progress!

I finally finished the brown border. It was fun to quilt, but took forever. I’m already dreading the big brown border. Sweet merciful zeus!

Also I’ve moved on to my corner triangles and learned to never ever use metallic thread again. Sheesh.

I’m switching to a silver poly for the background filler. Hurrah!

a new quilt!

I am SOOO proud of this. If I told you how proud I was you wouldn’t believe me.

Ah! Magnifique!

If you don’t see the big deal then allow me to explain. I can’t piece to save my life. I have the worst luck with very simple patchwork elements and look at that! 17 perfect 2 inch half square triangles. it’s a thing of beauty I tell ya.

border 1!

2 inch border with turquoise bottom line. I’m liking it and it’s fun

Vlog!

Interesting!

It’s 8am and I’m still awake

But that’s not the point. The point is I discovered something pretty awesome when I was treating a sew of FQ’s I dyed around midnight.

See I dyed a gradiant of turq-yellow and I was running out of yellow dye powder, so one of the quarters for straight turquoise. I mixed the dye, let them sit for a while, added my soda ash and then let them sit for about 5 hours I guess. Before I tried to sleep the first time I dumped them out to soak in hot water and Retayne.

I seperated my turquoise FQ because i didn’t want any transfer from my green FQs to my pure turq. Anyway, I threw the turq piece in a seperate bucket with hot water and retayne and a few hours later (after I couldn’t sleep for the 2nd time) I woke up to find this:

I left it extra big, now to clarify I drained off my dye solution, then dumped the fabric into the bucket and filled it with hot water and Retayne. When I left it the water was REALLY dark (as turquoise is really hard to wash out) I normally let my fabrics soak for a while before i even attempt to wash with Synthrapol to let the dye leech out. If you click on the picture you can see that all the dye has collected and seperated from the water.

Here’s the best part. When I pulled the fabric out the dye partcles that weren’t attatched to the fabric STAYED in the bucket for the most part. I rinsed this piece once and the water ran clear WITHOUT synthrapol. Isn’t that amazing? The retayne not only boosts the color (i’ll take a pic to compare this piece to the same turquoise in my lonestar) but it makes rinsing out so much easier and you save so much water.

Okay, those colors aren’t acurate at all, but you get the point. Anyway, in short the retayne makes rinsing much easier and now i understand how Sharon Schamber can use such concentrated dye (even if it’s so unnecessary) since she uses so much retayne and it sucks all the extra dye out. Neat!

This is all I got done today. I’m so worn out lately 😦 I sure hope my glue from the applique comes out in the wash.

Lemme tell ya.

Stitching in the ditch without a ruler isn’t NEARLY as fun as you think it might be.  HOWEVER, I thank god for the following.

1. Finally getting my leaders on straight! If you don’t know the hinterberg frame is pretty much held together with prayer and duct tape. No seriously. Duct tape. Anyway, as I am partially blind it was impossible for my to tape 120 inches of leader onto a pipe with an almost invisible line, but I think I finally got it today.

2. Quitling for a full bobbin and not having my sulky monofilament break once.

3. Actually getting the top on the back straight. Praise jesus, when I was basting across the front my line of basting stitches was even with everything on both sides.

4. I can’t believe i’m saying this…but…I seem to have perfect tension while i’m stitching in the ditch. My so fine isn’t showing on the top and my monofilament isn’t showing on the back.

5. Hobbs wool is FANTASTIC. Love it.

6. My fabrics look like suede and I like that. My border, as my mommy pointed out looks like velvet.

7. Did I mention the tension? It’s perfect.

Things I am not so thankful for, but I’m not REALLY bitching about.

1. The inability to use a ruler with the Voyager. I actually tried, but the way the foot is so ridiculously chunky inhibits proper placement of the ruler.

2. My own inability to stitch a straight line diagonally Horizontal and vertical I can rock hardcore, but that diaganol troubles me.

3. Overroating cost me a needle today. I have like 3 left and it takes for FREAKING ever for the place i get needles from to ship.

4. My feet are killing me.

You’re the sole owner of wings.

Here’s a 4am post because sleep is for the WEAK.  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to sleep. What a glorious thing that would be. Anyway…

After much time dyeing a back, then ironing it, and marking my top and blah blah, superior takes forever to ship…My lonestar is almost ready to quilt.

It’s just hanging there, i need to straighten out my batting and cut my wool for the second layer once i get some energy. It’s pretty flat i think! So..you know I’ve actually succeeded in my goal of piecing a flat top.

And then trying to figure out which threads to use.

INTERESTING NOTE See the teal bottom line and the metallic? Both from superior? They were 43$ with shipping. All those other threads plus about 4 more big cones and 3 little cones were LESS than the 2 from superior. I got them from threadart.com and if there’s a difference between those and Isacord, I sure as hell can’t tell. I actually think the threadart thread is stronger than Isacord and much cheaper (also more colors)

Anyway, that’s it, i’m alive, just very sleepy.

In which I namecheck almost everyone!

I name checked my “Pretty Posse.” THAT’S RIGHT, I HAVE MY OWN POSSE. *glares*

The Voyager 17 is awesome and you wasted 16,000$

I made this little video of my FAVORITE Voyager feature. Theres a lot of gushing about this wonderful machine, so if you don’t want to hear me squeal with near orgasmic glee about the best money i’ve ever spent then you should skip it.

Also, if you don’t want to feel bad that you spent so much money on a real machine then i’d skip this.

And lastly, this problem CAN be fixed, but to fix it I’d be sacrificing my stitch length. I want to clarify that so the Voyager fangirls don’t come in here bitching about me trashing their amazing god powered machine.