blue feather quilt studio

I’m always happy to see Monday, just like I’m happy when Christmas is over and the new year starts. It’s a fresh start and a new go at new things and a new look at old problems. Last week felt like I was spinning my wheels and felt like I didn’t get anything accomplished. Of course I did, but some things feel like accomplishments while others don’t. I enjoyed the blog hop immensely and learned lots of new things from everyone.

So, what did I accomplish last week. One thing was the blog hop. Another was working on some blocks to help my Mom. I squared some blocks that she made from a Moda Butterfly Fling fabric jelly roll. She’s doing Bonnie Hunter’s strip twist and for whatever reason, the blocks had to be squared down to 7 1/2 inches. They’re done though, and will go in to UPS today.

I also did a rescue on some blocks for her. Because of her stroke, she can’t do any cutting. She had some fabric that had been torn into narrow strips and then cut with scissors and had stitched the strips onto two sides of four patch blocks. It was pretty much a disaster. So, I called her and told her I was going to re-cut the four patch blocks to remove the strips she had sewed and cut some new strips for her. She was not happy because she liked the fabric. I told her they would never go together into a flat top. I used the 3 1/2″ square die on my Accuquilt GO and even cutting only 2 at a time, made quick work of getting the four patch blocks salvaged. Now, I have to cut new strips and get them in the UPS box.

And I exercised a lot last week and did some new workouts. Getting old isn’t for sissies, and it takes twice as much effort to stay in shape as it did 20 years ago. Starting last week I am doing two full workouts a day. Arrrgh! But I have sore muscles which means I’m working something that wasn’t getting done before. Can I keep up with this routine?

AccuQuilt’s Baby is Here! or Say Hello to GO! Baby™

AccuQuilt’s new arrival brings you a NEW way to GO! The AccuQuilt GO! Baby™ Fabric Cutter is an extension of the GO!® family of products and is an ultra-portable, affordable and adorable fabric cutter for quilters and fabric crafters. The GO! Baby Fabric Cutter has the same cutting performance as the original GO! Fabric Cutter and is just as safe, accurate and fast. At only $139, and with a more compact design, the GO! Baby is perfect for the beginner and occasional quilter. The GO! Baby is compatible with all GO! dies except for 10″ x 10″ and 10″ x 24″ dies.

Key features and benefits:
– Consistent, accurate cuts—up to 6 layers at a time
– 90% faster than traditional cutting
– Lightweight—only 8 ponds
– Create perfect appliqué in the turn of a handle
– Reduce fabric waste
– No cut fingers or sore backs
– Create endless design options
– Minimal space needed for storage
– Portable—no electricity or batteries needed

10 New GO! Dies
GO! Baby™ is bringing with it ten new die designs featuring many of our most requested dies such as a smaller tumbler, a cat and a dog. Also available are multiple appliqué flowers and three sizes of equilateral triangles that correspond with the current hexagon die. In addition, a new 2 1/2″ strip cutter, has been designed to fit the GO! Baby’s smaller size. All dies are compatible with both the GO!® and GO! Baby™ fabric cutters.

I learned a new trick for pressing fusible appliqué pieces. I have one off those presses that looks like two mini ironing boards that go together when you pull the handle down. It’s really great for fusing things. The only drawback is that the upper board, which is the iron, doesn’t raise up very far in the back. I’m always getting little burns on my knuckles when trying to spread things out on the board. I tried gloves, but it’s hard to work with the appliqué pieces wearing gloves. It occurred to me to lay things out on my Teflon pressing sheet and then carry that to the press. I can hold the sides of the Teflon sheet while sliding it onto the board and under the iron. Then it’s easy to gently hold the fabric near the front of the board with one hand while sliding the Teflon sheet out from under the fabric with the other hand. Sometimes it still needs a little smoothing, but not enough that I’m likely to get my fingers burned.

Another thing I learned about pressing fusible appliqué is not to use the Teflon sheet over the appliqué when pressing with the big press. For some reason, it makes everything ripple. Parchment paper works much better to keep any little melts of fusible off the iron.

I made some play oven mitts for the grandchildren last week. The dog chewed the corner off of the mitt that came with their play kitchen, and they used that little mitt a lot when they were playing. My daughter brought me the chewed up mitt and asked me to make a new one for them. I was watching the most recent episode of The Quilt Show featuring Camille Roskelley. In that show she talks about adding alphabet letters to her quilts. That was the inspiration for making two oven mitts, each of which had an initial for each of the children. They won’t be able to argue about whose mitt they’re wearing!

I used the font, AR Julian. Camille Roskelley showed how to use a Word Processor to create the applique letter. The next time I do letters, I am going to use EQ7, as that is a better way for me to keep a permanent copy of what I have done. I was able to find the mirror image in my printer setup behind several layers of setup screens. I printed this in mirror image, then traced it onto fusible, pressed the fusible to the fabric and cut out the letters. The fabric for the mitts was machine quilted on my domestic machine with straight cross-hatching.

Here’s a photo of the mitts. I thought they were just as cute as could be. Note that one child is right handed and the other is left handed.