from Julie

In addition to the group of gifts I already received,  Julie and I had our annual parking lot exchange of Christmas gifts after CQFA last weekend. I gave her the partially done Purple Journal, which seems a bit pathetic after I saw what she gave me!) and she gave me this plethora of quilty goodness.

I want to use the Mary Engelbreit panels to make journal covers. A little Mary Engelbreit in the morning is always a good way to start the day, in my opinion. She also bought me a desk needle threader. Yes, it is getting harder for me to thread my needles. I blame it on poor lighting in my living and work rooms.  I am constantly breaking the wire hand held ones, so this will come in handy. The ruler allows the quiltmaker to make wonky 9 patches. Julie and I have started to cut patches for each other. She cut Eye Spy patches for me. I cut Eye Spy patches for her. Now we are cutting Windmill patches for each other.

The final cool thing is a little package of Timtex. Who doesn’t need Timtex? I want to try making a journal using Timtex instead of a manilla folder. We’ll see if it works.

Half Moon Street from TFQ

I am a lucky girl to have a friend who gives me gift certificates for fabric.I think we should all have a friend like that. I bought this bundle using the Intrepid Thread gift certificate from TFQ.  I love receiving gift certificates for fabric. I don’t feel guilty about buying it when I use the gift certificate.

I feel very fortunate to have such nice friends. Still, I can’t help, but look forward to my birthday.

4-in-1-Tool

We had a small Christmas this year, but I was pleased to receive a few quilt related gifts.

Christmas Books

I love her and would go to Iowa (not a bad state; been there at least 3 times, which is another story for another day) for a class with her in a hot minute. Her stars CD for Electric Quilt was awesome, but is now out of print. Lucky you, if you didn’t buy it the first time around, because EQ is bringing it back in a repurposed format by making many of her out-of-print star blocks available for download in their newly launched EQ Boutique site. They are taking the material from the Stars & Sets CD and putting it into what Judy calls families of blocks: Ohio Stars, Ornate Ohio Stars, Variable Stars, Compass Point Stars, and Spikey Stars (first five groups to launch). Others will follow.

According to Judy, the first five groups of blocks range in price from $8.99 to $11.99 and contain anywhere from 15 blocks to 22. Your first purchase comes with a free download of the software you need to play with the blocks.

If you already own the Stars & Sets CD, you do NOT need any of these collections.

Marsha McCloskey has also partnered with EQ in their My EQ Boutique. I have been wanting to make a Feathered Star block since I saw one made from dots in a magazine a few years ago. Now that I know the Triangle Technique and how to make different sizes of half square triangles, I feel more comfortable tackling that project.  I did actually buy her EQ Boutique Feathered Star collection, so I was able to evaluate the process.

After purchase, there is an additional piece of software that you download before you download the collections purchased. The software came with a collection of Rose of Sharon applique’ blocks. Too bad I didn’t know about that collection last week before I prepared Frances’ applique’ lesson! After installing and running the EQ Boutique software, I downloaded the collection I bought and it was difficult *for me* to figure out how to get the collection to show up in the EQ Boutique software. Finally, in tiny print on the download page, I read that you have to close the EQ Boutique software before you download the new collection. I did that, re-downloaded and the Feathered Stars showed up very well. Also, I really don’t want to learn new software when I am pretty well versed in EQ7. The EQ Boutique software has a great ‘Link to EQ’ function that shows up on your Start menu (windows) which actually links your EQ Boutique collections to EQ. I would rather just call it up in EQ7 and skip the EQ Boutique software step, but it doesn’t seem like that is an option. I also understand that not everyone owns EQ7 software.

Read more about the collections, the software, and the system requirements.

I do have to say that EQ is bombarding me with emails about new stuff every day and I am glad they were all at Quilt Market so I could get a bit of relief. I have just been deleting the emails. There is definitely a fine line between just right and too much!

PIQF 2011 Purchases

I didn’t buy anything when I went on Wednesday night and Thursday, but Sunday I went back to PIQF and bought a few things. I didn’t take a picture of the inks. Didn’t have the wherewithall to do a lifestyle shot of them. I bought several inks. Trust me.

The Perl Cotton (some of which are Valdani) are for Kissy Fish, as is the embroidery book. I felt like I needed a few more colors and a few more stitches. That piece should be done, but it seems to be perpetually “almost finished.”

