some wicked wips

this weeks wips are costumes! only marmee is the seamstress here, not i. she has been assigned/graciously accepted the task of creating two elf maidens, one ranger, one lady of the rohirrim, three hobbits, one elf warrior, and one ax-weilding female dwarf (the 7 yr old - she's unique). marmee, my mom, has been making costumes since i was a wee baby. it's what has always made halloween fun around our house - dreaming up anything we want to be and her producing it. she has continued to make for any posterity that wants her services. at out house, that's a tall order. we've done themes for several years now. this year, as you can tell, we are lord of the rings characters.

 i'm especially excited about the two youngest girls' hobbit outfits. selecting fabrics for all the costumes is not the kind of fabric shopping i like to do. i was dreading it for weeks. the hours of torture were fun for the few minutes it took me to select the brocades and linens for their dresses. they are going to be so sweet!

 marmee is set up in the dining room alongside me with her two machines, serger included. she should be stationed here for about the next two weeks. we really should have started sooner, but she's plugging away gamely.

on my end of the table:

i'm at work on straight line echo quilting jed's baby quilt. finally. i really fell off the bandwagon on this quilt.

also, my epp link party is under way right here at splish splash stash. if you epp, join us, please! or if you don't, go see what others are doing.

i'm linking up with lee's wip wednesday at freshly pieced and kelly's needle and thread thursday.

newcomers and 2 more down

 i've added a few new prints to my epp  project. i'm not really sure how i feel about this. somehow, it seems all new fabrics i add are upstarts of a sort, newcomers pushing their way into the original crew of the project. silly, i know, since i'm the one that selected them and threw them into the mix. and i did that because i felt i needed a few more options in pink and navy blue to balance out what i already had. i'm sure they will seem right at home and part of the family before too long, that i'll forget they ever nudged their way into the party after it was started.

the top row of pinks are various designer fabrics i got at the quilt shop. i was already using the eiffel tower print in red, so adding the pink version felt natural. the diamond pattern and dot pattern echoed other prints i already had, also. i'm still a bit unsure about the rather strange dots on the turquoise. it's a perfect fit color-wise, but i'm not sure if the pattern is in keeping with the feel i had going.

the other four prints on the bottom were some quite lovely bits i discovered at joann crafts. they're not technically designer prints, but they meld very well and were good quality. they pass muster nicely.

 i got most of the prints washed and cut in time to take on my latest excursion - a business trip with my mr and two of the girls to the southern u.s. for 5 days last week.

since i neglected to bring along extra hexies, i only completed one block and mostly basted shapes in the new prints. having an almost two year old along also severely limited my production. this is the last time she's invited as a business traveler, not only because she no longer flies free but because she is a travel nightmare these days.

i finished off the block i started during general conference weekend and completed one more on the road. or, actually, in the air - 5 hour flight, you know.

 i now have 10 complete blocks, one connector/half block, and a set of 3 interlocked blocks completed. to get the size quilt i want, i'm going to need about 7 blocks and 7 half/connector blocks blocks per row, about 15 rows. which simply means i have a long way to go!

the epp project has earned it's own (overflowing) basket and cubby space in my dining room shelving. it looks as if it will be a resident for some time yet to come. maybe until the baby leaves for college.

for now, this quilt is intended for me when it's complete. i wonder who it will go to eventually and if it will be much wanted? "hey, i get the quilt mom made by hand! i remember her working on it for years, everywhere we went. i want it!" maybe. or maybe no one will care.

linking in to in hand epp link party right here at splish splash stash and thursday threads.

in hand epp link party

welcome to the first in hand  link party!  i am quite anxious to see what other epp projects are going on out there. i've been traveling (and epping along the way, of course) this week so although i set up the party to publish beforehand, i didn't get my epp photographed for this post. i'll be linking up myself the beginning of next week. thanks for joining in!

epp on the airplane again

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home ec friday

this photo from a post last week generated some interest, so i'm here to explain today.

in the not-so-busy times of the year, fall and spring, my friend jill comes over to sew on friday mornings. the mr. takes our youngest children to the zoo for the morning or day, the older children work on their own school or craft projects, and we sew.

