Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[Sunshine]

Miss Kitty? She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Beatles - She Loves You - YouTube

Well, I can't take her with me when I go to Gulf Shores for 2 months. My daughter is going to cat sit. I think I'm going to wear a gown around here for a day or two before and leave it with her at my daughter's house for her to sleep on.

Talked to my brother last night. He is one of the funniest people I've ever known. As irreverent and I am, he is far more so and 100 times funnier. I told him about how the cat is jealous of the stitching and will watch me for 2 hours at a time. His comment: "She's just trying to learn how."

I have a hilarious brother too.

We were very, very close growing up but now we rarely speak and haven't seen each other for years. He married a rabid Canadian leftie who has no interest in fostering ties with his family, and he certainly isn't.

But that's okay, we have our own families now. I love him and think of him often.

In psych we say the term 'dysfunctional family' is redundant. LOL. We have had our issues, but they have been resolved for years. My daughter married a Canuck, but he isn't a leftie. He is rock solid, and I can die knowing she and my grandson are in good hands. His family is also wealthy.

He has a daughter who is just like him. And her poor husband just can't seem to catch a break. He says she and I were 'separated at birth' because the things we say are so much alike. He says that my brother, her dad, 'saves up' his irreverence but she and I don't, and he thinks we should! LOL.

Anyway, I've gotta run to town for a bit. I'll catch y'all later.

 

[Sunshine]

Well, nobody voted, so I just got tired of it all and decided to make a pillow to match the other quilt and call it a wrap. I can't do too well quilting even a baby sized quilt, but I can still do 15" pillow tops, which this one measured. I will need to make a 14" pillow, finished, to go in it because of takeup around the edges. We'll see.

Here are some scans of the pillow. There will be a few center squares in every scan, as my copier didn't include instructions for splicing together edges, at least, I don't think so.

My vote goes to whatever you want to do!

 

[freedombecki]

Well, I found a zig-zag quilt that in 5-inch squares would be a bit of fun today:

A few weeks back, I found 6 yards of every color in the rainbow for $249. When I did the math for 102 yards, it turned out to be the best bargain in the world plus I got free shipping and only had to pay state sales tax. The fabrics are a soft, small floral that has a luminescent quality because of the lights and darks. If I find it has a medium gray in it, I will be thrilled. Otherwise, I'm sure there's a country blue that would be suitable. If not, I can find something, I know it. 5-inch squares in charm packets at any quilt store would be nice with the above color schema of a medium slate color...whether blue or gray. 160 squares would make a quilt about 45x60 or thereabout, plus you could always do a dynamite border of one kind or another.

 

[Sunshine]

I just discovered that Singer has a shop in Murray. I thought they were gone.

 

[freedombecki]

Hopefully, it will be a good shop for you, Sunshine.

Happy blueberry 4th of July!

 

[Sunshine]

Hopefully, it will be a good shop for you, Sunshine.

Happy blueberry 4th of July!

Going to check it out next trip to town.

 

[Sunshine]

I kinda want that Pfaff, but being retired now, money may be the issue. I need to check both places out. Singer is closer, not sure if they give any classes, or what their machines do these days. I have a new credit card that awards air miles so I need to use it for something so I can get the 35,000 bonus miles. But I want to be able to pay it off.

 

[freedombecki]

Sunshine, I'd really try the Brother at WalMart. Get one that does 100-250 stitches. They even have one that both embroiders and sews that is a Brother. See if you even like to sew at first. Why spend thousands of dollars to find out you need 85 training classes just to understand the machine's basic works? First, find out if you like sewing with a half-way decent machine that won't break the bank.

When you start out, keep tabs of your expenditures. What does it cost to make a $50 dress for summer casual wear, to do mending, to put on a button, or to monogram a pocket and then sew it back on? What are you going to do if you make a mistake and the monogram is at a 15 degree angle you hate? *sigh*

I'd really go slow to start. Even if all you do is sew your quilt squares together or hem your red tablecloth with a neatly-sewn hem. Some machines even have a basting stitch, especially if you get one with 200 stitches. 90% of them will have a basting stitch, so you can firm up your hem, take it quickly out if it's wrong, and when everything is correct, you can sew even a straight stitch hem that looks nice, because if you get the one with the needle-down function, the fabric will stay in place while you straighten the fabric out so it will sew right.

