String quilt

I've been working on this quilt for a while. It's for someone special, but I won't say who yet. This type of quilt is called a string quilt.
If you'd like to see how it's done, I'll show you! Start by choosing a bunch of random fabrics and cutting strips of varying widths. Mine ranged from .5" to maybe 3".

It uses paper piecing, which I was sure would be really complicated. I really ended up loving the method. You start with a square of paper the size you want your final blocks to be. I used old computer paper that was going to be recycled. At first I was going to make bigger blocks, but then I realized I didn't want them to be bigger than my sheets of paper or I'll have to tape sheets together. It was just easier to make them 8.5" square.
After cutting your papers into squares, draw a line on the diagonal from corner to corner.

Choosing one solid fabric that is used consistently and only on that diagonal will create a neat effect when the quilt is put together. I'll have to show you that later. I chose white. I believe these strips were 1" wide. Use a fabric glue stick to stick this first strip to the diagonal.

Randomly select a bunch of strips in differing prints and widths. Lay the first one right-side down on the white strip, with the right edges matched.

Sew a quarter inch seam allowance right through the paper. Use a small stitch length so that your paper will perforate well and you can more easily pull it off later.

Press the strip open.

Repeat with another strip on the other side of the white strip.

Add another strip to either side of those.

Keep on going until you have covered all of the paper. As you can see, as you approach the corners, you need smaller and smaller pieces. So I cut off any major excess and set it aside to use for these corners on future blocks. I barely had enough fabric for all of my blocks, so I'm glad I wasn't wasting long strips on these tiny areas.

In the end, your block will look messy, like this. Incidentally, I mostly tried not to use the same fabric twice on the same block, but here I did.

Now, to make it all pretty. Get your rotary cutter, square ruler and mat. Turn your block over so you can see the paper.

Line up your ruler so that the edges on the top and right sides match up with the edge of the paper. Use this opportunity to square it up as much as you need to.

Cut the top and right sides off.

Rotate your square and repeat.

And looky what you've got! A beautiful and perfect square. I'll show you later how to put them together to look purty. (And, yes, that's a different block than I showed above. I lost that one in the pile.)

Well, what was I supposed to do?

What would you have done if you were at Hip Stitch and came across these fabrics? What choice did I have but to buy them?



From the Alexander Henry Willow collection.

I think I have actually run out of time

I officially do not have enough time for all of my hobbies. I used to have it all figured out:

work out before work (I work a swing shift)
read on my dinner break
knit after work while watching TV with Markles
sew on my days off

Note: this does not seem to leave time for cleaning. The one thing that seems to motivate me to clean is the threat that someone may come over. That turns me into an instant cleaning madwoman. If they don't come over, that's OK. My house is clean. So invite yourself over. Or at least threaten to.

But now I have a new hobby: embroidery. And I've been thrifting. And antiquing. And quilting. And I still want to work on my pattern drafting skills. Dear, God! I haven't the time for it all. The house work will definitely have to be dropped, company or not.

Here are my first embroidery projects. The transfers are from "The Kitchen Linens Book" by EllynAnne Geisel. See this post.



The back of the book includes a bunch of vintage iron-on transfers, reproductions from a McCalls 1945 line.



These are done on flour sack cloths purchased at Hobby Lobby in the needlework section.




They're so happy, those fruits, candies and ... uh ... whatever that thing on the right is.

I also went to thrift stores and bought a bunch of blank linens. I selected only ones that appeared to be cotton or linen. I got some napkins (which I use just on a day to day basis, so I don't need full, matching sets) and a dresser scarf and a table square. All blank canvases that I can embroider, and all 99 cents to $1.99. Can't beat that! I'm thinking of embroidering the dresser scarf for my grandma's birthday on Aug. 8.

I love the flowers on this dainty little napkin. This was so fast to do, too.



Furthermore, I discovered a Web site so wonderful, I could burst. Or spend all of my money there. Or both. It's called Sublime Stitching. And it proves that old-fashioned women's work is perfectly cool and trendy. And not old-fashioned at all. Go check out the transfer patterns. (But then come back. I'm not done.)

((tick-tock, tick-tock))

Did you go look? Aren't they the cutest things ever? I bought her book, "Sublime Stitching" by Jenny Hart, too. It's also filled with transfer patterns, albeit more generic ones than the patterns you can buy online. I ordered this one and this one off the site.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I would also like to mention another thrift store find in the fabric section (or "material," they call it. I find that only people who don't sew call it "material" instead of fabric. And considering that they priced a small piece of muslin at $6 AT A THRIFT STORE, I am fairly certain that they don't sew).

What I found was a two-yard piece of pinstriped wool. Real wool! Like what you cannot find at chain stores like JoAnn's. Or at least, I never do. Real wool! Like the kind that costs $14 a yard.

How do I know it's real wool? Well, I did a burn test. Did you know you can get at least a rough idea of a fabric's fiber content by burning it? I learned this in Fabric Science class. Pull off a few strands from the fraying end and hold them with tweezers. This is important. DO NOT use your fingers. Next, bring a flame toward it. First, note if the fibers shrink back from the flame. Wool should do this. Then it should ignite, and it should burn a little and then self-extinguish. It should smell like burning hair (no surprise). Finally, the burned residue should be slightly hard, but easily crushable between your fingers.

All fibers have different reactions. For instance, polyester sort of melts, so the bead if forms after it burns is hard, like plastic. And the smell is awful.

So, now I know it is really wool. And I know you are impressed that I got two yards of it for $5.99. Because my husband doesn't appreciate my find. He says it looks like "poor-people clothes." And like it belongs on people in an orphanage.

Bah. Maybe he should go take a closer look at his suits.

What!? Is it possible?

I was scrolling through Twitter updates and came across this Web site called Spoonflower where you can, excuse me, I must yell this: DESIGN YOUR OWN FABRIC!!!!!!!!!

I can't think of any actual reason I need to do this, since it's not like I have an idea for a fabric that I just must have and can't find anywhere, but the very idea that a lowlife, home sewer like me could DESIGN MY OWN FABRIC!!!!!!!!!! is just too much. You know what else is too much? The price per yard. That's just me and my budget; I understand where they are coming from and why it can't be $8 a yard.

I just paused in my writing to do more exploring, and it does say there is no minimum. I can't see how they could print just one yard, though. It might be fun to create a design and make some really cool bag that nobody else on Earth could have.

Here's an example of one I love. It's by Laurie Wisbrun. I mean, I can't imagine what I'd make with chair fabric, but it's so cool. What if you had a really funky house and you upholstered your chair with this? Or what if you upholstered your couch with chair fabric and your chair with couch fabric and confuse the heck out of visitors when you say, "please, have a seat on the couch"?

This one's for me

Sorry, but this post is more of a note to self. I need to keep track of some fabric lines I like and might look into wholesale purchases with. If you love textiles, enjoy!

Amy Butler

Michael Miller

Anna Griffin

Barefoot Roses

Chocolate Lollipop

Places to buy cool stuff, but not wholesale
eBay seller with lots of cute stuff: ZeetZeet (I love how she pairs match suggestions with each fabric)

Flapper Girl Fabrics

Cheap Threads

Warehouse Fabrics Inc.