Stitches in Play

abby's new cardi

Abigail could not wait to reveal her new mama-made sweater.

First, she "styled" the look.  (Translation:  she refused to wear the shirt and pants that i had picked out.)

Next, she "choreographed" the photo shoot.  (Translation:  she figured that 'all those people who read your blog' would think that the sweater was 'boring' if she 'just stood there'  so she decided to show you all that 'you can do' while wearing this cardi.) 

Apparently the sweater is good for doing this...

And this...

And for looking directly at the sun.

It's also perfectly suited for pointing at passing brothers...

And for "giving yourself a hug."

Oh, and she thought you should see the back.

Bet you didn't know that my knits were this versatile!  Yours can be too if you let Miss Abby conduct a "photo shoot" for you.

Now for the pattern - or lack thereof.  I wanted to knit Leslie's Libby cardi (pattern in Leslie's sidebar).  But the pattern is a bit too large for my girly who wears size 6-8 so I made up my own using the top-down raglan formula.  This basic formula can be found in many books on top down knitting but my favorite web instructions are written by Laura of cosmicpluto knits. 

Here are my numbers for this size 8 cardi:

I used worsted weight wool (Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool in the colors Limoncello and Antique) and

US sz 8 needles.

CO 70 stitches.

k1p1 ribbing for 6 rows. (for the band around the neck)

Divide for yolk (RS): k5 for button band, pm, k10 for front, pm, k10 for sleeve, pm, k20 for back, pm, k10 for sleeve, pm, k10 for front, pm, k5 for button band

row 2 (WS): k5 for button band, purl to last 5 stitches (last marker), k5

row 3 (RS): *k to 2 sts before marker, kf&b, k1, sl m, k1, kf&b*, repeat from * to * three more times. Knit to the end of the round.

row 4 (WS): k5, purl to last 5 stitches (last marker), k5.

Repeat rows 3 & 4 sixteen times.  (or until you have 42 stitches between the sleeve markers.)

Slip the sleeve stitches onto scrap yarn and continue knitting the body of the sweater in stockinette stitch to desired length.

Work 14 rows garter stitch for the bottom band.  (knit every row)  Bind off.

Laura gives instructions for side shaping in her pattern.  I did not do any side shaping for a child's cardi but i highly recommend side shaping if you are knitting a cardi for yourself.

Slip sleeve stitches off scrap yarn and join stitches to work in the round (i love magic loop knitting method for sleeves) until sleeves are desired length.   Work 14 rows garter stitch.  Bind off.  Repeat for second sleeve. 

For the stripes I just switched between the two colors every 6, 8, 10 and 14 rows respectively.  See how the stripes become wider as the sweater progresses.  Have fun and make the stripes any width you like - just remember to do the same for the sleeves so that the stripes line up.

You can easily make this cardi larger by adding several more kf&b increases in the yoke before separating the sleeves.  Then knit the body and sleeves to desired length.

Hope you find these instructions helpful.  I know that wearing this cardi has helped my girly run faster through the woods, gather dozens of pine cones, and build a fort for all the imaginary students that she schools each day. 

before i clean

This week has been full of cleaning and clearing out to make room for delivery men.  Last week my oven died and I spent Tuesday waiting for the delivery guys - who then spent three hours banging on my cabinetry to try to get the new oven to fit into my old wall unit.  They managed to make it fit, but not before cracking the cabinet ever so slightly and scratching up the adjacent wall! (time to get out the paint again.)

About this same time I finally admitted defeat over my washing machine and ordered a new washer and dryer set.  Our fifteen year old washer was so cracked and out of balance that I have been washing all our clothes on delicate cycle for months in order to keep the spin cycle from spinning our machine right through the wall!  The washer and dryer arrived yesterday, delivered by two young men with a very deep-rooted fear of dogs.  They refused to unload my new washer and dryer until my dogs were locked inside the house.  It then took a lot of convincing (and some cash) to get these young men to actually bring my appliances into the house!  But it did give me an opportunity to show off how well-trained my doggies are - I demonstrated how both Sally and Remy sit, down, roll over (Sally's really too old and heavy to roll over but she frightened the delivery guys nonetheless!) and come on command.   I did all this wearing an apron (read on...) with nine hens cackling in the background and these Sears (in the big city) delivery guys - who were watching me from the truck platform five feet off the ground - must have thought I was some insane county lady who doesn't get out much.  I am fine with that because they quickly lowered the truck platform and brought in my washer and dryer - if only to get the heck out of the country!  If only they knew how much fun we have around here...

Now that I have all that off my chest, it's time to share some making.  It's January again and January just makes me want to sew aprons. 

This is the month that every magazine and newspaper article tells us we need to clean, organize and declutter our homes.  But before you begin such an undertaking it is important to have the right tools. And because I believe in making my own tools (especially in lieu of cleaning) I sewed some aprons. This is my no seams exposed apron - from last January - with a couple modifications.

Notice the cute bow in front.  I sewed this using four 41 x 8 inch strips described in the tutorial.  This version requires one full yard of fabric for the ties, bottom hem and pocket plus a 26 x 18 piece for the apron body. 

Three of the strips became the ties and the other strip was used for the bottom hem and pocket. 

To sew the pocket:  You will have about 15 inches of the fourth strip left over after you cut a 26 inch length for the bottom hem.  Take this 15 x 8 inch piece and fold it in half, right sides together, and sew around the perimeter, leaving a small opening for turning.  Turn right side out through the opening and press flat.  You will have a 7 x 8 inch reversible rectangle.  Lay this where you want it on the apron and sew down leaving the top open. There you have it - a pocket.

Now tie on your apron, pour yourself a cup of tea, and sit down with a good book while you ponder which room to tackle first.  If you are expecting an appliance delivery I suggest you don some pearls to complete the look!  (I had actually just returned from an awards assembly at my kiddos' school but I'm sure the pearls made me look that much more "loony lady".)

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

the fall cover

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about fall.  I love the colors of fall and the crispness in the air that it brings and I love snuggling under a cover with a good book.  (Side note: I recently finished this beautiful book and have started this book - i read his book The Corrections a while ago and loved it.

Back to the snuggling under the covers part...  I've also been thinking about covers and how they can be similar to - and different from - quilts.  For one thing, covers do not have to be quilted and this one is not.  

Here's my version of the fall cover:

So easy to make you could be napping under it in no time at all. (also great for pretend napping)

Cut a whole bunch of home decor weight fabric into 13" squares.  To compensate for the lack of quilting and batting I used home decor weight fabric - this cover is substantial and heavy.  I also decided on large squares to reduce the number of seams - again because there is no quilting to hold the layers together.   

Sew sixteen squares together creating a 4 x 4 foot cover.  Press seams to one side.

Sew another sixteen squares together for the back. 

Lay the front and back pieces right sides together and pin all four sides. (around the perimeter)

Machine stitch on all four sides with a 1/2" seam allowance - leaving a 12 inch opening for turning. 

Clip all four corners.  Turn cover right side out through the opening.

Press all four sides.  Topstitch around perimeter of the cover about 1/2 inch from the edge.

Here's a poor photo of the top stitching on the corners but you get the idea.

And there you have it - an easy, reversible cover perfect for fall snuggling.

Thank you fall!  You are my favorite season.

brick pattern quilt and preping for chicks

Spring has kept me super busy.  We live on five acres and have tons of weeding, mowing, cleaning and gardening to do.  And we have been reading all we can and preparing for our chicks.  They shipped from here today are will be arriving very soon - we are so excited!  

Now on to some sewing and quilting.  In the last post I said I'd share some quick instructions on how to make a random brick pattern quilt like the one I pieced for Abigail.  This is a great beginner pattern because none of the seams have to match. 

 

First, Cut fabric, selvage to selvage, into 6 inch strips.  (The strips can be wider if you'd like  - just make sure they are all the same width)

 

Second, Cut strips into random sized rectangles.  I just lay the strips horizontally on my cutting mat, randomly position my ruler across the strip at any length between 5 to 14 inches and cut using a rotary cutter - no measuring.

 

Third, randomly sew rectangles together end to end into super long strips.  I place all my rectangles in a bowl, randomly pick up two rectangles and sew them together - I only throw them back in if they are the same fabric.

 

Fourth, cut pieced strip into desired lengths and sew these strips side by side to create the quilt top.  For instance, if you want a 5 X 4 foot quilt top, cut strips into eight 5 foot lengths and sew them together side to side. (you will need 8 strips because eight 6 inch strips make about 4 feet)

I'll illustrate this final step in my next post as I only had enough time to piece half my rectangles into one super-long strip.  We spent the rest of the time reading about chicks, watching you tube videos on raising chicks, shopping at Tractor Supply and Southern States and preparing a brooder.  Fun Stuff!

Happy Wednesday to you!

 

nine-patch out of strips

I'm finally mentally back from Spring break.  My house is somewhat in order and I'm ready to pick up where we left off. 

So remember when I cut these 14 different flower print fabrics, selvage to selvage, into 3" strips?

 

And said that I would use them to make another simple nine-patch quilt like this one?

And that I would let you in on the simplest and quickest way that I have found to piece all those 3" strips into nine-patch blocks?

Well here goes:

1.  Choose your favorite coordinating fabrics.  I have 14 different fabrics here for a large twin-sized quilt but you can make this with as few as 8 for a baby-sized one. (an even number of fabrics is best so that you can match them up later)

2.  Cut Three 3" strips, selvage to selvage, out of each fabric.  If you're doing the math here, you only need 9 inches, selvage to selvage, of any one fabric which is not a lot so you can use up all the ends of yardage you have lying around.  Tutorial for cutting strips here.

