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

Wheels Quilting & English Paper Piecing

I finished all the feather wreaths in my Wheels quilt wheels. You can see from the photo how great the texture is when seen from the back. Of course, the 'feel' is still there on the front, it's just harder to see. The next part of the quilt I wanted to tackle was the inner sashing. I decided to create a faux block in between the pieced wheels using the quilting. I drew in some guide lines and stitched an on-point square. Inside, I added some petals and created a very pretty flower design. I wanted something curvy and complimentary to the feathers and I think they turned out perfectly. I continued the design on the outer edge of the quilt but just left out that 4th petal. I am going to quilt the leftover bits of sashing in between the motifs with a tight stipple and that should highlight both the feathers and petals. Before that can happen though I need to quilt the outer two borders. I plan on a large feather chain that extends beyond the piecing lines (treating both borders as one) but I'm a little chicken to get started. I've re-watched the amazing Ultimate Free-Motion Quilting with Patsy Thompson Craftsy class. Patsy is one of my all-time favourites and her lessons are so easy to follow. She makes the most beautiful feathers and her border technique for feathers flowing from feathers is what I am going to use. I hope they turn out because the results are fabulous! I just keep looking at the The Classic Double Wedding Ring quilt I finished on my Janome sewing machine and I know I can do it! That king sized quilt is covered in gorgeous feathers so it's just a matter of getting over my fear and getting started!

In anticipation of summer travel I was inspired to sign up for another Craftsy class, Quick and Easy English Paper Piecing. That's in addition to the Craftsy Pieced Hexies: Beyond English Paper Piecing Class I have in my list. I had watched an episode of Quilt Monkey on QNNtv and realized this traditional hand-sewing technique would be ideal as a take-along project. As usual, I've enrolled in all the Craftsy classes and ordered a book on-line full of ideas. I watched the April segment of the FREE class that started it all, The 2012 Block of the Month, where Amy Gibson shares a couple of EPP blocks. I remember now how much I actually enjoyed making those blocks (see them HERE), even though there was no sewing machine involved! I want to put together a little travel kit of essentials (like my Goody Goody Binding Bag) and tote the supplies along this summer. I am very excited to get started! I'm thinking that charm pack of 1930s fabrics will be perfect.

Vintage Pieced Backing

It took a bit of math and graphing but I got the pieced backing done for the Vintage quilt. I had enough fabric from the quilt top to make three more Granny Square blocks and I decided they'd be better used in the backing rather than in a pillow (or 3!). It really helped to refer back to the FREE Craftsy class, Creative Quilt Backs. Elizabeth Hartman is one of my favourite Craftsy instructors and she does a super job explaining how to create beautiful and interesting quilt backs. I love that the class is FREE because it's one I go back to over and over again. How nice is it that Craftsy just gave that to us!?!!!

I did have to purchase some extra yardage for the remainder of the backing and even though I didn't have, nor could I get, any Bonnie & Camille fabric that was suitable, I think I found a great substitute. That's a lot of red print to deal with so I bordered the blocks with some white sashing. I wanted the pieced section to be in the upper third of the back and I think I worked out the sizes to make it the right proportions. I can't wait to see it all put together!

Speaking of which, I got the Wheels quilt basted (using my amazing folding tables in the garage and 505 spray method), which was so easy since the quilt is on the smaller side and square. I decided to do a feathered wreath in each wheel and I won't lie, it's been challenging. The first issue I encountered was that my template was too large. I ended up just buying another one to fit instead of trying to work around it. Then I realized that my fabric waffles between light and dark and that means difficult marking. I love the Clover blue water soluble pen for the light fabric but it doesn't show on the dark. I tried both a pounce pad (which I kept rubbing off), a sliver of soap (hard to see), and the Fons & Porter white pencil. That was the what worked best in the end but I have to alternate between both pen and pencil within each wheel. It's a pain and still difficult to see. I've had to improvise a lot of the feathers!

