Sunbonnet Sue Baby Quilt

A couple of months back, a member of our local stitching group, Needles n’ Crafts, Radha, posted at the board asking if anyone is willing to make her a Sunbonnet Sue Baby Quilt which she hopes to gift it to her sister’s daughter is expecting a baby.

I jumped at the opportunity to play with Em, my embroidery machine which I have started to neglect due to my heavy travelling for work.

We discussed the details and finally agreed on only 8 blocks of the Sunbonnet Sues instead of the whole quilt being all Sues.

Radha also requested if I could add a cat in the center block as her sister loves cat.

I pondered for a while as to how to add a cat in the appliqué blocks I already have and did some sketching.

However, after a while, I felt that my cat did not turn out like it was going to look like a cat, and proposed back to Radha if I could instead embroider a Sunbonnet Sue which already has a cat in it which I already happen to have a pattern for it.

Luckily Radha agreed.

Next, I sat down to design a layout of the quilt to make sure that Radha would be happy with it. I gave her 3 options and when she finally settled for one of it, I immediately got started on it as that very weekend, I had some free  time.

I did not want to put off doing it to later, knowing how hectic my work schedule could sometimes be and sometimes even unpredictable where I would have to travel within only 2 days notice.

I am glad I started when I did and got as far as appliquéing and embroidering up to 6 blocks that weekend, because after that, I travelled non-stop for 2 weeks.

The next time I worked on it, I stayed up late to finish off the 2 remaining blocks and started to cut up my fabrics, bought earlier in the day at Kelvins’s one fine Saturday, to make up the rest of quilt.

Radha had specified that she wanted the quilt to be in pink.

That being my favourite colour, I would think that I would have no problem choosing just the right fabric for it.

Wrong!! LOL!

I brought along my sketch and the finished Sunbonnet Sue blocks to Kelvin’s shop so that I can match the pinks to my Sues, and my oh my, does Kelvin have many shades of pinks! LOL!

I was going cross-eyed trying to choose which pink suits the quilt best.

It was hard choosing the many flowery pinks, as in my head, I thought that maybe Kelvin would carry some pink baby motifs, and I would just choose that.

However, the choice of baby motifs in pink was limited at Kelvin’s shop. I did, however, managed to get some very lovely small flowery prints of pinks which I think is really sweet.

For the backing, I managed to get a lovely ABC fabric bought from Gill’s Quilt Gallery in Bangsar, which I felt just matched the pink and green motifs which I intended to do for the front.

It was fast putting the quilt together. It took me only a week, working on it every spare night I wasn’t travelling for work. But the next stage of the quilt, I felt like it was taking me ages to get it done.

For some of you advanced quilters out there might find doing the quilting part a breeze. But for me, it was the biggest challenge of doing a quilt.

I thought that I’d take a short cut and get Em to help me with the quilting part.

I had bought a few quilt patterns online and tried it on a small practice piece and it turned out almost perfect!

I was happy with the result and set about to quilt embroidery the whole quilt with Em’s help. Easy peasy, right?

Wrong again!

Em refused to quilt embroider the huge (huge by Em’s standard) quilt. The quilt kept coming off its hoop and I would end up with jumped stitches.

After several attempts to get Em to quilt embroider, I started to get all flustered and frustrated. I decided that this is not going to work. Em is kicking up a fuss and we don’t seem to see eye to eye on this project.

I decided to let Em off the hook and started to look for other ways to quilt the baby quilt.

I could have just done some simple stippling quilting effect all over the quilt, and I should be done in about 2 weeks, but I am not one to just do something straight forward and felt that, after doing quilting for a number of years, I should start progressing to the next level, and that is to try to do other quilting designs, other than just stippling.

I looked to the internet for ideas.

I spent every spare time I had, googling for quilting motifs, hoping to find just the right motifs suited for my level of expertise. Oopps! I cannot even be considered an expert!

In my search for just that right quilting motif, it brought me to Pinterest.

I could spend hours going through Pinterest!

I came up with loads of quilting designs which I really love. Alas, most of them are for more advanced quilters.

I was beginning to feel the pressure when my time was running out as Radha asked if I could get the quilt done by November, and I still could not settle on a quilt motif which I think I am confident enough to do. My travelling all the time did not help either.

