Monthly Archives: March 2016

WIP Whoopsday: Eat

WIP Wednesdays

I’m working on an applique project that I need to keep secret-ish since it’s a gift, but I can show sneak peeks of it for the purposes of WIP Wednesday.

I will say that I’ve tried a new fusible for this applique, and I’m not any happier with it than I was my prior one. I still have problems with the paper separating prematurely and some weird fraying.  The fraying could be because of my fabric choice, or how I’m stitching the blanket stitch and getting “the bite” on the shapes. The paper separating could be the brand or could be the age of the fusible, because although it’s new to me, I have no idea how long it was sitting on the vendor shelf. Ugh.

Anywho, I’m carrying on and will just make sure the quilting is awesome!

Sunday Stash - Skirtpalooza

Sunday Stash

This week was a bunch of sewing for the setting blocks/border for Sparkling Gems.  It doesn’t show in the finish stats yet since there are still two more blocks to pick up for the program, but there were about a frillion 4-patches sewn into 9 patches.

We also got word this week that the dress code changed at the elementary school my daughter attends. In general, leggings should not be pants, but she’s still young so I’ve let it go. New rule is that if you wear leggings, your shirt needs to cover your butt. Well, she’s not a fan of long shirts but she does like skirts, so I made her 4 new ones to complement her existing wardrobe.  Here’s 3 of the 4 (the other is a navy and lighter blue Amy Butler print):

She was a fan of the Tula Pink fabric so now she’s got a Squirrelfriends skirt, plus a simple yellow with Kaffe bottom border and some Robert Kaufman dots in a rainbow assortment.

  • Used this Week: 3 yard
    • 3 yd for 4 skirts
  • Used Year to Date: 98.5 yards
  • Added this Week: 0 yard
    • Woohoo!
  • Net Used YTD: 43.75 yards
  • YTD Used for Charity: 41.25 yards (42% of total used)

See more stash reports at Patchwork Times!

The Stitch – Episode 108 Audio Only

This episode, Pam and Lynn talk all about thread - piecing, quilting, and other uses.

This is the audio-only version of the video on YouTube. See show notes, photos, and more available on The Stitch TV Show page!

NOTE: This audio-only version of The Stitch is replacing my usual weekly HtbaS podcast; I’ll be back solo next week for the usual geeky fare!

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WIP Wednesday - Busyness

WIP Wednesdays

This week I’ve been busy sewing up a lot of intermediate steps, like these border blocks for the eventual Sparkling Gems quilt top. These need to be made in 7 different colorways, which are not referred to with normal colors like blue or orange or yellow. It’s like wanting to order a large coffee at Starbucks and having to remember their naming scheme, and that “grande” may feel “large” but is in fact “small”, much like “citron” feels yellow or orange but is in fact green.

I’ve also been working on the back for this monstrous Christmas quilt - I’m 9″ shy on the width for the back, so having to resort to some additional creative piecing to make it work. This picture captures an eighth of the quilt top because it’s too big fail. Or quilt.

Sunday Stash - Favorite Things

General Quilting

This week I finished a birthday present and a commission project for a catheter bag cover. Lots of other sewing happened with catching up on the Favorite Thing BOM blocks and finishing a king sized quilt top. I’m torn on quilting it though- I know how I want it quilted but don’t think I have the longarm skill to do it, and it’s too big for my home machine, I think.

Perhaps I’ll bite the bullet and do it at home anyway.

  • Used this Week: 1.5 yard
    • 0.75 yd for wreath
    • 0.75 for catheter bag
  • Used Year to Date: 93.5 yards
  • Added this Week: 3 yard
    • 3 yd for Sparkling Gems finishing kit
  • Net Used YTD: 40.75 yards
  • YTD Used for Charity: 41.25 yards (45% of total used)

See more stash reports at Patchwork Times!

HtbaS - Episode 267

This week I talk about my classes with Sharon Schamber and Cristy Fincher at the Atlanta Sewing & Quilt Expo last week, a bit about working on my guild raffle quilt, recent guild meetings, and a book review (and how my experience affects how I perceive the characters in it).

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Donation Quilt Round-Up

Finished Projects,

I’ve finally gotten quilts photographed, which seems to not happen as often as necessary because either it’s raining or it’s too sunny out. I suppose while it’s always Quilt Season at my house, it’s not always Quilt Photography Season.

First, a smaller quilt inspired by a leftover Lorax panel:

I paired it with coordinating 3.5 and 5″ squares from my scrap stash to build out the top.

Next up is my Gyleen Fitzgerald mystery quilt.  My quilt is smaller than her finished size since I wanted to keep it to the right proportions for donation.  It’s very bright and scrappy (a recurring theme for my donation quilts) and most especially PINK:

The back of this one uses the method I describe in episode 107 of The Stitch - taking a length of fabric and inserting a row of 10″ squares to made it wide enough:

And here’s the latest quilt inspired by the floral print in the larger blocks, with 3.5″ squares to frame them:

These three will make their way to new homes in the next month or so!

WIP Wednesday - Bits and Pieces

Finished Projects, WIP Wednesdays,

This week has involved a catch-up of sorts on smaller projects.  Spring is the season for birthdays and summer wardrobe sewing and all manner of other things around here, so of course I started a new Christmas quilt. Because I haven’t finished my last Christmas quilt, naturally.

Mostly it was Spring Cleaning inspired since I was organizing my stash bits and “to be done” projects that aren’t far enough along to be considered UFOs.  I’ve been holding on to these two Dear Mr. Claus layer cakes for a while because they are fun vintage prints from Cosmo Cricket. I finally decided to just take the plunge and make giant HSTs out of them.

At the other end of the seasonal spectrum, I just finished my first Fold n Stitch Wreath, which is a pattern from Poorhouse Designs. It’s a dimensional wreath that be hung up or used as a tabletopper, and perfect for my MIL’s upcoming birthday. What I like about it is it could be a great project for scraps and odd buttons.  The sewing is not hard, and I’d recommend it for an adventurous beginner sewist.

I’ve got other stuff going on too, but these are the highlights.

Sunday Stash - Double Duty

Sunday Stash

This week I worked on 3 of my 5 Super Seekrit Special raffle quilt blocks.  As a reward for getting most of them done, I finished two other smaller quilts - the Flower Power one from WIP Wednesday this week, and a pinwheel baby quilt with a minky back.  And because I listen to Lynn, who is very smart and knows the Power of Labeling, I made a bunch of quilt labels and even used some of them on recent finishes.

This week I think I’m going to work on my Glow Sticks quilt from Cristy Fincher’s class and the remaining raffle blocks, then back to the pattern designing and testing work. Here’s my fabric for the Glow Sticks quilt:

  • Used this Week: 8.25 yard
    • 3.75 yd for Baby Pinwheel quilt
    • 4.25 yd for Flower Power quilt
    • 0.25 for miscellaneous quilt labels
  • Used Year to Date: 92 yards
  • Added this Week: 0 yard
    • Woohoo!
  • Net Used YTD: 42.25 yards
  • YTD Used for Charity: 41.25 yards (45% of total used)

See more stash reports at Patchwork Times!

HtbaS - Episode 266

This week I talk about prep for my quilting classes at the Sewing & Quilt Expo, working on some raffle quilt blocks and some recent book finishes.

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