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

Craftsy Block-of-the-Month: May

The first block for this month is the Modern Frame Log Cabin.  This was a fun block to make because there is NO MEASURING!  There is no pinning and the whole thing is pretty improvised.  After you cut a square for the centre, you simply sew strips to the sides in a clock-wise fashion to build up the block, alternating coloured, patterned fabric and white background fabric.  At the end you just trim the block to the required size.  This did result in a very narrow final border (which happened to instructor Amy Gibson too) but that's ok and it will all work out in the end!

The second block was even easier and more fun - the Wonky 5-sided Log Cabin.  In a similar fashion to the first block, we start with a square centre and build up the block with strips of various fabrics.  After the first 'round' of sewing, a 5th angle is added to make the block a bit crazier!  

Both blocks were super fast and easy to make.  These are perfect blocks for just sitting at the sewing machine with a scrap basket of strips, choosing and cutting as you go!  I could see myself making a whole quilt with blocks like these - they're real stash busters!  The only downside is that they were done so quickly...I'm glad we only have to make 2 blocks when it's a difficult technique...but when it's easy, I want to make more!  June blocks will be revealed soon so I'll have something new to play with!

After I finished these May blocks I pulled out my storage box with all the blocks I've done for this class so far.  I wanted to measure them to see if they all ended up the correct size.  I'm so pleased that within 1/8" of an inch in all cases, the blocks are all 12-1/2".  They should go together fairly easily at the end of the year when we have completed all the blocks.  It will be so fun to see them all together in a quilt!

Mother's Day Card

Here's the card I made for my butterfly-loving mother-in-law for Mother's Day - but of course you could use this card idea for any occasion.  It's been a long time since I stamped using a 2-step set and I actually ended up doing the stamping in reverse order...stamped the outline of the image first and then added the solid image over top using multiple inks.  I didn't want them to line up so I didn't use a stamp-a-ma-jig aligner and just eye-balled placement.  I really like the way it turned out!

The stamp set is from Stampin' Up (Botanical Blooms), the designer series paper is Botanical Gazette, and the butterfly resin embellishment is from the Anna Griffin Sierra Collection.  The sentiment is a rub-on from the old Chit Chat package (SU) - (that was the greatest purchase...it just keeps on going!  I still have tons of sentiments left!)

Inside the card I repeated most of the elements and, after stamping the front floral images, re-stamped without re-inking on another piece of white card stock.  This made the perfect place to write since the image was soft and shadowy.

WOW Scrapbook Page

I used up some scraps from my old paper collections for this layout.  Since the individual photos were of different events from the year I tried to visually separate them with different photo mats and lines of layered papers.

There was a lot of blue in the photos so I added the red accents for a splash of colour.  I cut the 'WOW' title using my Cricut and the Wild Card cartridge.  The photo op sticker is from a former Disney Additions pack from Creative Memories.

I am getting really close to being caught up in my scrapbooking - and these photos were just waiting forever to be scrapped since they didn't fit into the 'calendar album' and I didn't want to make an individual layout for each one.  This layout knocked out about 4 tabbed divisions in my Power Sort box!

Cranberry Walnut Muffins

These are hearty yet tender muffins and full of wholesome ingredients like walnuts, oats, apple and cranberries.  Enjoy today's video and get the written recipe, from the 2001 Milk Calendar, HERE.

Perfect Points Sampler Quilt Top

Ta-da!  Here is the Perfect Points Sampler completed quilt top!  I cannot believe I got all the squares to go together...and STAY together!  Some of my blocks were not quite the right size so the seam allowance is pretty scant.  I had to re-sew in a couple small places to make them stay together but all in all, I am very happy with the results!

While the original example in the quilt-along used VERY bright fabrics, I chose these beautiful blues and browns from the Charlottesville Collection.  I had to substitute a couple fabrics because Connecting Threads was sold out but I think they all look pretty decent together.  I love the inner border fabric and it is used for the binding as well.  I usually use a 2-1/2" wide binding but this pattern called for 2-1/4" binding strips so I'll see how I like that look.  (The Heart & Feather whole-cloth used only 2" wide binding - because it was such a small square - and I found that a bit finicky to work with).

Of course the instructions say to 'quilt as desired' so I'm not sure yet how I'll finish up this quilt.  I know it should be quilted with a swirly, round design to counter-act all those harsh points.  But I would like to think outside the meandering box and maybe do something different.  Now that I'm not terrified of following a drawn design I might even try using a stencil!  I'll show you the completely finished quilt as soon as it's done!

Couching

The first thing I learned in the Craftsy Stupendous Stitching class is the definition of couching.  Couching is when yarn, fibers, or other materials are fastened to a foundation/background fabric with small stitches with the same yarn or different threads.  This technique is the starting point of the Stupendous Stitching project and the reason I needed the Pearls 'N Piping Creative Feet foot I showed you on Thursday.

After I chose my blue Batik background fabric and stabilized it with some heavy-weight fusible interfacing, I was ready to begin my couching experience.  I attached the couching foot (aka the Pearls 'N Piping foot) and selected some fibers from my stash.  Since there 'are no mistakes' in the Stupendous Stitching project and a variety of colours is encouraged, there really wasn't a wrong way to do this technique nor any inappropriate fiber to use.

It is very fun to 'couch' and sadly, is over too quickly!  For the project we only had to add 5 or 6 lines of couching, leaving a couple inches in between for the addition of other stitches and embellishments.  Gentle curves and wavy lines, mixed with straight ones, yield the best results...I went a bit overboard with the neon green fiber - I was initially trying to make an enclosed circle which didn't work out - and it got away from me.  I don't like the way it ended up but, since there are no mistakes, I just left it there and learned my lesson for next time.

Couching is a lot of fun and I'm sure I will think of ways to add this to other projects.  I changed threads with each line of couching I did, sometimes matching the thread to the fiber and sometimes using variegated thread.  I also learned to move the fabric (instead of the fiber) and not pull the couching material too far in my turns since that results in the zig-zags going off track and not catching the fibers.

So that's step 1 of the Stupendous Stitching piece...and only the beginning of this interesting art project!

Carol Doak's Foundation Paper

When I made the LeMoyne Star blocks for my Perfect Points Sampler quilt I had my first experience with paper piecing.  While you can use copy paper or old phone book pages, I picked up an inexpensive pack of Carol Doak's Foundation Paper.  (You know I like having the right tool for the job!)

This specialized paper can be used in most printers and copy machines and doesn't shrink, curl or turn brittle.  It holds up to stitching yet tears away easily when the piecing is done.

Furthermore, the paper is lightweight and won't add bulk when joining seams, is absorbent so there isn't any inky mess, and non-coated so fabric won't slip.

I found this foundation paper to be excellent to work with and it made my first experience with paper piecing a breeze.  I can't wait to try this technique again.  It's so fun and easy to print out the pattern and simply sew along the printed lines - takes the pressure off trying to keep that 1/4" seam!  I bought the paper at Connecting Threads and it comes in letter or legal size for under $8.

Creative Feet

I told you about the Craftsy Stupendous Stitching class I enrolled in and one of the suggested supplies used in the class is a special foot for adding materials to the fabric.  Creative Feet is a company that makes the specialized feet and the Pearls 'N Piping Foot is the one I needed for the class (the stitching can be done with a regular zig-zag foot but it takes a little more care and is not as simple as the specialized foot).  I was fully prepared to order from the Creative Feet website but happened to find ALL THREE feet (Satinedge, Pearls 'N Piping, and Sequins 'N Ribbon) at my local store so that was a real bonus - no shipping and a great price!!  (Must be living right, as my dad would say!)

After watching the videos on YouTube of the Creative Feet in action, I really did want all 3 feet anyway.  Each one makes a specialized task so easy and the feet fit any machine - they come with adapters right in the package!  I knew I could use the feet for other projects and instantly thought about how I could add different embellishments to my quilts in some way.  Haven't figured that out yet but now I know I have the capability...it is just a matter of playing around on some practice pieces to get the hang of it.

If you like to sew, check out the website (that Clare Rowley is pretty inspirational and amazing!) and the videos to see all the neat tools Clare has come up with to make things easier.  The idea of being able to easily add sequins, ribbons, or pearls as embellishments to almost anything is pretty cool.

Foolproof Machine Quilting

OOOh, I am so excited!  I just got a great book, Foolproof Machine Quilting.  It's perfect for those quilters who want to use a walking foot to quilt rather than free-motion quilting, but want to branch out from stitch-in-the-ditch and lines!  Mary Mashuta is the author and her technique is to use paper patterns (or sticky-back shelf paper - like mac-tac/contac) and stitch around the patterns. They are simple patterns but can be made more elaborate with outlining, stacking, etc.  There is no marking and no math - just careful (and slow) stitching with the walking foot.  This is exactly what I was looking for!

I took the process one step further and used my Cricut (scrapbooking die-cut machine) to produce and cut the shapes so they are PERFECT and can be easily reproduced as needed...not to mention there are a bajillion designs I could use. I used contac paper and it worked beautifully!  Here is a scrap tester (my first, so don't pay attention to the starts & stops) - it worked great! Very tidy designs that will add a little pizazz to boring walking-foot quilting!

I bought the book on-line (Foolproof Machine Quilting, by Mary Mashuta, C&T publishing, 2008) and love it!  There is a lot of information in the book and stunning photos of Mary's gorgeous quilts.  I can't wait to get a new top finished so I can use this method.

Quilt Show Scrapbook Layout

This was a fun layout to create since the photos of the quilts are so colourful and different.  I used paper from the Enchanted Power Palette as a base, for photo mats and layers.  I cut the title using the Creative Cuts tools & template (Quilt) and my QuicKutz (show).  I also used the Border Maker and the die-cut stickers included in the Power Palette (they are really cool and different!).  I embellished the page with some 'gems' stickers and I made a little 4-patch with the Postage Stamp Place 'n Punch, which I then stitched with my sewing machine to look like a quilt block.