Practice Practice Practice

I have been enjoying reading all the entries in the Quilt Along over at http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/

and suddenly started feeling just the tiniest bit guilty...because I was only READING.  As part of my effort to get organized, I emptied one of my boxes (to store Miss S's sewing gear) and came upon my heap of abandoned projects.  I realized that if I was ever going to get any better (at quilting or being organized and productive!) now was the time.  So I slapped a border on this free-form piece and decided to PRACTICE.

So here we are.  The practice from this week was stippling and I am apparently incapable of doing anything on a large scale (which isn't all that surprising considering boxpleat's roots as a doll "concern.")  This is still a pretty small piece and the stippling is a good bit smaller than the recommended 1/2 inch (closer to 1/4 inch) scale but it is continuous and gave me a good opportunity to consider both Leah Day's preferred method of lines (which I didn't really use but thought about a great deal as I charted my way over the space) and my technique and speed.  I found that I tend to quilt in a fan shape with my lines actually more like arcs until I get within range on the corners of the project.

I am pleased to note that I never boxed myself into a corner and that it is indeed continuous but it did remind me of how much I need to work on my ergonomics.  I also realized that I need to work on my speed since I like the feel of it better at a higher rate but get chicken...and then get less fluid.  This piece also had some very high seam intersections that gave me a bit of trouble.  I wouldn't have those problems on a regular quilt top, but it was also something to think about as it pulled me up short several times.  (The problem areas were readily solved by adjusting my presser foot pressure.)

This piece was constructed in the "string" method, with strips added to a backing.  Unlike a traditional string piece I then cut up and remastered my strips until I had enough breaks in the line.  I would rotary cut across a section and recombine it at a different angle. 

This is part of the reason why I ended up with big seam joins in a few areas, but it does lend itself to a nice random modern look with hard edges.  The palette is also pretty "manly" so I told N it was for his office.  You see, the secret to successful practice is to make it something you don't have to stare down every day. hahah.  I am not sure that stippling is the BEST quilt line for such an angular looking piece but it was just about the right amount of practice for one day.


On a final note, I would like to observe two things: I meant to quilt it in a variegated gold and off white thread....which I completely forgot to load on the machine AND well, both N and I like the back best. hah. k. (Sorry for the almost year long gap in any word from me, but dang it is hard to blog.  I also didn't figure out my new camera...it was speaking Korean! soon enough to get the incorrect date stamp off my pics.  sigh!)

k's 3 Panel Vintage Skirt

After reading all the responses on Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing (Thanks Carolyn!) to the question of whether or not one's wardrobe was more than 30% dresses, I got to thinking....and thinking hard about how attached I really am to my Mom Uniform of Jeans and a T shirt day in day out.  Many of the women responding indicated that they never wore pants, largely because skirts were the winning combination of comfortable and more stylish (with the added benefits that they are MUCH easier to fit and similarly MUCH easier to make.)

So why do I, owner of 30 skirts not wear them?  I think the only answer that is strictly true is habit.  So maybe I ought to change that.  Last summer I started trying to wear more skirts and I was fairly successful after the addition of my pale blue tiered skirt (First item I actually put my tag in that I made for ME!) and a few other A-line types.


While Winter is getting out her last gasps, I am ready to have some Spring, so the sewing for said season has begun.  (As an aside, I really haven't sewn a whole lot for myself since the beginning of the whole boxpleat adventure...when you work at what you love, what you love becomes...at least on some level, work.  It is a pitfall that is difficult to avoid.)  On Saturday, the girl and I went to the glorious Dongdaemun which is perhaps my favorite experience of Korea.  I instructed her that we were buying fabric for Skirts and that is exactly what we did.  Her skirt is likely to appear here later, but not yet.  This is what I began when we got home.

I loved the idea of this fabric in a BIG skirt.  I should have gotten more, but that made me creative and it was totally worth it....I'll explain later.

