Monthly Archives: September 2013

Simply Irresistible

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of a couple of test blocks I made using Jenny Pedigo’s Curvy Geese design, introduced on her blog, Sew Kind of Wonderful. Here’s another look at those two blocks, which finish at 16″:

2013-9, curvy geese blocks

Since then, I’ve made a few more blocks. I just can’t help myself — they are so fun to make. I’m using fabrics from the Doodle line by Timeless Treasures with a few solids mixed in.

Here’s a new block:

2013-9, curvy geese block 3

And another:

2013-9, curvy geese block 4

And another:

2013-9, curvy geese block 5

And another:

2013-9, curvy geese block 6

And another:

2013-9, curvy geese block 7
What is it about this block that I find so irresistible? It’s a very traditional block — a pinwheel in the center surrounded by flying geese — but it has a decidedly modern feel that comes from the curvy lines and larger finished block size. It goes together very quickly, thanks to pin-free curved piecing and smaller units that are trimmed to size before being sewn together into rows.

The color palette is pretty controlled but I’m mixing up the positions of the light, medium and dark values for a somewhat scrappy effect. A few more blocks and I’m going to have a quilt top!

 

 

 

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Two Stubborn Females

Recently my little cat Theodora (Theo for short) has decided that the perfect spot for her afternoon nap is on the chair in my sewing room. You can guess the problem. Most afternoons I am in my sewing room using that chair.

She waits till I am at the ironing board, with my back to my sewing table, and seizes her opportunity. When I turn around from the ironing board, this is what I see:

2013-9, Theo 1
I gently evict her from my chair and sit down. She stalks off. But she doesn’t leave. Oh no. She lurks by the door, and the next time I head to the ironing board she makes her move:

2013-9, Theo 2
I evict her again, not quite so gently this time, and sit back down. Next trip to the ironing board, same thing. I turn around, and there she is:

2013-9, Theo 3
This continues till one of us gives up. If it’s Theo, she wanders off in search of another napping spot. If I cave in first, I move my chair aside (with Theo in it) and pull out the rickety old wooden chair from the closet to sit on.

Some days it’s a wonder I get any sewing done!

 

 

 

Posted in cats, update | 9 Comments

Grab Your Partner

My newly finished quilt top has a name: Square Dance. Something about those interlocking lattice strips made me think of arms joined at the elbow — “allemande left and do-si-do” — and that was before I added the border of squares:

2013-9, Square Dance top 57 x 67

The quilt top measures 57″ x 67.” To read more about the making of Square Dance, click here.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

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Day for Night

Another UFO bites the dust! That’s right, I have a finished quilt to present to you: Day for Night, begun in June 2012, finished today. It measures 56″ x 69″.

2013-9, Day for Night, front

I made the top in a couple of afternoons last year, when I was in the mood for something fast and fun. You can read about it here.

Why did it take so long to finish? One reason is that I hadn’t decided what to put on the back. I often use leftover blocks and strips on my quilt backs but in this case I had given them to one of my nieces for a sewing project. This summer I finally pulled a whimsical black-and-white print from my stash, pairing it with a dotted fuchsia for a jolt of color:

2013-09-16 02.24.22

That’s the label you see in the lower right-hand corner. I fused it to a square of the fuchsia fabric and set it on point to echo some of the blocks on the front.

Nancy Stovall of Just Quilting quilted a swirly edge-to-edge design that blends in perfectly on the front and complements the whimsy of the backing fabric. Here’s a close-up of the back:

2013-9, Day for Night, back, quilting detail
Did you happen to notice that the binding is two different fabrics? I wanted to play with the black-white/positive-negative theme by binding the quilt with fabric that’s the reverse of the fabric right next to it. This was a fun challenge because I had to figure out how to miter the corners where the black and white fabrics meet:

2013-9, Day for Night, binding detail
With double-fold binding (also known as French binding), quilters make it a point to avoid having a seam in a mitered corner but in this case it was deliberate.

I expected that the seam joining the black and white fabrics would be on the diagonal. Turns out the seam needs to be on the straight of grain. Not only that, when the binding strip is folded on the quilt edge to form the miter, the seam needs to be exactly on the edge that is even with the raw edges of the quilt:

Camera Uploads22
I trimmed the seams to 1/8″. There’s a little extra bulk in the corners but it wasn’t a problem. In fact, now that I know how to do it, I may make another quilt in the future in which the binding fabric changes at the mitered corners.

All in good time, though. I have a few other UFOs and WIPs to tackle first.

 

 

 

Posted in mitered corners, update | 7 Comments

Susan’s Sewing Machine Dust Cover

One of the first things I noticed when I started reading quilt blogs was that many quilting bloggers (blogging quilters?) offer giveaways. It seems like such a nice way to thank the people who visit blogs regularly and offer supportive comments. So after releasing my Sewing Machine Dust Cover pattern in late June, I launched my first Giveaway, offering a half dozen patterns plus a custom made cover for one winner. That winner turned out to be Susan S. of Milledgeville, Georgia.

Susan emailed me the dimensions of her Janome embroidery machine and I emailed her photos of four different combinations of fabrics from my stash to choose from. I would have enjoyed making her a cover from any of the four combinations, but she happened to choose one I especially liked: a peach, coral, and aqua combo featuring prints from the Martinique line by 3 Sisters for Moda:

Susan's fabric choices for custom dust cover

How I love Moda fabrics! A couple of other fabrics in my stash were chosen to complement the 3 Sisters prints.

