What was I thinking? Or Otherwise Also Known as a Quilt Only Its Maker Could Love....

Every once in a while, I have to pause and wonder, “What in the world was I thinking?”

I  had one of those moments last week…as I was struggling with my Round Robin for the guild.  I’ve always participated in the Round Robin and have written several blogs about it and why I think every semi-serious quilter should participate in one at least once.  It stretches your creativity and your skills….blah, blah, blah, blahhhibity, blah, blah, blah.

It was for those reasons that when Linda decided to give up leading our guild’s Round Robin, I jumped right in there and said I would do it.

That was the first  “What in the world was I thinking?” moment in this little experience.

Not that this leadership position was especially demanding – not after being president for three years.  And not that I didn’t have a few new ideas.  I did.  I knew there were enough people that wanted to do the Round Robin, but were just a tad intimidated by working on someone else’s quilt.  So I came up with the idea (admittedly borrowed) for everyone to make a center square between 12- and 18-inches out of gray and white fabric.  The gray and white fabric could be used in any round of the Round Robin, but in addition to the gray and white fabric, we would pull two crayons out of a bag each month.  The accent fabric had to be any shade, color, or hue of the crayons.  And everyone would work on their own Robin.

The crayon idea had to be the second “What in the world was I thinking?” moment. 

Seriously?

I just figured that I’d go into the drug store below  my office and grab a pack of 8 crayons off the shelf, toss them in a bag, and I’d sucker one of the guild visitors to draw the crayons (so no one could blame me for rigging the color choice).

Let me categorically state here that my youngest child is 26.  Do you realize how long it’s been since I’ve had to buy crayons?  I naively assumed, since it was September and all the back-to-school items were still out, that an 8-pack of basic color crayons were easy to be had.

So one day during lunch, I ran into CVS, grabbed the first pack of eight crayons I saw and purchased them.  Two weeks later I opened them to dump them in a bag…and saw the horror of my reality.

For sure, there was the red crayon…and the blue crayon….but no orange, or black, or white.  I had a green and a brown…and a teal?  Seriously?  Teal?

Oy-vey.  I had pictured the ease of primary and secondary colors with the grays and whites.  It was too late to get another pack, since I was already almost late for guild meeting at that point.  So I had to go with what I had…which was not what I had thought I had.

And at this point let me add in the third “What was I thinking?” moment.  Along with the border width specifics I gave everyone, I also gave required blocks.  Half-square triangles.  Square-in-a-squares or flying geese.  Rectangles and circles. 

The first round wasn’t too hard.  We pulled red and blue crayons and had to use squares or half-square triangles.  The second round was a little harder.  This time we pulled brown and green crayons (I had several threats of mutiny over this) and either flying geese or square-in-a-square. 

I was pretty good with everything until this last round.  We pulled that teal crayon and a purple one.

Again…seriously?

Top that color choice with the fact that this round was rectangles and circles, and I hit a quilter’s block as big as Paducah in April.  I stewed over this for days. 

The stewing was definitely not me.  I’ve always been that guild member who brought her Robin home, immediately laid it out on her cutting table, and sketched out two or three ideas.  By the end of the week, I had something thrown into EQ7 and had printed out my pattern.

But not this time.  Between the really odd color choice and the rectangles and circles…I had hit a quilty roadblock.  I. Had. No. Ideas.

None.

So…I measured the width and length, divided it up, cut out rectangles and sewed on circles. It’s basic and to the point, and admittedly I could have done yo-yos or something more creative, but I was bumfuzzled and not ashamed to admit it.

I had just reached the point I wanted it done.

We have one more round to go on this little adventure.  But I am afraid I’m creating a quilt that only I can truly love.  It’s not attractive.  I doubt I will ever quilt it.   But you can bet I’m keeping this little sucker around to remind myself that if I ever come up with another bright idea like I did this time –  to pause and seriously ask myself “What are you thinking?!”

 

 

So I finished my Raspberry Swirl quilt top…

Praying for France

So I had planned to discuss marking tools on this week’s blog.  I had the outline and the pictures listed that I wanted to take.

Then Friday night happened, and suddenly that topic was no longer important or interesting.

I remember 9/11 vividly.  I was teaching middle school when my pager started going off like crazy – my husband, my mother, parents.  I was wondering what in the world was happening.  I couldn’t use my cell phone because it was against the rules to have it on in class without a really good reason.

Another teacher came to my classroom door and told me the first tower was hit. In the span of a few short minutes, the world as I knew it and my students knew it had turned upside down.  Life would never be the same again.

Yesterday afternoon while I was working at Dragonfly, my cell phone began to alert me to news messages about Paris, but it wasn’t until I got home about 6 p.m. that I fully understood what was going on – that France now had their version of the World Trade Center and an open field in Pennsylvania. 

This blog is not for political or religious points of view, per say, but it does serve as a vehicle to offer instruction as well as optimism and hope.  I’m afraid I’m running a little low on the optimism part this week, but I am full of hope.

Hope that those injured will recover.

Hope that those who need to leave France to come home will be able to do so.  Soon.

Hope that somehow one of the world leaders will be able to deal with these terrorists accordingly.

Hope in a Savior who has things totally under control, when the world seems completely out of control.

Meanwhile, I know a lot of us that quilt have time to think and pray as we do so.  There is rarely a day I don’t pour out my heart as I stitch.  Now as I do so, I will add the citizens of France to that list. 

I ask that you do the same.

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

It's Beginning to Feel a Little Like Christmas....

So…this blog is either late (because I usually publish between Thursdays and Sundays) or early.  I’m going to go with late, because I never made my deadline last week.  I have a very good reason….

I was playing Santa’s Helper.

As a rule, I don’t give quilts for Christmas.  I’m never quite sure how much they are appreciated as Christmas gifts unless someone specifically asks for one.  But this year I have two munchkins that are just at the right age for dolls and doll beds and doll quilts.

And I am blessed to have a couple of friends who agreed to play their parts as Santa’s Elves, too.

Shelle, one of my prime partners in crime, is married to a guy who makes beautiful things out of wood.  He agreed to make two doll beds for me.  Bless his heart, they are just perfect and he put vines and leaves and quilt blocks on them.  I love these for two reasons (besides the fact they’re just beautiful).  They’re not alike, so the granddarlings can’t fight over whose is whose, and they’re sturdy.  They will hold up to active play for years and years.

 

Karen, another good friend of mine who makes custom dolls – the cuddly type that can be played with and slept with – is making two dolls for the girls.  I will be sure to post pictures of those when she gets those to me in December.

But since I’ve had the doll beds in hand for a couple of weeks, I needed to make mattresses and sheets…

 

And doll quilts and pillows….

 

The quilts are quite utilitarian, but I figure they’re going to be the recipient of a lot of hard play and many washings.  As Evangeline and Elli get older and want to keep the beds out of sentimental reasons, I will make them elaborate applique quilts to use on the beds.

Since I’m now at the age I hate the pressure of deadlines, I opted to forge ahead and get these done.  I pieced the tops at the quilt retreat and finished everything else at home.

If nothing else, it’s beginning to feel a little like Christmas!

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

 

So You're On A Deserted Island....

So this is the scenario…you’re stranded on a deserted island that somehow has electricity and running water because coffee is a must.  What are the ten quilting tools you must have to survive; given the fact that you’re fabric stash has somehow made it to this deserted island with you?

That question was bandied about a few months ago on a website that I frequent.  And it caused me to think hard about what I use most in my little quilting world.  So, without further ado, here’s my list.  And per usual, I couldn’t settle for ten, so here’s eleven.

1.     A Good stiletto.  I have a metal one and a wooden one and I like the wooden one best.  It has more uses.  It has a little pressing aid on one end and the stiletto part is one the other. It can be used for applique as well as for holding seams steady as you feed them through the sewing machine.

 

2.    Toothpicks.  I cannot applique without them, whether I’m doing needle turn or freezer paper, or Mylar applique, I have to have them.  And while we’re talking about toothpicks, the ones from Cracker Barrel are my favorite.  You can buy them at their restaurant stores, as well as a handy-dandy case to put them in.

 

3.    Titanium Sewing Machine Needles.  These are fairly new in the sewing world and they are more expensive but they are worth every extra penny.  They last longer and sew better. 

 

4.    Roxanne Hand Sewing Needles.  I’ve tried them all – John James, Singer, etc., but I like Roxanne’s the best.  The eye is big enough it can be threaded fairly easily and they glide….glide… through fabric.  Plus the case they come in is adorned with cute, little seashells. 

 

5.    Good Sewing Thread.  This is a must, for both hand sewing and machine sewing.  In either case, it doesn’t break, it makes a wonderful looking stitch, and it’s  better for your machine.  My favorite thread suppliers are Aurofil and Superior, but always use long staple cotton thread.  It doesn’t lint up your machine.  As far as hand applique thread, there are cotton threads and silk threads.  My favorite is cotton thread because it doesn’t slip out of the eye of the needle as easy as silk thread, but I do use both, depending on the look I want with my applique.

 

 

6.    A Good  Sewing Machine.  Notice I didn’t say expensive, just good and dependable.  Nothing is more frustrating than sitting down to sew and having to spend half your time dealing with machine issues – skipped stitches, obstinate bobbin cases, bad tension.  I strongly suggest that you purchase your machine from a local dealer because if you do buy it from a big box store or from a dealer on line, guess what?  If you have issues with the machine, you’re going to have to ship it somewhere to have it fixed. A local dealer will have a technician that can service and repair your machine.  That means you’ll have it back in your hands in a week, verses a month or more.  And while yes, I do have a top of the line machine that I sunk good money in, and it does hundreds of stitches, you don’t have to start that way.  All you need is a good machine that has a straight stitch and a zig zag stitch (for machine applique). 

 

Once you have a good machine, be sure to change the needle after eight hours of sewing (you can go longer with the titanium needles) and clean it regularly.

 

7.     Sharp Scissors and Rotary  Cutters and Rulers.  Nothing is worse than a dull pair of scissors or a rotary cutter.  Buy good quality ones.  Use them only for cutting fabric.  Buy cheap scissors for cutting paper.  Change the blades in your rotary cutter when they begin to skip or when they’re nicked.  I also like to have a couple of different sizes of each.  Small scissor are great for hand sewing and taking to class. Larger ones work better for cutting chunks of fabric.  The same goes with rotary cutters.  Ninety-five percent of the time I use a 45 mm. rotary cutter, but I have found a smaller one works much better cutting around templates.

 

Ditto with the rulers.  By good quality rulers (and mats).  I have a large rulers and a large mat that stays on my cutting table at home and smaller rulers and mats that go with me to class.  They all take a beating, but hold up well.

 

8.      Good Quality Basting Glue.  I honestly don’t hand baste much any longer.  Once I was introduced to basting glue, it was an immediate love affair.  It’s faster and basting glue has come such a long way.  My favorite is Quilter’s Choice.  Once applied to fabric and pressed, the material is not going to move.  The biggest plus about this product is that it dries soft. 

 

9.    Soft Fuse.  I was introduced to this product two years ago.  Up to that point, I used another fusible web, but had to do a great deal of “window paning” on my machine applique projects in order to keep them pliable.  Even after it’s pressed onto the applique piece and the applique piece is pressed onto the background, the product lives up to its name – it’s soft. 

 

10.   My Groups.  I love my quilting buddies and couldn’t live without them.  I don’t have any sisters, so these women have filled that void.  We have stitched together through good times and bad; gains and losses; projects we’ve loved and projects that have not been so loved.  They’ve been a great source of inspiration and constructive criticism.  I belong to three bees and two guilds and in some cases these women overlap.  These women have been a wonderful support system and I couldn’t live without them.  So these women would have to be on that deserted island with me.

11. The Internet.  Hey…the island has running water and electricity, so why not at least an internet hot spot? 

Years ago, in the mid-seventies when quilting was enjoying a resurgence due to our country’s bicentennial, loose groups began to form via the United States Postal Service.  Newsletters were mimeographed and sent out. Often times Round Robin types of patterns were established, with one quilter starting a pattern and sending it to the next quilter, who would add their comments and pass it along to the next.  By the eighties, one of these became a slick magazine called Quilters Newsletter, and was soon joined by several other quilting magazines. 

As the nineties began and technology began to grow by leaps and bounds, these publications automatically began web pages.  Businesses that sold quilting supplies developed on-line stores.  Quilters could purchase items on line and have them shipped out to them the next day, verses filling out an order form and mailing it in and having to wait weeks.  Now you have on-line quilting groups, blogs, patterns that are downloadable, and Pinterest.  Sewing machines have groups and certain quilts (like Dear Jane) have groups, and even certain techniques (such as hexies) have groups.  

And that’s not even counting Facebook, which has connected quilters across the world.   

If there’s a problem or question with a machine or pattern or fabric or anything else quilting related, all it takes is a few keystrokes, a click of a mouse, and it can be posted.  Within hours (maybe even minutes), you can have your answer.   

How did we ever live without it? 

In my opinion the internet is the greatest tool quilters have. 

So, this deserted island is now up for grabs.  What would you take?

 

Love and Stitches,

 

Sherri