my new friend - FOE

Have you ever used FOE (fold over elastic)? I'd been mildly interested, but I don't really sew enough clothing to justify ordering any. Then I saw some at the sewing expo a few weeks ago, and was sorely tempted... and when I saw the "remnants - all you can stuff in a bag for $10" bin, I fell for it. I think I scored a great deal - I got at least 45 yards, of several different widths and colors. Plenty to play around with now!

My first attempt to use it was for this simple circle skirt for the kid. Happy St. Patrick's day! I followed the basics of the MADE tutorial (could not be any easier!). When it came time to do the waistband, I cut a length of FOE about the same length I would for normal elastic if I was using a casing. I pinned it at 4 places, and stretched the FOE as I sewed it down with a zigzag stitch. Super easy, super quick!

The only problem is that it somehow turned out WAY too big! I wasn't about to redo it (me? rip out zigzag stitching? not on your life!), so I just made two really ugly tucks on the sides. On the upside, it will be really easy to let those tucks out, so this skirt should last for *years*! So I guess the stitching makes it so that the elastic doesn't un-stretch all the way back once you've sewn it down. Is there some magic formula for how much shorter you should make it? I guess I can answer my own question - for about a 19" waist, I had to take up about 4 or 5". So, about 25% less. There you go.

I did look around youtube to see if there were any videos about how to use FOE. I found a few, but nothing about how to measure it to fit a waistband. I loved the Angry Chicken video, but even hers didn't say anything about it. Oh well, I'm okay with trial and error!

And speaking of other new things to try - what do you know about laminated cottons? I picked up a couple of these remnant pieces at the expo ($1.50 each, for two extra chubby fat quarters), but they curl up like crazy! I can't imagine trying to sew when the fabric is like this. Especially for a laminate - aren't you supposed to avoid using pins? Any hints for how to get them to lay flat? I tried to press them, but it just seemed to make it worse. Should I wash them, or throw them in the dryer? Any other advice? I'm not even sure what I'm going to make with them, maybe snack bags?

loot, and someone else's WIPs

It started off innocently enough.... Another stash sale + a few free hours on a Saturday morning = me suckered in...

"Lucky" and "ecstatic" were overstating it a bit! There was the usual collection of "stuff" - some okay fabric, some crap fabric, some rulers, some bags of scraps, etc. I was chatting up the seller, and she said she had tried out quilting a few years back, and had taken a few classes, but never really got into it, so she was getting rid of everything. There were a couple quilt tops, and I suggested that if she wanted to donate them, I'd quilt them up and give them to Project Linus. She had never heard of the organization, but immediately said yes (I later learned she was a nurse, so no wonder!).

Then she asked if I knew anyone who could do some quilting for her, as she had one quilt top left that she loved and wanted to keep. I told her I could certainly ask around and find someone for her. She ran inside to get her card, and came back with the quilt. It had obviously been a while since she looked at it, because it turned out it had already been professionally quilted and trimmed up, and all it needed was binding. The words "Well, gosh - I can do that for ya!" were out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying! I was holding a little stack of fabric that I had picked out, and she asked if I wanted to swap that for the labor. Um..... Oh, what the heck! Sure. But then I was kicking myself all the way home. Was it really worth my time to bind a quilt for a few yards of fabric? Oh well, I would consider it a 'random act of kindness', and it would be all good.

And look how pretty her quilt was! After 5 years of WIP purgatory, it totally deserved to be out of that plastic bag and put to use!

It was about 72" square, and there was some of the border fabric in the bag with the quilt, so I just used that for the binding. Thankfully she was okay with having it machine stitched down in the back (no way I would have agreed to hand sewing - I'm not that crazy!), and it only took me about an hour and a half to get it finished. Yay for me! I should totally add this to my big list, just so I can cross it off! Finishing someone else's WIP should count! (Maybe double!) :-)

Later in the afternoon, I trundled back up to Woodinville to drop off the quilt. She was so pleased to have it back so soon, and she loved it! Yay!

