A Craftsy Challenge

Who doesn't like a challenge from time to time? A few weeks ago, Craftsy (my favorite place to find online classes on all things crafty) sent out a challenge. They had a handful of these t-shirts in size ginormous left over from an event. What to do with them? They challenged us, a group of Craftsy teachers to find a creative use for them. They sent me two, but I greedily set one aside for a sleep shirt, and set out to turn the other into something interesting.

I spent a long time thinking about how to use the fabric, but what I kept coming back to was how stretchy it was. I also wondered how creative it would be to use fabric as fabric, not so impressive, eh? The more I looked at it the more it looked like yarn to me.

So I cut it into noodles. Oodles of noodles. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) I let that stew for a while. (See what I did there?) I was extra careful to cut the fabric in a spiral so I'd end up with one long strand.

Then I stretched the strand into worms. In the process all of the seams let loose. So much for one long strand! What surprised me was how stretchy the worms remained. I had thought that the worms would become stable lengths, but no, they still stretched like crazy.

My first thought was to knit them. I cut the strands as narrow as I dared thinking I might turn them into fingerless mitts. It quickly became clear that I wouldn't have enough to knit up much, especially while hanging on to the second shirt. (If I had come up with an idea that was super cool and needed the other shirt, you bet I would have cut it up.) The strands were also knitting up very densely and still super stretchy. Hmm.

Perhaps I could weave the strands. This was interesting too, but also very stretchy. I kept thinking that it would be silly to make something that didn't take advantage of the stretch. And then I remembered that I know how to crochet.

It's a market bag! The strands had to be knotted together so I decided all the ends would be a design element. I used the collar for the strap. It doesn't look like much lying there.

But does it ever expand! This is a fraction of what it will hold. Honestly, I don't think I have the strength to carry it filled. I like how it sort of cradles the contents which will make it easier to manage bulky items. I think it will be terrific when farmers' markets come back around. It will hold produce nicely, and it's machine washable! So, tell me, what would you do with t-shirt?

A Fine Romance - Step One, The Sashing Strips

It's all about between, which perfectly sums up my life since the beginning of the year. Personally, we're still waiting for that other shoe to drop. Any.day.now. And then there are these sashing strips. Simple shapes, right? Easy Peasy. Well, as it turns out, yes and no.

Electric Quilt is just the best for designing quilts, especially the piecing part. I use it all the time to build the framework for my applique designs. One of the functions I love the most is being able to print out rotary cutting instructions for each block. It's terrific! The default setting is to state the sizes to the nearest eighth of an inch, which is just right most of the time.

It wasn't until I'd stitched out all sixty-eight of my four-patches, and then added the half square triangles that it occurred to me to measure the thing. They were about an sixteenth of an inch shy!

I went back to EQ and selected to have the sizes print out to the nearest sixteenth of an inch. (Something I usually do automatically.) Darned if the squares weren't listed as a sixteenth of an inch larger!

Now I know that I already have some quilters shaking in their shoes because there are no many eighth of an inch measurements. For the life of me, I don't understand the fear. The eighths are as clearly marked as the quarters and halves! I could only imagine how heads would explode is I suggested that anything be cut to a sixteenth of an inch. (Even though it's only halfway between the eights, how hard is that?)

So I fussed around and found that by rounding up on some shapes and rounding down on others, and with some careful attention to seam allowance, the sashing strips come out to pretty close to the right size. So, my dear quilting friends, just stay vigilant about seam allowance and all will be well.

What I thought folks would get their knickers in a twist over was the zillions of four-patches. Strip piecing is not my friend, especially the part where I have to cut each segment individually. So I wrote the pattern for both strip piecing and cutting the individual squares.

Step One is posted here. I'll have two more blog posts on piecing strategies in the coming days.

And just because the cold and gray of winter is finally getting to me, and I can't stand how gray and lifeless this post looks, here is a gratuitous picture of preparing the large flower applique pieces.

Great Big Sale on Craftsy!

Starting now on Craftsy, and running until midnight on Monday, March 17th, all of the classes are on sale!

I love Craftsy, I loved Craftsy before I became a Craftsy instructor. The classes are in depth, and the videos are marvelously clear. I have signed up for dozens of classes over the last couple of years, from cake decoration to photography to knitting and spinning.



Just in case you're not aware, my two classes are Machine Finished Hand Applique, and Oh My Stars!

Click here to start shopping!

Oh My Stars!

It's here! My Craftsy class covering my favorite piecing tricks is ready for prime time. Anyone who has been around me for any length of time knows that I have a passion for teaching. Almost every quilt I have designed has started with a list of concepts or tips I want to include in the instructions. I love learning, and I especially love skill building patterns and projects.

Oh My Stars is no different. Even though the blocks range from simple to complex, each one is chock full of hints and techniques that will apply to all of our piecing. I have been piecing quilts since 1975, and I have learned a lot in that time, especially what not to do.

I am thrilled with the details we can see in the close ups. I was concerned, as we were taping, that they might be lost, but Craftsy's commitment to creating quality videos shines through. Really guys, these are not You Tube!

Honestly, I have been addicted to Craftsy classes since the web site went live just a couple of years ago. They have a fantastic range of classes, from quilting to fine art to cooking.

And, just so I can share my addiction, click HERE to receive a 50% discount on the class fee! The discount makes it cheaper than most guild workshop fees, and you'll have me forever! The class never expires, I'm there to answer questions (well, technically, I'm here, but I'll answer questions there), and you can watch it on your tablet! See you there!

