My Tidbits on Quilting

So I learned to sew from my grandma back when I was still little. She sewed literally everything in that house. Most of it was some strange 1970s fabric and design that just wants stylish even in the 90s. It didn't help that their walls had fabric wall paper also to just set the mood. Also she had a thing for Norman Rockwell and hummingbirds. Basically it was a weird house. 

Back to my point... I guess I just assumed that my little sewing lesson where i learned to sew a bunny pillow that was completely adorable as a 7-year-old was just enough to make me a pro-sewer 15 years later. 

This stupid arrogance led me to be super ambitious when it comes to quilts.

Moral of the story: don't be a pompous fool.


I made some elaborate plans for quilting on an average machine that were just not possible. I would get frustrated and quit the machine and hand sew the freakin' thing. (Which now I don't regret because hand sewn quilts are awesome.)

I just started googling quilting themes and realized, "Hey you don't have to come up with the absolute most elaborate pattern for a quilt to look awesome." 

I fumbled through a few blogs on free motion quilting and found that Oh, Fransson! has the best instructions. 

Check her out, she is super descriptive and just makes sewing fun!

So I started making a new quilt. This will be my third official quilt. I have also repaired one but I may go into that later on...


My mother kept mentioning wanting a star quilt. From the pictures I showed her, she seemed to be more interested in the lone star type quilt. So not knowing how to do such a quilt, I turned to trusty ole' google.

I searched that shit til I found a good tutorial for a lone star queen sized quilt. I came across this fabulous tutorial ( it's in 2 parts because it is so wonderfully detailed :)):

http://parkersnowefiberartblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/watch-for-lone-star-quilt-tutorial.html

http://parkersnowefiberartblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/star-quilt-tutorial-part-2.html



So I am not that skilled of a sewer and I just kept getting frustrated with the sewing aspect of the quilt.


I managed to get all my strips sewed and my star complete ( some how, I don't understand )

Now it would be time to quilt this shit....

So I roll it up and get all ready...

I am choosing to use the quilting hook things because I know last time I was super irritated with the bulk of the quilt and I said screw dealing with that and I will use these clampy things....


I get the quilt on to the machine and much to my dismay...... terrible nothingness. I can't get the damn machine to quilt for shit. I try and try everything. Adjust tension, clean it all out, rethread, and re-bobbin. NOTHING!!!!!


NOTHING!

NOTHING!


I get so frustrated I decide to hand quilt. Mind you, I already have tried this route before...

...took me nearly a year to finish...

Also, mind you, I want to get this done before Christmas. It's 3 weeks till and I have no other option but to bite the massive, leady, nasty bullet of hand quilting.


I know from past quilts that hand quilting is beautiful and more meaningful and this that and the third.

I also know that it takes away part of your soul. Especially if you have a job, a husband, a dog, and a life....

 But stubborn ole' me decides it's my best and only (?) option...

So here it goes, all queen sized quilt on my lap hand quilting like a mad man to make my deadline.


Long story short, I finished it. Not in time for Christmas, but in time enough by the time I saw my momma and could present her with the massiveness of this quilt.


I do not have a finished picture unfortunately at this moment because I am lazy. And the quilt is already over 300 miles away... So until I can see it again this is it.


But seriously if you want to do a lone star type quilt, follow the given tutorial... it's perfect!

Etching to Etch Glass.

I know...Two whole posts in one day but hey this girl got behind and crafty...

So yes I know Pinterest is loved and hated by all. You hate that you love it soooo much. Well I have noticed that everyone has been starting to do their own glass etching and also saying just how very easy this stuff is. I gave this Pinterst find a chance. 

First I had to figure out what to do. The hubs loves beer, and being in the Air Force. He has a few beer mugs of his own but I decided why not add more to that collection. 

I bought and gathered all my supplies:

Armour Etch,
Contact paper (like that stuff you put in silverware drawers),
Glass of sorts,
Rubbing Alcohol,
Paper towels,
Box Cutter, and
My Rotary Mat (that desperately needs replacing)

The Armour Etch can be found definitely at Michaels where you can get a 40% off coupon to get more supplies for more creative projects and Pinterest finds.  

I got my glasses from World Market just because I was already there but they can be found literally any where. I saw some at Goodwill, Target, Walmart, etc. 

So first I cleaned my glass with rubbing alcohol and a dish rag that I did not care if got ruined.

Then I got the emblem I wanted from my Google search. And traced it on my contact paper. 

The cutting around all the letters and circle was the hardest part. I did not have a good box cutter to cut well. Most people say they traced their symbol/emblem to etch. However, knowing my drawing skill - yah that was not going to happen. So I traced it from my printed off image. I taped both the image and the contact paper to my mat so it would not move as a traced/cut.

I put the contact paper on my glasses and applied the cream to the glass with part of the cardboard of a box. Cheap, I know, but it works.

I left the cream on for about 10 minutes - mostly because I forgot. Also, most folks say to leave on the cream longer than the packaging (one minute), especially if you want the emblem less faint.

Wash off and BAM! Etched glasses!

Ehhh not perfect but I am happy. 


I guess my suggestion is to not get contact paper from Roses (not as sticky as a higher quality may end up being I suspect). 


Now to wrap and hide from the hubs for Christmas. :)

--one happy crafter :)

Teddy Bears!

So I finally finished my little teddy bear for my cousin. 

 Yes this probably took longer than it should have. I think I worked on it sporadically for 2 weeks. 

Most of my knitting happens when the hubs is off and playing the Xbox. I am not allowed to knit during movies :P (he likes me to pay attention).  

I got the tutorial from Ravelry and a plus its free :) which makes me a super happy camper. 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/teddy-bear-3


Personally, I think this bear is super adorable. I used extra yarn I had from a different project which is why the bear is different colors. 

Now just to send this bad boy off to New Bern!

Getting started...I guess...

I really just wanted to start a blog as something to do and some where to post the creative things I tend to do. So otherwise, I do not know what to do with it. I guess I could also share thoughts on life and work and married life. But I really should work right now so this will be postponed for later.