Special Characters

Special Characters. Not people we meet or know, but those on a sewing machine. I saw this set-up before buying the machine, and have tried a couple of times to use it, reading the manual and doing a practice run...well several actually.

I know it can work to make labels if I can ever figure it out. Evidently, it will save a letter in memory because it is a computer-generated function. AND it stitches vertically rather than horizontally. It is a challenge for me to wrap my head around the steps that are involved. I learn much better when someone shows me.

The text I want to do is simple enough. 
      For Jane
      2016 - Red
      From Bellezza 

Three lines. 8-10-13 / letters with spaces. There is red thread on white. Well, I have until mid-November to figure it out.

Early Delivery

It was a sweet surprise to get the MN Wild focus fabric a couple of days early. I just bought more of the tone-on-tone background fabric so was able to cut for the extra 3 blocks. I cut only two strips each for the color part.

I also made an appointment at the clubhouse to work on the Wild Cats quilt next week. I want to tie this one and am using poly batting. My younger Son loves the feel of these kinds of quilts and so I did get a high loft version.

The making of binding is an interesting process, and the word itself has many meanings on so many levels.

With quilt binding, I cut 2.5" strips, join them, roll the joined strips into a ball, then pin on the right side of the quilt for sewing. This part will be done yet today. The hand sewing takes longer; usually a night or two while I watch a video.

This one has a working name that doesn't please me and so I have been spending time considering all sorts of phrases with the word 'red' in them. Hopefully, the name will come and I can make a label for it.

After-Class

One thing the instructor said was to work on this quilt for a few days after getting home so we would remember the process. Its like putting something into body memory.

I spent the day, first calculating how much more was needed if the quilt were to go 3 blocks wide by 4 blocks long. It was already extended 3 wide, so there is only need for 3 more blocks to finish off the bottom and make it the perfect size for a lap quilt. First I cut more red center squares and then looked for coordinating fabrics to add to the logs on all blocks. The focus fabric is scheduled for a Friday delivery and I will need to buy more background fabric. Both are needed for the blocks so I don't want to do a lot on the project until both are in the house.

What I did do was to add the first 2 logs to both the background center and the color center, and then sorted the colors into lengths. My guess is that there will be some waste because the pattern uses FQs or yardage rather than scraps.

It is a bundle of pieces at this stage. I feel like my life is like that right now too. Pieces. Pieces with parts. Pieces with potential. And so it means being clear with myself, organizing once and then again.

My computer geek is coming tomorrow to look at the set up here. The router channel need changing or replacing to get the house off a channel that has high traffic. I need him to look at the state of the Mac because (whine here) I love my Mac. This SmartTV is a shit-storm to try and use. And the little PC laptop with 10 loaded on it is...well, not the Mac. And while my new phone is so much better than what I had, my expectations for what it can do might be too high.

Sunday Catchup

The quilting class I attended yesterday was just what I needed. None of the participants were familiar to me, so the conversations were nice. The project itself was complex only in that it was new. I am going to spend the day piecing. Blocks in it are 6" square to start with, so its a lot of putzy work.

Basted 2

Someone once said that what comes from the heart touches the heart. I created a theme with my quilts for the year that said be the love you seek.  In both cases, it is about creating from the heart, giving from the heart and receiving from the heart. While I cannot control what others do, it is still my responsibility to be true to these values.

I did get into the clubhouse and was able to baste the Peppermint Kisses, and the Heart of the Piano quilts.

My photos come from my phone. Everyone says these pics are so wonderful. Well, with my essential tremors, my hand shakes so much and I cannot see what is in the small screen. 

I am just figuring out how to send them to my email and plan to go into AT&T again to see if there is a way to send them to the blog. Neither of these photos are clear, and some of the other ones I took might be. HOWEVER, following along with electronic challenges for the summer, the IMac is over-heating, locking up and a replacement has been ordered.

Now, for that replacement, I decided to order a SmartTV which means...something...what I am not sure. I think I can set it up as a WIFI to receive things I use like You Tube, Hulu, and Crackle. What I don't know is if it will work with Google to get the blog or emails, or Swap-bot to keep doing the swaps, or find the History Channel to watch The Vikings. What I know is that this has to be replaced even though it might sit on the desk as a back-up.

I am in a phase for personal growth and am here for the ride. Eeehah!

Not Until Thursday

Due to miscommunication, I didn't get to the clubhouse and have an appointment on THURSDAY to baste. Getting right communication between people is like being able to work and wait for inner harmony. It is especially difficult in this era of electronics. We lose facial clues and seeing body language, relying only on what either we see or hear.

It has taken a lot of work for the Rainbow Baby back. Photos, at this stage just seem like a pile of fabric.

I had a huge bag of muslin scraps and cut uncounted 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles plus have 30 of the 4.5" by 12.5" pieces. I've used all the scraps now and do have a larger piece to cut more from if needed to finish the back. The next round was pulling out my scrappy squares to cut down the 6"-ers to 4.5" squares for the color families. 

This particular 6" size isn't one usually called for in patterns, so there were a lot of choices to be had in it once they were trimmed. Right now, its a cut-as-you-go in order to use scraps.

The first round of piecing was to join a small muslin piece to a color. Then there is a pattern of three-together, what I have is pinned in threes and will be joined and pressed. Next, that part gets pinned with the larger muslin rectangles. Even though it is a beginner's pattern, there is a lot to do with it.

I really didn't know a lot about muslin and wasn't sure what to do with the small scraps I had, and so did some research. It gets its name from Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured and was imported to Europe for much of the 17th- and early-18th centuries. It was heavily manufactured in Bangladesh as a handwoven material and to this day is made with varying weights and widths. It is surprising how many uses there are for it depending upon the weight and weave.

What I had was made for quilting and pieces were both unbleached or natural, and bleached to get more of a white (shows up in the photo). It all coordinates so I just cut and cut, pinned, pieced, unpinned and pressed. Up to now, I have not bought muslin myself and have a new respect for it as an addition to quilts where a white is needed in a pattern. Guess this is still a test.

More Scrappy Ideas

In a continuing effort to use up remaining scraps in my closet bins, I know I need to plan ahead. There are still a lot of fabric options in my closets, yet, making the most of what I have that I can use for quilt backs could be a challenge. 

The Fonz & Porter Quilty Fall 2016 (Scrappy Quilts) issue just hit the stands and came home with me. 

It is exciting to find stash busting patterns that use easy squares/rectangles. Both concepts are what I want for my quilting work. I am most interested in making some up for BACKS that #1) use stash; and #2 are easy square/rectangle patterns.

For instance, this MN Wild quilt I am making in class uses a white tone-on-tone print with lots of scrap strips, and I had been thinking the back should be plain, so was going to go with just muslin. I used random muslin scraps, and am making this as a back to fit the front. This pattern is called Rainbow Baby. How easy it was to simply gather color families, and make those blocks. Of course, it will look different from the picture because my scraps are relatively random in the color groups.

Because the entire magazine is dedicated to scrap quilting, everything in it has a quilter shopping from her closet. I am quite sure there was a portion missing from the Rainbow Baby pattern, yet, I was able to figure it out. The line telling how many squares to make is missing so I looked at the picture and made an educated guess, all the while wondering if most patterns have this proofing error or if it is just me.

There is another quilt I know will work for either a top or back called Strawberries and Cream. It is made with reds and white, but I have a bag of blues I've gathered just crying out to be used in that pattern. WOOOT!!!!

I will baste the next two quilts on my list and take photos to show in my next blog. For today, sorting cutting to pattern sizes, and pinning the white to the color is enough.