Finally, after many hours of going through Pinterest, I decided on a few motifs which I think I can manage.

Once the motifs were decided, it was time to do some practice pieces.

However, since I was still busy travelling; there was no way I could do a practice piece. So, I did the next best thing.

In between boring meetings, and on my flights in the plane and at airport lounges, or anytime I find that I have extra time on my hands waiting to get on the plane, for a meeting to start, even while I was watching TV, I'd be doodling, trying to find what works best for my quilting level and what suits the baby quilt best.

I finally settled for 4 different quilting designs.

I can’t say I know the names of any of the quilting designs that I have chosen as they all came from different sources.

You can go to my Pinterest to see the pins and track the designs from there, if you like.   

Trying to quilt on a sewing machine with a small throat was another challenge I had to face.

For a while, I ended up having a sore shoulder from not sitting properly. I finally decided to move my sewing machine to another table where I would have more space to the front of the machine, and it worked.

I was able to quilt for many hours on the baby quilt, making frequent stops in between for some water to drink as adviced by many of my quilting friends and from reading and watching YouTubes.

I can’t actually recall how many hours it took me to finish the quilting, but, despite all the sore shoulders I had to endure, I enjoyed every stitch I put into the quilt.

I had so much fun trying out the new quilting motifs.

As if quilting 4 new designs wasn't challenging enough, I decided to also try out making a scalloped border instead of the normal straight edge border. 

This is the first time I am making a scalloped edge for a quilt.

It took me several sketching and markings on the quilt to finally get all the scallops at the 4 corners to match up.

After having to go through a tough time doing up the scallop edge, I decided to just settle for a simple straight line quilting for the border.

Despite it being simple, I think the simplicity of a straight line quilt gave the border the depth and dimension I wanted.

I like the way it turned out. 

Next came the binding.

It was also a first for me to try to bind a scalloped edge and I had to tune in to several Youtube videos before I was confident enough to give it a go.

I think I did OK. I like the way the binding turned out actually.

I decided that the binding should be yellow instead of pink or green to add interest to the quilt. I thought that it would make the quilt 'pop'!

Did it, when you first saw the quilt?

I think the yellow binding picked up the yellow ABCs on the backing very well, and on the front, it brought out the yellow dress on the middle row of Sues. 

This baby quilt had given me the opportunity to try out so many new things and something that I think I’d never try out if not for this quilt.

Thanks, Radha, for giving me this opportunity to make this quilt for you. Those sore shoulders were worth every pain I had to endure! LOL!

I hope you and your sister and niece will be able to enjoy the quilt.

Another product by Uniquely Aznique!

My new toy! - Prym Mini Iron Reviewed!

The last two weeks, since recovering from the bout of high blood pressure, I needed something to do that is not too stressful, and would actually calm me down. And what could be more therapeutic than to work on my crafts.

So, last week, as I felt well enough, I decided to work on the Sunbonnet Sue blocks that my cousin, Nik Ima, ordered from me. She wanted 16 blocks in pinks and purples. She wants to turn them into a queen size quilt. Hmmmmm, wondering why she's not commissioning me to make the quilt too....... LOL! *wink*

Anyway, I set out to trace the template onto fusible web, cut up the fusible web, ironed the web onto the fabrics, cut up the fabrics into the required shape and started appliqueing them onto blocks of 10 1/2" x 10 1/2".

 The preparation alone took me a few days but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was really very therapeutic as I had fun choosing the pinks and purples for the dress, the greens for the apron and browns for the hats. Even matching the threads to the dress, the apron, the hats, the shoes and the flowers were fun!

My blood pressure was almost back to normal the whole of last week as I spent a few nights of last week working on the blocks.

However, I felt that a lot of time was wasted going from my sewing area to the utility room where the iron is located and back to the sewing area at every stage of the appliqueing process as I had to iron on the pieces of the dress, the aprons, the sleeve of the dress and the hat.

The fact that the normal iron was too big for my 5" x 7" embroidery hoop made the process even longer because I had to be really careful when ironing the pieces onto the blocks when the blocks were still in the hoop.

I had burnt the rubber mat that helps to tighten the hoop a few times already. That's when I thought about getting a mini iron which would work nicely within the size of my hoop.

