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. 

QuiltFest 2011 catch-up

QuiltFest, the local show that has grown to regional status, flew by this year. My mind was involved with so many things I did not get nearly the photos I wanted...but here's the one you want:

BEST of SHOW
"Tree of Lfe" by Wilhelmina Vandevoode (Sieverville, TN)

This hand-quilted beauty is really a work of art. The details are outstanding, with too many techniques to mention!

Wonderful applique work is emebllished with tiny embroidered leaves. Notice the subtle color changes throughout the quilt!

The beadwork was so tiny I couldn't even get a good close-up!

And the reason QuiltFest hangs the Best of Show by itself...to make the back easy to view!
All these things go into the judge's decision about Best of Show, which is chosen from the first place winners in all the categories.

I had nothing to do with it, so The Sunshine State Quilters Association raffle quilt won the blue ribbon in the Collaborative Quilts category!

SSQA 2012 Raffle Quilt
"Batik Garden"
(from Mary Sorensen's pattern "Delectable Pathways")

What a beauty! It should raise a lot of money for the grants program SSQA has to help Florida groups do quilt-related eductional and charitable events.

My quilt did not really deserve an award, but in the same category (Intermediate Pieced Duets, menaing two people worked on the quilt) this one did:

Honorable Mention
"Stars and Rosettes, My Version"
Elfriede Echt (Jacksonville, FL)

That's a lot of little hex shapes! Love the two-tone purple border!

My quilt? It's my latest pattern, finally being published this week:

"Shining Sea"
Sunnie Malesky

The pattern has two smaller quilts, just the Day part and just the Night part, plus instructions on how to make a reversible quilt. Lots of fun, and super easy blocks. This was originally designed for my Personalized Mystery Quilt class in 2009 for the Seaside Piecemakers in Satellite Beach, FL.

Well, that's it! Pitiful, but I'll do better next time.

Now that cooler weather has arrived in Florida, it's time to get busy.

I'll be taking my famous Over-Flowing Scrapbasket down to the Ocean Waves guild in Miami this weekend for a lecture, and two classes: Trapunto By Machine and BLOOMS.

Janome Horizon 7700

The Janome Horizon 7700 is mine at last!
It didn't even make it to the studio yet. I had to unpack it right away on the dining room table (AKA the-home-of-all-art-projects-since-nobody-eats-here-except-on-holidays).

Ah, that smell of fresh plastic & Styrofoam! But right away I see the manual, the legs for the extension table, and a bag full of feet, bobbins and other goodies.

Ah, the machine finally appears, with the table and "semi-hardcover" tucked beside it.
This machine is big, but suprisingly not quite as heavy as expected. I do not plan on doing a lot of travelling this this one, anyway. (NOTE: 8/26/11 It really IS a heavy machine...I must have been so excited when I brought it home that I didn't notice!).

Ta-Dum! All plugged in and ready to go! I chose this machine for the extra room to the right of the needle.
I also chose it because I like my sewing machine dealer ABC Vacuum & Sewing Center  (ask for Pam!)and this is the brand she prefers now. I have a small Janome Jem and like it very much.
Bringing a new machine home is just like a new baby...

I have to show it off from all angles! Right now it does not have the special spool holder add-on accessory that will go in the two holes at the top. But I got that, too, because Cherry-Cherry says it makes a real difference for the thread feed on her big quilting machine.

The double-bin free arm surround has lots of storage, but when I finally get this installed up in my studio it will never be on the machine. DH Ed will cut a larger hole in my sewing area...and I'll just save all that story for another post!

There's lots of storage on the top, too. That spindle laying down there can hold a second spool when it's stuck in a hole, and can also be used for winding a bobbin if it doesn't have to come off the sewing spool. This bobbin winder works great! It's been awhile since I had one I could trust. And talk about bells & whistles...in this picture, just to the left of the bobbin, is a thread cutter!

Oh, yeah...it definitely has more stitches than I shall ever use. Here they are from left to right!

Instead of boring you to death right now with too many pictures and details,(remember, it's like bring a new baby home! ), I'll  share things as they come up.

Very pretty stitches, front and back, with the 7 feed dogs this machine has! I am looking forward to some more precise sewing...and I haven't even used the fancy feed system yet.
So...why is this machine on my dining room table, and why am I not playing with all the fun new features?
This is why:

Up in Ye Olde Studio, I'm in the middle of a quilting job on the Pfaff1473. If it survives two more years, it will be old enough to vote!
This is a large baby quilt and there's another with a related matching design. I'll quilt that one on the Horizon ....what a good comparison they will be!
Yes, there is a reason I got the Horizon right now, after thinking about it for a year. I'll share that story in the next post.

Folk School class in March

The new catalog is out for the John C. Campbell Folk School (Brasstown, NC)!
One of my greatest joys is to be teaching there the week of March 4--9 next year.

I'll be teaching the Campbell Folk School Quilt again. It's my design, using traditional patterns to tell the colorful story of how the school was founded. But there are 30 more block patterns included so you can personalize it, make it as big was you want, or whatever! It's sort of like an excuse for quilters of all skill levels to get together and have some fun. And who wouldn't want to spend a week here:

It's like a Dream Studio! With design walls all around, ironing surfaces, etc etc etc.

If you want some time out of the studio (though many at the school like to do their 6 hours of class per day and then go back for more work time in the evening) you can find dancing, music and other activities in Keith House, the heart of the school:

What else could you possibly want?
Good food...cooked for you by somebody else! The bell rings three times each day and everyone heads down to the Dining Hall:

That's some good Southern cooking, too. And if you're a vegetarian, they have that all taken care of as well.
Housing? Very comfortable rooms for 2 or 3 (if you don't bring a roomie, you can ask for one) most with a private bath. The houses are scattered all through the main part of the school and have names like Rock House, Little House, and Log House.
The top of this post has a link to the school's website...you'll enjoy the pictures!...or click the link below and get the page for my class. Look on the right side for the other classes being held that week, so you can bring a friend or loved one along with you:
 https://www.folkschool.org/index.php?section=class_detail&class_id=5381 .