3.  Pair the fabrics up into sets of 2.  For example, if you have 14 different fabrics you will have 7 sets of 2.  This is the fun part because any way you pair them they will look great. 

4.  Sew the 2 sets of three 3" strips, selvage to selvage, as shown in photo above.  Now you have 2 panels, each made up of three strips.

5.  Press.

Note:  I don't want to confuse anyone but for those who want a scrappier nine-patch block or simply don't have enough fabric to cut three strips (like yours truly) you can substitute a similar fabric for one of the strip sets.  See how the green flowers are two different fabrics.  If you do this make sure to keep the second fabric constant else you will lose the nine-patch form.

6.  Cut the strip sets across into 3" strips.  You will have about 13 strips out of each selvage to selvage set, which is enough to make 8 nine-patch blocks.

Cutting Tip:  Because the top & bottom edges may be a bit uneven or stretch a bit during pressing... Always align your measuring ruler (right) with a sewn seam rather than the top or bottom edge.  This will give you perfectly straight 3" strips.

7.  Sew half the strips into nine-patch blocks like so.  (you'll have enough for 4 blocks)

 

And sew the other half of the strips like so.  (you'll have enough for 4 of these blocks)

8.  Press.

 

The scrappy blocks will look like this...

 

And this.

 

My blocks are all done.  Because I had 7 sets of fabrics and each selvage to selvage strip yields 8 blocks I have 56 eight-inch blocks which will make a large twin size quilt for Spring.  Promise you will be the first to see it once I get it all assembled.  

Even if you never make this particular quilt, I hope you found something here that you can use to simplify the sewing and quilting process.  Making is fun and exciting and should not feel intimidating or, dare I say, like work.

wash, press, fold, cut, repeat

The question that I am asked most frequently, especially from my knitter friends, is "where do I begin to make a quilt."  So I've put together a little tutorial of the steps I take and the tools I use to begin the process.  

1. Wash all quilting fabric in cold water and a small amount of laundry detergent (about 1/2 of what you would use to wash dirty laundry).  Washing removes the sizing and printing chemicals in the fabric and allows the fabric to shrink to it's final size.

2. Press the fabric once it comes out of the dryer.

 

3.  Fold fabric in half, selvage to selvage.  The above photo shows a half yard of fabric folded in half selvage to selvage.

Then bring bottom folded edge up to selvage (top) and fold in half again.  The fabric is now 4 layers thick and ready for cutting.

4.  Lay the bottom edge of the folded fabric flush against a horizontal line on the self healing cutting mat. 

Note about Materials:  Purchase the best quality materials you can afford.  You only need a few basics so spend your money on those.  Save by not buying all the quilting "gadgets" that claim to make everything easier but only end up collecting dust.  A good cutting mat and rulers last forever - all of the materials I am using were purchased eight years ago and are in wonderful condition after much use. 

You will need:

a good quality self healing cutting mat - 24" x 36" is best

2 acrylic cutting rulers.  At least one should be 6 1/2" x 24".   The smaller ruler pictured above is 5" x 18" and has a black plastic lip "gadget" on the bottom edge that is supposed to make cutting fabric easier but it makes such a mess of the folded edge that I only use this ruler for measuring (see below) and never for cutting.  See what I mean about buying "gadgets" - I bought this ruler eight years ago when I didn't know better.

a 45mm rotary cutter. 

I have these sandpaper dot stickers on the back of my cutting ruler.  They help keep the ruler from slipping while I cut and have held up amazingly well after all these years.  I think they're from lowe's.

Back to cutting the fabric.

5.  Trim the right side edge to get a straight clean edge before beginning to cut.  In step 4 you lay the fabric flush along a horizontal line on the cutting mat.  Now place ruler close to the right side edge of the fabric - you do not want to trim off any more than you have to.  Place bottom edge of folded fabric flush with any horizontal line on the acrylic ruler  - this assures a perfectly straight cut - and trim.

Now there's a straight edge on the right hand side of the fabric.  I will begin cutting the fabric into 3" strips.

6.  Use 2 rulers - right one placed horizontally for measuring and left ruler placed vertically for cutting - to cut fabric into strips.  Note how the bottom edge of the ruler on the right and the horizontal line of the cutting ruler on the left line up with the bottom edge of the fabric.  Position the measuring ruler first and then butt the cutting ruler up against it - making sure that the bottom edge of the fabric is even with a horizontal line on the cutting ruler (left).

7.  Place your left hand on the cutting ruler like so, slide the measuring ruler out of the way, and cut.

One 3" strip cut selvage to selvage. 

Repeat for desired number of strips.

8.  Unfold strips and press.  These are ready for sewing.

To cut squares, use the same 2 ruler cutting method to cut the strips into squares.

I mainly use squares to piece triangles.  Triangle tutorial here.  

And I use strips to piece squares.  The nine patch quilt below was made out of 3" strips.

I am making another nine patch quilt and I will show you how easy it is to make nine patches out of strips.

 

I will leave you with a little "mama lesson" that I learned today.  Remember when I posted that I cut a whole bunch of our daffodils to bring inside?  Well a certain five year old happened to be paying close attention to what mama does when new flowers come up.

And here is the result. 

I have learned to be mindful of the actions that I model for my kiddos and my girlie told me she picked them for me, because "I love you, mama" - now what mama could be upset about that!

 

spring cover

My oldest kiddo will be eleven on March 20th, the first day of Spring.  And, of course, he asked for a mama-made cover.  He already sleeps under two of the quilts that I made and uses pillowcases sewn by me but he wants a "new cover" and this mama is quite happy to oblige. 

I wanted this Spring cover to be simple and fresh, with clean lines and little fuss.  I chose sturdy home decor weight cottons with prints that reminded me of the colors found in Spring veggie and flower gardens with some crawly creature prints thrown in for fun.

 

I simply cut twenty-five 13 inch squares and assembled them into a 5x5 grid.

 

Here's the quilt top on my guy's full-size bed.  It's a bit larger that 5 x 5 feet.  I may add another row to the bottom to make it a foot longer.

Tomorrow I plan to back and very lightly quilt this top.  Then I'll attach the binding and have it all ready by Saturday.  Sounds ambitious but I don't mind losing a bit of sleep for my kiddo.  I also have squares cut for a Spring cover for David and Abigail  - but they will have to wait until next week.  Choosing, cutting, and arranging the fabrics took some time but sewing these together took exactly one hour.

 

I love how it compliments the colors already in his room.

 

And speaking of Spring, I cut a whole bunch of the daffodils from the garden and brought them inside - feels like spring in our kitchen.

 

And I'll leave you with this photo of Shadow looking all sweet and innocent behind my computer.  But the minute I look away he turns into a cord chewing machine.  Good thing all the sunshine we've been having puts me in a good mood.

another snow day or quilt top all done

I finished this quilt top.  It was inspired by this photograph of Leslie's vintage quilt.  Piecing instructions can be found here.

So while outdoors it looked like this:

Indoors it looked like this:

Here's a picture of my girlie claiming the quilt as her own.  Please don't mind the single pigtail and abundance of hair clips - she was in the midst of playing hair stylist when this photo op arose. And this girl of mine knows the importance of seizing the moment.

The quilt top measures about 58" x 72 inches.

Remy says, "Whoof!"  but what he really means is "I like you a lot and have a great day!"

See you all back here tomorrow - for some fun q & a and the giveaway winner.

new pattern and a giveaway

Just stopping by to let you know that my Stashing Treasures Play Apron pattern is featured in the spring issue of the beautiful Rhythm of the Home magazine. 

And now for the fun part:

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win the Play Apron for the girlie in your life + 2 skeins of malabrigo chunky in the color paris night for mom.  Use it to knit a yummy cowl or hat in just a matter of hours.  I will pick a winner on Friday - good luck!

 

recap

Valentine's day recap. 

Each of my kiddos received a mama-made message in a heart pillow.  These smell so yummy because they are stuffed with buckwheat hulls and lavender. 

I ended up writing each of the kiddos a larger love letter that didn't quite fit into this heart pocket.  But I intend to use the pockets for shorter and more frequent "i love you's" throughout the year.  

If you'd like to make one for your sweet, the tutorial for this pillow can be found in my circle of stones interview on Heather's lovely blog.

 

The boys loved their pillows.

 

The girl loved her pillow.  (apparently, they make excellent dance partners) 

I even spotted the pillows in use during a private brother conversation.

And then lovingly placed in a special spot.

 

It was a beautiful day filled with cooking and baking and the writing of many very special love notes.  My kiddos peppered their notes to one another with phrases such as "i love you with all my heart"  and "even though we fight I love you each and every single day."  What more could this mama ask for?  

The tulips were from my very special valentine - we later realized that this was our twentieth valentine's together.  Hope you had a beautiful weekend.

Happy Tuesday every one! (feels like a Monday to me because of President's day)

deputy tote tutorial

It's Monday and my kiddos are home from school.  They are currently sipping hot chocolate trying to warm up from a morning of doing things like this...

 and this...

While I take a few minutes to publish this tote bag tutorial.

You will need: 

2 15" x 15" squares of fabric for the lining

2  30" x 6" pieces for the handles

2  15" x 15" squares of fabric for the body of the tote (I used home decor weight cotton fabric)

Note:  You can piece the outside fabric any way you like.  If you want to make it just like mine I used two 15" x 5" pieces for the top band (red) and two 15" x 11" pieces for the bottom portion of the tote. 

 

For the handles:

 

Fold fabric for the tote handles in half lengthwise.  Press.  Open and fold in and press one inch from each side.

Topstitch along both edges of each handle with a 1/8" seam allowance.

 

Place fabric for the body of the bag, right sides together, and sew along the sides and bottom with a 1/2" seam allowance. 

Note:  I used home decor weight fabric and this tote is pretty sturdy but if you're using quilting cotton you may want to iron fusible interfacing to the backside of the fabric before sewing it together.

To create the flat bottom of the tote you need to square off the corners.  Do this by pulling the bottom and side seams open.  Pinch the corner and match the bottom and side seams.  Mark off 1 1/2" from the point and pin.  Stitch straight down.  This bottom seam will be perpendicular to the side seams.

Mark off 1 1/2" from the point and pin. (close-up)

 

Stitch straight down.  The bottom seam will be perpendicular to the side seams.

 

Repeat for the other corner.

Trim off corners, leaving a 1/2" seam allowance.

  

Turn bag right side out.  The bottom will look like this.  Easy-peasy.

 

Now we're working on the lining.  Place the two pieces of lining fabric right sides together and stitch down both sides and bottom - leaving a three inch opening in the bottom seam for turning the bag later.  (see photo)

 

To create the flat bottom of the lining you need to square off the corners just like you did for the outside of the bag.  Do this by pulling the bottom and side seams open.  Pinch the corner and match the bottom and side seams.  Mark off 1 1/2" from the point and pin.  Stitch straight down.  The bottom seam will be perpendicular to the side seams.  Repeat for the other corner.  Trim off corners, leaving a 1/2" seam allowance.

You lining will look like above photo.

Now place the bag handles where you want them on the right side of the tote.  I like to measure in about 3" from either side.  Do the same with the handles on the other side of the bag.  Pin the handles in place.

Place the bag lining (wrong side out) over the bag (right side out) with the handles tucked in between the two layers.  Make sure the fabrics are right sides together and the top raw edges are even.  Check to make sure the side seams of the lining fabric match up with the side seams of the  tote fabric.  Pin the layers together.  Take out the pins you used to pin the handles in place earlier and reposition them with the lining on top and the handles in between.  (see photo)

Sew all around along the top edge with a 1/2 seam allowance.  Go back and reinforce all four handle ends by stitching over the seam several times.

 

Now it's time to turn your tote!  Do this by pulling the tote out through the opening at the bottom on the lining.

It will look like this.  Next sew up the opening in the bottom of the lining by hand with a blind stitch.  Push the lining back down into the bag.  Press the bag with a hot iron, paying special attention to the top edge. 

 

All done!  Enjoy you new tote.

 Ribbon bow (simply tied around handle) optional but so much fun.

I must go because my kiddos are done with their hot chocolate and I believe I just heard the words pillow + fight coming from the other room.  Oh, Mondays!  Have a wonderful (mon)day everyone!

apron - no seams exposed

I love to sew and wear aprons.  Most days I just wear jeans and a t-shirt and nothing brightens this 'mama uniform' like a colorful apron.  Plus it has the added benefit of giving others the impression that you spend your days baking, tidying up the house, and folding laundry! (I dare you to read that last sentence out loud without laughing.)

For a while now I've wanted to sew an apron without any exposed seams on the reverse side - mainly because I don't like the way the back looks after several washings.  I made a reversible apron a while ago but it was too thick for my liking.  Well, this week I finally took the time to figure out how to construct an apron with all the seams enclosed.  And should you be interested in making such an apron, I put together a little tutorial for you - you knew I would.

One caveat:  I miscalculated the length of the ties and they are too short to tie into a bow in front.  The instructions below include the modifications you will need to make if you would like the extra length.

See?  All the seams on the back are enclosed.  For some reason this makes me very happy.

Two rules to live by:  (or at least sew by):

1.  Always choose fabrics you love - and you will love the end result.

2.  Make sure all fabric is prewashed.  You wouldn't want to go through all the trouble of sewing a garment only to have it shrink unevenly and wrinkle after washing.

 

You will need:

26 x 18 inch rectangle for the apron

3 - 41 x 8 inch strips for the trim and sash.  Just cut 8 inch strips selvage to selvage. (4- 41 x 8 inch strips if you would like the extra length to make a bow in the front.)

 

Take your three (or four) 41 x 8 inch strips and iron each strip in half lengthwise.

Then open up each strip and iron in 1" on each of the long sides.  (see photo)

 

Lay one 41 x 8 inch strip along the 26 inch side of the apron rectangle.  Cut off a 26" length to sew along the bottom edge.  Reserve the rest of the strip for the ties. (If you are using 4 strips for the longer ties you will not need this extra piece.  Just save it for your next scrappy quilt.)

Open up the now 26" x 8" strip that you cut and align the apron fabric along the 1" fold of the trim.

Fold the trim around the apron fabric and pin in place.  Make sure you have pinned through both sides of the trim with the apron fabric sandwiched in the center.

Sew along the top edge with a 1/8" seam allowance - be sure you match your thread color to the trim fabric. 

Next, fold and press in 1" on each side of the apron body.  Then fold over and press another inch on each side to hide all exposed edges.  Pin along both sides.  (see photo)

Sew along both edges with a 1/8" seam allowance.

 

The front side will look like this.
 
 

Take the 2 - 41" x 8" strips you prepared earlier plus the piece of strip remaining from the bottom trim. (If you are making the longer ties, simply use the 3 remaining strips - do not use the short strip.)

 

Sew the three strips together like so, right sides together, with a 1/4" seam allowance.  For the shorter ties be sure the short strip is in the middle.  Press seam allowances open.  (For the longer ties, it won't matter which is in the center because all 3 strips will be the same size.)

 

The right side of the strip will look like this.

 

Re-fold the strips in half along the center.  It's a good idea to press again here to be sure that this long strip is flat and folded in half evenly.

Now tuck in the 2 short edges of the strip about 1" to conceal the raw edges.  Press.

 

You are now ready to attach the sash strip to the apron rectangle.  Stay with me here - we're almost done. 

Center the apron fabric on the sash strip.

Align the top of the apron fabric with the 1" fold in the strip.

 

Fold the strip in half with the apron fabric sandwich in between and pin.  Make sure you have pinned through both sides of the sash strip with the apron fabric sandwiched in the center.

 

Starting at one end (where the apron body fabric meets the sash) sew along the bottom edge with a 1/8" seam allowance. Continue sewing along the edge of the sash strip until you are 1/8" from the end.  Stop with the needle in the down position, pivot the fabric sash and sew along the 3" end edge.

Turn the apron to sew the other half of the sash strip closed.  Begin sewing exactly where you began the previous seam - this time sew in the opposite direction.  Sew along the length of the sash with a 1/8" seam allowance until you are 1/8" from the end.  Stop with the needle in the down position, pivot the fabric sash and sew along the 3" end edge.  All done!

 

Here's the back.  Notice the absence of any exposed seams.

Now put on your super-cute new apron and dance around the living room. (Or take pictures of yourself in the bedroom mirror) 

Be Warned:  Partaking in household activities such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry is not required in order to fully enjoy this apron. 

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

serious busy-ness

We've been busy playing...

together...

and enjoying the fact that temps have finally hit 50 degrees!

playsilk from Suzy of  Hip Mountain Mama.  I bought abigail three for Hanukkah and all three kiddos play with they all the time.

I also finished the baby quilt and burp clothes for the little boy with the big name.  His mama, Elinor, has been such an inspiration to me in so many ways.

Here's the front.

 

And back. 

And I love the stripy binding.

I also made these 5-minute burp clothes.

Out of prefold cloth diapers. (these are gerber brand from walmart) 

Instructions:  Pre-shrink diapers by washing them in hot water.  The padded center part will measure about 17 x 7 inches.  I cut a fabric to 19 x 9 inches and then ironed in an inch on each side.  Then sew along the perimeter with a quarter inch seam allowance.

 

 It's that simple. 

I used burp cloths like these when my kiddos were little and women would stop me all the time to ask where I bought them.  You can easily make a whole stack of these in an hour and have them ready for all those new mamas out there. 

 

I'm off to take some more bad photos with my new lens.  My husband totally surprised me with it last week - he is amazing in so many ways but I love how he supports and encourages all my serious busy-ness out here in blog land.  He says he just abides by the saying, "happy wife, happy life."

Hope you find the time to engage in some busy-ness this weekend!

 

chain piecing squares

You asked for it. 

The two questions that I am asked most often have to do with chain piecing and matching points.  So here are a thousand pictures (along with a few words) on how I do it. 

1.  Choose some of your favorite fabrics and cut them into squares.  My squares are 5"x5".

2.  Randomly select two squares and sew them, right sides together, with a 1/4" seam allowance.  I use a 1/4" foot on my machine so that I can align the edge of the fabric with the edge of the foot.

3.  When you are done sewing the fabric continue to "sew" for about one inch - this forms a thread chain. 

 

4.  Do not cut the thread or break the chain.  Lift the presser foot and place another two squares, right sides together, and sew then together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Repeat this until all your squares are in pairs.

Notice that I have sewn together 50 squares without getting up from my chair to press/iron.  Also, I have not cut any threads - this is really all one seam.  

And I love how they puddle on the floor.

5.  Cut the pieced squares apart by snipping the threads that connect them with scissors. 

6.  Open them up - you do not need to press at this point.  Now sew the pairs together into strips of 4 squares.

Lay the pieced squares, right sides together...

and sew with a 1/4" seam allowance - using your 1/4" sewing machine foot.

Once again do not cut the thread between squares.  Just "sew" an inch long chain after each seam, lift the presser foot, and insert the next squares.

Here they are in sets of four.

Here's a close-up of the "chain" of thread connecting the pieced square sets.

 

Cut these apart by snipping the threads with scissors. 

At this point you can chain piece these sets of squares together into sets of 8 and/or 16 or 32.

For this tutorial I will stop here and show you how I sew these rows of 4 together.

Once you get the rows as long as want, it will be time to press all the seams.

