Monday, August 31, 2015

Love to the Rescue

I've been helping a friend, Leta, with her tee shirt business.  She personalizes tee-shirts by adding letters for initials or Greek organizations.  Recently she sold a large order of 40+ tees with plenty of time to complete the order.  



Then the sorority doubled the order.  With only a little over a week to go.  Getting the shirts finished in time is doable, but it would require an insane schedule of sewing. Me to the rescue.  



Leta and I have been friends for a long, long time.  I've offered to help out before, and really meant it when I said I'd pitch in when possible. So when she asked me to help with the extra shirts, I readily agreed.



Then I tried to sew.  Oh my. No!  My wonderful, fabulous machine did not want to cooperate.  And on a time crunch!  What?



The knit wanted to roll up under the letters, which are glued down with Wonder-Under, so there was that mess.  And I couldn't seem to set the stitches just right to match the shirts she'd already made. It was getting pretty bad.

But then it got worse.  Richard stopped in to see how things were going.  Thirty  minutes into the venture, I was still struggling.  He's a perfectionist.  A real perfectionist.  He'd compare the stitches and suggest a fix.  

When I got the stitches right, he started touching them!  He was feeling for the depth of the stitches and insisted that my stitches were too thick.  Who does that?  This man.

So I got up and let him fix it.  After all, he had the fix in his head.  


He did.  He really does.  I can't believe that he CAN have the fix in his head.  It took a while, but he fixed the bulky stitch.  Now I get flat stitches with the exact width and length.  They match perfectly with the finished shirt that Leta gave me as a guide.

Now that Rich has rescued me, I can rescue Leta.

Sweet, annoying perfectionist husband.  He calls himself a problem solver.  Well, if you insist.


Gotta love him.

Don't know that I want to encourage him.


Sunday, August 30, 2015

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: B U N T I N G

Since my recent tutorial on how to make reusable bunting pockets was published on Totally Tutorials and has become so popular, I thought maybe we could get some ideas of pretty bunting pieces to put into the bunting windows.  
How to make bunting - an easy to follow guide.

How To Make Bunting | The Yvestown Blog

They're also great for garlands. | 34 Adorable Things To Do With Leftover Bits Of Yarn

Stars DIY pink

DIY 3D Heart Mobiles

Prachtig, van stof gekartelde slingers maken!

Travel themed bunting with button detail. Going to use map from our favorite places.

old books + ribbon + buttons = beautiful paper bunting banner!

Shabby Banner Made With Cupcake Liners, Paper Doilies, Beads, & Twine

Cotton reel bunting by Fiona Calvert for Issue 17 of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine

Just about any of these shapes will fit into the vinyl pockets of my bunting, it's just a matter of cutting the shapes to fit.  

And, of course, the purpose of looking at one item is to see a quilt in it and think about how the first translates into the second.  So, QUILTS inspired by bunting.....

Celebration Bunting quilt by Melly & Me. Could use lots of scraps! LOVE IT FOR THE BACK OF THE QUILT TO MAKE IT REVERSIBLE

Selvage Blog: Bunting Quilt and Pattern! I love everything Karen Griska does.

A Bunting Quilt with bird sewn by craftingzuzzy #baby #quilt

I'd like to do this with bits of my mother's clothes I saved. Love the pattern, but may incorporate hummingbirds instead - Oxford Impressions: Patti's Memory Banner Quilt With Bird Appliques

"Pieced (not appliqued) bunting quilt - includes pdf pattern."  I'd use African shwe shwe fabric and then applique letters to spell something out.

a quilt from mamas kram (in german) I am thinking putting bunting into a baby quilt design might be fun

6a016300f919ba970d0167648318c5970b-pi 786×1,024 pixels

Pennants on a quilt- be sure to click the link! The back is super cute too. (pinwheels!)

Hawkeye Inspired Baby Quilt

I something for birds and trees...

Thursday, August 27, 2015

HST's Aboard

The HST baby quilt that I played with last weekend is loaded on the long-arm.  Getting to play with it on the machine, however, has not been easy.  Remember that I wrote on Saturday how I was undecided about the design?  Well, I thought I'd share the layout that I finally settled on.  


I know, I know, I chose the layout that I was considering from the beginning.  In the end, I couldn't decide, so I went with what got me started.  It was the easy way, I'm sorry.

To make up for it, I thought I'd share how I keep my rows in order.  I write numbers on small sticky dots and put them on the end of the rows beginning at the top (in this case).  

Another thing I did was to put all the dots on the left side and on the white triangle.  Doing so helped me to keep the rows in the correct order, but it also helped me keep from turning them around.  

I find that having a touch of dyslexia increases my chances of turning blocks and strips in the wrong direction.  I don't care for ripping out seams, so I've had to figure out how to prevent sewing dyslexia.

The fabrics that I used for this quilt is from the Antoinette collection by Connecting Threads.  The main fabric is beautiful, so I wanted a big chunk of it showing.  A border handled that perfectly.


Won't this make a pretty little quilt?

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Pin It Weekly #117

What have you been pinning lately?  I've been thinking of

Back to school....
Weight room or classroom, it’s all about the fundamentals. The latest 2-in-1 laptops feature the back-to-basics operating system Windows 10 with the return of the Start Menu—the perfect jumping-off point for every study sesh. When it’s time to kick it into a higher gear, you’ll plow through multiple programs like a breeze. Get flexin’, beefcake.


Moving into a dorm comes with a lot of changes, but you can at least keep your diet consistent. With a Frigidaire Compact Refridgerator, you can store 6 cans of sparkling water or soda in the door, keep fresh fruit and veggies in a crisper drawer and still have plenty of space for leftovers from home. All you'll have to do is find the perfect spot in your dorm room to keep it.

The campus life is an active one. There’s class, study groups, long treks across campus and, hello, gotta have a social life. 2 in 1 laptops—powered by Intel—are the ultimate solution for every student who needs to save time, get stuff done and still have a little fun—and that’s EVERY student. Intel’s power, speed and overall performance keep students moving from here, to there and everywhere after.

End of summer......
to play in the gentle surf...........ahhh the joy of lettin' a soul frolic freely~ ~*~moonmistgirl~*~

blackparadiseforher: Gisele Bundchen http://blackparadiseforher.tumblr.com/


And the beginning of autumn....
Actually I fall for the blues and greens first, but you can't deny what October does. Always stuns me.

FALL
.
Things I love about autumn - cosy chunky knits, log fires, candle light, hot chocolate, boots and amazing colours #rockmyautumnwedding @rockmywedding

The tranquil Androscoggin River in Turner, Maine • photo: Amber Waterman / Sun Journal

Maybe you'll encounter a scene like this on one of America's Best Fall Color Drives. Photo courtesy of dayflowerdream on Instagram.

BNSF Train in Oregon. wish NS had views like this

Are you ready for FALL??? I AM!  Bucks County in the Fall. Photography by Scott Mahon

.

Vermont Foliage Drive | Photographs » Yankee Magazine

What have you been pinning lately? To share a couple of your favorite boards, just click on the inlinz connection below and add the url to your Pinterest boards or to a blog post that includes pins from your board. Thanks for visiting and joining in!







Monday, August 24, 2015

Tutorial: Reusable Bunting Holder

Some time ago I decided to make a bunting as decoration for a party.  Once I began thinking about it, I felt guilty about making something for a one-time event.  After all, sustainability is an important ideal for most of us--not use and toss.



I decided to make a clear plastic bunting that could hold paper or fabric designs.  Those designs could be changed out for the seasons or events as needed.  

To make this bunting, you'll need several sheets of regular copy paper for the pattern, clear table covering, and enough double-fold bias tape in the length you want.  I purchased one yard of plastic covering and made about three yards of bias tape.

Begin by making your pattern using the sheet of copy paper.  Measure and mark a line one inch from the edge of the short side of the paper.  Fold the paper in half to find the center line on the long side of the paper the draw lines to form a triangle from the first line to the center point on the opposite edge.  Your pattern should look like the picture on the right.

This pattern will serve as both the front and the back of each bunting.  Cut the pattern out leaving the 1" edge in tack.  With the 1" edge, you have the pattern for the back of the bunting.



To create the front pattern, simply fold the 1" edge down out of the way.

Decide how many "window" pieces of bunting you want.  If your plans are to have one letter in each bunting window, count out the letters.  For example, "Happy Birthday" needs 13 windows.  Once you decide on the number of windows you need, cut that number of triangle patterns out for the front of the windows and the same number for the back of the windows.  Note: It's easy to save the amount of plastic covering used by flipping the pattern back and forth so the pieces nest inside of each other.


Once the pieces are all cut out place one front on top of one back piece.  Sew the pieces together on the long sides, pivoting at the point.  The plastic sticks to the machine and the pressure foot so, to alleviate that sticking, place a piece of paper or tissue along the edges before sewing.  The needle will puncture the paper, and it will tear off easily.



Now you're ready to attach the bunting pieces to the bias tape for hanging.  First decide how far apart you want to space the pieces--I left 3 inches but you can adjust this to your liking.   I also left about 10 inches of bias before the first piece so that I'd have a bit to tie around poles or small tree limbs.  


To sew the window pieces on to the bias, begin by sewing the bias along the open edge until your machine needle is almost where you want the first window to be.  Slip the short edge of the window piece into the bias and sew in place.  As you get close to the end of one window piece, measure the bias and leave space before adding the next window.  



Continue adding window pieces, measure and sew.  Continue this way until all of the windows are in place.  





 Sew the rest of bias to the end.  And you're done.



I used paper cut in the shape of the triangle to quickly decorate for these pictures.  To get a shape that fully fit into the windows, I used the same pattern but cut it down about 1/2 inch on the two long sides.  

The plastics are sticky and difficult to handle at first, but I found that sprinkling just a little powder into each bunting helped. Cornstarch may work even better.



Imagine these with the name of a grandchild for birthday parties. I think I may use this one in my classroom since changing the decorations is easy. It occurs to me that I could use small items made for bulletin boards: footballs in a couple of weeks, fall leaves, Christmas ornaments, etc.  I may want to add more windows.  



Want a no-sew version?  You can use washi tape to hold the plastic pieces together and replace the bias tape.  Of course, the tape can also decorate the bunting.  



One last note: since the bunting is see-through, it will work double-sided.  Simply decorate both sides and hang it in a place where it can be seen from both side.  Outside under a tree, trellis or porch or inside in a wide doorway.  


Linking up with
Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts