Blog

Two years ago, at my annual eye appointment, I was told I had the start of cataracts. My vision deteriorated quite quickly after that, requiring three prescription changes in under two years. At the last visit I was told that my cataracts were very fast growing – and it was time for surgery. What a blessing that turned out to be! I was able to have my astigmatism corrected via laser, and then have trifocal lenses put in place in both eyes. I can read, work on the computer, and see distance without glasses for the first time since I was nine years old! Amazing!

That being said, nothing is perfect. It’s a small thing, but to read I need to have bright light now. Enter Emma. A month ago I brought home my new Janome. I named her after my great grandmother (click here for that post) and we’ve been getting along famously. I realized right away that she needed to have tattoos like all her friends (decals really). That was an easy fix – and I think she looks stunning.

In the above photo please notice the bar that says “Janome” on the upper left. This is actually a light that slides back flush with the machine, and then slides out to put light right where it’s needed. This is especially helpful since my eyes need more light now to line up blocks for piecing before I put them under the needle.

In the past I’ve used a generic clamp magnifier to see detail work. It was a bit cumbersome. Emma to the rescue again. She has her own easy to attach magnifier:

that swings out of the way when it’s not needed.

And there’s one more feature I didn’t think I’d use much. I was wrong. Attached to the right of the very large foot pedal is a smaller one ~ and it works the automatic cutter on the machine ~ hands free. Brilliant!

I’m finding more things I like about her every day. Today’s stitching adventure was to make the final blocks in the Murder Mystery Quilt. I really love the apricot batik fabric, and these strips of blocks were once again very interesting.

Next month we won’t get any new blocks to make ~ instead we’ll learn how they all fit together. I’m looking forward to it!

*****************

And one more thing! I was cleaning out some drawers and found a “what is it?” item. It’s made of black shiny plastic. One side has a piece of paper covering a thin, gray, spongey adhesive disc. Any ideas???

****************

FYI ~ the watercolor eyes at the top of this post were painted by my niece, Kaitlin Walsh. She does amazing anatomical art. I did a post about her a few years ago, and you can click here to read that post. If you’d like to read more about her, please visit her website: https://www.lyonroadart.com/. She also has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=lyon%20road%20art. Kaitlin has many fascinating items available for sale. If someone on your Christmas list is interested in anatomical art ~ framed prints, mugs, coasters, puzzles, etc. ~ I know you’ll find her site a blessing.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions for combining batting scraps into usable pieces in last week’s post. This week’s post is another topic that you might want to respond to at the end. I love how we can learn from each other.

Do you have a design wall? They really are invaluable! The ones I’ve used for years are 7′ x 4′ styrofoam insulation boards, covered with gray fabric (they started as 8′ boards and I had to cut them down to fit in my studio). I don’t have them covered in flannel, since flannel attracts threads and I want things to look neat when I photograph quilts on them. The down side is I have to pin things in place. It’s a choice that works for me. My walls are covered with a charcoal gray polyester fabric I found on a clearance rack at JoAnns. Here they are in front of my quilt “storage box” (click here for a post about my “magic box”).

Tall Pines retreat has a number of flannel backed tablecloths, hanging on the walls flannel side out, to be used as design walls. I think this is a great idea for quilters with limited space because it can be hung in front of a closet (or other similar area) from just a few nails at the top, and taken down when not needed. Some quilters put grommets in the tablecloths to reinforce the hanging spots. Here’s my project hanging from one of the tablecloths at Tall Pines.

While I was working on it, my friend Deb began putting her One Block Wonder blocks up on another tablecloth design wall.

It was going well, but when she realized she wasn’t going to get it sewn together before the retreat ended she was a bit disappointed. It would have been a big effort to take all the hexagons down, and then replace them on her wall at home. So, we came up with a better solution! She rolled the pieces up inside the tablecloth to take them home,

and then replaced the retreat center’s cloth with a new one. So here’s the lesson learned:

If you plan to work on a quilt at a retreat, and you’ll need a big chunk of time to figure out block placement, take your own flannel backed tablecloth so you’re ready to transport it home easily if needed!!!

What does your design wall look like? Any suggestions you’d like to share?

 

When I went looking for a piece of batt to layer the friendship quilt from last week’s post, I couldn’t find one big enough in all the leftover pieces from previous projects. I didn’t want to cut into a new batt for this small project, so I decided to piece some of the chunks I had. I learned a simple way to do this years ago, and decided it might be of help to some of you.

Typically the chunks we want to piece together do not have even edges. This trick makes them fit perfectly. Simply overlap the uneven edges.

Place a ruler on the overlap, being sure there’s some of each piece past the edge of the ruler and cut.

Remove the excess batt.

Then stitch the even edges together with a “Z” stitch. I recommend matching your thread and making the horizontal stitches about 1″ apart. Don’t pull them tight ~ just enough to cause the edges to lie comfortably against each other.

Once stitched it should hold together well enough to layer and pin the quilt sandwich. And once finished the quilting will hold the batting secure. This is the batting being pieced for my runner (note needle almost half way up).

The “Z” stitch is a temporary stitch, so be gentle as you put the sandwich together. I personally would rather do this than purchase batting tape. Do you have a way you prefer? Any other ideas for using up scrap batt?

Prior to our trip to the UK I did a post about the friendship block project I was putting together for the tour.

My blocks were made from Liberty fabrics, and you can click here to read that post. While in Birmingham I collected the blocks from the participants. One evening it was time to lay them out on my bed, and gather 1 from each pile to make an evenly mixed stack for each quilter. In the past we would have the ladies walk around and pick up the blocks themselves, but it never seemed to come out right. I eventually discovered that making the piles in a quiet room by myself yields the best results.

Not everyone joined the exchange, so those who did brought extra blocks to get signatures from the others… and from interesting people we met along the way. Also, a few quilters stepped out and created their own exchange. It was fun to see the variety. One night we had a get together for the blocks to be returned, and then the collecting of additional signatures began.

During our travels, many of us asked people we met along the way to sign blocks too! Like Calico Kate!

And Jen Jones

A few weeks after our return home I went on a quilt retreat with the Fabricators. One of my goals was to put the friendship squares together – and I did. I also had some larger “test” blocks I’d made when coming up with the pattern, and I decided to stitch them into a back for my table runner (on the left). I got them both pieced while on retreat.

Then I finished it up at home. A few weeks later we had our trip reunion and I was excited to see what the others had done with their blocks!

Each one was delightful! Thanks ladies for making this project so much fun!

***********

And one more thing! Friends of mine from church were married last month, and I couldn’t resist making them a wedding quilt. I chose a top from my UFO pile, and finished it just for them. To read a post about the making of this fun, scrappy block click here!

I stitched their names across the top border, and because Wes and Rose are planning on going into the ministry, I included a Bible verse across the bottom.

Last summer I went to a rummage sale of a lady who’s sister was a quilter, and had passed away. She had some beautiful pieces of fleece, and one of them was perfect for the back of this cozy quilt. Isn’t it lovely?

May God bless Wes and Rose in their married life!

I’m having to make a change in how I send out emails for my blog. The first thing I want you to know is:

I will still be posting every Sunday, and whether you receive an email from me or not you can always see my most recent post (and all the rest) by going to www.chrisquilts.net/blog.

You should have received two emails directing you to this page. If you only received one it means you had been blocked on Mailchimp – thus the reason for this change. This means you may have missed a few posts, and you can now read them by simply scrolling down at the end of this post.

For years I’ve sent out around 2000 emails each Sunday through two online email servers, because this is the best way to send a large group of emails. One of those servers deleted half of my list last December, and now the other one that I’ve used since 2010 is acting up.

So ~ I’ve found a new option. As of this post you will be receiving my emails through Email Octopus 😃.

You don’t need to do anything if you received the email from emailoctopus. If not, please send me a note at , so I can add you to that list. Also, if you’d rather not receive my emails, simply email me and I’ll unsubscribe you.

Also, if you know of anyone who wants to be on my list, they can email me to be added to it.

I’m very hopeful this will work and keep my blog ad free for years to come! Thanks for understanding, Chris

This has been an exciting week! One of the reasons is that the leaves are finally turning beautiful. I love the colors of Autumn!

So this past Monday I said to Mike “Let’s go for a ride and enjoy the scenery”. He responded that he had a lot of yard work to do, and I was just as happy to stay home and quilt while looking out the window.

At this point I need to back up just a bit. As most of you know I’ve been blessed to teach in the Janome room at the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show for many years. Ardyth’s Sew-N-Vac sponsors the room, and Ardyth’s daughter Michelle now runs the store. She is a joy to work with! Each year I’ve been more and more impressed with their Horizon series of machines. I guess I’ve been talking about those machines a lot since the show, because a little later last Monday morning Mike came into the studio and said “Let’s go for a ride to Baraboo and look at sewing machines”!!! Sew ~ we did (what a sweetie)! The ride was beautiful and,

after having fun doing a test drive with Michelle (who also likes wearing bright colors),

my Horizon 9450 QCP is now happily hanging out with my “girls” (to read the post about naming my sewing machines after my grandmothers click here). I’ve decided to name her Emma, after my maternal great grandmother. My one concern on the ride home was whether or not she would fit into the opening in my Tracey’s Table. I’ve had this table for decades and absolutely love it. Sadly it ended up being a 1/2″ too small. Mike to the rescue again. He had to remove and rebuild the box she sits in,

cut the opening larger, and then reattach the box.

I’m so blessed, and I should be able to set it up soon. But in the meantime I needed to make my October blocks for the Murder Mystery Quilt. So I set up a folding table and took her for a spin.

She purred happily as I pieced, and the blocks were done in no time. This month’s strip was the Greek key pattern. A fitting block for a mystery that takes place in Greece.

We have one more pattern and one more chapter to go before we find out how all these colorful pieces are supposed fit together.

I’m sure it’s going to be much more interesting than the way I arranged them here and ~ the top will give us another clue into who the murderer is ~ WooHoo! So much fun. It truly was a wonderful week! I can’t wait to spend time getting to know Emma better 😊!

PS I also plan on helping my dear husband with the yard work this week 🤣.

I hope last week’s post made you want to know more about “scissors zingers”.

They are incredibly handy for keeping scissors close at hand when stitching. They also make your scissors easy to identify. And a big plus ~ this project is a great place to use those pretty buttons and beads you’ve been collecting.

The “zingers” I use (behind the yo-yo decoration) have a strong, retractable string attached to a loop or ring for connecting them to a pair of small scissors.

They can be found online by searching for “retractable zingers”.

To begin, make two different sized yo-yos (ie 1 1/2″ & 1″ diameter), and stitch the smaller one onto the larger. Clover’s Quick Yo-Yo Makers™ are a great tool for making yo-yos.

Next, thread a selection of beads into 3 strands of slightly differing lengths. To make this beaded fringe: 1. String beads onto beading thread 2. Pass the needle through an end bead 3. Go around the end bead and go back through the string of beads.

Sew these strands to the center of the yo-yo stack, and top it all off with a pretty button or charm. These units can then be attached to the purchased zinger with E6000 glue. The zingers come in various styles, and this is what some of them look like from the back.

That’s it! Attach your scissors and you’re ready to go!

Another handy, yet decorative item I purchased years ago was my seam ripper necklace.

And then, at the Great Wisconsin Qulit Show in September I found this adorable scissors necklace. I love that I can remove and use it with one hand.

Do you have a decorative, wearable sewing tool you’d like to share?

In the early 90’s I participated in quite a few craft fairs. I was always coming up with fun items to sell, but I never made enough money to quit my day job (dental hygiene 😁). One of these projects was a sewing chatelaine. It was meant to be worn around the neck when doing handwork, and was made up of a quilt block pin cushion with a measuring tape or ribbon connected to a folding scissors. I was pleasantly surprised to find a photo of some of the ones I made way back then.

Well, years later I made a very different type of chatelaine which I use often, and I brought it with me to a class I took while at the Birmingham Festival of Quilts. The ladies I sat with in the Dorset Button Brooch class (click here to read that post) we’re very interested in it (it’s around my neck, peeking out from behind Quiltina).

While chatting with them about it, I thought “this might make a good blog topic”. Then, while at the Victoria and Albert museum in London,

I walked through their jewelry exhibit and found ~ a chatelaine:

and a bit of history to go with it:

Fascinating! Here’s a photo of how they would have been worn.

That’s when I knew there was definitely going to be a blog post on this topic. Back in 2006 Wendy and I took a group of quilters on a cruise on the Danube River. The project we came up with for the travelers to work on while on the trip was a chatelaine made with men’s neckties as a base.

Prior to the trip everyone marked the tie placement on their background fabric. Then, while floating along the Danube, we’d meet up in the riverboat’s lounge and embellish the fabric with designs from our different ports of call, in a variety of techniques. The Danube River, and the Lorelei pincushion at the bottom left were hand appliquéd. The house in Nuremberg was painted. The Passau pipe organ, Melk grapes, and the St. Stephansdom tiled roof were all beaded. And lastly, the chain bridge in Budapest was inked in with fabric markers.

We all had fun collecting pins from the different cities we visited to add to the effect. Once home everyone was sent instructions on how to cover the neckties with their embellished chatelain covers. It was a fun project, and I use it quite often. I love the memories it brings back whenever I use it.

I recently came up with an idea for making my chatelaine even more useful. I added ruler lines to the back of one side so I can do a quick bit of measuring when needed.

A few years after that trip we led a tour to the quilt show in Sisters, Oregon. One of the projects we came up with for that trip was yo-yo buttons for scissors zingers. The one in the photo above isn’t made with a yo-yo, but it was the basis for a fun new project idea. Here are a few of the yo-yo versions.

Are you intrigued? Next week’s post will explain them in more detail, just in case you’d like to make your own.