40 Book Bags for School Kids

A friend of mine does volunteer work for Lutheran World Relief.  Last year she committed to doing a few hundred book bags that were to be shipped off to somewhere in Asia or Africa.  She had called me asking for advice because here Bernina Quilting Edition machine was clumping thread underneath.  She was pulling her hair out with panic trying to get some traction on the project.

I was on the other side of the US at that time and after talking her through some steps she could take such as tension settings, making sure she was using the correct thread and needle for the project and had a new needle, checking the bobbin area for gunk, making sure she was correctly threaded and the bobbin was correctly wound, she ended up taking her machine to a Bernina dealer for service.  After that she was OK.

But this time I was at her house when the project kicked off.  She had committed to sewing 40 book bags this time.  The others had been farmed out to other ladies.  I offered to do the 40 book bags for her.

They are of a simple design as you can see using canvas with ropes inserted into the casings and loops.

But the thread my friend had selected, as well as the needles, weren't correct for the project.  She'd initially insisted they were what she used last year so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I couldn't get her Bernina or my BabyLoc to work right. In total frustration, after going on YouTube and Googling issues, and reading and reading our machine manuals, I took my BabyLoc to be serviced and learned that the thread and the needle were inappropriate for the job.  The thread was too thick, and not best quality brand.  They recommended a high quality medium weight thread with a denim-purpose needle and to use the triple stitch which sews over the same line three times and does this in small segments. It takes a ton of thread, is a little slower, but holds nicely on heavy weight fabrics and looks nice like a top stitch.

I'd never used a triple stitch before and I liked the feeling of learning something new.  While in the Sew Vac Shop in Ellicott City, MD, picking up my machine and talking things through, I decided to sign up for their introductory machine quilting session, just two hours, followed by an intermediate machine quilting session a few weeks later.  I will do both this fall.

I like the zen of hand quilting and dislike the look of many machine quilted quilts but I like the really artistic work of some quilters who work both by hand and using their machines.  I want to be able to choose the right method, the right skill for what I want to create.

I feel good about this decision to get some training besides my books and YouTube.  

Even though I got my machine serviced and learned how to complete the project with the correct thread and needles, I used my friend's Bernina when I got back since it was already set up.  

Mise en place.

Bags ready to be roped.

So I am excited about heading into a new phase of my sewing.

My Friend's Hawaiian Quilts

On my list of quilt skills and experiences, is to do a Hawaiian style quilt.  I just visited a friend, in Augusta, GA, who had several Hawaiian quilt sets (complete with pillow shams) from her two years living in Hawaii.

I photographed them to revisit when I get started on one.  When I do, I might not do a Hawaiian type theme, such as the sea turtles or a random design like so many of them have but maybe something else, maybe something totally unrelated to Hawaii, such as moose or bear.  Something will bubble up in my brain between now and then, I'm sure.

Still Quilting

Still quilting and also smoking a bison roast and some (hopefully) great spicy beans.

The quilting is going slow.  I hike, bike, kayak, run or walk first.  We go exploring.  I blog.  I work on my photographs.  I read books.  I mostly just quilt while watching TV now.  It is a very sedentary, though very relaxing activity and I am trying to get more exercise and do things.  And adding to that, this quilt is going very slow because it is a twin bed size and I am trying to hand quilt it with tiny, neat, straight stitches.  And a lot of them.

My basting stitches are the large dark ones.  The hand stitching on the back looks like this.  I have started in the center and work towards the long ends, and am continuing to work outward. 

Finished! Teddy Bear Baby Quilt

This quilt is hand appliqued and hand quilted.  I followed directions, mostly, from a quilting book I got from a friend. It seemed as if this quilt took a long time.  There are several reasons for why this quilt took so long, even though it is a baby quilt. 

One reason is due to my efforts to go slow, do the best job I can, and increase my skills.  I worked very hard to make my hand quilting stitches as small and even as I could.  I am also now using the quarter inch masking tape to make sure my lines are as close to straight and evenly spaced as can be. 

I am also happy to say the back has no puckers, so my basting is working better.  I've found that what works for me is taping the layers to the floor with masking tape or painter's tape and rather than using basting safety pins, I have found that basting by hand stitching, using a large curved needle, works best for me. 

Another reason this quilt took so long, besides breaking to cook for Thanksgiving and Christmas, is that I took a break and did four more quilt toppers, all in various stages of completion. 

And, last but not least, I also don't give myself totally over to quilting madly all day long, which would be easy for me to do.  There have been times when I've started quilting before even showering (or it's embarrassing to admit this, but not even having brushed my teeth) in the morning and found myself still hard at it late in the afternoon, not even breaking to eat and or drink and trying, and like a child happily playing, to not even break go to the bathroom. And when I do, I am practically running because I've been holding it for so long.  Yeah, like I said, it's embarrassing to admit but there you have it.  The truth.  It is so addicting.  And I tend towards the addictive personality, so I force myself now to make sure I go for walks or a run, to take long hikes with  my cameras, call my mother, daughter, sisters and friends (though I can put them on speaker phone and quilt, tee hee), cook fun foods, and blog. 

I have found that I really like applique quilts.  I think it is because, as a child, I loved drawing and also playing with paper dolls.  Applique is similar to that.  I read quilting books and see the patterns for the appliques.  I look at how they do that, but I am partly using them and partly going free hand.  My goal, after I increase my skills more and get a better variety of experience in types of quilting, is go fully free hand, pattern-free even, to design my own quilts and get very contemporary.  I want to paint my own fabrics, to use a variety of types of fabrics, and maybe introduce other items into the mix - mixed media.  And with all that, I want to continue to try to repurpose fabrics and items.  That appeals to me so much. 

Rethreaded, JAX

I love repurposing things that would be trash, into things that have new uses, maybe even into things that are treasured.

Rethreaded, in JAX, does that.  And not only that, they support people who were victimized by human trafficking by giving them jobs with dignity and purpose.  They serve two worthy causes in one grand effort.
http://www.rethreaded.com/

They make necklaces and scarves out of old t-shirts.

They make lightweight quilts out of old sari's.

I love this old Kenmore Mercury.  I had an old Kenmore sewing machine for about 35 years.  I loved it.  This was definitely older though. 

More T-shirt necklaces. They had earrings as well. 

A pretty, happy place.

Working on Quilts Through Several States

 My on-going quilt projects. 

Teddy Bear Baby Quilt. This is a multi-color Teddy Bear baby quilt, as you can see.  I was inspired to make it by a Teddy Bear quilt I saw in a quilting book. Below is a picture of it after I finished the Teddy Bear face appliques, done by hand, and pieced all the blocks together.  Now I am in the process of quilting the three layers, by hand. The backing is of the same black and white material that is used in between the white Teddy Bear squares.  The binding is of the same hot pink used in the tiny squares in the center corners between the white Teddy Bear squares and between the black and white strips.

I've got the center strip of Teddy Bear squares quilted.  If you look closely, you can still see my hand basting that is holding the three layers together.

 Below is a picture of the Teddy Bear quilt before I'd finished hand appliqueing the Teddy Bears and before I basted the three layers.

If you look close, you will see all the Teddy Bear face applique pieces are held on with applique pins.  They work OK, and definitely better than the large straight pins, but they still snag on things.  I later read in one of my dozens of thrift shop/used book store-purchased quilting books, that an alternative way to hold appliques in place is with children's glue sticks.  It holds well enough to keep the pieces in place, doesn't show or stain, and washes out.

 Below is a closeup of hand appliqueing the eyes, nose and mouth, using black fleece.  I wanted texture for these pieces, but the fleece just didn't seem like a good choice as I worked with it - too loose and hard to "grab" with the needle and thread. Thus, I went round and round by hand, and hope it holds.  Maybe I'll try wool next time.

I used fleece to do the eyes, mouth and nose.  I hand appliqued it very carefully.  I am not sure how it will wear though and I won't use fleece again. 

Sewing in Various States and Conditions. Below is a picture of my work station in the garage portion of our RV.  I think this was done in either Montana or South Dakota last Fall. This is where I started the Teddy Bear baby quilt.

This is my sewing station in the garage of our "5-er" as my husband calls it, (our 5th wheel toy hauler trailer).  My machine was set up here where the motorcycle gets tied down when we are traveling.  Right behind my painted stool are two long-distance bicycles which ride on the back hitch outside the toy hauler when we are traveling.  The bicycles are leaning up against a floor stand holding two kayaks.  So this definitely is a toy hauler. 

Toys: Kayaks on the left, Surley long distance bicycles leaning up against them, and my sewing machine and table sitting where the motorcycle is usually stored.  As you can see, I really am a Bohemian Fabric Artist.

I sewed in New Hampshire, at my sister-in-law's lake house.  That is where I started the Sun Bonnet Sue quilts.  I also sewed in Maryland, my friend's house.  Below are pix of the room in my friend's Maryland house.  She is in Africa, Tanzania, for three months, working as a volunteer nurse at hospital operated by Maryknoll nuns. 

I took these two pictures after I put my sewing machine and cutting table away.  Beautiful, light-filled room - with fire place!!!

Sun Bonnet Sue Baby Quilts. I am in the process of making two other baby quilts. The designs are a cross between the Teddy Bear quilt and a friend's old Sun Bonnet Sue quilt made by her grandmother but badly worn and damaged from years of good use.  I "rebuilt" that Sun Bonnet Sue quilt when my quilting skills were in their infancy. 

The two latest ones are going to be Sun Bonnet Sue baby quilts but with the little cross strips ad squares used in the the Teddy Bear quilt. And rather than the 12 squares of Teddy Bears, there are 18 diamonds with little Sun Bonnet Sue's. 

The applique pieces on these two Sun Bonnet Sue baby quilts are held on with the children's glue stick.  I've only appliqued one of the Sun Bonnet Sue squares on this quilt so far and the glue stick holds the pieces on nicely.  I started designing and cutting out these two Sun Bonnet Sue quilts while at Squam Lake in New Hampshire this fall after coming back to Maryland from the Upper Midwest. So we certainly get around and so do my quilts.  I appliqued the one piece just to show my sister-in-law, whose lake house we were staying at.  We ended up being in New Hampshire for almost a month because our truck broke down.  We'd left our 5th wheel toy-hauler trailer on a friend's farm in Maryland and drove just our truck and our motorcycle trailer with the motorcycle (our son keeps the trailer and uses it when we are on the road).  It's a good thing we had the motorcycle with us because our truck was in two different shops three times, for a total of two weeks and several thousand dollars.  It did get a bit nipply riding that motorcycle though, as the temps dropped into the low thirties here and there.  Anyway, I did the applique square to show to my sister-in-law who came to her lake house on the weekends.  That baby quilt is for her recent granddaughter, my grand-niece. 

The one below is in blues and greens - mostly aqua's.

These are the pieces to a Sun Bonnet Sue baby quilt that was inspired by the Teddy Bear quilt and a vintage quilt that I rebuilt for a friend. I have it all laid out here on the backing, just to make sure I have all the pieces I need and that they are cut right. The backing fabric is facing the carpet, as it will be once I get the topper appliqued and the patches sewn, add the batting and get ready to baste. The backing is the same pattern that is on the triangles.  The binding, not pictured, is also done (in one piece and ironed) and is of the same fabric as on the long, narrow strips surrounding the squares/diamonds.

 Below is the other Sun Bonnet Sue quilt that is queued up.  This one will be for another niece's baby girl. It is in pinks and greens.

Here is everything I need, minus batting, thread, my sewing machine, et cetera, to make the second Sun Bonnet Sue baby quilt.  

 I am improving on my basting of the quilt layers.  My major error on the old Sun Bonnet Sue quilt was that I just didn't really understand how critical the basting was or how to best effect it. I had just used basting safety pins, starting in the center and working outwards, but that didn't keep the backing taut enough and I had little wrinkly tufts when I finished hand quilting.

In my quilting books (I now have dozens in the RV, and they tend to be big, meaty books) I learned to lay them on the floor with the topper face down, tape it with masking tape or painters tape, then lay on the batting and backing, with the backing a bit larger, and tape it down too. When taping, I pull the topper, and later the backing, taut, being careful not to stretch it.  Then I use a curved needle and long pieces of thread to baste the layers, starting in the middle and working outwards.  This is not easy to do in an RV.  I can handle the baby quilts OK, but for larger quilts I need to be in someone's house, with a clean, non-carpeted floor.  But even if you have a large space and a bare wood or tile floor, physically it is difficult to baste the quilt if it is a large quilt. I got stomach cramps, leg cramps and butt cramps as I crawled around.  I used a pillow for my knees as I scooted around the edges.  But in the center areas, I had to carefully put my weight onto the fabric and sit very still without scooting which would stretch the fabric and defeat the purpose. Physically, it made me think of yoga!  Maybe I invented quilting yoga! I had to hold my poses and lift my weight straight up and move very slowly.

Here is a basting job I did on a quilt I am making for my dad who had a stroke in September and is now in a nursing home.

This is the center of a single bed sized quilt when I'd just started basting the backing.

Here is the backing taped down, as is the topper underneath.  The batting, of course, is in the center.  It took me a long time to baste this.

 Below is the topper to the quilt before I started the basting process.  I rolled up the area rug in my friend's house, carefully washed and dried the wooden floor, then flipped the topper and taped it down with masking tape.  My husband helped.  Then I laid the batting on it.  Then I laid the backing over top.  I'd made sure to cut the backing larger so I could also tape it down without the tape attaching to the topper or getting stuck in the batting.  This quilt is made from flannel patches.

Brown/Black Denim and Flannel Rag Quilt

Rag quilts are pretty quick to do after you get all the squares cut. 

Denim is beasty to work with but if you have the right needle, thread, and tension settings, and go relatively slow, it isn't too bad. 

The black denim for this quilt is from repurposed jeans.  And I always have to say that I love repurposing things.  That is one of the reasons why I loved quilting from the get-go.  I started a couple years ago, making a rag quilt working with repurposed jeans, then moved on to making five memory quilts for nieces and nephews using my sister's clothing (their mother) after she died way too young. Like the ladies throughout our relatively modern history of man made fabric, I like the thriftiness that New Englanders get credit for, and the recycling that is smart for our planet, as well as how quilting is a functional art tradition that honors our foremothers. 

The other materials used in this quilt were bought new to use with the black jeans, adding contrast and softness.  The brown on the backing is flannel. This is a warm and heavy quilt but small enough that it handles well in the washer and dryer.  We washed and dried it a couple of times to clean it, of course, but the second time was specifically to encourage the raw clipped edges to unravel and to become bushy with texture.  It will continue to get bushier with each washing.

This quilt is for our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson.  My daughter-in-law loves texture.  And I was thinking it would be a good blanket that will take the wear and tear for their TV room, in a house with a growing boy and two large, playful dogs.  I envisioned it for movie snuggling in the winter, or for video games for our grandson, but of course, it is up to them what to do with it. 

Made with love.

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