5/16/13

Early Start

This morning I was awake around 4:00 a.m.  While I wanted to go back to sleep, my brain was already winding up and thinking about the day ahead.


Why yes, I do sleep with all my eye make-up on.  Don't you?  I mean, what would happen if there were a fire or something.  I want to look my best when those hunky firefighters arrive.

I'm not sure when, but the carpet installers will be here this morning to install carpeting in our living room and dining room.  I am so looking forward to that, but it will mean another mess to clean up.  Quite frankly, I'm cleaned out after yesterday's dust bath.

Yesterday afternoon, I spent several hours packing up the crystal and glasses from my china cabinet.  When Mike got home, he took the glass doors off the cabinet so that we could also remove the glass shelves for moving.  It was his job to unhook and remove all of the electronic components from our wall unit.  The carpet installer will be bringing a crew to help move the heavier things.  And, at this point, I'm not exactly sure who will be moving them back.  In any case, I know what I'll be doing tomorrow...putting everything back.  The carpet will be nice, but I'm really looking forward to having things get back to normal this weekend.

This afternoon, I'm meeting a fellow blogger for coffee.  She's taking possession of the bobbin clips I used to store bobbins with their associated thread spools.  They cannot be used with the bobbins for my new machine, and so I'm passing them along to Judy.  And I'm looking forward to meeting another local blogger.

For this morning, however, I wanted to show you the doll quilt that I made for the May doll quilt swap.

 Doll Quilters

The theme for the May swap was "Shape Shifters" with the goal of making a quilt in a shape other than square or rectangular.  This is what I came up with:


I'm calling this quilt "A Slice of Summer", and it is from a free pattern available from All People Quilt.  It is a quilt as you go pattern.  I hesitated to even start on it because I've never done a quilt with a rounded edge like that, and I wasn't sure how successful I would be.  Also, the binding has two pieces--the green and the white--and I really wasn't sure how well I could accomplish that either.  Nevertheless, I forged ahead, and I had no problems with it whatsoever.

Then I went in search of embellishments.  I wanted to find some beads in a watermelon seed shape.  I was able to find these "buttons" although the holes are so tiny, they required a beading needle to sew them onto the quilt.


Then I decided it needed a quilt label in keeping with its watermelon theme, so I made this label by appliqueing the red half circle over a white half circle.  Then I used a green Sharpie oil paint pen to make the green watermelon rind edge.


Okay, now for the True Confessions part of my post.  If you are the Quilt Police, please just move along at this point.  Really.  Nothing to see here.



Is she gone?  Wow, that is one scary woman.  She reminds me of a teacher I had in 7th grade.  And come to think of it, I kind of remember her carrying around a seam ripper that she used to make us girls take the hems out of our too-short dresses.  (Man, did that ever piss off my seamstress mother!)  

Okay.  So there was a red binding across the bottom of the slice, and then there was the pieced green and white binding for the rounded edge.  But then, how to you sew the two together without your thread showing along with your crappy hand sewing?  At least, if you're me, your hand sewing is crappy.  To wit:


Because if you look at this, you can see that there was really no thread choice that wouldn't show.  If I chose green, it was going to show on the red and the white.  And if I chose red, it was going to show on the green and the white.  And if I chose white...well, you can see what happens if you choose white.  But since I was using white for the rest of the binding, that's what I used.  So, what to do?

Pigma Micron Pens to the rescue!!  (Watch out for their flapping capes.)


These pens have a nice fine tip.  I use them when transferring embroidery designs too.  For this application, I used them to do a "dye job" on those crappy white threads.  It isn't perfect, but hopefully, it's less noticeable.  


I've been known to use this method to fix those little teensy break-through threads when I'm sewing on a binding and get a little too enthusiastic with my needle.  Honestly, I don't know where I would be without my Pigma Micron pens.  In jail, after being arrested by the Quilt Police, no doubt.  

So that's it for this morning.  It's nearly 6:00 a.m., and clearly, I am not going back to bed now.  Time to drink my coffee and hit the shower before the carpet guys get here.  (Psyching myself up for a busy day.)

22 comments:

Debbie said...

lol.....love your solution to the thread color. I've done it with black, yet never thought of other colors! No police around here either. Read your cleaning spree too...ugh, it hate that stuff, and you will spot places you never dream of that it can hide. But, the floor looks great and I know you will enjoy it all.

Lyndsey said...

