Allie's Craft Room

First Client Quilt!

2012-02-05T22:54:00.000-08:00

I was excited, and also a lot a bit nervous to quilt my first client quilt. It's ok if I mess up on my own fabric, but for a customer, it has to be perfect, right? Luckily in my disclaimer at my quilt guild meeting I mentioned that I am a beginner, and that these would be my practice quilts.

So, this quilt did not come out perfectly (practice makes perfect), but it was definitely a step in the right direction. I got to practice my SITD (stitch in the ditch), freehand, as well as using my groovy board templates, so future quilts should come out better! I also learned the importance of quality thread, as the majority of my troubles came from tension problems: thread breaking, seeing top thread on back, bottom thread on top, etc. Luckily I used better thread for my second client quilt, but you're just going to have to wait to see that one!

Closeup of the teddy bear. I used a basic meander/stipple over the bear's body.

Corner detail: crosshatching over yellow background, Groovyboard heart in corner, loopy pink border, freehand loops with stars and hearts over outside border.

Back of the quilt: basic meander over teddy bear body.

Having some fun

2012-02-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

Again, it has been a while since my last post (just over a month), but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I somehow managed to get my longarm machine and table to my house from my parent's house and I have really enjoyed playing around on it.

Due to size constraints, both of car and house, I have only been able to set up the 8 foot section of the table up, so I can only do quilts that are less than 86" wide, but that should be enough to get me started!

I had tension problems at first as you can see above the bar.

At my last guild meeting I announced my intention of starting a longarm quilting business and offered to machine quilt up to 10 baby size quilts free of charge to get some practice. I've done 2 so far, and my skills really seem to be improving every time I quilt.
Of course I took pictures of the 2 quilts I have completed, but I will save that for a later post.
In the meantime you can check them out, and much more on my facebook business page:
Quilt ME

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012! Have I got some big plans for you!

So, it's been a while since I've posted last, and I have a reason, I promise!

I have been researching, planning, and scheming a small business I plan on opening, and I made the first purchase today.

This is the HQ Sixteen longarm quilting machine! It doesn't look to special now, but once I get it all set up on its table with its frame and a quilt loaded in I think it will be a sight to see.

Of course I will need to practice A LOT, but once I feel like I can make something beautiful, I will open up shop as a longarm quilter and start taking quilts :)

Finished Quilt!

2011-12-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

My log cabin quilt is finally finished! After what seemed like days of quilting, I finally trimmed and bound it and am very happy with the result.


scrappy binding

finishing the binding

Next on the sewing agenda are Christmas presents for family members :)

Are any of you giving handmade gifts for the holidays this year?

Quilting Class Mega Update

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to post a class update for a while because I've been having a hard time uploading pictures, so here's an update of my latest blocks, as well as a sneak peak of the nearly completed quilt top.

Rolling Stone

School Girl's Puzzle

I can't

remember the names

of these


Sashing in.

All that's left is the borders, backing, batting, quilting, binding.... well I'm getting there, right?

My Quilting Buddy

2011-11-18T12:12:00.001-08:00

This post is dedicated to my quilting companion. She's furry, she weighs about 11 pounds, and you might know her by the name Zoe.

She's always there to keep me company

Or to cuddle with me on the couch

Or to help with my ironing

She sticks around even with all the silly things we put her through

Her special place is curled up on a pillow under my sewing table, out of the way but not out of mind.

I love my little pup.

Quilting Class Update

2011-11-18T11:59:00.001-08:00

This is the last week for learning new blocks, the remaining six I am on my own for. I really like that the instructor has taught us new techniques for piecing each week. This week we learned paper piecing and crazy patchwork.

Although I enjoyed the precision and crispness of the paper pieced blocks, but it was definitely time consuming! Sometimes being a perfectionist has its price. But the block came out beautifully.

The crazy quilting was interesting and kind of fun, but I don't know if I will do much of it. I tend to like symmetry and order too much. A crazy quilt block is typically pieced on a piece of muslin or newspaper to give support to the fabric since it's most often off grain due to its scrappy nature. Well.... I sort of forgot that part when I started piecing. I just ended up sewing pieces of fabric together then trimmed it to a 12 1/2" square.

I hope to embroider something in the yellow center piece.
Finishing my blocks and putting together the quilt top this week. I can't wait!

Marshmallow treats

2011-11-18T11:40:00.001-08:00

Rice Krispies Treats have been a favorite in my house for a while now. No, I don't have any kids, it's just M and I (and Zoe of course), but I think they bring out our inner child.

Pam saves lives... er hours of dishes.

Probably too much butter...

This time around we were out of Rice Krispies, so I used Cinnamon Toast Crunch instead. Talk about sugar overload!

Yummm

They were tasty, but very sweet so small portions for me.

Quilting Class Update

2011-11-18T11:31:00.001-08:00

I've had these blocks finished for a week now, but I guess as the saying goes, better late then never.
This weeks blocks were a circle applique:

and the choice between log cabin and courthouse steps block. Well, I have had my share of log cabin blocks for a while, so courthouse steps it was.

In the applique block we used a coffee filter to turn the edges under, I wish I would've taken pictures of the process, but as usual I forgot. I also haven't been able to get that wrinkle out of the green strip, any ideas on how I could do that? The steam from the iron just doesn't cut it.

Fabric Binge

2011-11-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

As part of my quilting class every student is given a one time 10% off all fabric purchased at Marden's. Today, I decided to take advantage of that.

yummy fabric goodness

All of this totaling over 16 yards for under $40!! For those of you who don't know, Marden's is a surplus and salvage store with locations in Maine that has an excellent fabric selection; so, 10% off already highly discounted prices made me a very happy camper.

I got mostly quilting cotton, but the bottom three are vinyl coated flannel I'm planning to use on a new project very soon. I will share the details of that later, but for now off to wash all of my brand new fabric :)

Quilting Class Update

2011-11-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ohio Star

Carrie Nation

I'm loving these bright colors, and my piecing is getting much better. I can't wait to put all the blocks together; I have a special plan for this quilt.

We also learned how to make a Cathedral Window by machine, I'm hoping to try that out soon, but in the meantime I'm working on my blue log cabin quilt. Making enough blocks for a queen size quilt is certainly taking some time!

Halloween goodies

2011-11-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

So I know Halloween was a few days ago, but I still wanted to share what I did. Of course I waited until last minute to carve my pumpkin; it may not have happened at all except the M and I wanted the seeds really badly!

Pumpkin seeds, pumpkin, yummy applesauce I made earlier in the day

I found the most effective was for cleaning the seeds was to put them in a strainer and powerwash them with the sink sprayer. I admit it was kind of fun too.

After the seeds were clean, I patted them dry with a paper towel. To toast them I tossed them in a little olive oil, spread them out on a baking sheet, sprinkled them with salt and let the oven do the rest. After about 15 (very long) minutes, I pulled them out, and voila! Yummy, crunchy, salty, toasty pumpkin seeds.

Then came the carving. M did his freehand, while I opted for a pattern. They both came out great! Of course M and Zoe had to be in one of the pictures...

But I got him to turn out the lights for this one so you could get the full effect.

The view from the road on Halloween, M's pumpkin on the left, and mine on the right.

Here's an up close picture of M's pumpkin. Pretty scary, right!?

And here's the up close of mine, I like the way it came out. A little less scary, maybe a bit more eerie.

I hope everybody had a fun and safe Halloween!

I just started taking...

2011-11-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

A quilting class! :)

I used this as incentive to prewash all the fabric I've acquired through the years (I've never prewashed my fabric before, shhh don't tell the quilting police).

I made sure to use a couple color catchers since I was unsure about the origin of much of my fabric. Looks like it was a good idea too. v v v

I figured I might as well iron and sort it all as well so it would be easy to find and ready to use in the future. It took a loooooong time.

I think one of my major problems was all the frayed threads getting tangled up, especially in my fat quarters. Do any of you have that problem when you prewash?


Sorry about the dirty ironing board, I really need a new cover

The next day I managed to get my first block for the class finished, I'm very happy with how it came out :)

I can't wait to show you all my other blocks, I'm really enjoying the class and it's a great way to get to know new people in the community (even though I'm the youngest in the class by at least 15 years).

Busy few weeks

2011-10-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

So the last few weeks have been busy busy busy. I've still been sewing, but the blogging has taken a back seat.

A week and a half weeks ago was my college's homecoming. Since M and I are both Alumni of the same school, and we are both members of Greek organizations we decided to take the long 3 hour drive to campus. It would have been 3 1/2 hours, but the speed limit of our interstate was recently raised from 65 to 75 mph, yay!

Photo taken from the passenger seat

This past weekend a close friend of mine E and her adorable 15 month old daughter G made the 4 1/2 hour trek to come visit me. I know that long of a drive isn't easy with a toddler in tow, so I felt really special and had a very very fun weekend.

Little G wearing M's beloved Charlotte Hornet's hat

Since E is from my hometown, my mother sent up a few Halloween decorations for the house....

and a costume for Zoe the dog

What a little angel

I live in a rural area on the US/Canadian border, so there are lots of pretty places to explore. We walked some nice trails and enjoyed the crisp fall air

The mountains in the background are on Canadian soil

I was sad to see them go, but glad to get back to my blogging. Before they left I just had to snap a picture of Zoe wearing G's coat. The things we put the puppy through... she's a good dog though, incredibly patient and well mannered.

This blog is supposed to be about my craft room though, right? If you look above Zoe in the last picture you can see a pink and orange Modular Star. I made this for little G using a tutorial from Kid Giddy. I love her blog! It is filled with the most precious projects. That is the only picture I managed to get of it if only by accident. I really need to get better about recording my crafts; I usually just have the "get it done" mindset and forget to take pictures later.

Multitasking

2011-10-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Is apparently not my strong suit...

To be almost finished the block and then burn it? Ugh.

I guess that's what I get for trying to work my computer and iron at the same time.

Trying something new...

2011-10-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what it is?

Hmmm, it sort of looks like a chicken wing...

And a dress form...?

Oh wait.... here we go.

I bought the book "Introduction to Making Cloth Dolls" by Jan Horrox and it is one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen. The detailed directions and pictures helped me every step of the way and I am pretty proud of my first cloth doll. I did make a couple of changes to the design in the book, Jan creates dolls that are built with their "clothes" as part of the doll. I wanted to be able to dress the doll up and practice clothing construction, so I made just a "plain" doll. Since the book does not include patterns for clothing, looks like I will be attempting to draft my own patterns which I'm sure will be quite a trial and error process but I'm excted.

Do any of you have experience with sewing dolls or doll clothes?

Quilt!

2011-09-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

Back in the early years of my first sewing machine I started my first quilt. After setting the beginnings of it aside for a few years I decided to come back to it and finish what I started, and after as much fixing and tweaking as I could possibly do I ended up with this:

Despite its many flaws and cheap fabric, it is my first quilt, and I am proud of it.
Upon graduating college and starting out on my own I decided I should make a new quilt to not only show my improvements as a sewist, but to mark a new stage in my life. I guess some people make scrapbooks to document their lives, but it looks like I will make quilts.
I decided to try my hand at a log cabin style and started out by cutting strips.

Which I slowly pieced together to form squares:

Which I arranged in a way that pleased me.

I'm very very excited to finish this quilt, I think it's gonna be a beauty. Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to quilt it. Any suggestions?

And I apologize for my dirty ironing board... I haven't gotten a place for picture taking set up yet and right now it's my only clear surface!

Sewing background

2011-09-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

As far as getting started with sewing goes, I got pretty lucky. I grew up with the luxury of a stay at home mom, who also happened to be a former home economics teacher. As a child she would make my brothers and I Halloween costumes, frilly dresses (for me, not the brothers) that I loved, as well as the household curtains and furniture upholstery. As I got older I started taking more and more interest and learned how to use her sewing machine (under her watchful eye). Finally in eighth grade I decided I would like to have my own sewing machine, and for Christmas this lovely item was found under the tree much to my delight.

And boy did I run that thing ragged. After 8 years or so, and a few accidental spills down the stairs I decided that it was time to retire old faithful, and find a new machine to get to know. So after a few days of research and deliberation I decided to go with a Janome 8077.

This new machine is what inspired me to begin creating again and to start this blog. I can't wait to see what new and exciting projects take shape in the coming months and years.

First project!

2011-09-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

My first project came more out of necessity than anything else. The man and I have been living in our new place for about a month now and we have been using towels/clothing/anything that won't melt or burn to take things out of the oven. So, I decided that the next thing on my agenda would be a potholder.
Inspired by the log cabin quilt I just started (more on that later), I thought that a quilted potholder would be best, and a few hours later I emerged from the craft cave with this:

Since I didn't have any batting on hand, I used a couple of old (clean) washcloths to insulate, quilted with some straight lines and voila! The binding was a little tricky, but with some quick thinking and this tutorial from Oh, Fransson! project potholder was a success, and there will be no more hand burning pulling things out of the hot oven.

Here it goes...

2011-09-26T18:16:00.001-07:00

I guess the best way to start here would be an introduction. First, to state the obvious: my name is Allie and I plan on blogging about the goings on in my craft room. Well I don't actually have an entire craft room, I share it with my Mr. Man as an "office" but I still have plenty of room to get my craft on and that is exactly what I do.

Anyway. As I said before my name is Allie, I'm a 22 year old recent college grad with suddenly more time on my hands to do what I love, so I thought I would share with whoever stumbles across this little piece of cyberspace. I'm living and working in a little town in northern Maine and am pretty much loving life right now. So, with my iron hot, and my (brand new, yay!) sewing machine fired up I am ready to brave the blogging world one project at a time.