#89 Child's Poncho

I posted a picture of the cute ponchos I've been making on Instagram and got a few requests for the link. I figured the easiest way to always have it is to post on the blog so we can both find it!!

I have tweaked the pattern slightly from the original found here 

Here are my adjustments:

(I wasn't a fan of the fringe so I made my pieces bigger and added 2 rows of the bind off stitch all the way around the bottom edge after it was sewn together)

I used 4.50mm hook and Bernat Cotton, for the two tone I made one rectangle in variegated cotton and the the other in a complementary colour.

small(approx. size 2-4): chain 74, 15 rows of double crochet

med(size 6-8): chain 94, 20 rows     "        "

large(size 10-12): chain 104, 25 rows     "      "

when sewn together I did a double row around the bottom edge of the single crochet, chain one pattern (placing the sc in the space between the dbl crochet)

If you have any questions don't hesitate to email me.

#88 Sew Along/ Tutorial Coming in June!!!

I'm so excited that you were all so interested in doing a Sew Along Tutorial with my                       Wiggle Me Colourful pattern (name is still up in the air) 

I'm working out the details of the pattern and coming up with an alternative if you are crunched for time, but still want to join in on a smaller scale.

I am also working on some surprises to make it fun to join up/sew along and stay current with your project, as well as complete the top by the dead line. (Quilting and binding will get you extra entries, but is not necessary to qualify)

My goal is to start the Sew Along in June and run it for approximately 4 weeks. More detailed info will come in the next few weeks, so click the email or Bloglovn button to follow my blog so you don't miss any posts. 

Let me know if there is anything you specifically want to see in the blog posts, for the sew along/ tutorial,  as I will be working on this in the next few weeks, tweaking the pattern and taking pictures as I go, so now is the time to speak up......

#WiggleMeColourful on social media 

so we can see what lovely progress you are making and final projects, I am also looking into the Linksy Tool so we can link up pictures at the end of our SewAlong right here on the UpStairsHobbyRoom blog.

#87 Spring is Here with Distractions of Colour

Even though things are still pretty brown here, there is sun and some warmer days. So I will call that a definite plus and the sun and warmer weather has inspired a new design with lots of colour, totally distracting me from that WIP list I am determined to complete.

I started out to make the One Hour Basket that I have seen lots of IG friends displaying in their feeds, by Kelbysews. If you follow the link you will find the tutorial and download., But.... I got so distracted I still haven't made one yet, lol.

I decided to sew some jelly roll strips together thinking that I could use them up and make an interesting basket. When I finished making 6 sets, I fell in love with the way they looked and I couldn't make the basket.... I wanted to make a quilt. So I sat down at EQ7 and got to work.

This is what I came up with.....Working name...Wiggle Me Colourful

and I'm half way done testing the pattern!!!

How fantastic is this!!! 

So the question I am putting out there is..... Anyone interested in the pattern? It is a great jelly roll pattern (other then the 3.5" border I plan to add) and I think a great beginner project. Even with the matching, if you press each row alternating they nest up easily!
I will be done sewing the test project this week and then I might be setting up for a free sew along with this pattern if there is enough interest!!(leave a comment) It would be a fairly quick sew along too, especially if you use precuts instead of yardage!

In the What I've Been Up To part of the post.......

I've been so distracted by springs arrival, which gave me an urge to work with bright happy colours, my poor WIP list has been a little neglected, so I'm posting it again to inspire me to get back on task.

(After adding the list and updating it.....I've got to say I am in better shape than I thought!! I am going to have to update and remove some of the categories that I've completed!!! Ya, I love lists and seeing the progress!! But with the completion of WIPs comes a longer list of quilt tops that need to be quilted, eek......)

To Complete This Year List

Blocks to Piece (blocks not finished)

• (3)Triple Star Blocks
• Playing Cards (Bee Blocks)
• (?) Scrappy Trip Around the World Blocks 
• Fusion Quilt
• Flower Patch Quilt
• Lattice Bones Quilt
• Colouring Box Quilt
• Sew Kitchy Paper Pieced BOM (one more block, Miss Betty)
• Craftsy BOM 2013

Quilt Tops to Sew Together (blocks are complete)

• Sugar Block Club 2013
• Sugar Block Club 2014
• Block Rock'n
• Classic Meets Modern
• Aurifil Designer of the Month 2014
• Globe Trotting BOM
• Layer Cake Challenge
• Come Together (Bee Blocks)
• Playing Cards (Bee Blocks)

Quilt Tops: to Quilt

• City Sampler
• Churn Dash QAL
• Nested Churn Dash
• Parade (tester pattern)
• Square Deal
• Trifle Dish Moda QAL
• Modern Blocks QAL
• Virtual Quilting Bee
• Triangle QAL
• *Globe Trotting BOM
• *Classic Meets Modern
• *Sugar Block Club 2013
• *Elephant Parade
• *Playing Cards
• *Block Rock'n
• *Auriful Designer of the Month 2014
• *Layer Cake Challenge
• *Sugar Block 2014
• *Come Together Blocks

Quilts to Bind (that's all I have to do, you would think I would just get it done)

• Bloom Bloom Pow
• Craftsy BOM 2012
• Mystery Quilt

New Projects to Do this Year:

1. 15-30 adult size bibs for special needs children at an orphanage in the Philippines (church missions trip in April) (the number turned out to be 21-just need to bind them!!)*6 left to sew
2. Design 2 original projects and write up the patterns ( I am excited about this challenge) more info on this in the future  (I did one and may still try for another, but done for now)
3. 2 quilts (one niece/one nephew )
4. Set of Placemats (12)
5. 4 mini Sew Together Bags
6. 4 Regular Sew Together Bags
7. 6 Duffle Bags
8. 6-11 purses, yup not kidding, I join the Bag of the Month again this year over at Sew Sweetness and last year of the six I only made one of the bags. This year I am determined to complete them all. (1/6 done)
9. New Christmas Stockings (8)
10. Christmas Tree Skirt
11. Misc sewing of pouches, because there is always a need for a simple pouch or 10, lol.
12. *Elephant Parade, because it was so cute I couldn't resist!! Which makes an even dozen new projects. One per month....that's doable.......

*updates

#86 Twists & Churns

Well if I was excited to finally be able to announce what all my secret sewing has been about.....I am tipping the scale today....The Art of Home free eMagazine is out. I hope you will all pop over to Jacquelynne Steves website and sign up! The magazine is always filled with inspiration, projects, recipes and this month, an interview with Pat Sloan!

So for your visual pleasure and because I was testing the pattern to make sure everything worked, here are a few variations of Twists & Churns for you.
Remember the only way to get the actual pattern is to sign up for the free emagazine! I sure hope you will! If you make a mini will you use  #twistsandchurns so I can see all the wonderful versions you create!!!

A mini with Cotton and Steel......love this one....a bit more bold (have to buy more of these prints!!!) with Shot Cotton churns

A mini with Cheri by Frances Newcombe....love the romance of this line. Can't wait to see what Frances does next!!!!

And with the leftover HST,  you could make some cute pinwheels....for coasters or to add to your backing...or just hang onto all of them and start a bin to make a scrappy quilt sometime later

Well, I hope you have found the motivation to head over and sign up for your copy. ( The Art of Home emagazine). The magazine is no longer available. Please use this link to find the Twists and Churns Pattern. I hope even more that you will make a mini of your own and let me know how it turned out!! #twistsandchurns

Happy Sewing
Sandy

#85 Exciting News..... "Twists & Churns"

Remember all the hints of what I was secretly sewing.....Well, I'm so excited to finally be able to share...... I designed a cute mini quilt, Twists & Churns and it's being published in the next issue of The Art of Home free eMagazine by Jacquelynne Steves.
I hope you will all pop over and sign up, and let me know what you think!! If  you decide to make a Twists & Churns mini I hope you will tag it with #twistsandchurns on social media (especially Instagram)  so I can see what you come up with!!
If my pattern isn't enough to grab you, Jacquelynne also has an interview with Pat Sloan in this issue!!

What I've Been Up To:

I finished my Elephant Parade Quilt pattern by Sew Fresh Quilts. I used Lorna's scrappy bits border technique and it looks so cute.

Used my new label (don't forget, upstairshobbyroom,  is the coupon code to save you 5% if you are looking for labels, link is in the sidebar)

 I put a 5" square folded in half in the top corner for a hanging hook and maybe an extra label (if I am blessed to someday give this beauty to a grandbaby, just say'n)

I still need to add the embroidery details....working up to it...it's been awhile and I'm rusty.

I tested the Geometric Butterfly for Kristy at Quiet Play. Oh my goodness it turned out so fantastic. I love rainbows, and wanting spring to come sooner, I am playing with lots of colour right now!!! It just makes me smile.....happy colours......

Which turned into making an Easter Basket, pattern by Amy Smart

Which turned into a rainbow table runner......which I love.......smiling big this week, even with the freezing weather we are having......

I thought I would share the pattern/ measurements I made for my runner, incase anyone else is inspired to create their own rainbow.

Rainbow Table Runner Quilt as You Go

Measure your table to get the size you want for width and length. I will give you my measurement, but you insert your own in its place.

I made my table runner approximately 14" wide by 94" long. You will need to add about a 1/2 " to an 1" to your width for trimming later.

You will need a piece of backing fabric and batting a couple of inches bigger than your finished runners length and width.

Cut: (40) 2.5" strips 14.5" long in various colours (I chose 27 colours from Kona jelly roll strips) 

        (39) 1" strips 14.5" long in Kona White

Binding strips: (6) 2.25" X WOF strips Kona White

I spray basted the backing and batting together and starting in the center with a coloured strip right side up and a white strip wrong side up and right side to the coloured strip 14.5" raw edges lined up stitch a 1/4" seam through all layers. Press the white fabric back and add the next coloured strip. Continue sewing on alternating white and coloured strips until you cover to the end. Tip: Sew the white strips top to bottom and the coloured strips bottom to top to even out the pull on the fabric, or your will have a very misshaped runner. Then repeat for the other side.

*If you are unfamiliar with quilt as you go check out this tutorial I did or another one here

When you're done, trim up the sides and ends and bind your runner!!

Good luck and happy sewing!!!!

#84 Something is Missing.....forever or for now?? Long Arm Trials and Errors....

This is going to be my wordiest post to date, sorry! I put a few pictures in to help!! ( a few of the projects I was able to get quilted before the long arm was sold)

The Story

So, some of you will know that when I got into quilting a little over 3 years ago, I jumped in with both feet, into over my head waters, lol. I bought a new sewing machine and then a computerized long arm. For many reasons, that I won't go into, I didn't do much research. That was a big, gigantic, colossal mistake. I no longer have the sewing machine or the long arm, as of yesterday.

The Long Arm:
I was so excited to make a quilt from beginning to end that  I neglected to think it through. I had no quilting experience, and was told it was straight forward, but let me tell you, for me, that was not the case. Even the manual said on one of the first pages, this is all you need to get started......lol

I don't want to bash any brand, this is only my experience, and not all was the fault of the actual machine, so I will be a bit general,  but if by sharing my frustrations I can help someone else avoid some, I am glad to share.

I had some electrical problems with the machine right from the start, and was told after the purchase that I would probably need to buy a UPS (uninterrupted power source, an additional expense of about $300.00) because of the rural power grid we are on. This seemed to help though and got rid of one issue, so at least the something. The machine continued with other issues though, so to the credit of the distributor, they replaced my machine.

So here is the tricky part and really the most important part...... I still was having problems. The dealer was frustrated with me, I took videos of the machine acting up, tried to talk to the tech guys at the distributors, and nothing was helping, they didn't know what to do. No one could give me an answer to my problems. I temporarily switched machines with the dealer, it ran fine for her. Her machine ran fine here and then started having some of the same issues. No one was willing to  come to my home to see if there was an issue here, which is what I kept saying, but  I  was given  the name of another dealer to call who I would have to pay for a service call, not cool.

At some point during this frustration I decided to start researching other long arm machines, and had asked for a Gammill brochure online. About a week later I got a call from the new Gammill dealer in Ontario, a really nice and friendly man. I told him I couldn't even think about buying another machine until I could sell this one, and he amazed me by offering me help. He gave me information about my machine that I didn't even know, mainly that my machine was made by another longarm manufacture to the specs of the company I purchased from, he also gave me the name of a man that might be able to help me. I was so impressed and thankful. Finally, friendly, helpful service!!!

Well it took about a week to get in contact with the technician, but when I did....again a wonderful friendly amazingly helpful man!! He had me explain what the issue was and immediately, and I mean immediately he knew exactly what the issue was. He had me change some of the settings in the touch screen and gave me advice on setting the quilt area and pattern box, and amazingly the problem that was occurring went away.

There have been some minor issues since, and through trial and error I think I have determined the issues on my own (check out #4), but needless to say the whole experience has left a nasty taste in my mouth, as they say. So I put the machine up for sale awhile ago, and yesterday a very nice woman came and purchased it! She and her sisters and their mother are going to share the machine, I hope they get years of enjoyment out of it!!

The CheckList  

I am going to assume that your have already decided that quilting is something you love to do, or want to learn, and want to invest in. If not, that is where you need to start. Go and take a long arm quilting class, rent some time on one and quilt one of your tops or just doodle on some fabric. There is no point investing so much money if you don't enjoy the quilting process, pay someone else to do it for you and do the parts of the quilting that make you happy!!

If you decide you want to invest and you've measured your space so you know how much room you have available here is a check list, edit and add any of your own thoughts and questions.....

1. I can not stress this enough..........Do Your Research!! 

• check out the different brands and what they offer
• make a list of what you think you need or want in a machine
• talk to long armers, see what they like or want in a machine
• make a budget, there are so many bells and whistles that can suck you in, make sure you need them
• who actually makes the machine
• what is the warranty
• what about customer service? 
• Does the company have online help, videos, teaching 
• Does the long arm require any additional items not included, ei: UPS (uninterupted power supply) (for sure I would buy a very good surge protector!!ask about that too ) a ruler tray, if you plan on doing any ruler work
• Set up costs, if you don't want to tackle that on your own
• are there warrantied used machines available, that may fit your budget better, 

2. Get you hands on as many different machines as you can, especially the ones on your short list

• you have to see how the machines work
• you need to see if it feels comfortable to you
• you need to test all the features you want
• see how the frame works, how the quilt loads, advances
• is the stitching consistent, smooth, 
• don't forget about lighting, especially on the machine it is the only direct light, so you want it to be good

3. Get to know the dealers too while you are checking out the machines

• if at a quilt show when you're looking, where is the nearest dealer to you
• how much knowledge does your local dealer have on the longarm (is he/she a longarmer,)
• is there training available at your dealer's or near by
• are there classes available to continue learning after the basics
• is there repair service available at the dealers, in home service if needed?
• if an issue arises who can you talk to to get help? just the dealer, a distributor or can you contact the company

4. Know your space...

• measure your room and know what space you have available, that will make a difference on length of frame you can buy
• also if you are going for a machine that does pantographs you need access to the back of the machine, so you will need more depth as well
• and the other issue I have learned about my space, it is extremely dry. Get a humidistat and make sure your room has enough moisture. Not such a big issue on manual machines, but if you are dealing with electronics, it can cause issues. (how I finally found out....my GoBig! ran on its own without me putting a die cutter near the opening (also why my cutting mats are dying so quickly). Needless to say, I am sure it has been the source of some of my long arm issues too, again because my machine is computerized)
• on that same vein, ask if different flooring ex:) carpet can cause issues with electronics.....

front

Summary:

Know that quilting is really something you want to do and will enjoy
Make sure you feel comfortable with your dealer and they are truly knowledgeable about the longarm they are selling, preferably with practical experience.
Get your hands on the machine before you buy, and I mean for a few hours or better yet days
Know where your long arm is coming from and that the company itself stands behind their product.
Know that there will be customer service and support available to help you get started and move you forward in you long arm journey, including training.
Know that there is service support available.

Most of all when you find the right machine and you get it home and set up......have fun!!!!

*Back (3 projects in two days is a record for me!!!! lol more good from a rough situation!!!)

So that's my story and my list of things I will be asking and looking for in the future if I decide to go swimming again,  I will be wading in and enjoying the slow walk. For now I am just figuring out where to put all the stuff that was stored under the longarm, lol!! And maybe I will start with researching the brands that are available, and their features, and see where that takes me!!

I am so open for any information that you might have and be willing to share, especially if you are a longarmer!! 

If you have anything to add to the above, please share it with me!! I can edit the above list and eventually make a pdf that will be easily printable, for anyone who wants a check list.

Thanks for listening

*(P.S.- I surpassed my goal for this month for A Lovely Year of Finishes!!! Not only did I get the front and back together, I got this one sandwiched and quilted!! just needs its binding!!! whoop whoop!!)