Tuesday's Happenings

Today I'm making a quick trip to Ohio, to check on things and take some shelving units back there, so I can organize my UFOs. I hope to do a little sorting while I'm there, but it's going to be a quick trip, so I don't know for sure what I'll get to.

Here's what I did yesterday -- I cut out the background for the Mariner's Compass I started in class last week, pieced those pieces to the arcs, appliqued the center in place, and got the quilt center made. I also cut the strips for the borders, but haven't yet added them.


And I added the outer borders to my hand-piecing class project. This is now either a finished top, or a center of a medallion quilt, or (most likely) an orphan block that will find its way into an orphan sampler at some point.


The color's still off a bit on that photo -- the outer borders are a hunter green, rather than the charcoal gray that they appear on my monitor.

I was also trying to get some laundry done and get settled yesterday, so that's really all the sewing I did. I did a bit of knitting, but there's not enough progress to really show that yet.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Recap of the Show, and Shopping Results

So, have you been wondering what I bought at the show? Well, I'll tell you. And show you. Here's a fabric panel I bought, about how quilters think:


And here's one about cats:


Here are the rest of the things I bought on Thursday -- the towels I'll put my turkey appliques on, a book, several stitchery patterns, a jacket pattern, a purse pattern, a small foundation piecing pattern and several quilt patterns. Also several of the Pilot Frixion pens for marking on fabric, and some polish for the machine bed and extension table, to make the surface slick for machine quilting:


I also ordered a giant Sew Steady table to use with my Juki. The table measures 24"x32", and gives a really great size of work surface, while still being able to fit easily on a 4 foot long folding table.

I haven't done any garment sewing for a long time now, but there was a vendor there -- the Wool House, from Toronto -- who had some amazing garment fabrics. I've been bitten by the bug, and got these fabrics, which will become jackets and/or slacks and/or skirts:



It seemed like the show was a bit smaller than last year, although that might have been my imagination. Lots of interesting vendors -- sewing machine dealers, quilt shops, machine embroidery enthusiasts, fashion sewing folks (including Vogue fabrics), and a few odd things like the woman with jewelry and the Bra Lady.

I only got to see one stage presentation, it was about jackets using a sweatshirt as a base. This was done by Connie Spurlock, and had a lot of good information. This is where the concept for my mother's jacket came from, because I took a workshop from Connie, in which I made my jacket, some years back. Their most recent version of the technique is using strips and fabric texturized with Texture Magic. Here are two photos of the sample she showed:




I'm home now, and getting settled back in. I had a great time, but it's good to be home. The cats really missed me, and after snubbing me for a while, have been sticking close. Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon!

Friday's and Saturday's Projects

I only slept for about 2 hours on Thursday night, so Friday evening I wasn't up to writing a post. So now I'll share what I did the last two days of the show.

In my Mariner's Compass class, I got the arcs pieced (the round part is in quarters) and the center circle applique prepared. I still need to cut the background and piece the arcs into it, then applique the center into place, add borders, and then it'll be a quilt top:


In the Improvisational Adventure Quilt class, we started some log cabin variation blocks. I got a good start on two blocks, and made some other units, but didn't get pictures of them yet. I'll post them later -- maybe on Monday for Design Wall Monday ;-)


This next thing seems like a cross between a poncho and a shawl -- a ponchawl? a shawncho? The teacher/designer called it the Suzanne Wrap, which may be the easiest way to refer to it. So, here's my Suzanne Wrap:

The color's off on that -- it's actually a pretty sage green color, not gray as it seems in the photo.

Yesterday I had one class scheduled in the morning, and one in the afternoon. The morning class was another class with Debby Kratovil, called "Sugarloaf Jewels." Unfortunately, I overslept and missed it. I woke up just in time to throw on clothes, rush over to the Expo Center and pick up my kit. So that picture will be coming later.

In the afternoon, I had a class with Connie Spurlock called "Don't Get Caught in a Bind," which was about different ways to bind and otherwise finish your quilts. This class was hands-on, and first we learned how to do straight-of-grain binding on right angles:

then on angles greater than 90 degrees:

then we learned how to do ruffles:

and Prairie Points:

and bias binding, and how to apply it to a round shape:


and finally, I used bias binding to make this eyeglass holder:

I did one make-it-and-take-it at the show, at the Sew Artfully Yours booth. I silkscreened a leaf on one end of this hand-dyed silk scarf, and needlepunched assorted fibers on the other end:


Right now, I'm getting ready to head for home. Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again soon.

Here Are Thursday's Class Projects!

In the morning, I took a class from a woman named Barb Callahan. We each got two vintage hankies, to make two "flower" pins. She had a lot of floral and other print hankies, but I chose simpler ones -- one a white linen with a pretty green crocheted edging, and the other a white linen with a subtle tone-on-tone embroidery motif in the corners, and hemstitching along the sides. I made these pins:


Then in the afternoon, in a class taught by Debbie Kratovil and starting from a precut kit, I got this far on my Storm at Sea quilt:

As you may be able to tell, the blocks and units are joined in rows, but I haven't gotten the rows sewn together. It'll also get a border. The center will finish to about 35" square, and then it'll get roughly 4" finished borders.

Last evening, I learned about hand piecing. The instructor, a woman named Marty Moon, called the class "Portable Piecing." Here's what I got done:

The color's really off on this -- the center square is purple solid, the triangles are a raspberry solid, the border strips are navy solid, and the cornerstones are a pretty teal solid. There are still outer border strips, in a dark green solid, which I haven't gotten to yet. I seem to recall that this will finish to something like 17" square, but don't quote me. Anyhow, it's around that size.

It was a full and enjoyable day -- three good classes, and some time to shop and enjoy the show.

Today's classes are going to be fun, too. I'm taking two quilting classes from Debby Kratovil, who also taught the Storm at Sea class. The first is Mariner's Compass. I've made several of these before, but I'm always up for learning new techniques, and I really like Debby and the classroom environment she fosters, so I'm looking forward to this! Then in the afternoon, Debby will be teaching an Improvisational Adventure Quilt. I took her "No Sneaky-Peeky Improvisational Quilt" class last year, and enjoyed the whole process quite a bit. This time the class is sort of a follow-up to that one, with different techniques. I'm really, really looking forward to that one as well! Debby is the designer who has been patterning the Gee's Bend quilts for Wyndham Fabrics. Then in the evening, I'm taking a class from Emma Seabrooke called "The Suzanne Wrap." It starts with two rectangles of fabric, and its serged. I don't know what to think about this one, but I'm looking forward to it because it seems like it's based on a clever concept, and I always love to learn more clever concepts! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

More the Day Before

Greetings from Kansas City, MO! Yesterday I took two classes, both of which were for table runners. That's a bit ironic, as I normally never make table runners, because it's something neither I nor anyone I know uses. I signed up for the classes, hoping to simply end up with blocks that I could use in a different way than as a table runner.

In the morning, I took a class from a woman named Kim Montagnese, from Amherst Ohio, called "Flashing Fins." I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, so I'm pacing myself a bit, and during this morning's class, I just listened, read through the pattern, and made sure I understood the concepts. Then I went back to my room and took a nap. So at the moment, I have nothing of my own to show, but here are her blocks that she had in class:




Our kit is to make two blocks, and I'm planning to either make more blocks to make a quilt, or use those two blocks as sort of "orphan blocks," and set them together in a sampler or random kind of quilt. I'm sure you'll be seeing those pictures eventually. Back in my room in the evening, I did trace the shapes I needed onto Do-Sew, but I want to do the sewing at home, in my own space.

Then in the afternoon, I took a class from Connie Spurlock, of Coeur d'Alene, ID, called Turkey Trot. Here's a picture of the sample of the class project:


I got my turkey appliques made, and I've decided I'm going to applique them to tea towels when I get home. So for now, they're as far along as I can get them. Aren't they cute?:


I'll post pictures again when these turn into actual finished projects. For now, they can stay as they are. Today the show opens -- I have a little time in the morning, and a few hours in the afternoon when I'll be able to shop and/or do make-it-and-take-it projects. Today's classes are a bit of a mixed bag -- I'll be making a beaded flower pin from a hankie, working on a Storm at Sea quilt (from a precut kit, yay!), and learning hand piecing. Pictures of the results of those classes tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Quilter's Accountability Report for October 12

Well, I was sick last week, and whatever it was that I had lingered longer than I thought it would.

Here's my list from last week, with my comments:

1. Continue to work on Mom's jacket, and finish it if possible. I made some progress on this on Sunday evening -- see this post. I hope to finish it up this week, but I didn't bring it with me to Kansas City, so it'll be Sunday before I can work on it again.

2. Quilt Oak Leaves and Reel. (This has been loaded on the HQ16 for quite some time now, and just needs to be done!) I never got to any quilting this week at all.

3. Quilt Sugar and Spice. Like I said in #2 above, I never got to any quilting this week at all.

4. Quilt Thimbleberries Goose in the Pond. And again, I never got to any quilting this week at all.


This week, I'm at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Kansas City, MO. I'm taking a number of classes, so I'll come home with some things that may be getting my attention more than UFOs. Also, I'm not sure whether or not I'll be home for long -- I may need to go to Ohio on Monday. So it doesn't seem likely that I'll get to much if any actual quilting this week. I may be able to do some piecing or other sewing "stuff," so I'll just leave my list stand again for this week, and hope that I can at least finish up my mother's jacket so I have something to show as finished next week. Anything else will just be a bonus at this point. After I get back from Ohio (assuming I go), I'm going to have to really get busy and get some tops quilted. A friend and I are planning a "binding party" over Thanksgiving, or around then, so I'll need to have some quilts quilted and ready to bind.

Check out Bari's blog, to see what other quilters have been accomplishing this week. Sorry I didn't have any pictures to show you today -- but the next few days, I'll be showing pictures of my class projects, so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Tuesday -- Packing, and Another Pair of Socks

I finished up these socks yesterday. I love the colors -- they're fun, and it makes me happy to look at them. The picture's colors aren't completely true -- what looks gray here is a sort of sage-y, lime-y soft green.



I'm packing and getting ready for my time in Kansas City this week, at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. I'm taking some fun classes, or at least I expect they'll be fun. I'll post pictures of the class projects here, though they may very well not be in a finished state this week.

I'm off to check my list one more time, to make sure I don't forget anything. Gotta remember to pack my newest pair of socks! Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Design Wall Monday, October 10

This is a project I've been "working on" for some time now. I made myself a jacket like this in a workshop, and when my mother saw it, she wanted one "just like it." It's using a sweatshirt as a base, with fabrics fairly randomly applied onto the surface:

And here are the sleeves (ignore the corner of the jacket body in the lower left corner):

I really hate to make the same thing a second time, so this has languished for quite a while. Now I'm in the mode of wanting to finish things and get them moved on to their final homes. Since my mother's birthday is Thursday, I had some motivation to pull it out and finish it up. It won't be done in time to get to her for her birthday (since I also have to mail it), but it'll be a late birthday gift for this year. I can't remember when I made my jacket, but I think it's been at least 5 years ago now.

Last night I finished all the stitching around the various fabrics, and did the quilting on the sleeves. I need to quilt the jacket body, embellish it a bit (that will involve couching down some decorative yarns and/or trims, and adding some Swarovski crystals), and assemble it. Then I'll bind the sleeve edges, the front and bottom edges, and it'll be done. I don't know if I'll finish it in this upcoming week, but I'll try. I'm going to be at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Kansas City, MO from Wednesday through Saturday, and I'm taking quite a few classes there. But maybe I can finish it up in my room in the evenings, or on Sunday when I get back. Watch this space for class project photos as well ;-)

Check out Judy's blog to see what's on other folks' design walls today. Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.

