Heart Block Redo



I was really bugged by the way my first foundation paper pieced heart came out without a point at the bottom (no one to blame but myself)...

When at first you don't succeed...

The second one came out much better.  It's much more delicate looking, especially with the pointy bottom.  I put a lot more effort into putting the fabrics together this time too, and I think it shows.

Live and learn. 

Last night I remembered that I had purchased a book from Carol Doak when she spoke at last fall's DQN quarterly quilt guild meeting.  I wish I had had the money to take a class with her when she was in town, but such is life. 

Now that I've finally done some paper piecing I feel pretty confident that I can reproduce some of the beautiful blocks in this book.  I recalled Carol mentioning the use of a postcard or thin cardboard when bending the paper back to trim the fabric.  I quickly looked it up in the book and I gave that a try this time.  Boy did it work!

Her book also gives the proper amount of fabric each star will take and how big to cut the "scraps" for each part of the block.  When I finally get a chance to focus on something other than quilt show duties and transcription, I definitely will work in a "chain" fashion by sewing one part of the block on each block at a time, instead of trying to finish each block before moving to the next.  And, I'll definitely either use newsprint or vellum instead of regular copy paper.  Foundatoin paper piecing totally rocks!

 
 
  

Monday Make It: Valentine Edition

Thanks to it being Valentine's Day I was reminded that I was supposed to make a heart block for a quilt our circle will be presenting to our friend Deanna who recently lost her husband. 

I found a block that I liked on the internet and made a rough drawing, literally tracing it by holding a paper up to my computer screen.  I then measured and squared it all up and came up with this:

Since I had never done foundation paper piecing before I headed on over to YouTube to see if there was a tutorial available.  Yup, there were plenty, each one I viewed more confusing than the last.  I was happy to find the tutorial below that was really well done and quite simple...just my speed.  Bravo to the woman who made this tutorial! 

Paper Piecing Made Easy Tutorial

It took me a little time to figure out where I should start, but once I got things going it came together fairly easily.  Funny how things seem to work well when I'm working with fabrics I really like.   I just love mixing pinks and reds and purples. 

Considering it was my first attempt at foundation paper piecing, I think it came out pretty terrific.  I'm definitely hooked on this technique.  Everything came out so crisp and exact.  If I do this particular pattern again, I will most likely make the bottom of the heart pointed. 

There seemed to be a lot of scraps left over.  The woman in the tutorial said that the more one practices paper piecing, the better one will get at using smaller pieces.  I totally get that.  I think my next paper pieced project will definitely be a lot less wasteful.

Next up: 

This one I can't simply trace...way beyond my figuring out.  Besides, there is a woman who sells this pattern fairly cheaply on Etsy as a PDF file that I won't even have to wait to come in the mail!   

Now that I've gotten one heart under my belt, I think I'll attempt another and start working towards making something similar to the above quilt.  I'm hoping to present it to my Jules when she graduates high school.  I've got about a year and a half to get this done...I'll probably wait until a month before graduation before starting on it though, cuz that's how I roll.  :o)



  

Valentine Barrettes.........................................40/365

The hardest part of this project was finding the "hair snaps" that were small enough to make these adorable Valentine barrettes.  It's been a long time since I've done that sort of handwork, my chaotic stitches prove that.  :o)

Hoping that if I get them in the mail today, they will arrive in time for the adorable little girls above, Camden (my nephew Chad's little girl) and Emily and Chloe (my niece Jennifer's daughter and her BFF.)

The dark red heart at the top of the photo is specifically for Jules because it has a more grownup feel about it.

Wish I would have made more effort to do things like this when Jule's was little.  Such is the life of a single mom.  Just seemed like there was never enough time...sigh. 

 

Fabric Birds............................................................35/365

Last summer while perusing Etsy I found these fabric birds that intrigued me:

I found a very simple and straight forward pattern (the kind I like the most) on the internet and got to to work.  Although, I must admit, the idea of making a mobile work (properly balancing the deal) seemed way beyond me.

It only took me a month and a half to make them...lol.  (I got bored after the first two because there was a lot of hand sewing involved....My good ol' ADD kickin' in.) 

I like the photo where they look like they're having an important discussion, a bird board meeting of sorts.  The one where I lined them up...not so much.  I did that to show the fabrics used on the chest area.  Unfortunately, it looks like I'd been out hunting and was proudly showing off the day's haul.



This photo does not do the cuteness of this project any justice at all.

Like I said, I was a little intimidated by the idea of making a mobile work, so instead I simply put them on a long branch.  I intend to hang this above the window in my office/sewing room once I get the curtains in place.

