Dreaming Big

If you have not already done so, now is the time to get your second quarter goals listed and linked up with the 2016 FAL!  Since I am one of the many hosts, I am not eligible for prizes at the end of the quarter.  Still, I find great motivation playing along with all of you.

What do I hope to finish?  

1. Medallion quilt.  

The top and back are finished.  They will be sent out to be quilted.  I will just need to bind it when it returns.  

2. Zippy Pouch Number 1

This will need to be finished and shipped to my Big Stitch 2 partner in a few weeks.  I have the hexies pieced, but need to appliqué them onto the front and back of a bag and then finish the bag off.   I am only now realizing I have not blogged about this project, so I will have to sort that out this week.

3. Zippy Pouch Number 2

Back in February I made a wonderful travel set for my featherweight.  However, the little cover for the extension table did not fit properly.  I would like to install a zipper to make it into something usable.

4. Hello Friend Baby Quilt

This top is finished.  It needs to be quilted and bound for the shop.  I would like to practice using my quilting frame with this project. 

5. Urban Zoology Baby Quilt

This top is also finished.  (What is wrong with me!?!)  Here I need to rip off the navy border that is not working and add on another border that is better suited.  Again, I would like to use this as an opportunity to practice on my quilting frame before it is bound and heads into the shop.

6. Swoon HST Cushion Cover.

The top is finished, but it needs to be quilted and then have a back attached.  I am a bit concerned that I will not find an insert to fit it (20x20 inches) but if the cover is finished, I will call this project done.  

7. String Stars baby quilt. 

I need a better name for this project.  Regardless, the top remains to be pieced, the whole thing needs to be quilted and bound and it needs to be delivered before the end of the quarter.  No pressure.  I will not be able to show you a finished photo of this quilt until it is received.  I hope you will just believe me if I tell you it is finished.

8 and 9.  Christmas Tree Skirts 1 and 2.

Now this is just embarrassing.  For Christmas (2015) I started making a tree skirt for my parents and one for my brother and sister in law.  Neither were finished in time, so I promised to ship them as a surprise this past winter/spring.  They have not been touched since December (*hangs head in shame*).  I still have some appliqué to do before I piece the sections together.  They need to be quilted and bound before being shipped off.  As they were super top secret Christmas projects I never blogged about them.  You may see them this week if I get myself together and take a few photos!

There we go.  A list of 9 projects I would like to finish in the next 12 weeks.  That's do-able, right?  It is good to have a bit of focus and a deadline to get myself stitching.  Now, get your lists finished and linked up before the 16th of April to join in the fun.  We can cheer each other on!

Get your goals list ready!

I'm late!  I'm late!  I missed a very important date.  That's right - the second quarter of the 2016 FAL kicked off yesterday, but real life got in the way of my posting the linky party.  I hope you took that extra 24 hours to get your goals list ready.  Have you been thinking?  Dreaming big?

Again this quarter, the FAL is hosted by a wonderful team of international bloggers.  You can join into the FAL fun on any one of these super blogs:

• Debbie - A Quilter's Table - USA

• Jess - Elven Garden Quilts - Australia

• Stacey - SLO Studio - Canada

• Jennie - Clover & Violet - USA

• Helen - Archie the Wonder Dog - UK

• Nicky - Mrs. Sew and Sow -UK

• Cindy - Fluffy Sheep Quilting - Ireland (me!)

• Rhonda - Rhonda's Ramblings - USA 

• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

Together we will hopefully find inspiration and motivate one another to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging about becoming UFOs. Now is the time for you to post on your blog or IG account a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months.  At the close of the quarter, please come back here and tell me what you have finished on your list.  Each finish will qualify you for one of many wonderful prizes from our sponsors. There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project.  Dream big.

The 2016 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent FAL page, let me know if you have any questions.

We have several super sponsors supporting the FAL this quarter.  If you spot a new-to-you shop or designer, be sure to click on their logo to visit their blogs/shops and say thank you.

The Quilt Ranch, $25 gift certificate	Knotted Thread, $30 gift certificate	Simply Solids, £40 (40 Pound) gift certificate
Sew me a Song, $20 gift certificate	Imagine Gnats, $40 gift certificate	Laurel Bee Designs, 2 pin bowls for 1 winner
Fat Quarter Shop, $50 gift certificate	On the Windy Side, pattern pack	Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, $25 gift certificate
Sunny Day Supply - $30 gift certificate	Sew Sweetness, copy of Windy City Bags	Christa Quilts signed copy of Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting
Mariners Compass Quilt Shop, $50 gift certificate	Porch Swing Quilts, 2 winners, 3 patterns each	7 Acres Cleared Fabric Shop, $50 gift certificate
Make Modern Magazine - 6 month subscription	Fluffy Sheep Quilting - 25 Euro gift certificate	Mad About Patchwork - $40 gift certificate
Clover & Violet LLC - choice of 3 patterns	Oakshott Fabrics - £75 (75 Pounds) gift certificate	Happy Quilting - choice of 3 patterns
The Tartankiwi - choice of 3 patterns	Green Fairy Quilts - $25 gift certificate	Blossom Heart Quilts, Full Aurora BOM Pattern
The Intrepid Thread - $50 gift certificate

InLinkz.com

We plan to finish each quarter with a week long series of tutorials.  Did you see them pop up on blogs last week?   What did you think of them?  Or is there a tute you'd like to see next quarter?  Pop a note in the comments section below with your thoughts.

Let's get down to the linky!  That's why you're here, right?  Here's how this will work:
1. take a photo of the project(s) that you want to finish this quarter.
2. tell us how you have started this project - even pulling fabric with a plan/pattern is a start!
4. while you're listing your goals list, click on a few other links in the linky party and give your fellow sewists a bit of encouragement and support.
5. for your finish to qualify for prizes, it needs to be a finished project (not a finished, block or finished top - a finish is a bound, usable, gifted (you get the idea) project.
6. it would be great if you could tag your Q2 list as #FALQ2yourname.

The 2016 Q2 link for your list of proposed finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs. You only need to link your list once, on one blog and it will appear on all of the hosting blogs.  If you would like to link up via Flickr or Instagram, pop over to visit Katy (The Littlest Thistle) as she has a great tutorial on how to link-up.

So, add your link below. The Q2 linky party will stay open until 11 pm EST, April 16th - as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link.    I can't wait to see what you're making!

An InLinkz Link-up

Getting my scraps under control

I have lost control.  My scrap bin overflows.  It is so unorganized that I avoid digging through it to find bits I need.  I instead cut chunks out of my pretty, organized, untouched FQs.  I can just see them better and can quickly pull a fabric I want instead of digging through that outrageous bin, creating dust and having to iron silly little pieces.  Something has to change.

After watching Di at our sewing weekend scoop up every unattended scrap and trim them to usable pieces, I think I have found my solution.  Now, who wants to dig through that bin and spend a weekend pressing and cutting?  Not me.  Instead, I tossed them into a suitcase and brought them to a week-long conference so I could iron and cut in a hotel room when I had nothing else to do!  Pretty smart if I do say so myself.  (Cheeky!)

In the end, my scrap bin was turned into this:  Ta da!

It's prettier, anyway.  I pulled each scrap, pressed it, then started cutting the largest piece I could out of the scrap and worked my way down to cutting 2.5 inch squares.  I have more 2.5 inch squares than anything else....

....have a reasonable stack of 3 inch and 3.5 inch squares....

...and then finally have a mini pile of 4, 4.5 and 5 inch squares....

There's also a good sized pile of 2.5 inch strips so I could make a scrappy jelly roll quilt at some point.  Needless to say I do not have a plan for any of these pieces, but they are more manageable to store and easier to use.  I'll be happy spending time google searching for scrappy quilts to put these to good use.

Here is what's left:

My stash of scrappy solids.  I do not have the heart to cut these down too.  Would anyone want them?  I would like to split these up into two large bags and give them to someone who will use them (you pay postage).  If you are interested, email me at fluffysheepquilting at gmail dot com, please.  First come first serve.

EDITED - The scraps have now gone to three good homes.  

I will leave you with a photo of Molly, my photographic assistant.  She was great company while trying to take these snaps.  Love her.

Selvage Blocks for Miles

Each morning while I brush my teeth, I thumb through IG to see what creativity I have missed while I slept.  What inspiration waits for me?  It is a great way to wake up.  One morning, Craftsy posted an advertisement for this pattern that immediately occupied my brain.  I could not shake it, so I bought the pattern thinking that would scratch the itch.  But no.

Although I see myself using different methods to make these blocks, I love the idea of a full quilt of selvage vines.  I started stitching a few tester blocks at the Brit Bee weekend retreat and fell in love.

I have now finished 23 of the 42 blocks I need.  It shocks me how heavy they are and how they eat up the selvage strips.  I have enough selvages for another 5-10 blocks, so I will have to finish a few other projects to increase my stash.  That's OK.  This can be a slow burner.  I'll just keep stitching!

Quick & Easy Napkin Tutorial

I am always without ideas when it comes to hostess gifts or house warming gifts.  If invited for dinner, I tend to bring a generic bottle of wine and make a wine bag.  But the wine does not have longevity and I am not sure every hostess wants to store (or reuse) a cloth wine bag.  

Then it finally came to me :: cloth napkins!  People like them, but do not always want to spend their own money on them.  They are a great way to add a pop of color to a kitchen without over committing.  They are green (ecologically, not always fabric-wise), unisex and have staying power.  Perfect!  Want to make a set with me?

Let's start with your fabric choices.  I used a continuous cut of one print (35 inches x WOF quilting cotton) to make a set of 4 napkins, but you could also use four complimenting fat quarters.  I pre-washed and ironed before making the napkins as I didn't want weird shrinkage after they were finished.  

Note: I use three different fabrics in this tutorial.  It means nothing other than
the sun was setting and you could no longer see the light blue fabric as it got darker.

In terms of notions, you will need scissors, a marking pen, a rotary cutter, your rulers and a bowl.  This bowl is 5 inches in diameter.  You will not need a sewing machine, but will need an over locker.  That's right - pull that over locker out of the closet and dust it off.

Fold your fabric in half so the selvages are matching.  Fold it in half again the other way so the two raw edges are matching.  You should now have four overlapping layers.  Trim a sliver off the raw edges so they are not so scraggly.

Without opening your folded fabric, rotate it and cut your selvages from the main body of the fabric.

Rotate the fabric again (without unfolding it) so that the folded edge is on the right and the raw edges are on the left.  We are making napkins that are 16 inches square.  Now, I do not have a ruler that is 16 inches wide to measure that, so I have to get a little innovative.  I used a 14 inch square ruler (green, left) and a 6.5 inch wide ruler (black, right).  I combined a width of 9.5 inches from the green ruler and the full 6.5 inches of the black ruler to get a cut of 16 inches wide.  Cut off the folded edge.

Again, rotate your fabric and repeat the same ruler regime to cut off the other folded edge.  You should have a set of four pieces that are 16 inches square.

Flip the bowl upside down and align it with the two edges.  Trace around the lip of the bowl with a marking pen.  Do the same for the other three corners.

Trim along the line with your fabric scissors.  I cut all four layers at once as my scissors are very sharp.  If you do that, make sure to keep the fabric and scissors flat on the cutting mat so the layers do not shift too much.

You should now have four pieces of fabric that are 16x16 with rounded corners.  

With Brian's help, we made a movie to show you how to finish the raw edges of the napkins using an overlocker.  A few things to note:  

1) Always start with a tail of thread on your over locker. 

2) Slow down at the corners, lifting the presser foot as needed to adjust your fabric and avoid wrinkles. 

3) As you approach the end, trim off the original tail.

4) To finish off the edge, sew over your starting point, turn the fabric about 90 degrees and continue off the fabric to make a finishing tail.  

5) Create a tail of about 3 inches so you can securely finish the napkin.  

Here we go! 

Using a blunt needle with a large eye....

....thread the tail through the eye...

 ...and place the tip of the needle under the overlocking threads on the back side of the napkin.  I usually push the needle so that the tail will be tucked in for one inch.  Pull the needle out...

... and trim off what's left of the tail.

Ta da!  A finished napkin.  Repeat for the other four to finish off your set.  

I tend to fold them into rectangles so that the curved edge is a corner "accent", then place my flatware on top.  

I hope that was clear - email me (fluffysheepquilting at gmail dot com) if you have questions and I will try my best to help you along.  A few alternative options that you might like: 1) you can shorten your stitch length to have less of the fabric showing through the edge and instead have more of a satin finish or 2) use a wooly nylon thread that poofs up as you sew to hide the fabric.  Thank you!