Things about quilting I've learned...

I haven't been quilting for a long time. Technically, I've only "quilted" two things: A baby blanket and a sling style log/quilt carrier, which isn't bound yet. I tie "quilted" the batik quilt I made. Hardcore quilters don't consider that quilting. They can suck it. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. It wasn't difficult by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a bit frustrating at times. Besides, when my Grandma Louise made quilts, she only ever tied them.

Anyway, as I've been puttering along at this new textile adventure, I've been making notes. As most artistic people know, rules are made to be broken, or at least bent into submission. So here are my observations thus far... Fair warning, my sarcastic sense of humor has reared its ugly head in this one.

1) That whole pressing-the-seam-allowances-a-certain-way thing? Turns out it's a pretty good idea. It makes the finished top lay smoother and also helps in the quilting process by keeping your layers thin. Sewing along and then hitting a wad of layers can mess up your needle, tension, fabric, and day.

2) For the most part, using the far-right edge of your standard presser foot is more than a quarter inch. Crap.

3) Just because the quilt on the cover of the magazine is butt ugly doesn't mean there aren't cool ones inside.

4) Pins are useless. Straight pins, that is. Personally, I only use them on really long seams, like borders, or curved seams. Or if I have to match seams. Sigh. Okay. For most piecing situations, pins blow.

5) Speaking of pins, the bent safety pins designed for pinning your top, back and batting together? GENIUS!

6) Sometimes fabrics that clash look really awesome together. Well, I think so anyway.

7) Never be afraid to play.

8) Rotary cutters, self-healing matts, and acrylic rulers are quite possibly the best inventions ever. This includes the template (for which I begrudgingly paid $32.00) that measures out strips in 1/2 inch increments. That is my best investment ever, as far as those types of supplies are concerned.

9) Cutting a few (or even a whole bunch) more pieces than you need is never a bad idea. You can use the spares for practice stitches, you can even make another entire project out of them. Matching pillows, anyone? By the same token, always buy more than you think you'll need. Just in case you screw up.

10) It's okay to visibly cringe when someone says Muslim instead of muslin. Please, PLEASE correct these people. You're not being rude, you're being helpful. I used to work at a fabric store and this drove me up a wall. Take it upon yourself to be an educator. I think it's sort of insulting to the Muslim people, too. I wouldn't want to be called an un-bleached, cheap cotton fabric.

11) Along those lines, the flat or faceted, shiny plastic beads on bridal/evening gowns are sequins, not sequence. Sorry I'm getting preachy on this, but it drives me to drink.

12) There's a lot of math involved in quilting. It's okay to use a calculator. They even make special ones for quilters. I don't have one... yet. It's on my wish list.

13) There are HUGE quilt conventions all over the world.

14) There are quilting rock stars. My personal fave? Kaffe Fassett. He designs quilts and fabric and other textile arts. His stuff rocks my world right off its axis.

visit kaffeefassett.com that's where I got this image of him.

15) It's okay to just make quilts for yourself and be totally fine with the little mistakes only you will notice. But...

16) There are quilt competitions and they aren't just for the 4H-ers. Now, if you're a beginner, don't even think about this beyond "maybe someday." I know there are those of you (myself included) who are very competitive, and to you - and me - I say, "Slow down, there, Turbo!" The judges have very strict guidelines and you'll drive yourself to the edge if you think your first quilt will be stellar. Even the quilting rock stars started small. 

'Course, if you like being stressed out and inventing new cuss words, knock yourself out.

17) Learn the difference between "ironing" and "pressing". You want to press. If you iron, your fabric can stretch and get all farkucht. Ironing is moving the iron around on the fabric, pressing is picking it up, moving it to a new place and putting it down. It takes some time, but it's worth it to not have warped fabric.

18) You don't need to get every gadget, ruler and template. There are really slick, easy ways of doing half-square triangles, flying geese and even Dresden Plates. I have the "Easy Dresden Plate" template, sets for hexagons and triangles that aren't half-square. I also have a "Fat Cat" which is supposed to be used for these really twee cat designs. I use it for fans and really large plates. I also make a lot of my own templates from left over cardboard. Fat Quarter packs almost always have a little piece in them for folding into the fabric. They're great for template patterns and stencils. Then, of course, there's that strip maker sheet. I love that thing.

19) You can quilt with any fabric. You can even mix types of fabric. However, keep in mind that different fabrics have different needs depending on their fiber content. Educate yourself.

20) Generally when pressing a point, you want to follow the recommended pressing direction from the pattern. But sometimes you're trying to press and the fabric isn't cooperating... if the overall look of the quilt won't be affected, why fight it? Just make a note, mental or otherwise, that you've done this, so you won't be surprised by a bump in the road as you quilt.

