The Amateur Quilter

Google+ What's the Fuss? ... A must read for Blogger users.

2013-05-11T12:10:00.000-04:00

There is still time to enter my giveaway!!! It ends tomorrow at midnight EDT.

I just wanted to say that it has been an interesting go around this time. Three people have emailed me or sent me a message via Facebook, Twitter, Email saying that my blog only allows them to comment if they sign up for Google+. I wanted to point out the positives and negatives here and clarify this. I have also allowed those readers to enter anyway by sending me an email so I can include them. (I'm just a good guy. Ask my mom.)

First off, making your blogger profile connected with Google+ no longer automatically makes you a "no-reply" blogger. They have fixed that. I've tested it with my wonderful blogger friends (Richard and Tanya Quilts and Diane at From Blank Pages) and IT'S TRUE!!!

Secondly, if you are not logged into a Google account (G+, gmail, or whatever) and you would like to comment on my blog, it will ask you to sign in. It does not mean that you are going to associate your blogger account with G+. It just needs to know who you are so you can leave a comment. It DOES appear that it is asking you to sign up for G+, but in reality Google has made it so that if you have any kind of Google account, you automatically have a Google+ page (whether you use it or not). Just sign in to your Google account and don't worry about it.

Thirdly, if you activate "Google+ comments" on Blogger, only people with Google (any account they are logged in with) can comment on your blog. No anonymous users. This is fine with me because I never allowed anons anyway. Too much spam!!!

If you have any questions, or want to test out your settings, shoot me an email (amateurquilter at gmail dot com) and we can work together on this.

Fourthly, I've decided that now when I do a giveaway I am going to give readers the option of commenting on my Facebook page if they do not have a Google account. I think it will be a good way of getting more "likes" on my page :) and it will keep me from alienating readers.

Lastly, it's inevitable. You're going to have to make G+ part of your blog. They are slowly getting us used to it. Blogger and G+ are going to be fully integrated at some point. The only question is, do you make the leap now or later. I don't work for them, but I have an MBA and a very good understanding of business and marketing. Face it. It's going to happen. On a good note, and I hope this is true, I hope they will follow the way of Wordpress and allow you to log in also with your Facebook or Twitter accounts as well if you want to leave a comment, but we will see on that.

I guess this would be sixthly, but I also wanted to mention that the integration with Blogger comments and Google + is phenomenal. When you comment on another G+ integrated blog, it will also give you the option of posting your comment to G+. So, it keeps a record that is also shared with your followers, i.e. they can see what blogs you visited and left a comment on. A great way of letting your followers know what you are following and what you found interesting without having to post about it! I love it!

And, I can't write a post without a nice quilting photo so here it is:

Today I am putting the binding on this quilt. I bought a beveled foot that is supposed to make machine binding come out more perfectly. I'm skeptical, but we will see. This picture is from the infant stages of this quilt. I hope to link it up for Link a Finish Fridays at Richard and Tanya Quilts next week.

Until next time,

Mike.

Sew Mama Sew... Above and Beyond Creative Sewing (Giveaway!)

2013-05-06T07:27:00.000-04:00

Sew, here's the deal... I always do the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. It' twice a year, it's fun and I get to meet a ton of cool people that love quilting!!!

Sew, I'll try to make it short an sweet. My favorite sewing shop, Above and Beyond Creative Sewing in Nanuet, NY is sponsoring me for this giveaway!

Here's the prize:

It's 10 spools of Robison Anton Embroidery thread. That's about 11,000 yards!

I discovered Above and Beyond Creative Sewing at the local quilt shows. They sell Tin Lizzie, Pfaff and Singer sewing machines. Those of you that follow me know that I have a Pfaff and I got my first long arm (Tin Lizzie) last year! They sold it to me! And let me tell you, they have been the best! They have great customer service, awesome support, and I just love my Tin Lizzie! They really, truly go "above and beyond" making sure I am happy :) As an example, if I have an issue or a question about something I can call them... even after hours! And, they are always happy to help me out :) They also have a quilting club that meets every 2 months. People come from all over the Northeast to attend the club and it's a ton o fun! We do show and tell, talk about issues we might be having, share ideas and learn something new every time!

Sew, what do you have to do to win this fabulous prize? The store has just recently launched their very own Facebook page. To help them out with "likes" all you have to do is visit their page, click like and leave them a message on their wall. Say something like "Hello from New Jersey (or wherever you are from)! Mike sent me and thanks for sponsoring the giveaway!" Come back here and leave a comment letting me know, sew I can keep track :)

Above and Beyond Creative Sewing is located in Nanuet, NY sew if you are ever around or see them at a show, stop by and say Hi!

