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

After 38+ Plus Years, Time for a New Light Box!

After 38+ years of using (literally) a Mickey Mouse light box, I decided it was time to have a new one.  I used the plastic child's version quite a bit as I worked on the paper pieced arcs for the DWR quilt.  While it got the job done, the small 15W night-light bulb only lights up the very centre of the box and is rather dim.  The surface is small, there is no on/off switch, and it gets quite warm.  (It's also so old that it doesn't have a polarized plug...could be a fire safety hazard, right??).  I was certainly able to make do with it over the years for my art work and I was able to utilize it for tracing a quilt pattern for the Leah Day Heart & Feather wholecloth project but I thought something larger, easier to use, and more professional was due.

Since I was planning a shopping trip to Jo-Ann's I thought I would pick up one of the beautiful LightPad LED Illuminated Art & Craft Light Boxes from ArtOGraph that was on sale.  Unfortunately, after seeing the 'on-line only' note, and calling the store directly to confirm, I had to order and have it shipped to Canada.  That meant I also had to pay not only the shipping but duty and an extra handling charge from Jo-Anns, leading to a hefty bottom line when I checked out.  However, it was still much less expensive to purchase from the States.  I went to Michael's locally and the cost was almost twice, plus our 13% tax, and they only had the smallest model.

I decided to pay a bit more to get the 11x14 size and am glad I did.  When I received my order I was stunned to see "9x12" printed on the box.  I thought Jo-Ann's had sent the wrong light box but in fact, the light-up surface is 9x12 and the 'housing/casing' is 11x14.  9x12 is small enough - I can't imagine anything less to be of much use, especially for quilting.

Once I knew I had the correct item and opened up the box I was delighted with my purchase.  The LightPad is wonderful!  It looks like a Mac computer and has an attractive aluminum and steel frame.  I was very relieved as I slipped  off the protective storage sleeve (a velvet-y, fold-top bag) to see that the work surface wasn't cracked or damaged in any way and had survived the journey across the border!  (It would have been a big pain and expense to have to return it!).  The surface is smooth and the light is super bright and provides a perfectly illuminated surface from side to side, top to bottom.

I am so excited to use my new light box - for quilting as well as any other tracing I need to do.  It fits perfectly next to my Horizon where I will be stitching and it will be so easy to work on my Carol Doak's Mastering Foundation Paper Piecing Craftsy class projects.  Yipeee!  I love, love, love it!

FLASH SALE at CRAFTSY!

Ooooooh!!  Great FLASH SALE at Craftsy this weekend!  Today and tomorrow you can get up to 50% off classes.  There are so many good ones to choose from and at half price they are totally worth adding to your 'homeroom' list.  You can use the sale link to the right to go straight to Craftsy and see all the sale classes.  Don't forget you own the class for life so if you can't watch it straight away, get it cheap and save it for when you can.  (I do that all the time and it's great to be able to come back to the lessons any time I need to get a refresher or I get interested in starting a new project.)  Have fun (and scroll down for today's other post!)

Let's Be Friends Quilted Embroidered Pillow

The first (and only, to date) embroidery I made using the Giga Hoop on my Janome 350E embroidery machine was a cute image of a dog and cat.  It was completed over a year ago (the process documented in THIS POST) but ended up in my fabric sample/scrap pile.  While the kids and hubby were out I wanted to do a quick afternoon project.  I grabbed the embroidery sample from the basket and thought I'd make a little travel size pillow since that's the only pillow form I had in stock in my craft cupboard.

I trimmed up the embroidery and then added white borders until it was the size of the front of the pillow.  I layered it with some scrap batting and backing fabric and quickly quilted it with a large meander.  Next, after squaring up the edges, I hemmed the two back panels and stitched them to the quilted pillow top.

The pillow turned out perfectly and it felt good to finally use the cute embroidered panel.  My bed is getting all quilted and pillowed up now so I think I should start making pot holders!

BIG FLASH SALE at Craftsy!

FYI, you can get up to 65% off supplies at Craftsy today until tomorrow.  The sale is on yarn, kits, AND FABRIC! The only catch is that stuff can sell out so you have to be fast!  Good luck!!

"Limited stock! Race the clock with Craftsy's Supplies Flash Sale! Get up to 65% off select yarn, fabric and kits before they sell out. Hurry, offer expires Friday, June 20 at 11:59PM MT 2014. Don't miss out on your chance to save up to 65% off with Craftsy's Supplies Flash Sale!"

 

CRAFTSY SALE! Up to 50% OFF CLASSES!

There are SO many amazing classes at Craftsy and they are having their BIG SUMMER SALE now until Monday.  This is the best time to get the classes you want and save (there is no need to ever pay full price!!!).  Craftsy has added a bunch of great new selections, including the one I picked: Cut to It: Strategies for Smarter Quilting (w/ Debbie Caffrey).  Learning to cut your fabric accurately is one of the most important parts of quilting.  While it may not be the most exciting aspect of the craft, it's critical to achieving good results and if you're going to the trouble and expense, you might as well do it right!

The class covers rotary cutting skills, how to cut strips, shapes, deal with fat quarters, squares, bias edges, and so much more.  It can be a little hypnotizing watching Debbie cut away and I sure wish I had this class available to me when I started quilting almost three years ago - probably would have saved a lot of fabric by preventing the mistakes I've made!!!  She has so many tricks and time-saving techniques - it's quite impressive how she's taken this skill to a whole new level!

I already wrote about the other class I just got, Machine Quilting: Small Changes, Big Variety (w/ Angela Walters) and I love it!  I always learn so much from Angela and she certainly gives me the confidence (and inspiration) to quilt new designs.  Her small changes to simple motifs help expand your quilting design repertoire with little effort.  (I've already pre-ordered her new book coming out in September!).

Have fun checking out the new classes and the awesome ones already available.  Of course, I gravitate to all the quilting and embroidery classes first but there are new cooking, photography, painting, and sewing classes too!

Laminated Fabric Folders

If you're looking for a quick, cute project, this could be it.  Laminated Fabric Folders are featured in the May/June 2014 issue of Quilty magazine (my favourite).  Ebony Love provides the instructions in the mag and you can also watch the FREE Quilty video HERE to learn how to make them.

This project gave me the chance to try out the Pellon Vinyl Fuse I bought on a whim a couple trips back when I visited the States.  It's pretty cool stuff - easy to use and leaves a smooth, water repellent surface on your fabric.  Even though the pattern is incredibly simple, I still managed to have some challenges.  First, my Wonder Under fusible web from a roll was too narrow for the dimensions of the fabric.  So then I pulled out a big sheet of bulk, off-the-bolt fusible I had and cut that to size.  It was awful!  It didn't transfer well, the backing paper ripped, and my two layers of fabric didn't fuse together.  It was very frustrating!  I tried to patch things up with pieces of Wonder Under as best I could.  Of course, in my distraction, I set the hot iron on the wrong side of the fusible web and gunked it all up!  Grrrrr!  It was late and I was tired (and done!) so I cleaned my iron up with some Dritz Hot Iron Cleaner, which works like a charm, and gave up for the night.

Applying the vinyl went much smoother than the fusible.  Once that was all done and I pressed up my pocket, I simply top-stitched around the edges.  I chose a pretty orange Marathon Threads polyester embroidery thread and a triple stitch (on the pocket) and used my stitch-in-the-ditch foot to keep things straighter.

The folder is pretty cute and I can use it to carry my magazines and patterns when I travel (I hate when they get all dog-eared!).  You can file this project under cute and functional!  What a fun way to make use of a couple of your favourite fat quarters and take your fabric with you!

CRAFTSY SALE!

FYI, there is a big FLASH SALE at Craftsy for today and tomorrow!  Some classes are up to 50% off!  I love the new 3 Blocks 30 Quilts (w/ Kate Colleran) class - it's very meaty and I can't wait to make one of the quilts.  

Creative Quilting With Your Walking Foot is another great one I recently joined and I've already used Jacquie Gering's tips and designs in my quilt!

I just mentioned to someone that Craftsy is now a verb in my house, as in "mom is busy Craftsy-ing"!  It is crazy how much of my life I spend watching, learning, and creating because of this amazing on-line educator!!!  Have fun!

Amazing Day & a New Prized Item

I had such a fun day yesterday!  A few weeks ago we had to take our daughter to tour a university and I had to sacrifice my scheduled outing to a large craft convention.  I was very disappointed to miss the festival but family first, of course.  When we got home I received an email from the organizers with a list of the vendors...and realized I had my dates wrong on the calendar and could attend after all!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my morning, visiting several of my favourite on-line sources for supplies and meeting my contacts in person - putting a face to the name and voice is so nice!  I picked up my pre-ordered Aurifil thread so I can quilt my Spools quilt and impulsively treated myself to a beautiful neutral set.  I adore Aurifil and one can never have enough selection!

Since I wasn't rushed I was able to spend time trying the longarm machines and sit-down mid-arms at all the various booths.  I tried the Tiara II from Babylock (very, very nice), a 16" arm on a sit-down table; the Sweet 16 (a very similar, if not identical set-up) from Handi Quilter, as well as the Avante - an 18" stand up machine & frame.  This would have been my first choice had I had $10k in my pocket.  However, and this is why actually TRYING machines is so important, another on-line contact of mine just became a Gammill dealer for Canada.  My heart has always wanted a Gammill but because there would be no easy service point and purchase in U.S. dollars was so much more, I gave up on my dream of a Vision 18".  I tried the machine in his booth and 'she' and I bonded instantly!  What a beautiful machine!  It  was like butter quilting on it and it is a perfect fit for me.  I will definitely have this one day and can imagine quilting such beautiful quilts.  It is so fool-proof with channel locks, stitch regulation, and the smoothest ride ever, that I would have no qualms being a quilter-for-hire with this set-up.

I also scored some awesome quilting books which I will share later, a ruler I've been after, and then I made the most amazing find ever.  I've buried the lead in this post!  A couple years ago, I took Libby Lehman's circle class and became a fan of hers.  Of course, I wanted her book too but it was out of print and rare copies were very expensive.  Well, I was visiting a booth at the show and they had several boxes of old magazines, used pattern books, etc. and I started mindlessly flipping through the contents.  Nothing much of interest to me when lo and behold, there was a single copy of Threadplay with Libby Lehman!!!!!  I grabbed it, so excited to finally find the book I'd wanted for so long.  Discovering this copy is even more meaningful to me now that Libby is recovering from her massive stroke last Spring.  As I went to pay for my book, I opened it up to discover the icing on the cake: Libby herself, SIGNED the first page.  I just feel the many paths leading up to me attending the festival were meant to be and the luck I had in being the person to end up with this edition of Threadplay is a sign I was supposed to be there!  I had the most wonderful day that ended up like Christmas!

Libby is still struggling and fighting her condition.  She unfortunately had to be moved to a nursing facility after spending some time at home.  You can visit her page at the Caring Bridge website to follow her progress.  My thoughts are often with Libby and her family and I'm so sad that there will be no new gorgeous works of art from her at this time.  I will review more of Threadplay in another post.  The pages are filled with the most stunning art quilts full of colour and movement.  Libby's words are funny and real - I can hear her voice as I read the instructions.  I am SO thrilled to own this treasured book that will forever be a prized item in my workshop.

OttLite Craft Lamp

I'm really lucky to have such a great craft room but one problem is the terrible lighting.  I have no trouble in the daytime because I have lots of windows and a higher ceiling so there's plenty of natural light.  However, in the evenings the two overhead fixtures are not bright enough and cast horrible shadows.

I couldn't afford to have extra ceiling lights put in because it is a finished room and gaining access to the wiring would have skyrocketed the cost.  I did add some under-cabinet fixtures over my countertop workspace but at that time I had no idea I would soon get into sewing and quilting so heavily, necessitating better overhead lighting.

When I had to pick out all those monopoly stitches on the chicken wall hanging I decided I really need to fix the situation.  I ended up buying this OttLite floor model.  I have a smaller organizer desk lamp and I really like it...but of course, it only is for a small area.  I bought this High Definition Easy View Craft Lamp from Michaels and even using a 50% off coupon it was more than $150!

The reviews were somewhat mixed about this particular model.  A few people had problems with the lamp actually breaking in two.  Others had issues with it tipping over.  However, there were some people who loved it and gave it a good rating.  I knew I could return it if I didn't like it and with no other options available in my area, I thought I would see for myself.  I asked the lady in the store about it and she said she has had one for over 8 years and loves it.  She said it lights an entire area.

Once I opened the box I wondered what people were doing to allow this lamp to tip over.  The base weighs about 50 pounds and it feels very stable to me.  The directions say to keep the pivoting head in line with the base (common sense) and I'm not sure why you would be flinging the light around.  I'm sure the misuse might contribute to the neck breaking as well because it is made of metal and seemed very secure.  I have it set up over my sewing machine and I don't plan on moving it.

The light is great!  I used it at night and it was as bright as daytime with no shadows.  I love being able to bend the light exactly where I want it, like directly under/around my presser foot or over the table.  An added bonus is the 3x magnifier which is awesome!  It's one of those things you don't think you really need until you actually use it.  It will be terrific for picking out stitches and there is a little circle of even greater magnification which will be amazing for threading needles!  I used to be so proud of my perfect vision but it's been going downhill since I hit my 40s! lol!

So far, two thumbs up for this lamp.  It has been very helpful and illuminating and I'm sure I will love it when I use my frame and machine for stand-up quilting.  I wish it hadn't been so expensive but I know the bulbs will last, are energy efficient and won't heat up my room.  I also love the quality of light from an Ott bulb.  (The pictures aren't great but you can see how I have it set up).

Merry Christmas!

Look at this adorable ornament I got from my Gramma...my GrammaBabs, that is!  Barb (a.k.a. GrammaBabs) is a wonderful friend from my quilting forum and she was so kind to include me in her deliveries of yearly hand-made Christmas ornaments.

I was so surprised to receive the completely unexpected, special gift and how wonderful to find something so thoughtful in the mailbox!  Barb and I have very similar set-ups and interests when it comes to the sewing room so I totally admire and appreciate her crafty creation.  I could see she used her embroidery machine and her sewing machine and quilty skills to make the little tree hanging!  I love that it has the year stitched on it and it's the perfect addition to my tree.

Not only will I enjoy the ornament for the years to come (and think of Barb each time I add it to the branches) but the photograph I took will be PERFECT as a title photo in my Christmas scrapbook this year!

Merry Christmas to all my lovely readers who celebrate this holiday and thank you for checking in with me here at Over the Kitchen Counter.  I really appreciate you!  And a special 'thank you' to my GrammaBabs who, although she is not much older than I, makes me feel like I have someone special who cares about me! <3