2019 31-day blog challenge: favorite tools

Well, I have a lot of tools, but my basic rotary cutter, mat and rulers are my favorite tools.  And "Mr. Jack" the seam ripper. also glass headed pins. I am a pinner; otherwise my fabric pieces tend to slide. And sealable plastic bags of all sizes.  I use them to organize pieces and blocks.
As to rulers, I mostly use a 6x24, 6x 12 and a 6 inch square, but I have so many more.  I have many different angles of triangle rulers but really don't like sewing triangle so don't use them very often.
I also like using the retractable metal measuring tape for measuring borders, binding, etc.  I just lay the fabric on the floor, and use the metal tape.  It is helpful to have a locking one.
Phone camera.  I use it to:
--evaluate block placement
--evaluate color choices (sometimes the color filter, sometimes black and white to see value)
--shopping reminder
--catalog my quilts
--pictures of completed kits in a lqs when I buy a kit, for future reference
--pictures of quilts that inspire me, quilt shows, etc.
--pictures of other quilt inspiration (nature, etc.)
--listen to podcasts, like just wanna quilt, or audio books while I quilt
--read quilters' blogs, watch tutorials (altho I use my laptop more for this, to get a bigger screen
--order fabric!
plastic binding clips

Tools I have and don't use:
I think I have acquired two of those binding rulers with the angle for cutting the binding.  Frankly, I could never make it work.  I saw a video tutorial on how to overlap the two ends of the binding by the width of the binding and then join, so that seems to work for me.  I need to remember to put those tools on the swap table!  I also have a quilters' color wheel, but I've never really used it.  My own eye for color seems to get me through.  In fact, fabric selection is my favorite part of quilting.  (as it was with garment sewing).  I would be happy if I had a robot to push the pieces through the machine!

2019 31-day blog challenge - Day 3 my machines

My main machine is a Pfaff Quilt Expressions 4.0, which I bought at our Dallas quilt show in 2010.  I really like the IVF (built in walking foot), the needle down feature, and the built in stitches.  (I have been using these recently to make self binding flannel baby quilts. for a sit down machine it has a fairly large quilt for quilting, and I have done a lot of in the ditch and quilting and some curved quilting with marks.  I have also done some free motion and ruler quilting, and it does work for that, but I haven't practiced enough. The self threading feature and thread cutting features are nice but don't always work.

I also have a 1968 era Singer Featherweight that was a gift when I was in college.  Can't be beat for straight stitching and portability.

I also have my mom's tabletop singer (and the sewing table) from the early 1950s.  It works, but I don't have it set up.  I did a lot of garment sewing on it as a teenager.

I also have a Janome 200e embroidery machine.  I use it mainly to make labels for quilts.  I have Embrilliance Essentials, which has really helped do set up of fonts and texts, and it expanded the number of fonts and sizes I have.  With two new granddaughters, I hope to play with more imported designs on baby clothes and blankets.

I also own EQ7 and have taken one class, but haven't used it much.

I also have a Go cutter and have cut 2 inch blocks for my latest project.  Own a good number of dies, but haven't gotten to those projects yet. Want to do a Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam quilt soon.

2019 31-Day Blog Challenge - Day 2 - Sewing Space

My sewing space is an upstairs bedroom used as my office and sewing space.  I have a desk with computer in it, 2 tall filing cabinets, and 3 floor to ceiling shelf units, and 1 bookcase.   I have a sewing machine cabinet set in the bay window area that looks out on the street.  I also have a standing level cutting table that was converted from a kitchen chopping block table.  I bought it at Habitat Restore.  Someone had added a granite countertop over the wood chopping block, and it is about 36 x 24 so my cutting mat fits perfectly.  I have a floor ott light over it and over my sewing unit.
and then there is the fabric.  and the quilting books.  And the quilting magazines.... So probably 12 or so large plastic tubs of fabric and some smaller tubs.  I sort by color and by subject matter (so I have a tub of reds, and a separate tub of Christmas fabric (which also has reds).   I also use a lot of novelty fabric so I have a couple of tubs of those.  And a tub of row by row kits.
Hard wood floor.  I use an armless adjustable office chair for sewing.  No picture because it's so messy!

2019 31-day Blog Writing Challenge - Introduction

The Just Wanna Quilt blog created a challenge for quilters to write on their blog for 31 days.  The first day is introduction.  I first started this blog in connection with my participation in the Block Lotto blog, led by Jean-Sophie Wood, who I met at a new members meeting of the Dallas Quilt Guild, probably 10 years ago.  I was a new quilter, and soaking up quilting info everywhere.  But participation in the Block Lotto got me to try new blocks, and particularly 2011, I think, was an exercise in improvisational quilting that definitely got me out of the box.

I've also posted photos of my quilts, some process blogs, and posts about books.  I've sadly let the blog languish since 2015 as I have done more of my writing on facebook pages and groups.  (but I'm pretty mad at Facebook for a number of reasons, so it's good to restart the blog as a more lasting place for writing.

I'm a retired lawyer, learned to sew as a teen, mainly garment sewing, and some home dec.  My grandmother was a quilter so I always admired and cherished quilts but thought they were out of my time/ability reach until I took a class in 2007 at my church.
Now it's a passion.

Rhubarb pie quilt

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would upload quilts I have finished in the past year.  This is a pattern from Keepsake quilting called Rhubarb pie.  I participate in the 2.5" square swap group on facebook, and we swapped pink and green squares last year.  It's a nice size lap quilt.  It's built of 16 patch squares, some all green, some all pink, and some with alternating green and pink.  I tried to play around with value, but I think a had some blocks that had too many darks.  I think it might have been more effectively blended with just medium and low value squares.  Live and learn!

My star block for the Star Block Challenge

This is my block for the Star Block Challenge.  I used the Split Star Block, with some K fassett fabric in the background to represent the universe teeming with unknown special objects.  I'll be mailing it off to the Star Block Challenge on Monday. I hope to make it to the Houston Show this year and see the whole assembled quilt. 

New addiction - free motion quilting

This is the mini quilt I'll be donating to our Guild's fund-raising auction for the Children's Craniofacial Foundation.  I'm calling it "Love Birds." It's my first effort at free motion quilting, and after the first hour of frustration in dealing with breaking thread, tension wrong, etc., I started to get the hang of it.  (I have a Pfaff quilt expressions 4.0).  I finally switched to an Aurifil top thread, and followed some advice to change the stitch length to zero, and last night I had much less thread breakage.  This is very, very random free motion quilting, in that these swirls are not in neat and tidy rows but just fitted into the spaces very randomly.   It was hard at first not to want to turn the fabric with each change in direction, as if I were stitching with a pressure foot, and each time I stopped and started again, it took awhile to get into the "zone."  But when I get going it is hard to stop!  I still need to bind this thing and do a little more stitching on the birds and the hearts so the density is somewhat more uniform.
I ran across an on-line tutorial for free motion quilting (kind of a pattern a week) that I may have to sign up for (the tutorials are free, but she has a kit with directions and patterns that can be ordered).  I'm hooked.  (all I need - a new addiction!).