It takes me quite some time to get the wreaths quilted and sadly, the last one I did looked great on the front but was a tension-gone-crazy mess on the back. It took me my whole evening to pick it all out. What a disappointment. I'm sure this project is testing me because it's a gift for someone and I really want it to look nice. The feathers I've already quilted are technically sound and well shaped but very difficult to see on the front of the quilt. The look and texture is really lovely on the back but that cream thread just doesn't stand out on the top. I'm half way done and then will switch to some more free-hand quilting in the sashing. That work should go faster and show up better. I just have to choose which design to use!

The Piece of Cake 3 quilt has been labelled and washed. It's now one of my favourites. The clamshells gave the perfect texture and look really sharp - you can't notice my bad clams at all! One thing I did differently on this label was to actually sign my name. Although I entered all the data on my computer, I quickly added an autograph and the year using the IdentiPen given to me by Gail Kessler. It turned out great and I am going to continue that addition. It's something I always do on the cover page of my scrapbooks too, in order to leave my mark.

Of course, given all those coloured fabrics, I washed the quilt using my favourite Soak Wash and tossed in a Color Catcher sheet. The quilt didn't bleed at all (not that I expected it to since I'm using beautiful Moda fabrics) but I always like a bit of insurance in the wash.

Well, time for me to get back to the feathered wreaths. I've left the hardest blocks for last but really want to get this one done so I can make the recipient a gorgeous, personalized label.

Pinking Options & Perfect Scissors

For Christmas I got a vintage Singer Pinking Attachment and while it works well to automatically pink the edges of fabric, I don't always have my Featherweight set up at the ready. I like to pink the edges of my backing fabric to avoid frays (which drive me crazy) and knew I needed another option for quick pinking.

Last year I purchased a special pinking blade for my Olfa rotary cutter. It's wavy, decorative edge achieves the same results as the mechanical sewing machine attachment and is easy to use. However, I also have to pull out the cutting mat, switch the blade in my cutter, and use a ruler to keep a straight line. I found that the blade didn't always cut through completely and required multiple cuts.

I would love to just have a beautiful pair of Gingher pinking shears but being a lefty, it's nearly impossible to find any. I'd even consider other brands but haven't sourced any of those either. I did pick up this SoftKut brand of pinking shears and while it's not listed as left or right handed, I am able to use them. The handle is spongey and doesn't dig into my thumb. It's not ideal and I'm sure the position of the blades is more suited for right-handed use in terms of visibility (in that the thicker top blade, when I cut, covers the line I am trying to follow). For quick cutting though, they are acceptable for now. I'll still keep my eyes open for a truly left-handed pair of great quality pinking shears.

On a side note, I have tried out the Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Scissors I picked up at the quilt show. These are micro serrated blades that keep the fabric from slipping. They are accurate and help stop fraying also. I bought the small size since they are so expensive (over $30 Canadian for these little guys) and I wanted them to use with my Farmer's Wife blocks which require tiny, precise trimming. I'm not sure why these scissors are so pricey because although I find the blades to be lovely, the handles seem very plastic-y and flimsy. I have a similar product in the Tim Holtz crafting scissors and they have a terrific, spongey covered handle that is much more substantial. I hope the Perfect Scissors stand up to long term use!

 

How to Crack a Coconut

When my sister and I were kids, on a few rare occasions we were allowed to buy a fresh coconut. I remember that it was always a production to get it open and often my dad would use power tools and special workshop equipment to crack the hard shell. We never liked the raw meat or water as much as we anticipated but it was quite an exotic adventure to tackle this tropical treat (this was the 70s, by the way!). I always (incorrectly) assumed it was a big deal to get the coconut open, requiring a man's strength and know-how and it was always challenging to then pry the white flesh from the shell. Last week I mentioned my pride in breaking open a coconut all by myself and thought I would share a quick tutorial. The process is so easy and simple I feel rather fooled by those childhood memories!

Gather your supplies: fresh coconut, towel, Philips head screwdriver, hammer, bowl or measuring cup for the water, and a sieve.

First, hammer the screwdriver into each of the three eyes, making sure it goes all the way through the shell. Drain the water through the sieve into the measuring cup. Reserve. I yielded a half cup of water!

Next, firmly hit the circumference of the shell with the hammer. It takes a good few wallops per area but then the coconut will magically crack into two neat halves.

To easily remove the meat from the shell, simply put the two halves on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Run a regular dinner knife around the inner edge of the coconut as if you were loosening a cake. Miraculously, the flesh just pops out of the shell in a perfect half-dome shape. From there you can simply cut the meat into bite size pieces to nibble (the brown side is fine to eat), or if you require pristinely grated coconut, peel the brown side away and grate firmly on a box grater.

I portioned the coconut into 12 gram bundles and slipped them into a bag for the freezer. You can keep the fresh raw meat in the fridge for 4 to 5 days but the freezer will keep it much longer. I chose 12 grams as a serving size because it's 2 Weight Watcher Smart points, fyi! Use the empty shells for Monty Python-type horsey galloping sounds or to serve rice Survivor style. Now I did open this coconut all by my little lady self...but I did it in the workshop and I did use my Daddy's hammer!

Enjoy!

 

Binding, Notions, & Labels

It only took a few hours over a couple of days to stitch down the binding by hand on my Piece of Cake 3 quilt. I love the control I have over the finished look when I sew the binding by hand but of course, it does take me longer than by machine. I tried a couple of new things this time around, including a gadget to get the perfect miter and those straw needles favoured by Joanna Figueroa.

As I stitch down the binding on the front of a quilt and get to a corner I usually stop a 1/4" from the end, back stitch, and then break thread. I fold the binding up along the next side and then fold it down upon itself and start stitching again to make the miter. This time I tried the Perfect Binding Miter by Glenna, a little piece of plastic that has a diagonal slot on each corner to mark various angles. The idea is to stitch off the quilt and binding at the angle to make a perfect miter at the corners. I found it didn't really work for me. I ended up with a bit of overlap and thought it was more trouble really than it was worth. I might give it another try and it only cost a couple of bucks to add to my order. I think the concept is good especially if you usually use this technique on your bindings - I've just always done it the other way with the folding method.

One of my twitter followers was frustrated with the results where she joined her binding ends and I had to reply that I felt her pain. I've used the Binding Tool a couple of times and always ended up with a pleat where the two ends meet. My usual method is from The Complete Guide to Quilting and it is pretty easy now that I know how. With this quilt I ended up with a perfectly seamed join; no pleats or puckers! That is always a triumphant feeling. While I love a good quilting notion, often doing things the simple way, sans gadget, is still the fastest, most successful, and easiest.

Once I sat down to hand-sew with my Goody Goody binding kit at hand, I decided the worst part of the job was loading the needle with thread. Instead of working with one needle, I prepared about 5 different needles with a length of thread at the ready. One of those was the Size 11 straw needles I picked up at the quilt show. While it did easily glide through the fabric I found it much too short for my fingers and the eye was microscopic. My Clover needle threader didn't really work well with that style of needle. I tried some different embroidery needles as well as alternate sizes of milliners needles. I didn't like the long ones or the thick ones and came back to my favourite needle, a mid-size milliners. It is most comfortable in my hands, the right length for me to easily get even, 1/4" stitches, and just the right amount of flexibility. It also works with the threader and I'm just going to stick with it from now on. The experiment proves to me that it's great to be open to try new ways of doing things with new tools and notions but of course, in the end, it is always a matter of personal preference. Don't rely on someone else's recommendations while denying what works and feels comfortable for you personally.

Now it's time to add my label. I typically print off a computer-typed label onto Printed Treasures fabric and then hand sew it on to the back of the quilt. I am always looking for new ideas though and have had Stephanie Palmer's quilt label method bookmarked for a while. Stephanie uses a craft tag as a template for the shape of her fabric and then writes the details on with a pen. This is such a cute idea and I am definitely going to explore that option. I love the addition of embellishing the label with decorative stitches and a cute button. Sometimes I need to feed off someone else's creativity to get inspired and think outside the basics. Once that label is on, the Piece of Cake 3 quit is finito!

Here is the quilt all bound. I might just called it The Icing on the Cake (with the subtitle Piece of Cake 3) because the clamshell quilting looks a little like the decorative piped icing swirls on the side of a cake...

 

Plannering

Every Sunday my daughter and I have a "plannering" date. That's our made-up word for decorating our planners for the week ahead. I ended up buying my other daughter her own and she is super excited to play too. Unfortunately, her version doesn't start until July but her wonderful boyfriend managed to find her an extension pack and this past weekend she got caught up so as to join us next Sunday.

I am in love with my Quilter's Planner (read about it HERE) and it is ideal for my life and hobby. I am able to track all my weekly errands, tasks, and appointments, as well as keep a running list of all my quilt projects and the stage I'm at in the process. One thing I've noticed already is that if I add something I need to do on my Planner page I am more than likely to DO IT! It has been a great place to record both my to-do list as well as my 'got it done' list, a definite motivational plus to see all I've accomplished. Of course, it comes in handy to be able to refer back to confirm when something was done (bill paid, letter sent, phone call placed). Our family calendar is a wipe-off model so when the day is over it gets erased and the information is gone forever and as much as I rely on my phone, I do indeed prefer having a hard copy. Adding the scrapbooking elements of embellishments, cute stickers, pretty paper, and washi tape just makes it all crafty, fun to do and look at!

Quilting all Done & Great Helpers

Wow, that didn't take long at all! The clamshells are all done on the Piece of Cake 3 quilt. Once I got past those first couple rows things went fast and smoothly. It is easy to get into the rhythm of the quilting design, know when to adjust the weight of the quilt, when and where to position the ruler, and how to fix it when things go wonky. As promised, I didn't pick out any stitches and left in the initial wobbles.

I'm now removing the remainder of the marked lines and I finally tried the special Clover Eraser Pen. It works beautifully to remove the blue pen marks and I used it when I started marking in the wrong place. It was also ideal for small dots I'd missed but for the majority of the removal I've found a spray bottle works perfectly. Mine sprays a fine mist of distilled water and then I dab with a paper towel to absorb the excess. It's dry in no time and the lines are completely removed instantly. I did spray the marks each night of the rows I'd finished for the day because I don't like to leave them on the fabric too long.

Next up I will trim the excess batting and backing and stitch the binding to the front of the quilt. For some reason I am totally in the mood to hand-sew (a day I thought I would never see) and I look forward to finishing up the binding on the back using my gorgeous Goody Goody Binding Kit. I'm really proud of that project! There's still no chocolate bar in it though...

One other tool I used is the Clover Soft-touch Thread Pick. I mainly use it for pulling up the bobbin thread and picking out stitches but one of its actual intended uses is to pluck out those stray threads that are under your quilt top, trapped between the fabric and batting. I'm seeing a few red and blue threads straying into the white sashing and this little notion works fantastically well! The very fine hook pierces the top and pulls up the thread. It is amazing!

I can't believe the quilting is done on that first winter piecing project. It went so fast and was the perfect segue into this part of the quilt making process. I am stoked to keep going and so pumped that I successfully tried something new. I can't wait to select the next UFO to get under the needle and try a new design. I always love the quilting part once I get started and boy do I love that Sweet 16. I only had one hiccough along the way with a couple of clamshells that didn't have nice quality stitches. I totally knew it was happening because of the sound the machine makes, specifically the bobbin. I let it go for two clams and then knew it wasn't right. I cleaned out the bobbin area of a bit of fluff and reinserted the bobbin case. Problem fixed! The lesson learned is to stop right away when you know something sounds out of the ordinary.

This is all so joyful to me and I'm loving every second. The best part is when I have a plan and know what I'm going to do. Quilting it is easy for me once I'm sitting at the machine and the sound of the stitching is music to my ears. Here is the finished quilting...I just adore the texture of these clamshells!

Quilting Piece of Cake 3 & Handi Quilter Rulers

Squeal! I am super excited about the quilting I did yesterday. I knew I wanted a soft, puffy quilt and thought about doing a clamshell-type design. I watched a lot of Craftsy videos and searched on-line for other ideas. Elizabeth Dackson came through with a great design in her Start Free-Motion Quilting class: a slightly fancier clamshell with a loop in the middle. Her instructions gave me the confidence to give it a try even though it would require marking the straight lines to keep the rows evenly spaced between my free-motion clamshells.

I sketched out some practice quilting to determine the scale of the design for my quilt. I watched a few more videos to see how the clamshells might look on a full size quilt and came upon a Handi Quilter video demonstrating their longarm clamshell ruler. It suddenly hit me that I actually had purchased the HQ multi ruler ages ago and that it had a 2" clamshell on one end. I pulled it out and gave it a try on a practice sandwich. I loved the results! They were uniform and just the right size to secure the batting yet provide a lovely squishy texture. It was easy and fun to do so I felt great and very satisfied that this was the way I was going to go for the Piece of Cake 3 quilt.  After my experimentation I went back and added a few plumes within each clamshell just for fun. Wow! What a different look that gave; an Asian fan design emerged and I will definitely consider that on a more formal project in the future. I tried it with open 'leaves' as well but preferred the travel-stitched single line option. For me, starting is the hardest part but solidifying what I was going to quilt made it much easier to actually get going and once I do, I don't want to stop.

I got my quilt under the Sweet 16 needle and started my clamshells. I did mark 2" horizontal guidelines using a water soluble blue pen. It wasn't that bad at all. I'm not usually a marking girl but I wanted this design so badly that it was worth the extra work. My vintage machine piecing is a little wonky in spots so things didn't line up exactly right but it is good enough. I also had a small learning curve to deal with and there are wobbles and oopsies here and there in my first few rows of clamshells. It's a little bit more challenging when you have the weight of the 'real' quilt to manage. You know what? I'm not worrying about those mistakes at all because I have learned that you NEVER see those bad stitches again on a non-show quilt. I know for a fact there are plenty of boo-boos on all my other finished quilts but I couldn't tell you what or where they are now! Let it go!!!

Today, I am almost finished the first half of the quilting. It is going along well and so much fun. I am itching to let loose though as this is a much slower, more careful way to quilt than the free-hand, pedal to the metal way I usually stitch. It's a good change though and the finished work is looking good! I'm very pleased with it and the results are exactly what I was looking for. In fact, I am enjoying the clamshells so much that I ordered a second ruler that has a row of clamshells on each side (versus one single one that has to be moved each time). I'm hoping it will be just as easy to use on the sit-down machine. If not, I will pick up the multi-clamshell that has a single shape but in multiple sizes. That might be a great option too for borders, different sizes of patchwork, etc.

While I had my sample piece out I opened up the multi-circle HQ ruler I bought myself months ago but had never tried. It is super fun too and the circles are PERFECT! (see them under that Asian fan sample above). I love pebbles but sometimes you just want them to be exactly uniform and round. I can see a row of these lovely bubbles in sashing or borders. What great texture would result and so fun to quilt. I just might be turning into a ruler girl after all! Off I go to finish my half and get started on the second act...

