Quilting 101

This is mostly for my sister, to give her an idea of what she may need so she can sew the special memory quilt she is dreaming of that will be made with the dainty hankies our mother left.

Now I am NOT a quilting expert by any means.  But I have in the past 4 years made 2 memory quilts that I am proud of.  I had no quilting skills before then and not much sewing skills to really speak of, but I had an idea and wanted to put it into a quilt for my first grandson.


 





 







 Then I made another for Corey (oldest grandson) of all his favorite T-Shirts and Shorts!

~Bit of  History~
I have always wanted things my sister had, her hair, her freckles with her beautiful complexion, and her thin frame.  But I also wanted her sewing room she had oh so long ago.  She had the huge fantastic sewing/cutting table that I so long for now as I am sewing/cutting/pinning and everything that has anything to do with sewing on a bed as I have no room in the crazy place we have called a home for the past 9 years.  So I feel kinda funny to be telling her these things, as she used to sew so much, I mean a room dedicated to just sewing, I only dream of it, but I think she put her sewing aside over 30 some years ago and maybe needs refreshed a bit by her younger sister.......  Besides, I was out of ideas for a post this week. :)



 

 ~Bit of Info~
First off, you will need some good scissors.  I found that even tho I would like to spend the least amount possible for most things, scissors is not the place to cut that corner.  (hmm, no pun intended but that was really cute)

I found these to be the best, especially for quilting the rotary is the way to go, easy to cut those squares if indeed you are going with squares such as these here.













 Such an easy way to cut that fabric with the rotary, and you can buy extra blades for hardly nothing, I have found that in the 4 years and after 2 quilts and lots of other things, I am only on my second blade, so it was money well spent.
 I have found that if you have at least one of each of these you will do fine.

 You will need, if again you are cutting out your squares like this, one of these, makes it really easy...and I like easy. Slap this sucker on top of your fabric and whip out the rotary and cut away! 












I also have one of these to use for making sure the lines are even/straight. It also works well for measuring.










 For using the rotary scissors, you will absolutely
need one of these!  I love it. 

When I made my first quilt, I took 5 cardboard boxes, taped them together, put a plastic cutting board on top and taped it to the boxes and used that as my cutting board.  I had NO idea you could actually buy something like this that will "heal" back when you have CUT into it!  WOW, what a concept, I guess I had been living under a Rock or something.  It sure beat the heck outta that cardboard box/plastic crap contraption., that fell apart so much I was using duct tape to cover it....I should have taken stock in duct tape that year....So whatever it costs it was worth it....you can get them and the squares at about any size you want.  These suit me just fine as I have limited space to work with.  I have made a quilt the size of about 50x60 and a quilt that fit a twin bed with these tools and they worked well, and were well worth the money. 

In addition you will absolutely need pins and again pay for them, if you are using any kind of thick fabric or even when you put on the backing you need a good strong pin.  I, through no fault of my own I might add, inherited my cheapness, and went through several sizes/types of pins and found that the more expensive, and by more expensive, I mean at least 3 Bucks, were the best by far.  I was trying to stay at the cheapest I could find and found they bend too easy and that just gets you nowhere fast.  So buy the longer more expensive pins they are worth it in the long run, I found these with the yellow top to be perfect!   Pens with disappearing ink, chalk pencils etc. work well.  Quilting thread & needles if you are using a machine are a must.  You will also need the measuring tape, as you need to follow the rule of measuring 20 times and cutting once before you sew!  And when you forget that rule, which I seem to do constantly, you had better have one of these tiny tools (seam ripper) for taking out the thread.....The Shankster got this for me and I absolutely love it as its so much easier to "fix" those often made mistakes.

 
I think if you are having fun sewing this is a must have to add to your supply, little labels that make a cute little added touch to your projects.  As I am making most things for the boys and they call me "Nana", I was happy to find these on Amazon for just 50cents each!  I have seen them for little to nothing at most Fabric stores also.  Its also fun to make your own.

 



Don't forget to keep all your squares/pieces together some way, I have been fortunate (although sometimes I have felt it was unfortunate) to find ways/containers to keep all my supplies/fabric pieces in to store and to get to easier when I need them. I found these white ones for 25 cents a piece and got 4, and this bigger one at Walmart for $1.50.  I think they work great to put in what you need on hand for easy access.

 Try to keep every piece of fabric you have leftover, for making quilts.  Scraps make the best quilts and you can always find some use for most scraps, edging etc.  I keep all my jean pieces in a basket, until I have enough for my projects. 



Just have fun, I don't think there is a right or wrong in quilting, so have fun and send me some pics when you 
get done I would love to see them.

So Far a Great Day

Yes Its my birthday!  I have smiled since 1am when the Shankster told me Happy Birthday, since I got tons of emails from my friend miles away and from Sandi.

But the best part so far was the Shankster's Blood Sugar finally broke to a lower reading today!  YAY!!! Now we are on track again.

 Thank God for a truly Great Day.

Paid To Eat Fast Food?

Surfing the Net finds some unusual reading most days for me.  Today I found that folks are being paid to eat fast food.  While I can honestly say, and I mean honestly, I would literally jump at that, as I love fast food, and I need more money, but lately I don't know if I could do it.  I am finding that when we do eat out,  it isn't intentional, it's usually because we have gotten up early to get to an appointment and didn't eat before....or was at an appointment later than expected. Or some silly reason as most of what we do is an hour or more from home and its just easier....or so in our minds.

Which brings me to tonites meal.  In past posts I have mentioned preparing meals from a diabetic crock pot cookbook since discovering the Shankster's diabetes.  I cannot say that I have made a meal from that book I didn't like.  Not only are they carb conscious, all the nutritional facts are with every recipe so I can know exactly what I am cooking and how if at all it will effect the Shankster as I also watch his sodium intake.

Tonites meal was a first....for the crockpot that is.  We made soup.  The name of the soup was not at all what we expected after reading the ingredients, and I have to say all these months I have even passed it up because of the name.  To me just it doesn't sound mouth watering....Man was I wrong.


Brown Jug Soup


10 1/2 oz Can chicken broth
4 Chicken bouillon cubes (I chose not to use this)
1 Qt water
2 cups Diced celery
4 cups Diced potatoes
3 cups Diced carrots
10 oz. Pkg frozen whole kernel corn  (I used a can rinsed and drained)
2 10 3/4 cans Cream of chicken soup
4 oz. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese.


I added some diced chicken, I cooked slightly in a skillet before adding to the mix.

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients except cheese in slow cooker.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 10-12 hours, or until vegetables are tender. ( I cooked on High for 5 hours.)
3. Just before serving, add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve.

This soup was Delicious.
I thought the corn sounded a bit weird to be in this soup, but I was wrong I can't tell you just how good this soup was on a cold rainy day.  I have had a rotten week,  I needed this soup today, I loved it.  I want more. :)

Get paid to eat fast food?  Nope, I'll stick with eating at home anyday.
What am I gonna do with more money anyhow?