KnottyKnits

Every night, I tell myself that I'm going to knit, or sew on a different quilt, but every night I find myself adding on to this thing.

I love it. I love it so much, my husband is considering accusations of adultery.And we're Catholic, so I might be put in stocks on the front lawn or something. I have to work on it a little bit every single night or I feel…jittery. An intervention might be in order, but c'mon, who can resist such a lovely quilt? I've also been working on my free motion quilting, although I'm still not happy with it. I keep slapping together two cheap fat quarters and working on the motion, meaning that the little one in my house has plenty of blankets to keep her creepy ass baby dolls in blankets for years.

Finally, believe it or not, I have been knitting a bit here and there. I picked up the needles after months of not touching them. My Madli shawl is 99% done, and once I get the nuts to finally start grafting it (I actually made an attempt the other night, but I stopped in the sheer terror of 120+ laceweight stitches dropping and the entire thing ending up in the trash because there is no frakkin' way I would EVER recover from that mess, so help me) it will be gorgeous. For right now, she's residing in the basket right next to the couch, reminding me that the only thing that stands between me and a fab shawl is a couple of scary hours of The Kitchener Stitch. My butt is clenching just thinking about it.

I think that I'm going to have to dig around in the storage unit tomorrow, though, because Cassidy is calling my name, and she's a siren. That sweater would be smokin' hot in red, and I happen to have the perfect yarn in a bright red stashed. Somewhere. In the storage unit from hell. 

With the completion of the Mod Sampler quilt, I needed another project ASAP. What makes more sense than starting a hand peiced hexagon quilt?

At what point do I just admit it? I'm insane. A queen sized quilt, pieced by hand,is the utmost in crazy making. And also, it may be making my hands hurt. It won't stop me, though. I'm dedicated to my insanity. On top of that, I've had a number of baby blankets that I've been working on, because people keep getting knocked up and popping out kids. The first one is for a little boy that was born a while back; I haven't wanted to rush them and demand that they hand over their baby immediately for sniffing (I love the way a baby smells. I can't help it.), so we haven't met him yet. However, their lives are returning to some idea of normal, so I knocked this little gem out as a "Welcome to the World" present. 

And the next one is a gift for the guy who sold us our house. I know, right? It's like I'm looking for any excuse to fire up the sewing machine and stitch two available pieces of fabric together. But the truth is that while he was a nice sales guy, my husband has been playing a lot of online Call Of Duty with him, and he's a genuinely nice person. This is their fifth child (HOLY CRAP, GET SOME CABLE, PEOPLE), and I firmly believe that every baby needs a hand sewn baby quilt. It's a basic right, folks – air, water, and baby blanket upon popping out of the womb. 

I haven't even started on the blankets for the babies that are in progress; every couple of weeks, someone else announces that they are pregnant, I swear to Heaven above. All of these recession babies are keeping me and my sewing machine busy. It's a damn good thing that all of my yarn is buried in the depths of our storage unit, because I couldn't knit even if I damn well wanted to. 

I may have also attempted sewing a top for myself, but we're going to pretend that didn't actually happen, mmmkay?

And finally, The Husband's quilt is in progress. Strips are being cut out, and I've convinced him that a simple pattern is required, as opposed to some busy nightmare that would never get quilting because BEJEEZUS, there is no way I want to do something fancy with a quilt that large. I just tried my first free motion quilting last week on two fat quarters from my stash, and it looked like a rabbid ferret on a coke bender decided to make sweet, sweet love to my quilting stash. In other words, IT SUCKED. So I quickly slapped a binding on it and handed it off to my daughter as a doll quilt, because hey, she's two; she doesn't give a happy damn if my quilting stitches were uneven and crossed over each other. She's just excited to have a tiny blanket to cover up the world's ugliest doll (I am NOT KIDDING on this, she loves it and takes it everywhere and even got mustard on it when she was trying to feed it). I totally pawned off my quilting mistakes as a special gift for my daughter; do you see how I did that? Lemonade from lemons, baby. That's me.

I finally bound the edges and moved it through the washer and dryer; I was totally caught up in other projects, though. I blame Flickr; I was browsing through projects in some of the groups that I joined, and I saw these adorable hexagon quilts that folks were creating using the English Paper Piecing method. Next thing I knew, I had 500 die-cut paper hexagons and an order of fabric sitting on my lap to make my own. 

And then, I had the fight of my life with the sundress pattern that I mentioned in the last post. I purchased the elastic thread, dutifully wound it up by hand into my bobbin, and….nothing. I could NOT get the fabric to gather up the way it was supposed to. I jacked with the tension, I fiddled with the stitch length, and I hauled out my manual to see if there was something I could find that would help. Online forums, blog stalking…nothing was giving me any clue as to what I was doing wrong. 

Then I decided that it was my fault for buying a machine that was focused solely on quilting. Since it is all computerized, it adjusts the tension automatically; I can override it on the top tension, but the problem was with the bottom tension – as in, there wasn't any. I finally stopped by a Husqvarna dealer and asked the shop owner what I was doing wrong. I would love to tell you that she was friendly and helpful and took the time to work with me, but I'd be totally lying and then lightening might strike me and I'm not sure my insurance covers that kind of crap. She acted like helping me was KILLING HER INSIDE; she was much more focused on getting her quilt on the frame in the store than she was with helping stupid me (who didn't even buy the machine from her shop! OMeffin'G!).  The cherry on the top is that she asked me what kind of machine I had and how much I paid for it, and when I answered her, she *sneered*. SNEERED. AT ME. And my awesome machine.  I think she was annoyed that I brought my children into the shop with me, and they WERE being rambunctious, but Mike snatched them up and took them outside within five minutes of us getting there. It sucks, because that shop had a great selection of feet and accessories for my machine, but she can suck my ass, because I sure won't go back in there. 

What was I talking about? Elastic! Anyway, she might have been snotty, but she fixed my issue without knowing it – she reminded me that I needed to pull the thread back through the bobbin to a certain point so that it sits in the groove. Once I did that, I was off and flying with the top of that dress. I am now looking for all sorts of uses for the elastic thread, because that stuff IS AWESOME. Here's proof:

It is adorable. No, no arguments, it is ADORABLE. Admit it. I want to make another one, but I'm wondering how it would work with a knit fabric, and maybe really wide straps that could almost be considered sleeves.
Quilting is just the gateway drug to full on sewing. Be aware.

I TOTALLY CALLED IT. I knew that talking about my sewing machine in public would anger it. After I wrote that post, I sat down to put together some blocks for a new baby blanket. Sure enough, the tensioning is all jacked up AGAIN, and I spent an hour trying to get it to work AGAIN. This is the bajillionth time I've had this exact same problem with it; it would hum along fine as long as I was sewing on cotton fabrics exclusively with standard cotton threads, but the second I deviated from that formula, BLERG and BLARG and PHBOOOT. It would break down and I'd have to send it into the shop, where they would repair it for $80 until the next time it decided to go all wonky. I lived in fear of changing materials, changing threads, changing the tension on my own; any of those three would throw that machine off.

This time was the last time, though. The Singer pissed me off enough that I pitched her to the side (figuratively; pitching a sewing machine would cause a lot of damage to walls, methinks) and purchased something new. Uh, make that new to ME.

Meet my new baby. A Husqvarna Viking Quilt Designer, which was a trade in that someone brought in at the local Joann's (our Joann's hosts a Husqvarna dealer inside of it). I was headed in there to find something cheap and quick to get me through the next six months, but when I saw her, I just HAD to have her. Look at the size of that throat! (Heh.) The quilting table! The fancy pantsness! I'm just getting used to using her, but man, it's like a whole different world using this thing. You get so used to your own machine's quirks and weirdnesses that when you are presented with a machine that works like it is supposed to, every time, it kinda throws you off. I keep expecting the presser foot to not engage all the way, but on this machine it automatically lowers the presser foot when you start sewing. I never have to worry about that tangled mess of thread you get because, DUH, you didn't make sure it was all the way down. The bobbin literally THREADS ITSELF through the machine. It came with all the feet I could need, and the two that I really, really needed for quilting were either thrown in for free (a darning foot) or included at 50% off (a walking foot). I'm adjusting to the little beeps and bloops this thing emits when I'm sewing, and I have to remind myself that there is no presser foot latch on the back of the machine, like my Singer had; those two columns of buttons right over the needle control the foot, the needle down, and I'm sure a host of other things that I'm not using properly as of yet.

My first official project on this machine is a 9 patch baby blanket, with sashing between the blocks.

But my first true test of this thing will include this:

and this:

and a certain dress pattern that is burning up the net.

What brand and model do you have?

I have a Singer 2638, which looks like this:

How long have you had it?

I have had this machine for well over five years; I've only started really using it recently, though. If I had known how much I was going to love sewing, I would have set it up YEARS ago.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

When I bought it, I believe I paid around $250. It was refurbished, so it cost more than that new.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.

Right now, I primarily quilt with it, but I have done curtains in the past. And I'm going to venture out into clothing in the very near future. 

