NANNY CHAT Archives - Page 7 of 19

Candlewicking Adventure

July 11, 2015 by Nanny 2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I received the most wonderful surprise as a RAOK (Random Act of Kindness) and as a result I am starting out on my Candlewicking Adventure.

I just happened to see a post on Facebook from a quilter offering some candlewicking blocks and so I made contact and mentioned that I have always loved the look of candlewicking and would be really interested in purchasing them . I was truly amazed when this generous soul insisted that they were a gift and that she would also pay the postage to me, but the biggest surprise was yet to come! When the parcel arrived, it contained all the blocks, thread, backing/binding fabrics and the lace to join the blocks to make a gorgeous quilt. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement!!!

After some investigation, I discovered that it was actually a Block of the Month from Margaret’s Fabric Australia’s Number 1 Candlewicking and Fabric Store and that two blocks were missing. I contacted Margaret’s Fabrics and after sending a sample of the fabric to them, have had them find replacement blocks for me – what lovely customer service from this business!!

Today I received the blocks and a hoop and I am so excited!

So I thought I would share my Candlewicking Adventure with you :-

1. Because I like to share; and

2. Because it will keep me on task!

I know it will be a long term project, but that is exciting too!

So a very special ‘Thank You’ to Jan for the wonderful gift – I hope I can do it justice!

What about you? Have you ever tried Candlewicking? Maybe you would like to stitch along with me?

Until next time

Nanny xx

Make a Light Box

July 9, 2015 by Nanny 16 Comments

I have always used a window to do my tracing, but with my back the way it is, I thought it time to come up with something more suitable. I know I could ask Poppy to make a light box for me – you see many variations around, but I really didn’t want another piece to fit in to my overstuffed craftroom so decided to make a light box from things that are used around the house already. Let me show you how to make a Light Box!

What you need:

A plastic storage crate (I store my fabrics in these)

A glass cutting board (found in the kitchen)

and an LED torch (from its charger) You could use some of the little round ones from the cheap shop too if you wanted to spread the light more.

What to do:

1. Place your plastic tub on your desk.

2. Turn on the torch and place it in the tub.

3. Place the glass cutting board on top.

4. Place your pattern on the cutting board. (You could tape it if you are worried about slipping)

5. Cover with the fabric pieces and trace away!! (It was hard to photograph but all of the pattern is visible – you could slide the cutting board if you needed to)

How easy was that!!

It sits at a perfect height for tracing. No more stretching up at the window for me AND when I’m finished it all goes away somewhere else in the house! Just perfect for my Candlewicking Adventure!

Do you use a Light Box? Let me know if you try this out and make a Light Box – I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before!

Until next time

Nanny xx

Linking to : Threading My Way, Let’s Bee Social Flamingotoes

‘Dream to Achieve’ quilting preparations

June 24, 2015 by Nanny 1 Comment

Now that we have our quilt tops, it is time to think about the next stage – sandwiching the quilt! So let’s take a look at ‘Dream to Achieve’ quilting preparations:

You will need:

Your quilt top

Wadding

Backing

Pins – these are curved and come in packets of different quantities. You will need about 160 – 200 OR you may choose to use Basting Spray (I have never considered using it as, with Fibromyalgia, I am super sensitive to chemicals)

Tape – this is packing tape but anything like masking tape is Ok too!

A spoon – just a spoon!

Now is a also good time to think about how you might quilt your new quilt. If we go back to my original:

I wanted to quilt this using my walking foot, (I suggest you beg, borrow or buy one AFTER you check in your accessories box) If you need to buy one, take a record of your machine name and model number so that you can check that you get one that fits!!

If you want to try Free Motion Quilting, by all means do – you might have a foot in your accessories so check there first!!

I used black thread on both the top and the bobbin. When you are starting out, it is a good idea to use the same colour so that any little tension issues are not obvious. So, consider your own quilt top and backing and make a selection. There are so many colours available – a variegated thread also provides an interesting finish across multiple colours. I will probably choose a colour that ‘sits right’ with my sashing.

When I looked at the quilt, I let the fabric design guide me:

On the ‘hands’ block, I traced my hand and used that as a template and twisted and turned it across the strip. The turtles I let ‘swim’ in water waves and I followed the diagonal stripes in the other. The other I followed the circle and joining ‘track’

In the sashing, I stitched in the ditch and then eye balled other lines – I didn’t want it to look all ‘exact’ !

So as you can see, the quilting part is totally an individual choice. You might choose to do all straight lines. The most important thing is that you give it a go and have FUN!

I hope this helps you prepare for the next task.

Until next time

Nanny xx

‘Dream to Achieve’ Finish the Top

June 21, 2015 by Nanny Leave a Comment

'Dream to Achieve' I'm Quilting Along With Nanny

Hi! Today it is time to ‘Dream to Achieve’ Finish the Top, so let’s get to it!

1. Take your main piece

Nanny Note: Now that we have been very careful in cutting, sewing and pressing, we should find that we are nice and square BUT please check this BEFORE going on as it could mean the difference between a straight or wonky strip!

2. Decide where you want your feature strip to be. I placed it on the bed and decided from there that for me, it looked ‘best’ one strip (ie 9″ for me) in from the edge.

3. Measure in 9″ along each strip and mark.

DSC05723 - Copy

4. Using a ruler, join your marks. (If any look ‘out’ please double check) Cut along the line either with scissors or your rotary cutter. I suggest you do this in a single layer to avoid any mishaps.

Now all we have to do is join it together again! Isn’t this fun!!

Take your feature strip

5. Now as we have carefully measured and cut our fabrics, this will easily join to the piece we just cut off – just as we did before – find half way and half again and pin.

6. Sew and press.

7. Repeat to join this section to the quilt top – I used my breakfast bar for the pinning because it is nice and wide and I could lay it out flat- you don’t need the weight of the quilt top to skew it. In the first photo, I am pinning along the sashing at the top, with the main piece underneath. In the second photo, I have just lowered the camera to show you that the sashing strips are lining up nicely!

8. Sew and Press well.

9. Measure through the quilt down the length and record.

10. Take sashing strips and join and cut to fit the length ie the sides of the quilt.

11. Using the same method as before, join the sashing to the quilt top sides

12. Press

13. Now measure through the width of the quilt top ie side to side

14. Join and cut sashing strips to that measurement and join as before.

15. Press.

Yayyyy! You now have one finished quilt top!

So for next time you will need the wadding and the backing fabric. If you are yet to purchase these, you now have your quilt top that you can take the measurements from and take with you. Both the wadding and backing fabrics are much wider than quilting fabric and you can often cut it out across the width. I am using quilting cotton and so will be joining two width of fabric strips to get the size.

If you are not continuing with the quilting and are sending it on to a quilter, you will need to check with them re their requirements for size.

Remember to add your photo to the album or the Flickr page to be in the next gift pack draw.

Until next time

Nanny xx

‘Dream to Achieve’ Gift Pack 3 Winner

June 20, 2015 by Nanny 4 Comments

It is time to find the ‘Dream to Achieve’ Gift Pack 3 Winner so let’s take a look at what we have:

From a1craftandquilting we have another of those cute little snips

and from Alan’s Pen Making we have one of these great seam rippers

So let’s see who the lucky winner is – be right back!

Result

Rae Watt

Congratulations Rae – the pack will be in the post on Monday – enjoy!

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors – don’t forget to visit them and give them some support!

Untill next time

Nanny xx

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