You know that old saying 'no good deed goes unpunished"? With her garage sale over, she asked if I would like to take home all the remaining sewing stuff, to use or donate. And of course, I can't pass up an offer like that! It took me quite a while to sort through it all. But in the end, I ended up with several bags of non-cotton fabric to be donated or freecycled, plus all this loot:

A medium-sized cutting mat, some small rulers and a bunch of thread...

A small basted quilt (or table topper or wall hanging, maybe?), which I might donate to Project Linus (the colors aren't very child-friendly, so maybe not)...

A basted table runner. Not sure what the heck I'll do with this. At least the colors are more cheery. Maybe I can add some borders and turn it into a small quilt? There are some scraps of those fabrics left, but I'm not at all interested in making more of those blocks!

A mostly complete xmas-themed top (just needs some borders), about lap size. Definitely colorful enough for a PL quilt!

This flannel WIP, which I'll probably go ahead and finish up to donate. It has all the pieces, just needs a little more piecing. I do not love these colors, but it should be warm and snuggly anyway.

This WIP has a LOT of blocks, and only a few are sewn together. Again, I don't love the colors, but maybe it would be okay for an older boy. I'm not sure I want to spend the time it would take to finish this one up, so I might try to pass it off to someone else...

This project was either a kit, or only taken to the cutting stage. One block was finished, and one block was started, and that was it. I think it would be a piece of cake to turn this into a different design, like maybe a coin quilt. And it sure is colorful!

And lastly, some fabric. Some yardage of flannel...

And a bunch of fat quarters of flannel and a little homespun. There are multiples of each print, and I'm not sure they were meant to go together, so I'm not sure what to do with them.

Some coordinating FQ's...

And a pretty piece of silk.

Phew... Almost done. I'll spare you the photos of the stack of random fabrics and scraps, and show you just one more thing. There are 12 of these Trapunto blocks...

They are about 12" square, and each bird is outlined and stuffed. I think there are 2 each of 6 different scenes (or maybe 3 each of 4 scenes?).

I can't see these being used for a Project Linus quilt, and I won't use them myself. But I hate to think of all that work being wasted! So, if you want them, just leave me a comment! I'll even spring for the shipping (US only, please) to get them to a good home. :-) On the off chance that there's more than one taker, I'll draw a name in a couple days.

loot!

I had some great scores at the thrift store last weekend! Wouldn't these three sheets make a pretty something together? I think I can hear Amanda's sharp intake of breath - I know that one on the right is one of her favorites. :-)

And how about some more butterflies? I really debated about the one on the right - It's a Vera print, and I have it in purple (and love it, of course), but brown and orange aren't the most popular colors. Oh well, I always err on the side of buying!

I seriously almost squealed out loud when I saw these pillowcases! I love this print, and have it in orange and pink. It pained me a little to fork over $2 each for them, but wow, I just love them!

I also found a bag of new FQs from Joann, 7 of them for only $1! Very timely too - I just used the one on top for one of my bee blocks!

And last, but not least, some vintage fabric that had been sewn into a duvet cover. I love the orange and pink combination!

No thrifting for me this weekend - I'll be too busy sewing instead! Yay!

up to my ears in flannel!

When I go out thrifting, I always keep an eye out for flannel fabric. I'm happy to find either scraps (usually left over from someone's pajama project), or whole pieces (pajama projects that never happened!). But a few weeks ago, I went to a garage sale and got a HUGE box of flannel for something like $5 or $10. It was a crazy amount of fabric - about 40 yards in all! It's not the most exciting fabric in the world, but I knew I could give it a good home and put it to use right away...

I collect all my flannel in a big bin, and every once in a while I go through and process it. This huge addition pushed me over the edge, and I felt like I was working on nothing but flannel all last month!

As I've blogged about before, I love to make swaddling blankets (look, a tutorial!), or use flannel for the backs of "quiltlets". So I first took all the big pieces of printed fabric, and cut them into swaddling blanket size (about 42" long) or quiltlet size (about 60" long). Then I took all the printed scraps, and cut them into 7" (if possible) or 6" (if not) squares. Then I cut up enough solids into 6 or 7" squares, to match up with the prints, and made rag blanket squares. I tried to find a tutorial for exactly how I make these, but all the ones I could find showed how to use batting inside. I just use a third flannel square (same size as the outer two squares), and sew a big "X" from corner to corner, through all 3 layers. I was an X-sewing machine!!

