Wednesday, July 2, 2014

This and That


Summer is here and things are as busy as ever.  I did find a little bit of time to work on my quilt top with my "Yellowstone inspired" fabrics.  All the blocks are in rows and I have 4 rows together. It is kind of a slow process as there are a lot of points to match, but I am happy with the results so far.  
Two bloggers that I follow - Michelle at mmm quilts and Vicki at Field Trips in Fibre both mentioned a tool a couple of weeks ago that I hadn't tried.  They both use a seam stick (a 1/2 round piece of hardwood) to help press seams open.  Since I need to press the long seams open between the rows of this quilt I wanted to give it a try.  I asked my hubby if he had something that would work - enter the broken handle from one of our homemade paddles.  (Good thing he hates to throw anything away!)


I have to say I was impressed.  The seams fall open much more easily when placed over the seam stick.  You can buy them commercially, but you can beat the deal I got on mine!


We really enjoyed being at home for Canada Day yesterday.  Here is a picture of Nolan chauffeuring Safety Bear in our local Agricultural Fair Parade that took place on the weekend.



 And here is part of yesterday evening.  I needed some quilted fabric for a boot bag I am making for Nolan, so I loaded the machine and a panto and had my two helpers give it a go.   They were not impressed with their results, but I think they did okay.  It was fun to have some company in the studio.





4 comments:

  1. Your top is looking great!! Also I'm sure Nolan quite enjoyed driving rather than walking the parade route!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love that top Lori!

    Glad you like the seam stick.

    What panto is that? Looks complicated for your beginner helpers but I love how it looks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful WIP ... the colors, blocks and layout. Looking forward to seeing more. Thanks for the pressing tip ... :) Pat

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the seam stick tip. I have used my seam roll from garment sewing days but it is a little clumsy to work with when seams are long. I am sure the stick works much better. There will be a search around here for a seam stick. I am sure we will find one. :) Your Yellowstone quilt is looking great. Nolan looks rather pleased to be driving in the parade. I wonder how Safety Bear was feeling. His costume looks rather warm. Looking forward to seeing the boot bag once it is complete.

    ReplyDelete