A FINISH FOR FRIDAY

You might remember Adrienne's class at the Attic Window Quilt Shop that I posted about here. You might also remember that she gave me a bag of low volume scraps to make my own quilt.  I started on that last week and I think I am finished. I think.  As I sewed my scraps I got to wondering about what else I could make with these scraps and got a little sidetracked.  I made a bag using Adrienne's method of sewing pieces of fabric together.  The bag is all made from scraps, even the lining.  I did spend 90 cents on a new zipper.  

The bag turned out a little drab for me so I appliqued on this flower to perk it up.

This is the inside.  I dug through my scrap bag and found enough leftover scraps for the inside.  The bag is 8" x 11" and I used the pattern:  Noodlehead's Wide Open Zipper Pouch.

Also, I forgot to tell you about my mistake with Free Motion Quilting.  After I had completed two rows I happened to turn the piece over and discovered the tension was wacky.  Fixed it and moved on.  It had been a while since I had done any FMQ and completely forgot about the tension.  Also, I don't think I told you I use water dissolving thread when practicing.  This is awesome.  I just use it in the bobbin.  After I had filled up my piece, I placed it in a pan of water and within five minutes I was able to pull all the top threads out and hang the pieces up to dry.  Today I just need to press the pieces, make them into a sandwich again, and practice some more.  What a fun way to spend this holiday weekend.  Hope you all have a great time too!

Mark your Calendar Now!  The Country Fair Road Tour 2019 is set for September 19, 20 and 21 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). Take a ride on the Country Fair Barn Quilt Tour.  Participating shops are: New Ewe in Newaygo; Quilted Memories, Montague; Seven Sisters, Carson City; and Attic Window Quilt Shop, Comstock Park.

AT THE ATTIC WINDOW QUILT SHOP 

• Stitch-In, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 30-31
• CLOSED, Monday, Sept. 2
• Charity Quilts, Monday, Sept. 9

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

• A Spoonful of Sugar has a tutorial for a Business Card Wallet.

Caroll, 

Caring, Sharing, Creating Smiles

A LITTLE PRACTICE GOES A LONG WAY

You probably wonder, what the heck is this.  Well, I've been practicing my free motion quilting.  After spending an entire day cleaning my sewing room and finding duplicates of notions and books and umpteen unfinished projects, I decided to spend time improving my skills instead of thinking about what new project I can start.  As you can see, I need lots of practice, especially on those pebbles.  You can get lots of fabric to make a practice sandwich at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  And if you are interested, I'm sure Diana will have another FMQ class.  

Many months ago I did buy the Westalee ruler templates for ruler work on my domestic machine.  I tried it once then gave up.  After cleaning my sewing room and seeing what a waste it is to let those rulers go unused, I decided to also practice using them.  Still not sure about when to use them, and discovered that some of them needed new tape to keep them from moving on the fabric as I sewed.  However, I'm determined to improve my skills.  What I have found is that FMQ and this ruler work takes lots of practice.  So make that sandwich and promise yourself to practice an hour a day.  It will do wonders for your quilting.

Mark your Calendar Now!  The Country Fair Road Tour 2019 is set for September 19, 20 and 21 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). Take a ride on the Country Fair Barn Quilt Tour.  Participating shops are: New Ewe in Newaygo; Quilted Memories, Montague; Seven Sisters, Carson City; and Attic Window Quilt Shop, Comstock Park.

AT THE ATTIC WINDOW QUILT SHOP 

• Knotty Girls, Wednesday, Aug. 28
• Doll Bee, Thursday, Aug. 29
• Intermediate Quilting, Thursday, Aug. 29
• Stitch-In, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 30-31
• CLOSED, Monday, Sept. 2
• Charity Quilts, Monday, Sept. 9

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

• Quilting In Area 3 has a tutorial for a Road Trip Car Pillow.  Great gift.

Caroll, 

Caring, Sharing, Creating Smiles

PRACTICING FOR PERFECTION

Cathy and our friend Kat are participating in the Mighty Lucky Quilting Club.  You can learn more about it here.  When I saw what Cathy and Kat are doing, I decided to try it.  You can see Cathy's finished piece here. I think the object for this first block is to make your own bias tape and create a block with it.  Although I am not participating in the club, when I saw what Kat was doing I decided I had to try it.  You can see Kat's quilt squares on Instagram under Hexiekat.  Anyway, I'm a copier and pretty much copied what she did.  Above are two of my four blocks.

After I had the four blocks together, I again followed what Kat did for two reasons.  The block looked too plain as it was.  I needed to practice my free motion quilting and this was the perfect project for that. Above you can see my try at free motion quilting.  I really, really need to practice on those pebbles.

This is a close up.  I hope you can see it.  I plan to finish FMQ on the other two blocks this weekend.  If I get the binding on it I'll take a picture and post it next week.  If you are looking to improve your skills I would recommend you try this.  Remember, practice, practice, practice.

 DON’T FORGET:

• THE HEART OF WINTER TOUR, Saturday, February 13.  Call the shop and make your reservations now as seating is limited.  

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW:

• Four Patch Fun – Friday, Jan. 22
• Scrappers Helping Hands – Saturday, Jan. 23
• Come Sew With Me - Wednesday, Jan. 27
• Quilt As You Go – Thursday, Jan. 28
• London City Bag – Friday, Jan. 29  London City Bag, Friday, Dec. 11  http://westmichquilter.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-class-act-at-attic-window-quilt-shop.html
• Heart of Winter Tour – Saturday, Feb. 13
• Spring Craft Days – Friday, Mar. 18 and 19

Be sure and check the calendar on the Sidebar for more happenings at the Attic Window Quilt Shop this week.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

• From My Carolina Home has a tutorial for making a fidget quilt for Alzheimers patients.

♥ Caroll, 
Caring , Sharing and Creating Smiles