Splitting Hares

Yesterday was an enlightening, productive session for me. I completed the new baby quilt design, finished the cutting, started the piecing, and made a new personal rule for myself. I need glasses for distance, but not close work. Therefore, my glasses are on and off dozens of times in a sewing session, and I can't tell you HOW many times I've lost them. How frustrating!

New Rule #1-- If I take them off, they go on my designated doxie tray by the machine. No exceptions!

I've Been Quilting in My Dreams

Good morning, Doxie Girls! Did you sleep soundly or like me, did you dream about quilting all night long? I swear there are nights I can't shut put my ideas to sleep with me, and I wake up knowing I was quilting in my sleep. I sure hope this gets better!

Churn Dash Done

My little Churn Dash, or Double Monkey Wrench, or it goes by yet another couple dozen names, made with 1930's reproduction fabrics, was finally done this morning. I finished the hand quilting yesterday, but needed to do the binding through the evening. I popped it into the washer with a Shout Color Catcher, and took it outside to dry in the shade. I made it for a family in another part of the U.S., and I specifically wanted a very traditional baby quilt from the Midwest.

To Wash or Not to Wash? That Is the Question.

Hot, dry, August weather finally arrives to Ohio. We've had a chilly, damp summer here, and this is not a welcome change. The dogs are all showing allergy problems with licking, and running eyes. Poor things. They were awake all night, and all asleep now. Poor me.

Dry heat is perfect, though, for washing fabric, and hanging it outside to dry. And so the dilemma--Do you need to pre-wash your fabrics?

Churn Dash Update

I spent the weekend hand quilting the Churn Dash baby quilt. I think it's turning out well, and there's a sense of satisfaction to quilt by hand. We watch a little t.v., and in no time I'm another block down. Six blocks down now. I'll finish it up tonight, I hope.

Making Do

Another day with rain. The yard is squishy, and the humidity high. Not ideal for anything outside. I'm crying my heart out--right down the stairs to my sewing room, I am!
What a great excuse to quilt!

I have a lot to do today. Yesterday's quilt is still in the machine, and I have to put a baby quilt top together to take along to a quilt meet-up in nearby Coshocton. I've been invited to join in tonight, and I'm excited to meet some other quilters.

A brief picture of my set up: I have a 20+ year old Pfaff Creative 1475 CD  that has stood the test of time, and many, many hours of sewing. It holds up like a work horse. It's what I use for everything, and seems to do a fairly decent job of free motion quilting.

Now don't laugh, but I'm showing you this to let you know not all of us have every gadget we want. My machine is not in a cabinet. For me, that was inconvenient if I wanted to pick it up and move to different light. I have modified my current table area to support the plastic piece I used to use to bridge between my machine and the cabinet. It extends my sewing area, and is fairly stable when I support it with books. A spool holds the front right. I think I will eventually purchase a proper extension table, but it's not in the budget yet. This is good enough for now. I'd rather add to my stash.

Gloves are a must!  I like the white ones best. They have little rubberized fingertips on them to help you move the quilt around. I haven't seen them around here, but Amazon carries them, of course.

A good book I found for beginners is:



Other than that, it's a game trying to support the weight of the quilt so it doesn't drag, and pull against the sewing stage. My sister-in-law said she throws part of it over her shoulder, adds tables around her, etc. I laughed when I first heard this, but it's all spot on. It's quite a performance. Thankfully, the basement is cooler than the rest of the house since I wind up wearing the quilt.

I think I got 10 or so medallions done today, but one needs ripped part way out. I'll take that to the Stichy Group tonight, and maybe someone will give me ideas for the blank areas.

Baby quilt is sprayed together, thank you 505, and I'm off to find some people. I'll show you some pictures tomorrow.

Go to bed, Doxie girls. The Doxie Mama is going somewhere else to sew tonight.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road (A.K.A. Machine Quilting)

I have a friend who loves this saying, and for the longest time I didn't really get it. So, what does this mean exactly?

It's an idiom--like, "It's raining cats and dogs." It doesn't count to just spin your tires. You have to really drive somewhere. Well, I'm there today with one of my projects. I finished this quilt top a few months ago, and it's one I'm making for me this time. I played with some fabric and color I wouldn't normally use together, and  I like the outcome. Let's say time, money, and emotional sacrifice count now. I don't want to screw it up, and I'm not an experienced machine quilter. Hand-quilting would take me too long, so I've got to hunker down and overcome my fear. Hence the saying, "This is where the rubber meets the road."

Try the Jelly Roll-- It's Delicious!

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Spend enough time online or in stores hunting fabrics, and sooner or later you're going to wonder what a Jelly Roll is. Simply, it's a one of the many pre-cuts available to quilters. The fabrics are from a designer line, pre-cut in strips 2 1/2" wide. This is from Missouri Quilt Shop, and runs about $36. Expect about 40 strips about 44" long.

Into the Woods Jelly Roll by Vanessa Goertzen 

for Moda Fabrics

I think of Jelly Rolls as I do convenience food. They're handy to have on hand for a quick project when I don't have much time. I also accept the limitations. 

What Color Tickles You?

"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you;
I am here to live out loud." --Emile Zola

This quote makes me want to just yell, "Yes!", every time I read it. It conveys what I feel on a deeper level. Without being too philosophical, let's say I don't want to randomly bounce through life just barely bumping the surface. I want the ball I bounce to be a a multicolored, light-pulsing sphere that leaves colors and craters, impacting the landscape where ever it lands. I am a complicated person with strings attached, and I choose to live this way. A friend has referred to this as 'lives within lives.' But as long as I have inspiration to move me forward, I can handle it, and it's all good.

Our Word is Binding

As promised, I'm working off my list, and today we're actually going to talk technique.

Binding your quilt is an easy process, but making that binding strikes fear into some of us. The binding we're creating is far superior to the ones sold prepackaged in stores. Cotton makes it soft, and your ability to coordinate it with your top and back makes it unique to that quilt.