whackadoodle coconut

at least the one that covers my bed.  yes that means after almost a year, actually about 8 months I have finished the duvet.  do you want to see?  of course you do.  the size of the duvet is for a king sized bed, adjusted pattern for our queen sized bed.  the reverse is the lighter sage green solid fabric making for a reversible duvet. the edging on the three sides are flat like a pillow case whereas the bottom with snaps is hemmed a bit to reinforce the snap closure.  there's about a 1.5 inch hem there to help stabilize the edge.  the only unfortunate part of the entire thing is that I had to hand stitch the snaps on the edge. the machine just wouldn't do a good job.  but the silver lining is the snaps are invisible to the top side. and there is no seam on the bottom edge. first thing this morning picture the edging close up  snaps.  to finish the bottom closure. there are about 75 there. guess what will never fall out t...

yesterday I visited the quilting group in Orcutt at the Old Town Quilt shop.  the group meets once a month and they work with scraps.  it was a nice midday "retreat" with a ton of information.  they started with a brief overview of using scraps and then there was some show and tell.  I didn't know I was supposed to bring some, so I just enjoyed others.  and they finished with a short discussion of paper piecing and using your scraps. there was so much information I was furiously taking notes to get it all.  I did learn two new patterns, one is the paper piecing and the other is a larger 9 patch square that you cut into four pieces and then rearrange. very cool. I didn't take any photos, but if your interested you can contact them here . next, today is the second to the last class for my quilted duvet cover so I am excited to get it put together and ready to use. lastly, I've decided to join the tour de fleece a couple weeks ago and I've done a terri...

yesterday midday I finished the center of my quilt.  I laid it out to see how it fit on the bed and it looks pretty darn awesome. I'm very pleased with it.  I still need to work out some measurements on it.  this way I can determine the amount of borders I need to finish. I've also decided to hand quilt it to the backing.  since it's just a duvet cover, it doesn't need fluff, just a backing pocket.

the latest quilting class is a big endeavor for me.  not only am I working on a curved pattern for a quilt, but I am also wanted the design to become a duvet cover.  this means that I need 72-10ish inch squares for the center and those get cut into quarters.  so in reality I will need 288 5ish inch squares.  you read that right, two hundred and eighty eight.  this is the largest number of squares I have ever sewed together and I think the largest number of pieces I have ever done! it's a pretty big deal.  take a look. this is my small workspace at home.  I have two tables that are 2 x 4 feet that I can arrange most any direction in the living room.  it fits everything just right, with the ironing board, cutting board and sewing machine.  wish it was more glamorous, but I have to work with what I got!   the stack of pinned coffee filters to the smaller 8 inch squares. due to my "almost" disastrous cutting mistake, they still fi...

I have to be quick about it this morning since I have a ton of quilting homework to start today from yesterday's day one class.  there is a huge queen/king sized duvet cover on my task list so I best get on it.  and there's the issue with the latest spinning adventure for tour de fleece. okay so here we go - the merino silk sample I spun   this is the fiber that John picked.  it's Ashford merino silk blend in the colorway Ocean.     to me it didn't look like ocean right away. until I spun a little.  I think it was the greenish brown in there, but once it's spun you can't tell it's really in there.  just a little, like the ocean floor and kelp swirling around down there.     did you notice this one has silk in it?  would you know what to look for?  it's that sheen, a slight shine to the yarn.  I looked yesterday at Betty's to see if I could find any other silk yarn to compare to and I really ...

but not a dollar short....you know how the saying goes. I did finally finish my quilt binding and it took an extra day to get it done.  it looks fantastic and I'm looking forward to starting my next one.  it's the drunkards path pattern and I am hoping to convert it into a duvet cover.  I found some instructions to work from so I think I have a good plan in place.  I also asked the teacher for help since she seems eager to tackle a problem. it really doesn't look much different from below, except there isn't the white batting...     I'm also finishing up my knitting project, will post soon!

I didn't finish my quilt yesterday.  kind of bummed about it, but I am really close.  I have 1 1/2 sides remaining on the binding and hand sewing it is a huge improvement compared to the speedy machine.  the biggest issue that I have about it, is that there is a second set of sewing on the back side that looks funny.  I don't like it.  and the front facing side gets wobbly if you aren't super careful. anyway, I will do the binding by hand sewing it in the future.  now hand quilting, I'm still up in the air about.  I don't have a long arm machine to free quilt at home and it would probably cost a fortune for someone else to do it so those aren't really an option.  on the other hand, it does look nice, but not handmade.  it lacks the character I think hand made items need.  even when someone is so good it looks like a machine, I believe there should be some indication by looking at it that it was done by hand.  the work and effor...

this latest quilting class I was resistant to doing it and it was a push from my husband to "make" me sign up and go.  I thought it would be too hard and wasn't sure if I could do it.  yeah I know really, after looking at the last quilting post, you wouldn't believe it.  I don't anymore.  but I was really apprehensive to doing the class and didn't think I had the skills or ability to do it. if you didn't know I like to live by, trying it and practicing until I get it right.  because really, who gets it right the first time. everything takes practice and you have to work at it to get the hang of it.  think about it, who do you know gets everything new they try perfect the first time?  name three. anyway, I have learned a few things in the latest class and I've stretched my skills set beyond what I thought I could. 1.  sewing takes time, you can't just sew like the wind, and still be accurate. well at least I can't.  I'm not a good sewe...

my latest adventure in quilting...and it's good...really good. the first choice in fabrics. not a bad mix of batiks.  by the way - these are pricey at around $13 a yard. I had a few that were only $10, but with about 5 yards to buy, it wasn't cheap.     quilted pieces together - they are all laid out and the backing basted in place.     getting ready to start the quilting process.  in the end, I haven't finished yet and I only have the borders remaining, it's taken 4 days on almost constant sewing.  actually, my hands kind of hurt, but I'm almost done. a few samples of the stitching - remember this is my first attempt, so it's far from perfect, but I wanted it to be neat and not look like a kinder did it and I think I achieved that much.     here's the end product, before the borders are done and the final finishing is completed.  so I still have a little more quilting and binding. ...

I'm almost finished with the latest quilt.  I had a lot of trouble getting the inner borders right and after a LONG day working and another one with the homework, I got it exactly right.  Not almost right, but EXACTLY right. Today was my second day with makeup time and I have finished the quilting part and will trim and bind off in two weeks when I return to class.  That should be plenty of time that day to finish it all.  In whole, I have spent 4.5 days working on the quilt and another partial day to finish the binding. pinned and ready for masking tape and quilting in progress quilting process

This week starts the new quilting class and I am enjoying it as much as the last one.  That's a good thing since I will have a lot of homework for the class and will need to pay close attention to the instructions before I leave each week. This first week, I prepped, cut and sewed the 4 patch kaleidoscope squares together and then homework was to get the borders on each of the 36 squares sewn on.  Two full days later I have 36 squares with borders.  Frankly some are kind of crappy looking, but I need a seam ripper to take them apart and redo.  It's okay though, just like frogging the left side of a sweater full of cables and double knitting, it's necessary to look right. Take a look at the surprisingly easy process to get an innumerable number of squares from one fabric.  Actually you could easily count the number of squares it's 42 so far and probably another 36 if I cut the rest of the fabric totalling 78 DIFFERENT 6 1/2 squares. When I say it's easy, it...

Today was the day I was scheduled to choose new fabrics for my next quilt and I was super excited.  I looked online for the last week or so learning more about the kaleidoscope quilt that I would be making in the next class for a stacked 4 square quilt. I wasn't totally sure what I was looking for, even when I went to scope out some fabrics that I liked.  I chose a few that I thought would work well and I found two that I was especially fond of.  One with dragonflies and another that has sort of a paisley asian/indian print.  The dragonfly print was right out once I pulled it, mostly because the background was too dark. The asian print was my first choice (and it was a little pricey), plus since the print was over 24" I needed the largest amount of fabric.  Now let's see those fabric choices! Here together neatly stacked This is my post and binding fabric. Surprise its the same print at the dark green I bought for my other quilt, just a ligh...

This has been the funnest - is that a word? - class I've taking in a long time.  The teacher was great, although there are a few things that I have learned just about sewing and I would suggest that the basics be learned either in or before the class.  It was also very hot in the room, so that was a downer. I will update with class photos soon! Check out weeks 1 and 3, week 2 is included in week 3 - Week 1 Week 3

The last update didn't include any photos for a reason.  I didn't want to spoil the surprise for this weeks big reveal. Week 2: Prepare strips, blocks and begin borders Week 1 At this point, I already have pieced the 9 patches, 6 inch blocks, and sewn them into 7 square strips. Step 1: Sew the 7 strips together matching seams and lining up the ends, easing as you go. Note: I had sewn 3 rows together and realized that I didn't match the seams and they were all crooked and wonky. I had to rip them out and redo. Step 2: Once this is completed, you will have the center section sewn and ready for borders.  Iron between rows and iron once again when the center is done. Step 3: Borders 1.  Measure in three places for each border.  Once at the top, the center and the bottom.  Mine was all over the place.  Let's say 46", 46.5" and 47.5".  Take the average of the three measures and cut two inner borders at that length for the top and bottom. In ...

Okay, so it's not a kilt day, but a quilt day.  But that's how it's being referred to around the ol' homestead.  Very excited since today we will finishing the top and (hopefully) getting to the batting and cutting the back for some machine quilting next week. I have a few leftovers from the center piecing, so I am thinking of some ideas to use them up.  Maybe a few project bags or fabric gift bags? Like these - Project Bags at the Purl Bee

My first quilting class hosted at Betty's in Santa Maria.  The teacher Sandy is really nice and I have been really exciting to learn a new skill and make something that I will love.  I love the fabric combination and can't wait until it's finished and I can start using my new quilt. The class is formatted like a learn and do and demo class.  The steps aren't difficult, but if you aren't familiar with sewing it could be a challenge.  So, the sample quilt, is a 5 x 5 square center and then a 2 inch and 6 inch border.  I decided that the size wouldn't cut it to use and share, so mine is upped to 7 x 7 center, with the border the same dimensions.  There is one in the classroom that is this size and I think it will be perfect! Let's take a look at the progress - Step 1:  Cut your 9 patch fabrics into 2 1/2 strips.  The number of strips will depend on the number of squares you choose.  My quilt consists of 25, 9 patch squares.  Each of t...