Dragon's Wings

I'm slowly working on the Project Linus top to transform it into a young boy fighting a dragon.  The top was donated and I thought it would make a great canvas.

One of my teens sketched out the scene on paper and I transferred it to the fabric using chalk....  which promptly erased into a cloud of mess.  So the blue/purple fabrics are not conducive to using the blue erasable pen. 

I'll post what ends up working.  For now, I'm re-chalking as I go.

Since my husband likes to share our tool shed progress with friends at work, I'm including yesterday's photos.  I stayed home to get an estimate on replacing our fence and spent the entire day coating the shed with green paint.

Western face

Please 'cuse the mess.  We have some cleanup work to do.

 

Front face

South and East faces

Here's Mr. SeeingStars posing to take the credit for my labor.  He's about to start the second coat while I go inside and figure out what is causing a horrible odor in our fridge.   Isn't he adorable?  I love his pose here.

By the way, we've discovered an amazing weight loss tool....  When there's a horrible odor in the fridge, no one wants to snack.  They even weigh the pros and cons of just going hungry, rather than opening the door.  After throwing out all our frozen shrimp, I found the culprit to be a container of mushrooms which had gone over to the Dark Side of the Force.

Between working on the shed and trying to keep up with my younger teen (aka The 5'10" Long Legged Gazelle) as we train for a 5K run in May, I've had no problems sleeping lately.  My bedtime has moved up a few hours and I literally fall asleep.  A few nights ago, I tried to put my head down at the dinner table.  Reminded me of days past when our toddlers fell asleep in the middle of their dinner.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

On the Frame

It's a rainy Saturday, so no work has been done on our tool shed.

And I'm still stumped on fabrics for a quilt for my dad.  Why is this one so hard????

So, I loaded this one on the frame while I think about Dad's quilt.

Project Linus upholstery samples quilt

Since it's made with upholstery fabrics, I decided to try backing it with a lightweight fleece and not including batting.  Then, I realized that I could get a large piece if I purchased a fleece blanket, rather than yardage (60" width)  That eliminates a thick backing seam.  The price was similar or perhaps a little better than purchasing yardage.

I rewound a little here ...

So with a little ruler work, I've stitched in the ditch on the horizontal seams and then echoed those horizontal lines about 2 or so inches away from the seam.  These are filled with a ribbon candy free motion motif.  I really need the practice with this design, so this seemed like a good idea.

Vertical seams are filled in with a back-and-forth winding line.

Since this quilt is at least twin sized, if not a little larger, I'm thinking this will be great for a teen girl.  The quilting and most of these prints hint at a modern theme.  I hope a teen will find this to her liking.  It's really nice that Project Linus allows each recipient to choose their quilt.  That way, they get one that appeals to them.

Here's the fleece backing ... in hindsight, a light colored fleece would have been better since the thread is a light Aqua colored cotton.

I'm hoping that once it's washed, the fleece will get fluffier and hide the threads on the back side.  It will be a nice texture without the aqua showing.

So now that I've spent a little time posting, I think the thunder is gone.  That means I can plug in those power cords again and finish this one soon.

Jambalaya is smelling great in the crock pot.  Our family is planning to watch a movie (Les Miserables) and cuddle under quilts and blankets tonight.  I rarely watch tv or movies, but I'll try to sit still tonight.  I've heard this is a good one.

Enjoy your evening.
- SeeingStars

When I grow up ....

When I grow up, I will sail the seven seas. 

I'll strap a sword to my side and a parrot 

     will ride on my shoulder. 

I'll stomp around in boots and I'll always 

     wear my tri-cornered hat, even when I sleep.

When I grow up, my treasure chest will be full of 

     gold doubloons and I will bury it on a 

     secret island surrounded by sharks.

I'll call my friends silly names like Scurvy Rat or 

     Peg Leg and we will say, "Argh" just for fun. 

I will climb my ship's mast so I can see past the 

    horizon wile I look for mermaids.  And when I catch 

    one, she'll tell me all her secrets.

When I grow up, I'll shoot cannonballs at sea monsters.

When I grow up, I'll be a pirate.

by SeeingStars

I wrote the words in chalk first to make sure the placement worked

Then used a damp washcloth to erase after the quilting

I had to add a sword too

Tossed pirates and ocean waves for the backing

 This one will be turned in to Project Linus next week.  I'm hoping a young boy will choose this one and enjoy his imagination as he looks at all the prints and asks someone to read it to him.  Although I tried to work this out using print, rather than cursive, it didn't seem to work for me.

Enjoy your day!

- SeeingStars

Upcycling in the Studio

It started with an office chair left by the side of the road for trash pick-up.   Then it took a little encouraging with a sledge hammer to separate the rolling base from the chair.  A section of PVC from our stash in the garage was a perfect fit to slide over the vertical post on the rolling base.

And then the cardboard tube in the center of the batting roll fit very nicely over the PVC.  One straight pin keeps everything from unrolling.

When it's time to cut a piece of batting, simply roll away from the wall, unpin and it's ready to measure and cut the desired amount.

I like storage ideas that keep things off the floor, so I can sweep up the lint (and dead ladybugs) easily.

I wish I could remember where I found the inspiration for this batting storage.  I even hunted for a little while online trying to locate a site.  If you know and share the link, I'll post it so the inventor gets the credit due to them. 

One of the things I love about visiting other quilting blogs is discovering their ingenious solutions and deciding if they could work here.

 
This new machine and cabinet combo had the 2 flip out table top sections which take up lots of space.  They have to be open to use the machine.  The studio was feeling too crowded, so I removed those sections.  It was a simple operation with a screwdriver.  Later, if the need arises, I might make small flip tops which can be open or closed with the machine in use.  I doubt it will be closed up very often.

Here's a sneak peek at the new piece of batting with a Project Linus quilt top over it.  The words were scribbled in chalk to make sure I could fit them in the space well.  A damp washcloth makes a good eraser.

I'm not sure what I'll quilt in the outer border sections.  The fabrics are busy, so it won't need much detail.  Maybe large swirls to suggest air and water currents.  Maybe I'll practice stippling.  Or maybe I'll end up with wavy piano keys.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

A Few Take Along Projects

It's nice to have something to take along for those times when I'm expected to sit still, a task I've never excelled at doing.  These three are ready for the hand sewing part of the binding.  I know some quilters machine stitch that second side of the binding because it's faster and they can be more productive. 

Thankfully, we can all choose what appeals to each of us.  I like to do this part by hand.  It's like crossing the finish line in slow motion, so there is more time to enjoy it.  Plus, I prefer the way this method looks.

I've already started with the fishy one.  These binding clips are really handy.

For this blue one, I decided to train the binding to wrap around the quilt using straight pins.  Then, I'll use the clips once they've done their job on the fishy quilt.  With straight pins, I've managed to draw blood twice on this little Project Linus quilt.  I do NOT recommend straight pins! 

Band aids should not be considered a quilting notion.

I sewed the first side of the binding to the back and wrapped to the front because a slightly wider amount of binding will show on the front.  The only print is in the binding and I thought the little extra interest it provided was needed.

Here's more longarm quilting photos of the plaid shirt quilt.  This one will be great to keep in the van for an impromptu picnic or if the weather changes quickly and someone needs to keep warm. 

Speaking of weather changes, we enjoyed mid-60's sunshine on Monday after our all-day-long snowy Saturday.  Cracks me up!  We're getting rain right now.

 

For this utility quilt, the goal was pretty, but quick quilting.  Each block on the front provided an area to swirl and then make butterfly wing feathers.  I think the swirls compliment those plaids.  

Quick, no mark quilting

The back side - also plaid shirt pieces

The piano key outer borders were quilted with wavy lines.  Waves are faster that straight lines because straight lines need the precision of a ruler and a fixed distance from the seams or the eye will catch the one line that breaks the pattern.  With the waves, the variance in the shapes aren't as obvious.

 more detail on the back ....

For more eye candy today, here's how I left one of the pockets functional by just quilting around its edge.  When we're picnicking, I'll tuck the silverware or napkins there, just because it will make me smile to use the pocket.

 One of my teens was vehemently against the plaid shirts at first, but now admits that they have a certain charm, given that they're still plaids.  Glad this one isn't as hideous as she first feared it would be.  : )

Enjoy your day ... for this is the day that the Lord has made!
- SeeingStars

Dear Tech Support ... My Freemotion Spell Checker is Faulty

As I was working on the word "swimming", I thought to myself, "Hmmmm.  I don't remember making all those m's last time I stitched out this word."  Sure enough.  I tried skimping on letters.

