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Pacific Northwest, United States

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I've been crafting things for myself and others since my teen years. Designing and creating is not just what I do.....it's Who I Am. Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Design Wall Monday 1/30/12

DWM-01-30-12

I’ve been trying to figure out the borders for this scrappy collage quilt.  I’m attempting to accomplish two things:  Use scraps and practice new techniques.  The blocks were pieced and individually quilted using the leaf design from the January FMQ challenge.  Then I attached them with the thin black sashing using a technique I saw on a uTube video online.  I like how that came out.  Now I have to decided if I want borders or not.  This is destined to be a new blankie for my cat and I’d like it to be a little larger than just the four blocks which measure 25”x25”. 

Current options:  a.)  5” scrap strips (shown on top)  b.) two rows 2” squares (left)  c.) one row 2” squares (right)  or d.) no added border (bottom)      Leave a comment and tell me know which one you favor.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Poinsettia is done!

I started this wall hanging in December.  I know, it was a little late for the holiday, but I wanted to have a new wall hanging to put up next year.
  
Every time I make something I try to incorporate new techniques that I haven't done before.  On this project I did the quilt sandwich and the ditching like I learned in the Craftsy class on Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine.  Ann Peterson is a good instructor and shares a lot of pointers she has learned along the way.  I especially liked using the rubber shelf liner (which I cut into two 3x5 pads) to help maneuver the fabric under the needle.  It was a lot easier than wearing quilting gloves and the grip was excellent.  

I originally thought I would back it with dark green fabric, but changed my mind and used the red (which looks like pink in the photo).  That decision also influenced my choice of binding color.  I think I should have at least used green binding so that the outer border would look more like the EQ version.  The dark green seems is too skinny.  What do you think?

A Rainbow morning

DSCF0590-editedWow, look what I saw out my front window this morning! 


I love rainbows, but my photographs never depict the colors and beauty.  Nevertheless, I always grab the camera and try to capture the moment. 
Have a great day!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Free Motion Practice


My quilt practice sandwich
Recently I stumbled upon a blog (SewCalGal.blogspot.com) which is promoting a 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge.  I’m not certain that I want to officially join the challenge because I want to avoid making too many commitments right now.  I did review the video done by Frances Moore and practiced the design.  
 
quilt back
Then I proceeded to quilt the four scrap collage blocks I had made.  I discovered a couple of things.

One, the fabric I chose to use for the quilt backing is a perfect choice if you don’t want the stitching to show (I used white thread top and bobbin).    You can tell that it’s quilted, but even the quilting design is hard to distinguish.  
 
  Second, a multi-colored top (like this scrappy collage) does little to show off the stitching.  I can only see my wonderful little leaves on the darker, more sold colored patches.  

Generally, I liked doing this quilting design and will use it in the future.  On problem I had was I often found myself unsure of where I was going next so my transitions got a little wonky.  Things got better the more I practiced.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Design Wall Monday 1/23

DWM-01-23-12
Pine Point Design Wall
I made a couple more scrappy blocks.  

At first I thought I would just set the blocks butted up against each other, but then I considered adding really dark (preferably black) strips between them to set them off.  I like the look of skinny sashing but haven’t used it before so I’ll give it try.



Craftsy-BOM-Jan2 (1013x1024)
Wonky Pound Sign block
I also made up the second Craftsy block of the month – the Wonky Pound Sign. 

I don’t particularly like the design look of this block, but I wanted to try the technique.  It’s important to continue learning and doing new things.  There are a lot of quilting techniques, styles and methods that I have yet to try.  I was able to use up some more bits from my scrap bucket.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Goodies in the mail


DSCF0523_med
Look what I just received…..Judy’s new book:   60 Pieced Quilt Borders, Mix & Match by Judy Laquidara.   It's chock full of beautiful quilts and lots of border options. 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

End of Blog Week 1

I started this blog one week ago.  There is so much to learn about blogging and internet communicating, and I've made some headway......I think.

I've spent a lot of hours lately with my graphics and pics.  On my list of things to do is to learn more about my camera and taking good photos.  For the time being, I'm concentrating on getting them edited (cropping, straightening, and resizing) as well as uploaded.

Working on patterns

For as long as I can remember I've made crafty things for myself and others.  And I always draw or sketch out what I want to make.  I use CAD for work and for "play".  Last year I added Electric Quilt to my box of toys.

I'm currently working on gathering all my sketches, taking photos, and writing up the instructions for some of the things I've designed and made.  In the future I'd like to supplement my income by creating and selling patterns on the web.   Stay tuned...



Sweatshirt Jacket report:

Well, things are not going as well as I thought they would.  That darn sweatshirt fabric stretches every time I sew on it.

Last night I trimmed the fabric on one of the front pieces and proceeded to staystitch all around.  I tried to sew as close to the edges as possible so when it is all sewn back together the seam allowances will be around 1/2".  

Hopefully the jacket will fit me in the end.  As I was staystitching, the darn thing wiggled and squirmed all over the place.  I need to figure out a way to stabilize it better before staystitching.  I'm thinking starch might help.   

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A Scrappy Solution





What to do with all those left-over strips and bits of fabric?  

Scrappy Collage Block
I decided that I needed to figure out how to use them up.  My solution is this block.  It’s actually a nine-patch in a collage format.  I played with my CAD software and created paper templates for each patch.  Then I printed the templates and sewed the patches, leaving the paper attached until after I trimmed them to the correct size.  


I’m happy with how this block turned out and plan on making a lot more.  

One of my goals for this year is to drastically reduce the contents of my scrap bucket…..while making things that are useful.

Scrappy Collage Quilt





Here's my EQ7 version of a quilt using this block.  I simplified the block coloring by making each patch three shades of the same color. 


I kinda like it!!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Quilted Sweatshirt - a beginning


Yesterday our quilt group worked on converting sweatshirts into quilted jackets.  I had been thinking about doing this kind of project for a long time, but hadn’t gotten to it until now.  I got my fabrics from Connecting Threads…Walk in the Woods 2-1/2” Strips.   By the end of our time together I had the strips for the back sewn on and part of the front.   
  

Friday, January 13, 2012

New Logo

I just spent the majority of the day clicking and viewing and reading all sorts of info about creating a blog. My mind is bloggled!  

I decided to create a logo/button for Pine Point Designs. 
Here are three ideas I'm considering: 

Option A

Option B
Option C
Do you have a favorite?
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