rikrax

Cheap & Easy Way to Hang a Quilt

2012-01-14T12:18:00.001-06:00

It's Christmas and you want to hang up your special Christmas wall hangings and quilts, but darn it! The quilt doesn't have a hanging sleeve and it's such a pain to drill into the wall, put up a rod, yadda yadda yadda. Here's a clever way to hang your quilt quickly and easily without wall damage and without damaging your quilt.

Hanging is achieved using 3-M Command Strip hooks and office binder clips. Each hook cannot hold very much weight, but all together, they distribute the weight and can hold up something as big as a quilt.

Figure out where you will want to hang your quilt.
Figure out how many hooks and clips you'll need. You want the clip every 6 to 8 inches. The hooks look better if they are roughly evenly distributed across the quilt. You want to use a good number of them because it will keep the floppy fabric straight.
Get your level out and lightly mark a straight line. You could just make small marks where the hooks will go.
Clean the areas and affix the hooks to the wall per the directions on the package. Make sure you line them up with your marked line the same way on each one (e.g. match up the top of the hook backing with the line, etc).
After the waiting period (usually an hour), hook your binder clips to the hooks.
Hold your quilt up to the wall, and clip go down the line one by one attaching the clips.

You should hold most of the weight while you're hanging it - one or two hooks will probably not be able to hold the whole thing, and it will tear off the wall (potentially damaging your wall!)
If your quilt is large, you might want to have someone help you with this step.

You can adjust the hooks where they clip onto the quilt to make it straight.

When you're ready to take it down, remember not to let only one or two hooks hold the weight of the quilt, and remove the Command hooks according to package directions to avoid damaging your wall.

Even cheaper - you can use pushpins instead of the Command hooks. They will leave a small hole in the wall, of course.

I borrowed this idea from a gift shop in North Carolina, back when I lived there. It is a nice technique for apartments, where you may not be able to drill into a wall.

Bev's Quilt: Coming Together

2012-01-07T10:36:00.003-06:00

I'm quilting like mad on Bev's quilt. I came up with a little design for the "negative space" which has turned out to be really fun to quilt. It's easy to do and it is a forgiving pattern - does not have to be precise to look good.

Bev's Garden Quilt

The design was inspired by Leah Day's many free motion quilting project designs. I had a perception that free motion quilting had to be feathers, large designs, etc. but her work has been inspirational to see quilting designs differently.

Here's a closer look.

Close Up of Quilting

I'm intrigued by giving pattern to a blank space through the quilting. Remember that charity quilt I did a year ago? I basically superimposed a nine-patch pattern on the quilt top through the quilting. That one was crazy fun to do.

For Bev's quilt, I am using variegated thread (Gutterman 100% cotton), not something I use very often. It looks good on the plain green background.

In the center of the "plus mark" shape, I'll put a center design (flower, spiral, or something). Within each vegetable pattern square, I'll quilt a design (so it doesn't puff up) but it's less important because the fabric pattern will obscure the quilting.

New in 2012

2012-01-03T21:04:00.002-06:00

I'm evolving again...

Thinking about this blog and what I want to do with it, what I want to give to the world through this blog, I am getting ready to change things up. I still like its name, and I'm sticking with the artsy theme - but now, I want to broaden it. The Etsy shop is closed, selling my handiwork is over. What's next?

Creativity.

What's it mean to live creatively? I think all people have an inborn need to create, and we express it in diverse ways. Some paint pictures. Many build families. Some write books or poetry, or build websites, or decorate rooms. I sew, knit, quilt, write essays (here in my blogs), garden, cook, perform music, and take pictures. Every once in a while I branch off into a totally new creative outlet, like writing a story, scrapbooking, terrarium building, crochet, or paper arts. It exercises a different part of my brain.

So let's explore the theme of creativity this year. What can I make? What can I share with you? What can I teach you?

Christmas Rush

2011-12-06T20:36:00.001-06:00

I have been working on Bev's quilt. I haven't had a chance to photograph it yet, though. The top is done and it has turned out cute. I used the Moda free pattern called Hullabaloo but made it two rows bigger. The quilt ended up larger than I thought it would be. It's a good size for wrapping up in and napping on the sofa.

Now I need a backing and I need to layer it for quilting. I don't think it's going to get done in time for Christmas.

Habitat Challenge: My Design

2011-11-13T06:57:00.001-06:00

Last weekend, the Blue Valley Quilter's Guild had a day-long retreat in the country. We arranged for use of a church hall, catered lunch and supper, and we got together and sewed all day.

It took me a week to post about it - it has been one of "those" weeks, if you know what I mean.

I had a lovely time at the retreat and got a lot of work done. My main accomplishment was the completion of the top of my Habitat challenge submission (by Jay McCarroll). Modern Quilt guilds from around the country were invited to participate. You received a pack fat 6 fat eighths and you had to use all 6 in the quilt (could be the back). In our challenge, we were allowed to add more of the habitat line, in the same or a different color way, and/or solid fabrics of any line.

I came up with this original design. Here is the top when I finished it at the retreat.

This design resulted from an evolution of ideas. At first, I thought of appliqueing "kerfuffle" on a white background, with a patched border that slowly fell apart (thus making the quilt a "kerfuffle"). But for some reason, that idea lost its charm for me.

I was still fixated on words. Somehow it evolved into a ransom note, in which the letters were "clipped" from magazines and newspapers. "We have your quilt." But then....then, I thought of how many letters that would be. Too much work, because by then, I was down to 2 weeks before it's due.

The design of the fabric that is behind the "s" above made me think of the late 50s and early 60s style. That led to the idea of strip mall signs from the late 50s early 60s. Something like this picture but in which each letter was its own sign on its own pole. That's what I ended up with.

The letters are machine appliqued using a fusible web and edged with a blanket stitch on my machine in a matching thread color.

When I finished the piecing, I put it up on the design wall. So many quilters at the retreat said they liked it, but wondered why it said "still." Admittedly, it is an odd word to have all by itself. I was attempting to be freely creative and modern...but I really also want to be understood.

Here's why I chose it: the Bible verse "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46: 10) was stuck in my head, and I was feeling a bit agitated when I was completing the design. So, I focused on "still." Additionally, there are only 5 letters to applique and I could use 5 out of the 6 pieces of fabric on the background! Bonus.

I was tired by having to explain the origin of the word...so I decided to quilt in the "Be"

Habitat Challenge, Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild, a photo by Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild on Flickr.

Here is the quilt (sans binding) being shown at the guild meeting. You can see the "Be" in the upper left corner, if you look closely. I still have to explain it, but it makes more sense to people.

Didn't quite finish the binding. Oh, and I designed the lettering by using 5 different fonts on my computer. The "still" letters are about 350pt font. The "Be" is like 450pt font. The gray fabric was a practical design decision - I had a bunch of it in my stash and I really didn't want to go buy more fabric.

The quilting turned out much better than I anticipated. I used a design called "Broken Glass" which is published on The Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog by Leah Day (in Raleigh, NC, my old stomping ground...hey, y'all!). This pattern represents scattered anxiety and stress, to contrast with the calming message of the words. It was quite easy to do and very effective. As an added bonus, it de-emphasized the piecing lines, thus adding continuity to the whole piece. Thanks, Leah!!!

Nope, didn't win the guild's challenge. But, it was quite original and I got some nice compliments.

Here's another look at the top:

I highly recommend viewing all the designs from our challenge on flickr.

A Date with Martha

2011-11-12T07:25:00.002-06:00

Martha Stewart came to Kansas City last night, promoting her new book, Martha's Entertaining A Year of Celebrations. I decided to go. I'm not usually much into the celebrity chef/author thing, but lately I've been rather taken with Ms. Martha and her magazine.

Of course you wouldn't know that, looking at my house right now, but that's beside the point.

It was a delightful presentation. The evening was sponsored by Rainy Day Books, a local independent book seller. They do a lot of these events, and I think it's working for them. They attract some really good celebrity authors (and non-celebrity authors) in to promote their books at these events. You get an autographed copy of the book, a presentation, lecture, conversation with the author, and maybe some special things, too. At this event, there were many giveaways from sponsors:

Hen House, a local grocery store chain
Prydes of Westport, a local gourmet kitchen & housewares shop,
Vita Craft, a cookware manufacturer right here in Shawnee, KS,

So, what did I think of Martha?

