Snapshots Quilt-Along: January

When I heard that the Fat Quarter Shop was partnering with Bonnie and Camille to do a monthly Quilt-Along to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, I thought it sounded pretty intriguing. Then I saw the quilt, and I knew I had to participate, because it's completely adorable.

The block patterns get released on the 15th of each month. January was called "Let them Eat Cake", and I could just make these cakes all day long. I'm using a bundle of Cotton + Steel called "Mustang". Something about the colors just seemed right for this quilt. I have to say, after working with Cotton + Steel fabric for the first time, I now see what all the fuss was about. I'm totally in love. I also threw in some Amy Butler in there, because...well, you know. I love her too. My background fabric is a white on white swirl from Connecting Threads.

My Corner of Shame

I don't know how my sewing space can erode into chaos so quickly, but it's gotten pretty bad again. And I clearly need to quit buying fabric.

My Sewing Space

Mini Spiderweb String Quilt

Quilters call long strips of scrap fabric Strings. I don't really know why - personally I think strings sound kind of gross - like dirty bits of yarn or something. But whatever. The bottom line is, I have a lot of strings. A popular way to use them up is to make a spiderweb quilt:

Bonnie Hunter String Spiderweb Quilt

Antique Spiderweb Quilt

But you know me...I save every little bit of fabric, so lots of my strings are tiny - too small for this type of spiderweb. The answer? A MINI spiderweb quilt! 

I got this idea from Amanda over at Crazy Mom Quilts. She gives measurements for her blocks here: http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2015/01/mini-spiderweb-measurements.html. I love scrappy projects like this, and the nice thing is that I can pull out my scrap basket and do a few of these spur of the moment without much prep or planning. Like Amanda, I don't know how big I'll make this. I'm just going to see where it takes me or until I run out of scraps (not likely!)

Get a Clue with Nancy Drew: They Mystery of the Swastika Quilting Fabric

I adore Nancy Drew. I wasn't allowed to read the books until I was in 3rd grade, but my older sister would read them out-loud to me occasionally, and after those tantalizing snippets I just decided to bypass the 3rd grade rule and started reading them myself on the sly. I also read the Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, and a whole host of other things I wasn't allowed to. Sorry Mom.

But something about Nancy Drew...she had a father who gave her cars and was totally fine with her going off and solving mysteries. She had a housekeeper to cook and clean for her, she had friends ready and willing to be her sidekicks. Even her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson was always available, but never in the way. On top of that, she was kind, she helped people, she had great clothes and hair, she always saved the day.

When Moda released their fabric line called "Get a Clue with Nancy Drew", of course all us fangirls went bonkers, and I grabbed 4 charm packs, which I've been hanging onto, waiting for the right project.

I finally busted into them a couple weeks ago to make my little sister Anna a quilt. Anna moved to Hawaii this winter, and I thought I'd try and finish this quilt in time to send with her birthday package in March. Anna picked out a pattern from the Moda Bakeshop, and I thought instead of a white background like the pattern called for, I'd use a different neutral. I grabbed this number from my stash. I thought it looked kind of like a maze - perfect for a Nancy Drew quilt! I somehow completely missed the fact that this fabric is actually covered in swastikas. So, I blindly cut it apart and sewed it into all the little four-patch units. Suddenly, the swastikas stuck out like sore thumbs. How did this happen? How did my lovely Nancy Drew fabric get mixed up into this whole Nazi mess?

So. Now I'm in a big pickle. All the blocks are complete...the idea of taking them

apart and starting over is not very appealing (to say the least). So what do I do? What would Nancy do? I'll get back to you after I consult with my wise father Carson, my best chums Bess and George, and go for a refreshing drive in my sporty roadster.

Neck Issues

My neck hurts. Anything that involves looking down for prolonged periods of time makes it worse. Hmm...what involves looking down for hours on end do I engage in on a regular basis? Why yes, that would be quilting.

Last week was a busy week for me, and I wasn't able to sew much. My neck felt great. Friday night I worked on the Cathedral Windows quilt for four hours, and my neck was terrible the rest of the weekend. So yes, I've finally connected the dots.

I generally need to be whacked over the head repeatedly with a concept before I finally get it. When it comes to my body I don't respond well to subtle symptoms, so my neck decided to be sudden and severe in order to get my attention. I need to make some changes. It's not healthy to do anything for hours at a time without taking a break, and that includes my hobbies.

For now, I'm sewing in 1/2 hour increments, no longer then 1 1/2 hours a day. It doesn't seem like very much to me, especially on the weekends, but I'm working on ways to increase my efficiency. I do need to take a closer look at my sewing space to make things more ergonomic - like putting my cutting table on risers, getting a better chair, things like that. I know there's more I can do to help my set-up be easier on me physically.

And yes, I'm also doing stuff like chiropractic care, physical therapy, lots of stretching, even some acupuncture. And I have a massage scheduled for this weekend. I hate needing to forced into taking care of myself, but at least I got the message...loud and clear.

Why I don't Sell my Quilts

I don't generally sell my quilts. Because of the time they take to make, quilts are worth far more than people can usually afford or want to pay. When people see the quilts I make, one of the first things they say is "You should sell these!". I know that is meant as a compliment, but it's one made out of irritating ignorance - they just don't have any clue as to the amount of time it takes, the cost of materials, etc.  I've done the math, and most of my quilts are worth $500-700. So yeah...not selling a lot of those.

Here'a another quibble I have: What is this idea that hobbies or something we do for enjoyment should be looked at as an income stream or a way to make money? As if the only way we can legitimize or justify what we do in our spare time is to monetize it? I have a real-world job that I find enjoying and fulfilling (usually). I have very good reasons for spending the amount of time and money I do on a hobby I enjoy, and most of them are selfish. I'm completely and totally fine with never making a dime with my quilting, because I don't do this for other people. I do it for me. And trust me, I'm getting exactly what I want out of it.

On the other hand, I believe that what I make does have value, and so I don't believe in selling low just to support my craft. It hurts other quilters who are trying to make a living in the quilting industry, and it perpetuates the myth that quilting is just "women's work", which has historically been grossly undervalued.

I do believe in gifting, and so my friends and family have been the recipients of my creations. I recently gave two of my quilts as auction items for fundraisers, and I'd like to do more of that sort of thing. When I've been approached by people who want to commission a quilt, my response has been to draw up an estimate and say "Let me know if you're still interested". So far, they haven't decided to pursue my services any further, probably because I'm very expensive.

Here is an estimate I made for my latest quilt finish, "Glow Happy". This is the value of the quilt, and what I would price this at if I were to sell it.

Sam Hunter writes about this very eloquently in her blog http://huntersdesignstudio.com/ew-worth-it-2/, if you want to read more.

Friday Finish: Glow Happy

Well, I think this quilt turned out completely adorable, if I do say so myself. I didn't put a whole lot of thought or planning into this - I started it late on a Saturday night when I was bored with my other projects, and used fabric from my stash. Most of it is Amy Butler, but there's other stuff in there too of unknown origin.

The binding and backing is some wild crazy floral print that I got off the sale table at SR Harris - in case you haven't noticed, I liked to do unexpected backing fabric. And I never pay more than $3 a yard for it. That's the rule!

I quilted this in a free-wheeling spiral, which I'm pretty good at.

This little number was snatched up by one of my housemates, after I threatened to fold it and put it in the closet. It's adorning her office chair for now, and she's planning on hanging it in her new house. After she finds and buys her new house, that is.

Recipe Time: Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

I love my crock-pot. There's nothing better than coming home at the end of a long day at work to have the house smelling delicious and dinner all ready. When I spotted this recipe: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/slow-cooker-butternut-squash-soup-recipe/ I decided to give it a try earlier this week, and I'm happy to report it was a huge hit.

I'm normally not a fan of cooking vegetables in a crock-pot, because they just turn to mush. For this soup though, that's perfect, because you want everything to be good and mushy. Also, since everything gets blended up in the end, you don't need to be too finicky about chopping things just so. I had this prepped and ready to go in under 10 minutes.

Recipe Tips & Tricks:

• I used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock, just because I had some already opened in the fridge that needed to be used up
• I used cream instead of coconut milk. I think the coconut milk was to keep this recipe vegan, and we're definitely not vegans around our house. Plus, as above...I had cream in the fridge.
• I don't have an immersion blender, so I used our normal blender and blended it in two batches. Worked just fine!
• I served this with a flat-bread that I brushed with butter and various seasonings before I baked. Yum. 

Weekend Review

Well, as we know, my weekend to-do list was overly ambitious, but I still managed to get a few things done ! Here's how it panned out:

1. Quilt my Glow Happy quilt - DONE!
2. Make one more Miss Kate's Turnover block (if I have four extra hours!) - DONE...and not just one, but two blocks were made!
3. Finish the four-patch squares for the Cathedral Windows quilt - DONE!
4. Catch up on the January and February Craftsy BOM blocks - Didn't even look at this
5. Organize my sewing space...'cause it's getting bad again...not so much
6. Consider a different plan for sorting my scrap fabrics...tossing them all in a bin isn't working so well anymore. - purchased bins to organize by color, but didn't get started on sorting yet.
7. Baste the Hopscotch quilt...Nope
8. Baste the Trifle Dish quilt...Nope
9. Fondle the new Cotton + Steel fabric bundles I bought (whoopsies!) - DONE!

So all in all, not too bad. I think I'd have gotten it ALL complete if I hadn't gotten side-tracked helping a friend house-hunt all day on Sunday. I think I like the list-making though. I need to start doing more to help me stay on track. 

Weekend Plans

I have another pretty much commitment-free weekend to spend on sewing, and I'm very excited for that. Here is my to-do list:

1. Quilt my Glow Happy quilt
2. Make one more Miss Kate's Turnover block (if I have four extra hours!)
3. Finish the four-patch squares for the Cathedral Windows quilt
4. Catch up on the January and February Craftsy BOM blocks
5. Organize my sewing space...'cause it's getting bad again 
6. Consider a different plan for sorting my scrap fabrics...tossing them all in a bin isn't working so well anymore.
7. Baste the Hopscotch quilt
8. Baste the Trifle Dish quilt
9. Fondle the new Cotton + Steel fabric bundles I bought (whoopsies!)

Yes, I'm aware that's quite an ambitious list. I'll report back later on what I actually accomplish.

Friday Finish: Hapi Scraps

You might recall that the Amy Butler Hapi quilt was constructed in such a way that required cutting off half the blocks. Of course I save all of those, and the other night I decided to pair them with a floral print from my stash and make enormous hourglass units.

The goal for me was to have a quilt to practice free motion quilting on, so I didn't put a whole lot of time or effort into the design or colors. It was more about using some scraps, and putting something to practice on together quickly.

I tried a new free motion design that I sort of made up based on something I saw sometime somewhere. I'm calling it Spiky Scallops, and I like it. It was fast and easy, and I got pretty decent at it after a little bit of practice.

This quilt isn't earmarked for anyone in particular - I think it'll go in the "Quilts to snuggle with on the sofa" pile.

Craftsy Block of the Month

I need a new quilt project like a hole in the head, but when I heard the Jinny Beyer was doing the Craftsy 2015 Block of the Month class, I knew I had to sign up.

Then I saw the design and knew I wanted the exact same fabric as what Jinny used, because it's gorgeous. So look what came in the mail for me yesterday?

NO MORE NEW PROJECTS! NO MORE SHOPPING!

WIP Wednesday: Miss Kate's Turnover

Cutting has quickly moved to piecing for the Miss Kate's Turnover quilt, which has quickly led to lots of frustration with the pattern, which has quickly led to wishing I was eating a nice big turnover.

I don't know why I didn't realize it after looking through the pattern, but these quilt blocks have over 70 pieces in them! Which is nuts. And it's not just easy rows, oh no. It's lots of sub-units which have to be sewn together, and THEN you sew rows. It took me four hours to sew my first block.

Thank goodness there are only 9 of these. Although four hours times 9 is a lot of hours. Of course, I turned to the interwebs for support and discovered there are lots of quilters in the same boat as me to commiserate with. Lots of people have just decided to turn this turnover into a simple patchwork quilt, but I'm determined to finish. I actually like how this looks, I just think it could have been designed in a much simpler way for the same result.

I've moved unto Block 2 now, and it's going a little faster. Maybe this one will only take me three hours!

Progress so far on block two

Homemade Starch

I haven't used starch before with quilting, but lots of people swear by it. I took a class with Anita Solomon-Grossman, and she actually soaks her fabric completely in starch and then stores them all in a fridge in order to keep them damp until she needs them. That seems a bit overkill to me. Plus, I just can't see a bunch of fabric in the fridge going over very well in my household. We have more important things to store in there. Like beer, and brie cheese, and muffin batter.

Anyhoo...There's also some stuff called "Best Press" that fashionable quilters seem to spray liberally over everything and they all rant and rave about how great it smells and how awesome it is...but it's also $6 a bottle, and I'd rather buy fabric with that money. Plus, there's the issue I have with spraying chemicals all over my fabric and not feeling great about that. So I dunno, I've just never used starch, even though I know it's supposed to make piecing easier.

But THEN I read online about people making their own spray starch with either cornstarch or vodka, and I thought I'd give it a try and see if this starching stuff was all it was cracked up to be.

I tried the cornstarch recipe first, because I was fresh out of vodka.

Two cups of water, two tablespoons cornstarch. That's it. Shook it all up in my spray bottle, and I was good to go.

I used it on some Half Square Triangle units, and yessss....I think I like starching.

The upsides:

• It's cheap
• It's completely natural
• It's fast to make, like literally 30 seconds
• It definitely works - my fabric was nice and crisp. 

The downsides:

• The cornstarch left some streaky white marks on my darker material. I'm not too concerned about this, because I know it's just cornstarch and will wash right out. 
• You have to shake the bottle each time before you spray, because the cornstarch settles to the bottom
• My iron got a little gunky, but a quick scrub with some vinegar took care of that.

I think I'll make some using the vodka recipe and see how that goes. I'll report back later.