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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Link A Finish Friday #43

It is now time for Link A Finish Friday.  Today I would like to start with a big thank you to Fat Quarter Shop who has offered to Sponsor our Link A Finish Friday with Prizes.  This month's winner (November) will win a $15 gift certificate to spend on Fat Quarter Shop.

Please remember to thank our sponsor by visiting their store at http://www.fatquartershop.com/ their blog http://www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com/ and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/FatQuarterShop







Are 3 of the more visited quilts from last week.


So for the rules.

1) Who likes rules. Toss them out.
2) Add a link to your finish blog or where ever you show off your finishes (Not limited to quilts but I like them the most).
3) Visit a few of the finishes and comment or encourage them on.
4) Monthly random winner picked from all of the months linkups to $15 gift card from Fat Quarter Shop.

Not required but fun to do

1) Follow my blog.
2) Follow the blog of all those that link.
3) Link back to my blog.
4) No finish, go quilt and stop reading the web.


My Solo Cup


This quilt is made from material I got from the Door Gift from the SLMQG mixer for Sewing Summit  It is a line named MAASAI MARA by dear STELLA


Tanya wanted me to make a quilt full of Solo Cups for lack of a better name.   I made the front as you can see above out of that.  Then with the left overs I had fun making the back.


After making this quilt I think I like the back 100 times more then I like the front so if you saw this quilt at my house above would be my front.


Here is a close up of my solo cup on the back you can see that I Echo Quilted this one following the cups from the front side.  This quilt is a gift for Christmas for one of the Step Sister In laws.

183712_234x60 After Thanksgiving Event - Valid from November 23rd to December 5th

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Cupcake Rag Quilt


Tanya over the last weekend wanted to use up the last of our sewn Cup Cake fabric and the original plan was to make a doll quilt. But as it turned out she found even more then what she expected and ended up making this baby quilt instead.


The cupcake material was bought last Christmas as a clearance item for a killer deal and has been in many different quilts that Tanya and Rebecca have made.  I am sad to see it now finally all gone.


It will though make a fantastic pink baby quilt for some lucky little girl.


204591_Let Us Adore Him - Nativity Set at Precious Moments. Order Today and Get Free Shipping with code

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Puppy Dog Rag Quilt



This brown and gray with Puppy's Rag Quilt is our newest boy baby quilt.  We found this fantastic material last weekend when out shopping and knew exactly what we wanted to do with it.


On this quilt Tanya alternated brown, gray, and Puppies.  Our Daughter Rebecca has started helping mom out on her quilting efforts and spent the holiday weekend over Thanksgiving cutting material up for her mom.


As you can tell from many of our quilts we love the Tie Dye gray and it is often used in our quilts.  This quilt it is in 1/3 of the front and the full back.

183712_234x60 After Thanksgiving Event - Valid from November 23rd to December 5th

Monday, November 26, 2012

Stars and Jeans Rag Quilt


Last week one of the kids down the street had a Birthday and Tanya and I decided we wanted to try out a Rag Quilt with Jeans.  What we underestimated was the over all weight of a said Rag Quilt made out of Jeans.  We figured a full quilt out of Jeans would be too heavy and did every other square Jeans.  Well I am here to say that, while its lighter then a full blanket it is WAY, WAY, Too Heavy.  The only saving grace is the kid getting this quilt is Autistic and they tend to like heaver blankets (you often see blankets made with weights in them for autistic kids).

183712_125x125 After Thanksgiving Event - Valid from November 23rd to December 5th


On the alternating material we decided stars would be fun and dug into the stash for random stars.  Here is a closeup of the quilt you can see that I added in as many seams as I could as I love the extra style it adds.


And lastly the back is made of blue flannel.  It also has flannel in the middle.  Again this is a nice and heavy lap quilt and will keep any kid warm.  (Oh and Tanya says it was like wrestling a Alligator to sew haha)

Tanya would also like me to announce the winner to her rag quilt giveaway (well rag quilt scissors giveaway) Jared pulled #19 out of the bowl.  Gene Black is the winner.  He seems to be lucky as he has won from us in the past.





Gene Black said...19
I have a pair of those "not strong enough" scissors....yeah I bought the wrong ones.

My favorite "weird" color combo is purple and green with some yellow accents. - actually if you think of a purple iris, it is not so weird.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Plus Plus

 The plus quilt is finished.  This quilt is out of the Reunion line by Sweetwater.  It has echo quilting in variegated thread.  It has a somewhat scrappy binding, with part red part blue chevrons. This is one of my favorite quilts.  I am glad we are giving it to one of our own kids. James (our 17 year old is its recipient).


500856_Turner Classic Movies

Friday, November 23, 2012

Link A Finish Friday #42

It is now time for Link A Finish Friday.  Today I would like to start with a big thank you to Fat Quarter Shop who has offered to Sponsor our Link A Finish Friday with Prizes.  This month's winner (November) will win a $15 gift certificate to spend on Fat Quarter Shop.

Please remember to thank our sponsor by visiting their store at http://www.fatquartershop.com/ their blog http://www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com/ and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/FatQuarterShop


Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US and we were happy to celebrate Julia's first Thanksgiving. I don't know where mom got this hat and bib but Julia was the cutest one at the dinner.


After Dinner Jared helped Uncle Cody fix his truck.  I think it took Cody twice as much time to do what he was doing then it should have taken but I am so happy that Cody let my son help he was so happy to be such a big helper.





Were 2 of the most visited quilts last week.  Thank you for Linking Up.  

So for the rules.

1) Who likes rules. Toss them out.
2) Add a link to your finish blog or where ever you show off your finishes (Not limited to quilts but I like them the most).
3) Visit a few of the finishes and comment or encourage them on.
4) Monthly random winner picked from all of the months linkups to $15 gift card from Fat Quarter Shop.

Not required but fun to do

1) Follow my blog.
2) Follow the blog of all those that link.
3) Link back to my blog.
4) No finish, go quilt and stop reading the web.


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Applique Flowers Quilt


This is the first pieced quilt that was started by Tanya.  Each row has three blocks with appliques and one with a fussy cut. The quilting done is echo quilting.  The fabric is from the Amelia line by Me & My Sisters for Moda.  The white is a white on white with a paisley print.

The back  is scrappy as well.


Here is a close up of a couple blocks from front. This is a Christmas gift for a sister in law that claims she is a girly girl. Hopefully it is not too girly.



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Mom's Quilt


This quilt is made from a top that was done months ago.  Each block has 25 colors in it.  The back  is  the same white as the borders in the front.
Echo quilting was also done around edges.  The center has a x through each block.  The binding done is a black/rainbow stripe.

Here is a close up of one of the blocks.

This quilt is for my mom.

This cross-stitch magazine and floss was one from http://simplesew.blogspot.com/  Rebecca has claimed this prize and she has already picked the one she is going to try first.  She is a little slow at cross stitching but it is something she really enjoys.  Lucky for us Halloween is now a year away so she has plenty of time to make the one she picked.



Monday, November 19, 2012

Making a Rag Quilt Tutorial & Giveaway


Making a rag quilt involves planning just like any patchwork quilt. It can be simple and involve two fabrics on the front, one fabric for back and a layer in between. If you are using more than 3 fabrics, it is generally more time consuming. Figure out the approximate size you would like your finished quilt. I generally start with 6 inch squares for baby or lap size quilts. This will make about a 5 inch square once sewn together, but before washing. For a baby rag quilt I like to do 8 squares wide by 8 squares long. This will give a finished size of 36-37 in both directions. This will vary slightly depending on your seam allowance and fabric shrinking. Flannel will shrink more than cotton. Planning for fabric varies some. I can get between 30 to 36 squares out of a yard of most fabric. I have lucked out a time or two and got 42. I used about 1 2/3 yards of fabric for each of front, center and back.

Choose your fabric. I like the softness of flannel, but cotton is more durable. I have been told homespun works great, but have not tried it yet. I personally didn't like putting minky in a rag quilt, it stretches a lot different than flannel or cotton. It is more difficult to use, but it also looks great. Decide what you are going to do for the batting. I have used a polyester (which I hated), cotton batting or cotton/polyester blend or a third layer of flannel. I personally find a layer of flannel the easiest to use. Some of it depends on what I have on hand. Batting in the center is a great way to use of up smaller scraps from other quilts or projects.

For this demonstration I am going to use three layers of flannel, two different fabrics on top, and one solid on the back. I will also show pictures of cotton batting being used. I am going to make a baby quilt 8 squares by 8 squares. This means I will need 64 squares for back, 32 of both fabrics for front and 64 squares of flannel for center or 64 5 in squares of batting.
Pre-cut all fabric and batting with rotary cutter. I guess you could use scissors, but a lot more time consuming. If you are using batting, plan for a ½ in seam allowance on each side. This means you would subtract one inch from each square. If you are using 6 inch blocks, your batting would be 5 inches, and an 8 inch block would be 7 in of batting.



Once your fabric is cut and stacked neatly in rows you will begin making your quilt sandwiches. When I first started, I pinned all them together like this. Over time I found that I could assemble as I go and just hold corners together. It is completely up to you. You will use a straight stitch on your sewing machine. A walking foot is useful, but not completely necessary. I don't use one. Sew from corner to corner diagonally. Sew many squares in one direction, and then cut apart squares and sew in the other direction to finish up x.







Once squares are assembled you will start sewing together squares into rows. If you have an extension table or your machine is even with your surface, it is easier to sew, but not necessary. Put two squares together with the back fabric touching. You will use a ½ inch seam allowance. If you do a little more you risk your batting showing on edge, a little less you won't have as fluffy of seams. The key is consistency. I have an issue with depth perception, and use a piece of tape on machine, to help line up. Continue sewing a square on the row until you reach your width. For my demonstration it is 8. Do this until all your rows are done.

Once rows are done sewing, you will start to pin rows together in two's, lining up the seams. You will sew each row to the next. For me it is easier to sew four sets of two rows together, just make sure you don't mess up your pattern and then combine into sets of four. I don't have a real powerful machine and end up feeling like I am wrestling an alligator. Once your rows are combined, you will sew around the outside edge at about ½ inch mark. I use a straight stitch, others have used a zig zag. You will probably want to give your machine a through cleaning at this point, especially if you used flannel.



Next comes the fun part, cutting up the seams. Warning, don't do this in clothes you are wearing out in public, unless you have a lint brush handy. You will get tons of threads/lint all over you. You want to cut close to seams without cutting them. I like to go between 2/3 and ¾ of the seam. You can fix cut seams, it just makes the process more difficult. Having proper scissors is really useful. I use Fiskars rag cutting scissors. They cost about 23 dollars at craft or fabric stores, a great item to use a 40% or 50% coupon on. The first rag quilt we made, we used regular scissors on, we cut many seams, over 6 on a twin and it took many hours to cut. The second one I bought a pair of scissors and they were spring loaded, but not strong enough to cut multiple layers of fabric. Then I decided to buy some heavy duty craft scissors, they work but you have to be careful and they take a lot more out of your hands. Anyway, I learned the hard way about having the proper tool. I cut all the seams in one direction and then start on the other direction. I save the outside edge for last. After it is cut you can shake it and then it is ready to wash. Many people take it to the laundromat, instead of the abuse your home washer and dryer will get. I have a front load washer, and make sure I clean out the seal after washing a rag quilt. I usually wash and dry on normal. After quilt is done washing, take it outside and shake off some of the lint, fabric, treads, etc., your dryer will thank you. Dry on low to medium heat and make sure to clean lint tray.


Good to use.
Not strong enough to cut through multiple layers.
Rag quilt are great for babies or kids that will get all sorts of stuff spilled on them. Washing just makes them more soft and cuddly.

If you would like to enter a drawing to win a pair of Fiskars rag cutting scissors leave a comment below telling me what your favorite unusual color combination is. This drawing will end 11/26/12.