New Year...New Look!

Yes, you are in the right place...this is still Patchwork Pie!
I just decided to change to a cleaner look, as the old template was about to be classified as "retro"! Let me know if you like it.
And in the general realm of cleaning up, some small progress is made in the studio:

See the previous post for the "before" picture

I said it was small progress!
Instead of 2 boxes out from the wall, now it's only 1. And I had an amazing discovery when I got down to box that was on the bottom:

Like finding a treasure chest

There was a whole 24 x 12 x 6 box of batiks I had forgotten about! All different colors, fat quarters and yards...I do remember having them, but obviously not where I had put them!
So here they are in my office with the other batiks, and I'll be sorting them back into the color family collections.
This is why cleaning up is such a problem....it leads to so many more Things To Do!
At least it can still considered studio work. Otherwise, I would have to fall back on one of my favorite quotes:


"Housework won't kill you....but why take a chance?"
                                                                         --- Phyllis Diller

New Year's preparations...

It's the last day of 2011...time to get ready for the traditional Quilt Studio Clean-Up for the New Year!
This time I decided the "divide & conquer" routine is best, so I will look at the areas in my studio and choose one to work on first. You might think a room this small doesn't have areas, but it definitely does!

A place for everything...?

This is by the door, but actually to the left as you walk (squeeze) in. Really, the ironing has to go...that's a big mental road block in a studio! And how can I open the nice, labelled boxes when small items have used the lids as a landing spot?

Why the door doesn't open completely

Why, yes...this whole mess does collapse under the force of gravity upon occasion! And what you can't see on the floor is a stack (there's a box under it somewhere) for things to get rid of....one may ask why they are still there!

Ah...a new sewing machine!

Here's a bit of a breather...except for the true Neat-Niks, but they've already clicked away to another blog by now, if their hands weren't shaking too much.
YOU CAN SEE THE FLOOR!
But the trash basket is full. At least that's easy to fix.

Really...this is a cutting table!

This is to my back when I'm sewing. It's a very good example of how any horizontal space collects stuff.The plastic box contains a lot of decorative threads, and it has a place to be put away in, too!
I'm sure if you like TV shows such as "American Pickers" and "Storage Wars" you are really enjoying this post...and you're wondering what all is on those shelves in the background.
This is:

The WOW factor

I know the vinyl I need for the Betsy Goldsmith applique class is in here somewhere...down on the lower left is the home of the Infamous Over-flowing Scrap Basket, my lecture prop. 
But the place that really needs clearing out the most has to be here:

Total confusion...or is it?

It's a mess, but I do know what's in there! It's the magnet spot for all UFOs and other things that need to be set aside temporarily...like maybe for 5 years or so!
This is the ideal place to start the clean-up, as these items are beginning to block the way to my sewing machine.
But no matter how cluttered it gets, I will never utter the words "I can't get in there". That is a bad sign, friends...it means you are not able to get to your creative work, and that's the beginning of the end!
If you ever reach that point, let me know and I will come over to help you shovel a path to your sewing machine. Do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to be cut off from sewing, gluing or whatever it is you love to do. Even the tiniest bit of creative action keeps your soul alive.


OK, I'm ready now to do battle with my PackRat side. Like battling the Dark Side, it's never-ending...but it is a lot more fun and colorful!

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A Fast Gift for Feline Friends

Next to the cardboard box from a package, a cat's favorite gift is a catnip bag.
I wanted to give something to my cat Shayla and to my friends' cats, so here's a way to make a lot of catnip bags really fast. And no turning needed!
Start with a nice batik Fat Quarter (18" x 22")...it has a good tight weave to stand up to teeth & claws, plus you'll enjoy seeing it as it appears in odd places around the house!

So pretty & bright!

1)  Trim the edges to makes them fairly square/ straight if they aren't already.
2)  With the wrong side up, fold the long edges in to touch in the center. Now you will see the right side of the fabric. 
3)  Start at one end and mark a line 1/2--3/4" inside. Then mark at 2" and then 1/2"  and 2" until you get to the end.You do not need to be fussy about the measurements. I used a chalk marker. You need the 1/2--3/4" at the end on the right, too. Just cut off any extra fabric.

