Author: JayeL

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

The other day I wrote about the pincushions I use when I am working.

I didn’t exactly lie, but I was mistaken. I actually have 5 (yes, FIVE) pincushions and I use them all, though the two I discussed the other day get the most use.

My workroom isn’t that large and it is full of books and fabric and desks, so there isn’t really much floor space. I could walk around carrying a pincushion, but I don’t. Apparently.

In addition to the two that move between my sewing machine and cutting table, I have one on the bookshelf above my ironing board, one next to my design wall and one that travels with me.

These three extras are where they are because they were given to me as gifts. I used to have a hand me down tomato pincushion, but people kept giving me cushions so now I am up to 5. I am not sure what I’ll do if I get any others. The sad part is that pincushions are so great. There are so many fun shapes and great patterns for them.

Ironing Board Pincushion
Ironing Board Pincushion

Anyway, the teapot pincushion is one that I keep on the bookshelf above my ironing board. It is a fun shape and those pins are my least favorite. Oh, the butterfly heads are fun, but somehow I just don’t like those pins. They don’t get much use as I only use them when ironing and I usually have to be desperate.

Design Wall Pincushion
Design Wall Pincushion

The design wall pincushion is another wool felt pincushion. It is a great color and very swirly and fun. I put in near the design wall, usually so I can pin quilt tops to it when they get too heavy for the flannel. I used it, and the pins quite a bit for the Stepping Stones n.2. The pins come in very handy when I am desperately trying to keep a top on the wall. It is annoying that the design wall fabric won’t hold a whole top.

Travel Pincushion
Travel Pincushion

The travel pincushion is essential. I have doubles of everything all packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice and the pincushion is no exception.

I completely used up all the pins in my travel pincushion between Sew Day on Saturday and the Rosalie Dace class. It was crazy to see this pincushion empty. A lot of my pins are taken up with the City Sampler blocks, but the others were just engaged with different projects. I was able to reclaim some so the pincushion does not look so desolate.

As you can see from the variety of pins, I have a lot of different kinds of pins. My favorites are Dritz Pearlized Pins. Of course, I love the colors, but there is something about them that works for me. They are not the thinnest or the longest, but they do work well for me.

Progress on RD Piece

I carved out about 6 hours yesterday where I just sewed. I finished a donation block and started another. I started and finished a Color My Quilt shard. The biggest deal was that I worked on the Rosalie Dace piece I started in Sisters. I haven’t really worked on it since the trip, but my mind has been working on it. I finally cleared off the big design wall enough to get it up there.

Who Am I? - early August 2018
Who Am I? – early August 2018

I thought I would keep adding letters, but the number of pins in the piece (a problem at Sew Day I can talk about later) and unfused bits flailing around demanded a different course. The quilt really wanted me to sew down and fuse down letters so I did.

The two sets of ribbon/trim letters are sewn down using a zig zag stitch in varying widths. It really took forever because I sewed very slowly, but I am pretty pleased with the way it came out.

Mary's Daughter - early August 2018
Mary’s Daughter – early August 2018

For the ‘mary’s daughter’ piece, I used an Aurifil violet-ish color on the top and the bottom.

For ‘William’s Mom’, I used clear Auriful in the top and an an orange 50 wt in the bobbin. I started out with orange in the top, too, but it obscured the circles that are part of the design of the ribbon.

I feel good about the work. I am so pleased to be making progress.

Using Pincushions

I was back in the workroom on Sunday and the pincushions caught my attention. I thought that I would share the way I work with them.

I have two pincushions that I use. I keep one next to my sewing machine and one on my cutting table.

Gerre's special rectangular pincushion
Gerre’s special rectangular pincushion

I could move one pincushion from one place to another, but I received a second pincushion as a gift and thought of a new system.

When I start with pinning things together, I often pin on my ironing board or cutting table. It is very convenient to have the pins handy.

Lately, I added some WonderClips to the side. I needed them handy on the cutting table.

The rectangular pincushion is on my cutting table right now.

Pinchushion - wool felt (gift from A
Pinchushion – wool felt (gift from A

One of the pincushions sits next to my sewing machine. As I sew I have pincushion handy to put pins in as I remove them.

The wool felt round one is currently next to my sewing machine.

That’s my system. I hope it helps.

 

ColorPlay:Tile

ColorPlay: Tile - original
ColorPlay: Tile – original

I take walks at lunch and there is a lot of construction going on around my office, which means I can’t walk the same way every day. I also don’t know the neighborhood very well and I walk on different streets every day, so I see different things every day.

ColorPlay: Tile-default
ColorPlay: Tile-default

I thought about cropping out that beige brick, but, frankly, I was too lazy. It is interesting how it came out in the default palette. The default goes for neutrals again. Two of the colors in the default palette are neutrals! That is crazy!

ColorPlay: Time -n.1
ColorPlay: Time -n.1

I went sort of random for the first palette. I am not sure that red works really well.

ColorPlay: Tile -n.2
ColorPlay: Tile -n.2

This is my monochromatic palette. I like the variety of turquoises in this palette.

ColorPlay: Tile -n.3
ColorPlay: Tile -n.3

I did another monochromatic palette – this time in green. I think combining palette two and three might be interesting.

ColorPlay: Tile-n.4
ColorPlay: Tile-n.4

The fourth palette is completely random. I tried to make one that was completely different and used different colors than showed up in some of the other palettes.

ColorPlay: Tile -n.5
ColorPlay: Tile -n.5

I had to do one more mostly turquoise palette. i wanted to make it different than n.2, but there are some similarities.

What is your favorite?

 

 

Tool Tote Again

Outer Edge with Zipper
Outer Edge with Zipper

This tote has been moving around my workroom half made. Over the weekend, after finishing the Ends n.5 donation top and back, I got back to the Tool Tote. I am nearly done.

The inside and the outside were both made, but I had to put them together and install the zipper.

I just kind of got to it and began. It is hard to pick up after three weeks, but I just did it.

Weird Zipper Ending - Tool Tote
Weird Zipper Ending – Tool Tote

Fortunately, I have done a lot of zippers this year already with two Sew Together Bags, the BAM Pillow Swap, the Zip Away Organizer, the Roadtrip Bag, the Walking Foot Wow Pillow cover, my Sew Together Bag (for embroidery), and the Merit Hexie pillow, so I have plenty of zipper experience. It turned out that this zipper was no problem. I had no trouble with this zipper. I barely even registered that it was zipper installation. I didn’t really like the way the endings looked. I didn’t understand the ending – there wasn’t enough explanation for me. It worked, but I thought for sure I would have to rip.

Tool Tote - zipper in
Tool Tote – zipper in

It looked pretty good once I did the sewing. I think I didn’t think about it too much and that worked for this project.

I kept testing the zipper all the time and it kept working. It doesn’t look like the picture, but it works. We’ll see if it works when it has stuff in it.

The directions on this project aren’t as good as I would like. I thought that this pattern would be a good one for gifts, but the directions are a challenge. I can’t decide if I want to make other ones or if it is just too much hassle.

Various & Sundry 2018 #7

Patterns & Projects

Noodlehead has a pouch pattern called the Petal Pouch. It has such a lovely shape.

ByAnnie has a new pouch pattern called Clam Up. It should come as no surprise to anyone that it looks like a clam. There is a video about it as well. The pouches come in multiple sizes.

HollyAnne has a tutorial up about making string blocks. The tutorial is a part of her stash busting project

Brimfield Awakening

Brimfield Awakening

Brimfield Awakening is a pattern company that creates EPP patterns. I saw one, Brimfield Meadows, on Instagram that other day that I really liked. I bought another one of their blocks at QuiltCon (possible for Aqua-Red Sampler???). I like the one that they posted today on Instagram (left). It is fun and cheerful and interesting.

Northcott sends me a newsletter periodically and this month new fabrics for Halloween are coming out. One free pattern is called Elegantly Frightful Oven Mitts. This would be a great swap gift or hostess gift. Other free patterns by Northcott and their designers are found on the patterns page.

HollyAnne gives some ideas on her blog about how to make any quilt pattern scrappy. I have a different idea of making quilts scrappy, which you can read about, also.

You know what a huge fan I am of fabric gift bags, right? I got an AllPeoplequilt newsletter and they have a pattern for a fabric gift bag that has some nice features. I didn’t look at the pattern, but feel free. I want to cover the world in fabric gift bags and don’t care whose pattern you use.

Other Artists

Ricky Tim’s lost his home in a fire burning through the Colorado area where he lived.

Erica Arndt partnered with RomaQuilts to create a free video Jelly Roll Rug tutorial. You have to buy the pattern as this video doesn’t replace the pattern

I love the “linked 8 pointed star” on the Em’s Scrapbag site. I found this when I clicked on a few links after uploading my Design Wall Monday link last week. I wonder if it was originally a Kansas City Star, Laura Wheeler, etc pattern? I’ll have to look into it (in my copious amounts of spare time).

Exhibits

Mel Beach talks about her process for creating her Prince entry in the Cherrywood Challenge. Cross your fingers that Mel’s piece will be accepted.

Fabric, Tools & Supplies

I found a new source for bag hardware. They have some nice options! Have you ever heard of butterfly connector hooks? No? Me neither, but I want to use one for something!

Paintbrush Studios has an interesting pattern. The squares overlap and have different sized sides. This pattern features the Ring Ring line, another line with vintage telephone motifs.

There is a new learning site called Bluprint. It seems to be like Craftsy or Creativebug. They have free trials and a special for $100 for the first year or $9.99 per month. It seems like the per class model is going by the wayside. Angela Walters is one of the teachers. I haven’t tried it.

  • Update 8/1/2018: AQ Reader Lucy writes that BluPrint is a rebranding of Craftsy Unlimited. She points other readers to the Craft Industry Alliance article

I saw a history of Crayons. I have either a 72 or 96 box, but I understand the new standard (??really) is 120! WOW! That is a lot of colors. They updated the chart in the post and it is interactive and fabulous. You know you love crayons. 🙂

Japanese Class 15 is a blog about vintage sewing machines. My mom has an Emdeko and I happened to find a post about that machine. It is a good reference.

Thanks to Sarah Ann Smith for pointing out a blog post on trouble shooting skipped stitches.

I happened cross this shop, Modern Quilting, and thought some of their fabrics were quite beautiful. I like “Dear Mum.”

Copyright & Legal Stuff

A court opinion came out recently that will have everyone who posts photos on the Internet up in arms. The ruling is very narrow, as explained in a recent article. The use has to be non-commercial, even if posted on a commercial site and previously published. In the case mentioned, the phot also did not have any indication that it was copyrighted. This is an odd aspect as everything we create is supposed to be copyrighted whether we put a notice on it or not. If you put a notice on the work, you gain additional protections and rights, but an artist isn’t supposed to HAVE to put a notice on the work. I suppose that will be a reason to appeal. Also the judge said the artist was not financially harmed. As it pertains to this site, all of my photos are copyrighted. If you can’t see the copyright notice, trust me it is there. I am happy to work with people who want to publish my photos. Contact me.

Donation Blocks

Outside of the Sisters Retreat, I have had very little time to sew. We have a lot of house stuff to do and we can only do it all on the weekends. None of it involves a sewing machine. :(.

Saturday, we had a party to attend, but I a had time between a haircut and making food for the party to sew a little. I also had almost all day on Sunday, so I got a bit of work done. It was awesome.