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I sew a little every night lately. It gets light use mostly; I tend to sew in batches, when the bug bites me.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I don't love it, but I don't hate it. I do understand why it was sent back to the factory to be refurbished. In the time that I've had it, I've had to send the machine in three times to be repaired. If I were using this machine more that number would probably be much, much higher.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

The basics all work well; this is really just a standard, run-of-the-mill sort of machine without any bells and whistles. I've purchased some additional feet for it (a walking foot and a darning foot) that have greatly expanded the usefulness of it.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

I'd say the random breaking down drives me nuts. Always in the middle of a big project, WHAMMO. I think I'm temping fate by talking about it publicly.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!

My first sewing machine was this cheapo Brother that I bought from WalMart for around $90. I didn't want to get an expensive one, because I wasn't sure how much I was going to sew; I think I made two bags on it before it broke on me. Apparently, trying to send fifteen layers of fabric and batting was a little too much for that machine to handle. Whatever. So, there I was, moping that my new toy was broken and it was going to cost more to fix it than I paid for it, when my husband surprised me with this one. He found it online and bought it because he could see how much I really wanted to sew.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

This one? Not at this point, because they don't make them brand new any more. My experience with a refurbished machine has not been fantastic. I mean, for the most part, it works great and I've knocked out a couple of quilts on it, but there is always the fear that changing the stitch type is going to piss it off and send it into a tantrum. 

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

Having done a few more projects, I would look for some of the more advanced features. Ease of threading is a huge one, and I would really recommend finding something that comes with all of the accessory feet if you can find it.  My machine's light over the work space is a little dim, so I would want something brighter in that area.  

Do you have a dream machine?

My dream machine is something that can do light embroidery and sewing/quilting; I want an all in one machine. I haven't found a specifc one that I'm drooling over yet, but hopefully in the next year I'll narrow down my search and buy a new one. The Singer will stick around for backup usage.

ETA: Right after posting this (and I mean, seriously, the next day) the damn thing broke. The tension was seven kinds of screwed, and if you know anything, that's bad.  So I hauled my cookies to the nearest Joann's to stalk machines, and I ended up with a super cool new (to me) machine.  That I love. So I'm going to have to say that I totally DO NOT recommend the machine above.

And as quickly as the blocks went together, so went the quilt top.

Of course I had to include an art shot!

For the quilting, I'm not following the free motion plan that was laid out originally. I've done all of the straight up and down lines, and I'll be launching into the diagonals as soon as I get home tonight. I saw a great tip from Carolyn on one of Carrie's pictures to use painter's tape to keep things straight. I picked some up at my local Wal Mart and will be applying it liberally to the quilt in an effort to sew a semi-straight line. Let's be honest, folks, my lines wander all over the place. I like to call it "quilting character". I did manage to find a darning foot to fit my sewing machine over the weekend ($11 on eBay! SCORE!), so I'll be trying that out once I finish this thing. Possibly on a matching pillow for the quilt.

My sewing setup these days is looking like this:

Note the toddler chair at the end of the table. I have to scrub the entire table every night before I set up the sewing machine, because that kid eats like a rabid kangaroo. The table is a little high for sewing to be totally comfortable. I'm missing my sewing table like crazy, with all of the drawers and extra space to cut and press seams, but this is doable for the next while. If I do anything larger than this quilt, though, I'll be pinning it goether in the parking lot because we have no free space in the apartment. Do you think the apartment complex would think me crazy if I used the entry to their rental offices to pin out my quilt?

I thought these blocks would take a lot longer to complete, but I knocked them out in just a few days.

Yellow:

Orange:

Pink:

Green:

Blue:

Purple:

I've cut the sashing for them, and I'll start putting it together tonight. I need to go buy the backing and the batting for it since I'll probably be quilting it by the end of the week. I'm loving how the colors are bright and happy. This will be perfect for Sarah's room! The only change that I'm going to make is that I'm not going to put the extra blocks into the back of the quilt; I think I'll use them as artwork in her room. I'll have them matted and framed, and I'll hang them above her bed.  I'll also have to make her curtains and a pillow or two, but that's why I bought double the fabric. I'm thinking string blocks for the two pillows. 

On top of that, I have been knitting:

That is a feather and fan scarf made with some of the SAFF yarn that I picked up last year. It had two random knots and a large section of unspun yarn which I cut out and had to spit splice together. On one hand, yeeeech, and on the other hand, it totally worked. The yarn is very thick/thin so I didn't want to use it for socks. Still, it was calling to me, and I think this shows off the yarn to the best advantage. wouldn't that be a great color for a cardigan? I need to investigate getting a bunch of this in DK for a sweater….

We moved. We left our first house and crammed the contents into one storage unit and one apartment; surprisingly, the smaller space in the apartment doesn't feel as small as I thought it would. The kids are sharing a bedroom, which they find utterly hilarious because HEY! We can SEE EACH OTHER from our BEDS, holy crap this is AWESOME until 10:30 at night when mommy is considering resorting to baby Benedryl because she has put us back into bed for the seventybillionth time and is about to cry. It took Bryan a month to figure out that he could get out of his toddler bed when we transitioned him; it took Sarah about seven minutes to figure that same thing out.

The move itself went well, aside from the giant bruise that came from only God knows where:

I discovered that little baby when I went to take a shower after Day 1 of THE BIG MOVE. I honestly have no clue what caused that kind of damage to my leg; you think I'd remember getting hit hard enough to leave that kind of a bruise.

Since I also managed to finish my class load (A in English, B in Accounting II) AND we moved, I treated myself to some fabric for the stash.

These were both eBay purchases. I am your typical stasher; I buy this stuff in a frenzy, when I'm all caught up in how pretty it is, but I don't ever have a specific project in mind for it. I do the same thing with yarn. I rarely go into buying craft supplies with any specific use in mind, which is why I'm about to be buried under a mound of wool. I'm determined to use these fabrics up before the summer is up, though. I think this is going to quickly become the Summer of the Quilt.

Take one woman, work her to death and then let her stumble across a great online quilt along. Said woman will then obsess over the great quilts that are in the Flickr! group associated with the quilt along, and start plotting the quilt that she wants to make. She might even steal some inspiration from one of the quilts included in the quilt-along, and shamelessly copy the color scheme.

I never claimed to be original. Just crafty.

I ventured out with my two year old in tow today to the local Joann's to scope out fabric choices. This is the equivalent of stabbing yourself in the face repeatedly with a spoon while trying to retile your floors; the two things just don't go well together. The liberal application of a sheet of stickers calmed her down enough so that we could get down to business. We are moving Sarah into her toddler bed next week when we move into the apartment, and while she will be able to use the bedding she already has, we are going to need something new for the house. This quilt along looks to be the perfect excuse to throw together something bright and girly for Little Miss Thing. So after a few minutes of sticker-induced bliss, we had already snagged some SUPER BRIGHT SOLIDS.

Exhibit A:

HI! I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN STILL HEAR ME OVER HOW LOUD THESE COLORS ARE.

Solids chosen, the real fun began: picking out the coordinating patterns. I wanted something still very bright and happy, but I wanted tone on tone fabrics. I like what I have chosen, but I do reserve the right to change any of them at any time based on my whims.

And then again, all together:

I will return later and get sashing and all of that, and I bought twice the amount of fabric required for the project because I will need to make curtains and pillows to coordinate; overall, I'm very happy with what I've got. I'll probably use white sashing and get more of the pink for backing/binding. That is all way in the future, though, because I still have to work my way through an Accounting test and moving into our apartment before I can even start on this thing. 

SO. EXCITED. TO. QUILT.

MUST. ABSTAIN.

So, how's that shawl coming along?

It's good! I mean, I know it was getting a little long, but I really want to use all of the yarn. See? Here's a picture.

Whoa! What the…don't you think it's long enough? I mean, at some point, you have to stop! Put down the yarn! BACK AWAY!

Yeah, maybe you're right. 

Maybe?

All right! I'm finishing this repeat and I'll kitchner in the other end. I didn't think there would be any harm…

You're scared of kitchnering that many stitches. 

Not scared, exactly…

Chicken. 

What?

You heard me. 

Uh, okay. Didn't realize this was going to turn all third grade. 

How many times did you knock over that cup of beads while you were knitting?

Twice. 

*crickets*

Okay! Eight times! EIGHT TIMES! Is that better? 

Anyway, how are the kids?

Doing great! I mean, don't you see the joy on their faces?

Not really.

Seriously. They are doing great. That is just ONE picture, I've got tons more where they are totally jazzed.

I see. Let's move on…are you going to be doing anything crafty anytime soon, or are you just going to continue to bore us with pictures of your kids and blahblahblah house junk?

I've been busy! School, work, house - 

Yeah, we know. I wasn't asking for justification, Captain Defensive. Just if you were going to, oh, I don't know, get more INTERESTING any time soon.

Yeah, I'm going to start a quilt for my daughter's room. I'm just dithering over the color scheme. I'm going to start it when we get into the apartment and school is over, so give me two weeks. 

We'll see. You'll update? With pictures?

I promise!

That remains to be seen.