WIP Wednesday, Can You Believe It?

It's Wednesday night and it is not a day I usually post, but my friend Jen over at Glinda Quilts pointed out today that I haven't been posting much about quilting lately.  She is so right.  Sometimes we need a little push from our friends.  Today I am joining the ranks of the WIP Wednesday with Lee over at Freshly Pieced.



My design wall

My design wall is holding 64 of the 100 blocks I need for a quilt for my daughter.  She chose the pattern out of a magazine and suggested the colors of brown, cream, and green.  I picked the fabric and have been slowly making blocks between projects.

Sweet Christmas Dreams Quilt by Julie Weaver
Quilter's World December 2004

My daughter requested a king size quilt with pillow shams to match.  I have been sewing half square triangles as I make each block.  The HSTs will become the pillow shams.

 

 

 

I only have 36 more of these blocks to go and then I can start with borders.  My goal is to finish the top by the end of August.  I can't wait to give this to my beautiful daughter, Trista.

She has bought her very own house and needs a new quilt to go with it.

 

Be sure and check out all the WIP by clicking on this button.

 

Loving my blogging friends,

A Weekend of Hair and Hexies

Just home from a quick 4 day working vacation weekend.  That is one day of working and one day of vacation and two days of driving. (Well, actually, I rode and hubby did the driving while I did some English Paper piecing...) 

Stack of Hexies

I was commissioned to fix hair for a wedding in Denver, Colorado and had a very wonderful time.  I couldn't have asked for better accommodations and wonderful clients to work with. 

The wedding party

 

This is me at the wedding

 

Hubby and I explored a little of Colorado the day after the wedding.  Our first stop was a trip to the IKEA store.  This was our first time and it was a bit overwhelming.  I did manage to buy a couple of items...  There is one item I will have to wait to share, but my favorite thing in the store was the SMYCKE wall clock.

 

A hexagon clock with pieces you can arrange any way you like.  This should be fun for my sewing room.

We took a little trip through Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, and Cripple Creek before heading home.  The Rocky Mountains in Colorado are beautiful and full of history.  We enjoyed great meals and each other's company. 

Garden of the Gods

 

We are so happy to be home and ready to get back into our routine.  It rained while we were gone!!!  We've had almost 3" in a week and a half.  I think that is more rain than we've had in a year and a half.  lol

Have a great week,

A Quick Weekend Recap

Our local fair is now over for 2013 and everything is put away.  My entries did well and I learned a lot from the judge. I guess you have to take criticism as well as praise.  That's how we learn.  I entered several quilts, pillows, and even some squash.

The experience of being judged was fun and tough at the same time.  I will definitely make sure my binding stitches are very close together next year....  No fingernails will be able to get under my binding even if I have to glue it down...lol

I'm still not sure what makes for a good squash, but we managed to walk away with blue, red, and white ribbons on our produce.  The one I thought was the best, wasn't.  The one I thought was mediocre, was a first place winner.  Who knew?

Our Barn to be Wild Blocks

 

My Mother In Law and I entered the quilt block contest, "Barn to be Wild" and both placed in the top 3.  We will receive a small cash prize!  More fabric for us!  :)

 

 

All of the "Barn to be Wild" quilt block entries

My friend Val and her husband Rick were here visiting over the weekend and we enjoyed an evening out to dinner and walking the fair grounds with them.  Val is ready to start quilting more and we compared notes and ideas. 

This is where there should be a picture of our friends..

boo :(

One of the best moments of the weekend was when I received this picture from our friends in Joplin, Missouri.

Kennedy playing with her bunny house.

When you create something for someone special and they love it, that is the best prize of all.  Momma and Baby bunny made it home safe and sound.

I have the privilege of traveling for work this week which means some serious hexie time.  I will be doing a bride and her bridal party's hair in beautiful, Denver, Colorado. I'll try to remember to take a few pictures...

Happy Day,

Barn to be Wild Quilt Block

Presenting my block for the Ford County Fair  quilt block contest.  The rules are pretty simple, follow the theme, "Barn to be Wild" and make a 12 1/2" quilt block using any technique or pattern that is pieced or appliqued by hand or machine.  The block isn't due until tomorrow, but, believe it or not, I have finished it.

"Wild Weather"

These contests are fun to enter, but winning just depends on the judges tastes and their interpretation of the theme.  I spent way too many hours on this little block, but it was fun. I tried to make the barn a little wonky and wild by modifying a foundation paper pieced pattern I found on Quilter's Cache.  The pattern is The Old Red Barn by Marcia Hohn.  The pattern wasn't the right size, so I added the background and grass.  The barn door got a makeover and the window became a quilt block.  The weather vane and animals are my addition, also.  Sun glasses on a pig, oh yes I did. 

The fabrics are mostly from Moda with the exception of the wild roof fabric.  It is OP Art II by Gail Kessler for Andover Fabrics.

I've named the block "Wild Weather."  It will be put in a quilt to give away next year at the fair.  I am so excited to see what all the quilters from the area come up with for this theme.  It should make a very fun quilt.

I am linking up with Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts  and Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

"Sew" excited for some fair fun,

Welcome to Fair Week

Today I am gathering projects from the past year to decide what I will take to display at the Ford County Fair.

 By taking items to the fair, I will have labels and hanging sleeves to get finished. This is a great way to motivate me to "get 'er done."  This will be the first year I will be entering quilts.  I'm a little worried what the judges will have to say, but I feel like this is another stepping stone and a great way to learn from others.

Last year I entered the quilt block contest and had so much fun with it that I am going to do it again.  This year's theme is "Barn to be Wild" and I have gone a little wonky with it.  Here's a sneak preview:

This is just a practice piece for the top of a 12 1/2" block.  Isn't it "wild"?  Well, it will be.  I pulled out that black and white fabric that messes with eye vision.  Hope it's what the judges are looking for.  I'm hoping to finish it by Friday to share it.  The contest is on Saturday.

There is a lot of work to be done in preparation for the fair, but it is always a lot of family fun.  Good food, entertainment, and displays of crafts everywhere makes for a great time. 


Being a busy bee,

Laminated Fabric - 10 Tips

Summer.  That's my excuse.  Two weeks away from my blog has me feeling a bit guilty, but I have enjoyed guests at the cabin and a few peaceful sewing days.

Mom and her bucket

My mom visited and I was able to give her the bucket she had requested when we went fabric shopping last month.  She will be able to use it as a waste basket in her sea side decorated powder room because the inside is laminated cotton fabric and will stay nice and clean.

Working with Laminated fabric was fun and not near as hard as I thought it would be.

 10 tips for sewing with laminated cotton fabric:

 

1.  Don't let the fabric store fold the fabric.  Have them roll it.  (Mine was so creased from the store)

 

2.  Pressing the fabric on the wrong side works just fine.  I used a hot, dry iron to press the WRONG side of the fabric and eventually removed all the creases from tip #1.

 

3.  Use a heavy duty needle.  I used 100/16 Jeans/Denim Needle and never had stitching issues.

 

4.  Use a walking foot.  I didn't put tape or oil on my pressure foot, I just used my walking foot through the complete project and it worked like a dream. 

 

5.  Take longer stitches.  I used a stitch length of 3.0 on my Janome and it seemed to work great.  I even back stitched with no problems.

 

6.  Do not use pins on the project unless they are in the allowance that won't be seen.  Those holes from the pins will stay...

 

7.  Fabric glue works great to hold pieces temporarily until they are sewn.  I used a drop of glue to hold the handles in place until they were stitched. 

 

8.  Clips instead of pins.  I used double pronged hair clips to hold seams together instead of pins.  (As a hairstylist, I have lots of uses for hair clips.  They work great for holding binding in place, also.)

9.  After reading other tutorials about interfacing and laminated fabric, I opted to use "sew in" interfacing instead of fusible on the laminate.  Moisture could affect the fabric and make it wrinkle and I didn't want to take a chance of ruining the fabric.

10.  This was very scary for me...   For the binding on this bucket, I needed to use the laminated fabric.  I turned my iron to a cool to warm setting (not hot..lol) and folded my 2 1/2" strip of fabric in half (wrong sides together) and pressed the outside of the fabric.  wwhhew.  It's all good.  It wasn't crisp, but it worked better than finger pressing and no melted vinyl on the iron.


Other useful sites and tutorials to help conquer laminated fabric: 
http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/laminate-tips/

http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/pdfs/Laminated_Tips.pdf

http://www.justlaminates.com/p/sewing-tips-for-laminated-fabric.html

http://www.craftsy.com/article/tips-for-sewing-with-oil-cloth-vinyl-laminated-cotton

I loved mom's bucket enough to make one for myself for a Friday finish that I am linking up with Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts , Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. and Karen over at Sew Many Ways.

Fabric Buckets Lined with Laminated Cotton Fabric

The pattern is Bucket Brigade by Atkinson Designs.  These are in the Large 12" x 11" size.   Fabric in the blue bucket: laminate-Andover Fabrics, High Tide by Jane Dixon, main fabric-Moda, Cuzco by Kate Spain.  Fabric in the pink bucket: (Hobby Lobby purchase) laminate-by Brother Sister Design Studio, main fabric- Northcott, Earth Series1 by Diana Leone.


This is where my nuttiness comes from....

Mom showing one of the many uses for fabric buckets

HAPPY FRIDAY!