Monday, February 5, 2024

Scraps and Tools: Monday Mess Making

Name:  Rotation
Author: Sandra Clemons
Source:  McCalls Quick Quilts Dec/Jan 2016
Also found here.




The first 2024 meeting of Loving Stitches found me working from home.  Mid January dove Colorado into dangerously frigid temperatures, and getting out--even to quilt--was not a wise move.  I texted back and forth with the ladies at the church who braved the elements and kept them abreast of my progress.  A few days before the meeting I finished all the squares for this quilt, so I spent most of Saturday assembling the top.  This pattern was difficult and taught me new skills, but I am so proud of how it turned out.  At some point, I may consider making this one again with a different color scheme.

 

Pattern information unknown.

The rest of the weekend was spent finishing up this quilt and the pillowcases that went with both. This was a kit cut and put together by Miss Pam, so piecing it was simple.  I've also improved on my pillowcase making skills.


Months ago, I purchased this triangle ruler.  I'd seen something like this used in a YouTube video.  Though it wasn't the exact same ruler, I thought that they pretty much worked the same way.

They don't.

The half square triangles I made had to be cut three different times to be close to correct.  Ok, so this doesn't simplify anything.  First off, the printed instructions that came with the ruler were insanely confusing.  I scoured the internet to find some intelligible directions.  I found this on YouTube:

My first attempt with the adapted instructions.
OK.  Before I go into this, hear me out.  I'm well aware that as a novice quilter, my ignorance may be hurting my technique.  In other words, I may just be too dumb to use this tool correctly.  With that being said, though the instructor's directions were much clearer than those that came with the ruler, when I followed her, I ended up with a rectangle that was 4 x 3.5 inches.  So, I ended up having to cut the square again to get the right measurements, plus the placement of the diagonal seam wasn't quite right.  I tried moving the ruler to the 3.5 inch mark.  That seemed to work much better.

Yes, some of the placement is still a bit cattywampus, however, adapting the directions simplified the process tremendously.  I just need more practice.  This is a scrap project, so I'll work on it as I finish other projects.

Speaking of scraps: I have a box full of unused partial skeins of yarn from previous projects.  My goal this year is to use up those scraps before starting any new large projects.  This preemie blanket is the first large project I've finished out of that stash.

Well, see you at the next mess.

Monday, January 8, 2024

Squaring Up: Monday Mess Making

When we left off with my lest mess, I chronicled my stepping back into quilting by joining a coworker's quilting group at her church.  I also went into detail about our after Christmas quilting retreat on my sister blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

After taking a break from the sewing machine to make a few cards and start a couple of new projects (more on that in a minute), I picked up my current quilting project this week.  This quilt top requires 30 12-inch squares.  As of today, I've completed 22.  Loving Stitches meets again this Saturday, so my goal is to complete all the squares, curate the layout, and take a picture so I can put the top together during the meeting.  We'll see how it goes.

During my break, I also started a couple of paintings.  One is nearly finished, but the other has just been prepped.  I'm excited about both, but one in particular reminds me of a great moment from last year.  I'll give you two hints:  Bob Ross and the Denver Zoo!

See you for the next mess.

 


Monday, July 10, 2023

Quilt in a Day...Well - Episode 3: Monday Mess Making


 

We left our last episode with my successfully completing my first baby quilt.  

 

I finished this quilt a month before I left for Colorado (so the kid I made it for is almost six years old now--wow). 

Fast forward to fall 2022.  I finished a quilt from start to finish.  It's an Eleanor Burns pattern called "Hole in the Wall."  Of course, her video tutorial on YouTube made it look easy.  

Of course, it wasn't.

Although I was pleased with finishing it, I was immensely frustrated with how many mistakes I made in creating it.  No, I'm not going to tell you what they were, but let's just say I wasn't anxious to try making another quilt any time soon.

Fast forward again to a few months ago.  I was at an event on campus and Christa from our academy invited me to her church's quilting group, Loving Stitches.  The group creates quilts to give to those who have a new baby, been in the hospital, are grieving a death, etc.  Though this group was right up my alley, I quickly let her know that I'm a novice (or worse) at quilting, which she promptly saw as no problem.

 

 
We usually meet twice a month at the church (Grace Fellowship in Lakewood), or at the home of one of the members to construct projects, as well as have a devotional and a time of prayer over the quilts.  

The first week I attended, ironing fabric was my task (no, I didn't burn myself).  Christa's mom, Mama Pam, handed me a package of cut fabric with instructions on how to put it together.  Ah, a kit.  Perfect!  It took me a while, but I finished my first quilt top for the group in May.

Since then, I've finished another top...

...and started another (I'll post a picture when I'm done).
 
So, have I cracked the quilting code yet?  Not quite.  My goal is to again attempt to make a quilt from start to finish while focusing on my weakest areas (things like cutting straight lines, binding, sewing straight lines, making sure my squares are...well...square, etc.  Along with doing all that without throwing things, saying ugly words, or having to rethread my sewing machine 5,465,812 times because I didn't start stitching with the needle down).  

Let's see where this goes.
 
Episodes in this series (so far):
 
Episode 1 is here.
Episode 2 is here.
 

Monday, January 30, 2023

Don't Forget the Unicorns: Monday Mess Making

Along with adding some more stitches to the baby blanket, this week I finished up the tissue box holder that taught me French knots:


I know I've made one of these before, but another occasion made this flower pot/pencil holder appropriate:


I also began an experiment this week--learning to utilize unused, or rarely used art supplies.  I traced out a poppy on three different pages of my mixed media sketchbook.  The first flower was made using colored pencils.

I was doubtful of the outcome when I started.  After all, I was coloring with cheap Crayola and Rose Art pencils that I'd previously used horribly in "adult" coloring books.  BTW--for those who know me well, Rose Art makes horrible crayons, but decent colored pencils. Even though the inexpensive pencils do not blend nearly as well as higher end artist pencils, I was very pleased with the results.  

What do y'all think?

I'm sure that in the future when I upgrade to either Prismacolor or Faber-Castell pencils, I won't have to work nearly as hard to get the desired results.

Hopefully by the next Monday Mess Making post, I'll have completed my other two experiments, and make a few more messes. 

Monday, January 23, 2023

Sun, Moon, and Stars: Monday Mess Making

For the past couple of years, I've gotten back into cross stitch and plastic canvas.  Though the concept of the crafts is simple, some of the stitches are not.   So far, the most difficult stitch I've encountered is the French knot.  I started stitching in my late teens/early twenties and only had written instructions (this was pre-internet).  This is typically what the books' instructions looked like:

If you can follow that, you're a good one.  I was never able to make heads or tails of it.  Enter YouTube:
 

With those very easy instructions, I was able to successfully execute the stitch multiple times.
 
 
 
 
 Well, I just gave you a hint about what else I'm working on.
 


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This isn't exactly a UFO, but it is an unused tool.  Last year, I bought a pom-pom maker, but just got around to using it.




Using the tool was easy.  However, like every other time I've made pom-poms, no matter how tightly I tie the strings that hold them together, they are incredibly fragile.  I still have no confidence in being able to use them on hats--they would leave a handful of year cuts at the bottom of the washing machine.  I have no idea how to solve this problem.  Oh, well.  I won't be washing the wreath, so it's safe.

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I started this painting a couple of weeks ago.  Yes, I know it still needs something, but I'm working on a technique.  

One of the most insulting things another artist ever said to me was to insult my very first attempt at a moon painting (not this one--this is only my third).  I was well aware that my moon was misshapen.  Rather than answer my questions and help me find a better technique, this person acted like a horse's rear end..  Fast forward five years and I'm trying it again.  Well, let's see how this goes.

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Well, I've started a new baby blanket.  So, would you call it a sunflower or a Black-eyed Susan, or both?  It just may be that the blanket and the tissue cover will go together.  Stay tuned.

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BTW--I teased you with a photo last week.  I did finish the project.  However, I hit a snag and had to re-do part of it.  In other words, I found out something wouldn't hold with hot glue.  So, next week will be the reveal...unless the new way I attached it doesn't work either. Then, you may be watching me throw a fit. 

Monday, January 16, 2023

The UFO Pile 01: Monday Mess Making

I'm taking part of my time off to dive in to my UFO (Unfinished Object) pile. Like my "Finishing and Fixing Series (see here, here, and here), one of the projects sat unfinished because, quite frankly, my first attempt was so butt ugly I wouldn't display it at a worm wrestle.  It was a set of those little square drawers from the Dollar Tree.
 
 
I glued nine of them together in three rows of three.   Because I wanted to use them as functioning drawers, I covered the inside of cut out end with some leftover craft foam (seems like that stuff just won't go away), turned the drawer around, and glued knobs to the side facing outward.  My idea was to paint the whole thing black and decorate it with painted flowers.  Well, once I painted it with black chalk paint, it looked like I'd set it on fire.  It sat unfinished, laughing at me, for at least two years.  When I pulled it out of the closet, I ditched my original idea and opted for something simple.

 
After I was satisfied with the paint job, I lined the bottom of the drawers with felt (it won't go away either).  This is now my designated earring box.  The purple and gold go great in my bedroom. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

The start of the year is a time to try some new things.  My latest new project isn't quite finished yet, so I'll give you hint as to what it might be.


Lord willing, by my next post, I'll have it finished.

Monday, January 9, 2023

We Three Kings: Monday Mess Making

After teaching seven classes straight at the university, I came up for air and am taking a much needed break until February.  The holidays were full of fun creativity:

This year's outside decorating theme was Grinch.  This most likely will be my decor for the next few Christmases with pieces added as time allows.


 

My sister, Clara, told me about a YouTube channel called The Posh Paper Lady.  This channel features gorgeous paper crafts.  Miss Sherry, the owner of the channel, creates detailed, easy to follow tutorials.  Once I saw the video for the planner covers and gift bags, I didn't rest until I learned to make both.  I had so much fun creating these as Christmas gifts.


This is a sampling of some of the fun gifts I had the opportunity to create this holiday season.  I really got back into plastic canvas and found unique ways to turn pizza pans and upcycled candle jars into festive art.

I even had time to have a painting party with a friend...


 ...and participate in an online painting party with "Nacho" over at Moya Art Gallery and Studio.

The new year is starting off with some new crafts to try, new challenges to conquer, and some new opportunities to share this ministry of Art + Compassion = Hope.