Not So Ugly Sunshine Sampler of 2009 is finished!

Wow, it was fun to design but even more fun to have it completed. This quilt was made for me!  In all my years of quilting I usually make quilts that I give as gifts, taught classes from etc.  But never in all those years have a created a quilt just for me!  I used only fabric I had on hand.  It was actually a challenge on the stashbusters list to choose an ugly fabric from your stash for the quilt.  The fabric I choose is the roses.  Not so much that it is ugly but because I had so much of it and had used it and used it.  I wanted to be done using it!  All the fabric came from my stash, even the backing fabric which I would show you but it's only a quilt back of white on white fabric.  It took so long to get it quilted and who would have thought back in 2009 that I would be putting the finishing touches on it in India!  It fits a king size bed, my husband is 6' 4" tall so no small beds for us, even with the king size he just fits!

Quilt Labels

When printing on fabric it is important to either purchase pretreated fabric or make your own, I prefer to make my own, and it gives me control over the fabric used and is cheaper!  I use a product called Bubble Jet Set and Bubble Jet Rinse. I learn about this back in the days when Simply Quilts was on television. I loved watching that show.  Now I hardly watch television at all any more, I can only watch so many home improvement shows, thank goodness for the internet (now if I only had reliable internet connections!)

Using Bubble Jet Set and Rinse:

Shake well and pour solution into flat pan I have a jelly roll pan that I have dedicated to this use.  Saturate fabric in the solution for five minutes.  Allow fabric to dry.  Then iron fabric to the smooth side of freezer paper, cut to fit your printer. Print on treated fabric, and let sit for 30 minutes. Machine wash (delicate Cycle) in cold water with a mild detergent. It’s important to use a detergent in this step.   I like to wash with "Bubble Jet Rinse", I have used it on 100% cotton and silk and they have turned out very nice. I have also  used flannel and a wonderful brushed cotton that were wonderful. I used a HP 2710 printer to print my labels.

( Most of the above comes from the label, I highly recommend reading the label anytime you use chemicals to be on the safe side.)

The first time I tried printing on fabric I was making a memory quilt for my daughter Stephanie, I had ten different pictures of her as a baby assemble and went to town with my editing software and designed a page to print.  Something else I recommend is to fill a page when you do this. Saves money!  Microsoft Word is a great program for laying out your pictures and most of us have it.  Anyway, they printed beautifully, I was so excited to start cutting them out and making the blocks.  Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that you needed to have treated fabric.  I mean, really, printer ink can ruin everything when you are refilling it why wouldn't it stain the fabric I wanted it to!  Well, to make a long story short, some water was spilled in my crafting room and the pictures ran.  I never did get back to making the quilt once I learned how to create the fabric!  Guess I better put that on my “To Do” List!

Here are two examples unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the others, the quilts yes, but not the labels.  I only do these labels for gifts so....

This label was made with HP Quilt Labels software
I was able to add the picture and a verse for my
daughters

Used clip art and a font in word to create this label, inked it with pigma marker
colored it in with prang crayons.

On my favorite yahoo groups, Stashbuster we were discussing making labels for our quilts.  It may not seem like it but someday, someone will hold your quilt in their hands and wonder who made the quilt? How do I know this, because when my father died, my brother and sister were using an old ragged quilt to line the trailer in moving furniture.  They had no idea that that was the last remaining quilt that our grandmother Ruby Stultz Tillotson had made.  How did I know this fact??  Because I loved quilts and asked my dad.  They didn't realize what they had until I had rescued it from the trailer.  So ladies, LABEL YOUR QUILTS!

Guidelines for backing quilt

When I am backing a quilt I take the finished measurements of the quilt top.  For this example I will use a 60” square top. I add 5” to all four sides if I am having the quilt quilted on a long-arm quilting machine. So, I would need backing to cover and area of 70 X 70.  Most fabric is roughly 42” wide.  Because there have been times when I have purchased fabric that wasn’t as it should have been for the purposes of my calculations I use 40” wide, which provides me with a margin of error.  I always think it’s better to safe than sorry when purchasing fabric, I can always use extra but not having enough creates some problems! Each yard of fabric is 36” so 2 yards is 72”.  If I purchase 4 yards of fabric, I can make a quilt back for a quilt that measures 70 X 62.

      
40 + 40 = 80"
36 + 36 = 72"

5" add to each side for attaching to a long arm quilting machine. You sew the selvage edges of the fabric together to create a large piece of fabric.

Of course you can always buy the quilt backs, which come in a width of 108” by how many yards you desire.  Those work great although I really hate ironing them!  Another problem is they are limited in the colors and designs that are available so one might not meet your needs hence “piecing the back”.  When you are using two, two yard pieces of fabric be sure and check to see if there is a direction to the fabric so that both sides are going in the same direction before you sew them together!

Another favorite way to create a backing fabric is to use up some of your stash a make a patchwork back!  Sometimes they turn out just as wonderfully as the front and it’s hard to know which side you want as the top!  To do this I usually start with a square, the size varies depending with what I want to create.  It can be as small as you want up to 40” if that’s the look you want.  Then I just add strips of fabric to the sides until I get to the desired width. I also like to add the label before the quilt is quilted.  That way the label is quilted right into the quilt. Here are some examples of what I have done.  

the front of the quilt

left over fabric on the back

Using left over fabric to piece the back of the quilt.

the front of the quilt

This quilt shows the label quilted into the backing of the fabric before quilting.  Again I used fabric leftover from the front of the quilt.

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask me I would be happy to help you!

Stashes and Anniversaries!

I thought I would throw in a few tips from over the years about organizing my stash!

I always kept a bushel basket beside my cutting table and all my scraps would go into the basket (for me a scrap was anything I could not easily cut into anything else with ease. So left over parts of 2" strips etc).  That basket was fair game for my children.  They could use anything in the basket that they wanted.  (All my girls are sewers today because of that basket). I love string quilts so when the basket would get to full, I would randomly grab scraps to make a block, when I had enough blocks I would put them all together to make a quilt. I loved the book Liberated String Quilts! What's great about these is if you have different types of fabric you can have baskets for each type and when you have enough make a quilt.  I used a lot of flannel, cotton and corduroy.

As far as my stash was concerned, the best for me was to organize it by color. My colors would go from light to dark.  It made it very easy if I was designing a quilt for a class at midnight to find what I needed for the quilt.

I have always shopped my stash first then added what I needed from the quilt store! 

But my stash grew because there was always something wonderful coming into the store that I had to have!

I found a great article on the net for working on your To Do List 

http://www.ivillage.com/managing-your-do-list/7-b-309711?nlcid=hh|01-04-2011|

I also found a great recipe I thought that I would share with you for brownies, it's called whatever floats your boat.

1/2 cup of butter melted

1/2 cup of coco

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-2 cups of chocolate chips (or vanilla chips or butterscotch etc)

Combine butter, coco and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Add eggs one at a time.  Stir until combined, stir in vanilla, flour and salt until just combined (don't over mix) at this point you can add nuts, toffee chips, whatever you like.  Pour into a greased 8" square pan and bake at 350" for 25 minutes.  You can double the recipe for a 9x12 pan and bake 30 minutes.

You can find the recipe and more yummy goodness here:

http://www.food.com/recipe/whatever-floats-your-boat-brownies-32204

My husband had an interesting experience yesterday at work.  A mouse ran up the inside of his pant leg and tried to burrow under his sock!  It was the first time he was wearing his new hand knit 100% wool socks, that I made him for Christmas!

 Today is our 28th wedding anniversary.  Seems like only yesterday we were heading to Washington DC to get married! We have lived in 18 homes, 6 states and 2 countries.  Though it all I am so glad that he is the one sharing this journey of life with me.  Back when we have been married 3 years I wrote him a poem and find that it applies even more today then it did then.  Here it is:

"I don't crave mansions of silver or gold,

Or worldly platinum and wealth untold!

For they soon tarnish as they grow old.

A wealth far greater that I cherish,

It rises with me when I perish,

A wealth far greater that I hold,

Each time my husband I behold!

Hey happy 9th day of december, only 15 more days until Christmas!  I have a table runner that I have been designing that I must finish this week, hopefully I can get back into sewing.  It has been so cold here and there is no heat so I spend my days curled up with knitting watching classic television and old movies.  I am told it will be even colder in January.  I have a space heater on my Christmas list but since the electrical here is so poor it wouldn't be as safe to have one as I'd like.  I also have a puppy on my Christmas list.  We will see what Santa brings me!

I thought I would talk a little about marking quilts.  I use an old stand by.  I use shards of soap.  We use Dial soap, my husband loves it's antibacterial properties and as it gets down to the end I save the slivers and they are wonderful for marking darker fabrics, I haven't had a problem with them leaving stains yet.  I also like the price!  I also use a soft lead pencil for marking applique work, it rubs off and I usually turn it under when I am sewing.

I took a look at "Go" advertised on the Quilt Show, I couldn't believe they wanted $1200 for the thing.  Then you still have to buy more dies.  Does anyone have one of these. Is it worth the money?   I still like to preserve my money for fabric (I just buy less and have to love what I buy) so anything that would make that big of a hit in my budget would have to be a real time saver.

I found a nice blog this week that I thought I would share with you.  You can find it here:
http://www.crazyshortcutquilts.com/margueritas-blog/

She has a nice videos some nice crazy quilt patterns which are always a great way to use up fabric!  Have a great week everyone and I'll see you next week.

Pinks and Browns Triangles

920 Pink and brown half square triangles

One of my last UFO's.  I have been carrying this quilt around in my many moves since 2005.  I started it in Barrington, Illinois at Touch of Amish Quilt Shop.  It uses Triangle Paper 2 1/2" half square by Quilt Time. Each page yielded 24 squares.  I will be assembling them in 6 x 4 row blocks and them putting the blocks together to make a quilt.

 I used assorted pink and brown fat quarters as well as fat quarters of off white back ground fabrics.  To use the paper I ironed one pink with one off white right sides together and then ironed the triangle paper on the wrong side of one of the fabrics. I also added pins to help keep the paper in place.  I then stitched on the the dotted lines until  done.  Using my rotary cutter I cut them apart and watching tv peeled the paper.  Then I pressed them all open towards the dark fabric. About this time we moved to Utah so they went in a shoe box and there they stayed until now.  I spent the last week, sorting and pressing and deciding how to assemble them in a pleasing pattern.  I hope to have them assembled by the time we head to the US for Christmas.

my new sewing machine, I purchased it here in India.
I didn't want to risk my much loved Bernina 1230 on the
strange currents here in India.  So far so good, it sews a nice even stitch.
It does make a lot of noise though.

my next project Dresden Star

My recently purchased Indian fabric.

In keeping with a tradition I started when I started stashbusters, I am patiently waiting to start my next project "Dresden Star" until I finish a UFO.  With only 3 more UFO's to go after the pink's and brown's I am very excited.  I am going to make it with fabric purchased here in India.

I finished Elizabeth's quilt tonight. The pictures are the back (left) and the top (right) I found these really cute daisy's with smiles on them at a quilt shop in Indiana 2 years ago. Elizabeth's room is every color so this is the perfect quilt for her room. I really like to piece backs (uses more of my stash that way and it used up the left over daisies). The flying geese are made up of batiks. The the four patches incorporate her favorite color of orange. It feels really good to be finishing up this quilt. It has the added benefit of being free hand quilted by her dad! So it will be something she can treasure from both of her parents. KC is modeling the quilt of the pictures. We will be giving it to Liz on her half birthday of February 20Th!

Happy New Year! 2008

Wow, it's been awhile since I have posted. I had a total knee replacement in October and am just now starting back with sewing and being active. I completed 6 Christmas stockings for gifts this Christmas. I used a Thimbleberries pattern. I am not sure why I always do several instead of just one at a time but they turned out very cute.

I gave 2 to a wonderful family in our ward at church (The Matt Chandler family). When I was laid up after my surgery they took over teaching my seminary class which was 5 days a week at 6 am. Considering she is pregnant the least I could do to thank her was to make stockings for her little ones.



I also had my first UFO finish for 2008 today. I made 2 place mats and a table runner for my mother-in-law. She should have received it for Christmas but now she will receive it for Valentines day. I used a pattern by Nicole Chambers called Simply a Pleasure. It was a very well written pattern and I am looking forward to making it with colors of my own choosing. I have one I am working on that is navy and red. I think the contrasts will be better.


I also finally received some pictures from my son who is serving a mission in Germany. We were able to talk to him at Christmas and I requested some photos so he sent a half dozen. Here is one I think he took of himself! He looks very German to me in the photo. He has been serving for a year in Frankfurt Germany, he is currently in Karlsruhe. He loves it there and says the scenery is out of this world. He loves the Black forest and can't wait to show us after his mission.