December Bite Size quilt

I just finished the last of the pumpkin pie for breakfast. It is NOW officially the Christmas season. Christmas tunes are tinkling from Pandora.com and I’m just adding the final instructions for my December Bite Size pattern for my class tomorrow. If you’ve never paper pieced before, you must try this one. It is an easy tree to put together, plus there is a video tutorial and free pattern and instructions from YouCanQuiltThis.com. Click Here for the video tutorial. And click Here to collect your free pattern. But the center square is just half the fun. You can paper piece the half square triangles too. Use a couple sheets from Star Singles or Thangles. You’ll want the 2″ half square triangle size. This little project went together very quickly. Download the Dec.BiteSizeBlock.Instructions if you’d like to make this 12″ quilt. Time for a hot cup of tea because the mailman just delivered my FEBRUARY issue of American Patchwork quilt magazine (really?!) but the world stops when a new quilt magazine arrives. Enjoy the December Bite Size pattern!

Dec.BiteSize

Quilting Quilting Quilting Oops!

OMGsh!  I am happily sewing the binding onto the Wizard of Oz t-shirt quilt that I’m going to give to Rachel on Tuesday when I see her,  when I noticed an unusually stiff, hard and sharp area of the quilt. Good grief, Charlie Brown! I have successfully quilted my thread snippers into the quilt.  In the below picture, my fingers are on each end of the scissors.  They are tight in there too.  I don’t know how I missed it with the long arm needle!  There is no wiggle to a seam and open and a quick close either. AUGH!!!  I’m considering leaving them in there.  Rachel would get a hardy laugh out of it and have a great time “showing” all her friends.  Butt, scissors submerged in a quilt is far more dangerous than a few buttons, sew I’m going to have to cut her open and patch her up….It is a ‘patchwork’ quilt after all. Sigh.

Oh the other bad news is that after almost 20 years of faithful service, countless rolled hems on pinafores and table clothes, serger hems on numerous fat quarters, gathered lace bed skirts and curtains an countless other projects, my steady and true Bernina Serger has died.  The Surgeon at the quilt store called and said she is too old for parts (sounds like Obama Care – oops!) and he could not repair her.  I was thinking of burying  her in the back yard and planting a rose bush over her, but the ground is frozen.
A Bad sewing day is still better than a good work day.Sigh,
Lora Zmak

Material Girlfriend

photo

November Bite Size Quilt

I am sitting by the fire and listening to Windham Hill Radio with lovely, relaxing classical piano saturating the air waves… awe…. Welcome November. I’ve created a beautiful Oak Wreath to warm our heart and hearths. Click on Nov.BiteSizeBlock.Instructions to download the instruction page. Click on Nov.BiteSizeblock.outline.11×17 to download the template page. If you don’t have a printer that prints 11×17, you’ll need to tile the page when printing, then tape it together. (Sorry, free download expired 11/16. For pattern, please purchase Bite Size Vol. 1) The appliqué technique used for this project is fusible interfacing. One of the things I love about fusible interface appliqué is that it doesn’t leave your project stiff like the fusible web stuff will.  After drawing your leaves to the wrong side of your fabric, lay a piece of fusible interfacing, fusible side to right side of fabric and with a small stitch length, sew along the line of the leaf. Cut the leaf out about an 1/8″ out side the line. Cut a slit in the back of the interfacing and turn the leaf right side out. Use a smooth instrument from the inside to smooth out the seam. Position the leaves and press in place. I then used a pretty blanket stitch in a coordinating green to finish the edges. When quilting the piece, I re-used my freezer paper template that I used to trace the leaves and with my blue water soluable ink pen, drew more leaves to machine stitch. It filled out the wreath so nicely and gave it a full feel. Enjoy your project!