Growing stash...

My trip to Joann's gave me a chance to buy Rag Quilt nippers. Hehehhe. Yes, I was there for my Vanilla, for a school project, but the nippers were right there. As if I need an excuse!

My stash has now outgrown my treasure chest. Oh no! Hence, the fabric diet. (Of course, I have a few more items that are still in the mail that I bought BEFORE the diet began. LOL)

This is all I have left to do on Pumpkin's Rag quilt. Whew.

Thank you so much for all of the comments that I have gotten on my rag quilt. Nonnie pointed out that my fabric might be the issue that I am having. She is so helpful. Here is what she sent me that really bolstered my spirits:
"It sounds like two things are happening with your blocks.... 1/  Flannel is a loose woven fabric that stretches despite pinning when you sew.
 2/  THE feed dogs are moving against the fabric as you sew while the presser foot keeps the fabric anchored down... two opposing forces and your poor fabric caught in the middle between the machinery.   If you only get 1/8th inch shift YOU ARE DOING GOOD.  When you rag the edges everything will work out and you will not find the discrepancy.    I only made one RAG QUILT... because frankly I think they are harder to do than traditional quilting.   The fabric is the problem I bet you do not have a problem when you work with regular woven patches. "

SO true! I don't really have this problem with other pieces, which is why I was so frustrated. I couldn't figure out the issue, and this really put things in perspective for me. Thank you, Nonnie! You really made this a lot more fun. I appreciate that you have given me my perspective back.

Now, the only thing I really need now is time. Being sick has cut into my quilting time.

OH....and I have been dubbed a Quilter by Sandy at "Quilting....for the Rest of Us." Thank you so much! Love that podcast. She is so positive and has such a great voice! 

Podcast 5 - That Darn Rag Quilt...now available!

GRRR! I am so frustrated with the rag quilt. Perhaps it is that my babies are home on spring break, or that I am sick...but I am just plain frustrated. Every time I sew my layers together, my fabric shifts an 1/8 of an inch. I have tried pinning and nothing works. I am also really....bored with it. Very repetitive stuff. But I promised my Pumpkin that I would get it done...and I will. *Sigh*

I also want to know - is there a color that you find you quilt with more than you thought you would? I have found that I have pink (duh...three girls, Katie) and neon green. I don't really enjoy either color...and yet I have a ton in my stash. How about you? Any color in your stash that just surprises you?

This episode I share the home stuff and babble a little about my "lifestyle change" as well as my resolution to not buy fabric until...gulp...July. Thank you so much for joining me.
Happy Quilting! Katie

Being sick sucks...

Was hoping to do my podcast, but I have no voice.

No voice makes it harder to record. I have been doing some sewing for Pumpkin's quilt. I have more than half of the squares sewn together. But I am encountering a problem.

Sewing all of these layers together is causing the bottom and the top to move out of alignment. I start with them lined up well, and when I am doing, they are off my an eighth of an inch. It is frustrating me. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I have decided, between my sinus headache and the entire box of tissue, that I am not going to care about the differences.

This is a rag quilt. I am going to cut the edge anyway. So I am going to chill? Right?  I hope!

Hoping to send out my podcast by Tuesday. Hoping the voice will be back by then.
Happy Quilting!
Katie

Cutting like Crazy!



My huge stack of batting and the start of my squares for Pumpkin's rag quilt.



5 inches by 5 inches. Mostly...I did it. LOL. Mostly.

Cutting the batting went really quickly!

Here I am cutting my batting. And the backing fabric for my pumpkin's rag quilt. I actually had to run to the fabric store in the middle when accidentally cut my fabric wrong. But that is how I learn, right? Jumping in! Besides, I needed more fabric for the borders. Lol! And the other three yards I bought...lol...well, I have admitted that I am addicted, right?

Addicted to Color

I just realized today that when I went to the fabric store yesterday, I was drawn to the brightest and boldest colors I could find. I wanted colors that POPPED when I looked at them. I wanted this because I wanted to put them on a quilt with a black background. I don't mean neon or some of those strange prints that I never understand. I mean Color! I feel like so many of the fabrics I am seeing are muted. I want Zing! Not gaudy...but bright. I want Spring with none of the pastels. Oh....if  I were a fabric designer, I would go up to Skagit County - to the Tulip Festival....and I would take pictures of all of those colors. That would be my line. Tulips in Spring.

http://www.tulipfestival.org/galleries

Podcast 4 - nothing to fear but...

In this podcast, I explain how I listened to a podcast from Quilting...for the Rest of Us that focused on Do-overs. The biggest issue that people had was being afraid to do something or make mistakes. I realized that I was the same. In this podcast, I explain where my fear comes from and how I hope to overcome it. I also talk about my progress and how I have many different projects going at once...and that is OK...because it is my hobby! Hehehehe. Thank you for joining me, in my quilting daydreams!

10 down...200 to go

I am starting my adventures in cutting with the batting. I figure it is more forgiving.
I have so many projects going! I feel like I am bouncing back and forth. Doing the batting for pumpkin's rag quilt. Need to finish the binding on Vanilla's quilt. Need to cut the backing and baste mom's quilt. Need to piece together Dad's disappearing nine patch. Lol! I need to stop starting new things. And finish some of this....but I want to practice cutting right now.

