I finally finished the first sock of the Snicket Socks I am making for my Sister.  I am still unsure about the size.  They fit me perfectly, but I am pretty sure my sister’s feet are bigger.  Hopefully, they will stretch for her.

I am entering the home stretch.  The Gator quilt is finally ready to quilt.

This quilt is being made without batting; just the quilt top and the fleece backing.  Sandwiching it was not fun and very hard to get flat.  When I am doing this, I generally use my hands and do a lot of flattening and smoothing out.  I do this with spray baste.  However, with the Gator quilt, I was afraid that if I ran my hands of the quilt top too much, my chalked quilt markings would be rubbed out.  So then I tried to do this with the quilt top on the bottom and laid the fleece on top – DISASTER!  Everything was wrinkly.

The problems didn’t end there.  The backing is tight on size.  I only have about 2″ on the top and bottom to spare.  Twice I sandwiched it and couldn’t get the fabric centered and ran out at the ends.  About 1 1/2 hours later (did I say I was doing this in the garage in the heat), I got it together, but it wasn’t perfect.  The top was smooth and flat – the quilt marks stayed perfectly – but this is what the back looked like:

I think the fleece got stretched out at some point.  So what I did was move this wrinkle slowly – remember is was spray basted – and little by little it moved to the edges.  It was kind of like moving an air bubble when you put on a screen protector.  In the end all turned out well.

I can’t brag about Morgan without talking about Dustin.  It wouldn’t be fair and I can’t love one more than the other.  You know what I am saying.

Anyway – as proud as I am of Morgan, I am 100 times prouder of my son.  This has been a great year with him.  He is finally “getting it” and working harder in school and has a goal.  He ended the year with all A’s and B’s – this is first since 2nd grade.

Those of you following the podcast understand the struggles I have had with Dustin.  I feel bad complaining at time because I know my problems could be so much worse.  We have never had behavior issues and most teachers enjoy having him in their class.  In the past it was because he was quiet and kept to himself.  We never had a problem with test scores – he has always tested well above his grade level.  Our problem has always been that he refused to do any class work or home work.  And, what he did do, he wouldn’t turn in.

We tried everything.  Every suggestion.  Punishment. Reward.  Nothing got through to him.  The school was very little help because he was maintaining a “C” and never got in trouble – they could care less and never returned my calls or emails.

But this year, his Sophomore year, something was different.  He did all his work and never missed an assignment.  His teachers raved that he actually participated in class – raising his hand several times.  The school added a way for me to monitor his progress online – even daily if I wanted.  Dustin was grounded the entire school year for getting and F in Algebra; but we allowed him to earn days off grounding by doing A or B assignments.  And it worked!  Basically he was never grounded and I put a foot down to any missing assignment (failing an assignment was better than not turning it in).

He is now working on getting an academic scholarship to a Florida University!  He will need practically straight A’s this year to make up for the screw up in the Freshman year – but he wants to work toward it.  Can you believe it?!  Two years ago I was loosing hope.

What is even better is the man he is turning into.  He is kind, thoughtful, a leader who does his own thing, he is smart and has a great mind of his own.  I am so lucky to be his mother.

One parental belief I have is to let your children be themselves.  Let them find their own way and you just worry about the core values and point them in the right direction.  That brings me to his hair.

Today, I finally finished marking the quilting on the entire Gator Quilt.  I ended up using a combination of two marking tools.

• Bohin chalk pencil for the orange and blue sections
• Quilter’s Silver Marking Pencil for the white areas

I marked the quilt before I sandwiched it because I wanted to quilt it in the “Gators”  and “University of Florida” logos.  So I used a light box to help with the marking.

The marking wasn’t difficult, it just took a while.  I have decided that marking the quilting is my LEAST favorite part of the process.  And it was making my neck hurt and gave me headaches looking down and tracing.

But I will soon be at my FAVORITE part – the machine quilting!

Here are some more pics – hopefully you can see the marking.  I am off to go sandwich it.

You hear my voice, you see my picture – have you ever wanted to put the two together?  Well check this out http://igg.me/p/34076?a=189606&i=shlk and you can see me in action.  Be sure to look at the Gallery Video as well as the main one.

