Hands2Help Challenge

For a number of years, I've made quilts and pillowcases for various of charities, mostly local charities, but some national and international ones as well. 

The Honor Flight Quilts that I made in honor of my dad and mom a few years ago were probably the most emotional for me, but quite honestly I get choked up every time I send out a quilt or pillowcase. Feel free to click on the tab above to see the 15 quilts I made or HERE, HERE, and HERE to see part of the progression of making these quilts and the distribution of them. 

Well, I've decided to continue the giving and am taking the plunge to join Sarah and countless others in giving back to the community. 

http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2014/03/hands2help-charity-challenge-signups.html

This year, there are three charities.

Option #1 - Quilts of Compassion

Option #2 - Hurricane Sandy Survivors

Option #3 - Happy Chemo

Sarah has this quote from St. Augustine on her blog and I just think it's wonderful and feel compelled to share it. I think this is beautiful! Don't you? Thanks for sharing it Sarah.

"What does love look like?

It has the hands to help others.

It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy.

It has eyes to see misery and want.

It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.

That is what love looks like"

--St. Augustine       

Why not take a few minutes and check out the information about this challenge and each of the charities? Go to Sarah - Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Of course, to encourage more people to join the fun, there's a giveaway too!  :-)        

Friday Finishes

It's Friday and I've actually finished something! WooHoo!!

Remember THIS little backing fiasco from a couple of weeks ago that I ran into while preparing to quilt my Zen Garden quilt?

Well the correction has been made and the quilt is done. By done I mean pieced, quilted and bound. YEAH!

Here's how I corrected the back. As you can see, I added a strip of the same blue that I used in the binding and I'm quite happy with the results. 

I also made a small T-Shirt Quilt sample.

I am in the process of making a couple of T-Shirt Quilts for people and I've had a couple of other people express an interest. Unfortunately, whenever I've made a T-Shirt Quilt it's always been for someone else so I don't have a sample to show a perspective customer. I've taken plenty of pictures, but it's not the same as looking at the real thing. 

So, last night I decided to make a very small sample. I decided against adding extra borders, alternate blocks, etc. because I can show pictures of those. I just wanted to have something that a customer can touch so they understand how they actually feel, since they are a bit different than "normal" quilts. 

So, all in all, I feel like I finally accomplished something and I'm happy. Now I think I should get back to working on my Prairie Star quilt.  :-)

Have you finished anything this week? Why not post about it and link it to Sarah's Blog - Confessions of a Fabric Addict? Go ahead and head on over to the site even if you haven't finished anything. I'm pretty sure you'll find some wonderful eye candy and inspiration. I know I did! :-)

Most Used Equipment

I wish I could say this has been our most used piece of equipment here the last few months.

Unfortunately I think it's been this.

Lucky me, I just spent more "quality time" with this tractor when I would much rather have been quilting. 

It's crazy to think that it was 54 degrees here yesterday, and even though there were still some piles of snow around, there was more green than white. 

Oh look! It's snowing again.  :-/

Tuesday Archives

I decided to try a new linky experience today. I saw this on Sharon's blog and thought it would be fun. 

Tuesday Archives from Val's Quilting Studio

Val wants us to share an old post that goes with the week's theme, and she's using the alphabet to pick a theme. How clever is that? This week is 'Apples' or 'Applique'. 

I didn't find anything thing really apple-related (other than when I "sang" the good old song about baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet), so I guess I'll go with my post about my partially appliqued pumpkins posted way back on October 19, 2011.

Pumpkins Beat Out the Fish

Yesterday I told you that I had decided I didn't have time to work on my fish so I started another project instead. (Excuses, excuses and definitely explains my UFO situation!) Well here's what I did yesterday and when I look at it, I realize that I probably would have had time to work on the fish. I think I just got excited about the pumpkins and since I'll have my granddaughters for a week, beginning Sunday, I knew I wanted to do this because I think they'll love it.  :-) 

I enlarged the blocks to 10.5" because I didn't really want to add an outside border of another print. I really wanted just a big pumpkin to hang in the dining room. I have to applique around the leaves and face pieces and then this puppy is ready to quilt!

I'm also making placemats. I still have to add the black sides and an outside border (which I haven't decided if I'm going to just add more black or another fabric). I'm not adding the faces to these. Instead I'm going to make the face pieces but not attach them so the girls can play and mix and match the pieces to make funny faces. I think/hope this will be good entertainment when I'm fixing dinner, working, etc. I think I'm going to add a small pocket to the back to store the faces. These are so darn cute!



Of course while I was working on these, I continued to make rail fence blocks as leader/enders. This is what I have so far.

Ok, I admit it.  I definitely could have had all my fish done and attached to the quilt. Admitting the problem or error of your ways is the first step.  :-)

This was fun! I kind of feel like I just read one of my old diaries.  :-)

Why not go see if you can find a post about apple or applique and share it with us? 

Tip Tuesday - The "M" Word for Quilters

Tip Tuesday! -  Math for Quilters 

It Doesn't Have to be the "M" Word

Welcome to

"Tip Tuesday!"

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give credit where credit is due whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired! 

I'm just going to put this out there. I don't like math. I never have, and never will. 

It's kind of funny how I feel about math, because I'm married to a human calculator! My husband can figure out all kinds of problems (general arithmetic, geometry, trig., etc.) in his head. He's usually done with the math by the time I've figured out what the variables are and what I have to do. 

Do you remember back in school when you were taking various math classes and you told your teacher that you didn't know why you had to learn this because you'd never use it again? 

I sure do. I said that about almost every math class I took and now I have this urge to contact those teachers and apologize. I'd have to admit to using math on a pretty regular basis in my every day life, especially with quilting. 

Do you know what I mean? Are you with me on this, or am I the only quilter here in blogland that feels this way? 

I am often (just about every class I teach), asked how to enlarge/reduce a quilt to fit a particular bed, figure out binding yardage, determine backing yardage needed, figure out side setting triangles, etc. I have to admit that I actually know how to do those things and enjoy doing them (as long as I have a calculator - or my husband) with me! 

I've come to realize that part of the problem for many quilters is that they don't have basic math facts memorized so it's difficult for them to "do the math."  I'm certainly not chastising anyone here, I just feel that's the issue. So what can I do to help? I can provide you with a cheat sheet.  

I gave a brief presentation at our guild meeting this past Saturday and provided a handout with a bunch of math stuff for them. I also handed out wallet size cheat sheets that I'm sure will help.

Today, I'm going to share with you part of those cheat sheets. Feel free to cut and paste this to make your own chart to keep with you at all times. After all, you never know when you'll happen upon a quilt shop and have to figure out much fabric you need to buy. 

I suggest having the yardage chart on one side and the mattress size on the other and then laminate the card. 

To make the yardage chart fit, you will have to divide the list. I found it worked well to divide the list into three columns (1/8 yard - 1 yard, 1 1/8 yard - 2 yards, and 2 1/2 yards - 10 yards), but feel free to do whatever works best your you!

Yardage Chart

1/8 yard = (.125) = 4.5"             

1/4 yard = (.25) = 9"                   

1/3 yard = (.333) = 12"                

3/8 yard = (.375) = 13.5"          

1/2 yard = (.5) = 18"                       

5/8 yard = (.625) = 22.5"             

2/3 yard = (.666) = 24"                 

3/4 yard = (.75) = 27"                    

7/8 yard = (.875) = 31.5"           

1 yard = (1.00) = 36"                       

1 1/8 yards = 40.5"

1 1/4 yards = 45"

1 1/3 yards = 48"

1 3/8 yards = 49.5"  

1 1/2 yards = 54" 

1 5/8 yards = 58.5"

1 2/3 yards = 60" 

1 3/4 yards = 63"

1 7/8 yards = 67.5" 

2 yards = 72"

2.5 yards = 90"

3 yards = 108"

3.5 yards = 126"

4 yards = 144"

5 yards = 180"

6 yards = 216"

7 yards = 252"

8 yards = 288"

9 yards = 324"

10 yards = 360"

Standard/Average Mattress Size

As we all know, not all beds are created alike. There are differences in mattress sizes, bedding, drops, etc. so it is best to measure the bed for which you are making the quilt to be sure you have the actual size. Then, when determining the quilt size to make, you can adjust as needed for mattress size, desired drop, headboard, footboard, etc. 

