Feb 28, 2010 Studio
After a weekend plus a few days of non-productivity due to a cold, I finally found a burst of energy. Now this energy burst is probably sponsored by Zyretec D, but what can I say. My house was a mess, I needed some clean clothes, and I was bored sitting on the couch complaining about my cold.
Now the kitchen is presentable, I have clean clothes to wear to work tomorrow, and I’m writing a blog post. Ross is concerned that I’m too wired to go to sleep. He’s afraid he’ll have to entertain me. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be sound a sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Anyways enough of this talk, on to more important things.
In my sewing room, I have a couple of Expedit bookshelves, which I love. However they were starting to look kind of junkie. This made me start to think about everything that I store. For some reason, I have a hard time getting rid of some magazines even though I rarely go and look at them again. See the mess!
So I decided to purge. But before I purged I cut out all the images that inspired me and pasted them into a sketchbook.
Now I thought I’d end up with a ton of pictures, but I didn’t. When it came down to seeing things I liked, it was easy. Now my shelves are getting closer to being organized. I’m seriously considering buying some drawers for the Expedit shelves and some nicer magazine files for some loose papers that I decided to keep.
I should mention that I did not throw away all my magazines. I do have a small pile of quilting magazines that do look through for inspiration. However, I am moving them to magazine box. I don’t want them to be apart of what I see everyday. Whatever ends up in plain site, needs to either be visually pleasing or be a supply that I use regularly, like fabric.
Also looking through all the magazines did take a bit of time. If I was sick this weekend, I’d probably still need to work on this project. So one small victory for the cold.
I’m still working on the after pictures. I need to visit Ikea first. I’ll even take the time to color correct the “After” pictures. I promise they’ll be better than the “Before’ pictures.
One last thought, I saw the Confessions of a Shopaholic movie this weekend. Now I know the books are nothing to brag about, but they were a fun quick read. I just wish the movie would have stuck to the book just a bit more. (sigh)
Feb 10, 2010 Quilting
Yes, that’s what I’m calling my latest project. The name seems so obvious even if it is larger than a traditional checkerboard. Since my last update, I finished the quilting and attached the binding. The binding is so much easier to attach if you sew the binding on first, and then cut off the excess fabric. Trust me.
The completed quilt:
I know I need a better picture. If the weather cooperates with me this weekend, I’ll get one. I’ll even make sure the camera battery is nice and charged. Until then, you get the basic idea.
And the back:
I really like this swirly pattern. I want it in multiple colors. Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen. I found this fabric on the clearance table.
Jan 27, 2010 Quilting
On Saturday, I started the process of getting a quilt ready to quilt. Until I win the lottery and buy my own quilting machine, this is what I do.
First I pin the back to the carpet in my living/dining room area. I like the long pins with flowers on the end. They’re strong and stay pinned to the carpet. If I had hardwood floors in this area, I’d just tape it. Pins are a good substitute.
Then I lay down the batting. For this quilt, I used Warm n’ Natural. It’s the first time I’ve used this batt
It was easy to work with. Since it came in a package, it was slightly crunched up. It responded well to steam. The cats approved.
Next, the top makes its debut. I centered it on the lower layers and steamed out the wrinkles. I love my iron. It’s heavy on the steam.
Finally, I pulled out my box of curved safety pins and got to work. This is the part that requires determination. I used a lot of pins to hold this baby together. In fact, I even bought more after I ran out.
Apparently, all the safety pins paid off. So far the quilt has been a breeze to quilt. In a day or so I think I’ll be done.
Jan 24, 2010 Sewing
Behind my sewing machine is a little ironing board that’s super convenient for small ironing tasks. For longer than I care to admit, it has looked like this:
Finally, I decided that I needed to do something about it. It turns out that with less than 1/2 yard of fabric, I could easily make it pleasant to look at.
Originally the iron had a thin piece of foam over the particle board form. I replaced the foam with two layers of Warm n’ Natural batting, stapling it to the board. I hate it when the batting shifts as I iron.
Then I made the cover using the existing cover as a pattern.
I can’t begin to tell you how happy it makes me to look at this cheerful ironing board. I think I need to add more bits of bright pink in my studio.
When it’s time to replace this cover, I think I’m going to scrap this board and make my own portable ironing board. Recovering this board helped me realize that this board was nothing more than plain particle board cut into a nice shape. While it’s shaped for ironing clothes, it really doesn’t suit my primary needs. I’d rather have a full rectangle. If I should decide to iron clothes (big if), I can always get out my full-sized iron board.
Jan 21, 2010 Quilting
Since I first learned about the Modern Quilt Guild, I want to join a similar group right here in Salt Lake. Well apparently, nobody else has formed a group. So I went ahead and started a group myself. I can’t believe I’ve done this. Normally, I more of a follower than a leader. I’m hopeful that this can be a lot of fun.
Now I’m looking for people other than myself to be a member of this group. If you like to make modern quilts and you live in Salt Lake, you can can sign up through a ning group. I know I don’t have a ton of blog followers, so feel free to pass long the information to all your modern quilting friends.
