What's-Up Wednesday!: Happy Mail and a Quilt-A-Long Announcement!

Hi peeps! 

Did ya miss me??? 

As you can see above, I started free motion quilting the Citrus Batik Table topper. My Pfaff was also in the hospital, so I got out my old 1990's era Kenmore. It is a very basic machine, having only 14 different stitches, but it is a workhorse and can do the job. I decided to try the 12-weight Aurifil thread I have, in a yellow-gold colour and was going swimmingly when all of a sudden I started getting thread breaks and all sorts of bird's nests of thread on the back. Yeesh! I tried everything I could think of…rethreading the machine, changing the bobbin, changing the needle and cleaning out the dust and lint…but nothing seemed to work, so I put it aside. Then I got my Pfaff back and would you believe, I had the exact same problem. So I did all the same things to my Pfaff and still was having problems. Double-Yeesh!

I have come to the realization that neither of my machines like 12-weight thread. I have unpicked loads of nasty stitches, but even though I will have to change threads and thread colour, I will not unpick the parts that came out looking okay. If this was to be a gift, that would be another story, but as this is just for us, I will let it go. I just have to keep repeating to myself "let it go, let it go". My Virgo self really dislikes things that aren't just right. Ah well….

I got some great Happy Mail over the past couple of months. I bought a bunch of machine parts off of Ebay for my 1948 Singer 15-91 including a quarter-inch foot, Singer branded needles, a walking foot, lightbulbs, magnetic seam gauge, a bunch of bobbins and an springed open-toe foot for FMQing. When they arrived, I was please to see that these parts will also fit on my Kenmore…bonus! 

I also finally invested in a quarter-inch foot for my Pfaff. Both quarter-inch feet have a little metal guide thing on the right hand edge of them that prohibits you from pushing too much fabric to the right of the foot, thereby allowing you to achieve a perfect quarter-inch seam allowance. Yay!

These two purchases were from Massdrop. The fat quarter bundle is called "Enchanted", and even though the bundle didn't include the 'main' all-over design that ties the whole line together, I got such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up. Plus, I can always find that main print at Fat Quarter Shop or Pink Castle(2 of my favourite USA-based online shops).

The 100-count boxes of Schmetz needles were also a steal on Massdrop. I got one box of #14 needles-these are my go-to needles for all-purpose sewing. I also got a box of #16 needles, which are my favourite machine-quilting needles.

Massdrop has very reasonable shipping charges(even to Canada!) and I was really pleased to find out that they combine shipping on multiples of the same item!

I joined a Canadian De-stash group on Facebook and got these two 2-yard pieces for a bargain. I just love those happy purple flowers! I will be using the primary colours stripes for binding on kid quilts. I always cut my binding on the bias, as it is more sturdy. Stripes cut on the bias create a neat finish.

I got these two Mary Engelbreit charm packs for about $10 each from the same Facebook group. The top print doesn't do the whole pack justice…there are so many cute prints in there, in reds, blues, greens and black. I am planning to make one of the free Fat Quarter Shop patterns for charm packs with them.

I also joined a couple of Canada-only swap groups, again on Facebook and these are the fatties I have received so far! The red one at the top right is a Pat Sloan print and I was so excited when it came as I have never had any of her prints and always thought they were super-cute! 

I bought the Simplicity pattern print, bottom right(neat, eh?), and the multi lifesaver print-bottom left, from one of the swappers who was having a de-stash on the other group, and it came with my swap!

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So…now I have an exciting announcement!!!

I will be starting a Quilt-A-Long next week, here on the blog! I contacted Connecting Threads to see if they would like to supply the fabric for me to host a Quilt-A-Long, using a block that I have designed…and they said yes!!! Yippee!!!

The first post will be a photo of the block and fabric requirements for a queen-sized quilt. The blocks are nice and big, at 15.5" square, including seam allowances(15" sewn in), and you will only need 25 of these easy blocks, plus 2 borders, to make a comfy queen-sized quilt! The posts will be about two weeks apart, to allow everyone(myself included!) enough time to complete each step.

You do not have to make a queen quilt, but it would be great if you could participate…three of these blocks sewn in a row would make a nice table runner and four blocks set 2 x 2 will make a nice square table topper.

I will be putting a Quilt-A-Long tab at the top of the blog, to make it easy to find each week's post, in case you don't have the time to make one now, and for easy reference too!

I will be using the Maison de Provence fabric line by Connecting Threads, check it out! Now that I have it in my hot little paws, the rich tones(so beautiful in person) kind of remind me of the spices brought back on the Silk Road by Marco Polo!

The "COUNTRY VILLAGE" Quilt-A-Long will start on Wednesday, April 29, 2015.

Come join us!

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It has been a long and stressful month with my Dad being in the hospital. He had 2 emergency surgeries and spent most of his stay in the Close Observation Ward, due to the nature of his medical situation. I am happy to report that he is now back home and enjoying a good night's sleep in his own bed! Thank you so very much for the comments and messages offering prayers…it really means a lot to me that you took the time to tell me you care. Big Huggs to you!

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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!

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!

Follow-Up-Friday: What I've Been Up To!!!

Hi peeps! 

How's everyone doing today??? We are having crazy weather…sunny and up to 55 degrees one day, then cold and rainy the next!!! It's really doing a number on my migraines and the Fibromyalgia…grrr!

As promised in this post,I had some fun playing with my citrus HST's. I came up with the above placement and sewed them all together yesterday. I have to say that this is the first time ever, that my HST's have worked out! This time I was very careful to mark my sewing lines and I actually trimmed them too! What a difference that made!

I also promised to show you what I get up to in the evenings while binge-watching Netflix(we are on season 4 of House, MD and season 3 of House of Cards). Well, I sew English Paper Pieced hexagons(1" sides)…a whole lot of them!!! 

Pictured is a pile of about 75% of the hexies I have already done for the Kid's quilt.  These ones have already been sewn together in threes…which I call "triplets".

Once I get all my "triplets" done, I sew three of them together, side by side, into "niners". Sew, sew, sew!!!

I store my "niners" in a plastic shoebox. I have them wedged in there very tight, so they actually press themselves. This also keep them nice and flat as when I sew them together they kind of curl up at the ends.

Once the "niners" are all sewn together, I stack two of them to make an "18-patch". 

This is my basic block and they are all super scrappy. This quilt, like the one I made for us, will have 216 of these 18-piece blocks and will measure 96" x 113", plus a 4" border. It makes a pretty huge quilt, but that also means you can double it over on itself and have a two-layered quilt for especially cold nights.

These are the half-hexagons I have already basted. The ones like the yellow one on the left will be for going down the right and left sides of the quilt and the ones like the red one on the right will be sewn onto the top and bottom blocks. 

Once I have my "18-patches" done, I lay out the ones I want for the top and bottom as well as the right and left sides, then I attach a numbered label(i.e.: T1-meaning the top left-side block). That way I know which blocks go where and can attach the half-hexies. It would be way too cumbersome to have to attach these small pieces once the body of the quilt is all sewn together.

Question of the Day:

Have you ever made a quilt using the English Paper Piecing technique? If not, would you be interested in a tutorial on how to baste the fabric to the paper shapes, then sew the shapes(hexies) together?

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 your Pinterest boards. 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!