I have often observed that what I like best about vintage clothing is the attention to detail...the little things that take longer but add a lot of punch to a design.  I decided this fabric needed piping, so there it is.  I did this piping with half a strip from a jelly roll, but I will tell you now, that wasn't quite enough for comfort.  The edge left over wasn't as wide as the seam allowance I wanted to use.  So I would have been happier with more, but I didn't have it so, oh well.  If you are going to try it though, you will need a decent sized piece of contrast!  (Especially since the ideal piping is cut on the bias....yeah I really am that chintzy.)  This design has piping on both top and bottom of the waistband and at the pocket openings.  If you don't do piping, this skirt could be made in about an hour I suspect.  (Well maybe not if you want to hand stitch the hem, but you can do THAT in front of the TV so maybe you don't need to count that anyway!)

The basic design is this:
Cutting
1. Cut 3 pieces of fabric, selvedge to selvedge the length you want the skirt plus the hem depth you want plus seam allowance. L+H+5/8. I made this version out of 2 yards of the main fabric, but as you can see, my hem had to be faced with the contrast fabric so it wouldn't be too short.  I recommend giving yourself a bit more "slack;"  Do as I say, not as I do. ;)  Also remember a good hem depth will give a BIG skirt some weight at the bottom so it hangs better.
2. Cut a length for the waistband (same direction as the skirt pieces.)  This should be the desired width of the waistband times 2 plus seam allowances (2 or 4 if you are doing piping.)  2W+2(5/8) or 2W+4(5/8) for piping, split it again.  (No piping stays in one piece.)
3. Trim the waistband piece to your waist measurement including seam allowances (on both ends!)ease and desired overlap.  There are calculations for necessary ease etc which I don't know heheh, but consider your comfort, remembering that you were probably sucking in a bit when you measured, that you might be eating a big dinner when you wear it, AND that you don't want it to fall off or gap.  The desired overlap will depend on what kind of closure you want to do at the waist....big fancy buttons require more space than trim little skirt hooks. W+2(5/8)+E?+O

Sewing
1. Serge or otherwise finish one edge (cut off the selvedge) on 2 panels.  Make sure that you examine your fabric design.  If it is directional, you need to make sure that the edges you choose will meet up....so when you sew these two pieces together, some of the cute little owls you picked aren't roosting upside down!  If you want you can finish ALL the edges.  You will be tempted to just use the selvedge.  I won't judge you if you do (I have done it) but you should be aware that it may shrink differently than the rest of your fabric so might look puckered later.

2. Sew these two panels together, using your longest stitch (5) for the length of the zipper you are using.  Back stitch at the bottom of the zipper length, change to a regular stitch length (2.5-3) and sew to the end.  Press the seam open.
3. Put in your zipper.  (If you don't know how to do this, there are lots of great tutorials on the ubiquitous YouTube.  A few thoughts though: Line up the zipper coil right along the center of the pressed open seam.  I always pin on both sides towards the coil.  If you have been frustrated with zippers in the past, consider basting.  YouTube taught me, after years of zippers, that if you get a zipper longer than you need you can leave the excess above the top of your project so you don't have to deal with the tab under your zipper foot.  Trust me, THAT was a revelation.  It cut down distinctly on the swearing and improved the look dramatically.)  Since this is located in hte back, a centered application is probably called for, but you can do either style.
4. Sew the 3rd panel to the free edges. Finish the edges here if you didn't do this already.
(4.5)Pockets: If you put pockets here they are going to fall to the sides of the front. A basic pocket bag is just a folded rectangle of fabric attached to the seams for part of its length, and to itself for the rest.  You need to keep it out of the way as you finish the rest of the skirt seam.
5. Gathering.Use your largest stitch and sew along the top seam allowance in a continuous line.  Add another line 1/4 inch  above that.  You pull the bobbin/back thread for gathering.  Go slowly and a little carefully so you don't break the threads. ;)  (I usually mark centers, quarters etc on both skirt and waistband so my gathers are easier to distribute evenly.)  The gathered skirt panels should be pinned to one layer of the waistband.  Remember that your overlap (and seam allowances) shouldn't have any skirt attached to them. ;)
(5.5)Piping waistband: Before you pin the gathered panels on, sandwich the piping between your two waistband pieces, raw edges all lining up.  If your waistband  is wide, you may want to include some good interfacing, if it is very narrow you may not need it.  Decide which is the "outside" of your waistband and baste a second row of piping to the bottom, keeping the raw edges together.  When you pin your gathered panels to the waistband it should line up with the raw edges of the piping.  You can use the basting line to guide your seam.

