DaGMT wrap up - Sneaky Peak and Sleeve Tute

It's February 28, and since this is not a leap year, that means day 28 and the end of this year's "Drop and Give Me Twenty"sewing extravaganza. Also being that this is not a leap year, Greta gets no half birthday so we don't get to have random end of winter half birthday cake. Both of these items make me slightly sad.

But we must pull ourselves out of this cakeless funk and celebrate all that has been accomplished this month by so many quilters. Some DaGMT stats:

• Number of quilters participating: Somewhere around 80, up from 30 last year. 
• Number of bloggers who linked to the linky page: 32
• Number of quilters who joined this year's Flickr groups and posted stuff: 31
• Number of Flickr groups there were this year because I posted the wrong link and some people used last year's group: 2
• Number of Flickr groups there will be next year: 1 if I do it correctly, 3 if I screw up again.
• Number of projects I personally worked on: over 10
• Number I finished: 5
• Number of times I had to change buckets to a larger one because the entry slips for prizes were overflowing: 3
• Number of prizes which will be awarded tomorrow: 22

So what are your DaGMT numbers? Let us know how it went for you in the comments!

I promised a Sneak Peak, so here we go. "Taking Names", my new group project that has nothing to do with "Kickin' Stash" but I wanted to be cheeky with the name of the quilt, has been a big focus this month. I've shown you a few of the group blocks I have worked on for other members of the group, and I've started to get my own blocks back in the mail and I am loving them! Until the other day, though, I was still somewhat up in the air on how I was going to set them, but as I was playing a revelation came to me, and I just love it.

"Taking Names"block, copyright 2013 EvaPaige Quilt Designs

Obviously there will be more to the design than this, so you will have to just wait until the actual pattern is completely done to see it in all the glory it can muster, but I do love the cuteness of combining triangles and hexis, two of the hot trends right now. I'm so rarely on trend I feel like this deserves a celebration.

Cake would be nice.

But in celebration of all of the UFOs you surely finished up, I am going to share a tutorial for a machine sewn sleeve that changed my life. Not, of course, to the extent that Jewel-it and the Binding Tool have done, but in minor quilting-related life-changing lessons and discoveries, it rates right up there with piecing battings into Frankenbattings, and deserves to be shared for those who may not know about this technique.

Don't you just love sewing a sleeve onto a quilt? I thought not. I know many people who have not bothered to put a quilt in a show because it meant sewing on a sleeve.We quilters just have better things to do, like fondling our fabric, planning the next project, and really pretty much just sitting in a silent room breathing, than make and sew on a sleeve. I was vending at a show several years ago and someone was demo-ing this method, which makes getting a sleeve on your quilt a quick and almost painless process.

1.We all know the best sleeves are those made from atrociously hideous fabric. I don't care how you make the actual sleeve for your quilt, but the first step is to find some horrific fabric and make one. Then pin it to the back of your quilt, about 1" from the top. Place the pins about 1/2"  from the edge of the sleeve. That will make it easier for you. Note that I did not do that here, and therefore you are benefiting from my stupidity.

 2.  Thread your machine with top and bobbin thread that blends with the quilt front. Especially the first few times you use this method, you might get a thread or two popping through to the front, so disguise it. Set your machine to "Blind Hem", with about a 3.5 stitch width and 2 for length.

3. "Sleeve to the feeds, weight to the left." Ingrain this mantra in your head, make a sign for above your machine, embroider it on a pillow - whatever it takes to remember this extremely important fact. I promise you the first time you do this on your own without looking at this tute, you will do it wrong if you haven't memorized this. Please don't ask me the number of times I did it wrong.

Fold back the quilt to reveal about 1/4" of the sleeve and center the needle right where the sleeve and quilt come together. Sew slowly and carefully the length of the sleeve, attempting to keep the weight of the quilt from dragging the sleeve out of position. It's slightly harder than it sounds, but that's why we go slowly.

Setting it in the machine

Sewing along the length

4. Do the same for the other length of the sleeve. Now, for those who are thinking "Couldn't she have....?" the answer is yes. I could have. I could have remembered to make a sleeve out of an 8" wide x length of quilt or so piece of fabric and sewed it to the top of the quilt before even putting the binding on, and therefore only have had to do the machine sewing of the bottom length of the sleeve. But 99 times out of a 100 I forget to do that. Or think "I will never hang this on the wall" which is just an excuse for being lazy and not making a sleeve. The good news is this method works either way.

