A Tote for Fun and Important Decision Making

Pink and Gray totes are the cutest!  At least they are sitting on a "Caribbean Blue" chair.  

My TACMQG president had a bag making class. We met in a police substation (and it was a great space!). We used Bijou Lovely's Market Tote tutorial and spent the day making bags. The pattern is a fairly typical bag pattern, but is designed with a triple layer of fabric at the base, which means that you can carry a lot of groceries, or whatever.  Since Tacoma is going plastic bag-less this summer there is increased interest in fabric bags.  I love sewing with others sewing nearby. The conversation and support are always amazing.

I got to play on my Grandmother's 1938 Singer Featherweight.  It is a joy to sew on - if the stitches aren't perfect, it's because I haven't threaded it correctly. 

Some of my Guildmates were cranking them out! I managed 1. Sometimes I think I'm a fast sewist, and then I see  my masterful friends at work and re-learn better. I thought I might make it a carry bag for my Featherweight, but it wasn't quite the right size. We worked out the size needed and the necessary adjustments to the pieces to make one just perfect for the task. On my way home I stopped by Joann's and picked up some Home Dec fabric. How could it take me hours to pick 2 fabrics? No idea, but I finally found two I loved together. At the checkout line, I found totes for sale (7.99 or 9.99?) and it was cheaper than I could have bought the materials for. I bought it (in navy and leaf green, of course) and it happened to fit Mary/Flossie perfectly! 

Who is Mary/Flossie? I have never named my machines before, but many of y'all do and I love it when I see it or hear it. .I'd love to hear your opinions about this - either naming your machine(s) or what their names ought to be.  My paternal Grandmother (who is turning 100 this July 2nd!) gave me her.  She originally belonged to my Great Grandmother Florence. My Grandmother Mary purchased it from her (many decades ago)  and then several years ago sent it home with my Dad who had been out visiting Wyoming. I love it, and grateful for it every time I see it. She is a joy to sew on. So that's where Mary comes from. And Florence isn't an option -she wasn't a very nice woman...

My mother, Sally, who passed away in 1999, was the daughter of Flossie. Flossie (one of 4 kids: Acey, Dewey, Flossie, and Cossie) died when my Mom was 13. I don't know if she was a sewist, but my Mom sure was. I would love to honor her side of the family even though the Featherweight comes from my Dad's side. My big fancy Brother doesn't have a name either. 

I don't think I could name either machine Sally.  Should the Featherweight be named Flossie or Mary? Should I name my Brother the other name?  Or do you have any other suggestions? I'd love your feedback.

Funny how I can take something so silly, so seriously. If you haven't gathered yet, if there is something to worry about, I find it.  

Love to you all!

Long Tall Glowing

Hello Again!  Yes this is the second post tonight.  I actually have time, and access to the laptop. 

 

This quilt glows.  The pattern is "Long Tall", hence Long Tall Glowing.  This is a great example  of how much a difference the fabric makes.   The pattern cover is in shades of brown, and, to my eye, meh.  At the sewing expo (every February at the Puyallup Fair Grounds!), I had seen a glorious quilt in spectacular greens and aquas.  It was Amy Butler "Glow" fabric.  These pictures don't do the glow-i-ness justice.  I walked past the pattern many, many times, and had to ask the clerk where I could find it.  When she handed it to me, I was surprised, to say the least. 

My best-girlfriend was with me, and she saw my hesitation in getting the pattern and the fabric, and she encouraged me to go for it.  It didn't take a lot of encouraging, but I'm so glad that she helped me to make a good decision.   This is also a lesson  in how fabric lines play together.  I always love Amy Butler fabrics, and Tula Pink, and the showy lines. But I never buy them since I don't always see how it's going to go together.  I would have never put these together, with the variety of designs and colors.  This is why I'm not a fabric designer!   

 

The picture of the back is so gloomy, I'm not even putting it here.  In reality is it a gold flecked aqua, and pieced with a variety of leftover fabrics from the front.   

My son asked what I was going to do with it.  I said, I didn't have any plans for it.  He asked, "Well, then, can we just keep it, and you don't give it away?" That's about as high of praise as I can get from him.  So, yes, we can keep this one.  It currently lives on our bed.  We have a king, and this is a generous full, so it lies sideways across the bed.

 

Once the sun comes back, in say, April, I'll try to get a good show of it in its "home". 

 

Coming soon: Pics of Christmas gifts for friends (OK, so none of them see my blog, so it's probably safe, but you never know...)  and my secret sewing can be revealed in January.  I'm really excited to share with you what I was allowed to do, and how honored I am to have gotten to do this sewing.

 

Much Love,

At the fair

 My how time flies...These photos are from September! And its nearly the end of December!  We did "the Puyallup", except it's now the Washington State Fair.  I don't now if I'll ever call it that - it's been the Puyallup Fair for forever.

 

One of the best things about the fair are the quilts!  There are HUNDREDS on display.  They vary from tied quilts, to intricately quilted.  The piecing varies from simple to complex.  They are hung from the ceiling in the second floor of the Home Arts building.  I entered several pieces in the fair this year.  It's a tough show - the judges are really looking for high quality in whatever category the piece is entered in.   I've always been intimidated by the amazing work that is hung there every year.  

 

About 8 years ago, I entered 2 quilts, and one of them won 2nd place in its category.  Of course, there were only 3 I could find in the large, non-traditional category, so 2 out of three ain't bad?

 

I'm fortunate that a friend works the fair each year.  She messaged me with something to the effect of "You can bring your quilts in today or tomorrow or the next day.  Do you want to bring them down, or should I?"  Love that.  No excuses.  I gathered some work from around the house, and off to the fairgrounds I went.  On the small one, I ripped out the machine stitched binding, and hand-stitched it down.  I may have gone a tad bit overboard - I took 5 items!  I entered them, and then didn't think much about it for awhile. 

 

We usually go to the fair as a family, so getting it to schedule out can take awhile, or a few weeks in this case.  I'm so lucky, my friends and guildmates love that section of the fair as well.  I heard from a friend at church that she thought I'd won a ribbon (WooHoo!) but she couldn't really describe the quilt.  And, I had one hanging at the top of the entrance stairs.  That's where the ribbon winners land!  And did I have a small one, maybe in a case?  At this point, it had been almost a month since I turned them in, and honestly, I couldn't really remember all the pieces I turned in!  Then at the TacMQG meeting, a guildmate came to me and asked if I'd entered a pillow.  Um,  Yes?  She thought that she'd seen it at a guild meeting during Sew and Tell.  Then she pulled out her phone, and showed me the pics she'd captured.  Yup, that's my pillow.  I was so excited!  (Envision Snoopy and the twinkle-toes happy dance!). 

 

Finally - the family was able to go to the fair, and I could see them in place!  My husband is very tolerant/encouraging of my sewing, and doesn't mind just letting me roam for an hour or so by myself upstairs.  You can see how thrilled the kidlet is about this. 

 

 

 

 

Actually, this picture is the one I take each year, so that if I lose him (or Dad and I get lost...), I can show someone what he's wearing and what he looks like.  This pretty well captures his happiness at being drug to the fair.  More time at the fair means less time on-line gaming at home 

 

Our family tradition is to stop and get a "Krusty-Pup" and a drink.  That's not just a corndog, mind you - it transcends the genre!  Of course, for $4.50, it better. Then, it's off to the quilts.   And this is what I saw at the top of the stairs when you come in!

In a place of pride, and a ribbon! Then, knowing I had 4 more spread out and about...off I went. 

 

 

 

 

 Four ribbons!  I was so excited.  My husband laughed and said "I'm married to an award winning quilter."  I can't even describe how thrilled and delighted this made me.  His comment and the ribbons.

 

I don't know how I got so lucky!  The judges commented on the variety of pieces that I could work on my piecing accuracy.  Yes, yes I can.  Their comments were spot on.  I do need to make sure the corners and edges match like they should.  Yes, Yes I should.  But, was thrilled regardless. 

 

I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Watching the Calendar...

It's been a whirlwind of sewing 'round here!  I actually have several posts worth to talk about, as I mentioned last time.  This project wasn't even on the list when I said that.  Do you ever have a date in your head, and  even though it is swiftly approaching, you somehow think it's farther away than it is?  Yeah, that was this project.  My husband's niece is expecting, and the baby shower was last Saturday.  In my head it was coming up this next week.  Last Friday, my husband chatted with his/my Sister-in-Law and they chatted about the shower...that was Sunday.  Yup, 2 days away.  He mentioned it to me Saturday morning.  And we already had a full schedule until late afternoon.  Oops!  

When we got home from all our activities, I looked through magazines of quick quilts. I messaged the Mom-to-be's sister and asked about colors.  Lavender and Aqua! In a magazine of Kids Quilts, I saw one that would be graphic, and straight forward. I did have some Warm n' Natural that would just fit the finished dimensions.    I didn't have a lot of lavender, so off to the quilt store I went.  At 4:20 pm, I arrived at the quilt store closest to my house.  They had closed at 4:00pm.  I took off for the next closest shop that was 30-ish minutes away.  While driving (I was at a light) I looked up their hours, to see that they closed at 5:00pm.  I got partway down the hill and realized there was no way I would make it. 

I turned around, and landed at JoAnn's Fabric at 4:45pm.  I had some coupons on the phone.  I went in and looked for lavender and aqua in the nursery fabrics.  I found some cottons, and some flannels.  I eventually made a set of cotton, and a set of flannels.  They each had a bit of gray tucked in.  I decided on the cottons and off to the cutting counter I went.  35 minutes later, I was on my way up to the checkout stands.   30 minutes later, I was out the door.  I got home about 6:45ish.  I ate something quickly, and started the quilt. 

Round about 1am, I hand wrote the label, and was tossing the finished gem into the washer. Of course, I had to be at church su-u-u-u-u-u-per early (choir was singing at 1st service).  Before I left the house, I tossed the quilt into the dryer.  When we got home, we bagged it up into a gift bag with some super cute baby tissue that was on hand, and out the door we went to the shower and hour and a half away. 

The Mom and Dad liked it!  I always sort of hold my breath when folks open a gift quilt.  They are such personal gifts - what if they didn't like it?  Of course, who is going to say they don't like it, right?  But they seemed to be pleased. 

 Josh and Rachael - your Gabriella Jo will be much loved!  We are so happy for you, and the new family you are making. 

May you all feel as blessed this coming week! (And make sure you actually check your calendar when you get the announcements & invitations in the mail!)

Summer's Been Good, but now It's Back to School!

September is always bittersweet...I'm always excited to be back at school and all that teenager energy is powerful. But summer is relaxing (mostly!) and I miss being able to quilt as I please.

 

I haven't posted for a while, but there are several completed projects. Tonight, I'll show the Sweet Pea Pods. Little zipper pouches, with a single loop of zipper. So easy to make and super fast and darling! This is a Lazy Girl design and, as always, the directions are crystal clear and thorough, with lots of pictures.  You can check it out here.

 

Got a bunch of zippers and extra pulls from Zipper Island. So many choices, and quick service. She included a few goodies - an extra decorative pull and adorably packaged. So inexpensive too! I'll be ordering again  for the next zippers I need. 

  

Mine came out pretty cute I think. I made 4 and just made two more last night for an exchange gift at my TacMQG meeting tonight.  They are a lovely soft green. We are doing birthday baskets - if it's your birthday, you bring a small gift, and folks buy tickets for each basket for $1 a piece.  If yours is drawn, then what's inside is yours.  I'm hoping that my two little sweet green pea pods are popular!

You know, as I look back at these pictures, I see that these were made while my Brother (Oh, my goodness, I LOVE my Brother!) was down for repairs.  I was using my Great Grandmother's 1938 Featherweight.  And it is amazing.  I need to wax it - I got post-it stickum on it, and tried to use water and soap to get it off.  Rookie mistake!  The lovely sheen just disappeared in front of my eyes.  Making a teeny tiny problem much larger! I need to go buy the wax, and polish it.  I'm hoping it's as easy to fix as the on-line references make it sound.  I got this from my Grandmother, who purchased it from her mother.  I will not mention my oops to her - she'd just laugh and shake her head.  I bet she never made that mistake...

 

Do you name your machines?  I've never done it, but I'm starting to feel like they deserve it!  I'm happy to take suggestions for names.  The Brother is an Innov-is Dream Weaver (can't remember the model number) and she(?) works really well.  It's got a massive throat - truly you can quilt a king without killing yourself. Of course, since it's entirely electronic, something gets a little out of whack, and it has problems.  I'm blessed that I purchased it at Quality Sewing and Vacuum and they have provided me EXCEPTIONAL customer service.   If I ever have questions or a problem, they make it right.

 

I hope your summer was fantastic!

 

"Any day with fabric is a good day..."

I Just Need to Make Something!

Some times you just need to play with your sewing machine. You need to MAKE something. "Hey, I've got a 'skein' of clothes line, let's see what I can do..."

The inspiration really hails from Leyda Greenwood in my TacMQGuild. We did an orphan block swap and she made a cooler version of this from the block she got. I loved it! I've made fabric bowls before, but they were completely covered in fabric. This has a more modern aesthetic, with the line showing mostly, and bits of color appearing.

I should have used a bigger width cord, as the teeny tiny width that was available at my local Fred Meyer is toooo skinny.  There is no strength in it, and the bowl is super floppy. It will need to just sit somewhere, it's not meant to carry an object from place to place.  There are two more skeins that need to be used - I'll have to figure out a way to use more fabric or somehow shore up the sides and base.

I'm proud of the swirl I added at the very end. It's a nice flourish. I think I'll play with curves and gaps next. Leyda posted a tutorial and it was inspiring.  If i can find it again,  I'll link it here.

Best,

Labels - a Surefire (?) way?

I never used to label quilts - I thought they were too hard for me to create and I used to hate handstitching. I have since learned to label, and the importance of labelling.  Finding pens that work on fabric helped that transition immensely.  I also adopted the habit of just writing directly on the binding of the quilts in fabric pens or sharpies. 
Labels allow me to bless a quilt for someone - and express the love that went into making the quilt.  Finding the right blessing or saying is almost as much fun and almost as much challenge as naming the quilt.
Then, for wedding gifts, I decided that the quilt needed to belong to someone in case of a divorce.  I permanent pen I write who it is intended for, and when it was made, and the creation information.  Then I make a label to put over the top for the happy couple.  If something goes awry, the "real" owner of the quilt can remove the hand stitched label and VOILA - it's labelled for them.
In the IG world, I have*met* Lakeonestitchery - and she changed my world for quilt labels.  She makes mandalas and writes the information in rings around the mandala - they captured my heart!  She sent me to pictures of how she did it, and she makes a unique label for each quilt.  Since then, each quilt gets a mandala/zentangle label.

My artistry is quite limited - I have to work really hard to be artistic at all (I am more craftsman than artisan, although I am working on it).  I had worked and worked on a *zendala* for a label for the most recent set of three quilts I was making.  I started by drawing on paper, and finally got a sketch I really liked.  I just couldn't see replicating it with a fabric marker and fabric, though.  Here comes the cool part - I ironed freezer paper to a 8.5 "x 11" piece of white fabric.  I put the paper design on the printer glass, and "copied" it.   Instead of paper I fed the freezer backed paper through the paper feed, and it worked! 
I learned some things along the way - I tried to put 2 labels to a page - they totally fit! But it picked up weird lines from the folding of the original, and that didn't work.  Also, the edges of the fabric picked up ink smudges, and when the label was at the edge of the sheet, then the labels had smudges.  Just one, smack in the center of the sheet worked perfectly. 
Lesson 2 was to really iron the edges down - especially the leading edge.  Once that was tightly adhered, it worked like a charm in the printer. 
Lesson 3 - I wanted to make sure the ink was thoroughly set, so soaked the 3 labels I printed in a bowl of white vinegar for 10 minutes.  They were then rinsed, and  ironed - no smell at all once they were rinsed and dried. 

I then cut them down,  pressed the edges over to the back, and handstitched them down.  I was holding my breath a bit to see how they would hold up in the wash.  Sharpies fade when they are washed so I was wondering.These are as crisp and clear as they went in the machine!  Victory!

Before washing

After washing and drying - no fading!

 

If you aren't a labeler, I hope this inspires you to give it a shot.  Truly,  If I can do it, anyone can!
 

A triple finish!

Yay! All three are done...I guess technically I shouldn't post these until they have been given away, but since I know that no one is reading this yet, I should be safe.  For the record, I am a Cougar - Crimson and Gray, all the way.  However, I teach at a high school whose colors are purple and gold.  It's a bit painful, but these are beautiful in spite of the color choice!  These only need labels and washing - to crinkle them up and to de-cattify them. 

I was exited to take them outside in the glorious spring sunshine for photos.  It's been a few days of gorgeous weather - reminds me why the Pacific Northwest is a home that some people can only dream of.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend - we are ending Spring Break here, and it's back to reality on Monday.  But with sunshine like this, nothing can be too bad!