21) Must you wash the fabric before you sew? That depends. Are you making a wall quilt? An art quilt? Something that isn't going to be used and washed repeatedly doesn't need to be washed, really. Keep in mind there are special finishes that are added to fabrics to make them look crisp and shiny for the consumer. It also helps protect the fabric from the dirt and oils of all the hands that will be touching it. Pretty much all fabrics get this treatment, even ones that are labeled as organic. Often the only thing organic about the fabric is that they grew the fibers without pesticides. There are a few companies who don't add the finishing, and are very "green" in their processes, but they are few and far between, so as a rule, or if you think the finishing product might be a bother your skin (some people are sensitive to it), wash your fabric before working with it. 

22) Another fun tidbit about washing. If you really like the way antique quilts look with the puckering, don't wash your fabric first and use a cotton/poly blend for thread. It will encourage that look as the quilt is washed.

23) There is a product you can use whilst pressing that is a starch-less fabric finish. It helps replace the crispness of the fabric after washing and get wrinkles out. It's called Mary Ellen's Best Press. It's sold at most fabric stores and comes in a non-scented version as well as lavender and "clean linen" scents. I really like using it. It doesn't flake like starch does and I still get a nice, crisp seam/crease. 

24) I put one of my tackle boxes (which I use for buttons, hooks and eyes, etc.) under my ironing board. When you stand there so often, it's nice to put your foot up. It saves back pain.

25) Having your chair and machine positioned comfortably can mean the difference between an enjoyable experience and a week in traction.

26) Get good lighting. This is one of my problems, actually. I work in our unfinished basement, and there isn't good lighting down there. I have an overhead bulb, the light on my machine and a floor lamp which can swivel so that I can either aim it at the sewing area or the ironing board. The one window that lets light into my work area is Southern, so it's really good in the Winter, but it gets dark in the Summer. When I hand sew, I'm up in our living room under the 5-bulb gooseneck. I try to use daylight for checking color combinations, but it isn't always available when I need it. Hence the wacky combinations (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

27) Freezer paper is awesome for paper piecing! It's great for appliques, too. You can iron it to your fabric temporarily, move it if it's not in the right place, remove it when you're done basting. It's inexpensive and you can find it at the grocery store with the waxed paper and cling wrap. Don't use waxed paper, though. It has too much wax on it and leaves a yucky film on your fabric. I hope I don't need to tell you to not use cling wrap...

28) No, you don't have to make your quilt exactly like the one that's in the book. I shouldn't have to say this, but I know there are people who beat themselves up if they don't get just the right thing. Also, if you run out of a fabric, it's okay to substitute. There are quilts known as "make-do" quilts, so called because one or more blocks are different because the quilter ran out of the original fabric. Call yours a make-do and it's a unique treasure.

29) Inspiration is everywhere! 

30) Simple blocks are your friends. You can take something as unassuming as a 9-patch block and make a stellar quilt. You can make yourself crazy thinking you need to make something unique, but unique doesn't have to equal hard. The simplest patterns are often the most amazing. Play around with angles and colors, and suddenly - you're a designer! For example...

The images in this post are not mine, I claim no rights to them. I have tried to credit them as best as possible. I hope their owners realize I'm sharing them with respect to their craft. And that they get a little business. 

This is what can be done with a simple 9-patch:

from quilting-tidbits.com. It goes along with a free tutorial, so hop on over there and check it out!

This is from the blog, Teri's Painted Daisies, painteddaisies.blogspot.com. Teri's art is amazeballs! Plus she's got this adorable cockatiel... 

This is from candlewoodquilts.com They are a home-based quilt business in Tennessee. Go give 'em a look-see!

A couple more things...

I took a picture of the variegated ribbon yarns I used for the batik tie quilt. They don't show up in the photo of the quilt enough for you to see what they look like. The colors really blend in, which is cool, and what I wanted, but I thought you might enjoy seeing how they actually look.

I also completed the "1/2" flower (#9) from the other day and finished the 10th!

Gee, it looks like it either has a teensy little stem or a tampon. I should really think of those things when I take pix for this blog. Oh, well.

I'm back home after spending a few days with my mom and tomorrow morning I hit the ground running, so I wanted to make sure I posted these before I forgot. I have an action-packed day ahead. First, a morning appointment with my waxing artiste (my friend, Angela the Aesthetician, is going to rip all the unwanted hair off my face), then a 2 o'clock photo shoot with Nathan Yungerberg, photog to the stars, and in the evening, I'm auditioning for a production of Cabaret. I've already played Sally Bowles - almost 10 years ago! - so I think Fraulein Kost will be a nice, small, low-impact role. Unless, of course, the director would like to do some non-traditional casting and put me in as the Emcee. Ha! (What? I could do it.)

Oh, yeah! This Tuesday I'll (finally) meet little Lillian and give her the baby blanket. Pictures for sure! I'm soopy citers! Yay!

Sew close!

I found some ribbon yarn that was left over from a scarf my mom made for me a while back. There are two variegated color ways, bright primaries and bright secondaries, so I'm using them to make the tie quilting on the batik. I'm about 2/3 of the way done. I broke my needle. 

Okay, I wasn't using quite the right needle, but it was working just fine until it broke. I've been through 4 more needles since it died and I haven't even been through a whole row of ties.  Now, these needles didn't break, they were just not the right size. One was too fat, one's eye was two small and started to tear at the yarn, and the other two just didn't feel right. Somewhere in my "collection" (some might call it a "heap") is an old Sucret's lozenge metal box filled with really sturdy needles left over from my grandma and grandpa (he was a carpet layer) which would be really sweet to find right about now. I've been using a needle nose pliers to get them through the quilt. That is what ultimately broke the first one. I had a little too much torque on it.

One the other hand, my sitter came over yesterday and was chatting me up about the quilt (she wants me to teach her how to sew) and I asked her if she'd like to have it for her birthday next week. She was super excited about that. She just graduated high school and is getting her own apartment (she's really got it together), so she wants to have it for curling up and watching tv in her new place. Yay! It has a home! Also, I had it on my lap as I was sewing up the opening the other evening and it was so toasty! The air conditioner was blowing right on me and I didn't even mind. 

Today my boys and I are leaving to go stay with my mom for a couple of days and help her with a couple of household projects she really shouldn't do by herself. I plan on taking the batik along to finish and I'll take the hex project along as well. I almost have another flower done. I had no idea how painstakingly slow that would be. It seems quick as I'm doing the hand sewing, but that's alllll an illuuuusion.  

Here's another fun wrench to throw into my routine: I have been diagnosed with Adult ADHD. Not that this is a surprize. It's more of a confirmation of what we already knew. This is serving to make me even more determined to finish projects and not just let them sit around and languish in the dungeon, and to keep this blog going. Seriously, this is the most I've ever blogged. I must've found something I actually want to write about. Huh. Go figger. I'm going to start my medication later today and we'll see how that goes. I face it with hope and trepidation.  

Also, don't forget about my Autism fundraising! Go to http://www.cafepress.com/harriet07 and purchase and Harriet t-shirt in the month of June and the profits will go to Autism research! (See post from June 1st for more information)

Scrappy McScrapperton aka More, more, more...

How do you like it? How do you like it?

I like it when I'm busy. I also, apparently, like it when my quilts are busy. Like this top I just finished, which I shall call Scrappy McScrapperton.

It was inspired by a few things. First of all, the scrap quilts that my grandma made. Second, a similar quilt top I found in a magazine. Which I promptly lost, so I can't add a pic of that one. Third, recent research suggests that all those pastel baby things we get for newborns, can't actually be seen very well by babies. They develop a sense of contrast first, black and white is best, then the spectrum of colors begins to be processed. Geometric shapes are easier to see than fuzzy blobs, but they eventually register by the time baby is about a year old. 

My Grandma Louise made scrap quilts. She typically used a 9-patch, but I saw a quilt in a magazine (seriously, where did that thing go?!) that made squares within squares. It also had sashing, but I opted to just put the blocks together without it. When my sister's kids were little we'd put my quilt from Grandma Louise on the floor for them to play on. My nephew in particular, enjoyed discovering matching squares throughout the quilt; a bit like the game of Memory, but without the cards being flipped over. Hey, when you're 1 1/2 that's about all you can manage.

So, I put together a bunch of fat quarters with different colors, shapes, and varying degrees of contrast, cut them into strips 2 1/2 inches and 4 inches wide. I didn't worry about the length because I didn't have any idea which ones I was going to use where, though I did have some which were shorter and longer and I made squares of each size. I also used a couple of scraps left over from another quilt. They weren't the right size, but I just worked with them as they were. 

As far as putting the blocks together, it was an exercise in improvisation. I'd pick a center piece, (some were squares, others were rectangles. I like variety.) and then I'd put together the pieces going around the center piece in much the same fashion as you would for a log cabin block, only without the triangular color separation. I trimmed the length of the strips as I went around to square them off. I also didn't want the blocks to be perfectly square. They're 11" x 12". Sometimes, because of the trimming, in order to get the right size, I'd have to add an extra strip to one end. I just played around and had fun.

