Pin It Weekly #110

How about a little fine art for fun pinning?  I just love artwork that depicts women and girls, so that's what I'm pinning.  Sit back with these proper ladies (most of them anyway) and enjoy.

What have you been pinning lately?  Add the url to one of your Pinterest boards or to a blog post that includes pins from your board.

An InLinkz Link-up

Have Bernina Will Travel

In yesterday's post I promised to tell how I brought the Bernina to NY state and back.  It's one of the really nice advantages of hauling a camper behind the truck.  I set up a section of storage just for sewing.  Well, I had a separate "library" with books and magazines, too.  On the days that I did get to sew, I used the dining table as my sewing table.  I was a bit worried about its stability but it turns out that it's not a problem, at all. 

Just because I had a nice bit of storage does not mean I could fit the entire studio, so I had to carefully choose what I'd bring along.

I decided to make and bring a couple of kits.  One such kit included 4 1/2 inch squares that I cut on the Accuquilt Studio cutter.  To keep the pieces together and separate from the other kit pieces, I put them in this little net bag.  The second kit included about six different bright pieces for a plus quilt.  The pluses are different sizes.  Although it was difficult to fit together, I managed to finish the top this week.

These two kits I stored in a plastic container along with needles, thread, scissors, etc.

The final kit included this rose fabric that I bought several years ago.  My tastes have changed tremendously since then, but what's a girl to do?  I can't just toss out perfectly good fabric just because it's not what I prefer to work with now.  So I decided I'd cut a fast-kit using some fairly large pieces and make myself work on it.  I sewed all the blocks together, but because I didn't have space for a design board, I pressed them and placed them back into the plastic container that they were packed in.  I do have to press them again, but they should go on the design board fairly soon.

This is what they look like, but I don't have the same number of each border color, so I'm definitely going to have to play with them to  figure out a design.

Because I never know when or what inspiration will hit me, I decided to pack a third container of solid fabrics that would serve if I decided to do some improvisational or art quilting.  

Inspiration did hit, but I didn't actually piece anything.  Instead, I took notes and drew out a basic design so that I could remember what was in my head.  I've played a bit with the design, but it's not ready for fabric quite yet.  I promise to keep you posted though.
What do you do when traveling?  Do you just leave it all behind or do you carry some things along?  How do you choose and pack your things?

Modern Monday: Cross Quilt

I managed to start a new quilt while on vacation.  I'll tell you how I pulled that off tomorrow, but in the meantime, I thought I'd show a couple of sneak peaks of this very bright quilt.

This is what I managed to put together while on hiatus from traveling.  There weren't many hours off the black top, but on those days that we pulled into a campsite early, I pulled out the machine and played.

That means when we got home, I had these blocks all finished up.  I decided to add some more background fabric to separate the blocks so they would not be quite so busy.  

And this is where I am right now.  Quilting the background.  I've decided to quilt all of the background then come back and quilt the crosses.  I am thinking of matching the thread to the individual crosses and that will take time since I have six or seven different colors.

And that's what's modern in my studio. What modern fun are you playing with?  Come back tomorrow to see what I did to be able to sew while on vacation.

Linking up with

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt 

Patchwork Times

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: W A T E R

"Although water covers 70 percent of the Earth's surface, water is actually a rare substance that represents just 0.05 percent of the Earth's total mass."   Science Nordic

The water....

The quilts...

Hooded Beach Towel ~~ a tutorial

Today I made a couple of hooded beach towels for the little granddaughters.  They love to go to the beach or to Mim's house to swim.  A school of fish, they are.  

Tracking pool water into the house is an idea few of the adults appreciate.  So I thought I'd help just a little by making some hooded towels.  And to help you, I thought I'd write a tutorial that explains how I did this.

Supplies: 
1 regular bath towel (27 X 52)
1 regular hand towel (16 X 28)
fabric scraps (fat quarter) 5 X 33
(These measurements are for the supplies I had.  You may have to make adjustments to fit your own supplies.)

To determine the length of the fabric you will need double the width of the hand towel and add one inch.  If your hand towel is 17 X 30, the final measurement is 17 x 2 + 1.  So the fabric should measure 5 X 35.  If you're using scraps or a fat quarter, you'll need to piece the fabric, but don't forget to add the extra 1/2 inch for the seams.

Once the fabric is cut to the right length, press the seams open. Then fold and press down 1/2 inch along one long side and both short edges.  Set aside for a moment.



Figure out which side of the hand towel is the right side.  (Not all hand towels have a right and wrong side.)  With right sides together (RST) fold the towel in half on the width and make a short angular seam beginning 1 and 1/2 inches from the edge.  Sew almost to the edge but stop short of the hem seam.  

Now to make the hood, lay the towel down and place one hem edge on top of the other hem so that they both lie flat.  Sew the entire length of the center back seam.  Tip: To encourage the seam to lie flat, sew in a wavy, rather than straight line.  Notice how crooked my seam is?  That's on purpose!

Now you're ready to add the colorful fabric that trims out the hood. There are two open edges of the hood, one with a seam and one without.  Lay the hood on the worktable with the un-seamed edge right side down. Pin the fabric along the edge wrong sides together.  Tip: the fabric will roll around to the other side leaving a small amount to frame the wearer's face.  You can adjust the width of this amount by moving the decorative fabric.  Look at the bottom picture on the left to see the difference.  I prefer the wider version, but the decision is the maker's.

Once this seam is made, turn the decorative fabric around to the right side of the hand towel and pin in place.  Be careful to make sure the edge is flat.  

Sew along the edge of the fabric to create a top-stitch.  Tip: I use my presser foot to keep my seam fairly even, just a point on the presser foot as you would the lines on the machine.

Now you're ready to attach the hood to the bath towel.  Determine the right side, and then fold the towel in half on the width to find the center and pin to mark.  Lay the towel on your work surface so that the center portion of the towel is flat.  Beginning at the center, pin the edge of the hood so that the center back seam of the hood is directly on the pinned center of the towel.  


Tips: I opened the hood center back seam to reduce bulk.  I also sewed this seam so that both hems lay flat by sewing a wavy line as I had earlier.  One final touch I added is a small tailor-tack at each end of the hood to help hold the seam together.  To do this, make a narrow, tight zigzag stitch about 1/4 inch long.