New Block Tutorial Coming Soon!

Morning Everyone,

I hope you are having as good a weather as we are having here in Ohio. It is actually warm outside. Hubby and I (mostly him) are working on putting down a new floor on our back porch which it really needs. And he is also working on a large ironing table for me! I am so excited!! He got the wood and I have the batting, Insul-Brite and the fabric for the top. I found this canvas fabric at Joann's and it was 50% off!! I'll be taking pictures on our progress so you can see how he does it. If you have a handy guy around, he might be able to make one for you.

I will be uploading a new tutorial on the Arrowhead block. It's a simple block and works great for a beginner. I'll do this in a few days, so keep an eye out for it.

Happy Quilting!!

The Gourment Quilter

Morning!!! I was on YouTube last night and I found this wonderful lady who has over 100 videos on everything you would want to know about quilting!! Take a look at her website. Gourment Quilter!

A Flower Pincushion

This is a flower pincushion I made a few months ago. It was my first attempt at it!!!

Rag Quilt Tutorial

This is my very first quilting tutorial, so please bear with me. I chose the Rag Quilt as it's a great Beginner tutorial and you can make a small baby quilt to start out with. I'm using 5 inch squares of some flannel fabric I had in my stash. You can use 5 x 5 inch charm pieces which will save you some time in cutting.

What you need:
* Flannel fabric or 2 charm packs. One pack for the front and another for the back.
* Batting (optional) Some quilters say if you use batting in your 5 inch squares, the quilt becomes very heavy and can be too warm to use on your bed. Other quilters say just using the flannel itself will keep the quilt warm enough to use. For the sake of this tutorial, I won't be using any batting, but I will show you how to cut and place the batting in between your 5 x 5 inch squares.
* Your favorite scissors
* Sewing machine

1. First, lets see how many charm pieces you are going to need. Let's make it easy on ourselves. We're going to make a seven 5 x 5 charm pieces across and seven 5 x 5 charm pieces down. In total you're going to need 49 squares for the front and 49 squares for the back. Of course, if you wish to, you can make a smaller Rag Quilt.  (Figure 1)


2. Lay out your selection of charm squares, wrong side up. I lay them out in rows, so as not to have 2 squares of the same color next to each other.

To Add Batting to your Rag Quilt squares:  If you aren't adding batting to your Rag Quilt, move to #3.

Cut batting into  4" x 4" squares into the number of squares you are making your Rag Quilt. (In this project, that will be 49. I know it sounds like a lot, but rotary cutting the batting will make it a lot less tedious.) If you have low loft batting available, that would work out great. If not, use whatever you have in your stash. Place the 4" x 4 " batting onto the center of your 5" x 5" squares. 

3. Lay your second set of squares right side up onto the top of the batting or if you've skipped that step, onto the wrong side of the 5" x 5" fabric. If you are adding batting to your Rag Quilt, place the 5" x 5" fabric on top of the batting, right side of the fabric up.  You now have a 'sandwich'.  You can  make sure to keep different colors aligned in the rows, or if you are only using 2 colors, keep them opposite each other (Figure 1).

4. Take your paired up squares and making sure they are aligned, stitch an X crosswise onto each of your 49 squares. (figure 2 & 3).
Fig 2 & 3

5. Now we are going to attach your squares to make a row. Take two squares, making sure to keep the side you want to 'rag' upwards, place the sides together that are going to make the back of rag quilt and stitch a 1 inch seam. Do this to all of the squares in your row.

Fig 4

6. This step is optional: I don't like waiting until the entire Rag Quilt is finished to snip the seams into a 'rag' look. Talk about tedious!!! Besides, it takes forever and my hand hurts after a while. So when I've finished each row, I snip the seams for the rag look. Space your snips about a ¼" apart. (fig. 5)

Fig 5

7. You're going to add all of your rows together. Try and keep an eye on the colors when you attach them, or if you are using only two color choices, you just need to keep them seperate. You can snip your rows as you add them, or wait until they are all attached. It's your choice.

8. Now you need to wash and dry your Rag Quilt. The more you wash and dry it, the fluffier it will get!!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Pic of My New Design Wall

Morning!!

I bought a new digital camera and took a picture of my design wall that hubby made for me. I'm in the middle of making a rag quilt for our new puppy Martha. And yes, we've changed her name!! For some reason, she just wasn't a P.J. I think that's why we had such a hard time calling her that. So, she's a Martha. She's 7 months old with a toddlers mentality. lol...lol...lol.

Getting back to the rag quilt, I've only made 2 rows so far and I haven't ironed one of them. Hopefully I'll finish it today.

Happy Quilting!!

New Design Wall

Wow!! I am so tickled!!! Hubby made me a small design wall!!! It's about 44" x 48"!!! It is perfect!! I'd take a picture of it to show you all, but I can't remember where I put the camera!!! (If I only had a brain!) lol...lol. So we're going to but a new one, and as hubby says, once you buy a new one, the old one will show up!! It will take me a day or so to learn the tech issues of a new camer, but I'm determind to learn!!!!

Happy Quilting!!

To Begin Quilting

There are a lot of ways to begin quilting. In reading and surfing the Internet I found a few things that I still use today, but as you learn, you may choose your own way of doing things. Believe me, doing things your way doesn't mean the way is wrong. Ü

To make your first quilting project a little easier, you should get your supplies and tools ready before starting:

Sewing Machine: Of course, a sewing machine is necessary. But you don't have to break the bank to get one. My first sewing machine was a simple Singer that barely did more than sew a straight line. I paid $75.00 for it at Walmart on one of their Black Friday sales. I used it for a couple of years and then upgraded. That was about 5 years ago. I have since gotten a really nice machine, a Janome 6500P and I've also gotten a Janome 200e embroidery machine. If you are a new quilter and are unsure that you'll enjoy quilting but want to try it, I'd suggest looking at your 'For Sale' ads in your local paper. You might even search your area flea markets or garage sales. Msaybe someone in your family has a sewing machine you can use for a while.

Preparing your fabric: Some quilters wash their fabric prior to cutting. Since most quilting fabric is 100% cotton, the companies place a miniscule amount of formaldehyde in it to keep the fabric crisp and to help make the colors vibrant. Washing and then ironing your fabric will take the formaldehyde out. With that said, I DON'T wash my fabric before cutting. I DO iron them though. I don't  wash any precut fabrics, such as fat quarters, jelly roll strips, dessert rolls, turn overs, charms, honey buns, or any kind of precut fabric. Washing precuts ahead of time will make them fray and that's a bad thing. Even with yardage fabric, I still don't wash them, but that is my preference. If I were you, I'd test your fabric out to see how your fabric turns out. Take half a yard, or even a yard of 100% cotton fabric and wash and dry it, then iron it. I would also check out to see if you should use spray starch on your fabric. Sharlene Jorgenson (Quilting From the Heartland) is an avid starcher and she got me to try it. BUT, I found that the starch does a horrible number on my ironing board cover by scorching it and it tends to come off onto the fabric. I still do starch some fabrics, but I also use one of my older ironing board covers when I do. Niagra Spray Starch has come out with a 'green' alternative which I like. And don't forget, you can use 'fabric finish' instead of spray starch.

Something else you should think about when washing your fabric, washing it will preshrink it slightly. As long as all of the fabric you use in the quilt your making is prewashed, you'll do fine. (ie: don't prewash the fabric you use in the border of your quilt and not prewash the fabric you use in your blocks.)

Another thing to think about is color 'bleeding', and the color red does it a lot. I've been lucky that none of the reds have bled when I've washed a quilt, but I did have red and black flannel bleed onto my finished rag quilt, which I was not happy about. Of course, you can't prewash a rag quilt because it won't turn out as a 'rag' quilt, but I won't be using red or black again!!!

Scissors:  I have used some cheap scissors and a few pair that aren't so cheap.  I finally bought a pair of Ginghers Scissors. They cost me $32.00 at JoAnn's Fabrics (8 inches) and I could have probably gotten then less on eBay, but I needed some new scissors and I'd heard a lot of good things about Ginghers, so I took the chance. And, I do LOVE them!!! I also bought an embroidery pair so I could keep them by my sewing machine.

Pincushion: What can I say about a pincushion? I LOVE them!!!!! I've made several, even one that I have attached to my Janome sewing machine that I would absolutely be lost without. A lot of quilters and sewers collect them. Search out some free patterns on the Internet and you're bound to find one that you like.  If you don't have time to make one yourself, go on eBay and you will find a lot of them!!

Ironing:  This is one of the most important steps in making your quilting look good!!!! The very first small table runner I made, I didn't think I needed to iron, because it was so small. Half way through making the runner, I almost gave up because it wasn't turning out like it was suppose too!!! What was I doing wrong??????After reading the instructions for about the 100th time, I realized it was the ironing!!!! Each seam you make needs to be ironed! I'm not joking!! Ironing makes such a difference in quilting! As you get more proficient in your quilting skills, you'll learn when you can and cannot iron your fabric. You'll need to choose whether you want to use a dry iron, or steam. Again, this is left more to the preference of the quilter. I use a dry iron as I don't want to misshapen the fabric which can happen with steam. If you run into a tough fold in your fabric, try using the spray starch. It will help to smooth out the wrinkle.

Templates: Your first quilting project will most likely need a template or ruler. You can purchase acrylic templates from a lot of quilting stores online or from your local quilting store. There are a lot of quilt templates on the market, and I could list them here for you, but I think it would be easier for you to search them out for yourself. I've purchased several on eBay and they are great!!! My only suggestion when buying them on eBay, you make sure that they are see-through templates. Many come in clear acrylic plastic or even a rose color. But some on sale on eBay are made with Masonite, which isn't clear and can cause a lot of problems when cutting our a quilt pattern.

Pins: Pins are more of a preference of the quilter than what is in vogue or available at the time. I've found that I like the 'long' quilting pins, which seem to work well in several layers when sewing blocks together. I'd buy at least one package of the long pins to see if you like them, if not, then you haven't wasted a lot of money.

Good Lighting:  My eyes aren't as good as they were 20 years ago, so I really need good light when I'm sewing. Yes, your sewing machine has a light, but for me, it isn't enough. If it is for you, I commend your good eye health. For those of us who need the extra light, try going to Walmart and getting a desk lamp with a flexible neck (I got mine for $7.00) and it works great!!!!

Good Chair: Wow, this is a really important tool for your sewing room, nook, attic, etc.! If you spend an hour at your sewing machine and you have a lousy chair, it may be 2 days before you can get back to your sewing machine!  Your back will surely need traction!! I don't mean go out and purchase at $600.00 chair, but spend a few dollars to get a 'decent'  one!

 Rotary Cutting: I have 3 words for rotary cutting.....practice, practice, practice!!! I repeat....practice, practice, practice!!! AND please be careful when using your rotary cutter!! Get into the habit of closing you cutter and laying it out of the way of little hands.  I can't emphasize this enough! A rotary blade is SHARP!!!  Rotary cutters have been known to open when dropped.  Another good reason to keep them out of the way.

Here'sssss P.J.

She's been ours for about 3 hours now and she has already peed on the bed. lol...lol...thank goodness she only hit the bedspread. That was her first lesson in potty training. :-) Cody (our 3 year old Beagle) didn't really like the idea of another dog in the house. I think it will take a couple of days for him to get use to having her around. Tiffen (our 15 year old Shih Tzu) couldn't care less. P.J. has been fixed and microchipped, so she's as safe as we can make her.

Bow Tucks Handbag

Here is my latest handbag/tote. I haven't yet sewn on the closure button, but I will soon.

The fabric I used has an embroidered batik look to it. I really fell in love with it!!

New Tote & New Puppy

I've been busy the past couple of days finishing a spring Bow Tucks tote. I found the fabric at Walmart (don't gringe...it is actually really nice fabric). I'll take a picture of it later today and post it.

We're leavng in a few minutes to pick up our new puppy at the vets. We've named her P.J. We aren't sure what the PJ means, but it suits her nicely. :-):-)

I'll be back!!!