The Summer of Sewing Smaller Stuff?

 I've made three quilts lately which were queen-sized or larger, so I think I am going to declare the next couple of months The Summer of Sewing Smaller Stuff ... smaller as in smaller quilts, like lap-size maybe, perhaps a pillow, perhaps (gasp!) a wall hanging ... we'll see.  I thought I'd show some of the things that are on my list of sewing to-dos. 

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Above are my selvage countdown squares.  As you can see I have a big pile.  My original idea for these now seems a little boring, so new possibilities are brewing ...

 And I do have another selvage idea that doesn't involve the squares above but goes in a different direction entirely ... I'm so excited about this one!!!  And I am definitely telling myself that it doesn't have to be something life-sized like the Selvage Snowman.  Smaller is good.  Repeat after me.  Smaller is good.  Smaller is good.

 Then of course there are my I-Spy hexies, which are my travelling project.

 And my vintage sheet obsession continues with this new quilt I just started ...

 Speaking of vintage, check out this vintage pillowcase I found the other day!  Cutest ever!!!  So these bears will quickly be made into something.  Pillows are small right?

 I Spy Planet Hexy still needs to be quilted.  It is kind of more medium than small, and I can't decide if I should send it out for quilting or do it myself.  I really want to do it myself, but I will have to get a walking foot.  Up until now I have just used the regular foot on the machine, but I would want to be really careful with this cool quilt ...

And finally on the topic of small, my daughter is small.  (Although don't tell her that, she is a BIG GIRL now, since she's four and everything).  I am looking forward to a summer of T-ball for her, 3 pitch for my son, lots of fun with family, friends, the pool, parks, picnics and lots of summer travel ...

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Plus there is one more thing.  Although I don't mention it here much, what I do with most of my time is write.  (Here's a smidge about me, the "writer" on my literary agent's website) I am within days of finishing the first draft of my second novel.  My first novel, called The Town That Drowned is coming out in September.  I have lots of fun stuff falling into place for the summer and fall for book promotion.  I have been getting some exciting news from my publicist about literary festivals, book tour stops and book signings.  I can't wait to share more information with everyone as the novel moves closer to release. 

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I hope everyone has a wonderful summer.  I really appreciate everyone who takes a few minutes of their summer to stop in here and hang out with me for a bit!

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I'm linking up with W.I.P. Wednesday.  Cheers,  Riel

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Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Vintage Sheet Test Quilt Complete

 So here is the result of my first venture into quilting with vintage sheets!  I am very pleased.  These are simple 6 inch squares set on point. The quilt is 44 by 52.  I quilted the width of my presser foot along each seam with a wavy line in a pale pink thread.  The backing and binding are also cut from vintage sheets.  The batting is some lovely cotton bamboo that I bought a few miles of when I saw it for a great deal at my favourite liquidation store.  (Click any photo to enlarge if you wish)

 Last post I got a few questions about these sheets.  I thought I'd do a little Q and A in case anyone else is wondering ...

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1.  What do you mean by vintage?  These are between about 30 and 40 years old in my nearest guesstimation.  Some actually had dates on the tags.  Some I remember from childhood.  Some you can just tell after looking at a lot of these sheets -- simply by the style of design and colours used. 

 2. Are they 100% cotton? No. They are a 50% cotton and 50% polyester split. I specifically bought ones that were a 50/50 combo. I am a fussy, er, I mean discerning fabric shopper and in most cases the 100% cotton sheets I saw looked too worn to me. These cotton/poly ones really don't show their age much, other than being slightly faded in colour in some cases. They are not obviously bally or fuzzy looking, nor do they seem worn (just soft). The 50/50 blend makes them very durable to stand the test of time.  I know it is hard to tell in the photos, but the quilt looks very fresh and clean and new. 

 3.  How can you tell what they are made of?  Fortunately most have labels.  But after handling a few you will be able to tell by the look and feel.  The labels are usually near a corner of the sheet sewn into the seam.  They should indicate 50% cotton and 50% polyester.  They also may say things like "no iron muslin" "no iron percale" or "percale."

 4.  How are they to work with?  Great.  They are super easy to cut and I managed to cut up to ten layers at once a couple of times!  They sew well.  The only thing that was a bit funny was the ironing.  Because they are "no iron" or I guess wrinkle-resistant is what we say now, it was tricky to press the seams open.  My seams didn't lay, or stay, as flat as with cotton.  And when I folded the binding and pressed it, the fold gradually came out as I stitched it to the back of the quilt.

 And the best thing about these sheets -- the price!!  The total cost for fabric in this quilt was less than $5.00 -- and that's including the backing and binding.
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Plus I should mention that the quilt is cozy.  It passed my Sunday-afternoon-nap test and Tess slept with it last night.

And since the Vintage Sheet Test Quilt is a horrible name for a quilt, the quilt shall be known from now on as Summer's Parfait which was suggested by Devona and suits it so well.

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And yes, my vintage sheet adventure continues with another work-in-progress which I have about halfway done.

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And for some linky fun, I'm hanging with other crafty sorts at {Sew} Modern Monday, Manic Monday , Made by You Monday and Fabric Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by!
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Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Vintage Sheets and Fabric Finds

 I've added a few more vintage sheets to my small but growing collection.  I'm really happy with how these sheets work as fabric in a quilt.  My test quilt is all done except for the binding so I'll have it to show on Monday.

 I bought a few blue sheets yesterday.  For anyone wondering, I buy these at either The Salvation Army or Value Village, which are the only places I seem to have good luck here.  Most times they cost between $1.99 and $3.99 although I did play $4.99 for a king size sheet (the blue daisies on the left above.)   At Value Village I have seen sheets priced at high as $9.99, but it would have to be something super-awesome-fabulous for me to pay that simply because there is usually a good selection priced for less.

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When I get the sheets home I machine launder them on hot with a good dose of detergent.  I run the machine on the longest cycle then put them outside to dry.

 This sheet made me laugh.  It isn't even close to colours I like, but I couldn't leave it behind.  It was $1.99 for a twin size at The Salvation Army.  I'm sure I'll think of something to do with it, or else pass it along to someone who loves it. 

 I found some fabric as well on my second-hand treasure hunt.  The piece on the top I thought would work as an I-Spy fabric.  The piece is huge, maybe 5 metres.  The bottom piece is just small, but interesting.  The lime colour in it is cool.

And again, this fabric isn't my colour either.  But I could tell it is really good quality from the feel of it.  The selvage says "An Antilles Design on West Indian Sea Island Cotton."  After a quick Google search I discovered it is indeed high quality cotton.  I would say the piece is 3.5 metres -- certainly worth $3.99.

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See you Monday!  Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Playing with Vintage Sheets ...

 I'm still working hard trying to get all my writing-related things finished up before my son and daughter are home for the summer, but, as I work away, I have set up a little project to play with during breaks ...

 I am experimenting with vintage sheets by making a simple little quilt just to see how these older fabrics are to work with.  I have some more ambitious ideas for these sheets in the future, so I wanted to try a little test quilt first.

And the results of my experiment:  no problems at all.  Except I should add "yet" as knowing me there could still be quilting problems.  But hopefully by Monday I'll have a pretty wee quilt to show.  Happy Weekend!

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And thanks so much for all the wonderful comments lately.  I haven't been able to respond like I usually do, but I sincerely appreciate them!

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Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Attack of the Mutant I Spy Quilt

 Okay, somebody better call Guinness to see if there is a category for World's Biggest I-Spy Quilt. This thing is redonkulous. It is 106 inches long (!) and about 90 inches wide ... it is made of 538 unique four inch squares (no repeats) ...

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Click any photo to enlarge if you wish.

 Here's a long shot to get an idea of the size.  It is on the upper deck of my parents' big old house.

 And yes, I'll be the first to admit that I went a little overboard, but oh well, life is short, my kids will only be little for so long, etc. ... And speaking of the kids, they are very excited it is done!  We will be taking this quilt along with us as we travel this summer -- to help make hotel rooms cosier and to serve as entertainment whenever the need may arise.

 I sent it out to be quilted by long-arm and chose an allover teddy bear pantograph.

While making this I mentioned that I used a different colour of Kona cotton to sash each of the 16 different 25 patch squares.  It helps the whole quilt look less busy and also serves as a "clue" to use when playing I-Spy ...

 This strange purple fabric is what I used for the backing.  It kind of has an I Spy feature itself.  Those are walking sticks on it.

 My handsome helpers.  My Dad and my husband Shane.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be having linky fun by going all out for my one post a week that I link up by joining in with  {Sew} Modern Monday, Manic Monday , Made by You Monday , Fabric Tuesday and a new-to-me linky Sew Cute Tuesday! 

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And it is hard to believe but this is the final week of kindergarten for my son and next week is the final week of preschool for my daughter!  I'll be mostly away from the computer over the next little bit, finishing up some writing-related things before summer fun starts ... see you again in a week or so!

Pillowcase Dress Redux: Fab Four Hexy Style

 I made Tess another pillowcase dress and I think I did a much better job this time.  The armholes aren't nearly as huge as last time.

 I used the Fabulous Four fabric that I had left from making her birthday quilt and room deco.  I also added four hexies as a last-second detail.

 I'm so glad I thought to put those hexagons there as they were the first thing she noticed -- "It has hexies!" (Yes, both my kids know all the cool quilting lingo.)

It's a good fit and looks super cute on.  Now if it would only quit raining here and warm up (I had the heat on in the house the other day) then maybe she'll have a chance to wear it.  Cheers,  Riel

The Glowing Quilt

 The other night I was sitting on the back deck on our swing with Eli, my six-year-old son.  We were wrapped in his Log Castle Quilt.  He kept ducking under the quilt because he said he wanted to see it "glowing."

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The sun was setting and hitting it just right.  It did indeed glow if you were under it, wrapped up tight, blocking out any other light besides the sun filtering through.  These pictures give some idea, but don't quite capture it.   It is so great to be able to see things from a child's perspective!

 And of course kids say funny things.  I am not making this next story up.  Honest.  So, the other night (a different other night than the glowing quilt incident), my daughter Tess (she's four) came into bed with my husband and I.  After a bit she seemed as if she was having a bad dream and was tossing and turning and whimpering a little in her sleep.  I smoothed her hair and, while still asleep, she said forcefully, "No!!!  I can't find my FABRIC!"  Really.  I was laughing so much that both Tess and my husband woke up. 

Anyway, that's it for now -- just a couple of little things I wanted to write down and share so I won't forget them.  Happy Weekend everyone!

Canada Day Pennants from a Dollar Store Bandana

 I made this Canada Day pennant string yesterday.   The "fabric" I used was a $1.00 bandana from the Great Canadian Dollar Store.  When I saw the bandana in the store and thought it might be cotton, I figured I could give this a try and it worked.  It was very easy to do; it took less than an hour.  I clicked a few pictures as I went.

 Besides the bandana, I used some white cotton for backing and a long strip of red for the hanging string.

 This is what the bandana looked like open.  It measures about 21 inches square -- so basically a fat quarter!

 I folded it twice.  Then ironed.

 Then folded again.   Ironed.

 And again. 

 This was really my only "trick."  Once it was all folded, it just took one cut.  I placed the ruler as shown and sliced.  (You may also want to trim the very top to straighten things out.)

 Voila! 

 I sewed the wrong sides to the white.

 Turned.  I think at this point they look like icing tubes.

Pressed.  Sewed into the string.  I made my own from a red strip of fabric.

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I have ours hanging in the dining room window for now.  I would like to make another string or two before Canada Day (July 1).    As a side note, the dollar store had plastic pennant strings for sale for $3.00, but I am much happier with mine for $1.00, a few fabric scraps and a bit of my time! 

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I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday and Sundae Scoop Link to Party. Thanks for stopping by!

I Spy Planet Hexy Quilt Top

This is possibly the strangest quilt I've made yet, but I think I LOVE strange.  My son Eli (he's six) and I decided together to call this quilt I Spy Planet Hexy.  Those tall pointy triangles are towers.  All the hexies are piled ever-so-carefully on top of them. (Click any photo to enlarge if you wish)

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It is my own design.  I can't remember the thought process that led me to this, but it was a jump from idea to idea to idea before I came to Planet Hexy.

This quilt is for my son who will be finished kindergarten on June 24.  I must say I love a good milestone as an excuse to make another quilt.  *wink*

It is made all from scraps or stash.  I didn't buy any new fabric for it.  The hexies are I Spy scraps.  The towers are Kona scraps left from my I Spy mega quilt (back at my house now waiting for binding).  The sky background is fabric I had bought as a possibility for the background of The Selvage Snowman quilt, but it had been too light for that.  The grey rock fabric is some I had bought for a pillowcase but didn't use.

There are 146 one inch hexagons in it.  I'll probably add a few more to take it to 150.  I was wary of overdoing it with the hexies that are falling off the towers, but I think a few more wouldn't hurt anything, we'll see.

I am planning to quilt it myself.  I think I will do some very simple straight lines.  Unfortunately my sewing machine has had a bit of a bad attitude lately and has been throwing some thread-tangling tantrums, so it will need to go in for repair before I attempt any quilting.

You may remember that the I Spy hexies were supposed to be my summer travelling project.  Well, I'm still going to make more.  I have more ideas for them.  And my daughter Tess could always use her own hexy quilt.

Now an off topic message: Happy Birthday Dad!

And for some linky fun, I'm hanging out with other talented crafty sorts at {Sew} Modern Monday , Made by You Monday , Manic Monday ... and of course I have to party with Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory.  Click any link to see piles of fabulous projects by bloggers from around the world!

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Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Quilting!