I can't emphasize too much how nice it is to have a little experience before you dive into a thousands-of-dollars purchase. Give yourself 3 months with this assessment: (1) How many times did I use the machine? (2) Did I go through the instruction manual and do a sample of each stitch and learn to use the buttonholer, button attachment foot, zipper foot, overedge foot, rolled hem foot, etc. Was it too hard? (3) Is the machine safe (didn't sew a finger up, etc.) (4) How easy was the machine to thread after 7 days? 14 days? a month? two months? (5) Is there any attachment I am not comfortable using after 90 days? (6) Did the manufacturer include or have a way to purchase a how-to video/cd or did I find one on YouTube?

Please, go slow. You may learn some things about yourself you don't know yet.

My favorite people to deal with as a dealer was medical professional women. Man oh man, were they ever clued in to doing exactly what the manual taught or the instructor did. What a bright bunch! And one school librarian was the same way.

You might talk to a dealer and ask if he or she has a trade-up program, where you have 6 months to a year trade-up to a better model. That way, you have a trained professional who can show you things he learned at the dealer's convention nobody else would know, including the manual, which only lightly touches all the machine capabilities. I didn't know too many of my other Pfaff dealers well, but I gave a year's option. One lady was a widow, and she enjoyed the option through 5 move-ups, until she was truly enjoying a very sophisticated machine, because every time she did, the sticker or price she paid came off the price of the next new machine she got. That way, she didn't get clobbered with thousands of dollars when she moved up to the top of the line machine. I didn't make a nickel, but I've never been so happy that a customer who didn't have an instant cash payment to plunk down on a top of the line got so well trained. She really appreciated the build-skill approach.

The worst things that happened would happen when somebody would want to have the ability to do everything, but didn't have the patience to learn basic tasks in order to be able to use the machine in as versatile a way as possible.

I'm just throwing ideas out, Sunshine. You know yourself best. I do notice you are a very adventurous person and put your whole heart into whatever you think is best. You might be like the 5 top users who were so thrilled to have a Pfaff they wanted to do everything it would do, because they had a comparison base of a 2-ton monstrosity that made noise boucoup, sewed worse after repairs than before, and was the stuff of hair-tearing experiences. For that reason they loved the quiet Pfaffs, and once I showed them how trust the machine to do the work of sewing and not to do damage the machine by trying to force it to do something like machine horrible habituated them into doing by nonperformance, they had real fun. They loved the built-in walking foot with perfect reverse stitching, and Pfaff was 20 years ahead of everyone else in that field. I haven't assessed any other machines as to that much capability, but I know I love the Bernina and Brother machines I've sat in front of. I'm not worried about threading because in my factory experience in the 60s, I was competent on at least 5 different types of machines after 3 months, because I kept asking if I could fill in for anyone in a different part of the factory in which there was a demand for production. I spent one day on an overlock machine one day when the process ahead of me had no zippers to sew one day. It was fun.

 

[koshergrl]

i bought my little sewing machine at Walmart some 6 or 7 years ago. Works great for everything i've tried it on..except sock monkey sewing, and that's understandable. it's light enough it's easy to move, and tough enough to take it...and simple enough that even when i haven't done anything in ages, when i sit down it comes back to me...and there's zero 'programming' to figure out.

 

[Sunshine]

Sunshine, I'd really try the Brother at WalMart. Get one that does 100-250 stitches. They even have one that both embroiders and sews that is a Brother. See if you even like to sew at first. Why spend thousands of dollars to find out you need 85 training classes just to understand the machine's basic works? First, find out if you like sewing with a half-way decent machine that won't break the bank.

When you start out, keep tabs of your expenditures. What does it cost to make a $50 dress for summer casual wear, to do mending, to put on a button, or to monogram a pocket and then sew it back on? What are you going to do if you make a mistake and the monogram is at a 15 degree angle you hate? *sigh*

I'd really go slow to start. Even if all you do is sew your quilt squares together or hem your red tablecloth with a neatly-sewn hem. Some machines even have a basting stitch, especially if you get one with 200 stitches. 90% of them will have a basting stitch, so you can firm up your hem, take it quickly out if it's wrong, and when everything is correct, you can sew even a straight stitch hem that looks nice, because if you get the one with the needle-down function, the fabric will stay in place while you straighten the fabric out so it will sew right.

I can't emphasize too much how nice it is to have a little experience before you dive into a thousands-of-dollars purchase. Give yourself 3 months with this assessment: (1) How many times did I use the machine? (2) Did I go through the instruction manual and do a sample of each stitch and learn to use the buttonholer, button attachment foot, zipper foot, overedge foot, rolled hem foot, etc. Was it too hard? (3) Is the machine safe (didn't sew a finger up, etc.) (4) How easy was the machine to thread after 7 days? 14 days? a month? two months? (5) Is there any attachment I am not comfortable using after 90 days? (6) Did the manufacturer include or have a way to purchase a how-to video/cd or did I find one on YouTube?

