Sunday, June 26, 2011

Good News, Bad News

First the Good News

Lucky #3 is the winner. That'd be you Brooke!!!!
So, just send me a little email (rana@sewnintothefabric.com) with your address and I will ship out your new quilt pronto!

And the Bad News

My computer is in the fix-it shop. Aargh!!
This is bad news for you because it means I have no way to access the files I need to post that GREAT free pattern I promised you!

But, don't worry. As soon as I get that computer back (they promised it in 14 days or less and that was on Tuesday) I will post your pattern.

In the meantime, here is the cover.


And the word on the street is that another free pattern is coming your way to help celebrate my favorite holiday. Independence Day!

Let's hope those computer boys come through with the "or less" part of their estimate!!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A Birthday Giveaway!

Guess who is having a birthday very soon?!!

Let's celebrate, because I LOVE birthdays! How about a giveaway and a free pattern!!

First the giveaway:

Cute huh?! Yes, it is a finished quilt. And it's lap size!! (62" x 96"-ish)

How to be entered in the drawing to win:

1-Leave a comment of course!
But not just any comment, I want to know what kind of cake and ice cream you love. Yum

Want a second or third entry. OK. This is a party after all!
(Just leave a separate comment for each thing, that way you get multiple numbers.)
2-If you were a follower of this blog BEFORE today, let me know you want to be entered.
3-Blog about it with a link back to this post and let me know that you did.

Easy Breezy. I hope you win!!
And yes, I will ship internationally.
Be sure that I have a way to contact you, or else....I hate to crack the whip at my own party but...you'll get the boot!
Winner will be chosen by a random number drawing on Sunday, June 26th.

And now on to the free pattern.
Here is a little sneak peek.

Come back on Sunday and I will have the pattern all ready for you. (PDF download.)

Monday, June 20, 2011

Berries!

Look what I got out of my garden a couple of days ago!

Don't worry, my guy didn't do the picking, I did. He's just modeling!

All this cool weather and late rain has been so good for the berries. They are lots bigger than usual and there are LOTS more than usual. Lucky me!!

And speaking of berries, on our way home from Salt Lake City we stopped at a lovely fruit stand called Murray Family Farms. I think it was somewhere outside of Bakersfield.


Anyway, they had blueberries.

Lots and lots of blueberries.

U-pick. My favorite! And pickers could fill this big ol' bucket for a mere $20. Can you believe it?! Of course, I had to fill a bucket. My guy was not so excited as I was, but he agreed to the plan as long as it was followed by a nice big fat steak at the next steakhouse we passed. (I win again!)

It took us a full 1 and 1/2 hours to fill that bucket, but it was SO worth it. And the best part of all...blueberries are easy to pick! They are high off the ground and completely THORN-LESS!

Hope you are enjoying the fruits of the season in your little corner of the world too!

(And just between us, fruit pie makes an excellent breakfast. YUM!)

Thursday, June 16, 2011

What A Surprise

Did you think yesterday's post about making a new ironing board cover was a joke?

So did I!

But, it turns out that making an ironing board cover is easy-peasy! Who knew?!
You could check out a tutorial or two in blogland. Maybe start with How About Orange, and see what you think. I actually spent more time looking at tutorials than I did making it!!

What do you think? I think I love it!!

And covering that ironing board went so well I thought I would attach my little travel board.
You know those June Tailor ironing/cutting boards.
I am about to show you the before picture. But be warned. It is awful. Gross. Pathetic. Shameful. 10 years worth of yuckiness. You may want to avert your eyes.

But, look at her now. What a beauty!

Fabric really does fix everything!
Happy sewing.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Continuous Prairie Points

My little friendship circle of quilters is just about to wrap up another "progressive" quilt making adventure. If you are not familiar with progressives (also known as "round-robins") then stay tuned because I will be sharing ours with you soon. Like next month! Because the big reveal is coming!!

But in the meantime, I wanted to post a little tutorial on how to make continuous prairie points since one of the required elements for this year's progressive was to add prairie points to every quilt.

Firstly, you need to determine how big you want your points to be, and whether or not you want them all made from the same fabric. Once you know that, click on the links below to find the appropriate tutorial.

1- Points made with a single fabric.
2- Points made with 2 fabrics.
3- Points made with many fabrics.

I hope they are SUPER helpful!

PS: Sorry about the extra-ugly ironing board cover! I am going to do something about that real soon. Really. I am. Soon.

Prairie Points: One Fabric

Step 1: Cutting
Once you determine the size of the points you want, you will need to cut your fabric 4x wider than that. For example:
2-1/2" points: cut a 10" width
2" points: cut an 8" width
1-1/2" points: cut a 6" width
1" points: cut a 4 " width

The length will not vary, so cut as many wof (width of fabric) as you need and sew them all together with a standard 1/4" seam allowance.

The example is cut for 2" points.
Step 2:
Fold the strip in half, wrong sides together, and press to mark the fold.

Step 3:
Open the strip back up, and place it wrong side up on your cutting board.
Using a ruler and rotary cutter, begin to make cuts across the length of your strip.
Each cut will go all the way to the fold, exactly.
Each cut will be made at intervals equal to 1/2 of the width. (In the example, an 8" strip was cut so each subsequent cut is made at 4" intervals.)


Continue across the entire length of your strip.

Step 4:
Turn the strip around (for easier cutting).
The first cut will be 1/2 as deep as the cuts you have been making, and will be cut out completely. (In the example, 4" cuts have been made, so the first cut on this side will be made at 2".)

Step 5:
The remaining cuts will be made at the same interval as before, across the entire length of the strip. (4" in the example.)

Step 6:
End the same way you started, by notching out the last 1/2 cut.

Step 7:
Starting on one side, fold all of the points in half diagonally, and all in the SAME direction.


Step 8:
Repeat the same process for folding the second side, being careful to continue folding in the SAME direction.
Note: if you are working with a really long strip you may want to fold both sides simultaneously working your way down the entire length.


Step 9:
Now you are going to fold each triangle in 1/2 again.
This time you will fold everything in the opposite direction as before.

One side folded.

Repeat for the second side.
Note: if you are working with a really long strip you may want to fold both sides simultaneously working your way down the entire length.


Both sides folded.

Step 10:
Work your way down the entire length, folding it in half and pressing it with a hot iron.

The points in the photo above have a "front row" and a "back row". If this is how you want them to look, then slip in a few pins to hold them in place as you go.

If you want your points to be nested one inside the next, then you will need to flip out the little tips as you go. Then add your pins. See photo below.

Step 11:
Now all you need to do is take the whole thing over to your sewing machine and stay stitch along the entire length at 1/8".

Ta-da!
 

Now how about making prairie points with two different fabrics?  Click here for the tutorial.

Or lots of different fabrics??  Click here for the tutorial.

Prairie Points: Two Fabrics

Step 1: Cutting
Once you determine the size of the points you want, you will need to cut (2) different strips of fabric twice as wide as your finished size plus a 1/4 " (seam allowance). For example:
2-1/2" points: cut (2) 5-1/4" wide strips
2" points: cut (2) 4-1/4" wide strips
1-1/2" points: cut (2) 3 -1/4" wide strips
1" points: cut (2) 2-1/4 " wide strips

The length will not vary, so cut as many wof (width of fabric), of each fabric, as you need and sew them all together end to end with a standard 1/4" seam allowance.

The example is cut for 1-1/2" points.
Step 2:
Sew the strips together, lengthwise, with a standard 1/4" seam allowance.
Press the seam open.

Step 3:
Place the strip wrong side up on your cutting board.
Using a ruler and rotary cutter, begin to make cuts across the length of your strip.
Each cut will go all the way to the seam line, exactly.
Each cut will be made at intervals equal to the width of your strips minus the seam allowance. (In the example, 3-1/4" strips were cut so each subsequent cut is made at 3" intervals.)

Continue across the entire length of your strip.

Step 4:
Turn the strip around (for easier cutting).
The first cut will be 1/2 as deep as the cuts you have been making, and will be cut out completely. (In the example, 3" cuts have been made, so the first cut on this side will be made at 1-1/2".)

Step 5:
The remaining cuts will be made at the same interval as before, across the entire length of the strip. (3" in the example.)

Step 6:
End the same way you started, by notching out the last 1/2 cut.

Step 7:
Starting on one side, fold all of the points in half diagonally, and all in the SAME direction.

Step 8:
Repeat the same process for folding the second side, being careful to continue folding in the SAME direction.
Note: if you are working with a really long strip you may want to fold both sides simultaneously working your way down the entire length.


Step 9:
Now you are going to fold each triangle in 1/2 again.
This time you will fold everything in the opposite direction as before.

One side folded.

Repeat for the second side.
Note: if you are working with a really long strip you may want to fold both sides simultaneously working your way down the entire length.


Both sides folded.

Step 10:
Work your way down the entire length, folding it in half and pressing it with a hot iron.

The points in the photo above have a "front row" and a "back row". If this is how you want them to look, then slip in a few pins to hold them in place as you go.

If you want your points to be nested one inside the next, then you will need to flip out the little tips as you go. Then add your pins. See photo below.

Step 11:
Now all you need to do is take the whole thing over to your sewing machine and stay stitch along the entire length at 1/8".

Ta-da!