I was going through some old email and ran across this link to an article and video on Project Linus, which is the charity for which I make quilts. They are wonderful, and I always want to do more to get the word out about them, so take a peek: Project Linus brings comfort to Kids.
Based on a comment from someone on one of my quilt groups, I am also looking into the Snuggles Project that makes teeny snuggle blankets for shelter animals. This seemed like a great opportunity to use up some of the things in my scrap bag that I don't seem to be able to find a place for in other projects. I called our local shelter last weekend to try to get information about what size they prefer, but haven't heard back. If I still haven't heard back from the time I am ready to get started, I guess I can just measure Eisa and Echo and make the size that would best fit them!
Showing posts with label Project Linus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project Linus. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, April 15, 2007
The quilting machine
No, I'm not stalled out on the project quilt. I am learning a new skill so that I can move forward with confidence.
We picked up a Pfaff Grand Quilter and Inspira quilting frame (You may have seen the metal legs of the frame in some of the other pictures taken in my studio) and I've been learning how to use it.
What is it? It's a sewing machine that's been altered to be optimized for the process of quilting (stitching through the three layers of top, batting, and backing). Instead of trying to smush a quilt under the arm of your regular machine, you roll out the layers of your quilt and you steer the sewing machine (sitting on a rolling bed) so it glides over it while stitching.
The machine was a real nightmare to set up (we were at it for multiple hours, puzzling our way through some completely inadequate instructions). And there was very little in the way of information on how actually to use it once it was set up, although the internet helped with that. But all of that is behind us now.
Here is the machine loaded with a test quilt top, batting, and backing, all ready to go. The black frame you see in front of the machine is part of the steering mechanism:
The top, batting, and backing are all on their own separate rolls, and getting them on correctly so they roll evenly is key. The inherently stretchy quality of batting does not help!
Here you can see these rolls:
I made about 13 passes over this small quilt top, and ended up with a pretty good result! Here is a close-up of the quilting (the white thread designs over top of the fabric). Please click to see the details.
My wrists are aching today but I know if I were wrestling a quilt under the regular machine, it would be much worse, and the results wouldn't be as satisfactory either.
This little charity quilt for Project Linus is about 43" square, and the project quilt is about 54" x 72" (before it's trimmed), so it'll be more of an undertaking, but I am feeling a lot more confident about embarking on the endeavor now.
(Oops, just measured and I think we may have to extend the quilting frame out to full width before we can do this, as the half-width frame can't handle the larger quilt. Grr!)
We picked up a Pfaff Grand Quilter and Inspira quilting frame (You may have seen the metal legs of the frame in some of the other pictures taken in my studio) and I've been learning how to use it.
What is it? It's a sewing machine that's been altered to be optimized for the process of quilting (stitching through the three layers of top, batting, and backing). Instead of trying to smush a quilt under the arm of your regular machine, you roll out the layers of your quilt and you steer the sewing machine (sitting on a rolling bed) so it glides over it while stitching.
The machine was a real nightmare to set up (we were at it for multiple hours, puzzling our way through some completely inadequate instructions). And there was very little in the way of information on how actually to use it once it was set up, although the internet helped with that. But all of that is behind us now.
Here is the machine loaded with a test quilt top, batting, and backing, all ready to go. The black frame you see in front of the machine is part of the steering mechanism:
The top, batting, and backing are all on their own separate rolls, and getting them on correctly so they roll evenly is key. The inherently stretchy quality of batting does not help!
Here you can see these rolls:
I made about 13 passes over this small quilt top, and ended up with a pretty good result! Here is a close-up of the quilting (the white thread designs over top of the fabric). Please click to see the details.
My wrists are aching today but I know if I were wrestling a quilt under the regular machine, it would be much worse, and the results wouldn't be as satisfactory either.
This little charity quilt for Project Linus is about 43" square, and the project quilt is about 54" x 72" (before it's trimmed), so it'll be more of an undertaking, but I am feeling a lot more confident about embarking on the endeavor now.
(Oops, just measured and I think we may have to extend the quilting frame out to full width before we can do this, as the half-width frame can't handle the larger quilt. Grr!)
Friday, February 16, 2007
Friendship stars
What, me, only work on one project at a time? Never!
Last year I taught my friend Rebecca how to quilt over the computer (using lots of words and lots of pictures). We didn’t know how well it would work, but she did a great job - she was very focused and stuck with the task all the way through, and her quilt looked really great when she was finished.
Well, last night we were talking on the computer and we decided that it would be fun to try to make another quilt together - but this time, we'd be working on the same quilt instead of on parallel ones.
I usually make my charity quilts for Project Linus, but this time we thought we would contact a charity near and dear to Becca's heart, the National Stillbirth Society, to see if they would be interested in doing a raffle. Becca says that some of the parents like to imagine their babies as being stars (like in Greek mythology) so she thought we could make a quilt with stars on it. She picked white-on-white stars on a scrappy blue background.
These are two sample stars I made:
And here is the layout we are working on. (She's put together a neat idea for the last two rows, using 6" stars instead of 9" stars, but I haven't diagrammed that part yet):
We haven't talked about what happens after we put the stars together... but I guess we'll see when we get there :)
Last year I taught my friend Rebecca how to quilt over the computer (using lots of words and lots of pictures). We didn’t know how well it would work, but she did a great job - she was very focused and stuck with the task all the way through, and her quilt looked really great when she was finished.
Well, last night we were talking on the computer and we decided that it would be fun to try to make another quilt together - but this time, we'd be working on the same quilt instead of on parallel ones.
I usually make my charity quilts for Project Linus, but this time we thought we would contact a charity near and dear to Becca's heart, the National Stillbirth Society, to see if they would be interested in doing a raffle. Becca says that some of the parents like to imagine their babies as being stars (like in Greek mythology) so she thought we could make a quilt with stars on it. She picked white-on-white stars on a scrappy blue background.
These are two sample stars I made:
And here is the layout we are working on. (She's put together a neat idea for the last two rows, using 6" stars instead of 9" stars, but I haven't diagrammed that part yet):
We haven't talked about what happens after we put the stars together... but I guess we'll see when we get there :)
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