Sewing - Yes I do remember

Finally, after doing some chores (and skipping a few others) I got to sit at the sewing machine for a bit. Back in August/September, the lovely Bev at 44th Street Fabric Blog sent me two charm packs of Bliss that I won in their giveaway.  On the card in the package was written "Enjoy!" That sounded like a good thing to do.   So Sunday morning I opened the packs and sorted them.  Then Sunday night, while the last load of laundry was drying, I sat at the sewing machine.

I was thrilled to discover that I still know how to sew a 9 patch:

My corners even lined up.  I "cheated" and finger pressed the rows and didn't get up from the machine until the block was finished.  Hey, it worked great.  Then I took that nine patch and whacked it into four pieces.  

Guess what? I even remembered how to do a D9P (disappearing nine patch) 

Even though this is not a Christmas fabric line, with the reds and greens it feels nice and festive for the holiday season.   I usually lay out a D9P this way.  However, there are other ways you can do it.  One I saw did it using the small squares and bars as sashing and cornerstones. It looked great. However I like the way this layout works out. The un-cut squares seem to float in this setting. If you do it a limited selection of fabrics you really see the pattern that develops.  

Here is a picture of one I made a year or more ago so you can see what I mean. 

I did add a piano key border on the sides of it. Don't let that confuse your eyes. 

And if you need a lesson on the D9P here is the one I learned from at Quilts and ATCs

Ahh... My mojo has returned.  I am excited all over again about sewing.  Remember if you "lose your mojo" to just take a few days off then work on something simple. The elegance of simplicity can get you back into your groove! 

My Mom

I am a super lucky guy.  I have one of the best moms in the world.  Forever she has loved everything I make and give to her - and some of those have been pretty hideous.  I don't have a photo from this year, but here is a purse I made for her two years ago.

I put the yellow in the center since bright yellow is her favorite color. The bag is mostly black and white and then I used all three primary colors so it would go with most things. I has nice big pockets inside (and one small one) to keep stuff separated.  The lining is a light color so that things are easy to find. 

Another present I gave her is a lap quilt.  She really liked it when I showed it to her, so I waited till Christmas and gave it to her.  It is a disappearing nine patch with piano keys for the border. 

It is on the back of her sofa.  However, she keeps the patchwork turned to the sofa.  The backing fabric is navy and teal in a geometric pattern. That is what you see when you go to her house. Ha ha. I wonder if she is 'saving' the front so it doesn't get dirty?

Bound, but well.....(a secret)

So I finished the lap quilt. It is a D9P and then I added a border of strip pieces.
I started to free motion quilt it on Saturday with a polyester batting. This batting was left over from the very first quilt I made. (a good brand name, too, just so you know) I tried to quilt that one on the machine and it gave me fits so I ended up tying that first quilt.
But now, I had lots more experience. I was READY to do it. Let me tell you a secret: the batting makes a HUGE difference. I LOVE to quilt Warm and Natural batting into a quilt. It is all cotton and the quilt sandwich stays together with just a little help. (I use a spray basting product that is really inexpensive - don't faint, don't laugh -okay laugh if you want- I use AquaNet hairspray. Hey I never claimed to be traditional or normal. It works for me!)

The polyester batting had the layers sliding all over the place. The backing got wrinkles quilted in it. ARRRRGH. I got in the floor with the seam ripper and nearly went blind, but I got that free motion quilting all out. I had done about a fourth of the quilt so it took a while.
That batting is now reserved to stuff something with or for use in a REALLY SMALL piece. Ugh!

So, I got the Warm and Natural (W&N) and did it up right. Here are the pictures.





Now, the "but well...." part. I used a binding that was pre-made on a roll. It was given to me. I hate to waste anything. I thought "this will work" So I used it. It is a light green with a small floral print on it. I like the color and the pattern. But, well....it feel odd. I don't love it, but I think I will leave it after all

Working the Baby

Several people said that they wanted to see what the Baby and I make. Well I must tell you that I made the Baby work on Saturday. Some of you said that "at least that Baby won't cry" - wrong, I made the Baby cry. And I expect to make that Baby cry pretty regularly.

You see when the bobbin gets low, the sewing stops! Yikes, I wondered what I had done wrong. But a quick look at the display, showed a CRYING Baby. (honest! I should have taken a picture.) Anyway, the message says that the bobbin is low. You can sew a few more stitches then it happens again. When you need to finish a seam, that can be annoying. BUT if you have ever run out of bobbin and kept sewing for a couple of feet on a long seam, well you know it is better this way.
I made the Baby cry at least three times on Saturday. Yep, three bobbins worth of thread.
Other than those three times, the Baby performed like Nadia Comaneci in 1976. (-perfect -) Not a thread break, not a tangle, not a skipped stitch. AND FAST. Yes, FAST. Smooth as silk and a joy to sew on.
Well just look, I made this Nautical themed Lap Quilt top. I measures approx 52" by 34". It is a Disappearing Nine Patch with piano key borders.



(The above doesn't look crookedy in person)

I also made the beginnings of another D9P lap quilt. This one is nice and scrappy, which I prefer. So far it is approx 36" square.

Didn't that Baby do some work? And only minimal crying. I only had to feed it some thread - I didn't have to change a single diaper! (that would have gotten it returned!) Ha ha.

My side project

While I haven't finished the big quilt I am working on, I started a little side project to fill a few minutes. I posted the pictures on Facebook since a dear friend asked me to.
A while back I saw a tutorial for a disappearing nine patch. I made one to see how it works. That satisfied me at the time.

Spring forward - while searching for just the right fabric for some swap blocks, I found some pre-cut five inch squares that I bought a while back. The ended up at the bottom of a drawer. Ahhh.... I thought "I forgot all about those." My creative little mind got ideas sometime between finding them and last nite. There are a hundred squares, and I can easily cut more. I want to do that disappearing nine patch again. But this time I want to make SEVERAL blocks.

So last nite, I put together three of them. And here they are:
Set of three




One -a close-up






I am wondering if I should make some with light where the dark is on these OR keep them all the same. What do you think?