1 knot = 0.514444444 m / s – definition from Wikipedia: The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, which is equal to exactly 1.852 km/h and approximately 1.151 mph.
Tying the knot
See the Creative Prompt page if you have questions about this project.
Post the direct URL where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. It will keep all the artwork together.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, now, has a Flickr group, which you can join and where you can post your responses.
It turns out that Sunday’s Catch Up post wasn’t enough. I have more photos to show you and stuff to tell you. I may have to start doubling up on posts each day!
I showed you TFQ’s Fresh Modern (or sherbet) hexagon project in a previous post.
TFQ's 1930s Hexagons
Above is a piece of one she is actively working on. She is making a bedcover. The hexagons are about 1.5″ and she is doing the whole piece by hand, which I think is the only sensible way to make this pattern.
Coffee Art, Seattle
I love coffee art. I don’t usually buy mochas, but got one last week when I was waiting for TFQ in a cafe. I had about an hour to wait, so I bought a large coffee and got out my drawing materials. Isn’t this coffee flower inspirational? It has some of the same elements as Paula Nadelstern’s Kaleidoscopes.
While not a knitting blog, it is important for me to collect and report on opportunities for doing good. I was reading the recent Lands’ End catalog. An ad for Kate Jacobs’ Knit the Season book caught my eye. On the same page, Lands’End offered a pattern for a hat to knit for charity and give a FeelGood web address for the campaign.
Holiday Sewing
For the first time in a long time, I am doing some major sewing for Christmas. I will, of course, show you everything, but I may not be able to show you as I make the items. Some of the people on the list read this blog. There will be lots to look at as December progresses, but lots more after the holidays are over.
Creative Prompt Responses
SherriD kindly let me know that some recent photos I had posted were ‘bleary’. Isn’t that a great word? I have reposted various CPP responses:
Most of you have probably heard about oilcloth recently. Anna Maria Horner has some as does Michael Miller and many other designers. While on my week away, I bought some dotted oilcloth designed/produced by Michael Miller from the Quilting Loft.
I don’t have a very strong garment sewing background and part of my tote bag adventure is learning to construct 3D objects. As a result, I have never used anything like oilcloth before, except for the tablecloth vinyl. Some issues I ran into were:
What scissors to use: if used my good sewing scissors, would the oilcloth dull the blades?
What foot do I use? Will I need the roller foot?
The directions I found said press on low heat. What is low heat? Testing required, I suppose.
What thread should I use?
Will the oilcloth play nicely with the regular cotton?
As I may have mentioned I have wanted to try the oilcloth after carrying the Julie Bag around in the rain and trying to keep my stuff from getting soaked. The bag is complete, as you can see and here is what I found.
I used my medium scissors – not my good Ginghers, but not paper scissors either. They still seem sharp.
Using a regular foot was fine. The machine had no problems feeding the oilcloth.
Pressing the oilcloth was not an option. I used the very lowest setting on my iron and the oilcloth just curled up. After I found that out, I just finger pressed. Not as good as a nice crisp seam, but it worked. When I put the floor into the bag, I pressed from the lining side.
I used regular Aurifil thread and had no issues
The cotton and the oilcloth were nice to each other. The oilcloth was not too slippery. I think I sewed mostly with the flannel-ish side against the bed of the machine, which probably helped.
Vicki posted her Field Trips in Fiber post today and she linked to Geta’s blog. Geta is like me and does bags over and I over. I loved her fabric combinations. I am not sure if she created her own design or not. Very cool bags!
A FB contacted pointed me to these gift bags, which are for sale on Etsy. They seem to be specifically made for CDs and other flat gifts, but there is a nice selection and I like the design. You can see other posts about gift bags at: https://artquiltmaker.com/blog/tag/gift-bags/
This is the Chubby Charmer. Two of my friends, Maureen and Terri both had bags made from this pattern and I admired their shape and size. On my week away, I made one.
This is a BIG bag. I could fit my 3YO nephew in this bag! I didn’t realize the size in relation to my size until it was finished. I like it and will probably use it to carry stuff up and down the stairs in the house, or perhaps out to the car. I can imagine it would be useful for carrying packages out to the car to take to the post office.
I don’t think it will be great for carrying around on a general basis, because it might get really dirty and I am not sure about the washability. I also think that I could easily fill it up with 30 pounds of stuff. I’ll have to make an effort not to fill it with 30 pounds of stuff.
I used a Moda pack of charm squares from approximately 2007 called Recipe for Friendship by Mary Engelbreit to make the outside of the bag. There weren’t quite enough so TFQ threw in a few from the more recent Snippets collection. We agonized a bit, but not too much and then I began sewing them together.
Side oneSide two
One of the things I liked about this pattern is that it is specifically designed for the Moda Charm Packs. I don’t know if other companies make 5″ charm packs. I assume some do. It is very easy to cut your own 5″ squares out of your favorite fabrics. If I were going to use my own fabrics, I think I would collect 5″ squares as I cut fabrics for other projects.
I was putting away some other charm packs I have (Figgy Pudding and Pumpkins Gone Wild), I was thinking about what else I could make from these charm packs. I don’t need to have a specific charm pack pattern; I could just sew the squares together and then cut a pattern out of that new fabric.
I also used the red and white dotted fabric (by Susie Osborne, Emmalyne’s Day of the Week line) for the handles and TFQ gave me the red fabric (Mary Lou Weideman for In the Beginning Fabrics) for the inside.
I bought a pack of fusible fleece at the same time I bought the pattern at PIQF. I found, though, that that pack didn’t have enough of the fusible fleece and I had to get more. Both the inside walls and outside walls take two layers of fusible fleece. I didn’t find that it stuck together very well afer pressing. As a result I think I would just use my leftover batting if I made this pattern again.
The pattern designer has a really cool trick for making the box bottom. The maker traces a square template (provided in pattern) on to each bottom corner. After some sewing gymnastics, which are well explained in the pattern, you end up with a line to sew across that makes the box bottom. Very easy and no box bottom guessing. TFQ came across a similar trick in the Jane Market tote by Posie Gets Cosy. We tried to find the ratios of squares to front panels so we could try it ourselves on our own designs, but haven’t yet been successful.
I decided that I would write one big long post to catch up, because I seem to have bunches of photos yet to post. I don’t want to say “oh 3 weeks ago, I made this and that.”
Another view of the Tarts
Another idea for the curvy coffee pot embellishment. My mom told me that steam goes down first and I should put the hearts below the exit to the spout. I tried it, took a picture and above is the result. I prefer the other view, Fluttering Hearts, regardless of whether or not steamreally goes up or down. I think I am really getting sick of this obsessing about the Tarts. I got home from my week away, saw the Tarts on my design wall and just sighed. I thought to myself “oh brother, just make a decision about the &*(^%$ hearts and move on already!” Perhaps it is time to just applique’ the hearts on the curvy coffee pot and move on. Perhaps I will start on the back and that will give me renewed energy around this project?
Mosaic Mirror #1
TFQ has these wonderful mirrors at her house. They are made by an artist named Kathe. I love the glass beads and blobs and shards she uses to create her designs.
Mosaic Mirror #2
I like the sun at the top of the one above. Notice the two different color schemes?
FOTY 2009 Blocks, Nov. 2009
Above are the most recent FOTY blocks. I made them before I left on my travels. I have a month and a half to wash, press and cut pieces from my new fabrics. As I have mentioned, I want to be ready to make the FOTY 2009 at the CQFA retreat in January. I had better not buy anymore fabric. 😉
3 Columns, Nov. 2009
Here is another Sorbet block. I made it in between trips. I call it 3 Columns, for obvious reasons. It may have another name. I don’t think it is really that easy to make up new blocks, but I also haven’t looked it up in Barbara Brackman’s block book. I will sometime. Let me know if you know the real name. I still have not looked at the fabrics again to see what other colors I need to add. I am limping along with this project.
Green for Ornaments
I have been cutting green strips since about July as I press fabric. I have also been saving shards in order to make ornaments. I usually make a few every year, but don’t seem to have taken any photos to show you. I’ll have to put that on my list of things to do.
I am trying to get back in the saddle and not let all of the prompt responses languish. Here is my most recent response, Core. I’ll work on the detail for next week.
See the Creative Prompt page if you have questions about this project.
Post the direct URL where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. It will keep all the artwork together.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, now, has a Flickr group, which you can join and where you can post your responses.
I found a new blog recently, after listening to a recent CraftSanity podcast. The interview is with Liesl, the owner and designer of the pattern company Oliver + S. They produce patterns for children’s clothing in a “contemporary classic style.” After listening to the podcast, I decided to wander over to her blog and found that it might be one to visit regularly.
I loved the photos in this post about one of the subway stations in New York. I adore mosaics, so this lighthearted art was right up my alley.
In another post, she has a funny exchange with her daughter about a blue silk winter coat. Liesl’s blog is worth a look.
Liesel Gibson -Mosaic Hats
Take a look at the post that discusses the photo above.
Liesl + Co is the parent company of Oliver + S. The former is the company that put out The Day in the Park Backpack tote that I bought last year at PIQF.
I have to admit that I looked at Quilt Rat’s response for one of the other prompts and it did influence me. I was thinking a lot about the Genie and receiving 3 wishes.
This is probably the 5th snowball type quilt I have seen in a week. I saw a few last week in magazines and books. One was in the Quilt Sampler magazine on the wall of a shop and made up of strips. It was interesting. I like this pattern because it really looks like the snowballs are round. The pinwheels on the edges and on the cornerstones are a nice touch. Thanks to Vicki and her Field Trips in Fiber post for this link.
This is a really short review that I may beef up later. Pat Sloan’s book on color is easy to read, though it will take more time if you go through the exercises.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I liked this book, because:
1. she had the same quilt pattern made in different fabrics. This is a great technique, because it is easy to dismiss a pattern when a quiltmaker doesn’t like the fabrics. By showing different fabrics, the reader can overlook one of the colorways that may not appeal.
2. she didn’t talk much about value. It isn’t that I don’t think value is important, but I think that people can get bogged down by value if they are just starting out with color. Pat really gives the reader confidence to make color choices.
3. she didn’t bad mouth other ways of choosing color. All ways are valid and Pat shows her way and doesn’t bill it as anything different.
4. she encouraged the reader to start with colors that s/he likes
5. she uses an inspiration notebook to start.
It is bright and cheerful book as well.
There are projects included which I just used to expand my view of what the author was saying.
