I made this quilt top a couple of years ago. I kept seeing this pattern pop up on flicker and found the original pattern here. I fell in love with the scrappy feeling of the quilt. I have a passion for scrappy quilts, you should not ever have to go buy 1/2 a yard of 10 different materials to make a quilt. I come from a family of seamstress so there was always scrap material around.
I made the quilt top and actually forgot about it till one of my cats jumped up on the shelf and down toppled all my unfinished quilt tops. I pulled out the top and started to look for fabric to complete the back. I had a long piece of this lovely light purple that I wanted to use but I also wanted a little color...something simple but that still had a snap of color. I played around with different colors on my design wall and came up with a nice backing. I think the solid strip of turquoise and the red added a nice break in to the eye.
I had taken a class on the long arm machine at Modern Domestic last year, but just in case you missed that post...a quick recap...when I went to do my 2 hours of studio time I broke the machine...an $18,000 machine. A piece of thread broke in the bobbin and they were unable to get it out, the machine froze and they had to pull it all apart. This is the finished quilt that broke the machine. Needless to say I was a little shy to go back for fear that they would never let me use the machine again.
SO this year for my birthday I signed up for another class to use the long arm machine at Modern Domestic, This time the class was 2 days, 3 hours each day. There were only 3 of us in the class and we each got turns playing with the machine after learning a design. I liked the wave pattern and the loopy pattern, I had done squares inside squares on all the quilts tops I had done so far. After you take the class you get 2 hours of studio time.
I finally went on August 11th, 2 hours of sewing on the machine and no problems....well one small one...I put the needle through my finger and broke the needle, but I did not break the machine. I also quilted part of the batting to the back of the quilt. The batting clung to the back of the quilt and when I attempted to roll the quilt on the arms it would not move. That is when I realized I had quilted some of the batting to the back. Oh well, now that I have done it I know what to watch out for when rolling and unrolling the quilt sandwich on the machine.
I really like the look of this quilt, it's all puffy from the machine quilting and the loopy pattern that I used was a nice contrast to the granny square pattern. I really liked making this pattern I think I will try it again but make it much more scrappy.
Last month I took a class at Modern Domestic so I could use their NEW long arm quilting machine. It's a Bernina Q 24, and it's beautiful!!! I had used used their last long arm a couple years ago to complete some quilts. Once I used a long arm I was hooked. These machines make the quilting process so simple and I really like the feeling of a quilt after it has been quilted, washed and dried. Depending on the batting the quilt will shrink just enough to make the quilt look loved. I made this quilt a couple months ago and had wanted to get it quilted so I can give it to a friend. I'm not sure where I got the backing, it was several pieces of fabric that was sewn together, I believe they were once used as curtains. Some of the fabric is a little faded but I love the pattern so much I really wanted to use it for the backing on this quilt. When you take the class to learn about the Bernina Q24 you get 2 hours of quilting time, so you can get use to using the machine. Last monday I went in to quilt my scrap quilt. While I was pinning the backing I found a couple of small holes in the fabric, that should have been a warning that I should fix the holes and make another appointment to use the machine. I really wanted to finish this quilt so I looked past the imperfections in the backing. I started to use the machine and I had a couple of problems, I could not remember how to make the machine stop when you stopped moving the head of the machine...oh well I pushed on. Then while I was rolling the quilt to quilt the second row I ripped the backing. The rip was a the end and did not affect the quilt but it was another warning. I was almost finished...I had about a 36" x 10" area to complete and the bobbin ran out. I wound another bobbin and put it in the machine. I put the bobbin in the machine and closed the bobbin case, started to stitch and the machine froze with the needle in the down position, in the batting and the backing. I turned the machine on and off, attempted to turn the hand wheel to get the needle and pressure foot up...no luck. I then knew I had to get a staff member to help me. They were very nice and came to my rescue only to find that I had not pushed the bobbin in all the way into the machine, this caused the machine to stop. We got the bobbin out of the machine and cut the birds nest of thread. The pressure foot was still in the down position and would not rise up. They started to pull the machine apart, all I could think was "OH SHIT...I broke a $18,000 sewing machine". They pulled the machine apart and they were trying to get some screws out the needle plate so they could pull the bobbin case, the bobbin case had a piece of thread stuck causing the machine to stop and not allowing the pressure foot to rise back to it's proper position. Problem was the screws were very tight, in an awkward position and very problematic to get out. After about an hour and a half of trying to get the screws out and the pressure foot up, they finally asked if I wanted to come back the next day to finish my quilt. I left feeling defeated and terrible, even though everyone was WONDERFUL about the situation. I decided the next day to go pick up the quilt and finish it on my home machine. There was very little to complete I knew I could do it on my home machine. When I went to get my quilt they told me they had to drill out the screws and that it was a learning process for them, they were great, no blame and I can come back to use the machine again. Can I just say the Modern Domestic is my favorite place. Next time I there are warnings...I will take heed and adjust my plans accordingly.
After the quilting disaster I needed something that was simple and pretty. I made some more pillow cases. I had bought some nice soft fabric at Mill End when I went to get batting for the ill fated quilt. The material for the main part of the green pillow cases is from a line called "Prints Charming" and it's super soft. I spent more time looking for coordinating fabric for the green material then I spent making the pillow cases.
We put up a fence at one of the rental units we own. Looking out the back of the apartment you saw a RV and a bunch of junk that the tenants behind us had stacked up. It also looked out at the automotive business and Lombard street, needless to say it was not a pretty sight. Though we need to paint the little storage unit in the back yard, the fence makes the back area of this apartment a much nicer space. It was a simple fix but a huge upgrade.
Zipper bags
I
have been obsessed with these zipper bags since I learned how to make them on Craftsy. It's a free class with Kristin Link of Sew Mama Sew. They are easy and take up very little fabric, about a fat quarter of fabric. I made 3 more the other evening in about an hour. I use scrap leather for the little handle on the left of the bag. Though I really like these bags they are a little large for my purse. I needed something to hold change instead of just dropping quarters into my bag. Then I found this tutorial!!! on making small triangle pouches.
I made 2 pouches. The first one is the tan one made from scrap upholstery fabric. The fabric was a little heavy so I had some problems sewing it all together. Also the original tutorial called for a 4" zipper. I had a 6" zipper so I just increased the size of the bag. It turned out a little too large, not to mention that it also was too bulky. I had some problems turning it inside out too as I forgot to unzip the zipper. I decided to try to make another one. I had taken a zipper out of a dress a couple weeks ago and I cut that red zipper to 4". I used some more scrap material, it was a heavier fabric but not a heavy upholstery fabric like the tan fabric. I whipped this little blue one up in about 15 minutes. The best thing is when you unzip the pouch you can see everything inside. The other change purse I had was problematic because the opening was so small I could not see inside and often had to dump all the change out on the counter. It was a little frustrating for folks in line behind me at the grocery store. I love these little pouches. I want to make a bunch of them using crushed pennies as zipper pulls.
I saw this quilt hanging on the wall at Modern Domestic when I was in there to sign up for a class. I really like the quilt. The quilts that are currently on the wall are all made by instructors at Modern Domestic. I forgot to look at who did this quilt but I wanted to share it because I really like the design. I love the deer head and the quilt is quilted all over with a tree pattern, a very Northwest quilt.
Christmas Slippers, Christmas Shirt & tile
For Christmas my husband bought me a very cute pair of slippers, as well as a couple of Craftsy Classes that will help improve my sewing. Craftsy had all of their classes on sale for $19.99 just before Christmas. I had wanted to take the a class on pattern altering they had one called "Create any Size" it goes over pattern garaging and how to alter the pattern to your size. I have a ton of old patterns that I would love to make in my size but several of the patterns are too small. I have not taken the class yet but I will this week to see how I like it. I love learning new things but often find it difficult to match my schedule with actual classes at shops or colleges. I have taken some wonderful classes at Modern Domestic in Portland...if you ever need hands on training the ladies at Modern Domestic are WONDERFUL!!!
I also made my husband another Negroni Shirt. He as about 5 now. This one is a lovely burgundy that I bought at the Pendleton Woolen Mills. The piece was in the salvage bin, it was bout 3 1/2 yards long but had been cut to about 36" width. It's soft and light weight wool that has a linen feel to it. I added some cute Japanese fabric as an accent. I didn't get the snaps on till after Christams, but gave it to hem anyway and took a photo. My husband prefers snaps to buttons. I think the color looks really good on him...so does he.
My sister installed a gas fireplace in her basement about 2 years ago. She has a TV on the wall above the fireplace and some lovely bookcases on either side of the fireplace. The problem was she bought some expensive tile squares to put up around the fireplace, but was kind of afraid to do the actual tiling. I know that feeling..you really want something perfect so you just put off getting it done with the excuse that you may mess it up. I went over to her house last week and helped her tile the small area around the fireplace. She grouted it and it looks amazing. She told me she's glad I came over to help her and that Lisa (her partner) is very happy that it's finally done. The tile sheets were about 10x10 and the actual tiles were about 1/2 an inch each, the sheet is a mixture of metal, tile and glass. It sparkles so nicely. I was so happy to help her out on this project.
