Skirt Reduction

Last August I used my favorite Route 66 skirt pattern to upcycle six pair of my husband's jeans into this 12 gore skirt. Other than the skirt being heavy - that denim weighs a lot! - I have really liked it.

Fast forward to January, and I'm happy to say I've lost 16 pounds. I did so intentionally, pretty much by removing carbohydrates from my diet. No-nos include bread, muffins, pasta, rice, cookies, bars, and popcorn. This regimen worked well enough that two weeks ago, when I had my annual check-up, I learned I'd shaved 31 points off my overall cholesterol total. I'd previously been told to "watch it," and this report was "excellent." What an unexpected health bonus!

On the down side, a weight loss means my clothes don't fit as well. and "alterations" is an eleven-letter word I detest! But refitting this skirt was easier than I expected. A 12 gore skirt can be made into an 11 gore skirt!

Unstitch the seam with the invisible zipper, and the next seam over. Remove the gore. Then resew the seam and one side of the zipper. A few inches of the facing had to be unstitched, cut away, and resewn too, but the whole thing took much less time than I expected.

I'm sure a fashionista would say an 11 gore skirt is a bit odd, but I think this one's gonna work for me.

As for several other Route 66 skirts that have gores with different fabric prints... well, those will need a little more attention because each gore will need trimming. I dare not climb up from this weight. This is the year for my 40th high school reunion!

Featherweight Woes

Last week, when it was exceptionally cold in my basement sewing room, I decided to set up my Featherweight (purchased at an estate sale in 1998) at the dining room table. I had lots of Roll Roll Cotton Boll piecing to do in Part 5: sewing 600 half-square triangles in red and neutral.

It was toasty warm sitting in a shaft of sunlight coming into the dining room. I happily sewed on and off for several days and managed to accomplish this... cutting and piecing all the parts for making RRCB blocks. 

I was progressing swimmingly, anticipating sewing those neutral-colored string blocks (above, on right) together, when this began happening.

skipped stitches

I got out my book Featherweight 221: The Perfect Portable by Nancy Johnson-Srebro, and commenced trying everything it suggested to keep the machine from skipping stitches. I changed needles, trying several different sizes; changed sewing thread; adjusted the pressure on the presser foot; made sure I threaded the machine properly; removed the bobbin case and bobbin case base to check for lint, then oiled and put it together again; and even went so far as to take apart and reassemble the tensioner! After several hours, much frustration, and no success whatsoever, I put the machine back in its case until I can find a Featherweight repair person.

A Featherweight is a nice machine that I'm glad to own, but I like better when it's making lovely stitches.

Lotsa Binding

After FMQ three quilts, it naturally follows that I have a lot of binding to make and apply. Whenever possible, I like to prepare my binding (cut 2-1/4" wide) long before quilting a quilt. Otherwise, I'm inclined to accidentally use designated-for-binding fabric in some other quilt top. 

I really like to sew binding to a quilt with a walking foot. With a regular sewing foot, binding tends to snug-up as it's sewn around the quilt sandwich perimeter.

Besides using a walking foot, I prefer to sew binding to a quilt in a way that's not your usual "sew-around-the-perimeter." I like to sew binding to a quilt in four separate strips, just like sewing a border to a quilt center. This way nothing snugs-up. Instead, each binding strip is cut to fit the quilt, and sewn to each side separately. Your finished quilt lays flat.

I also like the fact that I can machine-sew the four mitered corners, instead of hand-sewing them.

If you've never tried this method of sewing binding to a quilt, you should! Long-time readers of this blog know that I advocate using this method. I've never been successful at sewing to join a binding's beginning and ending tails off the quilt, hoping they'll be flat when they're sewn on the quilt.

This binding method avoids all that because joinings occur only at each corner.

After you've machine-sewn each of a quilts four binding corners, all you need to do is flip over the corner and use a stiletto to pull out the point. Presto! A finished corner, front and back.

My binding tutorial is available here, and I've been told it's understandable. I hope you'll give it a try.

These are the bindings that await my hand sewing. Looks like some nice, warm TV time for me!

Giggle

Val, of Queensland, Australia, sent me this funny.

A Whole Lot of Quiltin' Goin' On

In between bouts of frigid temperatures - so cold I can't bring myself to spend much time in my basement sewing room - I've been FMQ (Free Motion Quilting).

I've been quilting two identical "Jungle Friends" quilts, but only one of them is completely finished. 

Jungle Friends 32" X 49"

They're both quilted with "invisible" thread on top.

The bobbin thread is white, Aurifil 50-weight, my favorite piecing and machine-quilting thread.
For backing, this abacus print at half price couldn't be passed up.

Two mission quilts are quilted. These are for children in a South African orphanage.

One of my favorite quilting designs is all over snail-trail circles. It's a good FMQ warm-up after being away from it for a while.

Again, there's invisible thread on top and cotton thread in the bobbin.

Patches are 6" X 6" (finished) squares of assorted left over fabrics from other kids' quilts I've made.

Quarry Stone quilt, 48" X 60"

 This quilt is the Stitchin' Mission Noah's Ark pattern, but made larger by the addition of a border.

Noah's Ark quilt, 48" X 60"

The border was fun to play around with. Below is a picture of the back.

I'm looking forward to the day our temperatures get above freezing. The only good thing about FMQ in a chilly basement is that the garden gloves I put on for quilting also help keep my hands warm!

It's been too long since I offered a laugh. Here's a one-liner from my good friend Di, at Snippets 'n Scraps.

A dyslexic man walks into a bra...

Donated Bolts

When a box arrives looking like this, it's certainly cause for celebration and thanks!

After I mailed a letter of inquiry to Michael Miller Fabrics, asking if they would be willing to donate fabric to my Stitchin' Mission ministry, I was extremely grateful for the response I received. Yes!

These are the fabrics I requested to make Noah's Ark quilts. Isn't that "Messy Hands" print a great focus print?

I have enough yardage to make approximately six Noah's Ark quilts. I'll need that many in various stages of completion for recording the Stitchin' Mission beginner quiltmaking video. That happens in late March. This video will be made with the $1,000 grant many of you helped Stitchin' Mission win when you voted in the Dream Big Grow Here contest last August.

Now that I've found a willing videographer, and received this fabric gift from Michael Miller Fabrics, I have no excuses for putting off the next step: preparing the script that the videographer and I will use on the day of recording. I think we're headed the right direction.

Thank you, Christine in marketing at Michael Miller Fabrics. You're the best!