Now go visit all of the other blogs that are participating in Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! The giveaway will run through Midnight EDT Saturday May 11.

Until next time,

Mike.

Is it Binded or Bound?

2013-05-03T10:12:00.002-04:00

Once the binding is finished on your quilt, is it considered "binded" or "bound?" I had this conversation with a friend this morning on the train. (I happen to be making him a quilt at the moment.) We think that in the quilting world "binded" is acceptable, but not so much in other contexts. Thoughts?

I'm about to sew the binding on this hexy quilt. So, does it need to be bound or binded?

On another note, I am having a big giveaway as part of Sew Mama Sew starting Monday. I have a sponsor (they're first time sponsoring a blogger!). You don't want to miss this prize!!!

Also, you all know how Hexy I am :)... so I started a Google community for English Paper Piecing called "I'm Hexy and I know it!" Come join through this link :) I've made the leap and integrated Google+ into my blogger account, including comments. They finally fixed the issue of it making you a no-reply blogger, so I hope you all will make the leap too :) Inevitably you will be forced to make the leap... sooner or later! If you want to follow me there take a look at the "Follow Me" box on the right of my blog.

Until next time,

Mike.

I'm Hexy and I know it!!!!

2013-04-28T18:20:00.001-04:00

I have a big surprise coming up :) You are all gonna love it! In the meantime, here are some pics of what I have been up to:

Busy huh? Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is starting May 6th... you know I'm in it!!!!

Here are more pics for you:

And more:

See you soon!
Mike.

Bloglovin'

2013-03-15T14:47:00.003-04:00

I don't know if you all heard, but they are discontinuing Google Reader. I use it to follow blogs. Seems like everyone is switching to Bloglovin' They told me to paste this text in a new post to claim my blog on my Bloglovin profile:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Anyway....

Until next time,

Mike.

I'm on the Rag - Blog Hop Party & Giveaway!!!

2013-03-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time again. To help chase away the Winter Blues, Quilting Gallery is hosting another Quilters’ Blog Hop Party. Everyone with a quilting/sewing related blog is welcome to participate, even if it’s not Winter where you are. Sew, I'm participating :)

If you are wondering about the title of this post, well, here it goes. My Pfaff machine (Vicky) is getting serviced, et cetera, et cetera, so I needed a machine to sew on during the 3 week hiatus. I bought a sewing table a couple of years ago, a very old one, and it had a sewing machine built into it... a Singer Touch Tronic 2001 (circa 1978):

I took it out of the basement, plugged it in and lo and behold. It worked! It's loud, but a real workhorse! Anyway, I did not want to continue any projects on it, just for consistency, so I started on my first rag quilt! I already had the pieces cut (for a while). I did not have a quarter inch foot for this machine, but half inch was already indicated on the plate, so I figured this would work since generally a half inch seam allowance is used for rag quilts. I also discovered some interesting features on the machine. Bobbin winding: the bobbin winds while it's still in the machine without having to unthread the top. Cool. It also has a little red light that comes on when the bobbin is low, although you can see the bobbin through a little window while you sew. I don't like the fact that it does not have a needle up/down position. I am constantly using the dial on the right to raise and lower the needle. I thought for sure it would need oiled or something. The manual said never needs oiled (yeah, right). The answer to all the trouble shooting in the manual said "check bobbin area for lint." LOL!

Here are some pictures of my progress on the rag quilt. I love owls on fabric, so this one will be all owls with all solids on the back:

In honor of this occasion, I am giving away these rag quilt snippers (they're awesome) and some of the leftover flannel:

Ok, you are not going to win all of this :) It's probably like 8 yards of flannel. I'm going to cut up about 4 yards of it. I will give all of the owls and some of the solids. I think you could make a nice baby quilt out of it. The only catch is... if you win, print out this post... put it on your stack of fabric (like I do when I win) so that when you finally make something you LET ME KNOW!!!

Here's a photo of my latest quilt I'm working on too (not rag). And a photo of some inspiration:

The rag quilt snippers were on my Christmas wish list last year and two people got me a pair. So, in turn, one of you got lucky :)

The giveaway rules say make it simple, so here goes. You don't have to be a follower, but feel free to check out where you can follow me on the right side bar and go ahead and do so if you desire :) Leave a comment on this post. I would like to know how you make rag quilts. What size square do you use? Do you use batting in the sandwich squares or flannel or nothing? Do you always use flannel, maybe minky, regular cotton? Do you always sew the X in the middle or do something else? What size seam allowance do you use? If you have never made one, let me know how you envision you might do it, or why you would never make one.

