I May Have A Scrap Problem - But Here's a Neat Technique that Helps!

 

Hi, all!

I have been playing in scraps this week, and I like it!  I was looking for ideas for quilt tutorials for this year's series (coming up in a few weeks) and I saw a great pic of a totally scrappy quilt...

I went to the creator's website and verified that she didn't have her own pattern written for the quilt, then opened up EQ8 and did a mock-up of the quilt.  Lots and lots of 2.5" squares, which I definitely have, but oh my!  The time it would take to sew them all together.

And then I remembered a technique I posted about once for sewing true postage stamp blocks (made with 1.5" squares) in a fun and easy manner.  Why wouldn't it work for larger squares?  And so I gave it a try - and it works so much faster and easier than traditional piecing!  

What is it, you ask?  Well, here's a short and quick picture tutorial to show you...

The first thing I did was grab some sheerweight fusible interfacing out of my stash.  I took my squares for one block and laid them out, edge to edge but not overlapping, on the fuse side of the fusible interfacing.

After laying the squares out, I cut the excess interfacing away.

Then it's time to press - and I mean press, not iron.  Just set your iron on the squares, then pick it up and move it to an unpressed section.  I used a very hot iron with lots of steam.

When you've finished pressing, your block will look like this - thin lines between the squares.

Now take it to your sewing machine and fold it between two sets of squares.  It should fold easily.

Now sew that folded edge, a scant 1/4" from the edge.  Repeat for the second strips.

This is what your block will look like once you have stitched both lines.

Now grab a pair of small-bladed scissors (these are my Kai embroidery scissors, which I love!) and inserting the blade between the two pieces of fabric at one end ABOVE the line of stitching, cut the seam open.  Repeat for the second seam.

Press the seams open.  Go back to your sewing machine and repeat for the seams that run the other direction.  Cut those seams open as before.

Press the seams open.

And look at that!  A perfect block, with perfectly matched intersections, no pins required and no matching skills needed!  I made two of these blocks in about ten minutes, so it's much quicker than traditional piecing, too.  It makes sewing with 2.5" squares mindless and relaxing!

Have you been playing with your scraps?  Just think of all that "free" fabric waiting to be turned into quilts!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - New Year, New Projects!

 

Hi, all!

Happy New Year!  Even better than Mondays, a new year gives us a chance to clean up, try new things, finish old projects, and maybe make a resolution or two.  I'm not big on resolutions (they seem to be made to be broken!) but I do have some things I'm going to try to do this year.  I'm hoping to use up more of my stash, both scraps and fabric I've been holding on to for a while.  I've got a few projects that have been hanging around that I want to finish.  And I'm working on learning Italian and getting in better shape for our trip to Italy - yoga and the treadmill are my two goals there.  Do you have big plans for this year?  I'd love to hear them!

But enough of big plans - here's what I'm hoping to get to this week...

1.  Keep working the first prototype quilt for this year's tutorial series.

2.  Pull fabrics for the second prototype quilt.

3.  Quilt several ministry quilts.

4.  Clean off one of my sewing tables.

5.  Write three blogposts this week.

6.  At least three days of yoga.

7.  At least two days on the treadmill.

I think all that's do-able!  I'm really enjoying working on the first prototype, so I'm having to tear myself away to work on other things too.  I'm finding that using it as a reward for doing a less-than-fun task works well!  

And because I don't have any pretty quilt pictures to share today, how about a couple of pictures of Bree?

This is the face we see much of the day, pretty much any time we walk into the kitchen.  If we are eating, she expects to be eating also!

Is that not the most blissful look you've ever seen?  She has seriously enjoyed having full access to both her people for the past two weeks as my husband has been off of work.  I think she'll have some transition shock when he goes back to work tomorrow!  He's still working from home but she knows that he can't pay her a lot of attention while he's sitting behind his desk.  And I'll need to be getting back to full time in the studio as things gear up for the tutorial series and Hands2Help!

Well, enough about me and mine.  Now I seriously want to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? As Another Year Draws to a Close....

 

Hi, all!

Wow - it's finally here.  The last Friday of the year!  It's hard to believe that 2022 is almost over, and 2023 just over the horizon, but it's true! And since it's Friday, we need to get our 2022 whoop whoop on one last time.  Let's go!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

I have woefully neglected my blog for the past few weeks, getting caught up in the holiday and all the attendant festivities.  I am so sorry!  But I will make an early New Year's resolution and promise to do better.  I do have a few things to whoop about this week, though, like this...

...a lovely pile of bonus HSTs from the secret sewing project I'm currently working on!  I can't share that project, but I do love having bonus triangles to play with later!

And then there's this - I treated myself today to this fun rolling cart with removable trays for organizing projects!  I've long lusted after a baker's cart with metal trays but I'm too cheap to shell out the big bucks for one - but this fits the bill and was on a great sale!  I'll be starting out right after the first of the year using it to organize the parts for this year's tutorial series - win/win!!

And this was a lovely surprise this week - my wonderful cleaning ladies, who come each week and keep our house looking and smelling wonderful (housekeeping is NOT my spiritual gift!) brought me roses for the New Year!  Wasn't that the sweetest?

And we have a new addition to our family - meet Josie!  After gas prices went up so precipitously this year, and knowing that our aging Venza was bound to start breaking down in the near future, we decided to get a hybrid to replace it.  Josie is a Highlander hybrid with three rows of seating (as requested by the grandkids, who hate sitting crammed in a small back seat) and lots of other fun bells and whistles.

Here's my current favorite - the heated seats!  I have decided that happiness is a warm tushie!

And this year, after putting it off for several years due to Covid and the terrible exchange rate, we've taken the plunge and booked a trip to Italy!  We are counting the days until we leave, studying Italian, dieting, and working out to get in better shape so we can sightsee until we drop.  This is to celebrate our anniversary - we will have been married for 44 years this Sunday - but we won't be going until September, so there's plenty of time to get ready!  I am enjoying studying Italian using the app Duolingo and seem to be making good progress.  The only problem I have is remembering the Spanish word for something instead of the Italian one!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share! We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah