Quilt finished in time

I love it when I can deliver a baby quilt before the baby is delivered. Grandson Callan is still expected, as I write this, and the quilt is in the hands of the parents, completed a couple of weeks ago.

I did the binding differently this time. I machine-stitched it to the front and folded it to the back, but what is different is that I machine-stitched it to the back as well. I made sure the stitches would catch the binding, and used a blind hem stitch (3 straight stitches then a zig zag). The arthritis in my hands just won’t allow the tug of hand-stitching binding any more. I did hand-stitch the label into place, which I created on my 12-year-old Brother embroidery machine.

I have already begun the quilt for the September grandbaby.

 

Update on Mug Rug

I decided to join the 4 small designs into one and sell in my Etsy store.

I think it came out great. I adjusted the proportions so they look a little more life-like. The finished design is 3.82 x 4.76, which is larger than my little embroidery machine will handle, but others will appreciate having the complete design in one file.

So, click on over to my Etsy store and make a one-of-a-kind gift for someone special. Quilt it any way you want, backing fabric that fits the personality of the recipient.

Also, for a limited time, anything in my Etsy store is 25% off with cash transfer from PayPal. Use the coupon code IUSECASH to take advantage. This even applies to special requests where possible.

Mug rugs

At work, there are two hardworking secretaries, and I thought I would make some mug rugs for them as a token of appreciation. I started designing in my head beforehand, as I always do. I wanted to notice what they drink and how they might use the rugs.

They both get a large insulated glass of tea in the morning. One of the two also drinks hot coffee, and an occasional treat in the afternoons is a fast-food iced coffee drink brought in by her husband. That started the thoughts whirling.

I looked through some clipart to digitize as embroidery designs. I found four that I liked, and I happened to notice that two were coffee, two were tea, but they also represented hot and cold. I came up with the following design.

My embroidery machine is a small one, so I did the design as four small designs. It required a little shifting of the fabric, but I think I did well.

Back to the past

I have been working when I can on the circle quilt, and it is taking quite a bit of time. I’m beginning to be concerned that I won’t be able to finish 3 quilts by Christmas. One of the hold-ups is that I haven’t been given any additional embroidered patches for the center 12 squares of this quilt. I’m still missing 3 for the first quilt.

Meanwhile, I started working on the second quilt. I cut 150 circles and have them put together in columns of 15 circles. Then I heaved a heavy sigh and looked over my sewing room. Light bulb moment – if I put away a few things piled on top of my old 1957 Singer model 306w, I would have a sturdier work surface, at least.

I found, to my thrilled surprise, that the zigzag stitch is so much faster on the old machine! I knew I slowed down a bit going to the newer electronic Singer, but the difference, when thinking of all the slow zigzag on this quilt, multiplies to such a great degree. Genius!

 

Circle quilt progress

I’m making slow progress.

I’ve worked a bit on the circle quilt. I decided, with a small-throated sewing machine, that I must work from the center outward. The reason it makes a difference is the center 12 blocks have personalized embroidery on plain fabrics, instead of the shirt fabric. To preserve the surprise for the ones who will receive the quilts, I did not photograph the embroidery.

I found that I didn’t actually need to have drawn the square on all 150 circles! Now I figure that out! When I work on the next one, I will draw on only half of the circles. Once two circles are sewn together, the entire outline helps to line up the piece to the next one, and so on, until I have a complete column sewn together.

When I finish sewing the squares with batting to the inner columns, I add one column to each outer edge. Then I press the circle parts down, and I can start placing squares on the columns next to the outside columns. I need the outer edge free for sewing the next columns onto.

If you look at the photo above, you can see the grainlines are all over the place. My bad. I highlighted them in bright green so you can see them too. Yes, the circles tend to stretch when I sew the long line. Next time I know better.

I also love to see the design the stitches make on the back side of the quilt. The stitching looks purple but it’s the same color blue as the fabric. That’s due to lighting, I think.

Something I want to tackle as a future project is to take apart this purse and construct a clone. I love this purse and it’s starting to wear out in places. I don’t think I’ll sew with vinyl, so I’ll be looking for a fabric I think will hold up and look as good.

Where has the month gone?

I’m finally feeling better, but this post isn’t about my health issues. I’ve found a few minutes here and there in which to sew, and I finally have something to show (you) for it.

crescent Santa tree skirt

Since the beard was the last thing I did, besides stitching down the various parts, and it was freehand and spontaneous, it took me a while to plan out the spontaneous part. Yes, I’m that much of a planner. The final part was to place the stars. The book suggested painting small wooden stars with gold paint, drilling two holes, and stitching them on like buttons. I chose to use 3 different colors of yellow and embroider them. I did few, so they didn’t overpower Santa, and none on the back side because it wouldn’t show.

doll quilt

I also worked on another doll quilt. This one used scraps from this wall quilt I made for signatures at a 50th wedding anniversary party.  I found 4 matching half-square triangles and arranged them as a pinwheel, then sewed the pinwheels together. This will go into the Etsy store for sale, and I plan to make more. I found a doll that could model the quilts for me, but still am lacking a bed for more polished-looking pictures. Of course, since the doll needed a nightgown, I made that for her, too.

I worked a bit on the circle quilt, but I’ve found that I’ve done too much unnecessary work. I will have a future tutorial to explain the shortcuts I’ve found. Since I have at least 3 more to complete, I don’t feel like I’ve learned these things too late.

3 projects going at once

I have several projects going right now, and three that I’m trying to work on through this long weekend.

First, I had copied the pattern pieces for this Christmas tree skirt from a book, Deck the Halls. I currently can’t find the book, so I’m winging it when I have to. The background is blue felt, with Santa’s face curving around the circular edge. The directions say to use small wooden stars, paint them gold, drill a couple of holes and attach them as buttons for the stars in the night sky. I plan to use my home embroidery machine to embroider gold stars in the sky. This is an overdue wedding gift for a nephew who was recently married. I figure the gift isn’t late until Thanksgiving, and I plan to have it completed and sent well before then.

I also have circles. Lots of them.

I had cut these circles about a week ago for my friend’s quilts for her daughters. Instead of using her late husband’s jeans for these, since he didn’t have the numbers that 4 quilts would require, she had bought blue cotton fabric. I need to mark the squares, purchase and cut the batting, and start cutting the shirt fabric squares.

The other project I sewed on today was a doll quilt. I haven’t made one before, but I have the occasion to do so now. My stepson is marrying soon and will acquire a stepdaughter of his own. She’s only 4 and I look forward to meeting her. They are expecting a baby, and because the big sister will likely feel a little left out of things, I planned to make her some doll accessories.

I had bought some “quilter’s grid on point” and I couldn’t wait to use it. The amount I bought was the perfect size to cut into four pieces and each can be used for a doll quilt.

I used pink fabric and some of the floral bedsheet fabric I still have, and made 16-patch blocks. I broke up the blocks with solid blocks from the sheet fabric. I fused the blocks to the grid.

After I took this photo I realized the one-way direction of the white blocks would be going the wrong way. I found that I could peel each off, reposition, and press again. Good to know, I often have to adjust something as I go.

This is the back view of the grid. It is “grid on point” and would be very handy for stitching on a line, but I didn’t use it that way. I folded it between the blocks and sewed each direction. Incredibly fast and easy! I think I may love using this stuff.

I backed the quilt with white flannel, used low-loft batting scraps inside, and bound it with plain pink fabric.  I think Lamb Chop got very comfortable and I think my new step-step-granddaughter will enjoy it as well.

Cute little coasters

A recent project: embroidered coasters. I wanted to make a little something to thank someone who has helped me recently, and I figured these were too cute. I searched through some home embroidery files a friend had shared with me and found these two. I spent the evening yesterday loading, clipping, and changing threads on my machine. Today I cut cotton batting, backing, and a pale green dotted fabric for the binding.  Finished product, something useful, cute, and simple to do.

Technology hates me. (tale of woe)

I have a home embroidery machine, but I cannot write designs to the memory card. I could in the past. Too many upgrades means I’m way behind. Maybe you can help me solve this dilemma, find a way out.

My machine is a Brother PE400-D. It’s small, it wasn’t too expensive, and it’s just right for the few times I need to embroider. What I want to embroider right now is quilt labels. What I don’t want to do is sink a lot of money into something I only use sometimes.

I have Embird software on my computer, no problems there. I paid the upgrade fee. I can digitize all I want. On this part of the whole she-bang I was willing to spend a little money.

I have an Amazing Box, in order to get designs from my computer to the memory card that goes into the Brother. Here’s my problem: the Amazing Box works with Windows 98. Yup. When I got the XP on the “new” computer 6 years ago, I downloaded the free upgrade. I couldn’t make it work with the memory card I have, because PE400-D was not an option listed, and all the others I tried didn’t trick it into working. I tried tech support with Amazing Designs, but what they suggested was to choose a different machine from the options. Lady, I tried that. She had no further ideas. No problem, I kept my old laptop (circa 1999) that still has Windows 98 on it. I simply transfer the designs I want to use to the laptop, write to the memory card via Amazing Box, and I’m good to go.

Then it gets tricky. I had to buy a 3.5″ floppy drive that runs from the USB port in order to write designs to the laptop. From the desktop, I would write designs to a floppy, put the floppy into the laptop, and write to the memory card. Problem solved, for a while. Now the USB port on my laptop isn’t working. My son gave me a card thingy with USB ports on the end of it, to plug into my laptop. Now the laptop won’t boot up with the card thingy in it, and it won’t recognize the card thingy if I insert it after the laptop is booted. Twelve years is a good run for a simple laptop, and I don’t blame it for wanting to go to the hardware graveyard.

Still with me?

Back to the main desktop computer, which has again been replaced with one running Windows 7. I tried loading the Amazing Box software, and it doesn’t know my hardware.  The USB port is working, it just doesn’t find my Amazing Box. I really don’t want to put a couple hundred dollars into a more current reader/writer. If I could make this work for about $40 or less, I would do that.

My final idea is to put a barter ad on Craigslist. If someone would transfer designs from a flash drive to my memory card in exchange for something I could do as a return favor, I might try to work out a deal.

Can anyone relate? Anyone have any good advice for me?

So distractable….

Yes, I’m distractible. I know this, hence the name Quilt In Progress. I dearly love to begin a new project, but finishing is a problem for me sometimes.

I know I could have been making book purses today, or working on the Christmas table runners, or working on the strings quilt, or one of several other projects, but I got a great idea.

My stepdaughter owns a small business, custom fitted toe rings. She sits on the floor at a person’s feet and finds a whole circle toe ring that fits just right and looks great for her customers. I asked whether she would like a pillow to sit on and she replied enthusiastically.

I know her colors in her booth are wild and funky, so I started looking at the fabrics I have on hand. I’d need a flesh color to make foot appliques from, also.

First I found this flesh-colored fuzzy flannel. I knew it was too thin and too flimsy to make appliques from, so I ironed the fusible interfacing to the back side. I looked around for a pillow fabric and found this.

After giving it a second thought, I decided it wouldn’t be the right thing to use. Too stretchy, might pick up every bit of dust and dirt from the floor, etc. Back to the stash!

Just right! Cotton, even though it has a white background it’ll be just perfect. I’m making it as a pillow case so she can remove it and wash it periodically. I made it with a backing layer of white cotton, for strength, durability, and to make the bright flowers POP!

I found that I had some embroidery thread that matches the colors in the flowers. Great! Accent stitching will be in neon green and orange.

Then I changed my mind about the fuzzy peachy flannel. I found a discarded  shirt that looked a lot like a tanned foot color, and started cutting away. I also ironed fusible interfacing to the back of this fabric, drew around the outline I wanted, stitched with a multiple stitch zigzag and cut close to the stitching.

Hmmm, now the foot really needs a pedicure. In fact, two feet, full pedicure. I used my machine’s satin stitch, the neon orange embroidery thread, lowered the feed dogs, added a darning foot (hopping foot, free-motion foot) to the machine and held on tight. Instant pedicure! Click the picture to zoom in, you’ve got to see the nail polish.

So, here are the feet pinned on the pillow front. Next, I used the satin stitch again, but with a light colored thread and using the feed dogs and a zigzag foot. It seemed to take forever, but I wanted to do it right the first and only time. Once that was complete, all I had to do was measure the pillow form, sew up the side seams, and insert the pillow form.

It’s now complete, and I am so very pleased with it! Look for it at a KC area event or shopping center, and say hello to my stepdaughter. In fact, buy a few toe rings!