Lost and Found

Oh where, oh where have you been??

Have you ever thought that you may have lost one of your favorite sewing room tools???  This beauty had been lost for years (more than 5)!!  I had another one, so I made due just fine. But... if you were close by you heard my excitement when I came across this while I was cleaning and organizing.  I did a pretty awesome happy dance too. Yippee!!!!

I did quite a bit of organizing this past weekend....  it’s amazing how an entire bowl of opened safety pins will only take up a tiny bit of room in that same bowl once you close them all!  And I found a bunch of my pins also!

There are even screws in there!

Finally organized!

They are all closed.

I also decided to clean out a bunch of fabrics that I don’t think I will use.....  now to get them to Project Linus. That made room for more folding and sorting of my stash. Again.... yippee!!

I love when my fabrics are folded nice!

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.  

Proverbs 12:25 NIV

Donate Quilts

So these quilts were made years ago to be donate quilts for QFK. I made them.... then folded them up into ziplocks along with the backing and the binding, cut and pressed just waiting to be quilted.  Problem was that I didn’t like doing the quilting myself.  So they had to wait for just the right moment. Last July, my super amazing long arm quilter asked me if I had any quilts she could test a new machine on. I was excited at the opportunity to let her finish these however she pleased.   The only problem was that I never saw them finished.  She had an urgent need to get them done and had them bound by her worker bees. They went to Project Linus and I am hoping to do a few more this year for them as well. I am a little disappointed that QFK was not more open to keeping new members. Maybe it was ment to be.   

If my memory is correct these were completed last October.  I’m not counting these as my completions even though they were officially completed in 2017.   

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.us/111/rom.12.2.niv

Fall Fancy - Finally Finished

Fall isn't over yet.....  I am counting this quilt as finished in time!  Even though Thanksgiving is next week!!!!  I put this quilt together after starting the challenge with my mom.....  For some reason, I decided that a bag full of scraps that was handed from person to person to person was more important than the challenge quilt that I started in the first place.

The funny thing was that I didn't even like the fabrics.  I put this together and got it to my longarm quilter almost immediately and she was full of complements as always and made me feel like I am an amazing quilter (hee hee hee).

I decided that I would keep this quilt that I would call Fall Fancy!  I started on the binding and got tired of having a quilt on my lap so I put it away and kind of forgot about it til it was almost too late.  I finally got around to packing up my little bag of goodies and taking it to my son's judo practice and it only took me two nights to put the last of the binding on.  I get to enjoy this Fall Fancy quilt for another week before I put is away and break out the Christmas quilt that I have yet to post about!!!

So....  I typed this all up and then totally forgot to post it!  Oops!!!  Better late than never!!

Challenge Block

Ok....  So my mom decided that she was going to do her first quilt and I couldn't be more excited to help her out.  Only thing is that she decided to do a challenge quilt that is full of triangles which I have not done many of and I do not consider myself very good at them.  

The quilt is by NQC Quilt Block Challenge.  It is a nine week challenge and it's free. 

Block One

There is a huge Facebook community working on this quilt and TONS of people to help.  I decided to cover a couple things that new quilters may not know.

First tip is to buy good fabric - I admit that part of the fabric I am using from my stash in this quilt is from Joann's and is not the greatest.  I prefer not to use the Joann's brands in my quilts that I give away or ones that I want to last forever.  I will try to buy my Kona's there - 60% off is the best time!  The other thing is that it does not press well.  You can see in the pic below that even though I ironed and steamed there are still wrinkles.

Next thing is to line up the fabric and start with clean edges.  I prefer to line up along the top fold and then move my ruler to the left as I make the cuts.  Measure twice and cut once.  

Make sure you always hold the ruler down firmly so the fabric and the ruler stay in place.  As you go make sure you cut off all the selvage.  You don't want it to end up in the quilt!

Lining up the fabric to start cutting.

Next tip is to only use pins when doing diagonals.  Once pin on either side to keep the fabric from moving as the diagonal is sewed.  I use them for making triangles and when I am prepping my binding.  There isn't really a need for them any other time.

Use pencil on the lighter fabric to draw lines.

My next reminder for quilting is that there is no need to backstitch.  Just make sure you start and finish as close to the edge as possible.  Another is to use a 1/4 inch foot if possible.  They are not too expensive and you can use 40% off coupons on them!  I even leave my 1/4 inch foot on when I sew the triangles.  It keeps it a bit straighter and more accurate than the regular foot.

Perfect 1/4 inch on both sides.

Always press your seems to one side - to the dark side - that way if you have a darker fabric next to a light one the darker fabric does not show through.  I follow this rule almost always.  If I am doing squares that I want to nest seams I will press the direction I want it to go no matter the color.  

So this next one seems weird but does help......  You want to make sure that as you are sewing your blocks together the seams stay flat.  Flat seams  will ensure that your quilt is nice and smooth.  Watch the ones on top as well as the ones on the bottom as you sew.

Flat seams.

One of the hardest things it to get the seams to match up.  part of this is because as the seams come together the become more and more bulky and do not stay lined up correctly as you sew them.  I do not know how to fix this problem yet....  Sorry!! 

I always say that as long as you don't have to trim off so much fabric that your quilt looks lopsided or as long as you don't have to add a strip to make it bigger you didn't do to bad!  

Not perfect, but it will do the trick.

Again this is a challenge quilt from National Quilters Circle.  It's a free challenge and I did put a link above to the first block.  Good luck!!

Drought be gone!

I can honestly say that I am sad about missing my quilt show this past weekend. This last storm that hit stretched all the way down to Mexico so we would have gotten rain and even snow both going there and coming home.  Better to stay safe though.  

Since I was home I decided to get to that organizing!!!  I started with one bin of nicely folded fabric and finished the weekend with two and a half bins full.  I thought that I would feel more accomplished....  but I felt that I needed to get the larger pieces of fabric folded too and I could not figure those out.  I could fold them the same as the rest but it doesn't seem right.

Ironed and folded nicely in the bins!

As I went thru some of the older pieces of fabric that have been in my stash for years I realized that I have just as many really nice fabrics as I do not so nice ones. I also have a lot of kid prints that I don't know if I will want to get rid of.

Moral of the story is that the rain may have done me a favor.  I really have plenty of fabric to last me til the next show.  I'm hoping that just as the drought here in the Bay Area has been coming to an end.... so will my drought.  

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.”

Deuteronomy 32:2 NIV

http://bible.com/111/deu.32.2.niv

It's Been Sew Long

Just keep sewing.....

I don't know why I can't write on a regular basis......  I guess it's just not my thing.  I have been busy with a few projects since last May.  I made some awesome Christmas shorts for my son for his school play and then decided to make my niece a matching skirt.....  I just wish I could have had them together to get a picture in the matching outfits!!

Kira's skirt.

Neiko and Michelle.

 I also did a quilt for my mom for Christmas.....  It was quick for the most part and Neiko helped me with the layout.

Quilt for Mom.

I love the fabric for the back!

My project that I am excited about is a San Francisco Giants quilt that I will pick up from the quilter later today.....  I waited for it for almost 2 weeks so I am super excited to get it back!!!  I have started on a duplicate of it for myself as well, but I will make it a bit different and a bit bigger.  I need to get pictures of that one to post!

Sneak peek of one of my favorite blocks.

I am still on a high from quilt show that I just got back from.....  The Road to California Quilt show was amazing and I was happy to see a few of my favorite vendors there.  I exchanged my broken Quick Curve Ruler from Sew Kind of Wonderful and got a new pattern to do a Metro Hoops quilt.  I will have to practice if I am going to make one for my niece.  I'm hoping she is going to get married soon - but don't want to start a project to prematurely.  But, since I have the new QCR I have no excuses to keep my from trying it out.....  other than my own fear!


I'll give you strength.  I'll help you.  I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.  -Isaiah 41:10


www.sewkindofwonderful.com

Movin' Up

It's been a while!  I have moved!!!  And...  I have a sewing room!!!  I am sooooo excited to get it all set up and working!  I want it to organized and fancy like the sewing rooms I see online.  Problem is......  I know my room will never be as awesome, but at least I have a work space.  Yeah!!

A desk, machine, and a cup of coffee!

My first step is finding some way to organize all my fabric.  I don't have fancy shelving or a place to display/store my stash.  The only thing I could come up with was plastic bins.  I found shallow bins that are about 6 inches or so deep.  I have been ironing and folding my stash to try and fit it all in the bins.  I can't wait to have it all done so that I can find and put together all the quilts of the future!!

Fabric!!!

I still have a TON of work to do.  One of the things I am hoping to figure out is a design wall.  Even if it is a small one.  I will try to keep you posted, but I can't promise anything!!

Two more down.... many, many to go.

I finished two quilts and dropped them off with my local chapter of QFK.  I found these awesome clips that made the binding of these quilts a lot quicker and easier.

Wonder Clips

Kitty keeps me company.

QFK #2

I was sad that I couldn't find my regular camera...  These were taken with my phone and not very good.  I would like to find a place outside that would allow me to use the natural light.  Maybe by the time I finish the next ones.

QFK #3

Finished with a zig zag.

When I went to drop these two off, I was lucky enough to make it for a "garage sale" day and pick up some donated fabric to use to make more quilts to give away!!  Makes me feel so good....  I also picked up some "challenge" fabric that I will put together as well.  More of that to come....

QFK#1

It took me two more days to finish the quilt up, about two and a half to three full days total.  On day two I started by sandwiching the pieces together.  I don't like to lay my quilts on the floor unless I have no other choice, so I use a giant piece of styrofoam that I saved from large shipping box.  I attach one side of the backing with giant binder clips then pull it tight to the other side.  I use straight pins to anchor it into the sytrofoam then place the batting and top piece while keeping everything as tight as possible with the pins around all edges.  Next I can go through and baste with the safety pins.  The styrofoam helps here too because you are not poking through to your table or floor.

I bought myself the cheapest walking foot that I could find and started with diagonal lines across the four patch blocks.  Once I started I figured that I should have thought it out a little before so that I would not have to stop and restart for each line.  Lesson learned - one continuous path to quilt (even though feeding the quilt through the small throat of my machine is not easy) is still easier and cleaner.  I used a continuous line to quilt through all of the main blocks in an echo stitch about a 1/4" inside the block.

In the outer border I decided that I would practice my free motion quilting.  I decided to go with some stars and added a few words.  I discovered that I still need lots of practice.

"hope"

"dream"

"play ball"

On the third day I finished it up with the binding.  I was worried about not having enough backing to make the binding from but it turns out that I had plenty, with some to spare.  QFK asks that the binding be attached with a zig zag stitch so it took me awhile to figure out the best way to do this.  You can see the final stitching in the pictures above.  It worked very well other than a couple of spots that I missed and had to go back and double stitch.

Zig zag stitch with the walking foot.

Overall I was very happy with my first QFK quilt.

Finished quilt with some bad lighting and photobombers.

My first label.

I will drop it in the mail to QFK headquarters today and start on my first quilt for my local chapter of QFK.  I have been putting together "kits" just like this one with all of the extra fabric that I have - looking forward to dropping some off with Silicon Valley QFK next time they meet.

Just part of my stash.