Category Archives: WIPs

Silhouette Cameo for Quilting

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My Silhouette Cameo is one of my favorite crafting tools.  If you’ve never heard of the Silhouette Cameo, it is a digital cutting machine. I would describe it as a printer that instead of printing the design, uses a tiny blade to cut the design on paper, fabric, vinyl. etc. It even looks like a printer (it does have a sketch feature that I haven’t used). There is also a smaller (and less expensive) version called the Silhouette Portrait:

I got my Cameo last year and have almost exclusively used it to cut paper – banners, stuff for Project Life albums, etc.

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Moroccan tile film I cut for our bathroom cabinet

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Bat garland in our front window

It’s a really fun tool, and I’ve enjoyed designing graphics and word art for my Project Life albums and to hang on our walls. But I’ve found a new use for it that I had to share. I just started working on an applique-intensive project {Green Tea and Sweet Beans} and the thought of tracing all of the templates made me feel tired. So I did what any crafty gal would do and figured out an easier way. Freezer paper is my preferred method of applique so this may not be helpful to you if you do back-basting or some other method. (Here is a quick run-down of how to do freezer paper applique.)

1. Scan your templates.

2. Open up the scanned image in the Silhouette Studio software and crop out everything except the part you need.

3. Use the trace function to create a cut line for your shape. Ungroup or “release compound path” to clean up any little dashes or marks that don’t belong.

4. Trim some freezer paper to 12×12 (or whatever the size of your cutting mat).

5. Place freezer paper with the shiny side up on the cutting mat. Load in the Silhouette Cameo and cut! Use gentle cut settings. The built=in setting for 65lb pattern paper works okay for the shapes I was cutting, but I’ll go down to a 2 or 3 on the blade setting next time. You do not need to double cut.

Then all you do is apply your templates to your fabric with a hot iron and applique using your preferred method. I finished two blocks for my quilt last week:

Clamshells
Clamshells

Hexagons
Hexagons

My Little Helper
Ben

I’ve already cut the templates and started prepping some more blocks for an upcoming road trip I’m taking. I love this quilt!

WIP Wednesday: Jelly Roll Race

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So for yesterday’s WIP Wednesday project, I tackled a quilt I’d named “Urban Cowgirl Around the World” and it turned into a completely different project. I had a trip around the world quilt in mind, combining an Urban Cowgirl jelly roll with a Bella Solids {warm} jelly roll. The color palettes aren’t an exact match, but they’re close enough to look good together. I’m not into matching anyway…I prefer coordinating palettes.

Instead, I decided to try the Jelly Roll Race (also called Jelly Roll 1600) method.

WIP Wednesday: Jelly Roll Race

It’s a fast and easy method to whip up a lap-sized quilt in about two hours. Some tutorials say one hour, but two hours is more realistic. Still, how many other quilts can be made in two hours?

WIP Wednesday: Jelly Roll Race

I can imagine all sorts of variations with this pattern. Given my considerable stash of jelly rolls, it’s very likely that I will be making one (or several) of these again.

As for this quilt top, I have half of each jelly roll remaining and I will probably use a similar method to create some borders (and save a few strips for a scrappy binding). And I’m going to have to rename the quilt. Jelly Roll Cowgirl? Urban Barrel Race? Urban Jelly Roll sounds like a city dweller’s muffin top, which makes me kinda like it best of all. ;)

WIP Wednesday: Quilting Espionage

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I started writing this post in my head while I was looking through today’s photos, and I was thinking how I’d explain that my bad photos are the result of working in shadows. And that made me giggle because it sounds like I was doing something mysterious. Working in shadows sounds more exciting than starching and pressing quilt blocks.

Behold, my WIP Wednesday project for today:

This quilt started off as a stack of Bella Solids, and then I added some prints for interest. I’m making City Aviation from Cherri House’s City Quilts book. Here is her version of the quilt:

{photo courtesy Cherri House and Generation Q}

I have all of the solid blocks cut and probably 1/3 of the other blocks pieced. I’m going to keep at this one through the weekend and see if  I can get the top complete. On Monday I FINISHED last week’s WIP Wednesday project – my Giant Scrappy Blocks quilt. Fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate tomorrow and I can get some photos.

Before I go off the Bedfordshire, I have to share these photos of Ben from his bedtime tonight. I was sneaking photos with my phone while I read his bedtime stories.

Ben-bedtime

His expressions crack me up.

If you’re reading along with my book club, tomorrow is my first book review of the year. Get excited. ;)

WIP Wednesday: Hello, Genius

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I almost don’t want to admit this because it was such a “duh” moment. With one simple, simple thing, I made quilting so much easier on myself. What did I do? I got the folding table out of the garage and set it up at the end of my sewing table. Hello, genius…

So. Much. Easier. Why didn’t I do this ages ago? Behold the quilting acreage:

In an hour today, I quilted 25% of this quilt. I spent the last year thinking I had so little time to sew now that I have a baby, but I think I was just looking at the big picture…all of those projects I’ve started or want to start. But if you just look at it one hour at a time, it’s easy to make progress. Just a few more evenings after baby’s bedtime and this quilt will be DONE.

