Melting Fabric - Stash Report 042714

I got some sewing done.  Not much, not enough to finish a step or part of any project to report fabric used.

But I did get rid of fabric.  As I was working on the blank signature squares for the quinceanos quilt I realized that one particular fabric was melting when I ironed it.  No good.  That will not work.  Since about 99% of the fabric I have is scraps from someone or somewhere I don't usually know what kind of fabric it is.  This was a first though.  Definitely not a keeper.  I was glad to have figured it out before any were signed.  So I just threw it away.  Unsewed the edges I had already sewn on and threw the white squares away.  Found the piece of origin and threw it away too.  Yep, in the trash.  If it didn't work for me it was not going to work for anyone so I got rid of it.  Very risque.

Fabric Used This Week:  .3 yards melting fabric in the trash!!

Total Used 2014:  28.4 yards
Fabric In This Week:  0 yds 

Total Bought/Received in 2014: 7.25 yards
Net Used 2014: 21.15 yards

Stop by Patchwork Times and see how others are doing with their stash.

How to Make "Franken Batting"

There were a few questions about how I make "Frankenbatting".  I'm sure there are lots of ways to do it, but this works for me.  Bonnie Hunter recently posted on how she does it here.  I know that I read how to do it somewhere a long time ago.  It may have been here,  also a Bonnie Hunter post.

I usually only do this for a smallish quilt, baby quilt or lap quilt.

If I have strips I work in longer pieces, but if not I start small and built up sections that build up to strips that build up to a big enough piece of batting for a quilt. 

Find pieces that are about the same length.  If they are not the same length, just cut where it needs to be cut.  You can always sew it back together!

Place them slightly overlapping on the cutting table.  With the rotary cutter and ruler cut through both pieces so the edges will now butt up again each other exactly straight and matching.

Note: I used to not do this step and my batting was wavy with valleys and mountains.  This step takes extra effort but makes it a lot smoother.

I set my machine on the widest zig zag with a long stitch length and carefully join the 2 pieces.  Keep joining this way until your batting is large enough.  Square it up and use it!

Free batting.  Just a bit of effort required.

Quinceanos Quilt Progress

The 15th birthday Is a big deal for girls in the Hispanic culture. Since we are sewers/quilters my MIL and I have made signature quilts to mark this milestone in the lives of my nieces and daughters.  This was the first one done long distance and it has been a challenge.

This quilt has been covering the design wall since November or December with no progress at all. It is an original design trying to incorporate all the areas of Middle E's life. I had to send the signature blocks to Guatemala in March long before I had a plan. So I just sent 4" blocks and figured that was pretty generic and I would work out something.

Current progress - not shown are top 3 finished rows.

In September I figured I better get on it since her 15th birthday was in November.   What I imagined was just turquoise and lime green. But then it evolved into different colors for each group. The high school swim team was easy - black, silver, blue and Carolina blue in the lower right corner diagonally.   Then the Guatemala family and friends in blues in the upper left corner diagonally. USA family and friends are red, white and blue in the upper right. Current friends turquoise and lime green swooshing through the middle. 

Turns out doing it this way means that each signature block has to be planned individually.  So it has been a lot of cutting, placing, sewing and repeat.   Which I guess is why it stalled. I was waiting for more signatures to have an idea of the finished size and where the middle would be.  Before her birthday I had a teacher help with the friends but that didn't work so well. So for her birthday she got a bag of sections and pieces and the promise of an eventually finish. Amazingly she was surprised!

The flamingos are from a nightgown that Grandma made her.  Both dot fabrics are the linings of humbug bags from her birthday.

After her birthday I thought if she helped get signatures it would move along but that hasn't happened either. So now I am finishing it as is with blanks in the blank spots and she can get signatures on sections rather than blocks. 

On a whim I took it down this weekend and laid it out on the floor to see what I could do. I wish I had remembered to take a before picture or even better a picture of when it was on the wall - actually 2 walls in a bunch of sections.  No wonder I couldn't get it figured out. Being able to lay it out all together makes a big difference.

There are 3 more rows that go across the top. I can't reach that high to get them off the wall easily and the colors on the 4th and 5th rows have already been determined so it doesn't affect my color choices on the other sections.  I am not agonizing over whether or not each fabric choice is perfect.  I am just working at progressing.  I am hoping to at least get all the fabrics chosen and hopefully large 3x3 sections sewn together before I pick it up.

Go see some other design walls - and floors! - at Patchwork Times.

Stash Report 042014

Got the peach quilt for Hands 2 Help quilted so I get to count the backing as fabric used.  It had been in the deep stash for a long time, so it was good to get it used.  Unfortunately it is from a big bolt and there is plenty more.  Oh well.  Little by little.

Fabric Used This Week:  2 yards for the peach backing

Total Used 2014:  28.1 yards
Fabric In This Week:  0 yds 

Total Bought/Received in 2014: 7.25 yards
Net Used 2014: 20.85 yards

Stop by  Patchwork Times and see how others are doing with their stash.

Back in the Sewing Room

Last weekend was the big rummage sale for the preschool where I work.  That took a lot of time setting up and getting ready, so I had ZERO time at the sewing machine.  It was fun and successful so it was worth it.  But now I am ready to sew again.

No school today - for any of us!  I have a few housekeeping things and then I plan to sew, sew, sew.

Yesterday after school I worked at putting together a frankenbatting to use for this quilt for Hands 2 Help.

I had bought packaged batting, but when I started to look around I figured between my scraps and the bag of my mother's batting scraps I could probably piece together enough for this quilt. This year is all about using it up and getting it out.









Sure enough.  And I even got it done before heading back out to the various activities of the late afternoon and evening.  So today I just need to trim it up and it is ready.

The backing has been ready.  I had a bolt of a peachy fabric and the width was just right without having to piece.  Love it when that happens.  It is washed, dried, ironed and just waiting to be used.

Here's hoping for a complete finish by evening!!

UPDATE:  Quilting is done.  Woohoo!!  Too rainy for an outside picture, so this cramped close up will have to do for now.


Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict today.  Go check out some other finishes.

K Cup Easter Eggs!!

What do you put in your college kid's Easter care package when she doesn't want chocolate?

K Cup Easter Eggs!!

The little sisters sure had fun decorating "eggs".

I don't drink coffee and have no idea have the K cups work so I hope these still work and don't cause problems. 

Stash Report 040614

Got a lot done this week in little bits of found time.  

Yeah!  Fabric is moving out!!

Blue chain blocks for the RWB quilt are done.

Peach quilt for Hands 2 Help is a flimsy.

Fabric Used This Week:  3.05 yards blue & neutral for chain blocks, 2.1 yards for the peach top

Total Used 2014:  26.1 yards
Fabric In This Week:  0 yds 

Total Bought/Received in 2014: 7.25 yards
Net Used 2014: 18.85 yards

Stop by Patchwork Times and see how others are doing with their stash.

Spring is Here

Look what is on my dad's porch!





























Not sure what kind they are.  The parents are so fast it is hard to get a really good look at them.  Yellowish underside, white stripe over the eye.  Brown back.  Male and female seem to be a bit different from each other. Best guess from the bird book is nuthatch or warbler.  But could be something else altogether.

More Surprise Progress

It's amazing what I can get done if I just settle down to do it.  Wanting to have a finish to post on Fridays and stash out to post on Sundays has been a huge motivator.

I committed to help Hands 2 Help with at least one quilt.  I wasn't sure what I would do, but had this peach quilt that Little S started and quickly deserted.  It had been laid out, but picked up wrong, so I had to lay it all out again and get it stacked back up correctly for webbing.

Before

After agonizing over the arrangement for much too long I just went with it and got the rows webbed together relatively quickly.  Should be able to get the rows sewn together when I next get time to sit down and sew.  I think I already have fabric that will do for a backing.

Webbed together in rows.  Terrible lighting - sorry.

I had to laugh because when I dropped off my niece after choir practice, my sister gave me a plate of cookies.  I told my girls that if my passion was cooking I would have made cookies this afternoon - or at least dinner.  But since my passion is sewing I made part of a quilt.  Unfortunately, I can't feed my family the quilt, so we had fast food to celebrate finishing a tough week.  Fortunately, they understand and don't have high expectations from the kitchen, especially on the busy days!!  If Senor G had been home I would have put something in the crock pot, but when it is just us girls things are a lot looser!

Go see some other finishes at Confessions of a Fabric Addict   and Crazy Mom Quilts.