Why Do a Y Seam?

This looks a bit strange, but the triangles will all be the same size (or fairly close to the same) once this block is sewn together with the others. Right now a few of the triangles look funny, don't they? Of course, the final seams will take care of the problem.

This is "H-10, Ben's Bowtie", an intermediate-level block that I chose to paper piece. The software printed out the sections so that several Y seams would be necessary, but I redrew the sections to eliminate all of them. The Y seams only make things more difficult, in my opinion.

The Gift of Quilts

Another one of my quilts -- this one was from the book "Quilts from The Quiltmaker's Gift". I made it in mid-2004 for my cousin Julia. She picked the pattern and the colors and left the fabric choices to me. I don't usually like two-fabric quilts, but I really liked how this one came out. I did, however, get tired of making the same block over and over and over again. My friend Janet did a wonderful machine-quilting job on it. (This was in my pre-HQ16 days).

This quilt gave me a wonderful gift ...Julia's father (an uncle that I was very close to) was diagnosed with very aggressive stomach cancer around Thanksgiving of 2003 and passed away 6 weeks later. It was a great shock to the whole family...I still think of him often. I dove right into making the quilt shortly after my uncle's death because I knew that Julia needed it and because I needed it. The process of making the quilt was good for my healing and I like to think that the finished quilt itself was good for Julia's healing.

If you've never read "The Quiltmaker's Gift" you must. Lovely story and exquisite illustrations. All babies who get a quilt from me also get a copy of the book. Second babies get a quilt and a copy of "The Quiltmaker's Journey".

I Love the Internet

Almost every day, I am reminded of how wonderful a thing the internet is (yes, it has its downside, but so do most things in life).

I found this video on another blog the other day and thought I'd share it with you. I had been considering getting a dress form because I've had a hankerin' (oh, no...I sound like a certain Alaskan governor...) to do some garment sewing again. I fell in love with making some of my clothes back in 8th grade and have dabbled in it over the years. I just don't plan to do enough of it to make the cost of a real dress form worth it...this might be worth a try...(like I don't have enough projects in my head already...)

If you go to YouTube and do a search on "duct tape dress form", a few other videos will show up.

Quick Binding Stitch

I usually prefer to sew my bindings on to the back of my quilts by hand, but once in a while I don't think the project is worth the time for that.

This is a sneak peek at my current project (other than the DJ quilt), which will be a wall hanging for my sewing studio. I machine-stitched the binding to the back of the quilt and then used the buttonhole stitch on my sewing machine to sew the binding on to the front. The back looks horrible because it doesn't line up with the edge of the binding as nicely as on the front, but it doesn't matter to me since it will just be on the wall. It won't go to any contests or any shows anywhere and won't be given away as a gift to anyone, so I'm fine with it.

I had some old leftover variegated thread that I had no plans for, so I just used it for this. I had issues with shredding thread, bad tension, and skipped stitches, but I kept going because it mostly did the job. Perfection was not needed here. I just wanted to use up the thread and to sew the binding on quickly. I now use a different brand of variegated thread for machine quilting that I like much better -- a lot fewer problems than with this thread.

Behind Bars

If the quilt police hung around my sewing studio, they'd probably find all sorts of reasons to put me in jail. But right now I'm keeping them at bay...so far I think I could only be accused of misdemeanors. Not worth their time...

Anyway, this is "E-9, Quilt Jail", an intermediate-level paper-pieced block. It only took me about an hour.

Fabric Stash -- A Favorite Topic

One of my favorite blogs...Sew, Mama, Sew...has invited readers to answer some questions about their fabric stashes and to post pictures...so here goes...

What do you usually sew? -- Mostly quilts, but I also love to make other things such as bags, wallets, pillowcases, fabric gift items, etc. You can see many of my projects here.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?) -- I don’t usually buy more than a yard unless I really love it and know I will use it. If I buy smaller pieces, I can buy a larger variety of fabrics.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need? -- Yes to both...who doesn’t? But I am currently in the 12-step recovery program for impulse-buying fabricoholics.

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it? -- I only pre-wash flannel fabric and only when I’m ready to cut it up for a project.

Do you iron it? -- Oh yes, all of my fabric...with Mary Ellen’s Best Press.

How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.) -- Mostly by style -- batiks, fun kid/novelty prints, florals, boring fabrics, etc.

Do you have any special folding techniques? -- Not really. How do you fold scraps? Or selvages?

How do you store your fabric? -- In plastic bins mostly. This photo is just of the scrap bins...the others are a bit neater.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? -- Shop much and shop often.

When do you say enough is enough? Just like a girl can never have too many shoes...she can never have enough fabric. We need to do our part for the economic recovery.

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects? Kids’ quilts and charity quilts. See some of mine here.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it! -- That’s like asking me if I have a favorite child...but since I only have one child, I guess that argument doesn’t work.

What’s your definition of the perfect stash? -- A perfect stash is like a perfect husband -- always there when I need it, but tucked away out of sight when I don't want to be reminded of how long I've had it! ...only kidding, sweety : )

Poof, It's Gone

While our furnace was being worked on yesterday, I worked on this block, "G-5 Poof", an intermediate-level block with an appliqued center. The background can either be paper-pieced or rotary-cut. Now that I look at it, I realize that one of the yellow strips is narrower than the other one. Oh well, I'm not doing it over.

I used the buttonhole stitch on my machine again (see the post here) to applique the raw edge of the center piece. It made for very quick work and I like the effect. The background fabric is actually purple, not blue as looks to me on the screen, and the other fabric is a lot more yellow and not so orangey.

The name of this block, "Poof", is very appropriate today, because "poof", the new, but more efficient and hopefully more reliable, furnace is making my money disappear...(at least our gas bill should be quite a bit lower).

In addition to that, my son (high school junior) just found out that he has been accepted for Cornell University's summer college...that means that "poof", more money will disappear...but it will be well worth it.