My Nosy Parker Answers

I've just stumbled across Diary of a Flutter.kat blog, which looks like a lot of fun.  She currently has a linky party called Nosy Parker in the Neighbourhood, in which she asks questions about our sewing history.  I'm happy to oblige.

1)  How long have you been sewing? Are you a first generation sewer or was the knowledge handed down to you? Basically tell us about your journey...

I started sewing (on the machine) at age 8.  I had been handstitching things I called doll clothes before that - with scraps from my mom's projects.  I think Mom decided it was time to get me actually doing something useful with my enthusiasm.

I came from a sewing tradition - my mom, her sisters and my grandmother all sewed.  I have an aunt who was 6ft 1.  You can imagine how impossible it was for her to find clothes that fit in the 40's and 50's.  She sewed all of her clothes until specialty stores for tall women opened in Canada.  We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, and my mom was an expert at re-designing clothes out of hand me downs and thrift store finds.  However, she also purchased fabric to sew clothes for herself and us kids - believe it or not, back in the 60's it was a LOT cheaper to sew your own clothes.

My first project was a little green skirt and lined vest.  I don't have much memory of the actual sewing, and I suspect Mom did the hard bits.  But I do remember the outfit and how proud I was to wear it.

I progressed from there, sewing inset seams and zippers by the time I was 12.  As I got older, though, I became less pleased with my sewing.  I would choose a pattern I loved, and fabric I loved, and spend hours making the item - then find it didn't look as good on me as I had imagined.  My sewing waned a bit.

Having kids inspired me again, and I sewed LOTS of clothes for them.  I also did some home dec sewing, and was pleased with that.  But my daughter started school and decided she wanted to wear sweat pants every single day, and my son - well, boy's clothes are not as fun as pretty little dresses - and my home was all dec'd out, so again, my sewing waned.  Then, I wandered into a quilt shop and fell in love with quilts.

Now, my home needs new curtains, my hubby's pants need mending... but I only have time for quilts!  I've been quilting for 12 years, and I'm still loving it.  I'm not a fast quilter - only two or three a year - but it is a hobby I don't think I'll get tired of any time soon.

2)  Where do you sew?

When we finished our basement, about 10 years ago, my hubby made me a sewing room.  It is about 10 x 10 feet, and at the time, I thought that was huge!  Turns out it's not. But it's warm and bright and has everything I need in it, so I think it is perfect.

3) What does your sewing room/area look like today in it's real state. Take a picture of it if possible and show it to us real :)

I really, really planned on doing this.  I took the camera down to the room today, and noooooo!  It is just too messy.  So, here are some pictures from a few years ago when it was much tidier.  Just imagine a lot more fabric than you see, but don't imagine water bottles, magazines or dust, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what it looks like today.  Really!  No, quit imagining water bottles, magazines and dust - I tell you, there are none of those in my sewing room.

My hubby made the bookshelf.  His hobby is woodworking - and he approaches it like I approach quilting.  He doesn't produce a lot, but he loves doing it.  He promised me a bookshelf when we got married, and I think I got it at about the 15 year mark.  But, it was worth the wait.

This hutch was made by my BIL as a University graduation present - so it's about 27 years old.  It's got a big cupboard on the bottom.  That holds a lot of fabric.

To the right is my design wall.  My hubby made the holder at the top.  You can move the clips from side to side to hold whatever size of fabric you want.  I usually have my flannel table protector clipped on there - which is what I use as a design wall.  $10 or so at Walmart, and it works great.

The rainbow is a latch hook project I made back in... maybe 1981.  I still like it.  Rainbows are a sign of hope for me.  The bags down at the bottom hold projects.  I thought I was pretty clever at the time, buying 5 matching bags for my UFO's.  Who would ever need more than 5 UFO bags, right?  Well, I won't tell you how many bags I have stacked there now.  And not all matching, that's for sure.


4)  What is the first thing that you made which you were really proud of? Show us pics of your favourite project.

I can't show you the first thing I made that I was really proud of - that was way too long ago.

But I will show you my favourite project, which is a miniature quilt from a kit from Traditional Pastimes.  This was the first miniature - well, the only miniature I have made.  It is about 18 inches square.  I added the red inner border, as those blocks in the outer border turned out a titch too big.  I quilted it with gold thread (not metallic) and I was really pleased with how the quilting looked.

5)  Do you always stick to the "rules" when you sew, or are you more improvisationally minded?

No, I stick to the rules.  I really admire art quilts and improvisational quilts, but I'm really a pattern following kind of person.  I cook the same way - I almost always follow the recipe.  I'm sure many others would think that is incredibly boring, but to me it is calming and makes the process much more pleasurable.  If I was improvising, I would be stressed that it might not work, and that would not be fun for me.  Just the way I am.


Thanks for doing this Kat.  It's been thought provoking for me, and reading others' answers to the questions!

Saturday Sampler

This is the only Saturday Sampler I have actually completed.  It is the first one that I ever participated in - it was probably back in 2005.  I have participated in, I think, 4 others, but the blocks are still waiting to be put together.

It's a big quilt - I think it was 76 inches wide.  I have a midarm machine - a HQ16 and when I bought it, it could be set up on an 8 foot table or a 12 foot table.  At the time, I thought I would never need a 12 foot table, so I set it up at 8 feet.  What I didn't realize is that you can't quilt an 8 foot quilt on an 8 foot table.  Six feet tops.  This one was too big.  I went on a HQ forum and asked for tips. The only one I got was to cut it in half lengthwise.  Since I had already attached the borders, I didn't think I could do that.  I folded over one edge, but then when you roll it on the rollers, it ends up skewed.  I ended up shoving bits of batting in to minimize the skewing, then quilted one quarter of the quilt at a time.  It was very nerve-wracking.  Amazingly, there are no tucks in the back!

