Category: My Life
Tiny Dresdens, Mini Dresdens, Quilt-as-you go & All 3-in-1!
It’s always such a relief to FINALLY get this far…
I sent my patterns to the printer this week, yeah!!!
That means soon & very soon I’ll have new patterns to show you!
Remember this from a few months ago?
Moda’s Mill Book 1892 collection.
(I can’t believe it’s been that long!)
It takes a lot of work to finally get to this step.
I never time myself,
but believe me it takes months from the conception of a quilt design
to patterns in a bag or book, ready for you to sew.
International Spring Quilt Market is May 15-17 in Minneapolis.
I will have no less than (& perhaps more than)
two new patterns that showcase my Tiny & Mini Dresden plates,
a new Quilt-as-you-go table runner pattern,
& & &
another pattern that incorporates
both my Tiny & Mini Dresden plates with a Quilt-as-you-go lap quilt!
How about that?
I can’t wait to show them to you :)
Until then
Just keep sewing!
Susan
Spring Quilt Challenge for HQG
Back in January at our annual retreat to Rosemary’s,
I purchased some lovely fabrics to use for an upcoming challenge for our guild.
The focus fabric is
“Silvia’s Sonnet” by P&B. http://www.pbtex.com/silviasonnet/
#SIL2 777MU
The other fabrics are marbles & tone on tone prints that Rosemary had on her remnant shelf.
I bought enough for 10 people to have half a yard of the focus fabric,
& I bought all she had of each of the remnants.
Until I came across the bag of fabrics a week or two ago, I had totally forgotten about them!
I’ve been a bit preoccupied with new patterns;
designing,
sewing,
getting them to quilter,
writing instructions,
getting them tested & edited,
& finally getting the appointment to have them photographed yesterday, yeah!!!
Then last night I received an email from our newsletter editor
asking for info for upcoming newsletter…
So, at 6 a.m. this morning I commenced to cutting these.
If only cutting a bag of fabrics was all it entailed, right?
No, I first had to answer the w’s…
you know,
who?
what?
when?
where?
why?
how?
Unfortunately, nothing is ever as easy as it seems!
I sat down last night & made up the parameters,
then this morning at 6 a.m. I commenced to cutting up the lovely fabric.
Everyone gets a half yard of the focus fabric,
then I cut each remnant into 10 equal pieces.
The yardage varies from piece to piece,
hence the challenge!
The challenge will be limited to 10 members.
We’re to make a finished object; quilt, tote, purse, table runner, or other item.
We will have three months to complete the item.
It will be shown at our July night meeting.
We will vote on our favorite.
There will be prizes!
Look like fun?
I think so.
If you belong to HQG, call or email me to join in the fun.
If you don’t belong to HQG,
make up your own challenge to present to your guild
or group of quilting friends.
I love seeing all the unique projects!
Just keep sewing…
Susan
Quilt-as-you-go Table Quilt Tutorial & Tips
While making new Quilt-as-you-go pattern samples this week
I was reminded of a conversation I had last fall when a fellow quilter didn’t fill her foundation precisely with strips.
I personally don’t sew with perfection, but precision!
I’m not perfect, but I know how to make quilts with perfection; two different things.
From the beginning she didn’t find her scant 1/4″ seam allowance nor did she measure back as described & illustrated in every QAYG pattern of mine.
How many of us overlook those pesky instructions until we run into trouble…LOL!
So, I decided to take some photos & give some measuring tips.
I have a Quilt-as-you-go tutorial here,
so take at look at it
& this post will bring even more clarity.
First of all,
find your machine’s scant 1/4″ seam allowance with your walking foot!
For my older Bernina 930
(Lucky me, I know! My mom found the magic of Bernina while I was still in college.)
I just move the needle position one click to the right
& lead the fabric along one of the openings in the walking foot.
This gives me a perfect scant 1/4″ seam allowance & I can see the fabric under the foot at precisely where the needle is going into the fabric.
When I sew through the strips & foundation with a long stitch
(I’m quilting here, not just sewing two layers of cotton together)
I get precisely the measurement of the two strips minus 1/2″ for the seam.
Now that your machine is ready,
follow any of my Quilt-as-you-go patterns to
cut the strips & make the foundation.
Start sewing your strips by lining them up with the foundation & pinning several times.
I ALWAYS use the very handy finger pincushion.
I pin the strips on at the table,
sew at my machine while removing pins, then press & pin the next strip back at the table.
The pins are always in my finger pincushion, not back at my machine.
It saves a LOT of time & AGGRAVATION!
Here is the next important step:
Measure back!
& I don’t mean just after the first strip is added.
It’s in every one of my QAYG patterns.
After every strip is added,
measure across in three places & make sure the measurement is the same.
When you’ve sewn farther than 24″, get a longer ruler!
If it’s not the same, you need to adjust it & make it the same
otherwise when you get to the last strip you may be out of foundation,
or you may be out of foundation before you’ve used all of your strips!
Measure, measure, measure…
This is all in the pattern instructions, but I thought a few photos would maybe make things even clearer.
See how the last strip meets the edge of the foundation precisely?
That’s because I use a scant 1/4″ seam & check myself with every strip added.
Who wants a snowman without a chin?
Especially when all his friends have one!!!
(No faces yet, but chins!)
They all have faces now, but I still need to finish the binding hand-work so I can get them photographed & ready for spring market.
Any questions???
Boy I can sure find lots of ways to avoid work!
Just keep sewing…
Susan
A Li’l Bit of Help from my Friends
Last weekend was our annual retreat to Rosemary’s,
our local quilt shop/friendly retreat center.
Rosemary is extremely generous to open her home/quilt shop to quilters who want to meet, sew, shop, sleep & dine at the local yet delicious restaurants of which we choose authentic; Mexican, Italian, & Chinese!
There are more restaurants within the same two block radius from her shop including a diner next door where Loraine & Chris ate breakfast plus many more restaurants & stores throughout the little town of Highland to make this a perfect destination to sew with friends.
I prefer left-over Chinese & DiMaggio’s pizza for my breakfast…
While there, I finally cut into my new Mill Book Circa 1892 collection that I showed you last week.
I’m working on another new pattern using my Tiny & Mini Dresden plates.
I can’t get enough!
I know, right???
Fun was shared by all that were able to attend.
Lots of sewing, chatting & eating…
Unfortunately, I didn’t remember to ask someone to take a photo of our group & my phone doesn’t have a camera timer darn it (at least not that I can find!)
We all accomplished a lot & yesterday I set to removing freezer paper templates.
These are all the petals on my kitchen table drying.
The sun was shining so the lighting isn’t even, but a pretty cool image anyway I think.
Today after helping with charity quilts at our guild meeting & a trip to the dentist for me & Clare, I’ve been making more petals & my sewing room helper (still nameless) is helping.
She’s keeping them wrinkle-free until I can cut apart, press, trim & turn them.
Her services have been invaluable!
Just keep sewing…
Susan
New Year, New Toy
I customarily wait until after Epiphany (January 6th) to undecorate our home.
So, now that Christmas is officially over, with the help of our three kids (# 1’s day off, #2’s Christmas break from college & #3 frigid temps, no school) Christmas got put away today.
Just on the heels of that unpopular task came a friendly Fedex delivery man.
Poor guy, I would not want his job today.
It’s 12 degrees without the wind chill right now!
He brought me this.
I’m not a foodie but I do watch cooking shows now & then
& occasionally there is a good-looking recipe where a food processor is a must.
Although I have a mini food processor that I’ve used for small tasks over the years, it’s not the same as a heavy duty full-size food processor.
So, with the help of my Kohl’s cash, a gift certificate from last year’s birthday from a dear friend, my Kohl’s birthday month coupon (yeah it’s here again) & my Kohl’s reward points, (& some cash…) I decided to buy this on-line over the weekend.
(Now I have more Kohl’s cash to spend. It’s a vicious cycle!!!)
Unfortunately, I can’t use this thing until I read the manual.
I guess it’ll be a while longer…
That’s OK, I need to find those recipes anyway.
Got any favorite recipes that require a heavy duty food processor?
I’m in the market for some delicious, tried & true recipes now.
Eventually I’m going to get to that new box of fabric!
I can’t wait to show you that.
Until next time,
Susan
Tiny Dresden Plate Seasonal Series Kits
Christmas break is officially over &
it’s a balmy 12 degrees here this morning if you don’t count the wind chill.
To that I say, “Let the snow fly, I’m cutting kits!”
Great little projects to keep the flying snow at bay…
Do you remember me showing you these here?
They’re great little projects.
You can either make them all this winter while the snow flies or
make one each month.
If your local quilt shop doesn’t yet have them, get yours here at Suzn Quilts.
Keep warm!
Until next time,
Susan
A Blessed Christmas to you & yours, 2014
May the true spirit of Christmas be yours today.
I hope you’re able to share this special holiday with your loved ones, I am!
Until next time,
Susan
So much to be Thankful for…
I hope today finds you surrounded by loved ones
no matter what.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hadleigh’s Freebie Friday
Three days before we left for market I became a great aunt once again!
I told you, I knew it would happen!
I’m so glad I had the foresight to see this.
So, shortly after I made Lucy’s quilt last summer that I showed you here,
I also made Hadleigh’s quilt.
Yep, I used my favorite “Name That Quilt” pattern!
It saved me hours & hours in several ways.
First,
I didn’t spend forever trying to figure out WHAT to make.
Second,
(once I made all of the fabric choices)
It didn’t take long to trace & cut the letters,
then cut a few strips each of the chosen fabrics.
Third,
It’s Quilt-as-you-go, so it went together quickly
& best part, I didn’t have to fret over how to quilt it,
or pay someone else to quilt it.
Within a few hours I had a finished quilt.
Love it when I can look back at something I did and realize how smart I was!
It is pretty convenient how modern medicine allows new parents to be so prepared.
They made her an adorable nursery.
From this photo I was able to shop for just the right fabrics.
(My favorite part!!!)
Then I spent about half an hour cutting…
And of course, mom was surprised & loved it…
Now for the fun part.
I’m going to give away two of my
Name That Quilt books
so you can make one or several for yourself.
Remember,
there are both baby
& lap size options
& the entire full size, reversed alphabet is included!
Just leave me at comment above and I’ll draw two lucky winners Monday
who will receive their own copies.
Until next time,
Susan
Quilting my way through life! 