If you want to read more about my class and see pictures, just type Campbell school into the search box.
It's going to be a lot of fun...I'd love to see you there!

Quilt Binding By Machine

Recently a faithful follwer, the Mysterious Ms. E, requested some information on doing a binding completely by machine.
This is a fantastic way to finish a quilt that is meant for hard use, or one that is not intended as a show-stopping heirloom. It's great for pot holders! And, while I know there are a few people out there who can do this beautifully, it is not considered to be the nicest way to do the binding. The control you have with a traditional hand-sewn finish method will give a much better edge.
That said...let's look at how to do it!

Here are the supplies...I used a gold bobbin and black thread on top in hopes the pictures would be clearer (it's a usable pot holder!).  The quilt block has one layer of cotton batting, and a backing made of blue terrycloth, and has  been "quilted" (stitched through all layers) in a X. You can just stack the layers up and then trim them all to be the same size. I would also suggest that you do a quick zig-zag stitch all around the outside to hold the layers together better...not necessary for a regular quilt, though.
The binding is a French double fold , meaning the strip is cut and folded so the long raw edges are together. You may want to cut a slightly wider binding to finish by machine (2.5").  For a hand-finished binding, I cut it a bit narrower.

Sew the binding on the BACK, as it will be turned to the front. That is so the wonky stitching will show on the back, when it's done, not the front. Just sew it the way you usually do, folding and mitering the corners as you go around. Feel free to skip ahead here if you know how to sew a binding...

This is actually what I do (please do whatever works for you!). Sew towards the first corner, and stop 1/4" (OR the width of the seam allowance) before the corner. Remove the item from the machine, rotate to line up for the next side, and turn the binding strip up so the raw edge is straight in line with the side.
When you bring the binding back down to match the raw edges on this next side, the fold goes right at the top, even with the first side. I am using my fingers to keep everything in place...

...and I continue to use them to hold it all together. Feel free to pin, but I find it is easier to give it the "Pinch O' Death" to move back under the needle. If something slips, I can easily re-adjust it. Sometimes pinning and removing the pin will pull things out of place.

Eventually you get all the way around to where you started...and if you remembered to leave a bit unsewn, you can tuck the end inside the beginning. Or you can use any number of nice ways to sew the ends together...that is a subject all in itself!
Now turn to the front:

Pull all the binding to the front, and check a corner to see how the miter will fold. You are going to sew this the same way as any binding, so you want the first part to go smoothly down to the corner, then the miter forms when you turn the corner.

The difference is that you are going to topstitch right along the fold.

Sewing close to the fold gives it a neat look....the fold should cover the bobbin thread (first line of stitching).
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
...Now the bobbin thread will show on the back, so maybe you want it to be the same color..
...You could match the fold to the stitching line, and in theory it would look like stitch-in-the-ditch along the back side (don't count on it!). There is a fusable thread, which you could use in the bobbin when you first sew the binding on, then you can fuse the fold right where you want it. And do remember to change it out before you go to the front.
...Matching the fold to the stitching line may not allow the edge of the item to fill the binding.
...You could use a fancy stitch with totally contrasting thread.
When we return to the back you will get the idea. Until then, let's keep sewing!

Sew all the way to the end of the side, at the corner. Backstitch, and remove from the machine.
Fold the miter in place, and continue topstitching along the fold.

There you are! Staying close to the fold keeps you from having a flap-like effect along edge.
So let's look at the back now (the bobbin thread is now red instead of gold):

OK, this is the important point...something is going to look funny, unless you happen to be one of those people who take the time to finesse the entire project.  That means "be really fussy"...but thank-you if you are...you give the world something nicer to look at than my slap-dash style!
Now, it is possible to sew the binding on the front, as usual, and turn it to the back to sew down. Then you'd get this kind of stitching showing on the front.
OR  you can sew to the front, turn to the back, but stitch-in-the-ditch along the front...and then you will get a flap on the back side, or not catch the fold evenly all around.
This is why Our Friend the Pot Holder is so good...he allows us to try out a technique so we can understand it, and then have a useful life in the kitchen! None of that wasted "practise time"!

A machine binding is a wonderful thing...but chances are it will not win you any Quilt Show ribbons, as some judges don't like it, even though (as I have shown) it is difficult to do nicely.
But it is very secure, and it is faster than a hand-finished binding, so it has its perfect place in the utility world....which includes a lot of great quilts for kids!

The Pot Holder Pile in Action

I had a birthday last month, and in good Hobbit-style celebrating, we ate lots of food and I gave my friends presents...potholders!

These are functional pot holders: made to be used until disgusting, and then thrown away! No life in a drawer for these guys.
The blocks are left overs from a Quilt In A Day class several years ago. The bindings are strips from a Kaffe Fassett jelly-roll!
But it's the backing that's the real thing:

Nice thick terry cloth! (yes...left over from the towel-apron I made for the Velda Newman class in April...).
You don't have to admit it, but if you are like me in the kitchen, then a handy potholder will get used for any purpose whatever. That includes wiping up a spill!
How much quilting is in these little helpers?
Exactly what you see here. One line to hold the 3 layers together.
Yes, it is wavy because then you can tell it was not even meant to be straight!
I thought about putting a hanging loop on. But then I didn't intend for these to be hung up and shown off!
I hope my friends are enjoying the potholders and giving them a brief but fun life in the kitchen.

A pot holder or a pillowcase...sometimes a quick-yet-useful project is just the thing to get you back into the creative mood again!