Another Stitched Design and a Book Review

Here's a photo of my latest stitched design. This is just a sample to test out an idea. It's only about 8 inches square and I'm using a design I have done previously in applique. I blogged about it here. I've had several inspiration sources for this type of work. It reminds me of Kantha, an Indian (the country India) stitch work. I know almost nothing about Kantha stitching other than a few photos I've seen. The photos I've seen have been online and I was not able to enlarge the photos enough to tell what kind of stitches were used. Just that the stitches were used to create a design, similar to how applique is used in quilting. I'm just using a running stitch or quilting stitch for this project.

For my book review I wanted to share with you the book I won from Pat Sloan's Creative Talk Radio Show about a month ago. The book is title Bended Bias Applique by Linda M. Poole.

Let me start by saying I'm not a big fan of doing applique. I love to admire other people's applique work and I think it is beautiful, but it is not my favorite technique to actually do myself. This is a bit different than other applique techniques I've tried though. The book goes over a couple different standard applique techniques but then you add a thin strip of bias tape to cover the edges of your applique shapes. It could blend in with your applique fabric, or contrast with your applique fabric and act like an outline. I think the idea is that if you do raw edge applique you can still get a finished edge look using this idea. I suppose you could also cover up bad applique stitches if necessary too.

The book has 41 patterns inside, in addition to the instructions on how to make bias tape and do the bended bias applique technique. The patterns are not full size so you have to enlarge them before doing them which is something I've heard applique fans complain about. Most of the patterns are for various types of flowers. But there are also a few butterfly patterns, some Celtic designs and hearts.

Overall, a very nice book. Not something I would have purchased (because I don't like to do applique and typically don't purchase applique books) but the technique is very interesting and something I'd like to try. Originally I thought that I would just look at the book to learn the technique and then donate it to my guild library. However, after looking at it, I think I'll hold on to it for a while and maybe in a couple of years it will end up in the guild library.

Just Passing Through

While finishing up my tote bag for the swap yesterday afternoon I spied this guy through my sewing room window in our neighbor's tree. Orioles pass through our area this time every year. Such pretty birds!

My tote bag is done but the street in front of the post office was blocked off when I went by this morning. The city is replacing water pipes and making a huge mess. One of those necessary projects that is not fun to do or have to live through having done. They probably didn't have the whole street blocked but I decided to just avoid the area for today and try again tomorrow.

I spent a few hours at my LQS this morning/afternoon with my art group. We had a blast! I'll post photos of my project soon.

Cub Scout Top Done

I've got the top done for the Cub Scout quilt. Parker seems very happy with it. I'm taking a break today from this project to get a few other things done. I have my tote bag for the swap about half done. I am planning to finish it today and get it in the mail tomorrow. I swung by the post office this morning to pick up two Priority Mailers. I'll print out the postage from home.

My art group is meeting tomorrow so I have piles of fabric out in preparation for our project. I need to cut some strips but I have my sketch done of what I plan to make.

I have also done party shopping for Parker's birthday party this Saturday in addition to the other regular weekly shopping. My Safeway is rearranging and cleaning the shelves so I wasn't able to get everything on my list. Half of the produce section was empty as was half of the dairy aisle. I didn't want to discourage cleanliness and I was able to get everything we needed, so I'll just go back later in the week for the other stuff.

Half-Square Triangles

I feel like I've been making half-square triangles for days and days! I got the last ones finished up this afternoon and the fourth border for the Cub Scout quilt is almost complete.

I've used many different methods to make half-square triangles in the past. When I started quilting I just used the formula of add 7/8" to your finished size square. Cut a square that size and then cut it in half on the diagonal and sew two triangles together and press open. My squares never came out square with this method though. I don't know if I was just not accurate enough with my sewing or pressing, but I quickly realized this method wasn't going to work well for me.

Then I discovered Thangles - the triangle papers. I used these for a queen size quilt that had a lot of half-square triangles in it. They worked well but then I had to pull off the paper and that was a lot of work. Plus it left little bits of paper all over the place, which didn't make me very happy.

My next method was to cut a square 1" larger than the finished size half-square triangle needed. Draw a line along the diagonal of one of the fabrics, sew 1/4" away from the line on each side. Cut on the line, press the half-square triangles open and then square them up to the needed unfinished size. This worked great, but drawing lines on 100 squares gets old fast.

Then I discovered the Angler 2. I love my Angler.

It can be a bit of chore to get it lined up right with the needle. It's a lot faster than drawing the bunch of diagonal lines though! Once it is set up properly and taped down, I can make a lot of half-square triangles pretty quickly. I still cut my square 1" larger than the needed finished size. I line up the tip of one corner with the appropriate line on my angler and sew. Then I just flip the square over and sew the other side. Cut on the diagonal, press open and square up.

I had to make 192 half-square triangles for the border of the Cub Scout quilt. Whew!

Cub Scout Quilt progress and a surprise

More progress on the Cub Scout quilt. I have two of the four borders made (a short side and a long side) and the long side is already attached to the quilt. I wanted to make sure that my measurements were correct and that the borders would fit before making any more half-square triangles. Looks like everything is working out as it should so now I get to make the rest of the half-square triangles.

And look what came in the mail for me today. A belated Mother's Day gift.

The Amazon Wish List is a wonderful thing! As I see stuff I want I just put it in my list. When there is a gift occasion my husband just picks something from my list. I love getting exactly what I want and he loves not having to do much shopping!

This is a beautiful book. It is small, just 8" square, but 1.5" thick. The kind of book you can look at over and over and see something new every time. If you are looking for some nice quilty eye candy, this book would be perfect.

A Recommendation

I just finished watching a very interesting episode of the PBS show Frontline. The title of the episode was "Digital Nation." It originally aired on Feb. 2, 2010. I watched it through Netflix. We recently purchased a new Blue Ray player that came with the ability to access Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Picasa, and several other online sites. Along with the player came a free two weeks Netflix membership. We signed up for the "one DVD at a time and the ability to stream as much as we want" membership. I watched the Digital Nation on TV streamed through Netflix. I am seriously considering canceling our cable TV service, ... but I digress.

The Frontline episode was very interesting and thought provoking and well done. I expect no less from PBS. If you have an opportunity to watch the episode, I recommend it.

What does this have to do with quilting? Absolutely nothing. And everything. I have been thinking a lot lately about why I quilt (or craft). Is it just to make stuff? I don't think so because I could buy a quilt for a lot less than it costs me to make one. I haven't got a concise answer to that question yet but I believe it has something to do with the act of making something that takes time and is hand-made, one-of-a-kind. In this digital age in which I literally have the world at my finger tips when I'm online, there is something therapeutic about this process of making a quilt. Why do you quilt (or craft)?

Cub Scout Quilt progress

Here is the center of the Cub Scout quilt I'm working on for Parker. The pattern is the Disappearing Nine Patch pattern. I am using the yellow and blue Scout fabric to make a pieced border. A photo of my progress on that is below.

This is just a sample of how the border will look. I've got more half-square triangles sewn than this photo shows, but not all of them yet. I plan to put a narrow strip of green between the center and this border then use the same green for binding. It is not the same green as either of the two greens that are in the center. I do not have enough of either of these fabrics to do a border or binding. I decided not to buy more of the green Scout fabric and the other green is an older print that I couldn't find in the 30 minutes I looked for it online. My LQS had a very nice green that goes well with the other fabrics and will be just fine.