SO much to do...but I am finishing things. I just like being able to do things that I want to do. Isn't that what  a hobby is for? Doing what makes you happy in the moment?

Inspired by Nonnie....to CUT

I went to the fabric store yesterday. My hubbie had ALL of the kids and I got to be FREE to be a normal person, not just a mom.

Well, I was thinking about Nonnie and her suggestions for cutting. So, I embraced it. I found a flannel back in yellow (pictures to come) and light yellow for the borders, and decided to go for it. Pumpkin's fabric is in charm form. Pumpkin LOVES the Missouri Star tutorial on rag quilting.

http://youtu.be/W0UQgeol-Zk

So, I decided that I would make Pumpkin's quilt into a rag quilt. I will be cutting the flannel into 5 inch squares. It will make a small lap quilt, but I think that she will love it. I really like the fact that I will be having to practice my rotary cutting...and if it isn't perfect, it is okay because the fringe is going to be trimmed. LOL. I am also going to be adding a 41/2 inch square of batting in between my layers. Not a hard quilt, but I think it will help to teach me new skills.

I am excited!


Chickadee fabric - Charm squares




The flannel backing that I bought for the rag quilts




More examples of Chickadee



All the fabric for the rag quilt

My latest Podcast...with all my strange ideas

So many things to talk about today....
Finished Vanilla's quilt today...well, the quilting part anyway. I did a  four inch square using my walking foot. It looks okay. Mostly, I am just happy that it is quilted. Here are some pictures of the process.

This is how I set my work up to Stitch in the Ditch, even though my blocks were not exactly perfectly aligned.

My quilting squares - from the back.

Sewing with Vanilla. She was so excited. It is amazing to do this with her. It makes me want to get her a child's sewing machine. I think that she would be careful and really love it.

This is my sewing table...and cutting table...and overall craft space. It is currently taking up a ton of space in the living room.  I am wondering if I could do a design wall in my dining room. Hehehehe

I mentioned in a previous post - I have a treasure chest where I store my stash. Here it is...my stash. LOL. I still feel like the word stash means something that should be hidden - like a secret vice. I love it.

In my podcast, I refer to the Jitterbug quilt pattern. This is the quilt I am talking about. I think it is really cool.

Hehehhe. Second row together. It is just such a JOY to work with her!

These are the images that I refer to in my podcast. I had a dream that I made a quilt like this - only it was a bear. And all of the inner artistry was done with applique. I hope that I will eventually become skilled enough to do a quilt like this. I think that it would be awesome!

Another example of the type of artwork in my dream.

So many images. This podcast is filled with ideas and questions.
One big question: What is a block swap? How does it work? Do people actually get them done on time?
I would love to know!
Have a wonderful day!
Katie

Just had an idea

So....looking at my Country Threads Goes to Charm School book gave me an idea. There is a quilt they made using charms and I really like it. But...

What if I up-sized the whole thing by using layer cakes instead of charms? It would be the same quilt only much larger.... (Being a large person leads me to like larger and longer quilts).

I think it woul look amazing. I would have to take Nonnie's recommendation and use yardage for the rest of the block, though.

I love it....except I have to do the math...again. I am tempted to make a block the way that I want it to look, and then measure it. Is that nuts?

WooHOO!

My podcast was mentioned in the Off-Kilter Quilt podcast. Made me smile! I love her quiting diaries. They are so fun! I really want to take that format and integrate it into my podcast.

My sister listened to the podcast and gave me some honest feedback, which I love. She pointed out that I repeat myself, and that is something that I do need to work on.

Vanilla Bear is star of the week at school, so I dashed off today to meet her class. She had to introduce me, and let me tell you....having my baby bear call me Katie was strange. LOL. I love how sweet and curious all those little folks are! Banana baby walked right over and sat down between three 6 year-olds, like she belonged. It was adorable!

I will OVERCOME my quilting challenges this week. I will quilt Vanilla's quilt - even in ugly lines. Hehehehe.

Random thought...wishing my quilting table was downstairs...but it is better upstairs. I know this, but I really like to watch TV while I quilt.

Check out my new podcast!

I have just posted my second podcast. I ramble a little, but my biggest issue is the math in quilting. Man...I am horrible at counting at 3am! LOL. That is my quiet time. Please check out my podcast and tell me what you think!
Have a great day!
Kate

Drama on Dad's quilt...

Grrr...
I suck at math. I had the information all sorted out and then BAM...turns out I was wrong in my calculations. I needed 63 blocks and I made 68 blocks. Well, to make things balanced or I should say, to make it so that I didn't have 5 completely wasted blocks, I need to add 4 more blocks to make 72. The quilt is going to be 8 blocks by 9 blocks and the blocks are approximately 7 inches long. It should make a nice, lap-sized quilt. The only issue is that I don't have ANY more of the material. Not a scrap. I didn't want to have to buy a pack of charms for 8 blocks, but that is what I have to do. AND...I have to order from online because no one in my area carries Summer's End by Moda.
Always the drama here...
Kate