Everyone has Ten Minutes

 

It's been a week since my return to So. Cal. and I've accomplished very little from my To Do list.

Here are my excuses:
     *The time change!  Don't you hate it when they fiddle around with the clocks!?  (Random thought...NO ONE I know likes
      this time change, right?  So WHY is it still happening!!??)
     *Add to that one-hour change the timezone change!  I found myself justifying an early bedtime based on 
      Central Time.  Goes something like this; "6 o'clock here on the West Coast.  Adjust for Central Time...8 o'clock. 😴
      Adjust again for the hour from daylight savings...Ahhhh 9 o'clock.  A decent bedtime." (and I think I got that backward
      but it worked in my head.)

    *Not feeling well.  I did have to finally visit the Dr. for an Rx.  The medication seems to be kicking in, so I'm feeling better. 

    *Work:  It was a crazy, busy week.  My brain felt tired at the end of the day.

    *New-House paperwork and errands. I suppose that's here to stay for the next few months.  But, it is tiring;
      physically and mentally.

3:00 am

Let's see....can I think of any more excuses?  No...I guess that's it.  Now the weekend is upon us and I feel anxious about catching up...but where do I start?

What happens when you go to bed really early?  You wake up in the wee hours. 

It was during one of these wakeful times that I watched an interesting video on YouTube;
Accomplish Everything With Mini Habits.

In a nutshell, the creator of this video is saying Instead of telling yourself  "I'll do such-and-such for 20 minutes," which doesn't always work out as planned, make the time increment more manageable. 
The creator chose 2 minute increments.  I've chosen 10 minute increments.

And, it appears to be working!  It's only 8:30 on Saturday morning and I've already accomplished three things! 
(Showering isn't one of them...that's next on the list. ("You put 'showering' on your To Do list?!" 
Yes.  It feels so good to cross it off!)) 

Christmas Cookies! Yum!

Back in the day when we could actually leave our homes and travel, I traveled A LOT for work (averaging 2 weeks in every month.)  Traveling between Thanksgiving and New Years was THE BEST because the offices I visited would have at least one baker who LOVED to share their Christmas creations!  

Aren't Christmas Cookies the best part of Christmas?

I have a few Suzie-Homemaker type friends (Susan, Robin and Cheryl to name a few) who like nothing better than spending hours in the kitchen whipping up culinary delights, but that is so not me.  I like the idea of spending the day making delicious Christmas treats, but truth-be-told I'd rather have a root canal. (Maybe not THAT extreme.)  I cook because I have to eat to stay alive and the microwave is my best friend.

 

 

 

The one exception when I enjoy working in the kitchen is with my g-sons. (I'll admit this picture is a couple years old.... He has grown so much he no longer needs the step stool! But, isn't he the cutest scrambling eggs in his jammies?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

So rather than whip up a fresh batch of cookies, I've whipped up a fresh batch of masks.  Because nothing says "I love you" Christmas of 2020 more then a nice, new MASK, right? 

This third batch of masks would be the third style I've tried.  First we had the flat, pleated method.  See April 19, 2020 for instructions and a link to a YouTube tutorial.  This mask has an opening in the back for a filter.  Truthfully, I have no idea what kind of filter they are referring to but, hey, who am I to question?  This was a good pattern back in the beginning when there weren't any masks to be found and not many more instruction videos.  AND, you couldn't trade your first born for elastic!  
I used pony tail elastics from the Dollar Tree.  I made more than 200 of this type for friends and family across the country.

The g-sons made their own...picking their own fabric.  Says a lot.

The second type is more fitted and has one long piece of elastic (now that elastic is plentiful) that loops through the mask.  This makes the mask more adjustable.  For this method see  July 28, 2020 with links to YouTube.  This was my favorite between the two methods until recently. 

 

This batch was for my daughter who needed one for every day.  The ear loop adjusters are from Amazon.

This third method is my new favorite as it has no seam down the center.  It is nice and fitted and a bit roomier in the front.   Here is the YouTube video.  But, this tutorial has the old style ear loop and I like the long-piece-of-elastic style.  So, this third batch is a combination of methods two and three. 

 

This is a good pattern when you don't want a seam down the middle of your fabric messing up your cute pattern.

None of these have the nose piece, but there are plenty of YouTube videos for making masks, nose piece included.  Lots of choices.  Just like Burger King's old slogan "Have it Your Way." 

A few sewing hacks:  To make the template for the mask pattern I used Dollar Tree plastic kitchen food prep chopping mats.  They are a bargain at $1 (plus tax) and there are two in a package.  Here is a YouTube video.

To thread the elastic through the mask I have this tool.

It came in a package of extra-long shoe laces purchased from Amazon.  I used these laces as an alternative to the pony tail elastics way back in the beginning, again when you could not find elastic. Amazon link. You probably wouldn't want to buy a bunch of long shoe laces just to get this tool, but you might be able to find something like it or a bodkin. 

Of course, there is always the old fashioned method, using a safety pin...a smidgen at a time.

Finally, to thread the elastic adjusters onto the ear loops click HERE.  I used all six strands of embroidery floss.  It was easier to pull it through the opening without hurting my hands.

Now, if there isn't enough YouTube in this post to get you through a Safer-At-Home evening, pour yourself a glass of wine and fire up the 'ol PC then check out the sewing videos by Just Get It Done Quilts.  She is fun to watch and has a lot of good ideas, including sewing hacks from the Dollar Tree.

 Spread the Love this Christmas Season.

 

Getting Started Series: What Now?

It's been a rather crooked journey down this "Getting Started" road ... hopefully somewhat informative.
Some of the basics have been reinforced for me, that much I can say.

 

Where have we been?

We learned about the proper use and technique of a Rotary Cutter. 

All about Fabrics.

Whether we want to Stash or not Stash.

Not all Thread is created equal.

How to Square up fabric.

And finally the most important of all, that 1/4" seam.

We haven't yet discussed other "stuff" you'll need.... I have blogged about STUFF in the past; 

Follow these links:  More about rotary cutters and mats,  and other helpful stuff.

"So, now what?  We have a bunch of random bits of information, how do I actually MAKE a quilt?"

You have to start by picking a pattern.  The very, VERY first quilt I made was a simple four-patch lap quilt for my son.  I honestly can't remember where the idea came from or why I even had the chili pepper fabrics on hand, but I did....and he was impressed (me, too, truth be known.)

Over the years I've accumulated LOTS-O- patterns; both purchased and free, plucked off the internet or acquired here-and-there.  There is lots of inspiration "out there."
 

Pat Sloan, of course.  She has both for-purchase patterns and free patterns. 

Easy Quilting Corner

Quilted Twins 

Moda Fabrics

Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company has a ton of tutorial videos on YouTube.  Many are no- pattern-needed.  

And don't forget Pinterest.  Many of the links lead to free tutorials and patterns.

And, speaking of YouTube.... you could get lost in the world of quilting tutorial videos on YouTube.  Anything you would EVER want to know about quilting is there.  Get a coffee (or a wine...depending on the time of day) and have a look.

Instructables.  This is the most fun website.  You can learn ANYTHING from this site.  And, look what I found! Quilting 101.  EVERY SINGLE step for making a simple quilt!  Have a look. (Disclaimer, I don't necessarily agree with every technique, i.e. using sheets for backing.  But, it's a good place to start.)

If you can stand just one more, Art Gallery Fabrics' site is amazing!

Also, check out your local quilt shops.  Take classes.  The second and third quilts I ever made were the result of a Block-of-the-Month class I took at Cool Cottons in Portland, OR. 

Even though I was following the directions, exactly (or so I thought) I managed to put EVERY SINGLE corner on EVERY SINGLE block on backward.  I didn't even notice until someone in the group said "Oh, look, how interesting your corners are...."  There is a verse in the Bible that says "Even a fool looks smart if he/she keeps their mouth shut."  I didn't say a word.

There are aspects of this quilt I like even now, I try to over look the many mistakes.  My g-sons cuddle up with it all the time, still, even though their little feet stick out.

 

You've heard the saying "If I can do it, you can do it."
Ya just have to get started.

Getting Started Series - Squaring Up Your Fabric

When I was in Middle School...sometime in the dark ages...every girl had Home Ec classes, both sewing and cooking. In those days our sewing projects were garments.   When constructing a garment we had to be very mindful of placing our pattern on the straight of grain. If you didn't, your garment would not hang straight on your body. (My childhood friends on Facebook and I still talk about that Home Ec teacher...she was a doozie! She tortured us with darts, zippers and set-in sleeves! These were my earliest dates with Jack...Jack the ripper.)

 
With quilting, we don't pay a lot of attention to the straight of grain (or the weft and the warp), but we are very mindful of the "square" of the fabric.  If your fabric isn't square, your blocks will be wonky (that is a quilting term meaning misshapen.) When you purchase a piece of fabric, you watch the sales person cut it off the bolt and it looks perfectly fine.  It isn't.  It is not "square" regardless of how straight everything looks.

A little rabbit trail here... Click HERE for a interesting video on how fabric is made. And then Click HERE for another short video on how it is wound on the bolt we see in the fabric store. It actually makes sense to me now why fabric isn't perfectly square on the bolt and why it is not perfectly square when it is cut.

There is nothing magical about this.  I don't have any "sure fire way" or words of wisdom about squaring up your fabric.  Instead, let's turn to the internet.  The Internet is a wonderful place to find EVERYTHING. (Recently I heard an interview with Luis Perez, an AAF football player, who said he learned to be a quarterback on YouTube!)  Well, I found two helpful internet sites, one a video (on YouTube) and one a  printed step-by-step tutorial on Blueprint (formerly Craftsy), where we will learn to square our fabric.

Here is the YouTube video.  It is quite good, but, she doesn't show you how to cut your fabric after squaring up. Here is the step-by-step tutorial on Blueprint. This tutorial fabric shows you step-by-step how to square up the fabric and also shows you how to cut the fabric.  (A note on the step-by-step; when working with yardage, don't unfold the entire piece and try to square it up....start at the end, leaving the remainder of the yardage folded.  You will need to continue to square up as you use up the yardage.)

OK, that's it for this Getting Started session.  And, if you decide to take up football, remember you can learn to be a quarterback on YouTube!