Sewing goodies other than masks again (thought not done with masks!)

I guess it's a good sign that mask sales are down! (Can't wait for the vaccine to be injected into my arm!). I did, however, donate 35 masks to a group of educators yesterday. I've been donating masks all along and this donation made me feel particularly proud. The teachers are still teaching in the classroom, even during the pandemic. We need to be safe and keep others safe. Are you sewing masks? 

Here's what I'm sewing these days:

My daughter has been asking for a stocking for her dog, who will be celebrating her first Christmas together this year. I drafted a pattern and made a prototype for her. It's a large bone shape on the back and 3/4 of a bone shape on the front. I have to revising to do to the pattern, but not bad for a first effort. I had all the fabrics on hand (the paw fabrics are from my mask making stash) and added the pre-quilted back and red/white stripe ribbon to add some Christmas flare. I like it and can't wait to try more.

I've been working on these particular placemats for a long, long time. I began making them some time ago and ran out of the corn fabric used for strips on the front. When I had some breathing room, I started searching for more of it. I finally found it at Colorado Creations Quilting. They were pretty marvelous to work with and are going to show these off in their newsletter. I sew 2" strips of denim end to end and wrap it into a roll, then it gets used in this kind of project. I love the way the denim colors flow together and add some contrast and upcycling at the same time. 

You can make strip quilted placemats with denim, corn fabric, or whatever you want using this tutorial I wrote way back when - PLACEMAT TUTORIAL

My newest thing is another baby quilt. I decided on a Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern because I wanted it to be hand sewn. I always have a hand sewing project going. It's not easy for me to watch TV without one! I found the rainbow color bandanna fabrics, had the center fabric, and the path that will be going around the flowers is a black bandanna fabric. I want the rainbow colors to stand out and I believe they will.

What are you sewing? I'll keep sewing masks until they're no longer needed. I've just about worn out my 8-1/2" ruler and rotary cutter, not to mention the cutting mat. I'll be glad to retire them all. Let's hope the vaccine does its thing. 

Merry Christmas to you all and as always, keep stitching!

Baby Balls Made with Pentagons (Tutorial in progress)

I'm newly obsessed with making balls for babies. I used to make them for my kids, but I used a sewing machine and now I'm hand sewing. The stitching is more precise with hand sewing and corners are tidier.

The method of sewing I'm using is English piecing. Basically, you have a paper pattern for the pentagon, the shape that is used for all pieces in the ball, for each piece of fabric. The fabric is basted onto the paper pattern, then the pieces are stitched together until there are 5 pentagons attached to the same central pentagon. When you have two sets of 6 total pentagons (the central one and the 5 attached to it), those two halves are attached to one another. (I'll add more about this as I construct the next one in line.) Leave open at least one seam so you can turn the ball right side out (this will make sense when I post pictures of construction), stuff it about halfway, add the sound maker (will add a photo of that too) in the center, and complete stuffing the ball. I stuff it tight, but not too tight; you want to leave enough play in the stuffing for baby's hand to be able to grab a part of it and maybe even shake it!

Color specific - brown

Black and white high contrast. 

Kid interest - Sponge Bob

I use a pentagon that I drafted. You can use pretty much any size bigger than 1". I would not go smaller than that. The side to measure is shown in the photo below. I use 2".

It's a pentagon (five sided) with each edge being 2". You can find pentagon patterns all over the internet or draw your own. There are 12 pentagons in each ball and they all have to be the same size.

I generally print off one page of templates and stack the printed page with some blank paper, then cut out a few at a time. That way I don't waste ink printing lots of pentagons. I like to cut through 4 pieces of paper at a time. Any more than that and the edges get a little off kilter. Remember, we're going to fold fabric directly on the paper pattern, so it's good to have it as precise as possible. 

After a few sessions of cutting, I have a bunch of pentagons ready to use when I'm ready to pick out some fabric and get going. 

The first step to sewing is to pin a pattern piece to a piece of fabric! I put down the paper and then cut at least 1/4" around the paper in order to have fabric to fold. Choose an interesting design to pin the paper to because that's what's going to show. 