5. When your sleeve is sewn, it will look something like this. See how the pointy parts of the blind hem go into the bulk of the quilt? When you do it wrong because you didn't embroider the mantra like I told you to, they will be going the other way and will suck.

6. Unfold your quilt and reveal to yourself how it looks from the back and the front.

Back view

Front view - see? Nothing shows!

 7. Hang the quilt you told yourself would never need a sleeve on the wall.

She may not get a half birthday this year, but "Greta's Kaleidoscope" is finally on the wall.

Check back tomorrow for a list of all of the prizewinners for DaGMT 2013. Please don't forget to report on all of your accomplishments in the comments section. Everyone who does so by noon 3/1 gets 3 extra prize points!

Another Quilting Mecca Discovered

Here in New England, we used to have a wondrous semi-big box store called Fabric Place. It had everything you could possibly want for fabric for any kind of project you could ever dream up, from bridal dresses to custom upholstery to swimming pool covers to quilting. It was insane. It was awesome. It was 3 miles from my first home.

I spent much time and money there, but did Fabric Place care? Apparently not. They closed down their 4 or so stores about 6 years ago, rather suddenly as I recall, and left the quilters and sewists of New England lying on the floor doing a collective Nancy Kerrigan.

It was a dark day in history indeed.

Fabric Place Basement was a mythical creature I had heard tell of, had even seen from the outside when bringing my daughters to their own personal mecca, American Girl, which as my friend Renae put it "is so alarmingly close to (Fabric Place Basement) so as to render any savings null and void", but had never actually experienced it. Until last Friday, which was the last and final official day of the most useless week of the year February vacation week, a day upon which I greeted my waking children with the announcement: "Today is Mom Day. I have spent all week and part of last week entertaining the crap out of you people and many of your friends, and today is all about me. We are going to Fabric Place Basement to use my Groupon which expires on Tuesday and we are all going to like it. Might I remind you we used a Groupon at the roller rink two days ago? No complaints. Up and at 'em. The bargains won't wait."

As you might imagine, there were complaints anyway, most along the lines of why couldn't we at least go to American Girl too, to which the answer was a big fat no because I am mean and didn't want to go there on Mom Day, but I somehow managed to wrestle them into the car and get them there without too much incident.

Hands down to FPB. They won my children over the second we walked in the door, because A. There was a ladies room right there, thank God, and B. this was hanging on the wall.

If you can't tell, it is a bicycle which has been wrapped in fabric and trimmings and for whatever reason Greta was completely taken with it. The other two thought it was pretty cool too, but were not begging me to buy it so they could ride it in the 4th of July parade like G was doing. A reminder that she still can't ride without training wheels brought her back to reality. But it was a cool welcome.

Then it was down the stairs - it is FP BASEMENT after all, so it wouldn't do to have it on the first floor - and the vastness of the awesome fabulosity began to envelop me. In other words, I drooled.

This is the best photo I could get, which makes me sad because it seems to be of a yarn shop. The quilting fabrics start at the pinks you can see and go all the way back to the far shelves, and behind that wall on the left of the photo is another whole set of shelves of quilting fabrics. It was so much more than I ever thought possible.

FPB specializes in current fabrics (and apparently yarn), notions, and gadgets at cut rate prices. I was there to gather some fabrics for a few more "Quite Contrary" kits; when I buy kit fabric, I need to have the prices be as close to wholesale as possible to make it worth my while to cut kits and price them fairly, and between the yardage here all being between $5-$7/yard plus my Groupon, I came pretty close.

So the fun began, and believe it or not, the girls actually enjoyed helping pick out fourteen fabrics for the kits. How do I know? Because in a moment nothing short of a miracle, all three of them grabbed bolts that all looked awesome together and collectively announced that "This place is FUN!" I had to sit down and collect myself to get over the shock. It also helped that I didn't say no when Eva found this kitty fabric and had to have it to make a quilt for her American Girls. We call her Kitty, so it felt like it would be mean to leave it there, plus it only seemed fair since we weren't going to AG.

Plus it really is just cute.

But back to the kit fabrics. So how many of you have ever stacked bolts up leaning against the shelves to audition them to see if the fabrics blend? We all do this, right? The girls and I were up to about 8 bolts in a neat little row against the shelves, and I was trying to locate a cart as there were going to be more. Around the corner came two customers, who looked at my stack, and I kid you not GAVE ME THE STINK EYE, and asked "Are you really going to buy ALL of those?" It was 8 fabrics. Eight. 0-8. Not 80. And if it had been 80, who cares? But 8? I was rather entertained but yet confused. I told them I was a designer looking for kit fabrics, so yes, I would be buying some of each but not too much from any one bolt, and offered to leave them at the counter for them if they wanted some of any of the bolts. I was proud of myself for being so polite, honestly, as they kept staring at me. Then one of them stink eyed me AGAIN and said "That just really seems like a lot of fabrics to put in your cart."

I was more than happy to make sure I passed them again when I had 18 bolts in my cart. I'm still terribly confused by this reaction to my fabric shopping, but whatever. The cutting counter lady, who had seen the exchange and also thought it odd, wondered if they were just really impressed with/jealous of my color sense because these are the fabrics I chose for the kits.

Close up below.

I really really love them, and I really hope everyone can someday know the joy of buying 14 coordinating fabrics. I begin to think it doesn't happen as often as I thought.

In final news on my DaGMT minutes, I worked a bit today on a quilt which is a surprise but I can show you soon, and another which I am throwing together from some orphan blocks which I will be donating for a raffle. Once I finish it I will tell you more about that, but for today I put together four big blocks and decided to go rogue on one of the border fabrics and I am kind of loving it.

Four more days to finish all your entries for the DaGMT prizes! Don't forget to comment on blogs, throw some photos on the flickr, and finish a few more UFOs. Critiquing fabric buying habits of strangers does not count, though.

The big reveal....of the couch

Day 21, and I must admit to making some progress. Remember this photo? It is my studio couch, covered in all of the UFOs I planned to finish during DaGMT.

This is the same couch, taken 10 minutes ago.

 

You know you are impressed by my UFO killing skills, if not by my ability to straighten the slipcover before taking a photo. 

I will take this opportunity to admit that the blue scrappy quilt (Kickin' Stash for those in the know) in the bottom center of the first photo actually isn't done. It is packed away for a lecture this evening, wherein I will unfurl it and proclaim it to be "summerweight" so as to avoid apologizing for showing  an unfinished top. But it is next on the UFO pile to be finished, as it is to be a wedding gift for a late summer wedding from 2012 and my year grace period is running out.

I finished this cute bedrunner sort of thing yesterday, while supervising five girls at the roller rink. My three will never be able to be seen in public again, as I was the mom SEWING at the roller rink. The horror.

 

I will give one million dollars to anyone who can give me a valid reason for the existence February break with which I can wholeheartedly agree. Good luck with that.

I honestly don't know what ever possessed me to make this little quilt. It is fairly cute, but it is such an odd size. Too wide for a table runner, too short for a real bedrunner, and no way can it be used for a lap quilt; unless one was to just wrap it around their waist and wear it as a jaunty skirt, I truly am not sure what I was thinking beyond "Here is a piece of white fabric. Perhaps I will make something out of it."

I do have to say the little flowers, while a bit pale on the white background, are so cute and modernesque. I may end up doing something better with them soon.

 

And remember the little tupperware bucket of entries into the DaGMT prize drawings? We're almost outgrowing our second bin, the meat marinating tub. I hate to have to change it up to an even bigger bin, only because I love how this looks like a little litter box under my desk.

Be sure to keep commenting on blogs, uploading your photos to the flickr, and finishing projects! All of those things will get you more entries for the fabulous prizes.

Post Snowstorm Flurry

Not only is it amazing what can be accomplished in 20 minutes a day, as I am hoping you are all finding this week, but it is shocking to me how much can be accomplished when one finally has all of 8 hours of kids in school this week. Thank you, Snowmageddon 2013 and parents who are much squeakier wheels than I am (I know, it is shocking that it is even possible, but it must be) who are influencing our new superintendent to go back to the ways of our old one when it comes to calling off school if conditions are not perfect in all ways. God help future generations and their abilities to function in the face of adversity.

Anyway, it was finally back to school for all of a day and a half this week, and this is admittedly partially my own doing as we leave for Florida tomorrow, but I have sewn my face off for all of that time and I am thrilled to have done so. Allow me to find my face and I will enlighten you.

So how are we doing on that list? Well, Yay and Yippee, #1 "Finish my tree skirt pattern completely" is finally done as of this morning and the joy of finding my fixed photos from my photo fixer woman in my inbox! Woo hoo! I mean really, let us compare:

Before

After

That is the SAME PHOTO, people! The same one! She kills me with her skills, I tell you.

"Ripple Effect" is now up on my Craftsy store for instant download and will be available as a print pattern in time for Market. I'm waiting to finish a few other patterns and then plan to make a print order with an invoice that will choke an elephant closer to May.

I also completed #2, "All 8 packets for the other members of Taking Names group quilt" and said packages are going out in the mail this afternoon. So Denise, Kelli, Lou Ann, Glen, Anna, Darlene, and Meg - be on the lookout! Angie, I'm cheaping out and will hand deliver yours. Here are a couple more examples:

Glen's blocks - these will reside in Louisiana.

Anna's blocks - these will reside in Wisconsin.

I love how these projects help me bring the nation together as one. It makes me want to sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

But I won't.

Finally, I have been playing with my quilting machine a little more today. I found a very old bedrunner sized UFO that I had quite literally balled up and thrown in my UFO basket, not even finishing the machine applique before doing so. I have no idea what it had done to make me so angry, but after working on it the last two days it is really growing on me again. I finished up the machine applique yesterday and today have machine quilted the middle part. I'll move on to the borders after I find some thread that matches the green, because in my 200+ spools not one even comes close. You know how it is.

So that's my week. I've also started writing "Taking Names", have done battle with the Girl Scout cookie website, and made sure my children didn't suffer the agony of not getting to go to the Book Fair at school just because they get to go to Florida and hang on the beach on the day their classes were scheduled to attend. So all in all, it was fairly productive even if a very short week.

A Flirty Secret Valentine

Long time readers of this blog, all three of you, may recall that two years ago I wrote this post about my guild's biennial Secret Valentine gift giving extravaganza and the history of my gift receiving therein. Well, since it's another odd numbered year, it means another gift for me!

I was unable to attend the meeting last night due to attending the 4th grade chorus concert and 4th grade band informance, which for those of you who were not there and did not get to hear the definition of an informance no less than 6 times from the band director, is a way to show us what they have learned rather than try to wow us with an actual performance after only 4 months with instruments. However, be it only an informance, I was still quite wowed, I must say. Especially proud that my flautist Paige, who never wants to be the center of attention, raised her hand and totally rocked a solo of "Old MacDonald". But that is neither here nor there. It only means that instead of imbibing in cookies and seeing what everyone got from their Secret Valentines, I was enjoying the lilting sounds of "Major Duple" and hearing the words "informance" and "audiation" repeated more times in 30 minutes than I ever thought humanly possible.

So it was not until this morning that I was able to confirm that it was NOT in fact Doris L. who who was my Secret Valentine, but Terry R. I am kind of shockered, honestly. I'm usually so good at guessing these things. But either way, she gave me a lovely three block runner, and hand delivered it to my mudroom door, unbeknownst to her having placed the gift bag within 6" of where I had just thrown away a dead mouse. It's always an adventure here in Helfterville.

Greta immediately wanted to know why someone had given me a British flag. I'm thinking it's more of a snowflake, myself. It's a cute little runner and if you look closely you can see Terry added some silk flowers to the corners, maybe even using Jewel-it in my honor. I can't confirm that, though.

For my part, I made up a whole new project for my Secret Valentine, which I called "Flirtation." I've been in a scrap quilt making craze, and hadn't designed anything totally whimsical and in keeping with my "machine applique/embellishment/Jewel-it the hell out of it" style in a while, so last month I went nuts and changed all that with this cute wall hanging I made for Marcia.

It's a small little project, but I loved the process of making it (all four hours) because it just let me let go and have fun. I even got to use some tools I hadn't in a while, like my Leaves Galore rulers (I cut wavy background strips with them), and I had fun with my iron on threads that I love so much and a little couching of a piece of eyelash yarn left over from a flip flop decorating project a few years ago. I am not a saver of other things, but I do save embellishments! Tons of little sparkly jewels and buttons complete the fun for me.

I thought it came out pretty cute, and when I was done I wrote the pattern up and threw it on my Craftsy site. I've actually sold a few, so I guess it has a little appeal, anyway. I'm thinking of leaving it as an exclusively downloadable pattern, but we'll see.

Back to my 90 minutes of sewing for the day. Today I am prepping for the big old snowstorm during which, if the weatherpeople have their way, we are all going to die, by finishing the quilting on the quilt I started yesterday and putting on the binding so I can at least flip that if we lose power. I'll be the one over here flipping and sipping (wine) while the winds howl and moan and the children experience their first real blizzard that they will remember. Since we only live 1/8 mile from school, they will not have to experience a 7 hour odyssey of attempting to drive home from school in a Pinto and never making it home at all that night like I did with my Dad during the Blizzard of  '78, but maybe they'll have a new tale to tell. As long as theirs doesn't involve the roof blowing off, I'm good.

 

Auspicious Fits and Starts

One would think that as the head hottie of Drop and Give Me Twenty, that I would be way out in front, racing along and generally killing it with my piles of projects moving from the UFO/not even started piles to the done piles while stopping now and then to wiggle my fingers on the side of my head and stick my tongue out at you because I am so awesome.

One would be oh so wrong. Charlie Sheen could use me as an example of the antithesis of winning.

A smattering of things which have gotten in my way of impressing the heck out of you this week:

• Bronchitis mixed with a sinus infection, resulting in a face three times its normal size (or so it feels) causing me every now and then, and normally just when I am on a piecing roll, to suddenly have to lie down for a moment. Or ten.
• Discovery of a dead mouse in a trap we hadn't checked for months behind a filing cabinet that is LITERALLY inches from where my feet are when I am pattern writing or otherwise on the computer. 
•  Girl Scout Cookie Mom hell. I won't go into it further than that, but every aspect of it is driving me batty this year. 
• A run-in with Overzealous Cop of the Year, while I was on my way to finally buy some spray baste so I could do some machine quilting. He was so not a quilter, but he did let me go with a warning to stop fully at all stop signs, because spray baste will wait for all men.
• Tracking down a rogue package for the Taking Names project.

 So sunshine and roses and the hum of machinery for 90 minutes plus a day it has not been around here. But if I am being honest, I have made SOME progress on my ridiculously long list, so let us examine the photo evidence as it relates to my goals from a few posts ago

1. Get this tree skirt/topper pattern done before I throw it out the window. It currently needs one more binding, photos inserted, a final run through with my red pen, and a name. Seriously, like two hours of work and it's done. Someone metaphorically kick me!




 So yeah, you all seem to enjoy the fun of kicking me, but I needed it so I thank you. All of these items have been accomplished with the exception of "photos inserted", but that is only because I am waiting on my aforementioned photo fixing woman to finish her portion of the fun. Some of the various photos she is fixing for me for "Ripple Effect"- woo hoo a name!-, a four size/permutation topper/runner/tree skirt pattern that will be out on Craftsy as soon as I get the photos in it. Print versions available by Spring Market.

This one was made by Barbara Townsend and as you can see, it has been made into a tree skirt.

I made this one, and it's the same size as Barbara's but is not cut out in the middle. I love giving more options when I can and this pattern has lots of them!

 This pattern may look fairly different for me upon first glance, but quilting for me really is all about constantly trying new things and then seeing if other people want to try them too. I designed it in EQ by blowing up a block and then converted it from a pieced curves situation (like I would do that to you or to myself, ever) to make it from appliqued circles and half circles. I really love how it turned out and my testers - Linda, Angie, Nancy, Melissa, Barbara, and Barbette - were amazing. So we can ALMOST check off item #1.

 2. Blocks for all eight members of Taking Names group

On this one, I actually have made some progress, and with four of eight of my envelopes done, even my math challenged child Paige could tell you that that is over a 33% completion rate and that the train will arrive in Stockholm at 5:45pm.

Kelli's blocks done. She wanted totally scrappy, so she got it. Next up is Lou Ann, who also wants totally scrappy. Thank God I have a scrap or two.

 Perhaps my biggest excitement relates to item #4:

 4. Border, quilting, binding on two small wall hangings



 because for the love of all that is holy, today - TODAY! Three months later! - I finally used my quilting machine for the first time! Allow me to break down my 90 minutes of sewing on it for you:
  

• Locating bobbins, which I had forgotten I had put in the attached drawer: 13 minutes

• Winding bobbin, including set up of external bobbin winder thingy, google of "industrial bobbin winder help for dummies", and actual success at winding and inserting of bobbin into machine: 25 minutes
• Searching for thread I just had in my hand and now cannot find: 8 minutes
• Giving up and auditioning different thread: 2 minutes 
• Threading machine: 6 minutes. A record breaker for sure!
•  Quilting: 30 minutes
•  Rethreading machine due to thread breakage: 6 minutes

So all was not amazing, but there were moments of joy. I was using a variegated thread, which historically has it in for me at every turn, so I am hopeful that if I use a different thread next time I might have better luck. And due to general malaise, I had to lie down after all that excitement. But isn't this an encouraging photo?

 Another view, just so you can see how vastly improved the situation truly is

 And one more, to show that when it isn't breaking thread, it actually sews quite nicely:

 
DaGMT sometimes is all about baby steps on the road to a finish. This week has certainly been that for me, but I'm hoping for better once my face goes back to normal.

I've been Kicked, it's been Named!

Ripple Effect.

FINALLY! A name for the thing. Now I'm getting somewhere.

Thanks for the kicks, ladies.

Why are you reading this?....Shouldn't you be sewing?

It's finally here! February 1, 2013, the day that will live in infamy as the day I metaphorically kicked over 50 quilters in the butt and chained them to their machines for at least 20 minutes a day for the entire month. Lucky none of you live in my house or I could totally take out the metaphorically and really get you going.

I am beside myself at the response I have gotten to this thing this year. As of this moment, I have 29 bloggers who have officially "linky-ed up" with hotlinks to their own blogs, where they will keep us apprised of their progress. I have over 20 others who have committed their minutes in the comments section of the DaGMT page. I already have 8 of you members of the flickr group even if you haven't posted too much yet. All of the entries from the various ways one can earn points have already overflown my Tupperware bucket from 1974 and are now in my meat marinating container my mom got me in 1999; plenty more room for them and now the slips of paper are all zesty with a hint of garlic. 

Last year I pledged to not only sew for 90 minutes a day, which is my pledge again this year, but also to blog about my progress every day of the month. That is because I was completely insane. This year I'm going to do the sewing part, but forget hearing about my progress every day. It's just not going to happen. I will try to remember to post to the flickr each time I have a photo of something worthy of sharing, and I will certainly blog as much as I usually do, which is to say whenever I feel like it.

To keep me honest, here is my staggering, blinding, and cow-choking list of projects I need to complete this month:

1. Get this tree skirt/topper pattern done before I throw it out the window. It currently needs one more binding, photos inserted, a final run through with my red pen, and a name. Seriously, like two hours of work and it's done. Someone metaphorically kick me!

2. Blocks for all eight members of Taking Names group

3. Write Taking Names pattern

4. Border, quilting, binding on two small wall hangings

5. Border, quilting, binding on a wedding gift from an August wedding

6. Use EPP stuff with some scraps when I am on vacation in FL so I don't fall too behind in my 90 minutes.

6. Quilt and bind a carpenters star that I made in 2007 and have wanted to hang in my family room since that time.

7. Transfer "Rapunzel's Hideaway" from my book to a stand alone pattern.

8. 2012 bookkeeping finalized so husband does not freak that we won't be first in line for the tax guy.

I think we are all justified in laughing hysterically at that list. But we will see what I can do.

I've already got three of the eight packets of group quilt dealt with, so I'm actually making some headway. Today I worked on Meg's. Love them!

Now really, get back to sewing!