Saturday, May 31, 2008
Binding, Journals, and Dear Jane
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Spinning my Wheels
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
My new buddies!
I think we are going to have a great time getting to know each other and growing our businesses!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Fun with Amy Butler
Friday, May 09, 2008
New Blocks done for my Dear Jane quilt
Now that I was all warmed up and in the mood I decided to tack C-13. I've been stalled on this one for a while due to fabric choices. Well, since I've gone over the line and used two fabrics, I stepped all the way over and not only used 2 fabrics, but I used three fabrics, and one of them is red!!! Talk about pushing the boundaries! To tell you the truth I'm liking the red white and blue block, and may add a few more subltle dashes of red. After all this is an election year, and I think it is quite appropriate to the quilt. This block also had some finicky small measurements, ant the finished size of those triangles is 3/8 of an inch. That's a small triangle! Big thanks to the tips in Sally Collins book on precision piecing - sew larger and cut down to size is the trick with these little babies!
Acually there is one more block in the C row and then it will be done. It's an applique block, and my pieces are ready to sew, so when I'm ready for a sit-down break this afternoon, I'll be doing that. Hopefully I can get in the grove of making a block a day or so. If I can do that I could get the top done this year. Wouldn't that be fabulous?
Hope your day is sew wonderful, too!
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Hide and Seek (or Lost and Found!)
For the quilting I used C&C variegated yellow for the top and the back. I almost ran out of thread, so had to use something slightly different on part of the back, but you can't tell. From now on I will be buying the larger spools of thread! I can't tell you how many times I've had to go hunting for a little more thread to quilt the last corner of a quilt!! I'm very happy that my machine seems to like the C&C threads because they are fairly easy to come by most of the time.
Off to the sewing room with me now for the task of the day! Wonder what I will find in drawer number 2?
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Fun Find of the Day
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
A Quick and Easy Quilt Label
Iron the freezer paper to the back of your light fabric. Then write your label. (I like to use an oversized piece because sometimes I make a mistake and this way I can just flip it over and use the other end to write on!). Write your label with a permanent pen. Pigma markers are awesome, but what I really like to use is a gel pen. They come in so many colors and add a custom touch to your label.
What information to put on your label? The name of the quilt. Your name. The name of the person who quilted it, if not yourself. The date. (I usually just use month and year) I like to add my location. If you are sending it out to shows, it is a good idea to put all contact information on the label. If it is a gift, put the recipient's name and occasion. As you can see, there is a great deal that you can put on the label, so you may want to make it a nice large one! Another great tip is to write the measurements of the quilt. That way you don't have to remeasure it beacause you forgot how big it actually is!
After you have finished writing your label, remove the freezer paper and press the label. Trim to a square, I like to trim about 1/2" outside of the writing to make the label as small as possible (less sewing to do!). Add a 1" strip to each side, press seam allowance toward strip, trim even with top and bottom. Then add a 1" strip to the top and the bottom, press seam allowance toward strips and trim even with sides. Press 1/4 inch under all around this sewn block, then pin to back of quilt and applique down.
See how easy it is to make a cute label for your quilt? I hope you do label the quilts you make. Someday, someone will want to know who made it and why, and this might be their only clue!
Have a quilty day!