The next big thing.

I got the call... my machine is ready. What an amazing turn around time! Special thanks to Sew n' Save in Brookfield, WI. I will go pick it up tomorrow.

I have been toting the gift card my husband gave me for Mother's Day last year around and finally decided to use it. I signed up for a Bargello class at my LQS (Patched Works). It starts on my birthday. That is one amazing gift. I never thought I would find the opportunity to take a quilting class as a amazing gift but when you never get any time to do what you want to, it is AMAZING when you do. The project is the Cosmic Twist quilt found in Twist-and-Turn Bargello Quilts by Eileen Wright.

I went in to Patched Works today to get some fabrics for the class. The instructions say to bring your stash but I don't actually have one so I have to purchase everything. I found 7 of the 20 fabrics that I will need. The fabric for this class is going to cost me a small fortune but I have never made a quilt just for myself, so I am feeling slightly vindicated.

I searched the Internet for color combinations used in bargello's that I like. I really love the purple/teal combinations I have seen so that is where I started.

The Machine

I dropped off my sewing machine yesterday to find out what the deal is. The problem would not consistantly reproduce itself. The metal piece that the thread keeps getting tied around is the bottom thread cutter. I left it to be cleaned and adjusted and hopefully that will solve the problem. Now I am just waiting....not on pins and needles because they're in the shop with my machine. Just waiting.

The Little Rocketeer

Since my sewing machine is inoperable and I found myself still motivated... I decided to start planning the quilt I intend to make for Dyson. I picked out the pattern and purchased the fabric for this quilt months ago. Because I am always SO organized (HA,HA!) I still needed to sit down to figure out what fabric goes where. Of course, I did this initially but never wrote it down anywhere and needed to figure it all out again.

The pattern I chose for Dyson's quilt is "Little Rocketeer" from McCall's Quick Quilts, July 2009. It took me close to an hour to figure out which fabric's I intended to use where in the quilt since the color scheme was a little different.



According to my receipt, I purchased three cuts of the galaxy print fabric for a total of 4.75 yards (1.75 yds, 1.00 yds and 2 yds). When I initially looked at the receipt, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out why I purchased only 4.75 yds when I was going to need a total of 6 yards (1 yd for the blocks and 5 yards for the backing). Well after pulling out the tape measure, I discovered that I clearly have more than the needed 6 yards. Joann's messed up and in my favor for the first time ever!!!

I built the color scheme off of the galaxy print using solids, batiks and tone-on-tone prints to highlight the main print. I decided to change the border to a starry sky. Within that border, I plan to applique two space ships at opposite ends of the quilt and use machine quilting in the border to make them fly.



Galaxy Print (Main Block and Backing)



Dark Blue Batik (Four Patch Block)



Medium Red Batik (Four Patch Block)



Orange Tone-On-Tone Print (Inner Border)



Medium Blue Print (Outer Border)

The Little Gem Derailed

I had so much motivation today to work on The Little Gem quilt. Got my sewing machine out, carried it and all the paraphernalia upstairs, set everything up and then guess what?! The sewing machine tried to eat a hole in the quilt!!! Once I finally got all the strains snipped without cutting a bigger hole in the quilt, I spent the next 30 minutes disassembling, testing and reassembling my sewing machine. Nothing helped, there is something seriously wrong that is causing my top thread to get tied around the bobbin spinney thing.

Very deflated, I packed that puppy back downstairs and looked up the nearest Brother Authorized Service Center. There is one just 9 miles away (Sew 'n Save, Brookfield, WI) and they have a service person there Monday-Friday AND offer free diagnostics. I will take it in Monday to see what needs to be done. What peeves me the most about this situation is I still have another 2 years of service warranty on the machine at Quality Sewing & Vacuum in Seattle that would make this whole "fix" free. But the warranty is not a Brother warranty and therefore not transferable to other non-Sewing and Vach stores :(

The good news is while taking everything apart, I found a portion of a needle I don't recall breaking, which ironically was not the problem.

UFO Log

I decided that making a log of my UFOs would motivate me... so here it is. Unfortuantly, looking at all the work I have ahead of me is more depressing than motivating :(


Ispy Fabric Swap


Panel Baby Quilt


Hand Quilting Project


Endless Stars


My 1st Class Wallhanging


Log Cabin Star-King Sized

Donation Quilt

Dan's Airplane Quilt

A's Quilt

Scrappy Happy

Country Americana

Christmas Lone Star

Galaxy Quest BOM

Missing UFOs:

Black, White and Bright Block Swap

Red, White and Blue Block Swap

Dyson's Rocket Quilt

UFO #1: "The Little Gem"

I am back to working on "The Little Gem." You may remember from a previous post (http://thequiltermomski.blogspot.com/2010/07/little-gem-project.html) that I was working on a baby quilt while working on the LSU Signature Quilt for my Uncle Hilton. It has thus far been a headache but nonetheless I have decided that it's time to finish it. There is a toddler out there who hasn't received his baby blanket.

At some point, I rearranged the basting safety pins so I could at least start machine quilting the center of the quilt. I plan on quilting around the whale, turtle and sea horse then filling in each rectangle-shaped section with wavy, horizontal or vertical stitching. The idea being that the more stitching there is, the less likely that it will come apart from "lots of love." I have completed the outline of the whale, seahorse, whale's bubbles and more than 3/4 of the top blue section with wavy stitching.

The quilting I planned seemed easy enough in theory but I have found a problem with the plan. When stitching the wavy lines in the blue section, the chenille-like fabric is getting trapped under the stitches and creating inconsistent patterns in the quilt top. I have chosen to sew between the chenille-like strips to make these patterns less noticeable but it is causing me to go painfully slow. I have resorted to wetting each strip and splaying apart the fabric fibers as I stitch between them so that they don't get trapped into the stitching. Like I said, it's painfully slow!

I have found that I work more quickly when I try to meet a timeline. With that in mind, here is an intended timeline to finish this GEM of a UFO:

Week 1: 1) Complete wavy stitching in top blue section and 2) stitch outline of top blue section.

Week 2: Stitch 1) outline of turtle's bubbles, 2) cross-hatch pattern in center yellow section, and 3) outline of center yellow section.

Week 3: Stitch 1) outline of turtle, 2) wavy lines in bottom blue section, and 3) outline bottom blue section.

Week 4: Stitch 1) outline of sea horse's bubbles, 2) cross-hatch pattern in top green section, and 3) outline top green section.

Week 5: Stitch 1) cross-hatch pattern in bottom green section and 2) outline bottom green section.

Week 6: Echo stitch border except for the top due to applique name on back.

Week 7: Attach binding and blind stitch to the back. Week 8: Wash, press and send.

Where do I go from here?

This whole project has taught me many things both about quilting and loved ones. I am not quiet ready to talk about lost "loved ones" but here's what I have learned about quilting.

1. Time lines are just a guide, not an absolute because things can always go wrong.

2. Leave ample room around your borders when sewing on your binding (see borders drama).

3. Don't shed tears on the fabric while pressing.

4. Don't let a specific step in the process consume your time.

5. When working on a project for a ill friend or family member, work quickly!

Since completing this project, I haven't really quilted... the motivation just hasn't been there. I have been wondering, "where do I go from here?" After much consideration, I gaze over at my quilting stash and think... UFO's. I have at least three quilt projects that I started with specific persons in mind. I guess that's it. So here goes.

A Beautiful Life

I am sorry to say that this beautiful quilt was for my Uncle Hilton Alexander who was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in mid-2010. It was a rare form and by the time it was discovered, there were few treatment options. When I learned of his illness, I wanted to make him something that would tell him how much he means to me. I worked on this quilt from June until September... and it went in the mail October 6, 2010 in preparation for his first treatment on October 22nd. I must say, I have NEVER completed a quilt in such a short amount of time. Unfortunately, the quilt arrived a little too late.

Uncle Hilton experienced a stroke while the quilt waited to be picked up from the post office. He died just over a week later on October 23, 2010. I am told that he regained consciousness and saw the quilt but due to his condition, he never was able to comment on it. I hope that the quilt brought him some comfort in those last few hours and my aunt as she now tries to move forward.

Dyson Lykowski, Meryl and Hilton Alexander (May 2010)