Sewing Daily for 2015

[Joyce M.]

Hi All,
I have been a sewist since elementary school, I was in 4H and started sewing. Then a friend tried to teach me hand piecing in 1988. Well I took apart that quilt and resewed it on my sewing machine. I wanted a faster way to get it together. The top is pieced but I never finished it. So this year I have decided to do something with quilting on a daily basis. It is not always sewing, sometimes it is shopping for supplies, reading quilt magazines watching TQS videos to learn a new technique. Now some people are very regimented, like my husband...I am not one of them. But I have decided this year every day I want to enjoy my quilting, so I bought a calendar and I am writing in it what projects I am working on, how many blocks are finished or what I am doing in learning a new technique. I even bought a journal for practicing free motion quilting.

Your not going to believe this but I am also learning to paper piece hexagons, your remember the hex specialist? Cheryl L See..I think I have watched that show about 4 times so I could learn her method. I have a small case that I can take anywhere so I will still be able to work on my quilting even when I do not have a sewing machine. I need to get her book, none of the shops here carry it, I want to complete something small first so I have practice before trying anything larger.

What about Sharon Schamber? She has many tips that I have used. I will never forget my first block of the month..at the end of a year we were told that all of the blocks needed to be 12 to 12.5" square..so I cut off my points and did whatever it took to get those blocks the right size..well now I use Sharon's idea of using starch and an iron to stretch or shrink the block to the right size..no more cutting off those points that it took me so long to make sure I had!!! I even use the same idea on a finished top of my quilt to make sure it is exactly squared before quilting it. I even bought the corner lasers to make sure it is square.
What about Alex Anderson and her curved baby blanket edges, it was great to learn they make mistakes just like the rest of us. I am going to try it on the next baby blanket.
Ricky I haven't tried fabric dying yet but it is on the list to learn. I am practicing free motion quilting on my domestic machine, I love your feathers.
I know that it take practice so that is why I have decided to this challenge for myself.
Anyone else want to take up the challenge? I thought we could encourage one another.
Rmichap :cheer:

[Joyce M.]

Hi Rmichap, Welcome to the forum. It is interesting to read how you came to quilting and also how you are going to dedicate a bit of time every day to one aspect or another of this hobby - try not to make too many of them as shopping days or you will be as inundated with fabric as the rest of us I hope you post pictures of what you are working on, we all like eye candy on this site.

Personally I am not into hexies - I put it down to a bad experience at primary school :S And yes we all make mistakes, but as Sally Collins says we only have to get it right the last time :lol:

I don't know if I will be joining you with some quilty sewing every day, since I also do tailoring for a day job, but am certainly interested in your achievements and will be following with interest.

[Lois B.]

Just came online to check out the Resolutions for 2015 and your idea ties in with what I wanted to post. I have been trying to make better use of my time. I want to be more efficient using my sewing time and I try to do some sewing almost every day. So I will be sure to stay tuned.

Welcome to the Forum and check out the other Thread I mentioned.

[Lois B.]

Me too! Time slips away too fast without a plan.

Yesterday made a pop bottle doll with granddaughter for school project complete with styrofoam head (Laura Ingalls). Today cleaning up!

Barb

[Lois B.]

: B) Well I already have the fabric stash..it is in the sewing room, the hallway, spare bedroom, and storage room downstairs. In all fairness though I am rearranging my sewing room as I just got some new cabinets.

My goal is to only buy something in order to finish a project, or to try something new. The Hexagon was such a good show and I thought what can I do besides look at crafting magazines if I am in the car..and later this summer traveling to Seattle. Those are about as small as I can get and still keep going.

I have attached a file of a quilt that I did for a class, I really strived to get it done in the alotted time. Then as part of the class the store allowed us to use their mega quilter as a bonus to finish our quilts. I really enjoyed doing this quilt. I used colors that I personally would not normally use..that is the other thing I am trying to do..use other color options instead of the same each time.
Rmichap

[Lois B.]

Thanks for the feedback. I have been browsing the forum and have gotten some more ideas. Currently I am working on a pattern called Day Break. There are special rulers that go along with the pattern to make it easier. Right now I am piecing together the blocks. I cannot finish the block as half with be on one row while the other half is on the next. I will take a couple of pictures of the different colors that I am using.

I suffer with migraines so I try to leave ironing, or spraying and washing my fabric for those days. So this is a challenge for me as well, I usually have 2 or more a week.

One of the picture shows the pattern I am using. I love how each block looks different.








By posting this I hope to be more accountable in getting my projects done.
rmichap

[Lois B.]

Barb,
I hope you got a picture of the doll. I would love to see a photo of it. As well as quilting I also embroider. I use the 6D software for digitizing. I made my husband a rag quilt for Christmas I used all black and gold (or tan) to represent the University of Missouri Colors. I then digitized the logo (I can only use this for personal use) a tiger-just the outline and then I used my embroidery machine to quilt it in the middle of each block. Since it was made of flannel I added polyester batting for warmth but not the extra weight.

Starting in March I will be teaching a class on how to make the Anita Goodsign Tiger Tile design. It will be the first time that I teach this type of class. There are 9 panels of embroidery that all fit together.
Thanks for the words of advice

[Lois B.]

Me too! Time slips away too fast without a plan.

Yesterday made a pop bottle doll with granddaughter for school project complete with styrofoam head (Laura Ingalls). Today cleaning up!

Barb

I'd love to see a picture.

rmichap, What is your name? I love you pictures. I love the blocks each one just a little different. Keeps you motivated to see how it will look finished.

[Lois B.]

I have some that are blue then some that are grey. Our bedroom has blue walls and then we took silver and swirled it over for an accent wall. Right now I am just chain piecing the blocks then I will go back and add the border and connect three of each section together to make the half block. With each block you make one has the middle color in it and the next the color will be to the outsde of the block, they say it is called positive and negative.
My name is Robin.

[Beverly C.]

Great pictures, Robin. I like that pattern too. Barb, did you take a picture of your project? Would love to see that pattern too. It's so much fun seeing new ideas here on the forum!

[Nancy R.]

Lovely projects, Robin. I look forward to seeing your progress!

[wendy w.]

Robin I feel exhausted reading all you've been doing. Keep shopping

[Joanne K.]

nice work Robin !

[Charae H.]

Robin~ it will be great to see everything you get done. Your work certainly looks beautiful!

[Judith A.]

Robin,
Your tiger quilt is beautiful. Very striking. Please explain a little more about it. What is tile embroidery? Is your quilt one tile or several tiles?

I like your blue stars quilt too. Constructing stars in rows is a new idea to me. Does it make it easier to make everything fit that way?

I am a quilter who suffers from migraines also. I have one of those ice-cold gell bags that you keep in the freezer and designed for headaches. It helps me as much as migraine medication, without the side effects. If it is a bad migraine, I sit in an armchair with the ice-cold gel pack around my head, and the blinds and drapes closed to block out the sunlight, and do hand applique or knitting. It helps a lot. Thank God for sewing!!!

Judith

Judith