The Colors of Spring

I love it when the spring flowers start to bloom! Today’s weather is textbook spring – windy, sunny, cloudy, rainy, and cold all in one afternoon. Well, maybe not the cold part so much in California.

I took these pictures in my yard today. I already missed most of the daffodils that came up.  I have a vegetable bed and there are pansies popping up everywhere! I didn’t have to purchase them or get my hands dirty – they are growing wild from last year’s seeds. I love it!

One of my favorite color combinations is green and purple. Nature has got it all figured out.

And my favorite two colors since childhood are green and yellow. The freesias in the following picture are calling my name!

And there are purple muscari and blue forget-me-nots that are in the competition.

All of this beautiful spring color makes me want to create something springy with my fabric stash, and I’m thinking quick and easy. And I’m thinking yellow and green:

 

And maybe something purple, green and blue:

I’ll share my project with you in the next few days. But I can tell you now that it doesn’t require a sewing machine or a rotary cutter or math!

In the meantime, you might want to start collecting some of these:

You’re going to need a variety of “recycled” jars for this project. Stay tuned!

The Quilt Show – Free weekend!

The Quilt Show is one of my favorite online quilting shows. You can become a basic member for free and you’ll have access to a weekly newsletter, show & tell, articles, videos, forums, chats and more. If you want full access, you can pay a fee and become a Star member with access to new quilt show videos, a block of the month program, classes, and more. This is their current block of the month:

This weekend, March 16 – 18, they are opening up their website to EVERYONE for free and you get access to ALL current and previous quilt episodes (these are one hour shows with famous quilt teachers), classrooms, video series, quilt galleries and prizes! You could literally sit in front of your computer all weekend and watch episode after episode (that’s what quilting heaven would look like)!

Check out this video from TQS:

If you have been thinking about joining, this weekend would be the perfect time to do it.  They are offering some specials for new subscribers (and current ones).  You can click here to join or to get more information.

Have a wonderful Day!

 

How to Spray Baste Your Quilt

Once you have finished a quilt top, you need to make a quilt sandwich using the finished top, batting (for the middle) and backing fabric. Then you need to baste these layers together before you can start quilting.

My absolute favorite way to baste a quilt together is by using temporary spray adhesive. Here’s what I like about it:

  • Super fast!
  • No pins to avoid while quilting
  • Doesn’t add additional weight to the quilt
  • It’s temporary! Will wash out when you’re finished
  • Did I mention how fast it is?

I’ll be honest. There are a few cons too:

  • It can gum up your needle while quilting (clean w/ an alcohol swab or lick your finger and swipe clean!)
  • It has a fume to it (open a window, wear a mask)
  • The over-spray can get surrounding area sticky (don’t be lazy, clean with a rag)

You will need a few items in order to get started. Temporary spray adhesive (I highly recommend 505 Spray and Fix), painters tape or other masking tape, safety pins and something to clean up the over-spray with (I use De-Solv-it).

1.  To get started, you will need to lay your backing right side down on a smooth surface. I use my kitchen table for smaller quilts and my hardwood floor for larger quilts. You want to smooth your backing out and tape the middle of one side and then the opposite side. Do the same thing to the remaining two sides. Now secure the corners with tape. Depending on the size of your backing, you will need to add tape in between (about 12″ apart) the corners and sides. Always smooth from the center out to the edges. You want the backing to be smooth and flat, but not tight.See the before and after pictures below.

2.  Next you will lay your batting on top of the backing and smooth it out. They should both be about the same size (which should be 2 – 3 inches larger all the way around your quilt top).

 

3.  Peel back half of the batting and spray the batting with temporary spray adhesive. Hold the can about 12 inches away and spray an even layer. Optimally you want to use as little adhesive as possible to do the job. I gauge this by the type of batting I use.

  • For 100% cotton batting, use spray sparingly.
  • For cotton blends and wool, use a little more.
  • For other types of batting, you’ll need to test for adhesion. Try a little, then add more if needed.
  • For 100% polyester, you have to use A LOT, and I would choose a different method. The spray does not like to adhere to polyester.

4.  Lift the batting that just got sprayed and smooth it down over the backing as it touches the backing fabric. Since it’s temporary and re-positionable, you can readjust if any wrinkles form while doing this. This is easier to do with two people – one holding each corner of the batting. However, I usually do this on my own, so I work with one corner/side at a time (as you can see from the following picture).

Actually, I’m holding the camera with the one hand that is supposed to be holding the corner of the batting. So this isn’t exactly how it’s supposed to look.

5.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other half of the batting.

6. Lay the quilt top over the batting/backing layer and smooth it out.  I try to smooth it out on the fabric grain so that nothing stretches or distorts.

7.  Peel back half of the quilt top and spray the exposed batting side using the same method as before. You will always be spraying the batting rather than the fabric. This gives you a more even spray and better adhesion since you don’t have seam allowances and thread getting in the way.

8. Carefully lay the quilt top over the sprayed batting. Make sure you don’t pull the corners or edges as you’re smoothing it down. This can distort the quilt top. Use one hand to hold the corner up and the other hand to smooth the quilt top from the center out to the sides. If you’re working alone, repeat with the other corner/side.

9.  Repeat steps 7 and 8 for the other half of the quilt.

10.  You’re almost done! Now, I like to baste the edges of the quilt top with safety pins or using my machine (walking foot attached). This gives added stability to the outside edges which tend to get manipulated a bunch during the quilting process.

The first method involves pinning along the edges about 3 – 4 inches apart and 1/4″ in from the edge.

The other way to secure the edges is to use your sewing machine. You will have to un-tape your quilt backing from the table or floor before you do this. Make sure you have a walking foot attached to your machine and set your stitch length to a long stitch (5.0 on computerized machines and about 6 stitches per inch on “vintage” models). Stitch within 1/4″ from the outside edge, through all layers.

You can also tell how efficient your walking foot is at this point.  Believe me, not all walking feet are created equal! When you return to your starting point (usually a corner), you should not have any puckers or tucks at the end. Everything should be smooth and even.

It looks like there is a little hill there, but it didn’t develop into a tuck. Everything matched up at the corner. If you do end up with a tuck, you can try adjusting the presser foot pressure dial (if your machine has one). Try lowering it or increasing it and see what happens. You might also see if your walking foot is the correct one for your machine and not a generic brand.

When I first had my Viking sewing machine I unknowingly purchased a generic walking foot and kept getting puckers and tucks in my quilts. After about six months of this, I took it back to the store and told them what had been happening. They noticed that my walking foot did not half the Viking Husqvarna insignia on it and that I needed to purchase the “real deal”. So I did (of course it was $50 more than my original!) but I no longer had issues with quilting, so it was worth it to me.

So that’s spray basting in a nut shell! I use this method on every quilt I make and it never fails me. I do it on larger quilts too, as you can see in this picture:

I’m working on my kitchen hardwood floor and I’m bare-footed. On large quilts, I often have to step on the quilt to get to the other side, so it’s clean feet or socks for me!

I hope you try this method for yourself. If you want to see other interpretations of spray basting, try this You Tube video by Patsy Thompson and for those of you with carpeting and no hardwood floors try this tutorial by Film in The Fridge.  Also, if you have a pieced backing that needs to match up with the quilt top, try this tutorial here.

And as I mentioned in a previous post, “Basted But Not Quilted”, I’ve had quilts basted for years using this method and it’s still sticking!

 

Artichoke Recipe

 

Artichokes have arrived at the farmer’s markets and I’m lovin’ it! I have a great way to cook these up and my family loves it. They’re actually super spoiled ’cause they won’t eat them any other way!

 

They’re not so pretty at first, but with a pair of kitchen scissors you can turn these thistles into gems and get rid of the pokeys too.

Before:

 

 

And after:

 

 

Isn’t that beautiful? I see a quilt pattern in there somewhere…. On with the recipe. You will need the following ingredients:

  • 4 artichokes (only 3 fit in the picture)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

 

 

I like to microwave the butter and garlic together for about 30 seconds. One of my favorite smells – garlic in the kitchen!

 

 

You will want to steam the artichokes. This could take up to 30 minutes. When they’re cooked, the leaves should pull away easily and it should be tender to bite.

 

 

Once cooked and cool enough to handle, you need to spread apart the leaves like so:

 

 

Now for the good part – with a spoon, drizzle the garlic butter in between the leaves.

 

 

It’s o.k. if some of the garlic stays on top. Easier to get to! Next you will add the parmesan cheese. I use my hands to do this and it gets a bit messy, but it’s so worth it! Again, some of the cheese will stay on top but most of it should be in between the leaves.

 

 

If you have made these ahead of time, you can cover them and reheat in the microwave just before serving. If you’re ready to put them on the table right away, you might want to give them a quick minute in the microwave to melt the cheese a bit more.

 

 

Also on the menu is angel hair pasta with marinara sauce, butternut ravioli with brown butter and sage, and bruschetta. Gotta love those Italians!

I was having so much fun eating that I almost forgot to take this last picture!

 

Enjoy!

 

Adding a flange to your quilt

 

When I want just an accent of color without adding another border, I like to add a flange to my quilt top.  In the table runner above, I wanted to add a little more red around the outside and the flange was just what I needed.

 

 

Adding a flange is really easy. I like to start with a strip of fabric that is 3/4″ to 7/8″ wide. I used 7/8″ in this example.  Make it as long as needed, piecing together strips if necessary to get the correct length. You will fold the strip in half along the length with wrong sides together. Press.

 

 

Next, you will pin this to the edge of you quilt top with raw edges even and the fold facing the middle of the quilt. Using a basting stitch (long stitch length of 4.0 – 5.0) sew a very scant 1/4″ seam as shown below.

 

 

Repeat this on the opposite side. Next you will do the same thing for the top and bottom, overlapping the flange at the corners.

 

 

Now you add the next border as you normally would, matching raw edges and stitch using a 1/4″ seam. You might want to use a walking foot for this step since you’re sewing through so many layers. (I didn’t use one in this picture, but I often do).

 

 

Press the border strip towards the border, making sure that the flange remains flat.

 

 

To make your flange really effective, it’s important that you have good contrast between the flange and both sides of the quilt that it touches. I will often use a flange as a bridge between two borders that need the extra pop of color to make them stand out. It’s also a nice way to add a “border” without growing your quilt – it doesn’t add any width or length to the finished size.

 

 

Here, I have added a small (I started with a 3/4″ wide strip) flange between two grey toned borders and I wanted just a bit of pink to show up.

 

 

Flange is very similar to piping, but much easier.  With piping, you enclose cording in the center of your strip of fabric to make it rounder and fuller. It has a very tailored look to it, but it does involve an additional step that requires more time.  I typically don’t have the extra time – I’m ready to move on to the next project!

You can also use a flange between your border and binding. In the following picture I have added a flange (piping actually!) between both: two borders and the border/binding.

 

 

Next time you’re wanting to add a little “pop” to your quilt, think about adding a flange!