Various & Sundry 2020 #16

Happy birthday to my YM! He’s 24 (OMG!!) today!

Other Artists

Bonnie Hunter had to move her FB page. Find the new one and the sad, FB tale of woe on the new page. She did finally get the problems with the old one worked out, so now there are two pages! More bang for your buck?

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

Sara Lawson came out with four new patterns this month. She sold them as a bundle at first, but that sale is over. They can be purchased individually. One of them is a sewing machine bag. One of her testers has written a tutorial for adjusting the size of the bag if it won’t fit your machine.

Kirsty from Bonjour Quilts has written a tutorial  for matching patterns on a quilt back. You could use for other purposes as well.

Sharon from Color Girl Quilts talks about the Stitch Pink blocks in a recent blog post. I talked about the Stitch Pink project in a recent V& S post.

Sharon also has updated her website and the new shop is really easy to use. Very tempting, especially since she is having a sale and donating 5% of sales to the ACLU through the end of 2020.

Jeni from In Color Order is having a sew-a-long using her drawstring bag pattern. She has a post on tips for choosing fabrics and one on using scraps for bags in addition to showing regular fabrics. Remember? I used one of the patterns for the bag I sewed for the Juggling Balls. I really like that pattern. I bought some twill ribbon (not sure if that is the right word) last time I made one to make it easier to thread through the casing. I also don’t like turning small strings like those the drawstring bag requires.

Are you doing the Bonnie Hunter Mystery, Grassy Creek, this year? Check out the Grassy Creek Mystery tab for the color choices and the first clue. I am going to collect all the clues and then see if I want to make the quilt. I don’t plan on using the colors she selected, if I do it. I am planning on using colors from a photo of a house nearby  I took YEARS ago. Alternatively, I could use a group of paint buckets that has a selection of fabrics I like, but looks very like my Frolic! color selections. IF I decide to make the quilt.

Camille Roskelley and Maureen McCormick (yes, from the Brady Bunch!!) are doing a quilt-a-long using Camille’s Flower Girl pattern. Hashtag is #ABloomingBunch.

Svetlana of Sotakhandmade has a new video tutorial for her scissor keeper (AKA scissor cozy) pattern. I made a couple of these last year and I think they make great gifts.

Svetlana also has a good video for making the front pocket of a pouch (Devon pouch??). Using the techniques int he video and your own measurements would allow you to add a front pocket to other bags.

Frau Schnitte shows her Yve bag in one of her posts. It is available as a pattern, but only in German.

Articles, Media, Exhibitions and Shows

One of my Spiky Stars blocks has been made into a virtual quilt and is being displayed on the website of the Toledo Museum. By this I mean that my block is one in a sampler quilt virtually stitched together. The website says “nspired by the Toledo Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition Radical Tradition: American Quilts and Social Change, TMA organized a COVID-19 Virtual Quilting Bee in advance of the exhibition opening. Nearly 100 quilt squares were submitted from across the United States. Community members submitted both traditional patterned quilt blocks and those addressing aspects of life amid the current global pandemic, which marks a moment of change and uncertainty on a global scale. Many of the squares were digitally stitched together by The Electric Quilt Co. and can be viewed below.”

Sara of Sew Sweetness has a new video on how to remove rivets.

The New York Times had an article called “What Could Be More Comforting Than a Quilt Coat?” about ‘quilt coats’. Remember wearables from the 1990s? Rachel Clark? This is the second NYT ‘quilt’ article that has annoyed me because it is poorly researched and incomplete.

Barbara Brackman has a short video on the history of her Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. The blog post where is read about it talks about the upgrades to Blockbase as well.

Barbara Brackman has post about an exhibit of Women’s Suffrage quilts. My favorite is the ‘Votes for Women’ quilt. Remember Mary Poppins?

The New York Times (you may need a subscription or check your library) had an article about making cloth masks more helpful in keeping away the virus. The main points are:

  • Three layers are better than two (check out Craft Mask Maker if you want to buy masks)
  • Flexible material is better
  • Ties are better than ear loops
  • Face shields should be used with a mask
  • A well-fitted mask protects the wearer

Fabric, Notions, Supplies, Books & Tools

Sew Tites** are a favorite notion/tool of mine. I find them useful for areas that pins** won’t go through and WonderClips** won’t reach. They have come out with another new version, the Sew Tites Magnum, which is designed for loading quilts onto longarm machines. I am sure they can be used for bags as well. Let me know if you try them on your longarm.

My students and I had a discussion about where we buy fabric, supplies, notions and tools. Carrie talked about My Favorite Quilt Store. After just a quick look, I love it. I haven’t bought anything from them yet, so the eCommerce process might put me off, but we’ll see.

Carrie also mentioned ModernQuilter. This is a great shop as it includes a lot of my favorite prints and designers. Some are similar to what FabricParty has, but in larger cuts.

I am interested in the CriCut since Julie got one and cut out Cotton Candy pouch for me. There was a recent discussion I saw where I heard about the Easy Press. From what I understand, it is like an iron, but presses [interfacing?] various things on to fabric. Looking at the blog post makes it seem like an iron and I wonder if it is necessary if you have an iron or better than an iron?

 

 

 

 

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Creative Fabrica Promotion

As mentioned, I am an affiliate of Creative Fabrica, the digital marketplace with machine embroidery designs, quilt patterns, fonts and designs. They are currently hosting massive Black Friday promotions and I have signed on. Read about the promotions below!

Creative Fabrica November 2020 Promotion
Creative Fabrica November 2020 Promotion

Get unlimited access to quilt patterns and machine embroidery designs

If you are familiar with Creative Fabrica you might already have heard about their premium All Access Subscription. It gives unlimited access to all digital products on their site: machine embroidery, quilt patterns and other needle craft patterns, plus fonts and graphic designs.

For Black Friday they are offering their premium subscription for just $1 (96% discount) for the first month, and thereafter you pay $19/month (35% off).

View deal

Creative Fabrica November 2020 Promotion
Creative Fabrica November 2020 Promotion

 90% off on over 1 million designs and patterns

If you aren’t interested in getting Creative Fabrica’s subscription plan, they will also be hosting a site-wide sale with 90% off on 1 million+ products. This is the moment to purchase the fonts and graphics that you have been eyeing all year. It is also possible to purchase the Full POD license with the 90% sale products, so that you can get products that you can use as-is for your print on demand stores.

View sale here

The sales end on Tuesday, December 1st at midnight PST / 03:00am EST.

 

 

 

 

 

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Two Exteriors

Dresden Exterior for Sew Together Bag #2
Dresden Exterior for Sew Together Bag #2

I finished two of the exteriors for the Sew Together Bags I am making. I have quilted the third one, but still need to make the embellishments.

I was able to quilt all of them as leaders and enders while sewing together the chunks of FOTY 2019.

The first one shown includes the mini Dresden Plate I talked about the other day. I made the Dresden Plate for class and added it to the exterior. You might think the placement looks weird, but I didn’t want any of it to be cut off. I wanted it to look ‘modern’ as that is an aesthetic the recipient appreciates. I also wanted as much of it as possible to be seen, so I placed it within the seam allowances (fingers crossed) and above the center line. You may be able to see the pins I used to mark the center.

I appliqued it on using straight stitching this time. My center circle is slightly un-circular and I will have to see if I do something about that.

Embellished Exterior for Sew Together Bag #1
Embellished Exterior for Sew Together Bag #1

The second one shown is using a simple line of 2.5 inch squares, some of which have been truncated, because of the size required for the bag. I like the 2.5 inch squares I chose. I think t they go well with the green, but the text prints also have happy thoughts.

The quilting on all three is very simple, straight line quilting. I think I have done more quilting this year than in the previous few years. I don’t feel any better about it, but I am not embarrassed by my efforts either.

I want to be clear that mostly I felt like trying out some new things and thanking some friends for being friends, which is why I decided to make these. It’s not like I don’t have 3,000 other projects in process.

Jawbreaker in Situ

Jawbreaker in situ
Jawbreaker in situ

My niece received her pillow and sent me a photo of it on her couch. She is in the process of rearranging and refreshing her house. She said the pillow goes very well. I am pleased.

It looks like she could stand a few more cushions. I will keep that in mind as I make other items. 😉

I finished Jawbreaker in mid-October. I sent it off fairly quickly, but it took me awhile to send the pillow form (laziness, disorganization). She sent me a thank you note, but we think the thank you note took a beach vacation, because I received it almost 3 weeks later. My niece is very good about thank you notes.

Creative Fabrica Promotion

Creative Fabrica Banner Quilt 3
Creative Fabrica Banner Quilt 3

As mentioned, I am an affiliate of Creative Fabrica. They are having a promotion and I have signed on. Click to access the promotion.

 

 

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

FOTY 2019 Nearing Completion

FOTY 2019 - late November 2020
FOTY 2019 – late November 2020

After sewing all the pairs together, I really started to pick up speed. I spent a few hours on Saturday and a few more on Sunday making progress. I have about 12 more seams to sew before I finish the top. Yay!

It is still large, but I am always amazed at how much smaller pieces end up as the seam allowances disappear.

EPP Pentagon Ball

EPP-Pentagon Ball
EPP-Pentagon Ball

I finished my large-ish EPP ball and really like the way it came out.

I fussy cut some favorite fabrics and then spent several hours during Craft Night and some guild meetings basting the fabrics and, then, sewing the ball together.

I used the last bits of my bag of fiberfill to stuff it. Normally I would add some Beanie Baby pellets to the stuff to give the ball some weight. However, I plan to give this ball to a 1 year old and I don’t want her breaking a lamp or giving one of her parents a black eye when she throws it.

I think these balls would be fun for people of any age, though the fun could get out of hand at a family event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Mini Dresden

Mini Dresden Plate
Mini Dresden Plate

We will be doing Dresden Plates in class next week (we are off for Thanksgiving, which gives me more time to prep), so I made a mini Dresden Plate. It is a little different from the tutorial I created before. Mostly it is different because I made the ends of the petals pointy rather than round. I might make a short tutorial talking about making pointy petals. We’ll see.

This Dresden Plate is a little larger than 7 inches in diameter. Petals were relatively easy to make. I sort of used the tutorial on the V& Co website, but really I just looked at the sizes and they type of wedge then did my own thing. It could have gone very wrong, but I got lucky. I am going to use this as an applique on a Sew Together Bag I am making.

More Donation Blocks

I made more donation blocks before I started working on the Charming Donation Top.

I am pretty pleased with the colors. I decided that I would try to use the donation blocks in a quilt top. The guild is still keeping up with making quilts, but moving them between people is harder and giving out packages of blocks isn’t working very well. It is easier for the Community Giving team to provide a quilt to be quilted. We’ll see how this works.

Gift Sew Together Bags

I decided to make some Sew Together Bags as gifts. I know I have whined and complained about making them before, but I was reminded how useful they are when I was using my Embroidery Sew Together Bag for Craft Night. I have a couple of friends for whom I want to make something special and these will also be useful.

I know I should be working on the UCAB! I can’t seem to get myself to do it, but I really need to get it done.

Cutting for STB gifts - November 2020
Cutting for STB gifts – November 2020

I spent the day on Wednesday cutting the pieces. I didn’t get all the way through the fusible nor did I have time to quilt the outside, but I am much farther along than I was before I started.

I didn’t bring the binding fabric, so I have to cut that, but all the other fabric pieces are cut.

Even though it is fiddly, I do want to make a pincushion for each bag. I have added them to all of my Sew Together Bags and I think it is a very useful feature.

Piecing for Sew Together Bag Exterior
Piecing for Sew Together Bag Exterior

One thing I am going to do is to try and embellish the outside. I am going to add a little piecing to the exterior. The pattern, which I have said is basic at best, talks briefly about ’embellishing’ the outside, but doesn’t give specifics. Since I have two Sew Together Bags of my own, I measured the outside of one of them and have an idea of where to place the added piecing. It will look something like the above example.

I read some of my posts again and found that this is a hard project. I have some good advice for myself. I will try to take it. 😉 I know that I will be able to do them relatively quickly.

Charming Donation Top

Yes, I have been working on a lot of donation tops lately. That is how it goes during the piecing of Fabric of the Year quilts. 1) there is a lot of piecing; 2) I have to keep the pieces in order and subtle changes in color are not always obvious in the wrong place until the whole thing is sewn together and 3) I can’t not sew with leaders and enders. Not using leaders and enders just seems wrong. Thus, I have made a few donation quilts.

Charming Donation Top
Charming Donation Top

This donation top is an offshoot of a pattern Peggy modified, the Plus quilt.I made one using our standard postage stamp donation blocks and wasn’t super excited. Someone will like it, but I wanted to modify it.

I wanted to make the top a little bigger, so I used charm squares to make up the plus instead of the blocks. I don’t think it really worked the way I intended. I only gained an inch on each side. That is why I added the borders. Not very modern of me, I know, but someone will like it.

It also went together very quickly. I made the whole thing in a few hours, which is always a bonus.

That Nicey Jane fabric (with the giant dots) was laying around bugging me. I am glad it will go to a good home.

FOTY 2019 Sewing Progress

Despite fighting with my blog technology, it hasn’t really stopped me from sewing. Even if I can’t talk about my project, I still want to make the projects. I am happier when I can talk about the projects, but making them is primary.

Fabric of the Year 2019 - mid-November
Fabric of the Year 2019 – mid-November

As a result, I have been working hard on FOTY 2019.

Even if I have only a few minutes, I have been sewing a few squares together. I have most of the pairs sewn together and will work on sewing the pairs into 4 patches over the weekend.

Pinwheel Donation Top

 I saw a pinwheel quilt. Since I am trying to teach my students about block structure, I showed them this quilt. I was trying to make the point that they  had the skills to make it.

I was amazed when one of them came up with a method of making the quilt that was completely different than what I was thinking. She was thinking QSTs and I was thinking Flying Geese. I was so impressed that she was really thinking about how to make it. It validated that I was getting through.

Pinwheel Donation Quilt
Pinwheel Donation Quilt

I decided to make the quilt her way – using QSTs – to see what I thought. I ended up thinking there too many seams  and think I will try the pattern using Flying Geese. Still! I am just excited that a skill I think is really valuable is getting through.

I made the back also, but don’t think I took a picture and the whole package is off to the Community Quilt chair for quilting, etc.