Category Archives: Uncategorized

May 21, 2013 · 4:39 PM

The Making of a “Spatuloon”

I spent a few days last week with some good friends in Colorado. The husband, JB, has been working with wood since he retired and has become a real craftsman/artist. He and his wife, Chesta, are really great cooks (as became apparent by my snug fitting clothes after spending 5 days with them) and they love a utensil that he makes which they call a spatuloon.

Spatuloon

As you can see, it is part spatula and part spoon. You can use it for stirring things thick or thin, or for scooping or lifting food from a pan. I guess that JB has made quite a few of these for friends and was surprised to know that I did not have one from him. Off to the wood shop we went!

Drawing the pattern on the piece of cherry.

JB had a piece of cherry that he thought would work nicely. First he put tape around the board and then he freehand drew the pattern of the spatuloon – both on the front and side of the wood.

Next he took the piece to the bandsaw and cut out the shape in the first direction.

Shape cut out

Retaped together

Cut out the other way on one side, retaped, . . .

. . .and then the other side cut.

I wasn’t crazy about watching him do this. His fingers were pretty close to that blade! However, it didn’t take long before it was all cut and now the piece looked like this:

Rough cut spatuloon

At this point, it just needed to be sanded smooth.

Sanded first on the electric sander.

Then with and electric hand sander.

And finally by hand.

My husband and I got into the act with the hand sanding. We used different grit sandpapers, getting finer and finer, until the spatuloon was quite smooth. The last step was to oil it and JB likes to use Walnut Oil for that because it puts a good protective finish on the wood but is also safe for using with food because it is used for cooking.

Walnut Oil can be bought at many grocery stores.

Here is my spatuloon next to his well used one:

Finished spatuloon.

I can’t wait to use it!

For your viewing pleasure, I just can’t resist showing you some of the other things that JB has made. First of all, his shop is in the garage of this cabin in the woods.

This is JB with a bench that he made the week before. He intends to sell this one at a local gallery when he finishes it.

The gallery he sells some items in is The Studios at Bristol in Creede, Colorado. The owner, Teri Inman, is an amazing fiber artist who sells her hand woven and hand dyed items out of her studio and also in Estes Park and Taos each year. This is definitely a great place to visit if you travel to south-central Colorado.

The top is splayed sycamore and the legs are pecan. The finish has not been put on yet which will accentuate all of that grain.

Here are some of the pieces that he has made that are in his cabin. Some of which, you will see, were made from hollowed out logs.

Shelf

Another shelf (or maybe side table would be more accurate)

Lamp

There are so many other things JB has made, pretty much everything in the cabin. He has been so generous in his gift giving and I have items all over my house – bowls, rolling pins, vases, cutting boards and this very special spice rack:

Best spice rack ever! Holds 35 bottles.

I have a very small kitchen, so I love having all these spices so handy but not taking up room on the counter or in a cabinet.

And lucky me . . . now I have a spatuloon!

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Tagged as Creede Colorado, spatuloon, Studios at Bristol, Teri Inman, wood artist

May 6, 2013 · 12:55 PM

Finch Sewing Studio

Finch Sewing Studio – Leesburg, VA (Photo from FinchHandmade on Flickr)

The Finch Sewing Studio is owned and operated by Nicole Morgenthau in Leesburg, Virginia. Nicole runs this business out of her home and she has a great space set up for it – complete workspaces for up to 6 sewers with plenty of room for cutting and ironing.

Nicole Morgenthau

I know Nicole through the DC Modern Quilt Guild. I’ve been following her blog and reading about the different classes that she offers. She has occasionally brought some of her bolts of fabric to the DCMQG meetings, so I know she has a great collection. She is also frequently wearing something that she has made and it always looks great! I’ve been wanting to see her studio and take a class, so when my sister decided to come for a visit from Connecticut, I thought this was a fun thing that we could do together – even though I am an avid sewer and my sister hasn’t touched a sewing machine in at least 30 years.

Sisters

So, off we went yesterday, with my daughter, to Leesburg for a 3 hour tote bag class. We had a blast! It was such a fun thing to do together. We didn’t have to bring any machines or sewing supplies, the Finch Sewing Studio had it all. We just showed up and Nicole had us pick out our fabrics and got us started.

My sister at the ironing station

This was basically a beginner sewing class. It is probably a great thing for any of us that think we know a lot about something, to go through listening to the instructions given to someone who is just learning. There is always more to learn!

My daughter and her fabric.

My daughter was quick to point out all of the things I had taught her that weren’t quite right – like how I pin my fabric pieces together before sewing them. Of course, there isn’t really a right and a wrong way of doing it (is there?), but one way is easier to remove the pins as you sew.

Here I am cutting out my fabric.

The tote that we made was an easy but clever way to make a bag. The bottom accent piece is just added on over the main fabric while the piece is still flat. I’m sure this has the added benefit of providing a sturdier bottom to the bag as well as just making it easy to apply and nicer to look at.

Class sample – Photo from Finchhandmade on Flickr

The bag and lining are sewn together by topstiching at the top after the careful ironing under of both pieces. No sewing, leaving a gap, and then turning right side out and having to hand sew that opening shut. In fact, Nicole suggested that we let the lining pop up a little bit at the top so that it looked as though there was a pretty piping detail. So easy and so sweet looking.

After about 3 hours, here we all are with our finished totes!

“Wearing” our new bags!

The final detail was a leather handle. The Finch Sewing Studio has these in several lengths but we all liked this 26″ size that makes it easy to put the bag over your shoulder. We were all so happy with our new bags. Thanks Nicole!

I will be returning soon to take a garment class and learn how to make a pattern actually fit my body. Want to come with me? Let me know and I’ll set it up! Or give Nicole a call (503.964.2439) or send her an email (finchsewingstudio@gmail.com) and go have some fun sewing at her studio.

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May 2, 2013 · 9:43 PM

To Boston With Love

The Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild is organizing a display of homemade flags (size 6 x 8″) in Boston on Memorial Day to help show the city how much people from all over the world care about the people affected by the bombing during the Boston Marathon last month. Actually, who wasn’t affected? Most of us do not expect this sort of thing to happen here in the US. To realize how vulnerable we are, and how unexpectedly our lives could change, does affect us all. I think that is why there has been such an outpouring of love for Boston.

On the VMQG button above, it reads: “A collaborative effort of makers to bring peace and love from far and wide.”

Here are my flags –

Peace . . .

. . . and Love!

We were asked to put our name and city on the back of the flag.

Click here or on the button at the top or side of this page to find out all the details if you want to make a flag. There is a certain color palette and the deadline for the flags to be in Boston is May 21st so there is still time. If you want to see more pictures of the flags that have already been made, click here to go to the Flickr group. I had a little sew “date” yesterday with my friend to help us get started.

Sewing together got us started on our flags and, as always, was so much fun.

We each made a paper pieced LOVE flag.

The flags are going to be hung at some “Boston institution” on Memorial Day. An announcement has not been made yet as to where it will be but the organizers are really excited about having gotten permission for it. I’ve been wondering where would be the best place? I’m going to be in Boston for my (35th – yikes!) college reunion the following week and hope that I get to see them. Faneuil Hall? City Hall? Mass. General Hospital? Boston Public Library? Harvard or MIT? I don’t know! I hope they announce it soon.

The Boston Modern Quilt Guild is coordinating a quilt block collection for the bombing victims which I blogged about yesterday. If you would like to read that, please click here. Or for more information from the Boston MQG site, click on the Quilts for Boston button on my sidebar.

Addendum (5/7/2013) – The flags will hang at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from May 23 to June 16, 2013. The museum will keep the flags and display them again next year on the anniversary of the bombing.

