Bat Placemats & Recycled Batting

I finished my bat placemats.  Yay!!  I had a fire under me on this because the Guild challenge was to do something 'for the table' and this qualifies and my meeting is tomorrow. So, for once I'm not finishing a holiday thing the last day it is to be used!  I've had this pattern since about 1991 and just knew I HAD to make it.  Cute, cute cute.  I did one with pumpkins on the back because my sister wanted something more 'harvest' like for use in November.  I don't know. Reversed, it still looks like a bat to me. Mine, intended for my teapot, has scarecrows on the back.

Here is one bat.



So, what did I use for the batting in my bat placemats?  Leftover Warm and Natural!  When I have leftovers, I like to use them in Quilt-as-You-Go preplanned projects.  How you connect them depends on the type of batting and the depth.  With Warm and Natural,  I first cut out 7 inch squares and 5 inch hexagons. So, what is left over are narrow batting strips that are usually about 3-4 inches wide.  I even up the strips and zig zag them together.  I take the opportunity to use up bobbins and nearly empty spools of thread with this projec.t  This particular group was mostly leftover from a wallhanging, so I added a couple of pieces to make it large enough to cut out two batts of bats. As nice as it is to use up narrow batting this way, there are limitations on how to use it.  The zig zags do not hold the batting together all that well with any weight even after quilting, so you would want your project to either lay on the table or be hung lengthwise.   All these narrow strips would be very irritating in a quilt and they likely would separate with regular use.

Sometimes you get a little wave in your batting unless you are very precise in your cutting. I'm not that picky, so this often happens on the edges.  You can't leave it this way or your project will never lay flat, even with quilting. Yes, quilting fixes a lot of evils, but not all of them!

Easy to fix.  First, cut where the wave is the highest and fold the edges over each other until your piece is laying flat. Sometimes you can eliminate several waves with just one cut, as I did here.

Next, use your scissors and cut through. You will have a leftover piece on top and on the bottom and your cut edges will match straight.

Finally, zig zag over the cut edges and you are done.

All Fixed now!

My Bernina is Here!!

Ah, yes, joy oh joy!  I love, love, love my Bernina.  I received my Bernina 440 QE earlier this month and WOW, it is so worth every darn dollar.  My favorite feature is the stitch regulator, which I used to finish off the trees in the Pine Grove Quilt, but I was surprised that the little needle up/down button makes sewing so much more pleasant. You press it and the needle goes up or down - one stitch is all you want sometimes and this does it. Another feature I have used a lot is the speed regulator.  Doing applique or really curvy things, I can slow the speed significantly reducing the need to redo sections.

As always, anything new requires special kitty investigation.  Polly just wouldn't quit, so I finally set the box up higher so that she could be ON the box AND look out the window.  I still have parts to get out of the box, such as the wider table piece, but so far, just did without to let her have the darn box.  Yes, Yes, I know, I need to start putting more photos up of the OTHER kitties, but she is far more dedicated to quilting than the other 4.   Sylvester, for instance, only comes in to get a pet and go into the window to look for chipmunks. He does make an excellent quilt inspector - just not so much into the sewing part.

Lots of Stuff

Sorry about not posting recently. I was determined to do it from the Netbook, and then couldn't get the photos on or PixResizer to make them a more maneageable size. All fixed now.

Spent a long weekend working on sewing projects at my sister's while she helped me figure out my new-to-me serger. I made 2 pillowcovers, a pillow case, pajama bottoms and a pj top (another pair).

The first project was 2 pillowcovers. I bought one for my king sized feather/down pillows a while back and all they sold was this satiny thing for $9. It feels really nice, but the pillowcase was forever coming off. I had some plain Christmas fabric with some mistletoe that I've been using for backings and they made perfect pillow covers. This gave me zipper practice as well.

Next is Dad's Train Pillowcase. He is a train fan, so needed this. Didn't have to adjust anything. The trains go the right way for the easy-make pillow case. I used the basic pattern from 1 million pillowcases. I'll be making a couple more to donate to the cause since I used their pattern. I have it laying across my king sized pillow to show you that you do not need to adjust this pattern. Very generous length!

Here's a closeup. I added some stitching on the top. Looks very professional and I did it!


On the quilting front, as always, I have too many projects going. I am doing a quilt-along project with my group at QATW (www.quiltingaroundtheworld.com/) using the book Hop To It by Edyta Sitar. It is an applique project. Originally, I was going to follow her instructions using invisible thread, but after endless adjustments on my tension, I just can't get it right with the nylon and will instead just match thread with the pieces and satin stitch. This photo shows the design for Block 1 fused down. I am using Kona solid in bone for my background. The red flowers with yellow centers is actually a brick color with dark zig zags, not a solid. I dithered as to whether to use something brighter, but kept returning to this. As a stand alone block, I'm not thrilled with my leaf fabric choices. My Mom likes it. I'm thinking of doing a second one with alternate color choices and will then go with whichever one I like best for the rest of the quilt.

As always, what's a blog without including pets? Here's Polly in her box on the cutting table. My sewing machine is there too because the serger is where my sewing machine usually is. Gotta find a new setup that will work with the serger. My biggest challenge right now is finding a food that is lower calorie that makes all of the cats happy. We thought we had one, but it appears to cause Bart to have a skin problem (He licks all the fur off his legs). Cleo-Claudine and Polly are both overweight, Bart and Alice are at the top of the weight chart for their size. Sylvester is the only one who is at a perfect weight. Go figure.

Electronic Cozies

I had a need and made something using STASH!! I got a Kindle and am concerned about scratching the screen when I toss it into my purse. I also have needed a custom armband for my Ipod for ages. I've had this cow fabric since the early 90s. Too thin for a quilt but didn't know what to use it for (it's darn cute). I decided to make a cover for my Kindle and an arm band for my Ipod Nano. Not perfect, but very cute. Less than 1/2 yard of fabric for both with enough left over to make perhaps one more small cozy.



You can see the insides below. Let me tell you my mistake so that you don't repeat it. I made the Kindle Cozy with 2 layers of cow fabric using leftover batting (Warm & Natural). Sewed into a nice rectangle. Folded it up and sewed down. Did not take into consideration that no matter how slim the case is, you still need to allow for that depth. At least I figured this out before I sewed it down, so sewed about 1/8 inch further in on either side. It still looks good, but if you want it perfect, that last fold should be a little wider, say about 1/4 inch.

As for the Ipod Nano holder, I did not line the holder and I think I think I will do that next time. Just gives it a more finished feel. I made a loop on the back to thread the armband through and to make adjustment easier. First time I took it off, the case fell right through and on to the floor. So, I need to tack the band to the case. Lesson learned. Now I can wash dishes and work on projects without the Ipod falling or getting all tangled up in the earphone cords. I want to make one more case, large enough to fold the headphones into a pocket for taking along in my purse.