Artquiltmaker Blog – Page 66 – Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity

Sparkly Vinyl

Awhile ago I bought some sparkly vinyl from Sew Hungry Hippie. Vinyl can be so boring. I thought a little sparkle would spark (HA!) a pouch up.

I have never paid much attention to the thickness of vinyl. Patterns do say to get a certain gauge, but I tend to use what I have on hand.

I had the opportunity to cut out some Inside Outside pouches the other day and decided to use this vinyl. When I unrolled it to cut my pieces, I found that it was a lot thinner than the vinyl I am used to using.

It doesn’t seem to be inferior in any way to the vinyl I have on hand. It is also easier to sew through.

I think it looks pretty good so far; not too much. Stay tuned for the finished result of my efforts.

Resources:

- - Sew Hungry Hippie Vinyl Sewing Guide
  - Vinyl Tips & Tricks

Decovil Use

I mentioned the other day that I used Decovil** for the first time. I used it on the Percheron Pouch in process.

Decovil is described very well in a video by Sara Lawson. It is flexible, but also strong. This is the first project in which I have used it.

I like the way it makes the bag feel. It is also thick, which means that keeping it out of the seam allowances is important to me. In the photo above, you can see the beige layer on the top. You can see how it is much smaller than the the other layers. That is the Decovil. It is probably a little smaller than it needed to be, but it will work.

Sometimes I print out 2-3 templates and cut one for interfacing, which is smaller then the others. Most of the time I guess.

Note:

- - Decovil Light = 525
  - Decovil Heavy =526

I’d love to hear your experiences with Decovil.

**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.

Finished Bowl Cozies

As I said the other day, these were a pretty fast gift to make.

The tutorial is one page of instructions plus the template for the darts. The tutorial makes total sense and isn’t difficult or complicated. I wanted to see what other tutorials were available so I put “bowl cozy tutorial” into Duck Duck Go (a search engine that doesn’t track your movements) and got a number of blog posts and videos.

Crafty Gemini has a video tutorial for a more more petal shaped cozy. The Caffeinated Quilter tutorial has thinner triangles for darts and the back is pulled around the front for a border/binding. Tara Reed’s blog post tutorial reminds us we can use orphan blocks or ‘made’ fabric as parts for the bowl cozy.

One reason I like this pattern is because of the angle of the darts. It would fit one of my soup type bowls really well. We have some larger bowls that we use for chunky dinner (not leftover) soups and stews. Those might fit better in a larger cozy with steeper sides. The good thing about this pattern is that you can adjust it and use the same directions. They only thing would be to keep the angles of the triangles consistent.

I think you could also adjust the shape of the corners to make different looks.

Bowl cozy 2 side view — Bowl cozy side 2 view

I am trying to decide if I want to make a bunch of these for DH’s cousins and siblings. While I can make them quickly, I would still have to pick out fabric. That takes time just because of the logistics. As well, most people won’t know what they are, so I would have to make a little tag to let people know how to use them. I also think one is kind of a mean gift. What happens if one gets dirty? I would want to make two for each family. I suppose I could start with one and see how things go. I’ll have to talk to DH and see what his thoughts are.

Try one out. Even if you decide not to make them as gifts, you will have something useful for your kitchen.

Percheron Pouch in Process

I started this project some months ago when Sara Lawson had the Percheron Pouch as a project of the month. I cut it out, did some interfacing and then put it away. After making the bowl cozies over the weekend, and moving the pieces of the project around my workroom 834 times, I decided to work on it.

The Percheron Pouch is part of Minikins Season 3. As mentioned previously, the Minikins are series of small pouches and bags that Sara releases periodically. Each series has 12 or 13 patterns and they are mostly great shapes.

The Percheron doesn’t seem like a pouch to me. It reminds me of a ‘train case’. My mother had one. They were intended for cosmetics and small items and the bag was often included as an option with suitcase sets. The one I am thinking of was Samsonite.

I also took the opportunity to use Decovil. I never used this interfacing before and am not 100% clear on 525 vs.526, but so far I like how stiff it makes the top and bottom of the bag. Stay tuned for how it actually works in the finished bag.

Trying Out Gift Ideas

Awhile ago, Mrs. K made me a bowl cozy.I never thought I needed such a thing, but I use it all the time and it is very helpful.

Someone told me about a bowl cozy tutorial and reminded me of that great gift. I decided to try it out over the weekend.

They are fairly easy to make. The process goes quickly.

My issue was sewing. I wasn’t sure whether to sew all the way to the corner, so I didn’t do it at first, because of the change in height of the layers. The batting bunched up as my sewing machine foot got to it, so I started sewing from the batting on the other corners. This looked bad, so I went back later and sewed to the edges.

More La Pass M4

I made some progress last week on La Passacaglia M4 after awhile of not feeling like I made progress.

Rosettes 6 & 7 are the focus of Month 4, though I am a bit confused, because Month 3 mentions Rosettes 6 & 7 and they are completely different rosettes. I’ll have to clarify.I’ll take a look at the pattern, too, and see if I can tell.

I combined the center of the top (in the photo) rosette to use that piece of Joel Dewberry fabric.

I thought of using the zebra fabric as the center per the pattern, and even cut it out. In the end, I just didn’t want animal faces looking at me from my quilt, so I tried out the technique of combining paper pieces into one shape. I didn’t get the spacing quite right, so there are places the points don’t meet. I know I will have some leeway when I take out the papers. Also, in the grand scheme, some small technical problems won’t be seen.

These are all parts of rosettes as they will be sewn to other pieces and look at thought the rest of them are under other rosettes.

I am pleased to be trying something new. I really thought I knew all there was to know about English paper piecing. I am finding it is much more than wrapping fabric around paper and sewing the pieces together.

Remember the Carpenter’s Wheel?

Carpenter's Wheel Finished — Carpenter’s Wheel Finished

Remember when I went on and on about this quilt? I still love it and am still proud of the design.

Recently, I saw that Barbara Brackman wrote a post about the Carpenter’s Wheel block.

She was asked to write it by the Accuquilt Go** people to celebrate their new Carpenter’s Wheel die. She references a video about the pattern in her post.

Barbara shows a lot of different quilts, tells you how and where to find the patterns in Electric Quilt and Blockbase and discusses the pattern in general. It is a really interesting post.

I am not sure I would have used this die for my quilt. I didn’t know what I was doing in terms of fabric or layout when I started. Still, I do think the die is a good idea if you want to make even one of these quilts. The pattern takes a lot of cutting.

My Carpenter’s Wheel quilt is for sale, so let me know if you want to buy it.

La Pass M4 Center

After quickly cutting all of the pieces for M4, I started sewing them.

I have seen other people in the BOM group combine some paper pieces into a larger piece and use a bigger motif. I decided not to use the zebras in month 4 and using a Joel Dewberry motif seemed like a good option.

I worked on it in the car as I was going to an event so I made good progress.

La Pass M4 Center motif - back — La Pass M4 Center motif – back

The way this is done is an interesting concept. You have to tape individual pieces together then wrap the fabric around that larger piece.

I thought I knew how to paper piece, but I am learning a lot from this project and the group.

Finished: Flagler

I finished the Flagler right at the end of the weekend. I am pleased with the way it came out. I really like the spots against the stripes.

I put a piece of Peltex in the bottom to make it stand up better, but the sides are still kind of floopy.

I think the type of pocket on the front requires a careful selection of fabric.

The back and straps are all stripes. I kind of like the limited palette. I realized that this palette is very similar to the Peacock Bag.

At some point I bought some large rainbow finish lobster clips. I used one of them on this inside of this bag. It pulls a little on the lining, but you know that I feel lobster clips are useful.

I didn’t think of it before but I might try spraying it with some stain prevention spray.

Cutting La Pass M4

I was able to cut out La Pass M4 the other night during Craft Night. I felt really happy getting this done. I am now in the process of basting and hope to get to sewing ASAP.

Starting the Flagler

The Flagler bag is the first bag in Crafty Gemini’s 8th Bag Club. I took some time to cut it out over the weekend.

The bag really doesn’t have a lot of pieces, unlike the A Place for Everything bag, so it didn’t take me very long to cut it out.

I wasn’t going to make this bag, because I didn’t think I would use it, but then I thought it would be great for my nephew. He has a new baby and may need to carry around a small amount of her stuff for quick trips.

I had seen that spot fabric recently and looked for it for a long time. I almost gave up finding it, but am glad I kept looking because I think it will look good with the stripe.

I was able to get some of the sewing in, too.

Quilt Class: Preparing for Quilting

If you, mostly, do not quilt your quilts yourself, then part of your quiltmaking process should be preparing your quilt for your longarm professional. You can read my longarm rant which implies things to think about when choosing a longarm quilter, but regardless of who you choose, you will still have to prepare your quilt.

To be honest, when I get to the “YAY! I have finished my top” stage, I am done with the quilt. However, I also don’t want a bunch of tops laying around, so I am working on finding the Zen or meditative qualities of finishing my quilts.

Top

My tops are what they are. I press as I need to press, which is usually towards the side. Sometimes my tops have points where a lot of seams meet. I don’t try and change that piecing, but I make a note and point those areas out to Colleen and usually tell her to avoid them.

If there are no borders, I sew around the entire edge about 1/8 inch from the edge. This stabilizes the seams that intersect on the perpendicular with the edge.

Back

However, when I get to the back, I do try to be nice. Part of the process or creating the meditative space in my head of finishing my quilts deals with the back. I no longer piece tiny squares together to create a coordinated back. I try to use very large pieces of fabric, which not only enables me to finish the back quickly, but also lessens the number of seams on the back for the longarmer.

My personal, fabulous longarmer has never complained about seams, but I also don’t want her to become frustrated with me. I make pieced backs. That is just what I do. I see no good reason to buy additional fabric for the back when I have perfectly good fabric in my fabric closet that is not being used.

Lately, I have started to try to remember to press the seams open on the back. It doesn’t really matter in terms of back construction, IMO, but it lessens the number of layers that the longarm needle has to punch through. My personal, fabulous longarmer has never said one way or the other, but I figure that it can’t hurt.

If I know that the end of the seam will be on the outside of the quilt or NOT crossed by another seam I will also backstitch. I do this on the front also, so that the threads don’t pull apart as the quilt is being stretched on the longarm machine. Of course, I don’t always know, but I do my best.

I try to make the back at least 8″ larger (4″ on each side and 4″ on top and bottom) all the way around than the size of the top. To do this, I lay the top on my design floor and build the back on top of it.

Post-it Notes are your Friend

I measure the top and the back and pin a post-it note to the quilt saying what the sizes are. I use hot pink post-it notes. My quilts are generally square, but usually not perfectly square. They are often off by an 1/8″, but not much more. If I put the post-it note on, the longarmer clearly knows what s/he is dealing with and can’t blame me later for lousy piecing (Well, s/he can, but I can just look at him or her sarcastically and not feel bad).

Top and Bottom

You might think that any idiot could tell which is the top and bottom of your quilt, but that is not always the case. I had a quilt where the back was really large – much larger than the 4″ all around that I normally make it – and my personal, fabulous longarmer put it on sideways, because I didn’t mark the top and the bottom. She is not in my head, though she is in my fantasy life head , so now I put a post-it note with the word ‘top’ on both the top and the back. Top on the post-it note means “dude, this is the top of the quilt.”

Pins

I take them out as I piece. There is no later. If my personal, fabulous longarmer runs over a pin I left on the quilt, I pay to have her machine repaired. My fault, my problem. That is why I take pins out of the seams, rather than running over them.

Embellishments

I embellish with anything 3D AFTER the quilting is done. If there is some reason that I put a button or beads in a section of the quilt, then I pin a very bright post-it note to that area. I also point it out to her when I bring the quilt to her. If my personal, fabulous longarmer runs over an embellishment on the quilt, because I didn’t warn her, I pay to have her machine repaired. My fault, my problem.

Press, Press, Press

As much as I despise pressing the top and the back I do it just before I take the quilt to the longarmer. Then I hang the top and the back on a pants hanger. The pants hangers have to be tough and have really strong clips, because those quilts are heavy. If I don’t press the wrinkles will not ‘quilt’ out.

Binding

My longarmer attaches my binding on side with the machine for me, so I include a binding with my top and back. Generally, I put it in a plastic bag and attach it to the hanger so it doesn’t get lost.

This is the last step. Once the quilt is on the hanger, it is ready to be taken to the longarmer.

Keep in mind that your personal longarmer might have different requirements for how you prepare your quilts. Make sure that you know what those are before you take your quilt to be quilted.

Some La Pass M3

I had a few meetings last week in which I could sew. I got a little bit of M3 done before I started in on M4.

Yes, that says Rosette #7 and, no, you aren’t crazy. I haven’t made Rosettes 2-6 yet. We are jumping around.

In the photo, I am showing the back because it is still in progress. I am pretty pleased with the way this rosette is coming together. it is fitting together much better than the M2 part of Rosette #1. It is smaller and that could be a factor.

I have one more seam to finish before the center is done. As I said, I am going to move to M4 and finish M3 catch as catch can.

Bagmaking Hazards

The other day I made a Retreat Bag. These bags are free patterns from Emmaline Bags. You do need a frame if you don’t want the bag to be a super widemouth with no structure.

Somehow I made the casing too small and really had to tug and push the frame through. My finger came out the worse for wear, which is a good reason to make the casing the correct size.

I rubbed the skin off, but got the frame in place just before the bleeding started. It is very painful, so make sure you made the casing the correct size.

Installing Zippers Tips

One of the things that came up when I was making pouches over the weekend was the zippers. They are always a pain, so I made some changes tot he way I work.

Because of the video on making an internal zipper pocket, I was reminded of the washaway tape**. I have had this tape for awhile and use it sporadically, but need to be prompted, because I tend to forget about it.

I followed Sara’s directions exactly on the second one, which means that I lined up the tape with the edge of the zipper then pressed the fabric close to the zipper before I sewed. The second one came out much better than the first.

I dug out a zipper foot that I haven’t had luck with and really worked with it. For the first time I had success using the zipper foot. This was the small zipper foot that clicks on to my machine without the use of any screwdrivers. I was surprised that it actually worked this time. Perhaps I was doing something wrong before.

Next, the tape at the end of the zipper tape where the zipper opens, e.g. opposite the stop, is loose. Most patterns say to sew the tapes together, which is a hassle and mostly doesn’t work for me. Since the ends would be hidden inside the pocket, I decided that I would try tape instead of sewing the end of the zipper together. I used regular Scotch tape and it worked great. I didn’t have to rip out any stitches or deal with a scrunched up fabric and thread nest. It was also fast.

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