I finished Susan’s sewing machine dust cover last week and took a few photos before popping it in the mail on Monday:

Susan S's sewing machine dust cover 2
In the photo below you can see the fabric on the inside of the dust cover:

Susan's sewing machine dust cover --inside
Susan’s sewing machine dust cover arrived at its destination today, and she sent me the nicest message:

“GUESS WHAT I GOT IN THE MAIL TODAY??!!!!!! A beautiful sewing machine dust cover that fits my machine perfectly!! I love the gorgeous fabrics you used and it is constructed so very nicely. It really brightens up my sewing room . . . I’m loving it!! Thank you so very much — Susan”

You are welcome, Susan! It was a pleasure to make it for you.

 

 

 

Posted in Giveaway, sewing machine cover, update | 8 Comments

The Accidental Work-in-Progress

I didn’t plan to start a new quilt, honest. I’ve been working this year on reducing the number of my Works-in-Progress, not adding to it. But it seems I’m slipping. Case in point: a new WIP on my hands. Take a look:

2013-9, curvy geese blocks
Curvy Geese blocks (finish at 16″ square)

 

This is what happened. The Pine Needle, where I teach, is having its fall Open House this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14. I will be there both days demonstrating new products and talking about my upcoming classes, one of which is Urban Tiles. (My version of Urban Tiles is pictured here.) The pattern was designed by Jenny Pedigo of Sew Kind of Wonderful. Jenny also designed the Quick Curve Ruler© used to make the curves.

Geri, the owner of the Pine Needle, asked me to make a demo block for Open House using the Quick Curve Ruler, something that would showcase its versatility. After all, a quilter who is considering investing in a specialty ruler is more likely to buy one if she knows it can be used in many ways. I was happy to comply because I have been wanting to try out Jenny’s new Curvy Geese block, introduced in a Quilt-Along she hosted on her blog recently.

So I made a block. And then I couldn’t help myself. I made another. Those are the blocks you see above, and I can hardly wait to make some more! I’m using fabrics from a new line from Timeless Treasures called Doodle, designed by Alice Kennedy, which I found on the Hawthorne Threads website. I don’t often buy fabric on line, because we have such wonderful quilt shops in Portland, but when I saw this line I was instantly smitten.

I’m heading back to my sewing room right now to work on a different WIP, but I’m already thinking about which Doodle fabrics will go into my next Curvy Geese block.

 

 

 

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Hunky-Dori

That’s the name of this quilt I recently finished based on the pattern Urban Tiles by Jenny Pedigo of Sew Kind of Wonderful. It’s such a cheerful little quilt!

2013-09-04 23.03.49
Hunky-Dori, 57″ Square (2013)

 

Why the name Hunky-Dori? You’ve probably heard the expression “hunky-dory,” which essentially means “fine and dandy.” Well, that’s how this quilt makes me feel! Four of the fabrics, including the focus fabric in the middle of each block, are from the Dori line by Mitzi Powers for Benartex. Just a little play on words.

Of the remaining fabrics, the chartreuse fabric next to the focus fabric is by Windham and the white-on-white background fabric is by P&B Textiles. Fans of Violet Craft’s Madrona Road line for Michael Miller will recognize the small blue and white print next to the outer green curves. The fabric on the back of the quilt is also part of the Dori line.

Just for fun, I made a label for the back shaped like the tile block on the front:

2013-9, Hunky-Dori label

The photo above also gives you a better look at the lovely edge-to-edge quilting done by longarm quilter Janice Hays.

Hunky-Dori is on display at the Pine Needle Quilt Shop in Lake Oswego, Oregon. If you’re in the neighborhood, please stop by for a look. And if you’re inclined to make your own version of Urban Tiles, I’m teaching a class in October at the Pine Needle. Kits available!

 

 

 

Posted in Quick Curve Ruler, update | 5 Comments

The Big Reveal: My Little Neighbor’s Quilt Top

2013-9, MLN with her 9-patch
My Little Neighbor with her First Quilt (56″ x 70″)

 

Isn’t it beautiful?! She finished it yesterday, on Labor Day. Just in time, too, because school starts this week.

Once My Little Neighbor is back in the swing of things where school is concerned, we’ll get together to talk about the next step: making the quilt back. MLN has one 9-patch block left over, which she plans to put on the back. Of course!

 

 

 

Posted in My Little Neighbor, update | 7 Comments

My Little Neighbor: Making Progress

MLN August 2013

As you can see, My Little Neighbor (MLN) is back at work on her first quilt, a colorful 9-patch, and she’s pretty excited about it. She started this quilt last year as a hand-sewing project to keep her occupied while sidelined with a broken foot.

Earlier this summer she came over with most of her 9-patches sewn together, and we discussed setting options. MLN would like her quilt to be a good-sized throw so the idea of adding sashing between the blocks appealed to her. We had a discussion about value, and she auditioned several fabrics from my stash, looking for a sashing fabric that would complement the blocks but not compete with them:

2013-06-09 00.00.17

 

MLN narrowed the candidates down to a medium-light green and a medium-light blue:

2013-6, auditioning sashing fabric -- blue or green

And the clear winner — blue:

2013-06-07 22.31.37

 

Fast forward a few weeks to early August, when my two youngest granddaughters, Bonnie and Beatrice, were visiting from San Francisco. All the girls made four-patch coasters — you can see Bea’s and MLN’s here — using my sewing machine. At that point MLN decided she would rather finish her quilt by machine than by hand. What a good idea! We couldn’t think of one good reason to finish it by hand — and a lot of good reasons to finish it by machine.

In the photo at the top of this post, MLN had already added the sashes by machine. Next came the border strips, out of the same blue fabric scattered with tiny white polka dots. She determined she would like another border, to make the quilt larger and to add visual interest. We were thinking of something in red when she spotted this fabric in my stash:

outer border MLN

We both think it’s the perfect choice. She is in the process of adding the final borders. Please stop by tomorrow for the Big Reveal!

 

 

 

Posted in 4-patch coasters, My Little Neighbor, update | 2 Comments