Thursday, April 25, 2013

Foundation Paper Piecing


A few weeks ago the people at Craftsy asked me if I would like to take and review one of their quilting classes.  Hello, yes!  I took Carol Doak's Mastering Foundation Paper Piecing class and loved it!  Since I have paper pieced before, I wasn't sure how much I would learn, but Carol is full of great tips from start to finish!


At one point in the first lesson Carol talks about using paper specifically made for foundation paper piecing.  I have always used printer paper and when I saw her tug on her block to remove the paper I literally gasped out loud.  It was like seeing a toddler start to trip on a white rug with a glass of grape juice.  I was sure her block would be mangled!  But the paper just tore and came right off.  Very impressive.  I went and bought paper - and it tears off like a dream!

There are great materials included with the class to make all of the projects that she demonstrates plus the ebook 50 Little Paper Pieced Blocks.


I used one of the patterns in the 50 Little Paper Pieced Blocks ebook to make the apple on this little pouch.  Not all of the 50 three inch blocks are my style, but there are some fun star blocks in there that would be fun to use in small projects.

Some of the most helpful tips were how to determine how large to cut your fabric when you have a pattern that doesn't specify fabric size and tips on how to make sure your corners match exactly each time.  Plus there is a place to post pictures of your projects and to ask questions.  Carol is very active on the site and has answered every question.  Impressive.

Interested in taking the class?  You can use this link to get the class half off!  The link and half off deal don't expire.  Thanks Craftsy!

Plus, have you seen Craftsy's free classes?  Bag Making Basics, Sewing Machine 911, Creative Quilt Backs and the Craftsy Block of the Month?  What great resources!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Good News, Bad News, Best News

Good News!  Yesterday I rented time on a long arm quilting machine and worked on my Skill Builder Sampler Quilt!  I had a lot of fun trying new things in each of the blocks.  None of them are perfect, but it is a Skill Builder, right?

 There were swirls.

 Squares.  I had a lot of fun doing this one but my husband thinks it is ugly, whatever...It is awesome!

 Pebbles and flowers.

 Stars.  Not my best design choice to fill in the negative space, but live and learn.  Husband thinks they look like witches' stars...They are just regular stars!  Men...

 Big swirl.

I borrowed a stencil to do something special in the middle of the feathered star.

 I even tried my hand at feathers.  Can you see them in the white?

 But my favorite block is this one.  I loved the block to begin with and I love the flowers and leaves around the edges.  I may be bad at feathers, but I can free motion quilt me flowers like no one else!  :)

Bad News...my backing wasn't long enough!  @#$%#  It stopped about six inches before the end of the quilt!   So I am cleaning the house, posting this and basically procrastinating so I won't have to deal with adding on an extra strip of backing, basting and quilting the bottom.  Ick.  I hate messing up!  I'm trying to tell myself that it won't be so bad, just take a deep breath and do it, right?  :)


Best News.  I have the best baby in the whole world.  No, don't bother to argue, it is true.  :)  I took her to the quilt shop with me and she played happily on the floor the whole time.  Some fussing when she had a messy diaper or was hungry or ready for a nap, but she was Amazing!  I brought an exersaucer for her to play in and a backpack carrier for her to ride in, but didn't have to use them at all.  She just played on the floor with her toys - thankfully she can't crawl yet!  I figured taking care of her added an extra hour onto the quilting process, but it was well worth the extra rental time to finally have the quilt done...well, almost done...
Wish me luck!

Updated:  I did it!  And it wasn't even that bad.  ;)  Off to bind!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

QuiltCon Post #4 - The Lectures


 One of the funnest parts of going to QuiltCon was going to all of the lectures.  They had a great line up of speakers!

I loved Amy Butler's lecture on color and how she gets inspiration for her fabrics.  I was so inspired and she seemed so nice and real.

Jacquie Gering's lecture was also one of my favorites.  She told about her quilting journey, her family and quilting traditions that are important to her.  Truly heartwarming!

The lecture on book publishing helped answer some of my questions and concerns - perhaps someday there will be a Skill Builder Sampler Book? 


The Craftsy team was there and recorded some of the lectures - most of my favorites!  I watched Amy Butler and Jacquie Gering's lectures again and got to see David Butler and Mary Fon's lectures for the first time on Craftsy!  

I loved how Mary Fon talked about embracing beginning quilters.  Check out this post to see how Shea at The Empty Bobbin put the lecture into practice!  Inspiring!

The lectures are free (don't get me started on how much I paid to see them live!) so check them out at your leisure. 



Another fun thing about the lecture hall was how they had all of the charity quilts hanging along the walls.  The lighting was horrible for the quilts, but showed off the quilting well.  Seriously, the first thing you would notice when you looked at the quilt was the quilting design - the lighting cast these weird shadows.  It was neat to see the different ways that the guilds had put such different blocks together and made a cohesive quilt.  Lots of great inspiration on non-traditional block layouts.





Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Gettin' All Professional And Classy Around Here

How do you like the new header my sister-in-law Charlotte made for me?  I love it!  Simple, classic and perfect for me!  If you are interested in having a header or other graphics made for you, Charlotte has just started a small graphic design business.  I cannot recommend her enough.  She was on the ball (unlike me) and easy to work with.  Plus her rates are great!  Check out her website here.

I am off to deal with a screaming 5 year-old who wants to wear different pants, but who can't bring herself to get another pair herself.  Oh, the joys of motherhood....  :)


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Towels


Last year the towel situation in our home was driving me nuts.  Seven people = seven towels to keep track of. That's a lot of towels.  I like to use our towels more than once and I could never remember who's towel was who's or how many times it had been used or who to yell at ask to pick up the towel lying in the middle of the living room.  Plus most of our towels were wedding gifts and were looking rather worn.


So I picked up some towels at the after Thanksgiving sales in everyone's favorite colors.  A few months later (of course) I added each person's initial with Heat 'n' Bond and zigzagged around the letters.


I added a piece of ribbon or twill tape to the middle of each towel so aid in hanging - now they don't fall off the hooks!  It is the little things that make life great!  :)


It was the best investment ever!  Everyone loves their towel and I am not going crazy anymore.  :)   Aren't clean babies the best!?!