Blogger Girls BOM update

I'm officially two blocks behind. BUT, I did make a dent on this one last month. I tackled block #3 and dwelled on the sashing a bit more.

This block finally brought into the play the companion ruler to Monique's Fit to be Quarter 6.5 ruler. I was excited to give it a try and found it super easy to use.

You start with the center of your square in a square

Trim the edges off

Then you need to attach the hst unit to the newly trimmed edge.

I centered the piece by folding the triangle in half and finger pressing the center. 

I did the same with the trimmed edge of the square and just aligned the folds.

After attaching both sides to the center square, I used the Fit to be Quarter ruler to trim the piece.

Perfect. EVERY TIME!

I added these units to the strips I made for both of my blocks.

Ended up with two new installments on this BOM. 

This is Block #3 v1

This is Block #3 v2

On that last one I really wanted to have the churn dash pop so I used lighter tones on all my other fabrics in the square. Overall, I like the way these new blocks compliment the existing ones.

April's installment is my favorite block so I have to think about the color placement to make sure I don't screw it up.
If you visit the blogger girls today you can pick up May's installment, so get out there and grab your instructions off of Monique's blog . Above all, have fun!

Tooltime Tuesday?

I thought I'd share a "recent" find. It has been sitting in my closet for about 8 years.

Last summer I went to a retreat with the Dallas Modern Guild and I was diligently working on one of the  last few quilts for my daughter's dowry set when a friend saw me cutting strips and suggested a "better" way  that would not involve spending an arm and a leg on an AccuQuilt Go machine.

Then she brought out this "ruler"....

I said.. I have one of those... someplace...

She looked at me with the look that says, you're an idiot because you are not using it!
:)

I proceeded to explain that I didn't know how to use the darn thing. My 42" WOF didn't fit under the ruler and I had some reservations on folding the fabric. She gave me "the look" again and pulled me over to show me how to use it.
I <3 my guild buddies. They pull me into the 21st century kicking and screaming.

Since I KNOW I'm not the only one out there that has this tool collecting dust in the closet, I thought I'd share my newly acquired knowledge...

So the first thing I do is fold the fabric. The 42" is folded once right from the bolt, but since I prewash all my yardage, I bring my selvages together and refold.

After I have a nice clean WOF fold, I fold again. 

This time I don't bring the bottom edge all the way up to  the first fold but I fold it up enough so that the resulting width fits under the ruler.

Align the bottom edge of the fabric with the first line on your Short Cut ruler.

The left side of the fabric should extend just a bit from the first slot (this allows you to trim the  edge)

In the picture above I was cutting 1.5" strips. I fit my blade into the 0" slot and cut along the slot to  trim the edge, I then move to the 1.5" slot and cut again. Move to the 3" slot and cut again. Move to  the 4.5" slot and cut, so on and so forth until I get to the end...
I do move my hold on the ruler as I move along but it's more because I'm a newbie.

Lift the ruler and... wala! You have a gaggle of 1.5" strips.

My initial concern was that the folds would yield a deviation on the strip... has anyone seen the wonky  strips on a jelly roll? but I have not had that experience. Each strip comes out nice and straight.

Since I bought my Short Cut, June Tailor has made a similar cutting tool with 1/4" slots.

I bought one.

I hope you all will dust off your Short Cut ruler and give it a try.
The way I see it, the less time I spend cutting, the more time I spend sewing!

*** Thanks to my personal hand model, my sister Jess.

The Bias Tape Maker

With my efforts to do more applique this year comes the need to learn about tools that might make the process a bit smoother.

When I was cutting out my applique pieces for my Love Letter's block I noticed that there were a few 'stems' to be made. I recalled that I had a bias tape maker back from when I thought I might use it (about 10 years ago). I pulled it out and realized that the tool was less than efficient.

So when I had to cut and make the handles on my Petite Fours block I decided to venture out and look for another option...

I discovered an updated version of the bias tape maker that I needed to check out.

As you can see it looks very much like the older model (still available at you local JoAnn's store)

here is the difference.... Notice how after feeding the fabric in the older model, it still comes out 'opened', while the new model is ready to feed to your iron with no tweaking.

Here is another look. See how the mouth of the new version is tight around the fabric,

while the older version feeds it open.

The end result is the same. You still get the bias tape you were aiming for, but the older model requires that your fingers get close and personal with your iron, while the newer version allows you to maintain a respectable distance from the heat.

Needless to say, I love my new bias tape maker, and my fingers do too!

Wondering how I feed the 1" strip through the tape maker?

Well I use my handy dandy stilleto which came courtesy of my favorite Pumpkin Patch.

I love that tool! It not only worked to push that fabric through the bias tape measure, it also helps me feed my fabric through the machine AND it also has helped me fold under the applique handles of my Petite Fours baskets. I don't know what I would do without that darn thing. I love it!

I also got a Pressing Tool with my stilleto which has saved my fingers more than once during this new adventure!

Hurray for new tools!

Tutorial: How to make a passable label for your quilt

Everyone makes labels in different ways... from getting them printed professionally, using services like Spoonflower.com, to just free-handing a signature and note directly on the back of the quilt. I have thought of using the first and have done the later but most of the time I take a moment to make a decent label that is different and unique for each quilt.

A while ago Thelma (Cupcakes 'n Daisies) and I got chatting over labels and how my labels looks so well done. When I shared my secret with her she suggested I write up a tutorial, so here I am many months later with a quick tutorial.

Here we go...

Things you need:
Computer w/ a word processing software
Printer
Tape
Micron Pens .05
Light box or a well illuminated Window


First step... Decide what to write. I sometimes scope out the quilt poems out in blogland and use something like that before jotting down the general info of the quilt, but most of the time I just put the name of the quilt, who it's for (if I'm giving it away), when I completed the top and when it was quilted. My name and where I lived when completed also goes on the label.

Now, I'm not so talented as to have some outstanding penmanship with gorgeous handwriting so I type this all up into a word document using some cute font. I keep this label document on my computer and just edit it when I type a new label. The file is formatted to fit a 3" square fabric but I play with it when I make a label that is a bit different.

I print out the page and take it over to my handy dandy light box...

 You like my light box?
Let's pause here to give you a better look at the quality of this light box. 

I even made a hole to pull out the cord of the desk lamp I put in the small cooler 

I got from my local 7 eleven.

Do I need some fancy glass top? Nope. I use my ruler as the surface.

Okay. so back to the label. I tape the print out onto the light box surface.

I then tape the piece of muslin onto the label.

Using as many colors as I want, I just trace with the Micron pens.

When I'm done tracing, I take the label to my ironing board and press it to heat set the ink.

Last step is to attach to your quilt. I prefer to put the label onto the quilt before it's quilted so that the quilting can secure it in place but sometimes I attach whenever I can get to it. This one got incorporated into the backing of the quilt...

BTW: If you don't have a fancy shmancy light box, like mine you can just tape the printout to your window and let nature serve as your light box.

Hope this helps someone out there.