I've made some progress on this quilt finally. The water in the jug has been quilted and the center of the pouring stream has been quilted also. I am learning a ton on this piece, which means I'd like to do it differently. So I think this may be the first of a series.
Gotta sew,
Amy
A Silly Self-congratulatory Post
I've mentioned my new quilty friend before, and she doesn't know about the blog so forgive the crypticness of this post but I just had to crow a little! I don't think she'd mind me sharing so much as I don't want to admit to having a blog.
So my quilty friend was once very, very involved in quilting. So much so that she became a NQA certified quilt judge. Which is just fabulous because when I want feedback on my quilting, she really knows all about it. And of course, she met other quilt judges and became friends with them and attended fabulous quilt shows, and took classes from world class teachers. And one of those friends (among others I'm sure) is a nationally known, award-winning quilter who won a very large prize with one of her quilts.
A wall quilt based on a portion of this quilter's mega-prize winning quilt, made by the quilter herself, hangs on the wall in my new quilty friend's lovely home. And in the same room now hangs a little wall quilt by me!!!!! Squeeee! Unbeknownst to me, my lovely and gracious friend bought one of my pieces at the local art and antique shop.
So I can now say my work hangs in the same room as Madame Mystery Quilter!!!!! Woohoo!
Silly, I know. It's about the same as knowing you won second prize in a competition of two, but sometimes you just need that boost of saying I won second prize in such and such. I tend to be so negative sometimes, that I'm gonna look at it in this affirming, positive manner.
And if I don't write any more this week, Merry Christmas! May you celebrate this time with joy, peace, family and friends. I pray that you have partaken of the life-changing gift from that babe born in a manger and that if you haven't, I pray that one day you know the peace that He brings.
So my quilty friend was once very, very involved in quilting. So much so that she became a NQA certified quilt judge. Which is just fabulous because when I want feedback on my quilting, she really knows all about it. And of course, she met other quilt judges and became friends with them and attended fabulous quilt shows, and took classes from world class teachers. And one of those friends (among others I'm sure) is a nationally known, award-winning quilter who won a very large prize with one of her quilts.
A wall quilt based on a portion of this quilter's mega-prize winning quilt, made by the quilter herself, hangs on the wall in my new quilty friend's lovely home. And in the same room now hangs a little wall quilt by me!!!!! Squeeee! Unbeknownst to me, my lovely and gracious friend bought one of my pieces at the local art and antique shop.
So I can now say my work hangs in the same room as Madame Mystery Quilter!!!!! Woohoo!
Silly, I know. It's about the same as knowing you won second prize in a competition of two, but sometimes you just need that boost of saying I won second prize in such and such. I tend to be so negative sometimes, that I'm gonna look at it in this affirming, positive manner.
And if I don't write any more this week, Merry Christmas! May you celebrate this time with joy, peace, family and friends. I pray that you have partaken of the life-changing gift from that babe born in a manger and that if you haven't, I pray that one day you know the peace that He brings.
Diane-shiko
My attempts at Diane-shiko are a bit skewed, but I think it's ok for a start. At first I got sidetracked by the idea of making my own stencil for quick marking of the lines, but then I just went with a ruler and my trusty white pen from clover, which shows up great on dark fabrics and irons away. The lines are 1/2 inch apart. Of course, this thread contrasts well with the fabric, if I had done this in a matching thread, you'd have to look pretty hard to see my bobbles. Here it is after I've removed the markings, which did flatten the texture a bit also.
This is my practice piece I'm working on. Lots of different FMQ designs, a trapuntoed (trapunto'ed?) butterfly which I promptly flattened with stiching. Guess I'll have to try free motion embroidery, then do the trapunto next time.
Did you see that marked area in the above picture? After doing the Diane-shiko, I visited my bloggy friend, Leslie, and was inspired by part of her blog's header design, a geometric based on 60 degree triangles.
Did you see that marked area in the above picture? After doing the Diane-shiko, I visited my bloggy friend, Leslie, and was inspired by part of her blog's header design, a geometric based on 60 degree triangles.
