WIP: Cheer You Up Cushion

Last week I decided on a bit of a whim that Paul would like a big cheery cushion to have in Raleigh when I'm not there. It would make the place cosier and might give him a smile when he sees it. I don't know.

Initial fabric pull.

However, I'm not the titan of sewing you'll find on other blogs. I just about finished the front of the cushion before I left. So this is relegated to work in progress status. However, I tried out a new block, used non-white, low-volume (I guess?), backgrounds, and cut into some Alexander Henry Calaveras Alegres fabric for the first time!

First ever wonky star!

I wasn't sure the low volume backgrounds to the wonky stars (I used The Silly BooDilly's tutorial) was going to work. The skulls are so vibrant, that I started and then thought, oh god they need really punchy, contrasting stars, I should have just done pure white and black backgrounds, and solid, clean colours for the stars. But then, I had no white fabric.

Using the back side of fabric for better contrast.

As I made more of the stars, I started to realise that, to my eyes (and possibly addled brain), they were bringing a comic book element. Do you know when the character's clothes are coloured in on the cover with a lot of little dots for texture, and the like? And after that, I started being reminded of the paint with water books from when I was a kid.

Still amazes me how much blocks shrink with seam allowance loss.

Paul really liked the stars all the way through, which I think is all that kept me from freaking out and starting over right at the beginning. But I really like them now too, so all's well that end's well? Plus, I've learned to give my brain some time to adjust to things. And there isn't just one right answer. I don't know, I'm jetlagged, if any of this is going in and staying in I'll be amazed.

One cushion front - sewn together mere hours before my plane! Success!
(no one was looking for a finished cushion, right?)

Before I left I pulled all the other pieces I needed to make the back and insides of this cushion. I'm going for a really big one, I love sitting up in bed with a big cushion behind me. So this is for a 24" form. Now all I have to do is get back to Raleigh and finish it! Who knows, maybe I'll talk Paul through the end of the process over skype...??? Shall we take bets?

Unable to Settle

I had a reminder to back-up my laptop the other day, and it also prompted me to organise my photos into folders, sorted by month. I needed this more than I knew, I had been writing myself and this year off as unproductive but it turns out I was wrong. Up to a point. And that point was late June. Yep, I fell off the productivity/sewing mojo/whatever you want to call it bandwagon at Midsummer.

Stash pull for bed runner.

Since then I've covered every available surface, the corner of the sofa, our rarely used for the actual purpose dining table, sewing table, sideboard, etc... with must start projects. I've started each of them. None of them are finished. Few of them have been picked back up beyond the first week of starting. Honestly, I've never felt like this. I don't know what I'm doing. I do know I can't force myself to finish them all, I'll end up like a toddler or teenager rebelling against the overbearing strictures of my own self. Which is too much internal strife to bother with.

Some are more important to me than others. For instance, my dad does need a hat. His hair really is falling out, he's distracting the other bridge players and it was 5°C/41°F when he got up to walk the dog last weekend. So even though I barely ever knit, I'm the world's slowest (two Christmases passed before Paul got the scarf I promised), I've never knitted in the round before (but the newly bald shouldn't have to deal with seams), and I have real trouble paying attention to which stitch I'm on, this project is a definite priority.

I've had a 5 month hiatus from the Farmer's Wife quilt. I miss it, this block is not the most fun colours of the ten I've prepped. And that was my mistake. I meant to only prep 5 at a time from now on. But the colours distracted me and I selected for ten before I knew it, and then felt compelled to cut them all out. It went swimmingly till I reached the templates. They took me two months, and stared at me accusingly from the dining table all the while (yes, we eat on our laps).

I also knocked into it scattering the nicely laid out pieces...

I still love my colourful Death Star idea. When I started I got intrigued by trying to make my stitches less noticeable, so I tried some stuff. I got some good results, but finding a new stitch and then getting a rhythm with it is not easy. So I put this down again. Now I'm in two minds. Do I continue trying to make my stitches invisible, noble sure, I guess, but super time-consuming? Or do I go back to my FWQ regular whipstitch which I can bust out like nobody's business? I'll enjoy the process of the latter more, but will I feel annoyed with myself at the result, or once I'm more than a foot from the quilt will I even see the stitches if they're in a grey or matching thread? Ugh, these are the questions that have left this project sitting on a tray on couch, neglected for more than a month.

The others are all little projects, a giant cushion cover from leftover hourglass blocks, an elongated quilted cushion in Echino as a draught excluder, and a stash pulled bundle to make a simple bed runner just like the ones I made as wedding gifts.

One final thing, I've recently taken up and have found surprisingly meditative is free motion quilting. The #dailyfmq tag appeared on instagram, set in motion by the Crafty Planner. I've only spent like 3 ten-minute chunks at it, but I've enjoyed each of them, learned something each time, and discovered it's possible to slip into a nice peaceful state while you're at it, until you get too peaceful, make a mistake and then it all goes to hell! But everyone at the hastag is so lovely and helpful, I've definitely been encouraged to keep going. Which is amazing, because I swore right off FMQ the last time I tried (February) until I had a better machine (still the same machine).

Rio Grande Valley Turtle, pattern by Melissa of My Fabric Relish

So, I do have three big quilts in the works, one approaching top completion, one approaching block completion, and one with half the top fabrics washed (not my normal game but these fabrics apparently require it - more to come!). You've already seen Texas, so no more till I have something actually finished. The other two I'll blabber about in the next few weeks as I get a chance to take photos and get them in order in my head, more than anything else.

It's going to be interesting to see what I do manage to settle to in the rest of 2014. This year has been a test for me in very many ways, and I'm eager to see how I fare coming out of it. I think I might be growing up.

Some Little Finishes

Words are far away today...

I finished a couple of things at the weekend.

An electronics pouch for our car - to keep spare chargers and the like. Now that we need to build a hurricane kit (eek!).

Some more of my happily won skull fabric came out - thank you, Jill! Of course, electrocuted skeletons are the only choice for an electronics pouch. I used the Fully Lined Zippered Box Pouch tutorial from Pretty Modern (thanks, Gina for keeping tabs on my flighty brain :) !!) - great tutorial, with a lovely result and zero cursing!

I made a second Star Dresden with Constellations background to back the first star dresden cushion! I couldn't think of a single other block that would live up to the star dresden, and whole cloth was just too boring. I used a striped fabric for the star dresden, and dared myself to see if I could match it up and it went ridiculously well! Well enough to be happy to do it again, surprising!!

Anyway, these became a tiny little 14"-ish cushion. It's very cute, the invisible zipper was a re-learning experience, as always! I spiral quilted the second star dresden with the Constellations background. That was a first, the inner-est bit of the spiral went totally wonky and I had to unpick it out to where it started to look normal. I think it would go better with a FMQ foot in there, but I haven't figured out the tension issues enough for my machine yet. So it's the walking foot all the way here.

Lots of other little things plod on, but no other finishes or half-finishes for now. Hopefully back with a little work in progress update in a few days :)

Have a good week, lovelies!

A bit like a headless chicken

So I haven't figured out my blog reading, posting, and commenting problems. I keep saving things up for when I have a little bit of time and I can sit down with my laptop. But I only turn my laptop on a couple of times a week now, and due to medication I now fall asleep at about 9pm. So I've downloaded blogger to my phone, and I'm going to stop waiting for the "perfect time" because, let's be honest, perfect doesn't exist anywhere in life.

I've been sewing, but I've been doing lots of little bits on lots of different projects. Nothing's finished, but I'm also not getting stuck in a sewing funk, cos I can change it up as often as I like!

Today, I'll show you two blocks I made following a tutorial from Nicole at snips snippets. She shows you how to make two Star Dresdens from 13 charms.

When I started I wanted to make one for me for a scrappy sampler quilt I'm planning, and one to send to Little Island Quilting for her Soy Amado project. It hasn't worked out for this block, it's ended up slightly too large, and there are some knots in the quilting that I'm not sure will last (at least one has come undone already). So I'll turn it into a cushion for our sofa and make a more sturdy and correctly sized block for Little Island Quilting.

I have to say though, that these blocks are so much fun and look really great for not a lot of effort. And it's nice to have something you can make from charms that is so impactful! Nicole's a bit of a genius, I think.

I've been toying with the idea of hand stitching the second Star Dresden down, but it might just end up languishing in the growing queue of things I'm supposed to be hand stitching in the evening.

PS I haven't figure out how to insert the pictures in among the text, but they are: 

- the drunkards paths for my sister's Retro Flowers quilt (I started these last July)

- two rainbow Star Dresdens

- doing dot to dot quilting for the first time (still straight lines)

- and, the quilted, too large, block which will be a cushion.

