A bag for Letita

I had originally bought this fabric to make pillow shams, but I haven't explored that area and it was a shame having it sit there for months. So, I put to good use once I bought the book "Big City Bags".

 This was made pre-blog. I am thankful I thought about at least taking these pictures. It now lives with it's new owner, which I just went on a weekend trip with and she brought it with her. I saw it in use! but I forgot to take pictures. This I made for one of my mom's good friend, and why not? my friend too. Do to health issues she has to travel every month and I thought it would be a nicer trip if she flew in style.

New Tool Tuesday

I just bought this amazing ruler a few weeks ago, It is used to make hexagons in a very easy way! I found a tutorial by Jenny, of course, from the Missouri Star Quilt Co.  As you might imagine I have been playing with it a lot, so follow future posts on my finished projects using this neat tool.

Ruler and sneak peak into a project.

Please! ALWAYS lock the blade away Kristal!

Vania's quilt

Vania is the daughter of a  friend from my teen years. Look at that smile and those curls, how can I not be inspired to create something amazing for this little angel.

I made Vania's quilt last fall, using a free pattern given to me at my local quilt shop's monthly meeting.

The pattern is called mirror mirror designed by Georgette Dell'Orco. The pattern can be purchased at Cozy Quilt Shop. 

I used a fat quarter bundle of spring floral print and 1.5 yards of a white kona cotton solids for the backing.

The quilt top turned out beautiful! but there is much to be said about my attempts of free motion quilting.

Front

Back

FMQ

At the time I was experimenting not only with free motion quilting, but also learning about appliqué. I learned about Pellon Wonder-Under, a fusible interfacing that makes fabric fusible. Note to self, letters must be cut out in a mirror image, so when they are transferred they are correct. I did not notice this until my mother, the teacher at heart, called me out on my dyslexic mistake. oops!

How to appliqué letters

I first printed out the letters I needed in a 100 size font straight from word. Then, I traced them on the fusible interfacing sheet and cut them out. Once the letters where cut out I fused them to pieces of fabric on the wrong side using an iron. Finally I cut out the fabric to the shape of the fused letter and then fused it to the backing of my quilt. Once all letters where attached I gave it a finished look using the zig-zag stitch.

Courthouse steps quilt

as a throw

Using all the layer cake fabrics I gathered on the quilt shop hop I decided to make a quilt. I had seen a tutorial on blue is bleu's blog that I really wanted to try. It seemed very neat and blew my mind trying to figure it out. Her tutorial is to make the hourglass steps pillow,  a two tone square and only the fabric in that square matches, but another great quilter I follow, Rachel Wooden Spoon,  made some adjustments and made it so it wasn't an hour glass block, but a courthouse step quilt. I just couldn't wrap my head around it, it took me several days to finally be brave enough to cut the fabric. I decided to make a paper version to guide me on sizes and quantity while cutting.

measurements and paper sample

Once it was all cut up and organized, the fun part began sewing it all on my new machine! my precious! Cutting took about 4 hours, and sewing up each block took about 20 - 25 mins per block depending on how tired I was and what distractions were around. Basting usually is quicker it may have taken a bit less than an hour, quilting took three hours and hand binding another three. For a grand fun total of approximately  20 hrs. It turned out beautiful! I love it!

Here it is with some ideas on uses.

as a couch decoration

as a picnic quilt

Baby quilt
A swaddled Kiko (this is my baby)

foot of the bed
as a foot warmer and decoration accent

wall decoration

It is up on my etsy shop if anyone is interested on purchasing it.

My Precious

Yet another fun and busy weekend!

Seth and I woke up really excited and really early Saturday morning. We were online in line to buy Comic-con tickets. We ended up sitting in front of the computer for over two hours staring at the screen waiting for our turns. Too many Comic-con enthusiasts out there! We never got a chance to purchase tickets, my turn never came and all tickets were sold out. I was really bummed. I had finally decided to be a supportive wife this year and join the husband on his adventures. No luck.

As a consolation price he agreed to go take a look at the sewing machines. Happiest moment of my weekend. Of course he just sat there in a very comfy chair he found and waited patiently while all my questions were answered by the shop owner. If you know me you know we were there for a while. We ended up leaving because they didn't have the one I had researched and wanted.  The lady offered a great deal on another similar model, but it didn't feel right to make such a purchase without researching. 

In my research and wanders around the internet, I was tempted to buy my machine, my precious, online. Amazon had what seemed better prices and free delivery, but I am set on supporting local businesses. Especially in the case of maintaining old trades such as sewing and other things hand made. I had visited the Sew and Vac store three times and I tested and played around with the machines. I had many, many questions answered multiple times. I loved the face-to-face interaction and all the knowledge the owner had to share. I am always hesitant of sales people and do not believe anything they say, but here they were not sales people, they were shop owners and a machine repair shop. Amazon cannot offer this customer service. Also, buying from a local dealer includes services for my machine for two years, three classes to learn everything from my machine, and I build a relationship and trust with them. I know if I have a question or if something simple seems to malfunction I have a go-to person.