Please, go slow. You may learn some things about yourself you don't know yet.

My favorite people to deal with as a dealer was medical professional women. Man oh man, were they ever clued in to doing exactly what the manual taught or the instructor did. What a bright bunch! And one school librarian was the same way.

You might talk to a dealer and ask if he or she has a trade-up program, where you have 6 months to a year trade-up to a better model. That way, you have a trained professional who can show you things he learned at the dealer's convention nobody else would know, including the manual, which only lightly touches all the machine capabilities. I didn't know too many of my other Pfaff dealers well, but I gave a year's option. One lady was a widow, and she enjoyed the option through 5 move-ups, until she was truly enjoying a very sophisticated machine, because every time she did, the sticker or price she paid came off the price of the next new machine she got. That way, she didn't get clobbered with thousands of dollars when she moved up to the top of the line machine. I didn't make a nickel, but I've never been so happy that a customer who didn't have an instant cash payment to plunk down on a top of the line got so well trained. She really appreciated the build-skill approach.

The worst things that happened would happen when somebody would want to have the ability to do everything, but didn't have the patience to learn basic tasks in order to be able to use the machine in as versatile a way as possible.

I'm just throwing ideas out, Sunshine. You know yourself best. I do notice you are a very adventurous person and put your whole heart into whatever you think is best. You might be like the 5 top users who were so thrilled to have a Pfaff they wanted to do everything it would do, because they had a comparison base of a 2-ton monstrosity that made noise boucoup, sewed worse after repairs than before, and was the stuff of hair-tearing experiences. For that reason they loved the quiet Pfaffs, and once I showed them how trust the machine to do the work of sewing and not to do damage the machine by trying to force it to do something like machine horrible habituated them into doing by nonperformance, they had real fun. They loved the built-in walking foot with perfect reverse stitching, and Pfaff was 20 years ahead of everyone else in that field. I haven't assessed any other machines as to that much capability, but I know I love the Bernina and Brother machines I've sat in front of. I'm not worried about threading because in my factory experience in the 60s, I was competent on at least 5 different types of machines after 3 months, because I kept asking if I could fill in for anyone in a different part of the factory in which there was a demand for production. I spent one day on an overlock machine one day when the process ahead of me had no zippers to sew one day. It was fun.

All good ideas, Beckums. Already know I don't like to sew clothes to wear. Tried that years ago. I just want to be able to do really pretty things like embroidery, and maybe make doll clothes to hawk on eBay to the doll hoarders. LOL. This disease is progressive even in the face of treatment, and I will eventually get where I can't do anything but sit. I have 'furnished' the outside of my house, the upper front deck, the lower front deck, the back yard, the side deck so that when that day comes there will be a lot of places to sit. Law school pretty much robbed me of my reading. Like most people who get doctorates I don't really want to read, I want to do things. So, if I can't actually do anything that is physical, and I'm going to be sitting and panting for air (which I was doing before the pump), I want to have something that will satisfy that need to do something and that will be gratifying.

I'm not worried about the money since I'm not going to be around to need it. (Believe me, I wish my friends and family would not be in such denial about that. I have seen many come to terms with their own mortality when their families could not. Never thought it would happen to me.)

My daughter has done well with her little Sears machine that her ex BF bought her several years ago. She made a lot of things for the baby, cut up soft jeans and made little baby blue jeans, made a butt kicking diaper bag. So, I know it doesn't take much to do some really cool things. I don't plan on doing anything rash, but I want that 35,000 air miles so I'm putting $1500 on that card to get them. (I have enough hotel points for 10 nights in Hawaii.) I go to Paducah on the 22nd, and will look at English's. I may have already looked at the Singer place first. I don't have a cabinet for it, and it seems that I had one several years ago and sold it. But I want some type of permanent place for it as lifting will eventually be out of the question. Sewing machine cabinets are looking a lot like computer desks these days.

 

[freedombecki]

i bought my little sewing machine at Walmart some 6 or 7 years ago. Works great for everything i've tried it on..except sock monkey sewing, and that's understandable. it's light enough it's easy to move, and tough enough to take it...and simple enough that even when i haven't done anything in ages, when i sit down it comes back to me...and there's zero 'programming' to figure out.

