Turn, Turn, Turn

No, not the Ecclesiastes verses or song by The Byrds.  I've been doing a lot of garment construction over the past year or so.  One thing that always causes consternation:  making fabric tubes.  Whether they're for loops or straps, I've struggled to turn narrow tubes.  Not any more!

JoAnn Fabrics had a major sale on their notions last Sunday -- 60% off everything on the wall.  I foolishly thought I didn't need a shopping basket -- doh!  I found one and started collecting lots of fun things.  I picked up packages of elastic, magnetic snaps, disappearing ink pen, sew-on snaps, glass head pins, and more.  So far my favorite item is this:

I've been working on a dress for a special little girl and this item really came in handy.  Here are the particulars on using these Quick Turn gadgets from Dritz.

To practice using the turner, I started by cutting a rectangular piece of fabric, folding it in half and sewing down the long side and one of the short sides.  Sometimes I don't need the end sewn but I think from now on when necessary I'll just cut the piece a bit bigger so I can do it this way.

There are three sets of turners in the package:

• 3/16" is used for  3/8" to 5/8" tubes 
• 3/8" is used for 3/4" to 1" tubes
• 1/2" is used for 1" or larger tubes.  

I used the 3/8" cylinder because I didn't bother to read the instructions and it seemed to fit.

Next, I inserted the 3/8" cylinder into the open end:

Once the cylinder reached the end seam, I inserted the wooden stick, pointed end first, where the end seam was and pushed it through the cylinder.

 It was unbelievably easy to turn the tube.  I will NEVER do it any other way again!!!!

Lastly, I used the stick to box the end of the tube out nicely.

And here is my 1/2" practice tube:

Ordinarily the Dritz Quick Turn is only $5.99 at JoAnn Fabrics, but I got it for $2.39.  Either way it's a bargain and if you don't have it, you NEED it if you ever sew straps or loops for anything!

Now back to my sewing machine....

Sewing Away

I've been busy the past few days, sewing a bit and getting organized in my Craft Cave.    Hoping to come up for air tomorrow!

Fiskars

I bought a Fiskars Hexagon Punch at JoAnn Fabrics when I had a 40% off coupon.  I've been looking at this punch for a while now.  I've been enjoying making hexagons for a yet to be determined quilt so right now they're still accumulating in a Snapware tote.  I thought I'd share this gadget with you today.

The package says it's endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation.  At least I didn't need a Sawzall to break the package open.

You can see the shape clearly below:

I had plenty of card stock leftover from a previous project so I used it for this demo.  Simply slide the paper into the slot on top of the punch:

Squeeze the handles together and voila!  The hexi template pops out:

Now I can make plenty of 3/4" hexi templates.  Yeah!!

If you like to make hexies you should think about buying this nifty punch!

A Little Bit Lighter

Today I pored over my fabric stash to find pieces that would be suitable for backings for the quilts being made for the tornado victims in Oklahoma.  Would you believe I gathered up over 50 yards to donate to the cause?  Now that I'm thinking about it, I should have taken a picture of the stack!  The pieces ranged in size from 4 yards to 11+ yards.  There should be enough fabric for about 10-12 quilt backings.

I had planned to use the fabric when I bought it but you know what?  I think the 'newest' fabric was probably about 5 years old.  Obviously I wasn't going to use any of it any time soon.  I also donated a twin sized cotton batt from Hobb's Heirloom 80/20 line and 6 spools of variegated quilting thread.  Karen said she loves to use variegated thread so there you go!

I also delivered the quilt I finished on Saturday.  Sorry Eddie -- I should have said it would be good for a male of any age. :*)  Karen was very happy to see all of the items in my tote bag and I was very happy to have all of it out of my house!

More Askew

When I was at the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati this past April I loved the Stitch in Time booth.  They had wonderful silk fabrics kitted up in jelly rolls and yardage available in several colors.  I picked out a jelly roll kit I liked and a black yardage piece.  It sat in my stash until this week.  When I unrolled the fabric I could not believe how poorly it was cut.

This black strip is so wavy there is no way it can be used:

These two strips are representative of several strips.  Cut so 'off grain' that they can't be used either:

The black yardage piece was full of slubs and snags. The piece was only 36" wide (would have been good to know before I bought it) so that was messing up my plans for it.  In addition, the last 18" of it was mis-woven so that it was not as wide as the rest.  I can't even figure out what went wrong there.