The hair will be cut off and donated soon.  This might be your last chance.

A few month ago my 17 year old niece had a baby (don’t get me started on that). As a baby gift, I made her a few pairs of baby booties (sorry, I didn’t take pictures).

Crocheting the booties made me realize how much I enjoy crocheting with thread. I could have sat there for hours making booty after booty. At one point the thought crossed my mine to make an inventory of them to have on hand or sell.

While I was obsessed, I pulled out my old crochet patterns. Morgan couldn’t get enough of them. She immediately asked for a doily – a blue one. Luckily I had some blue bedspread thread.

My obsession only lasted a week or two. This is now in the pile of unfinished projects. I am sure, one day soon, Morgan will remember it and bug me to finish it.

Do my pictures seem any better to you? I think so, I know they are brighter.

It is all thanks to my wonderful husband. Look at what I got for Mother’s Day:

It is so AWESOME!!! it is a Nikon 3100 DSLR. The pictures are brighter, clearer, and it shoots super quick.

I was so tired of looking at everyone else’s pictures and seeing how good they looked. While mine were dark and blurry. If you are on the fence on getting a fancy camera – I say “go for it”. For me – it has been worth every penny. There is nothing better than hitting the button and the picture being taken instantly instead of 2 seconds after the action.

Have you seen these pens for sale at your local quilt shop?

Well the first time I saw them and saw them demonstrated, my mouth dropped open and I had to have them. I didn’t care about the price.

What they are is a regular ink pen. They are made to write on paper. However the ink is erasable by friction.

So as with many other quilting notions, the community figured out that you can write on fabric with these babies. And because they erase by friction (friction creates heat), you can iron your markings and they disappear!

You heard right – mark your quilt with these and iron the markings away!

My quilt shop even bragged that it leaves nothing behind like those brown marks water soluble markers leave.

But not so fast

I brought them home and was curious about what I read on the back “If pen is exposed to temperature that reached 140 degrees F, the ink will be colorless when writing. To restore color, cool to at least 14 degrees F in freezer and the ink will again write in color.” What does this mean?

• Colorless does not mean gone
• Will the color come back?

So, I put it to the test. I wrote on some fabric and ironed it. Sure enough the color was gone. But when you looked closely you could see the ink residue. I threw the sample into the freezer. In a matter of a few seconds the color was back. This was not good.

I know what you are thinking “You’re not going to put your quilt in the freezer!” But you may use it in the cold – Isn’t there the chance you would snuggle up out int he cold with your quilt. So the sample went into the refrigerator – and the marks came back; not as dark, but definitely visible.

Word of Caution

I know that many quilt shops are selling these pens. It was something going around the latest Quilt Market. But I also know that many of them don’t know the limitations – even though it is stated on the package. So be aware. I wouldn’t mark my quilt top with them. But I may use them to mark applique or to mark the back of my fabric if the need arises.

Dear Friends,

I am writing to tell you about something I am very excited about.  A new great website for quilters and fabric crafters; ‘www.SeamedUP.com’!  The site is still in development, but when it is finished is will be a one stop site for sewing, fabric crafting and quilting.  It combines shopping, browsing, learning, friendship, and community all in one.  Best of all, it is FREE to join and you can sign up now even though they are still working on it!

Websites like this are a great asset to the craft, but it takes a lot to put it all together.  The SeamedUP.com team is made up of only two girls and they can really use our help.  They are currently running a fundraising campaign to keep the site up while they are working on it.  Doing this allows them to test it and get feedback from its members.  One of my favorite things about SeamedUP.com is that they listen to member’s suggestions and members can really help mold the site into what we want it to be.  But to continue to do this, they need money to upgrade their servers.

The link below will take you to their Indie GoGo fundraising campaign.  Please take the time to visit it, watch the video and read their mission.

http://www.indiegogo.com/SeamedUPcom?a=189606&i=emal

There are many ways you can support this project.  You can donate money, share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Google +, blog about it, add their button to your website, blog or email, leave a comment on the fundraising page, and add it to your Indie GoGo favorites.  I hope you choose to do all of these, but I am asking you to do at least one thing for me:

Copy this letter and send it to everyone on your email list

The more people that know about this great idea, the better the chance we will have to use it.

Share it!  Together we can make SeamedUP Happen!

I have decided that Little Brown Bird by Margart Docherty will be my next applique project.

After my magazine review podcast I heard from Errin telling me all about this pattern and where I can buy the CD.  I immediately ordered it, but when it came it, I knew that I would need more than just the printout of the pattern to complete such a difficult quilt.

The book is currently out of print – but a used copy was finally affordable on amazon.  Look what came in this week!

I am super excited to get started.  But you know me – I don’t stash – I am I going to need about 50 fat quarters to complete this one.  Plus background and border fabrics.  For now, I am slowly collecting everything that I need.  I guess in the meantime I will try to finish all my other hand projects I started that are sitting around.

This is the progress I have made on the Yoga Wrap Sweater I started quite a while ago.

Those are the arm holes. On the right side I am almost done – it has to be as wide as the left side. Then I will still have to knit the two sleeves.

Remember this is all stockinette stitch. I has become my travel project. I end up only working on it when I am in the car (as a passenger), at the movies or watching a movie at home. After tearing out 15+ rows that were stitched wrong while watching the new Transformers movie – I may not stitch in the movie theater anymore.

All the yarn is purchased – it would be really great if I can finish this before it gets cold.

I never really name my quilts, but when I was entering this project into my sewing room on SeamedUP.com I came up with “Wee are Twisted”. Because it is made with the Wee Play collection by American Jane and it is the Strip Twist pattern.

Here is the progress so far:

I really like it – I just thought it needed a border. Something that was not too busy. So I did some searching and found a great pieced border that looks like a curling ribbon. The idea is to surround this border with the red fabric used in the background of the ribbon. I think it will anchor the busy look of the pattern.

Of course – this one has to sit aside until the Gator Quilt is done.

The question I am asked most often on this blog and in my emails is “How is Morgan?”

So I figured today, I would give you an update.  She is still smart as ever, always happy, enjoying her summer vacation, and drives me crazy everyday.  Yes, I could end here – but here are some details.

The school year ended great.  Morgan won awards every quarter and her teachers just rave about her.  All her scores for the entire year were the best they could possibly be.  Her gifted teacher said “Morgan more than met the challenge of being the youngest student in the class” and she scored the highest grade possible.

The fact that she is smart is wonderful, but what I am more proud of, is her behavior.  Those of you with little ones understand the daily behavior reports teachers send home.  For the entire school year, she never once scored below the top level.  She is really a great kid to be around.

That is of course, when she is quiet.  The girl never stops talking. NEVER!  I know this will be a good thing as she grows up, but right now it makes me feel like a terrible mom; because I am constantly saying “please stop talking!!” (well, sometimes in those words, and sometimes a little nicer).  And she has started talking so low – like she doesn’t understand that her talking too much is not the volume it is the quantity.  When she is not talking, and sometimes when she is, she is bouncing, jumping, dancing, moving – I get dizzy when she is around me.  It wears me out.

She did venture off to Girl Scout camp for a day this year.  This is something she earned for selling so many cookies for her troop.  She was very nervous about camp, but loved it and next year plans on going to the overnight camp.  I have to say that Girl Scouts is one of the best organizations I have dealt with and we are looking forward to many more years of participation.

One thing I did not like about Girl Scout camp was the infestation of head lice Morgan ended up with a month later.  Of course, I do not know if it was camp that did it; be she was so infested everything I read said she had to have them for 30 days or more.  Count back 5 weeks and she was at camp.

So we went on a week long vacation to Florida (yes, I live in Florida – we only went 80 miles down the road) and took the kids to several theme parks; Universal, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens.  The following week, I went to Mobile, Alabama for a conference for work.  Two days into the conference I get the call from Rick – Morgan has Lice!!!

That poor man always has to deal with bad stuff when I am out of town.  So he did the first treatment.  I got home a few days later and found more live creepy crawlies and did another treatment.  We combed her hair for hours every other day. And a week later we did a follow up treatment.  During this time, I was reading everything I could and found a ton of info about non-toxic treatments.  Of course I understood why people would want non-toxic (chemicals and all around your kid), but I just wanted them dead.

About a week later I found out why non-toxic would have been a better choice – Morgan’s hair was destroyed.  It was breaking off to the touch and her scalp was in terrible shape.  In the picture above she has lost about 3 inches and before school we will cut off another 3-4 inches.  It is split, knotting and just dried up.  I have been doing intense conditioning treatments and her scalp is getting better.  I am hoping by the time school starts the flakiness has stopped.

So there is the long and the short of it.  It is summer vacation right now; I don’t send her away anywhere, she stays home with her dad and brother playing with her toys.  She goes back to school in 2 weeks.  I am hoping for a teacher that gives her more homework and makes her write more.  She is a great writer and her 1st grade teacher didn’t assign very much.

Have you ever seen the movie “Lemeny Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events”? This is one of my sons favorite book series. Probably the only books he ever read because he wanted too.

When my sister asked for a pair of socks, I went looking for a pattern and came across the Snicket Socks on Ravelry. I picked out the perfect yarn – it will match her work uniform perfectly.

I have started these socks and torn them out about 10 times. I am on my third set of DPNs. OH – this is sock #1, I haven’t ever started sock #2.

I have been plagued with dropped stitches, broken needles, and major sizing issues. But I think I am finally past it. This was my first attempt at a cable pattern.

I have finally started working on the Gator quilt again. I have been really nervous about messing it up in the quilting stage. But now that football season is starting in a matter of weeks I have renewed energy to finish it.

Here is sits on my sewing table turned into a lightbox. I am marking the quilting using a lightbox because the pattern I am using is from computer printouts. Once it is all marked, I will sandwich it.

I found several Gator logos on the internet. I saved the images, converted them to black and white, enlarged them and printed them out. After doing some sample quilting – see below – I decided it would be better if the words were legible on the back of the quilt. I figure you won’t see them too clearly on the front with all the busy fabric. So, I turned the printout over and traced the outline on the back. This is what I am copying onto the front of the quilt.

I will not use batting when I sandwich the quilt. I did two samples, one with and one without; Rick liked the one without better.

Over the last week, I have been reminded on my blog.  In one guess, I was “asked” to keep it updated.  Not in a mean or negative way – just a gentle reminder that some on my loyal followers use their Kindle to read my blog.  Another person mentioned the traffic that my blog gets.  I hadn’t check it in a while and was shocked that 300-400 people visit me every day.  OK – now I am feeling guilty.

So, in response, I am going to make a real effort to keep in touch.  Starting today.  This week, I will have several posts to update you on what I have been doing.  I still live by my motto of  ”crafting everyday”.  Even though SeamedUP has been keeping me busy, I still make an effort to do a little something everyday.

I will also be updating the site this week.  You will no longer see the discussion page because that is happening over at SeamedUP.com in the forums (very active by the way).  I am also going to remove my quilt and knitting projects – because you can see those on Ravelry and SeamedUP.  I am also getting rid of the question of the week – at lease for now.  I never keep it updated anyway.

As for podcasting – I can’t give you an answer.  The last time I posted was April 8th.  I actually recorded another one a week later – but never posted it.  So, for now, let’s take this one step at a time.  My focus right now will be blogging regularly.

Wish my luck – I really hope I succeed at this.  I do love this blog.

This was recorded over a week ago, took me a bit to get it posted.

No show notes this week.  Just me chatting and some tips from some old magazines.

Enjoy!!

Well, we are at 9 times in the shop and counting.  Remember – it has only been 18 months since the first repair.

This past weekend I was stitching away and the dreaded noise happened again.  The bobbin case spun and pressed against the top of holder.  I stopped as quick as I could.  When I opened it up, the case was in good shape.  I could find nothing wrong that would have caused the jam this time.  I checked the threading of the machine and everything was in place.

So, I put everything back together, re-threaded and started again.

IT ONLY SEWED IN REVERSE!!!  But only for 15 stitches or so and stopped.

I re-threaded it – only because the computer screen told me too.  the machine was threaded fine.

But then, the feed dogs stopped working.  They now go up and down, but not forward or reverse.

So, I am off to the dealer again…….UGH!!!

Check out the amazing gift I got from my Mom!