Rumors of my death....

have been greatly exaggerated! There seems to be a tipping point, where I've been away from the blog just long enough that I feel like I need to reintroduce myself. Like I can't just jump into a story without catching up with you.

But then, the reason I haven't blogged is because I haven't really had anything worth saying. I've been on a summer break, after all, meaning that I have been largely, and gloriously off task. There has been spinning, and knitting, baking, gardening and such, but nothing really interesting to anyone else but me.

My summer off came to a screeching halt at the beginning of August. Craftsy accepted my proposal for a new class, and we set the taping date for September 15. Yikes. I had four weeks to prepare all the step-outs and make all the samples. I could have asked for a later shoot date, sure, but I figured I had nothing else pending, so why not?

The first thing I did was get organized. Oh, how I love zip top bags. I really should buy stock. This was my starting point for the class project, but just about the time I had finished cutting up the background fabric, my editor suggested a more traditional layout for the quilt. Yikes again.

Despite a few (okay, maybe more than a few) anxious moments, the prep work was done in plenty of time, even a few days early! And, as before, my crew was totally top drawer! They have a marvelous way of soothing the fears of working in front of a camera. Thank you, Jeff, Linda and Rob for making me look so good!

I don't know yet when the class will air, and I can't really say exactly what it will cover (although you can see part of the main class project in the background). We are looking at late October, perhaps, but of course, this is subject to change.

In the coming days I will be catching you up on the other goings on here.There has been spinning and knitting, and a sewing revelation. And, in the following weeks/months I will be going on a UFO/WIP hunt. I have odds and ends of projects for publication, step outs, bits and parts. It's time to either finish up the project, or toss the lot. Or perhaps something in between.

One Crazy Cat

Even in the midst of all the moving drama here, I have been working on stuff. Well, sort of working on stuff. I have given myself the summer off from work responsibilities, taking some time to recharge and refresh my creative soul.

I signed up for Allie Aller's Crazy Quilting Craftsy Class (try saying that three times, I double dog dare you!), and I was immediately hooked. Click HERE to get the class at 25% off!

To create her crazy quilt blocks, Allie uses several different foundation piecing methods. The class materials include templates of the blocks for download. So I did. I printed four of them and joined them together.

About the same time I found all the parts to recreate a kitty from my More! Hand Applique by Machine book, with the templates already pressed in place and just waiting for my attention. (Dealing with all of the leftover parts and pieces from book and class samples will be my mission for the rest of the summer, but more on that in another post.) So I glue basted the kitten and then traced her onto the crazy quilt templates.

From there I needed to refine the shapes, getting rid of segments that were no longer needed with the cat in the center. I swear that I started out planing to do foundation piecing, just as Allie showed, even going so far as to cutting a muslin base. But in the end I just couldn't make myself do it.

Instead, I treated the entire piece as one big applique. You're shocked, I know. I glued together several sheets of Wash Away Applique Paper. I used up some sheets that were misprinted class handouts. Taping the sheets shiny side up (shiny = same when deciding orientation. Matte = mirror image) to the templates, I used a pencil and ruler to transfer the lines to the WAAS.

To try to save my mind as I fitted these back together, I marked the unbasted edges with x's and transferred the piece number to the matte side of the paper.

As always, picking out the fabric was fun. A little creepy with the googly eyes peering out at us, huh?

First the cat was glue-basted and sewn together,

and then the crazy part of the background was also glue basted and sewn together.

Here she is, in all her crazy glory. My next step is to embellish her with embroidery, beads and what ever else comes to mind. Stay tuned!

Machine Finished Hand Applique!

At last! All can be revealed! The super secret project that has kept me busy since Thanksgiving is ready.

 

After months of preparation, almost as intensive as writing a book, I spent several days in January at the studios in Denver, Colorado, taping my first online class with Craftsy.

 

Even though I've already tons of time in front of a camera (two Simply Quilts shows, too many to count episodes with Kaye Wood and even a show with Alex and Ricky), I was still nervous. Of course I was, I have a great face for radio. But, my terrific crew put me right at ease. Even though we worked very hard, it was at a stress-free pace.

 

I'm hoping that you will find this online class to be (almost) as good as taking a class from me. (I couldn't be quite as silly as I usually am in class, I do the jokey stuff while the students are busy working. Just imagine that I'm telling stories between the lessons.) As I watched the class for the first time yesterday, I was thrilled at how it all turned out. Even my make-up looked great, but of course it would, their make-up artist is Danica Jardien, who has made some very famous people look great on screen. The camera does add weight, though, in my case about fifty pounds.

Edit: The link for the discount is now disabled, but the class is still available. Craftsy has sales regularly, so you still may find it at a discount by going to here.

If you'd like to sign up for the class, click here for a 50% discount on the regular class fee. It's a limited time offer (I'll switch the link back to regular price on Feb. 28), so shop early and often!

 

Honestly, I have to admit to being a big fan of Craftsy. Being pathologically curious, I have signed up already for about a dozen classes. These are no choppy You Tube videos, they are high quality, well designed video classes, providing excellent instruction for less than the cost of a workshop at a conference. I enjoy watching the classes on my tablet while I'm poking along on my applique.

 

For me, these classes are the perfect answer for someone who loves teaching but doesn't love the travel. I have already sent in a proposal for a piecing class. We'll see if they like it.