My Hex Tutorial

Here it is. (click this...it goes to the Cursed Quilt Blog)  This does not include their final status as placemats, but gives a step by step on how to sew those tricky Hexagons together with your machine.  (Sorry for no Office Picture....I know you are all anxiously wondering whether anything will ever get put away... :)

k.

This morning I finally finished the "Prize" for the Cursed Quilt Group Challenge I issued when we first started.

It took me so long not because it is a hard project but because I was slow to find the black tote bag to put it on. heh.  Dongdaemun came to the rescue of course.  What will I do when I move back to the States and can't go to one place to find the makings of (incredibly) ANYTHING I could ever imagine. hehehe

So this is a super easy thing you can do with a loose quilt block or any size....

The Basic Instructions are in Courier and the optional details are in my regular font.  If you just want the easiest way, read only the Courier....but even the optional details aren't hard, just more time consuming.  Be a bold adventurer. :)

First make sure your block is pressed out nicely.  It will be easier if everything lays flat and behaves itself.  Choose a fabric for the back and cut to the exact size your block is now.  For mine I choose the bright red Chinese print, as that was the color I wanted to highlight out of the block.

If you have some experience or are a bold adventurer, add the piping now.  If that freaks you out, skip to the next Courier section.....Okay, so only the bold ones are with us still?  Great, custom piping is actually super easy.  It does require a few additional steps but will strengthen the edge of the pocket and impress people even more when you tell them you made it. hehehe  Cut a strip of your fabric: it needs to be 1+ inches wide and at least as long as the block you are doing the edge on.  

Are you ready for the secret?  All piping is just a piece of cord in a fold of fabric.  Traditionally, the piece of fabric is cut on the bias, but for an easy straight application like this, I just used a straight cut.  The cord?  I just used some thick yarn I have.  When I have made piping for application to some of my doll work I have just used crochet thread.  So all you do is lay your cord down the center of your fabric strip and fold it over.  I stitch it using my zipper foot (which is the skinny one with the needle spaces on the side rather than the center...be sure to remember to move the needle over to the side.)  I guess I need a picture here, eh?  I will work on it.  Now just sew right along the edge of the cord through both layers of fabric.

Still Piping....keep skipping if you aren't doing this part. :)  Now trim the fabric raw edge on your piping to 1/4 inch (from stitching to raw edge, don't count the cord) or whatever your seam allowane is going to be.  Pin it with the raw edge right along what you choose as the TOP edge of your pocket and stitch right over your previous stitching.  When that is finished, fold the little corners of the piping back a little to get them tucked in and away form the seam allowance for the next step.

And finished with piping.  If you want to make a plain elastic button loop, you need to put that in now.  That is just a loop of elastic about the right size to go over the button you want to use.  Be sure to leave some good long edges that extend over your seam allowance so the elastic doesn't just pull out when you use it.   Pin it in place with the loop laying over the top of your pocket and the edges pointing up. (That way, when you turn things right side out the edges are inside and the look outside.)  You should probably measure if there isn't an obvious landmark for the center of your block....unless you want it off center - which is fine as long as you mean it. hehehe.

Instructions for the fancier loop I did, are at the bottom.

Now, with right sides together, sew straight along your seam allowance for all the sides, leaving a gap that is a little wider than your hand in the bottom.  I usually backstitch just a few at the edges of my opening to keep it from coming apart as I manhandle it right side out.  If you cut the corners at an angle just outside where your stitching crosses, it is easier to get the corners to be pretty.  Don't cut too close though or it will come apart and you can't blame me for your swearing, okay? :)

When you have it turned right side out, press it.  Make sure you fold in the edges of your opening when you press and then pin it shut.  You can hand stitch it closed at the point or just be careful with the pins still in.

Before you put it on the bag, top stitch along the top of the pocket to give it some strength and to help it keep a crisp edge.  This goes for you guys with piping too.   Now is also the time to put some machine quilting on to your block.  Like the top stitching, it will help strengthen your pocket and keep it from looking saggy.  On mine I went around the "squares."  You don't need to do all of the block, but you want it to hold together well.  I didn't even put the feed dogs down....just sewed along the lines.

Once you are finished with the top and machine quilting, pin (or baste)your pocket in place.  Stitch right along the edge (making sure to backstitch at the top opening edges as they will be facing the greatest strain.)  If you leave your needle down when you get to the corner you can carefully turn your bag and stitch along the next side without ending.  The hardest part about this project is keeping the rest of the bag out of the way while you stitch it on. :)

And guess what?  You can be done if you want to be....

If you want to try the fancy loop I did, cut yourself a long (12-18? inch) bias strip that is 1 inch wide.  (I looked for a bias tutorial online but they are all a LOT more than we need.)  Mine has a seam in it so I didn't have to cut it out of the center of my fabric.....Mom used to hate when I did that!  Once you have your strip, fold it in half and sew (leave a long tail of thread, don't trim it yet!)  If I want my tube to be 3/8 inch, I start stitching slightly wider than that and move to my desired width in the first inch of sewing.  It makes it a little easier to get started when you are turning it inside out.  Sew to the end.

I know there are fancy tools for turning tubes that you can buy but I have never gotten around to actually buying one. hehehe  This is what I do:  The long tail of thread from the top that is a little wider right at first?  That goes through the eye of a really big needle (and I mean big like for needlework on plastic canvas!)  I loop the thread through it several times so it won't slide.  Then I just fish the needle through the loop, pulling very gently to ease the edge down in.  It may take some time and patience, but you can do it.  Don't pull too hard on your needle or the thread will break and you won't be able to get it turned inside out afterall.  (Trust me, I have done that A LOT....but usually when I am trying to make tiny tiny bias cord....like 1/16 inch :)

With your tube in hand, make a loop shape that is pleasing to you.  It can have any number of loops in it, they can be the same or different sizes.  Your ends will need to END in the center so they can be hidden.  Once you have a shape you like, tack it together at all the intersections so it will hold its shape without you.  Once that is done, you can tack it on the top of the pocket, lining things up so they please you.

I will go back and take some pictures of some of these steps as I can see my explanations, although perfectly clear to me, may need some additional support. :)  I guess I had better go get another bag and start again. hehehe  Maybe N will get his Skull Fabric Church Bag after all. hehehe k.

The Manifesto

Perhaps it was the change in the weather, perhaps it was just time, but yesterday I wrote the Manifesto.  I guess this is the first blog entry about my REAL work...which is mom-ing.  So here is how it happened:

My kids are smart and clever and usually very good....which is why I don't have any skills I guess.  They drive me nuts some times.  Yesterday, as we are dragging ourselves out of the Valley of the Shadow of Virus, it was more than I could bear.  S was playing a game that is so engrossing it allows her to completely ignore everything including i, which is saying something.  Instead of saying something he decided that throwing things at her might work.  So all I hear from the other room is the continuous racket of her game + "Mom, i is throwing stuff at me!" in super-whine mode.  Then he is blocking the view then....you get the idea.  When I emerged from my office (in full bear mode) I made her pause her game (the day before when this happened I actually turned it off) and announced that it was off until the whole living room was cleaned up.  Pouty throwing things in a bin, while perhaps calculated to show Mama how irritated you are, does VERY little to win Mama's favor....and so I found myself saying the same thing for the third day in a row: You can put things away right once, or you can keep putting them away until they are put away right.

And after the third day of that I realized that she doesn't really believe me.  Things need to change.

I retreated to my office once the room was clean....and it got clean all right with a great deal of pouting...and decided that girl needs some rules!  And that boy too....and a little more humbly...and that Mama.  Sigh!

Here are the s rules:
I can put things away properly one time or I can continue to do it as many times as it takes.
I understand that my attitude determines how long things will take.

I can be kind to others while I play.  If I can not be kind while I play something, I will have to stop
playing.  I will receive 1 warning.

If my toys or games lead me to make poor choices or to be disobedient (or sassy) they will
be placed on the refrigerator or in the trash.  I will receive 1 warning.

I will do as I am asked the first time.  I do not have to like it or agree, but I can obey to show
that I know how to handle myself and my responsibilities.





And the i rules:
I will not throw toys at anyone.
I will clean up when Mama or Daddy says “Clean Up!”
I can be obedient to show I am a BIG BOY and can make choices for myself.
If I disobey with toys they go on the refrigerator or in the trash.

And the Mama rules:
I will be patient and give specific warnings, reminding each child of the consequences.

I will come the first time when I am called politely.

I will listen patiently to explanations.  I do not have to listen to excuses.

I will give hugs and kisses whenever I am asked with NO delay.

When the Manifesto was presented at Dinner s said I needed to add "I will not yell." Sigh!

So we reviewed the Manifesto at bed time and I had s read her own out loud.  I read i his and then I read mine.  I think it will work......

And at bus time this morning, before morning prayer, we did it again.  S read hers out and when I tried to read i his, he grabbed the paper and said a few things about cleaning up and the trash.  I think he gets it.  Now I need to be better.  I can be, I just know it. k.

This is a pic of today outside (since my office pic can't capture it!)  In the pot there is a tough old beet that is the only thing that survived of the Summer Garden trial......and three new potato plants that are reaching for the sun.

Resting My Hands

After the tree, I was so excited about machine quilting and how well it was going that I worked on i's quilt....which is also going very well....and now my hands hurt.  I have been resting them for several days but progress is irritatingly slow because, well, I have to keep using them.  Sheesh!  I have been working on wall hanging ideas for the March Challenge for Cursed Quilt Group.  They are turning out cute so far (trying to use all the many sea creature fabrics I keep buying) but they both are crying out to be....wait for it....machine quilted.  Sigh!  I actually need to decide on backs for them before we get there, so I suppose that means Dongdaemun again.  Hooray.  I love it there.  (I ought to do an entry about that place so all of you can feel jealous....all two of you!)

I am not going to show what I am up to as they are for the Challenge....but I have been wondering about "ideas" and ethics in quilting.  For one of the designs I did, I used a FISH block drafted from scratch using this design I found at Lazy Girl and here is the designer's page Far Flung Quilts.  It is a good idea.   I used it somewhat differently than in the quilt, but I suspect that is quibbling.   So should I pay $8 plus shipping for a pattern I am not going to use because I already used it?!?!  You see my trouble.  I don't need the paper, I don't want to pay shipping.....should I email the designer and send her some paypal cash because it is a great idea but I don't want her pattern?  Sigh!  Almost any quilt design falls in to this category because if you look at enough quilts it is easy to see HOW to do what they are doing.

...time passes...literally I did this live. :)

So I just emailed the designer and explained the situation and offered to paypal her some cash, and asked how much she thinks would be appropriate.  We shall see what response we get....in a few days.  Being off timezone from most of my online community is a little strange.  I will edit the post when we hear back.

My only other similar experience is when I emailed Dreamweaver Stencils to ask if it would be okay to use her stencils on boxpleat products for sale.  Her email response was gracious and made me want to send business her way.  It also made me feel virtuous to get permission and do things properly.  Of course "Properly" in my current case probably means buying the pattern of the fish.

I had better go take my office pic for this entry.  Sorry there won't be any other pics, although you can probably guess what at least one of the projects looks like now...at least in part.  The other one is a "stack and whack."  What you don't know won't hurt you....at least in this case. hehehe k.

...more time passes...

And once again, doing the right thing wins! I just received a gracious email from the designer, Carolyn Griffin saying she was pleased to be an inspiration. So one of you guys (April? heheh) go buy one of her patterns. :)