October 2020 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Various & Sundry 2020 #15

Fabric, Notions, Supplies, Books & Tools

Sweet Home Quilting has Sue Spargo wool!

Friends Sonja and Alison have Sew Perfect tables. I was finally interested enough to go and look at them when Sonja said hers could move up and down so she could sit or stand at the machine.

Jennifer Sampou’s Chalk and Charcoal Collection by Robert Kaufman is wonderful. They have warm and cool colors as well as a number of widebacks. I really like the light grey.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

Christina Cameli has online classes. I love the look of her Pathway Pillow project. The quilting is simple, but very effective.

I have been using the Spoonflower zipper installation, which installs a zipper in the top (or bottom) seam. The guild sent me to a page of Sotak Handmade’s site and she has some instructions for installing a zipper in the back of the pillow.

Sotak Handmade has a big list of tutorials, some of which would make great gifts (holidays are coming!). One that was used at a recent retreat I attended was a little flower pot. It can be used for schnibbles, as a quick gift, for paperclips or as storage for a myriad of other things.

After watching the video to make the Retreat Bag I mentioned a few weeks ago, I saw that the host linked to a cosmetic bag pattern. I liked the interesting shape of the bag. There is a video for that one as well. So Sew Easy has a whole bunch of different videos, mostly lingerie and a variety of different bags.

Other Artists

Tim recommended Lauren Mormino’s YouTube channel to me. She is a bagmaker and creates videos for making bags. I get the impression that the bags are made by her, but are not her patterns. Tim is sewing a Noel Bag and following Lauren’s video. According to Tim, she talks about the most efficient ways to make the bag, provides some hacks and generally walks you through it. She, apparently, has two IG profiles, Sewing with Lauren and MoreMeKnow. I see a little duplication, but one seems to be more whole life while the other is bags. Her website is MoreMeKnow.com

Media, Exhibitions and Shows

Barbara Brackman showed some winners and related quilts from a 1927 quilt show in Seattle. You may view the show catalog on the Hathi Trust site. You can download it from that site as well. It reminded me of the APNQ – Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters – show I used to attend in Seattle.

I went to listen to the interview I did recently with Jeff Rutherford. I am pretty proud of the way it came. I actually sound like I know what I am talking about. Then I went back and listened to the other episodes. It is interesting to hear how people answer the same questions. Also, I have never heard of these people! Am I just behind the times? One woman was Jessica Alexandrakis.

Blue Improv Donation Quilt

The Blue Improv quilt top that I thought I might turn into pillows for my SIL is back in the donation top pile.

I found a piece of fabric that I don’t have to piece for the backing. Less bulk will make the quilting easier.

The page with all of these Color Improv quilts has been updated as well. I was amazed to see that I have made 6 of these scrap improv donation tops!

Rock Candy Finished

I finished Rock Candy over the weekend, but still needed to do the binding. That is always a good hand task to work on at Craft Night, so I finished the binding on Monday night. This has been a banner week for finishes: Rock Candy plus 3 donation tops and backs.

On to Candy Dish, which is the next Journey to Nebula project

FOTY 2019

I finally had a good amount of time to work on Fabric of the Year 2019. I had to redo the math. I spent a lot of time on Saturday sticking squares up on the wall, adding rows and trying not to fall of a stool.

This was really the first time I had gotten on a stool since my foot injury. I have a very stable step stool, which made things easier.

As soon as I got going, I really made a lot of progress and I am happy about that. I still have to rearrange some of the squares, but all of the squares are on the design wall so I am much closer to sewing than I was. Perhaps later this week?

Cutting Small Hexagons

Today we are cutting hexagons from strips to make the hexagon block for our sampler quilt. This tutorial is a follow-up to the Large Hexagon tutorial. The principles are the same; the sizes are different.

Supplies

fabric
rotary cutter
rotary mat (optional: rotating mat)
small ruler (I like the Creative Grids 4.5 x 8.5 inch)
Clearview Triangle ruler – this is a 60 degree ruler with the tip, which is what you need.
True Grip dots or similar (to keep the above ruler from sliding)
Jinny Beyer Perfect Piecer
Pigma pen or similar
Post-it notes or painter’s tape
hexagon pattern

Cut your strip the unfinished size of your hexagon. In the example, I cut mine 2 3/8 inches. This is 1/8″ larger than I need, but I have a little wiggle room in this block. If you don’t have wiggle room, cut the strip the size of the unfinished hexagon

Fold your strip in half lengthwise

Position the strip so the fold is closest to you.

Line up your Clearview ruler with the tip on the raw edge

Place a post-it note on the ruler. Line up a post-it note with the fold of the strip

Move ruler up until the post-it note is lined up with the raw edge of the strip. N.B. I rotated the post it note, because I couldn’t cut with the edges hanging over.

N.B.2- Be very careful if you cut towards you on the left side. It is never a good idea to cut towards you, so I recommend getting a rotating mat. Place your strip on the rotating mat, make your first cut the rotate the mat and make your second cut.

Cut on both sides of the ruler

Your hexagon should be perfect. N.B. As I said above, I have a little wiggle room with this patch, so I cut it slightly larger, which is why the template looks a little smaller.

Move ruler so post-it is lined up with raw edge

Move the ruler along the strip and cut the next one

Note: you will not be able to cut every single bit of fabric. You will have small triangles leftover from in between the hexagons. You can use these leftover scraps to stuff pet beds.

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FOTY 2019 Finally

FOTY 2019 - late October 2020 — FOTY 2019 – late October 2020

It has been a little while since I worked on this, but I finally got back to it. I had to do the math, which I was trying to avoid. Finally, I just did it.

That gave me a structure, so I started putting all the squares up. I had to redo the bottom left hand corner to add some greys that were hiding. I had to remove some duplicates. I still have to rearrange a bit to add more pink and a bunch of purples that came out of hiding as well. Still, I am making progress and will soon be able to put this piece together. YAY!

Retreat Bag

Mary and I were talking about something else when I remembered the Retreat Bag she and I decided to make. Neither of us have done it, but we both have all of the supplies, including the wire frame. This is a free pattern from Emmaline Bags. The pattern shows the frame you need and that is not free, sadly, but having a free pattern is helpful. And we have to support women owned small businesses.

The bag really doesn’t have anything to do with Retreats – as in going away to sew – I think that is just the name.

I also noticed that Laura Coia of SewVeryEasy has a video on how to make the bag with the addition of an outside slip pocket and handles. This video is linked from the pattern page on the Emmaline site. I also saw a video from Birdcage and Thread that shows how to make this bag. The techniques in the two videos are a little different and one might work better for you. It’s good to have a choice.

I have two frames, so I can make two of these with the supplies I have on hand. I have been trying to think about what types of items/supplies I would store in this pouch and haven’t come up with anything yet. I could make one, or both, as a gift.

I am also thinking it might need a handle, leash or shoulder strap.

I seem to have a strong desire/need to finish things. I know I should be more enamored of the process. I have been trying for years to be more about the process, but I think I am sick of looking at things in my workroom and need to just make the projects and be done with them. OR fall in love with the process once I have tried it and go back for more.

Bottomline: many bags and not enough time.

Retreat Mega Pinnie Finished

Despite a lot of ripping, I finished the Mega Pinnie on Sunday in the mid-evening. I thought it would be a quicker project than it turned out to be :(. Now I am going to have to scramble for some content this week.

I am pleased with the way it came out, however, and think someone at the retreat will enjoy it.

When I was printing my last label, I had some extra space, so I decided to print the BAM logo on some fabric and use it for part of the Mega Pinnie. It will also be a souvenir for the Retreat. I adjusted the size of the pocket on that side so the words wouldn’t be covered up.

I made the handle a little smaller than the pattern called for this time, so I had an extra piece. I decided to sew it in as a way to attach the Mega Pinnie to another bag or a place for clips. I didn’t think about putting a lobster clip on this time. I completely forgot!

I did make a super cute Mini Pinnie! I really like the fabrics and the way the Mini Pinnie came out. I think it is a cheerful addition. I also made the needle safe a little different this time. I sewed it to fabric RST, then turned the piece and top stitched. It worked ok.

I forgot to top stitch the pockets, but that isn’t critical; it just makes the piece look a little nicer.

This is kind of large, but I think I might try and make one using charm squares. It would be smaller and might not work for some tools, but might be more convenient to transport.

Ultimate Carry All Bag Review

I decided that I needed to get busy on the Ultimate Carry All Bag. The BAM Virtual Retreat is this weekend and that would be a good time to finish- or at least make progress- the bag.

Ultimate Carry All large Pocket #2 back- examples

Ultimate Carry All Bag: Short Front Pocket

The last thing I worked on was the front pocket. I did it wrong and it is still in that state. That is the first thing I need to work on once I get going again. I also want to make one of these for myself, to replace my current Quilt To Go bag, and I am thinking of making the front pocket for that bag at the same time I finish this one. I know I would be skipping a bunch of steps, but at least one piece would be done.

Lynette said that she is working on a different way to add the binding. Since I am scared of that binding based on Cyndi’s and Mary’s experience, I am waiting for her to try it.

Mary's Ultimate Carry All Bag — Mary’s Ultimate Carry All Bag

Mary's Ultimate Carry All Bag-binding detail — Mary’s Ultimate Carry All Bag-binding detail

Mary’s bag looks really good and she went around the binding by doing part of it by hand with some exceptional detailing. Her example is one I am considering. I have done a number of bag bindings by hand when the bag was too unwieldy for me to do it by machine. I also get better results by hand on awkward shapes. I am not scared to sew the binding by hand.

Writing about this project makes me want to work on it. Of course, I have to keep up with the Journey2Nebula as well.

Machine Quilting on Zoom

We had a guild meeting on Saturday. Our speaker was Christina Cameli. She is a machine quilter and I wasn’t that excited, but I really loved the presentation and her.

She had the guild send photos of several people’s quilts. People sent quilts where they needed help with the quilting. I was amazed and impressed with her suggestions.

I liked her because she was very calm and listened to the people engaged with her. The presentation seemed to be about the quilt and not about her. She used Adobe Draw to write/draw on the images. This was an effective way to show what she was thinking.

Gerre's suggestions from Christina Cameli — Gerre’s suggestions from Christina Cameli

I really liked her suggestions for Gerre’s quilt. Christina asked what Gerre was thinking and what kind of quilting she enjoyed, such as FMQ, walking foot, straight line, etc. This is a quilt Gerre started in the Jen Carlton Bailly class. I love the bold prints she used. Christina suggested putting leaves and flowers in the curved pieces. I thought that was brilliant and Gerre liked the idea, too. I thought the idea was really innovative, but fit in with the spirit of the design.

Melinda R's scrapbuster quilt — Melinda R’s scrapbuster quilt

Melinda showed a scrapbuster quilt. Melinda talked a little about her thoughts. Christina shared that she felt like the brown vertical strips were bars and she suggested wavy lines to soften them. I thought the brown lines were quite dominant so this suggestion was a good idea. I couldn’t get over the thought that this was the back of a quilt and not the front. Of course, it isn’t my quilt, so my opinion means nothing.

Maria's Radiate quilt — Maria’s Radiate quilt

I am not sure how Maria felt about these suggestions. I am not a fan, though I think the vertical lines in the upper left are effective.

Pati's Graphic Black & White — Pati’s Graphic Black & White

Pati had a bold, graphic quilt to show. I thought the lines following the stair step piecing what what I would do. I really like the diagonal lines Christina suggested. They are unexpected, after seeing the stair step quilting, but fit in with the implied diagonal on the checkerboards.

Christina really thought outside of the box, but not in a weird way. The quilting designs she suggested were in line with what the quilt needed.Ii was very impressed.

You can find Christina on Instagram at @afewscraps. I was impressed with the four books she has written, the multiple online classes and television demos before I knew she was also a nurse-midwife and the single mom of two kids. I am even more impressed with her now. Her books are:

Mega Pinnie Start

I said that I would make a Mega Pinnie for the upcoming Retreat. Since the Retreat starts on Friday, I needed to get busy.

I started selecting fabric and cutting out the pieces late on Saturday, after the meeting, then sewed on Sunday. I am pleased with the look. It looks pretty cheerful, which I think we all need.

I used up all of my Beanie Baby pellets, so I need to get more before making anymore gifts than need weight. I don’t think I have any pincushions to make.

Jawbreaker Finished

After quilting the Jawbreaker pillow top, it didn’t take much time to make it into a pillow. Once again, I used the Spoonflower directions for inserting a zipper. These directions create some flaps to cover the zipper. I haven’t used this tutorial in awhile so there was some ripping and a tiny bit of cursing, but all-in-all, the directions were straightforward and easy to follow.

I actually like this technique. The seam lines don’t take away from the overall effect like they do in half hexagons. I can’t think of what kind of project I would make with these in the future, but it is a future technique I would like to explore a little more. Perhaps a table runner?

I didn’t like cutting off perfectly good pieced elements, but that was the design so I followed it.

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