Remember those half-square-triangles from my last post? I stayed up that night playing with different arrangements for the potholders. I had originally intended to make two potholders like the one at top left, just simple HSTs. Then I realized I had enough to make four potholders. And then I started playing with the layouts on my living room floor. I wound up making four different layouts using the HSTs I made:
The one with the geese is definitely my favorite, mainly because of the quilting. I just did straight lines ¼" away from the diagonal lines, and it turned out really cool, creating different sizes of squares and rectangles. It felt awesome with such tight quilting, too.
I used two layers of Insul-Brite and a 2½" binding. It was really tight hand-sewing that binding down! My index finger was raw the next day. Luckily, while I was at my parents' house in Arlington over the weekend to give my dad the potholders (which he loved), my mom took me to the Lone Star House of Quilts. The shop had only a few bolts of modern fabric, but I got some fun notions:
I finally got some fork pins! I've been wanting these for a while. I've also been dying to try some hexagons, and ever since I learned to hand-sew binding I've really enjoyed handiwork. So I got some 1" hexagon templates. I've been reading about Melanie's adventures in hand-piecing hexagons on her blog, Texas Freckles. Melanie is leading a hexagon crusade she calls a "hexagon charm quilt piece-along." She's working on a quilt made up of more than 1,000 1" hexagons. That's quite an undertaking. I just started playing with my hex templates and some scraps yesterday, just to practice before I start any "real" projects. And to go with my newfound love of handiwork, I got something called a Nimble Thimble. That was purely an impulse buy brought on by my still-raw finger. So far it's working well, though. It fits snugly and has a little metal reinforcement on the fingertip. I'm still trying to get used to having it on my finger, but it works a lot better than putting a band-aid on as a protective layer :)
I was really surprised that I actually enjoy handiwork. I used to do every little thing by machine, including sew the binding down. Now I really like sewing the binding by hand, mainly because it has such and awesome look to it — people who don't sew might thing it's held down by magic. And the hexagons are pretty fun so far. The thing I like about sewing by hand is that you can be very deliberate with each stitch and make sure it gets done right. I've mentioned before that I'm planning a double-wedding ring quilt as a gift for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary (which is just more than two years away). I'm still quite intimidated by curved piecing, and I'm strongly considering just piecing it all by hand. Something like that becomes an heirloom, so it seems worthwhile. Have any of you tried hand piecing? Or do you have some expert tips at sewing curves on your machine?
I always like to pile teeny scraps like these on my cutting mat and fluff them up before they go in the sewing trash. They look so perky and pretty, it's a shame there's next to nothing to be done with them.
Those scraps are from trimming my HSTs for the wall hanging I'm working on. I've tried three methods of sewing triangles:- cutting triangles out of fabric and piecing on the bias
- adding 7/8" onto the finished size and sewing either side of a diagonal line before cutting down the bias
- cutting squares a little big and trimming them down once they're sewed into half-square triangles
I have to say that this last method is by far my favorite. I don't know about you, but I struggle with sewing on the bias — heck sometimes I have a hard time sewing a straight seam on two squares! Perfect HSTs have such an amazing look once they're sewn together, it's worth the extra time to trim them down later.
Today, I spent hours cutting 2½" squares, tracing a diagonal line down the middle, chain-piecing them together (a technique that actually saves time and helps keep your thread from getting tangled!), and then cutting the finished squares down to 2". Yes, that's a lot of time to spend with the rotary cutter, and yes I know how to do the math so I don't have to trim down later, but wow does it have an impact. I can't tell you how many seams I've ripped or points I've lost using the add 7/8" method. After trimming, I have neat stacks of 2" HSTs sitting on my cutting table waiting to be made into potholders:
SO worth it! I know Father's Day was yesterday, but I just started making these for my dad today because I'm going to visit my parents later this week.
I quilted my wall hanging yesterday, but took a break from it today, because I'm not sure if I'm happy with the quilting...
I messed with the contrast some in the photo so I think the quilting is actually more visible there than in person. I used a high-loft batting that I had lying around the house, but the quilting isn't "popping" the way I wanted. A part of me wants to fill it in some more, but I can't really figure out where or how... The only part I really like is the middle:
I got some great advice on wall-hanging-sleeves and getting that crafty mojo back from my last post, so I really want to know what you guys think on this issue: Do you think it needs more quilting — different quilting? A part of me wants to rip out the quilting except for the very center and start over, but I hate ripping stitches! What would you do?
I touched my sewing machine today for the first time in almost three weeks. Last night I was talking with a good friend of mine who does beautiful oil paintings, and sells a bunch of them around Central Texas. I told him what I hadn't really told anyone else until now: that I hadn't sewn in weeks. My friend simply said, "Well you probably should." Then we talked about the creative process and hitting road blocks, and I realized I had burnt out somewhere in May. I have a hard time achieving balance in my life sometimes, and I spent far too much time only quilting and going to work. It kind of takes the joy out of it and makes it feel like a chore. But...
(Sorry for the bad picture, I took it on my phone cause I misplace my real camera. I promise better pictures of the finished product later!)
... today I turned on the iron, busted out my rotary cutter and finally got to something I had been wanting to do for a while. After talking with my friend last night, I decided I needed something quick and easy to work on to get me back in the groove. This mini quilt has been in my Flickr favorites for a while, and I've had a sketch on graph paper pinned on the wall above my sewing machine for far too long. I also have a nasty empty spot staring at me from above my TV. I put together the top (front?) of this wall hanging and basted it this afternoon before work. The best part is I didn't have to buy a thing. I had just enough leftover white Kona from the Potholder Pass (well almost — do you see the seam in the bottom right square?), and the back will just be muslin since it'll be against the wall anyway.
But I need some advice: First, I'm dying to hear any tips on making and attaching a wall-hanging sleeve that won't show. Second, I'd really love to hear what you do to pull yourself out of a funk, or how you deal with that burnt-out roadblock feeling.
Can you believe it's June already? Feels like just yesterday it was April!
Potholder Pass Round 3 is complete. I made a pair of potholders I was really happy with...
... and received a pair I am even happier with!
These came to me from Mary of Pin Sew Press, and they are just fabulous. (Thanks again, Mary!) It made my day to pull these beauties out of the mailbox! It was a really good mail day today, because I also got a little package from my best friend in the world, Jimmie. (I can say best friend in the world because she lives in Taiwan!) I only get to see her once or twice a year, and she sent me a cute letter on some Asian stationary and some mix CDs :)
As May drew to a close, so did the Spring to Finish Challenge. I racked up eight finishes in six weeks — two of which were completed quilts! I had a rough month, so I had to cut myself some slack and two things from my list are yet unfinished. They'll get there eventually... :)
What's brightening your day today? How many projects did you complete last month?
