A clean machine is a happy machine...

Did you know you should change your machine needle with every project?  You should also clean out your bobbin case every time you refill the bobbin.  And finally, they recommend you have your machine cleaned at least every 2 years. 

But how many of us really follow these recommendations?  I'm usually pretty good about changing the needle.  But I'll also spend the extra money for titanium needles so I don't have to change it as often.    And my Husqvarna Viking sewing machine has only been in for a cleaning twice in the 9 years I've owned it.  It's a workhouse and I'm glad it's kept going.  I just find it difficult to part with the ~$85 a cleaning usually costs, although I realize that would be a better investment than paying for a new machine!  I'll have to put that on my New Year's Resolution list.

As for cleaning out the bobbin, I'm hit or miss.  If I have deadlines looming, I tend to forget about it.  But when I do get around to it, I do a very thorough job.  I take apart all the pieces and use my tweezers to remove every bit of lint I can reach inside the machine.  With my machine, I can rotate the bobbin case to get all the way around.  (You probably have to see it to understand what I mean.)  At the retreat last week, Tamah (who also has a Viking) began to clean her machine and so reminded me I should as well.  Look at all the lint I managed to get out!  Gross huh?

Remember each square on the mat is one inch!

Now back to the things I sewed to accumulate all that fuzz...  I started a pieced BOM (block of the month) last year through Quakertown Quilts.  There were 12 blocks in varying shades of white, red, gold and green.  I had finished all but the last 5 blocks.  At the retreat, I managed to finish those as well.

 

 

 

  

I enjoyed working on them even though they aren't really my favorite colors.  Each block finished at 12" so they would make a nice lap size throw by the time you add sashing and borders. 

However, I have enough quilts that size and figured a small wall hanging would probably suit us better.  I don't know yet what arrangement I'll use.  It will continue to sit in the UFO pile until some time next year.  

But I have taken a couple of the blocks and made a table runner for my SS.  December is the last month of the secret sister program and the time of our big reveal.  I haven't quilted it yet, but when I do, I'll take a picture and share it with you.

Now for the next step in the ugly quilt saga.  Just to remind you, my sister picked out a fabric she absolutely loves and asked me to make her a very simple quilt for her living room.  It's gone through several iterations and has been pretty hideous through each of them.  I decided to throw it out the door and start over.  I never felt comfortable with that design and I should have listened to my instincts.  I played around with EQ5 (Electric Quilts software) last night and came up with a design that I liked much better.  Luckily my sister agrees with me - so I'll get started on (hopefully) my final attempt.

This was the first time I imported fabrics into the program, but it won't be the last.  It was so easy to do and you get a really good idea about what the finished product will look like.  When I finish it,you can judge for yourself!

Until later, take care!

Some more projects...

I'm back to share some more projects from the quilting retreat last week.  I'll start with a quilt that I'm making for a friend who's dealing with MS.  I had everything cut out before I left so all I had to do was sew it together.

She likes color so I thought this made a very cheerful quilt to snuggle up in.  The fabric is actually from the Legacy Studio collection at JoAnn Fabrics.  The pattern is also a free one they offer in their project section.  If you'd like a copy, it's called Nestled in the Branches Quilt.  I saw the pattern in one of their catalogs perhaps 6 months ago but only recently found the fabric in the store.

The funny thing is several of the ladies in our quilt bee wanted to make one as well and went down to JoAnn's after our meeting to find the fabric.  Unfortunately there wasn't enough there for everyone, but hopefully they can find more at another store.

So that was one of my finished quilt tops.  And while I was busy piecing tops together the whole week, Jan was busy sewing half-square triangles - hundreds and hundreds of them. 

First she had to mark each pair of squares, then sew a quarter inch seam on each side of the line, then cut them in half, then iron them open, then trim them to 3 1/2", then...  And she had hundreds of quarter square triangles to make as well.  What a time consuming task! 

I don't know that I would have the patience for this quilt, but I will admit, it's going to be gorgeous when she's through.  This is only 9 of the 180 blocks she'll need for the quilt, but it should go a lot faster now that the smaller units are made.

I still have lots more to share, but I'll save it for another time.  Take care!

Rules to live by...

Well, I'm back from my first ever quilting retreat and I've had a few days to catch up on sleep.  I managed to sleep 18 of the first 24 hours I was home.  I got tons of sewing done but very little rest so it's taken me a while to download my pictures and write this post.

My trip was extended another day because of the November Nor'easter that swept through Virginia.  The weather was pretty awful but we were nice and cozy inside and luckily we didn't lose power.  I managed to finish 5 quilt tops, a table runner and the next step to our mystery quilt.  I was a sewing machine!

There was also a quilt store not too far away where we all managed to help the economy some.  It might be a good idea if any future quilt retreats are at least an hour away from the nearest quilting store...

About a month ago my dear sister asked me to make a quilt for her living room using this fabric that she fell in love with.  She also wanted a very simple pattern.   I brought it with me to work on at the retreat.

I needed the advice of my quilting friends on the layout.  This is not a color scheme I usually work with and I was having trouble finding something pleasing to the eye.  This is the first layout we came up with...

I think we unanimously agreed it didn't work.  So we tried again...

This was better and I ended up sewing it together.  However, none of us were in love with the result.  I sent a picture to my sister and she wasn't too impressed either.  See for yourself...

