A Coin Trick

Sewing more of the coins led me to try something else.  This is so much fun when you ask yourself "what if?" and the allow yourself the freedom to play.

Do you see the angled coins?

They are the new trick. It is simple to do and adds even more movement and interest to your fun artsy scrappy quilt

Learn from my mistake here.  I used four strips 6 inches wide as I was trimming the coin stacks to 5 1/2 inches.  Don't use an even number (like four.)
Take three strips that are at least half an inch wider than your finished unit.  Stack them in a neat pile

Then place your ruler on them at an angle leaving more than 1/4" inch from the cut edge at each end. Like this:

The reason for more than 1/4 inch is for the seam and to make it easier to sew.  If you want to make it hard on yourself, well go ahead, but I don't want to hear your complaining later!

Cut on the angledline.

Take the top stack and move the top strip to the bottom.

Now the layers are all mixed up.  Take the stacks carefully to the machine and match the top one of one stack with the top one of the other stack and sew.  You will get three different combinations.

Hmmm, looks like I didn't press those very well....but you get the idea.  Now for a more scrappy look, put those far from each other in the quilt top.
Now wasn't that easy!

I am still working on learning to play the ukulele.  I hope you enjoy this.  But if you don't, well, as Granny said "If you can't say anything nice, just don't say anything at all."

And if you made it this far, I will point you to a new page tab on my blog:

Quilt ¿Rules?

It is up in the top navigation bar, but I thought it was worth highlighting today.  

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. However at this time Blogger is not notifying me of comments. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Coin Play

This morning I grabbed some strips from the jelly rolls and cut off 18 inch pieces from several strips.  Then I grabbed some scraps and ironed them flat.  Strips six inches long were cut from all of them and placed by the sewing machine. I started just grabbing what I thought looked good and sewing strips together.   I specifically cut the strips into different widths for more variety.

Coin quilts are more interesting if you make them very scrappy and repeat fabrics sparingly. Of course, it is normal to use favorite fabrics more than once.  It is also normal to repeat fabrics that you are trying to use up.  (Hint: make a pieced backing to use some of those that are excessive.)

I also used some pieces that I cut off the scraps that were "too short" for a coin.  The trick is to use some background fabric on one or both ends to make a short coin work. The background fabric on the ends will blend in when you put the quilt together.
I did a little "mock-up" just laying the pieces on some of the background fabric so you can see.

As you can see that will add another dimension to the stacks of coins. You can also sew several of those together and have a very roughly stacked appearance.  I may do a stack of those for the middle or the back of the quilt.
Coin quilts are simple and fun. After all, we all need a bit of playtime.


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. However at this time Blogger is not notifying me of comments. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Coin Quilt - Squirrel!

Since A Left-Handed Quilter and I have chatted about coin quilts - the Coin Quilt Squirrel has been nipping at my ankles.  I have made one coin quilt before and I enjoyed it.
I looked in my stash and found lots of strips to play with.

Most of these are 2 1/2" jelly roll strips, but I have lots of scraps that will get used also. But we all know that using scraps somehow makes them multiply. It is a bit like getting Gremlins wet (movie reference.)

There is a previously unopened Bon Voyage jelly roll in there.

Hmmmm, it is open now!

There is also most of a 2 1/2" roll of shot cottons. I love the color shimmer those have.

And there is part of a jelly roll that I have used in another project - I don't remember the name of it but it may be Millie's Closet.
Then I chose a gray fabric to use as background.

I just started grabbing strips and cutting roughly 5 3/4" pieces to join and then join more together.
Some of them are sewn at a bit of an angle to make it more interesting. I think it makes the coin stacks look like they are leaning.

On this one I had already trimmed one side and realized I should have taken a before picture.  So as I trimmed the next section.  I did a before photo.

I am trimming these to 5 1/2" wide.  Although I may make varying widths as I go along. The advantage to making the pieces a bit longer than you want is the freedom in piecing.  If you are angling pieces it is necessary.
Then I sewed all of these together. But first I cut one strip in half to make a thinner coin and added it.

After all, every coin is not the same thickness.
On some I will do another "trick" that will also show another difference in coins.

I will not be rushing through this quilt as I am slowing down a bit on sewing and weaving so I can work on TWO other things.
1. A friend in my fitness/flexibility class has offered to work with me on Spanish. (yaay!)
2. I am learning to play the ukulele.  That means lots of time spent practicing.

Both of those things will help with retaining mental acuity.  So far, both of them are really enjoyable. Learning more Spanish -and having someone to practice it with- will help the next time I go to Mexico. And even more so if the time comes when I can live my dream of retiring there.

Learning the ukulele is also fun since I have always loved music.  Just be warned that I may post a recording or two and "torture" you in the process.

What do you do to keep your mind sharp? It is an important thing to do to fight aging.  My personal goal is to never act like an "old person."

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. However at this time Blogger is not notifying me of comments. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A Bit of Play

This morning I wanted to do some artistic play, nothing too involved, just a few minutes of play time. So I pulled out an old art project that didn't work and started playing with it.  I got out my Inktense pencils. They are a water activated pencil that becomes permanent when dry.
The old project involved taking a painting that didn't work and using it as the background to collage pieces of other paintings that didn't work.  Since my art tends to be experimental art, I have lots of pieces that have interesting parts even when the entire painting doesn't work out.

Unfortunately there is no "before" picture.  This is not a finished painting.  I am still searching for an Ah-Ha! moment with it. Some paintings sit for years unfinished before that moment comes.  Anyway, here is the current state of the painting.

Looking at it now, I think that I could  go in and do more stamping to bring the background and foreground together.  The stamps that were stamped on the background art are my own hand carved stamps.
Stamping over the added pieces could be a mistake - but I won't know unless I try it. I could also layer on some of the "rocks" that I created to use in collage.  There are so many possibilities.  I can't try them all.  But some of them can be "auditioned" before making them final.  The stamping is not one of those. Once I stamp the paint or permanent ink on there - it can only be painted over.  It can not be removed.
So I will put this aside for now. But one day, I will look back at it once again and do more experimentation with it.


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. However at this time Blogger is not notifying me of comments. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Bamboo Spinning Part Two

A few people asked for more information about the bamboo fiber I am spinning.  So I have taken several photos and will also add some information about both the fiber and my process for spinning it.

First I should tell you that I learned to spin wool both by self study and by taking a couple of classes.  I have had no training on spinning bamboo.  I just used the ideas from wool spinning (and cotton spinning) and adapted them to bamboo. 

When I first started with the bamboo, I was adding it in with wool to add shine.  However,  wool shrinks when washed with agitation and dried with heat.  So, spinning bamboo alone makes for a yarn that is less finicky when washing.   Also, wool is hot to wear and I live in the South. Bamboo is cooler.
Let me show you the current bobbin of "yarn" first.

You may notice that there are fuzzy bits "hanging out" of the yarn.  The way I spin  the bamboo, that just happens and I live with it.

I start with purchased bamboo fiber/roving. What I purchase is generally pre-dyed. 

However, I do have a rather large ball of white. (you can see my thumb in the upper left of the photo)

Trust me, that is a LOT of fiber for spinning.  Now, I can dye the white bamboo using the dyes I use for cotton. BUT, it isn't fun to do and it makes a mess of the fiber.

I also have something called "faux angora" that is amazingly soft. It is a nylon fiber.

 The faux angora spins very easily.  Sometimes when the bamboo keeps separating and coming apart as I spin, I add some of this just to give myself a break.  Then when I go back to the bamboo, it seems to spin better.  (yes dears, I know that it is all in my head - but it works for me!)

I basically spin the bamboo just like I spin wool, but a bit thicker so that it stays together better.  It does require a bit more twist but not nearly as much as cotton.

The following link is one place that bamboo fiber can be purchased.  This is not a recommendation, but just for educational purposes.  I bought mine at a fiber festival, on Etsy and other online vendors.
Paradise Fibers Ashland Bay dyed Bamboo fiber. 

So what is bamboo fiber? Is it from a bamboo plant like you have in your yard, field, planter?   It does indeed start as one of those long bamboo plants.  The cellulose fiber is extracted from the plant then treated and processed into a form of rayon. (any cellulose plant fiber can be made into rayon - but to be called bamboo it must be from the bamboo plant.)   The fibers are then sold as fiber for spinning or (more often) to  a mill that will make yarn/thread or fabric from it.

And now a quick update on the Grid.
I have done a bit of it with black lines over the cut edges of the fabrics.

This seems to be adding more definition to the shapes as well as intensifying the dimensional effect of the grid.  I will eventually finish it, but for now it is being worked on it "as I feel like it."


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. However at this time Blogger is not notifying me of comments. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Bamboo Spinning

I have been spinning some bamboo fiber into yarn on my spinning wheel. I will show you more later. But, for now, this is the photo I have of it.

There is a lot more on that bobbin now but I am not stopping to take another picture.

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. However at this time Blogger is not notifying me of comments. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A Bit more on the Grid

I worked on the dimensional grid project and really didn't like how it was coming out.  So I stepped back and just took a break.  I had used a black yarn with a slub in it. The thought was that it would add interest.  Nope, it just looked messy.

There was also some problem with the stitching - I did nothing to fix it after I quit in disgust.  But it seems fine now.

So I took a different yarn/thread and tripled it to couch over the existing lines. Here are the two threads.

The slubby thread is on the bottom, the one that I tripled is on top.

I went back in and couched right over the slubby thread.  (since this is an experimental piece I am NOT ripping out all those zigzag couching stitches.)

I think it looks better. Can you tell which lines I haven't done yet?

If you are thinking lower left corner you would be right.
Now, do I couch all the other lines?  Do I use the black or perhaps try to match the color in the blocks? Hmmmm... time will tell.  Feel free to let me know which you think would be best and why.

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. However at this time Blogger is not notifying me of comments. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.