.   

I had a moment of despair when I noticed 2 of the blocks were wrong, but I was able to unpick the seams exactly around the square and get it back in. There are tons of seams and they are such small pieces.  

The border around the edge is 1/2" half square triangles. 

Off to go sew these up....happy sewing, K

Slow Sewing Sunday, oops Monday

It was so slow I forgot to blog it !!!!

Sunday found me  sitting at  the kitchen craft table basting my fantasy flowers quilt.  I was so happy several months ago when I finished this hand appliquéd quilt top.   Then I realized it wasnt done, I had 22 scallops to sew down.....the big ones and the smaller ones too.  Talk about a let down.. Fast forward to Friday night and I FINISHED!!!!    So Saturday I watched a bunch of videos and decided on Sharon Schambers method to hand baste my quilt with embroidery thread.    So goes the slow Saturday and Sunday sewing. The good news is I'm almost done and it looks very secure and no shifting will occur when I hand quilt it. 

I plan to hand quilt it too. I know,  very ambitious for someone who has never hand quilted anything. And it took at least 5  Years to do the appliqué and piecing.

We'll see how it goes.....happy sewing, K

Slow Sewing Weekend

Didn't get much sewing done this weekend, my baby is sick.  Took her to the doggie Dr. For an exam and a mega $$$ ex ray and there is nothing stuck in her throat.  Either she has kennel cough or an irritation in her throat.  She was playing with one of her real bones and it splintered into couple pieces.  I promptly took it away, but when she started acting weird a few days later, I figured it was time for a trip to the Dr.

Here she is at the Dr., looking happy as a clam.   It's hard to convince someone your sick when you are running around and wagging your tail!!!   Anyway she has some meds and will be just fine in a few days.   Then we can go back to agility class.  

Here is a picture of our local class course. I'm in the far left, getting the lay of the land before we run it.  

So this is what we will be sewing today....looks like it is going to mild and cool here in so.Ca, which is a bit unusual for summer...but we'll take it!! 

 Underground Railroad blocks.  These are 3.5 inch blocks, which I am adding the sashing and corner squares.  It is slow going when I am trying to get all these corners to meet up.  I had some issues and learned a few tips to myself along the way.

1.  Take notes of what settings you use on your machine to make th 1/4 inch seam.  I have a setting on my machine but recently started going 1 spot over to create scant 1/4 inch.  Unfortunately with these little pieces and the time frame I have been working on this project, it turned out that 1/2 had the new seam and 1/2 the old seam allowance.  Ugh, I wanted to tear my hair out with the seam ripper!!

2. Starch is good, it was in the directions, too much starch looks really ugly.  Can't wait to finish and wash it all out!!  Well,  the pattern said Magic Sizing and when I ran out I switched to my heavy starch which was all I had at that late night moment.....

3. Don't make the iron too hot.  Starch scorches easily.....I think it's going to make the whole thing more antique and I'm not giving up.  I did learn that you can use a piece of toweling with white vineger,  soak the cloth, put over scorch mark and heat with iron.  This will remove it, may take more than one time.  

4. Pay attention to the pattern and make sure the block I'd right before making another 10 of them.  Yes I did that too!!!

5.  I'm really great with the seam ripper.  I use a clover one that is like a little curved knife.  

6.  Take a break when you are frustrated, go do something else for a while.  Much better to enjoy the process. 

Hope you all have a happy sewing week, K

My Machine

I never hear anyone say they have Husgvarna- Viking sewing machines.....I have to say I Love my machine.  I have a Saphire 870 and a Mega Quilter that are the best!

This is the spec's and I'm pretty sure I have used all of these features and lots of the 163 stitches.   I love that you can just touch the button for the fabric type and it adjusts the tension perfectly!

Sapphire 870 Quilt

• Large Graphic Display
• 163 stitches
• Pattern re-start and mirror image end to end function
• 5 alphabets
• Selective Thread Cutter
• 20 permanent memories
• Start/Stop sewing without foot control
• Electronic Self adjusting Thread Tension

 My mega quilter doesn't get at much use as it should but it has tons of features.  I think the reason is it is in my craft room and I prefer to sew in the kitchen.  Just last night my husband said you don't spend any time in there and I replied I like it better downstairs.  I did offer to trade rooms and take over the family room too.....no bite on that one yet : ).  One of the really cool things is it goes FAST and it has a screw on 1/4 inch guide so you can do strip sets super fast and accurate.

