Frustrations And Solutions

I have been doing a lot of behind the scenes designing and sewing. I wanted to put this one out there because I have had so many things going on that I need to give myself some pressure to wrap it up. This is one new project that I will be teaching on-line at CraftEdu. It's called Chirp! and I hope that you like it as much as I loved designing it.

We all love beautiful quilts and seeing the end result, right? I think that we should share our little boo-boos too. We need to learn from each other. I thought that you'd love to hear about my experience with quilting this little baby. Before I begin though, I need to tell you that I am a "paid" supporter of Aurifil Threads.  Having said that, I can tell you how much I love Aurifil thread and that my love of this thread did not come from being a supporter of their thread. Instead, I got to realize this first hand.

I design with many, many different colors in each quilt. I like to add many different textures, layers, shades all at once to make my designs pop. As a result, I often [perhaps "exclusively"] use monofilament thread to quilt my quilts. I have been burning through my thread stash for the bobbin thread. Different brands and I won't name them because I still think that they're good threads. I hadn't tried Aurifil in any great capacity because of availability and my huge stash of other threads.

Well, I was working on Chirp! at a weird, late hour of the night and I got the center background portion all quilted with the leafy vine only to really realize that the bobbin thread was pulling up too much for my liking. I had adjusted everything but I could still see the bobbin thread here and there. I took my seam ripper and ripped out all of the quilting. Crazy, I know. Did I tell you that I'm anal when it comes to these things? [One day I will tell you the story about "Believe" and how I appliqued one side panel in two days.] Or, it could have been because I was doing this in the wee hours of the morning.

Anyhoo, I popped in Aurifil Mako 50wt. #5015 [happens to be one of my favorite colors, by the way] in the bobbin and on top. It was like butter. It made me glide along effortlessly while quilting those vines and leaves. It felt incredibly light and smooth. The resulting quilting was nicely textured and not too overbearing. Awesome.

xo, L

Clinton's Got Talent!

I'm actually doing some hand applique. It's been a while but it was easy to get back to handwork. I generally use YLI Silk Thread and still love it but for this project, I'm using Aurifil Mako 50 wt. It is lovely to work with. The colors are fantastic [Confession:  Some people love to use a dark color and a light color for everything but I love to match threads when I applique.] The thread glides through the fabric with ease and blends into the background nicely. Love it. What do you like to use? I also like to use freezer paper on TOP of the applique. I'll share the project details with you soon! 

For a diversion, I went over to Kindred Quilts yesterday for a video taping. It was a fun time with a few lovely ladies. We taped a video for Toby's website. Did we do all right, Toby?

ox, L

Random Things

It has been a very busy summer and I've only managed to play on Facebook because it's quick and easy. [Do join me there if you can!] I've been trying to finish up a lot of projects while I've been working away. I've made great progress on that granny square blanket up there. It's a lovely project because I can just pick it up whenever I want and put it down just as easily without thinking. That's the key. Without thinking.

I've been working to finish Hugs and Kisses. The strike-offs turned out so cute. I can't wait to make some things with this line. It's available in quilt shops in November.

I don't buy a lot of fabrics but when I was at Sample Spree, I bought Heather Ross' new line. It's so pretty and somehow not really me. I think that I'm nostalgic for my childhood!

My friend, Linda Hohag of Brandywine Designs gave me these copies of her latest patterns. So gorgeous! The doll clothes can be changed because they're attached by velcro dots. I fell in love with the owl quilt too! Linda, you're so clever!

Another friend, Nancy Mahoney, shared her latest fabric with me. This line, Nellie's Garden, is so pretty, don't you think? Nice job!

I'm so lucky to have such talented friends. xo, L

Happy July 4th!

Happy 4th of July! I hope that you're enjoying good weather and that you're having fun this holiday weekend! We've had visitors so we've been busy.

We had a long, fun and busy day yesterday. First, we drove to Camden, NJ to visit Adventure Aquarium. I love the lines of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Here we are!! My favorites? I love Mr. Hammerhead. He's different, you know? 

I love this guy too! He looks like a big rock but he swims so gracefully. 

Aren't these so beautiful? They look so delicate.

I love the big windows. I could just sit there and stare at the fish all day. So relaxing.

After the aquarium we crossed back over the Ben Franklin Bridge again. We lined up for a tour of this ship. It was the highlight of our day.

After the tour, it got late and soon it was time for the fireworks to begin!  Nothing beats watching the fireworks while the Philadelphia Orchestra is playing along..

Have a great holiday weekend! xo, L

Happy Canada Day!