6. Waistband. Press the seam allowance in on the loose (long) edge of the waistband.  Fold the waistband, right sides together with the folded edge of the seam allowance lining up with where the gathered edge is attached.  Sew the short ends on your seam allowance, back stitching at the ends.  Turn the waistband right side out, making sure to get your corners poked out.  You can attach the back of the waistband by hand, catch stitching the folded edge to the seam line, or you can pin or baste carefully and top stitch from the front.  Put the closure of your choice.  (I have to admit that not a single skirt I made as a teenager ever sported any closure but a safety pin. hehe.
7. Hem.  As I mentioned earlier, a good hem can help a skirt hang better.  I like to hand hem, but you could also do this on the machine.  You should be sure the raw edge of the hem is finished or rolled under before you hem.

Whew, it is MUCH harder for me to explain how to do this than it is to just do it.  Sigh!  I can see why the YouTube video tutorial is becoming such a popular format!  I welcome questions and suggestions for clarity. ;)  And, yes, I will try to put some pics in some time, but if you read often you know pictures are always my down fall. hehehehe k.

New Quilt Top + Personal Achievement

At the end of the day I am occasionally bewildered where it went. There are always a million things to do and never enough tie or energy to even want to do a good many of them. We talked about log cabin blocks at Cursed Quilt this month and I figured that now was as good a time as any to "spend" some of my stash on something. So here it is:

Some of my friends may recognize this as fabric I acquired mostly on our warehouse trip to Happy Quilt. As you can see, it is not a traditional log cabin block. I like the squares quite a lot. The centers were cut 4 1/2 inches and the strips are 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 inches respectively. I cut this before the latest round of Accuquilt arrived so I only used it on the big strips.

The wide strips are all my prints from the palette. I decided to give it a bit of...what...contrast? with the black and cream. I didn't have a solid olive that would work so this lovely subtle print filled in for the last narrow color band. You can see that each block has ONE narrow band except for the very last block I put together which has all three, largely because I didn't want to cut more strips and I had lots of the narrow ones left. Each layout is different with the narrow strip falling in a different position. I am not sure that I am going to be able to give this one away. It suits me, although what I will do with a lap quilt I don't know. (Since the last lap sized quilt top is still unquilted form two summers ago! hehehe)

The last thing to report is my great achievement. I ate a thing from my balcony garden. Check them out....They are pictured next to an actually appropriately sized squash for comparison. These were grown from seeds that came out of an actual squash.  I am not sure if their size is based on engineering for big yield...which conditions my garden did not meet...or because of the constrained growing conditions of my pot/winter balcony...or if perhaps the mold I kept getting on the leaves was just too much for them.  It could also be that they simply didn't ever get pollinated properly and so couldn't manage.  There weren't actually any seeds in them I don't think.  At any rate, they were very cute.

The final verdict was that their texture was a bit smoother than normal, a bit starchier rather than stringy as I usually expect squash to be.  But in any case, we will hum that Primary song that no one actually seems to know "The Prophet Says to Plant a Garden" and feel satisfied.  Be productive somehow today, even if the only thing you produce is mess. k.

I finally did it!

After what has felt like millenia, I have finally posted some new "work" for boxpleat.  This is a salesroom for the DeeAnna Denton sized body, oh she of the particularly demanding figure.  I am happy with the fit on these new patterns and have decided that the current order of "work fun" is: drafting/designing, fabric shopping, sewing (construction), webwork, finishing, photography.  In that order.  I have actually contemplated sub-contracting the photography as I enjoy it so very little in the grand scheme of things.  I guess what I need to do is take a photography class to get motivated about it. sigh!


Have a look at the salesroom and tell me what you think. (Click on the title "I finally did it! above) I need some feedback so I know what to work on next....well, it isn't as if there isn't a MOUNTAIN of other things to work on, but it is nice to have some direction, you know? k.

Too Long and New Plans

I spent the Week between Christmas and New Year's cleaning my office.  I know you aren't going to believe it but you can actually SEE the floor.  All of it.

Of course that means I can't ever sew again right?!?!  sigh!  My husband keeps thinking that another cutting space would solve my floor issues, but I keep assuring him that just isn't going to help.  I *like* working on the floor.  I like sorting and cutting, I like storing projects I am thinking about out in plain sight so, well, so I keep thinking about them.

So the clean office has made me think about what it is that I really want to happen this year.  After the surprising return of my work "mojo" (that is such a silly phrase, isn't it?!?) I am feeling newly inspired to WORK.  My dear friend Pam Seeman of Paintbox Designs says she is willing to take stuff to the Tonner Convention this Spring so I have to really get ready for that!  (Of the minimalist income Boxpleat made last year 94% was from the last convention when I sent stuff to Pam! hehehe  I actually did the math.)  In pursuit of that plan, I hope to actually make some of the things that were cut years ago and that have been sitting here in my office....things from Hawaii for example.  I actually threw out a lot of things that I finally decided I really wasn't ever going to make.

I also have big plans to work on quilting donations and more pillowcases.  The box of pillowcases I sent found a home at a battered women's shelter in Loveland, CO.  Thanks to the ladies who helped with that.  I hope that the ladies and kids who get them will be comforted and encouraged.  sigh!

I also have been reviewing some of the "reporting" style challenges that are circulating around the internet.  http://patchworktimes.com has a UFO (Un-Finished Object) challenge that sounds fun.  They also do a "stashbusting" report each week to encourage the participants to actually track their fabric and use more than they buy in any given week.  Tricky!  I actually was considering that I should try to decrease my stash of great fabrics by actually USING them before we leave Korea so I can justify stashing a whole bunch more when I am ready to leave. hehehe


Other plans include earning some money towards the replacement sewing machine that I am going to need sooner rather than later (because I can't seem to get my machine serviced here.  sigh!) Since the top of the line runs in the $10,000-$15,000 range, I guess I am going to have to think a lot about my profit margins and actually earn more than I spend. heheh

In the meantime, I hope to maintain some of the inspiration I have felt as I worked the last few months, being excited about sewing.  That is one of the things that I sincerely missed when it was gone, and was really surprised at how long it took to come back.

Happy New Years! k.

All the Things I am (not)

My friend Ruth posted a lovely message (with a million links) about how blogs can make us feel bad....and how to nip that in the bud.  She challenged us to write a similar type of entry glorying in our less than perfect selves with all our mess and bother.  I don't think anyone reading my blog/FB would get down on their mothering etc, since I am not sure that too many people actually read it, and besides, it is not as if I post about the organic homemade popsicles my perfectly coiffed, fashionable children are eating while using polite language to describe all of their fun extra-curricular activities.  hehehe okay that visual just cracked me up.  THAT is the first thing: Most of what I do is purely for my own entertainment.  And I despise popsicles.

I won't number these because they are all nested.....like the last two.  Besides, that kind of order requires a certain level of parallel structure that I really think I am incapable of managing.

I can't blow my nose.  Seriously.  Well, that isn't really true.  I have developed a system to get my sinuses clear, but the whole use a Kleenex?  Nope.  It makes my ears plug up.....and I always get mucus everywhere.  (Here is a nested one:  My kids say mucus.  We are geeks.  sigh!  At least it makes everyone else laugh. heh!)  I remember when I was little fighting with my mom over blowing my nose, and I suspect my rejection of it is due to the ear thing, but I can't be sure.  So as a corollary, I am also a sniffer.  I also can't sneeze only once.  It has to be like 27 times in a row.  (That really happened once.)  And my last nose related thing: I do NOT like it when people touch my nose.  This was tricky last week when my boy went through a touch noses phase.....