Before I press the seams I lay out all my rows and place them in the order I will be sewing them.

Then I press one row at a time, starting with the first row.

I press all the seams of the even numbered rows to one side (right or left - you choose) and all the odd numbered rows to the opposite side.  Now when I go to sew my rows together the intersections will butt up against each other, making it easy to match the points.  See below.

 

Here is how the joints butt up.  Use your fingers to butt the points/joints up.  At this point you can pin at each of these joints but I prefer to sew the rows together slowly and butt up each joint with my fingers as I come to it (I stop with needle in the down position and realign as needed).

You will soon see that if you sewed all the squares together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance and you got the first point/seam to match up then all the rest will follow suit - even if your row is 32 squares long!

Above are the first two rows, right sides together and first two joints butted up.

Note: Notice that the top edge of the rows may not line up exactly.  This is fine.  What is important is that the first Joint is butted up precisely - not the top edge of the row.

Sew the two rows together, right sides together, with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Continue to chain piece the rows together - two at a time.

Once you are done piecing all of the rows into sets of two, Press the long seam open with a hot iron. 

Do not iron back and forth - just press.

Now you are ready to sew the sets of two rows into sets of four rows.

Then sew the four row sets into eight row sets.  And 16 row sets until your quilt is the way you want it.

Sneak peak at my quilt here.  You can see several other quilts I made last year using the same method here, here and here - the only difference being that the squares were pieced into triangles first.  Please so not hesitate to ask any questions in the comments.

Hope this helps. But really if you make a quilt and your points do not match perfectly your kiddos will still love it just as much...

and they will still snuggle with it in their beds...

and they will drag it out onto the couch...

and they will still use it to build a fort...

and they will still spill chocolate milk all over it...

and they will still wrap it around their shoulders and run through the house pretending to have super powers...

and they will still love and appreciate it just as much as they would if every single point matched perfectly.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody. 

tidbit tuesday - answering your questions

Thank you sooo very much for all the beautiful comments and neighborly love on yesterday's post.   You all truly made my day!

Now for today's post:  In the comments and via e-mail you have asked.  I'm more than happy to provide the answers - plus it saves me the trouble of coming up with something to write about - you all are the best.  So here goes:

1.  How do you miter the corners on your napkins?

Answer:  No mitering of corners here.  These are reversible.

Cut 2 eighteen inch squares of fabric.

Place squares right sides together and sew around the edges - leaving a 4 inch opening for turning.

Snip off all four corners.  Turn right side out.  Press napkin, folding in the opening.

Topstitch around the perimeter, closing the opening as you go.  Be sure to stop at the corners with the needle in the down position when you rotate the napkin.

And you get a reversible and durable napkin - no mitering required.

2.  Where did you purchase this ruler?

Answer:  here at Joann Fabric.

3. More info on these boots please.

Answer:  They are Sporto Demi boots, purchased last year at TJMaxx (I paid $24.99).  They are super comfortable, lined in warm flannel, and perfect for wearing in the snow. I think they are waterproof - they are not leather.  I wear a size 6 1/2 shoe and these would look cute in all sizes...nuff said.

4.  How did you close up the bottom of these stuffies?

Answer:  I used my sewing machine - just plain old running stitch with regular sewing foot.  The bottom edge that you see in this photo is the actual cuff of the sleeve from the sweater that I used.

5.  Care to share the cutlet recipe?

Answer: Of course.

3 pounds ground beef (very lean - 3% fat)

1cup matzah meal (or plain bread crumbs)

1 small onion diced

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1 T garlic powder

1 T paprika

salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Form into small cutlet shape using palm of your hand - wetting hands first helps. Fry in canola oil - about 3 minutes per side.  Makes about 25.  I usually have 2 pans going at once.  Leftover are great for sandwiches the next day.  You can also bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.

 
This was fun!  So keep those questions coming.

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! 

grown-up girl neighborly

The following is my pattern for Jennifer Casa's  neighborly sweater modified to fit us girls who are all grown-up.  Who said only the little ones should have all the cute clothes?

A few caveats before I begin:

1.  Because this sweater has positive ease and a A-line bodice, this pattern is for a size medium but is easily modifiable to fit a size small or large. ( all mods will be provided here)

2.  to make this sweater fit a size small better I knit both the neckline and the sleeve ribbing using a sz US 6 needle (rather then US 8).  I also finished up the blocking process by putting the damp sweater in the dryer for 6-8 minutes (it tightened up a bit and shrunk about one inch all around).

This photo is for those of you who asked what I look like - see how much I love and appreciate all you guys for stopping by my little space here!

This pattern fits ladies size small-medium  [sz large in brackets]

Yarn :  2 skeins Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted  - MC.
2 skeins Noro Kureyon - CC.
Needles : US 8  circulars and double pointed needles (sz US 6 dpn's or circulars for magic loop for ribbing)

Using MC yarn and size US 8 circular needle cast in 96 stitches.  Join for working in the round.

Set-up row:  k 36, pm, k 12, pm, k 36, pm, k 12, pm (this last marker should be a different color to indicate beginning of next round)

Next row:  Knit.

Row 1:  knit to one stitch before marker, kfb, slip marker (sm), kfb.  Do this 3 more times.

Row 2: Knit.

Repeat rows 1 & 2 fourteen [sixteen] more times.

Next round:  knit front stitches, place next 40 [44] sleeve stitches on scrap yarn, knit across the back stitches, place second 40 [44] sleeve stitches on scrap yarn. 

Work in stockinette for 14 rounds.

Next round:  (k3, kfb)* repeat* to last stitches -  about 156 [about 164] sts.

Knit 5 rounds.

Lower Bodice:  Note: do not break either yarn while striping, just carry it on the WS overlapping only when you switch from one color to another.

Knit 3 rounds with CC yarn.  Switch to MC and K 2 rounds.  Repeat 10 [12] times. 

Hemline:  Knit 10 rounds in garter stitch using CC.  (makes 5 garter ridges)  Bind off all stitches.

Armholes:  Transfer the 40 [44] sleeve sts from waste yarn to 3 US 8 dpn's (for size small - use sz US 6 dpn's).  PM and join for working in the round.  Work K1 P1 rib for 8 rounds.  BO in pattern.   Repeat for other armhole.

Neckline :  Using sz US 6 circular needle pick up 80 [90] stitches.  PM and join for working in the round.  Work K1 P1 rib for 8 rounds.  BO all sts in pattern.

Weave in ends and block.  That's it.

The neighborly pattern, as well as the beautiful sentiment behind it, was written by Jennifer Casa of JCasa Handmade.  Go check out some more of her fabulous patterns here.

And I totally think I was channeling Jennifer as I was writing up this pattern - I made these beef cutlets for lunch yesterday - the russian jewish girl's version of meatballs.  I loved these when I was little and now my kiddos gobble them up faster than I can make them.  It's a good thing.

Have a great weekend everyone!

my take on neighborly + 2 inspiring films

Several of you asked about the modifications I made to the neighborly pattern.  The only true change was to convert the pattern to a simple top-down sweater, knit in the round.  This is only a knitting "recipe" so please refer to the original neighborly pattern for specifics as well as yardage, gauge and tips on knitting stripes.  So here goes:

This pattern fits girls size 4-7 [sz 8-12 in brackets]

Using size US 8 needle cast in 80 stitches.  Join for working in the round.

Set-up row:  k 30, pm, k 10, pm, k 30, pm, k 10, pm (this last marker should be a different color to indicate beginning of next round)

Next row:  Knit.

Row 1:  knit to one stitch before marker, kfb, slip marker (sm), kfb.  Do this 3 more times.

Row 2: Knit.

Repeat rows 1 & 2 eight [ten] more times.

Next round:  knit front stitches, place next 30 [34] sleeve stitches on scrap yarn, knit across the back stitches, place second 30 [34] sleeve stitches on scrap yarn.

Work in stockinette for 8 rounds.

Next round:  (k2, kfb)* repeat* to last stitches -  about 126 [about 148] sts.

Lower Bodice:  Knit 4 rounds with CC yarn.  Switch to MC and K 2 rounds.  Repeat 6 [9] times. 

Hemline:  Knit 8 rounds in garter stitch using CC.  (makes 4 garter ridges)  Bind off all stitches.

Armholes:  Transfer the 30 [34] sleeve sts from waster yarn to 3 dpn's (or use magic loop).  PM and join for working in the round.  Work K1 P1 rib for 6 rounds.  BO in pattern.   Repeat for other armhole.

Neckline :  Pick up 60 [70] stitches (pick up 3 sts for every 4 for the smaller sz).  PM and join for working in the round.  Work K1 P1 rib for 8 rounds.  BO all sts in pattern.  Secure a large decorative button to the neckline.

Weave in ends and block.  That's it.

The neighborly pattern, as well as the beautiful sentiment behind it, was written by Jennifer Casa of JCasa Handmade.  She is an all-around beautiful and gifted lady who has just received some tough news.  You're sure to be inspired by her strength.  Nothing can stop her now.

And speaking of beautiful and inspiring, I'd like to recommend two films that I was fortunate enough to re-watch this week (thank you Netflix).  Young at Heart and Valentino: The Last Emperor.  You will be inspired, uplifted, entertained and you will find yourself laughing and crying at the same time!  And if you're like me, when they are done you will want to watch them again.

Have a beautiful weekend!

tidbit tuesday

I'm quite aware that it's Wednesday but this mama forgot that this Tuesday I had to take three kiddos to vote, then for a run in the park followed by some much needed sweater shopping.  Then they insisted they were hungry and made me feed them.  And when we got home after taekwondo it was way too dark to take pictures - darn time change.  Enough excuses...

tidbit #1 - How I sew buttons on to knits.

