It's All Over But the Binding

I've just returned home from bringing my latest quilt to my friend Joyce, a long arm quilter, and even thought it's only 3:00 in the afternoon, I'm seriously considering pouring a glass of champagne.  Don't worry, I haven't taken to drinking in the afternoon, although living with three teenagers, there have been times when I've definitely considered it.

Today I'd love to have a glass of champagne to celebrate FINALLY finishing the most frustrating quilt top I've made in a long, long time.  It's not that the design was difficult -- in fact it was very straightforward.  It wasn't the fabrics I used -- they were beautiful Moda cottons.  And it wasn't my sewing machine which, despite not having been cleaned in more years that I care to admit, seems to be in perfect working order.

No, the problem, sadly, was me.

For two weeks I've been locked in battle with this quilt top.  I cut two borders the wrong width and then ended up having to piece them because I didn't have enough fabric left to re-cut them.  I cut two borders the wrong length and sewed them on before I realized that I'd made them too long and the border was going to end up looking like a lettuce leaf.  I had to rip out and redo about a mile of stitching when sashing strips caused my rows of horizontal blocks to not line up.  I thought I was finished and started to press the quilt only to discover that it had a wonky corner that took another hour to fix, probably because I had neglected to press after sewing on the inner borders.  And after all the time the quilt spent on the floor for repinning borders and after all of the seam ripping, it took a couple of hours to lint roll the quilt and to remove, using tweezers, the little bits of thread from between the seams.

Every time I worked on this quilt, it was like throwing gas on a fire and I have to be honest, I was beginning to despair.  I don't know if was distracted by soccer games and hockey practices and PSATs and the fact that my oldest now has her driver's license.  Could it be that I was just out of practice after essentially taking the summer off from quilting?  Or maybe it's the onset of premature menopause.  Whatever the reason, all I can say is that I'm THRILLED that it's finally finished!

Now that it's in Joyce's capable hands, I can breathe a sigh of relief.  I guess the enlightened thing to do would be to examine what I've learned, or should I say "re-learned," from this experience.  Hmmm...  "measure twice, cut once" comes to mind.  For that matter, "think twice, do once" seems like a pretty good idea.  "Press after adding each border" and "don't cut corners" should have been fairly obvious to me, had I been in a normal state of mind.

But I think the biggest lesson is "never, ever give up."  As excruciating and self-doubt inducing as this experience was, I think the quilt will be beautiful when it's finished.  I mean, after all, how badly could I screw up the binding...

"Grunge" by BasicGrey for Moda -- the gorgeous fabric I used in my quilt.
Look for it in Quilters Newsletter's Best Quilts for Kids 2015 in April.

One Million Pillowcase Challenge 24 Hour Sew-A-Thon

September is National Sewing Month and what better way to celebrate sewing than by using your skills to help others in need.

You may have heard of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine's One Million Pillowcase Challenge.  As the name suggests, APQ is challenging quilters, sewers and crafters to donate one million pillowcases to local charities.  To date, over 570,000 pillowcases have been donated!

This weekend, American Patchwork & Quilting is hosting their first One Million Pillowcase Challenge 24-hour Sew-A-Thon starting tomorrow, Friday September 19th at 3:00 pm and running through Saturday, September 20th at 3:00 pm.  APQ is hosting the sew-a-thon at their headquarters in Des Moines, but stitchers across the country will be participating in the sew-a-thon and donating pillowcases to this great cause.

Check out APQ's sew-a-thon website for more information.  You can find a participating shop or group in your area at: http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/magazines-more/24-hour-sew-thon-shops.  You can also participate virtually in the sew-a-thon or follow along on the website or on facebook to see touching stories, pictures of events, and help count the pillowcases donated.  And if you'd like to make your own pillowcase, APQ has great free patterns on their website -- my favorite is the "Roll It Up" pattern.

Happy stitching!

Quilters Newsletter's Best Christmas Quilts 2014 Blog Tour

Welcome to Day 1 of QN's Best Christmas Quilts 2014 Blog Tour!!

Available now in quilt shops, in bookstores, on news stands and on-line at Quilt and Sew Shop, Best Christmas Quilts 2014 is loaded with beautiful and colorful projects designed to fill you with Christmas spirit.  No matter your style or skill level, you'll be sure to find the perfect project to make as a gift or to decorate your home for the holidays.  Quilters Newsletter has even included stocking stuffer ideas for the quilter in your life -- even if that quilter just so happens to be you!

If you're looking for a fast and easy project, check out page 18 for my Tiny Trees Christmas ornaments.

These sweet little ornaments are a snap to make and the possibilities are endless!  Use your favorite modern or traditional quilting fabrics or try something new like corduroy or velvet.  Keep them plain or simply pieced or embellish them with buttons, beads or even embroidery.  Top the trees with star buttons or crystal beads.  Just have fun!

Here's my homespun tiny tree topped with an oversized wooden star button for a primitive look:

And here are my scrappy strip pieced tiny trees:

If you'd like to take on a bigger project, try my Christmas Ribbons table runner found on page 47 of Best Christmas Quilts 2014.

Christmas Ribbons is a scrappy quilt made using straightforward patchwork with just a bit of simple piecing thrown in to create the bow.  One of my favorite things about this quilt is the binding, yes, that's right, the binding!  I couldn't decide if it should be bound in white, red or green, so I bound it in all three.  Check out the right edge in the photo below:

I think this table runner would also be perfect for Easter!  Just change the ribbon and bow to pink:

or purple:

or blue!

Finally, check out page 74 for my Merry & Bright lap quilt -- perfect for settling down for a long winter's nap!

I used a fat eighth bundle of Kate Spain's In from the Cold fabric (love the turquoise blue!) for this throw, but the 5" x 5 3/4" cascading ornament blocks are a great opportunity to show off your favorite Christmas fabrics.

Simple machine piecing and a strip pieced border make this lap quilt fun, easy and fast to put together.

And now, in the spirit of the season, here's your chance to win a bundle of Christmas fabric from Quilters Newsletter.  To enter the contest, leave a comment on this post before 11:59 pm MDT tonight (8/25/14) by clicking on the word "comments" below.  You'll be redirected to a "Post a Comment" window.  Once there, click "Jump to Comment Form" and follow the directions to leave your comment.  I'll draw one name at random, so please make sure I have your email address.  This contest is open to anyone who hasn't won something from QN in the last 90 days.

***This contest is now closed.  Thank you for all of your comments and don't forget to visit the QN blog every day this week (8/25 - 8/29) for links to other designers' blogs and more chances to win!  Good luck!***

Christmas in August!? Free pattern and upcoming contest!!

Sadly summer is winding to a close.  With three kids, two of whom are teenagers (shudder), it seems shorter and faster every year.  But the upside is that it's about time to get back to quilting (and blogging)!  And what better way to celebrate a return to quilting than with a contest!  Check back here on Monday, August 25th for a chance to win during Quilters Newsletter's Best Christmas Quilts 2014 blog tour.

In the meantime, here's a little Christmas project to get you in the spirit.

This sweet little quilt (and no, it's not a potholder, don't even think about using it as a potholder!!) measures 7 1/2" square and it's embellished with mini buttons and a bit of embroidery.

To make this scrappy quilt you'll need:

10 red 2" x 2" squares
8 green 2" x 2" squares
18 tan 2" x 2" squares
2 tan 1" x 6 1/2" border strips
2 tan 1" x 7 1/2" border strips
8" x 8" piece of batting
8" x 8" piece of backing fabric
red fabric for binding (I used a single fold binding cut 1 1/4" x 38")
5 green buttons
4 red buttons
green embroidery floss (I used Valdani hand dyed 3 strand floss)


To make the pinwheel blocks:

On the back of each tan 2" x 2" square, draw a line a scant 1/4" from either side of the diagonal.

Pair each tan square with either a red or green square.  Each 2" x 2" square pair will result in 2 half square triangles or half of a pinwheel block, so you'll need to matching sets of pairs for each pinwheel block.  I used only one background fabric and one red or green fabric for each pinwheel block, but feel free to make it scrappier.  Place each tan square on top of each red or green square with right sides together. Stitch on each line.

Using a rotary cutter, cut on the diagonal from one corner to the other in between the stitched lines.

Open and press towards the dark side.  Pause to reflect on your favorite Star Wars quote.

Trim the half square triangle to 1 1/2" x 1 1/2".

Once you have repeated the above steps to make 36 half square triangles, you can make the 9 pinwheel blocks by sewing 4 half square triangles together for each.  But I actually chose to lay out the half square triangles in rows to form the 9 pinwheel blocks (refer to the quilt photo for layout), sewed the half square triangles together in those rows and then sewed the rows together to form the quilt top.  Not sure why I did it this way, but it worked pretty well!  I pressed the seams in alternate directions for each row and then pressed the seams between the rows open.

Now stitch one 1" x 6 1/2" border strip to the left and right sides of your quilt top.  Press towards the border.  Stitch one 1" x 7 1/2" border strip to the top and bottom of the quilt top and, you guessed it, press towards the border.

Once your quilt top is assembled, layer it with batting and sew a button to the center of each pinwheel block.  Let me reassure you that behind each button on my quilt, the pinwheel points meet up perfectly -- of course you'll have to take my word for it (handy buttons!!).