This is the sewing machine I grew up on.  It is 33 years old and has only been in the shop one time for repairs.  I have always wanted it, but when I got my junker Janome I figured she should find a better home for it.  It was going to go to my niece, but this thing is a BEAST; to heavy to ship cheaply and it can’t be airplane carry on.  I can barely lift it, it is so heavy.  Rick was even shocked by the weight.

So, I was at her house a few weeks ago and she said “Are you sure you don’t want it….”

I couldn’t resist. Of course she thinks I will save it for Morgan.  But who knows.  Last night, I finally pulled it out and got a good look at it.  I was SHOCKED at the features this baby has.

• 32 different decorative stitches
• Needle up/down positions
• Feed dog up/down positions
• Super fast speed
• Stitch through layers of denim like Butter!

The only downsides I have found so far is the tension is not automatic and I am not good with tension.  It is a bit noise.  And, the harp area is too small for machine quilting.

I finally finished the quilting on my disappearing 9-patch. I was putting it off because I was down to just the decorative swirly’s on the border. For each one I had to start and stop quilting. They were not connected or continuous.

But I sat down and got into a rhythm and finished them all. I didn’t stop there. I made the binding and sewed it on right away. I even made little hanger triangles for the corners. Now I am down to the hand sewing of the binding.

Yeah!!! It may be done this week.

This week I caught you up on what I have been up to and discussed what I am learning in my monthly quilting class – Hot Ribbon Applique.

So here is the process:

This is everything that came in my first month’s kit: a picture of the block, the pattern, pattern instructions, fabric, Steam a Seam, hot ribbon, a green Copic marker and a Copic colorless blender.

The first step is to trace the pattern pieces onto the Steam a Seam.  This pattern came with the pieces already in reverse.

I didn’t take pictures of the next step.  But you press the Steam a Seam onto the back of the fabric and cut out the pieces.

Next lay down the pattern on your pressing mat or ironing board.  Place an applique pressing sheet over it.  Notice how you can see the pattern through the pressing sheet.

Then place you cut out pieces in the right spot.  Be sure to overlay them about 1/8 of an inch.  Press. Let cool and peel off the pressing sheet.  It is almost like a giant sticker!

Press the applique piece onto your background.  If you want to machine embroider on the block, this is when I suggest you do it.

Here are the supplies to finish up: a mini iron set on the low setting, tiny scissors, and the Copic markers to add shading.

This is how you apply the ribbon.  It is important that you press and don’t push the ribbon around.  The ribbon has a glue on the back that will adhere to the fabric once it is heated.  You can lift it and reposition if needed, but try not to do that too much.

Cover all your raw edges with the ribbon and Viola!  Beautiful!  Shade with the Copic markers as desired using the patten picture as a guide.  You can’t see it here but I shaded the white with a bit of the green.

I have all twelve strip twist quilt blocks done and pressed.  Next step – assemble my quilt top!!!!

These are my first three blocks from my Hot Ribbon Block of the Month I am doing at the local quilt shop.  The pattern is from the Dutch Quilter and it is a no-sew applique.  The shading is done using fabric markers.  The snowdrops were my first and the daffodill was my last; you can see how I am getting better at that shading.

I will talk about the process of doing Hot Ribbon on the next podcast.

Here are some close ups.

I have 6 of the strip twist blocks finished.  This is what they will look like next to each other.  I was worried about the fabric choice, but now I think it will look pretty good.  I will probably use this as a throw for me.

Frolic finished.  Here are the pics!

Thanks for sticking around and putting up with all me delays.  In this episode I will catch you up on how I have been doing and all the crafty stuff I have finished or I am working on.  I did not take notes, so I am sure I will miss some things in these show notes.

I will post pictures of Frolic later this week.  It would be too much to add to this.

I recorded a little differently this week.  Leave a comment and let me know if it is totally unbearable or if it will work in a pinch.  Things have been hectic at home and finding time alone to record at the house has been impossible.

Here are some pics of some of the things I talked about:

chalk marking pencil I got for Christmas

machine quilting I am working on in the border

3 hardanger coasters done - 1 to go!

Rick's Socks

Morgan's Scarf

Every week I think about recording a podcast.  I have plenty to say and topics to discuss.  But I can never find the time.  And, when I do have the time – the whole family is around making too much noise.

So, Monday, I had to work a night shift.  Since I wasn’t around Rick decided to take Dustin fishing for the night and dropped Morgan off at Grandmas.  I got home just before 10pm to a completely quit house.  This is the perfect scenario, right?

Well, when things are that perfect, something is bound to go wrong.  I started recording and the playback was HORRIBLE.  Something was wrong with my recording software.  I sounded like a computer.

Yes, I did fix it, but by the time it was fixed it was nearly 11:00.  Remember, I have to wake up early for work so it was a bust.

Better luck next time.  I am hoping to get something out soon.

I finished my miniature quilt.  It measures 17 1/2″ x 17 1/2″.  It is paper pieced, so now I just have to tear out all the little pieces of paper.  UGH!!

I am being over run with my UFOs.  I know, I know, it is a sign of a true quilter to have so many projects started; but it goes against my natural instincts.  I am the person who finished every bit of toothpaste in the tube, the one who reads the book she hates just because she started it, the one who will finish the skirt I cut out when I was two sizes smaller.

I can’t handle this…. it is driving me nuts…..I am starting to shake with nervous tension.

I spent the past two days trying to work on these and I did make a good dent in it.  And I do realize it is probably not half as bad as some of my reading audience.  But this is what I have:

1. One quilt with only a little quilting left to do and the binding
2. One quilt top done with the backing ready to piece and sandwich
3. One miniature quilt top done; need to remove the paper and who knows how I will back it
4. One miniature quilt sandwiched waiting to be hand quilted
5. Supplies purchased for a yo-yo cat
6. Supplies purchased for a wool table runner
7. One pair of socks on the needles
8. One large sweater on the needles
9. three out of four hardanger coasters completed – one to go.
10. two chalkboards to make

And I am sure, if I look under my sewing table, I will find more.

Well, Rick has asked me to stop spending money for the next few months.  I guess I am all set anyway.

A few weeks ago, in a tiny bit of a fit, I started a new miniature quilt.  I was working to finish Rick’s gator quilt, and then Rick pulled out the gator blanket he bought at Wal-Mart and that did it.  He didn’t deserve for me to finish his quilt so I started something new.  I know, it is a bit toddler-ish, but I don’t care.

I had a paper piecing pattern for a feathered star surrounded by flying geese.  Today, I finished the flying geese strips.  It wasn’t hard because it was paper pieced, but it was tedious.  Most days it wore on me and I would only do a few seams.  But it was all cut out and was basically taking over my sewing table.

to give you some prospective, here is a pic with a quarter.  They are about 1 1/2″ wide.

I just need to sew on these strips and the outside borders and I will be done.

My latest knitting project is a pair of socks for my sister.  I got the pattern off of Ravelry, of course.  They are called Snicket Socks because the design was inspired by the sleeves of the dress worn by Violet in Lemony Snicket.  (FYI – this is  a serious of young adult books that was made into a movie; Dustin loved reading this series)

So, here is how it is going so far.

This is my first time cabling and I will tell you that I do not like it.

This past Friday, I was at a knitting class during my lunch hour at work.  I was showing off my sock progress and complaining about cabling.  Another women showed me her cabling needles she picked up from KnitPicks.  They are as cute as pie.  And she is letting me try one out for the week.

I put it on an envelope so you can see the size of it.  It has these little grooves that grab the yarn.

So far, I still don’t like cabling but this little needle has made it easier.

I know. . . I have disappeared again.  Ok – Here’s the deal. . . .   Lots of you have praised me on how I get so much done with the little bit of time I have available.  But I think I have finally gotten to the point that I have overloaded myself.

Things at work have been crazy busy and I am months behind schedule.  In the past I would bring work home to make up, go in earlier, or work a weekend.  Can’t do that now due to massive sleep deprivation and the host of projects I have going on at home.

