Saturday Afternoon Wall Hanging

I started off Saturday afternoon with the intent of using my new sewing machine (more on that later) to sew together some of the many jelly roll strips I've acquired. I had a pattern from a book in mind but wasn't haven't much luck getting the pieces grouped the way I wanted. Then I started playing with my batik jelly roll strips and remembered the pattern that my friend Kathleen had given me, "Hot and Cold Flow". I took that out and got out my Leaves Galore Templates from my friend Sue Pelland and within a few hours I had this lovely piece that I'm going to hang in my office at work.

Because I was using the jelly roll strips mine is a bit bigger than the pattern and I actually have enough pieces left to finish another wall hanging. I made two colorwaves, each with 10 jelly roll strips (I used 1/2 a length of jelly roll strip). Then went at them with the Grande Leaves Galore template. The finished wall hanging is 32"x20". This was also my first attempt at the invisible binding and I must say I really like the result. Kathleen had given me the tip about making the backing a 1/4" smaller than the front, and that was just the trick. Her pattern is easy to follow and the whole project goes together super quick!

What's funny is that using the batiks and Kathleen's pattern I thought I was going to end up with a piece that looked something like her style. But when I stepped back and looked at mine I laughed out loud - my warm color choices - the reds, creams, green, and navy are me all over.

References:
Kathleen Murphy Designs Hot and Cold Flow Pattern
Sue Pelland Designs Leaves Galore Templates

Car Litter Bag

A while ago I was in Elizabeth's car and noticed her cute little trash bag. I admired the design and quality of materials and told her that I had been meaning to make one. She told me she had intended to make one too, but then came across this one on Etsy and liked the design so much she decided it was worth buying.

Even though I'm a crafter and frequently look at items and say, "I could make that", or even more horridly egotistically saying, "I could make that better". I looked at the design of this one and immediately knew I was not going to best it. Hence, I opted to support another crafter and purchase her snazzy car litter bag.

The bag arrived quickly and was nicely packed, Allyson also packed along a cute fabric pin and a mini notepad with a vintage vogue pattern cover (pictured next to the cat in the first photo). I am pleased as punch with my purchase, and it's just what I needed to fashionably keep the litter in the car under control. Thanks to Elizabeth for the recommendation, and to Allyson for the lovely product!

References:
Allyson Hill's Etsy Shop
Allyson Hill's Blog
Lizap Designs

Review: The Modern Quilt Workshop

I'm always looking for quilting books with a modern esthetic so I was very pleased to come across The Modern Quilt Workshop: Patterns, Techniques, and Designs from the Funquilts Studioby Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle. In addition to a nice collection of patterns, the discussions of techniques and design concepts are very worthwhile reading, especially for anyone looking to expand their quilting horizons beyond a grid of blocks with sashing and borders.

First, a look at two of my favorite patterns in the book. The "Once Upon a Time" pattern for a children's quilt. This pattern is so great in that invites children to interact with the quilt and use their creativity to build their own story as they work their way through the maze of fabrics. And of course this quilt would be a great outlet for all those adorable novelty prints that draw you in at the fabric store. This one is definitely on my project list.

My other favorite pattern is the "Gamelan" kaleidoscope quilt. I've seen a number of these fussy cut projects and although the block was appealing to me, I never seem to like the finished quilts because they get very busy. The minimal layout of their quilt showcases these blocks in an elegant way. Because it uses only a few of the blocks, it looks like a great way to try out the technique without going into overload.

If I had to choose a least favorite pattern it was their "Confetti" quilt. The color choices on this one seemed "contemporary" not "modern". When I think "contemporary" I think, "1980". It just doesn't have the "modern" element of cool that the rest of their quilts offer. The other issue I had with this quilt is I looked at it and my first thought was, "pizza". Something about the all triangle shapes. Oh well, to each his own.

Now let's talk about the section on techniques. Some of the ideas they put forth in this book will have traditional quilters rolling in their proverbial graves. For instance the suggestion that all seams be pressed open. I had to think about that one for a while. I'm of the "do what works for the application" school when it comes to pressing seams. When I looked back at their selection of quilts, I can see that pressing seams open will work well for these designs. However, putting together more regular patchwork with points and multiple seams coming together, I still like things pressed to one side so you can use that bulk to your advantage to get things lined up and butted together.The other eyebrow raiser was the suggestion that you shouldn't bother "stitching in the ditch" quilting as it doesn't add to your quilt design and it's hard to do well. There's some truth to that. But I'd have to counter with a few things - if you're
pressing open your seams, then stitching in the ditch is going to be hard, it works much better with a seam that's pressed to one side so you can stitch just a hair to the side with less bulk. As to not adding anything to the quilt, sometimes you don't want another design element.

And bindings. If Bill and Weeks lived in 18th century Salem, Massachusetts, they'd be burned at the stake for such heresy. Make your binding with a Clover binding maker and machine stitch it on? That's like serving caviar on Wonderbread -it's just not done. But, I'm keeping an open mind. Honestly hand-sewing a binding on a big quilt can be a bit tedious. I decided to give their shortcut method a try on a cheater cloth I Spy Baby Quilt (pictured at left) and I really liked how it came out. I didn't use the Clover binding maker, but did the regular double-thickness binding technique but sewed it to the back of the quilt. Brought it around to the front and stitched it down with a blanket stitch in a contrasting color. Really cute on this baby quilt, and practical too because it's got to survive washing and chewing and who knows what.

Sometimes you do need a kick in the butt to question why you do things the way you do. I'm always looking for better ways of doing things and tidbits of useful information, which is why I read as many books as I do. In quilting there is definitely more than one right way for any given job. I can think of at least five different ways to make and piece half-square triangles. You just need to find the methods that work best for you.

A suggestion of theirs that I completely agree with is to use a walking foot for your piecing. This makes sense, especially for working with bias cut edges and bulky seams. Also loved this nugget of information, "The majority of misfeeds happen in the first seven stitches of a seam." I could have hit myself in the forehead when I read that. Yes! I will remember that sage bit of advise whenever I start a seam. They recommend holding your thread ends to prevent tangles. Alternatively you could start on a piece of scrap fabric, which is what I do.

The instructions for each of the projects look good. They are clear yet not overly fussy, which leaves an open door for experimentation. They also give measurements on making each of the quilts in a variety of sizes which is awesome. Overall this is a great addition to my library. I know I will draw on a number of the patterns, and I enjoyed the discussions on design elements and techniques in the book.

Knitted Dishcloths

At the last guild getaway I picked up a little Leisure Arts book called "Nifty Knit Dishcloths" at The Fabric Stash. They looked easy and I though it would be a good way to practice my knitting without having to worry about shaping. I went over to Classic Yarns of Grafton, only to find out that they were closing (so sad)! They had some great all-cotton yarns that are so soft. At the library I picked up "The Knitting Answer Book" by Margaret Radcliffe. It was so helpful and I think it would help all levels of knitters with some of their tough situations. I learned I was wrapping some of my stitches the wrong way which was causing them to be too loose and that I had been twisting my stitches. I corrected both and it helped immensely.

It's A Wrap by Susan Breier

I was in Quilter's Stash and saw a fascinating fabric basket. Not the Timtex stuff we've all seen, but one that looked like a coiled pot. They teach classes on it and the woman said that in one of the classes a student spontaneously burst out saying, "THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!! I've never had this much fun sewing!" I didn't take the class, but I did buy the book, It's a Wrap: Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, And Bowlsby Susan Breier. The basic concept is you take strips of fabric and wrap it around cotton clothesline. You then start a little coil and then zigzag stitch it around and around on your machine. The instructions made it sound straightforward and the pictures are great so I couldn't wait to get started.

I didn't have any clothesline on hand nor could I find any at Michael's, Joanns or Home Depot, so I decided to give it a try with some old cotton piping I had in my sewing junk drawer. I've been working on organizing and pre-cutting my scraps into strips and squares so I had lots of fabric strips on hand. While watching TV I wrapped strips around the piping gluing every so often to keeps things together as she suggested. I was using Sobo Fabric glue which I had on hand and managed to cover my fingers in glue. I'm sure there's a neater way, but no worries. Next day I set to work on sewing it together. I was a bit skeptical as to whether I could fit this rather bulky stuff under the presser foot. After a little bit of jimmying to get it under there initially, I found it fed through easily once I got started. And then you start going around and around. And you see the magic start to happen as this basket forms in front of you. I can completely understand the student's outburst. I was pleased as punch with how easy and fun it was to make this pot. Even using completely random scraps I love the finished results. Then the brain starts going...I can make a cat basket....I can make bags for everyone for Christmas...I could make a rug for the kitchen. Isn't this what a good craft book is all about? Clear instructions and a fabulous result that inspire you to expore your creativity.

So I explored. I tracked down some cotton clothesline online at Erica's. When you wrap the clothesline you have a raw fabric that spirals around on it so you do get some fraying stuff. I decided I'd try folding it over so I had a double layer and a neat edge. To keep the bulk down I only folded it down about a 1/2 inch so that I'd only have three layers instead of four. I also decided to sew the strips together into one long continuous strip. Wow, what a complete disaster. The uneven layer of fabric made things not wrap around easily. And the really long strip of fabric (like 15 yards) and the long piece of clothesline, well they're not easy to wrap around each other without creating a very large twisted up mess. I wrapped about a foot of it before I gave up.

A few weeks later I sat down at the machine with the book nearby and began again. This time I used 22" strips that were 3/4" wide and only glued/wrapped a few lengths at a time as I sewed it together. Very easy. I also applied the glue with a small paintbrush and it kept my fingers much less gluey. Using the clothesline also produced a much nicer end product than the piping. I could only follow the directions so far and tried a custom handle technique and was pleased with the results. Next day I tried one more time with the remaining strips I'd cut. I went back to the "wrap the whole piece of clothesline before sewing" method. I have this efficiency thing and I just don't want to sew/wrap/sew/wrap/sew/wrap. What I learned from the earlier disaster was you just can't use a long continuous strip of fabric, small strips are much easier to deal with. The book recommends doing the wrap-as-you-go so you can match up when the fabric changes along one spot up the bowl. Sure, it looks nice, but I just am not that picky and think it looks fine if it changes randomly.

It took me an hour and a half to wrap 17 yards of clothesline with fabric. It took me half an hour to sew the bowl on the machine. Just love the results. One thing I learned - this takes a lot of thread - I went through three bobbins on the smaller bowl, so wind yourself a few in advance and make sure you've got plenty of spools on hand. I feel more comfortable with the process now and know it will be a great outlet for scraps. I'll post more bowls as I make them. Thank you Susan Breier for a great technique and a wonderful book.

Update: here are two more of my clothesline wrapped projects:
The Blue Bali Bag
The Bali Catnap Bowl