Fold-Up Purse Bag

I saw this awesome bag re-posted on a blog I read and decided I would make some for the ladies in the office at work as their "welcome back" gesture of thoughtfulness.
The original tutorial is here. I made a few alterations - I'll post them maybe tomorrow. I bought this fabric in Pennsylvania.

Hunter's Star - Half Pieced

My Hunter's Star is half pieced. I'm always amazed at how fast it goes together once the blocks are all sewn. This will be big! There are 3 seams left to sew on this half but I'm holding off on those because I can store it better in 3 pieces.

I need to do all the cutting again for the other half of this quilt.
I'm taking a quick break from this quilt and sewing up some small things. Stay tuned...

Remain Calm

photo source: http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-get-the-seam-ripper-2/

I forgot to adjust my needle position - 13 squared needed ripping and re-sewing:

And yes, I did swear when I realized my seams were too big.

I'm going to try a series - Tips, Tools, Techniques Tuesday

There are a lot of self taught sewers and quilters out there. I'm sort of one of them - my grandmother taught me to sew when I was somewhere between 5 and 7. She sewed everything, including all our clothes when we were kids and a lot of her own clothes. She taught me a lot of things. Then I got disinterested in sewing for a while - my projects wouldn't work out and I couldn't find help - Grandma didn't live very close. By the time I was interested again, I realized I'd maxed out Grandma's knowledge and she didn't have much eyesight left either. When I started quilting, it was not as popular as it is today. Classes were hard to find and I work during the day so weekend classes were sometimes even harder. I taught myself a lot before the internet too.
I thought I'd create a little series to share some of the things I've learned along the way on my sewing journey. I sew a lot of different things - quilts, custom bras, drapes, pillows, gifts, and I do some alterations. My clothing knowledge has largely fallen by the way-side, except for my nieces - for myself, I can't fit myself and I don't know any other clothing sewers to help me out.

What I'll do for the series is document some of the tools I own and share some tips and techniques I've picked up along the way. I'm not getting paid for this, just so you know. And I already have a few things in mind that I'm not happy with and I'll tell you about those too. I'm not an expert, but I'm  experienced - this series will show you how I do things, which doesn't mean it's the only way. Use what works for you.

I have to recommend a book called Heirloom Machine Quilting by Harriet Hargrave - you can find it here. This book revolutionized my accuracy in cutting, pinning, and sewing.

Let's start with pins.

There are lots of different types of pins - one for every sewing job. I'm going to deal with what I own and how I use them.

For piecing quilts, I use my Clover super fine pins. I also use them for sewing fabric that is prone to pulling, like knits.

These little guys are fine - which  means kind of delicate. And they have blue or yellow glass heads so they can withstand the heat of the iron if needed.

Pros: the are fine and don't damage fabric; you get better accuracy in pinning; they are sharp, heat resistant

Cons: they are expensive and sometimes hard to find; they can only be used in more delicate fabrics like quilters cotton (they won't go through more than 1 layer of denim); they can break/bend easily if you sew over them:

I use them bent until they are too bent to be useful. If you want to buy them try a specialty sewing store, not a chain. I got mine at Triangle Sewing. Be careful if you sew over them - if you hit them in the sweet spot they will bend right in half and get lodged in your bobbin casing, which can damage your bobbin or throw off the timing in your machine.

Other types of pins that work well for piecing are ones that are more narrow/fine - silk pins work too.

For heavier material, like twills or denim or other heavier weaves, I use my flower head pins or my straight pins. I use the flower head pins for large pieces, like drapes, or if I really need to be able to see the pins. I often trace out quilting designs on tracing paper and sew over them, rather than mark the quilt, and I use these pins to pin on the quilting design.

Flower head pins:
Pros: fairly cheap, easy to find, long, medium thickness
Cons: they can get burrs on them, the heads are plastic so don't withstand heat, they are not always sharp

Straight pins:

these could be lace pins - I don't remember

Pros: you can find them almost anywhere; they can be too thick for delicate fabrics
Cons: they are a bit short, not always sharp enough

My last set of pins are for hand applique. I don't do much hand applique but I've found these little guys to be useful.

sorry it's blurry - the camera (or me) can't focus on them

Pros: small for small applique; usually sharp enough
Cons: you can catch the thread on them; sometimes the applique will shift if you don't pin well.

How to pin

Basically, you pin where you are sewing. How far apart the pins are depends on the size of the fabric - little pieces = pins close together; big pieces = pins farther apart; I also pin at intersections and thick, multi-layered bulky intersections; you should put the pins where you feel most comfortable - if they are too close together you'll figure it out because you might warp your fabric in the seam. Also, the longer pins I pin farther from the edge.

I don't double pin like this on a straight piece of fabric - it's for photographic effect. Notice that both sets of pins are about equal distance apart and that the flower head pins are farther away from the fabric edge. Both sets are far enough to the right so that they will fit under my presser foot (I usually sew over the pins - more on that in another post). Notice that the pins are perpendicular to the edge of my fabric - not on an angle. Being crooked gives you wonky seams = less accuracy.

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I'll do my best to answer you.
Next week: pinning for matching points





Shopping Vacation - Successful

I've recently returned from a few day vacation in the US, Pennsylvania specifically. I went to get some R & R, but also to shop at the outlets and hit some quilt stores. I hit 2 quilt shops and a Joann's. The big quilt shop I wanted was closed for the week for vacation - oh well, another trip is in order. I was looking for things I couldn't find at home or things for a great price.

Okay, this I bought in Canada in Fonthill at the Quilt Bee - it will make a modern dresden plate for my cousin's little girl.

These will make fold up bags for your purse for the ladies in the office at work. The middle is the top/handles, and the outside fabrics the bottom of the bags.

More fabric for fold up bags - base on the left, handles on the right.

More fold up bags - base on right, handles on left.

This I will use for a fold up bag for myself - middle is the base. My friend L loves this line - Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket - I didn't feel much for it until I saw it in person - I might be in love too! This was all they had at the store though.

Another bag - right is the base, solid is the top.

 A book from Joann's. On sale too!

Another book - also on sale - a different cousin from the hunter's star quilt wants either a bargello or vortex quilt for a wedding quilt.

An 8" dresden plate ruler - I hunted all over for one at home and found a 5" finally - this one will be more versatile.

Buttons for the bags - on sale!

Some batting to try out - on sale.

More batting to try out - on sale.

I'll post the bags when they're in progress/finished.

Hunter's Star - Which Layout?

This is part of a Hunter's Star I've pieced for my cousin. She now has to decide on the layout. I'm partial to A or B myself. It will end up to fit a queen size bed.

Option A - traditional layout

Option B - not so traditional

Option C - totally random

I know how I'd quilt B, not sure of A or C.
Hop on over to Patchwork Times to see what everyone else is up to.

What I've Been Up To

Today I cut all these triangles and sewed the pile that's sewn. I hope it's half a quilt.

the pile is about 3" tall in total.

And I've been knitting a scarf - for decorative purposes, not warmth. This is the yarn I bought while shop hopping with friends in mid-July.

And the bunny is eating the green apples in the backyard.