March 7, 2013

It's All About the Engineer

A few days ago, I was cutting out the Winter Turkcy Tracks quilt...I did mention it frayed terribly on a previous blog, bare with me, ..I put up with it,  and thought it was the fabric...not the engineer, me.... i.e. you know when your sweeper won't turn on and you find the cord been pulled out of the wall socket type thing.....well! "lightbulb moment"....I am cutting out the Liz's Gift quilt from Jodi BarrowsMailly Women Pattern Book
And the fabric I am working with was  also fraying......ok, so, the engineer thought, " let's just change the rotary blade or sharpen it."  I do have that nice blade sharpener in my shop also.....save alot of money on blade, for sure...  Anyways, I had 2 blades in my rotary cutter!!!  it was FULL of threads and a mess!!.....wha la!! ANSWER!! jokes on me!!.....wow! does it cut the strips I need for the LIz's Gift quilt so nicely now!!  wooohooo! A happy Quilter here!!!


tulip basket

Up Close
I worked last night on paper piecing....I have used that with my Dear Jane Quilt blocks also but, honestly, I put away my Jane in November to start my American Girl Sewing Christmas Bonanza, I kept busy at for weeks for my sweet youngest Grand gals.....Anyways, I found a couple free patterns online for paper piecing last night....I did do a tulip in a basket and somehow I thought a Farmhouse would be so" easy".....well, the tulip is fine but I have to tweak my farm house......When you paper piece do you leave the papers on the back if you are putting many rows of pieces together? Or do you take the paper off and do the 1/4 seam allowed? I left the paper on my farmhouse pieces and found it bulky; and think that is what did my porch roof "in"... My hub asked me if I used a level?...funny, carpenter Hub!!
  I am so new at this but want to conquer things so I can teach it in my shop soon.  I have to 'FIX' my farmhouse....the roof is not quite right and my porch rail ends up not under the porch roof! I think it was kind of a hard one to start out with....think I will do a kitty in a basket next....keep it simple.
Back to my Liz's Gift.....can't wait to see it come together.  This has been on my to do "Basket List"  for a couple years now.  If I can ever help you out, just let me know!! Quilted Blessings!  Karen

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