Sunday, March 24, 2013

Pink Spiderweb

I really really really like spiderweb quilts.  This one was fun to do because the colors were so bright.  Managed to finish the binding while watching the KU / North Carolina game.  Go Hawks!!!

Pink Spider

I normally use pantographs to quilt with.  This time I decided to stand on the front of the machine and really try not to freak out.  I did and I'm pretty pleased with my results.

Pink Spider

Pink Spider

I've been using the template and paper that I bought from Missouri Quilt Co.  The template is great for cutting the crazy shape.  The paper comes off very easy when ready to sew the blocks together.

Can't wait to get started on another one.


When it Snows...Dye

I think that this winter has been the one with the most snow, well at least for the last 3 or 4 years.

I decided the last big snow to do some snow dyeing.  Always intrigued, this time I was persuaded to gather up the supplies and give it a go.

I used these instructions.

We have some old screens from when we moved in to our house.  I used one of those and put it on top of an under the bed sweater box that has a hole.  Made sure to put the whole  over the drain on the basement floor.

There is fabric under all that snow.
Snow on fabric. Getting ready to dye.  #snowkc2013

I guess you could call this a parfait.  Red, Blue, Yellow and Green

Dye on the snow.  We shall see how this works.  #snowkc2013

Melting away  - Must be patient and let the snow melt.

Melting slowly. Can't wait to see what we end up with. I still have a good 10 yards of fabric that could be dyed.  #snowkc2013

Here are some of the first pieces from the parfait.

Fabric piece two. Snow dyeing experiment.

multifirstbatch

I had so much fun, I did a second batch and just used Red and Yellow.  One piece was only red.  One piece was red with some yellow.  One piece was yellow with some red and then a final piece that's all yellow.

red

Red with some yellow
red-yellow

Yellow with some red
yellow-red

Today's creation, blue, blue with some green and green.

Today's snow dyeing is green and blue.

Can't wait to see what the blue looks like.  Hopefully it will be as pretty as the red and yellows.

Over the holidays when Joann's was offering 50% off regular priced fabric, I was stocking up on Kona cottons.  They also carry a Kona Prepared for Dyeing Cotton and I think I bought about 15 yards.

Have a great day!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Spiderweb - Finished

Another finish for 2013.  This little quilt went to it's new home this morning.  I couldn't have been more excited to give it a baby.  She loved the bright colors.  Not only are the blocks scraps, the binding was scraps and scrap batting.  I think I like my use it up theory.

Spiderweb Finished

I embroidered her name in the bottom of the quilt to make it even more special.

This is another spiderweb that is almost finished.  A fat cat decided it was more fun to hide under than sit on top of.  I was trying to hand sew the binding.  Didn't get very far.

Sissy Hiding

Have a great day!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Another Top

I finished up another quilt top.

Dick and Jane Jelly Roll Quilt

The pattern was created by Andrea at Millions of Thoughts.  It's been in the works for a long time.  I finally forced myself to finish it.  I used Dick & Jane fabric and a shade of blue from Moda.  Hopefully I can get it quilted this week when I take a couple days off for Spring Break.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Who Knew????

Seriously, who knew that 9 year olds were so stinking smart????? Apparently I wasn't aware until mine helped me out by saying one simple thing last night - Youtube.

I was having a serious issue with my quilting machine on Monday night. Not sure what I did, but I managed to mess the tension up pretty bad.  Well I do know what I did, I decided to use different thread than what I normally use.  There is so much out there in terms of thread that I've pretty much decided I need to step out of my box and give some of them a try, which then means adjusting the tension on the machine.

So at dinner last night I told the munchkin I was going to the girl cave after we got done to see if I could figure out how to adjust the tension CORRECTLY on my machine. In typical fashion she announced, just look on Youtube mom, there's a video for everything. She couldn't have been more correct.

I found this video by Jamie Wallen on adjusting tension. Thank you Jamie, you are the solution to every problem I've created on my machine. Take a look and listen. Makes perfect sense.



Just remember the infamous words of a very smart 9 year old - There's a video for everything. (and probably some things you don't really want to see videos of)

Happy stitching.