You don't have to answer all of these questions. These are just some ideas. Write something that might be a good tip, trick, idea.... something I and my readers might want to know. Make sure I can contact you so I don't have to pick another winner! The giveaway will go until midnight Eastern Time, Sunday, March 17th!!!

Be sure to go to the Quilters’ Blog Hop Party and visit the other bloggers that are participating.

Until next time,

Mike.

Green and Hexy & Link a Finish Friday!

2013-02-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

I finished a couple of things recently so I decided to write a quick post and participate in the Link a Finish Friday and Richard & Tanya Quilts. I posted about this finish last Saturday but did not link up anywhere:

Tonight is the belated holiday party at work. This is my Secret Santa gift.
This week I also finished the quilt top for the Green and Hexy quilt:

The border fabric has inspired me to maybe quilt it with a loopy flower design. This fabric was also part of the bundle I won.

Backing fabric. I did not win the backing fabric. That would have been a huge win :) I picked most of it up on sale.

Leftover border fabric that will go on the back.

Owl fabric for the back.

Monkey fabric for the back.

I back piece large chunks of fabric usually, so these are a few that I had in my stash saving for the day I finished the Green and Hexy quilt. 320 hexagons later and many hours on NJ Transit and PATH trains, I finally have the top finished! Yay!

I'm linking up at Link a Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya Quilts.

Until next time,

Mike.

Quilting: A Love Story

2013-02-16T16:05:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted but I have tons to share :)

I finished the scrappy quilt for my Secret Santa person at work. We have our party next week. We do it later so everyone can make it. It seems someone is always on vacation around Christmas.

I hope she likes it! From my experience, everyone loves getting a quilt!

Made some progress on my Aunt's scrappy and pink quilt. This will be a queen size. It's going together pretty fast. It will be my next finish.

Finished the hexagon sewing on the Green and Hexy quilt. Just need to square it off and add the fabulous border that came with this green stash when I won it. Then, I have to make the back and quilt it.

That being said, I had to start another Hexy quilt. I need something to do while on the train to and from work everyday. It's a long ride. This one is using a huge bundle of fat quarters that I won. The collection is called Picnic Pals. I won it from Penguin & Fish.

They had a sale at Joann's this weekend. I walked out with a load of Valentine's Day fabric at basement bargain prices... with a coupon, of course! I have a year to finish it :) I got the Olive the Ostrich fabric from Hawthorne Threads.

I went to the Road 2 California quilting show in Ontario, CA. I took a class with my Aunt C. Boy was it a bitch! A quilt that had lots of tiny pieces to cut up and sew back together. It was a total mind f**k. I don't have any pictures of it yet. Will keep you posted :) Here's the pattern. The designer taught the class.

But, look at some things I picked up:

Check out these peeps:

And of course, I love the Owl fabric. Check out my pinterest board for owls :) I couldn't resist the bacon either :)

I'm still contemplating the Monday linky party, but as you all know, I tend to disappear from the blog for awhile, so maybe it would be too much work. :(

But if you got this far, pin the scrappy Secret Santa quilt to your pinterest page then leave me the link in the comments. I will send a random commenter this fat quarter. It's the poison poppies from the Wizard of Oz. I have a stash of Dorothy stuff :) U.S. only this time. Ends Saturday February 23 at midnight Eastern.

Until next time,

Mike.

Look What I Made! (Monday?)

2013-01-06T17:48:00.001-05:00

So, I been thinkin'... I do most of my sewing and quilting on the weekend. That's just the way it works for me. I have a full time job during the week with a very, very, very long commute. If I get 4 hours of sewing on Saturday or Sunday, yay! So, again, I been thinkin'... WIP Wednesdays or Linky parties on Fridays just really don't work for me :( I share on them, but I have to make the post on Sunday night and wait a few days or more to share... and I have to remember to link up at a later date! I am ready to share after the weekend! There aren't many Monday linky parties, so I was thinking I should do a Monday party! What do you think? I'm thinking it will force me to post at least once a week and I will have fun sharing :)

Well, anyway, this is what I made this weekend:

I'm still working on my Craftsy Block of the Month. This is the first block for August. I'm way behind. The fabrics are Michael Miller (at least some are). They came from leftover scraps from my friend Mel up in Massachusetts. She doesn't quilt, but she is crafty!

I also wanted to give a shout out to Missy, Lily, Sandy, and Mary. I had my very first ever sewing class/event. I drove up to North New Jersey to the store that sold me the long arm quilter. It was show and tell and a small class type of thing. I had a great time! It meets every two months and I can't wait for the next one :)

Let me know what you think about the Monday share party thing. I am thinking it should incorporate some giveaway thing too!

