A Patch of Sun Finished!

A few weeks ago, while my daughter was visiting and we were chatting, she arranged some yellow and white half-square triangles together on the living room floor and came up with a cool design (see post here).  I then sewed them together and dubbed it A Patch of Sun.  

This past week, I practiced my free-motion quilting for this month's challenge by deciding to try some loopy daisies on A Patch of Sun.  I doodled a bit on paper, then went right to the machine.

First I did a couple daisies on a practice piece.  Those had five petals, but for some reason when I started on this, I was making four bigger petals and just stuck with it.  Maybe I had four-leaf clovers on the brain? 

I used a yellow Sulky thread that was already on the machine and a white Isacord thread in the bobbin.

The back is a D9P (disappearing nine-patch), which in this colorway is also known as an EEB (exploding Easter basket). ;)

You like bright?  Ka-boom!  There you go!

So there you have it: 

A finish for the week for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop...





Practice for the FMQ Challenge 2012 this month... (having trouble inserting the HTML code for that; button on sidebar).



And A Stitch in Time 2012 finish for March. In light of recent events, it may be my only March finish, but we'll see.





At any rate, I now have this hanging in my entryway and will enjoy the happy glow of A Patch of Sun for a while!

Was That a Hiatus?

I'd been feeling like I hadn't done a thing in the sewing room for quite some time—which is true, but let's focus on the positive. 

After working extra hours Saturday and Sunday, I took this afternoon off to sew (dagnabbit!), instead of just think about sewing.  Although, I will say that in thinking about sewing this past week, I did accomplish some things:  I ordered fabric for the Ironwork quilt-along quilt, and I pondered and doodled how I might quilt the Hubcap Diamond Star Halo project.

My fabric order arrived today.  I think it's an interesting combination.  The rosewood solid turned out to be a little lighter than I expected, but I still think it'll work for Ironwork.  I did order some black as well, though, in case I change my mind.  The print is for the quilt backing.

Oh, and I want to show you something else.  I've been looking around for some more Alexander Henry Heath in black, to no avail.  So I ordered some black and white Crosshatch Sketch from Timeless Treasures, and you know what?  It's pretty darn close!  Here it is, on the left, side by side with some Heath in Metal (grey) on the right.

I say, close enough for rock and roll!

Today, I wanted to practice some free-motion quilting and hopefully (simultaneously) get the mini, A Patch of Sun, quilted.  Check, and check!

First I doodled, but not wanting to waste precious time, I didn't dally on the doodling.  Instead, I went straight to the machine and did some loopy daisies.  

This is just a sneak peak.  I will do a proper post when I've got the mini bound, which I think will be with some of that Heath in Metal.  It's going through the rinse cycle of the washing machine as we speak.

Free Motion Quilt Challenge - February

I'm skidding in under the wire on this one.  Nothing like procrastinating until the last hours of the final day of the month, but I was determined not to miss the linkup at SewCalGal (like I did last month).

I did practice drawing the free-motion feathers earlier, both last Tuesday and this Tuesday afternoon.  That is a day I typically spend a lot of time on the phone (on hold) with insurance companies.  Doodling ensues.

Except I had only skimmed the instructional post so I basically practiced them all wrong last week (no wonder it wasn't really working).  Before going to work this Tuesday, I actually read the post word for word, and man, what a difference that made!  Go figure, huh?

So this evening, I slapped a quilt sandwich together, but unfortunately chose a couple of fabrics that don't really help to show the quilting.  I think you can still get the gist from the pictures though.  I armed myself with a cup of decaf, a "Beethoven for Relaxation" CD, my "bi-fogeys," and quilting (aka football receiver) gloves.  I used the Sulky thread that was already on my machine, with a cotton thread in the bobbin. 

What I had trouble with most was the echo quilting.  Not sure why.  It helped to remember to look at the area I was heading to and not directly at what was under the needle.  It reminded me of the day I got behind the wheel of a car for the first time and Mom directed me to get on the highway, where she noticed I was looking at the road right in front of the car.  "You have to look down the road at where you're going."  Really?  Oh, okay, I get it.

Sure, my stitch length is all over the map and my lines are wobbly, but really, for a first crack ever at feathers, I didn't think it went all that bad.  I was expecting more of a train wreck, really.  

I'm a little disappointed that didn't happen (kidding).  It must be Beethoven's fault.

Wrap It Up

I have an earworm of that Fabulous Thunderbirds song quoted in the title.  What I did to my sewing machine was cover it up, not wrap it up, exactly, but somehow that song floated into my head.  It could be that I was listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan Live at Carnegie Hall while I worked on this, and, tangentially, his brother Jimmie Vaughan was the lead guitarist in The Fabulous Thunderbirds.  My mind likes to travel down bunny trails like that.

Anyway, the Silver Singer went to visit the repair shop on Tuesday and was back less than 24 hours later, in fine form.  He said those mechanisms often seized up on a machine when the fancy stitches weren't used often.  Must have been a pretty simple fix to unstick it, and I'm grateful for that.

Silver, Model 600 Touch & Sew, on the left -
and Tammy, my Golden T&S 603E, on the right.

So I wrapped—er, covered it up today with this quilted cover, using up some scraps and stash in the process.  I did a little straight line and loopy quilting on it.  

The side panels are backed with fusible fleece and not quilted.  It was helpful to review this tutorial on Flickr for making a custom fitted cover, but I kept it pretty simple and didn't need to make any holes for a handle, etc.

(Back)

While I had the Juki threaded and ready for free-motion quilting the sewing machine cover, I went ahead and practiced the leaves for this month's Free Motion Quilting Challenge.  

This pattern is rather forgiving, in that being less than precise, shall we say, just sort of adds to the organic charm.  

At least that's what I'm telling myself.  ;)

The sewing machine cover is my third finish for January, and I am linking once again to Such a Sew and Sew's A Stitch in Time 2012 Finishes.  Elizabeth is having an open linky every month, and each finish counts as an entry for a giveaway.  For January, it's a jelly roll of Good Fortune by Kate Spain, sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop!  Have a look by clicking the button below, and join the fun.  I think it's a great way to keep track of your completed projects for the year and stay motivated as well.




And swing by Confessions of a Fabric Addict to see some other finishes worth whooping about this week, and add your own!

Challenge Accepted

I took the pledge for the 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge sponsored by SewCalGal!

2012 FMQ Challenge

When I saw it mentioned on Elizabeth's blog, I knew right away it was something I needed to do in order to get me to practice and expand my FMQ skills. 

See, I don't love free-motion quilting...yet...and I want to love it.  But first, I have to make better friends with it, and we all know that in order to make good friends, you have to spend some consistent and quality time getting to know them.  This challenge sounds like a good way to do that.

Every month, beginning in January, one of twelve FMQ experts will share a tutorial.  If you complete the exercise that month and share it in the challenge, you will be entered to win a monthly prize.  That works for me! 

You can read all the details and register at SewCalGal.  Whether you've been wishing you could, wanting to improve, or waiting for a sign, this may be it.  The more the merrier!