Every week, all I have to share is little bits of this and that. No significant accomplishments lately, except ones I can't share yet. So here's the razzmatazz from the past week.
A new quilting foot arrived; an Ebay purchase. It's a Janome 1660 series ruler foot that fits my Pfaff Grand Quilter. The foot has a quarter-inch "heel" (the term for the height or thickness of the foot) that is meant for ruler work - place the ruler against the heel without concern that ruler might slip under the foot. The foot on the right is the regular FMQ foot. I can't wait to give the new one a try!
The same day the sewing machine foot arrived, so did the fabrics MQG is mailing to MQGer's who signed up for the Michael Miller Challenge. By June 23 we're to come up with a quilted item using all or some of the six fabrics on the left, and any solids. Our LQS, Simply Sew Boutique is stocking the collection, so when our Central Florida MQG meeting was held at the shop, I picked up a few more coordinates. I melt over those Moda Bella solids - Bermuda (top right) and aqua.
During quiet time, usually when I'm away from home, I'm still hand-baste foundation paper pieces for the Flower Ball quilt. I have just a few more papers to baste and then the hand stitching begins. I'll use 60-weight light grey Bottom Line thread for that step.
When I saw Debbie's post with pictures of a very pretty pillow, I knew I'd found my next (of four) pillow for our sofa. The tutorial for "Christmas Snowflake" is on Flickr, and despite the name, I don't think it will look Christmas-sy in these colors. I've cut enough pieces to make two 20" blocks, one for each side of the pillow.
Anticipating seeing grandsons in several weeks, I made another pair of shorts - the fourth pair I've sewn in the past weeks. This Angry Birds fabric came from Fabric.com. I know they'll be a hit with Austin, who will be four years old on May 6. Again, I matched the front pockets to the shorts fronts.
A big task that has taken up much of my time has been designing this quilt top. You wouldn't think it would take very long, but I've been designing with a mind toward teaching newer quilters how to sew on the diagonal - triangles, to be precise. With many ways to making flying geese, half-square triangles, quarter-square triangles, and the like, I attempted to put a dab of each into this 54" X 60" design. Not having design software, I found myself wasting quite a bit of fabric (Zen Chic; Kona; Bella) and having to wait for a reorder. EQ7 for the Mac is supposed to be released in April, and I couldn't be more anxious to use it. This project needs a diagram, yardages calculated, written instructions.... and someone to test it before May 21!
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| One Way/Any Way, 54" X 60" for Beyond First Time Quiltmaking class |
Hmm... I'm noticing a distinct partiality to certain colors in all three of my current and upcoming projects! I see I need to step out of the box one of these days!
As always, I'm doing what I love! Next week sees me flying to Paducah for the AQS show! Excited to go, but dreading the flight. Say a prayer for my flying fear, please. Linda
That foot looks pretty cool, great idea.
ReplyDeleteI think your pattern will be a hit, good idea for a teaching tool.
Linda, can you post a picture of your Grand Quilter? I have a Husqvarna Mega Quilter, and I think it is basically the same machine. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBecki, here's a link to a previous post that shows my sewing room, and my Pfaff Grand Quilter: http://flourishingpalms.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-recap-and-quilting-in-2013.html
ReplyDeleteYou've been busy, busy busy. And I wonder what else is going on behind the curtains ;). Love the boy shorts with the perfect pockets. Also your teaching quilt is fab as well as everything else you are working on. I can't wait to see your flower ball. But be careful using the 60 w Bottom Line as I have used it to hand piece my mum's big flower quilt and I've found that because the thread is so fine, the knot often worked itself through the fabric and the sewing started to come undone. So I had to do quite a bit of fixing before I started the quilting process. Have fun in Paducah and you'll be perfectly fine on the flight.
ReplyDeleteOh and I forgot, I'm eager to hear if the new foot makes a big difference when using the quilting ruler.
ReplyDeleteInteresting new foot. Look forward to seeing the test run.
ReplyDeleteLove the new class quilt. Looks like it covers all the bias seams you could imagine.
Must be that sunny Florida weather bringing out the orange and aqua in you. Prayers for a safe and anxious free flight. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteThe bird shorts are so cute! And I love your new pattern. That's quite a deadline by May to get it all patterned and tested. But it's a great project. Traveling mercies and enjoy Pacucah!
ReplyDeleteI really like all he colors in your new projects. Those would be considered "outside of my box" because I don't think I've ever made anything with those colors. Cute shorts for the gs. Godspeed on your flight. I know the feeling and avoid flying too. Hope to see you in Paducah. I've got your # in my cell.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interest to hear your reviews of EQ for Mac. Long time coming! I can see where the new foot would be better suited to ruler work.
ReplyDeleteI always have high anxiety when flying. Combine that with a low threshold for motion sickness and it's never fun. Safe travels!
Prayers for your flight to and from Paducah. Being at the quilt show will make it all worth while.
ReplyDeleteGood to see that you are still keeping busy.
ReplyDeleteYour students will be expert "triangle" sewers by the the time they finish your quilt.
Wishing you safe travels and enjoy your time in Paducah.
Looks like a bunch of fun stuff in the works! I'm excited to see what you do with some ruler work!
ReplyDeleteGreat quilt design! Hope you have a great trip to Paducah.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of fun stuff! Excited to see your pillows!
ReplyDeletePrayers said for Flying Courage!--I hoping all will go well for you on that score.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog and catching up on all the new tools you find for FMQ on a domestic sewing machine. Now I need to add this foot to my list of things to stock up on (along with the rulers).
And all your other projects look fun and bright, esp. that great quilt!
Elizabeth E.
Can't wait to see your pillow! Thank you so much for linking to my tutorial!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to break down and buy those rulers - just have to try them. And the foot. I have a Janome Horizon but nowhere can I find if it will fit my machine. :( But we are at the mission for several weeks and there are three Janome dealers within driving distance so I'm going to check it out. I quilted a little piece today with my feed dogs up and it worked great. I don't think it would for a big quilt or an elaborate design but it was perfect for what I was doing. I had read somewhere to try that and was pleasantly surprised at the results. blessings, marlene
ReplyDelete