Daily Archives: November 24, 2011

Popsicle Sticks and the Fifth FAB Birthday PAR-TAY of 2011

Posted on by
2
Happy Thanksgiving to my quilting friends south of the border in the U.S.A!
Today is my birthday.  I am the fifth and last FAB to be celebrating my birthday this year.  We have postponed the PAR-TAY until the new year–either January or February.  With 5 busy people’s schedules to organize, Thanksgiving celebrations, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, we have all agreed that we will have more time to relax and celebrate after the New Year.
In the meantime, I have picked the quilt pattern that I want to work on during my PAR-TAY day.  I have chosen Popsicle Sticks from Atkinson Designs.
This is my test block.  I am glad I spent the time to put together a test block ahead of the quilting day as I now know that I will make the most efficient use of my fabric if I use WOF strips rather than FQ’s.
I still have many fall coloured / themed fabrics in my stash to pull from so this will be another quilt from my stash.  I am planning to make my quilt King sized – 112″ x 112″.  I will need 49 of these 16 inch blocks made from 2.5 inch strips of fabric.
Terry Atkinson mentions on the pattern jacket that you will need 4 jelly rolls (2.5 inch strips, 42″ long) or 50 fat quarters.  She goes on to say that if your fat quarters are smaller than 18″ x 21″, you will have to allow extra yardage.  When I was making my test block, I found that fat quarters did not work for me–too much waste.
This is a copy of the quilt from the pattern jacket.  This quilt is simple but effective–a take off from the traditional Rail Fence quilt pattern.  I have my strips cut and I am ready to PAR-TAY!

Green Work Basket Block #1 – Ivy

Posted on by
3
I have started a new project.  It is a good idea to have a handwork / portable project available for those times when you are travelling, watching TV, etc.
This is block number one in a basket series by Bee Tree Designs.  There are a total of 12 blocks–each with something different in the basket.  The designs fit nicely on an  8.5 inch square.  The level of detail on some of the blocks and the size mean these are quick-to-stitch so this project will take some time to finish.
I am using two strands of DMC #988 and a backstitch to do the stitching.  In hindsight, I should have likely used three strands of floss to make the design stand out more, but it is now done and IIWII.
Greenwork Ivy Basket
There has been a lot of discussion on the Internet about Pilot’s Frixion pens for marking designs on fabric.  I tried the green Frixion pen to mark this design and I love it!  The ink is thermo reactive and can be removed from paper with friction.  The ink can be removed from fabric by applying the heat of an iron.  I also read somewhere that someone removed the ink with a blow dryer but I haven’t tried that yet.  At 65 degrees Celsius, the ink becomes translucent (invisible).  The ink reappears if you cool your piece to -20 degrees Celsius by putting it in the freezer so be careful what project you are using this ink on.  Previously, I was using a permanent ink marker to mark my stitching designs onto fabric.  If I happened to make an incorrect line, I had to live with it and work it into the design.  With the Frixion pen, I can just use the tip of my iron to remove the mistake and remark.  I am not so sure I would use the pens to mark quilting lines on finished quilts, but for marking red work/green work, they are perfect.