Don't turn my Fri-yay into a Fri...NAY!

I exited the freeway this morning to see a bunch of cars bunched up on the feeder road (this is a Texas thing, apparently; out-of-staters may need to google it!), and I thought...

HEY!

Don't turn my Fri-yay into a ... Fri...NAY!

Morning commute traffic is the #1 culprit for doing this.  Not a scientific fact, unless you count my experiences and those of my office mates (who are all scientists) agreeing on it.  

Another thing threatening to ruin my weekend -

Helga needs a tune-up! 

(Helga is my Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0, and my partner in quilting crime! [And in tuning up my arm muscles; she is HEA-VY!])

Sewing on Monday evening (yes, I sometimes leave the sewing machine in the living room and hop on after work for mindless piecing), the bottom thread tension was off, like lots, and on the normal setting.  OOPS!  This is totally my fault for several reasons:

1 - I yanked on the top thread near the spool when the needle was down.

2 - She's overdue for a tune-up (but only by like a month and a half).

Yes, Helga is overdue for her yearly tune-up because I needed her to finish the Coast to Coast Traveling Bee quilts!  She got me through 60 melon blocks to finish off the final border of @sushi.farmer's quilt.  Here's my pic, but you can go to Instagram to see her final white border on it.

@sushi.farmer's quilt

Here are the rest of the Coast to Coast Traveling Bee quilts and blocks that I worked on:

Little Bunny Alison's Quilt

I added the outer border of "Water Wheel" blocks to continue the Friendship Star theme.

Working with Bonnie & Camille fabrics was outside my print wheelhouse, but I really enjoyed all of the flowers and cute prints!

This is Hot Pink Quilt's quilt.  

I added the melon blocks, log cabin, trees, and the star on the top left. 

Her mountain scene with flying geese and stars needed some flowers and trees, a little cabin in the woods, and another star (because paper-piecing is fun!  No, really!).

Some people just wanted blocks, and that was fun, too!

Blocks for Patch the Giraffe

with lots of yummy Alison Glass fabric!

Improv block with scraps from the paper-piecing!

And for @kcmquilts, these blocks:

Haven't gotten my quilt back yet, but I am excited to see it again after 6 long months!

This bee has been amazing, a bit scary (working with new prints, curved piecing, adding onto someone else's quilt), and has pushed my creativity and limits of what I think I can do. 

A HUGE thank you to all of the ladies in the bee!

And Helga?  

I called the repair shop and the turnaround time is 7 weeks.  

Yep, nearly TWO MONTHS!

What will I do in the meantime?

I wish it was November already, and I could shop for a back-up machine at Festival.

I have an older Singer as a back-up, but she is not as nice of a piecer as Helga.  

I'm okay using the Singer for charity work, but not precision piecing.

Wonder if I could try paper-piecing?  It doesn't have to be as precise (like quarter-inch-wise).

So maybe by my quilting retreat at the end of September with the Yaya's, I'll have my trusty Helga back!  In the meantime, I may just have to catch up on stuff around the house.

What do you do when your main machine goes down?  

Do you have a trusty backup or a sketchy one?

Linking up with:

Quilts Do Not Have Trackers Like Dogs Do

Quilts get Lost, yo.

I was reading a blog post by

From My Carolina Home

about labeling your quilts.

Good idea.

But you should also keep track of them!

There was a link to 

lostquilt.com

in the blog, so I followed it.

Then I started reading, and looking at all of the quilts that have been lost.

I'll now summarize some of the ways quilts can get lost and what you can do to keep track of them!

1. Shipping

Sometimes things just get lost or misplaced along the way. It happens.

But...people who work for the shipping company DO steal.

Packages left on doorsteps get STOLEN.

What can you do? 

Well, hand deliver when possible.  Research the carrier (UPS seems to be the worst at losing stuff).

Firmly attach the label to the box, AND put the recipient's address in the box.  Best thing is to put your quilt in one of those huge ziplock bags and put the sender/recipient address inside that - clearly visible.  (You want a see-through bag and imma tell you why later).