After I had a bazillion squares, and it was time to sew them into blankets. Here's the first one, with all unique squares. It's a 9x12 grid (so 108 different prints!), with about 3/4" seams, so about 50" by 70" in size, I think. This first picture is after snipping the seams, but before washing.

That one had a lot of girlie prints, so I wanted to do another one for a boy. I didn't have nearly as many boy prints, but I did have multiples of the prints I did have, so I grouped them into 9-patches.

And here they both are, after a couple long washes and dries. You would not believe the amount of lint these things generate when you wash them! But they are so soft and fluffy. And heavy - I love that!

Unfortunately, these blankets can't be given to Project Linus (because the lint can get into wounds and equipment, etc.). So, I'll soon be taking them with me to Texas when we go for a family reunion. The highlight of the reunion is an auction of handmade goods, and the proceeds from the auction fund the reunion for the next year. I love that! Last year, I donated this quilt, which sold for $84. The year before that, I did another rag quilt (like the girlie one here, but with 6" squares), and it sold for $125! I'll surely be lowering the price by bringing two quilts this time, but whatever. It's for family. :-)

Even after making these two quilts, I still have enough squares left for at least three more. I know, it's crazy! AND, I have a huge pile of swaddling blankets just waiting to be sewn up! But, yay, all my flannel is processed, and all I have left is a crate full of scraps less than 6 or 7" in one or both dimensions. My plan is to someday turn those into coin quilts for Project Linus.

Speaking of which... remember my idea about always having a giveaway when I have a major finish? Well, is anyone out there up for a grab-bag of flannel scraps? You could whip up some cozy patchwork rice warming bags, or some smaller cold/hot packs for kids for Christmas gifts! If you're interested, just say so in your comment, and I'll draw a name on Monday. This one is for US folks only, because it will be a big chubby flat rate envelope... The next one will be international, I promise!

craigslist loot report (or, why my stash continues to grow out of control)

It's been a long time since I did a loot report! I've been trying to stick to a "sew more, loot less" plan, by which I limit myself to:

• one weekly trip to my favorite Value Village (usually with Vada, as a mommy-daughter date).
• Friday or Saturday morning garage saling, but only if I go with a friend. Sometimes I'll go with Vada, but only if it's a rummage sale, or a garage sale in our neighborhood.
• Craigslist "stash sales", but again only if I go with a friend.

You wouldn't think there would be too many in that last category, but there have been at least 3 so far this summer. I took screenshots, so you can see what the temptation looks like, along with the loot I picked up.

I really tried to resist this one. I mailed the link to my friend Chara, because it was much closer to her house. But she somehow twisted my arm into going with her, and we somehow managed to fill up a 50-yard bin together. Of course, Chara only got a few yards (darn her!), and the rest was all mine. Here's a sampling - some Halloween prints...

a fun set of coordinating bowling fabric... (Do I bowl? No. Know someone who bowls? No. But it was cute! I'm sure I can turn it into a donation quilt or some pillowcases or something!)

And a bunch of pretty solids...

Then there was THIS sale. Again, I tried hard to resist. I really did! I mailed the link to Chara and my friend Quynh, hoping that one of them would buy it, so I wouldn't have to. Quynh took the bait, but then she brought the stash over to MY house to sort through. Very clever, that girl! Of course I somehow ended up with more than half!

Just look at those piles of fabric! There was a whole bag of scraps and strips and random leftovers too. So much fun to look through!

And one more... Quynh and I hit up this sale on Sunday. Funny enough, the seller was one of the gals from my Project Linus group!

For once, I was not the big spender! For $6, I brought home this stack...

I was so happy to find that cute kitty reproduction print. I have no plans for the piggies, but they were too adorable to pass up!

Ditto for this small vintage piece. Can you spot the nursery rhyme characters?

I also got a couple pretty mod vintage prints. These are lighter weight (probably poly blends of some sort), which I thought might make some nice skirts.

And for another 50 cents each, I picked up these...

I should have put something in the picture for scale - these are 6000 yard spools! They are A&E Perma Core thread, normally about $10 each. Nice deal!

If you're interested in checking out Craigslist for stash sales in your area, Ircabbit has a great post about 'how to pwn at Craigslist' (love that title!).

And if you're in the Redmond, WA area and want to sell your stash, whatever you do, please don't tell me about it!

lucky me!

I was so thrilled to win a giveaway on the Vintage Sheets blog for a copy of this pattern by Melissa at Under Construction. It was love at first sight when I saw this lovely ruffly confection:



As soon as I saw it, I thought of my overflowing bin of sheet hems. Ever since I started collecting vintage sheets, I've been cutting off the hems and saving them. I had no idea what I would make with them, but now I do! Thank you so much, Jen & Melissa!



And last week, I won this sweet package of Anna Maria Horner goodies from Scott at Blue Nickle Studios. I love the bits of fabric, and the notebook is awesome (I've been needing one to keep upstairs in my sewing room - perfect!). I'm totally jazzed about the bootie pattern, and I will definitely be making some of those for baby gifts. Thanks, Scott! (And Anna Maria!)



And even better, I found out that Scott is my neighbor! I knew he lived in WA, but for some reason I thought it was somewhere on the coast. But his day job is just down the road from me in Redmond. Small world! It was fun to meet a real quilt designer, who has actually been to the Quilt Market and all that! Almost like a real celebrity! :-)

you never know!

You know that rush you get when you're at a garage sale, and you find something really awesome that you've been looking for forever? I love that feeling! And you know what's even better than that - finding a treasure for someone else! It totally makes my day when I can do that....

You might remember last year, when I showed off this set of Topsy-Turvy books:



Beth (of Needles, Threads & Crafts) commented that she'd had a set of these when she was a kid, and that she'd love to have a set for her daughters. And guess what I found at a garage sale! I paid $20 for my set last year, and I got this one for about $3 - sweet!

I thought it was another complete set, but it turned out that it had two repeats - "Audubon's Animals/Audubon's Birds" and "The Tailor of Gloucester/How the Leopard Got His Spots". Oddly enough, I didn't have either of those two books in my original set - maybe they were from a 'bonus' set or something? Anyway, I'll be keeping the two extra ones to add to my set, and passing the rest on to Beth. Yay! I just love it when that happens!

So - what strange and rare object are you lusting after? Let me know, and I'll keep an eye out for you. You just never know!! :-)

purge party

First, a confession - I totally wimped out on the Fabric Stash Purge Party. I went as far as going through my stash of "old" fabrics (the non-quilting ones), and I culled out a whole bin of fabric to sell. But then I just ran out of time and energy, and could not see myself driving into Seattle three days in a row (Friday to drop off the stuff, Saturday to shop, Sunday to pick up anything that didn't sell). So, I'll just save the bin until October, and try again!

But I did go on Saturday, and dragged along my friend Ahava. Last time I only snapped a couple pics on my way out the door, but this time I asked and they were okay with pictures, so here's a full report...

First, there was one long row of all quilting cottons, everything from baggies of scraps to FQs to yards and more. The prices varied from about $1/yard to $4/yard. I didn't see much designer stuff, or any highly collectible fabrics, but I'm also not really an expert on that!



The other rows of fabrics were more cottons and vintage, then fashion fabrics (knits, woolens, synthetics, etc.). There were sections for holiday fabrics, fleece, flannel, home dec, batting, and bolts. At the very back were several sewing machines and sergers.





In the back, there were tables full of yarns, trims, beads, scrapbooking supplies...



and books, patterns, threads, and every other crafting product under the sun!



We were there at about 10:30, I think (they opened at 10), and it was not as busy as I thought it would be on the first day. I'd say the quilting cotton row was most popular, but it was not too crowded to shop, and everyone was well-behaved. ;-)

Here's my tiny bit of loot - $5 for 3 yards of pretty novelty prints. It was supposed to be 4 yards, as that top print was marked as 2 yards but was really only 1 (grrr....).

Oh, and I'm splitting this lovely piece of Kaffe Fassett with Ahava (6 yards for $18!). She posed with it to make it seem like that's the only purchase she made, but there were a few more items stacked at her feet! ;-)