Finished:
Niece/nephew birthday gifts
Thanks for all of your suggestions last week for what to make for my nephew - I wound up making a fun car-themed drawstring pouch for him with some cars inside for him, and I think he'll really dig that. But, in my Sudafed-induced haze, I completely forgot to take a single picture of the darned thing before I shipped it off yesterday, so you'll just have to take my word on its cuteness.
Still going:
For the Love of Solids swap
The swap is alive and kicking, with all the partners sent out and lots of folks posting sketches and fabric selections already. I fooled around with a simple design that I might try out in this swap, adding in some kind of neutral somewhere, but I'm still debating between whether I make a bag for my partner or a miniquilt.
Secret project
I managed to baste this last night, so I'm hoping to get to some quilting today, if I'm up to it. I'm hoping that with the right music and the right cup of coffee, I'll be able to plug away at this today. Speaking of basting, I'd love to hear from you guys - are you spray basters or pin basters? I've spray basted my last 20 quilts or so, but I have to wonder if perhaps I'd be faster at pin basting than I used to be. Speed is really the main reason I spray baste...
New this week:
New pillows
I've decided it's time for some new pillows for my house. I feel the need for something fresh and new in my living room. I haven't decided what kind of pillow covers I want to make just yet, but I'm hoping to pull some fabrics this weekend and have some fun with them. Maybe a cathedral windows pillow? I don't know, we'll see.
I worked with my new iron a little bit last night, which was awfully fun. If you haven't read about Oliso irons or seen one in action, you would be in for a major surprise when you plugged one in. These irons have a Smart Lift mechanism where basically the iron is intended to lay on the soleplate, all the time, rather than get stood up on its side. It has a smart sensor on the handle that lifts the iron off your ironing board when you let go of the handle. At first, this was kind of awkward, because I'm usually a multi-tasking presser, letting the iron do its pressing for me while I finger press the next block or while I sew another seam, but I actually grew to like this feature as I used the iron more last night. I've scorched quite a few spots on my ironing board, thanks to my old method of ironing. More on the iron as I use it some more this week, hopefully.
I hope you've had a better sewing week than I have! What are you sewing this week? Write it up and share it over at Lee's WiP Wednesday linky!
I really like the design for your solid sway. As for basting, I'm a pin kind of girl. I noticed I become faster with every quilt, and with two little ones who still play on the floor a lot, I don't want to use anything chemical in or around the house...
ReplyDeleteYou turned me on to spray basting and I will never go back. I was didn't hate pin basting, I just could never get it flat/tight enough and would usually have to re-pin half way through quilting. not fun. Glad everyone is starting to feel better.
ReplyDeleteI'm a pin baster. I'm lucky in that we have an eight-ball table and a couple of massive pieces of MDF that fit across it, so I can tape down my backing and then pin baste my quilts on the table, rather than crawl around on the floor...
ReplyDeleteI'm a dedicated pin baster :)
ReplyDeleteI just don't like the idea of all that sticky stuff on my quilt. I know it all washes out and everything, but it just doesn't appeal to me.
Glad you guys are recovering! Enjoy your starbucks - yum!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great design for your solids swap. I'm sure whatever you decide on will be great.
Question about your oliso, are you a steamer? Does it have a steam setting? I wonder because mine steams when it's put on it's side and since you never prop up the oliso I would imagine it would always be steaming!
Thanks for the info on your new iron! You forgot to mention it is also just the cutest darn thing! As for basting, I am a spray baster, like you, for speed. I sometimes will throw just a few pins in at the corners if its a larger quilt so I don't have to worry about an edge getting caught when wrangling (although with the new machine being so much larger, this likely isnt a problem any more). LOVE your solid sketch!!
ReplyDeleteLove your solids design. I hate pinning quilts. I'm always meaning to try spray but I haven't yet:)
ReplyDeleteYour Solids Only Swap project is coming along nicely. I was wishy-washy on what to make my partner too, a bag or quilt and decided on the bag. Fabric has been ordered.
ReplyDeleteAs for basting, I always go with pins, it's faster and less messy since I don't have a space where I can really spray anyway.
Loving where your Solids swap project is going! I really need to put some thought into mine. My partner has some great suggestions...I just need to pick a direction!
ReplyDeleteI'm a pin baster. I've tried the spray, and I honestly think I prefer pins. I definitely think I've gotten faster (and I can do it with fewer pins) than when I started.
Cool design for the solid swap! I have been mostly a pin baster, but have started spraying a few. I just tried Sulky & it worked so much nicer that what I'd previously used! (not sure what). It was lovely to work with. Hope you continue to feel better!!
ReplyDeletePin baster.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of that mini quilt, and I can't wait to see the secret project!!
Feel better soon, sweetie!!!
Actually, I'm just paranoid enough to do BOTH. I spray, and then I pin. I probably don't pin as close as I would without the spray, but you can't be too careful! (Or at least, I can't! It would be just my luck that the darn thing would shift!) Besides, I like the sense of progress as I take each pin out. Kind of like the feeling when you check items off your to-do list-- seeing my container fill back up with pins makes me feel like I'm almost done!
ReplyDeleteOhhh that solids design is GORGEOUS! I really love it. I iron with a 5 year old Rowenta- and it is just awesome, no smart lift but I can't complain, it just does a beautiful job and I got it second hand- so it was really cheap. I am a dedicated pin baster, but that is only because my Grandmother had a really high end viking machine that ended up breaking beyond repair and her repairman/dealer told her the spray basting she had been doing had ruined her tension and it couldn't be fixed. She ended up buying a new Babylock and has shared that wisdom with the rest of us- so for the health of my beloved Berni (Bernina) I pin baste and avoid fuseables if at all possible.
ReplyDeleteI love the solids project. I'd keep it a mini...
ReplyDeleteBasting.... Hm... I have to admit that I've sent most of my quilts out to the long-arm quilter and haven't basted many...
ReplyDeleteHowever, when I do my own quilts, I prefer to spray baste - BUT.... I am struggling to find a PLACE to SPRAY BASTE. WHERE do you do yours?
Glad everyone is feeling a little better - get well soon yourself.
ReplyDeleteI have never tried spray basting so I can't comment!
I've spray basted the last few quilts, I still put in a couple of pins just in case, I'd take spray basting over pin basting any day, for me it's much quicker and less likely to have any ripples in the backing.
ReplyDeleteI love your layout for the love of solids swap.
I'm a pin baster. I never tried to spray baste. But I don't like the idea of having glue in my quilt. Maybe a little strange. I like to think that pin basting is a part of the quilt making. But *laugh* I didn't do a quilt bigger than toddler size so... ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting about your iron! I'm glad you're liking it. I might be in the market for a new iron myself.
ReplyDeleteLoving that sketch! If your partner doesn't like it, then she's clearly blind. LOL. Thanks for linking up to WIP Wednesday. : )
ReplyDeleteRaising hand. Pin baster, here.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote about it today. I've never spray basted and didn't understand the hazards, I'll stick with my pins!
The solids design is wonderful! I never spray baste, cuz I don't like spraying glue and I do pin pretty quickly (the king size quilt took no more than an hour to pin). But many people love the spray.
ReplyDeleteI sprayed then went to pins and back to spray. Can't beat the speed. 505 seems to have the least amount of smell.
ReplyDeleteHope you're all better today - hey, maybe your FTLOS partner can make you a cushion to help you on your way!
ReplyDeleteMy iron passed its first test of being left on for 24 hours without anything untoward happening (oopsie, was sure I'd unplugged it the night before!)
I'm a pin baster, but have to confess that in desperation at some slippy linen, I once sprayed my batting with extra strong hair spray!! It worked!
ReplyDeleteI'm unlikely to spray baste as I quite enjoy the crawling around with pins ... it's a stage I enjoy ... It gives you a chance to think about the quilting ... and it's the last real hurdle and then you're on the home straight!