In their defense, all the other soft places to lie down were in the washing machine or otherwise occupied.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Help with the binding
Yup. "Help."
In their defense, all the other soft places to lie down were in the washing machine or otherwise occupied.
In their defense, all the other soft places to lie down were in the washing machine or otherwise occupied.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A wrinkly quilt top!
It wasn't wrinkly, but the first time I went to take a photo of it, the wind came up. It wasn't windy all day ... until the second I put the damn quilt on the ground. So I rolled it up haphazardly and left it on the table for later. Hence the wrinkles.
I went outside over my dinner break with the top and four cans (two of beans, two of tomatoes) to hold down the edges and get a photo, but the wind had died down by then. So I was just the crazy girl outside with lots of fabric and cans of things.
I went outside over my dinner break with the top and four cans (two of beans, two of tomatoes) to hold down the edges and get a photo, but the wind had died down by then. So I was just the crazy girl outside with lots of fabric and cans of things.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Lately ...
We've been doing a lot of this:
Things have been generally crappy. But at least there's quilting.
I've been working on these blocks:
Totally wonky log cabins.
Make with various prints from two (I think ...) Denyse Schmidt collections at JoAnn. The bolt ends just say DS Quilts, and so do the selvedges, but the receipt I looked at the other day said something about Aunt Edna and maybe Sugar Creek?
The pieced part of the blocks vary in size. I'm going to frame each in white to make them all 18.5 inches, of 18 inches finished. At this point, I think the final layout will be 4 by 5, or a quilt that's 72 by 90 inches. It might end up square at 90 by 90. Who knows.
I've been thinking about quilting ideas, and first considered a loop-d-loop, but I think I'm going to go with vertical straight lines, equally spaced. I have one quilt on my bed like that, and I love the drape. Plus I like how those kind of lines look over so much negative space.
:::
The garden plot got all gardened:
These guys were already there. A good sign?
:::
Old buddy ...
It is baseball season, after all.
Things have been generally crappy. But at least there's quilting.
I've been working on these blocks:
Totally wonky log cabins.
Make with various prints from two (I think ...) Denyse Schmidt collections at JoAnn. The bolt ends just say DS Quilts, and so do the selvedges, but the receipt I looked at the other day said something about Aunt Edna and maybe Sugar Creek?
The pieced part of the blocks vary in size. I'm going to frame each in white to make them all 18.5 inches, of 18 inches finished. At this point, I think the final layout will be 4 by 5, or a quilt that's 72 by 90 inches. It might end up square at 90 by 90. Who knows.
I've been thinking about quilting ideas, and first considered a loop-d-loop, but I think I'm going to go with vertical straight lines, equally spaced. I have one quilt on my bed like that, and I love the drape. Plus I like how those kind of lines look over so much negative space.
:::
The garden plot got all gardened:
These guys were already there. A good sign?
:::
Old buddy ...
It is baseball season, after all.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Half-square triangles finish
It's done.
And I'm linking up to the Festival of Half-Square Triangles over at Canoe Ridge Creations. I'm so glad the festival was happening, because I needed some serious motivation to finish this quilt.
These aren't the colors I'd normally use, but this quilt is for someone else to give as a gift for a new baby. So they picked the fabric from a fat-quarter pack at Fabricworm.
I took a long time deciding what sort of quilt to make from the fat quarters. I wanted to feature the animals from the Urban Chiks Hullabaloo Zoology print, but I didn't want big blocks. So half-square triangles it was. I like how you can see snippets of the animals peeking out.
I cut charm squares (5-inch) from the fat quarters, and then divided the fabric into a blue-yellow pile and a pinkish pile. I then paired up squares (one from each pile) and sewed two lines just off the middle and cut each in half. Like this. I used a Clover Hera marker to mark the lines and it worked great.
I trimmed each finished block down to 4.5 inches to make it extra accurate. It was a lot of trimming, but worth it. There are 121 squares on the front, and all the leftovers on the back.
It took me several days to pick out the backing and binding fabric. When I work with colors and fabric I wouldn't normally use, I lose all instinct for making choices.
As hard as picking backing and binding fabric was, the quilting was a breeze. I think I spent longer trying to decide how to quilt it than the actual quilting. It's a good feeling when you can do something that use to be so hard with a measure of ease. It's not perfect, but it's much better than the results from the hours I spent on my first quilt.
I went with an all-over free-motion pattern. I like the drape it gives the quilt, and (I have no idea if this theory is legit) it seems like this type of quilting will hold all those seams down.
When I make a quilt, I want it to last a lifetime, but that thought is especially true for baby quilts. I think of all the blankets and quilts I've drug around my whole life, and I hope that what I'm making gets packed up for college in 18 years. Or something like that ... you get the idea.
I ran off to Butte this weekend for a much-needed escape and tried to get a cool photo there, but it just didn't pan out.
I sure miss that town.
Throw a quilt down on the floor and dogs will emerge. It works 100 percent of the time.
And I'm linking up to the Festival of Half-Square Triangles over at Canoe Ridge Creations. I'm so glad the festival was happening, because I needed some serious motivation to finish this quilt.
These aren't the colors I'd normally use, but this quilt is for someone else to give as a gift for a new baby. So they picked the fabric from a fat-quarter pack at Fabricworm.
I took a long time deciding what sort of quilt to make from the fat quarters. I wanted to feature the animals from the Urban Chiks Hullabaloo Zoology print, but I didn't want big blocks. So half-square triangles it was. I like how you can see snippets of the animals peeking out.
I cut charm squares (5-inch) from the fat quarters, and then divided the fabric into a blue-yellow pile and a pinkish pile. I then paired up squares (one from each pile) and sewed two lines just off the middle and cut each in half. Like this. I used a Clover Hera marker to mark the lines and it worked great.
I trimmed each finished block down to 4.5 inches to make it extra accurate. It was a lot of trimming, but worth it. There are 121 squares on the front, and all the leftovers on the back.
It took me several days to pick out the backing and binding fabric. When I work with colors and fabric I wouldn't normally use, I lose all instinct for making choices.
As hard as picking backing and binding fabric was, the quilting was a breeze. I think I spent longer trying to decide how to quilt it than the actual quilting. It's a good feeling when you can do something that use to be so hard with a measure of ease. It's not perfect, but it's much better than the results from the hours I spent on my first quilt.
I went with an all-over free-motion pattern. I like the drape it gives the quilt, and (I have no idea if this theory is legit) it seems like this type of quilting will hold all those seams down.
When I make a quilt, I want it to last a lifetime, but that thought is especially true for baby quilts. I think of all the blankets and quilts I've drug around my whole life, and I hope that what I'm making gets packed up for college in 18 years. Or something like that ... you get the idea.
I ran off to Butte this weekend for a much-needed escape and tried to get a cool photo there, but it just didn't pan out.
I sure miss that town.
Throw a quilt down on the floor and dogs will emerge. It works 100 percent of the time.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
I sewed a shirt! And then another one!
The Tova shirt, in fact.
It was awesome.
It fits and everything!
This was my first garment sewing that I actually finished. I've started a skirt (six months ago), but it's not done yet.
The pattern was super easy to follow, and the whole thing only took four hours, including reading through the pattern a few times and assembling and tracing the pattern pieces (I bought the PDF version, only $10!).
I started when I got off work at 1:30 a.m. and finished at 5:30. I didn't plan on it going that way, but it was one of those snowball things, like:
"Oh, if I finish this hem, I might as well attach the back."
And then 30 minutes later: "Now it looks like a real shirt, so I might as well sew on the sleeves."
Then another half-hour passes.
"And since it's basically done, I might as well finish it ..."
And then it's 5:30 a.m.
But so worth it.
So worth it that I made a second one the very next day. I'd been eyeing this Lisette collection fabric at JoAnn for awhile. It's twill. And I sort of thought the extra-small would fit better than the small I made the first time (it does).
So, this happened!
I wore it to work today and got a complement on it, BEFORE I bragged about sewing it.
The second time around, I realized I over looked a step on the first shirt -- topstitching the inset. It makes it look so much nicer. It's funny what you catch the second time through.
:::
And on the quilting front, I'm ready to sew the binding on the HST baby quilt!
I basted and quilted the thing last night, all in like an hour. I probably spent longer deciding how to quilt it than the actual quilting took. I had all these grand plans for some straight-line quilting, but in the end I went with an all-over free-motion pattern. I think that will make a nicer drape and longer-lasting quilt, especially with a baby quilt that will get washed lots.
Picking the binding and backing was hard. Those colors aren't easy to match. I planned on using the binding fabric for the backing, but I didn't want to use a different thread in my bobbin, so I went with some lighter blue dots on a natural background.
:::
Here's hoping I finish it up soon. There are lots of distractions lately, with the warm weather and these two mutts (who escaped for SIX HOURS on Easter and ended up having a sleepover at the shelter. Super lame.)
One thing I've learned from this quilt (besides how awesome trimming is) is that it's hard to pick fabric for a project that doesn't fall in your normal color zone. I've got no instinct in what looks good.
It was awesome.
It fits and everything!
This was my first garment sewing that I actually finished. I've started a skirt (six months ago), but it's not done yet.
The pattern was super easy to follow, and the whole thing only took four hours, including reading through the pattern a few times and assembling and tracing the pattern pieces (I bought the PDF version, only $10!).
I started when I got off work at 1:30 a.m. and finished at 5:30. I didn't plan on it going that way, but it was one of those snowball things, like:
"Oh, if I finish this hem, I might as well attach the back."
And then 30 minutes later: "Now it looks like a real shirt, so I might as well sew on the sleeves."
Then another half-hour passes.
"And since it's basically done, I might as well finish it ..."
And then it's 5:30 a.m.
But so worth it.
So worth it that I made a second one the very next day. I'd been eyeing this Lisette collection fabric at JoAnn for awhile. It's twill. And I sort of thought the extra-small would fit better than the small I made the first time (it does).
So, this happened!
I wore it to work today and got a complement on it, BEFORE I bragged about sewing it.
The second time around, I realized I over looked a step on the first shirt -- topstitching the inset. It makes it look so much nicer. It's funny what you catch the second time through.
:::
And on the quilting front, I'm ready to sew the binding on the HST baby quilt!
I basted and quilted the thing last night, all in like an hour. I probably spent longer deciding how to quilt it than the actual quilting took. I had all these grand plans for some straight-line quilting, but in the end I went with an all-over free-motion pattern. I think that will make a nicer drape and longer-lasting quilt, especially with a baby quilt that will get washed lots.
Picking the binding and backing was hard. Those colors aren't easy to match. I planned on using the binding fabric for the backing, but I didn't want to use a different thread in my bobbin, so I went with some lighter blue dots on a natural background.
:::
Here's hoping I finish it up soon. There are lots of distractions lately, with the warm weather and these two mutts (who escaped for SIX HOURS on Easter and ended up having a sleepover at the shelter. Super lame.)
One thing I've learned from this quilt (besides how awesome trimming is) is that it's hard to pick fabric for a project that doesn't fall in your normal color zone. I've got no instinct in what looks good.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Quilts! Finished ones!
It's been awhile!
I got a new job at work, and it's a lot busier. And since I only have computer+Internet access at work, I haven't updated this for months.
Holidays and travel (both planned and unplanned) happened, and lots of sewing.
I did little projects, which I'm just realizing now that I didn't photograph. Boo.
But I have finished TWO quilts so far this year!
Maybe my favorite quilt photo ever.
It's a values quilt. For Tim. Since I started quilting, he's said that his favorite kind of quilt is scrappy patchwork. So that's what I did, for his birthday.
I took ALL my scraps and cut them into 1.75-inch strips, and then sorted them into dark and light piles.
I followed the Bright Furrows quilt pattern from Modern Log Cabin Quilting , but did the chain piecing a bit differently. Instead of working through four blocks at a time with each block in a different place to facilitate randomness, I worked on six blocks at a time with each block in the same stage but used different fabric strips.
Does that make sense? No? Maybe this does:
OK.
The finished blocks are 9 inches, and the quilt is 9 blocks by 8 blocks. It's bound with a small black dot on a white background, and backed with a sheet! It's held up very well through several washings, and the best part is that it was only $4 at Target. Boom!
Up close, you can't see the pattern at all.
First time free-motioning.
OK, one more. Of a cute helper puppy.
:::
And then I finished another quilt! The top had been almost done for months.
Dense quilting:
So dense that I ended up cutting the quilt top down a bit. I planned on it being a wall-hanging anyway ...
:::
And now, I'm working on my first ... paying quilt job!
It's a baby quilt for someone to give as a gift!
:::
We also moved recently, and Chowder is having a hard time with it.
And Tom is still Tom.
I got a new job at work, and it's a lot busier. And since I only have computer+Internet access at work, I haven't updated this for months.
Holidays and travel (both planned and unplanned) happened, and lots of sewing.
I did little projects, which I'm just realizing now that I didn't photograph. Boo.
But I have finished TWO quilts so far this year!
Maybe my favorite quilt photo ever.
It's a values quilt. For Tim. Since I started quilting, he's said that his favorite kind of quilt is scrappy patchwork. So that's what I did, for his birthday.
I took ALL my scraps and cut them into 1.75-inch strips, and then sorted them into dark and light piles.
I followed the Bright Furrows quilt pattern from Modern Log Cabin Quilting , but did the chain piecing a bit differently. Instead of working through four blocks at a time with each block in a different place to facilitate randomness, I worked on six blocks at a time with each block in the same stage but used different fabric strips.
Does that make sense? No? Maybe this does:
OK.
The finished blocks are 9 inches, and the quilt is 9 blocks by 8 blocks. It's bound with a small black dot on a white background, and backed with a sheet! It's held up very well through several washings, and the best part is that it was only $4 at Target. Boom!
Up close, you can't see the pattern at all.
First time free-motioning.
OK, one more. Of a cute helper puppy.
:::
And then I finished another quilt! The top had been almost done for months.
Dense quilting:
So dense that I ended up cutting the quilt top down a bit. I planned on it being a wall-hanging anyway ...
:::
And now, I'm working on my first ... paying quilt job!
It's a baby quilt for someone to give as a gift!
:::
We also moved recently, and Chowder is having a hard time with it.
And Tom is still Tom.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Stuff
I've been knitting.
It's different than sewing. I get to watch more TV* when I knit. As long as I stick with simple patterns and repeat them 15 times. Seriously. I've knit this hat at least that much. I kept making it too small or too big. But then I got it right.
Speaking of screw-ups. This.
Well, not that one. But the one I made before it, when I put the damn buttonhole (which was excellent, by the way) in the wrong place. I thought I was being all clever by sewing the hole before assembling the bag. And I'm sure that is a clever approach for folks intelligent enough to think through where the fucker should end up to create a properly functioning bag.
I'm seriously in love with both those fabrics. They're Denyse Schmidt for JoAnn. DS Quilts is what the bolt said. And they were half off. Score.
Hat+clutch (free Kwik Sew pattern here)=birthday present for a good friend in Butte.
:: ::
Thanksgiving leftovers have come and gone.
It's December, for fuck's sake.
We cut down a freaking adorable tree in Red Lodge. I tried to take artsy photos of the dogs in front of it. I failed.
Shitty photos always look better in black and white.
Our tree came with real pine cones.
Take that, you people-who-put-up-fake-trees-and-adorn-them-with-cinnamon-blasted-pine-cones types.
See that popcorn garland? Yeah, I sewed that shit. I feel like I need one more to have an aesthetically decorated tree (read: the bottom half has garland. The top doesn't. That's not cool.)
:: ::
I got a request to make ugly dolls. I think I succeeded.
:: ::
OK, so I feel bad that I never posted a photo of this finished pillow.
*Just to clarify, to me TV means whatever DVD I pull out of our the wagon of movies, all of which I've seen at least five times. But we ain't gots no cable. Or noncable, whatever that's called.
It's different than sewing. I get to watch more TV* when I knit. As long as I stick with simple patterns and repeat them 15 times. Seriously. I've knit this hat at least that much. I kept making it too small or too big. But then I got it right.
Speaking of screw-ups. This.
Well, not that one. But the one I made before it, when I put the damn buttonhole (which was excellent, by the way) in the wrong place. I thought I was being all clever by sewing the hole before assembling the bag. And I'm sure that is a clever approach for folks intelligent enough to think through where the fucker should end up to create a properly functioning bag.
I'm seriously in love with both those fabrics. They're Denyse Schmidt for JoAnn. DS Quilts is what the bolt said. And they were half off. Score.
Hat+clutch (free Kwik Sew pattern here)=birthday present for a good friend in Butte.
:: ::
Thanksgiving leftovers have come and gone.
It's December, for fuck's sake.
We cut down a freaking adorable tree in Red Lodge. I tried to take artsy photos of the dogs in front of it. I failed.
Shitty photos always look better in black and white.
Our tree came with real pine cones.
Take that, you people-who-put-up-fake-trees-and-adorn-them-with-cinnamon-blasted-pine-cones types.
See that popcorn garland? Yeah, I sewed that shit. I feel like I need one more to have an aesthetically decorated tree (read: the bottom half has garland. The top doesn't. That's not cool.)
:: ::
I got a request to make ugly dolls. I think I succeeded.
:: ::
OK, so I feel bad that I never posted a photo of this finished pillow.
*Just to clarify, to me TV means whatever DVD I pull out of our the wagon of movies, all of which I've seen at least five times. But we ain't gots no cable. Or noncable, whatever that's called.
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