LaVieEnRosie

What's red and white and quilty all over?

New York City!  That's what.

 
 
After what seems like an eternity, the American Folk Art Museum's exhibit "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts" exhibit at the Park Avenue Armory is finally open.  The pictures above aren't of the actual exhibit, they are computerized renderings of what the exhibit will look like.  They were created by an amazing, award-winning design firm, Thinc Design.  

You probably already know this but just in case you don't, here's the CliffNotes version - The American Folk Art Museum has dramatically transformed the Park Avenue Armory’s historic 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall with the installation of 650 red and white American quilts, all of which are on loan from the collection of Joanna S. Rose. It is the largest exhibition of quilts ever held in the city.

That's the short version.  While waiting not-very-patiently for the exhibit to finally open, I found all sorts of articles, slideshows and videos that I would like share.  As my friend Edie likes to say... "Grab a cuppa and get comfortable."

DNAInfo.com - Quilts Take Over Park Avenue Armory   ~ The slideshow is amazing.  Don't miss it!  The article is terrific too.

HandEye Magazine - Infinite Variety ~ This is a nice informational article and pictures of a couple of the quilts.

New York City Times - Finally, Mrs. Rose (and the Public) Can See All Her Quilts ~ Another amazing slide show, this time of the actual hanging process of the show.

Major Quilt Exhibit Sponsored by American Folk Art Museum Opens in NYC ~ A terrific informational article.

"Infinite Variety" Installation Shots ~ Flickr... pictures.  That kind of says it all, doesn't it?

 Sunday Arts News  ~ An interview with Elizabeth V. Warren, the curator of the quilt exhibit.  A YouTube video.  The majority of the  video is about the Masterworks exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum but the Infinite Variety exhibit is mentioned near the end and several pictures of quilts are shown.

A month or so ago, I ran across an article that included pictures of several quilts in the exhibit, all taken by the folks at Thinc Design.  I can't find the article again or the link to it, but I did manage to save the pictures. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From what I've read and been told, there isn't going to be a catalog or book for the exhibit.  But there are going to be a couple of things that you just might need to have instead...

 
These are magnets.  It is a single sheet that snaps apart to make sixty-three separate magnets measuring about 1" x 1".  I'm keeping mine as one whole sheet.  The magnet sheet can be purchased through the museum shop.

If you've been trying to decide whether or not you really need an iPad, stop reading now.  

Because Thinc Design had to photograph all the quilts anyway, the Folk Art Museum is offering a free app of the show.  Yes, that's right, there is a digital guide of the exhibition that includes images of all 650 quilts on display.  The app will be compatible with iPhones, iPod Touch, iPads or Android smart phones.  

Another terrific resource for information about the exhibit is the Museum's Facebook page.  

Are you inspired?  Are you thinking about how much red fabric you've got in your stash?

It goes without saying that no matter how many pictures I take, not one of them will be as good as any of the pictures you'll find on the sites I've listed.  But I promise to show them anyway when I get back.  Yes, I'm going to New York for the quilt show and a little bit of fun.  Okay, probably a lot of fun. 

Twelve-bazillion quilters... New York City may never be the same. 

Dear Nancy...

I read your blog post this morning before you pulled it.  I'm a little sorry that you did, not because I want you to be in the cross-fire but because I could relate to your motivation for writing what you did.

A dear friend -- who isn't on my payroll -- sent me the link to it.  I read it and while I was a initially a little annoyed, I also understood the root issue.  You started out by citing Sandi of Piecemeal Quilts and the post she wrote about the dumbing down of quilting.  I had read that post and agreed with several of her comments -- ditto for her subsequent posts on the subject. 

Back in January, I tried to write about some of the frustrations and challenges that were bogging me down.  As you probably found out, it is a difficult subject to write about without venting a bit, ranting a bit, and being completely misunderstood by other well-meaning folks.  Been there, done that.  The thing is, quilting has been dumbed down.  It isn't just quilting either, everything -- including us -- has been "dumbed down".  From politics to entertainment, culture to the arts, everything is faster, easier and requires a whole lot less thought.  I don't know if you read Newsweek magazine but they gave the US Citizenship test to 1,000 Americans as part of a study and 38 percent failed.  The magazine listed 25 of the  questions used in the test and then included the percentage of correct answers for each question.  It was appalling and very, very sad.   

And no, that wasn't my fault either.  (I know that you didn't blame me for that... I'm trying for a little levity here.)

I don't know what exactly set you off this morning but I do understand your frustrations.  Some of them anyway.  Just so you know, I'm not on the payroll of the company you named.  If I were, they wouldn't keep sending me invoices for all that fabric.  And with the exception of Rosie and my Mom, there isn't anyone on mine either.  Seriously.  Do I send patterns and some fabric to friends?  Sure.  But guess what?  They rarely blog about it and I like it that way.  The truth is, I prefer it that way.  If nothing else, it brings out the snarkiness in others who aren't on the "gift list".  When I give something to someone, it isn't for the credit or the publicity.  I've been very fortunate for much of my life and being able to give something to others makes me happy.  Or it did.  But don't worry, I'll get over being annoyed with your suggestion that I have an ulterior motive for giving stuff away.  To borrow from Oprah, I know this to be true:  (1) I know that you didn't mean to imply that; (2) I know that isn't why I do it; and (3) I know that they know why I do it.  My conscience is clear... though I have to confess that for just a tiny moment, there was a little part of me wanted to offer an all-expense paid trip to Spring Market to anyone who would create an I Love Miss Rosie's Patterns blog just to tick you off. 

I'm kidding!  And don't worry.  I won't do that.  I promise! 

Legal Disclaimer:  To anyone else reading this, this is another attempt at levity.  This is not a legitimate offer.     

But back to where this all started -- the dumbing down of quilting.  You're not the only person who thinks it.  The subject has been raised by people in the industry, by magazines and by other bloggers.  It isn't the fault of any one fabric company, nor is it the fault of a couple of sew-alongs or bloggers.  I almost wish it was because then it would be an easy problem to fix.  Do you read Mark Lipinski's Fabric Trends magazine?  He answered a "Letter to Mark" in a recent issue that addressed this very same topic, what is essentially "the sameness of it all".  (If I could scan and post the letter here I would but oy vey... the copyright infringement issues of all that.)  It was a terrific, well-articulated response.  If nothing else, it made me happy to know I wasn't the only one who was feeling that way.  In a similar vein, several modern quilters blogged about this last year, to the point of pledging to blog about their process rather than just the result.  Since you're obviously interested in the subject, you might want to read Rossie's post about Mutant Quilting.    

As a quilter, I would love to see everyone making quilts that challenged them artistically, emotionally, and intellectually.  But -- and here's the part that always hangs me up -- my idea of what that constitutes is different from theirs.  That isn't why some quilters make quilts.  I know quilters who have never made an "art quilt" in their lives and probably never will, but they take classes about dyeing, embellishment, surface design, re-fracting elements (no, I don't know what that is either) and all sorts of interesting techniques because they're curious.  I also know of quilters who -- in 40 years of quilting -- never made a quilt with a triangle unless it was the setting triangles.  For some of us, quilting is a passion, an artistic pursuit or expression, and for others it is a hobby.  It's as simple as that.  It isn't any different than any other pursuit, we do what makes us happy.  Someone who has read every Harlequin ever published is a "reader" just as much as someone who reads Tolstoy, Hemingway and Dostoevsky.

As a pattern company, I would love to see everyone making Miss Rosie patterns and only Miss Rosie patterns!  Uh... NOT!  The truth is that I wouldn't want to see that -- not now, not ever! -- because it would be very, very boring.  It would be like eating at McDonald's for every meal -- every meal.  All the time.  Yuck!      

I wish I knew how and where and in which direction to take all this because it is a huge subject.  While it would be nice to "blame" someone or something, all of us are at fault to some degree.  But even that isn't entirely fair.  I love picking fabrics for a scrap quilt but I also acknowledge that picking five fabrics can be worse than root canal for other quilters.  While I love tweaking a quilt to make it different, I've also bought kits because I've seen a quilt sample and thought "I want that!  Exactly that!"   

Would it help to know that you're not alone in your frustrations?  Many quilters feel the same way, including and maybe even especially, quilters who are in the quilting business.  More specifically, I am referring to those quilters who just happen to be doing it as a business as opposed to the people whose business just happens to be quilting.  Sadly, there is a difference and it definitely factors into that whole "dumbing down" process because there isn't a whole lot in quilting that is completely, entirely new.  Everything is a riff on something else -- for better and for worse.  Albert Einstein wrote that "the secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."  Albert must have known a few quilters.

In some ways, I think the problem can probably be traced back to the word "business".  For many of us, quilting is personal, it is an expression of what we love and who we are.  But business is not.  We can put out lofty "mission statements" but the bottom line is the bottom line, and many decisions are made from a business perspective more often than from a creative one.  I recently spoke with a shop owner who admitted that while the quilter in her would love everybody to be making Baltimore Album quilts, the shopowner in her loves putting together [insert specific number here that can be easily divided by 2 or 10] fat quarters for the ladies who have made a "particular" quilt a hundred times over. 

I sincerely hope that you won't get any grief over this morning's post.  If I were nearer to Philadelphia, I would take you to dinner -- Dutch, of course, lest anyone accuse you of being on the payroll too -- so that you could toss the crow.  No need to eat it, you were frustrated and you vented.  Been there, done that... thankfully, I have a really good spicy ketchup that helps with the taste. 

The good news is that all of this will pass, and probably pretty quickly.  There is a terrific quilt show opening Friday in New York City and I think that is going to be on many quilter's minds in the next week or so.  If you're going to get to see it, let me know.  Maybe we can meet up and you can slap me around in person. 

I'm kidding!  But I would like to meet you, I'm sure we'd have a lot to talk about. 

Carrie

Quilting, Near Phoenix

 

In a binding...

Happy National Quilting Day!

Among the things on my "to-do" list this weekend are finishing the binding on Recess and making the binding for George and Roadshow.  

For some mysterious reason, I get asked about my bindings when I go someplace.  Yes, the first question is often whether or not I really, truly, always, not-just-for-fun-and-pictures use that many binding clips.   Yes, I do! 

 
But that's getting a little bit ahead of myself.   

Maybe it is curiosity about what that binding might be hiding inside that quilt, as though removing the binding would be like looking behind the Wizard's curtain.  But since I'm asked and since I just did the binding for Brocante, I took some pictures so that I could show you my "modus bindingus."  I won't call it a tutorial because that might suggest that I know what I'm doing, that I'm some sort of expert.  Hardly.  Some are better than others -- that often depends on how much of a rush I'm in -- but most days, I do a pretty nice binding.  At least that what the quilt judges and appraisers have said.   

When it comes to binding, I start thinking about that as soon as I start thinking about the fabric I'm going to use in a quilt.  Sometimes I know from the beginning which fabric I'll use and other times, I don't have a clue.  I don't -- and/or can't -- make up my mind until the quilt top is finished and quilted.  The only things I am pretty certain about are that the binding will be narrow and that it will be contrasting -- maybe a little, maybe a lot.  It depends on the quilt.  The right binding finishes a quilt perfectly, adding something without detracting.  But a binding that is too light, too dark or too busy can mess up the whole quilt.  

If I had to explain how I think about the binding, it is like this -- the center of the quilt is the picture, the borders -- however many there are -- are the mat, and the binding is the frame.  They're all parts of the finished piece.

So here goes.

Bias vs. straight of grain.  I like both.  Both are terrific.  Both work beautifully.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Knowing how to do both provides all sorts of design options, especially if you're working with stripes and plaids.  I usually do a bias binding because... well, I don't know.  I think it is just what I learned to do first and I like it.  When I first learned to make quilts, I didn't know how to put a mitered corner on the binding and I didn't like the log-cabin-style-stacked binding so I made a lot of quilts with curved corners.  Those only worked with bias binding so I got used to making bias binding.  So unless there is a reason to do a straight of grain, I usually make bias binding.  I'm a creature of a few habits.    

I don't like that continuous bias binding technique.  There I said it.  I get much better results with cutting the strips and sewing them together.  And I do it more quickly.  Don't get me wrong, lots of quilters like and use the continuous bias binding.  I might be a little envious that it works for them and not for me, but probably not enough that I am going to practice it.  I'm kind of stubborn and stuck-in-my-ways about things like that.  So this is what I do.

I press and lightly starch the fabric I'm using for my binding.  I press the whole piece flat, the full 42" width.  I do not press it with a fold.  After it is pressed, I fold it so that the selvages are matched up and the fold is smooth and there aren't any ripples.

 
The next step is to cut off the selvages and square up the crosswise edges so that they are square and at a 90 degree angle to the fold and the now-selvage-less edge.

 
This is all done so that the edges are straight and even -- which will result in nice straight 45 degree angles when I cut the bias strips.

 
The fabric is then opened up flat and folded at a 45 degree angle as shown.  You can use your ruler to measure the angle of the fold -- though this is one of the times when the lines on your rotary mat will work perfectly well.

 
Then fold the fabric down, matching up the folded edge. 

If you're working with a larger piece of fabric -- three-quarters of a yard or more -- the piece will be folded again so that it is about 15" to 16" wide.  It makes cutting the strips a whole lot easier.

Note:  Well, duh.  I just remembered something that might help with this part.  A couple of years ago, Heather Peterson ~ Anka's Treasures ~ did a tutorial about cutting bias strips and she included a terrific diagram that shows this fabric folding technique.  Quick and Easy Bias Cut Binding Tip is the post and click for the diagram where you see Bias Cut Binding Houndout.  While I learned how to do this kind of folding years ago, Heather's diagram is the best one I've seen for actually showing how its done.   

The benefit of folding the fabric this way is that you wind up with lots of long strips instead of lots of short strips. 

 
Use a rotary cutter to cut off the folded edge.

 

Cut strips to the desired width -- these were cut at 1 7/8" wide.  (Trust me, it isn't nearly as scary as it sounds.)  I cut until I hit the corner -- it would be on the lower right -- or until I think I have enough strips to make a long enough binding strip for my quilt top.  And no, I never mind making more binding than I need -- better too much than not enough, right?

 
Using a scant 1/4" seam allowance, the strips are joined to make one really long binding strip.

Note:  Whether you use a straight of grain binding or a bias binding, the binding strips should -- must -- be joined using a diagonal seam.  Not doing so makes every seam junction in the binding thicker and lumpier than the rest of the binding.  The goal is a smooth, even binding that looks and feels the same way all the way around the edge of the quilt.  Even when the binding is cut on the crosswise grain using a stripe fabric, the strips should be joined with a diagonal seam.  Matching up the stripe isn't that hard, it just takes a little practice -- seriously, if I can do it, anybody can.   

 

Seams are pressed open.  Always.  No exceptions. 

Por quoi?  Because if you don't press the seams open, the finished binding is thick, lumpy and bumpy every place there is a seam junction.  If you're worried about the stitches showing or pulling apart, use a finer thread and a smaller stitch. 

Trim all the triangles along the edges of the binding.  It doesn't matter if they're trimmed before or after the binding is folded just so long as they are trimmed off before you attach the binding to the quilt top.  They just get in the way. 

 

Using an iron -- no, finger pressing isn't enough -- align the edges of the binding and fold the binding strip in half.  Press flat. 

 

This is where starching the fabric at the outset can make a huge difference.  It makes the pressed binding strip crisp, smooth and flat, which makes stitching the binding onto the quilt top much easier.  (And it shrinks the fabric if you use press with steam.) 

Pinning the binding to the quilt top.  Hold onto your chairs... I don't pin my binding.  When I pin the entire binding to the quilt top, I tend to get it too tight in places and too loose in others.  I want to be able to adjust it as I go along.  But... but I do loosely pin the binding in place so that I can make sure I don't have a seam in the corner.  Sometimes it happens anyway but loosely pinning the binding to check the seam position helps.  That said, if you get the best results when you pin the entire binding, that is what you should do. 

I forgot to take a picture of my stitching the binding on one of the straight edges so let it suffice for me to tell you that I use a Bernina walking foot with the needle moved over to the furthest right position.  From the edge of the presser foot to the needle, I have a scant-ish 1/4" seam allowance that works well for the bindings I've cut at 1 7/8" or 1 3/4" wide.  

 

Note:  I was experimenting with a new batting here -- the Tuscany Silk -- and I think the 2nd needle position on the right would have been better.  The finished binding is full but the edge of the binding is a little bit further over than ideal.  

Start stitching about 5" to 6" from the end of the binding strip using whatever seam allowance you've chosen to use for the width strip you've cut and the batting you're using.  As the binding strip is being attached, it should get a teeny tiny bit of a pull -- not enough to make it actually stretch but just enough that it is being eased.  

Be careful not to pull the binding too much as that will result in the edge of the quilt top pulling in when the quilt is finished.  But if you lay the binding flat without any tension can result in having the finished binding be a little "bigger" than the edge of the quilt top.  And that means a greater chance of a quilt top with a wavy edge and a quilt top that won't lay flat.  The tension will offset some of the shrinkage in the batting when the finished quilt is laundered. 

Stitch to within the seam's width of the corner -- a scant 1/4" or the same distance as the width of your seam allowance. 

 

With the needle in the down position, turn the corner to see if you are where you should be. 

 

My picture showing the back-stitching seems to be missing... so imagine that I have back-stitched to the edge of the quilt top and binding.  Leave the needle in the down position and raise the presser foot.

Note:  Some folks don't back-stitch and it probably isn't completely necessary.  I have never read anything that gave me a good, definitive answer on why it was or wasn't necessary so this is one of those places where I think you do what feels right to you.  I do it because I get better results with the finished miter when I have that part stitched down, it seems to make the corner and fold a little more secure.     

 

Yes, that is my seam ripper there.  I use that to keep the fold smooth, it also helps me from getting too much binding in the fold in the corner.  With the presser foot in the up position and the needle in the down position, I fold the binding for the corner miter and then use the seam ripper to bump that fold right up against the needle.  The flat of the seam ripper is kept flat with the plate of the sewing machine.  I then lower the presser foot as I am sliding the seam ripper out.

I'm not sure why doing this works for me but it does.  It keeps me from having too much binding in the corner, a situation that results in a clumpy, gloppy corner. 

 

Stitch across the fold and continue stitching until you are approximately 8" to 10" from the starting point. 

Joining the strips.  The goal here is to join the ends of the binding in such a way that it would be almost impossible -- if not completely impossible -- to find the seam joining the two ends of the binding strip.  

By no means is this the only method, the best method or even a good method, this is just the method that works for me. 

 
The starting end for the binding is on the right, the finishing end of the binding is on the left.  Lay the starting end flat and overlap the finishing end.  Cut the finishing end straight across at a point approximately 2" to 3" from the shortest corner of the starting end.  Longer is always better -- having to trim a little more later is easier than having to stretch the binding a little bit.  Or a lot of bit. 

 
Place the finishing end of the binding strip inside the starting end of the binding strip as shown.  Keep them smooth and flat -- as though they were going to be stitched down. 

 
Using a pencil, chalk or Pigma pen, make a mark on the finishing end of the binding strip right next to the cut edge of the starting end as shown.  If you look closely, you'll see the 1/4" diagonal mark on the binding made with a brown Pigma pen.     

Note:  These strips have been pulled apart just a tiny amount to show the line.  It is small -- it's all that is required.  And yes, it helps to make the mark on the diagonal because that is the same direction you'll be using for the cutting and seam lines. 

 
Using the mark as the guide for direction and placement, draw a line 1/2" away from the mark as shown.  This 1/2" is the seam allowance -- 1/4" for each end of the binding.  The line will be on the side of the mark closest to the cut end, not on the side of the attached binding.

 
Cut the binding strip on the drawn line.  Remember the carpenter's adage -- measure twice, cut once.  Before cutting, make sure the line is on the right side of the mark and that it is 1/2" from the edge of the starting end of the binding. 

 
Pin the two ends together.  And yes, make sure one or both of the ends haven't gotten twisted around.  Been there, done that.

 
Using a scant 1/4" seam allowance, join the ends of the binding strips and press the seam open.  Finger pressing is fine... hot iron pressing is almost always better. 

 
When pressed and folded, the joined ends should like flat and smooth. 

 
Trim the little triangles and then finish stitching the binding. 

Now just a few more steps...

 
I like to press the binding as though I were pressing a seam before I start hand-stitching it down.  This serves two purposes -- it gives me a nice sharp edge where the binding is attached to the quilt top and it seems to make folding the binding strip over the edge of the edge of the quilt top a bit easier. 

 
It works particularly well in the cornes with the miter.  The fold is smooth, sharp and flat.

 
I also give the seam a quick press on the back side.  It flattens the batting just a little bit and that helps with the fold-over, and it lets me make sure I haven't gotten any folds or puckers in the backing when the binding was attached. 

Now about those binding clips... for a 35" x 35" quilt of this size, you'll need approximately 12,039 binding clips.

Or a dozen.  Which is still too many for some of you.  

I love hand-stitching down the binding.  While I've seen machine-stitched bindings that I really liked, I prefer hand-stitched bindings. 

The goal here is to have the finished binding be the same width on the front as it is on the back.  The binding should also be the same width all the way around the quilt top.  In a perfect world, the folded edge of the binding will be just over the line of stitching attaching the binding to the quilt top.  The binding on this quilt was just a skosh over that. 

I stitch bindings down with a Size 9 straw needle.  I used to use a Size 10 but I was bending them and that made them very wicked looking.  They worked, they just looked odd.  I use a 50 wt. cotton thread in a matching or blending color, whichever I have. 

When it comes to the actual stitching, the stitching shouldn't show.  In a perfect world, the edge of the binding would look as though it was just laying on the backing without any visible stitching.  But sometimes the slight tension of the thread means that you can see where the tacks in the stitches are.  Am I going to cry about this?  Not!   

 
Just so you know, the stitches don't have to be this small.  I have no idea why mine are but they are -- they're less than 1/8" apart.  I know!  That's just nuts!  But when I sit and stitch a binding, this is just how they come out. 

 
Did you know that miters should be stitched down on the front and back?  That's something I learned from an AQS judge. 

It's easy to do.  Working on the backside of the quilt, I just stitch up to the corner, then I stitch down the fold inside the binding.  I get the thread back to the corner and fold the miter.  I stitch up the fold on the back of the miter to the corner, then put the needle through the front, coming out at the corner right next to the fold in the front.  I stitch down the fold on the front to the inner corner of the binding.  Depending on how well the corner looks, I will either put the needle through to the back of the quilt or stitch back the way I came, stitching down the folds a second time in the opposite direction.  It takes about a minute to do and it really does look nice.

One last thing -- batting.  The batting I'm using can affect the width of my binding strips and the width of my seam allowance.  First, binding width.  This is somewhat of an aesthetic consideration -- I like the way narrower bindings look on quilts that will be finished with a thinner, more old-fashioned feeling batting.  E.g., Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon, Cream Rose, White Rose or Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Cotton Blend.  And with a few exceptions, I also prefer a narrower binding on small quilts -- the smaller the quilt, the narrower the binding.

The batting used will also affect the width of the seam allowance -- using the same width binding, a thicker batting will need a smaller seam allowance to completely enclose the batting and have the fold cover the stitching line.  If your goal is to have the binding be the same width on the front and the back, switching battings may require an adjustment of your seam allowance.  When I have used a different batting than I usually do, I machine-baste a few inches of binding and then check to see how well the binding folds to the back.  If I have to adjust my seam allowance, it is easily done without having to remove too much stitching.  I do enough of that already.      

And there you have it.  

Just so you know, there are days when using the zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine to finish the binding seems like a really good idea.  Or Steam-A-Seam!  That would work. 

And after reading all of this, you won't hurt my feelings if you think so too.     

Here and there...

Have I ever told you that Rosie is a little bit Irish? 

Her great-great-lots-more-greats-great grandmother was named Pepperhill Golden Pine Irish.  I know, it's kind of a stretch but for St. Patrick's Day, everybody wants to be Irish!  Including Rosie.

 
Have you been to the Jolly Jabber yet?  Kimberly and Stephanie of the Fat Quarter Shop invited me over for a chat so I'm over there and so are the new Schnibbles patterns -- all six of them!  In fact, if you leave a comment there, you could win a set of patterns.

I'll wait. 

As for what's happening here, busy work.  I'm waiting for page proofs for the next book and strike-offs arrived this afternoon.  I have been getting orders shipped and some pattern writing -- future stuff -- done so that I just might, maybe possibly actually be ready for Spring Market.  And I do have those 237 new quilts to make... uh, right.   

So until the next time, I hope you have a wonderful day and I will leave you with one of my favorite "Irish" blessings... at least I've been told it is Irish. 

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been
the foresight to know where you're going
and the insight to know when you're going too far.

 
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Egg or chicken? Chicken or egg?

While doing just a little bit of sewing this week -- it was that kind of week -- I noticed a few things in my workspace that had me wondering...

 

 

Am I a quilter -- specifically a piecer -- because I'm compulsive?

 
 
Or am I compulsive because I am a quilter? 

Do we start quilting because it appeals to the compulsiveness in our psyche?  Or does being a quilter encourage that compulsiveness to grow, multiply and take over our world?  What do you think?   

These are the things that start noodling their way through my mind as I'm sewing.  I wish I could tell you that I got a lot of sewing done this week but that is so not the truth.  I made a couple of nine-patches, another 50-something sets of flying geese -- I am more than half-way done with those now -- and that's about it for the sewing.  I picked up Schnibble covers -- those will start shipping Monday -- and I did get a couple of quilts back that need to be bound. 

 
Brocante has the binding stitched on but not down, I hope to finish that this week.  I would have gotten the binding on Recess but I changed my mind on what to use so I had to go to the quilt shop.  I know, the hardship of that.  I also got RicRac back but a friend borrowed that.  Since she volunteered to do the binding in exchange for using the quilt for her class, it was kind of a no-brainer.  I should get that back some time this week.

I did get to the Arizona Quilters Guild show with a friend, that was yesterday, and we saw a lot of lovely quilts, more friends and a small quilt auction.  I used to show quilts in the guild show but I haven't done that in several years, mostly because the quilts I make these days are "business quilts" and it always seemed a little "commercial" to have it in the show.  At least that it seemed that way to me.  Do you put quilts in shows?  Have you ever done that?

I will tell you that I think it is important to do so for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is showing off what you've made.  First, in the class I took from Freddy Moran years ago, she talked about the importance of showing your work.  In addition to being proud of what you've created and showing it to the world, showing your work would always inspire others in ways that you could never imagine or predict.  This all goes back to that "artistic voice" thing. 

The second benefit comes from having a judge objectively evaluate your quilt.  If you really want to know what someone who knows what truly superior workmanship looks like, the opinion of a certified judge is a good place to start.  And if you're worried about nasty criticism, I've never heard of a judge being harsh or critical, most try to be constructive in their critique of the areas that might "need improvement".  The snarky comments will come from someone at the quilt show... been there, overheard that.

Oh and my being a lame blogger has nothing to do with the weather.  It has been beautifully, blissfully warm this past week and where was I? 

It is supposed to get to 90 degrees by Wednesday so maybe I can use that as an excuse to stay inside and stitch. 

If nothing else, I have to work my way through all my little stacks of pieces.  Seeing them sitting there is starting to scare me.  

 

Aha!

It just occurred to me that maybe the reason I have been such a lame blogger is that it was too cold!  The weather warms up -- finally! -- and suddenly, I'm here.  A lot. 

I started cutting strips today from the Collection for a Cause Faith fabrics for a little quilt I'm playing with, one that may or may not wind up being a pattern.  Time will tell. 

 
This is the entire collection, you just can't see all of it.  But it really is all there, the fat eighths are just stacked in sets of four.

It's a habit.  I don't know if it is a good one or a bad one, but it is one of many. 

One of the things I get asked about in classes is if I pre-wash my fabrics.  Used to.  Don't any more.  Then what -- if anything -- do I do to prepare them for cutting?  I do "prepping".  I press my fabrics while wearing a pink polo shirt, cue little madras shorts and penny loafers.  I'm kidding!

Because I learned to sew making clothes, I was taught that pre-washing was a must.  Dire consequences would result from failing to do so, not the least of which would be failing Sewing Class.  When I started quilting, I heard about all sorts of bleeding and dyeing resulting from failing to pre-wash.  It took me a while to realize the "quilt police" were talking about the fabric... though I still wonder.  But over the years, several things happened that seemed to eliminate the need for pre-washing.  Our fabrics were better, the commercial dyes being used were better -- as was the process used to fix the dye, those marvelous dye magnet sheets were invented and then we got something called a "pre-cut".  With the various pre-cuts, you really couldn't pre-wash so most of us stopped doing it.  But one constant remained -- shrinkage.  The fabric is cotton.  Cotton shrinks when moisture and heat are applied.  Meaning, if you press with steam, your fabric is going to shrink at some point. 

So here I am.  Hi.  My name is Carrie and I press with steam.  Lots of it. 

That meant that when I started using charm squares and making Schnibble quilts four years ago, I became a faithful "fabric-prepper".  I had already been in the habit of pressing my fabrics, especially the fat quarters, with starch or sizing after they were washed, but I started doing it for unwashed fabric too.  Every charm square -- and now every Layer Cake square -- is spritzed with starch or sizing and ironed before it is cut.  I do the same thing with fat quarters and fat eighths.  In addition to eliminating any shrinkage I might have, I love how flat, crisp and ready for cutting the squares become.  And since I'm going to cut four layers at a time, I press them that way.  While I'm pressing, I will spritz and press the first piece, then add another one on top.  It gets spritzed and pressed, and the process is repeated until I have four squares/pieces stacked and pressed until dry. 

If you've never prepped your pieces this way -- especially the charm and layer cake squares -- you would be shocked to see how the square immediately starts pulling up -- read: shrinking -- when it is spritzed.  And contrary to what we learned "back in the day", the shrinkage isn't in the length, it is in the width.  I have had charm squares shrink almost a 1/4" in width.  If I hadn't prepped my fabrics before cutting, this shrinkage would have occurred during and after piecing, thereby changing the size of my finished piece.  

So while I don't pre-wash, I do pre-iron and prep my fabrics before cutting them.   

This is what I use to prep my fabrics -- my favorite starch.  I love this stuff. 

 
I used to use Best Press Unscented Sizing.  It is a terrific product, but spraying every piece of fabric meant that I was going through it very quickly.  Even buying it on sale, with a coupon, from the distributor, etc.,it was still rather expensive.  The alternatives at the time were aerosol spray starch and sizing and the old-fashioned soak starch.  I didn't like either one so I used the Best Press and really stocked up when it was on sale.  So when several of the lovely ladies I met in Alabama and Florida almost two years ago recommended this starch, I went looking for it.  And looking for it.  I really had to search.  Not one of the grocery stores in my area carried it.  While I didn't check them all, I don't think any of the grocery stores in Arizona carried it.  But thank goodness for Target, they came to my rescue! 

While I have been told by other quilters that it can be found at WalMart, every Target store I have ever been into has stocked this starch.  And yes, I have been into Target stores around the country buying this starch for classes!  The best part?  This 22 oz. bottle costs $1.87.  If you go into a Target store and they don't have it, I was probably there earlier.  I usually buy several bottles at a time. 

The one thing I would suggest if you do use starch or sizing to press your fabrics -- especially pre-cuts -- is to get in the habit of washing your ironing board cover.  A little soap and water in the washing machine is all it takes to remove the excess starch that builds up.  A pressing cloth will help but there will still be starch on the ironing board cover.  If nothing else, the starch build-up will make the cover a little stiff in places if you don't... and those parts like to get nice and toasty.  As in toast-ed. 

I use a regular white heavy cotton ironing board cover that I get from the Golden Hands man -- seriously, that is his company's name!  It is made to fit the Big Board I also got from them.  And, yes, with all the steam I use, I have just gotten a new one as this last one is finally warping just a bit. 

(If you're interested... The company is Golden Hands Industries out of Roswell, Georgia.  They don't have a website but their contact information can be found on Google.  And if you're interested, they were on Quilters TV.)

 
This is my ironing board.  The base is an  InterMetro shelf set-up that I got several years ago.  The Container Store carries this kind of shelving though I don't think they still carry this specific one.  The shelves here are 18" x 36", and the four posts are 34 1/2" long.  The casters add about 3" to the height.  The frame of my Big Board fits on top with about 1/2" to spare in the width.  The length of the shelf wasn't a factor since the board is open on one end.  I did glue a piece of molding to the underside to keep it from sliding back and forth... I guess I will have to do that again with the new one.

This has turned out to be the perfect set-up for me for several reasons.  The first, best and most obvious reason is the height.  I love that the top of the board is about 38" off the floor.  I also love how stable this is, a huge improvement over the wobbly ironing board I used to have holding up the big board.  Storage... that's probably a given.  A girl can never have enough storage especially for extra bottles of starch, lint rollers and such.  Did you notice the wheels?  This whole thing rolls easily across the floor when I need to sweep or get into the cabinet behind the ironing board. 

So after all that, this is what I wound up with...

 
I'm kidding!  Some of these will wind up in the scrap jar and the rest will wind up in the bag of scraps that goes to the folks who use them to stuff pillows and beds for the animal shelter. 

 
This is what I cut after all that pressing.  I even got to sew some strips together before I had to stop for the night. 

But maybe later today -- Thursday. 

When I'm not working on those flying geese, that is.  Did I mention that I am seriously reconsidering the size of my quilt?  I'm kidding.  Thanks to Monique, they go quickly.  

I'm off.  But if it stays warm, I might be back tomorrow.        

 

Pretty pun-ny...

I have always liked silliness, nonsense and absurdity. 

 
Non Sequitur.   

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells."  Dr. Seuss said that.  I knew there was a reason I liked him. 

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from Ramona titled "Puns for an Educated Mind".  I read it anyway in the hope that I could keep up.  When I burst out laughing, I had to share.  And yes, Ramona is the same sweetie who sent me the "Cookie Rules" I shared before Christmas.

I hope you get a chuckle too.   

1.    The fattest knight at King Arthur's Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2.    I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3.    Though she was only a whiskey-maker, he loved her still.

4.    A rubber band pistol was confiscated in Algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5.    No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery.

6.    A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

7.    A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart

8.    Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9.    A hole has been found in the wall of a nudist camp. The police are looking into it.

10.    Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11.    Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

12.    Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

13.    I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14.    A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said “Keep off the Grass.”

15.    A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

16.    A soldier who survives mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

17.    A backward poet writes inverse.

18.    In a democracy, it is your vote that counts. In feudalism, it is your count that votes.

19.    When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

20.    If you jump off the bridge in Paris, you would be in Seine .

21.    A vulture boards an airplane carrying two dead raccoons.  The stewardess takes one look at him and says, “I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.”

22.    Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says “Dam!”

23.    Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Not surprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

24.    Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, “I've lost my electron.”  The other asks, “Are you sure?” The first replies, “Yes, I'm positive.”

25.    Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocaine during his root canal?  His goal – transcend dental medication.

Also Non Sequitur. 

That's it for today.

And thank you for all the kind words about the new Schnibbles.  I really do appreciate it. 

I done said I would...

I wrote yesterday that I would be back today and here I am. 

I wrote that I would have pictures of the new Schnibbles patterns and I do!  I also wrote last week that I would tell you about some of the @(#$# that Rosie had to listen to while I was finishing the last four Schnibbles.   

So here goes.

This is Honeycomb.  Central Park by Kate Spain.  I love this fabric.   

 
While I toyed with the idea of using different colors for the background, I kept coming back to the white, a lovely Bella Solid.  I love how clean and clear it is, and how clean and clear it makes the rest of the colors in the prints.  As for the hexagons, I didn't use a template, just a ruler with a 60-degree line on it.  And, yes, there is a seam across the middle of the hexagon.  It was the only way I could be fairly sure of everyone being able to get consistently sized pieces without having to buy, make or use a template.    

Honeycomb measures 36" x 39" and can be made with two charm packs and some background yardage.  My quilt was made using a Layer Cake which is why I had enough for the scrap-pieced binding and this backing --

 
I put a strip down the middle and wrote my "label" on it when the quilt was finished.  The only thing the quilt needs now is washing to get it all soft and quilty.   

This is RicRac.  It was made using a Light and Dark Charm Pack -- 100 squares -- by Primitive Gatherings.  The borders and sashings are a Moda Crossweave.  If you're not familiar with those fabrics, they're gorgeous.  This one is kind of a yucky, mucky brownish color that suits the reproductions in the charm pack perfectly.  You wouldn't believe how old this quilt looks. 

 
Measuring 38" x 40", the pieced strips in RicRac are made entirely of triangles.  I would love to make another version of this quilt, one where just the middle "dark" row of the triangles are scrappy and everything else would be the same fabric, either a solid or a print.  And maybe a version reversing the placement so that the light was on the inside and the dark was on the outside.  Or the rows could be sewn together with light to dark.  But after Paganini and Sweet Spot, I told myself that I was only going to make one version for each pattern... so far, I'm staying strong!

Honeycomb and RicRac were the quilts we did at Winterfest. 

This is Brocante, made from Pom Pom de Paris by French General.  If I didn't already have a quilt named Plan C, that is what I might have called this one.  It is where the #(*!@(#(* started.

 
This was not my first plan. 

My first plan had stars, lots of scrappy stars.  But it didn't work.  The red over-powered everything else.  I mean, seriously over-powered everything else.  So after making 32 sets of flying geese and a big pile of half-triangle squares, it was back to the "drawing board".  After thinking about it and really considering what wasn't working about the first plan, I came up with another idea.  The good news is that I still had half a Layer Cake to start over.  Was that the end of my problems?  Not exactly.  I cut 20 red squares and 20 background squares, then happily pieced 40 quarter-triangle squares.  I pressed them and went to square them up... uh oh.  Too small.  I had cut my squares a 1/2" too small. 

Picture Yosemite Sam with a rotary cutter.  Muttering.  Grumbling.  Ornery.  I'm happy to say that I one more Layer Cake that I could raid for the red squares.  And more background fabric.  And more thread.     

But when it was all finished, I had to admit that all the grumbling was worth it.  I really love this quilt.  The pink and the yellow are still pretty and soft but the quilt still has this rosy redness that is just... well, it's just pretty.  (It is so pretty its starting to whisper "bigger"!)  Brocante measures 35" x 35" and it can be made with two charm packs and some background yardage.  I will 'fess up and tell you that I did use a few "extra" red squares salvaged from what would have been my star quilt so that I wouldn't have to use the solid red piece.  I don't have anything against the solids, I just like the prints better. 

This is George.  It is made with the oh-so-yummy Charlevoix by Polly & Laurie -- aka Minick & Simpson. 

 
Seriously, I just want to pick the cherries right off the quilt and make a pie.  No, this isn't named after George Washington.  It is named after Curious George, the monkey.  It is also a variation of the Chunky Monkey block I did for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks issue.  The blocks in this quilt are a little bit bigger, measuring 14" x 14".  With the border, this quilt measures 34" x 34".  Two charm packs and some background yardage.  And yes, there was a little @(*# with this one too.  When I was finishing up with the border, I realized that I had forgotten to put two squares aside for the corner squares.  While I could have cut the necessary squares from the rest of the Layer Cake, I decided to improvise.  

This is Roadshow.  Antique Fair by Blackbird Designs, with one of my favorite old BBD fabrics for the background.

 
Measuring 32" x 32", this is the smallest of the new quilts.  Two charm packs and about 1/2 yard of background fabric is all you need, except Roadshow does come with a couple of options.  Yardage requirements are provided if you would like to use a single fabric for the sashing and/or the border; and if you choose to do that and you've got two charm packs or 80 charm squares, this quilt could be made to measure 40" x 40".   The best thing about this quilt is that it is a very easy block to make.  Really. 

Just so you know, this quilt was not without its @(*#$# too.  I should know better but I was chatting with a friend on the phone while sewing the rows together... big mistake.  Huge!  The "bottom" row was sewn to the "top" and I didn't notice it until after the borders were on and I was taking the quilt to be photographed.  Grrrrrr.  Do you know how long it took me to find my seam ripper?  It was covered in dust... buried in a drawer... okay, maybe not.  It kind of annoyed me that it took me three times as long to take off the borders and remove the row than it did to sew everything back together.  That's just wrong.

And finally, this is Recess.  La Petit Ecole by French General. 

 
Cut it out.  Lay it out.  Start sewing.  When you're done, Recess will measure 34" x 40".  I had planned to make this using a different collection but all the pieces were too close in value and scale, making too much of the top "moosh" together.  I had used this fabric for another small project and really loved how it had turned out so using it for this quilt was an easy switch.  And the fabric is perfect for it -- there is a good variety of color and value, and there is contrast between the pieces with both the print and the color.  Do you know what the best thing about this quilt is?  There aren't any seams to match or points to worry about chopping off!  How cool is that?   

So these are them.

They are already on order at the Fat Quarter Shop and Havasu Quilts.  And United Notions. 

I'm off today to take my car in for a spa day.  Don't laugh but I think the heater is on the fritz and the charger thing doesn't seem to be working.  Then it's work, work, work... if I work really, really hard, I might get to sew this weekend. 

Until tomorrow... really.  I have a funny e-mail to share. 

I know what you're thinking... three days in a row?   

Don't worry.  I won't make a habit of it.