Diane Gaudynski
Have you read either of theses books below by Diane Gaudynski on machine quilting? I hadn't until very recently. I had seen her work on the internet, read her blog, but hadn't gotten the books. But I have met a wonderful new quilty friend and she loaned me these two books and I devoured them! They are the best machine quilting books I have read thus far!
I am going to attempt some Diane-shiko soon on one of my big practice pieces. If all goes well, I will show pictures.
And my new quilty friend loved the floral doodle postcard I sent her. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished flower so I can't show you. Maybe I can take a photo of it the next time we get together. I think I am really going to be blessed by this new friend and I hope I can be a blessing to her in return. She doesn't know about my blog, so I'm not going to go into details.
Now, I've got to do some stitching before quiet time is over!
I am going to attempt some Diane-shiko soon on one of my big practice pieces. If all goes well, I will show pictures.
And my new quilty friend loved the floral doodle postcard I sent her. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished flower so I can't show you. Maybe I can take a photo of it the next time we get together. I think I am really going to be blessed by this new friend and I hope I can be a blessing to her in return. She doesn't know about my blog, so I'm not going to go into details.
Now, I've got to do some stitching before quiet time is over!
Doodle Quilting
It was a good sermon I swear, but I had to draw the floral pattern on the blouse of the woman in front of me at church. I think I may have a slight addiction here, but my hands just itch when I see a pattern that would make a good quilting design.Then I just had to stitch it out. Here it is in progress. It's on a commercial batik/dyed fabric and it's on top of Peltex, destined to become a postcard to send to a new quilty friend. I'm trying to make some smaller works and I like the idea of postcard type quilts. It's great practice and practice is what builds those quilting skills. I haven't mailed any yet, and I will just have to put it in an envelope when I do. I'm scared to let something like this travel without protection.
How about you? Have you mailed quilted postcards? With or without envelopes? Have you been compelled to draw a design that's on someone's clothes? At least I've moved on from my crazy quilting obsession where I'd want to take scissors to someone's clothing!
How about you? Have you mailed quilted postcards? With or without envelopes? Have you been compelled to draw a design that's on someone's clothes? At least I've moved on from my crazy quilting obsession where I'd want to take scissors to someone's clothing!
Fun Free Motion Quilting
Here's a turkey that's been hanging around here lately. He was a lot of fun to stitch up. He's in my shop space, but as usual, I doubt he'll sell, so I just might go get him on Wednesday so I can have him in my house for Thanksgiving. I'm going to be changing things with my local shop since they just don't have much traffic. Maybe I'll finally set up an Etsy site.
In the pics below is a custom made purse ordered by the shop manager where I sell my quilty stuff. She picked out the fabrics and I was not wild about them, so it was a bit of a challenge. But she wanted a little metallic thread for bling, so I got to play around with some and it was wonderful. I used Superior Thread's metallic thread in gold and no problems whatsoever.
Over all, the bag had a oriental thing going on and she was quite pleased with it. The bag pattern is my own design and this time I added zippered pockets on the inside.
I do like the purse design, but it seems to take forever to make even though it is fairly simple. The handles are a bit fiddly but worth it.
In other quilty news, I've finally begun to quilt my large art quilt that I made to give as a thank you to my church. It's very big and means a lot to me so it's been slow going.
What have you been stitching on?
Top Tension
Owls on Linen- Two New Wall Quilts
The Potter's Hands
I just couldn't make myself do another "this ought to sell" project today. It had to come from the heart and be a true creative work. I've opened my sketchbook to a drawing I did a few months ago in church. "Mold me, use me, fill me, walk beside me, I give my life to the potter's hands..." or something similar goes the song. The sketch I did was pretty rough, so my neighbor consented to being my hand model.
She's a beautiful lady with much love and work in those hands, so I think she's a great fill-in for the true Potter. Now let's see if I can render this into a quilt.
She's a beautiful lady with much love and work in those hands, so I think she's a great fill-in for the true Potter. Now let's see if I can render this into a quilt.
Brown and Turquoise Quilted Pillow and Table Runner
Yay! Another finish! This is a pillow and table runner for the shop. Both can also be hung on the wall. These were pretty fun to quilt up, especially the feathers. I love feathers.
The turquiose fabric isn't actually a solid, but has bits of colors in a 'grunge' kind of pattern. I did the main quilting at the shop during one of their publicity events. Nothing sold, but I did get nearly 4 solid hours of quilting done!
Detail of the runner below. The brown is a slightly varigated King Tut by Superior Threads and the interior of the plumes and the quilting in the larger print is a varigated Mettler Polysheen.
The turquiose fabric isn't actually a solid, but has bits of colors in a 'grunge' kind of pattern. I did the main quilting at the shop during one of their publicity events. Nothing sold, but I did get nearly 4 solid hours of quilting done!
Sweet Fabric Dumplings
My first attempt at making Keyka's Dumpling zip pouch was a bit lumpy but made my 5-year-old very happy. She's holding her coin purse below, made in Riley Blake's Quite Contrary fabrics. Which is fitting since my little Miss can be quite contrary; she resembles the little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead.... You know, the one whom when she was good she was very good, but when she was bad she was horrid? Sunshine and storms this one.
Anyway, Keyka calls for hand basting the zipper and the outer and lining fabrics. Not gonna happen. I also will not use 2 bowls in a recipe if I can get away with using one. And my result was a lumpy dumpling. I also tried to only interface the lining and not the outer fabric also.
I wonder what tutorial and recipe writers think of those who try to shortcut their directions? I can't seem to follow to the letter of either. But I had to try, especially since the generous Keyka is OK with folks selling their own dumplings made from her tutorial and I think these would be great in my shop if I can make them quickly.
So I tried again, this time with fabric that matches my purse. Success! And still I avoided hand basting. Yay!
The big difference? I clipped the zipper better as Keyka instructed and then applied it with a little tension, so that the zipper laid flat against the curve of the fabric. I also used interfacing on both the inner and outer fabric. Then I added a wrist strap and I am loving it! Thank you Keyka!
I didn't bind the short bottom seams as instructed, but zig zagged them instead. The jury is still out as to whether I'll bind the edges on the ones I make to sell. At the shop I'm in now, nothing is moving, so I want to make these quick and at a low price-point for holiday gift giving. The seams are really inconspicuous. If I can get any of my stuff in a higher end shop in the nearest city, I think I would definitely bind them.
Also, before the seams at the bottom of the zipper are stitched, the dumpling is mostly flat, and I think if I use fusible fleece to interface the outer fabric, it would lend itself nicely to a bit of free motion quilty goodness.
Now I'm off to stitch. What have you been stitching on? Have you made these dumplings before? They're yummy!
Anyway, Keyka calls for hand basting the zipper and the outer and lining fabrics. Not gonna happen. I also will not use 2 bowls in a recipe if I can get away with using one. And my result was a lumpy dumpling. I also tried to only interface the lining and not the outer fabric also.
I wonder what tutorial and recipe writers think of those who try to shortcut their directions? I can't seem to follow to the letter of either. But I had to try, especially since the generous Keyka is OK with folks selling their own dumplings made from her tutorial and I think these would be great in my shop if I can make them quickly.
So I tried again, this time with fabric that matches my purse. Success! And still I avoided hand basting. Yay!
The big difference? I clipped the zipper better as Keyka instructed and then applied it with a little tension, so that the zipper laid flat against the curve of the fabric. I also used interfacing on both the inner and outer fabric. Then I added a wrist strap and I am loving it! Thank you Keyka!
I didn't bind the short bottom seams as instructed, but zig zagged them instead. The jury is still out as to whether I'll bind the edges on the ones I make to sell. At the shop I'm in now, nothing is moving, so I want to make these quick and at a low price-point for holiday gift giving. The seams are really inconspicuous. If I can get any of my stuff in a higher end shop in the nearest city, I think I would definitely bind them.
Also, before the seams at the bottom of the zipper are stitched, the dumpling is mostly flat, and I think if I use fusible fleece to interface the outer fabric, it would lend itself nicely to a bit of free motion quilty goodness.
Now I'm off to stitch. What have you been stitching on? Have you made these dumplings before? They're yummy!
