Making Free Motion Quilting Easier - The Elna 740 Table

I have had the Elna 740 sewing machine for about 2 years now but have resisted buying the Elna table that goes with it. I use the 740 primarily for free motion quilting and usually just leave it set up for that purpose only. The advantages of the table is that the machine sits recessed into the table thus allowing a flat surface for the quilt to slide over. Well I took the plunge and cannot believe how much easier it is to FMQ with the machine in this table.

Notice how the bed of the machine is flush with the table. Plus the table itself is finished with some type of Formica that is extremely smooth and allows the quilt to glide over it without a Teflon overlay. It allows use of the knee lift and has a drawer on the left front for accessories.

The table has adjustable levelers on each leg so I was able to make it the same height as my cutting table. I rearranged my sewingroom to have the 740 back to back with my cutting table which now allows me to have over 60 inches of surface for my quilt to lay on and avoid the drag while quilting. I am more than happy with my new table and have already stippled a quilt with more ease than ever before.

Pattern Weights

I cut out many things on my rotary mat with a rotary cutter. It is so much faster than pinning. Now you need to have the fabric and patterns weighted down and over the years I have bought a few pricey pattern weights. I have also used soup cans but they are quite bulky. Last week my hubby and I stopped at a local hardware store and I was browsing their hundreds of little drawers of bolts, screws and washers. I discovered their large washers were quite weighted so I bought 4 different sizes to see how they will work for pattern weights. They work great, hang on my pegboard when not in use and, best of all, were inexpensive.

Valentine Change Purses

On Valentine's Day my hubby and I met 3 other couples for lunch. I wanted to take a small gift for the ladies so I made the change purses shown above. They are so handy because you can throw them in your pocket with your credit card and cash and not have to lug your purse along.  I used the pattern for the strip zip version of Cash and Carry from Atkinson Designs http://store.atkinsondesigns.com/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details_ws.asp?Shopper_id=6044421648456044&Store_id=913&page_id=23&Item_ID=1033
and personalized it with their names. So my friends loved them but their husbands all complained because they did not get them!

Week 3 of the McCall's Quilt Along

Week 3 of the McCall's Quilt Along is a lesson on the Friendship Star block.  I have not made this block before but it is pretty neat. Quite a bit of cutting and piecing for each block but I like the star. Here are some of mine I have done this week. I need to make 16 this week.

 

 

 

 

The Japanese print in the blocks above were bought in Bar Harbor, Maine  last fall. The black and beige floral came from Keepsakes Quilting in New Hampshire.

Check out my previous posts for blocks done in lesson 1 and 2.

Lesson 2 of the McCall's Quilt Along

Well I am finally finished with lesson 2 of the quilt along as I posted about last week. http://juliannasjourney.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-quilt-along.html

The video with lesson 2 showed how to make the half square triangle units. Well making the units was not too bad. Trimming 144 of these units to size was really tedious! So glad to be finished with this task. Looking at some of the blocks makes me wonder what I have gotten myself into with this project.

 

On another front I have finished the railfence quilt top I started in January and now call it Starry Night. I need to get backing so I can sandwich it and start to quilt it.

 

 

Trying Out Handlook Quilting Stitches on My Machine

So recently I had a friend get a Sashiko machine to get that handlook stitch to quilt her quilts.  By the way Babylock has a promotion on them right now if you are interested http://babylock.com/promotions/. What I don't need is another machine but I am intriqued by the idea of handlook stitches.  Well a few of my machines have catgories of handlook stitches so today I played around with the Pfaff stitches. What actually happens with these stitches is that you use invisible monofilament thread in the needle and colored cotton thread in the bobbin. You turn up the needle tension- I put mine up to 9- it pulls the bobbin thread up to the right side. Here is my sample of a straight stitch and one of the decorative ones.

I am not sure I would quilt a whole quilt this way but I really like the look of the straight stitch.  I am sure I will find projects to use it on.

A Quilt ALong

So I have decided to do my first quilt along. It is being displayed at McCalls Quilting.  Here is a pic of their sample. It consists of 12 lessons in 12 weeks and has a video and a corresponding printable lesson. It consists of 8 different kind of blocks so there is a lot to learn.

 

Yes it is very pretty in pastels but I am not really a pastel kind of gal so I have chosen a different palette.

So feel free to join along. Just go to the above link and get started. I will caution you that on lesson 2 you must cut your long strips first before cutting out your 72 - 3 inch squares; ask me why I am warning you!!

More Doll Clothes

So I have made a few more items for my doll.  I had a piece of white flannel and figured it would make a cute nightgown.  I used some of the decorative stitches from my Pfaff to make rows of stitching to adorn the sleeves and bottom of the gown.  I also attached wide lace to the sleeves, hem and neckline.  I did not have any beading lace to put at the neck so that I could put in ribbon to gather it, so I ran a zigzag stitch over the ribbon to make a casing; this worked pretty well.

 

Notice my logo on the bottom left above the stitching.  I am adding this logo to each article of clothing.

 

 

I also made a shirred bodice dress. Back when I was about 19 I remember a dress pattern that I made for myself in which the bodice was shirred using elastic thread. Now that was over 40 years ago but I kinda remembered how to do it.  I cut the body of the dress about 2 inches wider than I would need to allow for the gathers. I hand wound the elastic thread onto my bobbin and put in the bobbin case as I normally would. I used regular thread for the needle thread. It sewed beautifully. After I put 6 rows on front and back, held the steam iron over the stitching and it shriveled right up to form the gathers.  I also made a little over the shoulder purse for her. Each item has taken around 1/2 yard of fabric plus various lace and ribbons, all of which I found in my stash from other projects.  One can make a whole wardrobe for an 18 inch doll just from leftovers!

