Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Onesie

Guessing by all the things that have been given to Dusti, her little girl is not going to need clothes. Nevertheless, I spent this afternoon working on a little outfit for the new baby. She's not even here yet and already I'm sewing for her. Something tells me that there will be lots of these little projects. I imagine this is what happens when you spoil a grand and sew every little thing she wants.

I'm thinking that we'll have to trim the ribbon tails when Dusti sees it, but I love the ribbon when the onsie is held up and the tails are loose. Dusti is a bit particular, so we'll see.

Original version

My version

Since onesies are on my mind, I figured I'd take a look at what Pinterest has to offer in the way of diy. 

And what is Sunday Quilt Inspiration without the inspiration part?

Not much...so baby quilts newborns.

Check out more baby quilts on my Pinterest board, "baby, quilts" where I have about 150 pins. 

Have you seen any good diy pins lately? Please let me know in the comments. 

December Stash Report

It's time to report again. December was the month of little projects and one unplanned baby quilt. I could have made another baby quilt with the time it took to make 10 or so headbands. However I've been making these for students who need warm clothing, so it's been a pleasure.

The pincushions, well, those are just for fun. I hope you've had a few just-for-fun projects this month also.

Stash Report for December 2016
Additions and Subtractions	Yards	Projects from stash	Projects in Que
Used this month:	1.5	pink baby quilt (3)	two scrap quilts
Added this month:	0	headbands    (1)	Moda Noteworthy quilt
Used in 2016:	83½	various pincushions (½)	khaki scrap quilt
Added in 2016:	43½

I'm impressed with the amount of yardage that I used this year. Of course, I bought half as much to replace it. I'm blaming Hancock Fabrics for the purchases since I bought most of it during their closing sale. In fact, I'm still amazed with the fabric that I bought with $100.  Hopefully, I'll use more than I buy in 2017. 

Though I may tweak my report, I've decided to keep track of my fabric usage again this year. I've discovered that it's a good way to encourage myself to use more fabric than I buy. In fact, I was encouraged to avoid buying all together--until the store closing--so it's a good way to stick with that goal. 

Are you planning to keep a stash report? How does it help you?

Camper Rug ~~ Finished! and a tutorial

A week or so ago I wrote about trying to use up some of the many scraps that have been building up (click here).  I've been working on a scrap quilt and a rag rug for our camper.

 For the rag rug, I decided to use some of the cheap, thin poly-cotton that I've had in the stash for some time, years and years, decades. Most of it is in a separate pile, which makes it easy to pull and cut.



CUT: This is an easy project for anyone who wants to get rid of lots of scraps or cheap fabric. I didn't really measure as I cut: I just stacked several layers, eyeballed (an inch or less) and cut. If everything was straight, great; if not, it doesn't matter--it's for a rag rug!

TWIST / BRAID: There are a couple of ways to approach the next step. I chose to twist the strips but it's possible to braid them instead. (It's just like braiding hair with either three or four strips at a time.) My strips are long and braiding would mean handling those long strips which tend to catch and tangle with each other. Twisting just seemed easier.

TWIST: Begin with two strips, preferrably of different lengths. Match and tie the ends together (#1 in the collage below). Twist one of the strips until tightly twisted (#2 white strip). Hold the two ends and pull the strip tightly to help set the twist (it's a little like pressing the fabric). I use a Clover clip and to clip the twisted end. That keeps the twist from falling apart when I let go of the strip to work with the other strip.

Move to the second strip and tightly twist in the same direction as the first (#3 black strip) following all the steps that you did for the first strip. Now you'll have two twisted strips wanting to curl and tangle. Pull them again and rotate the two strips around each other in the opposite direction (#4). I rotate the shorter strip around the longer one. Twisting in one direction and rotating in the opposite direction allows the rope fabrics to lock together as they loosen. The more times you rotate the rope, the tighter it will be.

CONTINUING: What to do when you get to the end of your rope? Simple: add another strip. Again you have choices: sew the strips together, tie them together, or twist the new strip into the previous one. I use all three, but definitely twisting another strip to the old one is my preferred method: overlap at least an inch of the new strip on the old strip, fold them together, and twist tightly. 

TEST / REPAIR: There have been times when the twisted strips didn't grip each other and came loose when I pulled on the rope to test it. That is ridiculously heartbreaking, but it happens. If the fabrics are unraveling, I tie them together. If the fabrics are still in pretty good shape, I stitch them together with a needle and thread that I keep close at hand. I try not to cut the ends off because the strips will then be too short to repair easily. Of course, you could always just trim off whatever is ravelled and start over. 

STORAGE: I've found that the rope is easier to handle if I roll it on a recycled spool. You can use the cardboard core from papertowels or giftwrap. Any cylindrical or rectangular shape will work for storage. I've used a Pringles can and a milk carton, for example. 

SEW: For the rug, I just zigzagged the rope in an oval shape using the Bernina. It is really easy once you get into a rythym: squeeze the rope pieces together and zigzag making sure you catch from one rope to the other. I made an oval shaped rug, but a round rug would likely be just as easy. When I got to the end of the rug, I tucked the rope ends in and made certain to add a few extra stitches to hold them there.

The rug needs to be blocked since it is not lying flat It may also shrink when I wash it, but I have lots of rope to add to the rug, if necessary. 

What would you make with your rope? 

Linking up with

Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts

Pin It Weekly #186

At noon on Monday, the wind picked up and a tornado blew in. Actually seven (7!) tornados touched down in or near the Central Louisiana area causing insane thunder, lightening, rain and drastic changes in the temperature. Oh, and flood watch, again. One tornado destroyed many of the older buildings in the Bunkie area, then decided to go to Marksville to tear off roofs. Along the way, it terrorized another small town. Of course, electricity has been out for most people and still is for some. 


We were barely affected, thank goodness, except for the electrical outage and this weird internet problem. Oddly, the wifi works, but only in some cases. I cannot go to any other blogs, though believe me I've tried, and I can't seem to be able to check my school email. Strangely I can check my personal gmail account. Hopefully everything will be back in working order soon. 

But we can have Pin It Weekly. Only I haven't been able to pin anything. I can go to Pinterest. Look at anything on Pinterest. No pinning. And clicking on anything is a huge waste because other blogs will not open. I tell you, the wifi is almost a strange as the weather.

So anyway, these are a few things that have been pinned in the time that I've not been able to do any of my own pinning. Most of these are from followers--thank you for following!--and are in no particular order. Just some random stuff. 

And then, I found Timber Shelton's site. Oh wow! I got stuck there for the rest of the hour.  Here are some things I want to come back to and pin--when the wifi gods allow, of course! In the meantime, you want to must check it out. 

Cuddles ~~ a finish and a tutorial

Note: This post was written during a recent storm when we didn't have internet (or electricity) and sat in a Word document waiting for today.

Anytime that I am in the studio, Marley might invite herself to be a guest. Except that she doesn't know that she has guest status. She thinks she's free. To touch. To play. To ask questions. To hop on one foot if she want to. (And she often does.)  The limits are sharp objects. (Pins and scissors, basically.)
  

Marley's girl, Cuddles

I was really into my work, so after a couple of attempts to send her on her way, I let her hang out. That is the equivalent of saying, "Make yourself at home. Play. Have fun." 

At some point in time, she became very excited and insisted that I "Come see, come see." My response was much like her favorite, "Aww nuts" except I did go see. 

Playing with the scraps left on the sewing table, she has created a girl, something akin to a doll. Honestly, I think she was as surprised by the outcome as I was. I snapped a picture, and she skipped off to tell everyone else that she "made a girl." 

I appreciated the handiwork so much that I decided to turn her girl into a pillow. 

Tutorial: After cutting a 14 X 14 inch piece of purple for the background, I carefully moved the girl over, checking the photo to replace the pieces that shifted. 

It's a quick project that took perhaps an hour. I pinned each of the pieces carefully and stitched once around the tiny pieces then once around the dress. The idea was to catch each of the pieces with enough stitches to hold everything in place. At this point I added fabric hair and a nose. Once I was able to safely move the piece around, I outlined the eyes and lips with medium brown thread to give them dimension. 

I pressed everything well, and made my quilt sandwich. When pinning the sandwich down, I made sure to pin the loose pieces that could move or shift while on the machine. Then, using the Bernina with the stitch regulator, I used a flesh colored embroidery thread to quilt the doll. The thread blended into the face really well, but the darker arms and legs show the stitching. 

Quilting on the dress (four left-over Dresden pieces that Marley found in the scrap bag) is a simple loop-de-loop that follows the dots on the fabric. I wanted to make sure that the dress would stay in place, but I also wanted it to have some puffiness to it, so I didn't put many sititches on it. 

I thought she was happy with it based on her reaction, but it's when she hauled it into mass that made it official. According to Marley, "Cuddles is the name and soft is her game." She's a crazy kid. 

Don't you love it when a scrap project makes itself?