Next time you do a sock monkey, take the zig zag stitch, make it 3mm long (9 to the inch, more or less) and half a millimeter wide instead of 3mm that is standard set. You will get what is called a "stretch straight stitch." Of course, it isn't a straight stitch. It is a zig-zag that is modified to accommodate knit fabrics with a stitch that almost looks like a straight stitch. Your stitch is a lot less likely to break that way. I promise, it works.

 

[freedombecki]

Sunshine, I see what you mean. Go for the gusto. I hate to disappoint you about an early demise, but I have actually seen a few people add years to their life because a new Pfaff sewing machine brought them so much joy they couldn't wait until tomorrow to see what they could do with it. My shop door was always open a little wider for them. I couldn't wait to see what they did tomorrow, either.

 

[freedombecki]

But Joen Wolfrom found it first as it made its way to Bing! The quilt was made by Lois Podolny of Tucson, AZ, made from a pattern designed by Mary Sorenson, a friend of Joen's. For anyone who doesn't know who Joen Wolfrom is, I'll tell you: she is one of the premier masters of color combos in the quilt world and is up there with the likes of Jinny Beyer and Caryl Bryer Fallert. Joen's quilt page of master works of friends

 

[freedombecki]

While on the subject of Joen Wolfrom's page, I found a treatise she wrote as a prologue to her book on the uses of color here: Playing with Color | JWD Publishing Blog

She makes the aesthetics of taking tips from nature on color decisions in making a quilt (or taking a picture) to a new level.

 

[Sunshine]

Sunshine, I see what you mean. Go for the gusto. I hate to disappoint you about an early demise, but I have actually seen a few people add years to their life because a new Pfaff sewing machine brought them so much joy they couldn't wait until tomorrow to see what they could do with it. My shop door was always open a little wider for them. I couldn't wait to see what they did tomorrow, either.

LOL. People DO need a reason to keep living, that's for sure. I think what's happening to me goes into the 'be careful what you wish for' category. I had to work so hard raising the children alone that I was frequently heard to say, I wish my life was a 'being' model and not a 'doing' model. Well, this disease has me headed straight for the 'being' model, and whaddaya know, I am looking for things to DO when it gets there. Isn't that hilarious. I think without some things to do that I can do, I won't be able to handle the end stage of this disease very well.

Singer looks to have a model that does embroidery. I'm going to check out both options before I buy. I've got a little more time before the time is up for me to get that 35,000 air miles!

 

[Sunshine]

Here is my NEXT zen project:

Ordered it today. When I finish the tablecloth, I'm doing this. I may do another Celtic knot to take on the plane with me when I go on the trip with the kids. I've going back and forth between that and starting the next quilt blocks. But I don't want too many projects going at once. I outline the Celtic knots and then fill them in on the plane. They are perfect in size and it keeps your mind off the fact that you are thousands of miles high.

 

[freedombecki]

Sunshine, I see what you mean. Go for the gusto. I hate to disappoint you about an early demise, but I have actually seen a few people add years to their life because a new Pfaff sewing machine brought them so much joy they couldn't wait until tomorrow to see what they could do with it. My shop door was always open a little wider for them. I couldn't wait to see what they did tomorrow, either.

LOL. People DO need a reason to keep living, that's for sure. I think what's happening to me goes into the 'be careful what you wish for' category. I had to work so hard raising the children alone that I was frequently heard to say, I wish my life was a 'being' model and not a 'doing' model. Well, this disease has me headed straight for the 'being' model, and whaddaya know, I am looking for things to DO when it gets there. Isn't that hilarious. I think without some things to do that I can do, I won't be able to handle the end stage of this disease very well.

Singer looks to have a model that does embroidery. I'm going to check out both options before I buy. I've got a little more time before the time is up for me to get that 35,000 air miles!

The very best of luck, Sunshine! Singer and Pfaff were together when I was still a dealer in the shop. Now, I don't know who cooperates with whom anymore.

I've been thinking about doing something super simple--a pieced stained glass window quilt, and downloaded to "my pictures" dozens of them last night. Will see if I can find some that will fit the "Manage Attachment" frames below.

 

[freedombecki]

More Stained Glass Quilt ideas...

 

[freedombecki]

And the first one is the piece de la resistance, because of the border, the inner parts could be simplified way down to look like a good little charity quilt.

 

[freedombecki]

Oh, I used the word "beautiful" when I Bing!d these stained glass quilts:

Sweet!

Oh, my another braided quilt done in stained glass!

Woven too? Well, kinda-sorta...

Love this one, though: