Joy goes on a Mini Vacation

I didn’t want to go, but I had to.
Oh, well, I did want to go to Marquette to see some of the inlaws, but not ALL of the inlaws, if you know what I mean. My husband goes every summer, and I only every other time, because I don’t think it’s right to spend all the time and effort it takes to go up there, only to endure hateful comments by one person. I didn’t go last year, so I had to go this year. and it was my MIL’s 90th birthday.
Sew I planned ahead, and made sure I didn’t repeat any of the “mistakes” I made last time. I get up at 3am every day for work, so getting up at 6am is sleeping in for me. I am not going to change my schedual for 4 days, only to have to revert back when I get home, and this seems to be a source of contention for my MIL. No matter how quiet I am, I just can’t make her happy unless I stay holed up in our room downstairs until 9am, which I just can’t do. Yes, I already told Hubby I wanted to stay in a hotel, but he wasn’t having it.
It is tradition to stay at his brother house, when one visits, and his mother visits every summer.
I brought a coffee maker, so I could make coffee in the bathroom downstairs, in hopes of not waking up the MIL, and being ridiculed for the remainder of the trip.
and I brought Joy! There is a little walk out with small table and gorgeous view, and I imagined myself sitting there sewing while watching the sun come up.

Sew much fun – no extension cord needed!

Watched the sun peeking through the trees.

Joy’s little corner of peacefulness.

With nice views in all directions, it was as awesome as I imagined!

I don’t know if I got it right, or if it’s because MIL had another person to be mad at [someone who should have been there, but wasn’t], but I did have a wonderful [and insultless] time!

I wore my Bag/Shirt outfits, and everyone seemed to love them!

I went to the Ben Franklin craft store, and bought some . . . . [are ya ready?] fabric! I also got a row-by-row pattern. Not the kit because it was done in black and white. Note to shop owners: If you want to sell your kits, make it in fabric that every quilter doesn’t have in their stash already. – Just sayin . . .

We went bar hopping with some cousins. Saw a live band. It was a  One Man Band. Bought the CD. Drank Craft Beer. Wished someone would carry Labat Blue!

The next day we went to a park, where I did NOT jump off a cliff, but got a picture of the cousin that did.

What a pose!

Then I went rock hunting/sight seeing by myself, while others left early to get stuff for the Birthday party. I think hubby was slightly worried I wouldn’t come back, but I had to. My rock bag was full. LOL.

After I stuffed a grocery bag full of pretty rocks, I found an art gallery on the way home. I ventured in, and bought some greeting cards by Kathleen Conover. If I love you, yer getting one of these. Hopefully I only love 12 people cuz I am keeping 4 of them. I love her works, and it turns out she was a quilter!

The next day, I went to a real quilt shop called Alley Kats, and got a row by row pattern and a bit more fabric. They had some Kaffe, but not in the colors I needed.

SIL took me to a retro store called  Boomerang Retro & Relics and it was so cool, I had to take a picture of the shop keeper! I coulda done some damage if I didn’t have to pay for our car repairs before we went.

I finished all my blocks for a pattern I am making from charms, and ended up having a wonderful time!

Which is good, because summer is almost over.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer!

#JoyGoesOnVacation

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Singer 99 is Dressed to the 9’s

Dressed to the 9’s!

In the weeks that followed my Singer 99 conversion, I accessorized a bit, then I took her to an all day sew. I usually bring a couple other machines with me, but I only used Joy that day. I marveled at her true portability, as I churned along. At first, I found myself looking under the table for the foot pedal, and laughed at myself. Once, I found my legs crossed, and told my friend, “Hey look! My legs are crossed! Can you do that?” and she mildly, said “no” Then she lit up and said “Oh my goodness! The light just turned on. That is truly a portable machine!” I smiled and said “I know, right? I can take her to the park and just sit and sew.”
Now, she wants one.
At that time I had only made a dust cover, accessory bag, and piecing tool caddy, with padded bottom [possible coffee cup mat] built in pin cushion, scissor pocket, and small pockets for tweezers, 6″ ruler, and poky stick.

