“Circle of Geese”

Suzette S has entered a block for TQPM Seasons of Hope Block challenge.

Circle of Geese

Check out the rest of the blocks at http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/program/HopeBlocks/

Subscribers reading this, send yours in soon!

There’s a Mouse in the House!

I moved to Missouri from Idaho when I got married just about 7 years ago. I moved into my husband’s house, which was a big old house, with many quaint details that I loved. There was plenty of room for me and my sewing room, which was a MUST! I had to have a sewing room!

Well, then my daughter and her baby son moved in with us, which I thought was lovely. I wanted my little grandson around every day, and I was happy to have them become part of our household.

My daughter and I share a sense of humor, so we had a good time. The only wrinkle in the whole situation was . . . the mice problem. There was an empty field on one side of our house and an empty house on the other side! I am not crazy about mice, especially in my house!

So, one day we were in my sewing room, visiting while I was sewing, and there goes a mouse, running across the room. We both squeal, like the girls we are. The mouse is a small one, and is now hiding behind the bookcase. We kept an eye on the bookcase, so that when Mike got home, he could take care of the mouse. Well, the mouse didn’t understand the rules.

He ran out from behind the bookcase in the entry way, and directly into my shoe, which I’d left in the entry way!

Then, we figured we had it trapped! So, we were very quiet and sneaky about it, but we managed to stick a glue trap into my shoe! Now there was no way it could escape, but just in case, we set up a guard!

The Palace Guard!

And being the incredibly creative people we are, we made up a story about it. (Ahem) . . .

“Once upon a time, a wee wily mouse found its way into the castle. The Queen (Karen) and the Princess (Shannon) were horrified! They chased that wee wily mouse around the castle until they were too tired to chase anymore. The Queen and the Princess pulled their thrones up to the last place they saw that wee wily mouse, and sat and watched. The wee wily mouse, thinking he was safe, as all was quiet, slowly crept out from behind the staircase and looked both ways. He still didn’t see anything, so he very carefully tiptoed across the castle floor . . . but then he saw the Queen and the Princess on their thrones out of the corner of his eye and he ran into the first dark hole he found!

Unfortunately it was the Queens shoe. The Queen and the Princess didn’t dare touch the shoe to bring it outside (that wee wily mouse could jump on them!) so they did the next best thing. They set up the palace guard around the Queens shoe, until the King could get home from work and dispatch the mouse. Feeling safe at last, the Queen and the Princess poured some glasses of Diet Pepsi Vanilla and sat back on their thrones to watch episodes of Friends until the King got home from work.”

And when Mike got home, that’s exactly what he did.

Dispatched the mouse – outside.

Karen

“Hope”

Kathy M has entered a block for TQPM Seasons of Hope Block challenge.

Hope

Check out the rest of the blocks at http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/program/HopeBlocks/

Subscribers reading this, send yours in soon!

“Karima’s African Hut”

Karima D has entered three blocks for TQPM Seasons of Hope Block challenge.

Karima’s African Hut

Karima’s African Hut

Karima’s African Hut

Check out the rest of the blocks at http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/program/HopeBlocks/

Subscribers reading this, send yours in soon!

“Saguaro Sunrise”

Donna L has entered a block for TQPM Seasons of Hope Block challenge.

Saguaro Sunrise

Check out the rest of the blocks at http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/program/HopeBlocks/

Subscribers reading this, send yours in soon!

A New Country

We have a new country for our subscribers. Let’s all welcome Bermuda to our family of quilters.

Our subscribers are now from:
Australia
Belgium
Bermuda
Brazil
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
France
Germany
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
USA

Marilyn’s Apples

Marilyn has entered a project in the TQPM Panel Contest.

The apples panel is surrounded by a border of quarter- and half-square triangles. It is the perfect size for a table topper. Hand quilted. – Marilyn

See more entries at http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/program/PanelContest/

Lori-Lynn’s Bears

Mothers Day is Coming!

Last week I told you I’d share my Mothers Day project. She doesn’t know about this blog, or that I write for it, (yet), so I feel free to share it with all of you! I always make something for my mother for Mothers Day. She always loves whatever I make. I think sometimes she still views me as 5 yrs old and I drew a ‘pretty picture’ for her and she hangs it on the fridge for everyone to see! Lol oh I’m just kidding, but she does appreciate everything I make for her, which is a nice feeling.

This year, I wanted to make something very nice, that was easy and didn’t take a long time. Pretty high standards, huh? Well, in wandering around my favorite Idea Places (Pinterest, Craftgawker, etc) I saw a few silk scarves. And I thought, That’s it! It’s very nice (silk), easy (it’s a rectangle), and wouldn’t take too long. Perfect! And, since I’m a veteran bargain hunter, it would not be expensive! So, I started off at my favorite online fabric stores and started looking through their silks. I had decided to go with a solid color, rather than a print, because it would go with more things. I had to take into account what colors she usually wears and find something that went with those colors. (This is a lot easier if you live near your mother, and not 1000 miles away!) But I eventually ended up at Mood Fabrics (any Project Runway fans out there?). I’ve wanted to shop at Mood forever! Well, when I landed on their Silk Charmeuse page, they had every color under the sun and a few others! I was in heaven!

What is Silk Charmeuse? According to Emma OneSock it’s, “Silk charmeuse is pure luxury. It is soft, elegant, and surprisingly versatile. Charmeuse is a medium weight, woven silk with a lustrous appearance, rather like the surface of a pearl. And like the pearl which it resembles, it is an elegant classic!” If you ever want to know what a fabric is, or how to sew it or wash it, Emma OneSock has a very comprehensive fabric list.

The two pieces of silk

So, I found my two colors – ivory sand and coral. Perfect! I ordered a half yard of each one, making the cost around $20 (ish) for the scarf, which is NOT BAD!!!!  And, I was only going to use 1/4 yd of each piece, so I’d have some really nice leftover pieces for my doll clothes! And you know what, Project Runway fans? The fabric came in a Mood Bag!!!! I was thrilled – I emailed one of my sew/PR fans and said, “I got a Mood Bag!!!” lol She was just as excited as I was and I didn’t even have to explain it to her. Those kinds of friends are great Ok, on to the scarf! First, some finished pictures so you know what you’re making, then I”ll show you how I did it.

Scarf folded over

Hanging Straight

So, if you’re strictly a quilter and have never sewn with silk before, don’t panic! It’s not hard. I took pictures of each step along the way, and I’ll tell you exactly what I did.

The first thing i did is straighten the edges and then cut each piece in half, so it was 9" wide.

Once I had both pieces cut, I placed them right sides together and pinned one side together. You'll notice I did my pins 'wrong'! I placed my pins in the seam allowance so they wouldn't leave holes in the silk. It probably wouldn't happen, but better to be safe than sorry!

I sewed 1/4" seams along both sides. This is the second long edge, you'll see it didn't match up perfectly. I didn't worry about, I just took my 1/4" seam from the lighter colored fabric.

Now, we need to press those long seams open. Make sure your iron is set on silk, and test it on a scrap, before using it on your scarf.

Why do we want to press the seam open? When we turn it right side out, the edges of the scarf will press easier - you'll see. I also used a strip of Silk Organza as a pressing cloth over my seam, and I used a Sleeve Board to press, so that I could isolate each seam.

Then, sew one of the ends. Just one!

Cut off that selvedge excess

Cut off that corner, to reduce bulk inside the corner.

Press open the end seam as shown. Much easier than trying to wrestle the end seam onto a sleeve board!

The other end is still open. Before you turn it inside out, fold over the ends as shown, and press. This will make it so much easier close the seam, with a blind stitch.

I keep a good supply of silk thread on hand, it's wonderful for needleturn applique. It just sinks into the cotton fabric and disappears! But it's also going to work nicely on our scarft end. I picked a color tha matched the lighter fabric. I pinned the ends closed, and you can see that I have nice pressed edges to work with.

This is a blind stitch. You simply weave your needle back and forth INSIDE the fold of the fabric, and you'll never see a stitch on the outside.

And here it is finished - nice finish for the end of a silk scarf. And it's also done! Easy Peasy

So, there you go. Working with silk is not hard at all, in fact, it’s quite fun! I used a Schmetz Microtex Sharp Needle size 80/12 and some regular cotton thread for the machine sewing. I only used the silk thread on the end. Just pin the seams every inch or so, so it doesn’t wiggle away from you, pin in the seam allowance, and press with the iron set on silk and you’ll be in tall cotton before you know it! And actually, I could make another scarf with my other half of the fabric, but I prefer to use it for doll clothes. So, essentially you could get two silk scarves for about $20 (ish) – not a bad deal for something so luxurious!

What are you making Mom for Mothers Day?

“Scrappy Hearts”,”Split 4 Patch” and “Spring Kitty”

Arlene H has entered three blocks for TQPM Seasons of Hope Block challenge.

Scrappy Hearts

Split 4 Patch

Spring Kitty

Check out the rest of the blocks at http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/program/HopeBlocks/

Subscribers reading this, send yours in soon!