Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Easy Framed Accent: 2017FALQ2 Host Tutorial

2017 FAL Q2 Host - Tutorial

Welcome!  It's my turn to share a tutorial as part of the Finish A Long Quarter 2 hop.   I hope you've been enjoying meeting the other hosts and have taken the time to check out their blogs.   Remember the Finishes Link Up closes July 1st.   See the FAL tab for details. 

Easy Framed Accent

Adding a special touch to any project just got a little easier and a tad bit clever if I do say so myself.   There are a TON of patterns out there to make simple projects like a zipper pouch, bag or tote.  No matter how great they are, I'm often tempted to give them a tweak.  If you're the same way, consider embellishing with a Framed Accent Strip.  I'll show you how.


The sample above is made using Swag charm squares and could be top stitched down and sewn into any of the above mentioned projects.
See how great this promotional free duffle bag transforms into something useful and pretty once the ugly logo is covered up.  Excuse the wonder clips - I'm contemplating the best method to use for attaching it since the outer pocket isn't conveniently accessible. What do you think, fabric glue, wonder under, hand stitching? 

Where to Begin


1. Choose your accent.  These can be scraps of any kind or one long fussy cut piece.   Left over from a swap mini, I chose to feature six 2.5" HST half square triangles.  Originally I planned to make one for each side of the duffle, but in the end decided to just use one set.  

1/4" seams throughout.  Chain stitch the squares together and press the seams open. 

Cut ONE outer frame (grey) 4" wide and slightly longer than your accent.
Cut ONE inner frame (black) at least 2" wide and slightly longer than your accent.

Sew the inner frame (black) to one side of the outer frame (grey).  Press towards the black.  Right side facing up and using the seam line where the grey and back meet, measure 1/2" and trim*.  Use the cut off excess of the black to repeat the same steps on the other side.

*alternate method: you can also cut TWO 3/4" strips.  I personally find very thin strips awkward to handle and prefer the other but either technique will work.

Sew the accent strip to one side.  Tuck in the seam allowance under as shown below as you press. 

Gently fold over to align the other side of the accent placing it directly across and sew the second side.
Using the tip of your iron, tuck and press the second side in the same manner as the first side.  
Turn the "tube" that you have created Right Side Out.
 Use your fingers to position the frame with approximately the same amount showing on each side and press.  There you have it!

Four Charms Version 


Constructed basically the same way as the HST version except that the black 1" end tabs were added.
I also like to cut off the pinked edges.
Here's a detail shot below of the presser foot running under the pressed seam.   I'm not that particular about accuracy but for those who really want it to be as even as possible you might want to take this step slow and watch your line. 


The excess trims away at 10" so that is what I will use for the width of the linen.


Sunday, June 25, 2017

2017 FAL: Quarter 2 Link Up OPEN

I've always found the halfway mark of the year a little ominous.  The more years that come and go, the more true the sensation becomes.   Just like with quilting, I don't really like to measure but when the calendar gets ready to flip to July,  it's a moment balancing between what is behind and what is ahead.  How'd you do with your goals?  I managed 3 of 8 and will link up to share.  Can't wait to see what everyone was up to!  Karen


It might be hard to believe but we have made it to the end of the second quarter of the 2017 FAL and it's time to link up your Q2 finishes!

The 2017 FAL has a community of bloggers across the world jointly hosting the FAL. Our hosts are:
  • Sarah - Sew me - Northern Ireland
Social Media Director
  Before you link up, let's give a huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors:  
For the 2017 FAL, we continue tutorial week. Here is the schedule so you can visit them all:
The 2017 Q2 link for your finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs - you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on each blog. Link-up "rules":
  • Add one link for each finish. If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately. Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws.
  • Please ensure that the photo or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original list so that we can verify your entry (make sure it is from the appropriate quarter).
  • Please become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others and comment. We all need encouragement so let's applaud each other. The 2017 FAL Facebook page is here and follow us on Instagram @finishlong and tag your photos #2017FALQ2yourname (substitute your name), this makes it easier for us to match your finishes with your lists.
  • Our hosts will also link their finishes to share in the community, but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.
The Q2 Finishes link will stay open from now thru July 1, 2017 - link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out. The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings. We will post the winners on each hosts' blog.