jill and i took a beginning quilt class together in april 2011. neither of us has finished those quilts, but we are very, very close now. this week we thought we would be able to finally complete the quilting on our respective quilts. we were especially anxious to do this so we could do the handbinding during our general conference listening over the weekend. (we've had that goal the last two conferences. *sigh*)

alas, it was not to be! i sat down to work on my stippling of "taite":  i found my starting point, got my thread to the top, put my gloves on, and took off. for some reason, however, the quilt just wasn't sliding or moving around at all. i stopped to make sure my supreme slider (mat designed to allow the qulit to move in all directions easily during fmq) was in place. i saw the corner of it under my quilt, so i tried again. still no sliding. urgh! i figured the threads were making a big nasty snag and i'd just have to start again. wrong!

 what i actually found was much worse. my slider had done the sliding instead of the quilt and was now sewn to the quilt! and the tugging i did to get it out of the machine had ripped the slider, too. i was aghast. when i got my slider out to begin the fmq on this quilt a week earlier, i'd noticed it had some lint on the grippy side, but since it was still staying put, i didn't think much of it. apparently i should have paid more attention and done some maintenance.

i carefully took the stitches out of the slider. fortunately, it didn't rip where there stitches were. i then took the slider to the sink for a rinse. that lint washed off in about 1.5 seconds, pretty much as soon as the water hit it. with a bit of shaking, it was dry enough to use almost immediately. an ounce of prevention would definitely have been worthwhile here. i was impressed with how tacky the slider was after rinsing. i could barely get it in place because it stuck to the machine table the instant it touched it anywhere.

jill and i had a good laugh over the incident. i told her it seems like no matter how hard i try, i always flub up somewhere, somehow. in the beginning, i was always forgetting to adjust settings whenever i switched feet or tasks. in fact, when i started the fmq on "taite", i knew i usually forgot something and took extra care to make sure i'd changed all settings after putting the walking foot on. (did you smart people catch that?) however, despite having changed the stitch length to zero, dropping the feed dogs, and putting my slider in place, it just wouldn't slide around the way it's supposed to. after about 3 attempts i suddenly realized i'd put the wrong foot on! since the last quilting i'd done was straight line, i was thinking "quilting = walking foot" when fmq actually requires a fmq or darning foot. oh, when will i ever get it right!

jill laughed with me about this too. i told her i call these gaffs "home ec moments" because they are the kind of mistakes you'd make as a beginner in home ec.  a few minutes later, jill had a home ec moment of her own. she stopped to check how the back was looking and could not figure out what was going on. it looked as if her threads weren't aligned somehow.

 on the back, there were two rows of stitches, less than a quarter inch apart, which should have been overlapping. how on earth had the machine done this?

 when we looked at the front side, there was only one line, as there should have been. it was completely bizarre. i know how you can have misalignment when hand stitching because the needle doesn't enter and exit the same place, but this seems impossible to happen on a machine. she kept flipping it back and forth from each side, trying to find the source of the problem. as we sat there puzzling over the issue, jill suddenly realized the cause - she was sewing through two sides of the quilt, which she'd accidentally folded when putting it  in the machine.

the batting is so thin that she didn't realize just by feel that the quilt was doubled. you can bet we laughed over this one, too! it wasn't friday the 13th or anything, but we were feeling unlucky in our sewing attempts for the day. jill was a good sport and let me photograph her home ec moment, too. they do make for fun posts.

apparently home ec moments aren't just for beginners. wish us better luck next week after fall break when we get back to sewing on friday mornings again!

an invitation

i'm saving up all my finishes for this weekend as i listen to general conference, so i don't have any final finishes to share. but i did finally get my buttons made for a monthly link party i'll be hosting starting next weekend.

i've had this link party on the brain for a few months now and am finally ready to launch it! epp has been such a satisfying addition to my sewing repertoire. i know several other epp-ers (a new word i just made up) are out there and i want to see what they're working on! having links collected in one place is so handy. so beginning this month, i'll be hostessing a little get together for sharing all the epp goodness going on out there.

epp is a long-term project, usually accomplished over a length of time. i do mine in bits and pieces when i have a chance. for this reason, i thought a monthly link would be better than a weekly. i've chosen the second saturday of each month for the party, which will stay open for at least a week. i hope the alliteration helps everyone remember when it is!

i'm not sure which button i like best. any thoughts? maybe i'll just offer both. or if they're really awful, i'll start from scratch. tell me, please!

in addition to some quilt binding, i'll be working on my epp this weekend, also. when i epp at home, i like to listen to something, like a book or inspirational talks. this weekend i'll be following general conference live. it's perfect as a backdrop for epp. or, to give proper emphasis and priority to that statement, i should say epp is the perfect thing to do with my hands while i listen.

so if you're home this weekend and want some uplifting and inspirational listening to go along with some handwork, join me! schedule here. and if you epp, please join the party starting next saturday, october 12th . i can't wait to see what everyone is worring on.

september quilt photography workshop challenge

frustration

things that make me laugh - or a typical day
(this is both right now)

i'm linking in with beth's photo challenge at plum and june again this month. i have to say this one was harder for me. most likely that's just because it took more forethought and i just didn't feel up to that this month. we were supposed to use her word phrase prompts to inspire a photo composition. that had me stumped for the most part. but then a few situations came up that provided opportunities so i get to link up after all. we're not supposed to write any explanations (egad - i have to hold back my tongue!) but just supply the phrase the photo matches. i've kept to the rules. however, the story of sewing my slider to my quilt will be told later in another post. it's too good not to share the laughs.

a pressing matter

which side of the debate are you on? do you press open or to the side? I was taught, originally, to press to the side, but after reading Elizabeth Hartman's book "the practical guide to patchwork" I decided to give "open" a go. something about it appealed to me. (her use of white space and fabrics also inspired my design decisions.)

unfortunately, the very next quilt I made, "taite", had lots and lots of tiny patchwork and it was quite a pain to press all of those open. that is one thing about "open" that is not in it's favor - it is twice the work.

that quilt has also been put aside and taken out several times since it was begun. this has required re-pressing all those darn seams more than once. ugh.

on Friday, my sweet friend jill came over to sew with me. I drug out "taite" to be basted. it was still sandwiched after my last unsuccessful attempt to baste it, and neatly folded. I was hoping it would be just a matter of taping it down and getting those pins in it. unfortunately, I could tell by looking at it that she would require pressing of the back and top due to the large creases left by months of being folded.

I drug out my iron and board, then got to work. it took way too long, but I eventually got it all pressed one last time.

I realized this was the last time I was going to see all those crazy seams and had to take one last photo of them. strange, but I think I might actually miss them. seeing, not pressing, that is.

farewell, my first open seams! may you lay flat and be easily quilted.

linking to needle and thread thursday

what's on

on the machine: "taite" is being stippled

on the couch in the formal living room: a pile of wips in various stages
(no space is safe around here - the dining room and the living room both now have sewing scattered about.)

on for the weekend: general conference
I hope to make a big dent in these projects this weekend because general conference is coming up! this is one of the bi-annual weekends when our family gathers at home to listen to our church's prophet and general authority leaders speak to us. I usually try to keep the kids quiet with handwork while we listen. often, I can squeeze some in myself. it's the perfect time to bind quilts or do some epp work.

if you have a chance this weekend and would like some uplifting, inspirational listening to do while you either work on projects or just sit back and absorb the peace, join me! (maybe you can do some lovely embroidery like the abc bow over at shush, i'm quilting.)

there are 2 2-hour sessions on both saturday and sunday. you can watch or listen via the internet or cable from several sources. refer to the schedule (here) to find out when and how.

linking in to wip wednesday at freshly pieced.

juki reviewed

currently hard at work on some straight line quilting

 i've been sewing on juki for over 4 months now. goodness, it seems like so much longer since we've made 4 baby quilts, a few tops, and learned to fmq on several items during that time. i have to say, my initial enthusiasm for her has not died a bit. only grown. sew mama sew has a link party for sewing machine reviews, so i decided to sing juki's praises now that i've got more experience on her.

they requested specific information, so here you go:

What brand and model do you have?  juki TL2010Q

How long have you had it?  since june 2013

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?  $900

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?  quilts, free motion quilting, some zakka items

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?  i sew several times a week. i've done a lot of sewing in the last few months with this machine. it has performed beautifully, even through sewing marathons and a few disasters of my making.

look at that throat space (underutilized here)!

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?  i love this machine pretty passionately. i call her "juki". after struggling with other machines, i feel juki has helped me improve my sewing tremendously. she makes me look so good!

What features does your machine have that work well for you?  i love the simplicity of juki - not computerized, basic options, super durable. the thread cutter button is great. i'm getting used to the knee bar that lifts the presser foot - useful. i like the adjustable speed. there is the fabulously large open throat space and the quilting table, too. she seems to have all the right special features and none of those i don't need. additionally, all the specialty feet i needed, except the 1/4in foot, were included with the machine. that was a bonus.

my first full size fmq experience

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?  nope. i really am so very pleased with her. it took a bit for a beginner like me to get familiar with this professional machine, but we are quite happy together now. the very few issues i have occasionally had - some thread breakage and minor tight tension - have been caused by my product choices or inexperience, not the machine. 

the one and only thing i miss once in a blue moon is the zigzag stitch. but i still have my old machine for that. i thought i'd miss being able to move the needle position since i found on my other machine that it helped with sewing close to the edge when needed. but juki's feed dogs are so well placed that this hasn't been an issue at all. 

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?  i absolutely would recommend juki to any quilter, especially one who likes to fmq. i've already said it, but she's super durable - a real workhorse, sews quietly and beautifully, has improved my sewing tremendously.

the monster-sized walking foot that came with the machine

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?  i think durability is important if you are a serious sewer. for anyone, matching your needs to the machine are key. don't be lured in by bells and whistles you don't need but make sure the features you have to have are there.

fresh out of the box

Do you have a dream machine?  yes - juki! she was my birthday present.

Bonus: Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!

needle breakage - but not machine, thank goodness - after sewing through a pinhead

oh, goodness! do i ever have stories about juki. just click on the links for the individual stories. she's survived some harrowing home ec moments of me sewing through pin heads, my fmq slider shifting and getting sewn to my quilt, as well as all my ineptitude at remembering all the adjustments that need to be made when changing feet and tasks. she's a trooper!

happy times

life is good. sometimes it's much easier to appreciate that than at others. right now, as the fall season starts here and the weather shifts, I easily perceive this. it's amazing to me the last few days just how much pleasant weather can lift the spirits. I walk outside and suddenly feel joy. the hottest days of the year are past and the months we relish here in the desert are starting - even a bit earlier than normal.

 

my 5 yr old, d4, has a phrase she uses: "happy times." in her prayers, she prays to be blessed with happy times. if you ask her how something went, she might answer "we had happy times." most people would say "good times," she says "happy times." it's a small difference, but distinct and unique to her. when I looked at what was going on around the house today, I thought, "these are happy times."

have a peek:

some daddy daughter time in the backyard on the swing after church, still in their nice clothes

odes to joy floating through the house

my favorite pin remover doing her quilting job

pumpkin pancakes and applewood-smoked bacon on for lunch

before all of this, we got to spend 3 hours at church with our family and friends, worshipping together, edifying one another.

very shortly we'll be going to my mother-in-law's house next door for an extended family dinner. i'll most likely take along my epp to get some basting done.

these are happy times.

I hope all of you had an equally blessed weekend!

sweetness and generosity the world over

*original post edited to add that i've joined the favorite fabric link swap just in case there is some more meadow dot out there! if you are here for that, the meadow dot bit of this post is at the end.

 is there anything sweeter than the sound of a squeaky, happy baby voice floating through the early morning quiet of the house, calling out, "mah-MEE, mah-MEE", a summons meant just for one's self? I think not. oh, how I love this girl! and how i'm craving another baby. whatever will I do when there is no equivalent voice in the house, no small arms to wrap around me or soft baby skin to nuzzle? I can't fathom it. God has been very generous to us. wanting 8 is a bit greedy of me, I know. but they are just too sweet and heavenly. this one is fast approaching 2, which means the end of babyness around here is in sight. that will be a dreadful day, indeed.

I did not come to here to talk about baby! she completely sidetracked me. what I came to share was another type of sweetness and generosity entirely - the generosity of people in the quilt blogging community. on a whim earlier this year, I took a chance and linked in to a wip wednesday at freshly pieced and also a finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts. lo and behold, people used those links and came to visit me! it was astounding. I've looked at those links myself for eons but never participated.

something else unanticipated happened - when I left a comment on someone else's blog, I got an email response back. that had never happened before, either. I tentatively emailed liz back, asking how she had done this. she assured me she'd done nothing "flash" but merely responded to the email sent her from my comment. it was a revelation and a friendship was struck up. by the time my birthday rolled around, she surprised me with a package all the way from new zealand, a long canoe's ride to the other end of the time zone continuum.

a pretty ceramic dish for my sewing table and lovely pouch (maybe for epp?) featuring a native flower

a card handwritten in her blue fountain pen ink and some charm squares of liberty!!!

a puzzle and some clips for my children, also featuring native plants

 liz was even thoughtful and zany enough to use as many stamps as possible on the package so that each of my large brood could have some foreign stamps should they so desire. the whole thing was a trove of tiny treasures. thank you, thank you dear liz!

 speaking of liz and generosity, she has a giveaway of the book "s is for stitch" on her blog right now. pop over for a chance to win.

giveaways are one of the fun parts of blogging. i know many giveaways are promotional, but there are also lots of generous people out there who just like to share out of their own kind hearts. (like heidi of red letter quilts.) i've done a few for the joy of it myself. to celebrate the arrival of my new sewing machine for my 40th birthday earlier this summer, i offered a quilt top kit. it went to a dear, gentle, and talented sewer, Deborah, all the way in Indonesia. this is another overseas friendship i can now claim. and like many others, it has given back. a few weeks ago I found this in my mailbox:

some yardage of liberty deborah found in a local market, a pretty star pull made by local women, a postcard, and enough foreign stamps for each of my children again.

yet another international friendship came my way because of meadow dot in mint (or robin's egg - it gets called both), my all-time favorite fabric from sandi henderson's meadowsweet2 collection. I spied a bit in a wip post by the English angel, lucy, over at charm about you. when I commented on it, lucy sent me her leftovers. and threw in a molly makes mag i'd mentioned interest in on my blog. I was stunned! and oh, so happy to have more than a half yard of meadow dot.

lucy's generosity inspired me to do a "pay it forward" giveaway of the liberty love book, won by laura of little and lots, a stateside friend.  i found it amusing laura was the one to win the liberty book because liberty of london fabrics always remind me of laura. in my opinion, her liberty stile x-plus quilt is one of the most wonderful items to hit the quilt blogging community this summer. laura has emailed me saying she'd purchased some meadow dot in geranium, thinking of me, and wishing it'd been my color so she could share the find. maybe laura didn't find any of my favorite meadow dot, but some other friends did.

that whole lucy-and-the-meadow-dot episode spurred on my friends out there. i'd tried finding more myself, but with no luck. however, the intrepid liz was up browsing ebay late one night while nursing the wee man and she frantically emailed me that she'd found some. "don't go to sleep yet!!!" thanks to her lead, i was able to get another few yards of precious meadow dot (in mint/robin's egg). i even found about 4 yards in Australia, just over the ditch from her.

i now have a little basket dedicated entirely to meadow dot in robin's egg (or mint, whatever). it holds even the tiniest scraps from former projects. the basket just happens to match the fabric, too. it was a happy find at marshall's that didn't work out in my family room but was perfect for housing meadow dot.

and thanks to another friend's late night browsing, i got several more yards this week. kelly of my quilt infatuation sent me an email last weekend with a link to some on etsy. she'd actually found 3 postings of it. i am now more well stocked with this out-of-print favorite than i ever anticipated being.

but i have to say my favorite bit of all is that first piece lucy sent me.

 this fabric has kind of become my signature. not only do my blogging friends associate it with me, i guess my obsession is well know around my household, too, because when i was photographing the basket this morning, my 5 yr old, d4, said, "I know that's your favorite, isn't it mommy? I like it, too, but all the flower ones are my favorites. and that one." (she's very diplomatic.)

so my thanks again to all the generous people out there for the fabric, the links, and also just for your visits and kind words all the time. as surprising and fun as the gift-bearing mail has been, the little comments left and conversations we have through email mean a great deal to me.

i'm feeling the need to share some more myself, so i will be celebrating my upcoming 200th post (this is 189) with a small giveaway in the next few weeks.

happy sewing, all!