A Successful Day

I'm feeling very productive today! It's my Spring cleaning week and I just finished a big chore - window washing. It took me a couple of days to get them done but I'm so pleased with how clean they are looking after a mucky winter. I realize I've probably wasted my time in some ways due to all the construction going on around my house but I really can't stand filthy windows and regardless, it's a good chance to open them up, sweep away the spiders and cobwebs, and make sure the hardware is functioning well. You can read the details of the easy method I use for window cleaning in THIS POST.

Now that my garage is all clean as well, I spray basted my first quilt of the season. I chose Piece of Cake 3 to be the lucky project because it's not too big and is so colourful and cheerful it will be a joy to quilt. I haven't quite decided on a design yet but I know I want something loopy and all over to unify and soften those linear blocks. It was super easy to work with a quilt this size (63" x 74") since it fits perfectly on my two folding tables. I was able to fasten the backing to the under-edge of the tables using large binder clips which hold it taught and avoid wrinkles. My larger quilts might be more challenging but I'm considering my front foyer floor as an alternative. It's larger in this new-to-us house and I could open the front door (sheltered by the covered porch) for air flow and ventilation. Anyway, I'm re-watching all my free-motion quilting Craftsy classes for ideas and inspiration - they are all wonderful! Now that the sandwich is ready to go I'm so excited to start. Tomorrow I'll choose my thread (probably white) and get my Sweet 16 set up, cleaned, and good to go.

In addition to cleaning the windows and the rest of the house, I tidied up my workshop and stocked my new organizer. It's from Michael's and is perfect for housing my most-used items. I did have my small machine supplies in a tray but it was jumbled and hard to tote. This bag has good, sturdy compartments and I can stash my rulers, cutters, and small stuff too and easily grab it to move to the next machine. I really love it!

I made a batch of chilli for dinner and I even cracked a fresh coconut all by myself! It's actually really easy. Now it's time to rest up for tomorrow. Have a great night!
 

 

Happy Mother's Day, etc.

Here is the LOVELY gift I got for Mother's Day...it's perfect because of the wonderful vintage sewing machine...but...we all agree something just isn't quite right! Lots of laughter over that one and a super brunch out with the family. Of course, I'm missing my mamma but she is in my thoughts and heart forever.

I have been under the weather for a few days and haven't even been able to get into my workshop. I had managed to sew together my weird backing for the family t-shirt quilt (pancakes and Mickey Mouse) but didn't get any further. Hubby is cleaning out the garage today so I should be able to baste a quilt this coming week and get to quilting. I've been watching a few free-motion quilting videos and that always puts me in the mood to stitch. I'm really not going to stress about it and just have fun. If I screw up, well, I have 4 more quilts in line to work out the problems!

The house is very full again and that means more shopping to do, food to cook, dishes to wash, and bathrooms to clean. Time keeps getting away from me! We are also busy in the garden and getting ready for outdoor season. We had a beautiful mini-barn/shed built but lost most of our full hedge to a neighbour with a chainsaw who is putting up a wood fence. It was crushing to see it hacked off to just a few naked trunks - much more than I anticipated and I've been sad all week thinking of my beautiful birds with no where to go. We are going to landscape as best we can to re-establish new growth for my feathered friends and privacy for us.

Earlier last week I did do some baking: my son's favourite Cinnamon Buns, homemade pizza dough and pizza, and even a pair of pound cakes just for fun. I also made a wonderful couscous salad with chickpeas served over a bed of baby spinach. The secret ingredient was fantastic fresh mint and it was amazing! I even made up a batch of mint sauce with the rest of the herb, something I ate a lot of as a child. It took me right back! (click on any photo to see it full-size)

Here are the last two blocks of the Farmer's Wife sampler I've done. That project is taking a hiatus for the moment! Perhaps now that my new solid fabric has arrived I will re-visit it this week. Aren't these gorgeous Bella solids? I couldn't resist a small bundle of Bonnie & Camille's Vintage Picnic fat quarters as well and I think they're adorable! I'm not sure if I will use them for the FW blocks of save them for something a little bigger first!