Once I had 20 blocks, I laid them out and played around with placement, following my instincts with regard to the way the colors made my eyes bounce from one part of it to the next. I also decided I wanted 5 more blocks. It's meant to go on the floor to let your kids play around on it, rather than cover a specific size of bed, but I wanted it to be just a skosch bigger than it was at 20 blocks.

I still have a ton of scraps left over, so I can make similar ones, or pillows. Or something completely different. 

Some of those fabrics were used in Lillian's baby quilt. I took what was left, added some solid batiks and had enough for a twin sized bed runner. Or, as I like to call them, Tootsie Toasters. 

It was pretty windy when I took this one, so I put some rocks on the corners to hold it down. Also, there's some schmutz on the camera lens. I'm just going to pretend it's a fancy schmancy artistic filter, 'kay? I may even have enough of the hot pink flannel I used for the back of Lillian's quilt to back this. I haven't checked yet. What? I've been busy.

Also, today is my little guy's 6th birthday. He's busy playing with his presents, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to add these photos and blog.

Happy birthday, Li'l Pootie Boo!

Batiki-tiki-tiki Room!

This past weekend, between my kids starting summer vaycay, four performances, the audition workshop, striking (tearing down) the set after the last performance, Tony Awards (Theatre Super Bowl) and mom coming up to visit, I not only pressed the backing for the batik, I finished it. I also sandwiched the backing and batting to the front so it's ready for the tie quilting process. 

Unfortunately, my camera is acting up (or down, depending on how you look at it). I have a feeling the boys got into it and changed the settings so that, instead of the pix going onto the memory card, they're in the internal memory of my camera, and I have no clue where my little cord is to connect my camera to the computer to upload them. Horrors! I hate using my phone for these pix. They aren't as clear. I got some really nice shots of it, too, because it's a nice, sunny day. If I drag that blanket out to the deck one more time, my neighbors are gonna start talkin'! LOL I don't know what about, but I have some odd neighbors. However, if they started saying stuff like, "Hey! She makes pretty quilts. We should buy one..." I think I'll take it out one more time and use both the reset camera and the darn phone...

Yay! It's working!

Wouldn't this be lovely under yer buns for a picnic in the park?

The back is just as pretty!

One thing I should mention was that, as I was cutting the back for the batik, I realized I had under guess-timated the amount of fabric I needed. I was cutting out the triangles and was suddenly aware that I was only going to get 3 full triangles! Crappy McCrapperton! I was just about to kick myself when I thought, well, perhaps I could sew together the two end pieces to make the fourth triangle. It worked. I wasn't going to be too upset about the seam because I'm using up all the fabric, rather than having these two big end pieces. I do have quite a bit left over because I didn't need to use the entire width of the fabric, but I have plans. Oh, yes, I have plans...

Anyway, the batik is nearly finished! Yay! Two quilts in one week! Huzzah!

Poop. Now what am I going to do?

Kidding! I have lots of stuff to do. I've been working on the hand-sewing of the hexagon Grandma's Flower Garden in drips and drabs. I thought I had done so much work on it, but I'll be dipped! I only have 5 completed flowers! This is definitely NOT one of those instant gratification projects. But I imagine it'll be pretty satisfying when it does get done. 

Another project I should really tackle is making a new cushion for my porch swing. Just sayin'.

My mom has "commissioned" me to make two baby quilts for some new girls in town. The granddaughter of the pastor from the church where I grew up and my sister's step-daughter's baby girl. I'm kinda hoping my niece has a boy. So much less drama. Even when they're on the spectrum. I'm all the drama I can handle!

finis!

Okay, not exactly finis. I need to bind the baby quilt, but the quilting part is done! Yay! I was thinking of using some of the left over flannel from the backing to make a ruffle, but I really should've attached that before I did any quilting, so I set aside the ruffled strip I made. I'll put it on the ends of the bed runner I made from the other scraps!

So, tomorrow, between my son's doctor appointment and my other errands, I'll go pick up some bias tape and I'll finish that sucker off in the evening! Then I'll take pix. And then I'll arrange to meet up with Laurel so I can give it to her and meet baby Lillian. I'm so excited that I've actually finished a quilt. Yeah, okay, a little baby quilt, but it's done! Almost. So close.

I'm a quilter, not just a topper!

Now I'm going to go press the batiks I picked up to make the backing for the batik top I made a while back. They're neutral colors to balance the brightness of the top. I got two different ones. Basically I'm going to make a giant block in the same style as the blocks of the top. I think I'll not quilt this one, but tie it. That's all my grandma ever did was tie quilts. I have a ton of yarn in my workshop in a bajillion colors, so I can have a lot of fun putting that one together! The only thing my grandma had that I don't have is saw horses. She rigged her quilts on them with clamps in order to do the tying. I'll just have to jury rig my own contraption, I guess. Between my husband, the boys and myself, I ought to be able to put something together that'll work.

I'm so happy I got this done. My fibromyalgia was acting up yesterday, so I didn't get down to the machine like I had wanted. I'm still a bit sore and tired from the flare up, but I pushed through it to get the quilt done. I'm on a roll! Nothing is worse than being on a roll and having to stop for something stupid like fibro flare ups.

Da Dresden

I *finally* finished the Dresden Plate top. My husband thinks I should completely finish this quilt before I start the next one. Silly boy! I've already started the next one! I didn't get pictures of the side borders because I couldn't get a good angle. My bedroom is really teensy. I have a queen size bed, just to give an idea of the size.

Once I got this done, I continued work on the batiks. Pix soon!

Project mania

Oh, myLANta! I have a terribly busy brain. I get a bit muddled when I have so many ideas, but I've come up with a plan that I hope I can manage. In my first post I mentioned the three main projects I have.

1. A basket-weave quilt that is all layered and ready to be quilted. I started to quilt it by hand, but at the moment, I'm not pleased with how it looks. I will most likely undo the hand stitching I've already done and start over.
2. A barghello-type quilt to which I'd like to add a border, but haven't done any more than think about that. I'm not sure what color I want to use for it.
3. The Dresden Plate. I'm ready to add the border. I thought I would get it done last weekend, but as I was preparing to press my freshly washed border fabric, I realized it was about two shades too light. No good. Had to go get more fabric. This time I actually took a piece of the original along to compare. Lesson learned.

Okay, those are only the ones I mentioned in my first entry. However, I've been drawing in my graph paper notebook for several months and I have all these design ideas: 

1. I'm going to make a fan quilt. I have all the fan pieces cut out, but some need to be shaped to either have a point or a curved edge. It's going to be a time consuming project, so I started another one which I thought might go faster.
2. The batik quilt. At first, when I just saw the batik fabrics in the store or online, I wasn't sure I'd like them. After seeing how some quilters have used these fabrics, I was eager to make one, myself. I found a block style that was used as a border for a quilt in a magazine and I thought that might be a cool all-over block done in batiks. I only have to do some minor cutting to get rather large blocks, right? WRONG! It was nearly as time consuming, but I think that's mostly because I'm working with fat quarters instead of full width fabric. I do have the batiks coordinated in the color combinations I want, but the cutting is a little more piddly than I was expecting. Oh, well.
3. Mom's Music quilt. This is one I've designed for my mom. She really likes the look of quilts made with bright colors against black and I found to black music fabric (she's a piano teacher) with rainbow colored musical notes on it. That became the inspiration for the rest of the quilt design. I drew it out in my graph notebook and then, with my American Quilt Society fabric calculator, I was able to figure out how much more fabric I'd need to complete the design I came up with. I have all the fabric for this quilt and it's washed. I just need to press, quilt, sew. 
4. The Tennenbaum quilt. A couple of years ago I saw a Christmas tree quilt on display at one of the fabric shops I like to haunt. It was very simple and figured I could do something like it, so I came home and started designing and drawing and erasing and redrawing and coloring, etc. Some of my designs were soooooper elaborate, so I chucked them. Why torture myself? In the meantime, I picked up the fabrics for it. I have a box of holiday fabrics in my sewing room that were all devoted to that one project. Now, I've weeded out the ones I really want for it and will then have to figure out how much of each I'll actually use. Being February, this project, while it's the one I've been thinking about for the longest and spent to most time designing, will be the last one I tackle.

So my goal is not to have all of these quilted and complete in a matter of months or whatever, because, for me, that's just not realistic. I've decided to finish the Dresden, barghello, fan, batik and music quilt tops by the time school's out in June. Then I'll have the summer to teach myself how to actually quilt the darn things. I have a bit of an assembly line thing going. Then, once I have those done, I'll tackle The Tree.

It's very important for me to pace myself. I want to just tear into things, but I also have fibromyalgia and in a couple of weeks, I'm going to start home-schooling my 3rd grader. (I'm sure that somehow I can work all this quilting geometry into a math assignment. There must be a way!) I'm also commissioned to write a play (first reading next month!) and my husband and I'll be traveling to Cancun in April. 

And I'm doing this by myself, why? Oh, yeah. Because, clearly, I'm nuts.