Stories from the Sewing Room

I finished sewing down the binding on the Buttercups mini quilt the other night. This one was made from a kit from Fig Tree & Company. I quilted it with the Knit 1, Purl 2 design.

Over the weekend, I was looking at all the work I should be doing and decided to just do something totally different. I pulled out some fabric I'd set aside to make napkins and went at it. I had enough fabric to cut them at 18" square. I used my Dritz EZY-Hem tool to press 1/2" to the wrong side all the way around.

I then folded each of those hems under 1/4" to end up with a 1/4" double hem all the way around. 

I hadn't made napkins in a while, so my method changed a bit once I started sewing. I was originally thinking I'd just stitch all the way around, similar to machine binding a quilt. Then I realized I'd end up with a part that wasn't stitched down, so instead, I stitched close to the edge on two sides of the napkin that were opposite each other.

My family has always used cloth napkins. Many of the ones my mom has were made by my great Aunt Sitty. She was way better with a sewing machine and needle than I am and did teeny-tiny 1/8" hems on the napkins, or sometimes she bound them with contrasting skinny bias. She also made matching tablecloths or placements, but I don't typically use either of those. I used to try to do the 1/8" hems on the napkins, but decided the 1/4" hem held up better in the wash. I always use novelty fabrics for our napkins. Besides seasonal ones, we also have candy (tried the rolled edge hem stitch on the serger years ago--don't like), robots, chickens, crabs, and donuts in the regular rotation.

I have also completed five more blocks for the Log Cabin Stars quilt, which leaves 12 more to sew. I didn't take a picture because most of the blocks on the design wall are behind the longarm now.

I've been trying to keep on top of the holiday rush with the quilts, and have been working extra as a result. My thinking here was that if I can fit multiples per day or work a little on the weekends, I'd have more time for vacation in December, but somehow I keep saying yes to more quilts. 😐 Must. say. no.

I quilted Jeri's Campfire Glow quilt with the Intrigue pattern she selected. The quilting was pretty dense and took me two days to complete. I also fully bound this one.

Moody basement daylight-only lighting.

I used almost an entire mini spool (1000 m) of thread on it. Here is a new spool compared to what was remaining from the one I used on her quilt. I was sweating whether I'd have enough to finish the quilt. My IQ estimates how much I'll need, but I never know if it's going to be correct or not. Things happen. The replacement spool arrived the day after I finished quilting.

Next I quilted Margaret's baby quilt with a Cakewalk variation design.

Then I quilted Sara's quilt with some of her favorites--Soho design and gray thread. She made this from her scraps! My on-the-frame photo didn't really show the quilting, so I am sharing the full quilt here. I don't usually do that because I want the owners to see the full thing before I share it publicly, but I'm making an exception this time. (The full quilt reveal is always shared on my Facebook and Instagram pages, usually about a month after I share it here.)

Next was Toni's t-shirt quilt. She requested the Just Basketballs design.

Then one of Barb's set of two matching quilts. She picked Gulf Stream for both and light gray thread. I'll stitch the second one today.

I had quilt guild last night and have my smaller guild meeting Friday night. I'm getting a much-needed haircut tomorrow and driving around picking up quilts Friday too. I'll probably work a bit more this weekend to stay on track. I need to finish cleaning up the flower gardens, but that is not something I want to tackle on my own. 

My husband has been helping our neighbors build and pour concrete for new porch steps and a section of their sidewalk. They hired someone who never came back to finish the job. Their front door area had been inoperable for almost two months before they fired him. I think they're planning on working on it again this weekend.

We're also still busy with robotics and I've had to drive my daughter to and from campus multiple days over the past week. Because she's a commuter, she's relegated to parking far away at the stadium and she cannot park in her assigned lot any time there is a sporting event. 🙄 I think there's only one more day this semester where she'll need a ride. 

The only other thing of note is that my husband and daughter moved the chicken coop (it's a tractor-style) closer to the house for the winter so that we can plug in the heater and such if needed. The chickens decided to make all sorts of noise the first night and the coop is right next to our bedroom and bathroom windows. 😑

I'll see you next week. 

Linking with For the Love of Geese, Alycia Quilts, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.