This is a static export of a blog I put on ice many years ago, that still has personally relevant content. No promises can be made around linkrot, styles, or working functionality.
Okay, Iām officially not allowed to buy fabric for the rest of the month. Well, the next 22 days, at least. I have plans to shop on vacation (going home to Missouri for a week), but until then, nada. Thereās really no reason to purchase more, anyway, because this has all arrived recently:
A Simpler Time precuts and yardage, plus Somerset Cottage from 1 Choice 4 Quilting. Quite traditional yardage for a jelly-rollābased, strip-pieced Lone Star. Iām thinking Christmas present for either one set of parents or grandparents. I just couldnāt help but buy this, even though the bi-weekly class Iām taking covering different Lone Star techniques doesnāt start until next week, where we simply talk about what we should consider for fabric. I think some linen I have in my costuming/sartorial stash might go with this, as I still need some yardage for the borders/background of the lone star. I like mixing fabrics. (more…)
From a technologistās standpoint, the number two tech item a college student needs is an external backup drive (number one is a computer). My oldest younger sister is finishing her first year at Missouri Science & Tech, and her birthday is coming up, so Iām giving her a backup drive. They are fragile, so I decided to whip up a quick carrying-case/shock absorber to go with it.
Caveat lector: Iām not claiming that batting can actually, truly help if the drive gets dropped/knocked around/etc, but itās surely better than nothing, and I didnāt want to search for neoprene.
I think most quilters develop a preference toward one type of batting, but as I progress in my quilting journey, Iām trying to experience all thatās out there. Okay, thatās PR speak for āso far Iāve chosen the precut closest in size to what I need that was either on sale or which I had a coupon for.ā Iāve used cheap-o poly (yuck, although warm and lofty), Bamboo/Organic Cotton (love it), Warm & Natural for some small projects (like it a lot), and most recently Cream Rose by Mountain Mist for the Spring QAL project.
I canāt see myself using it in the future for quilts. While it is very soft and sews as well as W&N, it seems very insubstantial. It is much thinner than the bamboo/W&Nā1⁄8″, according to the manufacturerāand the piece I had was not an even thickness; you could actually see through it in a few spots. It isnāt as warm as a slightly-higher, yet still low-loft batting, either, so I would classify it as a warm-weather quilt batting if I were to use it again. The QAL quilt wasnāt about warmthāitās a picnic quilt to lay on the groundābut I wish Iād used something a bit thicker for more padding power.
I can see using it for some crafts in the future. It drapes well, and its thinness makes sense for wall hangings, table covers and runners, etc. The very thin spots arenāt all that obvious once quilted, and on a small scale with quilting even closer than the prescribed 6″, I donāt see it mattering much.
So, overall, not a waste of the $4 or so it cost me with a 40% off coupon at JoAnn (I bought the 45″ × 60″ crib size, but canāt find the receipt for the exact price), but not high on my list of future batting purchases unless I need to go very economical. Warm & Natural still wins on the āneed something cheaper than bambooā front for me.
Have you used this? What is your opinion of it? Do you have a favorite to suggest for me to try out next?
Quilting, quilting, quilting. On one hand, I like this part, because itās really the point where you almost have a real finished project (pssh, who needs binding). On the other, my sewing machine doesnāt really like behaving when it comes to quiltingāFMQ, at least. I can fiddle with my tension/needle and rethread the machine all I want sometimes and the tension just wonāt be right, and then bam! it’ll magically start working again. So, walking foot it was. (more…)
While Iām quilting away on the Spring QAL, and prepping the binding, I thought Iād share my binding method.
I donāt know that I ever officially learned how to make binding. In fact, after I publish this, I’ll probably head out into the quilt blogging world to re-learn from everyone elseās posted tutorials. The first quilt I made, I self bound. That means I folded the extra backing fabric to the front and sewed it down, rather than cutting it off. But for the bargello quilt and the Spring QAL I used straight-of-grain binding strips.
Binding strip width seems to be a matter of preference, to a large extent, and wider or narrower strips will result in wider or narrower binding, of course. However, a decent standard seems to be 2.5″ or 2.25″. I use the former, mostly.
First I was ahead, now Iām behind. This weekend was quite unproductive, so I didnāt finish Fridayās assignment (the borders) until tonight.
Iāll provide better photos (that are color correct) once I quilt it, promise!
Thereās nothing too interesting to talk about hereā¦ just your basic, mitered-cornered borders.
A label
Since day 4ās assignment (backing) went up today, Iāll talk a bit about it, even though I’m not done piecing it (although it will look quite a bit like Chrisā piecing since she is doing exactly what I was envisioning from the start)ā¦ (more…)
Iām getting a bit ahead of schedule, but I just couldnāt stop myself from working on sashing when I got home from work yesterday. Remember, I decided to make a modification and add set-in seams to the center instead of doing butted sashing.
Checkout the twist: thereās no right-side up (although itās really only obvious in the photo if you look at the trees.
I started early, because I had a feeling that the set-in seams would piss me off, requiring use of the seam ripper, and make me want to stop working (requiring more time so I could take a break for a day or so). But actually, it all went swimmingly. Itās not absolutely perfectāone seam ended up off by a little less than 1⁄8″ so thereās a really small gap in the center to cover with the quilting, but it is close enough for me. (more…)
Iāll admit, Iāve been playing with the layout since I got my charm pack in the mail. I couldnāt help myself. Once I decided on my border, sashing, and bag fabrics, I chose to set aside those charms so that I could showcase as many of the collectionās prints as possible. (more…)
The Above All Fabric Spring Quilt-Along started yesterday. The assignment: cut out the sashing, border, and binding strips and work on arranging the charm squares.
Backing up: fabric choices
Before I can blog about progress on this, I have to tell you about my fabric choices, huh? Iām doing the quilt top entirely out of Just Wing It by MoMo for Moda. I played around with some other collections to go with the Just Wing It charm pack, but wasnāt feeling it. (more…)
Itās official: I have Project ADD. The damask quilt is on hold. Now I’m working on one of the jelly roll quilts. Here is the not-a-full jelly roll cut into the required pieces. I still need to cut up the sheeting I’m planning on using for the inner border/snowball background blocks.
Not to make too many excuses, but I have good reason for switching gears: the quilt is a gift, and I realized that the damask plan was ultimately wrong for the recipient, and this fabric/pattern is a better fit, I think. And I have a deadline for it to be done. (more…)
