Found- some quilting mojo. Result - a plethora of projects this week.
When I woke up on Saturday I decided I needed to do some serious swearing sewing. Things have been a little quiet on that front at Maison Pyjamas lately. Whenever I quilt I swear. It's like cheese and crackers , or toast and vegemite- I can't do one without the other. I want you to know every single thing I make is a hard fought battle. A triumph over potential tragedy. I want you to be amazed I survived. When I sew it's like a Die Hard movie.The quilts are the bad guys and I'm the hero trying to save the quilting universe from quilts that refuse to bend to my will.
The BWR quilt will now officially be known as the Flying Dutchman quilt, thanks to Marti who came up with the name. I'm not calling it "That ****** piece of ****" which is what it got called several times while I was putting it together. It simply refused to come out square unless I sacrificed about 6 inches of it to square it up. If my nephew doesnt love this quilt and dance a jig when I give it to him -Im going to smother him with it. And I swear this quilt has picked up every bit of crap and lint and thread in the known universe while I've been making it. The damn thing weighs about 37 linty kilograms.
I am seriously considering using invisible thread to quilt parts of this. Any experiences you'd care to share ? Anyone care to talk me out of it?
Along with the finish of the Flying Dutchman I also finished the main part of the Flurry Quilt top and started and finished another quilt top with fabrics gifted to me by Larri over at Seams Inspired. I'm feeling pretty darn good about my efforts.
And on Monday I pushed the envelope and threw together this Christmas stocking for Little P . Thea and I talked about Christmas stockings a while back and decided we'd give them a crack. Easy Peasy!
Aside from the fact I forgot to put my hanging loop on and I put a seam smack in the middle of the cuff. I'm not sweating the small stuff this week. Im calling this a prototype. Little P wont notice the seam and I can hand sew a loop on.
Pop on over to Kate's for a look at other people who have a 15 minute attention span.
Love the BWR ... xmas, no don't say xmas yet ...
ReplyDeleteYou definitely used more than 15 minutes to create all that! LOVE the Flying Dutchman. The stockings are darling. I'm waiting to see what kind of scraps I have left from the Flurry back before I start some coordinating stockings for the family.
ReplyDeleteGreat finishes for the week! Happy Wednesday! ☺
OMG- how many hours did you spend on that sewing machine last week...you got so much accomplished. Amazing. I love those stockings. Did you have a pattern or draw out the shape by hand? No idea on invisible thread...but how about rying hand quilting :-) no, just kidding- I know you aren´t insane!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week...cannot wait for new results and updates!
I'm glad I am not the only one with a mouth like a sailor. But my excuse is I was a sailor. And a bartender before that. Can't help it. The words are usually out before I can stop them. Try to make sure the girls don't hear!
ReplyDeleteLove your stockings! I didn't see anything wrong with them at all so why were you pointing out faults? The fabrics are gorgeous too.
Have no idea how to quilt a black quilt laden down with lint. Will just sit back a watch/listen to you and learn through your experience. Good luck.
THe Flying Dutchman looks fabulous and worth all the swearing and cursing.
ReplyDeleteI think you are insane if you use invisible thread. I wouldn't go there if I was you.
Love Little P's stocking and I agree with Susan don't point out the fault on the stocking because I couldn't see it. I know that's, hmm a bit hmmm, coming from me the queen of pointing out my mistakes.
You've certainly got your mojo back, great to see!!!!!!
I haven't used invisible thread for years, I wouldn't go there will probably increase the swearing. Go for a fine Aurifil thread will sink in and look fabulous. Invisible thread was ok when we didn't have all the threads we can get our hands on now.
ReplyDeleteI am with Amanda I dont think Invisible thread will be your friend, and if it like war n peace, I would use black thread and back it with a busy black backing.It will hide a multitude if sins. Take it from me I have quilted about 8 in the last year.
ReplyDeleteGoodluck
Your quilt is GORGEOUS! And, I love the stocking, I made stockings last year and the pattern looks similiar - simple and roomy - I love them and yours too! (Yippee Kai-Aay, Mother...)
ReplyDeleteMany 15-minutes must have gone into your quilty finishes, but they sure are fabulous. I just love the Flying Dutchman quilt. Square up? What is that? Oh, I know I should but I never do. There, I just outed myself on that subject. I square up my blocks but not the whole thing. Suppose I should start doing it proper one of these days. Then again, who needs that kind of frustration.
ReplyDeleteToo funny....I read through your *****'s like words were there without skipping a beat. Quilting is not intuitive for me but I sure do love every second of it. Not always the final project but the process is fantastic (and there is improvement on the final results)!
ReplyDeleteWhat a week! You must be tired! The Flying Dutchman looks great! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteYou did an amazing amount of sewing this week. I AM amazed and impressed that you survived ... that the bad quilts finally bent to your will. The Flying Dutchman quilt is gorgeous (how'd she come up with that name?). I think it's the black that draws the lint. I don't know what invisible thread is so I can't provide any advice.
ReplyDeleteI love your stocking, even without the loop. Who are you making the other stockings for?
Love The Flying Dutchman. That is a really pretty quilt. Also, the offer of Oreos still stands, with a premium of one extra pack for each week early of your goal that you finish it.
ReplyDeleteGood on you for getting so much done. I've been kind of limping along with my projects, but I'm really ready to tackle it again.
The stocking is perfect - sew the hanger on the side of the front with a big button and call it an embellishment. I have one made this way that was gifted too me and it is my favourite.
ReplyDeleteLove The Flying Dutchman - I think swearing is the same as 'holding your tongue right' it really is just part of the process.
Great to see the sewing mojo back at your house.
My black quilt is nasty with the lint too, I gave up lint rolling it every time I got it out because it was taking up too much too much masking tape, and cut back to only doing it when I needed to take a photo of it.
ReplyDeleteI shall have to work out which movie franchise is the best match to my quilting style.
I love the Flying Dutchman....and the name.
ReplyDeleteAnd really....I think squaring up is highly over rated .....once you are snuggled up in it who would know !!
My experience with invisible thread has not been good....but maybe you are up for the calling??
The Flying Dutchman looks fantastic and if it was at my house it would weigh even more because it would be covered in 2 ton of dog hair. I agree with Amanda's advice about the quilting.
ReplyDeleteAurifil make a black and white variegated cotton 40 thread which could look good on your quilt, I get mine from 'Always Quilting' in Melbourne, the service is always wonderful.....don't even think of touching invisible thread, it will only cause heartache and much tearing out of hair.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Mojo!! The Flying Dutchman looks fabulous...and I love your stockings, gorgeous fabrics...and yep, like Little P will notice or care where the cuff seam, after all when you are two years old it's what's on the inside that counts...presents!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have your groove and sense of humour back....well done!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking quilt and I vote no on using that thread. But, if you use it and like it, I have some I can send to you....the thread broke a lot and the tension was hard to adjust so the bottom thread always showed. As a result, it really wasn't invisible.
ReplyDeleteliz
He's gotta love the Flying Dutchman. Invisible thread gets old and brittle, so make sure what you buy is new and soft. Look for not shiny thread. It shows less. 100wt thread in the bobbin (no invisible bobbins unless you want to learn some new swear words). Loosen the top tension. That's all I can think of. It's fine as a hair and if the tension is too thight, it gets kinky. Lane
ReplyDeleteI just love how expressive you are! And I'm with p above... squaring up? What squaring up?! I think I squared up my first quilt then it went and shrunk in the wash and ended up too small. What a nerve! Havent done a damn one since.
ReplyDeleteNice to see your mojo is returning!
Xx
Good for quilty world that you are there to subdue and berate the naughty ones. The Flying Dutchman looks terrific and will surely be much loved. Love the stockings.
ReplyDeleteI have done a couple of quilts with invisible thread and have not had any problems. You may need to experiment with needle size and make tension adjustments before starting on your actual quilt, but I know you have scraps to practice on.
I'm so flattered! I love the way that quilt turned out, even if it refused to be square on its own. I sure hope your nephew is reading this blog so he knows the consequences. lol
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think. I think I made a prototype cake last night. I would take a picture for my blog but it went straight to the trash. I know how to make it better now though.
I think your stocking is great. I've never made one but it seems normal to to have the seam on the back. I need to get busy on Christmas projects too.
Those stockings are great, Little P is going to love it! You are so highly organised for Christmas with your stockings and Flurry quilt - put me to shame Shay!
ReplyDeletex
Hi its me! A day late as usual... Oh the quilty goodness that you've been up to... I'd love to see a YouTube video of you sewing and using colorful language, it could be beeped out. You tell it how it is and keep it real for us! I love the flying Dutchman!! And I have Christmas stocking envy now. I'm not even going to pretend that I'll make them, I have way too many projects but Im curious, you know just in case I change my mind, did you use a pattern?
ReplyDeleteAnd Don't even think about invisible thread, it's not really invisible, it looks plasticy and nasty.
ReplyDeleteWell look at you go! I swear, you and I seem to share only one ration of quilting energy - when you sew, I don't and when I sew, you don't. I'm glad at least one of us is sewing!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about the loop...nail it to the wall at least then no one will make off with your Chrissy loot! Bwr quilt is looking decidedly lovely. You have been very busy so you must have suffered a great deal for your art lately. LOL! Well done!
ReplyDeleteWow! Guess you kicked out the mojo stealing gnomes out of the house again. Love the Flying Dutchman quilt! If swearing will get those kind of results maybe I need to improve my vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteLittle P's stocking is so cute. Love that you did blue and not a traditional red.
Thanks for linking up this week.
(Maybe the swearing drove off the mojo stealing knomes? You should definitely keep it up.)