Maybe future blogger app posts should be picture heavy and word light!

Greek Cross Cushion

Recently I've been trying to get my sewing projects into some sort of order. Picking out a few to focus on before Christmas and getting all the bits and pieces needed to complete them into one place. For some reason, my brain doesn't find that sort of organsing to be conducive to blogging. But, hopefully, now that I'm actually moving on these projects I'll be writing with more regularity!

Today I'm going to talk about the Greek Cross cushion I made over the last month. Originally I cut the pieces to put them into a charity quilt at my guild. But life had different plans for me and I couldn't attend that sewing day. I sewed the blocks up anyway because I loved the colours, had them already cut, and desperately needed to sew something.

Basting front and back.

Once I got back to my stash I pulled the same colours and strip-pieced a backing. I decided to baste the front and back as normal, using a plentiful but mystery blue and white polka dot in my stash as the backing. My thinking there was that the cushion inner would wear away the cotton less than it might pull at the batting by itself.

I know that with these being so small (~24" square) I could have used this opportunity to break out my new darning foot and trying out some FMQ for the first time. In the end I just didn't know where to start and I had an idea of how I'd straight line quilt it. Now, even though I've been quilting for over a year now I only got a walking foot for my machine this summer. So I'm still only testing out various things I've seen around blogland. This time I decided to try straight line quilting ¼" apart on the backing.

I learned lots. First, straight line quilting so densely makes me really dizzy!

Second, they're not lying. Holy god does this quilting shrink your fabric. The backing started off an inch larger than the front on all sides. When I reached halfway I realised that if I did the quilting all over the back then they just wouldn't fit together at all without seriously cutting into my piecing on the front. Luckily, I also love the contrast in texture on the back!

Finally, even though my camera's not good enough to pick it up. I started and did the majority of this quilting on my machine in DC, but I finished it just a couple of nights ago on my mother's machine in Ireland. Both are Brother sewing machines. But the difference in stitch size and length is not something I was expecting. Also, my mother's machine is really sensitive to small changes in speed through the machine and stitches can easily go from large to tiny without changing any of the settings. I have to really be awake when I'm using it for quilting.

Since I'm so new to the walking foot I'm still not 100% sure of all the tips and tricks. I've found it brilliant, but occasionally I do still get the top material being pushed over quilting lines going perpendicularly. Causing very tiny rucks, but not everywhere just now and again. The top right pink cross was particularly prone to it on this cushion. Is this a basting problem? Have I just not stuck the top down firmly enough? If I was using basting pins would this problem be more prevalent or less?

Because of all these questions, and because I've learned so much in the last few weeks already I'm linking up to Gemma at Pretty Bobbins for the I Quilt Linky Party!

15 year old me totally wanted to be a quilter!!

I know, I know... You don't hear from me for a month and then, like buses, three arrive at once! Actually, I set myself some topics to post on this week and next. Some can be written in advance and scheduled to post (though I've never done that so if gobbledegook turns up from me, you now know why!), and some are to get me back into the linky parties :)

Today, I'm going to quickly share a few pictures* with you of stuff I've found around my parents' house that I started as a teenager. It turns out that I've been into fabric and quilts for WAAAAAAYYYYY longer than I ever knew. Most of this stuff must have been made when I was 15 (that's 16 years ago this summer!).

Firstly, my mother found a box of fabric. I have snaffled the big bits to be future quilt backs, and this white one is going into a Japanese fabric quilt I have planned for this summer - it is the softest cotton I have ever felt.

At the bottom of this forgotten fabric horde were 6 inch squares. Very roughly cut. And they were in piles with numbers taped onto the top. The meaning for the numbers is long forgotten. But I do vaguely remember gathering up all my favourite teenage clothes that I had started to grow out of and cutting them up into squares for a quilt.

Very roughly cut. Also, two hexagons (top left)!!

I even had sewn one strip together...

...badly.

These squares made me particularly excited. They're from what I term my 'first grown-up pyjamas'. My godmother brought them back for me when I was around 12. Silky on the outside, cosy on the inside, and in a tuxedo-style that I loved.

With my new knowledge of interfacing as a thing, these are going to become a baby's quilt. There will be flannel and Tula Pink to go with! I can't wait :)

*Disclaimer: it started as a few, but I found more photos as I went on... I am now out of control on stuff I made as a teenager.

In my grandmother's old sewing box we found a series of hexagons in navy and blue that I'd put basted and EPP'd together as a teenager. They have all become pincushions now. They are not the prettiest, but they are functioning very nicely. I even made myself one of those pincushions you can wear on your wrist!! No pictures of that one though...

One for me...

One for Mammy.

And, finally! Yes, I think this is it. I made a cushion as part of my transition year Home Economics class (along with a macramé plant holder which has thankfully been lost). Check it out:

This fabric was my mother's. She bought it in Japan long before I existed and it's pre-quilted. I feel so bad now for having cut it up to make this cushion. It deserved better. Look how awful the points are! I think one of those flying geese may not be entirely missing its head. Still though, this cushion still lives on one of the bedroom chairs. Though the backing needs a mend. Maybe it will out-last me, horrible job and all as it is.

The big question now is - where's the rest of that fabric!!?? I also distinctly remember drawing designs (probably for secret gardens at the time, but ones that might also double as quilt inspiration now) in a science copybook. We are not a family that throws books out, so I'll have to have a proper look. But not this week. It's exciting to know about though, tantalising. I wonder why it took me so long to get started properly.

If scheduled blogging goes well, there should be another post up on Thursday while I'm mid-air over the Atlantic. All about the quilt I've left behind, mostly pictures to be honest. And then I shall see you all for Sunday Stash. I've been lining the flat with fabric in preparation for my arrival. I suspect I went too far... There is going to be a strict fabric diet for the rest of the summer (possibly year) I think.

:) til next time!

Aoif

stuff and bother

So I've been very quiet for a couple of weeks. I'm in DC now, for another week and a half. Before I'm back to Ireland for an indeterminate amount of time and then it's DC for good. All this moving around and lack of certainty is starting to drive me bonkers. And my back, while getting better, is restricting the amount of time I can spend doing any one thing (including sewing or housework or sitting watching tv...). The inability to be consistently productive sucks! I make a bad patient, that's for sure.

My sewing has been restricted. But I've also felt an urge to rebel against lists and aims. I only end up beating myself over the head when I don't meet them. So I've been staying away from the blog. Only sewing when I wanted to. Resisting writing about it, because once I say it, I'll feel the need to make progress so I can update the blog. But I can't make sure progress, so it's extra stress I put on myself when it's the last thing I need.

I'm rambling now. I have made one cushion cover in the last two weeks.

The Orange Peel cushion for Curves Class. The last project I wanted to get done during class time. I'm really glad that it accidentally ended up last. It was supposed to be our practise project for precise curves before tackling the curves in the final quilt - the Wheel Quilt. I did these in the opposite order. Thank God! The orange peel block was challenging. Bizarrely, the curved piecing was the least frustrating part for me. The seams get bulky where the curves end and when you try to sew all four blocks together to form the cushion... well, my sewing machine had a slight knicker-fit, there was cursing, but I got there. It's not perfect. It was never going to be.

And now, 10 days later I can admire the cushion for the colours and shapes. The horror of sewing those seams together is fading. I still don't think I'll be attempting that block again. I'd have to really love the idea of the project or really love the person who wanted it to go back there. It definitely would have put me off tackling the precise curves in the wheel quilt if I'd done it first. But I didn't, so now I have both done - yay for procrastination (this time) !!!

I pieced the back, envelope style (I was in no frame of mind to tackle an invisible zipper).

Yesterday was a snow day in DC, and while that made no difference to my day, it did mean Paul was home all day! He bought some Kokka airplanes in black a little while back and wanted to learn how to sew a cushion cover to get over his fear of the sewing machine's needle. In the end I got out all the Kokka linens I have (scraps and the odd fat quarter) for Paul to choose from. The whole thing went more smoothly than I anticipated, and he only got stuck with a pin once and we both still have all our fingers - success! And the cushion turned out great!

If this is really slightly fuzzy, I'm very sorry!

Here are the airplanes on the back (envelope style again!).

All the cushions living happily on our sofa.

In the interests of taking the stress off sewing, and not giving myself hard deadlines. I decided to play with the leftovers of Paul's Rainbow Skittle Quilt. I'm enjoying it. I had not plan when I started. I just laid out the pieces and rearranged till I was happy. Here's a shot of what the dining room table looks like right now.

Hopefully, I'll have a top made before I head back to Ireland. I'll do my very best to respond to comments, as always :)