I had actually bought a mini iron from Clover when I was in Singapore a few years back. However this particular iron took a long time to heat up, and even when it felt really hot to the touch, it wasn't hot enough to melt the glue on the fusible web to adhere it onto the fabric. Even leaving the iron onto the fabric for a few minutes made no difference.

I was starting to get frustrated using the iron and decided to put it aside and went back to using the standard iron. But it was clumsy using the standard iron in the hoop and trying to be extra careful when ironing in the hoop was beginning to feel like it was almost like a difficult task.

I am not about to get all stressed out trying to iron my applique pieces onto my blocks when my intention to work on the blocks was to get myself to calm down and bring my blood pressure down! LOL!

So I posted on my Quilt Group on FB to ask if anyone could recommend to me a mini iron.

Someone suggested I check out Greenie Clover on FB (http://www.facebook.com/clover.greenie).

However, Edina from Edina Crafts came to the rescue when she posted that she sells the Prym Mini Iron that is the size of the palm of your hands.

I immediately checked it out, and after doing some research on it, decided to put in an order for it.

It arrived by PosLaju at my MIL's house on Tuesday. However, I was only able to pick it up today when we went over there for breakfast.

I couldn't wait to get home to try it out!

So, after coming back from having a late lunch at Subang Parade, I came home to try it out by working on the Sunbonnet Sue block.

First, I must say that the iron is really small and it takes getting use to holding the iron on the top (Edina, pinjam photo! Thanks!) which is where the thermostat is located and also where the water reservoir is if you want to use it as a steam iron.
 

I had only just used the iron for only a few hours, but I had already accidentally touched the hot side of the iron twice as the iron sometimes flips over when placed on the surface of the cloth which I folded over several times to use as a surface to place the iron on, as it was advised in the manual that the iron should not be placed on a metal surface.

It wasn't hot enough to burn my fingers though as I had only put the thermostat to the number 2 dial instead of the number 3 dial as instructed in the manual when ironing cottons.

I also felt that the dial of the thermostat is really small and made my fingers feel clumsy trying to turn the dial each time I need to use the iron in between ironing the applique pieces because I did not want to keep the iron switched on all the time while I machine embroider the applique pieces.

This is because the whole process of embroidering each block of Sunbonnet Sue alone from start to finish, including ironing each applique piece (not including the preparation process of tracing, cutting and ironing the fusible web onto the fabric) takes between 40 to 50 minutes, sometimes even an hour when I have trouble with tangled threads.

The size was just right, though, when it came to ironing the applique pieces inside the embroidery hoop.

It looked so cute, almost like an iron that belongs in a doll house! LOL!

I suddenly went into an ironing mood frenzy so that I can play some more with the iron when I decided to iron some of the scraps from my scrap bin. 

I then cut them up into 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" pieces with the intention to make them into a Postage Stamp Quilt (PSQ) SOMEDAY! Heheh....LOL!

Some of my stitching friends from Needles n' Crafts have started since last year on the PSQ where as I have even yet to cut my pieces! LOL! Well, now I have, and yes, Sally, I owe you some! *blush*

By the way, did I tell you that I made myself a portable ironing board? Well, I did!

Same like the reason why I bought the Prym Mini Iron, I also made myself the portable ironing board when I realised that a lot of time was wasted going back and forth between the utility room and my sewing area.

Initially, I thought of going to a hardware shop and buying a thick plywood, have it cut to size and then covering the plywood with batting and heat resistant material. After that, I thought that I would wrap the batting and heat resistant material with fabrics.

However, when I went to the Popular Book shop last week, I found this ready made portable plywood table of about 1/2"' thick and about 17'' x 12'' in size.

Sorry, no photos because I was excited to get started on making the ironing board! LOL!

I then went to Ace Hardware and bought an ironing board cover which says that it is made out of heat resistant material. It was expensive though, but buying batting and a heat resistant material separately would probably have cost me more, I think.

I then covered the ready made portable plywood table with the ironing board cover twice over since the ironing board cover was long enough to cut in two.

I felt like a handyman using the stapler gun for the first time as I stapled the cover to the back of the plywood table! LOL!

