Merry Christmas - 2018

For the past few years -

I have shared a beautiful Christmas Card -

That I received one year from a dear friend - ;))

It is one of the most beautiful Christmas Cards -

That I have ever seen -

So I wanted to share it with you -

Again this year - ;))

Please click - HERE -

And -

Have a Very Merry Christmas!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Merry Christmas Eve - 2018

Jingle Bell -

Jingle Bell -

Jingle Bell -

Rock - ;))

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Yeah, I know that I post this every year -

But I couldn't resist posting it again -

Hope you don't mind - ;))

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Merry Christmas!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - Santa’s coming -

A little quilting -

Is planned - in between all of the holiday activities -

Starting with this Christmas Blocks Table Topper - 6x6 - from long ago -

It's already been stitched-in-the-ditch along the larger block seam lines -
So it needs some more in-the-ditch along the skinny strips -
And some FMQ fun stuff in the rest of it -

I quilted the little Christmas Blocks Table Runner - 3 x 2 - a while ago -
So I pinned it to the design wall above my sewing machine for reference -

I can tell at a glance what designs I used so I can use the same ones - or similar - on the larger one -

Keeps me from having to fumble around trying to find it -

And I can sit back and decide what I want to quilt where - LOL - ;))

Then - if I have time - I can play with O Happy Christmas -

Some of you may remember this one -

It's been sitting in the Mountain To Be Quilted for some time now -

And wants to come out to play - LOL -

I think it says it all -

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

A few more -

Neutral string blocks -

And that's about it for today -

More chores are scheduled for tomorrow -

So we'll see how much sewing I can get done - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Cutting a Diamond - LEFT-HANDED -

I recently saw a video demonstrating how to cut a Diamond unit -

First - RIGHT-HANDED -

Starting at the LEFT end of the strip - placing the 45-degree line at the BOTTOM of the strip and making the first cut just to the RIGHT of the selvage - to cut off the end - for your scrap basket -

Then move the ruler to the RIGHT to the line that measures the same as the strip width -

Make your second cut - one diamond - nice and neat - ;))

Then she REVERSED IT -

And demonstrated how to do the same thing - LEFT-HANDED -

Starting at the LEFT RIGHT end of the strip - placing the 45-degree line at the BOTTOM TOP of the strip and making the first cut just to the RIGHT LEFT of the selvage - to cut off the end - for your scrap basket -

Then move the ruler to the RIGHT LEFT to the line that measures the same as the strip width -

Make your second cut - one diamond - nice and neat - ;))

UMMMMMMMMMM - NOOOOOOOOOO -

I really appreciate that she tried to REVERSE IT for LEFT-HANDED Quilters -

BUT -

I do not like "back-handed" cuts -

They are awkward - by definition - and potentially dangerous -

It would be like me telling a RIGHT-HANDED quilter to cut a diamond THIS way -

Also "back-handed" - awkward - and potentially dangerous -

THIS IS HOW I would cut a Diamond - LEFT-HANDED -

Starting at the LEFT RIGHT end of the strip - placing the 45-degree line at the BOTTOM TOP of the strip and making the first cut just to the RIGHT LEFT of the selvage - to cut off the end - for your scrap basket -

Then move the ruler to the RIGHT LEFT to the line that measures the same as the strip width -

Make your second cut - one diamond - nice and neat - ;))

To me - the trick is knowing WHAT to REVERSE - ;))

Of the four things that were reversed -

ONE of them didn't need to be - it was OK just the way it was -

Placing the 45-degree line at the BOTTOM of the strip makes a BIG difference -

And makes it MUCH easier to cut STRAIGHT UP the LEFT side of the ruler -

From the BOTTOM LEFT to the TOP RIGHT -

A MUCH more NATURAL direction - UP and AWAY from you - ;))

And as one of my RIGHT-HANDED friends said -

No matter how hard they try -

Some instructors still think RIGHT-HANDED - ;))

Maybe I should just throw this out there -

If any of you/them are looking for a LEFT-HANDED consultant -

I'm available - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

This post -

Is for my friend - Frog Quilter - who said that she was making some CHEVRONS (Diamonds in a Rectangle) in this post -

I know she has a LEFT-EZE Rule -

And I already have a tutorial on How to Make a Diamond in a Rectangle -

But here's another "How To" - a shorter version - with some more photos -

For her and all of the other Left-Handed Quilters in blogland - ;))

Cut your RECTANGLES per the instructions -

And using the SAME WIDTH STRIP - cut some HST -

If you need the "corners" to be in the Top Right and Bottom Left -

Layer your fabrics RIGHT SIDE UP -

I have two in this stack - but I have cut four layers at a time with no problem -

Cut a second set -
The FLAT TOPS will be on the TOP RIGHT -
The same side you want them in your Chevron -

Lay one out on the rectangle with the flat end at the top -
And the pointy end on the side -

Fold it down - right sides together -

And you'll see that the flat end fits nice and neat in the corner -

If you're doing one with the corners on Top Left and Bottom Right -
Layer your HST fabrics with the WRONG SIDE UP - and follow the same steps -

Take it to the sewing machine and sew from the flat edge to the pointy end -
Standard 1/4" seam allowance -

Because the 1/4" seam allowance is "built-in" in the ruler -
You will come out at the end where the point overlaps the rectangle -
Perfect 1/4" -

Press it back to the corner to make sure it fits before you trim the excess rectangle bit -

Take another HST with the FLAT TOP on the TOP RIGHT -

And position it in the bottom corner with the flat end at the bottom -
And the pointy end on the side -

When you fold it up - right sides together -
The flat end fits nice and neat in the corner -
And it looks just like the other one only it's WRONG SIDE UP -

Take it to the sewing machine and sew from the flat edge to the pointy end -
Standard 1/4" seam allowance -
And you will come out at the end where the point overlaps the rectangle -
Perfect 1/4" - just like the other one -

Press it back to the corner to make sure it fits before you trim the excess rectangle bit -

Trim the dog ears - and that's it -

The Chevron is the same size as the original rectangle - ;))

Hope this helps -

All you have to do is cut a HST for the corner from the same width strip -

And I think it beats having to draw lines -

On a whole bunch of squares - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

A little mindless sewing -

Some neutral string blocks -

With more strings over here -

And more bits and pieces over here -

I have a plan of sorts -

But that's the fun of mindless sewing -

I can keep on sewing -

And worry about the rest later - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Testing -

A new Free-Motion Quilting foot - a Janome Convertible FMQ foot -

It has a closed toe - and an adjustable height screw on the top - which is why I bought it. I thought that it would be easier to adjust than the elastic hair band that I have been using - so I set myself up to play with it - ;))

My White (brand name) sewing machine has three needle positions -
Left - center - and right -

But I couldn't get the needle centered in the hole -

If I use the "center" needle position - it's too far to the left -

And if I use the "right" needle position - it's too far to the right -

So I went back to my open-toe generic foot - with its elastic hair band -

And tried the new foot on my Husqvarna Lily 555 -

Which has numerous needle positions -

Found the one that would center the needle in the hole -

And tried it out -

So-so stitching on the front -

But definite tension issues on the back - LOL -

After futzing with various tension settings for a while -

I finally gave up -

And re-installed the walking foot -

Re-set all of the settings back to where they were originally -

And played with the blocks on the wall - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Saturday update - 12/8/18 -

While I took a little break from blogging this past week -

I played with my Free-motion Quilting -

Trying to find my groove - ;))

First up -

I finished my Autumn Squirrel with the Ugly Christmas Sweater back -

It was small, reversible and didn't need binding -

So it was the perfect choice to start my practice session - ;))

I sewed a wide zig-zag over the opening (that I used to turn it all inside out) in white thread so that I would know where it was when I quilted it from the front - you can't see it very well in this shot -

But it's visible in this one -

And I got pretty dang close to the diagonal line on the other side.  When I realized just how close it was - I marked the ends with pins - removed the white zig-zag stitching and quilted in my name/year using the programmed stitches on my sewing machine and a dark brown thread on top. It's virtually invisible - and it sewed/closed that "opening" perfectly - ;))

Because of the bulk in the corners where the seams come together -

I decided to use my walking foot to quilt straight down the center of each square in each direction - which is my "go-to" on my Upstairs/Downstairs quilts -

I used a brown thread on top and a gold thread in the bobbin -

I like how the thread blends in on the browns -

And the oranges -

And the texture on the back -

Bypassing most of the places where all of those points come together -

Bonus!! - ;))

Then I played with my FMQ on this old practice piece until I ran out of room -

Then switched to another practice piece -

Some loops from the front -

And the back -

A couple of spirals -

And then some more spirals until I finally found my groove - ;))

So then I decided to FMQ my Five Stars Plus 5 using white thread -

"Orange peels" in the checkerboard squares -

Loops in the QST - Hourglass Blocks -

Wavy lines in the HST and corner squares -

More wavy lines in the Flying geese - center squares - and corner HST -

"Orange peels" in the yellow star points -

Little loops in the green -

Let's just say that "matching/blending thread color" is my new BEST friend - LOL -

It hides a LOT of wonky stitching - ;))

My FMQ is not that great yet -

But it IS getting better -

And that's all I really care about - ;))

I still need to bind the last two -

But I have a couple more quilt tops that I want to play with first -

Before I go on a binding spree - LOL - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -