Ready for some good news...

   I just spoke with the radiologist and the biopsy was benign!  Woo-hoo!   Lots of prayers of thanks being said around here right now.    I was so in need of some good news.

 Then to really brighten my day, I got an email from The Fat Quarter Shop blog  that I won the recent giveaway for a set of Pat Sloan's patterns.  

 Seeing the variety of items made from these patterns on the blog hop was great. Wall hangings, table runners, pillows, and small quilts popped up from the different quilters who got to try their hand with the patterns.  The pattern was simply the jumping off point for many of them, and they infused their own style into the project.  

  So now I have no excuse not to be creative myself.....a full set of patterns and a release from the anxiety.  Think I need to get busy.

Happy stitching.  

This blog thing...

 I began this blog thing a few years ago as a personal journal of sorts to keep track of my quilting progress and other things I enjoy.  I have  discovered a lot about myself and most of all found a focus in what I do.  Along the way I have  connected with a lot of quilting bloggers and found some kindred spirits.

  Terri at Quiltncards  is one of those.  Terri created and donated a doll quilt---the red cardinal one---for the Get Your Mrs. Claus On project.  Instant connection.   She passed along this blog award to me yesterday.

This award is given to favorite blogs with under 200 followers.

 The Liebster Rules are:

1. Post about your win on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award.

3. Copy and paste the award to your blog.

4. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that have less than 200 followers that 

you think deserve  to be recognized.

5. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

 So I am sharing the first 5  blogs that came up on my list of Mrs. Claus supporters.  
 Each of these quilters donated doll quilts to the project,
 and I appreciate each one. 

1.  Bea at A Needle in the Hay stack  is such a delight to follow.
She is in France, does wonderful  little quilts.
2.  Freda at Imperamagna  has been a wonderful  encouragement to me.
 The universe needs  more  people like her.   She is currently hosting a
 Jacob's Ladder  QAL,  and she has the cutest  grandson,
 Henry, who wears a red scarf like Harry Potter.
3.  Janet at The Rogue Quilter  has a great blog that is fun to read.  
She is a prolific quilter, and also makes soap.

4.  Dana at Stormy Days  is an animal lover and  has the greatest photos.  

 I always enjoy her take on things.

5.  Mary at Hill Country Quilter  always has several projects
 going and shares  her progress and ideas.  
I hope you will visit each of these great blogs.  

Exactly what is up with blogger.....the editing buttons are
 making a mess of this post.  
Do you think they forgot to take their meds, 
or maybe too many?

Anyway, off to the kitchen.  I am baking for 
 I am baking for the production 

crew at church and making bread.   

Happy stitching.

Thoughts on details

  It was great to read all the encouraging comments about my guest post.  Thank you all and welcome to the new followers.  I put  the Color Talk post on a new page. 

 This lovely embroidered card came in the mail from Margaret of the Fiber Friends group in Landrum.  It is just  exactly me, wildflowers and the swirl.  The paper is heavy and embossed--hand made and almost feels like fabric-- and all the flowers and stems are embroidered by machine.

  In the smaller photo you can see the stitches better and all the detail used.  Isn't it always "in the details" that makes  something special?   Whether it is the color and shading, or the curves and branching, it is the little things, those details, that enrich the project.
  I am not always good about finishing the details.  I tend to get carried away with the finished overall project.  I can look at certain quilts I have made, and realize that a bit more time on the details would have been  worth the effort.  Maybe a little more design time when arranging blocks, or extra thought to piecing the border, or even selecting a better quilting pattern----all of these are details.  I may follow through on one and forget the rest.
I think there may be a life lesson here to remember.......
  Insight:  Enjoy the journey. Don't miss the details and joys of the journey by focusing on the destination or end.   
Happy stitching.

Not here today.....but over there

 I'm not here today........
 But I am talking about color and choosing  fabrics  over at
 Sew We Quilt !
 Jump over there and have a read.  Be sure to take your coffee with you, as I did not get to have any this morning.
  And thank you Madame Samm for the invite.   I should be awake enough tomorrow to answer any questions.
 Happy stitching.

Color Talk

This was my guest post on Sew We Quilt February 2012.
 Love color?  Yes!  Always know the perfect color or fabric to pick?  Uh, no.  Have sweat trickling down your neck, or sweaty palms selecting fabric for your next project?  Yep, there I am.
  I'm Debbie from Stitchin' Therapy and I do love color.  When I began quilting, I had absolutely no idea how to choose colors or fabrics for a quilt.  In my first class I was told to use a light, a dark, and a bright.   I never finished that quilt, I wonder why?  Today I  mainly do multi-print, multi-color quilts---scrap quilts and water color quilts--- because the colors make my spirit soar.
   Color is what I notice first about a fabric.  It will draw me in and influences how I react to a quilt made with it.   So before your eyes glaze over and you think "Here comes the color wheel talk, and all those words like complementary and analogous,"  relax!  I'm going to share a simple technique I learned from an artist turned quilter.   The class I took from her was not about technique or sewing. It was about selecting fabrics and colors.  I consider it my secret weapon to creating wonderful, colorful quilts.

  Here's a quilt in which I used  this technique for selecting  the fabrics.   I used 18 fabrics for this bargello quilt, but it all started with one fabric that  I loved.  I  followed the steps below to pick the other 17 fabrics.

Steps to selecting fabrics/colors

   It's a simple idea based on letting the fabric and designers do the work for you.   Find a focus fabric you love that has 2 or 3 colors in it.  The seventh fabric from the left was my focus fabric.....shades of purple to plum with blues and greens.  There's my palette!

  Now select  other fabrics that "play well and are friendly" with the focus fabric.

•   Select a second fabric based on your favorite color in the focus fabric.  The color doesn't have to be an exact match.  My second choice is right next to it at position #6.
•   Select a third fabric based on another color in the focus fabric.   My third choice ended up in position #10.  Notice anything?  My selections were a light, a bright, and a dark fabric scheme.
•   Select a "friend fabric" for the second and third fabrics you chose.  Make it a shade lighter or darker for depth and variety.  
•   And so on....Try to select fabrics that vary in scale (size of print), and value.  Tonal type prints are great "friend" fabrics.
•   Finally, stand back about 6 to 8 feet from your selections.  Does anything jump out and not fit?  Replace it.  Look at the ninth fabric.....does it seem too dark?  Yes, probably, but the plum color was so striking with the other fabrics that I left it in to spice things up.  Rules can be broken!
•   Is the collection of fabric all the same value and seem boring?   Note---Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the color you see.  The overall value of the fabric is as important as the color.  Using a palette of all medium value fabrics will appear flat and boring.  Adding a dark and a lighter value will greatly enhance your quilt.   If you are not sure of the value, take a photo, look at it on the computer.  Squint at it, or take off your glasses like me, and get it out of focus to see the value rather than the pattern and color.  Change it to a black and white photo, and you can easily judge the value.  It is so worth the effort to do this.  

  This is the same photo as the above palette converted to black and white.  I wanted to be sure the darkest values were scattered throughout my palette and not all in a clump.   Don't be afraid of using a dark fabric.  The dark values create depth and let the light and medium value fabrics shine.  

Selecting the dozen different batiks for this one was done in the same way.  

This smaller photo below of the first blocks made  gives you a closer look at the fabrics chosen.  Can you pick out the focus fabric that I used for the palette selection?  

Did you pick the fabric in the bottom left corner?  That was it....a beautiful collection of colors in it to chose from.  Using the focus fabric made it easy!

   Are you a traditional quilter?   In Summer of Love I used 20 different floral fabrics for the very traditional Jacob Ladder blocks. The bold yellow  is predominant, and required a careful selection of other fabrics to be successful.  I began with one floral featuring  lots of colors--including yellow.  Each of the remaining floral fabrics were selected because they picked up a color from the focus floral.  Some were on  dark backgrounds, and others were on  lighter backgrounds, and  2 had very blue tone backgrounds.  And in the end, all of them blended and worked well together.
   Show no fear when selecting fabrics for your next project.  Conquer your  fear about mixing colors and fabrics.  You have been empowered with the secret weapon for fabric selection.... Let the designer and fabric do the work for you.  And now,  you also have a great reason for building your stash.
  Thanks so much,  Madame Samm for letting me share my thoughts on color and how to make it work for us all.
Wishing you all a color filled day and happy stitching.

A couple of options

   I finished up the "no lining" style trashcan bag and wanted to share another option I used in finishing.
  The straps for the handles were made like I described in my first post  ---Out of the trashcan---with a double layer of batting.  To get the length I pieced several short strips together.  I do like the look of it better that way.  I generally like my straps to be about 24 inches, but these ended up about 27 inches.  Once it was completely finished, I decided to shorten them a little.  Don't panic, I did not un-stitch anything.
   I just  folded down the handle strap about 1" and then flipped the handle back up and pinned in place.  This creates a "tab" look just below the binding around the top.

     Here you can see how I stitched it in place by sewing it down  just below the binding.  Then a diagonal line of stitching to the bottom.  Now the straps are 24 inches.
   Another option:
 The handle straps could be made longer and extend down the front of the bag to the bottom seam.  This would allow you to add an outside pocket placed between the straps.  If you want to do that, the straps should be top-stitched down over the pocket edges before the bottom seam is finished and any inside pockets put in.   I would also not use double layer of batting in the stitched down portion of the handles.  Just think the process through before you begin.

One bag in floral fabrics, and one in batiks.  I can think of several combinations that I would like to do this style in.....all blues, toile prints,  black and white prints, all reds, and then maybe a kitchen sink mix where anything goes.  A great way to express yourself!
  So, no more narrow strips of batting in my storage box or trashcan---absolutely none left, and a nice dent in the strip scrap box.   That makes this project a success in my book.
Happy stitching.  

The second time around

Much better the second time around on this bag.....easier sewing (I had it figured out now), so it is not so thick.  First, let me remind you that this bag has no lining.  Several emails asked about that.  Each of the strips encase the batting between the layers, so it looks the same on the inside as the outside.
  I am going to assume that readers have basic construction knowledge.....but if you have questions, please ask.
  The measurements I am giving will make a small bag that is  about 10" high and 11" wide when finished.  Make it bigger, taller, wider by adjusting the lengths and number of strips.
Make the strips:

  Most of my scrap strips are 2 1/2".  I cut 12 1/2 long pieces---36 in total.
  I cut batting scraps into strips 3/4" wide.  Short pieces are fine to use, just butt the ends together.
  Turn under one long edge of the fabric strip and press down.
  Center the batting strip on top of the wrong side of the fabric.
 
 

Fold the long edge of fabric that is not turned under to the center over the batting.
Fold the turned under edge of fabric to the center over the batting also.
Press without stretching.
Straight stitch along the folded edge.  For thread I decided to use a light blue/purple on top and bottom.  It shows on some fabrics and blends on others.  Just remember that you are stitching from the wrong side, what will be on the outside is in your bobbin.


Sew the strips together:
 Let the fun begin.  I began by sewing 2 strips  together at a time with a zigzag stitch. Machine settings on my machine was for 5.0 wide and 2.5 long stitch.
  Once I had several pairs sewn, I began to sew the pairs together to create 2 different units---one front and one back piece.  I kept adding strips until each section was 14" wide.
  I pressed each section and then squared it up to
 12 inches by 14 inches.

Sew the sections  together:
  For the side seams I used a straight stitch seam....look close, it is a narrow 1/8" seam.  You can take a wider seam if you want.
  For the bottom seam,  I used a 1/4 " seam.  I joined the back and front and a strip of fabric to fold over the raw edge.  Note that I just folded the end edge in toward the center of the bag.

  The extra strip of fabric is folded once towards the seam--about 1/2".  Then it is folded over to the other side and top stitched down.  This encases the raw edge of the joined strips......no lining needed here.

I made 2 pockets by joining some shorter cuts of covered batting strips....one about 8" wide and a second one 6 inches wide.  I used extra strips folded in half to cover the raw edges of the pockets and then top stitched them into place on the inside....be sure you are stitching them in place on the inside.

Square off the bottom:
  This is a thick seam.....just sew slowly.

Turn the bag right side out.....and see if it stands by itself.  Now just the handles to make and attach and bind off the top.  Tomorrow......  I'm done for today.
Happy stitching.

Updates

 

Bag is done...... as you can see,  it can fully stand by itself!  I think a little adjustment / refinement  of the technique is needed.    Note the button I used is one I picked up in Alaska.....made from deer or moose antler.



I used basic tote bag construction.  I made 2 sections, one for the back and one for the front.
Size of each section was 14" across and 13" high---this would give me a bag that finishes up about 11" by 11" and 3" deep.
   Mistake #1:  Using my usual technique of making the handle straps for the body that I showed before.  I like a double layer of batting in the handles, but NOT here!  So, I will modify my technique and use a single layer of batting when making them for bag #2.
  Mistake #2:  I cut out the corners at the bottom--like I usually do-- to eliminate the triangular flap when creating a square corner for the bottoms.

 I ended up with a very thick and exposed edge that I do not like.  Here's a link that shows how to stitch  across the corner to square off the bag, and you have a triangular flap.   I will keep the flap / corner triangles on bag #2, and just tack them down. That will give me all covered seams.

Joining the side seams:    No zigzag stitch here.....I just straight stitched very close to the finished edge.  In the photo I  joined 2 narrow yellow strips for the side seam.  No problem with this for me.

 The inside:  The bottom seam of the bag was covered with a folded strip of fabric and top stitched down.  Again, thickness was a challenge here, but the finished edge looks good.  I only added one pocket---again using folded strips on the raw edges and top stitching in place.

 Finishing the top edge:  Usual technique worked fine.  I used a strip of fabric 2 1/2" wide, folded it in half.  I  stitched it to the wrong / inside of the bag over the handles and the loop to close.  The folded edge comes over to the outside and is top stitched down.

     I know I have sent you over to The Nifty Stitcher before.  But please go again and check out her video as she stitches her feathers.....especially if you are on the fence about trying this month's free motion challenge.  She makes it look so effortless that her video deserves a look.    

   Another stolen quilt.....click here to read Bonnie's post .
I am just back from being smashed, squashed, squished, poked and prodded......you get the idea.  The radiologist did find a small dense area and a biopsy is scheduled.   I still have the other procedure to endure next week, so please remember me in your prayers.    Happy stitching.