New Socks

The Yellow Blunder is redeemed. It is now Sunny in Philadelphia. The room with the design wall is too small to get a good photo, but once it is complete there will be time for that.

I am relieved I was able to salvage this from the scrap heap. I am not crazy about the squares, but the colors are so uplifting for a little girl, I can get over it.

I must be in some sort of yellow phase. I really love the color--just not as clothing on me.

This is the bag inspired by Ann Bauer. I was not happy with the straps and have since purchased the tool to turn a tube of fabric right side out and fill it with rope. Ms. Bauer and others use a thin black cord for the strap, which I finally found in JoAnne Fabrics, but since I had already invested $25 in the tube-turning-method, I did not allow myself to purchase the cord. I have not yet attempted the second version (which will be wider), but will after completing Sunny in Philadelphia.

I finally finished the Almondine socks and have started a pair of stockinette with two by two rib socks from the sock pattern book by Ann Budd. I am making them from Patons Kroy on a number 2 needle and it is going pretty quickly I screwed up and decreased the top of the foot at the gusset and had to frog 14 rows. Ugh!

Baci e abbracci

I thought this was a cute way to wrap a quilt--like a piece of candy...

Finished Object

I finally finished the wall hanging I started at the end of March. It is only 19" x 20" but I had to set it aside to work on some other things.

Detail

I also started a quilt for a baby girl. I used someone else's pattern and was distracted because the blocks were each 1/4 inch and 1/2 off. Then I started cutting according to the diagram rather than re-reading the instructions so 75% percent of the blocks were cut incorrectly. Also, the colors are not arranged best for this pattern. So I swore off using other people's patterns and have resolved to fix this "yellow blunder" with improv.

Stay tuned for the new incarnation. I've already started the surgery.

Baci e abbracci

A Finished Object and a Work in Progress

Finally someone has made a non-slip ruler! Creative Grids makes these amazing tools. I can actually cut a straight line--that is if I line up the ruler correctly... If I could, I would replace all of my rulers with Creative Grids. I purchased a 4" x 12" as it was I size I did not have--even though I did not need it, I thought it would make my quilting life a little easier. I made the purchase at Purl Soho in New York, but every store on the shop hop carries them. If you have a problem with rulers that slip while using a rotary cutter this is your answer. I've tried coating my ruler with non-slip vinyl, I've tried suction handles--nothing worked as well as the Creative Grids.

A new quilt...

A beetle landed on it and would not leave. That is the spot on the middle upper third.

This will be a gift for a new baby. I was torn about quilting the patchwork area and decided to quilt horizontally. This time the quilting went a little easier. I used my old sewing machine set up on the dining room table and marked each line before sewing. You know me, still couldn't sew them perfectly straight, and the horizontal lines are far from straight, I had a lot of problems with the bulk in the sewing machine arm area not allowing me to keep the quilt smooth. I'll be working on smaller pieces for the next couple of projects.

The next project is an "art quilt" for the wall. It will be about 20 x 22 inches. I was determined to not waste a large piece of batting that I could use for a quilt so I butted two pieces of batting together and used a zig-zag stitch. I don't know if I would trust this to a quilt that would be used as a blanket and washed and machine dried, but I thought it would be fine to hang on the wall.

Think I used enough pins?

I am using a very close, very "organic" mattress blanket stitch. I am half way finished, but I was anxious to start my next project.

I was inspired by Ann Bauer's quilted purses. They are really gorgeous and I hope that mine turns out having been inspired, and does not look like a knock-off. I also intend to make another with collage. Pictures soon.

Also, finished the first Almondine sock and started the second.

I hope your weekend was as good as mine!

Baci e abbracci...

KAWS at 30th Street Station

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone

New York and Timeless Treasures Fabrics

I don’t think I mentioned that my friend and I were chosen to be part of a focus group in the Timeless Treasures Fabric studio/offices in New York yesterday. When I found out we were both chosen I jumped for joy and did the happy dance in my office. It was a great day beginning at 4:30 a.m. when I woke to take the 6:31 a.m. suburban train to 30^th Street Station to pick up the 7:30 a.m. Megabus to New York. I arrived home at 10:00 p.m.

The day started with the focus group where my friend and I were one of 8 consumers who quilt. I was probably the least experienced and maybe the youngest in the group. I was also the only one interested in improvisational quilting and reading quilting blogs on a regular basis. None of them really recognized any of the blogs I read. 

The TT Fabric people had some good questions, but I feel they could have better steered the group as one person was particularly domineering and went off on tangents of personal experiences that the TT Fabric people may have found helpful, but I thought took the group off course and did not allow other people to participate. It reminded me of the guild meetings I used to attend where people just went on and on without consideration for others’ time or desire to contribute.

The TT Fabric people were very nice and treated us well beginning with a tour of their offices, (I must say I got a little depressed when I saw the design studio with all of the reference books on the shelves and the designers sitting in front of their computers. I wish I had been more together in my youth and went for a textile design major rather than fashion design) then the question session, gifts and lunch. We each received a $25 gift certificate from the fabric store that we got the application to participate from—Pennington for my friend and I—and a 16-fat quarter bundle of very nice blender fabrics (perfect for me). TT Fabric has the most beautiful batiks. They also have a wide range of novelties that are perfect for theme quilts.

After TT Fabrics we went to Purl, which is literally around the corner. I spent the most money there on solid Kona fat quarter bundles to round off my stash, 1 yard cuts that were discounted, a package of 100 John James hand sewing needles, snaps (conventional and magnetic), and a 4.5 x 12.5” ruler. Cha-ching at $144.00

Next stop was the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. It would have been a nice place to hang out, if time had allowed. I found a few things in the store that I could only find on line, but did not want to pay shipping for: highlighter tape, screw-in eyes for stuffed animals, and the Ablet Row Counter (an abacus row counter styled as a bracelet). Also, I saw sock yarn in a pretty yellow and la lovely orange. I purchased one ball of each which will make two different pairs of socks. Cha-ching at $52.00

I think the best place, which surprised me, was The City Quilter. I expected some hole in the wall kind of place, but it was huge and had beautiful fabric and notions at reasonable prices! If you walk in one door, you walk in through a quilt gallery where there was an exhibition of Beth Carney's work. Loved it! Free-form improvisational art quilts. I loved her choices of colors, it was a real treat for the eyes. The City Quilter also has a great selection of Japanese fabrics, which I purchased and the Q-Snap quilt frame in the 11 x11” size, which I also purchased. (I decided to return the 14 x 14” Dritz model to Joann Fabrics as well as the cheap jelly roll of gray scale colored fabric. Cha-ching at $50.00

While we were there, a couple spent thousands of dollars on fabric. I asked the cashier what they were doing and she did not know. They came in with swatches so maybe matching quilts to some furniture? Who knows, but it was pretty wild to see them carry 8 bags of fabric out of the store. They bought fabrics by the bolt.

The depressing part is I am going on a shop hop over the weekend and should not spend one cent, eight shops without spending privileges. I will still have lots of fun!

Looking forward to spending time in my studio.

Baci e abbracci