Saturday, November 21, 2020

Quilt Shot Block 127 ~ Hour Glass

 

Hour Glass
 
 
 
QOV sent out a "Call of Action" for some 6½ inch Hour Glass blocks.
My friend cut the squares so I made them in no time,
following the method that QOV sent out. 
The method used was to cut a print and a background (white) square
larger than the raw finished Hour Glass.
The formula is to add 3/8 inch,
but in our case we used the easier 7½ inch measurement,
then trimmed the final square.
There are several HST (Half Square Triangle) cheat sheets for calculating.
Just search for one.
Then sew as follow to make 4 HSTs.


Place the 2 squares right sides together.
 Mark one diagonal line using your favorite method.
Sew quarter inch seam on each side of that diagonal line.

I used a turn table mat to
 cut apart FIRST on the diagonal NOT MARKED and sewn.
Then ROTATE the mat and CUT ON THE LINE that was stitched on each side. 
 
Then sew together as shown below.
These pictures came from the QOV printout we were given.
I'm not able to find a link to the document.


I really like the QOV quilt over at Katy Quilts.
You can spend a lot of time looking for quilts made with just this one block
in any size you like.

Friday, November 20, 2020

Fun Friday ~ Scrappy Border

 

Putting together scraps from making masks to make a quilt border.
This is what I call fun because it's comforting.
Part of keeping my sanity through 2020 without adding calories.
Scrap pieces were cut into 2½ inch strips,
and sewn together.
I had no way of calculating how much of this scrappy fabric to make.
My instinct just kinda tells me.

I had many more scraps to continue.
Really, I couldn't stop.
At this point,
I had to stop for another project,
but on a later day,
I cut it into strips.
My way of measuring for a border is to simply lay the border on the side of the quilt spread out on my cutting table. No actual measuring is done. Why should I measure?
After I cut the piece into 2½ inch strips,
there was enough left for a 6 inch block!
My instinct worked!
 

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Temporary Gauge for Hemming Pants

 

Recently I hemmed 4 pair of men's pants all the same size, so the hemming on all 4 used the same measurements.  When hemming pants, especially for men, the front and back are not the same length and thus the side seams are a different measure involving transition of length.

 

******************
Tuesday Tip
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So instead of resetting my gauge 3 different times for a specific measurement as small as an eighth inch, I made a temporary paper gauge.

It really speeded up the process.





Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Phone Loop for Lanyard from Fabric Scraps

        

      

         A certain loved one keeps misplacing his phone. He has tried various holders. but his phone has popped out & lost unnoticed. Worse, there is no way the holder keeps him from forgetting it in his lap then getting out of the car and dropping it unnoticed. Most of the time he lays it on a store counter or shopping cart and walks off. The craziest is when it slides into the car floor or between the seats and blends in with the black carpet. He ultimately has to drive 30 minutes to my house to get me to call or locate his phone.   He already chains his billfold to his belt loop, so I HAD to come up with a way to tie the phone to him. 

     The solution? Fabric scraps of course. It's SO simple.


******************
Tuesday Tutorial
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First you need an available hole in the case. 
We just happen to have one that isn't used in the upper right corner. 
Maybe its there for this reason?
Mr. G thinks its the speaker, but there is no sound change.


Fold edges of 8 inch piece to the center.
Then fold in half again and stitch along edge.


Fold the other piece in half.
Notice the edges of this piece are not finished.
It won't be exposed to fraying,
and turned edges will cause bulk.
Stitch the 8 inch piece to the folded edge as shown.
Pull loop through opening.
Glue to inside of case if you are afraid it will slip.
Put the case back on the phone.
 
*************

If you need a lanyard,
cut a width of fabric (45 inches) x 2.
Sew like the 8 inch piece above
except top stitch along each side.
 

Tie the 2 ends together
to make one loop.

Then just loop your new lanyard through the loop you just added to your phone.



This lanyard is long enough to tie to yourself and stick in your pocket,
or hang around your neck.
Best of all you used something that didn't cost you anything,
your fabric scraps.


Saturday, November 7, 2020

Quilt Block Shot 126 ~ Elementary School Paper Pieced Star

 Elementary School Paper Pieced Star
 I designed this block using my tricks from teaching
Primary students a few years back.
This block is used making the
Elementary School Star Yard Flag
found HERE
 
First draw the star on a square piece of paper the size of the block including seam.
For example I need a 6½ inch block so I cut a 7 inch piece of paper.
The location of the points will change the shape of the star.
So put the points where you like.  Then connect points with a straight edge.
Cut apart as shown.
The center piece is all white, so no piecing is needed unless you want to use different white fabrics.
Cut an added 1/4 inch seam.
 (Reminds me of the old Quilt Magazines where we always had to add seam allowance.)
The "No Tear Paper Piecing" method was used.
Directions can be found HERE
Basically, the paper is folded,
fabrics laid underneath with right sides together.
Then the seam is stitched along the side of the fold and not through the paper.
Time and paper pattern is saved by not tearing away the paper.
Notice when each piece is trimmed a 1/4 inch seam is added all around.

A pause was taken to mark the pieces to match to make the puzzle easier when this pattern is used again.
Remove paper and stitch 1/4 inch seams.



Thursday, November 5, 2020

Thoughtful Thursday 168~ Peace

 

My Peace Lily bloomed about 3 weeks ago and still looks perfect.

I brought it home from Mother's after she passed away November 14, 2012.
She had gotten it from my Poppa's (her Dad) funeral back around 1998.
This is the first time I've known it to bloom.
Thinking it means something?

Wednesday, November 4, 2020