Full of Soup

The pattern I’m using for my pinwheel quilt calls for cutting triangles and then sewing them together to form the pinwheels, but I am going to use a tool called the Quick Cutter for a short cut. I was a little confused about how big I should cut the blocks so that I would come out with the right finished sizes when I used the tool

I found the instructions online and they said to add 7/8″ to the final block size I want.

I was a little skeptical if this would work so I tested it out on some scrap fabrics. I cut these blocks 3 & 7/8″.

I laid the blocks on top of each other with the colorful sides (right sides) facing each other and the backs of the fabric facing outside. The blue ruler is the Quick Quarter.

I used a fabric pencil to draw lines through the center of the ruler and on the left and right side of it.

I sewed the outside two lines with my machine.

Then I used my rotary cutter to slice down the center line.

Then I clipped the edges of the triangles with a scissor. This is so when I press it open, the corners of the square won’t be bulky.

Press!

Then sew them together for 1/2 of a pinwheel! These squares measured 3 & 1/2″, which means when I add the other blocks, they will be finished at 3″ square. Perfecto.

Time to start on the real stuff!

I lost my rotary cutter and realized that my sewing area was getting slightly out of hand.

I opened up all my shoe boxes, cloth bins, and plastic containers and laid out all of my supplies to get them organized. I was pretty amazed with how well stocked I am.

Neutral thread? Check.

Safety pins? Check.

Walking foot? Why yes, three.

N

Needles? For every type of project imaginable.

Miscellaneous tools from quilt shows? All of them.

And yes, Two rotary cutters.

Indy’s favorite necklace? Always.

I bought a few things at the Quilt Show.

At Somers, I got this animal print that I ‘d like to make something for my niece with. She has a play kitchen so I’ve been thinking about an apron or some hot mitts, but I’m not sure how much use she’d get out of that. I think she’d love a bag, but the print is pretty large and I’d like to use all of the animals. I’m just not sure what to do.

I also purchased these prints at the quilt show for myself:

These actually go well with what I have leftover from my Mug Rug project. I just wish I knew how to make clothes.

I like the bold colors in this print. I think it would make beautiful kitchen curtains.

Two years ago I walked by Metamorphosis in Cambridge, MA and found this old Singer 15-19 complete with a cabinet to fold the machine away into.

Anthony and I were making plans to move to New York City and I spun a long tale about how I could keep all my sewing confined to this one desk by keeping my machine inside it, my books on top of it, and my fabric underneath it. The student housing I was considering was 450 sq feet (including the bathroom), so the idea of a small machine that could fold away was appealing.

Anthony was not completely convinced of its utility, but I called my mom and she told me it was the perfect gift for my birthday.

After moving to New York, it seemed Anthony was right. I continued to use my Kenmore and my Singer was been stashed away in its cabinet taking up space. I didn’t even know how to thread the machine.

Finally, last week, I asked him to sit and help me figure it all out. We looked up the serial number and found out the machine was built in New Jersey in 1954. Through the magic of YouTube and an instruction manual, we were able to get the old girl up and running.

The first creation- Towel Hat. For me this is like I just got a brand new machine and it is the perfect counterpart to my Kenmore. It doesn’t have as many stitches and bells and whistles as my Kenmore, but it can sew through many, many layers and it has twice as much space under the arm so I can quilt larger quilts by machine.

My mother’s grandmother told her that every stitch you sew on Sunday, you have to take out with your nose in hell. That’s pretty much how the day felt. I worked on my Around the World quilt for a couple hours, but ended up spending more time pulling out stitches out than sewing.

However, the day was not a total failure. My new design wall:

I used black-out fabric that doesn’t let any light shine through. This fabric is typically used for curtains, but I had a lot of it lying around from my husband’s dark room. The texture is just right so my ironed pieces stick to it without any pinning. Batting or flannel would also work well. I think my designs will be framed nicely by the black color.