 

Pretty cool stuff, considering I wanted to be able to carry her outside and have everything I need to begin sewing.
but then I went full out batpoop crazy, and made a custom Pack-n-Play for her!
I finished in time to take her for a test run at my local quilt shop aply named “Sew Crazy”

The hooks were added because I accidently ironed over the nylon webbing while pressing the panel on, and got some black goo on the red panel. After thinking about remaking the panel for a tenth of a millisecond, I decided to hide the marks with hanging hardware! I don’t know if I will ever need to hang anything here, but no one has to know that I didn’t intend to have them.

Please notice the position of the word “Singer” in the appliques.

 

I did not want a bag that I would have to lift her out of to sew, so I made sides that drop down.

Beauty unfolding!

I ran out of velcro for the side pocket flaps. I don’t have any idea what I will put in these pockets, but you can’t add them later, so here they are.

 

In case you can’t tell just how much I obsessed over this, here are the features:

The end pieces contain pockets with print matched flaps on the inside [of course], and print matched sleeves on the outside for the webbing straps to go through because I do NOT like spending $12 /yard for fabric and then having black straps run across the top of  it.

The front drops down, and is made to hang over the table. It has 3 pockets with a print matched flap. The flap is held closed with velcro, because these pockets will be upside down when she is all packed up.

The back is designed to hold patterns, paperback books, or quilt blocks, and also has a print matched flap. This flap also has a velcro closure, but will be right side up, when she is all packed up.

Then we have a shape matched bag for threads, bobbins, and portable battery operated light. I designed this to fit the exact shape of her throat where it will travel with her. I used an invisable [teeth covered] zipper so as not to scratch her when I slide it in place.

Then I needed a way to have the tools I always use handy, so I made this tool cozy with pin cushion, scissor pocket, and little pockets for a ruler, tweezers, and poky sticks.

[See those little red scissors? They are made by Fiskars, and cut thread really well. They only cost $1.49! Look for them in the school supplies [not sewing] section next to the crayons. I buy them in colors to match every sewing machine I have.]

There is a flap on the back to put her foot down on, and hold it in place for travel.

More velcro to hold her secure.

The front has her name in fussy cut applique.
The back as an outline of her in fussy cut applique, from a template I made.

If I learned one thing from this, it’s that the ‘stick on’ velcro sucks!!!! If you have any,  throw it away! Now!

Really!

I’ll wait . . . . .

Is it gone?

Ok, good.

So what will you use to hold the velcro in place while you sew it?

Something that will make it stick where you want it, but also be able to sew over it without gumming up your needle?

Temporary basting spray! Yep!

Here are the rest of my tips for sewing velcro:

Use a walking foot! I was lazy, and left my walking foot on, and it worked better than any of my past velcro sewing experiences! Skipped stitches anyone? Not with the walking foot. I’m telling you, it was awesome.

Cut the pieces to fit before spraying them. Then lay down the ones you will sew first, because you don’t want the pieces in waiting to get too dry. I used freezer paper for any overspray.  Spray them, then place on fabric, finger press, and sew them down.

Next, spray your matching pieces, and lightly place on top of the sewn ones.

Then carefully close the flap, and if it looks good, press with your hand.

Next, carefully lift the flap, using your finger tips to seperate the pieces so the unsewn ones stay stuck to the fabric. Now, you are ready to sew those down.

I had so much fun, I may velcro EVERYTHING!

um, as soon as I get some more.

That’s it for this week! I am off to work on another quilt now.

#DressedToTheNines #PrintMatchObession #PackNPlay  #SewingWithVelcro

 

Kaffe Paperweight TeaPot

I found out that Kaffe Fasset had authorised some of his designs to be featured on  Teapots made by The London Pottery.  Sew, just for kicks, I had to get one, which led to making a tea mat. In reality, I keep the Teapot on top of my microwave, and I hated dusting it. Not the teapot, but the microwave. The microwave is black, and I could dust it several times a day if I was OCD about it. I fixed that with a FQ of Jade, and of course the matching Gypsy color, along with some black poka dot, and some Tea themed scraps.

I made 2, but I couldn’t decide which one I liked more, so I made it reverseable.

In case you ever wondered . . . .

Yeah, that’s better now.

Something pretty to look at, and no more dusting the microwave. That means more time for quilting.

#FunWithKaffe #MoreTimeForQuilting

I cut some gorgeous fabric!

Odd headline, but when you consider I’ve had this large print fabric for awhile now, because it was too pretty to cut – it is very appropriate.

Sew what did I cut?

My Kaffe Fasset Collection fabric. Kaffe Spots, and Philip Jacobs Japanese Crysanthemum to be exact. Maybe it’s because the name says “cry” I just couldn’t cut it up, until I decided it was time to get pretty!

I told myself I couldn’t start another handbag until I finished my round bag for the rotating cutting mat. Well I finished it, so I got out my Kaffe Fasset collections, and made a couple of things. A shirt and handbag. The bag is a free pattern called Phoebe that was modfied by adding an inset zipper closure, a large pocket on the outside, a cell phone pocket on the side, and a divider. I later added some slides to the handle to be able to adjust the length. The shirt was “newLook” pattern #6871

I fussy cut the front and back of the shirt pieces, as well as the outside pocket on the bag  to place a big fat Crysanthemum  front and center!

I am pretty sure Philip Jacobs would be tickled pink!

Modifed inside of Phoebe bag.

Perfection!

Sew, how do you top that?

You don’t, but every now and then your eyes need to rest from all that excitement, so you make another couple of things.

 

Also fussy cut.

Getting really good at these inset zippers!

and of course matching reading glasses case!

These outfits take about 2 yards of each color, and there is some left over, but that’s ok. I can use it in a quilt!

Am I doing a 3rd? You bet!

#ICutMyKaffe #LargePrintQuiltFabric

 

 

Finished! Circle Bag for Rotating mat

I have at least 2 recent quilts finished, but took a break to finish up some other stuff. My job gets a bit busy in the summer, so I wanted to organise, before it gets too out of hand. What better way to organise than to finish up some abandoned projects?

Then my computer crashed a couple of times, and I decided it was time for a new hard drive. When I removed the old ones [yes, I had 3 drives stuffed in there] they were dated 2006, 2008, and 2011, so I guess it was just time.  Sew while windoze was loading, and updating, and updating, and updating . . . I cleaned, and sewed.

The first one was this bag. Way back when, I made a bag for my rotating cutting mat, but didn’t like the zipper.  I removed it, [Rip As You Go?], but did nothing else to it , until it taunted me into submission. Or maybe hubby wanted his office chair back. Anyway, it’s done!

I am sew loving this 22″ long double zipper!

A couple notes on how I did it:

I measured the mat, then added 1 1/2″ to the diameter. That makes 15 1/2 so I made a circle that big, and used it for my template. Then I quilted the pieces to some heavy interfacing. Same for pockets, except I made a cut out, trimmed with bias binding to finish. I added the handles to the bag inside the pockets to hide the attachment.

I installed the zipper into 4 strips 2 /12″ wide and about 2″  longer than the zipper.  This zipper panel turned out to be 5″ wide. I added heavy interfacing and quilted it, too.

Then I took the diameter of the quilted circles, subtracted 1″ for the two 1/2″ seam allowances, and used Pie [3.14] to get the circumference which was just under 48″. After that, I made the last panel the same width as the one containing the zipper, and added it to make the circle measure 48″ I used a ton of pins to attach my ring, one side at a time.

A large outside pocket on each side, and one on the inside.

• Looks like it’s sticking it’s tongue out at us, doesn’t it?

It holds the mat, and quite a few tools.

and of course it matches my Featherweight tote.

 

#CircleBag #RotatingMat

Baby Sings the Blues -Singer 348

I went to a quilt show with some of my Playdate friends, and there was a lunch downstairs, along with some group displays. Sounds innocent enough, but my enabler friend directed my attention to a group table that had a sewing machine in need of a new home. It was blue, and even though my “Betty” White is blue, I don’t have a blue Singer. We were going to a nearby quilt shop after, and I was on a * gasp * budget, so I told the lady, I would have to wait a bit. I only ended up spending about $20 at the quilt shop, so I had $25 left. I went back to the little table, where the lady had practically begged me to take this sad little machine home with me, so I offered her the $25 and sealed our fates. The  blue case was made of plastic, that had large cracks on every corner, and I was strongly encouraged to hold it from the bottom.
I hugged her tightly and named her “Baby Sings the blues” before I even got her in the car.
Once home, I waited until Hubby went out to the shop. Then I steathly carried her from the car to my sewing table, and removed the case. There she was, all wide eyed and waiting to show me what she could do. Like a puppy saying “Im so happy you chose me!” Well, she sewed so pretty, that I couldn’t put her back in that case. The bottom was broken too, so I just took her completely out.

Now I usually employ old suit cases to store [hide] my machines, but Baby deserves better. I would look for a crappy machine to liberate from it’s case at a thrift store soon, but having spent all my money, I couldn’t go just yet. I figured it would take several stops, at several thrift stores to find, but I was going to try anyway.

About a week later, I was driving home, and saw it.
A machine case by the side of the road!!!!

It was rather beat up, and contained a Singer 758 better known as a “touch and throw” – EXACTLY what I wanted. I knew I wouldn’t be tempted to refurbish one of those.

 

I never refinished a case before, but I won’t let such details stop me.
Mod Podge to the rescue! I have an entire tote dedicated to sewing themed fabrics.

Of course I do!

I picked out some background fabric, and sanded the loose bits of the case down, leaving most of the original covering on it. Then I brushed on the Mod Podge, and wrapped it. First the sides. Then I traced the ends and made a template to cut the end fabric pieces.

The hardware was secured with rivets, so I left the hardware on except for the pieces on the ends of the top. Those pieces had a gap that would reveal the original covering, so the rivets got drilled out, and replaced with nuts and bolts. I used an exacto blade to cut the fabric around the other hardware pieces.

but I wasn’t done yet. I have to jazz her up. Of course I do!

Lets give her house a touch of Philip Jacobs . . .

and make her a bag for the foot petal, manual, and box of bits.

Did I once buy a roll of thick vinyl? Of course I did!

Complete!

and now Baby is where she belongs when she’s not out playing.

Bag Of Kisses

What do you do with 2 left over blocks?

Make a bag full of kisses of course!

This bag will hold the Baby Kisses Quilt when I gift it. Yeah, some people buy gift bags.

You will need 2 blocks, of course, some batting, backing, and some left over strips to make it bigger.
The poka dot sashing will actually be the sides when I stitch the bottom corners of the bag to make it square-ish.
3 strips for handles and trim for the top of the bag.
Scraps for a pocket.

I also used some HeatnBond, and some of that sticky stuff for applique since I bought a bolt of it before I discovered I don’t like it.

To start, I sashed the blocks, then quilted them with some extra orange fabric.

I squared the blocks to 19″x19″ and made a large pocket 19″ wide and 15″ tall, but I recommend only 14″ tall after having sewn it.

For the pocket, I used 2 more 10″ pieces of the fabric line that I didn’t use in the quilt, and added sashing to bring it out to the width of the bag pieces.

There are many ways to make a pocket, and for this one, I used heavy interfacing [to help the bag stand up] and made both sides pretty. Then I quilted it, and finish trimed both top and bottom eges.
Turns out I made mine about 1/2 inch too tall. 5 inches shorter than your bag blocks is best.
* If your machine can’t sew through the pocket, bag, and trim, then you want to sew the top and bottom of the two pieces right sides together, [like a tube] turn them wrong side in, press at the seams, insert your interfacing into the tube, then quilt it. This will eliminate the added finish trim pieces, and lessen the bulk.
*You could also make the pocket less wide, finish all 4 edges, and stitch it on the sides and bottom to the inside of the bag. Then you won’t have to stitch through both sides of the bag pieces and the pocket as well.

After adding trim to the bottom of the pocket,  I placed it 2″ above the bottom of the bag piece, on the inside sewed along the bottom of the pocket. The sides of the pocket get sewn along with the sides of the bag.  Then I zig zag the edges.  I could have trimmed the inside of the bag seams with binding after, but I didn’t. It’s just a simple bag, right?

 

After sewing the sides and bottom of the bag, I flattened out the corners, pinned and stitched across them to make the bottom square.

Handles – two 2.5″ strips cut 27″ long each.
I used a 1 inch strip of 2 sided sticky stuff [for applique] to stick down a 1″ strip of cotton quilt batting right down the middle. I hate that stuff, and am trying to use it up. I just don’t have the patience to peel the paper backing  that often.

Then I ironed over one side, and before ironing the other side, I turned the edge under about a quarter inch. Then I stitched down the middle with a decorative stitch plus once down each side with a straight stitch.

Trim piece for the top of the bag is also a 2 1/2″ strip.

With the bag right sides out, wrap the top trim around the bag, and mark where it meets. Then do a diagonal [or straight] seam to make a ring. Make it a tight fit because it will stretch when you sew it.

Press a 1/4 down on one side, and use a strip of HeatnBond [3/8 size] sliced in half [make it skinnier] tucked under, then press to make it stay.

Center and pin the handles on leaving an inch sticking up. Then place your trim ring on and pin it. Sew around the trim ring at 1/2 inch. Then zig zag around it to make the handles more secure.

With the bag inside out, turn the ring to outside, pin or clip it, and sew it around the top and then around the bottom edge, and if you do it right, the bottom stitch line should catch the bottom of the handles.

 

There’s a few things I would change when I make another one, but I like that I can quilt the outside to the lining and have a nice invisable handle attatchment.

I hated the thought of sewing the handles to the bag, and having those stitches visable. and if I made the pocket smaller, I could french seam the sides of the bag, too. but this one’s done, and I’ve moved on!

So that’s my tip on sewing a simple quilted bag without having the handles messing up the look of the quilted blocks.

#BagOfKisses

Starburst Unsquared

A few things got me excited this week.

Not because it was -15  degrees on one day, 55 degrees the next, and 20 degrees with brisk winds and snow today. Nope, not that kind of excitement. Something about harsh weather that relieves you of responsability, and frees you up to play. Work was slow and I only had to work my 4 ten hour days, then off to stay in my jammies for the next 3.

I got to play with my new Tula Pink Rotary Cutter. I like it, and it’s pretty!

I got yet another 36×60 cutting mat. I now have 3 of them lined up under my bedroom rug to make a 60×108 cutting surface. I normally used two of them together to square up quilts after quilting and before binding, but I’ve been wanting to add another, and of course I had a coupon.

My local Quilt shop got in some Kaffe! It’s not a HUGE selection BUT they had the very one I needed 3 more yards of, for my OBW!

There has been a sudden intrest in my Jenny’s Starburst Quilt Enlarged layout post, and a request for directions make a rectangular one.  For a little added fun,  I did 3 Starburst Unsquared layouts in Kaffe! I updated the page, so they’d all be in one spot.

Enjoy!

#StarburstUnsquared

2017 Recap – Happy New Year!

One year ago today, I started a new job that would give me more time to tickle my creative fancy.
I am in several FB quilting groups, and have seen women who have made dozens of quilts in one year, and a few who have made one quilt in a dozen years. I don’t know how either of those people did it, but I chose not to be intimidated by them. It’s not a race. It’s a journey – and what a journey I’ve had!
Lets see, I have made 11 quilts, all but one [Sunbonnet Sue] of which I gifted.

An Exploding Block quilt for Hubbys Grand Daughter

Minne Mouse baby quilt made from Strip sets.

A pinwheel with crosses quilt made entirely from remnants for a special lady

Same strip sets made with same fabrics resulting in very different quilts for a set of twins:

I call this one “Stripped Pin wheel”

and  this modified Arkansas Traveler which is NOT paper pieced.

When a hurricane hit Texas, myself and some others sent quilts. Patriotic ones went to the first responders, and other designs were to be handed out as the first responders saw fit.

Rhombus Star

S block, and “Bob and Weave”

Finally Sunbonnet Sue has a home in my quilt as well as my heart

I rushed to make 2 more to gift for Christmas.

[This is what quilting flowers on a stack and whack with a domestic machine looks like]

Of course I stitched in the ditch everywhere else.

In addition to the quilts, I made . . .

A dish drying mat

A cat trap [to keep her off my fabric]

When things got heated this summer, I made 2 sets of “Don’t Call Me A Hot Head” insulated curtains

and sleeveless top made from leftovers

I designed [and had my husband make] a thread stand that beats that plastic one all to heck, with it’s 3 spool holder and pre-tension for when you need a little more control. and of course you don’t have to unthread your machine to wind bobins!

I also designed [and had my husband make] a “Bed Mate” for my Rocketeer that holds my diagonal sewing guide [The Angler], so when I sew diagonally, I don’t have the draw the lines, and when I change the bobbin, I don’t have to line the needle back up with the guide.

I figured out the best way to make Frankenbatts – hint: it’s not the zig zag stitch.

I got better at sandwiching [still looks like a Crime Scene but I’m quicker now] and binding.

Plus signed up for the Sew Sampler monthly box which gave me all sorts of ideas and gadgets to try this past year.

but the best thing about that whole year was I got to spend Christmas with my Sister and Mother for the first time in about 30 years! We weren’t mad at each other, well not really, but they had moved out of the state we all started out in, and we often went years without seeing each other. I have “a thing” – If you move away from me, I am not obligated to visit you, and if you want to see me, you have to come to me. Of course I don’t enforce it – as I hate the “critical cleaning” one must do in order to give the impression we live in a “Better Homes and Gardens” competition home.
This year I didn’t clean much, but not because of working 80 hrs a week this time. Nope because it was my year of selfish indulgence. Oh sure, I did things for others, it’s just in my nature, but I got to do more of “my stuff” and I ended it with a lot of doing for others, which is a kind of self indulgence in a way because it’s makes one feel good.
I traveled – not for Christmas to see my Mom and Sis, but ON Christmas to see my Mom and Sis. Yep I was at the airport on Christmas day. My mom had a health scare and didn’t come to my state this fall like she usually does, so she decided to visit my sister for Christmas. I decided to crash that party. The plane tickets were crazy expensive  but spending Christmas with Mom and Sis was priceless. I had started a quilt when I had bronchitus that I had found pre-cut in a bag of scraps gifted to me by a quilty neighbor, and the more I worked on it, the more I felt like it belonged to my Sister’s Daughter. I was right – she loved it and it was her colors. After buying the plane tickets, I went balls to the wall to finish it plus a quilted table cloth for my sisters Christmas table setting.

I wasn’t alone, though. I had my husband make about 50 pounds of pork sausage, 30lbs of which I brought with us  in an insulated bag inside another insulated bag as my carry on.
Our plane was so late that we arrived 8 pm instead of the 8 am it was suposed to, and the table was already cleared of the dinner we missed, so before taking my bag upstairs while they made up our dinner plates, I said “Wait!” and pulled the table cloth out of my bag and said “This is for you” as gaudy as I knew it would be considering her taste, I tossed it on the table and it fit perfectly.
Her taste in decor had been altered due to the passing of her husbands mother, and the home was now sprinkled with antique glass – something my sister never showed and intrest in – and since I used to sell antique glass on ebay for about 10 years, I recognised many of the pieces. but more than that I realised this was the first Christmas that my Sis and her Hubby weren’t having with his parents. They had both passed away, one at a time that year, and they had always spent Christmas with them.
So my Mom’s visit and my party crashing actually served as a distraction for what would have otherwise been a notable void in the festivities. If they thought there would only be 4 of them this year, they were mistaken.

So, did I finish everything I started this year? Not quite, but I finished the important stuff.
People are important.
Hug your loved ones!

PS, if you can’t be there to hug them, you know what to do – make them a quilt!

I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!

#WhatchaGot2018! #HugYourLovedOnes

One Monthly Goal

I never joined groups before because I didn’t have time. The short version is that since I’ve changed jobs, I do have time, and I’ve been having more fun too!

One quilty project a month seams a  bit daunting, but I’ve been doing it pretty much all year sew far. I mean 5 quilts, a set of curtains, dish mat, tool bag, and even a shirt made out of left over quilt fabric [with a pattern I got at an all day sew], sew I guess I really have been doing it all along. Why not join the OMG group? Sure, maybe I’ll join and then fall apart.  but I’ll try again. Sew here we go . . .

One Monthly Goal 

and something else I’ve recently joined because I didn’t have time before was the  fabric Shop Hop
which gave me quite the tour of internet fabric shops. It took me a week, but I found all of those elusive wabbits!

I can hardly wait to see what I come up with next!

Oh, and I’ll be posting a shortcut for making sleeveless tops out of quilt fabric soon . . .

Hint, my shortcut eliminates binding the arm holes.

but if you need to look at something pretty for now, how about this stock pile of KFC [Kaffe Fasset, Brandon Mably, and Philip Jacobs] fabrics for an upcomming Back To School project . . .

#FunStuff #BackToSchool