Sunday, February 20, 2011

Friday Night Sew In..confessions:)

Confessions of the Imperfect Piecer here....even though I had great plans for sewing Friday night, I felt too 'puny' to do much.  I did get this layered and pin-basted, and even started the machine quilting on it.  I want to make this into a quilted pillow case with buttons on the end.  We keep a pillow that size on our sofa most of the time, and a quilted pillow case would be so much nicer than just a regular case.  The back will just be muslin that I will quilt.  


Anyway, please excuse the picture...its just some heart blocks sewn together,  ( still needing the side borders sewn on in this pic).  The blocks are from the GO! tutorial I had here earlier this week, I am anxious to try quilting feathers on the muslin back.  I just love machine quilting! 
Note: the muslin is Moda muslin...does that make it okay?!?

I'm beginning to feel a bit better, so I plan on sewing on Sunday.  
Most of the time I'm raring to go with my sewing, but this weekend I just haven't felt up to doing 'power sewing'!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Friday Night Sew In!


It's Friday, time for the Friday Night Sew In!
What will you be working on?
I'm not feeling so great, but I will sew this evening:)  I have a pillow top to quilt and quilts to work on - hoping I can work up some energy and do some power sewing!
Can't wait to hear what you are working on! 
If you are interested in joining in, you can check out the details here!!

Do you see what I see?

One of those days when I really should have just stayed in bed...I did go to the laundromat and wash the duvets and comforters.  What a job!  I am so glad all the linens are clean and either back on the beds or stored away now.

See what is popping out of the ground!  The tulips never fail to surprise me each spring, no matter the weather, the little leaves push right out of the ground.  It is a beautiful and warm day - 70! - but last week the temperature was in the 20's.

The little squirrel was so happy about the weather, he was a blur running up and down the trees and sidewalks!
The little squirrel was so happy about the weather, he was a blur running up and down the trees and sidewalks!

Praying for those with unspoken needs and worries!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

A postcard I made for someone, and wonder of wonders, it made it to its destination!

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Spring must be right around the corner!

I looked out today to see so many  glorious Robins in the trees and running around on the ground!  I counted well over 100 at one time!  My pictures are pretty fuzzy,  apparently Robins don't like close-up photos taken of them:)
Can Spring be far behind?




Thursday, February 10, 2011

Heart Block Tutorial using the Accuquilt GO! value die


from the sewing machine of the Imperfect Piecer (that's me!),
    a tutorial using the value or basic die that is included with your Accuquilt GO! fabric cutter

I am not usually able to piece precisely - either my seam allowance is off a bit or I've cut the square just a bit smaller or larger.   I don't have to worry about cutting the shapes properly with my GO! and I think I finally have my 1/4" seam allowance set.  (I've only had my 'new' sewing machine about 1 1/2 years:))

Today's tutorial is how to cut and sew a Heart block using the basic (value) die that came with the GO!

For reference this die cuts:
  • Square-4 1/2" (4" finished)
  • Square-2 1/2" (2" finished)
  • Half Square-2" finished triangle (cuts four)
 Besides not being able to easily piece accurately, I'm also admitting I'm a dork.  To play around with the shapes and see what blocks I could make with the basic die, I cut several sheets of white paper.  No pink or blue or red added, just white copy paper. Duh!   It did the job, though:)




This block will be 8" unfinished, 7 1/2" unfinished.



You will need 
from main 'heart fabric'

  • 8  (2 1/2") triangles
  • 2  (2 1/2") squares
  • 1 ( 4") square
from background fabric
  • 8 (2 1/2") triangles
  • 2 (2 1/2") squares
Note: I try to be thrifty when using my fabrics, so I cut about a 10" square of my main 'heart' fabric, then strips to cut the additional squares and triangles



I laid my pieces in rows, then picked up all the triangles and chain-stitched them to save both time and all those little thread ends from having to be clipped.  This is a tip I learned from visiting Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site - a wealth of knowledge and beautiful quilts!

After stitching the triangles, I pressed the seams open to avoid bulk , for all the other seams I pressed them flat then to one side.




 In the picture above, you can see that I have stitched and pressed the triangle pairs, and stitched a 2 1/2" square to the top of a triangle pair.  Make sure you have the triangle pairs with the square attached facing the heart!


This picture (above) shows the 3 sections across.
Two pair of triangles are sewn together for the top section
The triangle square units are sewn to each side of the 4" square for the center section
A 2 1/2" background square is sewn on each side of the remaining triangle pair unit.


Next, stitch the sections together.  See how nicely the squares and triangle points fit together? 

Here is a block I made using 4 of the Heart blocks, using an Aunt Grace fabric.  
Next time I will show you the border I am making for this block using the same basic die-

I hope to make a block or two a week using the basic die.  Stay tuned!  I have 3 projects going at the same time, I didn't plan on that, but it seems I keep finding things I just have to make;)

    Please contact me if you have any questions or if you would like to see more blocks based on the value die featured here. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

    Saturday, February 5, 2011

    Roba Dolce = Love!

    Upon arriving home from husband having tests at the hospital, we see a huge box marked Perishable!
    We found my new love inside:

    My husband immediately picked the Lemon sorbetto to try, and he said it was absolutely delicious!

    My youngest son ate the cup of mango.  He said he wasn't a critic, but it was the best he had ever had.  He said the flavor was perfect!

    If your store has Roba Dolce (at Kroger, it is under the store brand) you will be doing yourself a favor by buying the best sorbetto and gelato available!   It is just plain delicious:)

    Thank you so much, Karen!