Okay, so I got all my cottons washed, then I ironed them, to the left is my iron and my absolute favorite, can't live without it, Mary Ellen's Best Press Spray Starch, Lavender Fields Scent. She also has a Clean Linen and an unscented one. It's a little more expensive than most, almost $7 a bottle. The refills are $12 and fill a smaller bottle almost 3 times full. Usually you can find it on sale though. Also, if you're around a Hancock Fabrics they run coupons you can use to get it 40% off. If you don't want to use it for everything, at least keep a bottle around for blacks, as this is truly a non-flaking starch (and it doesn't screw up your iron!).
After I got my fabric ready, I
Here's a picture of the chain and a couple more of my gadgets. At the top left are my trusty pin cushion and my favorite scissors. They are the Singer Professional scissors, very sharp and very lightweight. Titanium scissors are really popular right now but they are very heavy and wear my hand out quickly. Another thing to pay attention to with scissors is the price. I got my pink scissors on a 50% sale and they were only about $7. Some scissors retail for about $30-$40 dollars and they are very nice, but the most important thing is how they feel in your hand and how they cut.Some more tools (I know I'm really laying it on thick today). This is a 18"x24" mat and a 6"x24" ruler and my rotary cutter. These making cutting strips and squares and getting straight edges a lot easier. They can get expensive but they are so helpful and will save you hours of marking and measuring and headache.
All the piecing to get the chain I actually completed several months ago and just today I picked it up again. I wasn't sure how big this quilt was going to be, but I had a stray piece of white cotton that I decided to use for the back. I measured it at 39"x45" and I knew I wanted my chain to run horizantally on the 39" width so I started measuring and cutting 39" long strips out of my chain. I did not use my cutter and ruler for that, just my mat and scissors. I know I will have to square up and straighten all my edges when I get done with the quilt so it's easier to just measure the 24" length of the ruler then measure to the 15" line and snip it.
Today I sewed the first five rows together:
As you can see in both pictures, the color pattern is not perfect - I have some really friendly oranges and grays. I really love the fabrics and colors in this quilt but I still haven't decided what to do with it. When I finish the piecing it will be about the size of a baby quilt. I've thought about several things. Mostly I've thought about making it bigger. (: Just so you know - I'm not aiming for perfection here, just completion. If you put the pressure on to make it perfect, you'll never be satisfied.
I would love to sew and chat some more but today other things are calling. Tonight I'm trying a new recipe in my slow cooker, a Chicken Chili recipe. My husband and I very rarely eat meat and I'm only putting in about half of what the recipe actually calls for so I'm hoping it turns out all right.
Till next time, happy sewing!
This post was super helpful! There's not a Hancock's here but we have Michael's and JoAnn's and they're both having big sales this week so I was planning on getting some real supplies, all I have are scissors right now :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad! I had fun writing it and the right tool does make all the difference!!
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