Phone cover

A couple of weeks ago I bought a new phone. It's a fancy (and expensive) thing that I am just getting the hang of. I do know that I will need to change my data plan - it seems to jump onto the internet all of the time without asking permission.

After 3 days in my handbag, I realised that it would not last long without a cover. I thought I could just buy one, but since it is neither an iphone nor a Samsung Galaxy, that appeared to be out of the question. Making one seemed the only solution.

I debated a few designs including wrist straps and pockets for money. But, I decided on something simple - a little sleeping bag of sorts.

The fabric is one of the many woodland creature fabrics I picked up before Christmas for my advent calendar. The lining I had for some reason. I pulled a button from the button tin and the elastic was stolen from DD's drawer of hair accessories. It took less than an hour to make and I've had so many comments about it. I might end up making a bunch more - one to suit every mood.

What am I up to?

Somehow weeks have gone by without me noticing. Lots of excuses, but do you really want to know them all?

I have been busy - first, my husband and I have a new business as the agents for JUKI home sewing machines. Although they are the largest manufacturer of sewing machines in the world, they are mostly know for their industrial machines. Initially, we will be selling select models direct through quilt/craft shows and online. Watch this space.

Since my last post, I have rescued my string hearts quilt from the disastrous quilting experience that I had with the Handi Quilter. I have not given up on the idea of using this approach but this was just not the right setup for me (part of the new business will also include the SwiftQuilter - a NZ manufactured table-top frame).

I unpicked some quilting but eventually had to sacrifice a whole row and make more blocks. I had a couple others from the Block Lotto that I used on this row too.

I did the quilting using a combination of straight stitching around the hearts, free-motion flowers in the space between the hearts, and a last-minute addition of decorative stitching down the 'spine' of each heart (mainly to reduce puffiness).

The little quilt is sweet and looks lovely and crinkly out of the dryer. No plans for it - probably will end up on the growing pile in the living room now that the nights are getting colder.

A few months ago the Monday Modern Quilters had a challenge to make a cushion using some curves and using free-motion quilting. I resorted to pulling out my drunkards path templates and made blue polka-dots on a beige background.

The back of the cushion is a piece of fabric that my mother bought me (along with some others, including the binding fabric) that match my living room furniture.

I did quite a bit of quilting on this one and am pleased with the results. I decided to bind it like a quilt and I love the way it looks like piping. Surprisingly someone else in the group did the same thing (honest, it was just a coincidence). I'm hoping to do a few others in similar but different designs.

Trying something new

A couple of months ago one of the Monday Modern girls kindly donated a Handi Quilter frame to anyone who wanted to try it out. I picked it up this weekend thinking that I would give it a go - nobody else seemed interested. I watched the (long) setup instructional video that I found on YouTube. It was a bit daunting. The first thing I realised was that taping this thing to my French oak dining table was not an option, so went to the local hardware super store and purchased a reasonably-priced 6-foot trestle table and a few rolls of clear packing tape.

I had won 38 low-volume string heart blocks from Block Lotto in February. I figured I could piece together a small quilt using these blocks without a huge time investment and use it as my guinea pig project.

The initial setup was easy enough but did take a while. The worst thing was the slight numbness on my finger tips after sticking and unsticking packing tape to them (see Mythbusters 'Duct Tape Island' episode for an extreme case of this type of injury).

The loading of the quilt was a little fussy, but I managed this with the help of a spare pair of hands. I admit it was easier than the usual laying out of the sandwich and pin basting.

With my machine ready to go, I realised that my usual approach to quilting did not work with this method. Basically on a frame you must quilt in long, narrow strips. You can't start in one spot and then move to another like I'm used to when FMQ without a frame. At this point I knew that I had put it on heading in the wrong direction. But, I tried anyway to do a few passes. Lesson: you can only go from one end to another, no 'skipping' sections. So, I pulled it all off and unpicked all of the quilting I had done and started over.

I'll stop here to say that I am not against this approach to quilting. The learning curve for any new skill can be steep. But, my entire living room is dominated by this project, and it was not going well.

After taking a night off, I came back to it and reloaded the quilt facing the other way. It's a little quilt (36" x 54") but it takes the full width of the rack. I'd need 2 tables to do anything bed sized. I then discovered that I can only stitch up to 6" from the end pieces of the frame. So, I'm left with the two edges unreachable.

Moving on...I continue forward. Try a few things. Stop and unpick. Repeat. Unpick. Grr.....

Here's my problem right now: the machine moves quite freely without much resistance so controlling it is difficult. I find myself overshooting all of the time and a 'straight' line seems impossible. It's like using an etch and sketch - the machine moves horizontally and vertically and theoretically you can create any line by combining these, but it's hard.

Did I mention that I broke a needle somewhere in this process?

It was time to try another approach - I am in the process of taking over the Juki domestic sewing machine agency in New Zealand and now had access to another machine. This one with a much bigger opening to work with, so, I swapped machines. A better option, but it sure goes fast (scary fast).

I decided to sacrifice the first row of the quilt and just go at it.

My conclusions (with some male advice and analysis):

• You need some kind of hand control or a machine that you can turn on and off - trying to use the foot pedal is impossible.
• The bigger the space under your machine's arm, the better. Even one more inch makes a huge difference.
• Don't buy a cheap table with a plastic top, it is not smooth and even (also my 80-year old native timber floors don't help). I have read that people mount the frame on a flat hollow door and this can work well.
• Be right handed - I am not, and controlling the machine with my left hand while standing on the 'good' side of the machine was hard.

I have not given up, but will take a break from this approach to quilting until I can resolve some of the issues above. I have a solution for some already, but my left-handedness is not negotiable. I know it's strange to stand on the 'wrong' side, but I might give it a go.

Manwhile - to my lovely friends at Block Lotto - I will sadly be cutting off the row that I demolished with crappy quilting and will use the few blocks I have left and a few more that I will make to recreate a row. I will quilt it using my usual FMQ techniques (and this Juki machine). Stay tuned...

International quilting day

There was a rumour of rain this weekend. It's been so dry in Auckland this year and we are desperate for rain. A wet weekend is a quilting weekend, so I was hopeful about getting some things done.

This week I've spent some time on my Cotton Robin round robin second border. So far so good. But, it's hard to judge when working on a project for someone else - is less more or is more needed? That's about all I can say about that one.

Last night I picked up my butterfly hearts quilt again. After sewing the hearts on with a running stitch of embroidery floss, I decided that it was too delicate to hold up to wear & tear. I tried a machine zigzag around 2 of them, but the results aren't great. This could be my technique or maybe it's just not the right approach.

So, what now? Carry on? Take them off and try something else? Needle turn? Buttonhole? This one has been on hold for a while and I really want it done.

(...later the same day...)

I did a few more hearts with the zigzag and this is the way I will proceed. Sometimes, I have to compromise to get the job done and this is one of those times.

Today I went to a small quilt show put on by one of the local groups. I've been a few times over the years and admit that my taste is changing and this group is probably not producing work that I appreciate these days. So, I asked myself - how can I look at each piece and still appreciate elements of it without necessarily liking the whole thing? So, I broke each one down by colour, fabric, pattern, and quilting. I enjoyed this approach and it made the trip to the show worthwhile - working through each element systematically allowed me to filter out the elements that did not appeal and focus on those that did.

I've also been working on the Monday Modern curved cushion challenge. I did some FMQ on the background using some biscuit-coloured variegated thread I picked up at the show. I should have done the circles first, because there's some puffiness I'll need to deal with now. I just didn't know if the circles needed anything, so I left them. I've now decided that they do need something but don't know what yet.

More sewing on the cards tonight - Melbourne Formula 1 is on TV, so I'm steering clear!

Playing with applique techniques

I'm working on a project which is top secret. I have a picture in my mind but was not sure about how to accomplish my vision. But, I wanted to stretch myself and thought it was time to try something new. Not that anything I'm doing is new, but it's new to me.

My first challenge was to figure out how to make a skinny bendy strip. These are often used as vines or stems in floral applique. The obvious thing was that I needed to use a bias strip - but there are different techniques out there - many requiring tools I do not have. So after a few very sad attempts and not being happy with the width of my curvy line, I did the only thing one can do in such a situation: I called my mother.

Those of you that know me will agree that I am not fond of hand sewing. But, my mother is a great hand-sewer and does a lot of applique work. She suggested this technique to me that does not require tools, pressing edges under, or sewing tiny skinny tubes of bias.

I started with a bias strip 3/4" wide - it's about a skinny as I can manage.

You lay the bias strip right side down with one raw edge along your design line (I drew mine lightly with chalk) and sew it down using a running stitch - keep your stitches a scant 1/4" from the edge. I pinned mine a lot after my first attempt ended up puckered and sad. These are tiny applique pins and they work well for this.

As you stitch, some of the curves will require you to coax the strip around - take your time. I found that it is most important to keep your background fabric flat - the bias will flatten out later.

After you finish the running stitches, gently iron the background fabric up under the bias strip (from the wider side of the strip, or from the top of the photo above) and against the running stitches. This will gently push the bias strip over the stitching line. Don't iron a deep crease into the bias strip, you are really just nudging it into the right direction.

Fold under the raw edge with your finger (this is like needle-turning, but I didn't really use my needle). Work your way slowly along the strip, sewing the turned under edge using your usual almost-invisible applique stitch. Watch out that you don't turn under too much and expose the raw edge underneath.

Every 3-4" I stopped and did some ironing. I used lots of steam and barely touched the fabric. This helped the bias to stretch/unstretch and make the curves smoother. I only did this along the way because I was nervous that it would not lay flat. I think after a while, it would be unnecessary.

The finished trial piece is okay, and I know that it will give me the effect I want. But I really wish I could get tighter curves. It certainly works best with gentle smooth curves and maybe there's a secret that I don't know yet.

Another technique I tried (aren't I adventurous?) was broderie perse. I used a fusible paper-backed webbing to stick it to the background after carefully cutting it out. At first I tried a blanket stitch using normal sewing thread and it didn't look great. When I switched to 2 strands of embroidery floss, the results were much better. I need to practice getting the stitches closer together because it is a raw edge. But, I'm happy enough with the results.

I have yet to do any work on the 'real' project and have been playing with some scraps. So, I still need to decide if I will use either or both of these methods and if so, choose some matching fabrics for it.

WIP update + something new

Suddenly, I've managed to make some progress on a few projects - but I also seem to be starting and finishing some new things while WIPs languish in the corner. I am committed to getting all of the lingerers out of the way so that I can focus on some new and exciting projects. Some of those lingerers are not even started - just a pile of fabrics and an idea.

It's funny how emotionally burdened I am with UFO/WIPs. Small projects that I start and finish quickly are like an adrenaline rush but I get a lot less long-term satisfaction from them. So, it's time to make some lists - here's the WIPs in order of age.

Butterfly hearts: I've hand-stiteched about 1/2 the hearts onto this quilt, discovered they are heading the 'wrong' way, and have also decided that they need to be machine stitched on. Although I've avoided this project for a while, I've been thinking about it again. Hopefully, I'll dive back in.

Blue snowflakes: More than 1/2 of the applique blocks are done but hand work is so not my thing. What I need is to break a leg or sprain an ankle and be bedridden for a week so I can do nothing but needle-turn applique. Short of that, it will be a while.



Green & white HSTs: I did a few more blocks over the Christmas holidays - I think I have 18 of the 36 done.






Blue & brown circles: I have not even started this one; however, the cushion challenge (see below) uses these fabrics, so maybe it's time to get started.




Poodle handbag: After making these for Christmas presents, I have made one (not pictured) for DD and just need to get the strap finished. Don't know why this is taking so long.


Green & black hexis: My bee blocks from the Monday Modern group. I received a few more this past Monday and am ready to get them pieced together. The solid green fabric I ordered from the US was too green and I've now checked some real fabric and should get a better green solid in the next month or so. Until then, this one is on hold.

MM cushion challenge: A new project (as of yesterday). Our Monday Modern challenge - a cushion with curves, must use FMQ. Since some of my lovely Osbourne & Little silk/hemp sofa cushions are wearing out (not a good fabric choice, apparently), I thought I'd make a few to replace them. The blue & brown circle quilt I have 'planned' is for the sofa, so these will be made of the same or coordinating fabrics.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP.

Plaid quilt #2 flimsy

I set a goal to get the front of my second plaid quilt done this weekend. Not only was I motivated by finishing the first one, but on Friday I found out that I had won the blocks from February's Block Lotto. This motivated me further to honor the lovely quilters who sent me blocks last year before they send me more this month.

I had started to work on this ages ago, but became distracted along the way. My goal was to do something quite different with the remaining 24 blocks and I think I've achieved this without introducing other fabrics or overpowering the original block design. I admit I like this better than my first one.

A challenge with both quilt designs was dealing with blocks made by different people - some were precise and others not-so-precise. I'm okay with this, but it meant that trying to line up the center strips was impossible. So, I opted for an on-point layout with the blocks sashed in a variety of 1" strips and then staggered the blocks so that the centers didn't have to match up perfectly. Certainly this is always the case when different people make the blocks. I know that I have a habit of cutting slightly big and sewing a scant 1/4" seam - this means my pieces are often a tad big. This is fine if I've made all of the blocks, but not so in this case. (I've been working on this problem, by the way.)

The finished size is 56" square - a healthy throw but not really bed sized. I already have a plaid/floral fabric for the backing that I picked up in the clearance bin and plan some kind of all-over quilting design. Very happy to have achieved my goal and looking forward to the deluge of blocks to arrive in the mail over the next few weeks.