Tag / quilting

by princesshotflash

It’s been a while

The bougainvillea are blooming in Cora’s garden. I thought I’d share some color with you.

Since Mom passed, life has been more challenging than I thought it would be. The quietness of the house is the hardest thing to deal with. I didn’t realize how much energy Mom brought to the house. I know Dad feels it, too.

Dad and I are trying our best to deal with it in our own way. Dad keeps at his word-find puzzles and exercises with his caregivers. Let’s see if he will be up to doing some holiday drawings.

I’ve been busy trying to finish off half-finished projects and work through my fabric and yarn stash (I have more than I can ever use in my lifetime).

Odd-shaped scrap potholders

scraps for potholders
the odd shape pieces
the inspector
upcycling the binding scrap
adding some hand-stitching
finished

These are scraps from a donated quilt I made. I use as many scraps as possible to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Charity Knit Hats

wrong side of reverse stockinette
view of the right side
finished with pompom

It is one of four charity hats I’m making using the marling technique to use up my yarn stash. The pattern is It’s a Snap from Tin Can Knits.

Scrappy strips basket

building up the sides
the pile of skinny scraps

I’m using skinny strips, white binding (from the donated quilt project), and embroidery thread on this scrappy project.

I’m also working on quilt #8. It is for a friend’s friend, who gave me scrap fabric from her mom’s stash and asked if I could make her a quilt. I’m shooting for the end of November to finish the quilt so I can hand it off when I see my friend.

#8

last square
with batting
the backing
getting ready to quilt
quiltinng
stitches

That’s all for now. My sewing machine will be going out for service, so I will have more time for knitting and crocheting projects.

by princesshotflash

No. 7

Note: I was trying to get this post done for a while, but life throws curve balls, and things are just a little delayed.

No. 7 started with wanting to make a quilt with a star pattern. I looked through my stash and found what I thought would be enough scraps for a throw. The scraps also gave me an idea of who the quilt was for.

Test star pattern on my tiny design board

Once I tested the star pattern, I realized I may not have enough print scraps for a star-only quilt. I worked up a few sketches and chose the simplest solution.

My solution

I decided on a square of four prints surrounded by pink. I had the pieces mostly cut, and sewing up the blocks was fast. The layout was easy, as I laid it out in my sketch.

On my temporary design wall

After a few mistakes, the blocks are done. One last check to see if I’m good with the placement. I did wonder if it needed a border.

Border or no border?

I decided against the border because it didn’t go well with the backing and binding I planned to use. I found a perfect piece for the backing in my stash. It was large enough that I didn’t need to be stitched together. The backing print had a reddish-purple background that went well with the quilt top. Then, I found an olive green swirl print that worked well with the backing print. Both prints had similar greens that worked well with the quilt top.

Quilt, binding, and backing

My Quilting Pattern, or as I call it, “because I can’t sew that straight.”

I didn’t know what I would do for the quilting. I hate seeing my wobbly stitch lines that should be straight on the quilt. And when I was testing out free motion quilting (which I didn’t do), I did some test quilting with random intersecting circles that I enjoyed. That was my plan.

We all should remember (well, I should say “I”) that my test quilting was done on small pieces of scrap versus a quilt the size of a throw. Thank goodness it wasn’t a bigger blanket.

test
quilting #7
random
Not as easy as I thought it would be

Tah Dah! Here it is. I thought I would have more control of the swirls, but the quilt’s size made a big difference from the test I did. A bit of ripping out and starting over again was involved. It’s been done for a while and has been with its new owner. I hope she likes it or finds someone who does.

The quilting on the backing looks even crazier than the front.

I need to work on my quilting skills, which means more quilting. Next in my queue is a throw for a friend of a friend who gave me some 70s prints from her mom. I just have to get my sewing room back up to working order. I moved my machines inside, but I still need to set them up to make my quilting more efficient.

by princesshotflash

What I made in 2023

I started a post the other day about my holiday baking. I couldn’t finish it. I was not feeling it. I decided to dump that post and start a new one about what I made in 2023.