Finally, using a big running stitch and three strands of embroidery floss, stitch around the quilt 1/4" from the inside edge of the borders.  Ta da!  Finished quilt top!  Layer your quilt top with the backing fabric (wrong sides together).  I used spray basting adhesive to hold the sandwich together.  Trim the edges, bind and voilà!  A little bit of Christmas in August.  Hang this little quilt on a wall or from a door knob, display it on a small table, or turn it into a pillow.  But DO NOT use it as a potholder!!

Happy quilting!

Varde Base Cabinet by the Numbers

Near the end of the school year, and much to my delight, our kids decided that having the computer in my sewing room wasn't working for them.  So we moved the computer to another room that the kids have designated as "the study."  Every time they say "the study" I feel like I'm playing Clue -- as in "it was Mrs. Peacock in the study with the candlestick."

Removing the computer, and the cabinet that holds it, freed up some much needed space in my sewing room and I promptly started to look for something to fill it.  I thought about cabinetry, bookshelves, a bigger design wall, and a table and finally, while searching on line, I discovered Ikea's Varde base cabinet.  It's actually designed for a kitchen, but with a sturdy work surface, three drawers and two shelves, I thought it would be perfect for a sewing room.

Here's the story of my Varde base cabinet by the numbers:

Ikea wanted to charge me 

$299 for shipping the Varde base cabinet to rural New Hampshire, therefore

21 is the number of days I waited for our closest Ikea to get a Varde base cabinet in, and while I waited patiently

67 is the number of times I checked the website to see if the Varde base cabinet was in stock (yes, I know, slightly obsessive).  Once the Varde base cabinet was in stock, it took me 

5 hours to adjust my schedule, grab my daughter and head for Ikea.

210 is the number of minutes it took us to make the

135 minute trip to Ikea because we spent

75 minutes in traffic in Boston going

6 miles an hour with 

1,000,000 other motorists who I could only assume were going to Ikea to buy Varde base cabinets, which was a problem because the website said that they only had 

8 Varde base cabinets!

Once we got to Ikea, it took us

30 minutes to obtain a piece of paper saying that we had purchased a Varde base cabinet (apparently the other motorists were going to Cape Cod)

60 minutes to work our way through the showroom, and after a quick dinner, during which we consumed

0 Swedish meatballs, we spent another

70 minutes in the marketplace.

We finally left the store with 

16 superfluous, but necessary items

3 Varde base cabinet boxes weighing

218 pounds and like 

2 damsels in distress, we couldn't get the boxes in the car without the help of a burly, but fairly non-verbal Ikea man.

The next morning my daughter, one of my boys and I opened the boxes and discovered

185 pieces of hardware

35 pieces of Varde base cabinet, and

2 ridiculously tiny tools.

But

4 1/2 hours later and, may I say, with surprisingly little use of profanity, we had

1 completed Varde base cabinet AND

1 very happy quilter!

8 Days Until Summer Vacation

Summer vacation is almost here for us and I feel like I'm hanging on by a thread!  As our kids get older, we seem to get exponentially busier.  In addition to the usual homework and orthodontist appointments, this spring we've been dealing with two lacrosse teams, countless concerts, a play, a confirmation, class trips, birthday parties, and **shudder** driver's ed.

I'm barely getting to our laundry, much less finding the time to quilt (or, clearly, blog).  And if I'm not quilting, I'm not happy.

The solution?  Small projects with handwork!

Here's what I've been working on...

Isn't it cute!  The design is not my own, it's a pattern called "Baby Steps" by Chickadee Hollow Designs, but it's the perfect project for when you're busy.  

I made this miniature quilt with scraps from my stash and embroidery floss from another project and the little micro buttons came with the pattern.  I invested a bit of time at first with the piecing, but since then I've been carrying this project around with me and doing the handwork now and then in the car while waiting for the kids to finish an activity.  I just finished sewing down the binding at summer soccer practice.

 

Apparently you don't need a big chunk of time to be productive!  By working a bit here and there, I've got a darling little quilt for my wall AND I've managed to stave off the not-quilting withdrawal symptoms!

Happy quilting!

"Stars and Stripes" - Free Pattern

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day and the 4th of July is just around the corner, so if you're feeling patriotic, here's a great pattern for your holiday table.

It's my Stars and Stripes table runner and it's a Quilters Newsletter Web Extra for their June/July 2014 issue.  You can find the free pattern for this quick and easy project on QN's website.

This project looks scrappy, but I actually made it using 11 fat quarters -- I just mixed up the star/background combination for each red star block.  The QN pattern provides total yardage for the red, blue, and ivory fabrics, but if you'd like to make it using fat quarters, you'll need 4 red, 5 blue, and 2 ivory.

I made this quilt with the 4th of July in mind, but I think it would also be great for Christmas in red, green, and ivory.  Here's an EQ7 sketch to give you an idea of what it would look like:

Or why not try orange, purple, and black for Halloween:

It would also look great scaled down to a 22" x 22" square:

Whichever you choose, have fun and happy quilting!