Soon.

The two magazines are from New Pieces. I went on Friday to pick up the Zig Zaggy quilt and saw them. The Japanese magazine has some great bags and some wonderful Trip Around the World pieces.

I told myself never to buy a Quilt Scene magazine. I think the idea of magazine reporting on the show and showing photos is fabulous.  I think the idea of a magazine about a show that couldn’t be published without projects was stupid. As you can see, I bought this one. The photos of the quilts (the few that are shown) are FABULOUS. This magazine also has the most beautiful Baltimore Album quilt I have ever seen. It is truly lush.

The weekend of the 6th saw a huge event in NYC to support the Alliance for American Quilts. they are having an event called Quilters Take Manhattan. I think all of the unexpected hoopla surrounding Infinite Variety gave new life to quilts as art. All of the quilting glitterati were there and I followed the action as best I could from 3k miles away. Some blog posts I saw about this were:

• Bumble Beans Inc QSoS interview
• Cocktails and Thread
• Fashion Show
• Jackie’s Quilting Chronicles
• Red Headed Mermaid (very short mention)

In the course of following the events, I was pointed to Marianne Fons blog. I like her writing style and hearing about her family. She is a sensitive writer who records her observations in a delightful way. In a way, she reminds me of Rosamunde Pilcher, my personal gold standard for descriptive writing. She writes about her personal life and family, but doesn’t give too much away, but she does write about her daughter, Mary’s, illness a bit, which I had only heard about in passing. I was curious, of course, but such a thing is none of my business, so I wouldn’t ask, even if I had someone to ask.

Marianne, in turn, pointed me to Mary Fons blog, which I will look at and, perhaps, add to my blog reader.

Media
I saw that a show called Why Quilts Matter will be coming to PBS in the Fall. I am looking forward to watching it. The website has a video trailer. It is 9 part documentary in which Shelly Zegart is heavily involved. A lot of the people in the trailer are from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I wonder if Frances will be able to take advantage of any lectures or anything? There are a lot of other contributors as well. I checked my Tivo and the show isn’t yet listed, but I have a ‘quilts’ keyword search, so, hopefully, it will come up in that search.

Stitched, the movie, came out a few months ago and I still haven’t seen that. My libraries don’t have it yet and I am not a Netflix member.

I think there is something to be said for quilt companies to be small businesses, well any companies really. I am not enamored with large companies right at the moment. Small businesses seem to care more about their customers, though that is a generalization and a stereotype and I know it is not always true. The ones that have been taken over by larger companies, such as Fons & Porter, have become impersonal and don’t really seem to care about their customers. Fons & Porter is now owned by New Track Media LLC, which is further owned by a person and a private equity firm. They also own Quilter’s Club of America, Keepsake Quilting, QNM and others. What is their interest in quiltmaking? Money, I am guessing.

I watched one of the Fons & Porter episodes #1201 on the Spin Wheel quilt project (definitely a repeat), which said that the updated directions for using the hexagon ruler and their pyramid ruler to make the Spin Wheel with these tools would be available on their website. I bought the DVD with the pattern from the magazines, both rulers and went looking for the adjunct instructions. They weren’t on the website. I searched over and over to no avail, so I contacted customer service. The customer service people (called Answer54) were diligent, but supremely unhelpful. They had canned responses and I became more frustrated as it became clear that my question did not fit into their list of responses. Somehow I was transferred to Keepsake Quilting and the person contacted me and responded to me several times, but ultimately didn’t have the instructions. I also posted on their FB fan page. No response. I can make the block without that adjunct sheet of instructions, but it just seems so lame of them not to be able to find a sheet of instructions. I guess New Track thinks of their quilting properties as cash cows. This seemed like a simple request: M&L said the adjunct instructions were on the website, they are not on the website, please send them to me. I guess New Track Media thinks their brands are so awesome that they don’t have to provide customer service. Customer Service is everything, New Track. Get with the program.

SeamedUp is having a fundraiser (you, too, can be a venture capitalist!) to get more server space and a bunch of other stuff. They are a small, women owned company. Only one person has contributed, as of this writing, which is kind of sad. If all of the almost 2000 people who are members contributed $5 that would be $10,000, which is much more than their goal. Go for it and if you are not a member, join up! You can read more about their plans, the campaign and everything SeamedUp on their blog

Tools, Books  and Supplies
I bought a new iron when I was out shopping for the Young Man’s school uniform parts. It is the most expensive iron I have ever bought – $29.99. I figured I should splurge since I have two in the closet downstairs that were cheap and, clearly, not up to my pressing needs once I got them out of the box and heated up.  It is really nice to have steam again. I also like this iron, because it doesn’t beep at me all the time. I need many fewer irritating beeps in my life.

Did you enter the book giveaway I announced earlier this week? Check it out!

Are you interested in how thread is made? Coats & Clark made a video which I saw on AllPeopleQuilt.com.

BryeLynn of SeamedUp and Sew~Stitch~Create did a review of the Frixion pen. It is really nice when someone else does the heavy lifting for you!

Learning
As I have mentioned a few times, I have helped to organize a class at Always Quilting on August 27, 2011, 10-4. It will be taught by Lynn Koolish of C&T fame. It is open to everyone though the BAMQG and CQFA folks have had a headstart on sign ups. The class is now on the shop’s website. You can register via the website or by calling their shop at (650) 458-8580. Hope to see you there!

ArtQuilt Tahoe is coming around again. There are still some great teachers available. If you are able to attend and haven’t taken a class from Libby Lehman, sign up immediately. She is a wonderful teacher – giving, not stuck up, a great presenter, personable. I’d like to go sometime, but this isn’t the year. I’d love to hear about it, if you attend.

Projects
Hooded towels are very popular in our house. The Young Man thinks about things in the show and likes to tell me about them when he emerges from bathing. They are great to wrap up in on cold bath/shower nights when bathrobes are too fussy. The hooded towels have the added bonus of drying the hair with very little effort. They are harder to find as children get taller. I saw a tutorial for a hooded towel. For larger children, I would use two towels. Use a very sharp needle when sewing the two towels together, so you don’t break a needled or jam up your machine. Since you may be having the same issue, I thought I would share.

Yesterday, I posted about the gift I made for Grama. I took it to show a friend visiting from New Zealand and realized I hadn’t done the topstitching from the top hem to the bottom corners. DUH!. It would really help if I read the directions once in a while!

Last week (?) I posted the finished Kona Challenge quilt. Yesterday I saw a blog post about the responses to the challenge from the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. Some of them remind me of Angela’s Kona Challenge quilt (which she was binding at the last meeting!!!)

Chair Pillowcase

Due to my ongoing machine issues, I am working on easy projects, or projects that don’t require complicated piecing. The Jem just can’t handle it. I bought some more of the Tufted Tweets chair fabric when I went to New Pieces the other week and cut out a pillowcase to go with the purple quilt. I sewed the whopping 3 seams it took to put the thing together and will send it off this week, hopefully.

Other Artists
I had heard about Claudia’s blog, Machen und Tun from Frances, but had never gone to look at it until I saw one of her quilts in the Quilting….for the Rest of us Flickr group. She is a working on the Attack of the Hexies project and is doing a wonderful red and white color scheme. Why didn’t I think of that? I went to her most recent post (8/4/2011) and was thrilled to see a, mostly, aqua and red sampler quilt. If you scroll down she shows some more blocks and the whole effect is quite wonderful. She talks about looking at the Fresh Lemons Summer Sampler Series blocks inspiring her, but also encouraging her to go off in her own direction. She might select different blocks that weren’t as difficult or required no paper piecing. She also talks about making the blocks a little differently to make them her own. What a great idea for inspiration! I noticed a circle tutorial, which looks very similar to the Dale Fleming method. The other thing about her blog is that she writes in English and German. This is great practice for me. Thanks, Claudia! Her blog is definitely worth looking at.

Angela has posted over 240 photos of quilts from the UK Festival of Quilts. She posted the photos in a Smilebox format on Creating the Hive, so you can scroll through them fairly easily.

Life

Janome 9000

Last weekend, I accidentally hit the foot pedal after I had put on the quarter inch foot and before I had changed the stitch setting from zigzag back to straight stitch. The needle hit the metal foot and the machine (Janome 9000, 15+ years old) didn’t sound right after that. It didn’t sound terrible, but I just didn’t like the way it sounded.