Just For Fun Sewing

This is a pattern/kit I've had for a few years now. I know I got it from a Brother sewing machine dealer at a show I was at -- probably the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo, and probably in Cleveland, Ohio, but I'm not positive as to the location, and have no idea about the year. I'm thinking it may have been as long ago as 2005, since the copyright on the pattern (from Quiltmaker magazine) is 2004. Anyhow, they were giving out these kits, which contained the pattern, fabric, Insul-Bright and Warm & Natural batting, and even a small spool of thread, at this machine dealer's booth. I thought that was really generous, and I've always intended to make it up, but hadn't gotten there. So I finally did it. They intended you to back and bind with the blue background fabric, too, but I figured if I put plain muslin on the back (and bound one with something else), I could make two potholders! One for me, and maybe one for a giftie. I still need to add rings or binding loops to them for hanging.



Then, I've been playing around with some small pieces of some hand-dyed fabrics that I was given way back some time in the mid to late 1990s. I never knew what to do with them, and then recently saw a tutorial on someone's blog (and I'm so sorry that I can't remember whose) for mug mats. She made hers somewhat large, they were 9 or 10 inches square, which was a bit big for me, so I decreased the sizes of the pieces and included fewer squares. I just wanted it as more of a coaster, not a snack mat. Anyhow, I started playing around, and this is what I've ended up with. A fun little thing to play with, when I wanted to sew but didn't want to think too much. These are for our house, but I've also made and already gifted several others.


And as a variation on the theme, I made this slightly larger one, which is about 9" square. Larger than the (about 6" square) mug mats, but smaller than a placemat. I'm planning to use this one when I have a bowl of soup or a small plate with a sandwich or salad that I'm eating at the computer. I just love the teal fabric in the background of this one.


Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.

The Last Two...

Here are the final two projects on my UFO list for this quarter's UFO Club in the Quilters Knitting group on Ravelry.

First is a jacket for my mother, which uses a sweatshirt as a base. You can see the neck opening in the middle there -- I'll cut up the front once I get all the fabrics attached and stitched down. The sleeves have no fabrics on them as yet -- I need to double-check the length of them before I do that. Once all the fabrics are applied, they get stitched down, then the whole thing gets quilted, embellished with couched-down novelty yarns and/or trims and Swarovski crystals, and reassembled. My mother saw the one I made for myself, which I started in a class with Connie Spurlock at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo one year (don't ask me which year, though! I can't recall.). She really liked it, so much that she asked me to make her one. I've had this in progress for a couple years now, but I have a hard time getting interested in working on it -- I don't really like to repeat projects. There are lots of fabrics in here -- a lot of Laurel Burch from the Ocean Song line, but quite a few random other brights as well. This will be a loud and happy jacket!


This last project I thought was at the house in Ohio, but then last night I found it downstairs with a bunch of other kits I want to cut and have ready to go. There are four stitched kitty blocks, which have been done for quite some time now. They get set on point with the kitten toile, which is pinned up on the design wall next to the blocks. It's a print from about 8 years ago by Judy Sabanek. I'm pretty sure I got this as a kit the one and only time I went to the AQS show in Paducah, which was 2004. I did the stitchery shortly after that, and that's as far as I got. It's time to finish it up, so we can enjoy the kitties. This pattern is called "Max & Miss Kitty," and it's by MJP Designs, though it doesn't appear to still be available on the website. I can't wait to get this one finished, and see how it looks. Of course, I saw the sample when I bought the kit, but I really don't remember what it looked like now.


So there you have it. All the projects I'm hoping to complete by the end of June, for this quarter's UFO Club. I know that's a lot, but I think I can do it. I'm certainly going to give it my best shot!

Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again soon.