Until next time,

Mike.

Scrappy Days Are Here Again... and a Ton of Stuff!!!

2012-12-24T07:18:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to let you know what I have been up to over the last couple of weeks. I also still haven't announced the winners of my last two giveaways (here and here). They were contacted the next day and both have already received their respective prizes.

Barbara from Cat Patches won the fat quarter bundles:

Gabriele from Gabriele's Boutique won the Holly Jolly Christmas fabric assortment:

This also brings me to an important point. Gabriele was NOT a no reply blogger, but her email on her profile was out of date and kept bouncing back to me. I was able still to click through to her blog and find her Facebook page where I left a message on her wall. Sometimes it's really easy to find the person even if you do not have their email. I wanted her to get her prize and I wanted her to know that her email was bad! She did not realize it and was probably missing out on giveaways that she had previously won.

As a segue, I also wanted to point out that if you link Google+ to your blogger profile, it will make you automatically a no reply blogger!!!!! But... and most people don't realize this, your name in your profile and in the comment (if the blogger receives the no reply email) is linked to your Google+ page where the person having a giveaway can obviously contact you. It's just not by email.

Anyway, on with the show. First off, happy holidays to everyone!

I just wanted to let you know what I have been up to. Here we go:

Work in progress: I have been sewing these 320 hexagons on the train while I commute back and forth to work everyday. It's finally coming together, but I have quite a bit of whip stitching left to do. I did it in blocks and now I am just sewing the blocks together. Oh my, the people I get asking questions all the time!

90% of the fabric comes from my very first giveaway win from about a year ago. I haven't decided what to do with the charms yet. I have been working on it since about June of 2011, and I sew on it some everyday pretty much (every work day). And, if you can believe this, I have not blogged about these hexies at all. I know you all got tired of hearing about hexies the last time!!!

Work in Progress: I have started my first rag quilt. It is all owls mostly. They had a great sale on flannels at Joann's. I still have tons left over too. I am going to alternate the prints so they form diagonals (matching) across the quilt. I am coordinating the solids as shown in the picture. The solids will be on the back.

Finished: This table runner is finished. I made a nice simple nine patch block with HSTs. I used scraps and leftover fabrics from my stash. This was the first one I had ever made :)

This is the back.

Here it is loaded an ready on the machine. I haven't decided yet if it was worth the trouble to load it on the long arm since I know I could have done it FMQ on my home machine. I did enjoy using the machine for the third time though.

Work in progress: This one is my first truly scrappy quilt. I literally hit the bucket to find anything that would make a 5.5 inch square. It's mostly random, but I still tried to make sure there were no similar squares too close to each other. It is really going together fast!!!

Well, if you made it this far, I wanted to let you all know that I have a new sponsor. I'm not doing a giveaway yet, but if you would like to stop by and see Nicole at 1 Choice 4 Quilting her button is at the end of this post and at the top of the right side bar. The store has an awesome selection and I am pleased with their shipping rates. $2.95 for orders under $10. $4.95 for orders $10-50 and anything over $50 ships free!!!

Also, my Facebook page has been really hopping since the last two giveaways. If you haven't liked The Amateur Quilter yet you should. I always try to share any useful or interesting blog posts I read as well as any giveaways I come across.

This week I am going to link up at Richard and Tanya Quilts Link a Finish Friday and Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays!

Enjoy your holidays!

Until next time!

Mike.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!!

2012-12-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that it is time for Sew Mama Sew's semi-annual giveaway day. Hundreds of bloggers will be participating including myself! I know, I already have a giveaway going on right now! But, I did not realize it would coincide with SMS's! Sew, I am having another! And, I'm giving away a nice load of leftovers from the two Christmas quilts I made. That's right, including 3/4 of a yard of each of the mouth watering boot fabrics (Holly Jolly, Robert Kaufman). In total I have about 2 1/2 yards of fabric here:

I blogged about these quilts here in case you want to take a peek at how I used the fabrics:

1. Christmas in New Jersey

2. I'm here. I'm alive. I'm having a giveaway! Christmas in New Jersey (part 2)

3. It's finished! Christmas in New Jersey (part 3)

Feel free to enter my already going giveaway (the number 2 link above).

So what do you have to do to win? I've been trying to build up my Facebook page, so all you have to do is like The Amateur Quilter on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did or that you already have. In the SAME comment if you want to also tell me your favorite color or type of fabric, I might be inclined to throw in another nugget of fabric. I've been known to do that :) For example, "I liked your facebook page, and I love fun prints and the color green!"

The giveaways will be open until Friday, December 7, 8 p.m. EST. I will ship internationally :)

Also, go check out all the other giveaways here.

Until next time,

Mike.

It's finished! Christmas in New Jersey (part 3)

2012-11-30T09:44:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway from my last post. I was also thinking of having another on Monday since it is Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

Anyway, here's the finish:

The top

The back

This is the first quilt I finished on the new long arm :)

I learned a few things too. Make sure you have plenty of extra batting and backing fabric on the sides. If you don't, then you get too close to the clips and it makes it difficult. Also, if you have extra, it makes it so you can have an area to test on.

Also, I used the King Tut beige colored cotton thread that came with the machine. I don't usually use cotton thread, except hand quilting thread which I use to sew hexagons together. I'm also faithful to Gutermann brand thread.

Does anyone have any experiences with long arm quilting and cotton vs. polyester, or what are good brands (and value)? I did notice that the bobbin and needle area get loaded with lint buildup. That is definitely a downside to cotton.

Well, I have to get back to finishing the twin sister quilt to this one.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway. I will probably have another one Monday. I am thinking of giving away some leftover Christmas fabrics, including the fabulous Robert Kaufman boot fabric that everyone keeps asking about!

I am linking up at Richard and Tanya Quilts, Link a Finish Friday.

Until next time,

Mike.

I'm here. I'm alive. I'm having a giveaway! Christmas in New Jersey (part 2)

2012-11-23T11:19:00.000-05:00

I know it's been almost 2 months since my last post "Christmas in New Jersey." You can probably figure out why. We were bombarded by Aunt Hurricane Sandy. Well, we got power back about 2 weeks ago and we got internet last week! We were very happy about that! I thought maybe it is time to start sharing again :) I've been working on the twin sister Christmas quilt with the boot fabric. I have finished the top:

I've also been working on the back:

It's mostly fabrics that were given to me and I was only trying to just sew a bunch of fat quarters together to make it. The twin sister boot Christmas quilt is a gift for some very good friends of mine. The backing fabrics were some leftover scraps from a mutual friend that lives in Massachusetts. She likes to sew, but doesn't quilt. So, I thought it was appropriate to put her fabrics on the back and give it to our friends.

On another note, I have not been honest with everyone. I have been hiding a very important piece of information. In September I went to a quilt show in Pennsylvania. I bought a long arm quilting machine :) It was supposed to arrive during the hurricane. It's now arriving on Sunday (after Thanksgiving). I'm stoked. I love quilting on my home machine, but as you all know, I work too much and have very little time to sew. So, now I have a great time saver (and muscle saver), especially since most of my projects are larger quilts. I will still be creating my own quilting designs (I did not get the automatic/computerized thing). I already have these 2 Christmas quilts in the "almost ready to quilt" stage, so they will be my firsts.

I've decided to have a giveaway too. I was waiting until I had 200 followers, but I figured "why not just go ahead?" I'm alive, still here, the sewing machine has power now :) I am giving away a couple of bundles of fat quarters, 10 in all. They are not your fancy "quilting quality" fabrics. They are just some that I picked up at Joann's (my LQS). I hope you like them. I don't have sponsors, so I paid for them with my hard earned money :)

I took the ribbons off so you could see the prints. I will put them back on before I send them.

So, what do you have to do to try to win them, you ask?

Sign up for "following by email" in the upper right hand corner of my blog. That's it. If you are already signed up, you're entered.

If you want to leave a comment, that's up to you. I love them. In fact, if you leave a comment telling me what your favorite color/type of print fabric is, I might throw something else in the package :) For example, "I like green and I like medium to large prints" or "I like blue and anything solid or with a small print." You don't have to leave a comment. It will just possibly add to the prize.

Also, I am excluding my close friends and family that already follow me through email. But all you quilt bloggers out there. Don't fret. We may be online friends, but you are still in the game :)

The giveaway is open internationally. (Thank you to all I have won that was shipped that way.) You also have 2 weeks: it ends Friday December 7th (east coast time) at midnight.

I'm linking up at Richard and Tanya Quilts link a finish Friday. Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday weekend!

Mike.

Christmas in New Jersey

2012-10-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I have time for a quick post. I've been working on two Christmas quilts lately. This week I finished the top for one of them (sans borders).

Several people have asked about the boot fabric. It's Robert Kaufman's Holly Jolly. My Aunt saw it and she knows I like cowboy stuff. She sent me two yards in the mail by surprise! :) It also comes with a natural cream background as opposed to black. I bought some of the cream fabric with the boots for the second quilt. It was only about $7.50 a yard on fabric.com. They were also out of the black last I looked.

I made the design myself using EQ5. I'm going to link up at Link a Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya Quilts.

Happy Friday everyone!

Until next time,

Mike.

Men Quilt Too!!! and LAFF (Link a Finish Friday)!!!

2012-09-28T16:59:00.001-04:00

Well, I was saving this for the Men Quilt Too competition, but it was cancelled this year :( Although, they are having a linky party for the guys who still want to participate (also a button on the right at the top). The rules were that it had to be new and "unshared." So, I had been holding it in all this time!!!

I won the fabric from Cotton Blossom Farm on the Quilt Story Blog (Heather & Megan). It was a Bungle Jungle 12 fat quarter pack. I decided to make a baby quilt out of it. I know of a few babies coming up in the family :) I just fired up my EQ5 (I know the un-user-friendly version), and put a basic block together then just randomly placed the fabrics where I thought they should go ;)

There were so many medium to large prints, that I thought it would be a shame to cut them up into small pieces. I also wanted to make the Elephants look like they were travelling across :) I did a little fussy cut on those.

Working on the back (on the right).

Spray basting.

I used some Timeless Treasures bumble bee fabric that I had in my stash. There were not enough leftovers to make the entire back.

I also had to add a border for which I used a Kona Cotton Solid (Avocado???). I can never remember what the color names are after I wash the fabric and put away the receipt :(

The finished back. (Dresdens on the left for Craftsy BOM. Marbled Fabric that I won on the right.)

The grey fabric had loopy lines in it, so I used a loopy FMQ all over with a Gutermann light yellow polyester thread.

It finished out at 36" x 48". I finished it a couple of weeks ago, all in a weekend. I still have to put a name and a date for the baby on there, but I don't know that yet!

So I just want to say thank you to Cotton Blossom Farm for the bundle, Quilt Story for hosting and Thearica at Pigtales and Quilts for hosting Men Quilt Too!!!

I will be linking up at LAFF (Link a Finish Friday) and Richard and Tanya Quilts (this week) and, on October 15, 2012 when the linky party starts for Men Quilt Too!!!

Until next time,

Mike.

BOMs Away!!! & Link a Finish Friday!

2012-09-21T13:48:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a couple a weeks but I finished a few more of the Block of the Months. Maybe eventually I will be making the blocks during the month in which they were intended to be made :)

The theme for the Craftsy Block of the Month in July was Dresdens, so here you go:

First time I've ever made a Dresden plate. Left is traditional, right is modern version.

Me appliqueing with a zigzag stitch for the first time. Good thing you can't see the closeup. It's pretty bad.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for zigzag stitch on applique.

Chain piecing the Dresdens and thought it looked cool! I won the EZ Dresden tool from Barbie and the Quilting Mill awhile back. It really saves you time and is EZ to use :) especially with my rotating cutting mat!

And now on to the Quilt Story Block of the Month for which the theme was simply "rounded."

So I said, let's just make another Dresden plate!!! It's round, why not? Then on the right, you can see I got little play happy with the EZ Drezden ruler and just started randomly sewing them together. For the applique on that one, I did a really tight zigzag so it looks shiny (and uses lots of thread). It was a raw edge, so I wanted it covered. No one ever really taught me the best way to applique, so I will take tips or tricks. I have been using my 505 spray to stabilize. I noticed though that the tighter the stitch it seems to kind of "shrink" your block, like it is slightly puckering up the background fabric as you stitch. Is there a way to avoid that? I suppose I would have made the purple background a bit bigger had I known, then squared off the block to 12.5" Now I will have to remember on that block to do less than 1/4 inch on the seam when I sew the blocks together. Oh well.

I also wanted to mention that the purple thread on the applique I won from Craft Nurse Quilt as part of Kelie's giveaway package.

I am linking up at Link a Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya Quilts.

Happy Friday everyone!

Until next time,

Mike.

I dropped a few more BOMs this week & Quilt Show

2012-09-07T04:20:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been working on a super secret project this past couple of weeks, but I have also finished a couple of more BOMs of which I can share with you.

Lower left is the Octagon from Craftsy (June 2 of 2). Upper left is the one I posted about last time, the Greek Cross (June 1 of 2). Upper right and lower right are Quilt Story (June 2 versions). They were supposed to be anything with Flying Geese. I made one more traditional and the other a little crazy. I realized once I finished that I could not get them to come out to a 12.5 inch block, so I added borders and then squared off the blocks :)

Next month (July!!!...I know. Don't say anything!) it will be Dresden blocks and Rounded blocks. I think rounded doesn't necessarily mean it will have curves, as long as it appears rounded, sort of like the Octagon block above.

Hope you enjoy! I am linking up at Richard and Tanya's Link a Finish Friday.

I also wanted to mention that I will be in Philadelphia, PA next Saturday to visit the Quilt Show!!! Anyone else going? Would love to meet up and say Hi :)

Until next time,

Mike.

The BOM is back!!!

2012-08-22T10:36:00.001-04:00

Okay, I had a few moments the other day so I decided to try to catch up on my BOMs. I've been busy with the Hexy quilt and the Buzz Lightyear quilt but now that they have been given to my loved ones, it's time for some "me" sewing. Technically this is a work in progress and a block "finish" so I will be linking up at WIP Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced and Richard & Tanya's Link a Finish Friday.

Here is the block:

This is one of the June (I know, it's almost September) blocks for the Craftsy Block of the Month. It's called a Greek Cross. The cross was supposed to be all the same fabric, but I have been using only scraps and I thought these scraps would work even if they are not the same color. While doing it, I also learned about the ever popular "scant" 1/4 inch seam. It basically means that you sew the seams just a little bit under the 1/4 inch mark to make up for the area taken up by the stitch itself. It helps to keep highly pieced blocks from shrinking in size the more you sew pieces together. It worked nicely. There is another June block called the Octagon, which looks easy, but I have not got to that one yet. I am also doing the Quilt Story BOM, for which I am still on June as well :(

I also wanted to mention some of my useful tools that I used:

This is the first time I've used a rotating cutting mat. Wow, it's quite handy! I don't have to move the ruler or my body anymore!!! Great for half square triangles and trimming down blocks with a square. Also, my bloc-loc is always dandy! It makes perfect HSTs because it grabs the folded seam and lines up all the edges to trim them down to perfect squares (and gets rid of the dog ears). I love it! Also, I used the draw the line method for making HSTs so you can see my water soluble blue marker in the picture too. This method really saves you time.

I also wanted to mention that I am doing the Shades of Grey charm swap (from my last post) and I finally got all the fabric squares cut out and ready to mail off:

I found myself trying really hard to be exact. These will be used by others, so I could not just settle for close enough like I normally would.

Again, I am linking up at WIP Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced, and Link a Finish Fridays at Richard & Tanya Quilts.

Also, if you got this far and feel like commenting, I am currently looking for quilting ideas for quilting a quilt made entirely of hexagons. :) Right now, I am thinking of going with straight lines corner to corner, or maybe some sort design to make them pop, like just outside the ditch. Thoughts?

Until next time,
Mike.

Swap-portunity

2012-08-18T10:33:00.001-04:00

I've decided to join a charm swap called Shades of Grey. Has something to do with a dirty book, I heard, but I'm doing it anyway :)

I don't know if it's full yet, but go here if you want to join. I've added the button in my sidebar as well.

Until next time,

Mike.

LAFF (Link A Finish Friday) My Buzz Is Gone!!!

2012-08-17T09:59:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm sad :( I've finished two quilts in two weeks and I had to send them off :(
Here are the pics:

I used glow in the dark thread (that kept breaking thanks to Coats & Clark)

Easy blocks to make.

I will have to make a pattern for this one.

Nice label from DisneyWorld trip.

Practicing on the quilt sandwich :)

Xaiden is my grandson. He is 4 on Monday. I hope he likes it. He always has much to say!

Linking up at Richard and Tanya's Quilts LAFF (Link a Finish Friday).

Until next time,

Mike.

I've got a Buzz, checking my blog stats and Richard and Tanya's Link a Finish Friday

2012-08-10T23:13:00.000-04:00

***ALERT*** Before proceeding to the awesome story I have to tell you below. I need Facebook "likes"/followers/fans. Go here and click like. Then, enjoy this awesome story I have to tell you :)

So, it's Link a Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya's Quilts. They're very lenient with the rules which is excellent considering I do not finish full quilts everyday. It just has to be something you finished! :) A block, a quilt top, a project, whatever! So, I have an almost completed project, but tonight I finished the quilt top. Tomorrow I back piece it and Sunday I quilt it. It has to be in the mail by Thursday. It's for our grandson who turns 4 real soon. He likes Buzz Lightyear, so I went with that theme :) Here are some pictures:

Piecing.

Mitch giving moral support.

The blocks up close.

Seams going the wrong way, which I left and did not fix because it goes with my mantra.

Adding the sashing.

Quilt top finished with the border.

Tomorrow I will back piece the back. I have picked out some things that he likes. Cars from Disney. Monkeys, Space Monkeys, robots, space men, stars, etc.

I have decided to quilt it with glow in the dark thread in a stippling with 5 point stars (bobbin and top). I can't wait to find out his reaction from his mom. I told her about it and to record it and upload to youtube so I can see his reaction. They do not live near us. I know he will love it. He knows more about space and astronomy than I do. That would be the flash cards we got him :)

I also wanted to mention a recent discovery. I was checking my stats for the blog and it said I had over 200 hits referred by craftgossip last week. Well, it turns out, the editor from craftgossip posted my Hexy finish on craftgossip (and did not let me know) but now I have added the "featured on" button to the right hand side bar. It's pretty awesome. I signed up for their newsletter. Awesome! Don't forget to follow me on Facebook. I'm lacking there. I'm also on Twitter, but doing good there. Sign up for both if you have not already.

Anyway, I am linking up at Richard and Tanya's blog.

Until next time,

Mike.

The Hexy Quilt is Finished!!!

2012-08-01T11:24:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let you know, you will not have to hear about this one any more :) I started it in March and probably spent a total of 60-70 hours if you add up all the hours hand sewing on the train. So, here are the pics:

Since it was a birthday present for my daughter, I put some of her favorite things on the back!

Until next time,

Mike.

Ellie at Color My World is having a giveaway...

2012-07-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

Become a follower of Ellie's and mention that I sent you so I get an extra entry :)

Click here to enter: Color My World: Hooray for 50 Posts Giveaway!: "I realized while on vacation last week that I had written my 50th post. In my mind, that calls for a celebration, otherwise known as a give..."

Giveaway ends Friday July 27, at 5pm EST.

Who says you can't quilt a big ass quilt on a home machine?

2012-07-21T13:59:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let you all know what I am up to today! I'm finally quilting the hexie quilt!!!!!

And, I finally have 3 likes on my Facebook page! Woohoo!

I'm using an orange thread and a stippling pattern with little flower designs every now and then. I still haven't decided how to quilt the hexagon flowers yet. Let me know if you have suggestions.

Until next time,

Mike.

I work hard for no money, dun-dun, dun-dun...

2012-07-11T10:34:00.000-04:00

Well, I know it's been awhile since I've blogged about what I am up to, so here goes. And, as a coincidence it's WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced, and tomorrow is Link it up Thursday at These Peas Taste Funny, so I will link up at both.

First off, I finally finished my May block of the months for Quilt Story and for Craftsy:

I know, it's July. I'm behind. The top 2 are the hourglass blocks for Quilt Story and the bottom two are the Wonky Log Cabins for Craftsy. The hourglasses are so much like HSTs that I don't know if I care to distinguish them. Easy to make though. The Craftsy blocks were fun! No rules just cutting and sewing without any measurments. Loved it! Great Scrapbuster!

My mom, brother and sister-in-law were visiting from Kansas. I talked my Mom and Sis-in-law into making a block. I think I will try to talk other members of my family into doing so when they visit so that I can make a family quilt out of them.

I'm still in hexie land, although I finished all the hexagon flowers and I have sewn them all on the the background fabric.

I was spraying them on the back with my trusty 505 spray and then using a free motion stitch to straight stitch them on around the edge. At first I was just placing them on, but I realized it was getting wonky and bubbly, so the spray really made a difference. I was also using Isachord gold colored thread and it was not looking right. It was loose and there were loops on the back in places. I tried everything: new needle, different size needle, different thread/same thread in the boobin, tension, speed, cleaning out the bobbin. Nothing worked. Finally, I tried standing up the thread spool. I usually leave it down using Gutermann on a regular spool because the thread tension gets to be too much when standing up, but this Isachord was a large spool (green plastic) and when I stood it up, it worked perfectly! Note to self next time I am having issues.

Hexies all sewn on...

I back piece, and this is one of the many backing fabrics I am using. I just loved it so much I had to take a picture. I got it at Joann's. They had a great 4th of July sale where not only were the fabrics etc. on sale, but they had a coupon for an additional 15% off the whole order! I stocked up :)

I also got a little something-something fat quarter bundles for my next giveaway. I will do it when I reach 200 followers (hint, hint follow me on the right through Google Friend Connect if you don't already). I also started a facebook page ("like" my page by clicking on the Facebook button top right or the hyperlink I just put in). The only "like" I have right now is my own :(

I am linking up at Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays and Link it Up Thursdays at These Peas Taste Funny.

Until next time,

Mike.