I almost forgot!

Oh my, it's the 31st, and I almost forgot to get my blog post up for this month's FMQ challenge. Phew! What's really silly is the pictures have been sitting on my computer, I just hadn't gotten around to writing the post!

So... March FMQ challenge! Loved it! loved it loved it. I am on the run, and will keep this short, but a lot of the patterns I tried this month I am certain I will use in future quilting.

A few observations...
Being left handed, I found that going into a pattern - like with the stars - I had to come in from the right side and move left-ward. I think right handed people might do it the other way. I just couldn't wrap my head around doing a star "backwards".

Once again, thread makes all the difference. While getting going I just used the thread in the bobbin that was in there. I just couldn't get the tension right. Switched thread to a better quality - wow, huge difference. No more pulling. Good to know!

So here is what the challenge looked like:

 Here are a few of my sketches:

And here are some results:
Pulling stitches:

 

A picture of my overall efforts:

 

 Swirls

 

Stars

 

February FMQ Challenge - Feathers

Alright... February Challenge. Phew. Feathers sucked!! Let me just get that out of the way.

To recap, I signed up for SewCalGal's Free Motion Quilting Challenge - a year of learning how to Free Motion Quilt (FMQ). January I didn't find too difficult, in fact kind of had no problem wrapping my head around it. January though, well it's the end of the month and I'm still not very happy with my results.

To start I found I had to sketch this one in order to even get a feel for the design. Once I had that done, off to the sewing machine. Play with tension, and off I went.

Now, a bit of a side note. I don't live near a place with lots of varieties of threads available to me. When I started this challenge, I picked up the basic/most common supplies noted. So when the tutorial says go and buy this specialty weight thread, or that kind of needle - I don't have that option. And I don't have the patience to order it online and wait for it to come. The nearest reasonable fabric/quilting shop is about 30 min away, and I don't really feel like taking the time for that round trip just to get another kind of thread.

So, having made that choice, I stuck with the threads I had, played with tension, used the fabric I had, the left over batting I had... and off I went!

Did it impact the results? Yes, probably. But I also think it was my wrapping my head around the design played a big part in my problems. Watching the empty space instead of where my needle was going... that kind of stuff. 

Looking at the amazing work other people were posting on Facebook, made me shake my head. I definitely could not get the "echo" back down the feather as close as I had hoped.

But truth be told, although I think the end result still looks pretty darned cool, it's not the kind of design I'm likely to use on quilts I am making. Not to say I wouldn't, but not likely

So some pictures!! Ah ha... using thread that matches the fabric - as on the light side, was awesome for hiding the multitude of mistakes there are.

 I like the contrast on the dark side though.

I look forward to March!! Onward and better!!

Finished Thomas quilt

I showed pictures of Thomas quilt in action, but not the finished product.

D. loves it!! Loves it! I'm thrilled. Worth the price of the kit (never done a kit quilt before), and the effort to have it shipped here and all the work put into it.

Okay so I saw the finished quilt in The Quiltmaker's Shoppe in Arlington, WA. At the time, Deb, the kind owner, advised they had no more kits and was not sure she would be getting more. I emailed her, and she was able to get it for me.

The fabric and pattern were originally from VIP Exclusives, at Quilting Treasures. Thomas is copyright Gullane.

People ask me how long it takes to make a quilt. I have no idea. Some quilts I work on on and off over years. An hour here, 30 min there, so I really can't tell. This one I would put in the estimate of 20-25 hours.

Pictures!!

Happy boy in his quilt

Duncan wanted to make a funny face

Cordelia wanted pictures of her quilt

Wrapped up.

Ta da

SewCalGal FMQ January Challenge

I have a lot of quilting goals this year in terms of learning more. Of course I want to make more quilts, but I thinking taking some time to improve on techniques I only have a loose hold on would be a better focus.

I want to learn how to applique better.
I want to learn how to paper piece better - build comfort
and despite having taking a class in machine quilting, I want to learn how to machine quilt better. A lot better.

Although I have done machine quilting, I always default to "stitch in the ditch" because I am afraid I am going to ruin my quilt if I try to free motion quilt it.

So, it's time to get over myself wouldn't you say?

Enter SewCalGal and her free motion quilting challenge. A year of tutorials and challenges to improve technique and comfort.

I finally got around today to making my practice blocks so I could get to practicing! Having done it before meant I was not as scared as someone else might be. Although that doesn't mean I got it down right away!!

1st attempt:

I had the bobbin thread pulling through something awful. I'm also following Leah Day's tips, and tried the quilting with my feed dogs up and stitch length set to zero. Ha, it worked. I did need to play with the top thread tension some - and it ended up at 0 I believe, but my next attempt went much better.

The only time it got out of control was when I let it. I didn't have my machine at super high speeds, and this kind of helped me remain calm. Biggest challenge is changing the direction of the leaves. But I think if I was quilting over an actual pieced quilt I'd have a better feel of where the quilting would need to end.

And here is the back side. I love how this looks, and would definitely consider using this while quilting a quilt. And not be scared!!

I'm comfortable with this tutorial, although I will continue my practicing through the month and not just say "well got that one mastered". Thanks for a great start Sew Cal Gal.

Pat Sloan's New Years Eve UFO Luau

I didn't quite get Duncan's Thomas the Tank Engine quilt done for Christmas, but seeing as he has known about it for months, I was not too concerned.

When I saw that Pat Sloan was hosting a UFO weekend, I thought it would be a good chance to get this baby finished. The top has been done for some time, but I wanted to get another quilt done as a gift, and so it took priority. More on that on in a different post.

Check out Pat Sloan's blog here: http://blog.patsloan.com/2011/12/pat-sloan-new-years-eve-ufo-luau.html

I sandwiched the quilt yesterday. I think I need a bigger working space b/c I could have done with making it tighter, but I had to work with what I was given.

Today Bill, bless him, had no problem keeping the kids happy upstairs while I spent probably a good 4 hours quilting. I was listening to the unabridged audiobook of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and narrated by Davina Porter - what a wonderful way to pass the time. I love that book and it's like visiting old friends when I hear the story again.

So I got the quilt quilted! I need to bind it now, and the binding is done, but it will need to wait until tomorrow because I'm getting some quality kid time.

I'll post a picture of it when it is finished.

Welcome to my Sewrenity

When we bought our house last year one of the must haves for us was a. a man cave for my husband and b. a sewing room for me. I am so glad we held out for this. It took a bit of renovations, but I got my room, and I named it Sewrenity. This is obviously a play on Serenity and sewing... but it's also a slight nod to Joss Whedon, creator of Firefly. We love all things Joss.

So I decided to create a blog where I can post my quilty and crafty creations, and this is it.

About me: I am a 37 year old (almost 38) Mom of two, married for 11 years, work full time outside of the house. My kids are 2 and 4. They and my husband make me laugh and smile - a lot.

I love to quilt. I love to read. I love wine. I am a moderate geek - I like geeky things, but am not as geeky as other people I know. For example my favourite shows run along the lines of Farscape. Stargate, Warehouse 13, Buffy, Angel, Firefly... You get the idea. I like other stuff too, but there is certainly the geeky component in there. I'm the kind of woman who when we recently brought home our new patio table that had a hole for the umbrella to go through said to my husband "You know, this table would be awesome for playing Settlers of Catan, and we could just put the desert in the middle..." He called me a geek. He was right.

For my first bit of crafty goodness I am attaching a picture of a quilt I recently made for my daughter. I belong to an online quilting group, and after putting out a request for friends to send me blocks with the following parameters - 8 1/2" unfinished, dragonfly themed, colours of periwinkle, purple, lime green - this is what I ended up with: