WIP Progress, Springing and a Tutorial!

Hi peeps! 

How is everybody doing today??? Did ya miss me? Laid low again with a weather-sparked migraine that lasted a week, eek! 

Before I was incapacitated I managed to get my citrus batik table topper put together-border and all! I am still amazed at how pain-free the HST's were…guess I never bothered to measure and trim them before…ha ha ha...it had been that long since I worked with HST's! 

I have spray-basted it to some older-stash fabric and am good to go for quilting…but I am still undecided on which pattern to FMQ(free-motion quilt) with my Pfaff. It will be on our large coffee table and will get spilled on, folded over and generally well-used so I think it should be densely quilted. The one that is on the coffee table now was quilted with a fairly tight meander and while that is the easiest FMQ design to do, I am a little bored with it.

This was made with two packs of Timeless Treasures charms I got from Craftsy during their Boxing Week Clearance Sale. I actually bought 4 from them and don't know just yet what I'm going to do with the other two packs. I had a few squares left over from the above project as I was working with specific dimensions, so I'd like to work them into the next project as well.

I took this picture early last week. This is part of the tree that is in our minuscule back area. This one usually grows so much in the summer months that it ends up touching our kitchen windows! Now, would you believe, the buds are fully open and little leaves are starting to grow.

Home-Made Spray Starch Tutorial

I don't really like to use the spray starch in a can as it has an icky slightly-sweet smell…and of course, the fumes and the ozone layer. This recipe is a mix of a couple I have seen online with a few personal tweaks!

You will need:

2 cups of cold tap water
4 Tablespoons of cornstarch
1 Tablespoon of vodka(yes, really…very important)
5 drops of Lavender essential oil(or a favourite, just not a citrus-based one as even small amounts might cause a stain)
1 spray bottle(got mine at the dollar store)
-mixing bowl, measuring cup for liquids, measuring spoons, fork and a funnel

In your mixing bowl combine the water, vodka and cornstarch and mix well using a fork. Don't add the essential oil yet!

With the help of your funnel, pour the resulting liquid into your spray bottle. Remove the funnel and add your essential oil. I use lavender as it has a nice smell, but you could use a different oil such as peppermint or rosemary...but no citrus-based oils as they can leave oil spots on your items!

Now give your spray starch a hearty shimmy & shake. This helps to mix the essential oils in well. The reason I wait till the end to add the essential oils is that I don't want to waste any of it in the mixing bowl. Just mixing the oil in with a fork will not disperse the oil throughout the spray starch mixture and some of the oil will stick to the bowl's sides, which is a waste in my opinion.

Now, keep your spray starch near you ironing board and spray, spray, spray away, but use sparingly-a little will go a long way! Just remember to give it a good shake before each use as the cornstarch tends to settle to the bottom once the bottle is set down. 

It should stay fresh for a month or two! When not in use, I put mine in the fridge and it lasts longer.

If you find that you have some white residue on your fabric after the spray has dried, just give the area a little swipe with your fingers or a damp cloth. The white residue is just plain old cornstarch!

Why the Vodka you ask? Vodka(or any clear alcohol, but not rubbing alcohol) acts like a dispersant and a binder(emulsifier)-helps the essential oils mix with the water, and will also help the spray starch stay fresh, as it is a preservative.

Enjoy!

Thanks so much to the peeps who commented about my new vintage Singer machine! I was directed to a couple different websites and can now say I know this about her:

Model#15-91

Made in St. John's, Quebec, Canada in 1948

My model was one of the first of these models to come off the assembly line, as I noticed there are some things missing: the face of the stitch lever(on the right) doesn't have any numbers on it for stitch length and there is no gold "Made in Canada" decal situated on the top of the machine head.

I also now know that I put the needle in the wrong way...DUH! While on modern machines you put the needle in with the shank facing the back, this Singer must have the needle shank facing the left! 

I have also started looking on eBay and Etsy for a Walking Foot and a few other things I like to have. Someday I would like a wooden cabinet to store her in, so I could set her up in the living room and not have to move her on and off the kitchen table…Featherweight she is not!!!

Today is the last day of Craftsy's Spring Blowout Sale! Scoot on over for amazing deals on fabric, sewing kits, and quilting kits!

I have been looking longingly at this kit: Letters Home Tea and Biscuit Table Runner since Craftsy first shared it! When you use this link, just scroll down the page to see the kit. It is on sale HALF PRICE for $25.43(this is the price in CA$-it will be much cheaper in US$)!!!

They even have a few of the lovely Aurifil thread sets…but these are going fast.

Question of the Day: 

 How should I machine-quilt my citrus batik table topper? I really need some ideas peeps!

Sharing is caring!!! 

Don't forget that I am happy to share…feel free to pin to Pinterest, post on Google+ and Facebook, and Tweet away! Just please make sure your posts link back to this blog. 

*If you mouse/hover over the top right corner of my photos, a red pin-it button will show up and all you have to do is click it to be taken to Pinterest. There is also another red button right beside it for posting to Facebook and Twitter. Or, you could always use the little grey square buttons at the end of this post.


Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline 

PLEASE NOTE: The writer of this blog accepts forms of compensation such as, but not limited to; fabric/notions/patterns/books in exchange for a posted review. All comments/critiques/opinions are completely my own and are not those of the provider. This post may also contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Thanks!

Sooo, wanna see what I got for Christmas???…and What I'm Working on Now!

Hi peeps!

Each year, when we gather together for American Thanksgiving, it is a family tradition that we stick everyone's Christmas lists on my MIL's fridge. So, my Hubs suggested that I choose my own Christmas gifts(from him and the Kid) this year. To be fair, my Hubs was having a pretty busy time at work.

Woo-Hoo! Super-bonus points for him!!! Hee Hee Hee…

This was when all the great Black Friday sales were going on, so I clicked on over to Connecting Threads(a favourite on-line shop of mine) and went to town! 

I love how they label each piece with fabric name and your yardage cut

They had their books at 40% off and deep discounts on selected fabrics, patterns and notions. The purple print is called "Fronds".

The pretty drawstring bag and thread snips were from my Dad

I also got the Morroccan Tiles pattern that has been on my CT wish list for ages. I am thinking of pairing solids with small amounts of 'modern' fabrics for that one. 

That teal tool on the far right is a half square triangle ruler. I've had a 6"-long one for years, and needed the longer one to finish that Jumbo Prism Pillow I was working on in this post.

It was sure hard to not open that box when it arrived a week later!

I had been saving up so that I could take advantage of Craftsy's big after-Christmas sale. These table runner kits were bargain priced(about $6 each!), so I picked up 4(shown above). The kit contains 40 5" charm squares of Batik fabrics in the Punch colour line, plus a free pattern. I have been meaning to make a new runner for our coffee table and thought these bright citrusy prints would brighten the place up.

I opened up one package and started thinking about which squares to pair together, as I would like some contrast in each pair. I will be using two packages as our coffee table is quite large.

I surfed my stash and found the perfect fabric for binding. It is a cross-weave of two slightly different colours and will be perfect binding. The photo doesn't do it justice, it is more shimmery in person. Is shimmery a word? If not, it should be! hee hee hee

This is a half-yard piece, so if I cut my binding strips straight of grain instead of on the bias, I will have enough for the large table runner, as well as for one of the extra kits.

I started marking my sewing and cutting lines on the lighter squares, using my new half-square ruler and a black Frixion pen. It doesn't show up very well here I'm afraid, but is dark enough for me to see it while sewing. 

I am having a problem with my Frixion pens not working all that well…does anyone know what might be the problem and how I can fix it?

Click here to go directly to Craftsy!

Affiliate post:

Did you know that Craftsy is have a huge Winter Wonderland sale? They are offering up to 65% off fabrics/kits/notions and classes. The classes never expire and you own them for life, so you can go back a watch them as many times as you like! I have several! It is completely FREE to Join Craftsy.

Sale ends at midnight February 2, 2015 MST, so don't delay!

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Tommorrow is Groundhog Day…will he see his shadow?

Comment below!

PS: I'd like to thank each and every one of you who emailed me to see if I was doing okay. I was having a difficult time health-wise, and lost my bloggie voice for several months.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Quilty Huggs,

Jacqueline

Happy Mail, an awesome sale and Work-in-Progress Wednesday

Hi peeps!

As you all know, I am a Craftsy Affiliate. I wanted to show you some of the great things they have on sale at the moment. 

This class has been on my wish list for a little while and is on sale for only $19.99(C$)! But not for long…sales change quickly on Craftsy.

FYI: all prices listed here are in Canadian Dollars. Prices will be even cheaper in the USA!

The Barcodes quilt kit is on Clearance for only $33.29 and comes in two colour ways. I bought the Boysenberry kit, as you can see below. 

This one is the Twisted Irish Chain-Granny Squares Kit, for only $41.62, which is  a great deal considering you get 15 fat quarters of designer fabric, Kona cotton in grey for the 'chain' pieces and a half yard for your binding.

Here is my happy mail!!! As you can see, the Barcodes kit in Boysenberry is rich and dark. A super-easy pattern, you could get it done in a day or less!

The Twisted Irish chain kit has some very modern colours that are a bit out of the box for me, but I am game to get it together. The pattern, by the wonderful Amy Smart, is sent to your patterns library in Craftsy, so that you can access/print it as many times as you like!

I got some pre-cut yardage of Kona cotton in Rich Red, White and Black. They are on sale for up to 35% off! They come nicely packaged in reusable zip bags.

Here are the pre-cuts I scored, at super prices! The Kona-white charm packs are $7.28 right now! Riley Blake small chevrons charm packs are only $5.20. I am keeping them to add a little bit of chevron to my scrappy hexie projects. 

The Bali Batiks are all sold out(see, things go very fast here), and the Riley Blake small dots and 1/4" gingham mini layer cakes are $10.20 and $6.84 respectively. I wanted to have a little bit of polka dots and gingham prints to add to various projects. I just love Riley Blake fabrics!

They have the super-popular Olfa Splash rotary cutter on for 20% off, now only $14.96.

Remember, it is fast, easy and FREE to join Craftsy. There are lots of FREE classes and independent patterns to try as well as a large Clearance section and 19 quilting classes on sale(at the moment).

Here's the link to join or sign in: Craftsy 

Website owners and bloggers: Join Craftsy’s Affiliate Program Today

So I got going on the Giant Hexie Flower Quilt I told you about last post. I thought I would save time and use fabric glue when I fold over the seam allowances, instead of having to baste all those seams to the thick poster board. I wanted to save my hands…and my needles!

I was going pretty good on the first seam, but when I had sewed the second petal on and had to switch direction to sew that petal to the centre(white) hexie, the glued seam allowance of the white hexie started to pop off. Grrr..

I managed, with the help of my handy Clover Clips. I used them to keep the seam allowances folded over and attached to the poster board. 

There were a few minor curses though.

This is the fabric glue I used, I am sure you can find it at most large fabric/craft stores. I would go ahead and use the fabric glue to hold the seam allowances to the Giant Hexie petals, but for the centre piece I would definately baste them down.

It only took me an evening of watching Luther on Netflix to get the entire Giant Hexie Flower done. Now, I am going to go a step further and hand appliqué the hexie flower to a 60", or similar, square of fabric. 

I am not sure I have enough of that orange mini bias stripe I showed you last post. We will see how it goes. I have three more of these cut out and ready to go, once I have appliquéd and removed the poster papers from the first one. If the appliqué doesn't work out, I will have 4 baby/lap quilts to give away or sell.

I want to thank you so much for supporting my sponsors! With my small commissions, I can purchase items/supplies for my self-sponsored giveaways. And we all want more of those, don't we!!! hee hee hee

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Sponsor Sunday and Really Ginormous Hexagons!

Hi Peeps!

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links.

Sale ENDS on August 11, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT time

Just a little reminder that the Craftsy classes sale ends tomorrow! Get em while it's good! 

I picked up Playful Piecing Techniques by Camille Roskelly for only $14.99, and will watch it once the weather turns cooler. I love, love that you own your purchased classes forever! 

There are also some great deals to be had in their Clearance section!

Here's the link: Craftsy

Don't forget, if you own a website or blog, you can join the Craftsy Affiliate Program and earn a little cash!

Join Craftsy’s Affiliate Program Today

Fat Quarter Shop is offering 20% off all their Riley Blake prints, but only until Midnight August 14, 2014. I can see some chevrons and dots in my future!

You can click through to Fat Quarter Shop with my button, top left.

Paper Pieces has their Fan Quilt kit on for a huge 30% off. This includes the die-cut paper pieces you will need and the pattern for making the quilt. Use your own fabric to create a one-of-a-kind treasure. 

Don't forget, you can combine you savings and use my "qsh20" code to get 20% off the rest of your purchases!

Riley Blake Designs have launched their latest fabric line: Hope Chest, a salute to the always-sweet 1930's reproduction prints. Available in yardage and pre-cuts and in stores now.

There's only 6 hours left to take advantage of Massdrop's Aurifil thread box in useful neutral colours. Twelve large spools, there are two collections to choose from. They ship FREE in the USA and only $8.28 to Canada.

Use the below link to join this awesome deal!!!

https://www.massdrop.com/r/Q2XSMW 

Massdrop is also offering two different bag-making kits from Sew Sweetness; the Aragon bag and the hugely popular Airplane bag. Both kits come with all the supplies(just add your own thread) needed to make a bag(or two) of your choice. At only $39.99, I am getting both! They will make awesome Christmas presents. Only 3 days left to get in on this drop, they ship Free in the USA and $8.28 to Canada.

Use the below link to join this awesome deal!!!

https://www.massdrop.com/r/Q2XSMW 

This is one of the latest projects on my growing to-do list. Haley, of The Zen of Making, is a quirky gal and I really enjoy her blog. This Giant Hexie Flower Lap Quilt she designed is one of literally hundreds of tutorials she has posted. 

Here's the link: Giant Hexie Flower Lap Quilt

Head on over and share some hexie love!!!

I picked up some poster board from the 'good' dollar store and made my template, as per instructed. Then, using my rotary cutter, and an old blade, I cut out the 7 hexies needed for the centre and the petals. The giant hexies measure 15.5", point to point.

I cut out my fabrics using yardage(adding a half-inch seam allowance around all edges to fold over the poster board), but you can use seven different/co-ordinating fat quarters. I cut out 4 of each colour, as I plan to make four of these giant hexie flowers. The difference with mine is that I am going to appliqué each giant hexie flower onto a background and make a queen-sized quilt. Go big or go home, I say!!! 

Wish me luck…please!...as I have never attempted such a large hand-applique project. Eek! My Clover Clips and stick of fabric glue will come in very handy.

This is my background fabric. It is an orange and white diagonal stripe.

I hope you will enjoy the above offers. I am able to offer demos, tutorials and giveaways only because of my sponsors and it would be great if you could support them. Thanks!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Thrifty Thursday: Craftsy sale & Value Village finds!

Hi peeps!

Note: This post contains an affiliate link

I would like to introduce Craftsy to you. They are an online source of great how-to classes, kits and supplies for a huge assortment of crafters/sewers and quilters! I have been enjoying shopping there for a couple of years now. I have purchased several courses(you own them forever!), kits, fabric(including pre-cuts) and supplies. There's an order coming my way as we speak!!!They also take Paypal for payment which is a huge selling point for me! You can check out their fun and informative blog.

I have been accepted into the Craftsy Affiliate Program, which means I can show you upcoming sales and share special coupon codes. Awesome!!! Note: in return, I receive a small honorarium for each purchase, meaning I can offer more self-sponsored giveaways!!! Every purchase makes a difference. Thanks!

Please use this link to join or log in to Craftsy: Craftsy

It is completely free to join Craftsy and they do have some super free classes available to get you started!

For those of you who have a website or blog, it is very easy to become an affiliate. Follow the link below to get started. Again, it is completely free to sign up.

Join Craftsy’s Affiliate Program Today

Sale ends August 11, 2014

Check out this super sale on all of their classes. If that is not a Thrifty Thursday special, I don't know what is! ha ha ha

Sign up now to have fun classes to enjoy in the Fall/Winter:

Craftsy

On sale for only $14.00, regularly $30.00

I am a big fan of Camille Roskelly(the creator of the popular Swoon quilt block) and already own one of her Craftsy classes: Pre-cut Piecing. I have the above class in my Craftsy cart and will be purchasing it right away.

I thought you would like to see how I am coming along with the Kid's hexie quilt. I call these 'triplets' and I have about 350-ish sewn up. The long king-sized quilt requires over 900 of these. When I am done sewing together the triplets, I will sew three of them in a row, which I call 'niners'. Then I stack two niners together to give me a 18-piece 'block'. 

I will have over 200 of these 'blocks' when I am ready to lay them out on the floor and start sewing them into rows. I sew my hexies every evening, except when a bad migraine or my fibromyalgia forces me into bed. …yeah, I know...

And now for my trip to Value Village! I got my trusty shopping cart ready and hit the street. We had free transit this past Monday, due to two major transit disruptions in July. So I thought I would head out of my cave and see the world! 

Thrifty Thursday savings: $5.50.

I found a matching rectangular tub with a blue lid, but they had it marked at $3! I have seen these in dollar stores, so I told a supervisor. She agreed with me and priced it as 99 cents. Since I had a 30 % off coupon for my entire purchase, it came to just 69 cents! Extra bonus savings!!!

This photo album is brand new and the artwork on the cover is by my favourite watercolorist, Marjolein Bastin. Her stuff is sooo sweet! I have some of her stationary as well. 

I have been wanting to put our Las Vegas wedding photos in an album for over 14.5 years! Time I get that done.

Picked up some new, packaged unused stationary items. The white and pink cards are handmade and the package contains about fifty of them. They look like they might have been wedding thank you cards. They will suit my purpose- I plan to open an Etsy store sometime in the future and these would make great thank you cards…stay tuned!

Here's a collection of craft supplies I picked up on the cheap. The roll of cording is huge! If anyone wants a couple yards of off-white polyester cording, please message me. I would be happy to send some along-just cover the shipping cost(less than $4.00). I love the colourful, nubby yarn at the top.

I have been wanting one of these for years, but there were too expensive…up to $20 in some places online. This one was priced at $4, but there is a sale price ticket right on the package(above right), that is marked 25 cents. I pointed this out and she re-priced it as 5 cents, bonus! Now the Hubs gets to put it together.

I couldn't pass up this little cushion. I plan to stick it in a mesh lingerie bag, wash it on gentle, air dry, then take it apart. It might become a pocket for a bag or a pincushion of some sort.

Big deal of the day! I got these four bags of zippers for around $10. I haven't even counted how many zips there are! There are 2 colours of light blue zippers in the big bag, they are 20" long and would be great for zipper pouches or bags. I don't think I would use them on clothing, they might not be sturdy enough. There are some heavy-duty and metal zippers in the small packages as well.

If anyone would like a few light blue zippers, just let me know-just please pay the shipping(under $4.00). I am happy to share!

I always look in the tablecloth section,and was not disappointed this time. These two tablecloths were around three bucks each. They will be used for quilt backs or bindings. 

I also got that big bag of off-white fabric pieces for under $5. Most of it is poly-cotton, which will be good enough for bag and pillow interlinings. There are also two nice pieces of quality muslin.

This was a mixed-fabric bag, priced at $4. The turquoise at the left is stretch velour, the turquoise dots are flannel and the brown is home dec, but the rest is nice cotton. A great addition to my scrappy stash.

I found this length of cat panels, too. There are four cats to a panel, and three panels total. I plan to use it as part of a quilt back, mixed with the tan check tablecloth above. I will alternate the squares. There might be enough of the border to make the binding. There is a person in my family that loooves cats!

I got these two men's shirts to cut up, for about $10. They are 100% cotton, and nice plaid prints. I always go for the larger men's shirts as they have more fabric and no breast darts like women's shirts.  I save the buttons too. 

Look for a tutorial on cutting up shirts for quilting, sometime soon.

Last, but not least, I found these cute little dishes. I will attach flat magnets to the bottom of the heart dish(read, I will get my Hubs to do it!!!) and make a pin dish for beside my sewing machine. Not sure what I am going to do with the other two little dishes, they are soaking(the super-sticky price tags are impossible to peal off) in the sink right now. I could make pincushions for my future Etsy store. I may even do a tutorial!

Total Thrifty Thursday savings…$5.50 on bus fare, over $50 at Value Village(with the 30% off coupon and me asking for price adjustments), and $15 on the Craftsy course…priceless!

Don't forget to check out all the sales at Craftsy! They have a large Clearance section, with loads of kits/fabrics and pre-cuts with deep discounts.

Click here to get to Craftsy: Craftsy

Bloggers and website owners can join the Affiliate Program here:

Join Craftsy’s Affiliate Program Today

You may wonder at the reason why I am always talking about deals, saving money and thriftiness. I am considered(by myself, my doctor and the government) unemployable/disabled and my Hubs earns the only income at my house. I do receive a small government pension, but that is eaten up quickly by household bill and expenses. The Kid is still looking for a Summer job, and will have a few options available in a few weeks, when he turns 16.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline