2012 and the End of Days.

Okay, so 2012 didn't end on the 21st of December like the Mayan Oreo calendar would have suggested.  31 December does bring an end of my creative year and ushers in a new beginning full of promise and things to come!

In the month of December Operation Dungeon Do Over has been successfully embraced and I have managed to weed through all the cardboard boxes of cotton fabrics!  The contents of which have been measured, labeled, folded, cut or otherwise started in the "process."   I do have an abudance of fabric left to be cut and put into their respective shoe boxes according to strip width, but the greater lengths have been appropriately assigned to their proper containers. 

Cleaning last night revealed several hidden caches of stashes.  Including a cache of cotton strippets and bits of stuff that were promptly sewn into a couple pet beds.  Another cache revealed a generous helping of fleece confetti which is destined to become even more pet beds!  The big surprise was a bin full of cotton fabric waiting to be organised into my new system. I consider this the perfect opportunity to test my new system.  I still have the colour bins to sort through and repurpose, but there is light at the end of a long, dark, fabric tunnel.

Plans for 2013
Tame/Train the Fleece beast.
Cut less than 12" strips to usable sizes per Bonnie Hunter Scrap User's System recommendations.
Continue to process fabric as it is discovered/comes in.
Continue to organise The Dungeon into a usable environment (keep studying Teresa Rawson's space).
Get over my thing about Triangles.
Learn to do applique!
Learn to paper piece!
Learn to free motion quilt!
Blog more!
MAKE MORE QUILTS!

Slowly, as my Dungeon is being molded into a place I want to work and be creative this will be a good learning experience and a chance to grow and develop into the quilter I want to become.  In the meantime this will be a long, slow path full of trials and errors, but in the end it will prove to be a wonderful journey and one for which I will be proud.

Peach Out, Apricots! 
Morg

Progress Report

Sorting 2.5" strips.  Oh my!

Wanted to let you know that I have been making outstanding progress.  I will load before/during/after pictures, I promise.  This is one BIG project.  It's hard to believe how much progress I've made in just a short time.

News on the Cottons:
I have now gotten the strips (cut according to the Bonnie Hunter Scrap User's System suggestion of: 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3.5") into their own shoe boxes.  Each set of strips are divided into 12-14 different colours.  (A BIG thank you to Teresa Rawson from Fabric Therapy) Each set of strips goes on a different shelf making it easy to keep them all organised. 


FQ condos on top,  1/2 Yard Condos on the next shelf down. 
As you can see the fabrics are just moving in and getting settled.




A view of the condos.

Charms which are 5x5" squares are starting to create their own space as I manage to weed through the colour bins.  I am sure this selection will grow with time.   And will start asking for their own little colour coded condos.

Fat Quarters, Half Yards, Yards have all been set up with shoe boxes (I refer to them as "condos" similar in number/design as the strips.

Soon I will be processing scraps which I think I have determined to be anything smaller than 1.5 wide down to a postage stamp or so in size, and all the other odd shapes and bits and pieces that will not otherwise fit into my existing series of shoe boxes.  My friend does applique and I want to learn about it so this will be a fine opportunity to give these scraps a purpose other than filler for my pet bed.

Fabric that is about 1.5 yard 1 yard + 6" and larger are being measured, tagged, bagged and go in a bin.  These lengths usually end up as backing fabric so it's best to have them in big bins.  I am trying to keep the bins to a manageable number so I am dividing them up like this: 
Yellow/Orange/Red,
Blue/Green/Brown,
Purple/Pink/Violet,
White/Cream/Black,
Light/Med/Dark Brights (this one might get split if it gets too full! I LOVE colours!)
Batiks/Plaids

Report on Fleece:
Some of my fleece has been cut into fat quarters.  These are being folded and put into an "underbed storage" unit which is a long flat plastic container.  I don't know the actual dimensions, but I have three of these and I can get a LOT of FQ fleece in them.   Correction - these are going into sterilite containers that are like file boxes with slightly curved lids.  Not to be confused with the less expensive, much more easily obtained flat top file boxes also made by the brilliant minds at Sterilite.  :)

Other fleece has been processed into 9x11 inch pieces, others into 6" squares.  There are circles and wedgie shapes and of course an abundance of bits and pieces.  I will need to obtain a couple more boxes to accommodate the bulk of the fleece, but then we should be set.

