Importance of Functional Design

This week I was invited to speak at the Westerville Quilt Guild.  The topic was Sewing Space Savvy...an extension of an article I wrote for NQA's The Quilting Quarterly on ergonomics.

I had the opportunity to share information that I had found, but not able to put in a two page article. Some of the information I picked up apply to office spaces as well as sewing rooms. Here are some of the tips I found out while doing research for the article:

• Cutting table surface should be six inches down from your elbow. If you find that your cutting table isn't high enough, there are a number of ways to raise it to a better height including bricks, wood blocks, and bed risers. Here are some bed risers that have a power strip built in. How cool is that?!

• Good lighting is important at any workspace. The Bendable Bright Light attaches to the side of your machine and can shine a bright beam right down onto the foot and stitches. And since the light is on a bendable goose neck, if you need to do some hand stitching or (gasp!) rip out, you can move the light so it's shining right down on your work.

Posture is so important when you sew. It can mean the difference between an enjoyable experience and an uncomfortable one. Ideally, your elbows and knees should be bent at 90 degree angles. 

If the chair you're using doesn't allow you to sit properly, there are a few products on the market that can help. First is the Gypsy Sit Upon. It can help you sit erect and raise your seat a few inches:

There is also a portable attachment you can purchase for better lumbar support. It attaches to your chair via an elastic strap that clips in the back. You can find these attachments in office supply stores. There are many other options on the market as well. This one I know from experience is great!

One last point I'd like to share is how important it is to take a break when you sew. Using the Pomodoro Technique, you sew for 25 minutes uninterrupted and then take a 5 minute micro-break. It's important for a number of reasons: it keeps your mind fresh and focused as well as the opportunity to stretch your legs and get the blood pumping. Sitting for extended periods of time can lead to carpal tunnel and cardio vascular disease - even if you work out on a daily basis!

These are some products that can help keep your sewing space comfortable because quilting doesn't have to be a pain in the neck!

The Quest Continues

This year I am going to continue on my journey to improve the precision of my sewing. And it is a journey; not just a short trip. I'm showing progress so I know I am trainable (just ask my dogs; they got me whipped into shape in no time!), but I need to keep working at it. As Mad Eye Moody said in the Harry Potter books: 'be constantly vigilant'. 

There are the very apparent tips like keep the blades in the rotary cutters sharp and use Machingers by Quilters Touch when working on a larger piece (really helped reduce the tension in my arms and shoulders). Oh, and here's one of my favorites: if I make a mistake, fix it. Chances are if I think no one will notice I'll be in the home stretch when I realize that that decision was so very wrong. And (speaking from experience), then I get very discouraged and sometimes don't want to finish the piece.

I've invested several tools too. This post is about a few things I've picked up along the way that have worked for me...

1. Listen to Susan S. Cleveland. Her website is Pieces be With You. She is an engineer turned quilter and precision is her thing. Take one look at the name of one of her books to see this is true. It's a great reference book that every quilter should own.

One of the things I found very interesting is what she wrote about regarding the feed dogs and presser foot. On most machines, when the presser foot is down, you don't get the entire use of the feed dogs which, may I remind you, are there to move the fabric under the needle. The center position is the one she uses the least on her machines (interesting, don't you think?).

2. "Scant Quarter Inch". Does this mean a smidge under .25"? Or just a 'thread or two under a quarter inch'. Here's what Susan has to say about it: When seam allowances are pressed to one side, one fabric folds back on itself and up over the thread. The amount of fabric taken up in the fold is the "turn of the cloth". If strips are cut perfectly, then a perfect 1/4" seam allowance would yield a result too small because some fabric is taken up in the turn of the cloth. So the seam allowance must be a scant 1/4"."

So what I did was get  the Prep-Tool by Guidelines 4 Quilting. It has a guide that I placed under my presser foot and then there is a reusable adhesive seam guide that attached to my machine. Then removed the plastic guide and I was good to go. I have only had it a couple days, but so far so good.

My favorite tool is my TrueCut ruler and rotary cutter by The Grace Company. 

The ruler has a couple helpful features: every inch, there is a vertical opening in the ruler that lets me line up with my cutting mat and/or fabric design to keep the ruler straight.  There is also a lip on either side. This raised part of the ruler allows the TruCut rotary cutter to hook onto it. Now every time I cut, it's a true straight line. No more veering over to the right or left. And this keeps the ruler from slipping because my entire focus is on pressing down on the blade rather than over to the edge of the ruler.

As I continue on my journey I'll pick up more tips along the way. I'm sure there are other travelers on this road, so I'll be sure to share what I learn from them as well!

Name Tag Design

When you wake up early in the morning and the house is quiet because it's too early for anyone to get up, what crosses your mind? Well, for me this morning it was my quilt guild name tag. Weird, eh? I don't know why I thought of that but the point is that I did.

I had a really cute name tag at one point.  I had made it out of fabric in yellow and black. But for the life of me I can't find it. I've looked high. I've looked low. No luck. So I need a new one. 

The next place my mind started to go was to a class I'd just taken on needle felting. I've written a post on felting before, but finally I had the opportunity to take a class and learn some new ideas.

One of the things we did was use wool roving. These fibers are used to make actual wool felt. Here's  what it looks like:

All you need to do is unwind a little and then gently pull it apart.

 Next, layer it three or four times; vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Now it's ready to felt. I alternated blue and green.

The needles of the felting tool are barbed so it pulls actual bits of the wool up and down through the piece. That's what causes it to become sturdy and felt. You can also felt without a machine. You just need a felting punch tool which contains the needles and a punch mat. It can provide the same end product as the machine punch tool, but it will take quite a bit longer to complete a project.

In class we learned to use a wooden skewer to direct the loose bits on the edges up under the needles. Not only does it keep fingers away from the nasty needles, but if the skewer get's  nicked, you're less likely to break a needle than you would be if a metal tool was used. 

So the needles go up and down; condensing the fibers. Then flip it over, felt it some more. Flip, felt, flip, felt etc. etc. etc.

  Here's the final piece:

Next I cut it into a shape, embellish a bit, add my name, and voila! a new name tag. The process doesn't really take a lot of time and it's really a fun break from sewing with thread.

Sure hope I don't lose this one!

Computerized Design

Natalie is having her second baby in June. For most people their initial thoughts are around 'oh, isn't that nice' or 'congratulations!'. However I'm a quilter. My first thought was 'the baby will need a quilt; an excuse to make something!' then it was 'congratulations!'.

Once Natalie found out she was having a girl, I very subtly asked about whether she had decided on the colors for the nursery (since she's a planner like me, I knew she had made a decision). Pale aqua and pink was the answer. Cool! Now I can buy fabric! Any excuse is appreciated, and a new baby is a really good one.

I picked out a cute simple pattern for the quilt. It is Big Love; a tutorial can be found on Modern Handcraft.  It's comprised of half square triangles and a handful of squares. 

Then with an estimation of the amount of fabric I'd need, I headed out to the local quilt shop that was having a 20% off sale. Kismet! Here's what I selected:

  
I bought EQ7 a few months ago and haven't used it much. But I thought that this is such a simple pattern, that it might be a good one to try with the software. It has some videos you can watch to learn certain functions (so of course I watched them all!).

The quilt is 7x6 blocks. Since I have so many  half square triangles, I was able to use this template. I just had to click on it and then paste in the appropriate square.

Here's what the final pattern looks like:

One of the things that drew me to EQ7 is the ability to actually scan my fabric to use in the designs. How cool is that! So that's what I did.  Here's the screen that shows my fabric:

I rearranged some of the darks and lights. I'd like to repeat the fabric colors in a given block at least twice so that I could do some speed piecing.

 
Once I get the squares put together, this should help me arrange them. EQ also helped me get the balance of the colors that I wanted. I think I'll find it saved me time and fabric because I won't have to resew any squares because I didn't make enough of a given combination. (At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!)

Now I get to start cutting the fabric!  Woo hoo! Hopefully I'll have another post in the near future with my quilt top. So stay tuned.