A Christmas Wish Block #10

Remember the BOM from Gail Pan "A Christmas Wish"? Wanting to make a table runner rather than a square topper, I designed a tenth block -- "Cheer". So here is a freebie for you. You can snag it by clicking here or by clicking on the photo and scrolling to the bottom of the page. There are several more freebies on the page too. Enjoy!

Thanks

For these I give thanks
Life, love, family and friends
My list grows each day

--Leah Rottman

Tute, Tute, Tutsie

I think it is time for a tutorial, don't you? How about one on putting quilted sections together and hiding the seams?

As you know, The Firewood Quilt (yes, again, I mention this thing) was quilted in this manner. There was one major decision to make before quilting began: what batting is going to be used? I recommend a lighter weight batting because it will lessen the bulk of the quilt that will need to go through the harp of your domestic sewing machine. I chose a Warm and White batting by the Warm Co and that is what you will see in the following photos.

Let's begin.

Once you have the center of your quilt divided into sections you need to baste and quilt them. I did a moderate sized meander on the 4 sections of this quilt making sure to stay away from the edge about 1" or better. This will not only give a bit of room when stitching all the layers together, but when you go back and fill in this blank area with more meanders it won't stand out.

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Photo 1

Each section consists of three layers: top, batting and backing; just consider each section as a small quilt all by itself. Make sure to trim accurately -- all layers within each quilt are even. Now, place two quilts together front-to-front and make sure all your edges are even. Fold the top layer back and pin it out of the way, you can see this in Photo #1. You will now carefully stitch 5 layers together: batting, top, top, batting, backing.

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Photo 2

This next step is a bit fiddly but don't skimp doing this because the seam will be way too bulky. You need to trim the both batting pieces from the seam as in Photo 2. I found that spreading the joined quilts out on a table helped a lot. If you are unsure of your skills, use some child's blunt nosed scissors instead of your regular ones. In fact, I use a pair of these when I do trapunto. Be patient and take your time, you don't want to let your scissors slip on this one.

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Photo 3

Now you need to press this seam as flat as you can get it as in Photo 3. Remember to not press a tuck in on the other side. This is just like pressing a block, only bigger. Are you with me so far?

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Photo 4

Once all the batting has been removed from the seam, we need to address the backing that was not included in the seam. Press under a quarter inch of this backing like in Photo 4.

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Photo 5

Now you get to settle in for a bit of hand stitching. I like to use as small a stitch as possible so that my stitches are hidden. I just parked my needle for the photo so this next stitch looks like it is going to be gigantic. And the doubling up of pins (you can see one silk pin on top of the red flower head pin) is just for the camera. I realized that the pins were almost invisible in the camera's eye.

Once you have these steps done, put this section under the machine needle and free motion a meander down that blank area. Pull it out from under the machine needle, admire your work and go on to the next one.

Hope this tute was helpful.

Journal Covers

I have been busy in the sewing room, can you tell? It seems that MagicLady and I use the same style calendar. My calendars take a lot of abuse so I have always made covers for mine. This year I made two and in the process used up 3 orphan quilt blocks. Pretty neat, huh?

There are spaces in the flaps to store business cards and papers and to hold a pen or pencil there is a simple loop of elastic next to the hook and loop tape on the strap. To be able to find your place easily a ribbon is sewn in at the spine. Over the years I have perfected what I want in my cover and long ago decided that I did not like to tie it closed because it was alway coming untied in my purse -- hence the hook and loop tape closure. A button or other geegaw could be added I suppose, but these two were whipped out in under an hour.

You might consider something similar as a gift item.

Being Grateful

The dictionary defines grateful as being appreciative of benefits received. Yes, I am grateful. Grateful for the roof over my head, the food that I eat, my job, and family and friends. That last is what has prompted this post. CarGuy learned that a sibling was living out of a pickup camper in a Walmart parking lot. That sib is now staying with us until enough money has been saved from the sib's part time job to get back on her/his feet. Can you just imagine trying to not only obtain a job but keep it when one does not have the basic needs and facilities met? After the first night here, the sib said that was the first decent night of sleep s/he had in months. "A bed. A REAL bed" we were told the next morning.

I will be especially grateful for what I have this holiday season.

Perseverance

I have somehow ended up owning some vintage thread crocheted potholders. One of my favorites is this round white potholder with the pink satin ribbon laced every other row. It's a simple pattern, really, and I decided to document it by writing the pattern down. So I hauled out the stash of crochet thread, made a cuppa tea and started in on it. I have the general principle but haven't yet gotten it to lay truly flat.

One day I will, though, with perseverance.

The Iris Garden Quilt

Just to show that I am actually working on a quilt, here is a picture to prove it. Do you remember the Iris Garden Quilt? You can read about it here and here. I am doing machine applique on this quilt. Can you see the stitches in the stem below the pinned piece? The technique I am using make the applique stitches almost invisible. The white lines on the green leaf are both embroidery embellishment lines and placement lines for another piece. The blue lines are placement lines for applique pieces and also include the number of the corresponding applique piece. The blue dots are quilting lines.

I just love those short little applique pins. They hold the piece down so well and they are just so darn cute.

It's the Simple Things

Bathing by Robert Lakstagala

Many years ago, in fact too many to even remember, Plantwoman sent me a greeting card with this picture. She doesn't smoke and never has, nor does she have hair like this but still this reminds me of her. Why? It's the bathtub. She lives in an older house with a small bathroom and a tub exactly like this one: perfect for soaking. I matted the photo and put it in a frame and it now graces a wall in my bathroom. Every time I look at it I think of my BFF.

A Christmas Wish

I know I haven't said anything about working on this Gail Pan design but here it is in flimsy form. Originally, it had nine blocks, but I wanted a table topper for the antique chest that is used as a coffee table in my home. To do that, I needed one more block. It wasn't hard to design one more, can you find the additional block*? The hard part was deciding on a word that fit right in with the rest of the blocks. Without any additional borders, this is a perfect size for that chest.

Now to sandwich it and get it quilted -- maybe in time for Christmas? *grin* But if I don't, then that's okay too. It will fit perfectly under the glass that is on top of the chest.

* it is in the lower right hand corner: cheer