So the seam ripper helped me unstitch enough to correct the typo.  The words went white on the paper just above the quilt.  I wrote them out on the paper to make sure I could space them well.  Then they acted as a guide for spacing as I wrote them in stitches.  No marking the quilt, but better results.

Here's the corrected word.

My kids learned a song in preschool that went :

All the fish are swimming in the water,
swimming in the water, swimming in the water.
All the fish are swimming in the water,
bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, splash!

Fingers are crossed that I've spelled the rest correctly for this little Project Linus twister.  This photo below shows the quilt attached at the top to the frame, but not at the bottom.  I do this after quilting the center when I'm turning the borders to quilt them.  I'm not even going to try to quilt cursive writing upside down nor up or down the side borders!  I've found that the top and side clamps, plus the weight of the quilt pulling down over the belly bar provide enough stability to quilt the borders this way.  I don't know if anyone else does this or not, but it works for me.

Here's the center of the quilt.  This pattern was fast, required no marking and reminds me of seaweed waving in the current. 

To avoid stops and starts with each twister shape, I started in the center of the left twister.
Traveled up and back to center, down and back to center, left and back to center with the continuous curves.
Then I traveled right (continuous curve) to the edge of the twister and continued going right to the center of the next twister.  Once I quilted the whole row this way, I finished the last twister shape completely, then travelled left to the edge of the neighboring twister to complete the last continuous curve.... back again to my starting point.

The extra travel in the horizontal seam lines are doubled, but still not very noticeable.  Here's the back side of the quilt.

With a zoomed in section, I can see the horizontal traveling.  But only because I was looking for it over the purple background.

I think this is the first ever quilt that went on and off the frame in the same day.  The reason?  We had a snow day which relieved us from continuing with our shed building jobs.  It's been really nice to have a day where the agenda was erased and everyone could relax.

No accumulation, but it looks so pretty dancing in the air.  We usually get excited if we see snow for 15 or 20 minutes, so it's been amazing to watch it snow all day long!

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

Let's Do The Twist

In the evenings, after jury service this week, I've worked a little bit in the studio.  It seems there are 2 projects happening at once.  Does that ever happen at your place?

The twister quilt needs a border, so I went shopping and found a nice, cheerful print for it.  Unfortunately, it looked awful with the quilt.  So, I'll save it for another time.  Instead, I opened my fabric stash and found these two - a purple for the inner border and the lime green with fish for the outer border.

Project Linus twister quilt

The other project is a impulsive one.  I wanted to try making a quilt from plaid shirts.  When a local thrift store had a half-off sale, I purchased a few and started playing.  The blocks are made, but not joined yet.  I think this would be a neat quilt to keep in the car for a picnic blanket.

The inspiration and pattern came from The Thrifty Quilter.  I liked her use of red and decided to place mine in the centers of each 9 patch also.  If this were larger, I think it would make a neat veteran's quilt.

Finally, I did clean up that mess under my cutting / pressing surface.  It looks much better now.

Since I've been released from jury service with a big check for $31.80, I think I'll go to my workplace and see if I can earn a few more pennies today.  No actual trials for me, but I was on a panel and was not chosen for the jury.  During my down time, I enjoyed getting to know a few people while I hand stitched a binding.  Over all, it was a pleasant experience.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

Made a Quick Change

When we moved back into our house and I was settling into the studio, I made a pressing surface using a 5 foot by 2 foot piece of MDF, some batting, some canvas and lots of heavy duty staples.  It's been very useful, but it's pretty heavy.

It's a better fit now.  That clutter in the open shelf .... will be gone soon.  I'll post another photo to prove it.

And it sticks out past the doorway when I prop it on my cutting table.  Plus, I've found that I really don't need it to be 5 feet long.  Actually, a little more than the width of fabric is perfect.  Plus, I can use the other piece to press blocks and still have plenty of room for cutting with the leftover piece of wood.  Although I didn't have another piece of canvas handy, I did have some striped duck cloth. 

I'll use it like this most often and store the larger pressing surface against the wall.

I worked on Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery today .... part 1.  My 4 patches are now finished and pressed nicely from this new workspace.

Now I'm switching to a Project Linus project.  These large squares were sewn in sets of 3 and then donated to PL.  I took them home and joined them all for another twister.  This week, I found a cute outer border fabric which ties in all the colors.

