Thursday, October 31, 2013

October Roundup

It's time to roundup the month of October!


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I present to you Ariel, The Little Mermaid, and Ursula, the witch of the sea! I tried making Ginger #2 have gray and white hair, but her "gingerness" shows through all the hair spray paint! Ginger #1 is a natural mermaid.

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

WIP Wednesday

Whew! Is it Friday yet? This week is CRRRAZZZY.


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I'm still working on the Isosceles quilt, and I attached two 95-inch rows.


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Look at those points. There are actually points! Instead of pins, I've been using the quarter-inch mark on the wonder clips to line up the points. It's working well.

And the most important thing is that I finished my daughter's VERY FIRST BRA! AHAHA! Ginger #1 is going to be Ariel tomorrow, and Ariel wears a bra. So here you go. I'm so not ready to be talking bras with my 5-year-old!


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I'm so proud of myself since I used one of her old shirts for the bra. I actually recycled! The shirt will probably be worn more now.

I present to you Ariel, The Little Mermaid, and Ursula, the witch of the sea! I tried making Ginger #2 have gray and white hair, but her "gingerness" shows through all the hair spray paint! Ginger #1 is a natural mermaid.


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Linking up: freshlypieced // myquiltinfatuation // firefliesandjellybeans // crazymomquilts

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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Have you heard? It's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival! I'm entering a very special (to me) quilt, a memory quilt using my Dad's work shirts. He passed away in August of 2012. I made two other memory quilts before this one, one for my Grandma and another for my brother. This one went to my Mom.

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I spent a year trying to decide what to do with the blue shirts. I remember my Dad wearing them. I decided to go with a white and blue scheme. A star pattern seemed most appropriate. Most memory quilts are scrappy, but I don't believe they have to be. I wanted this memory quilt to bring out the light and love that my Dad emanated throughout his life.

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When I saw the Star Surround pattern by Melissa Correy at Happy Quilting, I had an "aha!" moment. This was a perfect pattern for the memory quilt. I used four polyester shirts in various shades of blue, and Kona Cotton in navy and white. When finished, the quilt measured 60x60. I free motion quilted the lap quilt in an allover meander with Isacord thread in white, simple to keep the focus on the stars. The quilt backing is in Kona white, and the binding is in Kona navy. This is my third quilt that I made, and I'm really pleased with it. I will be entering this quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Two Color Quilts category.

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I was helping my daughter, Ginger #1, with a Kindergarten project for Dia de Los Muertos. She chose to celebrate Grandpa, and I couldn't have been more pleased. Last night we were writing about Grandpa's favorite things. I love how the mexicans, and other cultures too, literally CELEBRATE the dead this time of year. I really like to think of this memory quilt as a celebration of his life on Earth. He was the best! We were so blessed to have him. 


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June 1980. Me and Dad.

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ca. 1984


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Monday, October 28, 2013

Starting Indian Summer Isosceles Queen Quilt

Today I finished the first row of a new isosceles triangle quilt. This quilt is going to be 95 inches by 95 inches. Eeek! This will be the largest quilt I've ever done. I've gone from lap size quilts to queen size. I must be feeling confident.


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Actually, I just love this fabric by Art Gallery Fabrics, Indian Summer, so much that this quilt must be big. Some Kona Cotton in Aqua blends nicely.


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I also finished another swedish bloom block. I only need to make 14 more blocks. <I'm rolling my eyes at myself!>


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I have been sewing up a storm today. I looked down, and my rain boots are still on. HaHaHa! I didn't even bother to take my boots off before sewing this morning. Live long and sew!


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Friday, October 25, 2013

I HEART Craftsy

I HEART Craftsy in a BIG way! I'm a stay-at-home-mom, so learning to quilt at a local quilt shop would be difficult. Also, my local quilt shop is thirty minutes away, which is not so local. Enter Craftsy. I've taken Carol Doak's paper piecing class and Angela Walter's quilting classes. I've stayed in my pajamas, and I've learned tips and tricks from some of the best instructors! That ROCKS!

Craftsy is now having a flash sale...




What is Craftsy?
Craftsy is a worldwide craft community offering online classes. It also has a patterns marketplace where independent designers can sell their patterns; a supplies shop with great deals on yarn, fabric, and class kits; and a projects section where members share pictures of their latest craft successes. With over two million members and counting, Craftsy has something for just about everyone, in categories ranging from quilting, sewing, knitting, painting, photography, cooking, and more. 

Why should I take a class online?
Online education isn’t just for schools and universities anymore. Craftsy courses provide you the convenience of a world-class instructor in your home, whenever you want to learn. Online education, no matter what subject, is a great alternative to in-person classes for a number of reasons. With many online learning opportunities being on-demand, you are able to learn at your own pace, anytime. Online learning is a fantastic alternative to in-store craft classes for people with busy schedules or who have difficulty leaving the house. It also allows you to watch a troubling section over-and-over again, so you can see exactly how a technique is carried out, or refer back to your class for relevant concepts before beginning any new projects.

Are you ready to get started? Choose any of the Free Craftsy Classes to get started. There are free drawing, painting, sewing, quilting, knitting, photography, cake decorating, and so many more classes.






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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Falling Leaf Block Tutorial

It's here! You can download the Falling Leaf foundation paper piecing template here. Enjoy! The tutorial is below...


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First, gather your supplies. You will need:
  • 4 copies of the foundation paper piecing template,
  • 1 background fabric, 4 pattern fabrics, 1 stem fabric,
  • 1 Add-A-Quarter inch ruler (This is invaluable!),
  • Small piece of cardstock (6-inches x 3-inches),
  • Glue (I use Sewline stick glue.),
  • Rotary cutter,
  • Cutting mat, and
  • Scotch tape.
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1. Cut out the template, leaving a quarter-inch around the leaf. The seam allowance is included in my pattern. There are two pieces per page to cut out. So you will have a total of eight pieces when you are finished cutting. I use Carol Doak's foundation paper. It's great. White copy paper is fine too. It's slightly harder to remove the paper at the end, but no big deal.


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2. Take your first background fabric piece, and place it right- side-up on the backside of the template. Make sure that your scrap covers all of A1. I use large scraps. Glue this down so it will not move.


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3. Flip the template over so it is right-side-up. Place the cardstock on the line between A1 and A2. Fold the paper over, and place the Add-A-Quarter ruler as shown. Cut the fabric with a rotary cutter.


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4. Take a pattern scrap of fabric and place it right-side-down, lining it on the cut you just made. Make sure the fabric will cover shape A2 when the fabric is flipped over. You may want to use a pin to hold the fabric in place. I don't.


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5. Lower the stitch length to 1.5. This length is small enough to make the paper easier to remove, but large enough so the seam can be ripped if you make a mistake.

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6. Flip the template over so it is right-side-up. Stitch on the line between A1 and A2 starting and ending at the edge of the paper.


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7. Turn the template upside down again and press the pattern fabric with the seam toward the pattern side. Use a dry iron. Confirm that the pattern fabric completely covers shape A2.


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8. Repeat step 3: turn the template right-side-up, place the cardstock along the line between A2 and A3, and fold the template over the cardstock. Pull the template so that it forms a straight line for the Add-A-Quarter ruler to lay on. It's O.K. if the template rips a bit from the stitching.


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9. Lay down the Add-A-Quarter ruler and trim with a rotarty cutter. 


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10. Flip template over, and add another scrap of background fabric, right-sides-together, for shape A3.


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11. Stitch from the edge of the paper to the intesection and backstitch. Some people will stitch through the intersection and then rip out the stitches when they add shape A6. I don't do this. I just backstitch two to three stitches. I like the security, and this doesn't add that much bulk to the block.


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12. Press the seam toward the newly added fabric scrap. This is how your leaf will look.


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13. Continue to trim, flip, add fabric right-sides-together, flip, sew, flip, press. Keep going. This is how the top of the leaf will look when it's finished. Look at that beautiful point. I can't get points to match like that when piecing, no matter how precise my cutting is. With foundation paper piecing, the points always come out this perfect, just follow the lines.


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What happens when you make a mistake. Scotch tape makes for an easy fix. Add scotch tape to the seam you need to remove. Then rip the seam out with a seam ripper. The scotch tape will hold the template together. 

Tip: Avoid ironing over the scotch tape!


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14. When sections A and B are complete, sew them together using the quarter-inch seam allowance as a guide. Stitch from one edge of the papers to the other edge. Press the seam open.


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Beautiful! Don't remove the paper until the block is completed.


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I made three more leaves and arranged them like a wreath. Now, you can remove the paper foundation. This 12-inch block would be beautiful in a quilt.


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I added two inches of sashing to all four sides and quilted. Then I used a large circle template from a cake carrier that I have to cut a circle. 

Sewing binding onto a circle is easy; There are no corners to mitre! I did cut bias binding so that I wouldn't have stretch issues. Usually with rectangular quilts, I use binding cut along the width-of-fabric. I also used my machine's walking foot. Before I got to the end of the circle, I removed the placemat from the machine. I sewed the beginning and the end of the binding together, right-sides-together, so that it would lay flat. Finally, I finished attaching the binding, flipped it over, and sewed the binding down on the back.

All done!


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Linking up at: quiltstory // myquiltinfatuation // firefliesandjellybeans // 627handworks // crazymomquilts // naptimecrafters

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