Prepare a needle with a single thread that is in contrast to your fabric. Fold down an edge of fabric and take a couple stitches, fold down the next piece of fabric and take a stitch, and continue until you have all 5 sides basted down. I use a long basting stitch. You do not need to knot your thread. You'll be cutting the thread and taking the paper out later. For now, you want to fold all edges over the paper and baste each one down.

Here is one pentagon with the basting completed. You can see my red stitching in contrast to the white and black fabric. For each ball, baste fabric onto 12 paper pentagons.  

Here's a pretty simple tutorial on English piecing with hexagons. This one isn't mine, but I've made several hexagon projects using essentially the same instructions as I was taught them my a friend.  I'm not using hexagons, but the method of prepping the paper pattern is the same. They say it better than I can :) If for some reason you click and the site is no longer available, you can Google English piecing for several tutorials, including videos.

I'll update this post as I have photos of the steps required. It may take a while, but it'll happen!

Okay, this is what I'm working on - how about you?

Sewing in June

I've had a couple projects going for a while - a friend's mom's quilt and one last quilt for myself. They're still in progress, but I'm ready to share some of it with you.

My friend's mom approached me toward the end of her life and asked me to "help her finish" a quilt. She wanted to make one out of handkerchiefs she's received over the years, some of them from her aunt. I said, "sure, let me see what you have." Out came a hat box filled with handkerchiefs sort of pinned together. Right about there, I asked if I could just make it for her. It took her 2 shakes of a monkey's butt to agree. We were visiting her in Florida at the time and I said I'd take them home with me, find a complementary fabric to go with the handkerchiefs, and get started. She asked me to give it to her daughter if she was not around to see it. On the drive home from Florida, I asked my friend if we could stop at Walmart on the way home, knowing that I had seen some sky fabric that would be just perfect there. So we did and I bought it. They didn't have much, so I wrote to the manufacturer and they sent me some more.

I've been doing a quilt-as-you-go method for this one and yesterday, put on the last row. It's ready now for the hand stitching on the back I have it pinned and should get that done in a day or so. The back is not a pretty sight, but it is what it is as they say.

Today, I made the binding and got it all rolled up. I do not use bias binding with quilts as there are no round edges to navigate. This is a 3" wide binding and I'll hand apply it as well.

I suspect in a couple weeks, this one will be done and delivered! I'll show off the front when I'm done.

As you might already know, I'm addicted to hexagons. I like to have a portable sewing project, and they fit the bill perfectly. I'm working now on what I deemed to be our last quilt. Yeah, right. I've made hexagon flowers with the same fabric for the centers, 9-patch denim squares (using 4" squares), and will be using a 2" spacer between the blocks. I'm not very excited to match up corners and with the spacer/sashing, I don't have to. Here are some in-progress pics:

Hand stitched flowers using English piecing.

One flower attached to a 9-patch with sashing attached. 

A couple of squares sewn together to begin a row.

Stack of 9-patch denim squares ready to embellish.

I have a beautiful piece of fleece for the back and will stitch the rows one at a time onto that as I go. This is a great way to use up old denim regardless of whether you do a hex flower on it or not.

So, that's my sewing for June. I hope you all have something going on as well. Sew on, my friends!

Feeling the pain!

My poor little Bernina 1130 has gone to the shop. I was working on a skirt and it started to go 'clunk, clunk, clunk.' I changed the thread and matched the bobbin thread. I cleaned out the machine, including the bobbin and bobbin case. I turned it off and on. And lordamercy, it still clunked.

I guess it's good timing. Or is it ever good timing? She'll get a good cleaning and a tuneup, and hopefully, there isn't something majorly wrong with it.

What's a gal to do? Hand sew! I'm still working on the never-ending hexagon quilt and that's keeping me busy for now, but I have 4 skirts cut out! Argh.

Come home safely, lil Bernina. I miss you.

Sewing Thoughts - Hexagons and Hand Sewing

I eat, sleep, and breath hexagons. I've been working on a hexie charm quilt for a long time now and am on the home stretch. What that means is that I have about 6 months to go before I finish it! Thousands of 2-1/2" hexagons, none duplicated (unless by accident) have been a part of my life for a while now. Sheesh. Will it ever be done? And will I start another one? The answer to both questions is yes. It's what I do and I love having something to take with me to work on, especially now that I no longer have carpal tunnel!

Which brings me to thoughts on hand sewing. Over at SewDaily.com, there's a great blog entry about hand sewing.  I agree whole heartedly that hand sewing is a completely different "animal." I get into the zone when I have a needle and thread in hand with my thimble tight on my finger. I can take my time and plan, cut, sew, measure, re-measure, and get back to the cut and sew part over and over again.

Rose from SewDaily.com mentions that hand sewing is quiet. Maybe that's part of what I like. It's me an my needle. Anything else is superfluous. I tend to hand sew while watching TV when I'm at home. It's almost a diet aid as I never eat while I sew. You want that quilt done? Then there will be no kitchen raiding! That's not really quiet, but it's my time.

She also stresses portability. I've found that to be one of the most wonderful aspects of hand sewing. I always have a hexagon or Cathedral Window project going - they both use small pieces of fabric, they both require hand sewing, and they both have prep work that can be done before you travel and pack your sewing tote. For now, it's hexagons. Always hexagons.

On a side note, I did go dish towel crazy! I ended up making five of them. I did one with hot air balloon fabric, with leftover red/white/blue binding, with an open cutwork piece I got at a yard sale, the one on the dish towel blog entry, and another one I can't remember. CRS syndrome. It was a fun thing to do. I had an old towel and never began to think about how many dish towels it would make. I just sort of started cutting and sewing. Sometimes, you just gotta do something off-the-cuff like that.

Happy sewing. I'll be traveling for the next several days. I have my hexagons all packed and ready to go with my little portable sewing kit. I'm hooked/doomed/addicted - however you want to classify it.

A wondrous thought

It just dawned on me tonight that I may be able to hand embroider again after my hand heals. I had carpal tunnel and trigger finger surgery last Friday. I'm doing great, but it's amazing to me to think that it took me years to have this done. I have had symptoms of the dreaded carpal tunnel for 20 years, at least. It is 100% gone, even as I heal. It was gone when I came out from anesthesia. I hope to be cleared for sewing and scissors work next week when I get my stitches out. I am having withdrawal from my needle and thread!

P.S. Good thing I've never gotten rid of my basket of DMC floss!

Vacation!

Sorry to be gone for so long. I'm on vacation and thought I would take a quick minute to check in.

Before I left home, I cut out a Kwik Sew 3147 jacket/cardigan out of a light paisley denim and finally found enough time to get it together. There's a picture and a description of the pattern in my October 9 post.  It turned out really nice and fit really well. I'm so glad I added pockets. I did not use buttons and chose to leave the front open with no closures. I wore that and a brown V-neck tee along with beige capri pants for the flight, and my assistant after my last flight asked me if I was "a businesswoman." I told her that I wasn't really, and she commented on how "professional" I looked! What a great compliment, especially when you're wearing something you made. I thought it was a great looking outfit myself and the jacket pulled it all together. So keep sewing your stuff - you look great!

I also carried my Peter Max oversized tote as a carryon in lieu of a purse (my purse was actually in the bag!), and got unsolicited compliments and comments on that. Seeing as that was truly a scrap project, the fabric coming from a vintage curtain, I got another proud moment!

I'll be doing some hand sewing while I'm out of town. I always take my hexagon project with me. The flight attendant started a conversation with me about quilts when he saw me sewing. That led to conversation about tee shirt quilts and his grandmother and mother, and everyone else he had known who sewed. Let people see you sew! It makes for good chat openers and may encourage someone else to give it a try.

So enjoy your fall weather wherever you are, and I'll be here in Phoenix wasting away in their gorgeous climate.

Sewing, sewing, sewing!

It's been a month or so of finishing projects, organizing fabrics after giving away about 20 pounds or more of fabrics that I sorted out as "stuff I just might not use." It's SO hard to do that! Every piece of fabric could be turned into something, right?