I was afraid she'd be aloof or cold and it would undermine my impression of her and diminish my enjoyment of her magazines. I was so wrong. She was poised and engaging, professional, polished and kind. She does not look 70 years old at all and however she does it, it works. The evening was an interview-style conversation between the president of Rainy Day Books and Ms. Martha, in the main hall at Unity Temple on the Plaza in Kansas City. It lasted about 50 minutes. Most of the conversation focused on Martha's favorite things, memories, the gatherings described in the book, and other little anecdotes from Martha's recent history.

It didn't occur to me to bring a camera. Everyone else seemed to think of it... I snapped a few shots on my phone, but I doubt they turned out to be any good.

The book is huge and heavy, filled with beautiful photographs of her soirees and homes. Each chapter is a different event, and many of them are themed on a holiday. The spotlight is on the food, but there's a good amount of space devoted to the table setting, the venue, and her coordinating decor.

All of the recipes are in the back of the book. There are simple recipes and complicated recipes, for any meal of the day. A selection of cocktails is a part of the mix.

This is not a book I would pick out on my own had I not gone to this presentation. However, I'm glad I have it now. Because it is different, it will make me think "outside the box" for entertainment, decorating, and menu ideas.

Terrarium

2011-10-27T19:52:00.001-05:00

Terrariums are hot. I remember making them as a child in the 1970s- any glass jar I could find, whatever plants I dug out of the back yard, a few miniature toys or ceramics, etc.

I attended a conference in September where they used simple terrariums as the table center pieces in the lounge/break/snack areas. I think that's where I got the idea to make one myself. Here it is:

Know what's fun about terrariums? You can make them little magical worlds. This one has a little mouse:

Here, the little guy is hanging out on the moss I dug up from a dark, moist spot in our yard.

And a (relatively) giant butterfly:

There is also an enchanted crystal and a teddy bear snuggling up to his favorite quilt.

I hope it lives! It's so cute.

PJ Pants

2011-10-24T20:23:00.002-05:00

Using my find from J&O Fabrics, I made these pajama pants. The fabric is totally silly - it is a large scale print of male-stripper looking models in traditional Halloween costumes. A pirate, a vampire, a devil, a skeleton showing a bit of skin. I'm saving them to wear on Halloween and then to lounge about the house in.

I really should be working on my quilt guild project for the Jay McCarroll challenge using his Habitat line. I have an idea, I just need to finish the design and make the darn thing. I started my friend's Christmas quilt, but only started!

It's the sprint to Christmas. I'd better get sewing!

My package came!

2011-10-14T19:23:00.001-05:00

It came yesterday! Now....to the sewing room! Let's go sew!

My J&O Package hasn't come yet!!

2011-10-13T07:19:00.002-05:00

Argh! I want my fabric from Monday!!

Pictures from J&O Fabrics

2011-10-11T20:56:00.003-05:00

Here I am at J&O Fabrics on Rt 130 in Pennsauken NJ

As promised, here are my photos from my visit to J&O Fabrics on Monday 10/10/11. Evidence! There really is a real brick and mortar shop in addition to their online business. Pennsauken is in south western NJ, not too far from Philadelphia. After we had attended to some family obligations in northern NJ, my husband, my father, and I had to drive back to Dulles airport for our flight back home. It was not hard to take a detour off the NJ turnpike to stop in.

...long story why we flew into and out of Dulles instead of Newark, NJ. Not worth boring you with that story.

Here's the storefront.

Look at all this cotton!

I like this shop (online and now, in person) because of their selection of novelty cottons. Some of these prints can be found in major chains, like JoAnn's, but this shop really stands out for the selection. Their online store is done well because they put in a good amount of keywords for each print. It makes it easier to find.

Their most popular fabrics are the team prints.

They sell the cottons and the fleece. One of the sales people told me that the most popular team print is Dallas Cowboys, hands down. They have more choices of Dallas Cowboys than the others....but there is usually 2 choices for each team.

It was a nice way to break up a long day of driving. After I picked out my selections, they were kind enough to ship my order home. Fabric gets heavy in a hurry and we didn't have a lot of room in our bags to pack all the yardage. Since, I'm already in their database, they printed a label, I paid the shipping, and I was all set.

Nice folks. I definitely recommend them. (As a satisfied customer only, of course)

J & O Fabrics

2011-10-11T06:32:00.000-05:00

I went to J&O fabrics yesterday. So exciting - I've been on their email list for about a year now, joined up when I was looking for a special fabric for a scrub cap (back when I made scrub caps to sell on Etsy).

I have been in NJ for some family business and a little time away, and our travels took us near Pennsauken, NJ. I was driving at that time, so I told everyone we were stopping. No if, ands, or buts about it.

J&O Fabrics specializes in novelty print cotton fabric. They have the widest selection of cute, rare, and curious prints. Need fabric with Spiderman on it? A potato chip print? The Jetsons? Boy Scout prints? Any American pro sports or college team? They have it, and usually more than one to choose from.

This store is the kind of old time fabric store that speaks "authenticity" to me - racks of bolts and rolls in a warehouse-like building located in an industrial part of town. About 1/4 of the store is home dec, upholstery, and utility fabric. They also offer a selection of vintage 70s cotton prints in all their Holly-Hobby glory, and they have a decent offering of garment fabrics. They have a nice selection of trim, as well. No fancy displays, no sewing gimicks, no kits, no sewing machines, no furniture. There's a small no-nonsense section of essential notions. A couple of pattern books. This place is for serious fabric shoppers. Ya just gotta dig through it.

I was looking for a print called "Halloween Hunks." Beefcake men dressed in slightly naughty Halloween costumes - they look like a bunch of Chippendale's dancers. It came out in 2008 (no pun intended) but not reprinted, so it's not easy to find right now. Lo and behold they had it! Totally goofy but it will make some terrifically tacky pajama pants.

Dear husband was with me, so he needed fabric in the coordinating cheesecake ladies Halloween print for his matching pair of PJ pants. Dad was also with us - he spotted the University of Virginia fleece. He's a big fan. I told him I'd make a stadium throw out of the orange and blue panel. That was added to the collection.

They had the best selection of the fruit and vegetable prints I'd seen anywhere, so I added a 1/2 yard each of tomatoes and peppers to my collection

I have pictures at J&O Fabrics, will post when I get home later today.

Perseid August 2011

2011-09-26T21:37:00.001-05:00

Perseid August 2011, a photo by LaurenRikrax on Flickr.

This is another one I've been working on. It's a mini quilt for auction at my guild's fundraiser. It's about 25" square. The name refers to the stars and when I made it: Perseid is a meteor shower in August.

It's a traditional pattern but has a modern color palette. In fact I chose the colors using a paint swatch collection I received in the mail in an ad from Ace Hardware. It sure made it easy to coordinate.

Most of the fabrics were from my stash but I bought a few to round out the chartreuse green selections. Some of the fabric was from the giant quilter's yard sale I attended in June (the orange and the lighter gray). The quilting is mostly straight line patterns enhancing the piecing.

This had way too many pieces!! OMG, when I started it I didn't realize how complicated it was. It looked easy in the magazine... famous last words.

Peter Rabbit Patchwork

2011-09-12T09:29:00.001-05:00

Peter Rabbit Patchwork, a photo by LaurenRikrax on Flickr.

I am still sewing even though I can't seem to get my act together to post about it. Here's the first project I finished.

This is a baby / crib quilt for a coworker who is pregnant. She is due with a little girl in October. I had found the Peter Rabbit fabric at a garage sale (only 1 yard) and thought this quilt was a terrific way to use it up. See the 6th square from the left in the top row. I had previously purchased another print from the same line of Beatrix Potter prints, and that one is in the mix too: see the first square of the second row. I picked all the fabrics based on color matching to the inspiration print.

This pattern is from "P.S. I Love You Three" by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith (of Great American Quilt Factory and Possibilities fame). I really didn't need a pattern for this, after all it is a bunch of 4" squares, but I was lazy and wanted someone to do all the math for me. I made two modifications: I stuck in the red/hot pink piping around the patchwork, inside the border, and I made the border much more narrow. Basically I didn't have enough fabric of any one color for the border.

The red color looks more like hot pink in some lights. It's supposed to add interest and coordinate with the Peter Rabbit print.

I gave the quilt to its recipient on Friday night at the baby shower, and they loved it. They were impressed because I made it, even quilted it myself, and that it's so cute. I'm glad she likes it...or at least was polite enough not to say anything. Not everyone likes handmade.

