My super FAST sewing machine

I've had a handful of people ask me what kind of sewing machine I have, and how I'm able to finish my quilts so quickly.

I have a Pfaff Grand Quilter that sews 1,600 stitches per minute. This machine is a workhorse! It's sews consistently good stitches (i never have to worry about thread tension being off). The only 'bells and whistles' it has is the automatic thread cutter which I could not live without! With a push of a button, it trims the bobbin and top thread closely to the quilt which saves a lot of thread. Other than that, it's a really simple machine that, as mentioned previously, has no bells and whistles. It only sews straight stitches (nope, it doesn't even have a zig-zag stitch), there's nothing digital/computerized about it. It's all metal in the interior. I love this machine.

Here's a video my husband took to demonstrate the speed:

And as you can see, it sews beautiful stitches.

So to answer your questions on how I quilt so quickly, it definitely helps having a super fast machine especially when I'm in my power quilting zone. :) But of course a lot of it has to do with finding time to quilt. I take care of my son (plus another 1 yr old 2x/week), plus I have a part time job and I'm currently a busy-bee working on my book. So for me, I end up quilting late at night. One day a week I drop my son off at a drop-in daycare for a couple hours to get some quilting time in as well. If you're truly passionate about something, you'll find time for it regardless of a busy schedule.  It's not easy, and finding time doesn't always work out consistently, but if there's a will there's a way.

Anyway, in my last post I mentioned I had a live podcast interview on Creative Mojo (a crafty podcast). That was a new experience for me! In my interview I talked about my sewing machine, my new book and the Quilt as you Go technique, how I got started quilting/blogging, and I even talked about my short-legged furry baby, Paige. :)

If you're interested in hearing a live recording of it, you can find it HERE. Simply click the Wednesday, May 29th recording and fast forward to minute 19:30. The interview is about 20 minutes.

Speaking of my short-legged, furry baby, here's some new pictures of Paige. That's her spot in my crowded and messy sewing nook. :)

Happy Quilting everyone!

Listen to me Live this Wednesday

If you want to get to know me a little and hear me talk quilting, you can listen to me live at a Podcast interview on Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski. The interview is this Wednesday (5/29) at 12:20 PST (or 2:20 CST and 3:20 EST).

To listen, go to http://toginet.com/shows/creativemojo and click the "Click to Listen Live on Air" button in the upper left hand corner. I'll also have a little bio up on Mark Lipinski's Blog with some pretty quilt pictures. :)

I'm actually looking forward to chatting about crafty, quilty stuff! Honestly, I don't usually have the opportunity  to really delve into this topic, mainly because a handful of my friends and family don't quilt, or truly know how much time I spend on the craft. I guess you can say I'm a quiet quilter, lol. But I won't be a quiet quilter this Wednesday! ;)

Hope you all had a fun 3-day weekend.

Happy quilting!

Simply Sweet Fabric

I've had people ask me where I've been getting my retro/vintage inspired floral fabrics. The best place to find these fabrics at a reasonable price is on Etsy, particularly from Simply Sweet Fabrics. It's a darling little fabric shop and the shipping is really fast. I've been collecting these beautiful fabric bundles from there. Ready for some eye candy? ;)

You can find this specific bundle by clicking here. They're done by Pam Kitty for Lakehouse which is one of my favorite brands, but unfortunately is rare to come across. 

The shop also carries this super cute collection called Indian Summer. It's such a fresh take on boy fabric.  I plan on using this collection to make a baby boy quilt for my upcoming book. :)

Sometimes you just need a good fabric fix. Even if it's just so you can  stare (and drool) at the yummy bundles. You don't have to use them. Only fabriholics can understand. Thanks Simply Sweet Fabrics for my fabric fix!

(above: my view of deliciousness)

Happy Quilting! :)

Invisible Zipper Pillow Tutorial

Now that I'm working on my book, I won't be working at the Stitch and Sew Studio as much during open sew hours; however, I will still be teaching classes there on the weekends. :) During my time there (almost 7 months!), I've met some really great people and made some wonderful friends.  They've learned sewing tips and tricks from me, but I think I've learned the most from them! Here's a super easy and fun invisible zipper tutorial that I learned from Teresa and Meg. Thanks gals! ;)

Materials:

• Fabric for the front and back of your pillow. the fabric will need to be 1 inch bigger than the pillow size. Example: To make a cover for a 21 x 21 inch pillow, you will need  two 22 x 22 inch squares cut from your fabric. 
• Zipper - should be at least 2 inches shorter than the finished pillow length. Example: If you're sewing a cover for a 21 x 21 inch pillow, get a 19 inch long zipper.
  
• Optional: Lightweight interfacing such as Fusi-Bond Lite. Iron this stuff on any quilting cotton weight fabric to achieve a home decorating weight fabric. (It's like an iron-on muslin).

1. Prepare both sides of fabric for the front and back of the pillow. In this tutorial I made a pillow cover for a 14" pillow, so I cut two 15" squares from my fabric. I also ironed on lightweight interfacing to make my cotton fabric more of a home dec weight.

2. Take your prepared fabric, and align them with right sides facing together. Pin to keep the layers from shifting. On one edge, mark 2 inches from the top and bottom as shown below.

3. Along this edge, sew a 1/2 inch seam allowance. When doing so, use a regular stitch within the 2 inch markers, and then use the longest stitch length in the center (this is where the zipper will be). Make sure to back-stitch at the start and end, as well as before you begin a new stitch length.

Click to Enlarge.

4. Press the seam open with an iron. Take your zipper and unzip it half way. You can use a thin strip of tape to help keep the unzipped part closed.

5. With the zipper facing down, align it on the center of the seam where your longer stitches are.  You'll have about 1/2-1 inch of the tail ends of your zipper hanging past the 2 inch marks.  Tape to keep everything in place. You can place tape at the 2 inch marker to help give you a visual of where you need to sew. 

Use a zipper foot and sew a rectangle around the zipper as designated by the dashes below. When you get to the tape, peel it back so you don't sew over it.  When the little zipper pully gets in your way, stop sewing with the needle in the down position, and then zip up the zipper so it's out of your way, then continue sewing. Start and end your stitches with back stitches.

6.  Here's the satisfying part. :) Flip the pillow cover right side up and use a seam ripper to tear open the long stitches you sewed from step 3. This will unveil your zipper.

7. Next, make sure the zipper is at least half way unzipped and then align your fabric once again with right sides facing together. Pin to keep the fabric from shifting. Sew a 1/2 inch seam allowance around the perimeter (as designated by the dashes below) except where the zipper is. clip the corners to get rid of extra fabric bulk.

7. Turn the pillow cover right side out through the zipper opening. Last but not least, make lots and lots of beautiful, cozy, bright and cheery pillows!

Working on a Book!

I have exciting news! I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be writing a book on my Quilt as you Go technique. You may recall me posting several pictures of some quilts that use the technique (here, here & here). I also teach classes on it at the Stitch and Sew Studio in Seattle. It's a modern and fresh take on Quilt as you Go that's really simple, and best of all, super creative. My book won't have cookie-cutter quilt patterns with precise cutting measurements; rather, I'll be teaching the technique and illustrating how it can be applied so that you can create a one-of-a-kind quilt that's all you. Think of it as 'quilting-outside-of-the-box.' :)

Spreading creativity and showing that quilting can be less daunting than it seems have been my goal as an artist, and the whole reason I started my blog. I am absolutely ecstatic to be writing this book so that I can further spread this creative and fun technique.

My book will be published through Stash Books for C&T Publishing. I've been a huge fan of their books, including the ones below (all of which I own). Stash Books are really easy to understand with beautiful photographs of fabulous quilts. These books have always given me so much inspiration. I never get tired looking at all of the beautiful photos and pretty fabrics. You can read more on the many different Stash Books at their blog.

My book should be available next year, which means I have to write my manuscript in 3 months and make all 15 quilts in 4 months. Yup, no kidding.  That being said, I better get to work...!

Happy Quilting ;)