Monday, December 29, 2014

Cutting Fabric with the Silhouette Cameo

I got a chance to play with my new Silhouette Cameo (affiliate link) this weekend, cutting some simple flowers.
These are flowers I drew myself in the Silhouette software, which was very easy to do.  There was a bit of a learning curve, but it all made sense once I saw a couple of videos. I must say, thank goodness for those how-to videos, as my attention span for absorbing any written instructions is extremely short these days.  Guess it's a result of all these new electronic gadgets!

Anyway, the fabric was prepared for fusing with Wonder-Under, as these flowers are going to be completely fused to the Modern Grace quilt top.
In the software, the cuts were arranged to make the best use of the fabric, with all the centers in a row for placement of a different fabric on the mat so that I wouldn't have to run it through twice.
Within a minute, it was all cut!  This is what's left on the mat after removing the waste fabric.
Aren't they cute?  Now onto arranging them on the quilt for fusing!
Sorry, you're just going to have to wait till I get it quilted before I show it all off!

I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out, and I see great possibilities for cutting in the future.  There's just so much versatility!  If you have one of these machines, or have been thinking about getting one, this is a great use for it.

Happy Quilting!



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Friday, December 19, 2014

Honey Bee

Has it really been two weeks since I last posted???  Makes me sad to think I haven't been quilting that much, as I didn't think it had been that long.  I started working on the free Glam Clam pattern from Latifah Saafir, and using the Curve Master foot. (affiliate link)  I was making mine in yellows for a baby quilt, and finished sewing the clams by the next day.
Unfortunately, the applique and quilting got delayed a bit, but the whole quilt got finished up today.

Here's a full quilt picture.
The bees are in a hive full of honey, or they are on top of a flower seeking nectar.  Either way, they're pretty cute!

For the quilting, I did an open stipple all over with yellow Glide thread, then outlined the bees with Sulky invisible polyester monofilament.  First time I've used that on my Innova, and had no problems.  Here's the back, a nice soft yellow flannel.
And as for the bees, they're my own creation, in two versions.




Happy Quilting!



Tuesday, December 2, 2014

November Book of the Month--Almost Done

Today, we received some much needed rain, meaning that it was a great reason to stay in and sew!  And after a bumpy start, I have the November Book of the Month quilt, Modern Grace from Supersize 'Em, (affiliate link) almost done.
Note to self:  make sure to have the fabric if it is definite part of the design!

My first bump was finding a large B+W floral print, which I purchased (gasp!) specifically for this project.  I then figured I had enough of a stash to fill in the rest.  
The next bump was finding a bold B+W stripe.  Couldn't find any until I happened to be in a LQS for another reason, but by then it was too late, as I had made my own.  Just sewed 1 1/2" strips of black and white together, then cut the widths that I needed.
The third bump was the worst.  I pulled out several purple fabrics for the border, and one worked really well.
But, alas, not enough!  I then spent several hours trying to figure out what to use/do instead.  In desperation, I searched through my kid fabric bins for any purple, still nothing.  But what's that purple in the Falling Leaves pile over there?
Would it work?  Thankfully, it was the right color, the right value, and had some black in it.  Hallelujah!!!  Relief!
Now that all the fabric decisions were settled, I set in sewing, and had the majority of the top done in about four hours. Definitely an easy, fast pattern with a lot of impact.  I would do this one again, with better planning next time, of course.

And the last thing to add are the applique purple flowers in the corners,
and I'm waiting for my new Silhouette Cameo cutting machine for those.  Gives me a reason to play!

I've debated whether nor not to commit to a December Book of the Month, as I have a lot of projects that need finishing. But the need to replace my autumn hutch runner from my Sewing Diamonds class
with one for the holidays may get the better of me. Guess I'll have to look at my books for ideas and inspiration.

Hope you had a great day quilting!