Very cute!

My answer is: "NO!!!"

I've just finished my niece's oversized quilt (see new thread) and I will probably take the weekend off. I might get my sewing room tidied, but don't envision much more than that.

It's a shame, though, because the weekend is otherwise pretty open on the schedule.

Jen, sometimes you just need to chill!

Cute quilt, Linda!

I plan to keep working on my miniature tree blocks. I'm on #10 out of 31. :)

Donna

I doubt that I'll get any sewing done. Tomorrow night we (10 of us) plan to go out and celebrate our 3rd oldest grandson's 24th BD, which is Saturday. His girlfriend's BD is the same day....she'll be 29. We like her and she seems to be a good influence on him. Saturday, since DGS and his GF have plans, the rest of us (all 5 of us) will be headed down to Tampa for a Ray's baseball game. It's an evening game so it will be a late night for us oldies....meaning, Sunday will certainly be a day of rest. I might get a couple of seams sewn later in the day. :-)

Linda OH, When we lived in Elkhart, Shipshewana was a fun place to go and I tried to get over there as often as I could. The cheese factory in Middlebury was always a 'must' place to stop and get cheese and the baked goods at Das Dutchman Essenhous is/was/are soooooo good! I haven't been there in years, but have nice memories. lol

SharonG/FL

No quilting but some sewing. Decided to use leftover flannel from baby quilts to make burp pads. Nothing fancy like Rosa's though, just plain and very washable. Have about 9 done already and have 4 more cut out.
I have never been to Shipshewana even though we live relatively close. Must see if there are tours going. It sounds amazing.
Theresa

Sharon, I just asked Mark the other day if he wanted to go to a Rays game this season, so we may get over there to one soon. Have a great time!

Linda, that looks great! Wow :o)

I worked on my puff quilt all day today and will likely continue on Saturday. I made about 75 puffs... but I need about 700 total. I'm chain piecing to contstruct the puffs and trying to force myself to fall in love with the knee lifter feature of my machine... The previous machine had the presser foot lifter lever on the inside of the harp and this one has it all the way in the back and I can't stand reaching all that way for it so I thought the knee lifter would help me deal with the inconvenience.

i had to buy a new acrylic ruler last night because mine has been gouged so much by the blade that it wasn't accurate anymore... I've learned to cut as many layers of fabric as I can at one time with the rotary cutter (I can do 4 or 5 now... when I first started I was oh so careful and only did one at a time) and it's going so much faster. I've been pinning the puffs so much that I ran out of pins and had to buy more (each square takes 8 pins)!

I did take a break in the middle of the day to do some shopping... and came back with 30 dollars worth of fat quarters from Big Lots... I just can't help myself!

Oh yeah, I wasted an hour looking at free embroidery downloads online last night. Is this how it starts?

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and gets a lot done, sewing or not :o)

I'm sure I'll get some time at the machine...........even if it's just an hour at a crack early in the morning. It's that time of the garden season that I'm shifting into harvest mode and canning, and at the same time sowing the fall crop. I just had this feeling yesterday as I was digging spuds that I needed to get the lettuce and carrots in. Sure enough, even though it wasn't forecast, just as I was going to bed, the skies opened up with a ten minute rain to water the new seeds in. LOL The Chinese lantern quilt is falling into place quickly and easily and I think really shows off the oriental motif of the material. In no hurry to finish and just enjoying the journey for a change.

LOL, Bobby - you'll need an organization system for those free embroidery downloads! You'll look at designs and think "I'd never want to embroider that" then you think "well, it's free and maybe someday I'd want it." Before you know it you have hundreds of freebies! :)

Donna

Linda I like your cloth book panel, I think it looks really cool. I like how you have the little animated scenes outlined. I started making crocheted lace for Christy's grandbaby quilt on Wednesday and hoping to finish the crocheting of it today. Hoping Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon to start sewing the crocheted lace onto her quilt --- this is the last step, everything else is done. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

Bobby is there a free puff quilt pattern online? Which pattern are you using? I have no idea how to make a puff quilt, but saw a beautiful one decades ago when a I house-sat for a B & B, and have never forgotten how beautiful that quilt was. I have no idea where to even go to get a pattern for puff quilts, do you have any suggestions?

Best to you,
Sandra

This post was edited by quiltingfox on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 12:48

Linda: oh so cute!
Jen: free weekend = lotto block(s)
Sharon: Enjoy the Rays...so what if you chill on Sunday...that's fine
Bobby: that's alotta puffs to make...puff away!
Donna: You are so right about free downloads...they are irresitable...LOL

Hope to spend time sewing this weekend, finishing up little retreat gifties, and perhaps assembling the wine room quilt top...I keep putting it off, especially after enjoying a glass of wine...me, wine and sewing do not mix well...don't ask how I know :-)

Happy sewing everyone!
V.

I found a puff quilt tutorial online just now, Bobby is this how you make your puff quilt blocks or is there another method/way for making them? Do you cut the bottom square and top square of the puff block both the same size? Are you basically pleating the top fabric on the puff block and also making pleats/gathers in the bottom square fabric as well? And once you get them all sewed individually and get the fabric flipped to right side on the outside again then do you just sew the puff blocks together in a row? Are you stuffing them as you go or are you getting all the rows sewed together and then going back and stuffing them? Which way is easiest? I would really like to make a puff quilt one day and am just trying to wrap my head around the process of making it. Appreciate your input.

Best to you and thanks bunches,
Sandra

Here is a link that might be useful: Puff Quilt Tutorial

This post was edited by quiltingfox on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 14:49

Thanks for the warning, Donna....

Sandra, I quilt the way I cook.... I read several recipes (or patterns or tutorials) and watch videos and them combine them all to do my own thing.

So, I'm not using a specific pattern. I started out by doing 3 inch backing squares and 5 inch top squares (a Youtube video suggested that). Put them wrong sides together and pin all four corners together. Then make the pleats and pin those. Top stitch on 3 sides and stuff (using poly-fil, the same thing I'd stuff a pillow with) the open side... then top stitch the opening and then stitch the squares to each other....

After doing 15 like that, I decided I wanted bigger squares so I'm now using 4 inch backing and 6 inch top squares (in part because my 6x24 inch ruler makes cutting 6 inch wide strips so easy... I also decided it was too hard to get all that bulk under the presser foot (sewing things that are stuffed is not easy), so I'm going to construct all the puffs, piece them to each other and then to back and cut the backs open and stuff them one at a time and hand sew them shut.... very tedious, but the only way I can make it work....

I'm not sure how I'm going to back it and tack the backing, but there are directions for that in the tutorials...

My squares look just like the ones in the tutuorial you linked before I sew them but I put a pin on the diagonal in each corner.... I've learned to fold the pleats down all the same direction and in a way that will enable the presser foot to go over them instead of lift them up. I also learned to pin on top only.... when I first started, half my pins were on the top and half were on the bottom and removing them during sewing wasn't easy...

I've got it down to a science now... I pin while watching tv... last night during a 30 minute episode of Are You Being Served, I got 13 squares pinned and pleated.... truly that is the most time consuming part.

Good luck if you try it... I don't know if that helped or confused, but let me know. :o)

Linda, I love the characters in the fabric, so cute!

Theresa, I think burp cloths are such a great idea, I wish we had them when mine were little. We just used old diapers LOL!

Bobby, embroidery is just as addicting as quilting! I have so many embroidery designs I plan to make. I really enjoy using embroidery on my quilts. Not the quilting part! It is such a pain to hoop!

Sharon, I went to a few Ray's games and I love the indoor stadium. We always got home passed 2AM, but it was fun.

I will only be able to embroider my snowmen this weekend, if I have time for them.
Rosa

Thank you Bobby that helps tremendously, so now I know what size to cut my fabric and I have a 6" wide x 2' ruler so I think it will be much easier using the 4" & 6" sizes. Hubby is using the printer right now, so I'll print out your instructions later this weekend and put in my quilt pattern binder. I think I would probably sew the 3 edges with the machine and then hand-stitch the 4th side opening, but I like to hand-sew a lot. That helps to know how you pinned the pleats all in the same direction. I am putting this quilt on my future to do list. Thank you so much for your help! :-) Have a great weekend!

