What do you mean Christmas?

Well folks, Halloween is gone, Thanksgiving will be here in just a few more days and then comes that wonderful Holiday Christmas!  While we never want to forget the reason for the season, this is a time when crafting abounds as we crafters search for ways to provide presents for all on our list!  This is the time that I am making lots of lap quilts as you have seen in previous blogs, pillows, aprons, napkins, potholders and this year I'm making some pillowcases also!  This past week has been my pillowcase week and the cases I have made have been made from stash, so dig through that stash for your larger pieces of fabric  and even your 3" strips.  There are so many pretty fabrics available with kid themes that you also have a wonderful selection at the fabric stores.  One thing I really strive to do is get 100% cotton material so it is all very much washable and easy to get stains out of if necessary!

 

 

Well on to how to make these wonderful little gifts....

 

What you will need:  Fabric for the body of the case 27" x wof (width of fabric)  Now we all know that fabric comes in different widths but this is talking about your standard width of approximately 42 to 45 inches.

 

Fabric for the cuff: 9" x wof

Accent piece of fabric:  3" x wof

 

How much simpler can we get.  3 pieces of coordinating fabric.  Now if you go to the fabric store to purchase the fabric and you know you are going to make more than one pillowcase and you want to stretch those dollars, if you purchase 1 yard of fabric, you can get a body and a cuff from that fabric so you can make coordinating pillow cases by getting 1 yard for the main fabric on one pillow case and have the cuff for the coordinating pillowcase from that 1 yard of fabric without waste!  If you purchase the same accent piece of fabric you will need only 6" x wof for both pillowcases, but switch it up any way you want and you can even use the same accent piece for 4 pillowcases and just purchase 1/3 of a yard of accent fabric.  (Just be sure that your fabric store is cutting the fabric straight)  Sorry but I have gotten home after purchasing 1/3 yard of fabric and found it was 12 inches on one side of the cut and 9 inches on the other!  Did not make my day I can tell you.  Actually took some back to the fabric store because of it, and that was a major hassle!

 

So cut your fabric....

 

1.  The body of the pillowcase

 

2.  The cuff of the pillowcase

 

3.  The accent piece for the pillowcase

4.  Fold the accent piece in 1/2 so it is 1 1/2" wide and press with wrong sides together.

5.  Layout the cuff of the pillowcase, right side up.

6.  Lay the accent piece with the raw edges aligning with the raw edge of the cuff on the top edge.

7.  Align the body of the pillowcase fabric wrong side up with the raw edge also along the top edge.

8. Fold the excess length of the body of the pillowcase up so it is smaller than the cuff piece.

9.  Fold the bottom part of the cuff up matching the raw edges forming a tube and pin the raw edges together catching both edges of the cuff, both edges of the accent piece and only 1 edge of the body of the pillowcase.

10.  Sew a straight seam down the length of the tube you have created.

11.  Turn the tube right side out.

12 Press being sure to turn the accent piece toward the cuff.

Don't worry that all of your fabric has not been the same width.  Just try to keep it as straight as possible on 1 side.

13.  Trim the edge of the case to remove uneven edges and selvedges.

Now you have a nice straight edge to sew.

16.  Fold the case in half , right sides together matching the cuff and accent pieces.

15.  Making sure to pin your edges at the accent piece so they will stay straight then sew a seam around the two raw edges of the pillowcase.

16.  Those pesky corners need to be trimmed so you get a nice corner. 

(TIP:  When getting ready to turn a corner stop a couple of stiches early and turn you material half way around the corner, take 2 stitches and then lift the pressure foot and turn the rest of the way around the corner.  You will have a sharper corner that is more easily turned after trimming.)

17.  Turn the pillowcase right side out and press.

18.  Now to make a nice finished seam once again sew around the two edges where you made the previous seam and all raw edges will be encased so there is no raveling when it is being washed.

 

As you can see I have made several of these pillowcases for gifts for family.  Kids seem to really love them because this labels the pillow as their special pillow.  Parents love for kids to get them because they don't require batteries and they do not make noise!

 

 

Now if you really want to share the Christmas spirit you can make up a few extra of these and donate them and particularly now with the hurricane Sandy victims items like this are needed as well as making them for your local childrens hospitals (check with them first) or you can give them to any of your shelters, because they can always use bedding items, or some of your other organizations like the Salvation Army or Red Cross.  Just call and check with them and see what they tell you before making up a large number.  You make even want to talk with your local guild and see about a community project.  I wish you all a wonderful day and hope you enjoy the preparations for the holiday season.



 

 



My "Working" Trip

Well double drat!!  I have to take a trip for work!  Gosh, those are so boring..well usually, but what can I do to make this one better.  Let's see...  I know that I can take a person with me and they can stay in the room with me at no additional cost.  Gee why not get someone to ride with me..  Now who to ask.  Dear hubbie refuses to go..he'll be bored, poor baby..  Hum, what about best bud..oh well, she just had surgery and is recovering and can't do much walking right now.  Darn, that won't be any fun for her and she will stress if she thinks I am passing anything up because she can't walk a lot right now.  Hum, oh I know.  I have another really great friend who shares a lot of common interest, quilting of course and gardening and most importantly to us both our Savior.  Hum, she loves going to Florida.  Maybe...... Yea, she can get off work and she doesn't mind riding with me!  Trip time.  Oh dear, I had to call those people in Florida and talk with customer service and they commented they were looking forward to seeing me so I thought why not and asked, "do you think you would be able to get the names of any quilt shops there so I could visit them while I'm down there?"  Oh boy, I got an e-mail from one of the people at the business in Florida and she is a quilter and will be happy to give me the name of her local quilt shop, and she will can't wait to talk with me and see my quilting.  Now what to take on my trip....Money....I do have one quilt that I love that I did some special quilting on, and I do have that book that I made several years ago of my quilting that year.  Those have to go into the car..

Time to leave and of course there are shops on the road that both Kay and I want to stop if we have time and anything else along the way.  Well if you are ever heading South on I 75 south of Atlanta at McDonough, GA,  "A Scarlet Thread" is a don't miss stop.  They have wonderful fabric, great samples, and friendly staff!  Of course we had to pick up a few things there including a pattern for some soft houseshoes and they even had the fabric to put on the bottoms.  (You know that really neat stuff that we used to see on the "footies" of childrens pajamas so they wouldn't slide.)  Goodness this is great stuff.  There was a pattern for casserole covers that I had not seen before and I have a friend who I know will use those so got to get the pattern.  And then there were a couple of the "Quilt Diva" patterns that I just had to have for sometime in the future when I have more time to sit and sew.  Boy I can't wait until I retire.  I'm really saving all this stuff so I'll have something to do then!  I'm afraid I may get bored if I don't have a lot to do. hehehe  I also picked up a flyer for the "Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop" which will be coming up in March.  Have to start planning now!

Well after leaving "A Scarlet Thread" we headed further south and eventually crossed the Florida state line and guess what...they have quilt shops down there too!  Saw a billboard advertising a quilt shop at Lake City, Florida so decided to stop by there.  Well golly gee when I got almost there I remembered, I've been here before but it had been a couple of years.  I can't believe I forgot this place.  Really great smaller shop where they cut their own 2 1/2" strips for jelly rolls and you can just drop in and buy some strips out of their basket so if you just need a few more lights or darks or whatever and don't really have anything you want to cut then they have you covered.  Lots of fabic and again lots of samples hanging on the walls.  "Fabric Art Shop" in Lake City has some wonderfully helpful people who are willing to help or just let you wander around and decide what attracts you.  Well I had to pick up a couple of things there also, some really great fabric that I know my bud will love. Oh, if you get by there be sure and pick up their "Quilt Witch Gazettte" and if you don't do anything else take a look at the classes.  Just reading the description will give you ideals galore.  Hum....

Oh well, got to get a move on if we are ever going to get there.  No more stops along the way.

Finally made it down to Weston and met a wonderful lady who is a quilter.  We spent some time ohhing and ahhing over each others pictures and Tessa was kind enough to share some of her ideals and things she does like putting this incredable little pocket on the back of her quilts with a little something special coming out of the pocket and using her embroidery machine to put a little something special in there.  So many new ideals!!  I've just got to remember them!!  Her love of butterflies and nature has her putting a butterfly signature piece on her quilts that is precious.  Her comment that she found this fabric at Walmart and she just loves the print gave me pause until I had the time to drive over to her local shop.  Then I understood why!! 

Walked up to the door and had to ring a bell to be "buzzed" into the quilt shop.  (Sorry, but we don't have this in my neck of the woods and it really doesn't make you feel safe and secure.  Oh well, let's see what they have...)  Some really cute samples hanging around with signs on some that indicate they have the pattern available for those.  Of course, wouldn't you know the one I loved the bestest was not available and when I asked about a pattern for that was told, well "if you don't have one of these sewing machines you really can't do that quilt".  Well excuse me, but maybe I can't do that exact quilt, but I may be able to do something very similar but no go.  Oh well.  Sorry I was not impressed at all.  While the fabric was good quality quilting fabric there really wasn't much to choose from.  This quilt shop seemed to focus more on knitting and selling machines and obtaining work for the owner to do on her longarm machine than helping quilters.  Of course I know if you don't make money then you can't stay in business, but a friendly attitude will increase sales dramatically.  Smile, your face won't crack!!!  I left feeling quite depressed that my new quilting friend doesn't have a "really good" quilt shop.  Went right back and invited her to come visit me anytime and I would be happy to take her to some "real" quilt shops!!!  I'm so thankful for our local shop and the friendly customer service and helpful sales people in addition to great samples and wonderful fabric!

Oh well, it's time to go home.  No more quilt shopping this trip.  After all this is a business trip!  Oh I've just got to stop by that hydroponic vegetable farm on the way home......

A great time was had, and I have a new quilting friend, who I hope will keep in touch and lots of new ideals.  Now let's get quilting!!!! 

Happy New Year Everyone

Well it isn't quite New Year's Day yet, but the hours are counting down.  This is the time that everyone wants to make a bunch of "resolutions" about how much they want to improve themselves the coming year.  Me, I'm fluffy, and I figured out some years ago that I could stress about my weight, or learn to live with the few extra pounds I have added over the years.  My life is so much happier since I decided to live with what I have.  Now if you want to stress, or if "God forbid" weight is damaging your health, then by all means you may want to try to get a few of those pounds off and I am right there cheering you on.  However, my "resolutions", which I actually like to think of as things I wish to do in the year 2012, for the most part are attainable goals, that have an actual end in sight.  No, I'm not talking about finishing my UFO's, which is a worthy never-ending task, or getting my sewing room in order, which is another worthy never-ending task, but more in the line of I want to make 3 quilts this year to donate to a charity org. of which I am fond.  Now the last is something I can accomplish!!

Lord deliver me from "I'm going to be sweeter this year" and instead I want to be able to say, at the end of this year that I have 3 new friends to add to my old friends who I cherish so very much.

Instead of saying I want to save more this year, I would like to be able to know at the end of the year that I have shared more of my knowledge, and been able to share some of those tangible assets that God has seen fit to place in my care.  A wonderful person at one point in my life shared his thoughts to giving to the poor. Me, I really would stress over people asking for help and my desire was that any monies that I was able to share went to people who were deserving of my help and not neverdowells who would just waste what I had worked hard to earn and was willing to share.  He said to me one day when I was vocal about who I felt qualified to be the recepient of my benevolence, "Anna, it's all God's money, and He can take much better care of it than anyone."  He went on to explain that yes, we are required to be good stewards of what He has given to us, but if someone was being untruthful to obtain money the crime lay at their door, but on the other hand, if my brethren was in need and came to me and I turned them away when I had the resources to help, the crime lay at my door.  This opened my heart up to receive many more blessings as I was able to share more because I wasn't as intent in making sure everyone is deserving.  Now I give, as I see fit, and as the Lord has blessed me and I'm a much happier person in my giving.

Now on to quilting.  I've got tons of projects that have been started and I do plan to pull out at least 2 to finish this year.  Everyone needs to keep me accountable on this and be sure and ask me as the year progresses about my progress!!

Currently I am working on a new mystery quilt and it has lots of cutting and sewing and I'm really hoping that I will be able to get that completed.  Also I have on my quilting maching a quilt for my nephew and his new wife that I think is going to turn out really well.  I'll be posting pictures when it's finished but here is a peek.



Chad & Kellie's quilt.


As you can see the pattern is large pinwheels.  These are sooooo easy to make and you can make them in any size and then just sew them together and put on a border and wonderful quilt.  Emily at quilt guild showed us how to make this block and I just love the easy quick stuff that's hard to mess up!  Just 2 blocks of contrasting colors (I got these Oriental prints at a great price when the local quilt shop was selling stuff after the tornado took their shop away.)  Cut the two blocks in any size you want.  I used 10" squares for this quilt.  A really good ideal is to measure the width of the fabric and then divide it by 4--5--or 6 or whatever number you choose to be sure and get the most out of your fabric.  This was 42" of useable material.  Now I really didn't want to mess up a bunch of fabric so I gave myself the 2" leaway and cut the squares at 10" so I got 4 squares across a width of material.  I could as easily have done 5" squares but then I would have had a lot more cutting and sewing.  I took those 10" squares with right sides together and sewed my 1/4" seam around all of the edges.  Next I laid that 10" block down and cut across the diagonals both ways.  (Just a big X really) and then pressed those 4 pieces and laid them out in the pinwheel pattern.  There are several different ways you can lay out the 4 pieces just play with them and see what you like!

This quilt went together as easy as pie!!  Now when I finish the quilting I plan to use a maroon binding.  I think it makes the colors really pop!  I just had to lay a piece of the binding fabric down beside the quilt so you could see the colors together.  Simple quilting is the order of the day but I wonder if they will ever find the little surprize I put in when I quilted their names into the quilt and the year.  Maybe I'll just have to show them! 

At any rate I hope you all have a wonderful New Year full of love and quilts.

Tis the season

Well it's Thanksgiving (Oops!!  I wrote this and then forgot to post it.)  and what better way to be thankful than to pick out someone that needs a little extra love and give it to them!  After all this is the season of giving so why not sew up a "charity" quilt or two to give to the local nursing home, or whatever other worthy cause you want to support.  Maybe you can donate a quilt to be auctioned to provide money for a charity you would like to support.

The local quilt guild got together and decided to sew up some lap quilts for the local nursing home and have them to give for Christmas.  Christmas fabric was donated and the fabric was cut to 3" strips the width of the fabric available.  Now some of the strips were the usual 44-45" and some were 12" and everything in between.  Next the strips were subcut to varying lenghts.  Anywhere from 6" to 18" and everywhere in between and then were sewn end to end to make a very long strip.  Next these long strips were cut into lengths of approximately 60" and then they were sewn together side by side.

The huge variety of prints really go together to make a beautiful
Christmasy throw!

For this particular project we sewed the strips together until they were about 41" in width making the top about 41" x 60".  No borders were added and the quilts were quilted using a simple meandering pattern which is fast and easy.  The binding is added and they are ready to go to their new home. 



It never fails to amaze me that it really doesn't matter what color
the fabric is if the theme is constant.

During this time of "Thanksgiving" stop and think about all the things you are thankful for and how blessed you are and then think about those you aren't as fortunate.  Even when time is short, this is a very quick and easy project and can be loads of fun when you get together with a few of your buddies and you all toss in some fabric scraps.  You can't imagine how much these throws mean to people in the nursing home who have no family nearby to visit during the holiday season.  Think about sharing your love during this season!
Love ya!

I'm Back with my bestest bud!

