Saturday, November 24, 2012

New Project

I bought this lovely yarn in Houston. It's Silk Garden by Noro. I love the colors, but I'm a little concerned about how loose the "weave" is. I'm using the recommended needles but I wonder if I should switch to thinner ones. The only problem with that is that I probably won't have enough yarn then and this stuff is pricey!

Noro Striped Scarf WIP
More details here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/twiddletails/noro-striped-scarf

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Ta-Dah-ish

The Granny Square Afghan is finished. Sort of.
I still have a lot of stringy bits to get rid of in the back.
I'm also mulling over whether I want to add a picot edge or just leave the double crochet border I have right now.

The light is still not optimal for photos, but at least it wasn't raining.
Granny Square Afghan

Granny Square Afghan

Granny Square Afghan Border

Friday, October 26, 2012

Two projects at a time

I've decided to go back to the days when I only worked on one or two projects at a time - one machine and one handwork item.
It feels like I managed to get much more done this way.
I'm just not a very good multi-tasker when it comes to sewing.
My current focus:
1. Finishing my Rainbow Jane quilt top.

Untitled
2. Completing the granny square blanket. I'm up to 15 x 10 squares (the photo is old and it's too dark to take a new one right now). The plan is 15 x 12 squares with a border.
Granny Afghan
Today, however, I have to go buy supplies for Houston!!!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Oh, the possibilities!

Oh, the possibilities!
Actually, I have some WIPs I want to finish first, but having an empty tote is a REALLY good feeling.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ta-Dah!

Done! Finished! Complete! Finish #8!
Untitled
I wrestled with whether to add a border or not, but I wanted to keep the modern feel, so I decided against it.
Untitled
Untitled
I decided to do a simple green binding.
Untitled
And I managed not to chop off too many points.

(In the store: Pattern - Geese in the Forest. I added some kits too.)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Progress

All the trees have a bit of quilting in them. Planning on finishing the background quilting today. I have more plans for the trees, but we'll have to see if I have time, since I have to drop this baby off on Monday. Eeeek!

Progress

Sunday, September 30, 2012

A Forest of...

...pins.
300 or so.
Pin Basting
I used Rita of Red Pepper Quilts' basting method. Pin Basting
Off to buy thread this morning. I'm quite excited about getting this one quilted.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

How often do I...

...clean the inside of my sewing machine?

Obviously not often enough.
sewingmachinefluff
Yup, that all came out of that tiny hole!
I entered the Geese in the Forest quilt in our local quilt show.
The perfect incentive to finish it, right?
Figured I should clean the sewing maching before I start quilting...
GITF-1

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Free Pattern!

What have I been doing the last couple of days? Writing a Sand & Surf pattern. It can be downloaded over here.

I've also added kits to the store, so if you want to make your own little Sand & Surf quilt, you don't have to think too hard.

 
If you decide to use the pattern and find any errors, please let me know.  I haven't had time to have it tested.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Finish #7!

Here she is. Sand & Surf.
Sand & Surf

Baby quilt. 35" x 48".
Sand & Surf
 
Sand & Surf
And here's why I had to sew part of the binding on backwards. I wanted the colors to line up perfectly on both sides of the quilt. They do.
Sand & Surf
I decided to start selling my sample quilts on Etsy since I just don't have room for any more, but I don't think I can part with this one. Not yet.

(If you want to make your own, the Bella colors I used are: 201, 68, 104, 85, 216, 107, and 97 for the white.)

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Super Quick Flying Geese Tutorial

Sand & Surf is done.  I love it and I'll share tomorrow. And I'm working on a free pattern.

Since most zig zag quilts are made up of flying geese units, I thought I'd share the method I used.  There are tutorials for this all over blogland, but I figured one more couldn't hurt.

This makes 4 identical flying geese, without any fabric wasted.

First off, you need to determine what size you wish your flying geese to be.
Flying geese units are always twice as wide as they are tall.

For Sand & Surf, I made 4" x 8" (finished) units, but this formula works for any size.

Add ⅞" to the finished height. (4 ⅞") - A
Add 1 ¼" to the finished width. (9 ¼") - B

Out of the fabric you wish to use for the side triangles of your flying geese, cut 4 squares A x A.
Out of the fabric you wish to use for the center of your flying geese, cut 1 square B x B.
Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the WRONG side of each of the smaller squares.
I like to use a pencil because it won't bleed when washed, but you can also use a disappearing or washable marker.

QuickFlyingGeese-1
Lay two of the smaller squares on top of the larger square RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER as in the photo. Be sure the lines match up. Pin.
QuickFlyingGeese-2
Stitch ¼" away from the drawn line on each side.
QuickFlyingGeese-3
Cut along the drawn line.
QuickFlyingGeese-4
Press the seam toward the smaller triangles. (Forgot to take a photo the first time around...)
QuickFlyingGeese-5
Place the remaining smaller squares on top of the two units you just created, RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. Pin, and sew ¼" away from the drawn lines on either side.
QuickFlyingGeese-6
QuickFlyingGeese-7
Cut along the drawn lines and press the seams toward the smaller triangles. Voila! Four identical flying geese!
QuickFlyingGeese-9

(I have created a PDF version of this tutorial, which you can view here.)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Binding Time!

Want to challenge yourself? Try attaching a binding in the opposite direction. Reverse engineering.
You will probably do a lot of cursing and seam ripping but it will be SO rewarding in the end.

Sand & Surf

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Almost there

I'm hoping to finish Sand & Surf today and starting to think about binding.

sandandsea8
Any ideas?

Monday, September 10, 2012

Pebbles take forever!

I'd never tried pebble quilting before. Until today.

Pebble quilting
I love it, but it is NOT a quick way to quilt. 40" of zig zag took me two hours. Not sure how many more pebbles will be in this little quilt.
 
See my little clam shells?
Pebble quilting

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

I really shouldn't

I have SO many other projects going, but this looks like fun.
Michele from Quilting Gallery is hosting an Autumn Block Party.
Over 15 weeks there will be instructions for 45 blocks designed by guest designers.

The blocks will be designed as 12" finished but I decided to reduce them to 9".  We'll see if it works.
The first block is appliqué, so reducing the size was fairly simple.  Not sure about the pieced blocks but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Autumn Block Party

Monday, September 3, 2012

Top Done!

Progress is slow over here, but I'm getting there.
Sand & Surf Quilt Top
I think I like it.
Now to figure out the quilting.

(The Bella colors I used are: 201, 68, 104, 85, 216, 107)

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Sand & Surf?

Yesterday I thought I'd call this little quilt Surf & Sand.
Today I think Sand & Surf sounds better. Or Sand & Sea.  Or Sea & Sand.
What do you think?

Sand & Surf in progress

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Surf & Sand

I've been playing with Bella Solids a little trying to come up with interesting color combinations.

Surf & Sand
Sand and Surf
 
Thinking it could work well in a zig zag quilt.
Something like this.
 
(The Bella colors are - from top to bottom: 201, 68, 104, 85, 216, & 107)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Saturday Sewing

Well, kind of.  Luigi is ready to go "under the needle" but first some yard work awaits.
Super Mario Brothers QAL Block 2

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Grannies again...

The Olympics have been very helpful in my progress on the Granny Afghan. Now that it's over I'm not sure that I'll have as much time on my hands.

Summer has finally arrived, so I'm only making squares right now. Attaching them will have to wait for cooler days.
Granny Squares

Friday, August 10, 2012

Crunch Time

Getting BOM kits ready to go into the mail on Monday.
These are pretty brights for Rainbow Jane.
BOMCrunchtime

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Six Rows!

One of the few advantages of our non-existent summer is that I can have this wool afghan on my lap every night while watching the Olympics. Hence 6 rows!
Granny Afghan
I figure I'll need at least 12 rows to make it a useful item. This means that I, once again, do not have enough yarn. I'm estimating that I'll need 20 skeins total at $10 a skein. $200! Not a cheap project, that's for sure.
But I do love it!
Granny Afghan

Monday, August 6, 2012

It's-a me, Mario!

I know I said the Mind the Gap quilt was going to be my next project, but then the fabric for my Super Mario quilt arrived and I HAD to make the first block.

Here is is soaking in the tub to remove the stabilizer from the back.  I used Sticky Fabri-Solvy from Sulky because it was way cheaper than Stick-and-Washaway.
Since I've never used Stick-and-Washaway, I can't compare the two, but it worked well.
Super Mario Brothers QAL Block 1

When he came out of the "wash" the first time, he was 1" taller than he was wide!
Super Mario Brothers QAL Block 1
So...I stitched all the vertical seams an eighth wider and he's close to square now. Well, except for the wonky-ness. I'm hoping a lot of steam will help straighten him out a bit. 
Super Mario Brothers QAL Block 1

HUGE LESSON: Backstitch the start and end of each seam. No matter how careful you are, these blocks are going to be manhandled a bit.
Super Mario Brothers QAL Block 1
(I'm using Bella Solids from Moda. I will post a list of the fabrics I used in a later post if anyone's interested.)

Friday, August 3, 2012

I'm SO making this next!

Free pattern from Moda using the new Bella Solids colors.  One fat quarter each of 12 of the colors.
And I just happen to have them all!

I'm thinking of maybe using grey for the background instead of white. Or maybe sand.

To celebrate finding a free pattern I LOVE, the fabric bundle is 20% off in the store for the next couple of days.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Santa again (and some grannies)

Since I'm watching A LOT of television right now thanks to the Olympics, I'm making progress on some of my handwork.

Windswept Santa
July 12th
Windswept Santa
July 18th
Windswept Santa
July 28th
Windswept Santa
Did I mention I now have ALL the solid colors of DMC embroidery cotton?

Granny Afghan
July 4th
Granny Squares
July 15th
Granny Squares
July 28th
Granny Afghan
I have spent a lot of time getting rid of those little strings on the back.
Granny Afghan