Best to you and thanks bunches,
Sandra

Rosa, I started out looking for a camera and a Hawiian Hula girl (never found any for free, but there were plenty for 10 dollars or something stupid like that), but I got so engrossed in looking at all the others that I just lost track of the time! I need more thread colors!

Sandra, I was writing from my phone at work earlier so I forgot to address a few things... you only pleat the top fabric, the bottom one remains flat and straight. also, you don't have to make the top 2 inches smaller than the backing fabric... I've seen some tutorials where they are 1.5 or 1 or even 3 inches different in size, so you can play around with that and see what you think.

I didn't even think about hand sewing them together or hand sewing the opening closed after they are stuffed (that is how much I don't like hand sewing... but I'll still be doing enough hand sewing with closing up the holes I'm going to have to make in the back of the fabric. If you do try to sew them on the machine after they are stuffed, try to use a machine with the skinniest presser foot possible... I used my vintage straight stitcher for a lot of it and it was much easier than using the 7 and 9 millimeter machines (but I tried those too because I really needed the needle down feature that the vintage machine lacks)....

If I feel ambitious, I'll make a video and post it on my Youtube channel and share the link here... but no promises, I may not be that adventurous (and I don't know where the charger for the camera is) :o)

Donna, how's your Ipad gaming going?

Kate, if you're reading this, how's the sewing room coming along?

Sandra I made a video to show you how I'm doing mine.... if this link doesn't work on your computer let me know.... I'm doing this from my phone and it might try to upload the mobile link instead of the computer one (I'm in bed and too tired to run to the computer right now.... the video took much longer to process than I anticipated and I got sleepy waiting. :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Puff quilt

Bobby, I wondered who the heck was posting at 4:30 in the morning! LOL To answer your question, still wasting too much time on those iPad games. :)

At least I've been productive so far this morning. Mark needed to get up around 7 to get ready to go work on the Habitat house, so I was up about 6:30 to get the coffee going. So far I've showered, changed the sheets, washed the cat bowls, scooped the litter box, gotten the first load of clothes in the washer, and had my breakfast. Not bad - it's only 8:30!

I've got some guild work I need to do for Monday's meeting, so I'm going to do that next before I start sewing.

Donna

You're on a roll, Donna! It's almost 9am and I haven't even finished my coffee yet. But I did change out my purse for taking it to the game. We'll be leaving early afternoon as we want to stop by the new Crystal Truck Center on 19 in Spring Hill to look it over. DH is anxious to see the paint booth! I think this makes 8 or 9 car/truck/body shops new and used that the company owns that DD and her DH work for. They planned (we prayed a lot) very well many years ago in preparation for the recession and it worked!

Bobby, I sent you an email.....I got an auto response, so don't know if you saw it or not.

Theresa, If you like flea markets, you'll love Shipshewana. And then there are the quilt shops! If possible, plan to the spend the night so you don't feel rushed to try and see everything in a few hours. Or, do the shops one trip and the flea market another. Yoder's store is a 'must' for a look-see. I loved to just meander there....good fabric prices, too...along with boots, hats, hardware, groceries etc. Just an old fashioned homey store.

Rosa, We won't be driving, so it won't matter what time we get home. I can fall sleep anywhere, as you well know. lol On family outings, our van is used so there's enough room for everyone, but the SIL drives...especially if it's going to be late and out of town. Works for me. lol

Guess it's time for me to get moving......need to get the van washed, dustbusted, fueled up and go to the store and get the princess some cat food. We recently bought a pen with a laser pointer and she loves to attack that red dot! Best cat toy ever made!!

SharonG/FL

Wow, Donna... I read everything you did and had to go back to bed. Just thinking about it got me tired. I don't think most people do that much by noon! I'm off on Monday and I didn't know there was a guild meeting. I'd likely enjoy another meeting more now since they won't be so obsessed with the quilt show, but the thought of driving and parking means that I'll be going to watch True Blood with friends instead (they DVR it for me since I don't have cable) :o) Besides, for now, my need for quilters in real life is pretty satisfied by the bi-weekly sit and sews :o)

Sharon, I haven't had access to the e-mail address in my profile for over a year now... somebody hacked it and changed my password and I can't get back in. So, I tried many times to change my Gardenweb e-mail address, but they won't let me. The one I use now (and I'm going to try to do this in a way that will not invite spam) is... the first letter of the e-mail address is the first letter of the word "vacuum" and then acuvirgo@gmail.com

Sandra, I tried the link and it didn't work because I still accidentally had the thing set for private.... I just unlocked it. Here's another just in case. Hopefully I'm coherent as it was made in the wee hours of the morning :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Working link puff quilt tutorial video I made

OK, Bobby, resent (not resent, re-sent) it....let me know if it worked. BTW, my youngest brother's legal name is Bobby. He became a business owner and is highly known and recognized in the RV trade. Mom gave him permission to change his name when he was on his way up the ladder, but he respectfully said no, this is the name you gave me. He uses his initials, BJ, for business. :-)

SharonG/FL

LOL, Sharon and Bobby! Today we had to be up early b/c DH had to leave for church at 7 am, but then I laid in bed till 8! :). Now I'm on a coffee break at 11. :). I guess I can't be super productive every day.

Donna

FINALLY! Sewing room new floor is done. Painting is done. Time to start moving stuff back in but I'm going to sort as I go so that part won't be fast. Soon those shelves will be filled with neatly folded fabric!

How dramatic! Looks like something out of a magazine. Just sitting here smiling Kate. It's so neat when you make your 'getaway' uniquely your own like that.

Kate! That. Looks. Awesome.!! I would never have come up with those colors, but it works!!!

SharonG/FL

Wow, Kate, that's BRIGHT yellow! LOL I can't wait to see your room finished.

I showed Mark a photo of a big corner set of Koala cabinets and asked if he needed a project. :)

Donna

Thank you bunches Bobby for making a tutorial for me! The puff quilt I saw back in my college days used much larger squares like about 8" x 8" after stuffing so am thinking I will use a larger size something like that. Thanks for letting me know that I am suppose to only pleat the top square. I do like to sew by hand a lot, but I don't know, I may when making the 3 sides might would use the machine and then just hand sew the 4th side. Hubby is wanting a lighthouse quilt and he wants a quilt with a little more weight to it - he said my last quilt felt like a summer quilt cause it was so lightweight. So am thinking I might could do a large lighthouse pieced block in the center of the quilt and then do large puff squares around it and stuff them so that it give the quilt more weight, that's what I am thinking about doing along the lines of a puff quilt, I don't know I will have to give it some thought. Thank you for sharing with me how you make your puff quilt, I appreciate that a bunch!

Kate wow it looks great! And it's so neat and tidy right now. Please post a pic when you get it all fill with your fabric and stuff, can't wait to see it then. Thank you for sharing your quilt/sewing room remodel with us, it's really cool to see. And it's inspiring, gets me thinking about my "future" quilt room.

Well my weekend did not go quite as planned, but had a good weekend. Went shopping with my mom and had a good visit with her Saturday morning and lunch. Then Saturday afternoon a close family friend's grandparents have passed away during the past year and so they asked us to come help clean out some of his grandma's sewing stuff and then wants me to keep, donate, or toss items as I see fit. So Saturday afternoon I helped dig part of his grandma's garden and then helped clean out sewing stuff out of the shed and then brought all that stuff home and went through it all on Sunday, hubby took some stuff to Goodwill this afternoon. There is fabric from our friend's grandma and his great-grandma that seems a little fragile so I am not going to wash it, but instead I plan to make large quilt squares out of the vintage fabric and frame the quilt blocks for our friend, his mom, and his sister. It's been a humbling experience sorting everything and it's been interesting seeing what she used in her sewing such as notions and fabrics, our friend's grandma did a lot of clothes sewing and their are patterns that are so old they only have 50cents marked as their price on them and I would like to frame some of them. Our friend's mom asked me and hubby to come back later this week when she cleans out her mom's bedroom aka sewing room, so it's just very humbling. The only other time in my life I have ever had to go through a deceased person's belongings was when one of my grandmothers passed in 2000, so helping our close family friend with his grandma's stuff kind of reminds me of my grandma ..., and along those lines, my Mom brought me some old quilt blocks that my grandma had made before she passed in 2000, so I have not decided yet if I am going to frame those blocks or whether I want to make a wall hanging or lap quilt out of them, there is just a few of them, but I feel really fortunate to have them.

Best to you,
Sandra