I worked on finishing the Ends Donation Quilt n.5, but I also worked on some donation blocks.  Since I haven’t had much time to sew I also haven’t had much time to make donation blocks. I’ll have some time before the next meeting to get a few more finished.

I made the black with the leftover black scraps from the back of the Ends n.5 Donation back. I used the greys as the alternate and I know that isn’t very popular, but it is a good way to make some other people push their own envelopes.

I think I’ll use the aqua block for part of another Spiky Stars donation quilt.

Ends Donation Quilt n.5 Finally!

Ends Donation Top n.5
Ends Donation Top n.5

I finally finished the Ends Donation Quilt n.5. It seemed to take me forever, but as I said yesterday, I haven’t had much time to sew. I spent time arranging the yardage on Saturday. I did a bit of sewing, but mostly just arranging. That helped me finish relatively quickly on Sunday.

I think the borders made this piece look better. It looks more like a picture with a frame. It is so hard to tell when one of these quilts needs a border and when no border is required.

Ends Donation n.5 back
Ends Donation n.5 back

On the back I used some leftover black yardage, some of which is black-multi. Some of these blacks had never been cut into, so it was time to use them for something. Then, I used some of the leftovers from the border.

I haven’t done a leftover batting project yet. We’ll see if I have the time. Whoever quilts it at the guild may only get a back and a top. There might be enough of the back to make a straight of grain binding.

Ends Donation Quilt n.5

Ends donation quilt n.5
Ends donation quilt n.5

This process is going painfully slowly, but I took some time during the week to sew on the last two borders. I think the addition of borders looks good for this quilt. It kind of frames the strips and makes them look like a picture.

As I have said before, I am kind of thrilled that the leavings from backs can become something useful. Yes, I added some half yards of fabric to the dark grey and black leavings. I was going to donate that fabric anyway, so it is a win overall.

I can’t believe I have done five of these quilts so far. There are probably more in my future. You can see them all:

Creative Spark #28: Give it Away

“We are often able to rise to our highest self if it is for someone else” (pg.118). This quote had a profound effect on me this week I worked very hard for the past month on a work project. In the past week, I spent every spare work moment on this project. I gave it my all. The effect was that my personal life was a bit of a mess. Two appointments snuck up on me. I paid the YM’s tuition at the last minute. I didn’t plan for a dish we needed to make for a party tomorrow.

The point of this chapter is that we go all out when we have something due for someone else. We let ourselves go. I think this has resulted in the self-care movement, which is good IMO, but also promotes the feeling of guilt in many of us.

We are, inherently, creative people. Before you even think that you are not creative, I will remind you about all of the creative ways you coerce…uh…encourage your children and pets to go outside, eat their dinner and a million other things. While you may not have picked out fabric for a new quilt, you are being creative.

Combine these creative problem solving skills with your making- your quiltmaking, knitting, whatever art or craft – and give the product away. I find yarn I like, knit a scarf and give it to my mom for the gift baskets her church makes for a local domestic violence organization. I get to knit, someone gets a gift and I don’t have a thousand scarves laying around my house.

Carrie talks about getting to yes. She points out that ‘no’ is about the parent. Extrapolating out, since I no longer have young children at home, how can we use creative problem solving to get to yes in our making? How can YOU have time for a few seams or to see a few inches of binding?

I am not going to recommend that you sit down for 15 minutes a day and just do it. That doesn’t work for me. There are too many things that people want me to do for just 15 minutes a day and none of them are sitting with my DH watching TV. ?

Figure out what works for you. Also, recognize the creativity you already employ in your life and celebrate that.

You can see the last post on this topic from a few weeks ago.

Nota bene: we are working through Carrie Bloomston’s book, The Little Spark. Buy it. Support the artist. Play along. There is much more to each spark than what I am writing. The original chapters will help you. Go buy Carrie Bloomston’s book, so you get the full benefit of her fabulousness! You can see my book review, which is what started this flight of fancy.