The vendor does not have a website and the phone number on the packing is not readable.  How convenient.  Out of 45 40" strips, I have about 55 18" strips I can salvage plus whatever I can use from the yardage.  Very disappointing since I think the kit and the yardage cost about $80.  What a waste of money and it makes me think I won't have much fun putting something together with it either.  No more silk fabric for me!!!!

Askew

Some days, even with the best of intentions, things do not go according to plans.  I slept poorly last night as a result of too much caffeine too late in the day.  I woke up this morning, fully intent on attending a charity sewing day to make quilts for the victims of the devastating Oklahoma tornadoes last month.  I started by searching in my Craft Cave for a quilt top I had already finished piecing but hadn't gotten around to quilting yet.

My plan was to press the top, press the backing fabric I had bought yesterday, use the Fusi-Boo batting to make the quilt sandwich and get on the road to the event.  Everything was going well until I flipped the sandwich to the backside, just to give it a once-over as I've done EVERY other time I've used this batting.  No can do.  The backing must have had too much sizing in it or some other alien life force because no matter how much water I sprayed on it or how hot the iron was, that backing was NOT going to stick to the fusible batting.  ARGGGHHH!!!!!  See the video for 'easy' instructions.

Okay, so three hours into the effort I realized I was going to have to pin baste everything, even though the top was fused to the batting.  I know, I was shaking my head too!  I grabbed my tin of basting safety pins (the kind that are curved) and basted away on my ironing board.  By the time I was done it was after noon.  NOON for goodness sake -- the event started at 9:30 am -- I was no longer fashionably late!

I made the decision to just stay home and get it quilted and then take it over to the event.  I brewed up some iced tea and got to work quilting the beast.  I went back to the kitchen to get the tin for the pins and decided while I was up, I'd make a pit stop in the bathroom.  BIG mistake, BIG!  I spilled the tin of pins in the sink and one of them went down the drain.  ARRRGGGGHHH!  Couldn't anything go right for me today???  I went back to the kitchen and found a magnet that I was sure would help me fish out the pin.  Nope.  It just pushed the safety pin down the drain instead.  As a matter of fact, yes, I did say a few choice words.

Back to quilting, I got the center of the top done, running out of bobbin thread with 5 inches to go -- perfect!  Then I started quilting the borders.  Now mind you, I was using my new-to-me Titanium sewing needles -- tougher, supposedly.  I'm here as a witness, that when you 'bump' into a basting pin, not once but twice, YOU WILL BREAK YOUR NEEDLES!  Third needle in place, I managed to finish quilting without drawing blood, in one hour.  I used a new-to-me thread to quilt called Magnifico! by Superior Threads in a charcoal gray shade and at times it looks dusty blue on the quilt, but I like it.  I sewed the binding on and got it into the washing machine.  I really need to launder quilts with the fusible batting so I can get rid of any chemicals and/or alien life forces.  Plus I like to see it get all crinkly from shrinking.

 I think it will make a nice quilt for a boy or even an older gentleman, don't you??  Here's a close up of my quilting.  Very simply done, didn't want anything girly on it!

I completely missed the charity event today so I will have to deliver the quilt directly to Karen, who was heading up the effort.  After the day I've had I just want to go to sleep...........

Quilt Reveal

Last Saturday I gave away two quilts:  one for my niece at her baby shower, and one for my sister who is turning 60 next month.

Baby Sofia's quilt is Italian fabrics -- the alphabet and counting fabric is from Mabelena's in Ortonville.  I was tickled when I bought it last summer.  Had no idea I'd be using it so soon!

I quilted this one myself on my Juki.

Here's the back of her quilt:

Next is the quilt I made for my sister:

It's quite large -- 91" x 94".  It was too big for me to quilt so I had the gals at Quality Quilting in Ann Arbor do it for me.  Denise loves the outdoors in her northern Michigan home.  She loves to collect rocks and work in her flower gardens.

For the back of her quilt I chose African prints, to remind her of her trip to Africa a few years ago.

I selected an all-over leaf design for the quilting pattern and I think it worked out perfectly for her.