Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Arbor Roses Quilt Finished!

Last Sunday I showed you the completed Arbor Roses quilt top.  This week I'm showing you the finished, quilted quilt!  While the pattern suggested tying the quilt, I decided to use my machine to do the quilting.  I didn't want to quilt over the pretty, woven lattice of the arbor borders so I stitched in the ditch to secure the 3 layers of the quilt and emphasize the pink and blue strips.  For fun, I also stitched around the perimeter with a flower stitch using varigated thread.  I don't know if that is unusual or not but I like the way it looks and think it's pretty.

Next, I used my machine to free-motion quilt the small squares.  After previewing several design choices (using Preview Paper - more about that next week), I decided on a 3-leaf arrangement with some loops and single leaves thrown in.  It was kind of tough to even see the stitching on the busy floral fabric but the quilting really shows on the cream coloured backing fabric - I love it!  I actually like the back of the quilt better than the front!  While I'm not that accomplished at fmq yet it was fun to try it again.  Like before, there are some really good stitches and some really bad ones...but overall I'm happy with how it turned out.  This was my first attempt using my Horizon to fmq and we are still getting to know one another!

For the larger squares I settled upon a diamond satin stitch to tack the layers together.  The pattern recommended 5 ties for the large blocks so I added 5 tacks to each.  I programmed the Horizon to stitch out a stretched diamond, finish with a locking stitch, and then cut the threads.  Oh boy, do I love this machine!  It was super fast to stitch out - I simply marked my squares and then moved the fabric to each position under the needle and pressed the pedal - the Horizon took care of the rest!  Tacking was a new technique for me to try and I really like how it looks.  The small squares ended up being quite heavily quilted so the larger blocks are more puffy and soft by comparison.  Now, in some quilt books the way I chose to finish my quilt could be frowned upon because the quilting is not balanced (some squares are densely quilted and some are not) but I actually like the way it looks and feels having a bit of both.  I think since the squares are evenly balanced it distributes the quilting well enough that it doesn't look too odd.

I considered adding some more fmq leaves in the corners of the large blocks but decided against it in the end so as not to disrupt the flow of the arbor strips.  I called it a day and bound the quilt with probably my tidiest binding yet!  I used the binding tool once again - determined to make the darn thing work - and was very careful attaching the front of the binding using my new 1/4" walking foot (the 1/4" Accufeed foot on my Horizon) and it worked like a charm.  The finished (and washed) quilt has a very antique feel to it and I think it would be perfect for my sister.  The colours remind me of her and her name is Rose so it kind of fits!  I added a printed fabric label, designed with my StoryBook software, and hand-sewed it on.  The only thing I don't like is the colour it turned out to be but once the quilt was washed I wasn't about to remove it!  Good enough!

So that's another quilt done and I'm already itching to start another.  I've got fabric for a 16-patch quilt ready to go and I'm still working on the Craftsy block-of-the-month project.  I also want to design my own applique quilt so I can do some hyperquilting and thread work...plus I want to make another Crazy Quilt using those 250 stitches on my Horizon.  I'm going to be busy!!!

 

Snap Cases & Thread Organization

My friend gave me one of those plastic, stacking snap cases and now I'm obsessed with them!  She picked it up at Michael's and I've also found them at the container/organizer store.  I think I have about 4 or 5 of them so far, in varying sizes.  They are perfect for scrapbooking supplies (like hard-to-store paper ribbons and embellishments) and I love them for my sewing supplies!

I've got them organized based on the items they hold: one for all the feet and accessories for each sewing machine; one for fabric cutting items (scissors, rotary cutter, extra blades); one for quilt marking tools (Hera, markers, pencils, chalks); one for threads and bobbins; one for measuring tools; one for needles & pins, etc.  I love how they have several sections with different depths.  Thanks for the gift and idea, Kathleen!

Another great idea, which I got from a quilt magazine, is to store spools of used thread with their matching filled bobbins in tiny zippered plastic bags.  I picked up the bags at the dollar store and you get about 25 of them!  They are perfect (and cheap!) for keeping my thread organized - so simple!

Finally, I seem to have gathered quite a lot of new thread spools and organizing them can be a challenge as they multiply!  I started with some small Gutermann cases but quickly outgrew them (plus I am using larger spools now).  So then I moved to the plastic drawer system and it's ok for now (I'll probably outgrow that too!).  I like keeping the thread covered up so it doesn't get dusty but want to be able to see what I have at a glance.  I've organized the drawers based on type of thread and love being able to choose from all the great colours!  I stack the other containers on top to save counter space!

 

Quilt Ruler Storage

I have accumulated a rather large collection of quilt rulers.  I used to store them with my cutting mat, sitting on top of my rolling island tucked underneath my craft counter, but it started to become a pain to move them every time I wanted to either get my cutting mat or use the island surface for scrapbooking.

The logical storage solution was to hang up the rulers but since I don't have any real wall space for these very large rulers, and they are not the most attractive items to display, I had a great idea to use the sides of my island.

I bought some 3M Command hooks which would accommodate the hole in the rulers and could be removed without damaging the surface.  I adhered them to each side of my island, as well as on the inside wall of my cabinet below my work station.  I followed the application directions, making sure to wait the hour before adding the rulers (even though I was very excited to hang them up!).  I actually even weighed the rulers to make sure I hadn't exceeded the weight limit clearly marked on each package of the various hooks.  My DH suggested that NO ONE but me would actually do that...but really, how can you expect a product to perform properly if you don't follow the directions?

I have to say I am pretty impressed with myself!  Not only are the rulers out of the way yet easily accessible, they are actually better stored hanging from a hook to protect them and avoid warping.  My Olfa rulers are hanging together - the squares and the rectangles on separate hooks, and my June Tailor Shape-Cut rulers, which are quite delicate, are on another.  It is the perfect way to store these items and I'm so happy with the way the storage solution turned out.  I haven't removed one of the Command hooks but I assume I won't have any trouble if I need to...since I "saved the instructions for easy removal"!

Split Pea Soup

I grew up eating Habitant Pea Soup - a French Canadian favourite - but I think this recipe for homemade Split Pea Soup is even better!  It is very simple to make and a great way to use up a leftover ham bone.  There are not many ingredients and it cooks in about an hour or so, or as soon as the peas are soft.  It's hearty and comforting and très délicieux!

Split Pea Soup

4 cups water

1 meaty ham bone

1/2 pound dry split peas (yellow)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp prepared mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Bring water and ham bone to a boil in large pot; reduce heat and simmer 10 mins. Stir in peas, onion and bay leaf. Simmer 2 hours or until peas are soft (only took an hour or so for mine); remove bone. Cut meat into small pieces and return meat to stock. Add remaining ingredients (I reduce the amount of mustard a bit), except bacon, and heat through. Serve garnished with bacon (I never bother with that part!).

Kristi's Card

Today I want to share this beautiful card I got from my friend Kristi.  I can't offer you too much information about which Stampin' Up stamps she used but I know she must've used VersaMark to stamp the lovely background for a watermark effect.  She also stamped the torn piece of card stock for a textured look and then layered the stamped flower image on top.  The bouquet is beautifully coloured!  Kristi's cards are always so gorgeous and creative and I love receiving them...especially so I can case her work!  Thanks again, Kristi!

2011 Calendar Album

I must admit I was feeling pretty badly about not keeping up with my yearly calendar album for 2011.  In fact, the empty November calendar grid sat on my mini Everyday Display for almost 3 months!  Then, in between quilts, I decided I wanted to scrapbook a simple project and realized it was actually easier to go back after the year was over to select and print the photos for each month.  Using Memory Manager software from Creative Memories makes it super easy to just click on each month and then choose the photos representing the primary events that occured in that time period.  (Did I talk about this last year?!!)

Thankfully, I had used a Quick Kit (also from Creative Memories) to put the album (roughly) together early last year and the calendar mats already had the titles and dates on them.  I picked up my stack of photos and was able to put together the whole album in a few hours.  When I looked at that empty November calendar I thought I wouldn't even bother starting the album for 2011 but now that I'm finished, I'm so happy I did it!  It's actually a great summary of the year's events and even though it seemed I didn't take very many photos last year, there were actually great memories for each month!  Ticket stubs, newspaper clippings, facebook photos, and all the regular yearly celebrations were all included in an awesome souvenir of the year that was!  Now I just have to decide what size album to make for 2012! 

Gooey Chocolate Cranberry Squares

Here's another recipe from the 2012 Milk Calendar...my scrapbooking friends loved these Gooey Chocolate Cranberry Squares!  They are easy and quick to prepare and offer a nice change from an ordinary brownie.  You can get the written recipe HERE and watch my video below.  Enjoy!

Arbor Roses Quilt Top

Here's my latest quilting project, the Arbor Roses Quilt top.  While it looks like the trellis is linked and woven, it's actually the placement of two different quilt blocks which produces the effect.  One block has a small square bordered with strips and one has a large square with corner triangles.

The blocks were pretty simple to put together and I handled my first 'partial' piecing (one strip of the first block cannot be sewn all the way down until it is joined with the other strips).  I was determined to be as accurate as possible with this quilt and sewed very, very carefully.  While I still struggled to get the 1/4" seam perfect, it is probably the neatest job I've done yet.

There is a test to get the 1/4" seam as accurate as possible: sew strips together and measure the end product.  It should be the total width minus the seam allowances.  So, for example, if you stitched 4 - 2" strips together the result should be 8" minus 1.5" for the 3 seams, equaling 6-1/2" across.  Try as I might, adjusting my needle position each time, I could NOT get my blocks to equal what they should, even though my test strips DID equal the 6-1/2".  Confusing and confounding!  I gave up measuring the finished blocks and just kept going as well as I could.

I picked out all the fabric for this quilt by myself and also got to use my Rotating Cutting Mat (which I showed you yesterday) to cut the corners of the 2nd blocks - very helpful!  The pattern calls for 'bagging out' the quilt (sewing it all around and turning it right-side out like a bag) and finishing by using ties in the blocks.  Neither of these methods appeal to me so I'm still thinking about how I'm going to quilt it.  I just know I will finish it the traditional way with quilting and binding...

If you'd like to see how to test for accurate 1/4" seams, head over to this post at Because I Say Sew...she's got a great video explaining the technique.

Rotating Cutting Mat

The OLFA Rotating Cutting Mat is a very useful item to have in the sewing room - especially if you are a quilter!  The self-healing mat works just like its stationary cousins except it rotates 360 degrees.  This allows you to cut multiple times without repositioning yourself or the fabric.

I have used it several times already and it is perfect for cutting off 'dog ears' from triangles and corners from blocks.  It is so much easier, and faster, to not have to reposition the fabric every time you need to make multiple cuts on one piece.  This handy item is a great addition to my cutting mat collection!

Tassimo

I got a Tassimo hot beverage brewer for Christmas, which was a big surprise.  My mother and sister have Keurig systems, and my sister also has the Tassimo.  She recommended it because it can make different drinks with precision: it knows to select the right amount of water at the perfect temperature, brew time and it can add foam or steamed milk as well.  It uses a bar code on the t-disc (the unit containing the ingredients) to read the information needed to precisely brew each beverage...whether it be coffee, hot chocolate, lattes, teas, cremas, expressos, or cappucinos.

It is a lot of fun to select the drink you want and simply press the button to have it made.  The machine brews very quickly.  At first I thought it made a weird noise but after watching YouTube vids from several other people, I realize it is the machine 'reading' the bar code.  I usually make a full pot of regular coffee every morning and we have a couple of cups each.  I'm reserving the Tassimo for afternoon indulgences.  While the .50 - $1.00 per cup cost of the t-discs beats the coffee shop, for me it is more expensive than my fresh-ground 8 o'clock coffee beans!  I also have a hard time with the wasteful packaging of single-serve units.  I consider it an occasional treat to use this fun and clever machine...it does work very well...and the Chai tea latte is to die for!