Purple for April

Our esteemed leader, Angela of soscrappy has announced the new color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (see the button on the right) is purple... So I did my homework to figure out what colors to use.  Here are my results from the Crayola box of 64.

I hope you can read the names of the colors... my hand is really shaky, so the names were written by my hubby.  You notice the colors of the wrappers on the crayons reflect which family of colors each crayon belongs to. I just noticed that last night. I noticed it mostly because two of the colors I think of as purples have red labels. Red Violet, well Dah, I guess that could be considered a red... but it's so purple in my mind. Then Lavender... well that is just a purple color, but it too has a red wrapper. (Somebody at the factory messed up?)

I love the one called Purple Mountains Majesty. I colored it on both top wings in the picture below.

 (The patterns above are the ones I'm using for my butterflies. It's a 2005 MH Designs pattern. I don't remember where I got it - sorry.)

 On the crayon wrapper this one above is Violet (Purple). I guess that is the definitive purple... very pretty.

Purple has more colors than the other crayon families.

I've pulled some scraps, but haven't started the sewing yet.  Maybe this afternoon.

So now we are all on the same page, purple wise.... anything goes!

Hugs,

 

Harry Potter bookcase block #12

I'm running late this week, but just finished block #12. Because of the similarity of my butter beer to the background, I added the glass around the outside and bottom to match the handle. I like the look.

I did enjoy making this block, but want to make the other versions, too. One has a quill and a book with Harry's scar on it. That looked like fun.

Well, I gotta  get this up on the Flickr group.

I hope you are having a Sew Wonderful week.

Hugs,

 

Favorite Tip, Tutorial and Easy Cooking

At the Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge today, Sarah wants us to share our Tips, Tutorials and Tasty Things... Here goes


Tip~
From my paper piecing tips on the side bar

- trim dark seam allowances shorter than light colors so you won't have shadows in your work.
Even if you trim the seam allowances with your rotary cutter - go back to trim the darker color to a smaller size if it's under the lighter color. You will avoid a shadow in your work.


Tutorial~
I haven't any tutorials that aren't about paper piecing, but I have come across an unusual and "new to me" method of paper piecing that allows you to make the pattern without sewing through the paper.  You get the benefits of paper piecing without the trouble of removing the paper. I haven't tried it yet, but there are some little butterflies who will try it soon and report back. Here's the link:
Paper Piecing without paper removal
It's also listed on my Paper Piecing Tips in the right column.

Easy Meal~
I like to sew while I'm cooking (mostly because I've been fooling around until cooking time and want to get in some sewing). During the winter this works out really well to make baked potatoes, baked sweet potato and meat loaf. Pop it in the oven and go work on your Sweet 16. At 350F you have an hour to sew. (Squash can be substituted for sweet potato.) LOL
  

Happy Quilting,

Hugs,

Last of the Yellow (March) Butterflies

So I didn't piece much this week, but I did make 6+ butterflies.

 

This is the one I started last night, and made a mistook. You know I can't count. I put on the 4 and 5 before I put on the #3. Oh well, we can fix that.

 

Later

Fixed it.

 

 

 

Hope you are having a great weekend. I'm going to link up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge . Check out other yellow blocks shown there.

 

Hugs,

 

 

Saturday is Rainbow Scrap Challenge and National Quilt Day

Happy Quilt Day... I went to a party at the Craft Warehouse, my local LQS. I didn't get in on any of the prizes, but I had fun standing on a number, (the clerk then calls a number and if you are standing on that number you win!) and visiting with other crazy quilters. It was fun.

Here's what I bought.

 I arranged these so you could see the white on white pattern on it, but the camera didn't pick that up. Love that blue batik - I took all that was left on the bolt... 4 yards.

I got a yard of this purple swirl, too, aaaaaand

I needed some brown for the Harry Potter bookcase. It looked like wood to me.

I got a yard of the beige print to beef up the lights in the stash, and a quarter yard of the yellow...MMMMMMMMM

 

 

 

 

 

(((((((((())))))))))

 

I didn't do much on my yellow scraps this week. Only two new butterflies to add...

 

I will link up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge though. See the button on the side... you might have to go to her Home button to get to the linky party.

 

I have been paper piecing on the surprise at the bottom of this post.

 

Hope you all had as nice a Quilt Day as I did.

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

Hugs

 

Still in the rough, but I couldn't wait to use it for my sign off.

Letter patterns are from Fandom In Stitches/Harry Potter.

 

I linked up with Beth at

and Oh Scrap - see the button on the right, and so scrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, see the button on the right.

 

Harry Potter bookcase quilt block 11 Hedwig

I've made the smaller version of Hedwig lots of times.  This time I made her with a light grey muzzle and curly feathers on her chest. The white on white is a fireworks pattern. 

Since the book is red and gold I'm thinking it'll be a book not mentioned on any list... Famous Gryffindors of the 20th Century. (All thousand years of them wouldn't all fit in a book.)

You can still join up with the QAL. See the Fandom In Stitches button on the right.
There was a choice this week of Malfoy's Eagle Owl or Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, or Errol the Weasley's family owl, or this one of Hedwig.

Really enjoying the making of these bookcase blocks. Thanks for running the QAL again, Jennifer.

 

Happy Weekend to you all,

Terri

Happy St. Paddy's Day

I've been raiding the archives of my previous posts for green things I've made, in order to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.... I AM IRISH - just like most of us. 
So here's a bit o'green for you to enjoy, and I'll be linkin' this post up to Val's Tuesday Linky Party.

This is the Bowtruckle from Harry Potter blocks at Fandom In Stitches - my favorite place for free paper piecing patterns.



And this Palm Leaf, I paper pieced in lots of other colors. I sooooo enjoyed making the blocks, but once they were put together, there are so many hard lumps where seams come together... It's a UFO right now. (I don't remember where I got the pattern... it was a free one, I know that and it's called Red Herring, I think.)



This is the wrong colored Felix Felicis I made from the Fandom In Stitches pattern.( Really shouldn't good luck be green rather than golden?) Anyway, I'm wishin' you all the best of the Luck of the Irish... today and always.

Hugs,

Terri

POD # 10 and another butterfly mistook

These are the Standard Books of Spells for levels 1-6 (Harry Potter didn't go to the 7th year). I just bought that speckled fabric last week and it just seemed right for a set of books that would be handled carelessly. Notice each year is a different color... One of these days I'm going to have to add titles, somehow.

And this is another mutant butterfly. I didn't have time to finish it last week... When I came back to it I thought it only needed #9 and #10 pieces added.  I forgot to put on the #8 pieces on each side. Oh well, individuals will vary.  I might make more of them this way.

Have a sew wonderful week.

Hugs,

Terri

Hands 2 Help Started Yesterday

My favorite quilting challenge (for charity) started yesterday.




There is still time to sign up. Use the button at the right to go to Confessions of a Fabric Addict... learn about the charities, prizes, linky parties, tutorials and other fun.

I've been working on a Sweet 16  as a Good Night Irene for a donation to one of the charities. See if you can figure out which charity I'm donating to.

 

Happy Monday to you all.

Hugs,

Terri

2.75 more yellow butterflies

Happy Pi Day! (3.1415)

Not quite finished with the bottom butterfly...

It needs a top and bottom yet.

So I'm linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge... see the button on the right to see what others have made from their yellow scraps.

We are having a rainy weekend here. Hope you have a wonderful one.

Hugs.

Terri

POD #9

Some how I got my books going the wrong way, and I didn't notice until I was done with the Snitch section. So I fixed it the easiest I could and put the A and F pieces on the one side. I like the look, and that's all that matters to me.

I
I made a Papa Book, Mama Book and Baby book... Dad has the oldest pages, then Mom and baby has the cute cover and lightest pages.  The little guy is a chip off the old man... his pages bend into the middle, whereas Mom's do not. Close up (below) so you can see the aged pages.

 

 

Hope you are having a grand weekend.

 

Hugs,

Terri

4 Yellow Ones

See the button on the right for other yellow blocks being shown today. Here's my offering.

 

Still working on the POD#9 block this week. Maybe I'll finish it later today.

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs,

Terri

Bobbins Found and Books

Today we are working on books for the Harry Potter (paper pieced) bookshelves. Here is the pattern for one book...
I crazily wanted to use some fabric that looks like pages in an ancient book. You will never know how hard I toiled...

 to make this seam work out... that's the angle to put in the second piece of "pages" and try to match that little triangle #2.... I was thinking some expletives, I'll tell you. Took me about an hour to get it done. (I'll show the block tomorrow.)

 

********

And while I was working there with a very uncooperative pincushion, I decided to make my own with the magnet I use to pick up pins off the floor. (No picture, but it works great.) I went to the sewing box to find some new pins (that were sharp and not bent) and here's what I found.

Okay, you see the pins, but I see the bobbins I've been looking all over the sewing room for since we moved here in November!

I struck gold, and now I'm in business! I won't have to tear the thread off  of one to change the color. Hurrah, and Huzzah, and YES - my joy for today.

Hugs,

Terri

The Rest of the Tutorial

 

 

To see the beginning go here.

 

 

 Not a very good picture... I'm showing you how to make sure you have enough seam allowance for the piece we are about to sew. I lift up the end of the pattern so I can see the line on which to sew and the fabric underneath. Looks good, this time. Otherwise move the pattern and fabric to get about a quarter inch to the right of the sewing line. Sew on.

 This is the first 8 pieces sewn on.  You can just sew two 9s and two 10s as this pattern would have you do, but I've made hundreds of these and it finally dawned on me that I could sew the two pieces together at this point, and add one #9 and one #10 across the two blended pieces.

Now this is how I make sure the sewing lines line up. I poke pins into the lines of the two pieces - corners especially - then

add the pins to hold while sewing and take out the poked ones. Sew the seam

 

Remove the paper of the seam allowances of the seam just made so you can iron the seams open. Saves bulk here.

Oops, added #10 first. (This is how I get into trouble... I can't count.) Now adding #9

 

And here it is finished. I'll trim the fabric to the seam allowances (showing on the lined side) so it looks nice when I blog about it on Saturday at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

Hope this helps you all to paper piece. It really is like paint by numbers, except it's best to keep in chronological order.

Any questions - leave a comment or email me. I'll help as much as I can.

Hugs,

Terri

One Itty Bitty House

You know when we moved here we found this house to be way too small. I was quite over joyed to find a drawer at the bottom of my stove yesterday. More storage space! YES!

Well, this month the QM Bitty Blocks has a tiny house. It's just appropriate that I make those. Here's my first one done. Unfinished it's 3.5".  (I made a paper piecing pattern out of the directions. I never seem able to make a block exact sized without pp.)

The house fabric is leftover from Granddaughter tops I made in the 1990's for the first 2 grandgirls. It's always a smile coming across those scraps. I'm thinking all the houses will have the same fabric with different roofs and skies. Sew, back to work.

Hugs,

Terri

Butterfly (Paper Piecing) Tutorial

 Add butterfly color to the back facing out and pin  You can see that it fits the space #1 by holding it up to a light. Make sure it fits over all the seam lines for #1.

 Here's what it looks like from the side that will show.

Now add #2 fabric - in this case background. Pin if desired.

I always pin on the lined side - so while I'm sewing I can see the pins. Sew using strait stitches and small - 15 sts to the inch - so the paper is easily removed without ruining the stitches. Sew on the line between #1 and #2. Sew back stitches on each end.

 Now flip #2 and iron. Cut excess fabric off and trim seam allowances so the yellow doesn't show over the top of the background seam allowance, especially when using white. It'll show as a shadow once you are done. Explained better farther down.

Here's how it looks from the sewing side. I sure got plenty of #2 on there. You can trim that later after adding the next pieces.

 

 

 

 Now to add #3... It's a trickier piece because it extends farther out than the seam... see what I mean?
Sometimes when I don't know if the fabric will cover I'll pin it along the seam line - like below -  and flip it to see if there's enough.

 

Here's how that looks from the other side.

This is it flipped, and

here's how it looks flipped - showing that there is indeed enough fabric to cover #3B.

Unflip and sew from the lined side on the line between #2 and #3B... this is what you get.

 

Flipped back and ironed.

Sewn and showing that it covers all the outside  lines of #3B. On to #4...#5....#6 ... #7... #8 in the same fashion.

Here I'm showing you that the yellow is extending over the white seam allowance. You need to trim the yellow shorter than the white or it will show through the white as a shadow on your final product.

It's been trimmed (above). Now flip and iron. (Never trim the added piece until you have flipped and ironed.

 

Now on this particular pattern I sew the center seam next and make #9 and #10 as one piece each. It saves on bulk and fabric and I like the look better.... See that tomorrow when we finish off the tutorial.

 

Any questions - leave them as a comment or email me.

Happy Butterfly broadcasting.

Hugs,

Terri