It may be about time to stop sewing and help my family with the next step towards building our shed.  They've been purchasing long pieces of wood and bags of concrete.  Now they're returning a truck and trailer and buying lunch to reward themselves for the morning's work.  Looks like we'll cut some lumber this afternoon while it's sunny.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

This One's a Challenge

I picked up this top from the Project Linus work day a few months ago.  PL always has a few tops that I can play with and perhaps try some new ideas.

This one is pieced well.  I think it was an incomplete kit and so the person making the top had to come up with her own ideas for making everything work.  She did a terrific job!

What I'd like to do is to add quilting that makes it appeal to children.  My first inclination was a metallic thread.  I'm not sure how it will look with the muted American colors, but I could give it a try.

Another idea is to use that tall green bar under the flower to do a Jack In The Beanstalk kind of thing.  Then the house could become a Hansel and Gretal scene.  But the pieced designs don't lend themselves toward stories.  There are a lot of swirls and pinwheels that might be a good start for a quilting idea.  I can see the 4 seasons if I try ... maybe something to emphasize those.

There's no deadline on this one, so I may ponder it a bit and put it away until I get a good idea of how I can finish it.  If you have any ideas for making this one appeal to a child, please leave a comment.  I think I've turned off the annoying auto-verify feature.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

A Couple of Teal Quilts

This top has been on the design wall for awhile now.  It's nice to have all the blocks joined together.  Next step is a shopping trip to find border fabrics - maybe a small darker inner, then a larger outer border.  It's will stay in the teal / cream color family, even though my Darling Husband suggests pink.  Ideally, a stripe would be lovely for the outer border.

Here's another view of this one :

All these blocks finished at 9.5 inches.  They're somewhat improvisational in that I tried to make various squares inside squares without consistent dimensions.  Then I attempted to spread them out with alternating light / dark outer borders.   I couldn't find as many fabrics as I would have like to use since lots of the near-teals seemed to clash. 

I'd still like to raise the design wall so I can see it better over the Tin Lizzie frame.  See the plants in the corner?  Now that the holidays are here and furniture is slightly re-arranged to accommodate trees, the indoor plants are stuffed around my quilting spaces.  I'm glad it's not this way year round, but for a month or so, I think it will work.

The second teal quilt came from an outdated decorator fabric book which was donated to Project Linus.  Since the prints are large scale, I decided to go with a large block design.  These fabrics are differing in their weight - some are like quilting cottons, some a heavier, but none are really thick like upholstery fabrics.

Each block is just 3 fabrics.  I did my best to leave as little waste as possible when I came up with these dimensions.  Right now, the blocks aren't joined, but they'll go together quickly.  I think a fleece backing with no batting will work well for this one.  Project Linus needs quilts for teens and I this one will be plenty large enough for a teen.  In fact, one of my teens thinks the modern designs look neat and the quilt will be well received.  She seems to like most of what I make, which is very sweet, don't you think?

If this same idea was done with purples, I'd have a hard time convincing her it's for Linus.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

More for Project Linus

Blue Striped quilt

 These were quilted before Thanksgiving.  Simple quilts to provide comfort and warmth.  I am sure they'll find good homes.

Both of these were pieced and donated to Project Linus.  Then I took them home, pieced the backing from donated fabrics and quilted them.

I think the thin black stripes add interest to this one.

Multi-colored Stripe

quilting up close - black and variegated threads

There's another one waiting patiently for me in the studio.  The backing still needs a little more work before it's ready for the frame.  It's fun to practice quilting ideas or review a pattern I've not played with in a while for these Linus quilts.

Enjoy your day. (or night ... this post is being composed around 1 am)
- SeeingStars

Off the Frame

Well, this one has been off the frame for a few days now, but I haven't made the time to grab the camera.
I think this little Project Linus quilt will be loved by someone very precious.

The fullness worked its way into submission, except for the borders.  I have a DVD by Kim Brunner which addresses this issue.  Obviously, it's time to review it again!

I like this quilting design (4 patches and darker borders) and just might use it again for another one.   In the centers of the print squared, I ended up quilting a star.  It also seemed to fit with the fabrics and it allowed the extra fabrics a place to go.

Today we had a class with Kelly Corbridge, using Cherrywood fabrics.  It was fun and informative.  Kelly's organized and can roll with all the quirks of her students.  I hope I can finish that one soon so I can share it with you.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars