She's a trooper

My Mom is in town. She's been here a week and I've really cracked the whip on that woman. I've totally made her earn her keep. There is no such thing as a free lunch.



Mostly gardening stuff. And I should say that she loves to garden. Maintains huge, beautiful gardens at her own home in fact.




But she has been planting.




And weeding. Oh, how she has been weeding.




And watering.





And building cute little fences around the herb garden.




And tending to the greenhouses.




And the gnome.



All the while I've been watching. Sitting on the sidelines. Eating bon bons.






Thanks so much Nana. You have been such a huge help this week. Whatever will I do when you go home?

-dana

Rowenta iron winner!

#245 is Sooz!

Congratulations. I know that you'll love this iron. I love mine! Email me at dana@oldredbarnco.com so I can get your shipping address.

Next Monday will be Week 3 of the quilt along. . . and feature another great giveaway. Of course all leading up to the mac daddy of giveaways. A Janome 6600.



-dana

Oh, by the way. Have I mentioned that I'll probably end up giving away the quilt I make too. I will if there are 4,972 entries for the sewing machine giveaway. Seems like a nice round number don't you think? I like things nice and orderly and predictable. Yep, that's me.

Quilt Along Week 2 Cutting the Fabric for you Quilt

**Contest to win the Rowenta iron is over. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Week 2 means we have our fabric and supplies and are ready to start cutting the fabric. You gotta cut the fabric so that you have the pieces and parts you need ready to assemble quilt blocks.

You need an iron, cutting mat, rotary cutter, ruler/straight edge and fabric.

And with that I'm out. See you again next week for another installment . . .

Just kidding.




First thing you need to do is iron all of your fabric. You are aiming for nice straight cuts and nothing ruins that faster than folds, lumps and bumps in your fabric. Use a hot iron and press it all.


Ok. So here is one of my fabrics. Remember we have 1/2 yard cuts of 12 different fabrics. I have one laying out on my table. The selvages are on the east and west sides.




Fold your fabric selvage to selvage. Line the selvages up together the best that you can.



Now fold it again. And line that fold up along with the selvages as best that you can too.



Now. Rotate your fabric so that now the selvage edge is in the north position. The frayed cut edges are now in the east west position.




You want an nice, smooth, straight edge to work with so using your cutting mat as a guide, position your fabric so that you can cut that edge and even all the layers of fabric up.




Voila!




Now you are going to cut 2 1/2 inch strips of fabric. All of it. Ready. Set. Go!









After you have cut a strip you can unfold it and see that it is 2 1/2 inches by the width of the fabric (generally 45 inches). Anyhow, do the whole bit of fabric there into 2 1/2 inch strips. For this particular 1/2 yard, I got 7 strips. But that might not always be the case.

Take a deep cleansing breath. ::Ahhhhhhh::

You can do this.




After all the strips have been cut from an individual fabric you will be left with your stack of strips and little bits of scrap. Just stack up the strips and move on to the next 1/2 yard of fabric.

Rinse and repeat.




Remember earlier I said that I got 7 strips from that particular fabric? And remember I said that that wouldn't necessarily always be the case? Well, look here. When I folded my fabric selvage to selvage, the cut edges were farther apart. As a result, I had to cut more of the actual fabric in order to get those to line up. So, I ended up only getting 6 strips of this one instead of 7.

No biggie.

I've read the the book Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. And this is small stuff. So don't sweat it.






Continue this cutting process until you have cut all of your 12 1/2 yard cuts of fabric. Leave your binding fabric for later. We will do that during the binding portion of our quilt along.




Now you should have a pretty stack of 2 1/2 inch width strips.

How about a giveaway?

I bought a new iron a few weeks ago. I love it so much I thought you might like one too.



This Rowenta iron is made specially for crafters and my life hasn't been the same since I've had it.



If you'd like a shot at winning it leave me a comment here. You have until 7:00pm EDST US on Wednesday, May 27, 2009. And if you haven't joined the Flickr group yet, well . . . what is your deal? That is a great place to ask questions and find answers to all things related to this quilt along event.

Happy Memorial Day. And to my husband, Razor, it has been the best 13 years of my life. I look forward to many, many more.

