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?

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.

• 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>

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

   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).

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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?

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,……..

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.

It is called “Glue Baste-it”.  It is a temporary glue to hold your pieces in place while you are stitching on your applique.  This tiny bottle was $5, but is should last pretty long; you don’t use much.  To use it you put several small daps on the the fabric and place your piece; try not to put glue where you are going to stitch.  It does wash away with water and is not permanent.

I don’t know if I like it yet – over pins.  The good part is I can place a lot of pieces at once without the worry of sticking myself with a bunch of pins while I hand stitch.  The bad part is: nothing is holding my freezer paper on (see my applique technique post for how I needle turn).   Plus, the glue goes through the fabric, even through I am using  just a small dot.

Keep in mind that I had not done too much machine sewing over the last two month because of the holidays and the move.  I generally buy one large spool of thread to do all my piecing with; I don’t change it until I run out.  A few months ago, I bought a new spool.

Like I said, I like to use large spools; but I don’t have a thread stand.  On my old machine, they always fit fine.  On my new machine the vertical holder was too short and the horizontal holder was to small.  It was a tight fit, but the spool was still turning.  I thought I would use up a good portion of it quick enough; no big deal.

My sewing machine guy says my bobbin case was broken, again – the last time, I broke it because I didn’t thread it right.  What he “thinks” happened was that the thread was putting putting too much tention on the bobbin case and rocking it back and forth.  Over time the case got knicks, scratchs, and rough spots.  My thread, passing under the case, caught on the rough spots and jammed it up.

The reason I was able to get it working when I filed it smooth was because that stopped the thread from catching.  What I didn’t solve was the tention caused by my big spool of thread getting stuck in the small thread holder.  So my machine was still running clunky and rough.

My sewing machine guy replaced the bobbin case and gave me a new, smaller, spool of thread.  They say that when you buy a machine, you are buying into a family; be sure you are comfortable with the people you are purchasing it from and who will be servicing it.

I will invest in a thread stand in the near future.

I had them sitting on my table, waiting to be sewn together once my machine is working again.  He has a really bad habit of using my sewing table as a rest for his drinks.

Luckily, it is all washable and I intended on it to be washed.  Right now, I have rinsed them and hopefully I got it all out.  The are drying on my Sham Wow!!! lol

Maybe he will learn – but I doubt it.

When subscribing to blogs on Kindle, new posts are updated automatically.  Never miss new information or a new podcast.  In one click, the Kindle can connect you to any of the links in the blog posts.

Pictures on the Kindle are clear – gray tones.

With a click of a button flip through the articles.  Personally, I find my Kindle so much fun to read on and a lot more comfortable then sitting in front of the computer or holding a book.

Unfortunately, Amazon did not give me any choice on the subscription price.  It is currently set at $1.99 per month.  However, I have been much better about posting info and I have lots of ideas for new posts and series of posts.  It will be my goal to make it worth the cost. 

In addition, any proceeds I earn from the subscription will be put back into the blog.  I will not pocket any of it.  Revenues will be used for giveaways, postage of giveaways, and various other plans for the blog.

 I look at this as just another way to build our quilting community; right now there is only one other quilting blog available on the Kindle and only a handful of sewing blogs.  Of those, very few post regularly enough to make it worth paying for a subscription.

If you own a Kindle and want to subscribe, use the link below.  As with any Kindle blog, the first 14 days are FREE.

Thank you to everyone who visited the website this week.

Special thanks to Mindy for sharing this great picture of her paper pieced quilt. She made this for her “Tiera Babe” that was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and was undergoing Chemo Therapy. She had her group of friends sign the signature blocks and sewed them into the quilt. Don’t you love her label! What a great idea.

Topic of the Week – Rotary Cutting

These are the tools I generally use.  Nothing too fancy.  A cutting mat, 22″ ruler, 15 1/2″ square ruler and rotary cutter.  My mat is small – it fits perfectly on my table.  My rotary cutter is from Martelli; it is an ergonomic rotary cutter.

Fold the fabric in half.  Let it hang naturally.  If you have pre-washed it the fibers relax and never fold perfectly.  This is ok – we will trim it.

Line up the fold line on one of the bottom lines of the cutting mat.  The bulk of the fabric is to your right.  You will cut off the left side.

Using your ruler, trim the edge.  Make sure your ruler is straight, lining it up with the same marks on the bottom and the top.  Make sure the fabric fold stays lined up on the line.

Slide the ruler down the fabric, towards the right, line up the width you want on your ruler.  In this example, I am cutting 3″ strips.

Cut and push it to the side, line up for the next cut.

This is my backwards way of cutting. My “VooDoo” way as my husband would say.  This is the way I was taught and it has stuck with me, I can’t seem to change my way.

Lay the fabric down with the fold towards the bottom.  The bulk of the fabric is to the left, you will be cutting from the right side.  Don’t worry about lining up the fold with the cutting mat; the lines on the cutting mat are ignored.  Using a large square ruler, lay it on top and line up the bottom with the fold line.  I line to use the thinner marks on the ruler; see how it is lined up with the fold?

Once lined up on the bottom, trim the edge before cutting your strips.

Slide the ruler to the Left, approx. to the width of the strip.  Keep the fold lined up with the line on the ruler.

Using a second ruler, butt it up to the square ruler.  Use this second ruler to measure the width.  In this example, I am cutting 3″ strips.  You can move the square ruler if necessary.  Always keep the fold of the fabric lined up with the line on the ruler.

Move the measuring ruler, the long one to the right, just slightly to the right.  Giving you a small area for the rotary cutter to fit in.  Make your cut.

Continue sliding the rulers over and making your cuts. 

I like this method for a few reasons:

1. I feel like I am holding the fabric in place more securely.
2. It is easier to slide the cut piece off to the side with my right hand

Try it – tell me what you think!

• No – I did not run over a needle; I was actually stopping and taking them out.
• Yes – the machine was threaded properly; I took the picture below to prove to my tech that the thread was in the take-up lever
• No – the needle did not break in the machine; see the pic.  The needle was in the up position when it jammed.

I have taken it apart, cleaned it, and oiled it.  The bobbin case was broken and very rough.  I took a nail file and smoothed it all out.  I use a can of air and gently blew all the fiber from the bottom mechanisms.  Strange thing I found was that when I re-threaded it; the tension on the thread was tight; so I used the air can the gently blew along the path of the thread.

Everything I did seemed to get it to work.  But now it clicks and clunks with every stitch; but the stitches are beautiful.  I didn’t push my machine.  I finished a few more seams, so that 2/3 of the quilt top was pieced together.  I am not working from home again until Friday, so I can’t take it in for 6 more days.

Looks like I will be doing all hand work this week.

Here is what the Frolic Quilt looks like so far.

I picked this pattern because I thought it was easy and the directions were clearly explained.  But, this part of it I just couldn’t understand.  Today, I found a great video the showed it and I finally understood the instructions.

So here is my first attempt.  I think it came out pretty good.  The stitches are a bit loose, but I think it will work out.

This pigeon is living on our roof.  He rarely leaves.  The neighbors have told us that he is the neighborhood pigeon and spends time on all the houses, but as you can see, there is enough poop to prove where he lives.  I believe he is a homing pigeon, so I have no clue how to get rid of him.

He really isn’t doing any harm, but I don’t know much about pigeons.  Will he peck a hole in my roof?  Will all the poop damage something?

It has been freezing in Florida and this poor guy is out in the middle of it.  I was truly surprised to still see him in his spot when the temps dropped below 20 degrees.

Thank you to everyone who commented or emailed this week.  Special thanks to Mindy and Debby for sharing their paper piecing pictures.

Lisa posted a video tutorial on her site on how to do a mitered binding.  Check it out here.

Lori shared her original Speed Racer Quilt with us.  Love the concept, workmanship, EVERYTHING!  Leave a comment and let Lori know what you think.

I finished another block on Frolic.  Only one more to go!!

How to make a Mitered Corner

Cut your border piece longer then the quilt/piece.  A good gauge is double the border width plus 1/2″ for each corner.  This may be a bit longer than you need, but better safe then sorry.  Pin the border to the quilt top leaving an overhang of double the border plus seam allowance; for a 2″ border, that would be 4 1/2″.

When sewing on this piece you start 1/4″ in from the edge and stop 1/4″ from the edge.  So measure and mark this.  You can leave a gap bigger than 1/4″, but never smaller.

Fold the piece you just sewed back and pin the next side on.  Mark 1/4″ from the edge for the starting and stopping points.

When you stitch the second piece, the stitches shoule be close, but not touching.  I found that this was about 1 stitch too close.

Fold the side up and line the top edges.  Be sure the stitch lines are matching too.

Line up the top edge with the 45 degree mark on your ruler.  The side of the ruler lines up with the fold line.

Mark the line.

I found that it was easier with the seam allowance pressed down instead of up.

Stitch on your marked line from the quilt to the edge.

Trim, leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance.  I use a “add a quarter” ruler for a guide.

Fold it out, press and you are done.

This is what happens when you don’t leave a 1/4″ from the edge when stitching on your borders or when you don’t match up your stitching lines when folding it in half and lining up the top edges.

Try it out and let me know how it goes.  If you have any tips, leave it in the comments section to share with everyone.

Here is the disaster I made. Tomato Mush.

I can’t figure out what I did wrong. Maybe a mandolin is not meant for a soft veggie.

I better stick to the Easy Bake Oven! Morgan and I did melted chocolate in her EB. We made chocolate covered bananas and peanut butter for desert.

Congratulations, Patricia!!!  She got a new Long Arm machine.  Check out her first completed quilt using the machine.  I love the fabric choices.  Patricia, your stitches are wonderful.

My knitted dishclothes. One stitched with a size 6 and one witha  size 8 needles.

My niece was knitting on a loom on Christmas.  She used sparkly crochet thread and was making a cool looking scarf.  Sorry no pics but I found this YouTube video on how it was done

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pPIT9Us7ZE]

Paper Piecing!

I got the pattern for my project here.  I did enlarge mine to full paper size.  Loved the pattern, but a miniture wouldn’t work for what I wanted to make.

Print out your pieces – I used Carol Doak’s paper (wonderful) and printer paper when I ran out (works, but harder).  I number/letter mine for future placement.  Plus, I used colored pencil to indicate what fabric to put where.

Get organized.  Cut out rough pieces approximately the size you need.  You don’t have to be exact.  My largest piece on the block was about 6 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ so I cut my pieces 7 1/2″ x 3″.  I only cut strips of the novelty fabric so I can fussy cut what I needed.  I laid everything up in front of me with discard piles to use for smaller sections.

Paper piecing does create a lot of waste.  It is hard for me – but you need to learn to get over it.  The technique is fun, so a little extra waste is worth the joy of the project.

Turn the pattern upside down.  You want to place the fabric on the back of the pattern so that you are not covering the sewing lines.  You must be able to see where you need to sew.  Place the first piece of fabric in place, right side facing up.  I always pin this first piece.

Place your next piece in place, 1/4″ or more above the sewing line, right sides together.

Hold it in place and flip it over. Sew on the line.

If you used a large piece – longer than the sewing line, you can use your scissors to trim.  This pieces can be set aside for future use in a smaller area.

Keep the fabric where you originally laid it.  Fold the paper back on the line you just sewed.

Use a “Add a Quarter Inch” ruler and trim.  This will reduce bulk.

Finger press the piece in place. You can press – most professional would recommend pressing with an iron.

As you move on, it may become difficult to know where to place your pieces.  I fold over the pattern on the sewing line and finger press.  This leaves a visible guide line.  Then I place the fabric about 1/4″ above this line.

Looks very messy when it is done.  Don’t worry.  Flip it over and trim on the dotted line.  Notice that this line is 1/4″ from the edge.  The solid line it the sewing line for sewing the blocks together.  Once trimmed – it looks great!

Sew your blocks together using the stitching line.

I also talked about the fellow quilting podcast community.

My latest Frolic block

I am moved in to my new house – here are more pictures

I never want to move again!

I still have Morgan’s room to conquer as well as 5 boxes for my room and about 5 others around the house.  If I didn’t have Christmas decorations to do in the middle of all this, I would probably been more motivated.

Last night, I finally unpacked all of my sewing stuff.  And, I love how I set up my sewing space.

Can you see it there….tucked behind the couch……

You go around the corner of the end table and. . . . . . Viola!!  it’s like my own sewing room (a super small room, lol)

Don’t you think the wall behind the couch is going to be perfect for a design wall?!

Anyway, wanted to let you know that I have not disappeared and you will be hearing from me soon.

The idea has been stewing in may head and has morphed into several different designs. But in the end, it always comes down to needing several hundred buttons. No doubt making this quilt too expensive to bring to life.

So here is my shout out to the community. If you have some unwanted buttons lying around your sewing space, please consider donating them to this project. I will take buttons of any shape, color, or size; cheap or expensive; old or new. As the project unfolds, I will share it on the podcast and blog.

If you can help, send an email to BryeLynn@sewstitchcreate.com and I will email you back my mailing address (at the new house! I should be moved in within the next week!).

Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who has left reviews on iTunes!  The Sew ~ Stitch ~ Create! podcast is now listed in the featured section on the Arts/Design page and is ranked in the top 100 podcasts in this section!  Wow!!

Log Cabin Dreams is Finished!!!!  Yeah! This is my fourth completed quilt and it took me less than a year to do it.  I owe most of this to you.  Doing his blog and podcast has kept me inspired and motivated all year.  Thanks.

I finished the border with scraps from the log cabin pieces.  I think it really ties it all in together.

Can you see the little flowers and butterflies I free-motioned into the border?

How to make Chenille

1. Use all cotton fabric and layer three pieces on top of each other.
2. Draw a line, corner to corner and every 3/8″ from there.
3. Sew a straight stitch on these lines.
4. Cut the fabric apart between the sewing lines
5. Stitch onto block
6. When the quilt is done, wash it several times
7. Use a chenille brush to brush out and fluff the fibers

This is the pieces of cotton sewn together

This is the chenille pieces cut apart

This is a chenille brush

This is what it looks like after it has been washed a few times.  Notice how the green already started to fluff and the pink didn’t.  Some fabrics are better for chenille then others.  Test this out beforehand.

This is what it looks like after brushing.

This week we talked about Thangles!

Thank you to everyone who left comments this week.

Check out the quilt that Gidget help make for Quilts of Valor

Here is a picture of the new house!  More pics to come once we actually own it.

Here is a my latest block in Frolic.

Learn more about Thangles at their website.  www.thangles.com

Thank you to everyone who sent emails and left comments. Now that things are somewhat back to normal (at least until the house buying gets moving), I will have more time to post and more time to be on Facebook and Twitter; maybe I will even get my Ravelry and Flickr going.

Janie shared more pictures with us this week. Thank you so much, Janie. This is her latest quilt that was entered into a quilt show. As usual, Janie’s applique work is esquisite (did I spell that right?).

I had dinner at Christini’s - Great restaurant!

This is the tote bag I purchased at the Gift Market.  It was from Crazy Creations (sorry, no phone number)

I couldn’t take pictures at the Fine Arts Festival of Ocala, but I found two great booths.  Check out their websites.

• The Silk Needle
• Voila! Fiberlicious

Morgan’s art work featured at FAFO – I made her sit next to it so you could judge the size.  Go ahead, laugh: you know I did!

New iPod application:  Fabric Stash

My latest finished block for Frolic

HALLOWEEN!!!

Thank you to everyone who left comments or sent messages this week

Melanie sent PICTURES!  Check out Melanie’s first applique project.  It is a wall hanging – don’t the fabrics look hand dyed?!  Look at the detail.  Each piece is machine appliequed with a different decorative stitch.  Leave a comment and let Melanie know what you think.

Melanie also shared a new website she found   www.quiltgroup.com/community

Curio shelf that Dustin made

Dorothy costume done!  Now I am working on the scarecrow costume for the dog.

 
This is the book I was talking about:

Thank you to everyone who donated and left comments this week.

Shelly Beth shared her wall hanging that we accepted in a juried  art gallery show.  I love the detail in the quilting and the embellishments.  Be sure to leave a comment and let Shelly beth what you think.

My latest finished block from the Frolic quilt.

Here are the pictures of my purchases from QuiltFest Jax.  Sorry it took so long to post.

The Supreme Slider and YO Yo patterns/tools from the Quilt Shop of Deland

Miniature pattern from the Schoolhouse Quilt shop

Free motion quilting quacker glides from the Fabric Art Shop

Step by Step patter from the Crazy Quilter

Miniature Patterns from The Village Mercantile

Rotary Cutter from Martelli

Silk Thread from Thimbles Thread

Topic of the week – Quillow!

A quillow is a quilt that folds up into a pillow.  I made one out of 5 different white fabrics as a gift for my mother recently. 

Quillows are a great way to finish all those quilt tops you have lying around.

Come back later this week for detailed instructions on how to make a quillow.

Congratulations to Plynne!  She won the free seat in Annie Smith’s online class – Quilting 101.

Thank you to Lisa who shared her latest project – a Bargello quilt – Lightening Strikes!  Don’t you love this Fabric.  Check out how Lisa keeps everything organized.  Great job – it is going to be a beautiful quilt.

Here are my latest blocks in my Frolic Quilt.

Question of the Week

• Do you have a dedicated sewing,crafting, quilting space?
• 97 responses
• 72% said “Yes”!

Lots going on in the Discussion Board; be sure to visit and use the login and register button at the top of the website.

QuiltFest Jacksonville!

I took a lot of pictures of quilting

I loved this quilting too!

Space Crystal from the "Big Book of Building Blocks" by Adeline Atkinson, quilted by Lori Freed; First place for medium size pieced.

Back to Square One by Marie Karickhoff; second place for miniatures

Panier Aux Fluers by Heather Harteneck; First place for Miniatures

A Tribute to Hannah by Marilyn Wagner; 3rd place for miniatures

Best of Show; Aunt Mimi's Flower Garden by Elise Campbell; 1st place for large applique

Home is Where the Heart Is by Linda Martin; check out the detailed quilting below

See the butterfly in the quilting?

Check out this new podcast – Mirkwooddesigns – Adventures in Creativity

Check out this “New to me” podcast – Creative Mom

My new coffee pot

This is the cutting board my son made me.

I canned my Jalapenos.

Here is my harvest

What they looked like while they were soaking

What they looked like before processing

After processing – see how much the water reduced.

How AWESOME is this! 

Remember a few episodes ago, I featured a quilt by Cherry that was done during Annie Smith’s Quilting Stash Classroom.  Well Annie has just emailed me and gave me a FREE seat at her next class.  I can’t participate, so I am going to GIVE IT AWAY to one of you.

The class is called “Quilting Making 101″ and begins on October 2nd.  It is an eleven week class where you will be making a sampler quilt.  This is exactly like my first quilting class – straight out of my quilting bible “Quilts, Quilts, Quilts!” – see the book store and my completed projects.  You can use your stash to make this quilt, buy new fabric or buy a kit.

With the Quilt Making 101 Sampler quilt, you will learn:

• Expert fabric selection
• The basics of quilt block layout and design
• Butted-seams for perfect joining
• 9-patch block making, assembly line style
• Sewing curves
• Basic hand appliqué
• Simple Y-seam construction
• Borders, sashing, and binding
• Basic hand quilting technique

How to Enter:

I will choose one listener/reader at random from everyone who has started a new thread on the discussion board.  To use the discussion board, click on the “login” or “register” button at the top of the screen.  Once you are registered and signed in, click on the discussion board, choose a topic, and start a thread.  (a thread is usually a question).

The winner will be chosen Saturday, September 26th after 7pm.  So have your threads started before then.

Good Luck, Everyone

Oh, Yeah – One more thing.  The winner will be required to send us PICTURES!!!!  lol

Thank you to everyone who has been visiting the site and leaving comments.  I especally want to thank everyone who took the time to register and use the new Discussion Board.

Check out Darla’s latest project.  She recently took an applique class.  Can you believe she did all of this in 4 WEEKS!!!  It would have taken me more than twice as long.  Plus the work is so beautiful.  Look at her prep work as well.  I guess taking the extra time to prep really does pay off.  Please leave a comment about Darla’s quilt – I am sure she would like you opinion.

I finished my first knitting project – a scarf.  This is Morgan modeling it for me.

The idea of this project was to learn to knit and get more confidence with my knit and purl stitches.  I think I accomplished that – check out the beginning and end of the scarf; I really improved by the end.

I have been listening to the Quilt Study podcasts at work – here is the link

I am planning on going to Quilt Fest Jacksonville on September 26th.  Anyone else going?

Topic of the Week – How to Quilt by Hand

Listen to the podcast for all the details.  Here are the basic step-by-step instructions.

How to Start

1.  Knot in thread
2. Start away from your starting point
3. Go in through the top, but not through the bottom.  Travel needle through batting
4. Come up at starting point
5. Pull until the knot “pops” through the top layer and into the bottom layer
6. Don’t pull so hard it comes through your starting point.

The Running Stitch, using the Rocking Motion

1. Needle vertical down into the quilt, using the middle finger
2. Lay needle flat with the pointing in the direction of the stitch.
3. Push up, from underneath with the middle finger of the opposing hand
4. At the same time, pinch the fabric with your top hand with your middle finger and thumb.
5. Thumb should be to the inside of the stitch so you don’t poke your self
6. Return the needle to a vertical position and repeat

How to end

1. Make another knot in the thread, with it still attached and the needle still in place, similar to making a French knot in embroidery
2. Don’t go back into fabric, pull the needle through so the knot is a little ways off the quilt top.
3. Put the needle back through the same hole you just came through and travel it through the batting
4. Come up a little ways away
5. Pull on the tread until the knot “pops” through the top layer of fabric.
6. Cut the thread close to the top of the quilt