I like doing these wrap-ups at the end of the year. It’s a great way to look back at what I accomplished. It does surprise me how much I got done.

Being a full-time caregiver sometimes feels like I’m a waitress or maid to my parents. This is the reason for my projects. It gives me purpose and keeps my sanity from the stress of caring for loved ones with dementia.

Here’s my rundown of all of my mades.

Stitching

I picked up stitching in 2022 as a way to quiet my brain. It really works. I do it in the morning with my cup of coffee.

Left to right: coaster made with machine and hand quilting, scrappy trivet, scrappy bowl

Lei-making

My beautiful pakalana plants were so fruitful in their second year. I made my ten girlfriends each a (at least three strands) pakalana lei for their birthday. Pakalana is seasonal, so the birthday leis were always a surprise as most of them arrived long after their birthday.

Many stages of leimaking

Quilting

I took on a commission in 2022 to create a quilt with the fabric provided. I could do any pattern, but it needed to be as big as possible. I got stuck for several months after finishing the quilt top. I made no move moment on this quilt. I decided to rework my workroom, which was the key to getting me going again. Now I’m on quilt #7. I got the bug.

All my scrappy quilts. One was commission piece plus seven for donation or gifts.

Knitting

My knitting has been the back seat to my quilting; I have only finished a few items this year.

Left to right, top to bottom: Grandma Nancy’s shawl; Blocking Boneyard and Grandma Nancy’s Shawls in the sun; mitts for a friend; Orange loves to help; Zabutons to throw pillows; Zig zag pillow; February hat; Zick zack scarf

Finishing up          

These are the partially finished projects that were gifted to me that I finished up this year. On Instagram, there’s a group called Loose Ends, that finishes up projects for the loved one. I guess this is my own Loose Ends project. I tried to return the finished project to the giver, or I gifted the project to someone special.

Left to right: This Hawaiian quilt pillow only needed quilting one little corner. I turned it into a pillow by adding an envelope back and binding it in some gifted fabric (in the perfect prints and color), then I made a pillow insert to finish off; I got three embroidered panels she made while recuperating from broken ankles. I turned one of the panels into Komebukuro (rice bag in Japanese) to hold her next project.

I’m stopping here or at this rate, I’ll never publish this before the end of 2024. I hope I have another productive crafty year. Happy New Year!

by princesshotflash

Life: 11.11.2020

Who knew in a matter of two three months, my life would change so much. Here’s what is going on. I started this post on 10.20.2020 and have started on a few things.

me from the trail
  1. Furlough officially turned into unemployed.
  2. Decided only to work part-time 
  3. Staying put in my parent’s house.
I guess I need to look life from a different point of view

I mentioned in my post Moving Forward; I need to update my to-do list. I looked back at my list, and it seems going longer and longer. Hmmm. I thought I made more progress. 

Well, I need to adjust the ever-growing list to make it attainable for me to feel like I’m getting things done. I’m putting out in the universe. 

Do List

  • Clean out my storage unit by the end of the year; last week I cleared out 4 boxes; and I think I found a home for the dehydrator and my imac.
  • Get plans to rework the house: call someone to draw up the ideas.
  • Make a budget; made the budget sheet; need to make an appointment with myself to enter my month expenses
  • Work on projects with scrap materials and yarn
  • Draft a blouse pattern for me and make so clothes for me
  • Start stitching my aloha shirt patchwork quilt
  • Open my Etsy shop; scheduled myself for a photo shoot for my inventory this week
  • Make a sourdough starter and make more bread
  • Experiment with my pickle and jam flavors

This list is my wish list that things I want to do and over time hope to achieve.

Wish List

  • Go on another hiking trip to Japan.
  • Learn how to double knit and brioche stitch
  • Make a batch of miso
  • Make a batch of croissant