Also, DON'T put what it is on the outside (quilts destined for quilt shows are targeted), but don't reuse boxes (mis-delivered coffee pods box might be put in someone's pantry for a while until they need some coffee!).

If your quilt does get lost during shipping, call, call, and call again.  It does help.  This includes quilts lost in luggage thanks to airlines.  If it was lost en route between hubs, call both hubs to ask after it.  Don't just rely on the someone in an office nowhere near the hub.  Get someone who's there to go look.  It does work!

2. People STEAL. 

And you know that your beautiful quilt is going first!

If there's a TV in the house that gets stolen, folks will wrap it in the quilt.

Roommates and their friends are notorious for taking things that don't belong to them. A quilt is NO exception.

Do not leave a quilt at a rental property.  Folks will move out and take it with them.

Put EVERYTHING out of sight when you park you car.  This includes quilts, machines, WIPs, everything!

If you must wash a quilt at a laundry mat, do NOT leave it ALONE.  It'll be gone when you get back, fo sho.

Quilt shows are no exception.  There is no lock keeping that quilt, especially the small ones that are just displayed on tables, from walking away.  Larger or more expensive quilts should be insured (and these will probably be shipped, too, see tip #1).

Displays at professional businesses, quilt shops, or libraries, etc. are also no exception.  People see something they like, an opportunity, and it's gone.  Have insurance, don't get attached, sell it to the business, as you may never see it again at some point.

3. Relatives don't know what they got and people DIE.

Grandma passes and relatives clean out the house.  You get there and the quilt(s) has been donated, probably, who can remember?

Educate your family about the worth of a quilt, even if it's just sentimental.  Don't be afraid to speak up!  Even if they end up keeping it themselves, at least it's still in the family.

4. Relatives die in NURSING homes and stuff disappears.

Don't leave relatives with anything too expensive or sentimental or explain to management that you will want the quilt back.

5. Stuff gets lost when moving.

Movers mistake your sentimental quilt for one of their "moving quilts."  Movers steal all your house goods.  Things get stolen off the back of moving vans.

Put your quilt in a box.  Label it "kitchen".  But inside, put your new contact details, just in case!

Or pack your quilts in your car instead of the moving van.

6. Stuff gets lost when moving.

No, not a typo.  You're driving across the state and junior has his wubby.  In and out of the car for bathroom breaks, lunch, etc. and the quilt goes missing.  You move things around in the back and don't notice something falls out.  You stop at the Best Western at night and don't do a room check in the morning.  You put something on the roof of the car and drive off.

CHECK that your STUFF is still there.  Do a quick walk around the car (check the tires, too, while you're at it).  Don't skip the last minute room check!  (Move the bed sheets/pillows as well to check.)  

This is all on you.

7. Do NOT put quilts in BLACK PLASTIC BAGS.

Black plastic bags are automatically seen as trash.

Trash gets thrown out and ends up in a landfill.

Quilts should not be in landfills, so DON'T ever EVER put them in BLACK PLASTIC BAGS!

NEVER!

8. TAKE A PICTURE (or five)

If you do lose a quilt, you'll want to have a photo of it, so TAKE one or several.  Keep a photo of the top until the quilting is done.  Then, if it does get lost, you'll have a picture to help other people help you find your lost quilt.

9.  Sell your house, not your quilts

PUT AWAY all quilts when selling your house.  Things walk away; you don't want your quilts to be one of those.  Would you leave out your jewelry box?  Then don't leave out your quilts!  Buy a few cheap ones from a chain store to decorate for re-sale, and keep your precious quilts!

10. Last but probably the MOST important - 
LABEL YOUR QUILTS
Van Gogh signed his name to his works, and he had very low self-esteem.  You are proud of your quilt, so label it!!!

Lost Quilt also has a Facebook page, so check that out if you're on Facebook.  You might see a quilt you know and can help reunite a person with it!

Also, here's an article on the Quiltcentric site written by the keeper of lostquilt.com, with additional tips.

Now, to the pictures!

I took a workshop through the West Houston Quilter's Guild with Winnie Fleming called Borders Galore!  She's also a teacher on Craftsy, so if you want some easy tips for pretty pieced borders, go check out her classes!  Yes, she uses math but it's simple addition and subtraction.  Easy peasy!