I’m using Aurifil #4657 to quilt it – at least half of the blocks. I’ll probably switch to my go-to light gray (Aurifil #2600) that blends with everything for the blocks sashed in navy. Maybe next week I can show off the finished quilt.

WIP Wednesday: Quilt Backs

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Hello, WIP Wednesday. Thursday? No, silly, it’s only Wednesday. I have lunch plans with some girlfriends, and then I’m going to spend the whole afternoon working away on my huge list of WIPs.

Except that it is Thursday, which means my Wednesday did not turn out as planned. After a lovely lunch yesterday, my toddler refused to nap, and I spent the afternoon working instead. Why do toddlers fight sleep? If someone gave me a bottle of my favorite beverage, a warm spot to snooze, and said “just relax for a few hours,” I would not fight them. I’d take those hours and say death to any he that waketh me! But one of the defining characteristics of toddlers is their stubbornness in the face of reason so today is our fake, do-over Wednesday. It was a productive fake Wednesday, too.

I tackled my mountain of completed quilt tops and made backs for three of them. My stash of Pezzy Prints came in handy. That line is the perfect addition to almost any project. I think it should come in large widths for backing. Wouldn’t that be a dream? I combined it with a random sale rack flannel from JoAnn’s for the back of the GIANT Wonky Star quilt. And then I used only orange pezzy for the back of my Jumbo Scrappy Blocks quilt. The orange and that navy were MFEO (made for each other). I also pieced the backing for 1974 Hexagons & Swirls, which I don’t think I’ve ever photographed or blogged about.  I snagged a bolt of gray/purple plaid from Moda’s clearance bin at their Dallas warehouse probably three years ago to use as backing for that quilt. The fabric line is fantastic but OOP (out of print). (You can see it here: 1974 by Urban Chiks)

I contemplated the backing for a Daisy Chain Rail Fence quilt.  Are those mushrooms too crazy? The colors are right and I have about six yards of it. I think I’m going to be bold and go for it. Pink mushrooms it is.

All in all, I completed three quilt backs in about an hour today. It felt really good. I can now move these projects from {Completed Tops] to {Quilting &  Binding} on my WIP list.

One last thing…I’ve gotten several comments about my iron here on the blog and on Instagram. It’s a Black and Decker Classic Iron – either this one or this one. It’s really heavy (and vintage-looking, if you’re into that sort of thing). It is great for pressing clothes and big swathes of fabric like quilt backs. But in all honesty, it’s total crap for pressing your piecing. The steam holes are too deep with almost sharp edges that get caught on seams and corners. For piecing, I LOVE just a basic, cheap iron like this one. Seriously, just go to Target and buy the cheapest one off the shelf. Mine gets screaming hot, has a smooth soleplate so it doesn’t get stuck in piecing, and it doesn’t shut off. Plus it was so cheap that I don’t feel bad about replacing it (which I haven’t needed to do yet…going on two years). That is $6.99 well spent!

WIP Annihilation

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I almost hate to do this to myself but 2013 is going to be the year of the WIP (works in progress) at my house. My WIP list is out of control, and I think it’s keeping me from sewing…well, along with the chaos of my sewing room. Every surface and nook is jammed with stuff.

Messy-Studio-2 Messy-Studio

I have too much stuff, but I don’t want to get rid of anything. First world problem. So my plan is to complete as many WIPs as possible…this will use up some of my stash and help me make space. Want to join me in this challenge? I’ve made a button so you know I really mean it. ;) Check back with me every Wednesday to see how I’m doing.

no-WIPs

Fall Fabric Stack

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I’m in the mood for fall! Where is our sweater weather, Texas? I actually wore shorts today. Shorts! But the continuing heat hasn’t stopped me from thinking about fall. I picked out a pretty stack of Bella Solids to make a quilt:

{All Bella Solids by Moda Fabrics: Berrylicious, Boysenberry, Clementine, Longhorn, Mustard, Saffron, Dark Denim, Eggplant, Grape, Moda U Brown, Almond}

I bought half yards so I have enough for two quilt tops. I think I’ll mix in some prints for one but only solids for the other. I just need to decide on a pattern!

{added to my WIP list}

Vintage Sheet Quilt

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I love this quilt! I almost love it even more on the beach. The colors just seem perfectly suited for the sand dunes and ocean and blue skies. {I took this photo in Orange Beach, AL while we were visiting for the weekend. It’s so beautiful there. The sand is like super fine sugar and the water is crystal clear.}

vintage sheets quilt

I’ve been wanting to make a vintage sheet quilt for a while now, but after searching some thrift stores I decided that it was easier to get the sheets from someone else. It’s a lot of work to wash and press and cut a huge sheet into useable pieces. I bought a couple of vintage sheet fat quarter sets from Jeni of In Color Order on Etsy. Then I cut them into 6-inch squares and mixed with Bella Solids white.

This quilt top is big – about  83″ x 92″ – so its definitely going off to Michelle for long-arm quilting. I really can’t wait to see what she does with it. {Fingers crossed that the vintage sheets aren’t too annoying to work with. They were mildly annoying to sew with. Lots of shifting and shrinking under a hot iron. I’ve gotten spoiled to quilt shop quality cottons.}

Another one off the WIP list!

Quilting: It is Awesome

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I’ve been so focused on completing quilt tops lately that I haven’t done much quilting. This weekend I went to Friday Night Sew at Urban Spools and spent some time on the Handiquilter Sweet Sixteen. I have a couple of LARGE quilts that are basted and partially quilted, but I can’t face trying to wrestle with them on my Bernina. In just a couple of hours, I took this quilt from less than a 1/3 quilted to probabaly over halfway finished. One..maybe two more sessions and I will have her done. It took me a while to get back in the rythm of this particular FMQ design.

But once I got warmed up, I picked up the pace and it felt good to watch the thread appear in a pattern on the quilt.

On Sunday afternoon, I picked up a WIP from March. It’s a Confetti baby quilt. This was a complete top that took me months to complete because I was only working in little increments of time. Plus, I think I’d lost my mojo to “new baby syndrome.” I’m healed from that now. ;) Anyway, I basted it and got the quilting finished. I even sewed the binding on! (still have to flip it and sew it to the back with a slip stitch. But I am going to do that in front of the TV since all the new shows start this week.) Here is a little peek before I started quilting:

{Oh, and a side note…THIS IS THE LAST QUILT I WILL EVER BASTE. I didn’t know that you could have your quilts basted on a long arm (useful for people who like to do their own quilting and handquilters). Now that I know, I am never crawling around on the floor with masking tape and safety pins.}

And a progress photo:

The binding is green and white hounds tooth from Paula Prass’s Summer Soiree. Super cute. Can’t wait to take photos of this quilt to share the FINISHED version. :)

Re-treated and Re-newed

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I’ve been on lots of quilting retreats with my quilty friends from the Dallas MQG since we all met in February 2010 (probably close to 12 by now?). I even went on two quilting retreats early this year and brought my baby along since he was still wee and quiet enough to let me sew. But since he started crawling, then cruising, and is now taking baby steps (only one or two at a time, then plop!), life has become a lot busier. Ben is awake more, and I have us scheduled in lots of activities each week (MOPS, The Little Gym, picnics at the Arboretum, story time at the library, and play dates). The social activities are good for both of us, but my “me” time has dwindled. I was ready for a retreat, baby-free.

A couple of weekends ago, I went to a favorite local quilt retreat – 1890s House. It’s close, cozy, charming, and clean. The owner is easy-going, and even though it’s in a suburb of Dallas just minutes away from all of the strip mall shopping and restaurants you could want, it feels like you are in the country. This is a photo of the house from the first time I went (on an officers’ retreat for the Dallas MQG)

Isn’t it pretty? This view is the back of the house. The sewing cottage is just off to the left. It’s nice to have the sleeping quarters so separate from the sewing space since many people stay up late sewing and some want to go to bed at a decent hour.

I worked on several projects:

  • AB Belle Squared {from Piecing – Almost Complete to Quilting & Binding / my friend Michelle of Urban Spools is quilting this one for me on her long arm. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!}
  • Flights of Fancy {from Still in Pieces to Piecing – Almost Complete / This is a kit (shown below) that I bought at an LQS in McKinney (Happiness is Quilting) and it was literally still in the bag a few weeks ago. My friend Angie‘s mom did the embroidery for me and she brought it to me this weekend. All I had to do was press, cut the embroidered blocks, make the large 4-patch blocks, and piece. This one just needs the borders and then it is going to Michelle for some custom quilting. I would never have gotten this done without Angie’s mom.}

  • I finished all of the HSTs and squared them up for my Vintage Sheet HSTs Quilt {from Piecing – Lots to Go to Piecing – Almost Complete / My little pile of square-up trimmings is shown below. I just love those piles.}

  • I haven’t shown many pictures of my Ruby Star Shining Improv quilt, but the top is now complete! It’s a reasonable size so I’ll probably quilt this myself. Maybe….I will at least get Michelle to baste it on the long arm for me.
  • One of my big projects was pumping breastmilk, probably my most dreaded baby-related activity. If I had to work outside of the house, I do not think I would have made in these 10.5 months of nursing. But on retreat, I forgot the plug for the pump but THANKFULLY had the car charger plug. So I spent a lot of time inside the car on retreat. I took this photo on Sunday morning because the rain looked so pretty on the window. And let’s face it, there is not a whole lot to do when you are pumping. Thank goodness for iPhones.