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Archive for the tag “learning”

26 May 2012

Move Day 1

Well…  the movers didn’t show up yesterday which would normally be a bad thing, however I ended up working late anyway on a project that was supposed to take one hour (read noon until 1pm).  The movers called and said they were delayed at another site and wouldn’t be able to make it until tomorrow (which would be today) and it actually worked out well since I would be at work until almost 7pm!!

My wife had done all the preliminary work of getting the storage facility to clear out the house and boxed everything up that would be going to the storage facility.  She even with our daughters help, made a trip to storage after loading both cars up.

I stopped off on the way home and brought dinner which we ate and then relaxed.  So, no work was done last night but I’ll be posting pics tonight or tomorrow of the before and after.  Speaking of pictures…  Here is one of the completed quilt top for my Amish Quilt!!  I’m so excited to be quilting this one myself…

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24 May 2012
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Thimbles and Batting

Have you ever wanted to know which product to use only to go through the process of searching and only have a headache and more confusion for your trouble??  When I first started quilting and figured out how to piece my quilt together through trial and error I was finally ready to put the sandwich together.  Which batting to use?  I went down to the store to find myself inundated with cotton, polyester, cotton/poly, and wool.  Which would be best?  I couldn’t find an answer, not even after I searched extensively online.  No one just came out and said, “this is my favorite!”.  So for anyone searching out there, here’s my opinion for what it’s worth…

Warm and Natural 100% cotton batting is the ONLY batting I have used on any of my quilts.  Another look into what constitutes GOOD batting makes my head spin.  Bearding, loft, composition, and drape… for me it couldn’t be more confusing.  When I start to search this topic through numerous hops on the web, after 2 – 3 pages of information the final answer I read about is they don’t have a straight answer.  Well, polyester is used for some wall-hangings, but is harder with a higher loft to quilt…  blah, blah, blah…

Warm and Natural 100% Cotton

Usually if someone has asked a question or does a web search, they have a specific need in mind.  The bulk of what I make are quilts ranging in size from 12” x 12” up to a King size  of 100” x 120”.  When I ask what batting should I use I not looking for a discourse in batting or a run-thru on the thermal-dynamics of polyester vs. cotton vs. cotton/poly blend.  I’m asking about a personal preference, what would you use if this was a quilt you were making for a family member and why would you select that particular batting.

Microsafe Traditional Loft Polyester

I have noticed that there is far fluffier (read “more loft”) batting out there, but MY personal preference is warm and natural 100% cotton because of the weight and feel of it and it may be kind of goofy, but it says natural (no dyes).  I’ve made enough quilts now that I am relatively sure it will survive my grandchildren tussling and still keep them warm and that’s good enough for me.

Mountain Mist Traditional Loft Polyester

Now on to thimbles…

I have to qualify my remarks first.  I’m a guy and my hands are on the large size, so when picking out a thimble I’m only trying out large ones.  So far I’ve tried out thimbles from Dritz, Clover, and Pons & Foster.  I’ll give you my impression of each one.

I started out using Fons & Porter brass thimble for my hand quilting and after a while was very pleased with the result.  The third day of use however, left me with a green thumb… which is great for gardening, but not so nice when dealing with fabric.

I looked around for an equivalent thimble that kept my finger its natural color and came across the Dritz thimble.  This thimble was fantastic and I did a lot of work with it on my Amish swap quilt.  Alas… after so much use it was cutting into my cuticle on the back side.  I’m not sure if this was due to bad technique, sizing of the thimble, or combination of both.  There was enough pain though to prompt my searching for another.

Enter the Clover thimble, soft supple leather and a steel coin to protect the finger.  This is the MOST comfortable thimble that I’ve used and still use when I want to give my finger a break from the Drizt, but it had a couple of disadvantages for me.  The coin is located on the front of the finger and when I’m using the rocking motion for quilting, I can get more stitches per inch if it’s on the top of my finger.  The other issue is that at times the needle head will get wedged between the leather and the coin.  That can be real annoying when you are on a roll.

The last thimble I’ve purchased seamed like a good idea, it just didn’t work for me though.  The top is solid and the body is elastic.  It stays glued to my finger without any issue and protect it as well… but without the stiffness of the solid thimble I, once again, had trouble with not enough stitches at a time.

So for now i use a combination of the two thimbles, the dritz with its solid performance until my finger hurts, then the soft leather clover to ease the pain.

That is all I have to say on the subjects of batting and thimbles.  I would LOVE to hear everybody’s preferences and opinions.

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23 May 2012

Book Review for 101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts

101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts

Before I went out to purchase this book, I had read a few reviews on it. “If you can’t find a dozen quilts to make from this book right away, you just haven’t opened the cover” was the review that made the decision for me.