Funny; in that group I was a quilting "expert" but when I go to KC modern quilt guild meetings, I feel like a goof. There are so many women there who are innovative quilters and blog and sell original patterns and hand made items, and all that stuff. I do patterns, occasionally come up with a modification to a design, or design a quilt using existing block styles, and I'm nowhere near as prolific as these other quilters. Truth is, I'm somewhere in between goof and superstar.

Guess I'm not ready yet

2011-08-16T21:45:00.000-05:00

That previous post was a month ago and I haven't blogged anything since. Sorry, readers.

Uh, reader.

I am sewing, at least. I completed my July block of the month in July, and I just received the kit for August. I have designed and nearly finished a baby quilt for a friend at work. I have to get my mini quilt for guild done ASAP. I'm only cutting the pieces right now!

And, I picked up a fabric pack for a Modern Guild challenge. The pack is of Jay McCaroll's Habitat line for the modern challenge as described here. We got the earth tones colorway. OK, I don't like it too much, but I do have a cute idea for an original quilt.

Earlier this evening I took a lesson on how to use my new used serger. It's crazy fun to use and it just whips through the fabric, sewing and finishing the seam all in one step. Now I want to serge everything!

Slowly "coming back"

2011-07-13T07:44:00.000-05:00

I am pulling it together and feel like I'll be ready to blog again very soon.

One of the treasures from my Mom's stuff is her counted cross stitch. I took all of her works in progress and I hope to finish them. Two of the three are nearly done. I will post pictures....Mom was quite the artisan. This kit is the last one she finished. It hangs in my Dad's office and it is so beautiful. She said it was a very challenging one to do because there was a lot of outline and partial stitches, and lots of color changes. Mom was persistent and a stickler for quality. That's why it is so stunning.

Better

2011-07-05T06:27:00.000-05:00

I have made it through the darkest part of this process, and I would like to come home. The weather is conspiring against me, though. I was supposed to fly out yesterday evening, but the flight got delayed due to late afternoon thunderstorms. As a result, I missed my connection in Charlotte, and there were no more options to Kansas City for yesterday.

It has been a hard week. I hate that I have to miss another day of work, but, what can you do?

I hope to be back writing about crafting really soon. Real life interferes sometimes, unfortunately.

Away for a while

2011-06-25T07:39:00.000-05:00

Not like I think I have whole lot of readers....but just in case you read this every once in a while....my life just got turned upside down.

My Mom died this week. It was unexpected, even though she was not in good health.

I do not think my Dad is doing well. My brother is at the home starting with preparations and I must go also. I will leave early tomorrow and be away until July 4.

I won't be posting for a while. I might post while I'm on the road, since it is good therapy for me.

At least now, there is something to do....for the first day, everything was so unknown. Now we have a date for a memorial service and we know what to do with the body, and we know a little more who is doing what. I am developing the content of the memorial service. I have not done this before, but as I always say, the answers to all of life's questions are on the Internet.

It's going to be a busy day.

Now what....?

2011-06-18T10:27:00.002-05:00

Bernette, a photo by LaurenRikrax on Flickr.

This morning, I went to a local garage sale that had been advertised among my quilter friends. A local woman who was an avid sewist, passed away, and the family was cleaning out her stash and equipment.

I helped them out a bit.

As you can see, I bought one of her sergers. It's missing the foot pedal, but it did have the instruction booklet. I don't know if it works. I could have bought a lemon. But, it's a Bernina and by the looks of her stash and other equipment, she kept things up and working.

I have a new toy!!

And some more fabric. I couldn't help myself.

Block of the Month, May 2011

2011-06-05T16:18:00.001-05:00

Here is the block of the month for May 2011.

May

Overall I like it. It's a nice combination of small scale and larger scale prints with good contrast. I like blue and pink/purple, and that doesn't hurt! It's a clever pattern - depending how you look at it, or what day you look at it, you see different patterns. Tilt your head to the right...see how different it looks on point? (hee hee)

I didn't notice the secondary pattern on the pink/purple squares until I took the picture. Notice the "Y" formation in black on some of the squares. It's a result of the circles in the fabric pattern and the way I cut the patches.

Can you believe I actually finished it in May (even though I wait til June to post)? The June block kit should be arriving early next week.

May 2011 Photo Scavenger Hunt

2011-05-29T09:53:00.001-05:00

Trying something new. I found a scavenger hunt group on Flickr and thought it would be fun to participate. Since I was on vacation at the Disney resort area, wouldn't it be fun to do a scavenger hunt there? It made a great challenge to look for these rather non-typical things at the Disney parks.

I've been there about a dozen times. I've seen just about everything in the parks and done just about everything I've wanted to do at the Disney parks and resorts. Looking for these shots helped me see things in a new way.

My entire set is on Flickr. Here are a few fun ones, plus a couple bonus shots:

Scavenger item: a Cartoon Character

Who else??
This is from the Magical Express Bus Service logo

Scavenger item: Texture

Detail of Fencing Pillar at the China Pavilion, Epcot

Palm Tree bark

Scavenger item: Something Blue

Blue Raspberry Icee at Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park

...and the inevitable result

There were two scavenger shots I could not find - "an interesting local building" and "a portrait in black and white." It didn't seem right to get a theme park building for the first one - the intent seemed like they wanted something from a real place where people live. I don't know what to do about the portrait.

A Post from The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-05-27T09:24:00.000-05:00

Today I am writing from Walt Disney World on the final day of our vacation. It has been a good wrk to get away. Kansas City is still struggling to shake off winter, while here, it is 100% summer. It has been clear, sunny, with highs in the 90s every day. Sure beats the tornado warnings in Kansas City.

We have been to Star Wars weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios, had a gourmet dinner at the California Grille on top of the Contemporary Resort, spent a day at Epcot (and saw our favorite a Capella group, "The Voices of Liberty"), spent a day at the Animal Kingdom. We even went rogue and took a day to go to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. We really wanted to see the new area called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and ride the Forbidden Journey ride. Success! It is a fun ride, definitely worth the trip.

Today, Friday, we go back to Epcot for the day. We cap off the day with a chef's prix fixe meal at Kouzzina, the restaurant formerly known at Spoodles at the Boardwalk resort.

I am trying to post some photos but it's tricky on the IPad.

While getting coffee today

2011-05-20T22:06:00.001-05:00

I had to go to the dentist this morning for my 6-month cleaning. Even though it's really not that bad, I don't like going to the dentist. (yeh, who does?) Well, I deserved a treat after that so I stopped by a little independent coffee house.

I happened to remember my coffee cozy. As I was the barista was stirring my skinny Dolce de Leche latte and forming the creamy heart in the foam, the barista says that he likes my coffee cozy. I said thanks, I made it myself! No way! he says.

Crazy easy to make. I had some of the Insul-Bright batting (heat resistant) laying around, and I found a use for this cool Amy Butler fabric. I was delighted when I made one and, oh my gosh, it really works! It fits the cups and it insulates well!

I got the sense the barrista wanted me to talk about making them for his shop and selling them there. He was talked about trying to get the people he worked with in the developing countries to make them - something for the women to do to make money, while the men tended the coffee farms.

Made me think about selling again. The entire drive into work, I thought of all kinds of creative things to do with this pattern - patchwork, screen printing, sewn embellishment (rick-rack, piping, binding, lace), quilting, appliques, so many possibilities...

What do you think?

And it was a delicious Dolce de Leche latte. I'll be back to that coffee house.

Block of the Month

2011-05-14T16:18:00.000-05:00

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I was trying a block of the month this year. It's through mail order, and they send me the pattern and the fabric at the beginning of every month. I have meant to post these blocks, since they're cute. Here they are!

The Block of the Month is called "Starry Night" and it's produced by Swirly Girl Designs. I did not see any of these designs before I signed up. Somewhat of a risk, but I figured if worse came to worse, I could always donate the quilt.

January

February

March

April

You could sign up for a "cool" colorway, a "warm" colorway, or Kaffe Fassett. Obviously, I chose the Kaffe Fassett. I don't have much Kaffe Fassett in my stash and thought it would be a good way to play with some without committing too much.

The block of the month is run by Wish Upon a Quilt, a cute little shop in Raleigh, NC. They have an active online presence. The fabric sent for each block is generous - they send just enough of the black (with a little room for error), and a whole fat quarter of each of the other two fabrics. That explains the price tag - this is not really a cheap BOM. It comes to around $15 a month (with tax and shipping).

I'm pleased with the fabrics so far, although, I don't like the March block so much. In the picture, the contrast between the blue and the green appears more pronounced than it does in real life. The colors don't harmonize well, to me. However, sometimes a block like this adds more character to the quilt.

The fabric for the May block arrived early this past week. I'd better get a move on!

Sorry, it's been a while

2011-05-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

I really haven't been sewing much at all...it's spring garden time and I've been trying to keep up with all the outdoor chores. It just has to wait for a while.

Hexagon Park

2011-04-26T21:14:00.002-05:00

Hexagon Park, a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

Made from charity quilts fabric from my quilt guild, this is Hexagon Park, a free pattern from the Moda Bake Shop. Lily's Quilts made this Hexagon Park pattern.

Since I used the guild's charity fabric, this quilt must go to our charity project. I can only imagine how the person receiving this quilt will feel when she picks it out. We donate our quilts to a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

I borrowed a technique I've noticed on other quilters' blogs...I strung some clothes line between two trees and clipped the quilt to the string. It makes a nice picture, and I get natural lighting for better color. I got to use some old-fashioned clothes pins to hang it up. Sometimes simple tools are the truly the best.

Mini Hiatus

2011-04-19T21:40:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed a long weekend away and haven't been sewing. Hope to post again soon.

While in Charleston, SC, I went to People Places and Quilts in the historic district. Nice little shop with high quality fabrics. They like Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, and Moda. I bought a book called Southern Pillow Sayings, with designs to embroider on a pillow cover; the book is published by the store. It's adorable! These were some of my favorite sayings:

That dog ain't gonna hunt.
She's just a mess. Bless her heart.
About what you might expect, more or less under the circumstances...

I miss the south; I'm more partial to North Carolina mind you, but any place that serves grits for breakfast and is well into spring by April 1 is OK with me. It was fun to visit and get away.

Holy moley

2011-04-07T20:01:00.000-05:00

I have been playing with my sewing machine attachments, and, oh my gosh, they work! Sitting in a box for 20 years, and they still work! Not only that, they work really well!

The one that astounded me was the binder. It was magical...thread the binding in, slide in the fabric to be bound, and out the other end comes bound fabric with even stitches. The only challenge was going around tight curves.

The ruffler makes ruffles with such precision. It's so mechanical - it has ratchets and springs, it has levers that go in and out, it has screws and numbers etched into the sides, and it clicks and clacks as it works. In this world of electronics, it's almost revolutionary to see a mechanical gadget in action.

I had pretty good success with a hemmer, too. Those are a little tricky to use, because you have to keep the feeding mechanism "full" of fabric. The fabric wants to slip out. It's rather uncanny how it folds under a 1/8" of the edge of the fabric and feeds it to the needle without losing its grip. No ironing required.

I must post pictures soon!

A Pile of Projects

2011-04-05T21:48:00.002-05:00

Getting ready for guild, a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

Over the weekend, I packed up the projects I've been preparing all month to send to the guild meeting. Once again, I could not go to the meeting, but one of my committee members picked everything up to have available for members.

Usually there's a mix of projects, heavy on the piecing. This time, the offerings were mostly binding and quilting projects. Two smaller projects to put on inner and outer borders on some Split Decision pattern tops. All of these projects were worked on during guild's charity workday last month.

My contribution is mainly to organize these projects and get them ready for others to pick up. I whip together backing fabric and make lots of binding. I cut batting, and package it all up neatly. I make them look like gifts or packages of bedding like you see in the department store. Presentation is essential to getting members to take a project home.

In the lower left corner you can see my charity quilt with the squares quilting design, ready to receive a binding!

Shout out...Quilted Memories, LLC

2011-04-02T10:53:00.001-05:00

I found a local (to me) business when searching for a batting supplier for my guild. It is called Quilted Memories, a home-based business in Overland Park Kansas. They're a Hobbs distributer for long arm quilters, but they also sell packaged batting, bolts, as well as rolls. The primary business owner is Lyn Heilman. She was pleasant, professional, and easy to work with. Just to disclose, I really didn't have a complicated transaction to negotiate.

Their retail prices are good, and their wholesale prices are better. For the guild's charity projects, we were able to take advantage of the wholesale price, with proof of Non Profit status. This was especially advantageous for the guild because we didn't have to pay shipping I could just drive there and pick it up!

Quilted Memories sells to individuals, and they ship all over the place.

Quilted Memories sells thread and quilting gadgets in addition to batting. There may be fabric in the near future. She mentioned she's trying to establish a small shop in a front room of her house, and it was in the set up stages at this time. It looks like it will be a cute little shop.

I got a roll of low loft polyester batting at Lyn's recommendation. We'll see how it works in practice, but I think it will be fine. Our group tends to like thin batting better.

So, a shout out to a new business, helping folks get established. Check out their website: Quilted Memories, LLC.

Hexagon Park - progress

2011-04-01T12:35:00.001-05:00

Hexagon Park - progress, a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

I finished the pieced borders of Hexagon Park earlier this week. The inner border is sewn on but the outer border is just placed next to the center section...checking out the sizing.

Uh, ooops. It's not super obvious from my picture but the top and bottom border don't quite match up. I can fiddle with the sashing between the squares and make it fit better.

There's going to be one more border of white around it, then it'll be good enough to post to Lily's blog.

The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook

2011-03-29T07:27:00.002-05:00

Sewing Machine Attachments, a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

Such excitement! I found this book, The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook by Charlene Phillips, at the Borders Books (going out of business sale - boo hoo). A few years ago my Mother in Law gave me a bunch of sewing machine attachments. I had no idea how to use them....until now!

They fit on my Singer Featherweight antique machine. Amazing all the things you can do with a straight stitch machine!

But, what to do with ruffles? a binder? a hemmer? a shirring foot? I think it will stretch my creativity. If I get good at using these things, I might even write some more tutorials on them.

Mmmm, gadgets....such fun to play with!

Hexagon Park

2011-03-19T10:18:00.001-05:00

Hexagon Park a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

Told you I was charmed with this pattern! Look how far I've gotten!

This will be a charity quilt for my guild. I used their stash, after all. It is really fun, though...maybe I'll hang onto it long enough to finish and show somewhere. I am pleased with how it is coming together.

The fabrics from the stash were a lot of fun to select. Some of them are probably 30 years old or more - they look quite "vintage" 70s. Mini calicos, some Moda prints, a hawaiian shirt style print, and a few 30s repro. It makes a unique and colorful collection.

A Sharp Cutter Blade

2011-03-17T09:27:00.001-05:00

Sure, it makes sense, intellectually. A sharp blade on the rotary cutter will make your task so much easier and more pleasant. But how many of us put it off? We think we're being thrifty (after all, blades cost over $5 each!) and environmentally conscious (less waste to the landfill). We humor ourselves that our current blade is really not that bad.

How many times must we learn this lesson???

Yesterday, I changed the blade on my 45mm Olfa rotary cutter and it was like night and day. It just licked through the trimmings of my hexagon blocks. It made the task so much more pleasant.

We need to use good tools - this hobby, this passion, we have - what is the point of annoying ourselves with poor quality tools?

Use that 40% off coupon next time you go to Hancock Fabrics and get a new, sharp blade. You deserve it.

(Just noticed that Hancock Fabrics has the five pack of blades on sale for $14.99 starting today 3/17/11. Great deal!)

Total impulse

2011-03-06T22:03:00.000-06:00

As I said, I follow a number of quilting blogs, always looking for inspiration and something new.

I received an email from a shop from North Carolina called "Wish Upon a Quilt." I used to live in NC, but this shop didn't exist back then. When I went back for a visit to Raleigh in 2009, I had some time to kill before my flight back home, so a friend recommended I check out the shop. After all, it's right by the airport. How convenient! I bought a few things, got on their email list, and that was that.

Well, that's just the beginning...

I follow their blog, I get their weekly emails, and I even subscribed to their Kaffe Fassett block of the month. This is my first block of the month....and while I like Kaffe Fassett fabric, I haven't bought much yet. A BOM seemed like a fun way to play with Kaffe Fassett brights, without committing too much.

In today's weekly specials email, I followed the link to the free pattern. It's called "Hexagon Park"...OMG, it totally charmed me! I don't know why it struck a chord in me, but it is a brilliant, interesting, clever yet simple pattern, and it looks like great way to use up small pieces of my guild's charity quilt fabric stash! (Which, as you may know, resides in my basement).

I pulled the fabrics this morning and started cutting.

The pattern designer has her own blog called Lily's Quilts. Yep, I'm subscribed already.

Modern Charity: Quilting

2011-03-03T19:47:00.003-06:00

Modern Charity: Quilting a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

Here you can see the random dots in the quilting a little better.

Modern Charity: Quilting

2011-03-03T19:47:00.001-06:00

Modern Charity: Quilting a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

I tried a modern style quilting design that (I think) is original...well, OK, I saw the design on a stylized post-it note and thought it would make a cool quilting design.

It's a series of lengthwise lines that undulate like waves. But there's a surprise! Every so often I stitched in a dot. Just "drew" a circle in free motion and filled it in.

Modern Charity

2011-03-03T19:46:00.001-06:00

Modern Charity a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

Here's a close up of the strips. Various shades of blue, and a black thrown in for good measure. Most of the fabric in the strips was from my stash, left over from another project. I added a few strips from the guild's charity quilt stash.

Modern Charity Quilt

2011-03-03T19:44:00.001-06:00

Modern Charity Quilt a photo by ava99riley00 on Flickr.

This is a project I designed myself as a creative way to use up strips. I made a long piece of strips and positioned it about 1/3 of the way across the width of this crib size quilt.

Charity Quilt

2011-02-20T09:20:00.010-06:00

Charity Quilt
Originally uploaded by ava99riley00

I have had this charity quilt project from guild for about 3 years, just lying around in the sewing room. I finally had the inspiration to quilt it. I found the inspiration from one of the quilting blogs I follow - I think it was Tallgrass Prairie Studio. The concentric squares pattern added a nice texture to the project.

I did not make the top - I took the project to do the quilting.

It's a crib sized or baby sized quilt. Should be suitable for a boy.

Quilting Close Up 1

2011-02-20T09:20:00.007-06:00

Quilting Close Up 1
Originally uploaded by ava99riley00

Here is a closeup of the quilting. It was a lot of fun to do, and quite easy on the domestic sewing machine. It's free motion quilted.

Quilting Close up 2

2011-02-20T09:20:00.006-06:00

Quilting Close up 2
Originally uploaded by ava99riley00

Another closeup. The X's in the middle of each square are for marking purposes, so I wouldn't get confused while sewing. It's easy to lose the larger perspective when working on a small section. Those marks will wash out.

It's a "nine-patch" like pattern superimposed on the simple blocking of the top. I calculated it: 216 squares.

Anns Quilt - Label

2011-02-19T08:12:00.003-06:00

Anns Quilt - Label
Originally uploaded by ava99riley00

A close up of the label.

I think labels are very important. I like to tell the story of the quilt, although it can get tedious tracing the writing. This forces me to edit. (As you may know by now, I tend to be very wordy.) Here's how I do it:

I design the label on my computer and pick a nice font. Often I use a handwriting-like font, but since Ann is an architect, I chose an all caps font that kinda looks like the hand writing from blueprints. (Does anyone hand write blue prints any more?) A plethora of nice handwriting fonts are at Kevin and Amanda blog.

I resized and copied the NC State logo after downloading it from the North Carolina State University web site.

I traced the design and writing using a Pigma Micron pen (permanent, archive quality ink). It looks better if I draw each line twice.

I colored in the logo. I used my Marvy Uchida pigment pens - I didn't know if it would work, but it did. This photo was taken after one washing.

Finally, I trimmed the muslin to the desired size and hand appliqueed it down on the back.

Quilting Detail of Ann's Quilt

2011-02-19T08:06:00.001-06:00

Quilting Detail of Ann's Quilt
Originally uploaded by ava99riley00

It is machine quilted, mostly straight lines. Here is some detail of the free-motion section. Not perfect, but pretty good. It gives the inner border a nice texture.

Ann's Quilt

2011-02-19T08:04:00.005-06:00

Ann's Quilt
Originally uploaded by ava99riley00

I've learned how to post from flickr to my blog!

This is Ann's quilt. You can't tell here, but the fabric is "NC State" themed sports fabric. This is where Ann and I both went to school (she for undergraduate, me for graduate). We didn't meet in school, but we met close by at a church near campus.

The pattern is from the book Quilt Boutique by Suzanne McNeil. This book has some nice designs - certainly not complex, but designs that can be applied quickly and easily.

Projects

2011-02-13T09:44:00.000-06:00

Hello faithful and few readers!

I have not disappeared; I am simply unsure what to do with this blog now. My Etsy shop has "closed" and I'm not sure I can sustain a small sewing business while I have my current job. The job sucks the time away like I never anticipated. This is OK because I like the job, but 6 months later, I'm still struggling with how to adjust my life to find balance.

I will probably have to quit (or greatly reduce my involvement in) my quilt guild. (This saddens me greatly; but they meet during the day on a week day, and now I work a 8-5, 5 days a week schedule.) I am trying to add regular exercise to my life. I haven't achieved balance between the personal/private time I crave, errands/chores, and church attendance.

Blogs
Over the last few months I have really enjoyed reading other quilting blogs and now I ponder changing Rikrax into a personal quilting/sewing blog. Here is a shout out to the blogs I really enjoy (in no particular order):

Despite following all these blogs, I have yet to win one of their giveaways. It's OK, though.

Here's my Flickr site with a recent project posted.

Is this not an awesome quilt??

2010-09-13T20:39:00.000-05:00

http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/2010/09/its-all-about-jon.html

The color, the graphic design, the quilting? Oh, if only I had the time to make things like this and cultivate and train my creative voice.

Presser Feet: The Blindhem/Overlock Foot

2010-08-23T21:09:00.000-05:00

The Blind Hem / Overlock foot is a mystery to most people. What's that silly red plastic piece in the middle? And why is there a screw on the outside?

Here's where you find out!

One use for this foot is to make a machine-stitched blind hem. You fold the fabric in a specific way (do a Google search on How to Sew A Blind Hem for instructions). You use a stitch that combines a zig zag and straight stitch. Then, you line up the fold of the fabric with the red plastic piece (which adjusts to the proper width by turning the little screw) so that the larger zig zag stitch stitch catches a little "bite" of the fold. This little bite makes the invisible stitches. You unfold the fabric and voila!

OK, honestly, I never use it for this purpose. I'm not clever enough to position the needle to take a consistent tiny bite into the fold, and the way to fold the fabric is way to complicated for me. Moreover, I don't sew clothes very often, and on the rare occasion I need a blind hem, I do a very nice hidden stitch by hand.

The other purpose, which I use HEAVILY is a simulated serger stitch or overlock stitch.

I use this for finishing seams on my scrub hats, and it turns out so much nicer than a zigzag or pinking cut on the raw edge. It is easier than binding over the hem or any more complicated an laborious seam finishing technique. And it looks nice and clean.

Close up of overlock finish on a scrub hat seam

Overlock Stitch
First, you must choose an overlock stitch. On my Pfaff, the stitch program chart (located on the flip lid on top of the machine) has a little subscript indicating which foot to use for any given stitch.

Pfaff stitches on the stitch program chart

The "Info" button also displays this information on the LCD screen. Above, stitch 19 is a classic overlock stitch, and you could use 16 as an overlock stitch as well. Notice the subscript: stitch 18 should use presser foot 0, stitch 17 can use foot 0 or 1, etc.

My favorite overlock stitch is 21, and this is the stitch shown above on the finished seam. The stitch is shown on my guide like this:

Stitch 21 - on Pfaff 2046

They call this a "light knit fabric patching stitch." OK, fine, but I think it makes a nice overlock stitch for cotton fabric. It's not too heavy, it doesn't bunch up the fabric, and it doesn't use too much thread. I tried other stitches and this works best for this purpose.

When you compare this stitch to stitch 19 above, you notice that 19 has a "line" of stitches on each side, kind of like it's outlined on the left and right. Stitch 21 doesn't have the outline explicitly. The stitches with the outlines are "closed overlock stitches," while those that don't are "open overlock stitches."

The Magic of the Overlock Foot

The overlock foot is magical because of its tiny wire in the open area of the foot.

Top and Bottom view of Overlock Foot. Notice the wire.

When you sew an overlock stitch, you line up the raw edge of the seam with the red plastic piece. As the machine forms the stitch, the needle swings to the left and to the right (in addition to up and down, of course), and as it makes its right-most swing, it passes to the right of the wire. Then it swings back.

The thread is caught on the wire! Genius!

This holds the thread in place, out over the edge of the fabric, until the next section of the stitch is made. The next section locks the thread in place. The fabric advances with the feed dogs, and the held thread falls off the open back end of the wire.

This is how the overlock is made.

A closed overlock stitch will actually run stitches along the edge of the fabric. An open overlock stitch does not; a component of the stitch forms right at the edge of the fabric.

Your fabric determines what is the appropriate stitch - how fine your fabric is and how readily it frays.

A Third Use for the Overlock Foot
If you don't have a 1/4 inch foot, you could use this foot as a substitute. You'll have to do a little experimentation with the position of the guide and moving the needle off center to get the precise 1/4 inch seam.

Two Obvious Questions
Why would I want to finish a seam anyway? You can't see it, it's on the inside.

Finishing a seam a sign of quality workmanship. Maybe you've sewn a garment where you did not finish the seams, and after a few washes, you have a curled up mess inside. The seam allowance sheds lint and threads. No, you don't have to do it, and some applications it really isn't necessary. It's just nice to do it, particularly on clothing.

Take a look at your own purchased clothing. Are their seams finished?

Why not just get a serger?

Yes, why not. Personally, I don't feel I do enough finished seams to justify the expense or the space. Perhaps if I sold more hats in my Etsy store. Truly, if you're doing lots of seam finishing, yeah, you should get a serger.

Short Sabbatical

2010-08-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

I have a new day-job and it has completely up-ended my schedule! It's taking me a while to get used to working ... *gasp* ... five days a week. Hence, the frequency of my posts are slowing down. I still love you all, my mythical readers, and I will be back!

Straight line quilting goes modern

2010-08-06T09:44:00.000-05:00

I love straight line quilting. For one thing, it's easy. It can be done on a home machine. The texture it creates is tactile and seductive.. I thought I was the only one who loves straight line quilting (and am I just using it as an excuse for taking the easy route?), but miraculously, I found a fellow afficionado. Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio recently blogged about her straight line technique she dubs "Organic Line Quilting."

I love it. Straight line quilting meets Modern Quilting.

You can do lines, you can do grids, you can do irregular lines, you can do diagonals, you can do diamonds, you can do a caning pattern (like the seat pattern in a caned woven chair). You can space your lines regularly, you can space your lines in a pattern, you can space your lines randomly. You can do rays.

You can combine straight lines with free motion. You can do lines to make a shape like a star.

See?!? It's all about creativity. Now I want to go quilt.

Denim Scraps become Functional

2010-07-24T07:37:00.001-05:00

Denim is so awesome. It's cotton, it's tough, it's soft, it's comes in a plethora of colors, every blue under the sun. I'm goofing around with some denim scraps and I made these potholders yesterday. Well, they're in progress.

I'm intrigued by the Modern Quilting movement lately. It is improvisational with thoughtful use of shape and color. Simple shapes make sophisticated designs and the pattern of the fabric gives personality. That was the inspiration for my pot holders, although in this application, the denim really doesn't have a pattern.

I use Insul-Bright insulated batting combined with a piece of 100% cotton batting to line the potholders. This combination works well in the kitchen, and the demin will provide anther layer of protection. Above all, I want these pot holders to be functional!

Skulls in Design

2010-07-21T10:44:00.001-05:00

Skulls are so popular as a motif for accessories, clothing, and jewelry. I'm into them for my scrub caps. They're nice for the men who want to show they're tough while working in a caring profession.

I like the whimsical skull designs, too.

With Halloween coming up in a few months, I'm designing some skull themed caps.

I found this "rhine-stud" applique in the clearance bin at a fabric or craft store (I forget which store). It is made by Dritz. I can try it out for cheap! So cute, but how does it work? How good is the adhesive? Will it interfere with my sewing?

When you unwrap the applique, it is sandwiched between a sticky mesh piece of plastic (back) and a clear piece of plastic (front). You peel off the mesh and place the design on the fabric. I used the faint lines you see on this fabric to help me center it.

You place a pressing cloth (a.k.a. rag) over the clear plastic and iron without steam. This melts the adhesive slightly and adheres the design to the fabric gently. Then you flip the fabric over and iron again. This melts the adhesive the rest of the way. Don't iron too much or you'll melt the whole thing and end up with a mess.

Let it cool, then gently peel back the clear plastic.

This step was difficult. Some of the little rhinestones wanted to stay stuck to the clear plastic layer and detached from the fabric below. I repositioned the clear plastic (restoring the design) and ironed it again, then resumed peeling. This helped but it didn't eliminate the problem. What finally worked was to re-iron, then massage the plastic over the design while it was slightly warm.

It still required a delicate touch when peeling off the top plastic.

I'll make up the cap, give it a wash and maybe test drive with one of my coworkers before selling.

Presser Feet: The Quarter Inch Foot

2010-07-14T08:21:00.000-05:00

The Quarter Inch foot is a mainstay for quilters. This is because piecing a quilt usually requires a 1/4 inch seam allowance. That is, the seam is sewn 0.25 inches in from the raw edge of the fabric. An accurate 1/4 inch seam is necessary for accurate piecing, in which the pieces fit the design precisely. For example,
here is a quilt block:

Here is the back of the block, notice the seam allowance as indicated.

Other sewing techniques use a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure why it's a quarter inch for quilting. That's what I was taught, and everyone does it that way. It's probably to reduce the bulk of the block.

Anyway...it makes sense that you'd want a presser foot to help you make nice, straight, accurate 1/4 inch seams. Here are my quarter inch feet for my Pfaff:

Above, the upper foot is a plain quarter inch foot. The lower one has a guide (a non-sharp blade) on the right side. You line the raw edge of your fabric up along the blade as you sew.

In the photo above, the arrow on the upper foot shows the slot for the Integrated Dual Feed feature of the Pfaff. Yes, you can disengage Dual Feed, but I find my piecing is more precise while using it.

The arrow on the lower foot points out the guide.

I almost never use the foot without the guide. Try as I may, I just can't sew a straight accurate 1/4 inch seam without the extra help of the guide. It really does make that much difference for me. I ended up with the plain quarter inch foot because it was included in the Quilter's Toolbox accessory pack for the machine.

Notice also that the opening for the needle is a small hole, not a slot. This foot is intended to be used for straight stitch, not zigzag or decorative stitching. It works best with the straight stitch needle plate.

Another Review of my Pfaff 2046

2010-07-13T08:39:00.000-05:00

My review of my Pfaff 2046 was published on Sewing Machine Reviewer. Check out this site, too, if you are considering buying a new sewing machine.

Review of Pfaff 2046

Presser Feet: Introduction and Narrow Edge Foot

2010-07-07T09:09:00.002-05:00

There are many many presser feet for a machine. In my experience, I find I use a small number of feet 90% of the time, and every so often, when I have a specific task, I pull out the other feet. Most people don't know what these feet are for and don't realize how much easier they can make things, if they knew how to use them.

So, here is my tutorial series on presser feet.

Of course, I will show presser feet for my Pfaff 2046, but most machines have something similar to these feet. Either they came with the machine or you can buy them separately.

The Narrow Edge Foot

I am starting with this foot because it's my favorite. I don't use it all the time, but when I need it, it is invaluable.

The narrow edge foot is a basic foot with a non-sharp blade positioned in the middle. The blade guides your stitching and helps you keep it straight. See the picture on the left.

Originally, this foot was designed to join two fabrics edge-to edge, not overlapping, like attaching lace to a finished hem. I've never used it for this purpose; I just don't do many clothing projects that need this technique. The foot has a slot for the needle opening, and you can use zig-zag stitch, a decorative stitch, or even offset the needle position because of the slot.

(Make sure you have on a zig zag needle plate before you do the decorative stitches or zig zag stitch! See my post on needle plates for details.)

The Pfaff has the integrated dual feed (IDT) feature and the slot in the back of the foot (see the photo on the right) allows for the dual feed mechanism to be engaged. You can disengage the IDT and use the foot without it, too.

Precision is the reason I like this foot so much. You wouldn't think that a simple blade would make that much of a difference in the ability to sew a straight line. It really does.