The machine is long overdue for service, so Friday I ran a whole bunch of quilt errands plus got my glasses adjusted, which has been on my list for 9 months at least.

First stop was the Cotton Patch, which is where I leave my machine for service. It was probably the farthest location from my house (around the City, across a bridge, up and over a hill). My idea was to make a big round circle ending up back at home.

Cotton Patch, Lafayette, Calif

I spent quite a bit of time talking with the lady at the shop about the machine. She wasn’t the repair person, so she was taking lots of notes. She asked good questions. Yes, I looked at the new and used machines, but that dream is for another day.

I consoled myself about leaving my machine by looking at fabric. I saw the Mail Sack pattern by Pink Chalk Studios made up. There are a few details on it that I might want to alter and use on my own perfect bag, so I bought a copy. After buying a few pieces of fabric in Pennsylvania, I was surprised and saddened to find that every fabric I looked at in the Cotton Patch was $10.95 or $11.95. It is really expensive to live in my area and this is one of the examples. Last year, I saw fabrics at those prices while On my July trip down to Long Beach and was shocked. Now, I guess those prices are normal. Sigh.

Next stop was the University Eye Center. I have been going there for years and always feel well taken care of. My sunglasses are now not falling off my face if I incline my chin slightly and the screw has been replaced in my work glasses, so I don’t have to worry about being armless all of a sudden. I can tell you that it felt GREAT to cross that To Do off my list.

New Pieces Outside

Then it was on to the New Pieces quilt shop. They moved to their new location 3 years ago and I am embarrassed to say that Friday was the first day I had been to the new shop. I love Sharona, the owner. She was introduced to me by someone I used to know. We used to sit in EBHQ workshops and talk about our sewing machines, because we were often the only Janome users (back before the 6600) in the class. She has been trying to get me over to the shop for ages and I just don’t make it across the bridge that often. Friday was the perfect opportunity since I was doing the big circle anyway. I am so pleased that I went to her shop. Sharona exudes joy and the shop reflects that. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. People were laughing and everyone was chatting. I observed, however, that the business of quiltmaking was going on under the laughter and the fun – notes were being taken, fabric was being cut and fat quarters were being wrapped.

New Pieces Classroom

I really liked the shop. It is so much larger than the old space and there was so much fabric! I walked in and felt like I was seeing mile long aisles of fabric. I also loved the classroom. It was painted RED, a similar color to my dining room.

One thing I noticed is that Sharona had fabrics had been around the block for awhile. She had the new fabrics, of course, but it was nice to see some favorites that are, mostly, no longer available.

New Pieces has some interesting classes. They have a kind of Skillbuilder block of the month and this group of classes are all about curves. For this Block of the Month, customers supply their own fabric. Another current BOM is their Asian BOM. The fabric for this project is included.

We had a bit of a chat and laughed quite a bit before I had to get back in the car and head to my next errand. I will definitely be back. If you are in the area, it is definitely worth a side trip.

Next was a visit to Colleen to pick up the Kona Challenge and to drop off Stars for San Bruno #2 and Pavers. She was surprised that I had more for her. People think I am on some kind of mission this year to finish quilts, but really I am just sewing really fast and efficiently.

Finally, my friend La lives near Colleen so I we had a nice coffee break and caught up a bit. We never have enough time, but take what we can get. I used the Innocent Crush Flea Market Bag and think that I like that bag.

I got the Pyramid Ruler from Fons & Porter and decided, once I started sort scraps for various scrap projects, that it was time to use it.

Last weekend, one of the tasks I did was try making the Twirling Triangles patches. First I cut a strip from Kona Snow that was 4″ wide. The strips had been sitting around for a little while.

Sewing Scraps to Strips

Then, I went through my scrap basket and cut pieces that were 4″x5.5″ and carefully sewed the squared scraps to the strip. Frankly, 4″x5.5″ isn’t exactly a scrap and that became apparent as soon as I started trying to cut pieces. I don’t have a lot of scraps that size. Why would I?

Pieced Strips Ready to Trim

Once I had sewn patches to the strip, I only had to cut the Kona Snow strips to make the strips sets above. The size of the commercial printed fabric patch meant that I didn’t really have to measure. I just used the printed fabric as a guide.

Trimming using Pyramid Ruler

The Fons & Porter Pyramid Ruler is very easy to use and that trimmed corner on the top is awesome!

Test Pieces Arranged

Here are the test pieces laid out. This ‘block’ is about the size of a dinner plate!

Test Pieces Arranged #2

I think the patches are too big, because they make blocks that will be enormous. I think I will cut them down.

Cutting Down the Wedges

I think I have pretty much decided to cut these wedges down to the size shown above. I believe the strips will have to be cut 4.5″ wide and the scraps will be cut 4″x4.5″ wide. I think it will be easier to use scraps with these sizes as well. I haven’t actually done any cutting, but will do it soon. There is always more fabric, right?

Tools

I shouldn’t buy stuff right before Christmas, but I did anyway. Nobody is going to buy this stuff for me anyway. I went to Joann to get a gift (well, look for one that I didn’t find) and decided to get serious about finishing the FOTY.

I am trying to finish the journal I have going. I only have a few pages left and they seem to be magically expanding the more I write. I have been writing a lot of lists. One of the lists I wrote was things I wanted to accomplish during my vacation. On that list was to decide on the border fabric for the Fabric of the Year quilt for 2010 and get busy cutting those pieces. I know I didn’t need a special ruler when I made the border for the Eye Spy, but I also remember that the triangle gymnastics I went through were a pain. I decided to buy the specialty rulers while at Joann. (Actually, I bough the side triangle ruler at the Granary when I was having my quilt appraised. More on that later.)

I also saw Fons & Porter using their Pyramid ruler. I haven’t tried it yet, but like it much better than the ruler set I looked so hard for in October. I like the lines. I am acknowledging that I might not like it after I try it.

I needed another pair of scissors as my Ginghers are too hard on my hands . I have been using them to cut out the Little Wallets. It is a good thing those wallets don’t take much to cut out, because my hands couldn’t handle much more. I have some bags in my future, thus the scissors.

I was also almost out of machine needles. I couldn’t remember what I normally use, so I just grabbed some. I also bought the leather needles, because I want try sewing the future journal signatures (like in the Red Journal) together and I know I will need a serious needle. It might not work, but I will try.

I have some cool handmade paper that has been hanging around and somehow my mind put all the pieces together and I will use some of that paper for my next journal.

I never used more than one coupon at Joann and they let me use on for every regularly priced item. I was shocked at how much I saved and felt a little guilty about it.

Anyway, Mr. Sommers was one of those innovative teachers. We did a project where we dissected the newspaper. We looked at shipping schedules, weather maps, etc. We learned a lot about the newspaper (FYI: that was WAAAAY before the Internet was a reality on my desk, so things have changed).

Some years ago, I found a tiny little “Converting Fractions to Decimals” chart in the newspaper. I was immediately transported back to the 6th grade.It is useful for quiltmaking periodically.

Decimal Equivalents Chart

Once more, I was transported back to Mr. Sommer’s class when I saw this chart. I don’t know if it is a good enough photo to print and paste up on the wall in my workroom, but it is useful anyway.

PIQF 2010 Shopping

I was very pleased to find the rulers I think I will need to finish the edges and corners for FOTY 2010.

I have an idea in mind for a certain kind of “review writing bookmark”, which requires that heavy duty wash away stabilizer (interfacing?). Stay tuned for more on that project.

I did try out the Grab Bag pattern and will write a review of the pattern soon.

I have to admit that fabric wasn’t on my list, but I found a few pieces that will fill in holes (the blacks and whites) and a couple of dots that I couldn’t resist (bottom row). The dots were very expensive so I got little pieces and will need to use the judiciously. They were over $11/yard and that is just too much to spend.

PIQF 2010 Fabric

The Floral Burst fabric by Philip Jacobs will be some kind of bag. It was on sale at Always Quilting and I couldn’t resist the pink and yellow combination.The red dots came from TFQ. Thanks!

Bella Bag!

I also, finally, found the Bella Bag Pattern. I bought another bag with a bow, so I probably didn’t need this one, but Joanna Figueroa was so nice, and she had these fabulous chartreuse handles, that I felt like supporting her. Perhaps I will use the Philip Jacobs print to make this bag. A hot pink with white dots bow might be fabulous!

Media

Mark Lipinski’s Fabric Trends Magazine: the latest issue has a cool website. I tried to buy the new issue, but only could find the previous edition from before Mark started working on it. I’ll have to go back and look again in the near future.

Mark also has a new radio show on Toginet called Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski. It is on iTunes. Mark seems to be working hard on getting his name and cute mug out there! Call 877-864-4869 to call into the show. Eric Anderson answers the phone from Dallas.

I listened to the first episode on iTunes and thought the discussion with Tula Pink about her fabric designs being ripped off via Walmart was interesting, because of the social networking aspect.

Mark also talked with Dr. Eric Maisel. I started to read one of his books and just couldn’t get through it. I think he had good things to say, but I couldn’t read them. I think, perhaps, Maisel’s other book, Coaching the Artist Within, might be better. One thing that intrigued me was his mention of a purpose statement. He briefly talked about a multi-step process he coaches artists through to create a purpose statement. Hhhmmm. Remember my Purpose Journal? It is time to get that baby out and a purpose statement might be an interesting reason to really start on it.

I also listened to the second episode. I liked the section with Mary Beth Maziarz, but thought that he went on a bit too long about being a hoarder with his professional organizing guest, Amara Wylie.

I am marginally interested in the Urban Homegoods Swap. Not in actually doing it, but getting ideas from it. A La Mode blog has a post with a number of the projects. They are a great source of inspiration and filled with clever ideas.

From Eye Candy section of the Media Department comes this gorgeous blog post that is a series of wedding photos. Don’t know the bride or the groom; I know the person who made the quilts that covered the hay bales guests sat on during the service. I also like the idea of giving preserves as a wedding favor.

Year of the Quilt!

From the City Quilter (NYC) Newsletter comes this excitement: “AMERICAN MUSEUM OF FOLK ART BIG quilting things are in store for us in what the AMFA is calling the “Year of the Quilt”, starting with the opening on October 5th of an exhibition of 35 quilts which will take up 3 floors at the Museum’s main 53rd Street location. This exhibition runs through April 24, after which “Part 2″ will open on May 10. SUPER STARS is a parallel exhibit taking place at the Museum’s Lincoln Square branch that explores the role of stars in quilts. This opens Nov. 16 and runs till Sept 25! So mark your calendars, this is the year to see quilts in New York City!”
If you are in or around or near NYC, get thee to the shows, because I want to hear about them!

Learning

Have you heard of Unclasses.org? No? Me neither until a few days ago. It looks like people can create online classes there. There are a number of sewing classes posted.

Apartment Therapy Color Wheel

I saw this color wheel on Apartment Therapy. You know what? I want a large framed version of it to hang in my workroom. I think it is so cool, especially with the colored pencil like texture. I also really like the huge variety of different colors.

Just Do It!

We hear that catch phrase all the time. Nike might have trademarked it, but it is everywhere. I recently read a blog post by Michael Nobbs who draws. He wrote about microworking and I love his theories on how microworking helps our creativity, especially in our busy lives. Michael Nobbs draws and draws my attention to other artists who use drawing as their medium. He put me on to Nina Johanssen from Sweden, who did a great coffee sketch last year that I love. Michael is right.  A litte work all the time goes a long way.

Tupperware Freezer Mates

You can also help your creativity by being organized. I saw these great Freezer Mate storage containers from Tupperware when I was cruising their site. They are great for going to class kits and for organizing small things. I can also see them put to use for small projects you are taking to class, squares or other bits of fabric designated for a certain project or a multitude of thread. Perhaps they would be good for beads? I don’t know since I haven’t actually tried one out. I have a pink Tupperware box from the dark ages that I use for my class kit and it is great, because the lid never falls off. You can purchase them and help the preschool of my friend’s children by using this link. It’s 23½-cup capacity and $49.50 price tag are significant.

Tutorials

Have you see this interesting tote bag? It is called a Bagsket and Foofangel has a tutorial for making it. I first saw it on Linda M. Poole’s FB page, but she didnt’ have the link. I poked around and then someone found it, so I took a look. Linda made it with her Seahorse fabric collection and the bag is really cute.

I put up a page of tutorials that I have written. Check out the AQ tutorials page. It is under the AQ Info page.

Supplies

My iron died. I don’t think it is completely dead, but it was dead enough so I couldn’t

Black & Decker Classic Steam Iron

use it, which meant I couldn’t piece. I bought a new iron – a Black & Decker Classic Steam iron. I had been thinking of buying one and this was the perfect opportunity. It was a little over my normal iron budget ($20 or less), but I went for it.

UGH! I sincerely dislike this iron. There are a lot of good things about it. It has great heft. Wonderful steam. The bad part is that the thing does not glide over the fabric. Of course it doesn’t! The sole plate is not Teflon. UGH! I really didn’t like it, but felt like I was stuck with it until it died. I had already opened it and used it.

Machines are not my forte’. I can operate them, but I usually eschew knowing how they work. One day I was driving down the street and heard a clunk. When I stopped, I looked under the car and there was a piece hanging off of the exhaust system. Not in my plans for the day. I drove to my mechanic with my car making such a loud noise that I couldn’t hear the radio and had to endure the local homeless man, who hangs by the Methodist Church, pointing at me as I drove by (turnabout is fair play, I guess). My mechanic couldn’t fix it, but he wired the piece to the car and sent me to his colleague. I went. They said they could fix it and I should come back in half an hour. I was in a neighborhood full of fast food places, a computer repair shop, a notary/check casher/mortgage broker, a bank and a small Walgreen’s. Off I went to Walgreen’s. It doesn’t take a half an hour to peruse Walgreen’s, so I sloooowwwwllly walked up and down each aisle, carefully looking at each item. Finally, I came to a small housewares section.

Living Solutions Iron

Yes, I needed lightbulbs. Yes I needed an 18 foot extension cord in white and WOOHOO they had two irons. I looked at the two carefully and decided on the less featured filled Living Solutions model. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and like it. It glides over the fabric, was less than $10, has steam and not auto shutoff. The lack of auto shutoff is a double edged sword. I need to make sure I unplug it EVERY time. It isn’t a GREAT iron, but it does the job.

Anyone need a classic steam iron?

Pilot G2

These are my favorite pens. I have gone through lots of pens, tried different ones, etc. I finally found these and they are the best. I write with them, I draw with them, I buy them to use at work, because I don’t like the work pens.

My favorite color is the turquoisey/teal (second from the right). I would be in heaven if I could buy 24 or 48 of them, because they only come in sets.

I like them because they are smooth and don’t blob the paper. I like alos the width of the line and that they are dark. I don’t usually use them for final drawings, but they are often the the medium of choice in the little sketches I show you.

They are not water proof or water resistant, so I don’t use them for the outside of packages during the winter.

No affiliation. Just saying.

First, I keep all of the flat bits of a project in a file folder. As soon as I start a project (or a class), I start a file folder for it. This is great if everything is flat, but doesn’t work so well for yards of fabric.

Translucent Office Storage Boxes

TFQ mentioned project boxes. Project boxes are boxes you use to keep all of the bits and pieces of a project together. This concept came up while we searching for fabric for Sorbet. I heard it mentioned somewhere else or I read it somewhere recently and now it is on my mind. I need some project boxes and a place to put them. I have a couple of them, but they just happened by default. One is a box I threw the Pineapple strips into after the strip avalanche. Voila! A project box!

The above boxes are from the Container Store. I have 2-3 of them and they work pretty well for project boxes as long as not a lot of yardage is involved.

Clear Project Boxes

The other is a box in which I kept all of the fabric for the Tarts  for the years it took me to finish that piece. They look similar to the boxes above. These are also similar to the boxes in which I keep my fabric. The problem with using the box for a project box is that I may get mixed up if I don’t have them labeled properly and redistribute the fabric. Now I have all the fabric for Sorbet in the box where the Tarts fabric used to be.

Not all boxes for Projects need to be purchased.

Patch boxes

I sometimes purchase scones for breakfast. The variety I purchase comes in the plastic boxes (on the right). I found that they are great for collecting squares and triangles and other smallish patches. The box on the left is from lettuce that some one brought over for dinner. That particular box is a good size for the FOTY diamonds. As an added bonus, they are not too nasty after the food has been removed and I am not adding them to our local landfill.

TFQ and I talked about ziploc bags, which are great, but are very slidey, especially if you get too many of something in them. They also don’t stack well.

My quiltmaker SIL uses banker’s boxes for her fabric. I prefer to use something clear I can see through, but I have made some temporary shelving out of banker’s boxes (repurposed from when we moved), so there are a number of uses for those as well.

What do you use to organize your workroom or studio? How do you organize your projects?

Announcing EQ7

I just heard the announcement for the new version of the Electric Quilt software, EQ7. This is an update to Electric Quilt 6.

I have used EQ since the dark ages of EQ3? EQ4? I can’t even remember. There are a number of things I like about the product, but the most important one to me is their customer service. I deal with bad customer service all day every day at my job. The EQ folks respond INTELLIGENTLY and TIMELY to emails. They even call if the email string is getting to complicated. I love good customer service and theirs is awesome.

I use EQ for designing a number of different projects: Flowering Snowball, Sorbet, 2009 Teacher pillows, the Pineapple, etc. I am not a very advanced user and have always wanted to take a class. It is still on my to do list.

I have tried out pattern/color keys using EQ6 and have had some trouble with the size of the file. I was successful with a Sorbet Color Key and I never really followed up to figure out my problem.

EQ7 Upgrade

The other thing I like about the software is that there are marked improvements in the software with each new release. I buy some upgrades of other software and think “brother, what is so new and great about this release?” Not with The Electric Quilt. I often think I don’t need the new version and then when I see the list of features, I have to buy it.

I am pretty excited about the new version’s features, especially since my EQ6 copy is on my dead computer and I just haven’t wanted to deal with the activation process. There have been multiple times recently when I wanted to do something and have been disappointed not to have dealt with the reinstallation.

I am sure there are a dozen more cool features. I love the digital / scanning possibilities.

You can find out more information at the Electric Quilt website or by calling: (800) 356-4219. No, I am not being paid to write this. Yes, they sent me a press release.

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The Fine Print:

When will The Electric Quilt Company begin shipping EQ7?
We will begin shipping June 7, 2010.

What are the EQ7 and EQ7 Upgrade system requirements?
ELECTRIC QUILT 7
Minimum system requirements: Windows® XP, Windows® Vista, Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bit), Internet access, 750 MB of available hard-disk space, CD-ROM drive. Netbook compatible. Internet required for activation, deactivation, and periodic validations.
Recommended: Monitor with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater, Adobe® Reader®, sound card for demo videos.
Activation: Internet access is required for activation and deactivation. Unlimited installations. Activations can be easily transferred between computers. Two (2) computers may be simultaneously active.

EQ7 UPGRADE
Minimum system requirements: Windows® XP, Windows® Vista, Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bit), Internet access, 750 MB of available hard-disk space, CD-ROM drive. Netbook compatible. Internet required for activation, deactivation, and periodic validations.
Recommended: Monitor with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater, Adobe® Reader®, sound card for demo videos.
Activation: Internet access is required for activation and deactivation. Unlimited installations. Activations can be easily transferred between computers. Two (2) computers may be simultaneously active.

UPGRADE VERSION of Electric Quilt 7 This upgrade version of Electric Quilt 7 will install only if you are a licensed user of Electric Quilt 6 (EQ6). Visit www.electricquilt.com for other upgrade requirements.

What is the activation policy?
EQ7 has a new activation policy, created as a result of user feedback.

Activation: Internet access is required for activation and deactivation. Unlimited installations.
Activations can be easily transferred between computers. Two (2) computers may be simultaneously active.

Clean Cutting Table

I have a small cutting table. Part of my cutting mat isn’t even on the table! From this cutting table comes all the tote bags and quilts that I make. It isn’t ideal, but it is what I have and it works for me most of the time.

End of the Week Cutting Table

Above is what happens to my cutting table by the end of the week. I do try and craft every day but a lot of times I end up pressing fabric, or knitting or engaging in other hand work. Sometimes nothing fiber related happens on particular days.

I don’t have much horizontal space in my workroom and the debris of the week just ends up on the one mostly clean horizontal space. I end up tidying that space on Friday or the weekend and that has become part of the ritual of starting to sew on the weekend.

Finished and Hung Board

I am currently dreaming of redoing my workroom (which doubles as a guest room) with paint, new shelving, a Murphy bed, lots of drawers. The Board I made last week is part of it – perhaps the start of it. It is a small start, but a person has to start somewhere.

Evolving Board

I cleaned some stuff off the big desk and started to fill up the Board. So far there are only photos. Now I can enjoy them. I hope to put some inspiration photos and other things on it. I am allowing it evolve organically.