After discussing it with her, we're trying yet another layout.  I removed the stitching in the columns and have laid them over a large piece of the background fabric on my design wall.  I've sent her some new pictures and I'll wait to see what she thinks.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them.

Now to quote Jan, "Never use a stitch length smaller than your seam ripper."  I imagine Tamah will never forget this.  She worked for days on a quilt for her granddaughter who attends West Virginia University.  She wanted a simple pattern using the blue and yellow for her granddaughter's dorm room.  The top went together pretty quickly, only when she spread it out to show us, Verna's eagle eye picked up a discrepancy.  Then we spotted two, then three, then...  We lost count.

When Tamah was putting the four patches together in rows, she didn't realize that the direction mattered and a number of them were facing the wrong way.  We helped her determine which ones needed to be turned and she placed a little sticker on each square that had to be ripped out.  (And yes, she used a small stitch length the first time around that made this a lot more difficult.)  She was determined to stay up all night if need be to fix it. 

Here it is during the process...

And here's Tamah by the next morning...

Even after she cleaned up, we still found stickers in her hair.  But her perseverance was rewarded with a beautiful quilt top that I believe her granddaughter will love!

She did an amazing job on the center applique!  Way to go Tamah!

I have tons more pictures from the retreat to share with you, but this is long enough for tonight...

Short and sweet...

I am so tired and sore right now.  I enjoyed dyeing the fabric yesterday but must admit I'm paying for it today.  I want to quickly show you the dyed fabrics and then carry myself off to bed!

Here are the 15 FQs in a gradation using Tangerine, Sapphire and Boysenberry...

Aren't they vibrant?  I also had enough dye left over to dye 3 additional yards.

 

I don't know what I'll make with it yet.  I just wanted to see how hard it was to do it.  I know I'll do more in the future.  I took a bunch of pictures of the whole dyeing process, but will have to share them with you another time.

Also, I probably won't post again for another week because I leave for a quilting retreat on Monday!  So until next time, take care...

On a roll...

I'm feeling such a sense of accomplishment today.  I've managed to finish a number of things on my todo list.  First I have completely finished the 2 Quilts for Kids quilts.  We're planning to mail them back around the end of the month, so I'm pleasantly surprised I've finished early!  I usually feel like I'm always working on things at the last minute.  They've even been washed and dried and I hope they cheer up the children that get them.

I'm going on my first ever quilting retreat next week.  Those who are veterans at these things suggested that I try to do most of my cutting at home so I can really get to the sewing.  I managed to get the fabric for 2 quilts completely cut up (including the backing and binding) and ready to go.  I have a 3rd quilt all in rows - they just need to be sewn together.  And I also finished the cutting for step 2 of Jan's mystery quilt.  Whoohoo!!!

And if that wasn't enough, I finally got around to dyeing some of my own fabric.  And I LOVED it! I will definitely continue to do it.  Next up is the Wild Strawberry gradation for my Crayon Challenge quilt.  (Was that a confusing sentence for anyone out there?)  I'm going to save the pictures until my next post.

We have a freeze warning here tonight, so make sure you stay bundled up.  Until next time, take care...

A little bit of this...

I spent half the day today at Bridget's quilting a quilt on Jan's frame there and taking lots of pictures.  We're showing the quilting bee ladies how to use it on Wednesday and I'm hoping to put together a little picture tutorial to help them load and quilt their quilts on it.  We'll see how it goes...

Here's the quilt we managed to get done.  (It's the 2nd Quilts for Kid's top I just finished.)  I just did an all over large stipple to try and get used to the machine.  A sewing machine is like a car in that every machine drives differently.  Here's a close-up of the stitching...

You know how little children are more interested in the box a toy comes in than the toy itself?  Cats are definitely like that too.  We've received a couple of packages this week and the cats have been all over the boxes.  Climbing in and out, hiding and scaring the other cats, knocking them over...  There's all kinds of fun to be had with them.  And don't get me started on the styrofoam peanuts that came in one of them.  Those things have ended up all over the house.

Can you guess what these are?  I'll give you a hint: they're David's favorite new toy right now...  Any guesses? OK, they're zip ties.  At least I think that's what they're called.  I have a bunch them sitting in a jar in my craft room and he's taken to stealing them and spreading them about the house.  He throws them into the air and catches them and wrestles with them and...  They provide endless amusement for him and it's fun for me to watch too!

I'll leave you with one last furbaby picture.  This is Sam and David playing together.

Sorry about the lighting.  I have to snap them when I can.  Until next time...

Quilts for kids...

Some posts ago I mentioned that the Quilts for Kids program was offering free quilt kits to quilters willing to make the quilt and send it back.  I ordered one for myself along with several for the ladies in our quilting bee.  I've finished my first top.  The colors are nice and vibrant and it went together very easily.

It's hard to tell, but the focus fabric in that quilt is dinosaurs.  The program also asks (if possible) for you to contribute one with your own fabric.  I had some kid's novelty fabric that I've had for years and I was able to cut up another quilt in the same pattern.  I'm working on piecing the top right now.

Because Mr. Quilting Bug drove into work today, it was just the 'kids' and I.  A couple of them decided to keep me company while I was sewing.  (A third one is on my sewing table and a fourth is laying on the floor.)

This couch is in my sewing room.  You can see it's a catch all for current projects and lazy cats.  Until next time...