Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Cooks need Potholders!



A lovely young friend is starting a side career selling Pampered Chef products and approached me to host a party. I love to cook, so of course I said Yes! The items they sell are priced a bit high for me but I want to help my friend. I invited everyone. I mean everyone! I went thru my Facebook list and clicked like a maniac. I told them if they will bring a friend, I will have a gift for them. Then I got busy sorting and sewing. What do all chefs need? Potholders!!



I sorted thru scraps, leftover units from quilts, remnants of batting, I even had scraps of the foil like, insulating batting. Win-win! I could have whipped out a dozen pairs if I had used yardage but that would have been too easy. And boring.



I used cottons from stitching my daughter scrub tops.



Scraps from Celtic Solstice.



Scraps from both, LOL.



Toss in pieces from Wildflower Park.



Skirt cotton and a little Celtic Solstice.

Skirt and leftover backing

It has been a great time to reminisce about past projects. I have 7 sets for guests to choose from and pieces cut to make more, though the party is tomorrow. Maybe I will get to keep some for myself. :)



Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Wolf Quilt construction


My unnamed quilt block paired with wolves is proceeding beautifully. Each block has two basic units, repeated a zillion times .... You get the idea - repetitive and quick!



I drew out my diagram, then changed it. But didn't draw it out as I was actually getting tired of drawing by the time I got this far. I'm much more enthusiastic when I get to use crayons or markers.




To keep my block directions of rows and columns in the proper order, I decided to do this quilt in sections. A simple turn of the block changes the look, so being correct is a huge part of the potential success.

I put a tension rod across the front of the closet, added clamps and I can hang things.

I'm stitching the 4 quarters together, then will stitch those into halves, then voila, a whole quilt! Sounds easy - Ha!

The quilt top goes several feet over. It's a big 'un!

Actually it was pretty simple. Who knew right? The borders went on easily. I mitered the inner tan border as well as the wider wolf border. I'm so happy to be in my own space for sewing now. I have a big folding table to the left of my machine and it's amazing to have it hold the weight and bulk of a king size quilt.



I found a super cool backing in shades of green with dots that make me think of the slides from microbiology class. I love the fabric but they cut it really crooked. Boo! Thankfully I always buy extra just in case.


Check out those wolves running at you. The quilt top is square, so technically the kids will be able to use it any which direction. The blocks have direction but you can choose where the echo rests. I dropped it at the local quilt shop to be long armed. I am eager to get it back, bind it and get some great pictures. More soon ...