Saturday

Build a Quilt Workshop

Basic QuiltI signed up for an online build a quilt workshop through a quilting blogger. I wanted to get more ideas on how to use precuts; the class required the use of a charm pack. I got the fabric from my local quilt shop and started the class. The instructor promised instructions in a post each Wednesday. 

As this was an online class, everything would be handled through the comments on a private Flickr site and photos of progress would be posted there.  I had a bad feeling about this when no one seemed interested in posting progress after the first week of class.  I posted a sepia version of my layout (part of the class exercise that was a way to view color value) and it didn't look that great to me; I didn't get any comments on how to make it better. There were over 20 people signed up for the class, but no one was posting. By the fourth week, even the instructor stopped posting instructions.  I was interested in finishing so I sent comments asking when more instructions were coming and I sent emails to her main email address. I even sent her an email and asked her for my money back since she wasn't finishing the class.  Nothing.  This class started October 1 and the last post was October 25.

As the blogger/instructor kept posting new projects to her own site, I was getting more and more annoyed.  Finally on December 30 she posed the question on Facebook, "How about a new class? Anyone interested?"  I immediately responded...How about you finish the one you started?  And wouldn't you know it - all of a sudden the class got a response.

Here it is:
i posted the last set of instructions, but i must not have confirmed the post or something.
i had zero clue that the last set of instructions weren't available until kathy said something on facebook a few minutes ago.
i hadn't gotten any admin alerts about this group or anything.


Funny thing, the last set of instructions wasn't the only thing missing, there was more than the one class missed and she posted all the missing classes on December 30.  She didn't get ANY alerts from the comments I sent, from the emails I sent or from the Paypal refund request I made either.  I tried at least 6 times in 6 weeks. In the end an apology would have been nice. So it's finished now and the lesson learned is not to take classes from instructors who have little skill in handling a classroom setting.

Friday

After-Thanksgiving 6AM Sale

I swore I was not getting up at the crack of dawn and going out into the hordes of shoppers this morning. After perusing the fliers after our Thanksgiving dinner, I determined there was nothing worth running out for. In fact, I had most of my Christmas shopping done so it was nice not to feel the pressure of needing that middle-of-the-night deal. The only thing that was tempting me was the JoAnn Fabrics 6AM specials which means I would be shopping for myself. They had flannel on sale for $1.49 per yard. An incredible deal, but I didn't really need it, so I decided that I would prefer to sleep in and enjoy a lazy morning. Then I heard my husband sneaking downstairs to head out for some 5AM early bird specials. I was wide awake. I knew there was no going back to sleep so I got up, threw on some clothes and headed out. I got to the store at 5:54 and there were approximately 12 other women waiting. The doors open and we all politely waited our turns to get a cart and scattered through the store. I went right to the flannel and loaded my cart. I got in the cutting line, which already went up an entire aisle. As it turned out, it took longer to get the fabric cut than it did to wait in line. I had 29 bolts, 85 yards of fabric cut in all. It was a great shopping day.

Monday

Sewing Room Table Topper

Since I repainted my file cabinet to a fine matte white finish, I've been worried about scratching the paint. Especially since I put my television on top of the file cabinet. The colors are a good match to the grey walls. I look forward to making lots more things in this color combination. Plus it was a good opportunity to try out my free motion quilting skills.

Sunday

The Sewing Room

Sewing Room
We are making progress on the sewing room. Jeff built me heavy-duty base cubes out of high-density laminate. It is thick and extremely heavy. I painted it with some paint I had custom tinted. I bought 3 quarts of 3 different shades of the grey paint that is on the walls. Luckily, it took less that 1 quart to completely paint the base. Since it was meant to fit tightly in the space, we struggled a little to get it in place, but it's in there!

Jeff also made me some dowel holders that he mounted in the side of the closet after I painted them a darker shade of grey. I loaded my ribbon spools on two of the dowels and I am glad to report that I have an entire empty dowel to load with more ribbon, if I so desire. Once that was completed, I put my wire IKEA drawers on top of the base and had plenty of room to stack the canvas boxes I also got from IKEA.

Sewing RoomSewing RoomI had a fun afternoon loading the drawers with fabrics as well as the cubes. We even re-used one of the wire shelves from the closet organizer that used to live in this closet.

The last thing, was the closet doors. Even though this is supposed to be a standard sized closet, the opening was a little smaller than standard. When there were sliding doors on the closet, it didn't matter but with the folding doors, Jeff had to cut just under half an inch off of each side of the doors. So I got out my white enamel paint I used on my bench and touched up the edges that were cut off. Once installed, it made the whole room look better and neater. Even though I do like to look at all that fabric.


Thursday

Picnic Quilt

I quickly made this little quilt just to have for picnics and any other outside activities. It's a nice size, comfy enough to fit two, small enough to fold up and carry. It fits in the wagon nicely along with my granddaughter and is great for sitting at the fireworks. It even makes a nice summer tablecloth.

Monday

The Sewing Room

We spent the first day of our 5-day holiday taking a trip to Ikea. It's only 70 miles away but since that 70 miles is through Chicago, it's not usually the most enjoyable of travels. I had an agenda so it was pretty easy to weave through the aisles (or aisle since the store seems to run in a big circle). We still enjoy looking through all the gadgets and doo-dads available for cheap so even with an agenda, we still spent a good 45 minutes on each of the three floors. I got a new bookcase and a little desk for my sewing room and I bought Chloe a dresser. The fun stuff was getting the organizer jars and boxes to hold all my sewing stuff in style. Once I have it all organized, I will post photos.
Ikea Shelf
This post is about the fun little shelf I found. It is meant to be a ledge to hold photos or art, where you lean the items against the wall. In Ikea language, it's called Ribba. I thought it would be a great way to hold up my new design board. The design board is large, but extremely light-weight. To my surprise, it's bulky size is making it annoying to move around so this little ledge-shelf seemed like a great way to keep the thing off the floor and give it a permanent place. So we placed the shelf 24 inches off the ground. It made the design board easy to reach from both the top and the bottom. I was worried that it might not lean enough to keep it up, but it worked out perfectly.

Thursday

Synchronized Squares Quilt Along

Quilt Along
This is the final quilt top entered in the drawing for the $100 fabric gift certificate prize. Now I have to get the backing on and quilt it.

Monday

Synchronized Squares Quilt Along

Quilt Along
After folding all the squares in four and fitting a printed square in the middle of the white square by matching the folds, the squares were stitched together. Then, the squares were cut in half then in half again making the four squares seen on the left. The cut squares were randomly pieced and stitched back together to make the new squares. The new squares are placed in 7 rows of 6. After moving the squares around a bit, they are ready to be sewn into the quilt top.
Quilt AlongQuilt Along

Tuesday

Synchronized Squares Quilt Along


Quilt Along

The first instructions for the quilt along was to cut the layer cake to 7 and a half inch squares using the 2 and a half inch leftovers to make the binding. I cut the fabric on Sunday and made the binding on Monday. I am ready for next week's instructions.
Quilt Along

Monday

Quilt Design Board

While I work through my new sewing table design ideas, I thought I would try a project that I can complete within one day. So I searched the internet to figure out how to make my own quilt design board. After reading through a few different versions posted (thank goodness people like to share their hard work online), I decided what my design board was going to look like.

I went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought 3 yards of white flannel lined vinyl tablecloth fabric. I knew that most boards sold at home improvement stores came in 4 by 8 foot sheets so I used that measurement as a guide. The tablecloth fabric came in a 54-inch width so it was just big enough to cover 4 feet. The vinyl was thick enough to cover whatever the looked like so it seemed like a perfect choice. With a 50% off coupon, the fabric was only $4.98 per yard so I spent less than $15 for the vinyl.

The I headed to Home Depot where I bought a sheet of Owens Corning Foamular. It comes in the standard 48 x 96-inch sheet, just like I expected. The tougher choice was deciding the thickness. It comes in half-inch through 2-inch thicknesses. I knew I had to get a feel for it. When I thought about the vinyl covering, I decided on the 3/4-inch thickness. It was thin enough to not be too bulky but thick enough to handle the weight of the vinyl. It only cost $8.44 for the sheet. The hard part was getting it into the car. I had to bend it slightly to make the 4-foot width fit in my little SUV, and thank goodness for the SUV or else I never would have gotten it home.
FoamularFoamular
The foamular has a tongue on one side and a groove on the other, so pieces can be locked together. I took a razor knife and cut off the tongue on the one side of the piece. I laid the vinyl flat on the floor, flannel side down and plopped the foamular on top. I made sure it was evenly placed on the fabric.
Foamular
Starting from the middle top I used duct tape to tape the fabric to the back of the board. Then I moved to the middle bottom and did the same. Then I moved to the middle of each side and taped the fabric down so it was tight and even. I worked towards each corner then folded a miter into the fabric and taped it all down. It was the easiest project ever!

Wednesday

Synchronized Squares Quilt Along

Quilt Along
I just ordered the Ready, Set, Snow Layer Cake by Me and My Sister Designs for Moda Fabrics and the Bella White for this new quilt along. Sadly, the fabric by the yard isn't available yet so I hope I don't have to wait too long to get it and finish. I loved doing my first quilt along so I can't wait to start this one. It's a great way to stay motivated.

Thursday

Time for a New Sewing Room



My spring project is going to take a little longer than I anticipated. I started by emptying my sewing room. It was very difficult to pack away my sewing machine. Then I had Jeff remove the cubicle which was so tedious - too many parts. I tore out the old dirty white carpet, ripped down the wallpaper and realized that this job is bigger than me. I hired a painter to repaint the room and ordered new carpet. I put in some high quality commercial carpet so it would be easy to keep tidy when I sew or paint or whatever crafty thing came up. I hope my patience holds out, it's going to be worth the wait.

Sunday

Project Linus Quilt in memory of Stephen #2


Quilts for Kids
I finished my second Project Linus quilt but I haven't added my 'Stephen's Grandma' label as of yet. It will be done soon! I think this was a good sample for producing many. I look forward to making more out of some funky flannels for older children in need.



Superbowl


Green Bay Packer Dolls
In honor of our wonderful Green Bay Packers, I thought I would take the opportunity to post this photo of the Raggedy Ann and Andy-gone-green and-gold just for the occasion. Go Pack Go!

My daughter, Bailee made these, she makes the hair as well as everything else that makes the dolls.

Saturday

Finished Postage Stamp Quilt

Quilt Along
Here is the finished product. I machine quilted it with simple wavy lines which seem like a nice contrast against the perfect little squares. It was so easy to complete when stuck at home with 3 feet of snow on the ground. I felt so productive and the snow was a nice excuse.

Tuesday

Rachel Griffith's Postage Stamp Quilt Along

For a few years now I've wanted to do a quilt along. Things always came up though. Either I discovered the quilt along after it started or it was a pattern that I wasn't fond of doing. So when this one came along, I knew I wanted to participate. I ordered the fabric, Moda's Dilly Dally. I chose it because the finished project will look great in the guest room.

In the process, I learned that I love jelly rolls. These precut fabrics are a gem to work with and the project went quickly since I didn't have to spend any time cutting strips. During the first week, we stitched the strips together. The second week, we cut the strips and stitched them into blocks. The third week, we put the blocks together to make the quilt top.

Now that I have the quilt top done, it's time to add the batting and backing and start quilting. As luck would have it, there's a blizzard hitting the entire midwest today and I have plenty of time to get quilting.


Quilt Along


Monday

Fons and Porter's 4-Patch House Quilt

Fons & Porter
I started this quilt last winter. The colors had such a cozy, warm-me-up-in-winter feel that I couldn't resist. And I love the checkerboard look.
The pattern is from one of Fons and Porter's books called Leftovers. I love most everything they do so it's always a struggle to decide which one to make next. But as summer came, I put it away even though I was almost done with the quilting. It was difficult to lay the large, flannel-backed quilt on my lap when it'w warm outside. It's hard to think of wintery things in the few warm months that we have so I packed it away until the summer ended. Then summer turned to fall, then turned to winter and I was reminded by the chilly nights that I could be spared if I would finish my house quilt. So I got it out and for a few hours over the past couple of weekends, I got it done. It's nice to get this off of my to-do list and even nicer to curl up in it on a cold night.