I realized that my hexagon quilt is going to take more than I thought to finish, so I have been basting fabric to paper seemingly endlessly. This is not something that will get done quickly, for sure. I love working with the English piecing and the hexagon shapes, but it has gotten to where I had to buy some charm fabric packets from a variety of people on eBay and Etsy. It turns out, a lot of people have just as much fabric as I do! By my last count, I'm about 1/3rd of the way done with the quilt top. What I thought would take about a year will probably take two years, and that's okay by me. I'm flying to Phoenix on Monday, and I will take the hexagon bag with me again to make rows while waiting in airports or just while doing a little bit of nothing else.

I'm on the lookout for more Peter Max fabric, and I have been working with my smaller Max scraps making potholders. What a great way to use up small pieces of fabric! I keep a small supply of heat resistant batting on hand so I can always fabricate a set. I had thought about decorating hand towels with scrappy bits of Peter Max fabric, but I'm not sure it would hold up to that much washing.

I also sold a few Halloween items. I made placemats and trick-or-treat bags and though they didn't all sell, some did and now I have a couple left for next season. Along the way, I cut squares of the Halloween fabrics and sold a few charm collections myself.

And just today, I finished a jacket I cut out some time ago, just in time to wear on my flight. I added pockets and did not add the buttons. I also redrew the hemline for the front pieces and made them into a wavy line rather than a straight one. The back is also straight. I used a light fabric with a brown and turquoise paisley pattern, and used a bias tape I made out of a complementary fabric (turquoise crystal type fabric) to bind the front, sleeve edges, and pocket edges. This gives it a bit of a retro look, but it also added a unique look to a very simple line. It was not a hard pattern to make, but it was a touch time consuming for me because I'm used to making smaller items. A full sized jacket was a bit bigger than I generally take on, but I loved making it. I love that it fits well and that I have the perfect tee shirt for wearing underneath it. I also love pockets and with the two pockets on the jacket and the several in my capris, I'll have plenty of  room! I'm flying from Virginia to Phoenix and this fabric is light enough that I can wear it for a bit of warmth on my side of the country, but not too much for the warmth of Arizona.

I have so many sewing projects in my head. Will I ever finish them all? Will you? Sew on, friends. Fall is here and it's time to sew clothes to keep you warm!

Stash busting - UFOs - Hand Sewing

We've talked before about half finished projects or items that merely need that last bit of hand sewing done, right? For instance, when I make placemats or pot holders, I apply the binding with machine on one side and by hand on the other. I have a really bad habit of finishing them up to the point of the hand sewing. I bet I am not alone on this!

 

The latest is a set of Peter Max and M&M potholders. I finally finished the hand stitching on the binding on the one bound in green last night. It's been sitting around for about a week or so just waiting for me! I still have remnants of the Peter Max and of the M&M fabric and who knows what comes next for them. For now, I have one more placemat to bind! 

I had a bag that I put all my hand sewing in and took it to the living room with threads, needles, and all the other items I'd need to finish them up. Every night while we hang out, I work on a different piece. I've made a deal with myself not to start something new till these are done. That includes no machine stitching on the Peter Max tote bags I have cut out. It feels good to finally be using those fabrics that I've been sitting on for so long!

One last stash busting note - I sent out five boxes to people from my email group and have three more to fill when I get the postage together. It sure feels good knowing that fabric has found a good home. It has also been an eye opener for me, reminding me what I have on hand and what I don't need to keep. Bust away fellow sewing people!

P.S. for an easy how-to for potholders, I have a generic potholder project/instructional/tutorial for you on the Scrapstitching project page. These are easy, use up all sorts of scrap fabrics, and require very little in the way of buying. The only thing you really need to buy is Insul-Bright Mylar/Poly Batting. The rest of the parts, you already have. If you don't have Fiberfill, use an old towel.

Getting Smurfier!

The Smurfs quilt is almost done. All the fabric's been cut and every day, I've done a little something.

Patchwork - done.

Backing - done.

Machine "quilting" - done.

Binding made - done.

Binding applied - working on it! I suck at quilt binding. I have to do it by hand because I can't get the hang of doing it by machine. 

I should have the binding done in another couple days. It will take a while.

Sewing may not be on the top of the priority list here soon. I'm going to be traveling in May, so I want to work really hard in April to get my knee up to snuff so I can walk as much as I want to. That's a lofty goal, but I can make it at least halfway to there, I'm sure! I definitely will continue to hand sew the hexagon quilt (it's going to take a year to finish) and will start a small project to take with me on the plane in May. It might be a small Cathedral Window again. I have one almost done using M&M fabric that is doll sized.

I also have two ideas for items to make and sell. More about them as the ideas develop. Wouldn't it be great to make my whole 'paycheck' with sewing and Amazon, Etsy, and eBay? Well yes, it would!

A couple of things

The artwork is changing, in case you haven't noticed. I've hired a kickass graphic artist to do a professional piece rather than the artwork I had one. Even the first iteration that you see here today is better than anything I could have ever done. She's going to work on it some more, so keep an eye out.

The second thing is that I'm resting my hands today. I've been sewing like a demon lately and today, my hands said "no mas, no mas!"  Therefore, today, I don't touch the thread. I don't touch the needle. I leave the hexagon quilt right where it is, in its own little bag, waiting for a time when my hands aren't on strike.

I did do some machine sewing yesterday to sort of make up for what I knew were soon-to-be sore hands. I sort of always know.

Tomorrow, I sew.

Going blog & today's sewing

Scrapstitching.com is going blog. I'll still keep ScrapStitching.com alive for a holder of projects, tutorials, and other information, but the updates will be primarily found on the blog, right here.

A friend came by today to chat and visit, and I got my hexagon scrap quilt out and started sewing on that. I got about an hour of sewing in. It felt good to do some before my hands became fatigued with online work for today. I then showed her two of my other quilts - a denim string/strip quilt (below) and a black and white Cathedral Window.

Now I take a break and get some work done. I'll continue to sew each day and the hexagon scrap quilt will continue to grow. Happy sewing!

Hexagon Scrap Quilt

I decided I needed a new hand sewing project for several reasons:

1) Quitting smoking 11/18 and need something to do with my hands.
2) Having surgery on 12/14 and will need something to do while I hang out and rehab.
3) Want a new quilt made of scraps and that I can work on anywhere, anytime.

Years ago, I made a Grandmother's Flower Garden for my daughter in the traditional sense. I used English Piecing and fabric I purchased. I made curtains for her room out of the same fabric with a pieced block edge. I remembered how much I enjoyed that. I printed out 2" paper hexagons on recycled paper using a border of red so the lines would show on printed paper. Then I gathered 4" squares of fabric.

Each fabric is different and I won't be using a flower garden type pattern. This will truly be a scrap quilt.

Add a paper hexagon to the square with a pin.

Trim the fabric around the hexagon.

Baste the fabric to the paper design per the tutorial above.

I chose to stitch together rows of 10 various hexagons varying light and dark colors.

And then I stitched the rows of 10 together.

This quilt is a work in progress and is being made one row of 10 at a time. You can take your time and do the paper piecing first and then do the rows or do a little of this and a little of that for variety. Right now, I have a very large tote bag with all the components in it, including an envelope with paper hexagons, a contrasting thread for basting the pieces, a bag with basted hexagons, lots of rows of 10, and a small piece of rows that I've put together. In time, I'll be able to build on the piece until it's lap, twin, or queen sized, and then I can back it and use it. When you have surrounded one piece, you can remove the paper, by the way. The basting and paper are temporary. In the end, you'll have paper only in the hexagons around the outside of the quilt and those papers will be removed so you can back and bind the quilt.

These instructions are sketchy and a bit incomplete, but you get the idea. I'll be working on this for a long time and it'll be beautiful every step of the way.

Update 05/13/12: I'm still working on the quilt and it's growing by leaps and bounds. I'm working in strips of 11 in rows of 39. Four of those will make a nice sized quilt. I have a long way to go! Everyone should have a little something like this in the "what do I feel like sewing today?" pile.

Sewing and quitting smoking

I quit smoking on November 18, the Great American Smokeout. While preparing to quit, I decided to make a quilt by hand. I've made them by hand before; in fact, I've made a Grandmother's Flower Garden three times - once for my daughter when she was two and once for my nephew's daughter. This one was made of denim and strawberry fabrics, and the blocks were outlined in red zig-zag stitching to make it extra strong. I also made one doll sized in Halloween fabrics. I use it for a seasonal decoration.

Now, I'm doing another one. It's my quit smoking quilt. The hexagons are 1.5" (as are the ones in my nephew's daughter's quilt) and each one is a different fabric to give it a truly scrappy look. I collected a 4" square from every fabric I have that is suitable (cotton or cotton blend). I also printed out hexagon graph paper to use for the English Piecing method which I use when constructing anything with hexagons. Sunshine Creations blog has a great tutorial on English Piecing to which you will be led if you click on the link! Mine is not quite as tidy, but the method is essentially the same. It's a great way to make small pieces into a larger project.

The good news for me is that I'm not smoking. I've spent a lot of time cutting paper hexagons (NOT with my good scissors) and fabric squares, and trimming the fabric before basting it onto the paper. (Google will lead you to tons of tutorials about Grandmother's Flower Garden designs, probably the most popular of the hexagon quilts.) Hand quilts like these or Cathedral Window are a great way to do a little here and a little there and make it last for a while.

Smoking is a nasty habit. It will be nice to have a beautiful reminder of what one can do instead of smoking. I believe this quilt will be a keeper.

TKR and not about sewing

I ran across a blog while I was researching rehab for total knee replacement, which I am slated for on December 14. Add that to the mayhem of quitting smoking, which I did on November 18 (The Great American Smokeout) and you have my life in a nutshell of late.

In the blog, there was the best animated gif I've ever seen; it defines me recently.

Oddly mesmerizing, I'd say.

As I prepare for the total knee replacement, not only have I quit smoking, I'm getting my house in order,  moving furniture to the "other" room and preparing for delivery of recliner furniture in my living room. I am thinking that I will be downstairs for a good part of the time, at least in the beginning.

The consensus on partial resolution of my research is that the operation is a piece of cake, the hospitalization is a breeze, but the rehab is a bitch. Good drugs at first weaned down to eh. And then they expect you to bend again! Lily have even said it hurts like hell, but if she can do it, so can I. Folks who have gone through it say it's worth it. That's what counts for me, that it's worth it.

And so we prepare. I will have a hand sewing project to do, I've ordered some paperback books, I have a television at the ready, and I can take my laptop outside if need be.

In the meantime, I tap my fingers.

Cathedral Window What? How to make them and some I've made.

I was asked today what a Cathedral Window quilt was. Several years ago, I did a sewing project for Sewing.com about how to make a Cathedral Window quilt. Since then, I've made several. I've made doll quilts, finished a wall hanging, and made one for the family. I also made one for my nephew. You can find the project and how-to by clicking here or on our projects link.

Here are some that I've made over the years, though certainly not all!

This is a doll quilt and pillow made with a dark blue print for the frames and lace for the windows and binding.

This is a piece of a full sized Cathedral Window I made for myself with black and white fabrics that I've been collecting for years as the frame and recycled denim for the windows. The frames started with 11" squares. The windows are about 2" squares of denim.

This is a doll quilt made in the traditional sense with muslin frames, but nontraditional in the sense that I used flame fabric for the windows.

This is a Paddington Bear doll quilt and pillow. Each window has the face of Paddington Bear. The frames are muslin. All doll Cathedral Window quilts started with a 6" square.

This is a red/white/blue doll quilt with muslin frames. I alternated a star fabric with a flag fabric.

This is my first Cathedral Window which I made and included in the project linked above. It's another full sized one and the squares began as 11".

I really enjoy the portability and hand sewing involved with Cathedral Window quilts. I'm getting ready to fly to Phoenix and will take another project with me. This time, I'm using 8" squares to start. My hands got a little tired the last time I started with 6" squares.

There are no real rules. Do what you love!