Following the Rules

My precious gift stash of Katie Jumprope from the darling Robyn at  Coffee and Cotton has been transformed into this darling runner for my kitchen Island.  I used quilting it as a time to learn more about Ruler work on my Handi Quilter. 

At first I was frustrated beyond belief.. how did anyone ever do this???  But them I remembered the hint from one of the Internet longarm shows.. it talked about making the back of the ruler sticky.. so I used some 505 embroidery adhesive and a whole new world was opened  up to me!  While by no means am I great at ruler work given that I have only done it one time so far ( example above).. but i can see how as a long arm skill it will be one that I will want to develop for certain situations! 

Cut ups

Lots of blocks, lots of color.  This piece is actually already together and ready to go on the frame..I am still unsure how to quilt it but I am thinking pebblework since that stone color of the gray fabric really makes me think of rocks!

I am thinking of using something  bit heavy on it for the pebble work.. maybe a KingTut ???  Hmm but what color?...decisions decisions!

Fitting it all in. Finding room for your Studio cutter.

Anyone with a sewing obsession knows that  finding room for all stuff that goes with it can be a real challenge. I am blessed to have  very large room all to myself.. in fact my studio takes up 1/4 of the ground floor of our house, and yet I still am searching for more space with the addition of Sir Lancelot which takes up a BUNCH of room!

So when thinking about getting a fabric cutter I dithered back and forth if I should get the portable cutter which is the GO! or the Studio.  While the cost difference in the two units is substantial it was not the cost that kept me dithering it was the size.  Like a lot of people I worried that I did not have the space for the bigger  machine and maybe it was " too-much" machine for what I wanted to do.

I can say now that I do not regret getting the larger Studio version. It fits in a 2x4 foot area and  this gives plenty of room underneath for storing my dies.  To show how I have done this I made a small video

Another week draws to a close...

When  a new quilting idea grips me it's like an all-out assault on my brain that I need to get down on paper.. this one is inspired by a slide  of an exploding ball of  heavenly gas that was part of a talk a I went to this week.  I am adding more to it as I am going along and of course I HAD to check out what sorts of fabric might be available to work with!

Well 22 fat-quarters and a  couple yard later I made it home with some of the MOST delicious fabrics! Most of them are batiks and hand-dyes so they are just right for the feeling I am going for.

But in a promise to myself I needed to get the  Blackbird finished up and  and I did {happy dance}.. so all it needs is it's binding!   With a little luck I will have photos of it very soon!

So with a quick cleaning of my studio I will be ready to start on the

Mother Star

In the mean time I am looking at threads for this project... I suspect it's going to be really thread intensive so I want wonderful threads that just about glow.. to my first stop is going to be checking out the new line of silk threads from Superior. I have not gotten to try them yet.. but I have high hopes they are going to be just right!

Having fun...

It can't all be about quilting, sometimes it needs to be all about the party!

These pennants were cut on my Accuquilt Studio with the Pennant Die, the dots are from the Penny Rug die. It could have not been more fun or quick!

A little something extra!

 I love it when I can do something one time and it serves me for two of more times.  Like chopping up stuff for lunch and getting to use part of it for dinner?.. love that!  Saves me time and makes life so much easier.  The same goes for sewing and quilting. When I can do something that yields the preparation for two projects.. well that is just wonderful. In my case it helps to have two projects that are complimentary, in this case making wrapped baskets/hot pads and quilting.  These two projects dovetail into one action when using my Accuquilt Studio cutter.

Wrapped baskets and trivets use lots of fabric strips  and cutting them can be a pain.  That pain can be made much easier with the Accuquilt Studio 1.5 inch strip die. But with a bit of  planning you can have strips from all of your fabrics that you cut with your machine ( Studio or Go!)

By just buffering a bit of fabric past the edge of any strip die you are using you can end up with loads of strips that are perfectly acceptable for using with the wrapped basket technique!

To make it a little more clear I have made a small video !  Enjoy!

Birds on a line

Ever had a project that your liked so much that you are scared to see it done?.. Scared that the next step will mess everything up?

This is that one for me.  I am so happy with how the quilt is coming out that each step seems to be way too close to the end of the process and yet also churns up all sorts of fear that I  will mess it up and not like it after that!  Yes, ~quilter's angst!~

The photo is not the best but my design wall is over a large glass door that was getting lots of light at the time.

Birds on a Wire is a totally original piece directly from the depths of my mind. It's been so much fun to do and now its time for the quilting!

For the back I have chosen to step out of the norm and go with some black ultra suede for it's yummy soft brushed hand and deep color play. To quilt it I am going with some variegated Rainbow Thread from Superior.  The color play in the thread is delicious transition of oranges and blacks that I think is going to look wonderful on the quilt  ( cross your fingers for me ok??)

So Handi I could just faint!

They called, I squeeled, they talked, I just about fainted!

I am one of the winners of the Handi Quilter story contest!

On October 10-11-12  you will find me is beautiful Boutiful UT at the HQ, hq!  ( hahahahha) doing an inense 2 day workshop and other such business having to do with being a story contest winner.

I am still in shock!!!