Coming Soon... here and gone.

My version of Coming Soon (pattern by Camille Roskelly of Thimble Blossoms) arrived at my door on Monday. Can you believe it? Mary had this one in and out of the frame so quickly my head is still whirling. I really appreciate it since the new owner is... Coming Soon... (sorry, I had to do it!)

I love the crinkling that a quilt gets after that first wash.

Like it's already been snuggled with and loved.

I had to piece the back since I made the borders of the quilt a little larger than the pattern called for.

But I think, that having to piece the back added a bit more flair. 

It also gave me a chance to incorporate the label onto the quilt.

I love the big flowers Mary quilted on it since it allows for a bit more loft to the quilt.

I hope it's loved and cherished in it's new home.

Feeling like MacGyver

I was chatting with Darlene over at Quilting Daze, about Short Story (the quilt I am working on from the Schnibbles Times Two book - which she already made: Here) and how it can feel a bit off while making it, especially if you have a problem with things not looking as you are use to. I have learned to trust Miss Carrie when it comes to her patterns because not always will you walk on the straight and narrow to get to your final destination, but eventually you will get there.

What I found most frustrating with this project has nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with the ruler used in the pattern. It happens to all new rulers.. the slip and slide. I typically buy rulers that have a modicum of grip and I do fairly well, but this was a specialty ruler and I had limited options.

I had found that if I used the ruler on a certain table I could put enough pressure to avoid much of the slip and slide but yesterday we put away the fold-able table and I had to resort to my usual cutting spot. After cutting a few triangles I knew I could not work with the ruler without proper grips.

JoAnn's sells little round adhesive grips that work marvelously but I had recently run out of them and I was not heading to JoAnn's (20 minutes away) to get a replacement pack. I first tried double sided tape to get some sort of grasp on the ruler but it really wasn't working for me.

Here is what a did....

Quick call to my sister (Thanks, Jess!) who was out and about, had her stopping at the local Home Depot for some extra fine sandpaper. I originally wanted some that already had adhesive, but there was none so she brought me the regular kind. 

Cutting out a thin strip, I put some of that double sided tape I had at home on the back of the strip.

I then just put the now adhesive sandpaper onto my slippery ruler.

Worked fabulously! 

It was gripping like a charm and I was able to cut out several more triangles for the blocks of my Short Story quilt. I felt a bit like MacGyver, trying to solve the problem with rudimentary tools vs going out and getting the little dots that are already out there.

Hope this helps someone that just might have a slippery ruler that needs some taming!

A bit of something completed

Even though I have been busy at work I did make some time to make a baby quilt for my cousin that is expected to pop this month. She is actually a second cousin, being the only daughter of my first cousin. Confused? My extended family is quite huge. Anyway... I was a bit excited that I was able to complete this top.

I selected Camille Roskelley's new pattern called Coming Soon...

and combined it with the florals of Momo's Freebird line.

The pattern came together like a dream. Very easy and with quick results.

Then it was just a matter of finding the right placement for the colors.

I did add a slightly larger border...

And failed to take that into account when I bought the backing for the quilt, which, in turn, caused my backing to fall a bit short of the mark. I had to be a little creative and make it a tad larger. I don't have a picture of it but I'll show it to you all when I get it back from Mary. Mary from over at Quilt Hollow agreed to quilt it for me so it would arrive at its destination in time to welcome it's new owner to the world.

I'm so happy I did something in July and I hope that this month will be more productive..

Well, Color Me Embarrased!!!

This morning I headed off in a huff to the local sewing machine repair shop to ask what the heck they did to my baby... (see previous post to review symptoms of the so called Baby). The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi! {start unpacking the Baby from it's carrier - plopping it on the counter} I brought my machine in back in January for it's annual cleaning {pull out receipt to demonstrate proper documentation} and when I took it out last night for it's first run, nothing happened.
At this point the guy has plugged in my machine and started threading it...
more Me: Oh, the machine ran. It ran and ran and ran. But not one stitch would stick to the fabric. The bobbin thread won't pull up... {and then I kicked it in high gear by pulling out the little strip of fabric with the demo stitches that was brought home with the machine after the cleaning...} I would love to know how you were able to get those stitches on there because it does not want to play with me...

At this point the guy bends down and asks...
Repair Guy: Did you change the needle.