I love that watermelon quilt, great shape and really nice and summery. I also like your solution to the thread conundrum, so easy and so effective. You deserve a medal for all the cleaning after the floor finishing. I hate the way dust creeps into all the nooks and crannies. The flooring looks great and the new carpet is going to be very cosy on the toes

Maria said...

LOLLLLL Your post made me laugh!!!! I don't sleep with my makeup on, at that time of the morning it wouldn't bother me who saw me. Good to hear I'm not the only one who wakes up in the early hours of the morning, 5am is more my time. I'm a morning person so it's fine. I get loads done while everyone else sleeps.
Love the idea of the pens. I never would have thought of it and I love you quilt too.

Sherry said...

Your doll quilt is so clever. Good job on fooling the quilt police. Hope your able to hide away for awhile in your sewing room.

newsurfiegirl said...

Love your watermelon quilt and what a clever solution to a tricky problem!

Lee said...

Make-up? I think I forgot what that was about a decade ago. Great idea with the pigma markers and cute little quilt.

Lee said...

Make-up? I think I forgot what that was about a decade ago. Great idea with the pigma markers and cute little quilt.

Celtic Thistle said...

I have that pattern in a leaflet, but have never got around to trying it. Yours looks great. Will remember the pen tip too!

carla said...

Hi!!! Love your slice!!! Too cute!!! Great use for the pens!!! Covers it right up!!! Thanks for the tip!!!

Marei said...

Oh Barbara....I had a flash back to Washington Jr. High 7th grade Home Ec class! Now you owe me a beer...or maybe 2...to erase those memories!! And the pigma pens? Yes. I've been known to color the threads now and then, too. My sewing room is a No Quilt Police zone!!

Lia*s Handmades said...

What a cute watermelon!
And I'm glad I'm not the only one 'fixing' with pens ;) I have fabric pens in pretty much any colour lol!

Junebug613 said...

I don't envy you the re-arranging of things, but I'm sure you will be loving the carpet! The Doll Quilt came out really well. It's very cute and definitely summery. You get bonus points for the clever cover up! As a citizen of Quiltville, I will post your bail if that mean lady shows up to arrest you. LOL

Lucky Duck Dreams said...

In the words of Pete the Cat " It's all good."

Lynne said...

Oh, Barbara, you are so amusing -- but it certainly is a good idea overdyeing those stitches!

I was awake at 5:30 with my head spinning about my "new project" (no I haven't started it yet). I thought and thought then finally rolled over and went back to sleep -- it was too cold to get up so early!

Anonymous said...

It will all be worth it once you have all your new floors done and everything moved back I am sure! And great job with the pigma pen, your watermelon looks sensational!

Brown Family said...

I like the watermelon! I use those pigma pens all the time! Once, I had covered up some bobbin threads that came to the top and them later decided to take it out and do something else. Big mistake. I could not figure our thy I could not get all the thread out! DUH! it was where the pen had colored the fabric!

Snoodles said...

Fantastic solution to the problem! I will have to get some of those....hope today is going well for you.

Dar said...

Your watermelon quilt is so cute. Those would be real cute placemats for the summer. I too use pigma pens to cover up some obvious thread challenges. Lucky you to have new carpeting. Mine is over 25 yrs old and I'm sick of it. But other things are more important in my life -- my old car is spending my extra money. ha. Have a great weekend.

quiltzyx said...

Sleep? Lately I've been going to sleep about the time that you woke up! UGH. However, I did remember that I had some melatonin tablets & took one the other night. I slept so well it was almost scary. The problem was, I felt groggy most of the day too! Sheesh. Next time I'll just take 1/2 of one.
Love, love, LOVE the watermelon slice! Yep, pigma pens are wonderful for that "dyed to match" help!!!

Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD said...

Dropped by from 'New To Me'. I'm crazy for your Quilt Police image, I am so frightened of that woman and I think maybe I need to print her off and place her with her back to me on my sewing wall to be fully cured. I do use the same trick with the coloured pens on my handstitched hexies, it's a really useful one to know. Have a great weekend :)

DeborahGun said...

such a cute little quilt. And I love your solution to the colour of the thread :-) Glad its not just me who has issues like that!

Denise :) said...

I sleep with a hunky (retired) fire fighter, so I sleep in my eye makeup ALL THE TIME! Bahahaa!!! SMART use of the sharpie pens! I'll have to remember that trick!! I may borrow your QP image -- where'd you find her??!! :)