Free Motion Quilting - FMQ

 I have always sent my projects out to a longarm quilter or done some smalls with straight line quilting or traditional hand quilting.

As you know from WIP Wednesdays, I have these projects and flimsies waiting.....and waiting for a finish ;) I really would like to quilt some of them myself. So, I made some quilt sandwiches approx 12x12in with an older large floral print on one side and muslin on the other. Then I just started! Like doodling, only on fabric vs. my desk calendar at work ;)

Not as difficult as I thought!  Here is are some pics of my practice sandwiches:

Not the best, kind of jerky in the designs and my tension was off a bit, but not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to turn out....I actually like the loop to loop and stippling in the bottom photo.

And I think the hanging hearts and star have promise..... 

So....how do I learn more on this subject?

 I bought a book on sale at JoAnns - "One Line At A Time 24 Geometric Machine-Quilting Designs Made Easy" by Charlotte Warr Anderson. I liked this book because it features geometric patterns that build on each other from the begining of straight lines and grids. It include patterns like Clam Shell and Six Pointed Stars which add curves to the straight lines. Can't wait to try these! Then I signed up for a Craftsy class on "Machine Quilting: Free Motion and More" with Wendy Butler Berns. They have many quilting classes to choose from and often run them on sale. I found this one sale for $19.99. I will let you know how I like it. I already do the BOM with Amy Gibson from Stitchery Dickory Dock (she has AMH giveaway going on) and enjoy it and the video format.

 On my list to do is look into Leah and her blog The Free Motion Quilting Project, check it out, pretty amazing!

Looks like more practice in the future! Hopefully the next pics will be a bit more refined.

And hopefully those flimsies will be transformed into true Quilts!

Hope you are having a quilty kind of week :)

A Different Kind of Progress.... Balance

Happy Wednesday all!  Somewhere I have picked up a summer head cold and my ears are plugged and my lips are chapped from breathing through my mouth! Ugh! Thank goodness for cold remedy's that have day and night dosages--I did sleep throught the night last night (and part of the evening too!)  The wedding I went to this weekend was soo nice! Simple, small, and intimate, (second marriage for both after losing a spouse) and the corn hole tournament was fun, lots of teams and a good pot luck!

I am home today not because of my cold-- but because I took a vacation day because I have 40 teenagers from youth group coming tonight for some fun and watersports, tubing, skiing, and pizza.  Thank goodness for good friends that pitch in and help with this once a summer activity before school starts again! Lots of fun and laughter, many times it is the first time they have been given the opportunity to have fun on the water. Here is a pic of a beautiful sunset on the lake last night.

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It has been a quiet week for actual sewing. I did sit down and list all of my current WIP's and all the projects that are waiting in the closet to be done.......wow! As you know I recently went through a reorganization of my fabric closet, you can read about it here and here.  I was surprised how many there were, I am  shocked embarassed to say the count is up to 26!! I can't believe I am even telling you that! But I have to come clean, these are projects that I have the majority of fabric for and pattern picked out. Projects that I really want to make and have recipients in mind for!  So now that I have a "road map" I feel like I can move forward and actually make these vs. letting them sit (out of sight out of mind??) in the closet.  Structure in my case is a good thing ;)

This doesn't mean I won't be joining a QAL/SAL here and there, especially with fall and winter coming which will provide much more sewing time, and I would miss meeting everyone and the commraderie of making projects with others.... it's just that  I now know my limits as to what I can accomplish in X amount of time better and can be a bit more realistic about what I can finish. Those unfinished projects make me feel like a loser-- I don't like them! And I don't like letting my competitive nature take over and do more and end up disappointed when I don't get it finished on time.....do you ever have these feelings/thoughts?

So I guess what I am talking about is Balance... some days it is hard to find! LOL! But as long as I get back up and try again I think it is ok :)

I am still looking for a book case and shelving to add to my sewing room organization! A trip to IKEA is coming soon (the nearest is approx 1 1/2 hrs away), and hopefully will remedy this issue as CraigsList and garage sales have not turned up much.

I also have been working on my tutorial for my day on Plum and Junes "Lets Get Acquainted Blog Hop" which is Aug 23rd.  Here is a sneak peek at the fabric that I am auditioning for the project! Just love those Christmas colors!

So that pretty much wraps up my week....sorry to say no great projects to post but progress in a different way!

I hope your are having a great week sewing and otherwise.... now off to find that box of tissues, sniffle, sniffle :)

WIP Wednesday

Hi there, hope you are having a good week! Wow - it is Wednesday and August!

Seems this week has flown by! Dear son and grandson were here for the weekend and then it was back to work. Had to pass on the Indy Jimmy Buffet concert last night :(  Friends said it was great fun as usual. And this weekend I have a wedding and a corn hole tournament/party! This leaves less time for sewing but I know summer is flying by and soon the days will be shorter and time outside with family and friends will be less.....

I did manage some sewing in the past week. I finished the rest of my Great Granny squares-- 4 more. I am going to leave it at 9 squares and hopefully get the sashing completed before Saturday and then the borders on Sunday. 

 ok....not sure what happened to the cropping on these block pics!!  

I am just learning photo editing and sometimes I forget to hit save I guess!

 Here is the layout I am thinking about

 Left over 2.5in squares...Looks like I will have some squares  for a scrappy quilt :)

Now if I can just get the rest of my scraps cut up! 

No progress on any of my other projects, but that is ok. Progress is progress. I have to remind myself t is not a race and pressure takes all the enjoyment out of it for me.

Happy sewing ! 

Linking up to:

Great Granny!

Hello again!