And don't forget to start making your Q3 lists as the Q3 list link opens on July 2nd.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

FanDance Gifted - another FAL goal complete

So excited to have finished and gifted Fan Dance to my niece and husband who are expecting their first child soon.  Bonus means I've got another project to check off the 2017 Q2 FAL.   It's a good thing that I shared it at our guild meeting because somehow I neglected to take it on a photo shoot.


Being the very crafty mom-to-be that she is, the Baby Shower had a onesie station set up for painting, stamping or drawing so I did a butterfly:



As QuiltCon 2018 registration approaches, it's a reminder of workshops taken and techniques learned from previous years.  With only 3 or 6 hours of actual production time - including instructor demos, it's understandable that I don't have many "finished" projects to show.  This Anna Marie Horner's Fan Dance quilt started in 2016 is an exception to the rule for sure.

I had originally auditioned the reverse color placement with blue in the center.  Although there's no one right answer to the design decision,  I'm glad to have gone the other way.


Clever, flexible patterns appeal to me.  Taking classes and posing for a fan girl photo with my sister, far left and AMH center is tradition.
2016 QuiltCon 

Limited time doesn't mean that I come away from the classes empty handed though.  The skills gained and inspiration instilled from teachers like Rossie Hutchinson,  Angela Walters, Libbs Elliott, Christina Cameli Victoria Findlay Wolfe, have stuck with me.  Their influence is in my work moving forward.

I'm also reminded as I type that I never did a 2017 QConEast Savannah recap blog post which is both crazy (because it was epic) and not surprising for the same reason.  When "things" are too big to easily convey I tend to put them off until I feel I can do them justice - basically for: forever.  The same way you hoard your most precious fabric waiting for the perfect design to present itself, kind of like that.
I also had fun auditioning the blue and yellow appliqué circles.   In the final finish, it's hard to see the X and O's I put in the centers of the fan for a little bit of hidden hugs and kisses. 

Fortunately, a stash of solid jelly roll provided binding to complete the project.




Thursday, June 15, 2017

2017 FAL Meet the Host: Marci

I hope you're enjoying the Meet the Host posts as much as I am.  Marci is one of my BeeSewcial mates as you can see by the amazing mosaic she shares here.  My big jar of Post-QuiltCon Pin Swap buttons is thanks to her as well.  Spoiler alert: one of her WIPs is a OBW, on my list of things to make again. Read on, Karen


Hello!  My name is Marci Debetaz and I blog over at Marci Girl Designs and this month it is my turn to share all about myself as one of the 2017 Global Finish-A-Long hosts.  So here it goes...


Here I am, 4' 11.5" tall, so yeah I'm short and this photo was taken a little over a year ago but I mostly look the same, or at least I like to think so.  I am currently 36 years old in case any of you were wondering because I know I have somewhat of a baby face.  I was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA but have lived most of my life now in Louisiana.  My family moved a lot when I was growing up, back and forth between Florida and Louisiana to finally settle in Louisiana much to my disliking, because honestly who wants to leave the beach for swampland?  Not me.  Anyways I went to Middle and High School in New Iberia, Louisiana and then attended College in Lafayette, Louisiana (about a 40 minute drive.)  I met my husband in my second year of College, we both were majoring in Industrial Design and we fell in love.  (Oh so sweet!)  So we dated a few years, got engaged and then married all before we finished College.  We graduated College together a semester after the wedding, both with degrees in Industrial Design.  We found jobs, worked, you know, regular married life and then a few years later we bought our first house.


Here is our MAJOR fixer upper 13 years ago when we bought it (though this photo was taken after some serious cleaning up of the yard.)


 Here is our home today, and what you can't see on the back corner of this house is the major addition we are adding and have been working on since February of this year, doing ALL of the work ourselves.  We are hoping to be finished by Christmas, but who knows,  fingers crossed.  I had to mention our house because it has been a major focus of all my free time this year, which stinks because I miss sewing and quilting but will totally be worth it when we are done.

Ok, I got off track.  So after we bought our house we had three kids, two boys, 9 and 5 and our little girl who just turned 2.  I don't post about them directly on social media for their privacy but I promise they are super cute.  It was after my first child was born that I really picked up the sewing/quilting bug again.  I say "again" because I grew up sewing and quilting.  My mom did both and taught me.  I started by making Barbie doll clothing, then that turned into small quilts and sewing my own clothes through High School.  Then when I was in College (and falling in love) I didn't have much time for those hobbies and they fell by the wayside.  After my first was born I became a stay at home mom and discovered I had lots of free time during naps.  Thus my hobbies began anew!


I started up my hobby again making handbags and pouches which I quickly realized I had way too many handbags and pouches, so I opened up an Etsy shop.  I had my shop open for a few years until I closed it at the end of 2011 right before my second son was born.  I always had intentions of opening again after his birth but alas it never happened.  I do hope to one day open up my shop but for now I am enjoying sewing for my family and friends.

  
It wasn't long after I started sewing again that I discovered the world of blogs and designer fabric.  Let's just say that was a total game changer for me and the true obsession began.  I decided to start my own blog in February of 2010 and have been doing so on and off ever since.  I use my blog as a form of diary or portfolio of things I have made through the years and though I find the writing difficult I am glad that I push myself to do so because it is so nice to go back and read about my own projects, many of which I have already forgotten about.


 I love participating in Quilt and Sew Alongs and the occasional competition (for fun, I don't want to stress about it.)  The above quilt was created for the Emerald Pantone Quilt Challenge (I can't remember the year.)  It currently hangs in my bedroom.  This quilt is my original design and entitled, "Emerald Cut."


I will still occasionally make handbags and pouches, I design my own patterns plus make them from independent pattern designers.  The pouch above is one of my designs.


I make way more quilt tops than finished quilts, sadly I have a huge WIP pile.  The photos above and below are examples of two of these quilt tops awaiting quilting.  The top is a One Block Wonder quilt created from just one large scaled print fabric. The quilt below is another Pantone Quilt Challenge, the color that year was Radiant Orchid, this quilt is also my own design.  It is one of my personal favorites.


In 2014 I was chosen to be a contestant in an online sewing challenge called "Sewvivor."  The bag below was my entry for the very first round, which was nautically themed.  Though I didn't make it past the first round, I made a great new set of online sewing friends and had a ton of fun in the process.


Within the first year or so of blogging I also found Flickr and through Flickr I found out about online Quilting Bee's.  I quickly joined several and have never looked back.  I made friends in those first groups, that I still have today and we are still sewing bee blocks for each other.  Though Flickr isn't as predominant these days, things have shifted over to Instagram and the fun continues.  A few years ago most of my quilting bees were coming to a finish and two of my fellow bee mates decided to create a new hand picked group that they named Bee Sewcial.  The concept of the group is that we stay connected and in touch, use only solids and work in improv.  This is our third year together and honestly one of my favorite things to do every month.  The creativity involved and the friendship is just so fantastic.  At the end of our first year together we opened up the sewing prompts to everyone interested and anyone can now sew along with us using the hashtag #inspiredbybeesewcial.


 I guess that about sums of my life.  Stay at home mom to three, in between running the kids to school and nap times I sew and quilt.  I have tried crochet, knitting, tatting, beading and about every other craft you can think of but in the end I always return to sewing and quilting.  I love improv but I also love traditional quilt blocks.  I love to sew clothes, handbags and pouches.  Don't ask me to alter your clothes or to iron like normal people.  It isn't going to happen.  I have a huge pile of WIP's and have been participating in the Finish-A-Long since its inception.  I was thrilled to be asked to host this year and I have been slowly working through that pile.  I do so hope you join us this year!

I'll end my post reminding everyone that in 10 days the second quarter finishes link up opens, you still have time to finish those projects so get to work!

Thank you for joining me today, Marci