As it Goes

A little while ago I bought a jelly roll just because I liked the colours. It is Persimmon by Basic Grey. The only problem was that I wasn't sure what to do with it. I looked through pins and posts, library books, magazines, all over. And I think that more than anything I just got overwhelmed by possibilities. There are so many great designs out there.

Eventually,  I thought the best thing to do was to start..... anything. I started with log cabin blocks. I figured it was an easy fit with strips and I liked making them. But then I found myself looking at photos again trying to see what else I could do. So I stopped making log cabin blocks and started on a lone star instead. By piecing together a bunch of instructions, I made a small one.

Then I decided I like triangles, so I added those...

This is where I am now. Not sure where it will go from here.

Three-hole Yarn Foot

I signed myself up for some sewing lessons in a couple nearby shops. I am really enjoying them so far. Aside from the quilt top in the last post (which I still haven't finished) I have made a wallet/clutch purse (which I still haven't finished) and a block for a block-of-the-month club. Well, I sort of made a block (yeah, still haven't finished).

Anyway, in class we used a three-hole couching foot to fix yarn or ribbons or anything really, onto fabric. We experimented with different stitches but since my machine is limited in how wide it will make stitches, my choices were limited as well.

I decided to use my in-class block as a testing sample and tried everything I could think of today. I am sure I now have it narrowed down to my favorites for my actual block.

Here are some lessons I figured out along the way:

1. I drew a line on the fabric but kept veering off course. Turned out that I was trying to align my yarn along the line and feed it through. It was easier to hold my yarn off to the side with my right hand and concentrate on lining up the foot itself.

2. I need to pay attention to the guide on the foot. As long as I kept the middle of the foot lined up with my line, the stitches would catch all the yarn evenly.

3. I need to hold on to the yarn. I let go and ended up with a tangled mess.

I had a lot of fun playing with it, might even finish soon!

Halloween?

I have officially finished my first full-sized quilt top! Just the top, but I am very excited. I have been sewing for years, since high school, which is a very long time - believe me. But while I have started quilts, thought about quilts and even bought quilt fabric, I have never actually finished a full-sized quilt.

To clarify, I have made a baby quilt for my first son and a doll quilt for my daughter, simple ones, but not adult-sized. I almost finished a quilt for my second son, but that is another story. That is a story that ended in bloodshed and hospital visits - a bit dramatic, but true.

This quilt is made of orange and grey batiks, bought as a jelly roll. I didn't realize how Halloweenish they would be, but I am ok with that. I love orange.

Here is what it looked like before it was sewn together.  I laid it out on my floor to find the best configuration. In the end, I came to realize the whole thing was so random that it was beyond figuring. Trying to sort it out was impossible. I went with that idea and liked the outcome quite a bit.

I used lefleftover pieces of fabric on ghe quilt back. I had a lot of fun making it up.