Books quilts and sewing

Remember you're unique!! Just like everyone else.

Archive for the tag “learning”

21 Jul 2012
1 Comment

The wife is still sick…

Last night I took the night off of all of my projects to take care of a sick wife… and that was the plan.  Then work called because they lost power at one of the job sites and for the next three hours I was monitoring servers with one half of my brain and the other half spent trying to make Kay comfortable.  I didn’t even have time to write this until this morning where thankfully she is up and around and causing all kinds of ruckus between her and our grey cat.

It might seem that because I said “grey cat” that we have more than one, but that is not the case.  He is the neediest animal that we have ever had.  He’s been out of sorts for the past few days because Kay has been too sick to play with him the way he likes.  He has been taking his frustrations out on me.  Last night as I remote in to the servers to check their status, he jumps up and starts putting his cat feet on the keys to see if he can help.  I just assumed he wanted me to finish my work faster so we could play.

Seriously though, I am VERY pathetic when she is sick.  Being married so long we men don’t know what to do any more when we’re left to our own devices…  I “teasingly” at dinner time asked Kay what I was supposed to do.  She laughed so hard and then started coughing and I felt bad for the ill-timed joke!  This morning all is right with the world however and I’ll be finishing my beautiful Heidi Grace quilt and will post the top for all to see sometime tomorrow or Monday.  Until then…  happy quilting!!

Posted in Daily, Pets and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
20 Jul 2012

Joann Fabric’s Persian Plum Block 8

Block 8 for the Persian Plum was definitely an easier block to put together than block 7 was, at least for me.  It was fun and went together in less than 30 minutes!

I can hardly wait to see all of these blocks together in what I hope is going to be a beautiful quilt.  Let me know what you think of this one.

Here is the fabric that came with the kit:

And then the sewing began…

Here is the block almost finished

And here’s the finished block

I took a break from my quilt to put this block together and you can see the reviews of my post for the previous blocks

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5

Block 6

Block 7

Posted in Block of the Month, Blogs, Daily, Reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
19 Jul 2012
2 Comments

A look at my future quilt

I know I’ve talked about it a little before, but what is on my mind right now is the Heidi Grace quilt that I’m putting together.  Half of the panels are done and even though it’s slow going during the week, I’m still at it.  Kay has a nasty cold that she’s been battling with lately and I’m not the best caregiver but I’m trying to take some of the dinner making and house cleaning duties off her shoulder while she gets well.

So I wanted to post a few more pictures of the Arcadia quilt in progress and here they are:

 

Posted in Daily and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
18 Jul 2012
2 Comments

Patience and Anticipation

A funny thing happened last night that I was reticent to talk about without the approval of my spouse.  I asked her only because I am making fun of both of us, but didn’t want to offend her by including it in my post.  She of course approved of my using it because she’s fantastic.

I had to do some work from home last night and knew that I wouldn’t be able to do too much on the quilt that I’m finishing.  All of the blocks are together, all that’s needed is to piece the blocks together to make the panels and then sew the panels together.  Two of the panels are complete, but rather than have the expectations of finishing during the week, I’m trying to be realistic and have the patience to finish this weekend when I have more time.

After my work was completed and dinner was finished, we went back into the sewing room for the last hour of the night before we went to sleep to get a little sewing in…  After I’ve sewn my first strip to join two blocks together, I realize that I’ve sewn the strip on the wrong side of the block (with this pattern there is no way I could leave it in and make it work).  Now I have to say that on occasion this happens to me, but with this quilt… let’s just say that it is chronic.  It was at this point that Kay looking over at me and my “new” difficulties and makes fun.

Kay suggested that I give it up for the night and laughed a little at the continuing difficulty that I’ve had with this quilt.  Sewing blocks and strips to the wrong sides, forgetting to use the 1/4″ selection of the machine, and other trials I’ve faced while making this quilt.  I was thinking (you could actually see the gears move) of something pithy to reply to her when I looked down and saw that she was using the wrong sewing foot for what she was working on!!  What ensued at that point was nothing less than storm of cursing at our machines and the collective fate of our two quilts.

We could have given up at this point, but given our nature we hunkered down, brought out two seam rippers, and proceeded to “fix” our mistakes.  Rather than stopping afterwards, we completed what we had started before finally going to bed.  I had finished another panel, number three out of eight.  I realized though that I’m kind of enjoying the time that it’s taking to finish this quilt.  I happen to be making it for myself and think that as I use the finished quilt this Autumn, I will appreciate it that much more knowing as I do the time and patience I’ve had to have with it.  All of the effort I’ve put in leaves me feeling a great anticipation for what this quilt will be when it grows up.

Posted in Daily and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
17 Jul 2012
3 Comments

Letting go… when it’s time to let go

Lately, all of my free time I’ve devoted almost entirely to piecing my latest creation together.  After feeling under the weather at the beginning of the week I was almost manic about catching up I guess.  Though the race is with myself, I have the funny notion that I can’t get behind.  In a very real sense this is true because I have a tendency to slack off if I don’t put pressure on myself.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of visiting one of our long arm quilters and dare I call her a friend.  Every time we visit with her and see the quilts that she has laid out, stuffed in a cubby, or draped on one of her beds, it makes me want to go home and quilt myself into oblivion.

We have five quilts out being quilted at the moment and of course have them staggered to arrive back home over the course of the next two months.  At home however, we only have three quilts large enough for our bed with a few lap quilts and minis thrown in.  Four of the five are large enough for at least double to queen size.  It got me thinking though… how many quilts should I be keeping and how many should either be sold or given to friends and family?

We haven’t discussed it really.  I’m sure Kay wouldn’t think I was funny if I told her we needed to have a hundred!!  I suppose because at the moment I feel that we don’t have enough for ourselves and every quilt that goes out the door represents literally weeks of work that we won’t personally see the benefit of.  I know that the ones we’ve given out were very much appreciated, but have a difficult time letting go of them all the same.  I would say that I’ve even given blood for some of them (I really have to watch where I’m putting my needles sometime).

Yes… even the ones with obvious mistakes I have difficulty letting go of and provides no end of amusement for Kay.  I don’t know if people realize the care, joy, love, frustration, time, and angst that goes into each step of making a quilt.  Quilts made by hand and not an assembly line, with quality fabrics and personal attention are worth far more intrinsically than anything that a store could put up for sale.  Which brings me to the other facet of why I have such a difficult time letting go… will it be appreciated?

This is not an easy question and for me is a difficult thing to get past.  In the end though, I can only hope that what I’ve made and given finds a good home and is well-used by the recipient.

Posted in Daily and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
16 Jul 2012

I wanted to go a little farther than dittencraft and say that after quilting for two years, I still consider myself a beginner. Although I agree with Sandi on a lot of the points made as well. As a beginner however, I do try and stretch myself and may not learn a new technique as fast as expected. I find myself doing pinwheels until all points line up every time I make them. I don’t want to just know a basic technique, I want to master it before I move on to the next. I bet dittencraft’s moms friend can make a garter stitch better and faster than anyone else around. Rather than blocks as Sandi suggested, i use mini quilts to try out new techniques because I do want to stretch myself, just not too fast.

Sandi's avatarPiecemeal Quilts

EDITED TO ADD:
1. I am not calling “you” dumb. I don’t know you.
2. Nor am I calling your quilts dumb.
3. Please read the second and third posts as well, linked at the bottom. There’s a bit less snark.

Anyone who is easily offended, please stop reading.
Anyone who believes that Sew, Mama, Sew! is the be-all and end-all of fabric crafts, please stop reading.
Anyone who thinks bloggers should always write nice, happy posts, please stop reading.

If you’re tired of seeing the same seven quilts on every blog you visit, keep reading.
If you’re frustrated by lopsided log cabin blocks being called “adventurous,” keep reading.
If you’re able to disagree constructively, hey, welcome! I don’t mind healthy discussion.

So what set me off today? Sew, Mama, Sew’s blog post about sewing trends: What’s New?! I agree with the trends listed, I think they’re spot on. Pinwheels…

View original post 728 more words

Posted in Daily, Reblog and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
14 Jul 2012
2 Comments

Joann Fabric Persian Plum Block 7

Block 7 was a real challenge and I almost took it completely apart and put it back together.  The quality control for my cut pieces left a little to be desired.  I would say that 80% of the pieces were cut to the proper dimensions, but it was the 20% that gave me fits.  When I started to put this block of the month quilt together however, I promised myself to use what was in the kit only and see how the quilt turned out.

The pieces supplied had me scratching my head for a little while… as a guy I tried to see how everything would go together without looking at the instructions.  I think that is hard-coded into our DNA!  After looking at the instructions though, I quickly started putting the block together.

It was at this point that I realized that the pieces where going to be a little off-center which I tried to correct.  It didn’t turn out bad, just didn’t go together as seamlessly as the other blocks had.

And here is the block in comparison to the picture of it

Posted in Block of the Month, Daily, How to, Reviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
13 Jul 2012
1 Comment

A Garden Quilt and finished projects

Towards the end of yesterday while I was feeling better I managed to finished binding my “Spools and Dreams” mini quilt.

It looks a little off kilter because of the positioning when I took the picture, but it turned out real nice.  All of the edges are straight and that can’t be said for some of the spools in the quilt!  I also finished  my new Sage Garden quilt and it goes off to the Long Arm today.

Posted in Daily and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
11 Jul 2012
1 Comment

Work in Progress

My new work in progress has been delayed, as I was lucky enough to get the flu over the past two days… yea me!!  The pattern is called Arcadia, by Mountainpeak Creations and will be reviewed once the quilt is completely together.  I love the whimsical nature of these fabrics.  I have to say that I found it difficult determining what pattern to use with these fabrics… they are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill patterns.

After three days of searching, I found one that I thought would work and have made the first panel.  Now, I did end up created three squares roughly 11 1/2″ X 11 1/2″ as test squares to find that I needed to sew my seams a little different.  The strips needed to be sewn with a scant 1/4″ seam, while the block needed to be sewn with a full 1/4″ seam.  That to me is very frustrating to have to remember while sewing.  Sewing it any other way and I ended with rectangles instead of squares.

Rather than wasting the fabric I have planned to of course make a throw or a mini with the strips  that have already been sewn and just throw in a border to compensate.  The queen size pattern I tested,  was tested with the first complete panel.  As I put it on my bed and looked at it, it is definitely large enough to be used as a queen sized quilt and gave me a preview of the completed quilt.  WOW!  is what I was thinking as I imaged what it will look like when finished.

Have you ever picked a fabric without regard to actually having a pattern for it?  I’ve done this before, but never had such a difficult time as with this one.  My biggest issue was that I liked all of the fabrics and didn’t want them to “disappear” into the quilt, but stand out individually.  Speak out and let me know struggles that you’ve had!

Posted in Daily, Reviews, Shopping and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
09 Jul 2012

Weekend Fun

Have you ever started and stopped so often on a project that you felt like for every step forward, you took two steps back?  That is how my weekend felt while trying to get some of my work finished.  It didn’t help that I was also doing some IT work from home as well this weekend.

I did accomplish a lot of what I set out to do, but as I was struggling to finish everything on my unfinished list, I lost my way (became disinterested) in them.  This isn’t because they weren’t interesting projects, they just went wrong and at the time I didn’t have the energy to correct them.

Last night I started again with a full head of steam on some fabric that I wanted to do something special with.  Wouldn’t you know it, I (once again!!) failed to set the stitch to ¼” and the square came out all wonky.  I LOVED the look that I will get once I get it worked out, but fell into a funk and had to put everything away for the night.

The highlight of the weekend though was that I’ve finished the Amish mini quilt, the spool of dreams is quilted and just needs the binding now, and the nursery quilt is ready for the long arm.  Hopefully this week will be better for getting things done right the first time and keeping up with my writing.  Happy Quilting everyone!!

Posted in Daily and tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →