DJ TRIANGLE: LS10

Today's plan was to embroider because it is Slow Stitching Sunday! Didn't happen... maybe later. Instead, I made a DJ Tri for the TOW on the DJRetYahoo list. The block was already printed on copy paper in my folder so I just used that. Wow... sure did miss using FP for the PPing!

DJ LS10

DJ-LS10: back

Until next time. . . It is a lovely day and my patio beckons. Time to grab some yarn and head outside to hook for awhile. What are YOU doing this Sunday?
 
I did a little applique on this Tri, so that is my Slow Stitch for today. Linking to: Kathy for Slow Stitching Sunday.

Quilty Hugs,

POINTS, POINTS, POINTS...it's all about the prep! DJ TR8 Brigadoon

My DJ triangle for this week's BOW is TR8 Brigadoon.

Lately my points haven't been as nice and pointy as I would like. Then lightening struck last weekend and I changed how I do the prep. The first steps are the same... it's the final one that made the BIG improvement and I have a block to prove it! lol.
* Make FP template & cut out [smooth edges with emery board if necessary... go lightly here!]
* Iron FP to WS of fabric
* Cut out around template adding 3/16 - 1/4 " seam allowance by eye
* Press s.a. over template all around... a smidge of starch is really helpful here! I use spray starch or spray sizing that I spray into the cap and dap on with a small brush.

Diamond on left prepped NEW way; the one on right, the old way

The NEW part:
* Points... carefully fold just the 'ear' of the point back over on itself... please see pic below ... you might have to nip off a few threads. Carefully add one drop of Roxanne's Glue Base-It and press in place. Voila! Perfect point and ready to applique. Remove the FP either before or after appliqueing... both work equally well. I prefer to remove it and then sew.

Left point prepped & right one is not... yet

This looks acceptable to me and is ready to be sewn down

Sewing the point... NO ends to fight or tuck under! Love it.
[don't mind the needle 'parked' off to the side... I needed both hands to take picture.]

Previously I had always needle-turned the final edges of the points which sometimes looked great and other times a bit wonky! See the upper diamond on the triangle below? Now that's one wonky point! Yuck... but I'm not doing it over.

Wonky/wobbly point on top little diamond.. the others are ok

Sewing, quilting, knitting, tatting, crocheting... all of it... it's all about the journey for me. I try to get better as I go; I try to do the best I can today with the skill set that I currently possess. Maybe next week I will be able to do it better but for right now "my best is good enough"!

That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed reading how I prep my points for applique. Thank you so much for dropping by.

Linking to: Kathy at Slow Stitching Sunday.

Quilty Hugs,

MORE JANE & A Little Sizzix. . .

Yesterday I took the plunge and played with my new Sizzix machine! WOWZER... does it cut fabric great!! Love it. I took it to my sewing circle group and we cut scads of circles for one of the gals who is making a bazillion grapes for an applique quilt. We cut ALL her grapes in just a few minutes! But, we got so carried away playing with the Sizzix that we forgot to take any pictures until the meeting was over! lol. Next time.

DJ Triangle: LS-3

Another DJ tri was finished yesterday. The left side is almost ready to put together. Exciting stuff. Just for fun, I took the little tri's picture in a different place [see above]. Because the bottom melon is muslin and lays over a dark red, I cut a slightly smaller melon and used it for a lining so the red wouldn't shadow through. Of course, I could have simply cut the red away from the back, but decided to line it instead.

That's all for this morning. Sew. . . until next time. . . what are YOU playing with today?

Quilty Hugs,

DJ TRIANGLE & BIG SCORE at Michael's!

Saturday night I scored big-time at Michael's! Bought a Shelving Cube unit and some Sizzix dies. The big score? They were all 50 percent off, PLUS I had another coupon that gave an additional 20% discount off my TOTAL purchase! WOWZER! How great is that?! I'm happy.

Shelf Cube by Recollections, from Michael's

Today me and a phillips screwdriver put the little shelving cubby  together. Everything fit together really well and all the screw holes lined up! Excellent. *big grin*.

 
The new cubby now sits to the left of my laptop, on the desk and under the printer. Eventually all my printer related stuff will be in it instead of stacked in a bookcase somewhere across the room.

I'm thinking of making a "tray" for one of the shelves so storing odd bits of paper won't look so messy. Still thinking about it.

Only managed to sew up one DJ block this week: triangle RS-4. This was a fun one to make. It was super easy to PP in just two sections.
I chose a fabric that reads like a stripe and had fun turning it every-which-way-but-loose. I like how it turned out. It was fun to play for a change, and not be so serious.

RS-4 [back]

RS-4

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Until next time. . . I'm not doing anything else tonight but holding and pampering my kitty. Right now Missy is in my lap just purring up a storm.

What are YOU up to?

Quilty Hugs,

SUPER RULER... Precise Trimming & DJ Triangle LS-9

Yesterday at Friendship Group I had the opportunity to try a BlocLoc Ruler. I LOVE this ruler! I used it to trim up a stack of tiny 1.25" waste HST blocks. Wow, no slipping, sliding, or "ruler-rocking" over the seam allowance. The square ruler size I used is 6 inches, which could have been a problem with another ruler, but this larger one still worked very well. A huge thanks to my friend Jill, who taught me how to use this nifty ruler.  I have no affiliation with BlocLoc, I am just a very happy camper and plan to purchase a few of these rulers.

BlocLoc ruler and 1.25" trimmed HST blocks

Please look closely at the bottom of the pic above and you will see a 1/4" area running horizontally that is not clear like the rest of the ruler. This narrow "trough" is where the seam allowance sits which is what keeps the ruler flat against the block to be trimmed. Nothing moves! It's great.

DJ Triangle: LS-9, completed 11Nov'12

Until next time, it's back to working on DJ Triangles for me. I finished one yesterday: LS-9, an easy one, just simple applique.  But I need at least one more DJ block to meet my personal commitment for the DJRetreatYahoo group BOW.  What are YOU working on???

Quilty Hugs,

DEAR JANE: LS-13 Triangle

This is the Triangle for the DJRetreats Yahoo Group's BOW due by midnight tonight. For some reason the PPing didn't go as smoothly as I expected. lol. The melons - with a couple of points left to applique down - are a bit wonky... again! Yuck. Perhaps beginning earlier in the day, or even earlier in the week would be a solution to the 'wonkiness'.

DJ Triangle LS-13: prepping the melons

DJ Triangle LS-13: appliqueing the melons

Might not get the D-4 block assignment completed. And, D-4 has four more melons!  That will depend on how late the baseball game runs.  BASEBALL just started and I need to go watch and root them on!

Until next time. . . what are you working on today???

Quilty Hugs,

DEAR JANE - A Triangle BR-1

Today sees a triange added to my stack of completed DJ blocks. This one is BR-1.

BR-1: Bottom Row #1 DJ Triangle

Before taking any more pictures I plan on creating a triangle template to "lay over" the triangle block. It is my hope that this will produce neater and better pictures. Everything is a learning experience, ya?!

That's all for today. Until next time. . . hope you have loads of time to stitch something that makes you happy!

Quilty Hugs,