This will make 14 bags that are approx. 2" x 4"

4)  Set your stitch length a bit shorter than usual, and just sew right on top of the lines. Or sew on and off the lines. Nobody is going to notice, and the cat will be too high to care if the lines are "straight".

Don't worry about the open edges yet!

5)   Backstitch at the start and end of each line.
6)   If you have a thread cutter button on your machine, this is a great time to use it! My new Horizon has one, but I sewed half the lines before I remembered to use the automatic cutter....maybe I won't forget it from now on!
7)  Fold the piece of fabric along the center so all the openings are going up.

Home-made is so often better than store-bought.

8)  I made a paper funnel to get the catnip into the bags. You can see the plastic one that did not work! Make the opening about the same size as the bag (2"). I just rolled a piece of scrap paper and taped it.
9)  Start at one end and fill the bags. I stuck my fingers down inside to sort of separate the layers in each bag, giving the catnip a place to go. 2 tablespoons is plenty for each bag...of course, I just eyeballed it!

I ran out of  'nip and have empty bags on the right end!

10) Pin the bags shut if you think they will spill as you're working along the row. In fact, you may want to do the filling over a box lid or tray to catch the extra catnip...you know I always make a mess!

Closing the bags

11)  Sew along each open edge with a long seam. You could backstitch at each intersection with the bag sides, but if you use a short stitch it's not really necessary.
12)  Now get out those pinking shears and cut all the bags apart!

Do you know where your pinking shears are???

13)  Cut in between the bags, too...it does not matter which way you cut first! 

Too cute!

14)  Yes, that's 3 pinked edges and one fold.
 I ran out of catnip, so those four bags were just cut off the end and can be filled & stitched shut later.

Shayla offers to help "clean up".

So there are 10 catnip bags to make my fur friends feel happy this holiday season, and it took less than an hour including selecting the fabric.


I don't have any doggie friends to make gifts for this year, but if you do, I suggest making a collar cover...just sew a tube that is longer than the collar so it scrunches up when you thread the collar end through. Pick a color that the owner likes...the dog is color-blind and does not care!
My DIL noticed that the napkins at an import store would make really cool bandanas. That would also be a good idea, because many dogs look great wearing one!


Hope your holiday sewing is going well...let me know if you have any good quick & easy ideas to share!

Jelly Roll Race with All Stars

Trends move fast in the quilt world, and the Jelly Roll Race is certainly one!

A roll has 42 strips that equal about 1600"!

It seems like everybody has a "jelly roll" of 2.5" cut strips....a marketing idea from Moda that passed into common usage almost immediately. And despite a rash of pattern and project books designed to use them (and their cousins of bakery-themed pre-cut squares and other shapes) they seem to hang around for awhile. You probably have one!
The Jelly Roll Race is a fun way to use up a roll, and the All Star Quilters had a competition at their recent retreat.


Several people brought their own roll, but everyone also found a roll in their "goodie bag" upon arrival...truly a heroic effort by the Retreat Committee, who cut & rolled them all!

Featherweights were still stitching on after some computerized machines bit the dust!

The idea is simple: connect all the strips into one long piece, fold and cut in half, then repeat about 5 times.
Of course, it's not quite as easy as it sounds, and those who had helpers to untwist the strips sewed a bit faster!


When it's done, you have a cute quilt, perfect for a child's gift or a charity project.

Traditional picture of taking a picture of another photographer

Strips can be joined with a straight or diagonal seam

If you didn't already click on it above, do check out the Jelly Roll 1600  on YouTube to see a group of ladies showing how it is done.

Ain't Afraid of No Judge!

I had a wonderful time with the Honeybee Quilters Guild last night. My talk was "I Ain't Afraid of No Judge", which attempts to get quilters comfortable with entering a show. For truth in advertising, I bring quite a few of my quilts with the judge's critique/ comment sheet pinned right to each one for anybody to see.

That's "Perky Old Men" on top at the left, then "The Spicy Quilt" in the center, and my latest, "Shining Sea" on the right.
That black and red checkered border belongs to "The Black T-Shirt Quilt", the black & pink peeking out at the bottom is "Roxanne's Honeymoon" and the corner at the bottom right is "Autumn Glory".