-dana

Week 1 winners

#41 Wendy -- her comment reads, "I am so excited about this!! I just joined the Flickr group. I'm not the greatest quilter (much better at clothes), but I am hoping this will improve skills, or at least make it more enjoyable! :)

#228 Magy -- her comment reads, "The sew-a-long sounds fund. I have never been in one of those. Fabrics are lovely too. Olfa products are just the best. Couldn't quilt without them. Really like your blog too. Magy"

#257 Cassie

#125 Mommymae

#123 Nicola

#85 Peggie

#108 Joyce's Daughter

#54 Pink Lemonade Bags

#16 itsamonster

Congratulations one and all. Email me at dana@oldredbarnco.com to claim your
prizes.

Now to find boxes for all this stuff . . .

-dana

Free Olfa stuff?

Here for the chance to win one of nine Olfa gift packs? GoHERE and leave a comment. You have until 7pm EDST Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

Of course, you can join the quilt along any time. Today. Tomorrow. Six months from now really. I mean, how am I gonna know?


Anywho . . . on a totally unrelated note . . .




This one is in the mail to a friend today. I'm going to miss it.

-dana

Quilt Along Week 1 Supplies You Need to Make a Quilt

UPDATE: Comments now closed. Winners of the Olfa sets will be posted Thursday, May 21, 2009. Some time before lunch.

Check back again next week for Week 2 of the quilt along and more great giveaways.




People ask me all the time about quilting. What do you need? How do you learn? Is it hard?

I'm going to spell out exactly what you need right here.

You can learn from a friend, book, a class at your local quilt store, or you can wing it. How about you learn right here over the next 6 weeks? Ok? Good.

And, no, it is not hard once you know what you are doing.

So let's go.



Last summer I gave away this quilt and for months afterward people emailed me asking about the pattern and if I would share it with them. There was no pattern. Just me putting fabric that I liked together. Winging it. Hoping for the best.

That is exactly the "pattern" we are going to make here.

You will need 12 different 1/2 yard cuts of quilting cotton fabric for the quilt top. One yard of quilting cotton for the binding. We'll talk about the batting and backing at a later date. Make sense?

In other words you need a 1/2 yard of each of 12 different prints for the quilt top and 1 yard of one print for the binding.

I'm using the summer color way of Paula Prass' Flights of Fancy.



You need a pair of sewing scissors. Ones dedicated only to cutting fabric.



You need straight pins and pin cushions.

A little about the straight pins . . . buy ones specifically for quilting. They are longer than your standard straight pins. They are usually sold in packs of 100 so get a couple of packs. Better to have too many than not enough.

And you need more than one pin cushion. I have 3 so that I can keep one by my sewing machine, one on my cutting table and one at my ironing board. That way you don't have to carry it with you everywhere you go.









You need thread. Duh. But I have found that quality of thread really makes a difference. I love, love, love Mettler thread. I love it so much I want to marry it.

When buying thread be sure to get several spools. I do most of my quilt assembly sewing with white, natural or gray thread. You won't see these stitches so just pick something that works well for you. While you are buying thread, it is a good time to remember what color your binding fabric is and to purchase thread that will match that. Or rather, blend with that. If your binding is going to be red then get red thread.

Isn't that aqua thread heavenly? And that red! Have I mentioned my love for Mettler thread?






You also need a rotary cutter, a rotary cutting mat and a straight edge in which to use them both. I use Olfa rotary cutters, mats and straight edges. They are pricey but worth every penny. Guaranteed.

While you are at it be sure to buy extra blades for your rotary cutter.




Finally, you will need an iron, a sewing machine (Not an absolute necessity. I mean you could do it by hand easily enough.), and ironing board. You do not want a picture of my ironing board. Trust me. It would make you want to hide under your coffee table and suck your thumb. I really need to make a new cover. And I shall. Someday.

So, I thought I would give away some Olfa goods!




I will give 9 sets of Olfa goodness to 9 different winners. Each set includes:

1 Olfa 12"x12" rotating self-healing rotary mat
1 Olfa 45 mm quick change rotary cutter
1 Olfa 6"x12" frosted non-slip ruler



You'll like the easy blade change capability of this cutter.








Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of the Olfa sets. Let me know that you are participating in the quilt along and that you have run over to Flickr and joined the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along 2009 group.

I'll leave the comments open until 7pm EDST on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 and randomly pick the winners soon there after. Due to the shipping cost, this particular contest is open to US residents only. But don't fret . . . there will be others that will be open internationally. And they will be good. Scouts honor.

Ok. So. Now, you know what supplies you need and you have a week to get them together. May the force be with you.

-dana

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