When I got home later that evening and after reading reviews, watching videos, and comparing specifications side by side, I was happy to find out the lady was honest and gave me real information. She wasn't just trying to make a sale. So I finally made my decision and planned to go in Sunday morning to purchase my new machine. Sadly they were closed. Noooo! I can't wait any longer. The price of supporting local businesses I guess.

I had to wait an extra day, so I decided to make the most of it and prepare my projects cut, and ironed, and ready in line to be sewn. This way when my precious arrives you wont be able to tell where my machine ends and where I begin.

So, finally I went to in to get it Today! Iwas there for an hour because the owner wouldn't let me leave until she had explained all the basics. She wanted me to be able to get home and play right away! So sweet!

 Here she is! My Precious!

We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious.
:)

Pillow Cover

Last night's project was finishing up this pillow cover I started a few months ago.

Front

Back

Side

Zipper

So rare to have them actually meet!

Mini Quilt Wall

Last weekend we rearranged our apartment to accommodate a sewing space for myself. I love it!
I now have a small cutting table/storage with shelves and a sewing table with drawers. Unfortunately the walls now look empty and too white. I began the ongoing project of decorating my wall and am now set on sewing mini quilts to embellish my sewing space while I practice new techniques.

For my first mini quilt I decided to explore paper piecing, which I found to be very hard, it got easier towards the end and I was pleased with the outcome.

I had the idea of creating mini quilts with different types of stars. I found a great tutorial for The Lone Starburst on six white horses blog.

Paper piecing

Sewing space

The Lone Star
Paper pieced and quilted
Mini Quilt

Why I blog

I follow the amazing blog of Zack Reyes, More From Your Blog. I subscribe to his newsletter and get little neat emails with tips for my blog. I am so happy to have stumbled upon his work; it has been very useful as I have been shaping my blog.

Last week's newsletter included a question which got me thinking all week on how to answer it. WHY DO YOU BLOG? When I first read it, I immediately thought I have no idea how to answer this. As the week went by I kept thinking about it and planning for a good answer. I loved the email. I loved the question in my head. I really had not given it a conscious thought.

I came up with not one but several reasons.

1. BECAUSE I LOVE TO SEW

 Well if I like to sew, why spend time writing instead of sewing you may ask. Well, I am hooked on sewing and learning. I find myself sometimes amazed, overly excited and super happy to find a new technique. You should have seen me when I learned to bind a round quilt. When the lady at the quilt shop said all you have to do is cut the fabric on a 45 degree angle to give it room to move, I was lost in awe. I thought it would be neat to share what I have learned with someone out there who might enjoy the feeling of discovering how to make something.

2. TO ANSWER PEOPLE'S QUESTIONS

I usually sew for other people. I keep the learning and the experience and give away the materialized project. I love it! It is so rewarding and so motivating to sew for someone else. One of the responses everyone gives me when they receive their gift is the question, "how did you do it?" or "why can't we see the seams on the inside?" I try to explain, but to someone who doesn't sew it probably is gibberish. I figure I could more easily explain it to them here on a blog.

3. IT IS THERAPEUTICAL

As I mentioned, 99% of my projects have an owner in mind already. I live far away from where I grew up, from where my roots are. I am happy where I am now, but do miss people at times. This is a way I found to calm and warm my soul and love all those people I can't see as often. Any given project takes me at least 10 hours. A quilt takes me anywhere from 20 to 40 hours to make. Imagine that! All the hours I have to dream of all the possibilities this gift can bring to a loved one. While I sew, I'm also thinking, day dreaming and remembering old times. Sewing keeps the monsters in my head away. I thought it would be neat to write about the positive thoughts I have while sewing a new project.

4. TO IMPROVE MY WRITING

If you are bilingual like me, you know the challenges I face. There are gaps in my education from all the bouncing around from school to school I did as a child. The price to achieve fluency in two languages is high, achievable, but high. I call myself "half bilingual"; husband laughs at me every time. I have acquired half the information in each language. I struggle with reading and writing at an academic level in both languages. This blog will help me develop these much needed skills, along with enlarging my vocabulary. As my mother, a retired grade school teacher, would say, "how do you learn to read?... by reading, and how do you learn to write?...by writing".  

In addition to these reasons I want to find out where this blog takes me. Who knows, maybe I'll sell my projects, make new friends, or inform old friends on how I am doing. Maybe this blog dies in a few months when I go back to school and am trapped in a routine of classes, homework and internships. However it turns out, I am enjoying my time off by expressing myself through sewing and this blog. I hope you are too!

Picture from my lovely rainy weekend for your entertainment 

sewing supplies

Now I'll share with you my list of basic sewing and quilting supplies I own.

• Olfa self healing cutting mat

• Rulers

I have different sizes and shapes, but you can survive with just the long rectangular one.

• Scissors 

I have paper scissors, fabric scissors, fabric pinking scissors, and a pair of tiny ones. They are all Fiskars.

• Rotary cutter 

It also is Fiskars brand along with the replacement blades.

• Pins

Buy flat pins, I do not recommend these ones with the round end.

• Iron

My iron is Black and Decker, but any iron will work. I iron my pieces on a wool setting or for some irons #5. It is very important to know you DO NOT ADD WATER! Water will stretch your fabric and make it uneven and hard to match the pieces together. You can either prewash the fabric or wash your finished product.

• Ironing board

• Sewing machine

• Thread

I use all kinds of thread from cheap to expensive only because I do not care much about this sewing machine and I sew on a budget. Cheap thread frays and leave a lot of lint residue everywhere which can break your machine. I recommend Coats & Clark, or Gutterman.

• Needles #14 for sewing and #11 for quilting

• Fabric
• 1/4 inch presser foot

• Seam ripper 

• Safety pins

• Quilt basting spray

This is a good place to stop or this list will never end. Ready to sew along?

Happy sewing

sewing machine needles

A few days ago, on my drive back home; I was thinking of my latest project and how to quilt it. I am in the process of sewing a table runner, but have set the project aside until I make a decision. I anxiously want to practice free motion quilting, but my sewing machine is not suited for it. I kept tossing the idea back and forth, a simple stitch in the ditch quilting pattern or should I just go for it and try the free motion quilting and risk having a badly quilted table runner? I did end up deciding on a simple straight line stitch in the ditch pattern (which is sewing in the gap between fabrics).

My version of free motion quilting
See! Not good.

What came to mind while reviewing all these thoughts in that long drive was that I may be using the wrong needle. Maybe that's why I am not able to explore free motion quilting as much as I would like to. It was an aha! moment. When researching it I found out I was right; it is most likely my sewing machine, but also I could use a more appropriate needle. This gave me the idea to post what I have learned about needles on the length of this sewing journey. Which is not a lot, but is plenty of knowledge I wish I had a few months ago.

• You must change the needle around every 8 hours of sewing. Even if you think it's still good, and it hasn't broken or bent.
• Needles sizes vary. The larger the size the stronger the needle, but the thicker the holes will be if used on the wrong kind of fabric.
• Universal (to sew everything) needles are 90/14 (European #  / American #). The order in which the numbers are presented is not important
• Quilting needles are 75/11 (round point and thinner needle).
• The universal needle 90/14 could be used for quilting, it will just leave a bit of a bigger hole than the quilting needle. It is not wrong to use either.
• I use 110 /18 for top stitching or when sewing through way beyond too many layers of fabric.

**There is  a lot more to needles, but this is all I ever use. I am sharing what I know and what I use for my projects.

How to thread a sewing machine

In order to be able to sew using your sewing machine you must run the thread through the machine. We learned on my previous post that the bobbin provides the thread for the bottom stitch. The spool of thread provides the thread needed for the top stitch.

These are the steps I personally follow when setting my machine ready to sew.

Once we have wound our bobbin, place it into the bobbin case. If you do not know how to wind the bobbin go to my tutorial  here.

bobbin inside the bobbin case and ready 
to be inserted into the shuttle assembly
This is where we left off on my previous tutorial.

Let's begin by setting the bobbin into place, just to get it out of your way.

Insert the bobbin case with the bobbin inside it 

into the shuttle assembly.

Make sure the hole in the bobbin and bobbin case 

go rightinto the shaft on the shuttle assembly.

Also, make sure the handle aligns with the groove.

Press until you hear it click.

You are done with this part!

Once you have completed the bobbin part, let's move on to threading the top thread.

Place the spool of thread on the spool holder and secure it with the attachment.

1. First, run the thread through the top thread guide.

2. Then run the thread through the tension disc.

Pull the thread through the thinner groove to the right in 

the direction indicated by the arrows.

Pull the thread around the round thing at the bottom.

Pull the thread up through the larger groove on the left,

 again following the arrows.

Loop the thread up and around the metal bar 

at the top of the larger groove.

Pull the thread down and feed it through the bottom thread guide, as shown above.

Thread the needle from the front.

Pass the thread below the presser foot, 

pulling about 4 inches of thread through. 

You are all done with the top thread!

Now pull the bottom thread from the bobbin to the needle plate.

While pulling on the top thread with your left hand, with your right hand turn the wheel clockwise to move the needle all the way down. Keep turning the wheel and bring the needle back up. When the needle moves up again, it brings the bottom 

thread with it.

See how the two threads are intertwined

Pull the threads so they are both on the needle plate. Leave at least 4 inches of thread free.

DONE! You are ready to sew!