Saturday, July 28, 2012

2012 LI Quilt Shop Hop

One of my favorite things to do is see other quilt shops, and going with my BFFQB (best forever friend quilting buddy) Christine makes it even better.  We took the day on Friday to drive and shop and look at quilts and fabric and watch demonstrations and eat snacks and buy fabric and drive and shop.  I think that's the perfect plan for a day, don't you??? lol
Our first stop was Sew What's New in Islip, and the theme this year was "The Great White Way".  Their play was Cats. 
Here's their quilt.  Each store gets one block pattern to share, and the store creates a quilt with all 6 blocks.  My favorite thing in this store is the White Rotary treadle in the bathroom!


The next store was Patchworkx.  Their theme was Wicked, and all the help had on green tees and witch's hats.  This was their store sample.  I got a few bargain pieces of batiks there. 

Christine and I then headed out to Riverhead, for Pieceful Quilting.  Their theme was Annie Get Your Gun.  Their quilt had cow print fabric, lol. 

The next store, Beyond the Thimble, was new on this hop.  The theme was Mama Mia, and they had a wedding dress for decoration and served fancy cookies on wedding theme napkins, and they had a few wedding photos around.  Cute!  I found a few bargain fabrics there, too.  Their quilt had embroidered designs in the setting blocks. 

We then went to Pieceful Quilting in East Northport, and their theme was South Pacific.  I loved the idea of their quilt.  The applique set to the right, framed by blocks, was really pretty.

Our last store, Sentimental Stitches in Cold Spring Harbor, had the theme of Damn Yankees.  I forgot to take a picture of their quilt!

Shop Hops are fun!  There are also prizes and gifts from many of the shops.  This year's prize includes a sewing machine, and the gift baskets at each are really great!  You need to get your "passport" stamped in each store to be eligible.  We plan to do this every year!  We really enjoy the day, relaxing in the car, looking for fabric for a new project, or just watching the demos of the newest products.  This is our third year, and we're excited that we get it done in one day.   I'm hoping Christine can join me for one in Pennsylvania one year.  That one is 12 shops, and it takes me 3 days to do it.  FUN!!! 

Sunday, July 22, 2012

July FMQ sample



Here it is, July, and after 7 months of practices, I see some improvement.  Some monthly challenges have been easy, and others more, um, challenging.  I need to practice certain skills, but find my biggest challenge is practicing.  I don't always have my machine set for FMQ, so, I don't spend enough time doing it.  It's been hot, and holding a  large quilt on my body while working on it hasn't been a priority lately.  I also find certain designs to be more adaptable to my style of quilting, and I know my skills are improving.  I know where my challenges are.  I see improvement. 

This month Angela Walters showed the Tile design.  The people on the Facebook group page have shown a variety of different fillers.  There are benefits to that, as well, but also, I think I need to practice some of the fillers longer.  I will be working on some quilt designs that will work with the tiles, but the current tops I have ready to quilt don't work.  They are more traditional, and I think Tiles works better with more modern or with larger setting areas.  It's another for the design folder, though, and it's an excellent way to fill in.  I really love Angela's designs, and look forward to seeing more from her.  And I'm really grateful that SewCal Gal has designed this challenge and enabled me to really learn other styles.   I'm hoping to get a copy of Angela's book. 

So, here's my sample.  I did a "paisley" fill, a wave fill, wavy and straight lines, pebbles, and some flowers.  My pebbles were much improved over the last time I attempted them, and I think I was better at filling the space.  The waves were okay, the paisleys were okay, and the lines really need more practice.  I noticed I had tiny stitches at the ends, and nice stiches in the main parts.  And the frames around the tiles needed work, which is why I did the lines.  It's good to practice. 

Aurifil 50wt thread, in Aqua against black cotton, Warm & Natural batting.  I did mark the basics of the tile lines, but staying on them was difficult.  I also used Machinger gloves instead of the Gypsy fabric gripper.  I'm not sure yet which I prefer.  The gloves helped to grip the edges.  Need more practice and testing. 

Time flies!

I just realized I haven't posted for a few weeks.  What have I been doing? 

Well, some issues needed to be dealt with.  My parents came to visit for a few days, and Dad and I worked on some minor repairs around the house.  We make a good team.   We replaced the cartridge in the leaky bathroom faucet, instead of replacing the whole faucet.  I wanted to do the Cold side, too, but we couldn't get that handle screw out.  We played with the doorbell, to see if it was working, but there's a short.  Dad has an idea what to do next time he comes.  We made a temporary fix to the garage door, too.  It's pretty rotted in the bottom right corner, and the door would get stuck going up.  I hit my head a few times going under it, which will probably make you laugh, but isn't really funny! lol.  We used a few metal L plates and T plates to get it back closer to square, so now it goes up completely.  I can't bang my head. so I'm thrilled.  I really need a new door, but that isn't in the budget.  The repair cost about $10.  I use this door all the time to enter and leave the house.  It's right off the basement, and makes moving my machines from the sewing room to the car very easy.  My sewing room is in the back of the basement.  It's also the easiest for bringing in groceries. 

I won a photo caption contest on the Facebook page for Eharmony, and have been playing with my free membership on Eharmony.  No luck yet, but having fun.

I did make a "quilt as you go" table runner.  And my iron died, so I researched prices, makes, and stores to determine the replacement.  I actually ended up with the same iron, a Shark professional, but only because the others I saw didn't have the features I wanted.  I'm going to keep looking, though. 

I also did pillows for an order, and did piece some other things, and cut out another project.  It's been a little productive, but no big finishes to show.  I have sold a few things, mostly fabric and a crocheted baby blanket, on my Etsy store, too. 

Here's the runner, though.  It's really pretty in person.  The center square is white.  It's called a Braid runner. 


I also did the block for the Quilt In A Day Treasure Chest quilt.  It's called Grandma's Tulips. 


Hopefully there will be more to write about soon.  Christine and I plan to do a little Quilt Shop Hop next week, so I'm looking forward to that.  Thanks for checking in!