At 272 pages this book goes into enough depth that a beginner can crack it open and start quilting and an experienced quilter can find new designs and ideas as well. A section of the book goes over finishing quilts. I couldn’t go over everything this book covers without rewriting it. Color wheel, paper piecing, rotary techniques.. it has something to say about all of that.

The quilts are well detailed and illustrated with a grade by skill level. The real test came after the book arrived and my daughter came down to visit. We were able to talk about which one she should try based upon what she liked and the skill level it gave.  The quilt I posted about earlier that she is working on and almost finished came out of this book. Of course there were some questions she needed answers to about the best way to do something, but I was impressed by how far she was able to get with her first quilt from following the simple-to-use directions from the book.

That is the best review I could give a book, 5 stars out of 5.

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23 May 2012
3 Comments

Great Book

I originally got this link from http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/ and it’s about a book that she suggested and I did end up ordering. If you’re interested in Amish quilts and the history behind them then this book is fantastic.

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21 May 2012

Under the Weather/Radar

ImageImageImageI spent most of the weekend working on the Schoolhouse quilt and getting it almost finished, but Sunday I turned my attention back to the Sampler Quilt my wife and I are working on together.  I finished the last two blocks and then sewed the panels together.  Even though I did a lot of work, I kind of felt out of sorts Sunday and here it is Monday and I’m definitely feeling under the weather.

Today will be spent relaxing and taking it easy, though I might try to finish the binding on the Christmas quilt that I spent so much time hand quilting.  That project took so long and it is time to have that completed.  When you feel under the weather, do you continue to do projects or just try and relax?

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On another note, my daughter finished sewing her blocks together and will finish sewing the panels together this morning.  Let her know what you think…  This is going to be her very first quilt, she chose the pattern, fabrics, and colors all by herself.


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19 May 2012
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My children are thieves

My third quilt to go missing is now in Maryland with my son who is in the Air Force. He was on his way to his new base and was visiting us for a week in between bases. I was in the process of putting together a Jelly Roll quilt from the fabric that my wife and daughter had bought me for Christmas.

And speaking of, when I pulled out the Jelly Roll from its wrapping it took me a while to realize what it was. It’s not like I haven’t seen one before, I had just never envisioned using one for a quilt. What’s a guy to do when you’re given something that you don’t know what to do with? I very politely said thanks, and put it away for a while in my fabric bin.

A couple of months later while I was looking to buy some quilt books (I have said before that I have a problem buying too many right?) I came across a dozen or so books on making Jelly Roll quilts. Naturally i bought a few and even purchased some magazines on the topic at a local fabric store.

The quilts featured in these publications certainly looked fun to make and something that I could maybe finish in a weekend. I was happy with how the quilt top turned out and sent it off to my wonderful Long Arm quilter. When I picked the quilt up after it was finished it had been transformed from a good quilt into a work of art.

It was at this point in the story that our son arrived. Like any good child who shows up just as the meal is being set to the table, or when the last nail is being driven home on a project, he shows up just as I’m putting the binding on my first Jelly Roll quilt. I have to say that the colors where more to his liking than some of the previous quilts that I had made, more… manly.  Over the course of the week he made it clear how much he wanted it and in the end, I had to give in.

 

Have you ever had your crafts find another home though you didn’t plan on it?

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18 May 2012

The Schoolhouse blocks are finished!!

I’ve said before that I work in IT (Information Technology), what that basically means is I sit at a desk and am on the computer a LOT… So yesterday, I was thinking about getting home from work and being able to do more work on the Schoolhouse quilt. One of my commitments however, is to get to the gym at least 3 times a week because, let’s be honest… I am NOT getting enough exercise at work! Some weeks I make it to the gym three times and sometimes just once.

Even though I’m practically desperate to finish those Schoolhouse blocks, I knew it was time for me to get myself to the gym. When I arrived home from work, I had about 30 minutes until my wife would get home as well and change into my workout outfit so we could go to the gym. I quickly changed and then started sewing!! I imagine it was a funny sight when my wife saw her husband in shorts and running shoes on my Viking Sapphire furiously trying to get a little bit more sewing completed before we left. She did laugh by the way.

By the time we arrived back at the house, it was 7:30pm and we had a very nice dinner that we brought home. After dinner I proceeded to spend the next 2 ½ hours getting my blocks put together, ironed, and trimmed. I’m very happy with how they turned out and when I looked at the clock and saw that it was past 10pm I knew that I’d accomplished everything I had wanted. I know the blocks are not perfect, I haven’t quite got the ¼” seam down as much as I’d like to think, but I’m proud nonetheless at how well this quilt is coming together. I still have to sew the sashing on to bring the blocks together and then put on the border. What color should I use for the backing??? I still haven’t decided and would really like some input.

Tonight and tomorrow, I’ll be working on the sampler quilt with my wife to finish the last two blocks and start sewing that quilt top together. I’ll post photos of that tomorrow. I will finish the Schoolhouse quilt top this weekend and hopefully come up with an idea of what to do to the backing by then as well.

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17 May 2012

School House Quilt

Its been a long time in the making but when it’s important, a person makes time.

For the past four months, I have been wanted to make an Amish inspired Schoolhouse quilt that I saw in a book.  I’ve almost been obsessed with making this quilt!  I AM a quilt book junkie, but that is a story for another time.  We were right in the middle of our inspired and unplanned quilt sampler and one of the blocks I made for it was a Schoolhouse block.  The next thing my wife knew, I was pulling out my purple and black fabrics to start cutting out the pieces for my schoolhouse quilt.

At times I have to work very odd hours, it’s not too often but yesterday I was up working at 3:30am.  I work in the IT field and there are a lot of long pauses between when I have to do something.  Yesterday morning was no exception, what was the exception was that I continued to cut pieces for my new quilt in between doing what I needed to.  By the time 7am rolled around, I had finished all of the paper piecing and the cut out all of the purple pieces.

Later on that day I was able to start the sewing (and Ironing) process that would bring order to the mess of strips I had positioned all over the front room…  my wife, still working on our sampler quilt was in the midst of her last two and most difficult blocks.  She was really wonderful about me going off the reservation for the day however and only asked one time if I was going to resume my work on the sampler quilt sometime this week.  I have promised her that I will but want to get the Schoolhouse blocks sewn up first.  I have only two blocks to go for our sampler quilt and we can start the process of sewing it all together.

I think it’s important to DO when inspiration strikes and never pass up an opportunity to have another project in the works.  It might make me feel overwhelmed at times, but after it’s all accomplished, I just feel amazed.

Strips and bits already put together.

Roof under construction

Assembly line for bottom front of school house.

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15 May 2012
4 Comments

Too many projects!!

Too many projects and not enough time…

How many of us know and have said this exact line?

I have so many open projects right now that I find myself jumping from one to another… currently I have 5 projects and a redesign that I’m having fun with. I am definitely not saying I’m overwhelmed, or maybe I am, but just… happily overwhelmed.

My Christmas quilt that was hand-quilted needs it’s binding finished, I sewed the binding on one side, started hand stitching it down and then moved onto another project.
I made a beautiful Amish mini quilt for a swap group. In the early stages of making the mini, I knew right away I was in love with it. I had misgivings about swapping it, but rather than keeping it for myself and making something else for the swap, I realized that by not sharing what I considered a worthy piece of art, people out in the world would never truly know my efforts, my creative talents or skill level. In the end, I submitted my mini for voting and sent it off to the lucky recipient in Germany. To combat my separation anxiety (Has anyone else felt this way about giving up something they’ve made?) I proceeded to make another immediately. Thus, project number two is sitting in its hoop, mocking me from the end of the couch.
I had cut out all of the pieces for my Amish schoolhouse quilt, then decided I liked another pattern better and am in the process of cutting that down to piece together.
I FINALLY started the center block for my Block of the Month quilt from Joann Fabric called “Arbor Lane” and have to finish that up. All the blocks will be done at that point, but I’ll need to piece it all together… I can hardly wait until this one comes back from the quilters!
I’m helping my daughter piece her very first quilt together and am very excited to see how it turns out. I’ll post one of the squares here so you can see where’s it’s going.

While all of this is going on, my wife was looking through Elm Creek Quilts and came across a really nice looking pattern called a Sampler. We both looked at each other and said… “We could do this!!” It has 12 blocks and she and I have completed 8 of the 12 as of today. This will be the third quilt that we’ve made together.

All in all, I’m very happy with the various projects we have in the works and can’t wait to share them with you. How many are you currently working on?

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08 May 2012
24 Comments

Joann Fabric’s Persian Plum Block of the Month

Time to review Joann’s newest Block of the Month, “Persian Plum”. This to me is one of their most striking quilts to date. Plum is the theme throughout this quilt and the visually stunning blocks are at once delicate in color and design and yet seamlessly placed throughout the quilt which when finished measures roughly 82” x 99”.

Each of the 12 blocks carries a different design like; Double Sawtooth Star, Dutchman’s Puzzle, etc. If you’re of a mind to learn some of these different squares, then this BOTM Quilt is for you. I will be starting the quilt this month and posting each block as I finish it. Here’s a preview of some of the colors.

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Here is the front of the package.  You can see all the different types of blocks used here!!

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This is the color pallet used for the quilt.

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I really love the patterns and colors in this kit and hope I can keep myself from trying to piece this together before the year is out!!  But the anticipation is killing me…  I want to see the finished quilt already.  Let me know what you think, should I do this as a monthly block, or throw caution to the wind and finish it this Summer?

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