This and That, February Version

February 22, 2014 Elizabeth E.6 Comments

This made me laugh this week, as I had NO life, yet TOO MUCH work. A bit out of balance. Papers to grade, lessons plans to prep, more grading, ACK!! Finally, yesterday afternoon I pushed back from the computer, and went outside to breathe in some balmy Southern California air.

First, a visit to the Genius Bar at an Apple Store, where they exchanged my Christmas-present phone for a new-to-me phone. That should fix the battery problem, the Genius said. Thanks, Justin.

Next, writing out my quilting goals for a couple of months. I tried to be judicious in my choices, not throwing EVERYTHING up there, but just the things I’ve committed to, or think I can do. I’m not doing the Finish-A-Long this quarter, but do like the push it gives me, so I have to generate my own push. I think I’ll tackle the quilting on my Tiny Envelopes quilt. It’s been pinned together for several weeks, waiting for me to finish my grading.

I always “test” my quilting in a doodle, then mark right on the fabric what the upper tension needs to be. Here are a few other test drives. I’m using King Tut thread by Superior Threads in the top, and So Fine thread in the bobbin. I LOVE So Fine. I often use Bottom Line thread in the bobbin, but then need to loosen the upper bobbin tension more. Bottom Line is very fine, so “sinks” into your backing nicely. I found the upper tension also varies between using my free-motion foot (needs to be lower), and my walking foot. Test, test test.

First, quilt the little envelope shapes.

Then I started looking up ways to quilt the larger design on the quilt, looking at all different kinds of postmarks on Google Images. Did you know you can send your envelopes to North Pole, Alaska and they will cancel your Christmas letters for you, with a postmark that says “North Pole”?

I thought this design had some potential, but I kept looking.

The one in the upper left corner — a square with wavy lines — that was the one that pushed my quilty buttons.

I always print out a “faded” version of my quilts onto paper, then doodle some designs. I’d been doodling for a while before I found that one. I recreated it in the upper left corner, then went to work. I Googled “wavy lines template” and found one here: cutting_wavy_lines. Click on that link and you’ll get a PDF file of some wavy lines.

I traced one of the wavy lines onto some heavyweight plastic from an old binder divider I had laying around, then traced the wavy lines onto my quilt with an air-disappearing marker.

After a couple of hours of quilting, I hit the proverbial wall, but since the marker is a disappearing marker when exposed to the air, I knew whatever marks I had made would be gone in the morning, so I quilted until I ran out of thread in both the bobbin and on the spool. I got the message, so called it a night.

200 Quilts

Olympic Geese

February 16, 2014February 17, 2014 Elizabeth E.11 Comments

Well, first, Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!
(card is from my husband)

And I made some cookies (recipe *here*) for the occasion.

But in amongst the papers that had to be graded and the handouts that had to be written, I wanted some form of Olympic quilt. Something. . . somehow.

So I laid out some snips from some recent projects in circles, playing with this layout and the other.

So, here it is. Olympic Geese. Little triangles flying around in circles.

While free motion quilting, I decided to try different ways of tackling the quilting. I figured out about twenty different ways to quilt a triangle. A little self-tutoring while goofing around.

Then I quilted lines radiating out from the center, close together.

While at Road to California, I found a pattern for a bag I’ve wanted to make for just about forever.

So it starts out with lots of squares, with batting and backing, then stitched around. This is the interior. I used heavy thread, like a sashiko thread, to create the stitched lines. I then stitched it in rows, then the rows together. Of course, all done while watching the Olympics and cheering on Noelle Pikus-Pace.

I then stitched the sides together, which about broke my already burdened brain (remember? the grading? the handouts?).

And here’s a picture of the interior. It has woven faux leather handles, which I zig-zagged onto the bag, and will cover the cut ends of the handles with more fabric. It’s kind of an odd shape, but it intrigues me. I’ve got to find a way to put it together more easily–this hand-stitching of all the squares together is for the birds. And I think I’d like to try it in bright colors, and smaller squares. And I’d also like to fly around the world, too.

Okay, back to grading tomorrow. Then to do our taxes. Who says it’s a holiday?

Quilts

So Here We Are–Tiny Envelopes

February 7, 2014 Elizabeth E.13 Comments

I started here at the beginning of the week–the layout of the blocks with some turned and twisted.

I ended here with a very random quilt. I bordered the envelopes with different solids, interspersed Kona Snow and Kona White blocks, then added colorful strips. I separated the rows with more Snow/White strips and sewed it together.

What is it? you ask. No clue, I must answer. but it will give me a field in which to practice some FMQ, and that will either make it more random, or pull it together. It might need a border. It’s too soon to tell.

Tonight is our Quilt Group Get Together, coupled with watching the Sochi Opening Ceremony while we chat, eat, sew, quilt, and I need to cut some strips out of my Kaffe Fassett fabrics because I’m determined to have some sort of quilt top with those fabulous quilty designs on them that I see on every athlete’s vest, on the officials, and on the flags and banner. Here’s a website describing the origins of this design.

Enjoy!

Quilts

WIP: Those Pesky Envelope Blocks

February 5, 2014 Elizabeth E.10 Comments

These blocks are like the growly little animal down the block that tries to grab your pant leg as you walk by, as if to say that they own the sidewalk and you’d better not forget it. This is how I left the blocks after finishing up On Line, my Four-in-Art Quilt. But they wouldn’t leave me alone. I’d wake up at night, thinking I should Do Something with them, maybe because of that Yankee thriftiness we all seem to have instilled in us. How many of you have bags of blocks that didn’t quite measure up, but haven’t given away or pitched into the trash? Yep. Just as I thought.

So one early morning, I turned them all this way.

I got rid of the ones I’d played around with the bleach because 1) they weren’t that interesting with their color discharged, and 2) they smelled like bleach. (Ick.)

I do have ideas for them, and hope to work on them after I get the grading done on the Poetry Test that I gave yesterday. I want to work on these blocks so they’ll stop growling at me as I walk by the sewing room.