Here is a close up of some of the better quilted parts.

I used a wool batting, which was very nice.  It quilted up much puffier than cotton.  You have to wash it in cold water and can't use the dryer, but it is very light and warm.  A good choice, in my opinion, for a larger quilt.

This was my daughter's graduation quilt.  She graduated high school in 2005.  She got it in 2008.  I named it "Patience is a Virtue".

Quilting History, Day Five

Mystery Quilts!

I've done three mystery quilts.  I have to admit - they are not my favourite.

The thing with a mystery quilt is that you have to pick fabric with no idea, really, how it is going to go together.  If I can see the pattern, I have a better idea if my fabric is going to work or not.

Here is my first mystery quilt.

I learned a valuable lesson with this quilt.  I bought the three fabrics from one line.  Each, by itself, was quite lovely.  Together - boring!  All mediums.  No sparkle.  Oh, well.  It's a good couch quilt!

Undaunted by my first mystery quilt - I signed up for another.  Here it is.

This one came out better in terms of contrast.  The photo is a little more purple than the actual quilt.  The solids are more of a rust.  Tell you the truth - I don't like rust all that much.  I did like the border fabric, and chose the other fabrics to match.   But again, I didn't really like the combination.

I used a little thicker batting in this quilt, (Quilters Dream "Select") and my husband loves it.  I have to admit - it is really cozy.  Both of these quilts are not quite twin size.

So, it was awhile till I tried another Mystery Quilt.  This spring, though, Vicki at Peacebrook Quilting http://www.peacebrookquilting.com/ announced she was doing a mystery, and I thought, "Why Not?"  Then her instructions came thick and fast.   Even though I'm not normally that quick, I did manage to keep up.  Here is the result.

I quite like this one.  I free motioned it with a baby bonnet design, as it's crib size.  I donated it to the Slave Lake fire victims.

So who knows.  I may try a mystery again.  But first, I have to get all of my UFO's completed!

Quilting History, Day Four

Applique!

Several years ago, I took a Learn to Applique class from Joan Statz http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/hstrial-JoansOwnCreat/StoreFront.bok .  Joan is a creative, entertaining teacher.  At the time, she taught a different method of applique, using wonder under and tulle.  Here is the little quilt we made.

I've done a little more applique since then.  Here are a couple.

The Welcome wall hanging is a pattern from Castilleja Cotton http://www.castillejacotton.com/  and the Snowman table runner is a Patrick Lose design. http://www.patricklose.net/

I have also partially finished a Saturday Sampler that ended just about a year ago.  Here's what is done so far.

There are additional scrappy borders to go on the two sides (the quilt is sideways in the picture).  I'll talk more about this quilt in the future.  Almost as soon as I completed the applique on this quilt, I bought Annie Smith's book, The Ultimate Applique Guidebook http://www.amazon.ca/Ultimate-Applique-Guidebook-Step---Step/dp/1607050056/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322425341&sr=1-1  and I learned that I had placed my leaves all wrong.  Oh well, next time!

Quilting History Day Three

Well, this next one is kind of ironic.  The pattern was from Quick Quilts magazine.  The quilt took me, ohhh, about 5 years to complete.  I really do much better when I am taking a class or have some other incentive to get it finished!

Here is the quilt.

At the time I started it, I had found this fabric that I thought would make a great border.  I carried around a swatch all over the place and slowly found matching colours for all the stars and setting blocks.  I put the blocks together and held them up next to my border fabric and ... ewwww!  It looked awful!  So, off to the quilt shop I went and found another fabric that was a little more suitable.  You can't see in the photo, but it is kind of a plaid, with multi colours in it.

At the time I was working on this, I made a table runner and some placemats for my mom.

The border fabric on these was a gorgeous tapestry-like material.  This time, the border still looked good after I made the blocks.  No closeup of the quilting on this one - it was my first attempt at free motion and pretty sad.

Quilting History, Day Two

OK, so now I was cooking with gas, as they say.  But, I'm really not all that adventurous, so I decided to take another class.  I'd mastered the rectangle and square-type quilt, so I moved on to triangles.  The class I took was taught by Joanne Middleton http://www.patchworkschoolhouse.com/  Joanne is a friendly, funny teacher, and explained things very clearly and thoroughly.   I haven't bought any of her DVD's, but I've heard good things about them.  If they are like her classes, they would be great.

This is the quilt.

I was really pleased with the jewel tones.  I struggled with the quilting - as you can see, it was simple diagonal lines.  But the back really puckered as I did it, and I ripped out a few lines before I came up with the idea of starting each line in the middle and moving out to the edges.  I don't think I was using a walking foot yet, and that was probably the problem.  The back was likely moving faster than the top.

Quilting History Day One

I thought that I'd start out by showing the quilts that I've done.  Don't worry, there aren't that many - I'm not a very fast quilter.

It all started back in the 90's.  I had sewn for myself (dorky homemade look most of the time, but there were a few winners), then for my kids, until they outgrew the dorky homemade look, then a lot of home dec (which turned out pretty well - not dorky at all!).  I was always frustrated with the big box fabric stores, and kept wandering into this lovely little shop called The Fabric Cottage.  But all they carried was quilting cotton - no fashion fabrics, no drapery.  Each time, though, I marvelled at the wonderful quilts on the walls.  Finally, I got up my nerve and asked if they had classes.  To my delight, they did.

This was my first quilt.

With it was my first lesson in colour theory.  I didn't realize the gold would stand out like it does.  But I loved it, and was immediately hooked!