Stripping therapy!

The past two days have been quiet on the home front! Lots of time spent in the studio working away at my vision of a Downton Abbey quilt. I cut out the fabric late Monday afternoon and sewed a few units into the early evening.

There are a lot of HSTs (half square triangles) in this quilt but it's all easy work. Although the pattern is listed as an intermediate quilt, I believe a confident beginner could easily make this quilt successfully. 

HSTs are easy to make; I mark them before sewing... I blogged about them here.

These are leftovers after trimming the HSTs; they will make a cute little quilt someday!

The units are all ready.

My floor space isn't large enough in the sewing room anymore!  So I had to lay out rows 9 & 10 off to the side. The picture on the pattern sheet was used to help with layout of the 6 different fabrics that comprise the large units.

How do you mark your strips, rows, blocks when preparing to sew them? I use freezer paper pieces which I number and iron at the top of each strip. No pins to poke you when handling!

Once the strips are ironed and ready to be put together, I hang them up in order of sewing sequence.

Stay tuned for the quilt top reveal.

I have to prep the house today because we have another showing this afternoon! Can you tell I needed some sewing therapy?

Toodles,

Lorette

Ripping lesson!

I don't know about you but I hate to rip out stitches, especially when the quilt is on the longarm. You can't handle the fabric as easily to catch the stitch with the ripper.

This is a method that is so much faster and safer for the fabric.

Here's where I wanted to remove the stitching; the thread on the right is the bottom thread.

Tug on the top thread to reveal the loop...

Slide your seam ripper under the loop then slide it sideways to remove the top thread from the loop.

Here is another loop.

You'll be amazed at how fast you can eliminate those mistakes.

Now back to finishing this quilt!

Toodles,

Lorette

Report on glue sticks

If you've been a reader of this blog, you know I use liquid starch and Roxanne's glue for my applique technique. A week ago, I decided to order glue sticks advertised on the videos demonstrating applique techniques in Yoko Saito's Quilt Mystere 2012. I suppose it wasn't so much the glue but the special method Beatrice Airaud demonstrates that captured my interest. She doesn't or hardly clips her seam allowances on curves... it seemed easy so in order to evaluate the process, I wanted some of the same tools she uses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p4f_A40lWQ watch this video starting at 4:30min and you'll see how she uses the glue stick and her seam ripper to fold over the seam allowances. She uses the same method on curves with a narrow 3mm seam allowance.

Well the glues and chalk pencil arrived on Saturday, a whole week ahead of expected date of delivery... perhaps that's why postage was so high! :(  Karisma is the brand name, clearly Japanese as you can see.

I found a local supplier right in my backyard... or close enough:
https://www.superbuzzy.com/shop/product/karisma-fabric-glue-stick-pen-blue/

So I set out to try it on the next block preparation. As I don't like to be predictable all the time, I decided to prepare block no 6 instead of no 4 in Yoko Saito's Quilt Mystere; the reason for this is that block no 6 is the widest of all the blocks therefore I wanted to pick out the fabrics for those long strips before I use up some yardage. I bought mainly fat quarters for this quilt with a few larger pieces I thought would make great backgrounds. Blocks 4, 5 and 6 are done in narrow strips or layers rather than one large background piece. Interesting way to build them in layers. 

The glue is the color of the cap, in this case neon yellow.

It dries clear: in the next photo, it's not quite dry but the amazing thing is it does remain supple just like Beatrice Airaud says in the Quiltmania video. That to me is fantastic. Furthermore, the needle and thread glide through the glue with no stiffness or residue left on the needle! It also washes out easily. 

Beatrice's technique is a great one if you draw or trace the pattern directly on the fabric. However after trying it on a few pieces for Block no 6, it's clear Beatrice has mastered this technique because it isn't as easy as it looks. I need more practice to be convinced enough to change from my trusted freezer paper method.

More testing will be needed too with glues and I intend to compare it with what is available on the market. I have tried regular glue sticks and the fabric ends up as stiff as a board with great difficulty pushing a needle through it. There's a product called Sewline that looks similar to the Karisma glue pen and I plan to test it as well.  Elmer's glue is also one touted by Sharon Schamber and must be the least expensive to use. It, like Roxanne's glue are set with a dry iron. But they leave the fabric stiff when dried.

In the meantime, I completed the sewing and embroidery on Block no 2 Friday evening while watching Perry Mason reruns. Did you know you can watch it online too? http://www.cbs.com/shows/perry_mason/
Don't you love the theme song?? We're having problems with our satellite reception so we're limited in the number of channels we can watch before we lose the signal. (Frustrating yet we are watching channels that we never considered before and have found some very interesting series.)

We thought our problem was because of a backyard tree that had grown too large and was blocking the satellite so we had it trimmed back but alas, it wasn't the cause. A call to our provider and a few system checks later told them our problem was with the equipment not getting a signal! DAH!!! Isn't that why I called in the first place?? A technician is coming on Tuesday.

Block no 2...

I do love that Karisma chalk pencil in pink. There's a new version just out on the market that has 3 colors in one pen. The "lead" is 0.9 which is quite thin and makes a beautiful mark.

Block No 3 is next to my rocker and is partly done! Big houses on that block so I expect it will go a little faster. However, I'm impressed with the number of windows and doors on this quilt... they're all reverse appliqued then embroidered!

Scrap, Quilt and Stitch has a new mystery quilt starting this week! It's called "De Deauville a Cape Cod"; I'm a sucker for a beach-themed quilt so I got on board. Her instructions are in French but perhaps you can ask her for an English version. Blogger will translate her blog too. I already have her Eastwood Village pattern  but have not started it yet. Love her Santas too. Head on over there and take a peek at her previews.

Toodles,

Lorette

Working chains!

How do you make your half square triangles (HSTs)? 

Here is my preferred method to make 8 HSTs from one square!

Start with a 6 1/2" square in background and focus fabric, RST (right sides together);

Draw a line on both diagonals (these are cut lines only!); then draw a 1/4" line on either side of the diagonals (these are sewing lines);

Next draw a line in the center vertically and horizontally: (these are cut lines only!) 

Now sew on the first 2 lines you drew 1/4" away from the diagonal: I love chain piecing!

When you get to the end of your squares, don't bother breaking thread; just tug a length of thread out and continue down the other side of the diagonal

 Once you're done the first 2 lines, snip the threads that link the squares.

And repeat the process sewing on the lines on either side of the other diagonal: the sewing is not showing too well here because the thread color is close in value. Snip the threads between your squares.

Now it's time to cut on the lines we drew: you can refer to the first photo but basically, you'll cut the 2 diagonals and the vertical and horizontals running in the center of the squares.

You'll have a neat pile of HSTs ready to iron.

Be careful when you iron these as the sewing line is a bias seam and it can get distorted if you aren't careful.

I like to make the HSTs a little larger than needed starting with a bigger square of fabric so that I can trim them to size before using them in my quilts. It helps with accuracy!

Toodles!

Lorette

Peppermints Please!

I joined this BOM from Quilty Pleasures at our guild's quilt show in May. It's called Peppermint Place, a pattern by The Quilt Company from San Diego CA.

I fell in love with the colors and the fact that it's a Christmas-themed quilt didn't hurt. Block no 2 is ready for its applique. I used to do needle-turn but not anymore! I have a secret little tool that makes turning all those small 1/8" to 1/4" edges a breeze!! NO KIDDING!!

 These are my favorite supplies for applique. They make life sooo simple.
1: the non-stick, heat-resistant pressing sheet is a must. I love this large surface 18x20" as it helps me spread my pieces out once they're cut and it allows them to cool after the edges have been "ironed".
2: Best Press in my favorite scent! Love the smell of this starch.
3: Freezer paper: double thickness is key here.
4: small artist brush or waterbrush (you load water or in this case liquid starch by squeezing the brush with the brush tip in the liquid)
5: small tin (Altoids in this case) for the liquid starch if you don't have a waterbrush. This works just fine and is perhaps faster than the waterbrush. You apply the starch to the 1/8" -1/4" turn edges of the applique
6: Glue Baste It: you apply small dots of glue to anchor your applique to the background eliminating the need for pins!
7: Your regular iron: You gently iron the glue dots applique to the background without steam and a low to med setting.
8: Perfect Scissors: these are by Karen Kay Buckley and a must for fine detail cutting.
9: and lastly, my secret weapon! THIS LITTLE TIP!! It's from Cheri Meineke-Johnson of Cheri's Crystals and costs $2.00. It fits the BeJeweler, a tool that applies Hot-Fix Crystals, Pearls and Metals and RhineStuds. I bought this hot-fix iron kit and some crystals from Cheri at Road to California Quilt show many years ago. She sells her own Cool Tool for $18.95 which is the same as the BeJeweler. Last fall, I happened to watch a video of hers (@ The Quilting School) where she explains how she does her freezer paper applique and described her little tool. I met her at Road again in January and bought one to try it out! I was hooked! You see, this little tool's shape is what makes rolling the edges sooo easy and fast and the fact that it's hot helps dry the starched edges in place.

 Since I bought that applique tip for my BeJeweler, I have made two applique quilt tops: The Night Before Christmas and Merry Merry Snowmen by Bunny Hill Designs. Each top took 5 weeks to complete, amazing only because this little tip made applique sooo much simpler and faster.

Give it a try... you won't be disappointed!

Toodles,

Lorette