As I wasn't happy with the way the back of the board looks like as it was uneven when I wrongly cut the cover in two, I decided to cover it again a cotton fabric I already had in my stash.

Here's the finished ironing board with my cute little Prym iron on it!

Yup! It's not pink but it was the only fabric I had which was enough to cover the board. Besides, I did not want to use my expensive cottons to cover the board.

Here's the back of the board and the sides.

I think I will have lots of fun playing with my new toy on my DIY ironing board!

The iron is small, yes, as it is the size of your palm, and yes, it is hot enough for appliqueing work, but a friend said that it does not iron clothes that well.

I think it is not meant to be used to iron clothes, but more for small craft works. But, in emergencies when you need to travel and stay at hotels that does not provide irons, I guess it should be good enough.

I like the fact that it works very well inside my embroidery hoop but I really don't like the handle to hold the iron. But, I guess once you get used to it, it shouldn't be a problem.

It also takes getting used  to turning the mini thermostat dial too. I think I should find an easier way to not have the iron switched on all the time, yet need not have to keep turning the dial to '0' in between ironing the applique pieces.

If I resolve this so called issue, I think my Prym iron and I are going to be good friends and friends for a long time! LOL! 

By the way, I have since completed 5 blocks of the Sunbonnet Sue. I have got 11 more to go!

Postage Stamp Quilt A-Long at NNC

This year, NNC organised a big project to be done together, or, we call it the Postage Stamp Quilt A Long or PSQAL.

Almost everyone at the group are excited, and many have started planning since late last year when orders for Jelly Rolls (not the eating kind! LOL!) were made from all parts of the world.

As for me, I only started thinking and making plans for the PSQAL after the NNC Anniversary Meet was over with on the 14th of April 2012, as earlier, I was busy with my certification program, and after that, getting things ready for the Meet.

I was torn between making a full Postage Stamp Quilt or combining it with some appliqué blocks. But, my mind was made up when I was going through the April 2012 issue of the American Patchwork & Quilting magazine on the airplane on one of my working trips to Penang in late April 2012.

This particular design by Jo Morton from JOMORTONQUILTS.com just jumped right out at me! LOL! I just could not wait to get back to Kuala Lumpur and get started on my quilt! LOL!

I started working on the appliqué the weekend after I came back from Penang. It looked easy, and yes, it is easy, but a lot of work goes into it – the tracing, the cutting, the ironing and the sewing of the blanket stitch. But, so far, I am pleased with the outcome.

I am making this appliqué piece to be combined with the postage stamps blocks as I am not a particular fan of monotony. I can’t bring myself to cut hundreds and hundreds of squares. I need to break down the monotony and intersperse it with something that will catch the eye and make it more interesting.

This particular quilt will be in colours of reds, browns and greens (What? No PINK? LOL! *grin*). I am using the layer cake and jelly roll from the Late Bloomers Collection for Moda which I bought from Q Gallery in Penang some time back, combined with some other collections and remnants from my previous projects.

So far, I have managed to quilt 13 blocks already. I still have another 32 more blocks to do. I need to make 45 appliqué blocks and 45 PSQ blocks. See the sketch I made on the paper? That’s my design sheet! *grin*

I am also being a little bit ambitious (shall I say, overly ambitious? LOL!) by wanting to do another quilt too while I do the PSQAL. I am hoping to make a Sunbonnet Sue quilt for the guest bedroom.

I have in fact started on the quilt using Em, my embroidery machine, the following weekend after I started on the PSQAL. Unfortunately, I could not progress fast when I had to send Em to the clinic when she hit a pin which was used to hold the fabric together, preventing it from dragging. It caused the hoop holder to jump out of her carriage.

Em has never been away from me since I brought her home 2 years ago, and it was hard being separated from her when I needed her most!

However, she’s back with me last weekend, and she now purrs like a cat as I also had her serviced while her carriage was being repaired. She sounds like new!

I am having so much fun making my Sues as I see her come to life! Oopps! I don’t think Paul is going to like that very much, and I don’t think I want Sue to actually come alive! That would be spooky! LOL!

Here’s my progress thus far.

Still a very long way to go for both quilts, but I hope to complete at least one quilt, if not both, by the end of the year. Wish me luck!