My housekeeper had to sneak in to my office to clean while I was in the States.  She is the greatest lady, but I often wonder what she thinks about me.  I am incapable of keeping my house clean, and what is more, I don't want to do it.  I guess the truth of the matter is: I am capable, I just won't.  Part of the issue is that I like having stuff OUT.  Especially true in my office, but not only there.  I really don't like having to go get my "eating" book.  When I sit down to eat, I want my book on the table.  I KNOW the table is not a great storage place, but if I always want it when I sit down?!?!  Did I mention that I almost always read while I eat?  Even when my children are at the table....sad, I know.  My daughter also reads at the table.

(This is all linked but seemed like the paragraph is getting too long to read easily online! hahaha)
Back to the issue of having things OUT, my husband is always buying storage systems for me.  He is alarmed by the stacks of fabric everywhere in my office.  He thinks that it is because there isn't someplace else for it to be.  There is:  it is on the floor....where I want it. heheh  A Large part of my creative process involves seeing things over a period of time.  Fabrics are often stacked in coordinating groups based on color, while my "storage" is by fiber.  This means that if I put it AWAY I can't use it as a palette to inspire me.  I also never know when the need is going to strike me and I will start work on it.  Having said that, I must admit that I have one palette that has been gathered and waiting since Hawaii...so more than 3 years.

I have no tolerance for pretending to be animals.  I like to believe that I am the kind of person who wants her children to be creative, but this is a creativity I can not abide.  The boy is a dog these days.  argh.  It is especially irritating when he tells me that dogs don't use the bathroom.  I usually point out that they also don't talk and he had better get in the bathroom. 1....2.....3.....4.  Penalty.

In my house we count to 4 when people are on their way to getting in trouble.  It is my favorite number, but it is getting a bit over-used of late.  We also have a penalty rather than a time-out.  It sounds more ominous.  But then I start getting worried that people will think I am going to beat my children when I ask them if they need a penalty.  And I do ask them.....and the boy usually answers yes.

And the last thing for today?  I can not manage to call to make a reservation for childcare.  I am incapable of making a phone call at the appointed half-hour.  sigh!  All the other things on my list are all things I have made my peace with.  They are a part of who I am, but this one drives me nuts.  I am trying to make a change, to exercise.  (because I find I make too many apocalypse jokes about me and exercise so something has to change.)  I signed the boy up.   I even paid already, and I simply can not get my act together at 5 p.m. to call for a reservation.  It doesn't help that the class I want to attend is the only one it fills up for.  I want to think of myself as a person who can make this happen.  I am not sure I can.  sigh!  If you are reading this around 5 p.m.  can you give me a call and tell me to go make a reservation?  please.

So take Ruth's dare and tell us all about the stuff under your bed or the junk in your trunk (hah) or whatever.  Be happy. k.

"Not a Wallflower"

When I started with Cursed Quilt we did a little block.  The fancy version of this block is the pocket on the bag featured here.  I decided to use the same block simplified as an example of how different a block can look based on fabric placement.  Of course what do you do with 2 mostly coordinating blocks?  Why make a quilt of course.

I decided (almost as soon as the blocks were finished) that I needed to make a quilt for S and that this palette would be a good transitional one for my girl....you know, not too little girly but still fun and lively for my eventual teen.  The black sashing goes a long way towards that effect I think.

The floral fabric was purchased on a Dongdaemun trip with Darsha.  We saw it and absolutely had to buy some.  I believe the baby blanket Darsha made (with the purple) belongs to Carolyn, sometime poster on the Cursed Quilt Blog. :)  I made Darsha give me all of what she had left over...and you will see why at the end of this post.

So this was the plan:  I would make pairs of blocks, one purple, one green.  Each block I chose has a little square in the center on point.  You can interpret this all sorts of ways....each one has a diamond in it's heart...I like the idea of imprinting my someday teenage girl with the idea (at least subconsciously) of keeping a little "square" in your center. heheh  You also don't have to be just exactly like your friends to go together. etc.  You get the idea.  You can see some of the pairs in the picture.  Most of these blocks come from the fabulous site "Quilter's Cache" which features the work of Marcia Hohn and is one of the best block collections I have ever seen!  I modified most of them to fit my needs, but she deserves the credit for all the inspiration.

