What I Did for International Quilting Weekend

I binge watched a bunch of shows on The Quilt Show - every year they open up the prior years shows for free viewing...so I took advantage of that.. I think I watched 8 of them!

Learned a bunch of techniques...and once my 'creative juices' were revved up, I  turned my attention to the Embellishment Sampler that my quilting friend at work got me for Christmas...

It needed the mounting quilt - so that part is done!

I originally had a different blue floral for the outer border, but it just wasn't ringing any bells when I laid it out next to the partially embellished squares...so I rummaged around in my large florals bag and found a few other selections...this one won out...Originally, I had a bright green for the resting border, but my DH asked if I could find something to match the turquoise of the upper left flower..found just the right piece and I was good to go. The center is a vintage cotton hankie that I used Terial Magic on to make it board stiff...but since it is pretty thin, I backed it with a creamy muslin. Once the squares are finished being embellished, they will be attached to the mounting quilt with beads. 

I really like how this is turning out...DH keeps coming in to check the progress - I think he likes it too!

Hexie Daisy Done

Finito!

Wool batting, all scraps from my stash, border, backing and binding fabric from donations table at Retreat. Quilted with candlelight quilting thread.

Painless Binding Join on the Hexie Daisy Quilt

I am finished with hand quilting the Hexie Daisy quilt so I thought I would photograph how to do the Painless Binding Join I learned from Shannon Shirley at Road this year. This is the easiest way to do the final join in the binding..no measuring, no pins...

First, prepare your binding..for this piece, I am using single fold, non-bias binding, but it does not matter what kind of binding you are using.

Create a 45 degree angle on the end of the binding  by folding and trimming off the folded part - you may already have a 45 degree angle if you are using bias binding.

Fold up the edge by around 1/4 inch - wrong sides together. Press.

Place binding on the quilt with the longer edge along the outer edge of the quilt..You will need to figure out where you want the join and do a rough guess on where the other seams in the binding fall (seams in the corners are kinda problematic!)

Sew binding to quilt, mitering corners. If you are using double fold, start a couple of inches away from the end...single fold, start right at the end.

When you get close to the start point, cut off the remaining binding, leaving an inch or so overlap along the same angle as the folded part. For double fold, tuck the end into the pocket and smooth down.

Finish sewing the binding down.

Flip the binding to the back and pin or clip. You can either stitch the fold closed or not - just like the miters on the corners (some people stitch 'em, some don't)

Et voila'...almost done!

Patchlara

I never got around to blogging about making my Fairy Quilt Godmother last year. One of the gals on the forum pointed us to the Paper Panache website where, after answering a few questions, you were given your own personal Fairy Quilt Godmother pattern..Mine is named Patchlara.

The pattern  did not look TOO hard to do (HAHA!). I added a few extra pieces and changed a few things...made the hair a bit different...and eliminated the original locket on the necklace...and made the dress pieces solid instead of being cut in two ( I didn't want to cut up that gorgeous dress fabric!)...after piecing, her mouth looked way too severe...so I appliqued a more generous bottom lip onto her face. Oh...and she got rosy cheeks via some carefully applied rouge...

One of the gals on the forum took her pattern to Kinkos and had it blown up to double the size..which when paper piecing a Paper Panache pattern is a good thing! There were some parts that I ended up disparing of ever getting done..but I persevered...and she is done..When I quilted her, I added some gold netting to make her sparkle a bit...and added a cat charm to her necklace. She hangs from a wand on the wall in my office.


Meet Patchlara:

The scraps and scnibbles were collected into a pill bottle - Fairy Dust!

Gran Jam

I can hear you saying to yourself..Who or what the heck is Gran Jam? Well..she is a 'Shopkin' , My 9 year old granddaughter asked for Shopkins for her birthday. I took a look at the Shopkins website and hoooboy there are SOOOOO many of these little figurines - they are anthropomorphized things you can shop for (there are also Petkins..wee animal items) There are oranges and apricots and hair dryers and cookies and donuts and wheelbarrows..you get the picture...they are currently on series 4...

Gran Jam is a jam jar...with granny glasses and a gingham hat... 
"Gran Jam watches over all of Shopville. She spreads love and slathers affection on the Shopkins, sweetening their lives with her kind words."

I could not find a Gran Jam in the store...so..I made one! Drafted the pattern one day at lunch. She is made of two different green fleece materials, purple gingham and a white felt face with pink felt glasses..I think she turned out pretty cute!

DGD was pretty impressed with her new Shopkin...said she was going to take it to school and set it on her desk..not sure how that will work out, but it made me glad that she likes it!

I even made a tag...

I had DGD sew the arms on..which lead to more sewing and crafting...

She wanted me to make a blue bird with red wings...

while she finished off a beaded necklace

and a landscape

She learned a whole bunch of new skills - threading a self threading needle (the ones with just an eye will come later), how to knot off when done with stitching, how to sew on a button, how to do a running stitch and the applique stitch (not very invisible..but hey...gotta start somewhere!) She did everything on the landscape except the initial knots on the thread..

Back from Retreat

Whew..this has been a whirlwind of a month..

Went to my annual Retreat in Arizona again this year. This year I flew because the lady that I used to drive over with from So Cal moved to Arizona! She picked me and another Retreater up from the airport - we coordinated our flights so we would get there and leave within half an hour of each other..I stayed in her guest room the first night and then we moved to the hotel where the Retreat is held.

The hotel just changed hands..and all the staff changed from last year. We have been going to this location since (I think) 2006 or 2007...The conference room holds 32 retreaters - so far, they have only been ladies, but we wouldn't exclude a guy or two! (Some of the husbands occasionally come..one year they went target shooting, another they went to visit the airplane boneyard in Tuscon..)

This year the 'big event' was making a bargello quilt. One of the hostesses volunteered to lead the project and we jumped right in on Thursday, making our strata. In deciding to even do the class, I looked at bargello pictures on the internet and found one that I really, really liked its look:

I used 17 of the fat quarters that we got on the last Quilter's Run:

Here is my strata:

What I ended up with is the first nine pieces followed the pattern, the next 8 were the first pattern going backwards...I still had some my two strata left, so I cut that into random sized pieces until I couldn't cut any more and added them to one of the sides...so..its kinda unique!

Like that sample, I will be doing the borders similarly - though I haven't decided if I am going to use leaves or something else for the applique. The picture shows a bias scarf I made at retreat as well..just a wee quickie project!

I finished a bag that was on the donation table - the body of the bag was prepared with lovely hand quilting, it had one handle turned, the other handle was not sewn at all and the lining was already made. I think I know why it was never finished - that remaining handle was a bear to turn! When I got it home, I decided that the handles needed to be thinner than the original, so I folded them and stitched them down..then it needed a button closure so I stitched two buttons on - one with a loop of elastic that can loop over the other button...it has all of my little projects that I brought with me to retreat but didn't get time to work on in and its hanging in my sewing room. I like it!

One of the other activities was making a potholder - first they were posted on a board and we voted on our favorites..then they were used in the Left-Right game - one of the ladies wrote a humorous story that you pass the potholder from left or right depending on the directions in the story..Very funny!

This is my contribution:

And this is the one I ended up with --a pretty pink design:

The potholder display:

And this was all the buzz around the potholder display:

No...those ain't palm trees on the back...after all..it is a POT holder..the front features munchy foods...
Not surprisingly, it won first place in the competition!

More Hexie Daisy Progress and Packing for Retreat

Here are a couple of shots of my experiment with back stitching hexies - it works much better if the opposite outer edge is supported with a WonderClip. Do I like it? I think so. It's way neater than the whip stitch...and a bit easier to do than the ladder stitch (no folding) - when I try the ladder stitch, the stitches seem to still show though that may be just practice.. Will have to try to see if I can do this thru the glue on the Wee Hexie Basket...

I still have 14 wee side pieces to add to the pointy sides since I have determined this is going to be a straight edged piece..thought were it goes from there is anybody's guess at this point! 

I am almost packed for Retreat...I don't leave for another week..but I cannot stand not knowing if stuff will fit! This year I am flying, so have to be super conservative on what I bring...

Hexie Daisy Progress

Finished the prep work for the Hexie Daisy block...now on to stitching them all together!

Road To California Hexie Daisy Class

I don't usually get pictures of me at Road to CA...but this class had several!
Here I am stitching my center flower - almost done so we can show how to stuff the center of the Hexie Daisy

 Teacher Cheryl See is the other lady in teal...

 Showing how I do the back stitch join...

Road To California Report

Fisrt, some eye candy:
Road To CA Quilts

Wednesday, I took two classes on the Brother Scan N Cut...the first one, we unpacked a brand new machine...learned to read the menus, created a card, and cut a purple heart out of fabric (we all went home with purple hearts!)....the second, we learned to pair a Brother Dream Machine embroidery machine with the Scan N Cut..cut the appliques and watched the Dream Machine stitch...

I was less than thrilled with the embroidery machine aspect - not my cuppa tea...but the Scan N Cut...now..the lady packing the boxes after the class I told her she was just gonna have to wipe my drool off it (she laughed) - I loved it!...My friend who was in the class with me bought her Scan N Cut..but whoo doggie, she spent a pile 'o cash! Even with the show special of 20% off, it still was almost $1K to get the machine and all the optional geegaws that go with it...

I made my embroidered piece into a mug rug...

I like the back almost as much as the front:

This is a picture of the Brother Dream Machine stitching out placement markers - it tells you where to stick the applique pieces on that you cut with the Scan N Cut

And then it tacks the pieces down and satin stitches them...automatic thread loading, cutting  - practically does the whole thing for you! And..no thread tails on the front of the piece - not quite sure HOW it made all of them go to the back ...probably magic...

The machine I was using kept un-threading its needle...so though its automatic, it was a bit frustrating to have to re-thread the machine...

Friday, I took a 'thread sketching' class from Shannon Shirley..utterly fantastic class...I was able to get my entire quilt DONE..not just the stitching/quilting, but the binding, stitching the back of the binding down AND dissolving off the washaway that we used to 'transfer' the design from the pattern to the fabric...

First, we traced the pattern onto dissolvable film using a Sharpie pen:

My hands have some kind of grease that makes the Sharpie pen marks rub off the dissolvable  film...the teacher let me borrow a pair of Graberoos - they are kinda like Machingers, but purple (so they don't get as groody-looking as the white ones) - and they don't make my hands hot! That solved the problem so I have a pair on order from Amazon...tried to find them in the vendor mall, but couldn't locate a pair...

I learned a new binding join technique that is fast, accurate and non-frustrating..and it requires no measuring or pins (whoohoo)

Here my finished piece:

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that it is finished! G thinks it could use some color..so maybe I will attack it with the Inktense pencils...have to try coloring the pattern first though to see if I even like the effect...

Saturday I took two classes...one on hexies from Cheryl See, who won the Best Use Of Color for her Starlette hexie quilt at last year's Road...and the other was a Zentangle pincushion class put on by the Janome dealer...

The hexie class was very interesting. She had us cut at least 70 two inch squares of a color family from our stash..mine is GREEN of course! (If you know me, you know I love green!) I actually had 82 green scraps without cutting any of my yardage or fat quarters...

There were only 8 students, so we got very individualized attention from Cheryl....we arranged those scraps in a watercolor format on our quilt scrolls - I made mine using a pool noodle, a piece of fleece, the cardboard tube from a dry cleaning pants hanger and two hair scrunchies...after I got fabric on the fleece, I regretfully realized that the back side of fleece is equally sticky..Yikes! So, right now I have a large plastic bag inserted into the roll to keep the wee pieces of fabric stuck to one side of the scroll...I will have to back the piece of fleece with something ...maybe one of the home dec fabrics would work...

Here is my hexie daisy block on the scroll:

and here is the hexies I got done in class - the center round is stuffed - the petals have to wait until the surrounding hexies are stitched on to be stuffed..

Learned lots from the Hexpert! We traded stitching techniques and I showed her the doodled hexagons...She had never seen the 'back stitching' method nor doodled hexies...

The Zentangle pincushion is cute...I like how mine turned out but the relaxing part of the whole Zentangle experience was out the window! We stitched on a piece of fabric that was prepared using Terial Magic so you don't need stabilizer..it was kinda fun picking the patterns on the Janome machine..and it is another COMPLETED project..so there is that - but it was a bit stressful not knowing exactly how big the patterns were going to come out (the machine does give you a hint, but I was so unfamiliar with the machine that it didn't register til almost the last line I stitched)

So..the hexie daisy block is my ONLY UFO this time..pretty darn great!

I did not buy too many things at Road this year...

10 zippers in assorted colors - they were only 50 cents each! The wee and very sharp scissors - the blade guard is attached so it cannot get lost, a very cute snail tape measure (Missouri Star Quilt Company), some fusible thread from Superior  called Charlotte's Fusible Web, a hard shelled credit card holder, some Bohin needles, and a hexie project - pieces and book - to make a jewel box necklace...The Superior booth was giving away Dr Bob's Thread Therapy discs and a catalog of all their threads..I also bought a hand dyed 3/4 length sleeve T-shirt...and a multicolored jacket...its so lightweight but its really warm! (that was an excellent salesperson..she was bound and determined I was not getting away!)

I am looking forward to trying the fusible thread...just to see if that works!

A New Toy for Me

...And I do mean 'toy'! I bought a Crayola Light-Up Tracing Pad and it is working out marvelously!

Thing weighs almost nothing and is battery operated. I need a light box for one of the classes at Road this year and though I have my light box that my Dad made for me when I was in college (it still works!), it's a bit heavy to lug around since it is a wooden box...this new light pad has LED lights, and a non-glare surface. Comes in pink or blue (clearly marketing to the sexes)...bought the blue since it promised earlier delivery.. And..the pink is a bit much...


May need to buy one for my DGD - she has a birthday coming up soon..

Mandarin Duck and Other Projects

This is the Mandarin Duck, my project from a class with Jenny Bowker at Road to CA last year. It came home with most of the pieces temporarily fused onto a muslin backing..I hadn't added the eye..and there were a few places that had 'holes' where the alignment was a bit off...I  fixed those and then sat down to stitch the edges with MonoPoly...started out with my normal foot and quickly realized that I needed to switch to the Big Foot and do this more like FMQ...

As I was scooting around in my crowded work room after I trimmed up the Duck, I knocked a piece of fabric off a stack..when I picked it up off the floor, it begged to be used in the Mandarin Duck...I originally was going to add a flying geese border, but I love how this piece looks against the rich dark brown...

Then, I played with adding a bit of the rust from the Duck's sail...and that just made it sparkle!

So..the borders are on, I stitched three wool batting pieces (still left from the days when Hobbs was a vendor at Road and sold the squares for 50 cents), created a backing - just plain white muslin...and batted the piece - when it rains, we eat lunch in the cafeteria, and I get some quilting time in..and its predicted to rain all week!

Finished off the rest of the stitching on my Beast from the Beasts of the Jungle class from a couple of years ago - Kissy has been waiting patiently by my sewing machine..and so she is done..

And...since I am taking a hexie class at Road this year, I made a portable design wall / block carrier out of a pool noodle, the cardboard tube from a dry cleaning hanger for pants, a piece of fleece and a hair tie...this will help me carry my design home from the class since there is no way on earth will I get 50 hexies prepared AND stitched in 6 hours..I am fast..but not THAT fast!

I have to cut 70 squares of a single color family for these hexies - I picked green (no shock there, eh?) and so far have unearthed at least 90 different greens!! On to the cutting...I hope I end up with 70 that I can use!  I know some have to be tossed - the plaids, strange fabrics, flannel - but I pulled them anyway..just in case...