The holidays and family have added their own stresses lately.  My husband is absolutely wonderful and takes care of most of it for me, plus we went to Tennessee for Christmas so I didn’t have to plan for a get together at my house.  But, I had Frolic to finish for a gift, and had to sneak to finish his socks, plus plan how Santa was going to visit us in TN instead of FL.  I am a traditional shop and wrap until Christmas Eve type of person, but this year it had to be done early.  Rick also gets stressed this time of year and I have to deal with that; him waking up early and wanting to do things that throw my schedule totally out of balance.  Those husbands, love them but they can really mess things up.

SeamedUP and the problems we have had launching it has put a wrench in my gears too.

As with all labor’s of love, I have thought of this blog and podcast all the time.  And I am not going away, I just have to start over and work it back into my hectic schedule.  I am still crafting everyday and have lots of finished, started,  and on going projects to share. I love doing this, I just need to develop some better habits for posting.

So, last night at Morgan’s Girl Scout meeting, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to accomplish everything that I want to get done.  I am taking some tips from CraftyPod and I am going to start off by practicing to blog more – meaning that blogging is more important, and easier for me to fit in right now, than podcasting.  I am also going to tweet and Facebook more.  I don’t think I have been on there since October.  This is a priority because I am tired of the comments from my Mom.  She loves Facebook and is always saying “Did you see…..on Facebook?”, “I will post it on Facebook”….”Why haven’t you been on Facebook?”….OK, Mom, I am getting the hint.  She lives 5 miles away, but my life is so busy that FB makes us connect more often than is actually possible face to face.

I am not saying that I will not record, I am just saying that I will record when I can.  I am putting podcasting at the bottom of my to-do list right now.

Thanks for sticking with me and thanks for your patience.  Keep the comments and reviews coming, they help keep me motivated.

Brye Lynn

I wanted to give everyone who follows me an update on where we stand with the SeamedUP project.  The short story is that we have built a great site.  It does all the things we wanted as modern fabric crafters ourselves.  However, after some initial testing, we found out that we need to move to a much larger dedicated server to make the site work properly.  If only one or two people are on the site, it works beautifully.  But, that’s just not good enough.

If you want the long story of how we arrived at this place, please check out our new blog: http://seamedup.blogspot.com – it has all the background information on the site, and what we’re planning next.

As the team that gave birth to SeamedUP, we’ve come to the conclusion that we can’t raise this baby alone.  We need some loving aunts and uncles to help us.  That’s where you come in – we’re asking for your help.  If each person who reads this would donate just $10, we’ll be able to host the site for the next year.  Once we have reached the one year point – our plan is to be self-sufficient.   We’re confident that you’ll be happy with the end result.  In fact, if you don’t like the site when it’s launched, we’ll refund your donation.    Seriously, the blog will have a “refund” button where you can request your money back.

If you’d like to help, please visit our blog and make your donation today.  Just think of the bragging you can do when this little baby grows into a happy, successful adult.

Here is a little “taste” of what you can expect:

Search by Fabric Category

Patterns Dashboard Page

Not sure what to do? FLIT around

Today we talked about a few tips when machine quilting.  Not much for show notes, but here is the list I ran down.

1.       Create a flat surface around your machine

2.       Extend the flat surface to the back of your machine

3.       Sit up higher – ergonomics

4.       Good needle, I use a quilting needle and some use a denium needle

5.       Prep lots of bobbins before you get started

6.       Set you needle to the needle down position.

7.       Straight stitching use a walking foot

8.       Free motion use a darning foot

9.       Make your sewing surface slick – Supreme slider, furniture polish

10.   Use a type of grippy glove; depends on your surface and how well it slides around.

11.   Prepping the quilt – rolling it or stuffing it under

12.   Start in the middle and work your way out

13.   Do your straight stitching first

14.   Do stippling last – it will draw up the quilt more

15.   Quilt sashing in the same direction on all sides, prevents fabric shear or pulling of fabric

16.   Speed control – set your speed control but use your foot petal for more control.

17.   Take breaks – every hour to 90 minutes

18.   Clean you machine with every bobbin change, lots of lint

19.   Starting and stopping – do a couple of stitches in place to lock it in.

20.   Stop the machine to reposition your hands – do not walk your hands, it will show in your stitching.

Easy straight stitching designs:

1.       Vertical or horizontal lies

2.       Double lines

3.       Grids, straight or diagonal

4.       Outline the block

5.       Square spiral

Several people told me that they could not download episode 54 or that only the first half downloaded.  So here it is again, at least just the part about Why I will NEVER buy another Janome.

Morgan is sick ~ again! I know, it is never ending.

When I got home she drew me a picture of how her throat feels.  She is imagining a cut on her uvula or on her tonsils.  You know me, I went immediately to Google to help her out.  I googled images of a sore throat and after a bunch of clicking, I ended up on this page:

http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/sorethroat.html

This is a stuffed toy of strep bacteria!  They also have the common cold, flu, ear ache, stomach ache, white blood cells and much much more.  They are super cute and a neat way to teach about germs.

My next google search was to find an Etsy shop selling a handmade version.  Can you believe that no one on Etsy is selling anything like this!  Personally, I was surprised.  I know that handmade funky monsters are really popular right now.  I felt like germs would not be a far stretch to make.

I just wanted to share.  If you are looking to make something different sell on Etsy, this may be an idea.

Today, I tell you the ugly truth about my high-end sewing machine; Janome Memory Craft 11,000 Special Edition (MC11000 aka MC11000SE)

• In the shop 7 times within a year; needs to go back again.
• Bobbin case keeps turning and the needle goes through it. Dealer broke two bobbin cases trying to fix it then told me I threaded it wrong.
• Machine tells me the bobbin is empty when it’s not
• Machine rattles when I machine quilt; dealer says I have to use the blue dot case when Janome says it is not mandatory to use it.
• Dealer fixes on the spot and says there is nothing wrong with it.
• I had to argue, yell and fight with the dealer to get them to take it in and actually examine it thoroughly.
• Dealer will not listen to me when I bring it in, makes excuses for everything I say. Such as “I am using cheap thread” or “I shouldn’t have used the darning foot for machine quilting”.
• Dealer says all my problems are user error, but I say 7 times in the shop proves it is not user error.
• Dealer says Janome will not exchange it for another machine or another model of machine.
• Janome says the purchase of my machine is between me and dealer – they refuse to get involved or exchange.
• Janome says I can have my dealer ship it to them, but I will have to pay for all shipping and repair charges.
• I believe they sold me a refurbished machine without telling me.
• On an internet search I found page after page of complaints for this model; most of them include bobbin and bobbin case problems.

Here are some of the projects I completed recently.

Tooth Fairy Pillow:  Fairly embroidery pattern from www.emblibrary.com

“Tonight when its time to lay down in your bed, Put your tooth under your pillow where you rest your sweet head. may the Tooth Fairy bring you lots of money and your toothless days be bright and sunny.” – Not sure where I found this, on the internet somewhere.

Hardanger Coaster – 3 down, 1 to go!

Disappearing 9-patch wall hanging – quilting has begun!

Today we talked about naming your quilts, why name them, labeling your quilts, what info to put on the label and different ways to label them.

Check out this award winning quilt by Cherry.  Beautiful!!!!  I love the quilting.  Thank you so much for sharing this with us Cherry.  Don’t forget to comment and tell Cherry what you think.

Check out my latest project!!!

www.SeamedUP.com

• The quilting and fabric crafting website you have been waiting for.
• Made for quilters, by quilters
• Sign UP for UPdates.  We should be launching very soon and you want to be the first to know.

No show notes today.  Enjoy!

This episode I catch you up on what I have been up to and why I have been off the air for the last two months.

Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes, wondering where I was. I really appreciate everyone getting in touch.

Check out this beautiful black and white quilt that Cindy made. You know how much I love black and white quilts. This double wedding ring is spectacular. Not only do I love the use of solids along with a pattern, but the edges are amazing. I really need to try something like this out.

Amy Peterson from the Quilter’s Notebook won the Frolic patten – please send me you address.

The winner of the episode 50 raffle is Sue. Please send me your address.

The short story of where I have been is that I have had massive computer problems. Between work, family, and a separate project, i had very little time to do the work to fix my computer. It was so corrupted that I had to reformat it by hand!

Not much crafting happened during this time. I did finish the drunkards path quilt.

This is how I did my mitered binding

I made an iPad case using fused felt.

I promise next time that I will get back to the normal format and will have a scheduled topic. Talk to you soon.

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.