Here's what I was able to accomplish at the workshop:

There are also some flying geese that I got sewn up that are not shown.  I look forward to coming back to this one and adding to it!

I also finished up blocks for the American Made Brand Mystery BOM:

Love this sunflower! 

Wouldn't it be pretty to do a whole quilt of them?

I have a plan to put them all together, and I'll put up a pic of the finished top when I get it done.  I have the fabric from my LQS to tie them all together, as well as a retreat coming up, so I'll get it done soon!

Coast to Coast Traveling Bee:

I've joined a traveling bee and for the first month, I was sewing up some blocks in teal, black and white:

This is a paper-pieced block designed by Nancy Mahoney.

She's my favorite paper-pieced block designer.  I can just pick out her designs without looking at the designer name!

This block is called 'Tilted Tile' and is in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 14.

Also from the same magazine is Slice of Pi Quilts' Homecoming block.  Set in seams are a piece of cake, y'all.  Try them if you haven't!  The results are stunning.

For a simple block, I love the economy block.  Lots of impact and no waste (if you don't do flippy corners, of course).

Linking up with:

Instablog?

Since I joined Instagram back in November (thank you, Sewtopia!), I have been posting pics of what I'm doing there.  Just a block here and there.  Nothing big.  I've been swamped at work - November and December are very busy for me, so I didn't do much sewing anyway.

However, I want to continue blogging and sharing in this way.  It's just not going to be an "Instablog", so I'll try to post at least once a month - a round-up of what I've been working on that went up on Instagram for those who aren't on it.  After all, we can't all use every app!

Secret Sewing

I only have one secret sewing project to reveal...a mah jong fabric zipper pouch that I gifted to my mom!

She hinted that she may want a few more to give to friends, so it's good that I have some of that fabric left!

Does giving gifts just lead to making more gifts for you?

Kidding, mom...(sort of!)

American Made Brand 

Mystery BOM

A few more blocks for this one:

Block 5 Leaves of Change

 Block 6 Canyonlands

Block 7 is a couple of ears of corn.  

It's not my cup of tea, so I skipped it.

Block 8 Leaves of Change

This block doesn't have stems in it, but because I had scrappy leaves, it didn't look like leaves without the stems!

Two of the cool things about this BOM have been that the Clothworks blog posts the winners each month on their blog, and the winners get American Made Brand solids swag!!!

There is one more block to make - Toward the Sun - a big sunflower!  Are you going to make one and see if you win?

Westering Women QAL

Block 9: Sage Bud for Fort Laramie

I cut into fabric I bought at Quilt Festival from Second Chance Fabrics for the background and the green.  

I hope they come back to Houston in November!  I'll definitely be looking for them.  

Perfect if you like to reuse what's already out there and/or are looking for an older or unique print!

Block 10 Rocky Mountain Chain

Block 11 - Bear's Paw

The first block on the blog post for this tutorial has a dark background, and it wasn't until after I had picked out my fabrics that I scrolled down and saw the lighter background block example.

However, I love the saturated colors of this block!

Block 12 - Road to California

I used up the pretty roses print for this block.

It was just perfect for this Road to California because the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade are in Pasadena!

Covered in Love

I took a break from Covered in Love in December. 

But it's a new month and a new year!

I'm sending these Faded Quarter Log Cabin blocks to Kat, along with a few goodies so she can start the year off right!  

(And keep it going!)

The smaller pieces used up scraps, but for the bigger ones, I had to dip into my fat quarters.  

I have LOTS of blue fabric though, so that's a good thing!

Sewtopia Austin

I went to Sewtopia in Austin in early November.  It was fun, and I met some really cool people!  My bee friend, Maria, and I want to go to the one in New Orleans this fall and do it again.  I've never been to the Big Easy (traveled I-12 north of Lake Pontchartrain too many times to count, though!), so maybe it's time!

For the retreat, there was a sponsored fabric challenge.  We were sent a fat quarter bundle of Michael Miller fabrics.  I made this fun bag!

It is an original design that I just dreamed up.

I also used my stash of Michael Miller fabrics (didn't know I had so many!)  The center design is from a really beautiful fabric line called Magic by Sarah Jane (which is, coincidentally, my mother's name!)

Here is the inside with a little Sodalicious by Emily Herrick and some Waterfront Park by Violet Craft in the zip pocket (and the main black outside of the bag).

I didn't win the challenge, but it was lots of fun making the bag and showing it at the Sewtopia retreat!

Miscellaneous

And lastly, I put together a table runner out of some Christmas fabric from several years ago.  I didn't have time to quilt it before Christmas, so it may be a gift for someone next Christmas!  

(If I don't decide to be selfish and keep it.  Hey, I have leftover fabric; I can make a pillow instead to gift.  But then I might keep that, too! Oh, well...)

Hope you have a fantastic New Year!

Linking up with:

Photo catch up and What's it like at Houston IQF?

I've had these pictures lying around for a while.  I need to share them!

This is my do.Good Stitches block for October.

Really fun and fast!  I also love the color palette that was chosen.

These are birthday blocks for Yaya Brenda.  

She wanted blocks for a Christmas quilt.

Yaya Marion was auditioning borders for her medallion quilt.

These are October blocks that Yaya Brenda and I made for Covered in Love.

This is an Art Car I saw outside work the other day.

It's like finding a shiny new penny on the sidewalk - definitely good luck!

What's the Houston International Quilt Festival Like?

Photo from second floor of vendor area (2015)

25 rows of vendors selling fabric, notions, sewing machines, clothing, jewelry, beads, etc.

Some of the vendors:

Riley Blake, Quilt Dots, Red Crinoline Quilts (saw Paula Barnes taking care of her booth), Primitive Gatherings, Second Chance Fabrics, Missouri Quilt Company (Jenny Doan was getting a pic taken with a fan!), Tutto, Pfaff, Janome, etc., etc., etc.

What about the exhibits?

I'll share photos of my curated show in later blogs.  Today, what's it like to BE there?

First of all, it's at the George R. Brown Convention Center which is about 3 blocks long in downtown Houston.  It has a high ceiling, and they bring in lots of lights to compensate for that.  Unfortunately, there are still some quilts that are not lit that well.  

The lights are hot, so the A/C runs full blast.  Trust me, we know how to use the A/C in Houston!  Bring a light cardigan or scarf, etc., just in case, but with the amount of walking that I did (Rows A through T were all quilts! and the rows were about a block long), I kept quite warm.  Overall, between the vendors and exhibit, I probably walked 3 miles in the 4.5 hours I was there.

The atmosphere in the exhibit area is very much like being at a museum, and people generally treat it that way, with the exception of one young woman who was complaining about work.  I get it, work can sometimes suck, but we're here to look at quilts, m'kay?  Also, don't wear buckets of perfume. It will trail after you and affect those nearby.  I had to vacate no less than four areas from being overwhelmed with scent.  Men, that goes for the aftershave as well!  My suggestion - use soap and deodorant and call it good.

There are pages on stands that explain what the quilt is about, who made it, where they're from, what materials they used, their inspiration.  It can be kind of a game to figure out which page goes with which quilt, since they're not always right in front of the quilt!

Here's the Diamonds Quilt #2:

You can see that it's hanging in front of a black curtain.  

With the A/C on full blast, the quilts wave around a bit sometimes. 

As long as you don't look at the bright lights, you're good.  Which is not hard to achieve with all the beautiful quilts everywhere!  They certainly draw your eye, even from afar.

And aside from the exhibits that don't allow pics (usually those that have been professionally photographed and  they're selling a book of those photos), people DO take photos (like me and this lady).  Some people also take a snapshot of the accompanying page with the maker name (like me and this lady, just after I took this photo).

In this case, I did not get a photo of the center quilt maker page because I know whose it is - 

Meadow Mist Design's Use Your Illusion quilt.  

And it is not the only quilt that I recognized from seeing online!  

Is the Houston IQF in your future?  

Will you or your quilt be there (or both)?

Linking up this week with: