Which means I am spending lots of time at my sewing machine stitching and that can lead to some physical complaints if I am not careful about posture and healthy body mechanics.  In my early teenage years my ballet teacher taught me about imagining a string coming out from the top of my head that is gently stretching my spine upwards, making me taller.   That helps alot.

A quiet culprit for back pain for me is the foot pedal of my sewing machine.  My right foot does not appear to be raised very much off of the floor when it is on it, but I have learned that the small deviation in height translates into an imbalance in my hips.  So I went to the office supply store a number of years ago and bought an adjustable foot rest for the other foot.  Using it, both feet are at the same height and my hips are level and my lower back is much happier!

Do you have any trick or tips for keeping your body happy during marathon sewing sessions?

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

Pumpkin Peel uses a very large paper foundation.  One of the challenges was that commercial paper foundation sheets are 8 1/2″ x 11″ … too small for what we needed.  Doctor’s examine table paper was our solution because it could be cut to size and it tore easily and smoothly, not leaving lots of half moon bits embedded in the seams.  However, it is not always easy to get your hands on and not everyone wants to buy a 100 foot roll, so I have been noodling around alternative ideas.

I had been stuck on the issue that taping together two pieces of 8 1/2″ x 11″ foundation paper wouldn’t work because it would be difficult if not impossible to tear through the taped portion when removing the paper, and if the template was pressed with an iron, the heat would melt the tape and shrink that area of the paper.

Then I had a BFOO!   A BFOO?  That’s a “Blinding Flash Of the Obvious” (demonstrated by moving the heel of the palm of your hand to your forehead).

What did I figure out?  Tape was not the only solution to join two pieces of paper … I could stitch them!

I printed off the templates (from my eBook!) being sure to print at 100% scale.  You can photocopy the templates from the book too, just be sure the page is really flat on the copier glass to avoid distortion, and photocopy at 100%.  When photocopying, copy a test template first and compare it to the template in the book to ensure it is copying to scale.  Martingale’s “Papers For Foundation Piecing” were great for the job.  The ink absorbs and doesn’t smear when pressing, even inkjet ink, so I had no concerns about transfer onto my fabric.  And my printer was very happy printing on it … no jams.

Next I trimmed the edge of one of the templates that I wanted to join to another.

I flipped the template, overlapped the trimmed edge on top of the other half of the template, matching the “seam”, and seam allowances and cutting edges.  Then I “basted” the papers in place by placing tape outside of the template area.

I did the same thing for the small sections that have to be added to the large arcs.

Next I took the paper pieces to my machine and using a “2″ setting for stitch length on my machine, I stitched the papers together about 3/16th of an inch from the overlap line.

Finally, I cut out the template along the cutting lines and trimmed the excess from the “overlap” seam.

And voila!

It’s true.  There is more than one way into a castle!

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

Printing straight from the pdf copy of my eBook on my computer, making sure to set the scale to 100%, the printed template when overlaid on the template in the book was perfect.

Be sure to put the scale setting to 100%!

Next printing from my iPad.  This was not so successful.  From what has been explained to me, because some of the pages in the book are “full bleed” (images go right to the edge of the “page” as if it were paper), the built in Apple print option scales the pages down slightly for compatibility with the maximum number of printer types out there.  Very convenient for general printing.  Not great for things like templates.  Once printed, the template was scaled down and too small.  What to do?

After some more exploration, I discovered most printer companies have free apps that allow more functions.  My printer is an Epson, so I downloaded the app. I couldn’t access the functionalities I needed.  No success in my case.

Moving on to other eReading devices, if you have a Kindle or a Nook that you are loading your ebook onto, and you want to print, it looks like you are also out of luck. My preliminary investigations found that it is not possible to print from these devices.

So where does that leave us?  On a positive note!  My experience is limited to my publisher, but I can tell you that when you purchase an ebook from Martingale, a link is sent to you in an email and you download the book onto your computer and then onto your eReader.  The good news is you can just print from the ebook on your computer.  I did open the link in the email on my iPad and loaded it directly onto it, but it was easy to put the ebook onto my computer and I was off and running!

Also, Martingale is including in their ebooks, going forward, a scale page at the beginning of the book. This will allow you to check the printing accuracy of your templates.

Spring is finally here!  It is revitalizing to see the scilla, some of the first plants to bloom here, bursting through the grass.

Scilla Siberica (blue) and Scilla Alba (white)

Blue swaths can be seen all around the city where they have naturalized over the years.

It’s a sight that delights!

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

I decided to tackle two UFO’s this past month.  One was a project from a workshop I took with Freida Anderson.  It was languishing with the machine quilting half done (I needed to buy some variegated thread). And I was foreseeing a binding issue as I did not have anymore of the fabric I was thinking of for the binding.  Over tea with my friend Judy, she suggested the backing fabric would work for the binding too.  Ummm … hadn’t considered a print.  Searching through my stash, I couldn’t find any more of the backing material, but I did find another Kaffe Fassett print that was a  good candidate.  I was off and running!  By now, you know I like to stretch creatively from time to time on fabrics, colour or style that is not my usual focus and this fused appliqué project fit the bill.

I also want to share a bit of knotty naughtiness!  Instead of neatly pulling through the ends of the machine quilting and hiding them between the layers, I pulled them through to the back and knotted them!  The front was neat, the back won’t be seen and done was more important than fussing about the ends.  Phew!

As for the second project … my official line is “that quilt top, what quilt top”.  Technically speaking it wasn’t an entire top yet,  measuring 45″ x 45″ of what was supposed to be a double bed size quilt (notice the past tense!). It had seen two design incarnations during it’s long, loooonngg life as I worked with the variety of blocks to get something to “work”. I had inherited the blocks … they had once been part of a block exchange.  And no matter how much I told myself that I could work with them, I realized this project was causing angst and not joy at the thought of finishing it.  I decided to employ a theory I learned in pottery class: if you have wrecked it and messed it up and you keep playing with stuff that is wrecked, the less chance you have of successfully learning.  I declared it wrecked.  I stopped the misery.  I removed the four blocks from it that I loved.  – That quilt top?  What quilt top? Double phew!

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

… of insanity!

… of eye candy for you!

My pinterest “virtual quilting” last week, lead to me pulling out these little squares …

To make this …

It finished at just a little bigger than a sheet of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper.

I tried my hand at hoopless quilting for this project (although until I learned a little trick, it felt like “hopeless” quilting).  Way too much fun!

Happy Stitching

&

And have a great week!

When I was virtual quilting this morning (aka Pinterest surfing) I stumbled upon a sweet little thing, had the urge to run with an idea it sparked, and headed straight to my sewing desk, pulled out my tackle box of 1” pieces and started in.

Reality check.

I was working and sewing in about 1 square foot of real estate.  There was barely room to move the three spools of thread aside, that lay by the base of the machine, or the two pencils, because my computer was squeezed into what little space there was, as I was fitting this piecing in while making a few phone calls (the ones that keep you on hold for a while).

Yikes!  Time to tidy.  What did I find on my desk?

• - A 9” high pile of fat quarters
• - 4 sample pots of paint for dining room chairs
• - An old belt for a craft project
• - Bottle of hand lotion, jar of hand lotion, jar of lipchap
• - Roll of garbage bags for the second floor bathroom (did I mention my sewing area is in the basement!!)
• - 2 seam rippers
• - 9 spools of thread
• - 3 coloured pencils
• - 1 mechanical pencil
• - 1 note pad
•  -Hat and gloves (rushing in to answer the phone from walking the dog)
• - Various English paper piecing templates – used
• - 1 needlekeep
• - 4 travelling notions zippered bags (for four different projects!)
• - 2 pincushions
• - 1 desktop needle threader
• - 6 finger cots
• - 1 iPad power cord (the iPad is upstairs)
• - All-In-One Quilter’s Reference Tool  (always handy on the bookshelf beside my desk, but did I put it back?!!)
• - Another pile of English paper piecing templates
• - Box of seashells from this year’s trip (to go upstairs to shell collection bowl)
• - 2 financial files (from phone conversation I had and was on hold for so long went to sewing table to stitch!)
• - 1 Christmas present from my mom, still in it’s goodie bag (more on all that deliciousness later!)
• - 1 item to go to the post office to be mailed (totally ready, umh but not in the mail!)
• - 1 sketchbook
• - Two “small pieces” tackle boxes
• - USB Stick
• - 2 mini cutting boards
• - 1 6” x 6” ruler
• - My workout jacket (really?!!)
• - Superior “Handy Nets” thread spool nets
• - 2 sets of headphones
• - Bottle of glue
• - My good tape measure (construction variety!)
• - 1 screw (for what?)
• - 11 photographs
• - 1 dish detergent packet bucket (that was holding “stuff”)
• - 2013 order form for the Boy Scouts “Fert ‘n Dirt” sale
• - 1 roll of drafting paper
• - A business card for my painter
• - Broken piece of crockery (:-(( … but I have a plan!)
• - 2 buckets of fabric pulls
• - Some snipped threads (because the snippets mug travelled upstairs to the kitchen one day???)
• - 2 thread pads
• - 2 pieces of clothing for alterations (that I had forgotten about … oops!)
• - A mesh laundry bag for my son’s rowing uni’s (unopened oops!)
• - My camera

Phew!  In the crush of the past few weeks, it had become a repository for creativity and more!

My sewing area is eked out of an 6′ x 10′ area in the family room. (yes there is “supplementary” storage elsewhere).  Tidying is a regular thing.  I don’t beat myself up about it when it gets messy.  That is part of the process of creating.  And I remind myself of Alexander Calder’s studio in Connecticut.

Calder Studio, Roxbury, CT, 1963. Photographer Pedro Guerrero.

Out of this studio came greatness, and the unique balance of complexity and simplicity!

Rouge Triomphant, Alexander Calder, 1963, sheet metal, rod & paint 110 x 230 x 180 in.

Calder’s studio reminds me that a bigger studio does not mean I would be neater!   I wonder if he ever tidied?

What’s on your desk?

Happy Stitching

&

Have a great week!

All images used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2013 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

in the June 2013 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting!

All images used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2013 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

Shell!!

The first year we came here years ago, the olive shell (above … the baby one is just a bit longer than a piece of long grain rice!) was the shell-a-plenty that year.  I didn’t realize at the time, that there is a “shell of the year”, one that is more plentiful than the others on the beach. A few years back, after a series of intense storms, deep maroon and pink cockle shells were everywhere the eye could see.

This year, with all of the storms, the ocean seemed reluctant to give up anything but shards and the shell of the year was far from obvious.  Instead of collecting shells on my walks, between hopeful glances down at the sand, I watched in amusement as these birds “played chicken” with the waves, racing back and forth with legs that were a blur as they scurried along.

Some things stood out, like this starfish,

however, this is mostly what the beach looked like this year.

Yet with some thigh burning squats and close examination, this is what you could find.  Small ones of course!

All cleaned up, this was this years bounty!  I love the “Nemo” looking one half way down on the right!

The Slipper Shell was shell of the year in the end.  The smallest ones being a mere 3/8″!

I framed my collection from nine years ago.  It was a remarkable year for variety and quantity! Baby’s ears (third from the left) were the shell of the year that year, as finding this many is unusual!

My sister and I “closed down” the beach our final evening amid laughter, sweatshirt deliveries from the beach house, and a beautiful sunset!

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

So why I am slow to embrace change on the book front?

I decided to take a look at my perceptions of eBooks.

Perception 1:  eBooks are not the same quality as a printed copy!

Wrong!  I downloaded copies of my own books; images and quilts that I am really familiar with.  The page layouts are exactly the same as the paper book.  The images are brilliant!  I can zoom in on photos for a closer look with quality so good I could do thread counts on fabric with little difficulty (slightly better on my laptop than my iPad).

Perception 2:  I would likely print off a “not great quality” paper copy for myself to have in hand, so why not buy the paper copy straight off.

There is a bit of truth to that one. I wouldn’t print off a copy of a novel, but my craft books are reference tools. I like being able to pull a book off the shelf and have a quick glance or a long study.  My limited workspace in my studio is too precious to have my laptop there all the time. And I am not going to lug around my iPad for a knitting project. So I would definitely be printing off at least a copy of the pattern.  Plus I can make notes on the paper copy.

Perception 3:  Navigation through an eBook is clumsy.

No, it is just different.  Many years of muscle memory makes handling paper books easy. But swiping my finger on my iPad is easy to get used to.

And, when looking for a piece of information instead of flipping through a book numerous times to locate it, eBooks offer an ease of searchability that my brain envies!

A grid view lets you quickly navigate from one part of the book to another.

Plus eBooks can include HTML links in the text, enriching your reading experience.  (Are you tempted yet?)

Perception 4:  Portability

The allure of eBooks for travel is obvious; lots of choices without the weight.  That is why I purchased 6 eBooks recently.  At the same time, eBooks can tether you to one place with a power cord, risk hard drive crashes and computer viruses.  And you won’t find me relaxing in the tub with my eReader.

The real benefit of eBooks, besides lower price, space conservation, searchability and zooming in, is accessibility.   If you are inspired at 2 am and want to start that project now, hit click to buy, prep your cutting area while the eBook is downloading and you are off to the races!

In the end, I still love the tactile feel of pages between my fingers, the gentle whoosh of the turning pages and the familiarity that each reading brings or suddenly seeing a quilt in a new light, sparking a new idea.  It is soothing and relaxing in a way that my computer eBook experience is not, no matter how much they add the computer generated click/swish of pages turning.  But as my shelf space is becoming limited … I can see eBooks as a good solution!  And for books that are out of print, eBooks are a fantastic solution!

There is loads more interesting information on ebooks here and here.

Are you embracing eBooks?

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

… headed for this!  The picture says it all!

It is a yearly sojourn my family makes.  My children and I, my parents, sister and brother and their respective families, all return to the house we have rented for years, that feels very much like home.

There is something magical about driving down an alley of live oaks, dripping with Spanish Moss, or seeing them across a yard.

This year included a trip to Rose Hill Mansion.

It has been described as the most beautiful plantation house in the Low Country.  Built in 1858, it’s Gothic Revival style, uncommon in the south, is in itself a draw.  Since it’s construction, this huge home, a deceiving 10,000 square feet,  has seen times of great comfort and times of deep distress. In 1946 after years of neglect, it was restored by John and Betsy Gould Strugeon.  It was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and suffered massive destruction from fire in 1987. Purchased by Robb and Robin White in 1996, they have painstakingly restored the house and live in it today.  They offer daily tours unlike any other historic tour I have been on.  Sitting on the furniture was encouraged by our guide Cynthia (a descendant of the original owners), we were served lovely treats for tea, and were welcomed by the owner Robin at the end of the tour.

Carolina rockers on the front porch welcome visitors.

The front entry hall features a floating stringer staircase, and yes wine was served during the tour!

And of course there were some sewing related items!  A collection of archaeological items, found on the plantation included civil war era thimbles.

And a quilt that belonged to the Kirk family, previous owners of Rose Hill, as well as a lovely christening gown carefully framed to preserve it.

Rose Hill Mansion lies just miles away from Bluffton, the birthplace of the secessionist movement.  As a result of this, the area suffered the scorched earth policy of the Union forces, which well explains why so few textile artifacts remain from the area.  That Rose Hill itself was spared is miraculous.   To this day, civil war period artifacts are still sifting to the surface on the plantation, pushed skyward by the roots of the live oaks, making history come alive again!

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!