1.  Thread needle with wool.  Double yarn but do not knot.

2.  Pull needle through from the back, leaving a long tail of yarn.

3.  Pull back through the second buttonhole.

4.  Knot the two ends. Twice.

5.  Snip ends.  That's it.

I like this very simple method better than the traditional way because it's fast, secure and doesn't require much stabbing into the knit sweater - allowing you to remove the button for washing or for when you want to switch it out for a new look.

tidbit #2 - piecing pieced strips without pinning.  These are for the Leslie quilt.

 

Before beginning to sew, align the first seams (not the the tops of the strips) because it's most important that the seams match.  Use sewing machine to sew just past this first intersection.  Stop with the needle in the down position and ...

 align the second intersection and sew over it.  Stop with the needle in the down position and align the next seam.  You will continue gently tugging the fabric to match the seams til you get to the end of the strip.  See finished blocks here.  I find this method to be much faster than pinning all 10 intersections before heading to the sewing machine. (I tried to take photos with the fabric in the sewing machine but they turned out way too dark - hope this makes sense)

 

This method works for all quilts patterns where two or more seams need to be matched - try it when sewing blocks together into a quilt top.

Hope you find a way to incorporate these tidbits into projects you're working on.

I'd like to thank everyone on all the neighborly love from the last post.  I will be posting the top down "recipe" for the mods I made to the original neighborly later this week.  I also ordered more of the same wool (because I love it so much Jennifer) to knit a 'big girl' neighborly and I will be sharing the pattern once I get it knit up.

Also, several weeks back I dvr'd Oprah to see the show with Stephanie Nielson  - that's one inspiring lady.  But apparently I don't know how to program my dvr because yesterday I realized that I have taped the last 16 Oprah shows.  So last night I browsed through a show on shoes and accessories from last week that featured this knit "infinity scarf' from the Limited.  Ladies, we can so save $40 and make this "must have" fashion accessory!  I'm thinking some:

size 13 circular needles,

250 yards of bulky yarn, and

120 stitches, joined in the round

in a 1x1 rib pattern. 

Easy peasy!  I'm going to start mine today.  Let me know if you decide to knit one.  After all, how can we enter the winter season without the "must have" accessory?

Have a fantastic rest of the day!

instructions for Leslie's quilt, modified - part 1 of 2

Several weeks ago when Leslie of A Friend to Knit With posted yet another photo of her amazing quilt I knew that I had to come up with a way to recreate it.  And I was so excited when Leslie was generous enough to give me permission to write up and share a pattern of my version of her gorgeous quilt with you.  I modified the pattern so that the quilt could be strip pieced - thus eliminating the need to cut up hundreds of tiny squares - which is probably how Leslie's was constructed because it is hand pieced.

The first thing I did was sketch out this pattern. This pattern shows only one half of the quilt because I enjoy sewing much more than I enjoy pattern making - and I am a bit impatient.

I knew I wanted this quilt to emphasize color value.   Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a color. We change the value of a color by adding white or black to the color.  Playing with value makes for an interesting quilt because it helps define forms and create spatial illusions. If values contrast, shapes will appear to stand out from the others.   

To keep things simple, I chose to use four low value colors (deep, rich colors, containing lots of black) and then add various higher value (lighter colors with lots of white) fabrics.  This also makes the quilt easier to construct because you only need to keep track of 4 fabrics - all the others are randomly selected.

This is the 15 inch block.  Twenty of these blocks  laid out in a 4 x 5 grid will make a 60 x 75 inch quilt.  

So, without further ado, my pattern for Leslie's Quilt, modified:

To piece this this 60 x 75 inch quilt you will need: 

        1 yard each of the yellow, pink, red and green fabrics.

        3 yards of assorted fabrics containing higher values (more white) of these four colors (I used a mixture of 12 different fabrics)

        A 1/4inch foot on your machine (it doesn't really matter what your seam allowance is as long as it's uniform throughout) 

        this ruler (so make uniform 2" strips - quickly)

 

Four darker and richer (low value) colors. One yard each.  You can any 4 colors you wish as long as you keep the values constant.  Just remember that the darkness or lightness of a color is every bit as important as the color itself.

Twelve lighter (high value) colors.  Four 2" x 42" strips each (cut selvage to selvage)

the ruler that cut perfect strips - quickly.

Step 1:  Cut all fabric selvage to selvage, into 2" strips.  All strips will be 2" x 42"

You will need 16 green strips (2" x 42")

10 yellow strips, (2" x 42")

18 pink strips, (2" x 42")

14 red strips (2" x 42")

 42 strips of the lighter value fabrics (4 strips from each of the 12 fabrics).

 

Step 2:  Sew the 2" x  42" strips together into the 5 strip units shown below. 

Each strip unit contains 10 strips.  

You will need to make 2 of each of the 5 units for a total of 10 units.

Each unit will measure 15 1/2 inches wide x 42 inches long.

Unit #1:  Yellow, Pink, Green, Red, 6 lighter value strips (selected randomly)

Make 2 of this unit.

Unit #2: Pink, Yellow, Pink, Green, Red, 5 lighter value strips (selected randomly)

Make 2 of this unit.

Unit #3:  Green, Pink, Yellow, Pink, Green, Red, 4 lighter value strips (selected randomly)

Make 2 of this unit.

 

Unit #4:  Red, Green, Pink, Yellow, Pink, Green, Red, 3 lighter value strips.

Make 2 of this unit.

Unit #5:  1 lighter value strip, Red, Green, Pink, Yellow, Pink, Green, Red, 2 lighter value strips.

Make 2 of this unit.

Using above ruler, cut each of the 10 units into 20 (2 inch wide) strips.

You will have 5 stacks - each containing 40 strips.

This was all I had left.  I do not even cut off the selvage strips before sewing.

Step 3:  Join these new strips into 20 blocks.  Each block uses 10 strips  - 2 from each of the 5 units.

These strips are very easy to sew together because the small squares and all those seams give these strip units a lot of give.  Just sew slowly and tug the strip a bit to match the seams.

Tips for Sewing Together the  2" x 42" Strips: 

1.  To keep all those 42" strips nice and even always sew strips in sets of 2, then sets of 4, then two sets of 4 into a set of 8.  Finally add the last set of 2.  In other words, you do not want to ever sew one strip into a unit that already has  6 or more strips because the strip starts to stretch making it hard to keep the seams straight and even.

2.  Press after sewing each seam.  I highly recommend using the assembly line method.  First make 10 sets of 2 strips units.  Then take all 10 to the ironing board and press.  Next sew the ten 2 strip units together into five 4 strip units.  Take those to the press.  Etc.

Stay tuned for part 2 of the tutorial when we set the 20 blocks into 5 rows of 4 blocks each to reveal the quilt pattern.  Of course, first I need to piece the other 17 blocks! (but they only take about 20 minutes each)  People, putting this quilt and pattern together has been SO MUCH FUN!  And thinking of other ways to play with color value, hues, tones has had me up when I should be sleeping - in fact, I already have the fabrics cut for my next value quilt. 

I will leave you with this amusing little story.  I spent several hours each day this week volunteering at my kiddos school, helping with all the 1st and 2nd grade testing as well as some lunch duty.  My husband, who works nearly every weekend, was home several days this week.  On Thursday, when I returned home after 1:00pm and told him that from now on I will only be reading with 1st graders two mornings a week he mentioned that he thought I really enjoyed being at the school and asked me if I wanted to become a school teacher now that all three kiddos are in school.  Well, these four weeks have been the only four weeks in my entire life when I have not had a job, been a student, or a mom - or some combination of the three.  And after only about a dozen hours to myself I am not at all ready to get a full time teaching job.  I appreciate my husband's concern (and I know he meant well because he's a sweetie)  but there are many more quilting, sewing and knitting projects calling my name!  Plus, who will have the strawberry banana smoothies waiting for the kiddos when they get home?

 

more on quilting

Look familiar?  Yup, it's more strip piecing around here.  I've pre-cut all the fabric for this quilt. You didn't think I was going to cut and sew hundreds of squares, did you?  If you look carefully, you may see that I replaced two of the main fabrics.  This is because I decided to make this quilt twin sized and I didn't have enough of the other two fabrics.  All fabric requirements and instructions coming by the end of the week.  If you can sew a straight line and cut strips, you can make this quilt.

In my last post I offered tips for free motion quilting. 

However if you are not yet ready for free motion you can quilt your quilt using machine-guided quilting which is really just like regular sewing.  All you need to do is:

1.  Tape out a grid on your quilt using blue painter's tape. 

        (or you can just follow the lines in your quilt)

        (you can remove and reuse the tape over and over so tape out just several lines at a time)

2. Install a walking foot.   

(you must use this foot to avoid wrinkles in your quilt.  The walking foot contains an upper set of feed dogs to match the lower feed dogs already in your machine - these work together to feed all three layers evenly.  The walking foot is also ideal for attaching binding.)

3.  Put in a new quilting needle.

4.  Sew along the lines of the blue tape, removing safety pins as you come to them.

First watermelon from our garden - not very big, but very sweet.

Have a wonderful week!  and don't forget to play.

a whole bunch of free motion quilting tips and a new quilt

I have been very busy at the kids' school this week.  But I did manage to finish quilting my log cabin quilt.  It still needs binding but I went ahead and took some pictures.

Here are several close-ups of the quilting.  I did a kind of messy stipple/meandering quilting because I like the way it makes the quilt all 'crinkly' after it's washed and because it is much faster that straight line quilting using a walking foot.  The kind of quilting I did is called free motion quilting because it's done with the feed dogs lowered on the machine which allows the quilt to move around freely under the needle.  With the feed dogs down you will also be controlling the direction and length of the stitches.  The machine will move the needle up and down and you will move the quilt back, forth and side to side.  It's kind of like drawing with the needle - only the machine is the pencil and you are moving the paper (quilt).  It sounds complicated but it's not once you get the hang of it.    

Often the only thing stopping people from attempting free motion quilting is fear.  I know because I too had fear.  And then one day I made myself a dozen 12X12 inch quilt sandwiches (just squares of batting and fabric pictured below) and practiced, practiced, practiced.  So:

1.  put in a free motion quilting or darning foot.  (This foot has a spring in its shank that lets it "hop" out of the way as you are moving your quilt around)

2. lower the feed dogs on the machine (there's usually a switch in the back of the machine - read the manual)

3.  Put in a new quilting needle.

4.  adjust the needle stop in the DOWN position.  (this way each time you stop sewing the needle will remain down in the fabric, allowing you to continue from the same stitch)  Watch Crazy Mom Quilts' video to see how this works during actual quilting.

5.  Thread the machine.  Remember that in order to thread the machine properly you'll need to release the needle tension while you are threading and engage the tension right before you take the thread through the needle.  This ensures that the thread is going through the tension disks properly.  (this is not specific to free motion - you should already be doing this each time you thread your machine.  But if you don't thread the machine properly for free motion you'll see loops of thread bunching up on the back of your quilt)

6.  Begin practicing on your 12 inch quilt 'sandwiches.'  Move a square under the needle, placing a hand on each side, and move the quilt under the needle to form the stippling design.

There are some great tutorials in blog land on free motion quilting.  Alissa of Handmade by Alissa has a great tutorial here.  Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts has a super informative video on free motion quilting. And this photo of Kathy of Pink Chalk Studio with her quilt over her shoulder is one good way to maneuver a large quilt.   Kathy also writes about the importance of using a sharp quilting needle.  Personally, I do not like to wear gloves while I quilt but you can try it and do what works for you.

TEN Very Important Things to Keep In Mind:

1.  Don't worry about consistent stitch length at first - that will come with practice.  The varied stitch length is the mark of a real person (you) moving the quilt around with you hands, and not a machine.

2.  The hardest part of free motion quilting is coordinating your machine's speed with the speed with which you move your quilt.  Find the machine speed (controlled by the foot pedal) that is comfortable for you and keep it consistent.  My machine has a slider bar that allows you to adjust machine speed - I like to set it on 'medium fast' which lets me floor the pedal without going crazy fast.  Then I move the quilt under the needle at 'medium' speed.

3.  Try to look just ahead of the needle at all times to see where your stitching is headed (kinda like looking ahead while driving)

4.  If your stitches are too long, increase the speed of your machine and slow down the movement of your hands.

5.  If the stitches are too small and bunched together, decrease the machine speed and increase the movement of your hands.

6.  First start the machine running slowly.  Don't move your hands (quilt) until you have taken a stitch or two.  Then move you hands slowly as you increase the machine speed.

7.  Problem solving tip:  If there are long loops of thread on the back side of the quilt, only two things could have caused this problem.  (1) you forgot to lower the presser foot before beginning to stitch or (2) you forgot to raise the presser foot when you threaded the machine.  To solve this:  carefully rethread the machine and start over.

8.  To train your brain, practice drawing the design on a piece of paper before you stitch.

9.  Any imperfect section will be hidden once the whole quilt is quilted.  It's the effect of the whole quilt that matters.  Remember that the recipient of the quilt does not know the effect you were trying to achieve.

10. This is truly lots of fun.  So grab a glass of wine, a comfy chair, turn the music up loud (the machine makes lots of noise) and quilt!

I will answer any questions in the comments - so ask away.

Question of the day:  What are the fabrics above, combined with...

...these fabrics...

going to become?

Answer:  My strip pieced version of this amazing quilt.  Several weeks ago Leslie of A Friend to Knit With was generous enough to give me permission to write up and share a pattern of my version of her gorgeous quilt with you.  It took me a while to figure out how to piece it correctly without having to cut up hundreds of tiny squares - which is probably how Leslie's was constructed because it is hand pieced.  Pattern coming soon so stock up on purple nail polish and search out the cutest embroidered jeans ever! (just kidding)  And if you were wondering why the lower left hand corner of my sketch is conspicuously covered by fabric it's because I totally screwed up while watching episodes of Project Runway.  But I promise that my math skills are far more accurate than my drawing skills.  Really.

Have a great weekend everyone!

the belt-scarf

The other night, while watching this movie, I sewed the first belt-scarf.  It all started when I bought some very cute but kinda long t-shirts on sale at old navy. 

I figured they could use a belt.  So I made one.  Then I realized that the belt can also be worn as a scarf.  And so the belt-scarf was born.

The belt came together very quickly and the movie was pretty good (especially if you read the books) so I decided to try a belt with rounded edges using a linen blend fabric.

I wore it to a birthday party yesterday and received lots of compliments so I wrote up a quick tutorial.  I feel a little silly providing instructions for sewing together two pieces of fabric but I'm hoping that the measurements I used will help you decide what length and width you'd like to make and spare you some trial and error. 

This is a super easy beginner sewing project so I'm hoping that you will pull out your favorite fabric and whip up a new belt-scarf for fall.

You will need 1/2 yard of your favorite fabric. 

Cut the fabric into 4 strips, selvedge to selvedge.  The strips should be between 4" - 5" wide. 

For the lotus print belt above, the fabric was cut 4 inches wide, resulting in a 3 1/2 inch wide belt.  For the linen belt, fabric was cut 5 inches wide, resulting in a 4 1/2 wide belt.

Sew two of the strips together along the short edge to make one longer strip. 
Sew the other two strips together. 
Press the seams open.

Next decide on the length you'd like for your belt. 
Use a length of scrap yarn (I know you have some!) or an existing belt to gauge your ideal length.  Keep in mind that most cotton fabric is 42" selvage to selvage making your strip about 80" long.
Cut fabric 4 inches longer than desired length.  

Cutting is not necessary - you can choose to use the whole length.

The lotus fabric belt above is 70" long and the linen belt measures 77".

Sew the 2 strips together along one long edge, right sides together.

At this point, decide whether you would like 45 degree angle or rounded ends.

If you'd like the angled edge, use a pencil to draw a line on an angle and sew along that line.  Cut off the excess fabric.  Snip points for turning.

If you choose a rounded edge, use a compass or a large round bowl to draw a curve at each end.

Sew along the curve.

Cut off the excess fabric.

Use scissors to cut notches along the seam so that you get a smooth curve when you turn your belt-scarf right side out.

Next, sew along the other long side.
You will have to leave a large (12 inch) opening in the middle of this side for turning the belt.  To do this begin on one end and sew 'til you reach the middle of the belt, backstitch to secure your thread, and cut the thread.  Turn your belt and begin sewing from the opposite side.  Sew until you have a 12-14 inch opening in the center of the belt, and backstich to secure thread.

Turn belt right side out.  Take your time and use a chopstick or above pictured poke-y tool to help turn the points. 
Press well with steam - it will be wrinkled. 
Whip stitch the opening closed by hand.

Enjoy! 

 

This is how abigail watches Sunday morning cartoons.  Yes, I let my kiddos watch tv.  Do I think it will turn them into couch potatoes?  Umm... no.  But there's no telling what their tv viewing will turn my couch into!  Have a great Sunday!

how I sandwich a quilt and a happy accident

Today I finished sandwiching my log cabin quilt top pieced using the strip piecing method.

Here are the simple steps I follow to prepare the quilt for the actual quilting.  This is the part of quilting that I enjoy the least but is really very important.  In fact, if a quilt is not sandwiched properly, one could easily see the hours of precise cutting, piecing and matching points go to waste when the quilt bunches and stretches during quilting.  (please do not ask how I know this - lets just say I've learned much through trial and error.) 

Step 1.  Measure your completed quilt top and piece the quilt back to be 4-6 inches wider and longer than the quilt top.   This is important as the top tends to shift a bit during quilting.

Step 2.  Place the quilt back on the floor wrong side up and tape it to the floor using blue painters tape.  Pull it snug so that there are no wrinkles and the fabric lays flat but do not stretch it.  This keeps the layers flat and taught during pinning and will serve to eliminate puckers that can form on the back during quilting.

Step 3.  Cut the batting the same size as the quilt back (4-6 inches larger than the quilt top)  and place it on top of the quilt back.  I use warm and natural cotton batting that I buy at Joann's using the 40% off coupon - I have found it to be the best batting available.

EDITED TO ADD:  It has been brought to my attention that I neglected to mention that I use warm and natural batting that is 90" wide - this way I do not need to piece the batting.  Batting can easily be pieced using a wide zig-zag stitch.  The batting also comes in 34"  and 45"  widths if you are working on smaller projects.  This quilt measures 65" x 72". Thanks Lisa.

Step 4. Place the quilt top on the batting right side up.

Step 5.  Pin all the layers together, placing the pins about 6 inches apart.  I use these little curved pins made especially for sandwiching quilts because they are easier to close when the quilt is taped to the floor.

Here is the quilt all pinned.

Step 6.  Remove all the blue tape and, using scissors, cut around the perimeter of the quilt leaving two inches of extra backing and batting all around the quilt top.

All sandwiched and awaiting quilting! 

Please ask any questions you may have in the comments as I am not sure that this tutorial is all that clear.

EDITED TO ADD:  It has been brought to my attention that I neglected to mention that I use warm and natural batting that is 90" wide - this way I do not need to piece the batting.  Batting can easily be pieced using a wide zig-zag stitch.  The batting also comes in 34"  and 45"  widths if you are working on smaller projects.  This quilt measures 65" x 72". Thanks Lisa.

As for that happy accident....

