3/23/16

Fun First

Today I put serious household business on hold so that I could spend some time sewing. The goal for today was to finish up the orange Four Fabric Forest that still needed quilting and binding.


Before I did that, however, I spent some time on serious sewing business. For one thing, I saw this genius strategy on someone's Facebook post. Since I am forever losing my scissors, especially when I'm quilting, I decided to give this a try. I purchased some stick-on plastic hooks at the grocery store yesterday. My options for Eliza were limited, and so I stuck them where you see them.


I'm not sure those aren't going to get in my way, and so I might end up moving them...or removing them. The hooks came in packages of four, and so I put the other two on the wall next to Big Bertha.


Of course any organization strategy is only as good as the user's dedication to actually using it. My current method is to allow the scissors to land where they fall. We'll see if I can force myself into the habit of actually hanging them up when I'm not using them.

The other thing I saw recently was a video about using templates and rulers for free motion quilting. The person in the video kept talking about "sticky tape" to help keep rulers and templates from slipping on fabric. I investigated this further and found this Safe Way Traction 1" X 60' Foot Roll of CLEAR Rubberized Anti Slip Non Skid Safety Tape. It's intended for placement on slippery stairs or sidewalks. I wasn't at all sure it would work for my purposes, and so I read the reviews of the item, and found this comment:


Perfect. I ordered the smallest roll I could get, but it was still way more than I needed. Not to worry. I'm sure we can find lots of uses for this stuff in our rainy climate. In any case, I stuck that to one of my quilting rulers and, let me tell you...that puppy will not slip now.


It was impossible to avoid the reflections in that image, and so I can't give you a better image. I was a little worried about the tape making ruler markings difficult to see, but that turned out not to be a problem. I stuck it on all my rulers, and I'm thinking it would work well for cutting rulers too.

So with those items taken care of, I got to work quilting the orange Four Fabric Forest. For the orange sections I used a swirly string of pearls sort of thing...that's a highly technical quilting term. 


For the trees, I used the fabric as a guide and put a kind of swirly wood grain curly-cue thingy wherever one appeared on the fabric. It's a little hard to see.


It might be easier to see from the back.


It took about two hours, and then the quilting was finished. 


I poured myself a cup of coffee, turned on my audiobook, and then got to work hand sewing the binding. An hour later, that too was finished.


Here's how it looks from the back.


So, next up I want to make the iron caddy for my travel iron. There is a class at the end of April I'm planning to attend, and I want this finished by then. My travel iron is always too hot to put away when I'm finished with a class. The pattern for this caddy came with some heat resistant fabric lining. I'll be using my own fabrics for the outside, but this seems like a handy little package to me.


You might recall that I saw this made up at the quilt shop I visited in Reno, and I purchased the pattern then.

So, it's way after noon now, and I've spent the whole day playing. I'm woefully short on steps if I'm going to make my 10k, and so it's time to get moving. I hope you're having a lovely day!

15 comments:

gpc said...

I am thinking back to the first quilting I saw you post, and I am waaaay impressed. You rock. :)

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I agree - you rock! More and more use of that machine and you are going to awe us. The quilting really brings out that little piece. I am going to look for that sticky - sure you can get it in any hardware section. I have sand dots on most of my small rulers, but would like something else for the long ones.

Teresa in Music City said...

Love your quilting on the orange trees project Barbara!!! I'm always partial to bead quilting, and you did such a great job of using lots of sizes along with the straight-curvy lines. I'm going to have to try some of that sticky stuff. No matter what I do, my rulers always have a tendency to slip on me. Thanks for the tip!

Dana Gaffney said...

I like the idea for the hooks, but I know myself too well and wouldn't do it. I also like that no slip stuff, can you see through it? I'd put it on my cutting rulers, or maybe it can be cut down thinnner. Love the quilting on the trees, it looks really wonderful on the back.

Quilting Babcia said...

That sticky tape looks like the best thing around. All those tiny sandpaper circles I put on the rulers a couple years back are falling off, plus they weren't see-through. Your 'sunset forest' turned out beautiful, as always!

Doreen said...

Lovely post!!! So many good ideas to keep(?) things organized. Love your little 'finish'.......of course, I LOVE all finishes (such a great feeling of accomplishment, hmmmmm????!).

Jenny - the lilac cat said...

Love the swirly bead quilting. Those evenly spaced lines are very impressive. My FMQ is improving but no one could ever call my stitch lines even.
I do relate to losing scissors. Not so bad when I'm at my machine as the Bionic Gear bag I made for sewing has a neat fabric tray which holds things and things don't roll off. But scissors when I'm doing other stiff with fabric etc just disappear. I've long thought when eventually we move I shall find lots of scissors - oh and socks!!!

Kathy H said...

I really like the quilting you did on your trees. It turned out great. The clear tape looks like it will work well. I have tried the MOB tape on mine but is is black and you can't see through it. It is usually used for skate boarding. I will have to look into the clear tape.

Lou said...

Hi Barbara!
Great quilting!!!
I just ordered the tape... love using rulers with my LA but the rulers do slip sometimes!
I use a Pin Pal to hold my scissors. I attach it to my shirt so I always... well almost always... know where my little scissors are:)

We lost a furrbaby a few weeks back.. she was only 4 but had a very invasive cancer that burst her intestines:( We didn't let them wake her up after exploratory surgery:( There is a fight for queen going on since:( Or king? Right now no one seems to be in charge of the 5.... wish they would hurry up and figure it out!!!

Lou said...

Forgot to tell you I made one of those iron caddies and love love it!!!!!

Natureluvr57 said...

The best stuff for rulers I found so far is sheets of Invisagrip but I think this might be even more "grip-y". I love the sandpaper dots but they fall off or wear off too soon. I'll be ordering the sticky tape also. I see they have 3/4" x 7.5" strips for your tub also for under $ 10.00 but I'll probably order what you did for my longer rulers. Great tip - thanks for sharing.

Lesley said...

Your orange forest is beautiful!

Brown Family said...

I may have to order some of the safety tape. No matter what I have tried before, my fabric rulers keep slipping. I also have a problem with foot control of my machines from moving. I have tried several products that are 'guaranteed' to not slip and they still do! I wonder if some of this tape would help.

A friend and I go to a Crayon coloring class once a month. It is in another town ant it takes us 45 minutes each way. This is a hot blend crayon class, so we have hot irons to bring home. I made two of these caddies for small or travel irons. We love them! Even if er forget to unplug the iron when we start packing up, they are in no danger melting something we do not want them to!

quiltzyx said...

I have a pin cushion that has a sort of hole in the center top where I keep my little scissors. It came with a little cheapy pair, but I switched them out for my baby Ginghers.
Thanks for that clear tape tip for the rulers. I like that you can see through it!
Groovy job of quilting the sunset forest!

Kate said...

The Four Fabric Forest turned out beautifully! Love the quilting on that one.