Today I talked about making the drunkard’s path block using a circular attachment – I cheated!

Jackie shared this great picture with us.  I love black and white quilts.  She says that the podcast has inspired her to quilt more, but her B&W inspired me to do my dunkard’s path.  She machine embroidered the notes and piano.  I love the use of directional fabric.

Check out www.simplynoise.com

Knitting help – When you are using dpn’s to knit a sock in the round, should the sock knit out inside out?

Winner of the Frolic Pattern – Amy Peterson from Quilter’s Notebook!

Topic this week – Playing around on the Drunkard’s Path

This is a circular attachment.  I know they are available on Janome, Bernina, and Babyloc machines; not sure about other brands.  The little black knob just protects the pointy tack thingy.

Cut out material for your background fabric and the circle fabric.  I laid all my out so it was organized and easy to grab.  This was my drawing I used to guide me on colors and cutting out.

Finger press an “X” to mark the center of the block.

Put the fabric right side up on the circular attachment.  Layer the fabric for the circle on top.

Sew a straight stitch, using your hands to smooth out the fabric as it goes around.

Trim away the excess fabric from the circle.  I found that my machine applique scissors worked best.  You want to trim very close to the stitching.

Put it back on the circular attachment and sew a satin stitch.  I used a 3.5 stitch width and .2 stitch length.  I am using a machine embroidery rayon thread, but you could use anything.  I also used a satin stitch foot.

At this point you should press and square up your blocks. Then cut them into quarters.

Flip the pieces over and trim the excess fabric.

Piece together.  I laid everything out and stiched one block at a time, so that I did not confuse myself – I was using so many colors.

Here is the pieced quilt top.  I got the pattern idea here.  I plan on adding a drunkard’s path pieced border too.  Right now it is 36″ square.  With the border it should be big enough for a baby quilt.

Today we talked about some ergonomic principles as they apply to sewing.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the website these past two weeks and left comments, emails, or sent pictures.

Daphne sent these great pictures of her attempt as fusing plastic.  She agrees with me that the fusing part is very frustrating.  But her work came out much better than mine.

I finished putting borders on my Frolic quilt and the disappearing nine patch.

Congratulations to our recent giveaway winners; please send me your address so I can get your prize in the mail.

• Denise in PA
• Tami

This week I am giving away my Frolic Pattern.  It is a like-new pattern.  Earn an entry by one of the following ways:

• leave a comment on this post
• leave a voice mail comment
• donate $2 towards the podcast

Drawing will be held the next time I record which may be July 4th or 11th.

Don’t forget to answer this week’s poll and help me decide what swap we will do next.

Well, the tote bag swap is over and it was a huge success.  Below is a look at all the tote bags; click on the image to enlarge.

Get a load of what my dining room table looked like; no wonder Rick was rolling his eyes.  No worries, though.  We never eat in there.

I will be planning another swap shortly.  I am thinking quilted coasters or fabric postcards.  Let me know what you think.

Sorry I have been so silent for a while.  I am doing fine and feeling well.  This is the first year that Morgan is home for the Summer.  Every other year was just like any other day because she was never in school; but now it is a true summer break.  I think I am having a hard time adjusting.  You know she is a non-stop jabber mouth; making the nights and weekends a flurry of activity and conversations.  I can’t seem to get a free moment to myself.

Anyway, this is the quilt top I made from 2 charm packs.  Nonnie tells me the pattern is called a “disappearing nine patch”.  I got the idea from Snippets of a Quilter.

One charm pack was a gift from Dawn; it was Moda’s  – a day in the country.  The other was just a pack I picked up on clearance at JoAnn’s.

Here is the picture of my completed miniature quilt top.  I have this one all ready to quilt.  I plan on quilting it by hand.

Today we talked about Water Soluble Thread.

Thank you to everyone who left comments, sent emails, called me or left iTunes reviews. I really appreciate it.

Check out this quilt top from Kathleen. She calls it Starry Night. By now she probably has this finished. These picture are on her design wall and she is showing us three different ways she was contemplating putting it together. The colors are her son’s college colors. I REALLY like the blocks, they are similar to a log cabin.
Leave a comment and let Kathleen know what you think. My favorite is the first one.

Recipe for Clams DiZuppa

New book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer – “The Short Life of Bree Tanner”

New Podcasts

• Stiching n’ Junk
• Off Kilter Quilt
• Quilter’s Notebook
• Sewing 101

Topic – Water Soluble Thread

• Anchor quilt with the thread
• Used in machine embroidery
• Trupunto
• Simply Quilts – Trupunto
• Great Product Review

Keep checking back.  I will post pictures of my latest projects and the tote bag swap.  I also need to pick giveaway winners and put out a new one.

Thanks for your patience.

On the podcast this week, I forgot to put a link to our new sponsor.  Check them out!  They have a lot of great crafting kits.  I particularly like the “Driving Miss Daisy Gloves”.

Today we talked about basting your quilt and making a quilt sandwich.

Thank you to Patricia for sharing her completed quilt top with us.  This was a block of the month she did.  I love the colors and the variety of basket blocks.  My favorite is the one with appliqued handles.  Beautiful work Patricia.

Here is what I have gotten done on my miniature quilt.  The finished size will be 8×8.  All of this is hand pieced.

Here is my tote bag for the tote bag swap.

The Gator quilt is finally all pieced.

The down-side of paper piecing – look at this mess!

I need your help deciding on the border for this quilt.  Tell me which one you like best.

#1 - Small white border with wide Gator print border

#2 - small blue, small white, wide gator print border

#3 - small orange, small blue, wide Gator print

#4 - small orange, small white, wide Gator print

#5 - Wide Gator print only

During a lunch break at work this week I took the chance to stop by the quilt shop closest to the office.  Here are my latest aquisitions:

I was running low on piecing thread so I took Almosaquilter’s advice and picked up some Aurifil thread to try out.  Funny thing – the shop only got it in recently and didn’t know much about it.  The spool is not marked with too much detail, but it is 50/2 weight; not sure of the yardage – but that one spool was close to $10.

I am also going to try basting spray (I feel a podcast coming on).  I loved Sandy’s idea, from Quilting….for the rest of us, of keeping 12″ squares ready and at hand to practice machine quilting.

I couldn’t leave with just those two things, so I looked at my shopping list for upcoming projects.  I got the small yo-yo maker I was missing for Morgan’t Yo-Yo cat and I found a jungle print panel for my sister’s quillow.

Good news!!!  I finished piecing my Gator quilt.  Pictures to come soon.  I need help deciding of the inner border.

Today we talked about locking in seams.  This is a few days late being posted.  I recorded it on time, but got real busy and couldn’t find time to post it.

Check out this get miniature that Celia made.  You know how I love miniatures.  This is also a great idea for hanging your quilts.  Leave a comment and let Celia know what you think.

Topic of the Week: Locking in Seams

Most of the time, we don’t need to lock our seams because we will sew across it with another seam and lock it in that way.  But when you are going to be handling the block a lot, if it is for a swap, or if it is the ends of the quilt top you may want to lock them in.

See how the seam can come apart easily when not locked in place

You can backstitch to lock in place, but it makes a bulky spot

You can stitch in place to lock in – this works very well; the bulky spot is smaller and will stay within the seam allowance.

Tip on pinning – pin in the opposite direction with the point toward your seam allowance.  You don’t have to remove the pins while sewing.

Poke the pins through twice to secure them more and keep the fabric from shifting.

Today, you are going to think I am nuts!  I tried to make a reusable shopping bag with plastic bags.

Thanks to Gidget for sharing her first block in her Civil War Tribute quilt.  The pattern is from Homestead Hearth’s BOM that started in January.  I love the design and the colors.

I got my coffee this week from www.coffeecow.com 

I bought these stitch markers from LewZilla on etsy.

This week’s topic – Making a reusable shopping bag with plastic grocery bags.

Crazy idea, I know.  But my thought was – if I forget my shopping bag at home and get stuck using a plastic bag, I should recycle that plastic bag.  I am not the only one who thought this.  Check out this great tutorial I found.

1.  Use clean bags.  Cut the handles off.

2.  Cut the bottom seam off.

3. Slit the bag up the side so that it lays out in one layer.  A really big rectangle.

4.  Layer 5 to 8 bags on top of each other and sandwich inbetween two pieces of parchment paper.

5.  I did find that laying it this was was easier to handle.

6.  Press using a hot setting on your iron.  This is where it gets tricky.  You will have to play around and test with your iron.  Every iron is different.  I had to put mine on Wool setting.  If your iron is too hot, it will shrink the plastic like this.

7.  When done correctly, tis is what it will look like.  Wrinkly, but still about the same size.

8.  Keep the iron moving.  If you stop for any period of time, you risk melting a hole in it.

9.  I used handle pieces to mend the hole.

10.  Cut just like fabric.  14 1/2″ x 13″ for the front and back; 6 1/2″ x 14 1/2″ or the sides; 6 1/2″ x 13″ for the bottom.  3″ x 27″ for the handles.

11.  Stitch together using an overlock stitch.  Stitch all edges and reinforce the handles with extra stitches.

12.  Ta-Da!!!!  this is what it looks like.

It looks better from far away. 

I am participating in the Pioneer Quilter’s May Mayhem Challenge.

The challenge is to work on something crafty everyday for a minimum of 15 minutes throughout the month of May.  Truthfully, I feel like I am cheating.  I have been doing this everyday for over a year.  Anyway, I love challenges and I love to participate with other crafters.  Every Monday, we have to update our status on what we worked on all week.

My main project for this challenge is going to be this Centennial Basket.  I have had this kit for almost a year and never touched it.  It is a miniature quilt, measuring 8″ by 8″.  I am going to piece it, applique and quilt by hand.

Tonight I pulled it out; I traced and cut out all the templates.  Look how small they are!

I know what you are thinking…..Today is May 4th?!  What have I been doing.  Actually, on Friday I pulled out my hardanger embroidery coasters.  I have one about 1/4 of the way done.  I will post pictures later as this challenge progresses.

This is what I worked on tonight.  This is a birthday card for Morgan’s 6th birthday – which is this Friday.  I am sending it to Sprout.  The pick a few birthday cards each day to show on the “Sunny Side Up Show” or “Goodnight Show”.  Those that are and are not selected can be seen on their website at www.sproutonline.com.

Sprout is a great channel and Morgan has learned a lot from them.  The website is wonderful too because there are so many easy-to-do crafts.  Morgan gets on their herself and with a few items from around the house makes all kinds of things.  I think for Mother’s Day she is making me a decorated flower pot; an idea from Sprout.

Sorry for skipping the podcast this week.  I just didn’t have it in me.  I have a busy weekend coming up with Morgan’s birthday, her party and mother’s day (plus I have to squeeze grocery shopping in there); but I will do my best to get another one up next week.

This weekend took a piece of plexiglass and cut it to fit into the opening of my sewing table; turning my sewing table into a lightbox when I need one.  Below are the pictures of how I did it in case you want to try.

First you need a piece of plexiglass.  I was lucky enough to get a scrap from work that was big enough.  The plexiglass has blue film on both sides to prevent scratches.

I took a piece of freezer paper – because it was wide – and laid it over the opening on my table.  I marked the corners and used my quilting rulers to draw out a perfect square.  I taped this template over the plexiglass.

The tools I used and my workstation (see the safety glasses?  The nail files were for sanding, I didn’t have sandpaper and I didn’t feel like going to the store).  I used a circular saw to cut the plexiglass and a grinder to round the corners.

Once you have it cut and you have tested the size, sand your edges smooth.  Then you can peel off the blue film and clean it.

 Tip – I could have cut the piece bigger and just laid it over the opening when I needed to use it, but I wanted a flat surface to work on as well; plus this idea didn’t hit me until later.

Now I had to figure out how to suspend it in the open space.  I had some pegs left over from some shelves.  So I drilled some holes and stuck them in.

Fit perfectly

Next I mounted a light underneath.  I bought this light at Lowe’s for under $20.

Viola!!!  I now have a lightbox.

When I want to use it , I lower my machine and place the piece of plexiglass on top.

I think I am going to add another light.  The lights I bought link together so it should be easy and the one light is not quite bright enough.

Today we talking about sashing for quiltblocks.

Thank you to everyone who left comments this week.

• Almosaquilter suggested Aurifil thread to help stay within a quarter inch
• Denise reminded me that thread position can help with thread troubles.

Beach Town from Jaye at www.artquiltmaker.com.  The colors are wonderful!  get a closer look to see her beading and hand work.  Thank you so much for sharing Jaye!

Congratulations to Pat!  Our winner of the Quilty Sayings Fat Quarter.

The Frolic quilt top is DONE!!!  All applique and embroider is completed and the quilt top is pieced.  Next is adding borders.

This is the yarn I bought for Rick’s socks.  You can’t see it in the picture, but there are flecks of dark grey and black.  Check out my messy desk – see the iPod to the side.  lol

Giveaway!

Win this Vintage Ornament kit.  Leave a comment on this post to be entered to win.  Drawing will be held May 8th!

This week we talked about how to make sure you are sewing an accurate 1/4″ seam.

Sally sent us pictures of this wonderful table runner.  Her dining room table is square and she has a toddler; no little fingers are going to pull this one down.  One side is hand stitched Grandmother’s Flower Garden done with English Paper Piecing.  The reverse side is machine pieced.  She machine quilted it by printing out the design on paper and stitching through the paper.  I LOVE the Butterflies!  Leave an comment and let Sally know what you think.

I spent most of my week re-designing the blog site.  I wanted to make it look more like a sewing site.  I scanned most of the images myself and edited them with Microsoft Paint and Powerpoint – I am not lucky enough to have PowerPoint.  I also wanted to streamline the site.  I wanted to get rid of the advertising and make it more about the blog and podcast.  Don’t get me wrong, I will still accept advertisers and podcast sponsors; but I now limit the visual to one spot.  Because of this I lowered the cost as well.

I plan on adding more graphics down the sides soon (a rotary cutter and ruler, for sure).  But doing this was a bit trickier.  I also need to edit some pages to make them more consistant with the theme.  I wanted to get the new site launched and I felt these few things can wait.  I hope you enjoy the new look.  All the same content is there ~ but now you know you are on a sewer site.

Topic this week  – Staying within a Quarter Inch.

Picture of my 1/4″ presser foot.

Picture of my Janome guide.

Picture of my machine when I am using the guide.  I have to put my machine at the top level so the carriage can go out.  This is the same carriage system used when the machine is doing machine embroidery.

Don’t forget about the Big Tent Giveaway or the Tote Bag Swap.

• BT Giveaway ends April 24th
• Tote Bag Swap ends May 24th

Craft swaps are a great way to make something different, try a new technique, and be part of our crafting community.  What I love about swaps are that you get the chance to see someone elses work and see how they made the same craft as you.

This time around we are swapping tote bags.  Below are links to several sites with directions or tutorials on how to make different types of tote bags.  Choose any or all or make up your own - whatever suits your fancy.  All bags will be shipped to me and I will swap and ship different ones back to you.

• Craftster – Reversable Tote Bag
• Tiny Happy – Shoulder Bag
• Mama’s Pocketbook – Pink October Basic Tote Bag
• DIY Bag Patterns – Rag Bag Tote Bag
• Sew Mama Sew – Classic Tote Bag
• Got Fabric – 6 Pocket Tote Bag

Here are the RULES:

1. Send me an email, bryelynn@sewstitchcreate.com telling me that you want to participate.  I will respond with my mailing address.
2. Make at least one tote bag.  You can make as many as you wish, but we this swap is so new and we have so few participants, I recommend not doing more than three. 
3. Fabric used to make the bags must be of good quality.  There are no restrictions on color or fabric design.
4. The size of the tote bag must be larger than 12″ but smaller than 21″ wide.
5. Mail the tote bag(s) to me with a self address stamped return envelope.  The weight for postage of the return envelope should be the same or close to the one you shipped to me.
6. I must recieve the bag(s) no later than May 24, 2010.
7. I will swap out the bag(s) with other crafters bag(s), returning to you the same number of bags you shipped. I will try to match the sizes so you get a bag close to the same size you sent 
8. I will ship out no later than May29, 2010. 
9. If you live internationally, you are welcome to participate. 

Grab the Swap Button for your site. 

Help promote the swap!

<a href=”http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/2010/04/14/tote-bag-swap/” mce_href=”http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/2010/04/14/tote-bag-swap/” target=”_top”><br /> <img src=”http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Tote-Bag-Swap.png” mce_src=”http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Tote-Bag-Swap.png” width=”125″ height=”125″ alt=”Tote Bag Swap” border=”0″/></a>

Today we talked about my visit to the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Quilting Natural Florida exhibit. 

Check out this great picture that Vanessa sent us.  Vanessa had 8 dresden plate blocks completed and had to come up with a way to put them all together.  Don’t you LOVE what she came up with!

New Podcasts

• Stash Resolution
• Quilting for the Rest of Us
• Created by CJ

Join us in the Big Tent.  Big Tent is a site for groups to get together.  Many of your favorite quilting podcasters have joined together under one group – Quiltcast Supergroup.  There are forums, polls, news, pictures, events, and much more.  It is a big quilting community!

Big Tent Giveaway!  A drawing will be held April 24th for this wonderful Fat Quarter of Quilting phrases.  To be entered in the drawing you must join the Quiltcast Supergroup and the Sew ~ Stitch ~ Create! subgroup.  All subgroup members names will be put in a hat and one winner drawn – Good Luck!

Florida Museum of Natural History – Quilting Natural Florida

Laura Quinn’s Pelicans by Susan Walen

Happy Together by the Lovin’ Spoonbills – Susan Slaton

Check out how she did the leaves.

Riot of Color by Kathleen Faraone

Sunshine in the Piney Woods by Sandra Pozzetta

Heart of My Community – by Valerie Rosenkrantz

Loved this one – thought it would be a great idea for a quilt-along

Check out the quilting:

Blue Springs by Sandra Pozzetta (I guess I like her work!)

She hide pictures in her quilting

Rosie and Bill by Rebecca Douglas (check out the reflection in the water!)

Cute ones I liked but did not get names or artists.

Celebrating Volunteers by Linda Benton

See the faces of the volunteers in the quilt.

Florida Burning by Pamela T. Zeck

If Jean Claude Quilted by David Strom

Wildflowers of Florida by Alice Greenspan

See all the different techniques she used – needle punch, Hardanger, and quilting!

Ghosts of Autumn in the Hammock by Gloria Craft Comstock

My Florida Oak by Deborah D’Amelio

Tranquility III by Judy Momenzadeh

Florida Swamp by Lynne Capehart

I loved the hand quilting on this with the swirl pattern.

Wakulla Mist by Bunny Hand

Split Oak at the Land Bridge Trail Head by Nancy “Kay” Smith – inspired by a picture she took.

I loved this border and check out the tiny pieces she machine appliqued on

Road 9, Crandall Pasture by Julie Mainor (My favorite!)

Mysterious, Magnificent and Majestic Manatee by Tamara Schultz

Dancers of the Deep by Marilyn Wagner

Path to the Beach by Joan New

Undersea Fantasy by Darby, Tara and Doogan Townsend

I finally finished writing out all my info on how to start your own podcast.  You can find it on the page tabs at the top of the website or click here.

It is really wordy but I wanted to give you all the information.  Please don’t let it scare you.

I hope some of you out there grab this info and act on it.  I really feel like our quilting community needs more podcasts.  It is a great way to get more people involved in our craft.

Email me with any of your questions.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our very first craft swap.  We only had a small group this time, so I thought I would post the pictures of everyone’s eggs.

I have the packages all set to go and will mail them out tomorrow morning.

Our next swap will be a tote bag swap.  I will get it posted this week.

The past two nights have been “Family Movie Night” at my house.  My husband brought home a bunch of movies home and I felt obligated to sit with him and watch.  Since I was working on my new knitting project, I couldn’t have been happier.

I have heard of stories of people knitting without looking.  I always thought that one day I would get there.  I pictured myselft watching TV and not even paying attention, looking down and seeing a completed sweater.  I could knit while riding in the car, so I could knit anywhere.  Plus, if they could do it, I could too.

My husband has a bit of OCD (just kidding, but he does get obsessed with things).  One of his pet peeves is having the lights on when you don’t need them.  When the movies started it was still daylight out; thanks to day light savings time.  But half way through the sun set and I found myself sitting in the dark – knitting.

Now, I could have very easily gotten up and turned on the lamp.  Or better yet, called one of my slaves (oops, I mean kids) to turn the light on.  But heck!  they could do it, so could I.

Warning – don’t do this without practice.

Tonight, the lights are on.  I looked at my work and God only knows what I was thinking.  It looks like I turned halfway through a row in several spots.  Not that I remember doing this.  So, I have spent the last 2 hours tearing back three rows of stitches.  Remember, I cast on 272 stitches.

All is better now.  I have learned my lesson.  Although I get lots of messages of how well I knit and how amazing it is that I am tackling a sweater already or how incredible it is that I have made socks as my second project; I think I am letting this go to my head.  For now, I will practice the “not-looking” thing and check my work often.

This week we talked about squaring up your quilt blocks and quilts.

Thank you everyone who stopped by this week. 

Be sure to check out Jaye’s blog at www.artquiltmaker.com

Check out the hand painted yarn that Lisa picked up at Tuesday Morning  www.astitchoffaith.blogspot.com

Check out the tote bag that Gloria made. The “seed packets” on the fabric are actually the names of the quilt shops in her area.  Great idea!  and great coordinating fabric’s Gloria.  I love tote bags.

Here is my new knitting project from Vogue Knitting

I am doing in all stockenette; doing away with the lace pattern.  I am using a sock weight yarn, so I had to alter the pattern a bit. My guage is 8 stitchs/inch and 9 rows/inch.  I had to cast on 272 stitches!  So far it is knitting up beautifully.

Here are the links I spoke about during the topic this week.

• Using freezer paper to quare up blocks.
• Making a quilt squaring frame.

This week I picked up the most wonderful yarn from a new yarn shop close to my work.

They don’t sell online yet, but check out their site  www.fourpurls.com.  It was heaven walking in there.  IT IS A REAL YARN SHOP.  OK – I will go more into it on the podcast, but this weekend I had a terrible experience as the “so-called” yarn shop near my house.  It was such a joke.  Then I went to Four Purls.  The owner is Laura and she was WONDERFUL.  She helped me pick out the perfect yarn for my Yoga Wrap project, looked up the notes in Ravelry, figured out how much yarn I would need, held the hanks (is that what they are called) that I couldn’t afford to purchase right away, made needle size suggestions, and taught me how to adjust the pattern to fit the yarn I wanted to use.  Everyone should have a “Laura” in their life.

I am heading back there tomorrow because I found out that I have every size needle imaginable except the one size I need for this project.  But I don’t mind, being in her shop was such a joy.

Sorry there was not a podcast this week.  The sound went out on my computer and by the time I figured out what went wrong, it was too late to record.  I will be back next week, but probably on Saturday.  I have to Chaperone a Girl Scout event on Sunday.

Don’t forget to call me and leave a voicemail.  This will enter you into a drawing for a “Purple Thang”!

On my to-do list:

• Adding a page on how to start a podcast
• Post on the pot holders I made and sort of designed
• Adding a page with all the podcasts

I promise I will get to these things.  But I know I will be knitting the next few days.  Too excited to start a new project.

Don’t forget to join our Easter Egg Swap!  So far we have too few people to make it a good swap.  Making the eggs does not take long and they add a great holiday decoration to your table.

For details on the swap Click Here!

Last week, my mother gave me her old sewing table (it is the light brown one).  In fact, my current sewing table is her old one that she gave me 10 years ago (that is the dark brown one). 

I don’t accept gifts like this unless I will actually use them.  Originally, I never asked her for it and was hopeful that she would be successful in selling it.  She had no luck and I am getting closer and closer to finishing Frolic and the Gator quilt.  Meaning that will need to machine quilt and my machine does not sit flat to my table surface.  I would have to move it to my dining room table and being short, it is very uncomfortable.  As a reminder, here is the before picture.

So, I asked my mom if I could have her table.  My thought was, since it is a compact table, I would stick it in the corner of the dining room and use it for machine quilting only and the occasional time when I am machine embroidering on my Janome and I want to pull out my old White.

I drove my son’s truck (yes, he has a truck, but no license yet…..that is a whole other story) over to her house to load it up.  My mom’s husband oftered to load it up.  But he is 70+ now and thinks he can lift like he was 30 years younger.  That and the fact that the table is deceiving.  It is so compact, you don’t anticipate how heavy it is.  Yes, it’s coming……..he dropped it.  Crash on the concrete driveway.

Was I mad – No; Was I upset – Yes.  But I was hopeful.  Rick is great with furniture, he could fix this.  Of course I think Rick can do anything (I am sure he can walk on water if he would just believe in himself).  I brought it home and he took one look at it…. “Trash”!!  Keep in mind, that I do a lot of things with out fully explaining to my husband my plans.  When I first got home I told him where I wanted to keep it.  He flipped out – “you have a sewing space and you have sewing stuff on the living room tables, you are not spreading into another room”  (all I heard was “yada yada yada”).  Once he was off his tantrum he took a real look and said “no, way.  I know you Brye, you will do an internet search and come up with some voodoo way to fix it, but I don’t know of  anyway”.

Needless to say I was upset and what do we do when we are upset – we sit at our sewing machines.  I was too upset to sew, but it felt good to sit there.  The idea developed.  I love my current sewing table.  It is the perfect shape, fits like a dream in my living room and is extremely comfortable to sew at.  The only downside is that my machine was too big for it.  I needed a lift to raise and lower my machine – the new sewing table had one.   I could combine the two tables.

As I sat there, I got onto Facebook.  Great minds think a like.  My mom sent me a message saying the same exact thing.

So the two of us got together this past weekend.  Two determined women, a bunch of Rick’s power tools, and empty garage and two sewing tables.  We went to work and here are the results.

I don’t even need a filler plate because my machine is so big.

I am going to cut a piece of plexiglass and make a flat surface for when the machine is down.  I will mount a light underneath and Viola!!  a lightbox!!

Any I can raise it up for when I want to embroider!

I am super excited about my table and it is wonderful to sew at.  The door to the new table has cubbies and storage stuff.  I am going to mount it on the wall next the right.

I need to give credit where it is do……Dustin was wonderful and helped us out greatly in the end.  I guess those carpentry classes did pay off.  Rick…Rick…Rick was very good at watch with a “I think your nuts” look on his face.  Ok, he did help with a few cuts and the hand saw.  But Mom and I did 95% of the work ourselves.

Congratulations to Annette!! She is our winner of the tool necklace.  Annette has a great blog at http://fabricateandmira.wordpress.com/  Check it out.  Annette, email me your address and your winnings will be shipped out this weekend.

I have had a very busy couple of days.  Monday was Girls Scouts; I got volunteered to chaperone the upcoming field trip.  Yeah.  Can you hear the excitement…..Dustin says that “it is not about what you want to do, it is about how happy it will make her”.  I really hate getting parenting advice from my 15 year old.  Makes me want to throw him in a dungeon.  Anyway, by the time we got home I was so tired I crashed on the couch.

Last night, I got stuck in the office late.  When I got home I did not want to touch my computer.  My apologies, this is why the winner was announced late.  I played on my iPod for a bit and they jumped on my machine. 

I finally finished Morgan’s apron.  I cut out the body of this apron 6 months ago, but I did not know how to make my own binding – hence the binding tutorial.  So last night I added the binding and a pocket and finished it off.

My “loving” husband says that this apron will probably get used more than mine, since Morgan will be wearing it.  She will cook more than me.

I have some scraps of the pink and quite a bit of the butterfly material.  Any ideas on what to make with it?

Today we talked about English Paper Piecing.  This is way different than foundation paper piecing.

Thank you to everyone who left comments this week or sent in donation.  You truely keep me going.

This week Lori sent us a picture of her first paper piecing project.  The pattern is from www.quiltbynumber.net .  Lori used mainly batik fabrics.  I love the black background and how her fabric choices were so different than the pattern.  This wall hanging is 18 x 23.  Check out her blog at http://www.sewcreativespot.blogspot.com/ .

Contest this podcast

With “That Purple Thang”!!!  Call me at (352) 505-BRYE (2793) before March 22nd.  Leave me a message and I will enter you into a drawing to win.

Topic this Week – English Paper Piecing

Cut out  your piece out of a stiff paper.  www.paperpieces.com has some wonderful die cut shapes at a very reasonable price. Pin the cut out shape on the wrong side of the fabric and trim the edges leaving 1/4″ seam allowance.  Can be generous with the seam allowance.

Fold the fabric over the paper and baste to the paper. 

Some directions say that you don’t need to trim exactly and to just use a square.  You decide what you like best.  At first I did not like the sloppy one, but by the end of making this sample, I wished I had done all of them that way.

Put the two pieces together and whip stitch them.  I used a contrasting thread because this was a sample.  I would definately suggest using a matching thread.  Also, do right sides together.  This picture shows wrong sides together.  The whip stitch will always show a little bit, but it is much less noticable when you do right sides together.

Continue stitching them together – Note – the marks in the center are from the baste-it glue I used to hold my paper in place instead of pins.  I do not recommend this.  Pin them or use freezer paper pieces.

This is what the back looks like.

Remove the basting stitches and paper; press.  The paper pieces can be reused.  This gives you a much flatter look than a running stitch.

Try it out.  It is fun and addictive.  I liked it because it was mindless.  You didn’t need to concentrate too much on what you were doing.  the basting can be done while watching TV.

With the Easter Holiday coming around the corner, I thought this swap was fitting.  Below are links to several sites with directions or tutorials on how to make different types of fabric easter eggs.  Choose any or all or make up your own - whatever suits your fancy.  All eggs will be shipped to me and I will swap and ship different ones back to you.

• Retro Mama – Fabric Easter Eggs
• Kaboose – Quilted Easter Egg
• Sew Mama Sew – Secret Pocket Easter Egg
• The Idea Room – Fabric Easter Eggs
• Thrifty Fun – Fabric Covered Easter Eggs
• Olive Juice & Co – Stuffed Eggies

Here are the RULES:

1. Send me an email, bryelynn@sewstitchcreate.com telling me that you want to participate.  I will respond with my mailing address.
2. Make at least 5 fabric Easter Eggs.  You can make as many as you wish, but 5 is the minimum.  Keep in mind this is our first swap; if the participation is not very good there may not be enough eggs to swap more than 5.  I will try to update the participation numbers.
3. Mail the eggs to me with a self address stamped return envelope.  The weight for postage of the return envelope should be the same or close to the one you shipped to me.
4. I must recieve the eggs no later than March 26, 2010.
5. I will swap out the eggs with other crafters eggs, returning to you the same number of eggs you shipped.  Hopefully all different.
6. I will ship out no later than March 27, 2010, giving USPS 6 days to deliver. 
7. If you live internationally, you are welcome to participate.  Keep in mind that I will need your eggs earlier so I can ship out earlier, giving it more time to get to you.

Grab the button Easter Egg Swap button!

< <a href=”http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/2010/03/02/fabric-easter-egg-swap/” mce_href=”http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/2010/03/03/fabric-easter-egg-swap/” target=”_blank”><img border=”0” src=”http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Egg-Swap.jpg” mce_src=””http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Egg-Swap.jpg” alt=”Sew Stitch Create”></a>

Thank you to everyone who took the time to make their own bias tape and send me pictures.  I hope you learned a lot.  And the Winner is………JANNIE!

Check out Jannie’s bias tape.  Want to know how she matched up those stripes so beautifully?  Check out her blog – Just Plain Jane Quilts for the tutorial.

Jannie – email me your mailing address and it will be on its way on Saturday!

This week marks the 1 year anniversary of the Sew Stitch Create Podcast.  Today I discussed the origins of the podcast, where I plan to go with it, as well as the projects I completed over this past year.  In the next few days I will create a page showing you how to start your own podcast.

There are currently two contests going on.

1. Send me a picture of you making continuous bias tape to be entered to win a bias tape maker.  The deadline is 6pm EST March 1st.
2. Leave a comment, leave a voicemail, or send me a picture to highlight to be entered to win a tool holder.  The deadline is March 8th.

I thought this quilt was appropriate to share this week, since so many of you are knee deep in snow.  Emily made this quilt as a gift for her daughter.  It is the only quilt she has ever sent out to be quilted and she did it to surprise her daughter.  I think it is adorable.  It is machine appliqued.  Thank you for sharing Emily.

I have known about Spoonflower for a while, but didn’t really have any interest in making my own fabric design.  Truthfully, I don’t know where to begin or what to create.  But tonight I had an “aha” moment.  Morgan and I were looking at a pattern for a fabric egg (more on this soon) and she said she wanted one with her name on it.

A H A!!!!

I can make the fabric with her name on it.  Thanks to Darla for passing on the info about Wordle. I used this as inspiration to create my design.

This is what I made very quickly.  It needs more work.  I will probably add her middle name “Athena” in it as well.  Plus I will need to make some Dustin Fabric.

OK – the picture may make them look good, but they are not without their flaws.  The right one is too big and so when I made the left one, I did the instep shorter; fits perfectly.  On the left one, I forgot to do the decreases when I was stitching the instep, so I did several rows of decreases right before the toe; you really can’t notice this problem.  I need more practice on picking up my gusset stitches when turning the heel.  I tried two different methods and neither one looks perfect; but they worked.

Don’t you love how the strips match!  FYI – I used one ball of yarn and just a tiny bit from my second ball.  If I didn’t make the right one too big, one ball would have worked.

I enjoyed making the socks, but I am done for now.  My next knitting project will be something different.

Enter to win this cute little tool holder. There are many ways your name can be entered, and entered multiple times:

1. For each comment you leave between now and March 7th.
2. For emailing me a picture to feature on the podcast.
3. For calling me and leaving a voice mail

A random winner will be drawn on March 8th.

Lots of eye candy this week! We talked about the Quilt Show held by a local guild.

Thank you to everyone visited the website and left comments.  I heard from Vanessa, Toni, Lisa, Gidget, Patricia, Samanta, nancy, and Jandi.

Melanie sent us a great picture of a wall hanging she gave as a secret santa gift this past Christmas.  I love the color choices.  The pattern came fro www.freepatterns.com.  I love the 3D flowers and her machine quilting.  Leave a comment and let Melanie know what you think.

Belleview Busy Bee Quilter’s Guild Show

I picked up some fat quarters and a wool applique project.

Affairs of the Heart by Lee Ward; hand appliqued and hand quilted

Mary’s Basket by Ruth Sibley; hand appliqued and hand quilted; pattern from Mary Sorenson’s basket class.

Nuetral Petunia Yellow Brick Road by Peggy Erlich.  See the couching she did as a border. 

Vintage Memories by Othie Lingle; machine pieced and hand appliques; pattern from Bed & Breakfast quilts

Four Patch Stacked Posies by Norma Walters.  Check out the squares she made from the border motif.

Cathy’s Quilt, Flowers & Butterflies by Rachel Fink; love this house.

Scraps Reorganized by Martha Adsit

Bits & Pieces by Laura Etzler.

Cabin in the Woods and More Cabin in the Woods by Othie Lingle

Quiet Village/Tuscany by Mildred Grey; hand appliqued and quilted.  Check out the folded fabric technique and the french knot flowers.

Mark’s Armadillo by Charlotte Undercoffer.  All hand painted.

Tinker Memory Quilt by Lea Marty

Contest this week

Drawing will be held March 8th.  Earn an entry for leaving a comment on any post between now and March 7th.  Multiple comments will earn you multiple entries.  Earn an entry for sending me a picture to feature in the podcast. Lastly, earn an entry for leaving me a voice mail!

Good luck!

Last night I participated in a Friday Night Sew in organized by “Handemade by Heidi”.

I worked on my Gator Quilt in the Garden Maze Paper Piecing pattern.  I finished 2 1/2 strips.  I have 2 1/2 strips left to go on the paper piecing strips.

Thank you Heidi for putting this together.  It really made me get to work, instead of slacking around watching TV.

Tonight I am participating in a Friday Night Sew in. I have my comfy clothes on and a fresh cup of coffee; Morgan is at grandma’s, Dustin in hiding out in his room and Rick is on the Xbox. I have the living room to myself.

Join me! Check out the details at http://www.handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com.

On a recent blog hopping journey I came across several blogs on how to make quilts with your selvages.  Check this out.  www.selvageblog.blogspot.com  They made skirts, dresses and upholstered furniture with it too! It is wild how the manufacturers markings become part of the design.

The look of the selvage made fabric is very interesting.  I like it, but it raises a lot more questions.  What does it feel like?  Is it stiff? How does wash? How long does it take to make?  How wide are the selvage pieces.

I am very curious.  I think that I will start saving my selvages and try it out.

This week’s podcast was about making your own bias tape.  Today I will show you how to use the Clover Bias Tape Maker.  You can win one of these, by sending me a picture of you making a continuous bias strip (see yesterday’s post for directions).  The drawing will be held on March 1st, so get me your pictures before then.

On the podcast I mentioned a great video I found on folding the fabric to make your bias strips.  Here it is.

Fast Tube by Casper

How to use the bias tape maker.

  Read the instruction on your bias tape maker.  Find out the maximum width your strip can be to fit into the tool.  These tools come in a variety of sizes from 1/4″ and larger.  The one I am using is a 3/4″ one.

   This is what it looks like from the end.  See the grove that the fabric will go into; a kind of “U” shape.

   Stuff the fabric in, right side down into the bias tape maker.  You may have to push, use a stilleto or pin in the top groove to move it or to pull it out the end.  I used a long pin to dig it out the other side.  This part is a bit difficult, but once you get it through, the device slides effortlessly along the tape.

  See how it comes out all ready folded?!  Wonderful.  Slide it out a little and pin the end to the ironing board to secure it.

 Pull the bias maker along the strip and press the folded fabric coming out.  Remember to go slowly to give the iron time to properly press.

   You can turn the iron to put as much surface space as possible on the strip.  But do not line up the tip of the iron with the center line.  I found that it “unfolded” the strip slightly.

  Of set the tip of the iron.  You get as much surface space but still maintain the fold.

  I found that if you lifted up the bias tape maker off the ironing board slightly it created a better fold coming out.

This week’s podcast was about making your own bias tape.  Today I will show you how to make a continuous bias strip.  You can win a Clover Bias Tape Maker, by sending me a picture of you making a continuous bias strip. The drawing will be held on March 1st, so get me your pictures before then.

   Start off with a perfect square.  I am using a 10″ square for demonstration purposes, but you could make your square 44 inches.

    Set it on point and cut it in half; corner to corner.

   You now have two triangles.  Place them next to each other, short sides together.  It makes a parellelogram type shape.

   Fold one down so that right sides are together.  Stitch using a 1/4″ seam.

   Press the seam open.

   Mark your cutting lines, the width of the strip you want to make.  I did 1 1/2″ for my Bias Tape Maker.  ***Note – my pictures show me marking the right side of the fabric.  I found it is easier when you mark the wrong side of the fabric.

   Put the two short sides of the triangle together, right sides together, matching the cutting lines; but off-setting by one line.  See how the end of each piece of loose.

   Stitch seam and press open.  You now have a tube.

   Cut along the cutting line.  You will see that you are cutting in a spiral and have one continusous bias strip.

   The only downside to doing this s that some of your seams are close together and they go in different angles.  Also, you are using scissors to cut the strips, so it is not as acurate.  But these strips are great to put through the Bias tape maker (tomorrow’s post).

This week we talked about how to make Bias Tape. I ent over how to cut out the strips and sew thrm together. How to use a bias tape maker and how to make continuous bias strips. I have too much info to put all the pictures and notes on one post, so check back over the next two days for the other related post.

Thank you so much to Patricia for sending me a sample of English Paper Piecing. I will difinately try it soon.

Specail thanks to everyone who donated towards the podcast and left comments this week. Donations allow me to offer giveaways.

Gloria, Kathleen, Diane, Tiffany, Ellen, Vanessa, Kelly Grace, Pat, Emily. . . . . . Sorry if I missed anyone.

Toni’s new podcast is up and running.  Check it out  SillyChickDesigns

You can now call me and leave your comments:  (352) 505-BRYE  2793

Finished embroidering the blog logo – much better huh?

This is the fabric I bought at the Heartfelt Quilting Shop

How to make your own Bias Tape

Step 1 – Cut the Bias Stips

Lay out your fabric flat.  I recommend ironing it before hand.  You need to fold it on the bias.  Take the top corner and fold it down so the selvages are even.  This is too big to cut, so you need to fold it some more to make it more managable.

Fold the bottom corner up, matching the folded edges together.  Still to big to cut, so onto more folding.

Fold the top corner down, matching the fold lines. 

Fold the little extra flap under if you have one.

Square the piece up.  Adjust your folds if necessary.  Make sure the entire piece is flat with no wrinkles.  Trim off the folded edge; just a tiny bit.

Cut your bias stips to your desired width.  I used 2 1/4″; this made a sigle fold bias of 1 1/8″ or a double fold of 1/2″.

You are left with large triangles as strap.

Each cut makes two strips with angled edges.

Trim off the edges to square.

Step two – Sew your strips together

 Lay one piece down, right side up, horizontal position.  Lay your second piece on top vertically.  Square up the top and side edges.

 If you need to, you can pin it in place and mark the corners.

 Stitch from corner to corner.

 Trim the seam to 1/4″.  Continue sewing all your seams until one long strip.

 Press the seams open.

Step 3 – Press into Single Fold or Double Fold Bias Tape

 Fold the strip in half lengthwise and press.

 Unfold strip.

 Using the fold line as a guide.  Fold in one edge to the center fold line and press.  Do one side fo the strip at a time.

 Fold the other side into the center.  You now have SINGLE fold Bias tape.

 To make DOUBLE fold Bias Tape, fold it in half again, along the first fold line, and press again.  Be sure to match up your edges.

Step 4 – Storing Your Bias Tape

 Instead of throwing it in a bag or crumpling it up, try wrapping it around a toilet paper tube.  Wrapping it up correctly will maintain the ironing and creasing.  You could also wrap it around a stiff piece of cardboard (like you would get it in a store).

CONTEST!!

Make your own continuous bias strip (see tomorrow’s post for directions) to be entered into a drawing to win a Clover Bias Tape Maker!  Email me your picture before March 1st to be entered.

As I sat here tonight as my sewing machine, I happened to look down and saw that I had several of my scissors out.  I looked to the left and on the side table I had a few more out.  In the drawer in front of me I had my rotary cutters and another small scissors.  What struck me, was how much I use all of them.

Each pair of scissors has their purpose.  I would never grab my fabric cutting scissors to snip a thread or my applique scissors to cut out a shape in thread.  My embroiderly scissors are primarily used when I embroider and my tiny scissors are used when I am winding bobbins.  If I can’t fing the particular set I want to use to cut something, I will go out of my way to look for it instead of grabbing something else that would do the job (I am not very good at putting things back where they belong.  They usually sit where I last used them).  Because of this, I am motivated to buy more scissors so that I always have the ones on want within arm’s length.

I am very possessive of my scissors, too.  NO ONE in the house can touch my scissors.  If they insist they need them.  I have to see what they are cutting, hand them the right ones, and oversee the whole operation.  It is a running joke in my family about my sewing supplies.  They are the one thing in the house that is all mine and no one else’s.  I don’t want to share.

It just struck me as funny how I have such a small sewing space, but I had to have 4 pairs of scissors out at one time.  On top of that, all of them were in use.

Is it just me?  Do you feel the same way?

Tonight I made a Coffee Cup Cozy.  I used a cardboard one from a local gas station as a template. 

When I started, I choose some junk fabric I had in the drawer.  My intention was to make it quickly, to not spend much time on the draft, and just work out the kinks.  In the end I would make a “real” one.  But, it is green; and my favorite shade of green.  So I could not resist finishing it.

I will get the pattern together and posted next week.  I have to wait until I am back in the office to scan the pattern.  But basically this is what I did:

1. I sewed the top and bottom seams
2. Turned it right side out
3. Pressed under the raw edges
4. Topstitched the edges
5. Free motion quilted the design
6. Used a decorative stitch to attach the pends together.

I does not have velcro or snaps.  It is sewed to a circle that you can flatten to store away.  The only problems I encountered were that the patten was a bit small, I need to make it about 1/2 inch longer and the decorative stitch I chose looks messy.  I will choose somthing better next time, or maybe I will leave that space blank from the free motion quilting; this was the decorative stitches will show up more.

Sorry – no podcast this week.  Here’s the story:

I really did not do much this week.  I worked on my sock; got about 80% of it done.  I am really psyc’d to start on a new knitting project, so I am working quickly on that.  I also worked on my embroidery software, trying to digitize the podcast logo and my company logo.  It really is A LOT to learn that software and make it stitch out nice.  Right now, it is just s0-s0; not perfect.

So that was it.  I probably could have still gone on with the show……if, I had a topic.  But it didn’t.

A lot of the week was spent researching vacation spots on the internet and going back and forth with my husband about where to go.  Planes, hotels, tourist attractions….. my mind was spinning and by Saturday, I could not stand to be at the computer another minute.

Forgive me.  In the meantime, I uploaded the United States template I made for my DC Quilt.  If you want to make something similar, this may come in handy.  Enjoy!

DC Quilt – United States Block

We will talk again next week.

Any topic ideas?

352-505-BRYE  (2793)

We now have a voicemail number for comments! It is through Skype – you can call me through Skype if you have an account or just dial the number above and my Skype voicemail will answer.

I thought this may be easier for some people.  I find that I listen to a lot of podcasts while I am driving.  It is hard to comment and hard to remember to comment .  But…….it is easy to stop and call (yes, I did say stop – no calling me while you are driving – that is the safety girl in me talking).

Give it a try.  I might even use your message in the podcast.. . . . . . . as always, if you don’t want me to, just say so in the message.

Thank you to all the donaters that have made this possible.  I hope it work out and helps make the podcast even better.

Today I received some buttons from WONDERFUL listeners.  Thank you so so so soooooooo much.  I am so excited to get started on my button quilt project.  I could still use some more.  If you are able to donate a few buttons or a bag full – email me!  I am looking for a wide variety of shape, size, or color.  Whatever you have, I can use.

Receiving this today got me thinking about other things that can be done with buttons.  So I went website and blog surfing.  Here is what I found.

• Frame a card with Buttons
• Button Jewelry
• Button Pendant
• Button Brooch
• Button Bag
• Button Flowers
• Button Napkin Rings
• Button Light Shade
• Necklace
• Its a Lovely Cake – Flikr user, lots of amazing button items
• Curtain decorations
• Holiday Wreath
• Magnets
• Button Bouquet
• Button shoes
• Candle Holders
• Button Coasters
• Button Mushrooms
• Button Beings
• Pony tail holders
• Curtain tie back
• Artwork
• Button Snowman
• Headband decoration
• Indian Corn

Which one is your favorite?

Tonight, I finally got around to heat setting my paintstick project I talked about this week.  The directions said I could do this with an iron or a clothes dryer.

I first tried the iron.  I places a piece of freezer paper underneath; paper side up.  I ironed it face down on the freezer paper.  There was a lot of residue that came off. So if you try this method, definately protect your ironing board.  After doing this for a few minutes the material still had a heavy waxy feel to it.

Next I tried the clothes dryer.  I put it in for 15 minutes to start on a medium-high heat.  After 7 minutes I pulled it out; a lot of the waxy feel was gone, but not all of it.  I kept it in for the rest of the time and another 15 minute cycle after that.  It is definately dry and nothing rubs off on your hands.  But, the fabric has a strange feel to it; it feels think and it feels like there is a residue on it. FYI – no harm to my dryer.

The next time I am at the quilt shop I bought them from, I am going to feel their samples and see if I did something wrong.  I don’t think I put it on too thick, because I stenciled some of it.  I really believe that it is just how the product feels; I can’t expect it to leave my fabric completely unchanged.

This week we talked about my adventures using the Shiva paintsticks.

Thank you to everyone who left comments this week and visited the site.  I really liked the thread comments from Shelly Beth and Ingrid.

Debby sent us pictures of her sewing space.  Isn’t this an AWESOME idea!  She transformed her son’s bedroom set into a sewing/cutting table.  She took the mattress out and put in a board for a cutting space.  She uses the pull out desk as a sewing table.  The chest of drawers is her fabric stash!

I worked on digitizing my blog logo.  This is the first draft.  Not Bad – huh?  I need to work on the black and the word “Create”.

Two new podcasts

• Quilt Cabana Corner
• Creative Talk Radio

Topic of the Week – Paintsticks!

First, organize your space, yourself, and your fabric.  These paints are permanent.  Make sure you are working on a washable surface or protect he surface you are working on.  Wear clothing that you don’t mind getting paint on (I did this, plus an apron).  The paints will adhere to just about any fabric, but it works better when the sizing is washed out of the fabric.

You have to get the film off of the paint stick – this is what the film looks like.

Tape your rubbing plate to the fabric and gently rub the paintstick onto the fabric.

Use multiple colors.

Use the negative side of the plate.

Layer different designs

You can also use a stencil.  I used a stencil material that was sticky on one side. I cut out a shape out of paper and taped it to the stencil material.  Using a razor knife, I cut it out.

Rub the paintstick onto the shiney side of freezer paper.  Using a stencil brush (I didn’t have one, so I use a stiff bristle paint brush), dip into the paint and stencil it on.  I love the layering you can do with this and the shading you get.

You can sharpen the paintstick to draw somewhat thin lines.

My practice piece.

I finished the first block of my Vacation Quilt. I wanted the center block to be an outline of the US with the date and location of the vacation enbroidered on. I designed the block myself. I don’t have the outline in digital form yet; I will try to do that this week. When it is ready, I will post on the site for anyone who wants to make a similar block.

Here it is and below that are the step-by-steps of how I did it.

First, I traced an outline of the US from one of my daughter’s puzzles.  Then I flipped it over and traced the reverse side.

I layed a piece of fusable web, rough side down, on top of the pattern.

Since you can see through the fusable and I traced it with a dark pen you can easily trace the pattern onto the fusable.  Of course, if you have a light box this is much easier to do.

Iron the fusable onto your fabric.  Be sure to follow the directions of the fusable.  My iron settings were too hot and it left a faint grid pattern on my material.

Cut it out.

Iron it onto your background fabric.  ps. don’t forget to peel the paper off.

Stitch along the edges.  I used a very small blanket stitch.

Next I added the borders with mitered corners.

Then I added my embroidery.  Do you like the path from Florida to DC with the Star for DC?

Does your coffee table do this?

About a year ago we bought a new living room set. It is all oversized and too big for a normal size living room. It was on special at Rooms to Go and we had to take all the pieces to get the deal. This means we ended up with a coffee table that would not fit anywhere.

After the move we thought we would be able to find a place to fit it. No luck. At one point, my husband was going to get rid of it; but I could not part with such a beautiful piece of furniture; not to mention it had great storage space and where would I put all the Wii controllers?! So I put it smack dab in the middle of the living room and stood my ground that we were not getting rid of it. Everyone who visits, I ask “This table looks OK here, right???” All the yes’s got Rick to give in and we kept it

What I have found is that this table, when the top is raised, is at a perfect level for me to cut. I am short, only 5′ tall, so the kitchen counter is too tall. My sewing table is great, but it is small. Because the table is now in the living room, near my sewing space, I can very easily use it as a cutting table!

What unique cutting areas do you use?

I finsihed my first sock – Yeah!!!!

It really wasn’t that hard.  If you have been thinking about trying it – I say go for it.  I was listening to a Knit Picks podcast that encouraged me to try it.  The speaker was talking about new knitters and the projects we choose.  Scarfs can be the most boring things to knit, she implied.  So she encouraged people to jump into socks or hats.

So, that is what I did.  Yes, I had a bunch of stumbles along the way; but, WOW!  It was so much fun.  You can’t really see it, but there are a few holes here and there where I dropped stitches or mixed up the purl and knit in the pattern.  But who cares?!  I did it.

I can’t wait to finish the next one.  I don’t know what I will knit next, but I feel like I could tackle anything.  Maybe even a sweater.  Heck, if I start now, I may have it finished by next winter.

What do your think I should conquer next? Gloves, hat, Sweater, Shawl,……..

No topic this week, just a bunch of crafting tidbits I picked up this week.

Tiffany not only shared her paper pieced quilt with us but a site to get gourmet coffee. Check out Quilter’s Coffee.

On the podcast, I said that Tiffany did not say the pattern but I was wrong.  It was from Nancy Mahony’s book “Quilt Block Bonanza”.

Didn’t she do an awesome job.  I love the colors and the perfect points.  This is a great pattern for paper piecing.  I think it is so perfect, it almost looks like an illistration.

Jaye told us about a book (wrong again, she didn’t write it, she has it – sorry, maybe I should write the post before record.  lol).  The book is “Point Well Taken: The Guide to Success with needles and Threads”.

Point Well Taken: The Guide to Success with Needles & Threads

New Podcast!  Welcome aboard Toni.  Check it out  SillyChickDesigns

Here is the $10 balloon from Disney.

This is Mary’s alternative to a thread stand; it works great and will do until I invest in a thread stand.  Mary’s idea is to put the thread in a cup and hand a hanger above and behind the machine.  Thread throught the hanger before the machine and it works great.  I didn’t have a place to hang a hanger, so I stuck it in a vase and threaded it throught the hook on the hanger.

Here are the three different widths of the threads.  My Coats n’ Clark, the sewing machine guys Robinson-Anton and Mettler’s. Make sure your thread fits in your machine and pulls out smoothly; if not use a thread stand or change to a smaller spool of thread.

Fabric and thread I purchased for my United States block.

“Toys” I bought at the Quilt Shop.  I am going to play with the Shiva sticks this week.  Maybe I will podcast next week about it.

New iPod Application Fabric Journal.

Quilting Natural Florida II exhibit will be opening at the Florida Museum of Natural History from Feb. 6th to April 25.

Donate to the site.  If everyone donated $2 a year that would give me over $1,200 to spend on giveaways!  There are two quilt shows coming up and I would love to buy things to give away.