Today we discovered this gigantic cucumber in the garden that we had apparently overlooked for ... let's just say - a very long time.  It was 10 inches long and 5 inches in diameter!  That was the 'accident' part.  I say was because the 'happy' part came when we got to watch our guinea pigs eat it.

Once we put then in their enclosure they ate the whole thing!

Here's wishing you many 'happy accidents' this weekend!

summertime and log cabin blocks

"To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle.  Every cubic inch of space is a miracle."
             Walt Whitman

We have been enjoying every hour of summer around here.

And marveling at the beauty of the weeds in our little space.

There has also been a bit of quilting going on.

When the piecing of the log cabin blocks was complete, I realized that all the primary colors in these fabrics make this quilt quite bright.  To tone it down a bit, I added a white fabric border (2 inch strips) to half the blocks.  Here are some of the blocks on my felt board.

There are lots of ways to arrange these scrappy log cabin blocks into a quilt.  The simplest is to trim the blocks so that they are the exact same size and sew them together - first into rows and then to sew the rows together to complete the top.

You can also add a border to every other block like I did.  Just be sure to go back and make the remainder of the blocks larger so that all the blocks are the same size.

Another option would be to border all of the blocks in a complimentary fabric (or white) like so.

Finally, the blocks can sewn together with sashing in between.  Simply sew the blocks together in rows with your sashing strips in between.  Then sew the rows together with horizontal sashing strips in between the rows. 

 

And while I was sewing, and the boys were putting together an airplane model, abigail was busy sorting and labeling.

I think I will choose one "plain" and two "sassy" buttons!

Here's to enjoying every hour of the light and dark!

quick hints for easy peasy log cabin quilt blocks

Thank you so much for your kind comments to my last log cabin quilt post.  As I slowly progress on the piecing  I realize there is more I want to share.  Here are some helpful hints:

1.  If this is your first quilt don't make it too big.  30 ten to twelve inch blocks will give you a nice 4ft x 5ft quilt.

2.  You will need a half yard each of  8 - 10 coordinating fabrics.

3.  remember to PRESS the squares each time you cut them apart and always press the seems out AWAY from the center.   This will allow your square to lie flat and ...well, square.

4.  For piecing, choose any color neutral thread.  The thread does not have to match your fabrics as it will not be visible - any of these would be fine.

5.  To keep the blocks looking random, keep all of your squares in a pile to pull from and place on your next strip.  These have already been cut apart and pressed:

6.  Keep a garbage bowl nearby when cutting the squares apart.

7.  Most importantly, find something to occupy the kiddos so that you can sew.  Mine made many airplanes out of foam plates and drinking straws.   The ones pictured flew the farthest.  (ezra took this picture)

My power is currently out and it is storming outside.  I'm going to go cuddle with my girl and watch my veggies perk up in the rain - so much better than me going out there to water!  Now let's just hope the power comes back soon - definitely not one of the perks of living in the country!

easy-peasy log cabin tutorial

I absolutely love the katie jump rope fabric line by denyse schmidt and I have slowly been collecting prints, several yards at a time.  I will be making a scrappy log cabin quilt and posting my progress with tutorials as I go along.  Follow along with me and use your favorite fabrics to make your own log cabin quilt.   Here's how:

I will be making approximately 42  - 10 inch blocks for a large lap/twin quilt size.  This tutorial uses the chain piecing method so there will be no need for measuring fabric fabric pieces, making precise cuts, or perfect seam allowances.  Because there are no points to match this is perfect for a first quilt.  In fact, you can make the squares a little big larger and then use a ruler to cut them to the 10 inch size.

First, cut 8 - 12 of your favorite coordinating fabrics into 2 inch strips, selvage to selvage.  The number of strips of each fabric will depend on how many squares you will be making, but 4 - 6 strips of each fabric is a good place to start.

Press the fabric strips well.

Cut 2 x 2 inch squares for the center of the log cabin blocks. 

I chose to cut 42 white squares for the centers to unify all of the various fabric patterns.  You can use a coordinating color or pattern or make the centers in different colors.

Next, choose a 2 inch strip and place it under the presser foot of your sewing machine.  Lay the 2 inch center squares - ONE AT A TIME - on the strip and sew it down.  When you get to the end of the 2 inch square stop sewing, lift the presser foot, and place down the next square, lower the presser foot.  Sew it down, stop sewing, lift the presser foot, and place down the next square, lower the presser foot, and sew.  Do this until you have ten center squares in the strip.  Do not pin.

This is what the strip looks like when it comes through the machine.  There are no points or fabric edges to get caught in the machine, no cutting of thread, and no matching of two small squares - it is much easier to place the small squares on a long strip of fabric.

Here is what the strips will look like.  Notice that there is room left on the strip but I chose to only sew 9-10 center squares on each strip in order to vary the patterns of the blocks.

Note: leave as little room as possible between squares so as not to waste fabric.

These strips are lots of fun to piece - and super easy!

Using a ruler and rotary cutter, cut the squares apart.  Cut out and discard the little bit between the squares.

You will have 42 pieces.

Open them up and PRESS with the seam allowance away from the white center square.

Now select another long strip (cut selvage to selvage), place it under the presser foot and begin sewing the pieced rectangles to it.  Lay them down ONE AT A TIME and sew.  Stop when you get to the end, lift up the presser foot, place down another pieced rectangle, lower the presser foot, sew.  Repeat until you get to the end of the strip.  Do not pin.

Here's the strip right after it comes out the machine.

Cut the blocks apart and PRESS them open with the seam allowances away from the center white square.  This is as far as I got, but for those of you who want to work ahead...

Choose another strip, lay down the pieced blocks as pictured above and sew.  Lay and sew the blocks ONE AT A TIME - the picture above is for demo only to show the orientation of the blocks.

More tutorials coming us as I progress with the quilt.  Please ask any questions in the comments - this piecing is so simple to do but kinda hard to describe. 

Enjoy your weekend  - and remember to play some!

very lengthy tutorial for a very easy apron

Here's the tutorial for this apron.  This is the longest tutorial for the easiest apron ever.  But I was going for the "picture is worth a thousand words" premise.  So here goes.

You will need to cut 4 pieces of fabric for the apron base, two pockets, and lining and 2 for the ties.

Choose your fabrics.  I chose decorator weight fabrics for the apron base and pockets and quilting cotton for the lining and ties.  The decorator fabric gives the apron more weight and makes it quite sturdy.

The apron base, large pocket, and lining are all 12" x 24" inches.
The smaller front pocket is 8" x 24"
The ties are 5 1/2" cut selvage to selvage (most fabrics are 42") 

Begin with 8" x 24" fabric rectangle for smaller front pocket.  Fold over and press 1 inch on the long side and then fold over 1 inch and press again.  Sew (top-stitch) with 1/8" seam allowance. 

Note: There is no need to pin any of the seams in this apron.  Pressing each fold with a hot iron before sewing, however, is key to nice straight seams.

Do the same for larger back pocket measuring 12 x 24 inches.  Fold over 1 inch on one long side - press - fold over 1 inch again - press.  Sew (top-stitch) with 1/8 inch sea allowance.

Align the two pockets like so...

Place the two pockets on top of the apron base fabric.  The base fabric is 12 x 24 inches.

Sew all three rectangles together along both short edges with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Here they are sewn together along the two side edges.  Set aside while you work on the ties.

Make 2 ties.

Cut a 5 1/2 inch strip of fabric selvage to selvage.  Strip will be 5 1/2 x 42 inches.

Press in 1 inch on short side.
Fold strip in half lengthwise and press.  Open the fabric strip.
Then press both long edges in up to the crease.  See photo below.

Fold fabric down the center crease and sew.

Begin sewing down short edge.  Stop 1/8 inch before you get to the end of the fabric, with needle in the down position and turn fabric to sew long edge.

Do the same for the second tie.  You will have two 1 1/2 x 42 inch ties.

Now place your apron base and pockets piece (now sewn together) right side up.

Arrange one of the ties - you'll be sewing one at a time -  1 inch from the top.  Make sure that the entire tie is "inside"  so that it is on the right side after you sew on the lining and turn the apron right side out.

Place lining fabric (12 x 24 inches), right sides together, on top. 

Sew down this short side.  Make sure you catch the tie and that it is straight.

Repeat on the opposite side.  Make sure that it, too, is "inside" the apron sandwich.

Here is what it will look like.

I have sewn down the 2 sides and the bottom edge with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Both ties are inside the apron "sandwich."

Note:  make sure that you do not catch the ties while sewing the bottom edge.

Next, sew the top leaving a 6 inch opening in the center for turning.

To do this begin at one end - sew approximately 8 inches and stop.  Begin at other end and sew appox. 8 inches leaving a 6 inch gap in the center.

Snip all four corners and ends of the ties  for a clean edge.

Turn apron inside out and press.

Topstitch along the top edge to close up the 6 inch opening used for turning.

Finally, make the two pockets into 6 by sewing two vertical lines down the entire length of the apron.

Here's a peak at the back.

Enjoy.

I promise that it takes only 30 minutes to sew this apron.
Any beginner can sew this easily.  If you have read this terribly lengthy tutorial you will have absolutely no trouble sewing the apron!
I will answer any questions in the comments. 

how to piece perfect points - every time.

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day.  My day was great until a certain middle child caught the stomach bug.  He got to stay home with mom today and is finally feeling a bit better.

Several of you commented on how precisely the points matched in these blocks.  So I'm going to show you how simple it is to have perfectly matched points...

First, piece squares to make triangles like so.

Then cut the squares in half on the diagonal.

Choose two triangle units to piece together.

MOST IMPORTANT STEPS: 

Iron the seams in opposite directions.
Place the triangles right sides together.
Align the center seams.
Abut the two seams against one another - use your fingers to do this.
Do not concern yourself with aligning the corners or edges of the triangles. 
The fabrics will "hinge" together.  There is no need to pin, but you can if you like.
Sew.

Open.  Press.  It's that simple.  And it works every time!

I went outside - in the rain - to clean up and assess the length of our grass/weeds and spotted this...

May you find beauty in the mundane this Monday!

This is how I made the scarf...

Instructions for super simple scarf:

You will need:

1/2 yard cotton fabric for the body of the scarf.  Cut the fabric in half selvage to selvage to get two 9" x 42" pieces.  In the photo below the cotton fabric in shown folded in half - it is actually twice as long.

4 rectangles of silk dupioni (or a complimentary cotton fabric)  measuring 9" x 6"

First, sew one silk rectangle (or cotton) right sides together, to each of the 4 short ends of the cotton fabric.   Press seam allowances towards the scarf body.

You will have two identical pieces with lengths of the cotton sandwiched by the silk rectangles.

Next, sew these two lengths (right sides together) all the way around - leaving a 4 inch opening in the center of the cotton length for turning.

Clip all four corners before turning.

Turn scarf inside out and Press flat.

Whip stitch opening closed by hand.  This part doesn't have to be perfect as it will likely be behind your neck!

That's it.  Please do make this scarf - it is so simple and you will get tons of compliments.  I wore mine to my boys' school assembly yesterday and one woman offered to buy it! 

Let me know if you have any questions.  I'll try and take photos as I sew the above scarf together.

I'm out of time.  Off to pick abigail up and take her to swimming lessons and then off to view ezra's planetarium presentation - he told me I can't miss it because they painted all the planets with glow-in-the-dark paint and installed a red light and he will be presenting Jupiter....well you get the idea. 

Thanks so much for stopping by this space!

modifying jane's head scarf

I received a question regarding the modifications I made to the Jane's Head Scarf pattern in Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing book.  So here goes.

I made two changes to better fit a child's head:
(1)  I made the head scarf reversible and
(2)  I cut the fabric rectangle a bit smaller

The pattern calls for one 17 1/2" x 8" inch rectangle of fabric for the scarf. 
To fit a child's head, I cut two 16" x 8" rectangles in complimentary fabrics.

Next, the pattern requires that you turn and press the two long edges of the fabric and top-stitch along these edges.

To make the scarf reversible, I sewed two 16" x 8" rectangles of complimentary fabric along the long edges, right sides together.  Then I turned them right side out, and followed the remainder of the sewing instructions in the book.

Truth be told, I made a green head scarf first.  In this one I top-stitched along both long edges after I turned the rectangle right-side-out.  I did this so it would look more like the version in the book, but I wasn't happy with the stitching so close to the face.

So there you have it.  Two modifications. Two cute and simple scarves.  Let me know if this helps.

Enjoy your weekend!

sewing a skirt without a serger or 'the french seam'

Today, with the help of a very enthusiastic four year old, I sewed a simple spring skirt.  There are some very cute  skirts out there for inspiration. 

When I went to my serger I remembered it still looked like this because little fingers keep causing the loopers to become unthreaded.  I was not about to thread a serger with a kiddo pulling down (I mean picking out) fabric and stretching (I mean measuring) yards of elastic so I went with the French seam or enclosed seam method for the side seam.

If you don't have a serger - or just don't have the time to thread it - here's how I make a French seam.  This is an enclosed seam that will not fray or unravel and makes for a very neat finish.

First, cut fabric selvage to selvage (I cut 18" for a 4 year old)
Next, fold fabric WRONG SIDES TOGETHER.  This part is counter intuitive.
Sew seam with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Press seam to one side.

Now turn fabric RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, enclosing the first seam.  Press.

Sew with a 5/8 inch seam allowance to encase the first seam.  All the raw edges are now enclosed.  Press to one side.

Press again from the right side.

Finally, sew casing for the elastic.  Thread elastic.  All done!

Note:  It's easier to hem the skirt before sewing the side seam - when the fabric is flat.

This seam will hold up to numerous washings without fraying or unraveling. Let me know if you give this a try. 

I will leave you with these words of wisdom:  A girl can never have too many spring skirts!

a new belt for spring

Happy first day of Spring!  It was only 48 degrees here today but the sky is blue and the sun is shining and hope is in the air!  In honor of the first day of spring, I'd like to share how I make a simple spring fabric belt.

(note to self: do not wear your sweater hiked up over you belly like this unless you are taking photos of your spring belt to post on blog.)

You will need a length of 1 inch belt webbing and a 4 inch wide strip of you favorite cotton fabric.  The average belt is 38 to 40 inches long, but it's best to measure the length of your favorite belt.

Cut the webbing the length that you would like for your finished belt  and cut the fabric 3 inches longer.  This will give you a nice size flap for the D-ring closure.

With iron, press 1/2 inch on all 4 sides.  Then press in half lengthwise.

To achieve desired length, you may need to join 2 lengths of fabric (seam shown in photo below).

Place webbing inside fabric, flush with one end.

There will be 2 inches extra fabric on the opposite end.

Fold fabric in on itself to enclose webbing.

Pin through the end with the webbing to hold the layers together and keep them from shifting while you sew.  Your ends will look like this.

Sew all the way down one long side with 1/8 inch seam allowance.  Flip and repeat on the other side.

Thread the end without the webbing through the D-rings (use 1 1/2 inch D-rings with the 1 inch webbing).  Fold the extra 2 inches of fabric over and sew to secure D-rings.  Sew another seam a 1/2 down.  See photo below.  (D-rings purchased at Walmart)

The back side will look like this:

All done.  Now put on your new belt and enjoy your spring day!

This belt takes about 20 minutes to make.

It took me much longer to take all of these photos and write this blog post.

But I did have enough time to whip up the Jane's head scarf pattern from this book.  I made it reversible and sized the pattern down a bit so that it would better fit a child's head.

It goes well with a big box of sidewalk chalk!

Thank you so much for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!  IT'S SPRING!

this is how I piece triangles

I love making quilts.  I love selecting fabrics.  I love the sound the rotary cutter makes when it slices through layers of fabric.  I love the hum of the sewing machine.  I love dropping the feed dogs and quilting the layers together with 'squiggles.'  I love watching my kiddos snuggle under quilts that I made.  And I love instant gratification!   

The triangle square is my favorite block to work with because it can be arranged in many  different  wonderful  configurations. What I don't love is working with the bias edge and triangle points that are constantly being sucked into the throat plate of my machine.  So I always piece my triangles using squares.  Using squares makes the piecing fast, accurate, and eliminates working with bias edges and points.  (This method is by no means unique - it can be found in many books as well as on-line.)  

This is how I piece my triangles:

First cut contrasting fabric into squares (these are 6.5 inch squares & will yield  5.5" triangle units)

Next select one square from each stack and place them right sides together.  Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of one square.  I use a regular #2 pencil and a ruler to do this. (I used red here for demo)

To save time, I mark and pin up to fifty squares at once.

Line up the left edge of the sewing machine foot with the pencil line and sew the squares together using the chain piecing method illustrated in the next photo. 

Do not cut the thread after each square.  I often chain piece 20-30 squares before I stop and cut the threads connecting them - this saves a lot of time and thread. 

Then flip the squares around, line up the edge of the sewing machine foot with the pencil line and sew a quarter inch seam on the opposite side of the pencil line.  Each square will make two triangle square units.

Next, cut the squares apart on the pencil line to make two triangle units.

Press each triangle unit open.

Use scissors to trim the dog ears of the seam allowance.  And viola, perfect triangle squares!  Easy-peasy!

I hope this inspires you to try these.

And look at what's inspiring me today.  This amazing fern platter that I scored from this talented blogger and potter.  Go check out her etsy shop to see more!

Have a terrific weekend!

new nine patch quilt and binding-by-machine tutorial

I'd like to share this very bright, very easy nine patch quilt that I finished for Abigail. 

This quilt top came together quickly because I strip pieced the blocks.  Abigail and I chose the fabrics.  Next, I cut the fabrics selvage to selvage into 4" strips.  I then sewed the strips together using this method.   Once the blocks were complete, we arranged them on the floor and sewed them together.

Here's the pieced back of the quilt.

For this quilt, I attached the binding by machine. 

While I love the look of numerous tiny, barely-visible hand stitches that serve to personalize a quilt, I must admit that hand sewing binding is not my favorite part.  So given that this quilt will be used daily and washed often, I chose to sew the binding by machine.  Not to mention the fact that my finger is still sore from sewing the binding on this quilt last week.

The following is a mini tutorial on how I attach binding by machine:

Cut binding fabric into 4 1/2" strips.  Attach the strips end to end by placing fabric right sides together at 90 degree angle.  Sew, trim, iron seam flat to one side.

Press entire strip in half lengthwise:

Using a walking foot, sew binding to the quilt using 1/4" seam allowance and mitering corners:

Then fold the binding to the back of the quilt and machine sew it in place.  Sew very close to the edge of the binding strip.

The trick here is that the binding is wider on the backside than it is on the front of the quilt.  Thus you will not catch the front of the binding when you sew.

However, this method does create a seam (bobbin thread) on the front of the quilt all the way around, about 1/4 inch from the binding edge.  See photo below.

If this bothers you, you can make the binding a bit narrower, causing the seam on the front to be closer to the binding - but you take the chance of actually catching the front binding as you sew, causing wrinkles and puckers. 

Caveat - this technique is not for special, heirloom quilts that take weeks to piece.  Those bindings need to be sewn by hand.

But this method is quick, neat, and produces none of the puckering that you get when you wrap the binding around the quilt and sew, trying to catch both sides at the same time.  

Done:

In use:

I spy ten happy toes.