Remember I had this pic of all the block cut and ready to piece?

Here is what I used to cut those 2 1/2 in squares so quickly.  It is the June Taylor Shape Cut, I bought it at JoAnn's at one of their 50% off coupon sales. I took a class one time where we used it to cut our blocks. It has been awhile since I have used it and I forgot how much easier it can make cutting.

It works great!  Much quicker, and results in a much more consistent size square (or rectangle, or strip) then what I can cut with my ruler and rotary cutter alone. The little white pieces on the Right side are just my marks to remember where to cut because it is very easy to put your rotary cutter blade into the wrong slot! Ooops! Not that I have ever done that  ;0

So here are my strips, joined with squares to make a block... I like this one, it reminds me of Cherry LimeAid :)

 I used one Layer cake of Summer House and one Moda white jelly roll  (looking for that layer cake is what started the whole episode of tearing everything out of the closet Yikes!  I was being good , no very good,  ok how about responsible and using from my stash and not buying anything new!!) . The QAL shows only 9 blocks which will make a wall hanging or table topper. I have enough squares to make several more blocks than that. I was thinking maybe 12 or 15 for a lap size quilt. And I think I will still have squares left over. I am just cutting the jelly for the first nine blocks and then as I need for additional blocks. And here are the completed blocks so far.....

I am really happy with the bright saturated colors! I was worried about all the florals and the effect they would have but it is working out well. Amazing how different they can look in small pieces vs. that big 10in square! It is quite fun to piece, much like a simple puzzle, and they can be quite addictive as you get such fast results! 

Hope you are having a great sewing week! What are you working on?


Ginny


Linking to:                

Stash vs. DeStash Follow up

Good Morning or afternoon depending where in the world you are! :)

I want to Thank everyone who left a comment and suggestion on my "Stash or Destash" post. (You can read it below or here). I have updated the comments, as I normally reply by email to all comments I felt this post could add some discussion so included mine also. I am happy to say, my sewing room is back in working order. Fabric is stacked back in the closet - by project order - I have purchased a journal to organize and prioritize those projects and am contemplating a year long journey of only sewing the projects I already have - as Sherry suggested in her comment. Can I do it?
Could you do it?

I do know that I am committing to cutting up those scrappy leftovers as they occur into something that will be usable vs. letting them grow out of the scrap bag. I find it hard to throw any away... so this will be helpful.

So here is the cleaned up version:

Yes, much, much better!

And there is a peak at my Great Granny squares. I have another post for them coming up next!

Have a great day!

Ginny

Stash or Destash? What do you do?

How has your week been? Here it has been a bit busy, especially at work. Some unexpected issues cropped up and it was a bit confrontational getting them resolved. I really don't like confrontation, but sometimes it is a part of life. When things get a bit crazy, I tend to get busy cleaning, or rearranging, to burn off that excess energy, anxiety, or whatever you want to call it. Unfortunately it usually leads to lack of mojo--creative block--analysis by paralysis-- not a good thing!

Want to see:

I tore apart my sewing room.....and my stash .....

I am definitely in need of shelves and bookcases, to get organized!

Which brought me to the question: Stash or Destash?

What do you do?

Do you have fabric you bought for a project that you never made?

Do you still like the fabric?

You paid $8.95/yd or got it at a great sale $$ and now fabric can be $10.95/yd.

Do you keep it for a scrap quilt or another project of do you destash and sell it?

If you sell it, where do you sell it? Etsy? Ebay?

I also have seen swaps on Flickr, not sure how successful they have been...

 I know there seems to be alot of concern that the fabric will be calicos from 1990, and yes,

I have seen that too.

 Let me know what you think....as I am pondering this question myself....

Other projects: Working on my upcoming August tutorial for the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop. Let's just say I am ready to do the test block and it is has a Holiday theme ;)

Be sure and hop over to Plum and June's to see all the great blogging and tutorials going on each week this summer and fall.

Great Granny Blocks! Oh, Great Granny gave me my mojo back! This is the

QAL I talked about here.

I have been sewing away on these blocks this lovely weekend!

 (80's with a wonderful 2.5 inches of rain this week!)

Such a nice change of pace--both weather wise and sewing wise.

This project is both fast and fun and comes together easily!

I will be doing a seperate post for Great Granny blocks soon but here is a sneak peak!

 Have a great Sunday!

Ginny

Eye Candy

Don't you just love it when you pull in the drive and there is a wonderful surprise waiting for you?!
(Ok that is a rhetorical question, I suppose...)

Well, when I got home yesterday here is what I saw at my front door

Smile....Grin

Hmmm.....I wonder what could be in those boxes?  Yes! I admit it, I was fabric shopping.
I picked up some wonderfully priced clearance fabric at an online shop going out of business sale. So sad to see them close but it was a wonderful bargain! And the other was a Deal of the Day from Lori over at Stitches and Giggles. Have you stopped by her shop? Great prices and a wonderful Deal of the Day for you everyday! She features Michael Miller and Moda fabrics.

Oh, you want to see what those boxes hold? Really? You like fabric too? I am so glad I am not alone in this ;)

First the clearance fabric:

These are pretty bold prints for me but I love the deep saturated color! I already have a quilt in mind for these :)

Some fun Kate Spain Good Fortune prints to mix and match with others and some pieces big enough for backing for a lap quilt

Just love this aqua and red little cherry piece, it makes me happy!

And from Stitiches and Giggles:

A new Jelly with lots of beautiful color!

 and finally

Bonnie and Camilles' new line, just love their fabric and colors!

So you can see, I am in fabric heaven!

Hope your Sunday is heavenly!

Ginny