Well it's been an interesting few weeks and I have been so busy with gardening that I didn't even have time to do any quilting!!  God has given us an abundance of fresh veggies this year and this busy little squirrel has been storing up for the winter.  Interesting fact, scientist say the squirrel will only find about 10% of what he stores for the winter.  I hope I find more!!  Oh well on to quilting.

I did finally get started back with some quilting and the first set of quilts I had to complete came from my bud, Peggy.  Some time ago we were at a quilting shop, I think in Knoxville, and Peggy found some fabric that was just sooooo Peggy.  She loves a truly good cup of coffee, and many early mornings in nice weather Peggy and her husband Mel will go out and sit on the poarch in the swing and just spend some quality time together, just sipping their coffee and discussing life and their hopes and dreams and plans as the sun comes up.  Doesn't this sound so loving and relaxing?  I always thought so.  At any rate when Peggy found this fabric which was a panel of squares dedicated to coffee lovers it was perfect for her.  Then we started picking out coordinating fabrics because Peggy didn't want just a panel with the squares and borders.  Peggy worked out her pattern, after we purchased the fabric, which is backwards, but the way Peggy and I often work.  When she made the plans for her pattern the quilt became a tad bit larger than what we had originally planned when we were purchasing the material so then the borders became a little more difficult.  After much soul searching and figuring and measuring this is the quilt she completed.

I really loved the way she took the blocks from the panel and then added a border around those to enlarge them and then she had a variety of different blocks she could have used.  The overall look of the block she chose is great with the Irish Chain effect going on with the placement of the fabric.

This close up picture shows the border around the squares more clearly and the Irish Chain pattern.  I think her fabric choices were wonderful.  It was a sort of back to basics when picking the fabrics.  First we had the panel of squares, then the large print being the border fabric, then the geometric being the border around the panel blocks with large circles, the small print in the same color family as the large print is the one with the coffee cups used in the Irish Chain, and the contrasting fabric is the blue, which also happens to be a geometric that reads like a solid, and then the light fabric is the beige which also reads as a solid.  Peggy found one other fabric that was a light medium print that she also loved and she picked up some of that also.  When you really don't know what you are going to do, it's nice to be able to pick up a little extra fabric in case the final plan expands as this one did!

The large print was one with the writing and the coffee beans and had the diamonds in a repeating pattern.  When using a fabric of this nature you want to be able to read the words at the top of the quilt so always check your orientation.    If it isn't words but is a directional print the same rules apply and then continue around the quilt with the bottom of the fabric pattern sewn to the body of the quilt on all sides.  Here is also a look at the light fabric with a medium print that was used as an inner border.

I think she did an awesome job with the miter at the corners on the large outer border.  This fabric would not have been nearly as effective had it been square corners with the red diamonds just running off the edge of the fabric, or into a complete stop at the seam line.

Peggy did a great job of putting this top together effectively and I didn't want to detract from her hard work by putting in a lot of quilting that would draw the eye away from the piecing so I went with stitch in the ditch for the quilting with the only variation being in the dark geometric with the large circles and I quilted a meandering circles pattern in those areas.  In the panel blocks, since they were a larger area than I like to leave without any quilting, I did some outlining of the pattern printed on the fabric.  Very simple quilting for a great quilt.  It is important to remember that quilting should enhance the quilt, not detract from the piece work.  In some quilts the quilting is the showpiece of the final quilt, and that is great also.  You are the one to decide how much or how little of the quilting you want to show in your quilt.

Hope you all have a great day!

Scrap quilt?? or Kit???

A friend recently brought me a quilt to quilt for her that I think is just really a neat little quilt.  A very simple little quilt.  (In case you haven't guessed.....I love simple.)  This particular quilt was simply half-square triangles with a couple of borders.  What made it so neat was the  play of light and dark across the quilt.  The simple use of color made it a striking quilt.

As you can see the color is the highlight of this little gem.

Isn't this just a lovely little quilt!!  I really enjoy the way she used the light fabrics opposite from the darks and then in a few places there are the random pieces of medium thrown in for variation and it makes the light colors pop even more.  All this with simple half square triangles. 

Now the finished size of the square is 3" so the square had to be 3 1/2".  In order to make a half square triangle you can take two 3 7/8" squares, place them right sides together and cut them diagonally (corner to opposite corner) and sew along the diagonal cut and you will have a 3 1/2" square.  It's really a very simple trick that makes all your half square triangles the right size.  From the two original squares you will have 2 - 3 1/2" squares which will be 3" finished size in the quilt.



Just a little closer look at the individual blocks.

 Hummmm.  I just wonder if I have enough scraps to do one of these?   Of course, I know I do, but what about you?  If you are like most people you tend to lean towards a particular color scheme and you can pick out those colors from you scraps and wind up with a really great scrap quilt.  Just remember to use a variety of colors unless you want an all blue with the alternating lights or maybe you are into light blue and yellow, with alternating darks instead of the lights.  So many possiblities and what a wonderful way to use up some of those scraps.  Of course you could use any color combination, and you could use any size half square triangles to make up this neat quilt.

If you want to change the size of the half square triangles here is the easy way to do the math.  Just add 3/8" to the unfinished block square, or add 7/8" to the finished block size, either way works and while it may be just a tad aggrivating to cut on the 7/8" it is better than having off sized blocks.  Know how to do this little math step means you can add in half square triangles to any of your patterns and get them to fit properly with nice little corners.  So if I need a block that is 4" finished and I decide I want to toss in a half square triangle then I just add 7/8" to the 4" and cut my squares 4 7/8" for a perfect 4" finished block.

Now I know several people who routinely cut their left over fabric into strips and that is how they organize their stash.  I think they all cut different sizes too which makes it interesting.  If you are one of those people then you may have to trim your precut pieces to get a standard size.  If you cut your fabric in 2 1/2" strips then trim down the strip to 2 3/8" and cut those into squares.  It is really better to do the trim first and then cut your squares.  You will have a finished 1 1/2" half square triangle when you finish your quilt.  Whatever the size you have cut, remember to trim off that little 1/8" and then cut your squares and have fun sewing.

It can really be a headache to try to sew long strips of the half square triangles into rows and little errors in seam allowances can add up over the width/length of the quilt giving you something you really don't want to deal with, so the best way to do this quilt is sew the blocks into larger blocks and then piece those together.  For example, use the half square triangles to make a 9 patch block (3 blocks long, 3 blocks wide), or a 16 patch block (4 blocks long x 4 blocks wide) and then sew those squares into the larger sections.  This will help keep any errors in seam allowances spread throughout the quilt so you will have a quilt that is easier to square, and your machine quilter will like you a lot more!!

Speaking of machine quilting.....I really didn't know what I was going to do with this particular quilt because I didn't want to do an overall pattern that would detract from the lovely piecing.  What I finally decided was an outer border of "ocean waves" pattern, and an inner border with stars and then a special little pattern in the blocks.  I did a stitch in the ditch and then put a little design in the dark fabric.


One of these days I'm going to take a class in
photography!!.  You can see the ocean waves
pattern at the top and then the stars in the second border,
and finally the design in the dark triangles more clearly
on the backing.

I used a maroon thread both top and bobbin and the quilting really doesn't show up on the front of the quilt.

I think this is a better picture of the design on the dark triangles
and the freestyle stars on the inner border.


Quilting should enhance the quilt, not take away and this quilt really didn't need anything that would make it appear busier, so I felt the maroon thread was ideal for this little quilt that already has plenty going on with the play on the light and dark fabrics and the many pieces. 

I hope you all have fun reading this and it inspires you to try out this pattern.  If you do, please let me know and if possible send a picture.  I love seeing what others are doing.  Each quilt is a unique statement of our own taste, desires, and love of quilting. 

Take time this July 4th Holiday weekend to thank God for the independence we have in the United States and our wonderful men and women in the military who fight so we can keep those freedoms.  We have a wonderful country!!  If our leaders are not doing what you think they should, pray for them.  If they are doing what you think they should, pray for them.  Prayer works.  Have a great day!!