The main central panel is my first ever applique' piece.  I was very pleased with myself, even if all those curves and inward points was perhaps not the BEST idea I have ever had for a first project.  I even gave the flowers on the panel a bit of a trapunto effect (a thin layer of batting between the applique' and the panel to puff it up a bit.....a tiny bit.  I wasn't THAT ambitious!)  That turned out to be quite hard to quilt through, although the effect is kind of interesting.  If you look closely at the pic of grandma you can kind of see the puff on the green one...)

Once I had it constructed (in March or April) it sat around.  I am too chicken to try to machine a piece this large but have absolutely no place to put a quilt on (frames) in this house (that wouldn't involve crawling under it to get in and out of the house!)  Luckily I planned to spend a good part of the summer at "Grandma's House."  Grandma being my dear mother Jean Johansen Hunt.  She is an experienced quilter and works very quickly so I knew we could get it done during the trip.  Perhaps it wasn't what SHE was hoping to do during our visit but..... hehehe.  My own "Grandma Hunt" (Phyllis P. Delange Hunt) was an insanely fast quilter.  I used to be amazed at how much she could do in a day when she lived in our "back yard" one year.


The hand quilting plan was simple for the blocks: stitch in the ditch.  My mom quilted ALL the blocks themselves.....while she did that I did about 7 inches of the sashing!  sigh! 

While the quilt was on I realized that the "name" of this quilt was "Not a Wallflower."  And as such, the sashing was going to have to be quilted in flowers.  I decided to try to make them individuals so I drew them all by "hand."  That said, there are a few repeats.  My tools for the drafting of these flowers included every size of plate and bowl my mom's cupboards had to offer, an advil bottle, the bottom of the thread spool and my own thimble.  The first few that I drew aren't much to look at....I even contemplated picking the quilting out on one that I really don't like anymore.  After a while I got the hang of them though and they are very interesting.  Of course, as you may expect, the more "interesting" a hand quilting is, the trickier it is.  The effect was more than I could have hoped for though, so it was all worth it....wasn't it Mom?!?! hehehe

Many of the flower designs are supposed to echo the styles of the floral fabric.  There are also a few hearts sprinkled throughout to echo the other black and white print used, and the applique'd hearts on the corner blocks (which are sadly not visible in any pics.)  Most of the flowers are too large for the space so their edges are all tucked underneath as you can see in the picture.  I teally like that effect.  After we started quilting, I realized I should have planned the center so that the sashing and central panel could be continuous in the hand quilting....but the planning of THAT would probably been the demise of the design and it would never have been quilted. :)

I still haven't figured out how to tag this one.  I wanted to do a long embroidery on the binding but my machine is in desperate need of servicing so I had to give it up or risk more swearing than perhaps is good for my soul.  This is what I WANT on the tag:

"Not a Wallflower"
Spring and Summer 2010
for Senneth Anne Hartvigsen
Designed by Kimberly Hunt Hartvigsen (her mother)
Quilted by Jean Johansen Hunt (her grandmother)

You can see that is a mouthful....pageful? most of the binding?  I think I will probably make some more printer fabric and just print a tag so it will be small and attach it on the back.

You can see in the top pic that I made S some matching pillowcases.  This last pic was taken after that project was completed.  This represents ALL the floral fabric there is left.  ALL.  I had to piece together some of the triangles to get the pillowcase border I wanted!  The other pillowcase  has the backing fabric and black on the edge.  (That is the green and turquoise floral you can see bits of.  This was purchased at the quilt shop in Lyons, CO where mom likes to shop sometimes.  Not the cheapest place around, but when you NEED something wonderful they always seem to have it.  We had several options picked out and this is the one S liked best.)

SO there, I actually finished a thing.  Hah!  As you can see, it has even made it on the bed, although it is still too hot to sleep with it I think.  The binding was ALL attached during the days off from school for the typhoon "Kompasu."  How is THAT for a story?  Now go sew something. k.