Dumplings
Ooh, I think I'm going to try making these wonderful dumpling coin purses, thanks to the tutorial at Keyka Lou. Permission is even granted to sell these, isn't that wonderful? Thank you!
I'll work on these soon, printer and kids willing, and post a pic asap. I think the circle design will lend itself to some quilting.
I'll work on these soon, printer and kids willing, and post a pic asap. I think the circle design will lend itself to some quilting.
The Dreaded Frog Stitch
Frog stitch; you know, rip-it rip-it. Also known as unsewing and involves the evil seam ripper. You'd think that the more sewing we do, the less ripping would occur, but it seems that it increases proportionately.
I have to take out the stitches in the center and in the top right corner of this pillow. It had been a fun and simple project, but not so much fun right now. Not the way I wanted to spend quiet time. And the baby woke up early.... Gotta go.
A Fall Giveaway
Yay! I found a reason to be glad that hardly anyone reads my blog. The lovely and marvelous Leslie at MarveLes Art Studio is having a give away and blogging about it gets me another chance to win. So go on over to comment on a chance to win some lovely prizes.
I'm hoping to win a spool of Razzle Dazzle thread myself, but there's also the book "Bittersweet- Art to Heart", and some of Leslie's work too.
I love her blog, you will too. But most of all, I'm finding I love her kind heart!
I'm hoping to win a spool of Razzle Dazzle thread myself, but there's also the book "Bittersweet- Art to Heart", and some of Leslie's work too.
I love her blog, you will too. But most of all, I'm finding I love her kind heart!
Stitching Sunflowers
Have you ever noticed the amazing geometric pattern in the seedy part of a sunflower? I wanted to mimic it a bit in this wall quilt but I'm not too sure about the stitching in the dark brown centers of some of these sunflowers. I think curved crosshatching would have come close to God's pattern, but I was too tired, too pushed for time, and possibly too lazy to figure out the size and placement of the cross hatching lines. But I am making progress. Which is good because this quilt is slated to hang in a window display where I (try to) sell my work. Actually, I was supposed to have it ready yesterday!
I love having my creative outlet and I even like having deadlines that make me take time to do it, but I'm having serious difficulties in prioritizing my time. Kids, stitch, sleep.....
Below is a little trick I use to help me with thread tension and thread color selection when doing my quilting.
I add a little bit of extra top fabrics to my sandwich so I can test the threads on the actual batting, backing, and top fabrics that I am using. Having at the edge of the piece I'm making saves me some cutting time and gives me more room to grip than if I were using little scrap bits. Of course, getting your tension as close as possible to balanced is very important, but this is the best way I've found to test the color. You really have to stitch it out to see how it will look because the fabric color really impacts the color of the thread as does the thickness of the thread. Puddling the thread on top is a good start, but it is only the start.
I really wish I could play with color without having to buy so much fabric and thread! I like to mix and match the colors on hand, but I don't always have the best colors. But these sunflowers are looking pretty good, I think.
Leslie at Marveles Art Studios has totally inspired me in so many ways with her quilty, crafty goodness. She is one talented lady, best best of all is she is an encourager! So this post is for her. Leslie has turned me onto sunprinting with Setacolor paints and while I have bought them, I haven't quite done it yet, mainly I want to give it a go without the kiddos around first. But we have managed to do some sun printing with special paper last week. Please ignore the neglected garden beds and the 'free' Craigslist boat in the background. Sigh....
The special paper worked like magic right before the kids' eyes, but you also had to rinse it and let it dry after printing which was a bit of a pain. We also used some black construction paper to print which worked fine but a little slow for the kids.
We used some flower shaped foam stickers, redbud leaves for hearts, maple and hemlock leaves too. As the sun hit the sunprinting paper, the exposed paper turned white and the shaded portion stayed blue, but when it was rinsed, the colors reversed which was surprising.
And below is the new wall quilt or table runner for the shop. I am really itching to quilt this! I even have some ribbon yarn that I might try to free motion couch on this too.
And below is the new wall quilt or table runner for the shop. I am really itching to quilt this! I even have some ribbon yarn that I might try to free motion couch on this too.
Obviously still in the beginning stages. I used my Sizzix to cut the flower centers and petals. To the left are four floral postcards or miniquilts for the shop.
I am trying to keep my blog focused on quilting, but I have to share this bit of craftiness below that I did for the kids. A door on one of our maple trees! The kids aren't fooled that there really are fairies or anything but it sure helps fuel the imagination.
Humble Pie on a Quilt
I am eating humble pie today and it doesn't taste good.
The very day after giving a talk to my local quilt group about some of my time-saving techniques and especially how I've been finishing some of my binding with machine stitching and getting great results, I sew the binding to the wrong side of my quilt for the technique I use and the easiest way to fix it is to give up and finish it by hand.
And as I showed a few of my quilts around, I got very good remarks from one of the newer ladies and she sounded very knowledgeable about quilting so I asked when she might bring in some of her work. She had a cheshire cat grin on her face and responded very kindly but she definitely wasn't too keen on showing off. Later someone mentioned that she did pretty well at the machine quilting class and that she supposedly had done some quilt judging before. So I was intrigued and looked her up on Google and found enough info to realize I had just done the equivalent of showing a crayon drawing to Michelangelo and saying, "Look what I can do!".
She's new to the area and I don't think anyone really knows her or her background so I'm not a complete idiot, but I feel foolish. She was very complimentary though so maybe I'm not too bad. I really hope I can talk her into being a mentor or at least offer some critique of my work because I really need a mentor and it doesn't look like anyone else in the group has much experience.
The very day after giving a talk to my local quilt group about some of my time-saving techniques and especially how I've been finishing some of my binding with machine stitching and getting great results, I sew the binding to the wrong side of my quilt for the technique I use and the easiest way to fix it is to give up and finish it by hand.
And as I showed a few of my quilts around, I got very good remarks from one of the newer ladies and she sounded very knowledgeable about quilting so I asked when she might bring in some of her work. She had a cheshire cat grin on her face and responded very kindly but she definitely wasn't too keen on showing off. Later someone mentioned that she did pretty well at the machine quilting class and that she supposedly had done some quilt judging before. So I was intrigued and looked her up on Google and found enough info to realize I had just done the equivalent of showing a crayon drawing to Michelangelo and saying, "Look what I can do!".
She's new to the area and I don't think anyone really knows her or her background so I'm not a complete idiot, but I feel foolish. She was very complimentary though so maybe I'm not too bad. I really hope I can talk her into being a mentor or at least offer some critique of my work because I really need a mentor and it doesn't look like anyone else in the group has much experience.
Goodies in the Mail
Look what came in the mail today! These paints and things were so much more fun than the other thing that came today; math curriculum. Craftiness tempered by reality. Which is as it should be I suppose since my creating side wars with my homeschooling mom side at times. Don't get me wrong, teaching my kids at home is going great. The education part is fabulous, but the being with them 24/7 sometimes drives me batty. Then I see the neighbor kid gone to school for nearly 8hrs plus an hour or more of homework and I either crave the free time for me or feel glad that my kids aren't part of that system depending on the day I've had.
So I look for opportunities to combine my creativity with the schooling! Sun printing with Setacolor? Oh yes! But first I have to finish this boy baby quilt for the shop. Boring.
So I look for opportunities to combine my creativity with the schooling! Sun printing with Setacolor? Oh yes! But first I have to finish this boy baby quilt for the shop. Boring.
It's half way done. And then I get to play with these wonderful things.
Lumiere and Setacolor paints, Iridescent Paintstiks and linoleum blocks for stamp making. Well, I won't get to play with the linoleum blocks yet as I apparently did something wrong at the computer and the cutter tools didn't get ordered. I wasn't sure what kind of blocks to order (should have gone back to some of my favorite blogs to see what they use) so I'm not sure I'll like these. They seem very hard and the particle wood that they're stuck to is dusty and crumbly. But you never know until you try.
Paints and Pigments on Cloth
I am so excited; last night I finally got the nerve up to place an order for several types of paints and things for doing some surface design on my quilts!
I ordered some Setacolor paints, Jacquard Lumiere paints, some Paintstiks, and some blocks and tools for making my own stamps!
I can't wait to see what I can do with them. I also plan on using the Setacolor to do some sun prints with my kids after we do some sunprints with special sunprint paper. This works so well into their section on the sun and planets this year.
But I do need to make sure I don't get carried away!
Gotta sew,
Amy
I ordered some Setacolor paints, Jacquard Lumiere paints, some Paintstiks, and some blocks and tools for making my own stamps!
I can't wait to see what I can do with them. I also plan on using the Setacolor to do some sun prints with my kids after we do some sunprints with special sunprint paper. This works so well into their section on the sun and planets this year.
But I do need to make sure I don't get carried away!
Gotta sew,
Amy
Using Monofilament Thread
As I mentioned on my last post, I used monofilament for the first time on a binding. Other than having to wind a bobbin twice because the end didn't stay put on the first one, it worked fabulously! I used it in the top and bottom and it made such a fine machine finished binding on a multicolored striped binding.
I used Sulky's monofilament, which is a polyester with a Topstitch 80/20 needle and at a tension of almost 1. Yes, that's right almost 1. This thin thread stretches and causes a lot of it's own tension, so you really have to use very little tension from the machine. I also had to rig my machine so the spool wound off the side instead of over the top, which adds so much twist that the thread could break easily.
This might be the start of something wonderful as there are times I want to secure edges on machine applique better, but have trouble finding a good thread color match.
Gotta sew,
Amy
I used Sulky's monofilament, which is a polyester with a Topstitch 80/20 needle and at a tension of almost 1. Yes, that's right almost 1. This thin thread stretches and causes a lot of it's own tension, so you really have to use very little tension from the machine. I also had to rig my machine so the spool wound off the side instead of over the top, which adds so much twist that the thread could break easily.
This might be the start of something wonderful as there are times I want to secure edges on machine applique better, but have trouble finding a good thread color match.
Gotta sew,
Amy
Tree Quilt
Anothe wall quilt for the shop. This first shot is of the striped binding that I finished by machine with Monofilament! This was the first time I tried monofilament and it worked beautifully! The background is natural linen and while it was a bit fiddly, trying to keep the grain lines from getting out of whack, I love the look.
The leaves were cut with my Sizzix. I should have placed them closer together I think. Other than that and figuring out a better way to handle all the thread ends for each leaf, I love this one. I usually knot and bury all ends, but on this the amount got overwhelming, so I secured the stiches with backstitching and/or tiny stitches, and then cut the ends, but I fear the trilobal poly threads will come undone.
Free Motion Couching Foot Tutorial
Here's how to modify a free motion quilting foot into a free motion couching foot so you can make beautiful curvy designs on your quilts or quilted projects with beautiful yarns or cords. First, you need an 'echo quilting foot'. This is one of the feet attachments that come with the Janome free motion quilting set. It's a lovely set, that doesn't make a bunch of hopping, clackiness. Next, cut a piece of clear plastic into a circle about 3/4 inch in diameter, just big enough to lie in the flat part of the foot. I used a lid from a Pringles chip can and my Sizzix die cutter to cut a nice smooth circle from it.
Now put your fabulous foot on your machine and run the yarn or other fiber across your machine like this:
Now find a yarn darning needle or something similar and use the heat from a stove burner to carefully heat the needle hot enough to melt a hole slightly larger than 1/16th of an inch in diameter in the center of your plastic circle. Be sure to use pliers or an oven mitt to hold the needle so you don't get burned. The hole may need to be a bit larger depending on your couching fiber of choice and the size of your machine's needle. Try to keep it as small as you can to keep the yarn from escaping being couched down. If you make it too big, you can't make it smaller and will need to try again. Smooth any rough edges with an emery board or fine sandpaper.
I don't have photos of this next step, but you now center the plastic circle onto the foot and glue it in place with super glue. Be careful! The echo quilting foot has crossed lines on it indicating the center so I center the hole right there in the middle. Get it positioned just right before glueing. I didn't the first time and while I was able to pry the plastic off the foot, the superglue turned a bit opaque. If you get it right the first time, it is nearly completely clear!