Kimono for 18" Doll

I am planning on teaching a class on making doll clothes for the 18 inch dolls, like Our Generation and American Girl. I have not made doll clothes since I made Barbie clothes for my daughter over 20 years ago. I was not sure I really wanted to do this but thought I would give it a try. First I needed a model, so off to Target I went and bought an Our Generation Doll. I actually had fun picking her out and then became excited about the clothes. Here she is in her store bought duds. I love her glasses too.

Danielle

 

Well I found a free pattern for a Japanese kimono but I was pretty sure it had major mistakes in it after 2 hours of trying to get it to actually be a piece of clothing that would fit her.  So I drafted my own and this is the result. I did put her hair in an updo and removed her glasses for the occasion.

I hope to draft a dress pattern for her tomorrow. Stay tuned.

 

Side View

 

Front View

 

 

 

The Weekender Bags

My current class that I am teaching is a weekender bag made from a pattern by FigTreeQuilts, My Paris Traveler's Bag and here is the link http://store.figtreeandcompany.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=754. This pattern can be confusing in places; thus a good pattern for a class. This is an ample bag measuring 23" X 15" X 9". It has a pocket on the front to fit your e-reader into.

We had good participation for this class, and as usual, each student's bag is unique. The fabric was quilted in the class; no prequilted designs for us. Quilting our own fabric gave us the freedom to select any design we wanted. Some used their stash and other bought fabric specifically for the project. Skill levels of the students vary from beginner to advanced and we all learn from one another. That is what I love best about classes.

So here are some of the finished bags and I will be adding others as they are completed. Note how the differing fabric gave each bag a different flavor.

 

Judy's Bag - Vera Bradley better watch out!

 

My Class sample

 

Carmen's Bag - Ready for her next trip!

 

Claudia's Bag - Pretty in Blue!

 

Theresa's bag - Love this fabric!



 

 

 

 

Cute Covers for Pocket Datebooks

I found these cute pocket calendar/datebook covers at Five Star http://fivestarfonts.com/pocket-calendar-in-the-hoop-5x7?filter_name=pocket and they are adorable. They have a design for 5x7 hoop that requires a few seams sewn on the machine and a design for 7X11 that is done completely in the hoop. I made two as a little gift for my daughter-in-law and her aunt that we met for dinner last evening. We had a lovely dinner and the gifts were well received.

Some Creations From End of 2013

Well I was kind of busy at the end of the year and neglected to post most of what I did before the Holidays. So I will try to get caught up. Here is a pic of my daughter wrapped up in the quilt I made for her birthday in November.

 

 

 

I made this quilt with Moda fabric with The Yellow Brick Road pattern. I actually quilted it with the Pfaff P3 Longarm with a stipple pattern.  I wanted to try a longarm and it is very different to free motion with one. However I free motioned the border pattern on my Elna 740.

 



I also made my first art quilt in November 2013. I read an article about girl quilts in the fall AQS magazine and decided to make one for my daughter-in-law's birthday. we were hosting her 30th birthday party and I thought it would look cute hanging on the front door. My favorite part was the brown suede boots I made and she actually showed up wearing hers the day of the party! I had a great time making it and doing the appliques and will definitely make another.

 

Here's the birthday girl with her hubby.

 

 

The Only Crocheted Twisty Scarf

So before Christmas I decided to re-learn how to crochet. Back in my college days (some 40 years ago) I was quite the productive afghan maker. Through the years I got away from it but I figured it is like riding a bike and assumed it would come back to me.  I always like to give my daughter and daughter-in-laws something little that I have made for them.So I bought a small introductory to crochet booklet and found a pattern at this site http://goodtimesithinkso.blogspot.com/2009/08/sunroom-spiral-scarf-crochet.html for a twisty scarf. Off I went to Michael's and bought enough yarn to make 3 of these scarves.  Well here is the first one I made for my dear daughter-in-law.

 

 

 

So here's the deal on my experience of re-learning to crochet.  Yes the process came right back to me and I could crochet for hours. However, my fingers actually ached from all the crocheting. So after this one was finished I promptly took the rest of the yarn back to Michael's and I now know why I no longer crochet!

 

This left me with the problem that I still needed to make something for my daughter and other daughter-in-law the week before Christmas. I decided to use some of my fabric and make these cute zippered change purses.I used a pattern from Atkinson Design called Cash and Carry. They turned out great and my fingers did not ache when I was done.

 

 

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

This is my crockpot spaghetti sauce recipe that is so easy to get started and then have a great smelling house. It just always turns out good and there are many ways to vary it.

1 1/2 Tblsp olive oil                            2/3 cup chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic                              1 Tblsp dried parsley
1 Tblsp dried basil                               1 Tblsp dried oregano
2 - 28 oz crushed tomatoes in puree                
1 - 28oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine - any kind
1 tsp each of salt, sugar and pepper


First put the garlic, onions, parsley, basil and oregano in the bottom of the crockpot with the oil. Cover and cook on high for 1/2 hour.

 

 

Now add the rest of the ingredients and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.  1 hour before finished cooking you can add cooked meatballs; if using pre-made frozen just drop in while frozen.

 

 

Variations:

 

To make meat sauce just brown 2 lbs ground beef and add at least 1 hour before done.

If you prefer marinara type sauce, use 1 can of diced tomatoes instead of sauce.

In the summer substitute your fresh tomatoes for all 3 cans of tomato products and add tomato paste to thicken.

 

This batch will feed 6-8  people easily. Make it and freeze the leftovers for another meal.