Straight Line quilting, including Stitch-in-the-Ditch

Because of the dual feed feature of my Pfaff, I don't need to use a walking foot to do quilting. If I want to quilt in stitch-in-the-ditch style, I simply engage the IDT, follow the seam lines with the blade on this foot, and my stitches are positioned perfectly in the ditch.

If I want to quilt an all over straight line design (like a grid or parallel lines), I mark the quilt top with a ruler and non-permanent fabric marking pen or pencil, and then follow the lines with the blade. Straight quilting lines!

Topstitching

In many projects, you need to sew a line of stitches right along a seam or folded fabric edge, offset by a few millimeters. For example, you might need to attach a patch pocket to a shirt. Here's where this foot earns its keep. You line up the blade with the seam or fabric edge, then offset the needle position to the right or left (as needed). As you sew, run the blade along the seam, and voila! Perfectly spaced straight stitches running parallel to the seam/fabric edge!

I have also used this foot to make narrow hems by rolling the fabric and gluing it in place (with wash-away fabric glue).

I purchased this presser foot separately; it was not part of the default set of presser feet included with my machine. It was well worth it. I use it all the time.

Published Review

2010-07-06T18:24:00.000-05:00

I recently had a review of my Pfaff Quilt Expression 2046 posted on Best Sewing Machines Reviewed site. It has a slightly different focus than my articles here. Take a look!

Pfaff Quilt Expression 2046 Review

Winding a Bobbin: Basic Tutorial

2010-06-30T09:17:00.003-05:00

Winding a bobbin is a basic task you must master if you plan to do any serious sewing. Every machine has a bobbin winding feature and you should read your manual to find out how yours works.

Nevertheless, in my experience, the basic steps are the same.

Basic Steps

Step 1: Thread the machine for bobbin winding. Usually you start threading the machine in the normal fashion, then the thread takes a detour; redirecting it to the bobbin area.

Step 2: Thread the bobbin. This involves sticking the end of the thread through a hole near the middle spindle of the bobbin. Leave a long tail you can grab onto.

Step 3: Stick the bobbin on the spindle. On my Pfaff, you can put it on with either side up. I always put the side of the bobbin with "PFAFF" imprinted on it facing up.

Bobbin ready for winding

Step 4: Engage the bobbin spindle. On my Pfaff, I push the spindle to the right slightly and it clicks in place. This step is necessary because it engages the bobbin winder (that is, it makes it spin), and disables the needle so it doesn't go up and down while winding. On my machine, you can't get the bobbin on the spindle when it's engaged, so you have to do this before engaging.

Step 5: Get it started - hold on to the end of the thread and depress the foot pedal gently. The bobbin spins a few times, catching the thread on itself.

Holding the thread end, ready to start

Step 6: Snip off the loose end of the thread from the top of the bobbin (so it doesn't get tangled up).

Snip off the loose end after several

rotations, and the thread is locked on bobbin

Step 7: Wind the bobbin with abandon - as fast as you like. The machine should have a sensor that stops the winding when the bobbin is full.

Step 8: Snip the end of the thread (that connect to the spool), disengage the bobbin winder, and remove bobbin. On my machine, I disengage the bobbin winder by pushing the bobbin and spindle gently to the left. It clicks in place. Then I can easily remove the bobbin.

Proper Bobbin Tension
As I mentioned in a previous post, my machine doesn't provide enough tension on the thread when winding a bobbin to get a nice tight bobbin. If the thread isn't tight enough, it won't feed through the machine properly. It makes uneven stitches and jams. No fun.

To work around this, I've developed a simple manual technique. I pinch the thread as it's winding. This provides enough even, consistent tension to get a good bobbin. See the photos below.

You may think it would hurt to hold onto the fast moving thread, like "rope burn." It doesn't.

The only thing you have to watch out for with this technique is that you don't hold the thread out of it's proper alignment too much. Otherwise, the thread won't wind evenly up and down the bobbin. I just keep an eye on the guide as the bobbin is winding and make sure the thread alternates all the way to the top and to the bottom as it's winding.

Guide for Even Winding

I wish I didn't have to do this! It should just work!! But, in my experience, all machines have their little quirks and either we live with them or we get a new machine.

A Few Other Tips
Your machine will wind the bobbin in a consistent direction. Direction of the thread is important when loading the bobbin into the bobbin case. Think of it like the roll of toilet paper - do you like the paper coming over the top or from under the bottom? The concept is the same, and in my experience some machines are extremely sensitive to how the thread comes off the bobbin. Unfortunately, different machines are designed for different directions. I can't tell you the "right" way.

This is why I always wind my bobbins with the PFAFF imprint on the top. Then, I always load my bobbins with the PFAFF imprint on the bottom. The direction of the thread coming off the bobbin is always correct for my machine, and I don't have to think about how I'm loading the bobbin.

It is important to use the proper bobbin for your machine. I always buy Pfaff bobbins for my Pfaff. I don't mess around with the cheaper, generic bobbins that say they fit the Pfaff. It doesn't save that much money in the long run because bobbins are reusable. And, it might save lots of frustration, if they don't work quite right.

Happy sewing! More tutorials to come!

My Own Zakka

2010-06-27T17:25:00.001-05:00

Here is a zakka I made yesterday. The pattern came from the book I recently purchased, Zakka Sewing: 25 Japanese Projects for the Household. It was easy and so very fun to make!

Of course I couldn't follow the instructions precisely to the letter. My modifications were to use cotton (instead of linen), embellish it with rick rack (instead of decorative stitching), and added edge stitching along the top seam for a neater finish.

Good instructions, easy to make, delightful results.

Needle Plates - Basic Tutorial

2010-06-26T09:33:00.001-05:00

Needle plates (or face plates) are inserts that fit over the flat surface of your sewing machine under the needle. The fabric you are sewing passes over the needle plate and under the presser foot when you are sewing.

Sewing Machine with Straight Stitch Needle Plate

in place on Sewing Surface

They are custom to each machine and manufacturer, so you can't just buy a new needle plate and expect it to fit on your machine. You should go to your machine brand dealer, although there may be a few available at general sewing stores, for most popular manufacturers and models.

I have two needle plates for my Pfaff 2046. The default plate, which came with the machine, is the zig zag plate. The straight stitch plate came with the Quilters Tool Box - an accessory kit that you have to buy separately. You probably can buy the plate only from a Pfaff dealer.

This tutorial will cover what you need to know about needle plates.

Background
First, you need to understand that not all sewing machines provide a variety of stitches. In fact, early machines merely did a straight stitch; that is, the needle only moved up and down as you sewed. It was not possible to have the needle move side to side.

As machines evolved and technology improved, other stitches became possible. These stitches required the needle to move side to side as well as up and down; the most basic is the zig-zag stitch. Almost all modern machines have zigzag, anymore. Now, patterns assume your machine can do this.

Straight Stitch
Early machines only had a little hole for the needle to pass through to engage the bobbin and complete the stitch. This hole is present on a straight stitch needle plate.

Straight Stitch Needle Plate

Zig Zag Stitch
When a machine forms a zig zag stitch the needle alternates to the left and the right with each stitch. Obviously, there must be a way for the needle to pass through when it's off center. The zig zag needle plate was born! It has a wider opening for the needle to pass.

Zig Zag Needle Plate

Comparing the Two
In a comparison of the two needle plates, you can see the difference. In the straight stitch plate, the opening is a small hole (left plate). In the zig zag plate, the opening is a narrow slot.

While it might not seem significant, it is.

Think about it: if you have a straight stitch plate on the machine and your needle moves off center, the needle crashes into the plate. It can't pass through, because the needle "missed" the hole. The zig zag plate is more versatile. It lets you make all of the stitches your machine can do. This is why the zig zag plate is currently the default needle plate.

So...why would you even bother with a straight stitch plate?

In a word: precision. Most of the time, you use a straight stitch, and the smaller opening supports the fabric as much as possible. When the needle passes through the fabric, it encounters the resistance of the fabric and pushes it just a little bit through the plate before it pierces it. With more support from the needle plate, the fabric is distorted less and thus makes a neater, more precise stitch. On a zig zag needle plate, there is a bigger "hole" (slot, really) and the needle can push the fabric through a little more before it pierces the fabric.

For a lot of sewing, this doesn't really matter too much. But, if you are using delicate fabric, or if you need seams to match up precisely, or if you require a "perfect" quarter inch seam (as needed for complicated patchwork), it makes a difference.

I use the zig zag plate for most of my sewing, but when I'm doing a project where precision counts and I'm using a straight stitch, I change the plates. Additionally, the straight stitch plate helps with stitch formation in free motion quilting. Free motion work is merely a straight stitch with the fabric being moved manually in any direction. The extra support of the straight stitch plate helps keep each individual stitch aligned properly while the movement of the fabric exerts pressure in different directions on the needle and thread.

Changing the Needle Plates
Now you can see why you need removable and interchangeable needle plates. In most machines, plates are made of durable metal, and they snap into the sewing surface. On my Pfaff, I use a little tool that came with the machine to pry off the plate.

The flat tip (to the left) tucks under a little notch in the sewing surface, and when you apply pressure to the tool, the plate pops off. To insert the other plate, you line it up in the face of the machine and press down until it snaps in place. I imagine you could use a screwdriver, but I worry that could damage the plate.

Other Features of a Needle Plate

The numbers and lines to the right of the needle hole are seam allowance widths. (a) Line up the edge of your fabric with the line labeled 1/2, and with a straight stitch in center needle position, you will have a half inch seam allowance (that is, you are sewing one half of an inch in from the edge of the fabric). Since I'm in the United States, the measurements are in inches, but the numbers below the inches are metric in centimeters. (b)

The rectangular slots around the needle hole allow the feed dogs to reach up from below and grab the fabric to pass it through the sewing surface. (c)

The rest of the openings, I'm not so sure about. I imagine they are for specialized sewing techniques. However, the large notch above letter "a" above is for snapping into place on the sewing surface.

Hope this has been helpful information for you. More sewing machine tutorials to come!

Pfaff Quilt Expression 2046

2010-06-22T08:42:00.000-05:00

I sew on a Pfaff Quilt Expression 2046.

Prior to that I had a "New Home" model that I got from a garage sale. (New Home is now Janome) It was a pretty good machine and it was an excellent transition as I learned whether I wanted to sew a lot, or just a little. I recycled that machine by giving it to my niece for Christmas one year.

Back to the Pfaff.

I did a fair amount of research prior to buying this sewing machine, but the decision came down to how I thought I'd use the machine. You can spend anything you like on a sewing machine - $50 to $50000. What matters is that you get joy out of your work on the machine. It should enable you to get your work done without getting in the way.

My primary reasons were:

Integrated Dual Feed (IDF) - On Pfaff machines, there is a "feed dog" above where the fabric goes. It's like having a permanent walking foot every time you sew. If needed, you can disable it.

Integrated Dual Feed

Features - A good number of features without jumping to the next level: an embroidery machine.
Price - I think I paid around $1700 for the machine.
Quilting support, including a quilting add-on package with extension table, quarter inch foot, free motion foot.
Support - there was a Pfaff store/sewing center within walking distance of my house.

Now that I've used the machine for 3 years, here are some reasons I've come to love this machine:

I adore the IDF. The best thing about the integrated dual feed is that you can use any presser foot with it (if it's designed to do so - which most Pfaff feet are). It's like using a walking foot and a zipper foot all at once, for example.
Low-bobbin detector - there's a little laser "eye" in the bobbin area that scans how much thread is left. The computerized screen displays an icon when the bobbin is low.
Built-in needle threader: It's a tiny hook that fits through the eye of the needle and pulls your thread through. Handy.
Two thread spindles. Nice.
It packs up neatly when I need to take it to guild or class. It's not too heavy.
When I forget to change the face plate and the needle crashes into it, the machine detects the pressure and stops before it breaks the needle. Yeah, I forget every once in a while.

No machine is perfect, and you don't know what you want or don't want until you use a machine for a while and try to do various tasks. Here are some observations from the 3 years I've been in relationship with this machine:

It is not that good at winding bobbins. It doesn't provide enough tension, and you end up with a bobbin threaded loosely. I have figured out a work around, but it's annoying.
I wish there was an easy way to put the needle down when you stop sewing. On Berninas I think you just tap the foot pedal. On my machine, you can do it manually with the wheel, or push a button on the front panel near the computer screen.

Pfaffs have a needle down button that toggles the machine into needle-down mode. In this mode, the needle always stops in down position. This is good. But, sometimes I forget to push the button ahead of time, or I didn't realize I would need the needle down at a particular moment.
Often, my hands are all tied up in my project and I don't want to have to let go, break concentration and refocus my eyes to push a button on the screen or twist the wheel. Can't I just tap something with my toe or knee or finger, right there by my work? Ideally, this tap would be a one-time-only action; that is, it wouldn't toggle the machine into needle-down-all-the-time mode.

I realize I have written about many machine topics and terms that may be unfamiliar. I will do a series of posts on these individual topics and I'll include pictures to illustrate the concepts.

Lots of people have a sewing machine but don't know how to use its features or what they are for. These posts should help you progress in your sewing to the next level.

Etsy Meetup

2010-06-18T22:10:00.002-05:00

It was a fun party this evening! I met other crafters and Etsy sellers and I got to play with some crafts.

We could make pinwheels, party hats, pennants, little banners, or we could silkscreen. I made a pinwheel and silkscreened a T-shirt (which I brought). Above is one of the silkscreen designs we could use.

I met another Yudu user.

These folks are making pennants and party hats:

Etsy sent a cool banner to display at the party. Our organizer added the Rick-Rack.

And below, this is Iris. She has a cool vintage shop on Etsy called Yesterday's Memories 09.

Networking, shared interest, and a chance to see a way-cool shop in the Westport section of Kansas City. (Bon Bon Atelier). Of course I had to shop....they had so many treasures for the eclectic crafter and sewer. I could have bought all kinds of things, but I whittled it down to one special book called Zakka Sewing: 25 Japanese Projects for the Household. If that isn't just all of my interests rolled up into one book! I can't wait to try them out.

Being a part of Etsy has brought such delight into my life....

Etsy Meetup - Kansas City!

2010-06-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday Etsy!

In honor of their birthday (today, in fact!), Etsy.com has sponsored meetups of Etsy enthusiasts everywhere. They are using Meetup.com to bring people together locally on the same day, all over the world - I bet there's dozens of Etsy meetups going on right now, even as I write this post.

The meetup in Kansas City is going to be at Bon Bon Atelier this evening - I've heard of Bon Bon Atelier, but never been there before. Looks like a fun place....they say we'll be screen printing and making pennants and banners and party hats. I'm bringing a T-shirt for printing.

This is exciting - I'm just getting into home screen printing and maybe I'll find some other Yudu fans there.

One of my friends from quilt guild is also going - we'll drive up together.

I hope to post some pictures!

Here's the link to the Kansas City Etsy Meetup.

And, scrapbooking!

2010-06-17T05:47:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention scrapbooking! I enjoy it as a hobbyist - I don't think I'll ever do it to make money, though, unlike my sewing. It takes so very much time...but the results are delicious. I made a scrapbook recently for a coworker who was retiring and even though it took hours and hours, it was beautiful when it was done. It was something the recipient can look at over and over again.

Vision, goals, and what's what.

2010-06-15T13:49:00.000-05:00

I created this blog to focus my creative energy and to help promote my little bitty etsy store: rikrax.etsy.com. I sell scrub caps in my store, but I have many more ideas...if I can only get them started!

I am a crafter hobbyist. My primary interests are sewing and fabric arts - the idea of making something beautiful that is useful is so appealing to me. So, my crafting concentrates on quilting, fabric accessories, and home dec items.

Secretly, though, I have a little dream that one day I can play all the time with my crafting, professionally. You know, make money at it. It would be fun to teach classes, give lectures, sell handmade items, offer patterns, and maybe even lead an original block-of-the-month club. Wow. Maybe someday.

For now, I like making scrub caps out of pretty fabrics with unique embellishments and designs. Even though I haven't sold too many hats on rikrax.etsy.com, I have sold 20 scrub hats at work at the hospital.

At Thanksgiving, I acquired a Yudu home screen printing machine. It sat in my craft room for 6 months before I finally tried it out. (I know, that's horrible....but haven't you done something like that, too? Go on, admit it!)

Oh my gosh, what fun! Although I've only done a little bit so far, I am so excited about the possibilities. I think my first series of posts here will be a tutorial with tips for Yudu. The instructions that come with the machine are minimal, at best, and I thought it would be useful to talk about my experience as I become a Yudu expert. Keep on reading....

Welcome!

2010-06-15T11:40:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the rikrax blog!