Crib           27" x 52"

Twin          39" x 75"

Double       54" x 75"

Queen        60" x 80"

King           76" x 80"

Come back next week when I'll provide the calculations for determining the side setting and corner setting triangles for diagonal or on-point quilt layouts.

Sadie Jane!

I miss the grandkids that live in Cincinnati, and I'm excited that I'll be seeing them in a couple of week. But in the mean time, this video will have to do. Don't you just love how Ronan is peaking around the corner to see what's going on in the kitchen? :-)

Click on the link below the picture to watch Sadie performing her special moves! (I'm pretty sure this is her version of an Irish Jig. She is part Irish after all.) Be sure to watch all the way to the end when Sadie answers a special question posed by friend/photographer Allyson. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101600984191855

Tip Tuesday! - Walking Foot

Tip Tuesday! - The Walking Foot (AKA Even Feed Foot) 

Welcome to

"Tip Tuesday!"

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give credit where credit is due whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired! 

Are any of you old enough to remember THIS SONG by Nancy Sinatra?

These boots are made for walkin'

And that's just what they'll do

One of these days these boots

Are gonna walk all over you

Are you ready, boots? Start walkin'

Come on. I know you want to sing along. Go ahead. Nobody's watching. Play it again and do the dance too? 

Well, I think we quilters should change it up a bit to say: 

This foot is made for walking,

And that's just what it'll do.

One of these days this foot 

Is going to walk all over you!

Are you ready quilters? Start walking!

******************************************************************

Are you thinking that I've lost my mind or have you figured out what foot I'm talking about? 

I'm talking about the wonderful walking foot (also known as even feed foot) for our sewing machines! 

For those of you are familiar with your walking foot and use it a lot, please feel free to leave a comment here to provide the rest of blogland with some insight as to why and how you use your walking foot. I'm sure some of you are using your walking feet in ways many of us have never even considered.

Please! Educate us! I always want to learn more.  :-)

So, What Is a Walking Foot & What Does It Look Like? 

Basically, the average walking foot is a big, bulky, odd-looking foot that has an arm (or two) that attaches to the needle bar.

    

A walking foot is designed to move, or feed the top fabric under the needle at the same rate as the feed dogs are moving the bottom fabric, eliminating slipping or "creeping" of fabric, puckering or pleating. 

In other words (or perhaps a better visual) would be to say that the walking foot provides a gripping action from the top of the fabric which coordinates with the grip of the feed dogs, which are built into the bed of the sewing machine. As the bottom feed dogs pull (or feed) the fabric under the needle so that even stitches are created, the walking foot is gripping and pulling the fabric from the top. (They have learned to play nicely so we quilters get great looking quilts!)

In order to get the best results, it is very important to buy the correct walking foot for your machine brand and model. 

Some machines come with a walking foot built into the machine. It usually sits to the back of the machine, near the pressure foot lever and can be engaged when needed. This is often referred to as integrated dual feed.

Some walking feet come with interchangeable soles that are switched to best accommodate the fabric used and task being performed. 

The Standard or Basic Sole (most common) is for attaching most fabrics. It is used for knits or other fabrics that have "give" (are stretchy). The Standard Sole has a 1/4" marking on it which is great for attaching binding or working with narrow seams on "slippery" fabrics.

The Quilting Sole is open to allow for better visibility for quilting. This sole also does a great job of keeping quilt layers from slipping or shifting while machine quilting.

The final sole is the Edge Stitching Sole. This is perfect for edge stitching or top stitching, especially on quilt pieces or stretchy denim.

How Does It Work? 

In a nutshell, a walking foot helps keep fabrics aligned when sewing.

A walking foot has built in feed dogs that grip and advance the upper layer of fabric as it travels through the sewing machine. This is done in unison with the machine's feed dogs, which grip the underside of the fabric. This action keeps the layers from shifting apart as they move through the sewing machine and prevents puckers, especially during straight line quilting. It is also especially helpful when sewing together rag or denim quilts and when sewing a binding to a quilt. 

Probably the most challenging part of using a walking foot for me was figuring out how to attach it properly. I would strongly suggest you have someone show you how to attach the foot, or do an internet search for a you tube video, etc. for your specific machine. For example you might search for "how to attach a walking foot to a bernina sewing machine."  

Uses for the Walking Foot
   
Attaching Borders - The walking foot helps to eliminate the fabric shifting that causes the borders to begin even, but end up with excess at the end. 

Matching Plaids, Checks, and Stripes - Because it reduces the shifting of the fabric, I am able to match plaids, checks, and stripes with much more accuracy when I use my walking foot. I do pin, but I find I don't have to use quite so many when i use the walking foot. This is great because I love to work with stripes!

Sewing with Knits, Minkee or Other Stretchy/Slippery Fabrics - I find that I have a problem with the fabric stretching when I sew with knits, Minkee or other stretchy fabrics. Using my walking foot has definitely improved that and I am much happier with the results.

Sewing with Laminates, Oilcloth or other "Sticky" Fabrics - Some fabrics are bulky or sticky and just do not want to move freely through the machine. The walking foot grabs on to them and helps push them through. 

Top stitching - The walking foot helps to eliminate the often inconsistent stitches I get when top stitching, that I believe are caused by the bulk created by the seam allowance. 


Quilting - straight line, in the ditch, etc. - Because the walking foot helps to feed all the layers together evenly, quilting through the quilt sandwich is much easier than using a "regular" machine foot. You do still need to baste, but I'm sure you will be much happier with your results if you use a walking foot. I sure am. 

Attaching Binding to a Quilt - When I first started quilting, I found that I often encountered puckering on the underside and uneven sewing along the top while I attached bindings. I wasn't too thrilled with the results, considering how much time and effort went in to making the quilt. Once I was told to use a walking foot to attach binding, those problems disappeared and binding is actually one of my favorite parts of the quilt making process.  

Get Your Own Walking Foot?

As I stated before, in order to get the best results, it is very important to buy the correct walking foot for you machine brand and model. 

The first thing you should do is a bit of research to see if your machine requires a specific walking foot. Many manufacturers make their own, which are compatible exclusively to their machines and/or models. 

Now I know that some people have called the walking foot an investment foot because of the price (mine now retails for around $180), but consider how much you will use it and make the decision for yourself. You can always look for sales and buy then. 

There are generic walking feet which might work on your machine. I've seen those priced as low as $20. If you think the generic feet might work for your machine and know someone who has one, why not ask if you can try it out on your machine? Even though it fits and works, it may not produce the best quality stitches and you haven't spend any money. 

I have had my walking foot for many years (I believe I paid right around $100), and bought it because I hated the way my quilting looked. Knowing no different, I only used the walking foot for quilting and even though I was much happier with my quilting results, I was not thrilled with my binding. (I didn't have such wonderful access to the internet to learn about all the other ways I could be using this foot so I was stuck in a rut and figured this was a "one purpose" foot. Boy was I wrong!) 

When I finally asked a local shop owner for suggestions, she told me about the walking foot and I was thrilled! I can honestly tell you the I have NEVER used another foot since that day to attach bindings and I have bound a lot of quilts - my own and for many other people.

A student once told me that she felt the walking foot looked a bit menacing and that she was scared to use it. 

I completely understand that, but this foot really is a GENTLE GIANT and I know you will LOVE it - once you figure out how to attach it! :-)