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Just Piecing Along

It’s a blustery day outside, and Whinnie the Pooh would simply say,” Oh bother”.  

Then he and Piglet would go find Eeyore to make sure his little home was still in one place since “It’s a mobile home”. (Said in the very best Eeyore voice.)  Then, the whole troupe would gather for a bit of honey and the day would be perfect.

Blustery days are perfect days to tuck inside and do what I love to do.  There is a beauty on my long arm and in-between passes as it quilts away to my heart’s content, I’ve got a few other things to putter at.  Piecing is one of them.  When I mix up the tasks like this, any piecing I work on must be easy to stop and then pick up again without worry of a mishap.

While I can’t show you the top that’s being quilted right now, I can show you this.  Just in case anyone else might have need to see how this can be done.  

This is the backing for the project at hand.  It is fleece, which makes a super cuddly quilt backing, but it needs to be larger.  So, piecing is required. Fleece and other bulky fabrics used for backings need a bit more prep and attention before they get loaded onto the frame.

This is what I used as the treatment for the seam on this fleece.  I’ve sewn a larger seam allowance than normal…about 1”.  Ironed it open.  Then to keep the seam allowance flat and manageable, and to avoid any errant folds from happening during the loading and quilting process, I used this lovely product.  Fusible batting tape is a fantastic product.  These are two different brands…Dritz and Jeanne Harwood Designs.  The Dritz is slightly thinner, but that doesn’t matter to me at all.  They are interchangeable to me.  And I use this product for many, many purposes, not just piecing together a batting.  It’s priceless for repairs as well!  

 The tape is soft, supple, matches the drape of the fabric and you can’t feel it between the layers of the quilt.  It’s an incredibly easy way to manage the seam.  

The only other tip I can give about this method would be the heat of the iron.  You want to be mindful of the heat of your iron when doing this.  You can always test this on a scrap of fleece before you start.  You want to make sure the iron is sufficiently hot to make the fusible tape stick where you want it to, while at the same time not leaving press marks on the fleece, or heaven forbid…melt it to the iron causing holes, etc., etc. etc.  I don’t test anymore; I just use something to protect all my surfaces. (Ask me how I learned all about this! ;-))  My favorite tool for this is a Teflon Pressing Sheet that I bought years ago when my Brother embroidery machine came to live at my house.  There are lots on the market and you simply need to google to find one.  Other things that can work just as well and are found in most homes are parchment paper, muslin pressing cloth and even clean brown paper.  (Bet you can’t guess how I learned about being careful there is no dirt or ink on the brown paper, lol.)  Be creative with what you have access to!

One more piece of advice from a long arm quilter is about backings. Pieced backings are frequently used for a quilt.  When using a regular cotton or batik, the bulk of the seam is not a problem…as long as the seam is prepared for a horizontal loading on the long arm.  A pieced border that runs in a vertical line to the long arm can cause more of an issue.  A vertical seam will cause an increasing amount of bulk in one localized area as the quilt is advanced during the long arm process.  That bulk creates an increasing and significant bulge in the layers which leads to puckers, tucks and wrinkles which can then be quilted into the body and the back of the quilt.  Many times, unnoticed until the quilting is completed and off the long arm.  However, if the seam is horizontal, (running from side to side), that same bulk is sewn over and then advanced across the bars holding the quilt, all at the same time, and only once.  Everything is equal with the same amount of bulk increase all together from side to side with no issues.  

Today, the project that is under my needle as the long arms hums away is this!

I love how this Ganache is coming together! 5 rows here, with 3 more to add.

It’s the Moda Bakeshop, Recipe # 5 called Ganache that I first mentioned in my post from January 25th.  If you haven’t had a chance to read this one, you can scroll back to when it first posted and learn all about these quick and easy patterns.

I’ve been making daily progress in between different things.  All the units are laid out and I’m sewing them together as blocks, then attaching the side sashing.  When all this is done, I’ll do my last rearranging of blocks to make sure everything is the way I want it.  After that, the rows are sewn together, with the horizontal sashing added.  It’s coming together quite nicely.

Those are the highlights for today, friends.  Hope your midweek finds you well and inspired!!

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty.

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What Can You Do…..

…. with a Demon Quilt?

You wouldn’t believe it from the picture here, but this is a quilt from hell, aka The Demon Quilt.

Now that I’ve got your attention, let me begin by giving acknowledgement and thanks to the creator of our topic of blogging discussion.  I have been given permission by the owner of the quilt to use this project as a teaching tool to demonstrate techniques used to correct and mitigate some of the effects of assembly.  

Normally, I do not show pictures of my customer’s quilts, mention them, or bring attention to them out of respect for their privacy.  There are exceptions to everything, and this quilt is one worth excepting.

My goal for this blog post is to point out problem areas in which all quilters find themselves, and then discuss what can be done to correct issues that occur.

Background information starts with the following facts:  This was purchased as a kit.  Kits are not inherently bad, but they can lead to problems unforeseen until you’re in the middle of a project. Cutting errors in the kit led to the need to re-cut fabric that was supplied, and missing fabric required the purchase and sub-cutting of additional fabric.

These are just a few of the issues that can occur.  Other hiccups occur when pattern instructions are poorly or incorrectly written, missing assembly steps and even heavy reliance on pictures occur without written detail.  

The main thing to remember is this…not all mishaps are the piecers fault

The next most important thing to remember is key to both finishing the project being pleased with its outcome…. The key—ALL things can be fixed. 

Let’s get started!

Take another look at the finished project.  Its outer border has a bit of a wave to it, but nothing compared to its beginning.  And the next two pictures will show some of the other problem areas that were greatly calmed.

Just a bit of a wave along the bottom border. Not bad at all.
You can see a number of areas that need attention…excess fabric in the blocks and lots of extra in the border.
You can see a number of areas in this picture…please excuse the long arm frame in the picture.

So now let’s get into the meat of the issue…How do you begin to correct the problem areas?

Long story short…turn the top over and examine the back.  Then, get out a water-soluble pen and start marking.  This must be done first to understand the order of correction.  Every person has their own “shorthand”, so mark things per what makes sense to you.  

The key to looking at the back of the quilt is that you can immediately see the seam allowances and begin to work through the problems areas.
While the horizontal seam looks good, the vertical areas on either side of that seam need to be taken in a bit.
This area shows a bit of excess around the intersection corners. You start along one seam then move on to its counterpart to bring it all flat.
Here you can see the vertical seam needs to be taken in, and the seam along the border edge needs attention between the two straight lines.
This notation shows the direction the adjustment needs to be made and the specific area of concern.
This picture shows the area and amount of fabric to be adjusted.

I marked areas that need to either have too much fabric, or areas that have seam allowances that need to be corrected or closed.  Markings also include length of area to correct.  You only need to adjust the affected area.

When these corrections are determined, you start in the center and work your way out to the edges, one area at a time.  Many times, these corrections have counterbalancing effects and can, but not always, have ripple effects that need further attention.  But without doubt, if the borders don’t already need attention, the adjustments in the body of the quilt can cause adjustments in the border.

For this quilt, once the body was corrected, all the borders were also removed, re-measured, shortened and reattached.  

Then the quilting.  Not all the corrections could be solved by structural sewing.  The remaining excess was slight enough to be absorbed into quilt with a specific technique.  Think of it as using “C’s” … forwards and backwards in execution, and then quilting the encircling areas down.  The C and backward C are shapes that literally capture the fabric, sew it into a permanent place and then sew down what’s captured so the needle/pressure foot cannot push anything forward in its movement.

So, when this question is asked…” Can you quilt it out?”  The answer is always, “No, but I can quilt it in permanently.”  It can be seen as a flip answer, but it’s the absolute truth.  Long arm quilters have certain methods to improve and mitigate certain issues, but bottom line is, there are definite limits to how much can be rectified.  When you can employ more than one front of attack, then your chances of having a good finished project greatly improve.

So, the story concludes with another picture of this non-demon quilt.  I think it turned out well.  And is praiseworthy as well.

Ta-Da!!! It’s finished and has great visual appeal!

Biggest bit of advice here is this:  When someone compliments a quilt that you know was a problem child…You get to say only this…” Thank you”.  And under no circumstance do you go into the litany of its problems.  Don’t diminish their enjoyment and perception of what you’ve worked on.  Let them praise it.  And know the work and efforts of correcting its issues were worth it.

So, don’t be leery of taking out your own problem quilts and giving them another look with a critical eye that looks for ways to fix the unsightly areas.

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty.

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Lookin’ For That Rainbow

Well, yesterday I was looking for that rainbow.  You know, the one that comes out after a bit of a storm and brings sunshine and happiness with it.

Not to sound all down and out, but yesterday…I could have used a rainbow.  Yesterday was the beginning of the Phase 2 Certified Instructor training in Montana.  I would have left two days ago to get there ahead of the start time, affording myself a good night’s rest and to make sure all my luggage would be on hand since there frequently is a “delay” in arriving there with everything in tow.

I’m a bit sad that I’m not there.  Mmmmm…maybe a bit more than that.  But deciding to delay my training time was, and is the right decision regarding the last bit of recuperating that’s still happening due to my December issue.  Don’t have to like it, but have to admit when the right decision is made.

Rainbows have always been special to me.  Not just because of the wonder of them and how they come into being.  But some of my favorite things in life have been influenced by rainbows.  

This pic is from ’82, but when I competed with Sky Ryders in ’79 they were much the same. I was part of the color guard and would have been waving one of those flags towards the rear of the field.

Years ago, when I was a young and carefree college student, I traveled with a Drum and Bugle Corp out of Hutchinson, KS, called the Hutchinson Sky Ryders.  They have long since disbanded, but my time in the corps was full of excitement and hard work.  They have a Wikipedia page which you can find here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Ryders_Drum_and_Bugle_Corps  , and also a website that gives a more personal history, found here: http://www.skyryders.com  And yes, you guessed it, rainbows were a big part of their theme…a ”Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Wizard of Oz” kind of thing.  Totally apropos since they were originally based in Kansas. 

It goes without saying that “Wizard of Oz” is one of my favorite movies from my childhood.  So much so that when I returned home from my time in Moscow, USSR in the mid 80’s (as a nanny for an American diplomat), I will forever more equate the change from there to the free western world with the same kind of difference Dorothy had in walking from the world of black and white into the living technicolor world of OZ.  Some things simply leave lifetime impressions.

At the door to the Emerald City, Dorothy and company really had no idea what lay beyond the threshold for the rest of their quest. If only real life had such bold markers for life changing events!

Living on the farm, rainbows brought good things with them, generally.  The best of the good things was life giving rains to our crops.  The not so good things were the hail storms finished by the rain.  And the horrible things came with straight-line winds or tornados which also finished with rainbows.  Through all of them, rainbows were the beauty and sunshine in the moment bringing hope and peace to my heart.

In my quilting world, I am always drawn to quilts with rainbows.  I’m continually amazed when I meet people who don’t like them, or think they are overdone. But for me, they always bring sunshine and hope into my day. 

Currently, I’ve got a pattern in progress that is one of my certification portfolio projects.  It’s called Rainbow Hosta Queen.  All the piecing is completed and just needs to be assembled.

I’ve been working on this beauty, on and off, for the past couple of years. It really will be a stunner when it’s all together. All the units/components are complete…just need to assemble it all together.

I’ve also got this beauty waiting for the long arm.  It’s called Rainbow Crystal, and is one of my very favorites.  

The first time I went to retreat in Montana, this was on the workroom wall. I was mesmerized from the moment I saw it and knew that I just had to make it. The next day it was on their long arm and being quilted to become the sample for their cover photo. I bought the pattern and sewed it up. THIS is mine! And as complex as it looks, it is actually very straight forward and quick to sew up. I love it!

There is yet another Quiltworx rainbow in the planning stage that I’m still working out the color placement, which I will share later.  It will be so amazing when it is done…I know it will be another treasure.

And then there is this one. I call her “Color Junkie”. She is my riff on a bargello and an original method that I used by “smashing together” the techniques from three different patterns into one to create something that has no corners to match and has a unique twist to her visual appeal.

When I think about how much of my designing process turns out to simply be a happy accident, I’m always amazed at the outcome. The tricky part is trying to look back and figure out what made it work so well in order to re-create it for a class.

I think, when it all boils down, my favorite part of rainbows is the color spectrum.  Color just makes me happy and lifts me to a better place.  My mood improves and I begin to “turn that frown upside down”.  Rainbows get it started for me, and colors of all kinds keep it going.  And sunshine.  You can’t get a rainbow without the sunshine.

So now…I’m going to go play with some color…I’ve got lots of it in my stash.  Tubs and tubs of stash.  I think I’ll start with the batiks and work from there.

Oh, it’s a good thing.  My fingers are getting itchy to touch some fabric and litter my tables and floor with some fabric and color.  Yessss…. Rainbows are so good for my soul.

Maybe you should try your hand at playing with some of your rainbow.  You never know what kind of inspiration you’ll find!

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty! 

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The Flip Side of Sewing

Ever wonder what it looks like around people that wear more than one hat?  Here’s my desk today.  It’s a paperwork kind of day.

Paperwork and writing…writing letters and making lists and menus and blog content and…. you get my drift.

I don’t mind it so much.  In fact, I like it.  And I’m liking it more and more the longer I blog.  You see, I’ve always wanted to write a blog.  And even more than that…I’ve always wanted to write a book.  Crazy, huh?  Maybe so, but why not?!  Lol…as if I didn’t already have more hats to wear than the average bear.  This crazy idea of writing a book started when I was in high-school and the theme always stemmed around my love of the old west.  Now, quilts are a big part of that theme…and mining…Colorado’s old west has a huge amount of mining history and I basically live in the middle of this amazing history that was lived by real, everyday people.

Let’s talk about my hats, cause I’ve got several, and not everyone knows about them all. 

I wear the hat of: A Judy Niemeyer Certified Instruction in-training.  This has been an on-going endeavor and truly what has inspired me to sit down and begin my blog in a serious manner.  I’m enjoying this aspect of growing my social media presence very much as I also begin to fulfill a dream that I’ve had for more than 45 years.

I wear the hat of: A quilting instructor.  This goes hand in hand with the previous hat.  But I enjoy teaching at many, many different levels.  I studied to be a music teacher and much to my parents’ chagrin, did not quite finish. But! My love of teaching has stayed with me through home-schooling our children; teaching 4-H students about quilting; holding an adult quilting class for 3+ years which met once a week; and now I’m teaching Quiltworx patterns as I work towards my certification.  It’s also a long standing and well established hat on my head.

I wear the hat of: A professional long arm quilter.  A skill that I have been honing for the past 8 years and will continue to do.

I wear the hat of:  Quilt restoration and repair professional.  This is a skill that I’ve been growing since I was a little girl and owe a debt of gratitude to my great-grandmother who first introduce me to needle and thread. It was a crochet hook and yarn, but from there I progressed over the last 50+ years to the skills I have today.   I spoke at length with another restoration professional several years back about how to find a way to gain some sort of certification for this skill set, and she graciously giggled and said there is none.  The best who do this have spent their lifetime acquiring their skills and there aren’t any programs to equal their knowledge.  We’re all self-taught.  Now that’s food for thought!

I wear the hat of: Director of the Great Escape Quilt Camp, which today looked like a big messy desk as I wrote letters, compared notes from my last off-site retreat, made lists and began to plan menus.  This hat is relatively new…maybe 6-7 years old or so.  But it is something I absolutely and completely love to do.  You see…I firmly believe that everyone has several gifts—or skills—they are innately good at without a lot of effort.  It’s something they just do naturally.  And without trying to toot my own horn too loudly…I’m pretty good at organizing events and being the hostess with the most-ess.  And when I combine quilting and teaching and hosting all under the same hat…or rather all on the same head…well, life just sings away and I’m a pretty happy camper.

Other hats that I wear are the hats of: Being a wife…Being a mother…Being a daughter and sister…Being a home-maker…Being a farmer’s wife….and the list continues on and on.

But suffice it to say, I like my hats.  I’m going to keep wearing them. I think I’ve finally found the right combination and don’t really need to add too many more.  There will be some that come naturally from others, but they’ll get here when the time is right.

Now…where was that Director’s hat again…. it’s here somewhere!

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty.

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It’s a Pressing Matter

Or, you could say, it’s a matter of pressing, aka ironing.  In today’s everyday world, ironing is a skill primarily reserved for shirts and wrinkled pants and what not.  But in the quilting world, using an iron is a necessity for every project we undertake.  And believe it or not…ironing and pressing are not the same sport.  Hey…it’s liberal arm movements, repeated many times for each engagement.  That could be a sport, right??  And those of us who can use both arms are considered ambidextrous too, right?  It is in my book, so I’m going with that.

Anyway, considering the topic at hand, I was pressing the last thing to pass under my needle and I happened to take a closer look at my little side table that I use for that purpose.  Well, that led to another thing and then another until the whole focus of my morning yesterday involved a task I didn’t expect to be doing.  Come on along and I’ll show you what I was up to.

Here it is…just a modest little TV tray.

This is a wooden TV tray that I recovered several years back to serve as a little side table when I sew.  Mostly for ironing, but it’s a perfect size and height for several tasks.  It’s had a couple different layers of fabric over the course of time, but I decided to try some freezer paper on the top to see if it would help to preserve the fabric underneath a little longer before needing another layer.

You can also see along the left side of the paper, the discolored fabric underneath.

You can see here the freezer paper is showing some marks on it.  A bit of ink that transferred from a home printed piece of newsprint for paper piecing…a bit of scorch mark from high heat…a bit of paper shrinkage from being steamed during pressing. 

Up came the paper to this point, but just one more pull on the paper revealed the degraded fabric underneath.

I decided it needed to be replaced, so out came the gigantic roll of freezer paper that only comes in one size and will last two lifetimes.  I cut a piece to replace the old, and proceeded to remove the marred sheet from my little pressing table.  Unfortunately, the paper also brought up a spot of the top layer of fabric.  Hmmmm…time to investigate.

I found the top fabric had begun to basically rot. Rot?!?!  Nah…..that couldn’t be…rot comes from moisture and other unsavory conditions.  But it was damaged none the less, and had to come off.  Then I saw the layer underneath. Yuk!!  

More tugging and pulling of the top fabric revealed the next layer down. Not very pretty at all. I really loved the initial layer of fabric. But it showed scorch very quickly, which led to the second layer…the practical silver ironing fabric came into service. What’s surprising is the ironing fabric is quite thin compared to regular cotton. But it outlasts regular cotton for heat reaction.

So, after some ripping and tugging and pulling on both layers with not much success, out came my tools and I began the process of stripping down the old and replacing it with the new.

Brute force just didn’t work. I need some tools!
Here are my basic tools for this step of the job. Nothing fancy. The staple puller helped in some places to get the staple separated from the fabric a bit. And my personal little Leatherman. Just the right size for my hands. No…I don’t need pink tools. But I do need them to fit comfortably in my hands. These two worked pretty hard for the morning.

The steps aren’t complicated, but they do take some effort.  

Sometimes, the staple pullers just couldn’t get close enough to the staple due to the frame of the table. So, I just grabbed the edge of the fabric and gave it a good pull. That loosened the staple nicely.
Sometimes, the fabric just came right out and left the staple behind. These got a good tug. And sometimes they broke off. But I was able to grab hold to the broken portion and pull it out with the pliers from my Leatherman.
You can see a broken piece here in one of the staple holes below and to the right of the staple I’m pointing to. It’s good to get these out too so there are no pointy surprises as you work.
Off with the old!
The rewards of my hard work. Trash bin for the fabric and into my little “sharps” container for the staples.
Yep…it’s a recycled spice can. They don’t make official “Quilter’s Sharps Containers”. And if they did, it would probably cost much more than I’d pay. Just like baby furniture seems to be twice the price as regular because it has the word “baby” in it. So I’m frugal. Besides, every penny saved is a penny used to buy more fabric!
But before this heap of ick went into the trash, I got the measurements for it’s replacement.
And just to make sure I was doing it right, I measured the top of the table. Now I know the fabric to cover the table top and wrap around the edges needs to be about 4″ larger than the top surface.
Here are the layers that will replace the old covering. A piece of 100% cotton batting and regular cotton, both cut to 23″ x 18″ .
You’re going to need a staple gun like this for the next step. I’ve made sure to show the size staples used in this project too. Too long and the staples can poke out the top, and too short they won’t be able to hold the fabric very well. lol…ask me how I know. 😉
Now comes the fun part. Turn the table over and center it on the fabric, making sure there is equal amount of material to pull over each edge. Start by placing one stable in the center of all four sides.
Next, go around each side again and put a couple more staples in spaced equally. Make sure to gently pull on the fabric to make sure it is taut, but not distorting the other sides.
Corners are next.  Trim off excess fabric to keep from accumulating too much mass for the staples to pass through and get a good bite for holding in place.  There’s no magic to the method of making a tidy corner.  I just approach it like the wrapping of a present…it’s easy peasy.
Here’s my first corner. It’s tidy enough and doesn’t need to be any better than this.. And just so you know…each corner is a bit different from the last. That’s ok with me. I just need it to be done well. Finished is better than perfect.
When the corners are all done, then I go back and fill in staples all along the edge of the material. Again, making sure the fabric is taut and secure.

Ta-Da!! Here’s the finished ironing board. I’ll still be adding a sheet of freezer paper to protect the new surface. But for now, I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Thanks for coming along on this mornings bunny trail!