My frame is slightly different than this one, it has a pantograph shelf, which I have taken off and does not have the utility shelf underneath. I store my big tubs a fabric underneath and that doesn't get in the way of sewing. I  also added blocks under the legs, because I like to sit on the edge of a stool and FMQ.  

 
Features and Benefits


 
 Mega Quilter

• Sews 1,600 stitches per minute.
• Extra large working area 9" x 6".
• Ergonomically designed especially for quilters.
• Perfect stitches on every fabric thickness thanks to automatic stitch control, thread pre-tension adjustment and adjustable presser foot pressure.
• The knee lift function lets you keep your hands on your project.
• Automatic thread cutting with the touch of a button.
• Industrial full rotary hook system.
• Electronic speed control for stitch by stitch control and full piercing power at any speed.
• Quiet, smooth sewing without vibration.
• Simultaneous bobbin winding while sewing with the separate bobbin winding motor.
• Built-in sewing ruler in inches and metric.
• Easily selected sewing speed with the speed control slider.
• Easy reverse thanks to the large reverse lever.
• Needle threader.
• Adjustable stitch length up to 6 mm.
• Needle Up/Down button.
• Standard accessories for sewing and quilting included.
• Optional accessories for specialty sewing and quilting techniques available.




Next Generation Quilt Frame : Price in our quilting frames catagory


 
• Unique utility shelf for additional storage.
• Multiple Sizes: 60"/120".
• Smooth, SEAMLESS tracking
• Engineered for vibration-free quilting
• Patented Fabri-FastT fabric attachment system
• Reversible ratchet system for easy quilt advancement and tension control.
• Bungee Clamps for quick and effective side tension (set of four).
• Easy step-by-step assembly (DVD included).
• Leveling feet with 1 �" adjustment.
• Engineered specifically for quilting - no "off-the-shelf" parts
• Attachment provided for additional light source.




So what kind of machine do you use and what is your favorite feature?  

This quilt was done on the frame and took just a few hours to do all the micro stippling.  I love the way the flowers stand out!

Sunday Stitching and a Bit of a Run

 I started the day at 6am with my beloved pup Skittles, doing an agility run....did the course 3 times.  She was so awesome!    I'm  glad  we started so early (even though I didn't want to get up).  because it is going to be a hot one today. 106*!!

It is vacation week around here and I have a long list of things I want to work on....my WIP's

Hexie blocks , of course

Underground Railroad blocks, about 1/2 of these are done,  48 needed

Finish the appliqué scallops on this quilt top

Start a new kitchen mat for Melissa, she needs another, and loves the first one.

And of course I want to start a bunch of new things but I will try to hold myself back to a new shirt with this super soft grey knit that I found for $11 a yard plus a 50% off coupon.  Score!!!

Hope you all have a great sewing week,K

Make Your Own Gluestick

          I was checking out some EPP video on the web and they were using a glue stick instead on basting with needle and thread.  Since I still need to make about 60 more 2" pieced hexies I figured ok let's try it.....well I have no glue stick and I am in my pj's still sooooo, I found a site that has directions!! 

Guess what it was??   A one tbs cornstarch to one cup of water ratio boiled up into a paste.     Clean out an old Gluestick and TA DA you have a non toxic glue stick.  There is a little more steps but you get the idea.

This was May 4th....

Here it is today....

I think I have 5 rows of 12 left to do....

You can see all my blocks here on Flickr.

And here are the piles of pieces I prepped with my new glue....I did use a jar and paintbrush as the 

"Stick" needed to set up for several hours.  On the original recipie  it said to use 5 tbs cornstarch and 5 cups of water. That is A LOT of glue.  I did one cup and have enought to last months....

So back to my sewing, have a great week! K

FMQ Practice and My Postage Stamp Blocks

I recently participated in a postage stamp block swap on Flickr.  I decided to use a couple blocks to make these cute fabric boxes that I saw on pink Penguin blog.  so I get started with my block, batting and backing brcause I'm used to making the quilt sandwich......duh I did it wrong because I need to leave the back off, do my FMQing then make the lining....So. I made a mug rug.  I did some straight line stitching for the quilting, bound it and it was done.    

I then started on my box again, this time doing it right.  I practiced stitching in the ditch FMQ instead of using my walking foot.  Then I did basic stipple in every other square.   I love my little box and I get to see my swap blocks all the time.  My remote fits perfectly in the basket and will never be lost again....maybe.