Just now, as I was looking for the original photo of the bird mobile on Etsy, I came across this:

Dragonflies...hanging from a leafy branch.  Lord help me.  Now I have to add this to my long list of things to copy...um I mean produce.  Shouldn't be too hard, just need to find the time...  So dang cute.


 

Challenge Quilt....................................27/365

Finished! 

As usual, last minute LuLu that I am, just put the binding on today.  I should write a book... Binding: Friend or Foe?  I know, the more I do something the better I'll get at it, but it always seems to be the bindng that trips me up.

It's hard to see in this photo, but I added bows, a little bit of lace at the wrist and a button for her earring.  These will most likely be temporary, I really don't care for the fussy look, but it was manditory to the challenge so I had no choice.

The quilt itself lays nice and flat and the corners seem to be pretty square.  I had to finish the binding by machine as I was running out of time.

If I say so myself, I think it came out quite nice.

Have to leave for the quarterly Quilt Guild meeting.  Sure would be nice to win, but I won't get my hopes up too high as there are a lot of really terrific quilters in our guild.

Gotta go.

Monday Make it: Challenge Quilt...............................24/365

About a year ago I attended my first Desert Quilters of Nevada Quarterly Quilt Guild Meeting.  I didn't know a soul as I walked in and sat down all by my lonesome.  During the course of the meeting much business was discussed and there was a speaker, Joan Wolfran, who would be teaching the "Curved Piecing" class I was to take that upcoming weekend.  Towards the end of the meeting there was a raffle and I won!  I received 4 lovely fat quarters and a book called:  "When Quilters Gather - 20 Patterns of Piecers at Play by Ruth B. McDowell.

The first page I opened to was one depicting a grandma-type sewing on a quilt.  Immediately this image reminded of my grandma Thune. 

I also happened to sign up to make the challenge quilt using these fabrics:



Yup, those are pigs and some hideous 70's type fabric (although I know for a fact that it is a current print as they were selling fat quarters of it at Quiltique a few weeks ago.)

Hmmm...could it be possible?  I think yes!  The pig fabric lends itself to a perfect flesh color.  Although some would scoff at the idea of using pigs for my grandma's face, I like to think that my grandma would be proud of me for being so inventive.

I went to the local Office Max and it only took me 12 tries to blow the pattern up properly! Actually this gave me confidence about enlarging patterns for future projects. (See? My glass is half-full some of the time!)

Then, I gathered the rest of my fabrics, tools, copied the pattern on the shiny side of the freezer paper and cut apart (top of photo).   Next step is to iron patterns on various fabrics, cut an exactly 1/4" allowance then sew together like a puzzle.  Oops, almost forgot, have to sew a small quilt top for the quilt portion that grandma is sewing on, for that I will use the small squares in the hideous 70's fabric.  Wish me luck!

To be continued.....

Elvis Is In The House.........................................................16/365

I'm about 8 months into my Block of the Month progect with Hancock fabrics.  Which means I have exactly 1 block completed, 2 partially completed and 5 not even looked at.  I wasn't a big fan of the black and white fabric, and I became quite a non-fan of how difficult it was to put the blocks together, but I figured I better finish what I start.  Tonight I received block #8 (or was it 9?)  Before we even arrived at the meeting I discussed with Jules that I was going to take a different path with this quilt (the quilt she immediately laid claim to when I decided not to give it to the person I thought I was going to give it to.)  I explained that conceptually I just couldn't stomach making each block a different color, as was my original plan.


Plan A

Well, I had an epiphany and decided that the only thing to do with the Black and White mess was to start over using a fabric I really wanted to work with.  I'm still trying to use up as much from my stash as possible rather than buying more fabric, so I was trying to avoid buying anything new.



Plan E for Elvis!

But...I had been eyeballing this pink Elvis Head fabric for a couple of months, trying to figure out a reason to buy it.  Well, now I had a reason AND it was on the clearance aisle AND it was half price at only $1.97 a yard!  Woo hoo!  Plus, it's a decent quality fabric, which is something I don't always find at Hancocks. 

Whew!  What a relief.  Now I just need to find the time to catch up on the blocks.  I've got three things going right now that need to be done ASAP.  Better get to sewing...

Fabric Balls - Cute, Quick And Easy To Make

A couple of months ago I made a few fabric balls.

                   

The largest one for my great-niece Emily (the cutest little bunny...evah!). 

The other two I'm keeping to decorate my rather plain sewing area. I realized that I rarely keep anything that I make whether it be ceramics, sewing, painting. I decided to start making doubles of some of my projects so I can gaze at and admire them any old time. Besides, the balls are just too dang cute not to keep a couple for myself.

Below is a close up showing the cute "PS: I Love You" tags my sister Julie turned me on to. Just the perfect tag for the perfectly cutest little one-year-old girl bunny I know.  :o)