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty!

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Just Puttering

Do you use that phrase?  Just puttering around.

I did a fair amount of that this weekend.  You know, doing the busy work of a home…some laundry, some dishes, a bit of cooking and so on.

The laundry and dishes are the same for us all.  And pretty much so is the cooking, but over the weekend I did some batch cooking so that I’d have a few things for later in the week.  There was a huge stockpot of vegetable beef soup that bubbled away for an afternoon.  And some Keto snacks for us to have on hand when the urge to nibble makes its appearance.  A favorite for the man of the house is Key Lime Cheesecake Tarts, and for me it was Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.  Other menu items were Keto Stroganoff, a Chicken Tortilla soup, and Baked Salmon with a Parmesan Basil Crust.  Left overs and snacks to get the week started.  Can’t get any better than that.

And a bit of this happened.

Buster got this little stuffie from one of my student this past week. I was really proud of him too, because this little green toy stayed stuffed for 3 whole days before losing its fluff. We retrieved the squeaker that’s laying towards the upper right of the picture. But once the fluff was out for all to see, the work was done.
He wasn’t shy about owning up to it either. Now, our little green friend is re-stuffed and ready for the next time the oven goes on. Access to the fluff will be a bit easier, as the small hole won’t be sewn shut. A repeat de-stuffing hole is much easier on us both. Besides, I’d had to think that there would just be another hole and another until one day, poor green stuffie would look more like swiss cheese than an anxiety management tool.

You could call it murder on the dining room carpet, but we just call it a de-stuffing.  And the culprit sat right there to be caught.  Buster doesn’t like the oven, so whenever it gets turned on, he gets wound up and super nervous.  We’ve found some “calming treats for dogs”, which only work so-so.  But sometimes, the bugger gets a bit more anxious which ends up in a floppy toy on the floor.  I just gathered up the stuffing and put it back for the next time he gets antsy.

I did get some sewing time in.  This is what my desk looks like when I’m working.  Kinda messy…but it’s all part of the work I love.  

Love working on all these different projects. It’s a restful place for my thoughts when it’s quiet. But for today, I had my TV on and was streaming the series “White Collar”. I use a Roku, and it works really well in my studio.

I also started laying out the blocks for this quilt.  It’s another Moda Bakeshop like what I’ve written about before.  This one uses a #5 Recipe card, and the quilt that I’m laying out is called “Ganache”.  Only about half of it is on the design wall right now. I’ll lay the other half out tomorrow and then rearrange anything that might need it.  This design actually has sashing between the blocks which I’ll add into the construction once I’ve decided on the final placement.  It would just be too large for the design wall if I put them in now.  But, the jury is still out…I might just go ahead and call this arrangement good and add extra borders to reach the size I want.  I dunno…it’s a process.

This is a pretty cool little layout. Reminds me of a Jacobs Ladder, but also has some “X’s” and “O’s” movement to it. Got some pondering to do…

So, that’s pretty much the weekend for me.  Kinda restful, kinda busy…..but mostly…. Just puttering.  Feels good to go a little slow for a couple of days.  Makes the merry-go-round of the regular week that much more fun.

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty.

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Are You in a Bind?

Are you in a bind?  Well, I mean…are you binding?  I am.  Today I am putting on a binding to a sweet quilt that has been hanging as a store sample at Clubb’s Fabric Store in Delta.  I retrieved it for a class and then brought it home to put a binding on it. 

I simply love this quick and easy pattern. The batiks remind me of the beach, so I’ve named it my Beach Bear Gingerbread quilt. It’s the second time I’ve done this same pattern, and I have a 3rd set of blocks in this pattern made with rich mulberry and green batiks with cream background. Looking forward to seeing how that turns out too!.

This is a Moda Bakeshop, by It’s Sew Emma Patterns.  Bakeshop?  Well, let me give you a quick run-down on this clever pattern set-up.  The “Bakeshop” is built on layer cakes.  You have an instruction book called “The Cake Mix Quilt Book, Volume One”, (the “cookbook”, aka the instruction book).   All these patterns utilize “layer cake” fabric collections plus some amount of yardage for backgrounds, borders and binding. Genius!

This is such a great pattern book! The instructions are written with clear and concise directions, and has lots of graphics and pictures to help in construction of the project.

And you have “Cake Mix Recipe” cards like this.

This is so clever. The mixing bowl shows the number of the recipe card. And the black and white pictures on the covers show the variations of how to set the block that each of the recipe cards can make. You can make them all the same, or a combination of any shown.

These “recipe cards”, (printed like a tablet that you can tear off, one page at a time), are numbered 1 thru 8. In the “Cookbook” each recipe card has two different quilts from which to choose.  For instance, the quilt I’m working on is from Recipe Card #1.  I made this quilt, named the Gingerbread Quilt, but I could have chosen to set the same recipe card into a different quilt named the Sherbet Quilt.  Totally cool!

I have used these Bakeshop patterns several times, and love them as a quick gift or easy “take-along” project where I know I’ll be talking a lot or have lots of interruptions.  It’s a perfect retreat project. It’s also a terrific introduction to paper piecing.  And it would be an excellent project for a younger aged 4-H youth project.

Then, because I had nothing else to do with my time, and because I can’t stand to throw away fabric that I think can be used for something else, I took my scraps from a couple different Bake Shop quilts and threw these blocks together.  I know, just a tad OCD, but definitely cute.  I’m sure that I’ll be doing something clever with them before too much longer….stay tuned.

These little gems were done in a weaving method…much like kids do with paper strips. I used fabric glue to keep things together, nothing is sewn yet. They vary slightly in size and the tapered ends still need to be trimmed, but I think there will be more coming. It won’t take many more to create something else to add to the “tops to be quilted” pile hanging out in the long arm pile.

But let me get back to the task at hand…binding.

I don’t know about you, but binding can be a pickle.  Some quilters love it, some don’t.  Some even avoid it at all costs.  But let me tell you about a method I found while I was surfing around Facebook one day.  Or rather, it surfaced in my Facebook feed as a “suggested for you” type of item.  Usually, I don’t follow those bunny trails, but for this one I did.  And boy howdy am I glad I did.

This is the link to Karens Quilts, Crows and Cardinals of the Redbird Quilt Company. This has been my saving grace for peaceful bindings! (Pardon my pun). https://karensquiltscrowscardinals.blogspot.com

If you follow this link you will go to her home page. You’ll want to click on the “My Tutorials” tab and scroll down until you see this topic.

The flange binding that is in the title of the blogpost is what caught my eye.  After reading her post, I saved it and was determined to give it a try.  Fast forward a few months and bingo…I had a quilt I wanted to try it on.  It turned out wonderfully well!!  And I’d love to show it to you, but of course the quilt was gifted away with no pictures taken before it’s departure.  

But even more than the flange binding, I want to tell you about her method for joining the beginning and ending of the binding.  THIS is THE –best—method—ever!  I kid you not!  Before I read this blog, it would take me a huge…HUGE…amount of time to do this one step.  Binding prep, attachment and finishing are all a breeze to me.  But the sewing of these two ends always eluded me.  I wrote myself directions, drew pictures, cussed, cried, and cringed…always wanting to master that elusive mitered seam ending.  (Totally not cool when I can do sooo many other, and much more technical sewing tricks.)  Then the stars aligned, the angels sang as the clouds opened to rays of sunshine and I followed a bunny trail to this beautiful blog about binding.  (Yes, it’s a bit overly dramatic, but when the lightbulb finally goes on, it’s a glorious thing.)

Putting all silliness away, I want to share with you this method.  It is most definitely not my idea.  She gets all the credit and the kudos for putting together a fantastic tutorial.  Throughout her blog tutorial there are lots, I mean LOTS, of pictures of every step as well as excellent instructions showing you exactly how to make a flange binding AND how to join the two end together.  

I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve saved using this tutorials’ instructions.  And with all the projects that I have ready to bind, and those waiting for the long arm, I’ll be using this binding method even more.  If you follow no other links that I share in my blog…go to this one and at take a look. I’m telling’ ya…it’s so worth your time. And while you’re there, take a peek at the rest of her blog. Gobs of interesting things are waiting there as bountiful treasures!!

So, without further ado, I’m off to finish up this binding.  Hope you enjoy the tutes!

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty!

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What a Great Week!

It’s been busy at my home studio/classroom.  This week I started Operation UFO at my home studio/classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  It’s an open sew type gathering where quilters come for a day of sewing and bring their UFO’s (un-finished objects) of any type and have access to a teacher (that would be me); for as little or as much help as they need to get themselves going again on projects put aside for an indeterminate amount of time.  There is a nominal fee, but I’ve been told it’s more than worth the cost.  It hasn’t taken long for word to get out and interest to begin to grow.  So, if you are local to me, send me a private message and I’ll be more than happy to send you more information.  I’m thinking this will become a sought-after activity before too much longer.  Yay!

Here is Cindy, working away and totally comfy. She even brought her sewing slippers! I love it!!
Cindy is working on Hanging Gardens by Georgette Dell’Orco. It’s a great little pattern, being made with a sweet line of fabrics. We both wish we knew the name of the collection, but it IS a UFO. But we’re enjoying it all the same.
Jean is working on another quarter of her Prairie Star by Judy Niemeyer. She’s got a few stitches to release before moving on to the next step.
Here’s the first quarter of her Prairie Star all sewn together after the Judy Clubb on Sunday. She’s about to lay out two more quarters, using this as her guide for placement.

They were lovely days with lots of progress made along with lots of stories and visiting.

Another terrific day brought another small group of dear ladies, and I became the student!  Of course, quilting was a topic that threaded its way though most every bit of conversation, along with copious amounts of laughter.  But the main topic of the day was……how to make truffles.  Yes!  Those decadent, mouthwatering, melt in your mouth, wonderfully chocolatey wonders that only the best candy shops offer.  I can only say to those reading this blog…future retreats I hold might just be the time that I pull out the stops and introduce these amazing treasures to attendees.  Just sayin’…

This is step two—rolling the flavored truffle center into balls which will need to chill for 24 hours before they can be dipped and decorated to complete step 3. I think the funniest of comments is about to be made….
And here is the laughing, snorting and tears of too much fun! Oh my…we had such a good time. I love these ladies!!

These yummies are made with dark chocolate and flavored with caramel.  But I have it on good authority they can be flavored with jams and liqueurs of choice.  The combinations are endless…dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate— raspberry, boysenberry, orange, strawberry jams—coconut, rum, bourbon, crème de menthe and other spirits—oh…just imagine the possibilities!

No…I’m not a lush. LOL!! But these ARE the perfect size for flavoring truffles.
Oh! And who doesn’t love these??? I personally know each of these are wonderful….mmmmmm my mouth is already watering.

So, while I’ve not been as active on the blog as I’d like, it’s been an action-packed week with lots of content that I’m eager to share with you.  

Stay tuned, because there’s lots more to share.

Until next time, may your bobbins never be empty

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Busy…Busy…Busy!

Such wonderful things happened this weekend!  I’m so pleased with the progress of my students over the past two days. 

Saturday our Wedding Ring Class met with the goal of laying out their finished piecing and seeing for the first time what their quilts will look like.  We had such a great time! Over the course of the last 6 months we’ve been meeting, using the Quiltworx Wedding Ring pattern and its variations as a Block of the Month.  There have only been a couple months we weren’t able to meet, but that happens even without a pandemic going on.  They’ve all made wonderful progress and each step of the way there were oooh’s and aaaah’s as we shared our progress each time we met.

And we all learned something…including me!  Some things I learned because I was asked a question I didn’t know the answer to, and others because I needed a creative solution to help them obtain a goal or to make it easier to continue their work.

The latest solution was what to do about a design wall!  In the pictures, you’ll notice their units (or block pieces) are being laid out on sheets.  It’s a curiosity, but a solution that I suggested and they agreed to with enthusiasm.  Neither of these lovely ladies have design walls at home.  My goal was to find a way for them to layout their units without: 1) having to take copious pictures with their phones; 2) disassemble what they laid out; 3) transport everything back home; 4) reassemble it all and lay it out only in small portions either because of space or foot traffic concerns, and then hope they were getting everything together correctly They jumped at the idea!  So, after handing them each a flat sheet, we got busy.

Here is Shirley laying out her units.  After each row across there was a happy dance of excitement and a “Boom-chicka-boom-boom” coming from her as she saw things coming together
And here is Jean working on a table doing the same thing.  From her came “mmmm-mmmm-mm-mm-mm”. For Jean, we worked out a number chart for her to follow as she laid out her units. It worked like a charm!! Another teaching aide that will go into my files for the next time I teach this class.

As they laid the units out, each one was pinned to the sheet.  And at the end of class, each sheet was gently rolled up and carried to the car with the confident knowledge that each time they went to work on their project they could just go right to work without the time spent on trying to find their place in the process.

Dottie was also with us and she brought her AccuQuilt Cutter to make quick time of cutting the 2 ½” strips for her project.  I’ve never seen one of these in action, and I must say, it was so cool to see how they work.

I’m thinking this may need to be an investment for some time in the future. They sure are slick little machines that make quick work on lots of repetitive cutting

It was an awesome day full of great friends, fun and lauging, and tremendous progress!

Sunday was much the same for the ladies that joined me at Clubb’s in Delta for our Judy Clubb.  The Judy Clubb is an open sew kind of class where anyone working on a Judy Niemeyer pattern is welcome to come and sew for the day, and I’m available for as much or as little help as is needed

The entrance to our classroom. Our class area is the furniture store. And the fabric store is right next door, always open for us during class and ready for anything we need. It’s a terrific arrangement!

We have a wonderful work area at Clubb’s where a terrific cutting table and ironing area are provided.  Lots of beautiful lighting and abundant room is provided for us to work our magic.

These stations are sooo nice! Plenty of room for multiple people to work at the same time.

Take a look at what was worked on!

Cheryl is working on putting the binding on her Impatiens placemats.  Her color choices are simply beautiful!  And one of the best helps I could give her was to show her the UTube videos by Judy Niemeyer on that very subject.  It’s amazing that we have the ability to carry an iPad, secure an internet connection and tune into a free, on-line video and then help the student to utilize the same resource at home.  When Cheryl had a question, we worked through it together finding a few additional helps for her to use at home.  She’s doing a marvelous job!

I love Cheryl’s color choice on this project and she is so precise in her stitching. What a lovely project she will have when all finished.

And here is Jean, using a sheet as her backdrop on the design wall to pin her Prairie Star to.  Her goal for the day was to get one quarter of the quilt on the wall and assembled and marked with notes on how to complete assembly for the rest of her quilt when she’s back home.

The quarter section of Jean’s quilt is nearly put together. She’s added some little yellow notes for her to follow when she gets home so she can get this project all finished up. How exciting!
Jeans pulling a few more papers off the back of a unit before assembling the next section. Making great headway.

All in all, it was a very productive, and rewarding weekend.  I think one of the things I truly love about this work that I do and the quilters that start out as students and then become friends, is that I get to help them reach their goals.  

People, non-quilting people, frequently remark to me about how this is nice and all that, but what’s so special about a quilt…. it’s just a blanket after all.  And my knee-jerk reaction is that they just don’t get it.  And they don’t.  But what I say to them is that quilting is a tool. It’s a tool, or a means to reach a huge plethora of outcomes.  Quilting is a creative outlet, which is a crucial aspect of our mental and emotional health.  Quilting is a skill-building tool that enhances our cognitive and deductive reasoning utilizing color theory, math, planning and organizational skills to just start the list.  And one of the very most important things quilting does is to both create and revive memories for those making the quilts as well as those receiving the quilts.  Quilting as an art and a skillset is something that has a huge ripple effect on all those around us quilters.  And no…these are not just blankets.  They are works of love.  

And I….me…I get to help these lovely people create and fulfill their goals.

What better job in life can there be??

Until next time, may your bobbins never be empty!

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Becoming a Quiltworx Certified Instructor

Sitting at my desk this morning, I pondered what to blog about today…and it struck me the while I’ve been showing pictures about my work, and that of my students, I’ve not expanded much upon how I came to this adventure and the tasks this journey requires. Making samples of patterns for my portfolio is just the tip of the iceberg. A beautiful one to be sure, but there is so much more to the whole endeavor. Come along with me while I share a bit more of the journey.

Let me start by telling you how I came to love the patterns that Judy Niemeyer designs. The first time I ever saw a Judy pattern was in 2005. I was at The Great American Quilt Factory (which is sadly no longer open) just poking around and checking out the store. They had a red version of this on display and no joke, I stood there staring at it for 15 minutes! I was spell bound. And I HAD to have the pattern. I bought it with the thought that s-o-m-e-d-a-y I would be good enough to make this. I had never seen anything like it, and I knew nothing about Judy’s method of paper piecing. I had taught paper piecing before, but nothing to this degree. I went home and dreamt of this pattern many times for a number of years.

Here it is…the one that started it all. The store sample was of the red color way. Red just happens to be my favorite color, so of course it caught my eye. It was a love at first sight that still captures my heart. 2021 will be the year that I bring it to life. A 16 year love affair is long enough to wait.

Fast forward to 2015 when I was perusing the pages of the April edition of American Patchwork & Quilting and lo and behold…there was the Paddle Wheel. Another Judy pattern! I said to myself, “If it’s in the magazine, it must surely be easy enough for anyone to make! I’m going to give it a try.” I did, and following all the directions, and the pictures (which are always worth a thousand words), I gave it a go. And I was hooked.

Here is my Paddlewheel, fresh off the long arm from a few years back. Isn’t it silly that I’ve still not taken a picture of the finished one with the binding on it?? I used colors that reminded me of the ocean along the Australian west coast when my husband and I vacationed there for our 25th wedding anniversary. Both my paper piecing and my long arm quilting have improved greatly since then.

I decided to check out their website Quiltworx where I learned about Certified Instructors and retreats in Montana with Judy Niemeyer herself. I was intrigued by what I was reading and the idea began to percolate on my back burners. Over the next few years I made a number of different patterns and really found my groove. I finally found what I wanted to be when I grew up! (You can click on the underlined word and the link will take you to their website.)

In 2018 I bit the bullet and decided to attend my first retreat in Montana to venture into the world of becoming a Certified Instructor. It’s challenging to be sure, and it should be. To date, at my last count I’ve complete about 25 different patterns with an undisclosed number currently still in progress, lol. (Not everyone needs to know the extent of my fetish, heh heh heh.) There are some that I’m very happy with, and some that make my buttons pop. Here are a couple pictures of one of those.

This is my Vintage Compass, made from my stash of Asian fabrics. It’s the second pattern I attempted and attended a class with a certified instructor. My goal was simply to learn the techniques of the pattern. I had low expectations of how it would turn out due to the fabrics as I’d never seen an example made with non-batik fabrics. Imagine my amazement when I saw the finished product.
And here is the back. Don’t mind the wonkiness of the picture…IT is straight, quilt hanger (me) had a wonky time of it. This is also my long arm work using Quiltworx digitized patterns. I’m super proud of this one. I won my first ribbon at a quilt show with this one. Red is a good color, (it IS my favorite after all). Hoping for a blue and maybe even a purple some day.

So along with making quilts and learning patterns, there are a number of things that a CI-in training must do to reach certification. Things like teaching and getting in front of groups for trunk shows and demonstrations; learning about and introducing others to Quiltster and it’s amazing capabilities to literally color a quilt to see what your ideas for color and placement actually look like BEFORE you buy one inch of fabric! It even gives you the yardage requirements for each color in the quilt, as well as how to sub-cut it for the proper size needed in each component where it’s used. I’m telling ya it is genius! Go check it out at Quiltster You’ll be so impressed! Here’s a few pics to show what you can do.

This pattern is Clockworks. You start out with a black and white version.
Next…you begin to color by selecting different fabrics.
Then, you can make slight changes, or big ones, to arrive at a version you like best. For this quilt I chose to make my first rendition. The white of the sashing in this version was just too much. I felt the darker sashing of the first attempt was more cohesive and allowed the colors of the New York Beauty circles to shine more. Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Other things include developing an on-line presence. While there are many, many ways in which to do this, I’m starting with this blog. I’ve wanted to do this for a while, and have tried my hand at it a couple times, but never really got in a groove. They say to really do well and find inspiration you should write about what you know. And that’s how I got this little blog going again. 5 days in and I’m loving it. They say it takes 21 days to create a habit, but I think for this…it’s already stuck. I’m craving my blogging time.

There are more things on the “To-Do” list of the CI-in training, which I’m sure I’ll be sharing about as time goes on. But I wanted to touch on the highlights that are happening for me right now. Covid has thrown more than just a monkey wrench into the mix on trying to accomplish some of these things, so being creative about how to keep going forward is an important part of this whole adventure as well. I’ve always been a firm believer that it’s better (not easier, just better) to start with the hardest part of anything you want/need to do. After that, everything gets easier. But if the hardest part can whoop you, it’s worth finding that out sooner rather than later. This hard part–the Covid hard part–has jumped into the middle of my equation setting me to dig in and really work through it. IT will not be the deterrent it could have been if I were just beginning this journey.

It’s a big thing when you figure out what you’re meant to do in life. I’m not about to let a pandemic get in the way. Detours and alternate routes are definitely in order!

So hang on Vera! We’re gonna blast our way through this and get to the other side squealing and laughing the whole way through. Quilting really IS my life!

Until next time, may your bobbin never be empty!