Now put your fabulous foot on your machine and run the yarn or other fiber across your machine like this:
I made sure that there was plenty of lose yarn between the skein and my machine and kept all curious kids/animals away while stitching. My very first try, I was able to form this feather with the yarn. There were a few missed areas, but those can be stitched again and a feather is probably the most extreme manipulation of the couching fibers so it was a tough test!
Thanks so much to Leslie, http://marvelesartstudios.blogspot.com/ for inspiring this hack with her beautiful work!
Foot Hack Hold-up
Sorry for the delay in posting my foot hack for free motion couching, but it's been beautiful weather here today, and I'm also terrible behind in stitching for my sales booth. So I'm either outside with the kids or stitching like crazy.
Soon.
Soon.
Free Motion Couching with a Janome Part 2
So Leslie was wonderful enough to get back to me about a free motion couching foot for my Janome. It seems her Janome using friend has a "Miracle Stitcher" which is out of production but can be found on Ebay sometimes.
So, being an impatient person (God's working on me), I went ahead and hacked my foot! Not to be confused with breaking my foot, which my husband did at my request when all I had was a generic closed toe foot. (OK, I admit it, it's fun to say it like it's an injury!) Check out Leah Day's blog for instructions to break your own foot.
Ooh, look! There's yarn on my machine and it made that feather shape too! It worked! The first try, the hole was too small, but version 2 is pretty snazzy. There are a few misses, but are easily fixed and I think the motion of whipping out a feather is a pretty hard test. I have raided the old yarn stash and, uh oh, have been thinking of other yarns I'd like to try this with!
I have the new free motion quilting set from Janome, which contains 3 different toes for FMQ. A open toe, closed toe, and an echo foot (looks like a bullseye). See my first free motion couching post. The open toe is my good friend and we work together so well. The echo bullseye foot I never use, so I hacked it.
A piece of clear plastic from a Pringles can lid, a yarn needle, and some super glue and you can hack your foot too! I glopped up the glue so it's not as clear as it should be, but you can see through it. I'll do a tutorial tomorrow.
Leslie also gave me some info on some good regular couching feet that will fit my machine.
Now the question is: Why can I be fearless and confident enough to hack my foot, but have a total lack of confidence in most areas of my life, including quilting?
Going into Business
So I felt out my local art and antique mall that is supposedly a non-profit business and art incubator a few weeks ago and they didn't have any space available. Then they called last week and space had opened up and "how soon could I submit work to their jury committee?" Panic sewing ensued and I was juried in and offered a primo spot---8x10 for a monthly rental of $80.00 plus 11% commission. I took it and now I'm regretting it. $80 per month is a scary amount of money for me right now and my inventory? Three pillows, one small wall quilt, and a nearly finished lap quilt.
Sigh... I owe, I sew, it's off to work I go.
Sigh... I owe, I sew, it's off to work I go.
Free Motion Couching with Janome
Over at 3Creative Studios, Leslie is teaching about free motion couching. Imagine a lovely feather outlined in a nice yarn or cord. Imagine me using up the yarn I never use anymore!
But Leslie has a Bernina---one that costs more than my minivan (OK that's not saying much) that has all these special feet and all the great education of the Bernina folks behind it. Janome does not make a free motion couching foot.[Edited to add: 2013- Janome now makes a Free Motion Couching Foot. Read my reviews and watch the videos on it] Janome not makes a free motion couching foot So I've been fiddling around with what I do have.
This (below) is one of the "toes" that comes with the adjustable FMQ foot from Janome. It looks a lot like the Bernina #43 foot for free motion couching, except the center hole is way too wide, and there's no yarn guide to the side of the foot. I think the center hole is pivotal (I'm punny). So I tried the closed toe on this set. It kind of worked, but the hole is still a bit big for the yarn I used, so it got out of position and missed several stitches when changing direction.
See my little experiment below. Not a great pic, but nearly every bit of that yarn is stitched down and I didn't guide the yarn at all while stitching!
I'll have to figure out if there are any other manufacturer's feet that could be used on my machine for this fabulous technique, but right now I'm thinking it's time for a foot 'hack' only this time, instead of breaking my foot by removing a portion, I think I need to add to my foot. I'm thinking a little super glue, some clear plastic, and the bullseye-looking plastic foot/toe of my FMQ set.
To be continued.....
Scraps of this and that
- I've been sewing like a mad woman; trying to get ready to fill a booth at a local art and antique place. The space wasn't supposed to be available until September.
- I've been ruthless in purging my sewing space to make room for more efficient making.
- My hubby bought himself some fabric with the intention of trying his hand at piecing! He wanted to try a Mariner's Compass block, but I've steered him toward some improvisational piecing instead.
- Why is it that I forget about a fabric's directionality until I've already stitched it wrong?
- I've got to go rip it, rip it.
Sacred Threads
I'm back from my trip to see the Sacred Threads exhibit near Washington DC. It was my first real quilt show, but I think it was fabulous! This is a show with a spiritual theme and the works are not judged per se, but rather limited only by suitability of theme and space constraints. Some of the works were mind-blowing beautiful, all were meaningful to their maker, and many really 'spoke' to me, and some I didn't care for or maybe just didn't 'get'.
I really couldn't look at the quilts that were in the grief category nor quite a few in the healing group, as my recent acceleration of creativity in quilting has been fueled by my husband's fight with cancer last year and I'm just too emotionally raw. I looked at a few and read the artist statements and began to get all choked up---it was difficult to maintain my composure after that.
We went on the day of the artists' reception so there were a whole bunch of the artists there, but since they were enjoying looking at everyone's work also, it was impossible for me to match artists to their work. I missed a great opportunity I'm sure by not talking with them, but I'm a social chicken and my line of "Could you tell me about your piece?" just didn't seem right if I had no idea of which person made which piece. A fine time for my shyness to take over. Sigh...
One of the committee members did chat me up as I was leaving and encouraged me to join SAQA to meet up with some like-minded quilty folks. She was incredibly nice, and even complimented me on my new bag which I made last week. I'll post pics of my bag soon; I love it!
Today I think I'll get to attend the local quilting group. It's been a few months since I've been able to go.
Gotta sew,
Amy
I really couldn't look at the quilts that were in the grief category nor quite a few in the healing group, as my recent acceleration of creativity in quilting has been fueled by my husband's fight with cancer last year and I'm just too emotionally raw. I looked at a few and read the artist statements and began to get all choked up---it was difficult to maintain my composure after that.
We went on the day of the artists' reception so there were a whole bunch of the artists there, but since they were enjoying looking at everyone's work also, it was impossible for me to match artists to their work. I missed a great opportunity I'm sure by not talking with them, but I'm a social chicken and my line of "Could you tell me about your piece?" just didn't seem right if I had no idea of which person made which piece. A fine time for my shyness to take over. Sigh...
One of the committee members did chat me up as I was leaving and encouraged me to join SAQA to meet up with some like-minded quilty folks. She was incredibly nice, and even complimented me on my new bag which I made last week. I'll post pics of my bag soon; I love it!
Today I think I'll get to attend the local quilting group. It's been a few months since I've been able to go.
Gotta sew,
Amy
Time for New Glasses?
Yes, that's a magnifying glass! I can barely see the stitching here as the fabrics are both light colored and the raw edge lines right up with the edge of my foot. It does seem to help at least. I ordered this lens from Linda's Electric Quilters Co. and it's got a little LED light and a nice long flexible arm.I have noticed it's been harder to thread a hand sewing needle and I need to hold it and other hand work farther away to see it well. I think it's time for bifocals!
WIP- Living Water
I was a bit of a tease to reference a project I was working on and not post a picture.
Here it is:
Sorry it's a bit dark. I took it at night. You can see how little room there is for this quilt on my wall. Since I can't expand the space, I guess I'll make smaller quilts. Below is a close up shot of the stitch I'm using over the raw edges. It's a tiny zig zag with a single larger zig every 4 zags. I really like it far better than a blanket stitch or satin stitch for raw edge applique.
I've learned so much (in other words I've made mistakes and learned from them) while working on this quilt and am still excited about the image, so I think a second one will be in my future. Smaller and with a few different techniques.
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