Me (still puffed up): Yes. I broke the other needle after putting the machine in high gear when the stitches would not grab. {Yes. that was a bit embarrassing, like if I sewed faster there was a chance of the bobbin thread rising from the depths of that hole}

He takes the needle off and looks at it... Here my stomach sank, because I had removed that bobbin case gazillion times, re-threaded the machine bazillion times, but..... He turns the needle a 1/4 turn to the left and re-attaches... I knew what was coming... He pulls the little piece of fabric I had brought with me and puts it under the foot... {sigh} the machine just purred and sewed like a charm.

Repair Guy: Ma'am, {don't you hate when they ma'am you with that "you're an idiot" tone - or maybe it was just my imagination} Most sewing machines use the needles with the flat part facing away, but the Featherweights need the flat portion of the needle facing left. If the needle is not just right, it won't pick up the bobbin thread.

God Bless him. He said that in a way that allowed me to save face. Like, "yeah, you're an idiot for not knowing this but most people are idiots and we get this all the time"

Packed my bags, thanked him profusely for having wasted 5 minutes while he heard my rant and headed home.

Well, it seems that when I setup my sewing area so diligently I took the needle off to make sure it was the right size for my project and when I put it back on I turned it around. Can you believe that this was what caused all my frustrations yesterday?

Look how smooth that puppy sews...

All because the flat of the needle needs to face left.

A bit embarrassed here...

Good intentions and all...

My Friday Night Sew-In was a bit of a flop. I had the best of intentions... Here is how it went:

Since my 'big' machine is setup for machine quilting a baby quilt I'm working on I pulled out my Featherweight which had been in it's box since I brought it home from it's yearly cleaning expedition. I wound a bobbin with my thread and I layed out my fabric. I still have some blocks to finish for my Short Story quilt so I was looking forward to something nice, easy and with some quick results.

When I was setting my 1/4 inch seam I noticed there was a problem. The machine ran but the stitches were not connecting. The bobbin thread was not being pulled to the top so.. no stitches.

After about half an hour of fidgeting with the thing I had gotten myself so upset I had to walk away. Do you think some universal force is out to stop me from piecing anything?

 Anyway, this morning I'm off to take my baby to the doctors... I'm just happy that this happened at home and not at a class or worse.. a Retreat! I would have been REALLY upset if that happened.

It was not all lost. Although no sewing was done, I did stay away from work and watched the last few episodes of a series I had started to watch over a year ago.

I had been turned off when I heard about the ending but the show was so good and so out there I always knew I would want to finish watching it. I am happy I did. It was really a great series. I'm curious what the BBC version (the original) would look like.

So that was me. How did your Sew-In day go? Hopefully better than mine.

Friday Night Sew-In

I need some help. I have not found my groove this summer and need some motivation, so I'm joining the Friday Night Sew-In



I was over at the Quilt Hollow and saw that Mary was participating. I thought this just might be what I need to get at least SOMETHING done! It will also get me to post about my work tomorrow.

So... if you are feeling unmotivated drop by Handmade by Heidi  and join the Friday Night Sew-In, and keep an eye out for my post tomorrow.

A Short Story emerges...

I have been on a forced creative hiatus. Ugh.

Last year the economy had really slowed work down quite a bit but this year it has been non-stop, go go go since mid May and there is no end in sight. I work in a position where I have to do the work, it's not something that I an just walk away or check out over the weekend and come back to it on Monday. I have a deadline and the project needs to be done by that date. It's a bit nerve wrecking if you are running behind and with more projects that you have time to complete, you are always behind. So, weekends have been pulled into the work week and whenever I take a breather, I don't feel I can actually sit down to get anything done.

I wanted to work on so many projects but, until recently I have not been able to pull myself into actually cutting anything or sewing anything.

I was going through a bit of withdrawal and finally broke down and cut up the Fat Eighth bundle I won over at Kelly's during a Charming Club giveaway. I had been scoping out the fabric and when I actually won I was VERY excited.

 I decided to use the fabric to make a quilt from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. new book Schnibbles Times Two. I decided to make the larger version of Short Story. The fabric was just enough so I was very happy. I cut out all the fabric and separated the strips into the 49 blocks.

This fabric collection is just gorgeous!

The more I cut, the more I fell in love with each piece.

I have made 8 blocks. Not alot but I'm happy to see SOMETHING coming out of the sewing room that doesn't come from the creative juices of my daughter.

The blocks come together very easy, which is nice since I can easily sit down and sew a few seams here and there when I can.

I won't be able to finish this one to make it for the Schnibbles contest but I'm VERY happy that I'm actually getting something done.