Civil War Baskets

Continuing on with workshop photos . . . The Bloomington/Normal Illinois quilters made these baskets from my book Remembering Adelia last weekend -

Here's my scrappy Civil War Baskets quilt. 

Here are some of the baskets the workshop group made - 

Lots and lots of pretty prints. 

Civil War meets Batiks . . . .

Making those basket handles wasn't as difficult as they expected. 

Once you get the hang of it, it's easy. 

If you're hesitant about making handles for your baskets - here's a simple method that takes away a lot of the stress. You can use the same technique for making vines and stems on other applique projects. See the full directions in the back of my book Remembering Adelia.

The first step is to cut your fabric strip on the bias - which means that it's cut on the diagonal of the grain.

I used pressing bars to form the handles. These are 12" long, heat-resistant plastic bars for making applique vines and stems. They come in a package with several bars of varying widths. You may prefer to use bias tape makers and they work as well. Just follow the package directions for the tool you use.

For the bars, fold the strip WRONG sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the raw edge to make a tube. Cut the ends of the strip to the the correct length - for the Civil War Baskets it's 1 1/4" x 6". After sewing, trim the seam allowance a little.

Slide the rounded end of the pressing bar into the fabric and press as you roll the seam to the middle. Press the seam in one direction. When you turn it over, the seam will be hidden. Remove the bar CAREFULY as it gets very hot and finish pressing the tube flat.

Now you're ready to shape the handle into the curved shape and pin it to the background fabric. Since the fabric was cut on the bias it will stretch easily. Find the center and pin. (Mine is a little off but it's just a sample piece.) Baste, pin or glue the handle in place. Then, applique it down either by hand or machine. Voila! Easy bias-strip basket handles. Follow the rest of the directions in the book or your particular pattern to attach the handles to the basket. 

 You can also make handles with the 1/4 inch Clover bias tape maker, which is what I used for these handles in my Cherry Baskets quilt from last year's doll quilt club. 

Scrappy Stars

I always meet the nicest quilters. I taught a couple of workshops for the Hands All Around Quilt Guild in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, this past weekend. The first project was the Scrappy Stars quilt from my book Remembering Adelia. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

This is a great quilt made with blocks that resemble a LeMoyne Star. No set-in seams. Thought you would like to see some of the students' work.  I love seeing what others make from my ideas. They're all different. Isn't that one of the best things about quilting?  Being inspired by something someone else has made but creating something that's uniquely your own . . . .

Thanks for a great time, Bloomington/Normal quilters! 

I'll show you some gorgeous scrappy basket blocks and quilts from the second workshop in a day or two.

Mystery Quilt Sew Along

I'm starting a Mystery Quilt Sew Along in my Yahoo and Facebook small quilt groups. First block is this cute little house.

Every other month you'll get a free pattern for another block (or blocks) to make another part of the quilt. I'll be sewing along with all of you and, if you keep up, the whole quilt will be finished by late summer or fall 2017 when the "Mystery" is revealed. Sew with us! Just click on one of the group gadgets on the side of the blog to join in the fun. Details and directions can be found in the group Files.

The block patterns will be posted  every other even-numbered month. (We'll still be working on small quilt challenges from my Small & Scrappy book during the odd-numbered months.) Beginners are welcome. This is a no-pressure, do-it-at-your-own-pace project. There will be plenty of time. Pick your own colors and fabrics from your stash or scraps. I am making mine scrappy using some of my favorite colors but the quilt will also look nice as a two-color quilt.

I already have the perfect place picked out for hanging my finished quilt. In the front foyer, where I can see it every time I walk in the door to welcome me home.

Persistence Pays Off

I remember telling people in 2010 that I had made up my mind - I was going to try making a replica of Jane Stickle's 1863 quilt. Responses:  "Oh. Um, okay."  They were thinking:  "Sure you are. Good luck with that idea."  

It's been a strange journey. Hot and cold at times. In my own war with this quilt. I saved some of the more difficult blocks for last. If I'd tried to make them 5 or 6 years ago I know would have quit altogether. Here's what I learned: Persistence pays off. I'm a much better quilter now than I was then. I'm incredibly more patient with myself. I kept plugging away, learning as I went along. I'm congratulating myself this week because I made some good progress in January and have only FOUR more blocks left to go for the center of the quilt. Then 52 triangles and the 4 corners. 

Who knew I would make it this far?  I'm excited because there's a chance I will finish the top this year or next. Not pressuring myself too much because there are a lot of other things I'd like to do as well. If I do, I do.

Jane's extraordinary quilt displayed at the Bennington Museum. It's amazing that the colors are still so vibrant.

It will be such fun to pick through my old reproduction fabrics and carefully place my favorites in my quilt's border of triangles.  They sure don't look easy though. 

This post is for those of you who are still on your DJ journey or eager to begin one.  Just take it one block at a time. And, if you get discouraged, make an easy block and see how it goes. Don't give up. There's hope. If I can do it . . . .

                                           Can't wait until my crazy blocks look like this.

Getting Organized

Call me strange but I have a really hard time creating in a mess or sometimes creating at all if my house (or mind) is a mess. January is often organizing time for me. Fresh start, you know. Just like September. 

I haven't finished any Dear Jane blocks this week. I cleaned and organized instead. I'd gotten behind when I was working on the book and doll quilt club last year and never really caught up. I skimmed over things that needed to get done around the house and left them for another day. Every time I do this and then think about doing something creative, my mind switches to all the unrelated and unfinished things I still need to do.

I realize that the problem is that I get overwhelmed and try to do too many things at the same time. Then nothing gets accomplished. Ever notice that? If I do nothing about the messes that surround me, then that messes with my urge to create. I've found that if I make a list and finish just a few of these "things" that need to get done, I'm calmer and my creativity seems to flow better. So I'm trying to keep ahead and focus on doing maybe ONE thing instead of ALL things. 

When I'm organized and have gotten a few things off my list then I'm better able to immerse myself into a project without distractions. I know it's not the same for everyone, but keeping my sewing room organized is also crucial to my creativity. I hate wasting time looking for things I had a minute ago. That seems to happen more as I get older. Here are a few things that help me stay organized and creative. See if any of them work for you too.

A clean sewing table really seems to makes a difference. Even when I'm working, I try to keep the surface neat and use small baskets and pretty containers for holding things. I don't have a large or fancy sewing room with tons of storage and I have to make the best of the space that's available in my small house.

I like sewing in a space filled with natural light and I make sure my table is near a window.

This organizer tray is a great help. It's pretty and functional. Tools I use regularly go back where they belong when I'm finished sewing so I can find them again the next time.

A cutting table that sees the light of day helps me too. I keep a wire basket nearby to hold scraps of whatever fabric I've been using lately. If I need another piece of the same fabric, I can see it and pull it out instead of keeping all of it out to clutter up the mat.

After I've finished a few projects, I take 15 minutes to organize and store the leftovers according to color. My scraps can get out of control unless I find a way to stay on top of them. Throwing them into a large basket or box doesn't help me if I can never find anything when I need it. If you read the section in my new book about organizing your scraps then you know that I separate my larger cuts of fabric from the smaller pieces after they're cut. I place those leftover pieces in smaller drawers or bins according to color. 

This colored drawer system (Office Max) I use for my scraps seems to work better for me . . . 

. . . than this one. 

The really small scraps or strips get stored in zip lock bags (according to color, again) and placed in another bin. If I decide to make something using 2" squares or 1 1/2"  strips in certain colors I grab a bag or two (or three or more) and go at it.

For the past couple of years, I've kept  my Dear Jane supplies organized in an IKEA rolling cart so I can wheel it out whenever I have the urge to work on the blocks. Then, when I'm finished for the day, I put my book and tools away in the cart so I can find them the next time and wheel it right back in the corner. It seems to work for me and I have a feeling it's part of why I'm moving along on my blocks. The blocks, book and tools are always accessible if I have time.

*   *   *

It feels good to be organized and know where everything is located when I need to find something and go with a certain flow. It also feels good to be creative and productive. As quilters, we're constantly struggling with fabric messes. If you can create this way, then more power to you. I seem to be missing the gene that filters out messes LOL. Buy less fabric I hear people say! To me, the solution is not to simply avoid purchasing fabric. Buying new and pretty fabric is inspiring and it's often what drives me to create pretty quilts. I need it. I think we also need to get a handle on all of it and find better ways of storing and organizing before it overwhelms us and keeps our creativity level down.  

I love playing with my fabric but if my table looks like this all the time my mind gets too distracted and doesn't know where to go from here. I need to sort it.

Are there things that are holding you back from creating? I hope some of the organizing methods I've listed here help you or at least get you thinking about what's good for your own creativity. There are lots more tips in my Small & Scrappy book on storing and organizing your fabric. 

Read this if you're having trouble getting organized in general. I enjoyed reading the part about taking care of negative emotional frenzy. Here's another link to stopping the frenzy.  Have a great week!