Color My Quilt Results

Joelle's Color My Quilt
Joelle’s Color My Quilt

Some time ago, I wrote about the shard I made for Joelle. Last Saturday I went to the guild  meeting and Joelle brought her finished quilt to the meeting.

This is a fantastic piece. I love the way Joelle pieced the shards together. Also, the colors go really well together.

Joelle's Color My Quilt
Joelle’s Color My Quilt

My shard is on the top towards the left next to the circle piece. Joelle said she cut the shards up in a lot of cases. You really have to do it to make the quilt fit together. I think mine survived intact. It is so exciting to see the quilts finished. I hope Joelle enters the quilt into a show.

End Donation Quilt n.5

Ends Donation Quilt n.5 - half borders on
Ends Donation Quilt n.5 – half borders on

I kept looking at the latest donation quilt after posting about it last time and feeling like it wasn’t completely finished. I finally decided that it needed a border.

I was kind of surprised, because the Ends n.2 quilt really didn’t need a border. I guess each quilt has its own requirements.

I have put on two of the 4 borders. It has taken me forever it seems, as I haven’t had any time to sew since I returned from Sisters. I’ll get there.

I’ve done five of these quilts so far. You can see them all:

Ends Donation Quilt n.2 Finally

Ends Donation Quilt n.2
Ends Donation Quilt n.2

I saw Tim at the meeting and he had finally finished quilting the Ends Donation Quilt n.2. I wrote about this quilt top last in November. I thought the quilt was done a long time ago and Tim said I had taken several photos, but I can’t remember and can’t find any posts about it after the November post.

Tim did a great job and looks really good. While we are finding another place who will take quilts made by the group, we are saving these for the San Jose mayor’s gun buyback program. Those people who bring guns will also get a quilt.

Ends n.1 quilt

Ends n.3 quilt

Ends n.4 quilt

Ends n.5 quilt

Design Wall Monday

Design Wall, July 23 2018
Design Wall, July 23 2018

My design wall looks crazily turquoise and red this week. I didn’t realize how much I am in a turquoise and red mood lately. The Stepping Stones n.2 is part of that as well.

Despite the color theme, not much is happening on the design wall. For the moment it is acting as storage.

Design Wall July 2018 annotated
Design Wall July 2018 annotated
  1. The Lobster. I still have to finish the stitching
  2. New FOTY 2018 squares
  3. Aqua-Red Sampler blocks, most not all
  4. Half of a new donation block

I moved the Aqua-Red Sampler off the larger design wall. My goal is to put the Who Am I? piece up there an finish it. Yes, the Sampler needs to wait awhile longer. Poor baby getting supplanted again.

I’m linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, the relatively new hosting site of Design Wall Monday.

Sisters Retreat – Quilt Show

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Street Closed
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Street Closed

Saturday July 16 was the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. The show starts early in the morning with teams of volunteers, including the local fire department, hanging quilts from everywhere.

Oregon State Highway 20 is the main road that goes through town and that road, much to my amazement, was closed except for cross traffic in some places.

We packed the car (Julie did most of the work!) and parked near downtown at about 8:30 in the morning. This was a day for a lot of amazement. This time I was shocked and thrilled that we could find a parking place within a block of the first quilts available to look at. After that, we just wandered around looking at quilts, going where our feet took us.

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin' Post
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin’ Post

The Stitchin’ Post was decked out in all of its glory. The quilts on the front were just a taste of what was inside and on the side.

We couldn’t resist taking photos of ourselves in front of the display on the side of the shop.

When I said the quilts were everywhere, I meant almost everywhere. They were hanging from buildings, awnings, sides of buildings, backs of buildings. There was other art on display as well. I’ve seen a robot like that before somewhere and may have even posted it here. I am a sucker for leaded glass and these were great. I also love public clocks and think there aren’t enough of them.

Sadly I only took pictures of individual quilts not the entire displays on walls. I’ll know better if I go again. People on Instagram posted a lot of photos, so take a look at the hashtag for a better view.