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Tagged as Boston Marathon, Boston Marathon bombing, Memorial Day, To Boston with Love, Vancouver MQG

May 1, 2013 · 11:08 PM

Quilter’s Response to the Boston Marathon Bombing

Patriot’s Day is observed on the third Monday of April each year in Massachusetts – and Maine for some reason. It commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord near Boston in 1775. It also is the day each year that the Boston Marathon is run. This is such a largely attended event that many businesses in Boston encourage their employees to stay home and not add to the “congestion”.

I grew up in the Boston area and went to college there. My daughter, niece, cousin and his family all live there now. I was horrified on April 15th to learn that two bombs had gone off in the crowd watching the marathon. I’ve read that the most recent statistics are that 3 people died and 264 people were hurt.

I know that similar events happen in other parts of the world – perhaps everyday. I know that the harm that was done in Boston could have been far worse. Somehow, though, this event has affected me because it happened in my “neck of the woods” – even though I do not live there now. I made sure that my family was safe and then watched in wonder as the story of the suspects unfolded.

Soon after this tragedy took place, I started to read online that the Boston Modern Quilt Guild is coordinating a collection of quilt blocks “to make quilts for those directly affected by the bombing”. The guidelines for the Quilts for Boston are listed here. Basically they are asking for blocks that are 12-1/2″ tall by any width and made up in the marathon colors of blue, yellow, white and grey. I made this block today:

Block for “Quilts for Boston”

This paper pieced pattern is a free pattern called the Rockrose paper pieced block by Craftsy designer Cyrille. The directions are for a 10″ block with directions for printing the templates at different percentages to make larger and smaller sizes. I decided to make the 10″ block and add straight pieces onto the edges to make it 12-1/2″. I believe this will make this heavily pieced block easier to sew to the other blocks around it.

Paper pieces

The pattern is made up of 6 separate sections. They are all a little different in size which made it more enjoyable to piece than if they were all exactly the same.

Ready to be sewn together.

If you will notice, there aren’t any straight lines across the pattern. Sewing this together involved Y seams. The directions were very good and I left the papers on until the whole thing was sewn together (which I do not usually do).

Removing the papers after the whole block is sewn together.

I was relieved to find that the block was perfectly flat (and square!) when I pressed it.

Finished 10″ block

There is a flickr group that has pictures of the blocks that people from all over the world are making and sending to the Boston MQG to assemble. The deadline to get them there is May 24, 2013. I was glad to make this cheerful block today. I hope it might bring a smile to someone to know that many of us care about what happened to them that day.

There is another large sewing effort which is being coordinated by the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild called “To Boston with Love”. More about that tomorrow!

To Boston with Love

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April 28, 2013 · 1:34 PM

Quilt Top Finish

Quilt top is done!

To find out more about the design of this quilt, please read my last post. I am making it for my married daughter and her husband and it is made from fabrics that were used as pretty fall napkins during their wedding reception.

Each circle block is 20″ square

It seemed to take me forever to make those center two blocks. I strip pieced the fabrics and then laid them all out in order to make sure that I cut them right to get the alternating striped pattern that I wanted.

Not sewn together yet.

I was very careful to pick up each one and orient it the right way when I cut it so that it would form this pattern when I sewed it together. I did this meticulously for all 8 blocks and then I took them to the ironing board to press them, and guess what?

They all looked the same!

I felt so stupid! How did I not realize that I could have just simply laid them all out in the same direction and I would get the same pattern?

It was a breeze to sew the 12 large circle blocks together once these middle two were together. I’m really happy with the result. Here is how it looks laid out on my queen size bed – it’s only meant to be a lap quilt, but a big one!

Next is making up the back. I’ve decided to simply sew the napkin squares together. Circles on the front and squares on the back.

Napkins set out on my design wall.

I will have to put a border around these as they are smaller than the blocks on the front. I’m in the process of trying to wash the cotton batting I am going to use to eliminate shrinkage when the finished quilt is washed. Most of the time I love that “crinkly” look when a quilt is washed for the first time. However, with this quilt having such a large design, I think it might be better if it lays more flat. If the batting survives the washing and drying process, I guess we’ll see.

More wedding pictures!

The groom made the photo booth. It was so much fun.

Both families together

It was a remarkable day and the two families have blended together perfectly. If we lived closer together (we’re in DC and they are in IL), I’m sure we would be good friends. As it is, we have great fun when we do get together.

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Tagged as Denyse Schmidt, quilt, Single Girl Quilt, wedding

April 23, 2013 · 7:08 PM

A Single Girl Quilt for my Married Girl?

My daughter got married to a most wonderful man on October 15, 2011.

“First look”

As many modern couples do these days, they had pictures taken before the ceremony and so the first time he saw her in her wedding gown, they were outside instead of in the church. This wedding was on a beautiful fall day. The ceremony was in the afternoon.

The reception hall was decorated (by friends and family) with fall flowers and candles.

We made napkins by serging the edges of fabric to add some other fun fall color to the tables.

The reception hall was a park building that had large glass windows and a stone fireplace. It felt magical, as though we were outside.

When the party was over, we collected all the fabric napkins with the idea that I would make the happy couple a quilt out of them. (Yes, I washed them first!) Here they are:

All 150 of them!

I’ve had these for a year and a half now and have been trying to decide what the perfect quilt pattern would be for this couple using these colors. I’ve made several other items out of them – notebook covers and zippered pouches for family or friends who helped with the wedding.

Notebook for my mother-in-law.

My daughter has made her own beautiful fall colored quilt out of other fabrics since she got married.

Isn’t it pretty?

She had it quilted by a longarm quilter.

I’ve decided to make a “snuggle on the couch together” quilt. The pattern I have picked is the Single Girl Quilt by Denyse Schmidt.

I would call it a modern version of the traditional wedding ring quilt.

Traditional Wedding Ring Quilt.

I assume that it is called “Single Girl” because the rings do not interconnect. However, as I look at the Single Girl Quilts that others have made and posted on Flickr or Pinterest, I can see that plenty of people make them up as wedding quilts. The quilting can add that interlocking component.

My version is still a work in progress.

Blocks laid out on my rug. Middle two blocks not done yet.

I’m going to make the center two blocks the opposite colors of the outside blocks. I will strip piece the background with the napkin fabrics and do the rings in the cream colored fabric. I love the thought of this. The middle blocks symbolize Lindsey’s and Brian’s wedding rings and they will be surrounded by circles that symbolize their families and their friends. Circles surrounded by circles. Okay, this is really dorky but “the circle of life” also comes to mind. (and with that term – The Lion King!)

So stay tuned for the big reveal once I get the other blocks made and have the whole top sewn together!

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Tagged as Denyse Schmidt, quilt, Single Girl Quilt, wedding, Wedding ring quilt

April 10, 2013 · 5:10 PM

It is finally Spring in the Nation’s Capital!

The much anticipated blooming of the cherry trees in Washington DC has finally occurred! They are as beautiful as ever. This is the time of year that I most love to live here.

Weeping cherry tree along the Potomac River.

If you live here and haven’t gotten downtown yet to see them, go now!

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Washington Monument being repaired for earthquake damage

Jefferson Memorial

Tidal Basin Panoramic

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April 1, 2013 · 3:51 PM

Sew South – Swaps!

One of the many things that made the Sew South Retreat so much fun were the swaps. Anyone who wanted to participate in the “Sample” Swap, made up 4 of one thing they wanted to swap. At the retreat, we were divided into random groups of 5 and we each gave one of our 4 samples to the other 4 people in our group. Here is a sampling of what participants gave and received:

1. Chicken pincushions, 2. Sew South Sample Swap, 3. #sewsouth, 4. drawstring pouches scrappy, 5. Sew South Sample Swap, 6. 4 pretty little purses ready for swapping at #SewSouth!, 7. Ruffled zip pouches, 8. Cosmetics Bag, 9. Sample Swap Sew South – fabric bowls, 10. Sew South sample swap, 11. sample swap bags, 12. Swap bags., 13. Ready for Sew South, 14. Fabric Notebooks for Sew South Swap, 15. 1-IMG_1508, 16. Quilt block holder by Teresa, 17. Crafty Queen apron by Margaret, 18. Market bag by Alex, 19. Sample Swap – Coffee Sleeves, 20. DSCN1044

I made up these chicken pincushions and was able to swap for a few more than 4 things because I had 6 of them!

My chicken pincushions

Handmade fun!

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Tagged as pincushions, Sew South, Sew South retreat, sewing retreat, swaps

February 11, 2013 · 6:37 PM

Paper Pieced Sunrise Clutch

Sunrise Clutch

This is a brand new pattern by Sara Larson of Sew Sweetness. You can purchase the pattern for $8.00 here as a pdf download. I love buying patterns this way because it is so immediate – no waiting for the mail to bring the pattern. It comes to you over the computer and you print it out yourself. Since the front and back of this bag are paper pieced, I printed out the templates on special paper for paper piecing.

Jelly roll by Riley Blake

I made my clutch with a jelly roll of fabric. A “jelly roll” is a collection of 42 coordinated 2-1/2″ precut strips. This is perfect for this pattern as none of the pieces are wider than 2-1/2″. It takes 40 different pieces to make up the sunrise on the front and back.

Paper piecing

Piecing done

Trimmed

Sewn together.

The finished bag has an optional wrist strap and an inverted zipper.

Optional wrist strap.

Inverted zipper in the top (and a pretty zipper pull).

This was a fun clutch to make. Sara (the designer) has many pictures of it made up in different colors in her blog post here. The pattern is copyrighted but includes permission for the home sewist to sell the bags made from her patterns at craft fairs and on-line. I really appreciate it when designers give this permission right up front. My quilt guild, NeedleChasers of Chevy Chase, has a quilt show every other year and we sew items to sell at the show to benefit the guild and some designers won’t give us permission to sell an item made from their design. I just don’t understand this. So, thank you Sara!

Paper Pieced Sunrise Clutch

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Tagged as Paper Pieced Sunrise Clutch, purse, Sew Sweetness, Sunrise Clutch

February 3, 2013 · 11:48 AM

Table runner made from Moda Comma

During the December DC Modern Quilt guild meeting, there was a drawing for some Moda fabric charms and I won a pack of “Comma”.

Moda Comma charm pack – all 42 fabrics!

I immediately thought of my middle daughter who’s birthday is in February and who loves punctuation. She normally likes a more vintage color palette, but this will certainly look cheerful in her condo. I went to the Moda Bakeshop website and looked for a pattern using a charm pack and found this pattern by Erin Davis of Sew at Home Mummy.

120 Minute Gift – Drunkards Path Table Runner

It looked like the perfect pattern to use as sort of an oversized placemat.

The pattern included templates for cutting the curves. I haven’t done a lot of curved piecing but this was not hard to do. I had to mark the centers of the curves in order to make sure they were lined up during the stitching. Instead of using a marking pen/pencil, I used the presser that my woodworking friend made for me.

Marking the middle of the curve with a “presser”.

See how well it works!

The trick of sewing the pieces seemed to be to put the smaller piece on the bottom instead of on the top.

Hexagon detail

After cutting the curved pieces, there was quite a bit of each fabric left over. This is why I decided to make the hexagons – which is also a favorite of my daughter. I made the hexagons in a typical English Paper Piecing way, starch and ironed them with the papers in, and then removed the paper and sewed them all by hand on to the top.

I quilted this by stitching in the ditch on the sewing machine around the squares. Then I used a running stitch in gray embroidery thread around the circles and in straight lines on each side of the hexagons. I had a few hexagons left over and put them on the back.