Tidbit Tuesday #12

This is a tip brought to you from experience. 

This is a REALLY great tip, especially when you are using your very last piece of that one fabric you love and you're not sure if you can get anymore. 

Ready? 

Measure TWICE, and then once more. Then recheck your pattern to make sure you have the right measurements. Once you've confirmed, check two more times, then you're ok to cut. 

I know that sounds like over kill, and if you are using fabric you have tons of, you won't have to worry as much but when you only have one little piece left and you only have one chance to get it right....I highly recommend the steps above. :)

I've been getting in a few more blocks for my quilt for Fresh Modern Bee!! 

This lovely block came in the mail to me from Janice of Sew Girly! Love the flying geese and that little stinker of a renegade goose..! ;) Thank you Janice!!

Next up is this amazing block from Shelley at Elsie's Girl. I just love that pinwheel in the center! Thank you Shelley, for such a wonderful block!

This photo with this block just makes me grin from ear to ear! I received this block (sadly I could not convince her to send the wee one with it..hee hee) from Tammy at Karamat Designs! Isn't it wonderful!!?? I love it! Thank you Tammy!!

There are 15 of us in our Fresh Modern Bee and my quilt will consist of 16 blocks that are 16" finished so I needed to make one as part of the group, and will need to make one more to get to 16. Here is my first block. I really liked how it turned out! Even more so because my daughter helped me choose the placement of the fabrics. :)

Ok, here is where my begging comes in. Please, oh, please send me your tips. I'm not sure I have many more up my sleeve...lol! Email me HERE with your tips.  Please! ;)

Much Love!!!

Adventures In Babysitting

This weekend we traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to help out my sister-in-law and her hubby with their kids while they went to a wedding and attended all the other functions that go along with a wedding. 

My niece is 2 1/2 and my nephew is 5 days away from being 1.  It's been a good while since I've had children at this age and just let me say, I'm even more appreciative of my own kids independence. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved spending time with the wee ones, but I had forgotten just how much work they were and how much they required 100% of your time. Granted, this was a bit more difficult to do when staying in a hotel and having to eat out for meals and with my niece getting sick (ew) but we managed and had fun too. They had to fly back home to Arizona today and even though I'm beat, I miss them already and would do it over in a heartbeat. 

What's even better, I get to see them again in 2 weeks. Yay! 

In other happy news....lookie lookie!!

Tracey from Quilting in the Pacific Northwest made a quilt using my Random Reflections pattern from Moda Bake Shop!! Woo Hoo!!! It's just beautiful Tracey!

And....

Diane from O'Quilts emailed me tonight letting me know she has also made a Random Reflections quilt and I just adore it! I LOVE that red binding and the vivid colors!! 

 

I am so excited and thrilled to see these quilts popping up!! It just warms my heart. :) Thank you so much for sharing your quilts with me.

Also, don't forget,  if you make a Random Reflections quilt or anything else seen here on my blog, please feel free to add it to the Freckled Whimsy Flickr pool. :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Much Love!!!

Tidbit Tuesday #11

Soooooo.....it's tidbit Tuesday!!

One of the questions new quilters ask, and sometimes experienced quilters is...Do you pre-wash your fabrics?

This is a really difficult question because I think it's a personal decision on what works best for you.

Personally, I do not wash my fabrics. I don't for two reasons. 

     1.  My favourite part of a quilt is how it scrunches up after you wash it for the first time. If you pre-wash your fabrics, this is not as prevalent. It's less smooshed up. 

      2.  I buy all my fabric from quilt shoppes, whether it be a brick and mortar or an on line shoppe, so I know it's a really good quality fabric. I've never had an issue with bleeding. That doesn't mean I won't, but I'm confident enough not to worry about it.

I guess you could say I am a fabric snob. I used to (a looooong time ago) buy fabric from JoAnn Fabrics or Hobby Lobby, but after bad experiences, I just can't bring myself to use it anymore. Unless it's Kona. They do sell that which makes me happy! :) 

I also do not wash OR soak my batting. My favourite is Warm and Natural, which I do get at JoAnn's. I prefer it as it is easy to quilt with and it doesn't leave much lint. 

I guess I kind of got away from my tip..lol! 

If you do happen to wash your fabric first, to help prevent the fabric from fraying horribly in the wash, take a pinking scissors or a rotary cutter with a pinking blade in it, and trim your edges, selvage to selvage. Works great! 

In addition, add a DRY towel to the dryer with your fabric when drying. This will help prevent all the twisting and scrunching which causes wrinkles. Yuk! 

*****

In other news...I'm starting to get my blocks in the mail for the Fresh Modern Bee that I am in!! Sooooo excited here!! I asked the ladies, and gent (Hi Charlie!) to make me a 16" finished block using only half square triangles (or the like) and lookie what I've gotten already!

This fabulous block is from AllieKatMom! Thanks Amy!!! Love this block sooo much!

Melissa sent this block to me! Isn't it fabulous!!?? I surely think so!!  Thanks Melissa!!!

This one came from BlueElephantStitches! Look at all those geese!!!! Love Love! Thanks Jolene!!!

Speaking of Jolene at Happy Modern Quilts, she posted a quilt on her blog yesterday. I want it. I want it like I want chocolate ice cream. That means really bad! LOL! Of course I can't have that one...but I DO want to make my own!! She made it when she was 19!! Holy Smokes Charlie Brown! Isn't it a beauty!? I've asked her if she had a pattern but if she doens't, I can be sure that I will make one of my own! :D Stay tuned....

I can't stop looking at it! :) 

Remember, if you have a tip, email it to me! I'm gonna need some help here soon....LOL! 

Much Love!!!

Charm Pack Quilt Along - Step One

Ohhhhh...It's time! Are you ready? Do you have your charm packs and your solid to match? 

Yes? Alright! Let's get started!

**Edited to add the link to download the PDF if you'd like: Click HERE. :)

We need 75 charms in a print, and 75 "charms" in a solid. 

1.  First you need to cut your solid fabric into 5" strips. You will need 10 strips for this first step. (If you are using charm packs in the solid, you can skip to step 3)

2.  Now sub-cut these strips into 5" squares. Once you are done cutting, you will have 80 squares. You only need 75 for this step, but put the extra 5 aside because you will use them in the next step.

3.  On the WRONG side of your solid fabric, you will need to draw a line from corner to corner. 

4.  Next, place a white square RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER with a print square and sew a 1/4" seam on either side of the line you drew on the white square. 

5.  Now cut along that line you drew. 

6.  Press to the dark side. Yield two Half Square Triangles. (HST)

7. We need to get these HST trimmed down to 4.5" square. Don't be afraid. I'm going to show you how :) It's easy! 

8.  You will need a ruler that is at least 5" square. If you have a larger one, that will work just fine. It doesn't have to be square either, just so that you have two sides that are at least 5". 

9.  Position your HST as shown below and line up the 45 degree angle line that is on your ruler, with the seam line on your HST. 

10. Looking at the photos as reference, you will need to make sure of a few things before you start cutting. We want to trim these HST to 4.5". To do this, you need to make sure that you have part of the fabric that extends a touch beyond the 4.5" marks on your ruler to the left side, and on the bottom, as well as over hang beyond the ruler on the right side and top. 

11. Once your HST is set up like the photo above, you can go ahead and trim the extra fabric on the right side, and at the top. 

12.  Two sides down, two more to go. Rotate your block 180 degrees. In other words, when you rotate your block, the corner that was originally at the top right, will now be at the bottom left. 

Line up the fabric on the left and the bottom with the 4.5" marks on your ruler. Trim the right and top again. 

13. You should now have a perfect 4.5" HST. :)

That's it!! Do this for each of your 75 pairs, which will yield 150 HST. 

The quilt I am making will end up approximately 72" squared and has 25 blocks. Each block for this quilt needs 6 HST, so if you are making your quilt larger or smaller than I am, you can make as many HST as you need. Just take your total number of blocks multiplied by 6 to find out how many HST you will need. :)

This sounds like a lot, but it goes quite quickly, especially if you chain piece when  you are sewing your two squares together. 

Even so, I will give you all two weeks to complete this step before I write out the next step. I will see you back here for this quilt along on August 1st. 

I also have a Flickr group. Feel free to add your photos of the fabric you are using and/or your finished HST. :) I'd love to see everyone's progress. You can find the group by clicking HERE. 

Always know, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments (please include your email so I can respond to you) or you can email me directly HERE. 

Don't forget...have fun with this!! :D 

Much Love!!!

I Will Not Say Goodbye

Every year, in the itty bitty town I live in, there is a "festival" that brings in musicians.  Sometimes they are local or just starting out but sometimes they bring in great well known bands!! Last year it I got to see Zac Brown Band who was a lot of fun. However, this year they brought in Danny Gokey! {Be still my heart!}

I've followed Danny since he audition on American Idol. I remember getting chills when he sang that first time for the judges and making the statement that I knew he would go far. His story choked me up and despite his hardship, he stood strong, he held his head high and he was true to who he is. Even now while he is in the spotlight he hasn't lost what is important. He's true and he's real and such an inspiration and I adore him for that. Someday, I will meet him and give him a big hug. :)

I Will Not Say Goodbye is one of my favourite songs and he performed it last night. It gives me the chills every time. I can relate in so many ways....



Much Love!!!

Tidbit Tuesday #10

You all thought I forgot about tidbit Tuesday, didn't you? ;) 

Nope. Just busy running around to my kids baseball/softball games that happen to be playing at the same time. I'm telling ya, I need a cloning device. Ha!

Ok, so today's tip is pretty simple but useful. 

How many of you, when you're at your sewing machine, find yourself chasing your machines pedal all over? You're sewing along with your knee nicely bent and comfy, and then the next thing you know, you're reclined in your chair just to reach it?

I found myself moving my pedal more than I cared to. I'm still trying to figure out why no one has figured out to make these so they don't slip. 

So....here's what you do. One of two things actually. 

1. Get yourself some of that rubbery shelf liner stuff.  Not the plastic-y kind that is slippery, but the kind that has that "stick" to it. You know you have the right stuff when you put it against the floor and it "sticks". Cut a piece of that that is just bigger than your pedal and there you go. No more chasing your sewing pedal all over. :)

2. Another thing I've heard is that you can use an old mouse pad. If you use this though, you will need to peel off the top of it so it is "sticky" on both sides, otherwise the pedal will just slip off of the mouse pad. I have not tried this, but I've heard it works.

There. Now we can all happily sew along instead of cursing yelling quietly at our machine's pedal. ;)

If you have tips to share, I'd love to hear about them! 

Much Love!!!

Proud Owner!

Two posts in one day...I know... I normally don't do that but this warrants a double post. :) 

I've been debating for a bit now, about getting my own domain name. 

Part of me chose not to because I didn't really know the in's and out's of doing it and I was afraid I'd screw something up. I've worked too hard to lose it all.

However, today I was cleaning up my blog, organizing it a bit better and such,  so I thought  "why not?".  

Sooooo.... I am now the proud owner of www.FreckledWhimsy.com! Yay!! 

Blogger should automatically redirect you, but please update readers and such, just in case, as the redirect will only last for so long. I would really miss you if you didn't come back! :D

Over and out for today....

Much love!!!