Goodbye 2010

It's the last day of the year.  A last chance to get the things I wanted to get done this year done.  Fortunately, I can't think of anything that simply must get done this year, so I am going to rest and take it easy.  Always end the year the way you want the new year to be!

My plans for next year are to keep doing what I did this year - working on progressing on my unfinished quilts as much as I can, and only start projects that I can take to completion.

It sounds like the economy is picking up, and I hope to find full time permanent employment.

More immediately though, I am going to take advantage of my time at home by getting as much of the quilting and genealogy accomplished while I can.

Also, I am hoping to get a dog.  This is the first time we will have had a pet in a long time.  We previously had goldfish, so this will be quite a change! I've never had a dog, even as a child.  I will try not to overwhelm the blog with pictures of a new pet, but I am sure I will be needing lots of advice from time to time.

I wanted to share a bit of what I recently learned. I had been buying needle threaders that look like the ones above - only they came in packs of three. I don't know what the brand name is. I hated them, because they kept breaking - the wire wasn't securely attached to the base, so it kept coming off, even when I held the wire to the base to avoid that.

I decided that I wasn't going to buy any needle threader that had more than one in a package.  I only need one at a time, although I will probably be buying more, so one is always available.  I heard good things about a Clover needle threader, but the site didn't have any, even though the website now has it.  I bought the DMC needle threader one shown at the top of the post. Mine is blue so it is a little less easy to lose.  Cue music. It is awesome.  I haven't tried the ones on the sides.   It works really well, and even though I still hold the wire to the base, it is securely attached and doesn't feel like it will come off at any minute. I've been using it for three strands of embroidery floss, and it is almost magical how it goes through the needle. 

It also works well as a good luck charm, because there were several occasions that I was able to thread a needle myself without even needing to try the needle threader.

I hope that 2011 goes well for you - may you be healthy, happy, productive, and surrounded by love.

2010 Recap

Even though I wasn't working two jobs, like I did last year, the first half of the year kept me very busy at work, to a point where my mother was helping me with lunches and cleaning.  In the summer, we hosted a Japanese student. Then things slowed down and I was able to finish some quilts. I also reviewed several books for some companies who were willing to send me complimentary copies of their books in exchange for the review. I also did a great deal of genealogy research.

This year I decided to show not just the finishes, but quilty things I have worked on. It makes the recap look better because there is more stuff on it, and it also gives you a better idea of what I have been doing in 2010. Here they are, in no particular order.

The snowflake coasters were my latest little project. I am keeping these for myself. I also turned a couple into ornaments for the tree.

I made these tissue holders as holiday gifts.

This vase was a project that was abandoned before this year, but finished in October 2010.

Four of five quilts I made for the Quilts for Kids charity. The fifth one looked like the red black and white one, with panda bears on it, and was done in 2009. This charity took a great deal of my time in 2010, but apparently I did have enough time to have other finishes as well.

This is the very first oil painting I made. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to paint with my family. I have it sitting on the book, so you can see the inspiration on the right. The color of the water was actually mostly from the turpentine that we were using to clean our brushes.

The pirate map is an unfinished project for 2010. Our Japanese guest helped with some of the motifs.


The little flag wall hanging was started and finished in 2010. It was simple to make, but I am particularly proud of it because of the quote quilted on it.



This is a sample block I made for a big idea I had. The idea will work, once I get started on it. I tried to finish this block into a project, but it didn't work well. I am hoping that like the vase, I will manage to finish it at a later date.



Since joining Kathleen Tracy's small quilt yahoo group, I have been tempted many times with these little quilts. They are really fun to make. In this one, I limited myself to one small scrap box, to give myself the challenge that people in olden days would have had.  I particularly liked using scraps for this one, and remembering where each one came from.

The African Circles quilt was my first project I started and finished in 2010. It was my goal to finish everything I started this year. It hasn't completely come true, but I have made great strides. And I gave myself permission to simply play - like with the red and white kaleidoscope block and the blue and white blocks below. They were never part of a project, and a great start to an orphan block quilt.

One of these blocks started out as a beginning of Kate's round robin. I still want to do the round robin, but the block, and the additional ones I made are now part of the orphan block collection. I will probably make a small quilt out of these.  I think it is amazing at how the same basic shape can look so completely different based on how it is put together.

The Cheddar Cheese and Crackers was started early in the year, and is a work in progress. It is a pattern by Lori from Humble Quilts. It is being hand quilted. The cheddar fabric isn't playing nicely and isn't laying flat, so it has me worried, but hopefully I will be able to quilt it into submission. It has taught me that I am not capable of hand quilting a big project though!

This is my last finish for 2010. I like this one the best of all the quilts I worked on this year.

The Simply Squares quilt was an impulse quilt made from newly purchased fabric. The top is made.  I was going to try to finish this one for 2010 as well, but I think my quilts look quite impressive for the year, so I won't stress myself out trying to finish it this year.

Introducing

My finished rail fence quilt.  It is made completely from scraps. The rule of the quilt was to add everything. Ugly, bright, pretty, novelty, holiday, everything. Sew together randomly.  the only order I added is that I tried to keep two pieces of the same fabric separate in each rail fence.  When putting the rail fences together, it was okay to put two pieces of the same fabric next to each other. Each block finishes at three inches. I started it more than a year ago as a Leader and Ender project.  As I worked on other projects, I would cut up some fabric for this one as well as the other project. , but decided to work on it more diligently this fall.  I brought out some scrap boxes and added some older scraps.  I added some pink for Barb and green for Tanya. I kept deciding I wanted to make it bigger, and added more and more scraps.  Then it needed more patterned fabrics, and then it needed more brights. I am very happy with the finished size. 54" x 61". It is a large lap quilt.

There is diagonal quilting through the body of the quilt and scallops on the borders.  I didn't use any marking lines, so they aren't perfectly straight.

Even the backing and binding is "scrap" in that the fabrics were used on other quilts. I added the leftover rail fences and other bright fabric to add interest.

It feels like a door has opened for me, since I can now make a new quilt.  So many possibilities!  I have decided I am going to work on Kate's Another Little Quilt Swap next.  I will be making one or two little quilts to swap with others.  I have lots of ideas about what to do for those.  I think I should be able to get the backing pieced for the Simply Squares quilt in between making the little quilts.

Stitchers

There is a new blog for people who want to share share their stitching story and passion for Leanne Beasley's magazine 'Vignette'. They are having a giveaway of the first issue of the magazine.

Merry Christmas

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season so far, and that the rest of it goes even better.
  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Goodwill to all mankind.

Wordless Wednesday

Tutorial: Binding Fixes

Way back in September, I presented a tutorial on how to fold over binding. In that post, while showing you how to make a binding by folding over the backing to the front, I made a couple of errors, and I promised that a tutorial on how to fix the errors would be forthcoming "very soon."  I fixed my binding, took pictures, and eventually forgot about my promise.  Since that post is one of my 10 most popular posts, I think maybe it is about time that I make good on my promise. Here's what I said:

10. Now, if you didn't follow my advice in step 4 and have any issues, you have options.  You can decide you want a separate binding after all, or you can wait for the next tutorial (coming up very soon) where I will show you some intermediary steps.

I don't recommend doing this.

I am sorry that I left you wondering how I fixed this problem. When you first encounter this problem, it is important not to panic. You can keep clear headed and decide what to do. There are two ways to fix it.

One way is to give up on the fold over binding, and decide to do it the regular way with a separate binding. To do this, you can trim all of the backing even with the edge of the quilt, and attach a separate binding. But if you are making a casual quilt, one that is meant to provide love and comfort for kids, and not one you are showing to the quilt police, there really isn't any reason you can't add more love by fixing your errors. A little secret spot that got some extra attention might be just the place that the kid will gravitate to when he needs some extra attention himself.

First, trim off the error.  You don't want to look at it any more than you have to.  Then, find a piece of similar or matching fabric that is bigger than the error.  You want to have enough fabric that you can fold over the ends, and still have it big enough to cover the problem area.

Fold down the sides and pin right sides together.  With a machine sew from edge to edge, including the folded over parts.  It is okay if you manage to sew through the batting seam.  That part will be covered up with the binding anyway, and might add some extra security to your layers. 

Fold the fabric up over the seam, and it is almost as good as new.  Trim your little piece to be even with the remaining fabric.  Repeat for as many errors as you made (I made two), and proceed as usual with the steps shown in the first tutorial.  Because the sides aren't sewn, you will have to either hand stitch or machine stitch them when you are done.  I used a machine.