Many quilters are afraid to enter their quilts in a show because they will be "judged". Well, all that means is some body with a lot of experience is going to spend maybe 2-3 minutes looking over your quilt, and give you some helpful comments. That judge will never see all the things you know you might have done better.
A trained judge (NQA certified, for example) will be mostly looking at what's right about your quilt, and maybe give a comment that nudges you to do better. (yes, I did have a tension problem on my machine! yes, I should be more precise in my piecing! Did I already know that? YES!) 


Many local quilt shows are open entry, either to the sponsoring guild or the public. That means if you get your entry in on time (and pay attention to the other rules) your quilt will be shown.
Most of the larger national shows are juried first. That means you send in pictures and a panel of judges decides which entries will be in the show. That's necessary for one like Quilt National where there are over 1, 000 entries and only room to hang about 80. So you can feel proud just to get into one of those!


Many times there is not much difference between the winners in any category, and the judge is placing them in some order because people want awards! So don't be too concerned over why something got one ribbon and not another. 
OK, we'd all like to get that first place blue ribbon...and the people who do have usually spent their time paying attention to details (like going back to make sure those points match). The rest of us have moved on to the next project!


It's fun to see your quilt hanging in a show, and it's a great motivator to do even better work. So whether you are a real competitor (a true sport in itself!) or just someone who likes what you made, and wants to share it, don't be afraid to enter a show!

Four years of Patchwork Pie

Happy Birthday, Patchwork Pie! It's hard to believe this blog is four years old.
Thanks to all my fantastic Followers (who have re-appeared on the side bar since I switched to Chrome for my browser), and also the many other people who drop in for a piece of pie occasionally.

I wanted a pumpkin pie to celebrate today, but the bakery sold out already by 1:00.
So here's a picture of pie in Paducah, which is a very good place for any quilter to be!


Tomorrow I'll be visiting with the Honeybee Quilters Guild. They meet at Cinnamon's Quilt Shoppe right here in Jacksonville. Not only are they part of the seven-guild group who put on QuiltFest every year, they also have a great annual "retreat" in February with several national teachers.
We're going to be talking about quilt shows and why "I Ain't Afraid of No Judge!" (that's my new lecture). As always, it should be a lot of fun! I will bravely expose my judges' critique sheets, most of which note the machine quilting knots on the back...
...as if I didn't know!

Business & Busy-ness

Tomorrow is the birthday of Patchwork Pie, and I am feeling guilty about neglecting my posts!
Sometimes a person just gets tied up with so many things, nothing gets done. That's a good time to ask: Is this business...or it just busy-ness?
I bought a wonderful new Janome 7700 Horizon back in August, and this is as far as I've come:

It's about 1" too wide for the cut-out previously home to my Pfaff 1475. I'm hoping this is the week it finally gets installed. I'll use the extension table that came with the machine to go around the free arm, which means I'll have to adjust the shelf (it is hanging in there on screws) so the machine is just a tad bit higher than the edge of the desk.
I hope that is not too high to keep the pressure foot knee-lift (not in the pic) from working.
I did quilt most of two small quilts while my new machine was on the dining room table. That only reminded me of how terrible it is to quilt when the machine is at the wrong height.


So I have been busy with business, thanks to Cherry-Cherry (AKA "The Business Manager") who keeps me on track. I published the "Shining Sea" pattern, and am now at work on one called "Groundhog Day".
I always wanted to have a Groundhog Day pattern, and never quite found the right idea. Then as I was working on one called "Monkey Business", I discovered that there are are currently several patterns with that same title!
This was a no-brainer....it is now called "Groundhog Day", and you will understand why when you see it.
For those who made the "Monkey Business" quilt in a Mystery Quilt class, it's almost--but not quite!-- the same pattern.


It's a busy week coming up here! I have to celebrate the Patchwork Pie blog tomorrow, then lectures to give for two different guilds in town, the Bad Girls Pie Club is meeting Thursday, and Saturday is a quilt guild Tag Sale. After all that is over, it's time to sneak off for a 4-day Quilters Retreat.
Whew! Hope you are also busy with good things.