Christmas was an excellent opportunity to spread the love and fleece and cheer.  I was able to make a delightful dent in the yardage in the fleece closet.  The blankets were wonderful and well received. 

Update on Batting:
Not much, yet.  Working on a good storage system and how best to manage the scraps from projects past.

So that's what's up in the Dungeon.  Until next time...
Peach out, Apricots
heart, Morg

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Organised!

As with all things, the gears of inspiration need to be oiled.  My latest attempt at restimulating the seemingly frozen gears of my creative ebb and flow has been to pick up where I left off in organising my sewing room.  I recently felt the need to see who was doing what in the world and found this blog:  Fabric Therapy.  Do a search for "Stash Organizing" and you will see the most incredible series of tips on how to tame the Stash Beast. 

I had started my reorganising project earlier in the year with my entire basement in mind.  From the images here you can see that I have done an okay job in getting stuff organised.  I almost wish I had pictures from before I started.  My sewing dungeon was crazy horrible.  It looked like an episode of Hoarders.  Okay, not quite that bad, but it was pretty bad.  I did manage to force some order out of the chaos that is my fabric stash.  Most of it is safe from the creepy crawlies that share my subterranean space.  I did manage to get some space in the Studio organised as well.  The Lab, not so much, but it's a big job and I am still not quite positive what I want to do or how I wish to deal with it as it holds more than just paint and horses...there's more...so much more...  I shudder to think about how I want to deal with this space.

As luck would have it, finding the Fabric Therapy site inspired me to renew my efforts to get things organised.  This time I would focus specifically my Sewing Dungeon and eat that elephant first!

Presently I am working on the fat quarters/half yards.  So far I have gone through four boxes and redistributed these into thirty-two shoe boxes.  Sixteen for each size as the shelving space allows for twelve to sixteen boxes depending on the type of box.  This starting point has helped immensely in getting the fat quarters all in one place and neatly divided up.  The expandability of the system is great as my various yardage gets cut down/used up or I obtain more fabric (which I am still on a self-imposed fabric buying moratorium two years and counting).  The half yards will be sorted in much the same way as the Fat Quarters.  The plan is to do the single yards in much the same way using shoe boxes if possible or if I must, go to a deeper/larger box.  By doing this it will get the fabric where I can see it and when I am ready to create I don't exhaust myself hunting through box after box trying to find the fabric I am looking to use.  I will have it right at my finger tips.  More time to play and sew if I spend less time fiddling around with finding stuff.

Welcome to my Dungeon:



Southeast wall.  Non-cottons. And miscellaneous crap on my table.

South wall.  Cottons, mostly. And a lovely view of the shit I have on my table.

South wall, more cottons and more crap.

South wall, even more cottons and some more shit.

Not all my fabric is in neat yards or fat quarters, I have strips, strips and more strips.  For these I have implemented the Bonnie Hunter Scrap User's System organised these otherwise unruly bits of cotton into four different widths (see the blue lidded boxes on the middle shelves) which will be sorted into shoe boxes by size and colour.  Odd sized scraps will be dealt with when I get there (the maroon/purple lidded box on top).  One must first learn to crawl before one can run!  :)

Progress!  You can actually see where this is going!

 In addition to cottons, and non cottons, I have fleece.  All of it.  Seriously, I have a major fleece problem, scratch that HAD a major fleece problem.  I am slowly weeding through my fleece and getting it used up.  It takes time which I have precious little of these days, but I do have a wonderful working system based loosely on Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System.  This has proven to be quite effective in taming the fleece beast. 

Yard and yard plus lengths are hung on hangers in the Fleece Closet.  Anything less than a yard is started on The Process, with each stage using the remaining material from the previous cut.  It's a great way to get the most out of my fleece investment and at $9+ a yard, I'd better be getting my investment's worth!

Ponoe Pads

Buoys

6" squares

Mice/Wedgies

Tails/Fins

after all this the leftovers are pretty much confetti.  This confetti and the cotton I just can't bear to throw these slivers away even tho I can't use thems are going to become filler for pet beds.  I have some horrible polyesters in patterns that would make you seasick lurking in the Non Cotton Boxes and I just can't bare to throw it away, so they will be used for a good purpose.  Waste not, want not as I am often heard to say when it comes to my hobbies.

My hope is to have this Sewing Dungeon in working order by the end of the coming year, if I am lucky perhaps I can manage to get The Studio and The Lab organised as well. 

I just have to remember that in order to eat an elephant you must take one bite at a time.  CHOMP!

Peach Out Apricots!
heart, Morg

And now for something completely different...

Hmm.

Wow, I guess I have been absent for some time dear readers.  I have been doing some quilting, but not nearly enough these past months.  I will be posting pictures of quilts that have managed to be completed and some projects I have been working on.

Let's see what all has been going on since my last post...
Hmm, I think I've managed to get three or four baby quilts completed before I finally got busted for stitching at work and pretty much forced to stop doing the one thing that keeps me sane at my job.  Another reason for my long absence and short trip to the funny farm.  I did manage to complete my EPIC first quilt, "The Zoo."  I will be documenting that whole odyssey in a series of posts in the coming year.  I am now working on a second Stig quilt, repairing a Double Wedding Ring, waiting for the details of an order to be completed and am currently working on christmas gifts.  This year they are fleece throws with braided edges.  I am starting to think I might have to take up crochet...stop me before I craft again!

2013 is going to be dedicated to continuing my quest to get my Sewing Dungeon organised.  The work that was completed earlier in the process is holding steady and is proving to make projects easier to start and finish.  This is a great reinforcement for the groundwork that has already been started. 

A few weeks ago I was out with my partner in quilted crime and we stopped by a new quilt shop in Sioux Falls.  At first I looked around at the expensive pattern/idea books, drooled over the many bolts of cotton, commented about the lovely selection of batiks, asked about jelly rolls, lollypops, cakes, charms and then I saw it...

THE LONG ARM QUILTING MACHINE!

I was drawn like a shy moth to an irresistable flame.  I stood and watched, mesmerised by the rhythmic staccato of the needle as it propelled itself across the cotton field with a "look ma, no hands" carefree motion.  I looked like one of the lobotomised patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  I couldn't look away.  Finally my friend wrested me from my haze and I was able to ask the machine's handler all manner of questions.  While do not recall the name of the machine, just that it was fully computerised and with very little interaction - only to change the bobbin and make sure it didn't experience any problems with the quilting process.  Seventeen five and it too could come to live at your house.  Holy crap!  I didn't spend that much on my first (only) mobile home or my car!  That's almost what I make a year!  After I recovered from the price tag shell shock I realised I was hooked.  This would be something I could do when I grew up.  Something I could do and enjoy and even potentially make some money at...hmmm.  The wheels in my head started to turn.

Since that day I have asked other people who operated Long Arm Quilting Machines and looked into various priced machines, read reviews and have started to look at what's out there.  While I like the idea of a computerised machine so I can still hand quilt while the Beast is knocking out a quilt, I may not be able to afford that much luxury.  No matter, I will teach myself machine quilting and will (ab)use any and all domestic machines at my disposal to this end.  I can MacGyver that which I need, done it before, will do it again (and again and again!). 

So many things to quilt, so little time.

Peach out, Apricots.

Sunflowers and Primary Colours

Those crazy braids!

Another creation from my twisted tool box.  By now you should be completely aware of my long term love affair with scrappy quilts.  The uglier the better in my book.  Orgies of incongruent patterns and colour schemes are a delight to my off kilter view of the world.

This quilt is no exception.  Red, Yellow, Blue in a braid of scrappy colour, sashing of a subtle green plaid, bordered by a field of black with Sunflowers, backed with a classic calico of black and white with more sunflowers and bound in basic black to pull the whole riot together in one coherent collection of fabric and thread.



Front View



Back view



Great news!  This fun quilt recently sold and will belong to a new baby coming into the world sometime this fall. 





Vital Stats:

Approximately 45 x 60 inches finished.

Stitch Per Inch:  body 8, binding 4

Batting Type: Cotton/Poly Unknown brand

Binding: pre-purchased
Fabric: Scraps from lots of different places, lots of different sources.

We be Stitchin'!

As part of my never (ever) ending quest to improve my abilities and quilting experience I am evaluating my stitching technique.  I never really gave it much thought until I started reading about stab stitching.  I like the sound of it and it sounds like fun, so I started to explore and see what all the fun was about and realised I already do a little bit of stab stitching.  I also rock, gather, pinch and pull.

It appears that my personal stitching style is a mash-up of several techniques.  I am not sure what to call it, Stab-Rock-Pinch-Pull or Rock'n Pull or Pinch'n Stab?   I dunno. 

I would like to learn to properly Stab Stitch, and perhaps I can work on my technique as the results are really quite nice, I could even improve my "understitches" that way.

Some say...

What could possibly go wrong?  Famous last words often heard on BBC's smash hit Top Gear, and while hand stitching this fun quilt. 

can't...leave...quilting...top...gear...

 First off, the top is a duvet cover made of one thread count.  The bottom, a length of cotton, is of another thread count.  I know the rules about using sheets for backing or in this case tops of quilts, but that has never stopped me in the past, and it will not stop me in this case either. 

While obtaining the batting and backing from the fabric store we were giving stink eye was given when it was revealed that this quilt was half sheet and half cotton quilting fabric with a cotton batting.  The lady with the scissors was very helpful in reminding us that sheets were not meant for quilitng.  Uh hunh and just tell Jezza, James and Richard that they can't use whatever they damn well please to make a car or a quilt or even a caravan.   The Stig would not have been amused. Nor was I.

Rules, like traffic signs are only suggestions unless there's a cop around.  <wink wink>

I am familiar enough with the properties of cotton broadcloth as well as the quirkiness of sheet fabric.  I understand the different shrinking rates of fabrics and take that into consideration.  As it is I am a rebel and do not prewash or pretreat (short of ironing) my fabric as that handmade dorky look is what I am trying to achieve with my stitching magic.



Binding detail

When quilting a panel, which this quilt essentially is, it tends to take a special bit of planning particularly in terms of batting, stitch length, detail and open spaces.  I like to really get intricate with the detail on panels as there isn't a lot of filler I am willing to do by hand.  If I was machine quilting, I could fill in the open areas with squiggles and other stuff also called "stippling." 

I prefer instead to stitch around the highlighted areas - namely the printed bits and leave the rest open.  Warm and Natural allows for stitches to be up to a massive 10" apart.  I'm not sure I believe this claim, but rather than quilt, er court disaster I am making sure there are less than 10" spaces of clear and unstitched areas between the quilted bits. 

    

Stig Approved.




 Vital Stats:

Approximately 43 x 70 inches finished.

Stitch Per Inch: 8 spi body of quilt and 4spi on binding.

 Batting Type: Cotton - Warm and Natural brand

Binding: pre-purchased

Fabric: Front-Top Gear duvet, Back-cotton broadcloth





What's in your sewing box? A visual guide to my portable sewing kit. (graphic intensive)

Like the crazy commercials from Capital One asking, "What's in you wallet?"  I am posing the question, "What's in your sewing box?"  Myself I keep only the essentials.  This is primarily because my sewing kit is a little butter cookie tin from the Dollar Tree.  Not a tremendous amount of extra stuff can go in there.  The contents are as follows, thimbles, thumbles, strawberry, finger guards, scissors, needle case, thread heaven, wax and a spool of thread for the project I am currently working on.

Meet my sewing box.

The various thimbles, thumbles and finger protectors shown here are a pared down pile of what had been in the box.  I have accumulated a small petting zoo of thimbles and thumbles in my quest to find the right tools for my trade.  These are but a few of my current working selection.

Thimbles, thumbles, finger and nail protectors.

My newest creation is a copper plate embedded into a tube of leather sewn to fit my middle finger.  Necessity being the mother of invention and all, I am pretty notorious for creating my own thimbles.  I will have to write a blog showing off my various creations.  This finger guard came into being from the constant wear and tear on my middle fingernail.  Chips, grooves, breaks...enough is enough.  I have been trying to work on something like this for a while.  I am always looking for a way to improve not only my stitch consistency but to maintain my fingernails.  This is the 3rd generation of the design.  Success at last.

Handmade nail protector.

The brass Clover finger tip thimble has got to be, hands down, my favourite thimble of all the thimbles I have accumulated.  I have one from Dritz, but it doesn't have the same feel or fit as the Clover. This style is not only perfect for protection, but it makes it easy to push the needle through the quilting materials.  I did have to do a little adjustment in that I added a leather fitting to prevent rubbing and blistering of my finger when I wear this lovely thimble.  Due to the way the tines were bent it rubs on my ring finger and I cannot stand to have the edge of it rubbing on the tender skin of my medial joint.

Augmented thimble and finger protector.

This picture shows how the edge rubs against the velcro pad.  Funny thing about this pad, I created it from a velcro tie designed for taming cords.  A little trimming, a little shaping and viola!  It is always a perfect fit as it is completely adjustable.

How the finger protector works.

Meet my thumble.  It's actually a leather coin thimble that I removed the coin, the coin holder, turned inside out, reinforced the stitching and added a little cuff to fit more comfortably on my gigantic thumb.  I don't use this thing quite as much as I did when I first needed to make it.  Initially, when I began my quilting journey my thumb pad had not yet developed a callous.  Raw, sore, miserable, my thumb was in terrible shape, so I decided to scrap out a coin thimble and make my own thumble.  I still use it when I am power quilting, working leather or my callous peels off - which it does about once a year or whenever I go longer than about 10 days without quilting.  I am currently growing a new thumb callous as mine peeled off first part of January...no fun for me.

Leather thumble.

As you can see when I am all geared up I can quilt the world!  Since I started quilting I have noticed that my thumb has become HUGE compared to my under hand.  This picture makes my fingers look all short and pudgy, they are actually normal sized - except for my giant thumb.  LOL.


My Quiltin' Hand.  Look at the size of my thumb! 

 These are my thumb thimbles.  I discovered them at one of my favourite quilt shoppes, this one is in Hastings, Nebraska called the Plum Nelly.  It is a combination bead, fiber and quilt shop.  A fantastic place. 

Extra thumbles.

Meet my snippers.  I have no idea where these little scissors came from, I just know that they have been around for years.  I hope one day to have my maternal grandma's sewing scissors, but for now they are safe in my mum's type tray on proud display.

My trusty little random thread snippers.

Who could resist such a cute little tin?  I couldn't.  I put thin, adhesive magnets on both the bottom and top of the tin so my needles would stay in place.  I keep a stash of sharps (and dulls) as well as the random embroidery needle for those "you never know" occasions.   This little tin is great for stashing extra threads and pieces of things I do not want to lose (like my mind?).

Needle case (holds threads too).

Meet my fuzzy strawberry.  This poor thing has been through the wringer.  I am not sure how old it is, but I have had it for quite some time.  The tomato has long since been pressed into duty in other realms of my sewing life.  Mostly to hold my bigger needles and pins.  My faithful little strawberry holds my working needles, sharpens my tips and generally hangs around and keeps the other equipment company.

The under appreciated strawberry.

Thread Heaven is heavenly!  It's like a weird globule of rubberised silicone.  I use my little glob to lube up my thread and it pulls through like a dream.  Less tangle, less breakage, which is nice.  I used to use beeswax, but since I discovered this stuff, I haven't even picked up my waxcake.

Thread Heaven.

This is my Thimble tin.  I keep my extra thimbles, thumbles, spare thread, pins, and whatever else I do not want to see lost in my sewing kit.  I had to put a leather band around it to keep the lid from coming off.  :) 

Thimble and Thumble House.

And last but least, a spool of thread from my current quilting project.  The colours, thickness and type may vary, but there is always at least one spool in the tin.

The spool for my current project.



All in one box.

And that, dear readers is my sewing kit.

Peach Out Apricots!
Morg

Shocking Pink and Skully

Detail of sashing and taste of pink.

Not much else to say about this one other than it's so shocking pink and gurlie it's really quite cute.  This quilt came together about the same time that I did my ex's quilt.  For some reason I keep coming back to this "stacked coin" pattern with sashing.  I dunno.  It seems to fulfill my need to be scrappy but have some semblence of organisation.  (And it's sinfully easy to assemble and sew.)

The whole quilt in all its garish glory.

"Shocking Pink and Skully" as I am calling it, was made from the scraps of my friend's pink braided quilt from previous entries.  I have a LOT of pink fabric left over and since I used most of the black on a previous baby quilt I thought I'd see what would happen when a pile of pinks get together and make a quilt. 

The sashing  - an odd ribbon print - was another serendipitous find in the many boxes and bags of fabrics I had received from my dear friend, Mary Johnson, when they moved to Lander, WY.  I remember briefly looking at this fabric and thinking, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?"  But as with fine wine and diamonds, some things take time.  I knew immediately this was going to be the perfect material for the sashing, and as it turned out, it was.

Detail of backing fabric.

The backing fabric is a darling flannel I picked up at Joann's Fabrics (as I recall).  I am a complete sucker for pirate fabric of all kinds and this was no exception.  Purple skulls with pink bows and roses...yup, I'll take a yard of that, please. 

Binding is always such a hard choice, fortunately the person who bought the quilt decided on pink and I have to say it brought the whole scheme (or is that scream) together nicely.  What's another tone of pink when we have so many!  My other choice was going to be black binding with pink stitching.  Adorable either way!

Peach Out Apricots.
Morg

Random Squares and Serendipity



Amish Inspired

Pieced in the summer of 2011 and quilted in December of 2011, this quilt started as a plan to do an Amish-type quilt with quiet, conservative colours, a simple square set design, respectable and reserved.  Then the yellow happened, and the purple and that oh not-so humble maroon and that scandalous plaid...oh my!  Well, so much for the quiet conservative look. 

the whole shooting match!

With the original plan shot to hell, I decided to press on anyway and go ahead and sew it together.  At first I was dubious and frankly, I wasn't particularly thrilled with the resulting quilt once I had it pieced and pinned.  I bagged it and shelved it until I ran out of projects.  

detail of corner and back

Once I had the quilt out of the bag and the needle threaded, I had someone at work ask me who this quilt was for, I stated it was for sale and price.  Even before the first quilting stitches it was sold!  This quilt I figured would never be wanted by anyone found a home even before it was finished.  Once the quilt was finished and put through the abuse cycle (wash and dry on HOT) I was pleasantly surprised to see how super cool it turned out.  I was a little reticent to let it go, but I am happy that is it loved by its new owner. 


Detail of back

Sometimes the things you have big plans for fall through.  Sometimes it's for the best...  Serendipity rules!
Peach Out, Apricots.
Morg

Summer Time Fun



Close up of quilt detail

Completed in later half of 2011, this quilt was an exploration in three colour:  Blue, Yellow and Green.  I wanted to work on clearing out my stash and playing with some colours.  I love the Stacked Coins pattern with its simplicity, style and flexibility. 


Full view of front

 A little smaller than my usual quilts approximately 44 x 36 finished, I was limited only by the backing fabric, which I could not resist when I saw it on the bolt.  I have learned my lesson about buying fabric and will now only purchase in two yard minimum cuts - unless it is a remnant or a last of the bolt one yard length. 

The smaller size makes it perfect for a baby seat, a stroller or a travel-all bag.  The summery colours are certain to raise a smile or brighten the darkest day. 

Full view of back

I can't say enough about how much I LOVE the backing fabric on this quilt.  I am reminded of tutti-fruitti ice cream, summer time, Woodstock posters, fourth of july fire works and psychedelic sea shells.  So much fun in one little quilt. 

...like a water colour in the rain...

An explosion of colour captured in a cotton hug.

Peach Out, Apricots.
Morg

Stitch Per Inch - a personal odyssey

My new goal for 2012 is to measure and record my spi (stitch per inch) for the quilts I complete this year.  The first quilt of the year (last of 2011) to be completed was an Amish inspired creation that was done entirely of cotton sheet fabric I got in Hawarden some years ago for other projects.  I will be featuring this quilt in a blog soon.

As I read more about stitches per inch it seems to be up in the air as to how it is figured.
A) stitches front and back divided by two to get the end figure. 
B) stitches on the front only.

I am going with B for my figures. 

Thanks for reading.
Morg