Table topper: start to finish

This weekend derail-ment is becoming a habit...  Last weekend had me outside when I had planned something completely different.  This weekend I am sick with a cold, not having energy to do much of anything.  But somehow I got a sewing project done-- start to finish.

For Christmas, Sweetie took a family heirloom and had it refinished.

1890's vintage china buffet

We finally got it back from the refinisher's on Saturday.  It is beautiful in a way I remember from my childhood.  But this newly fabulous piece of furniture needed something for its top to protect it.  Fabric to the rescue!  I skimmed through my fabric stash and came up with two candidates: a polished black cotton in a rather modern stripe, and an upholstery canvas that featured paprika letters on a parchment background.  The family consensus was that we liked the black stripe better, but preferred the heaviness of the upholstery fabric.  Why not make it reversible?  (Three heads are better than one sometimes.)

Side one: this picture doesn't do it justice

Bonus side: sturdy upholstery fabric from JoAnn's

This wasn't in my game plan.  Didn't have this project listed anywhere, and just shoved everything aside to get it cut out, sewn, and topstitched this weekend.  No wonder it takes me extra time to finish the long-term projects: stuff like this creeps into the mix.

Ah, but it's done.  And functional.  And I used up some of my stash to make it.  Yay!

Declutter report: blackberries?

Well, this past weekend was supposed to be about decluttering the four-plus Christmas bins.  I was going to finally take down the outdoor lights, and had the goal of paring down to TWO bins of holiday stuff.

But Sweetie wanted to get to the outdoor chores.  And the weather had me convinced that changing priorities was not the disaster my stick-to-the-decluttering-plan brain kept telling me it was.  Temperatures in the high 50's, sunny skies (in rainy Oregon? in the winter?)--why not go outside for hours and hours?

Weekend declutter results:  one pickup-truck-bed's-worth of vegetative matter.

I didn't take any "before" pictures because I didn't start this project thinking that I was going to be outdoors all weekend.  It sort of crept up on me: one thing led to another.  And another.  And another.

Really, it all started because the local mulch providers were temporarily out of mulch.  So Sweetie needed a different outdoor focus.  The tally:

• pruned the butterfly bush (and the anonymous bush behind it that you couldn't even see before)
• removed a dead bush from next to the butterfly bush
• pruned the cherry tree
• weeded flower beds in preparation for mulch (next weekend)
• dug out five areas of blackberry infestation (really, for all you non-Pacific-Northwest dwellers: they are noxious, invasive plants)
• limbed up the former Christmas tree in one corner and the Mugu Pine in the other corner, giving more access to light for the plants nearby, saving the fence from being further assaulted by tree growth, and discovering that the waterfall to the pond was really not going to be restored.  Ever.
• moved the pile of rocks (which were there to help beautify the pond waterfall, when/if ever it got fixed) off the lawn and up around the pond area
• pulled out a totally overgrown flower bed, discovering a hydrangea and several other lovely flowering plants that I have high hopes for this spring

Omg, it's so much prettier than it was before!  Really, the New Year's Resolution to "have less stuff" still applies to this: have fewer weeds and more beauty in my front yard.

Tutorial: half-square triangle version

At Quilt Camp, I was shown a new, slick way to make half-square triangles. The gals told me it was not their original idea, so I went onto the internet looking for a source. Found one on YouTube: Missouri Star Quilt Company's version.

I was asked (as the resident math teacher) to figure out how to tell what finished size would result from various original fabric squares.  The ladies had a pair of 5" starting blocks, which cut down to 4 half-sqaure triangle squares that were slightly larger than 3".  Meaning, when adjusted to 3", the resulting finished squares would be 2.5".  I blithely replied that I saw a pattern: would the finished half-square triangle blocks be one-half the size (more or less) of the uncut originals?

I was incorrect, but had to think about the math involved.  I woke up in the middle of the night (bleary-early Sunday morning, to be precise) knowing the process to determine the finished size when using any size squares to start with.  I have heard there are conversion tables available online, but you can do these basic calculations yourself.  Don't fear the math: you have the power!

The Process: what size will I get when I start with a xxx-inch square?

     ** Take the size of your original squares and subtract 1/2" (since you are sewing 1/4" around the outsides)
     ** Take this new number and divide by the square root of 2 (yes, the square root of 2!  see below for the math/nerdy reason for this number)
     ** This is the side length of each of your 4 new half-square triangle squares; subtract 1/2" for seams, and you will have the finished size.  Yay!
     ** EXAMPLE: starting with a 10" square, subtract 1/2" to give 9-1/2"; divide by square root of 2 and get 6.72"; subtract another 1/2" to finish out at 6.22".  (This is just a hair short of a 6-1/4" finished half-square.)

The backwards process: what size should I start with to get a xxx-inch finished block?
     ** Beginning with your desired finished size, add 1/2" for seam allowances
     ** Since we are working backwards, MULTIPLY this number by the square root of 2 (are you curious yet about why you use this number?  see below; I promise it won't hurt you to check out a little remedial geometry)
     ** Finally, ADD another 1/2" for seams.  Round up if you must (those square-root-2 calculations always end up with some wonky decimals), and this is the size of the original squares you should cut.
     ** EXAMPLE: wanting a 4" finished half-square block, add 1/2" to give 4-1/2"; multiply by square root of 2 and get 6.36"; add another 1/2" to yield 6.86".  (This means you should cut 6-7/8", because that is the next closest fractional amount to .86".)

Don't fear the math: a little geometry for you

The calculations for half-square triangles are based on right triangles; specifically, isosceles right triangles (you know--the ones you get when you cut a square on the diagonal: two sides the same length on either side of a right angle, and a longer hypotenuse)

The great thing about right triangles is the whole "a-squared plus b-squared equals c-squared" relationship between the side lengths.  This allows us to calculate any missing side lengths by just knowing the other sides.

 But the relationship between side lengths (the Pythagorean Theorem) is simplified in an isosceles right triangle, since sides a and b are both the same length.

Consider an isosceles right triangle with legs of length 10".  The hypotenuse of such a triangle is approximately 14.1", which is equivalent to 10 times the square root of 2.

Or, how about an isosceles right triangle with hypotenuse of length 4" (this would be the diagonal of my half-square triangle).  The side lengths of this triangle are approximately 2.8" each, which is equivalent to 4 divided by the square root of 2.

And now, the part that makes mathematics more powerful than individual calculations: taking these concrete examples and generalizing them into the side-length relationships in any isosceles right triangle.  Noticing how the square root of 2 played a part in both of the above examples, we go back to side lengths of a and a hypotenuse of length c.

See!  This math stuff isn't quite so hard.  And when you understand a bit of math, you feel powerful.

Tutorial: fleece "blankie" shoulder wrap

My UFO/stashbuster project for January was to use up some of my volumes of polar-type fleece (courtesy of a gluttonous JoAnn's trip), and pass along a good deed.  (I received a smile card from the drama folks at the high school, who put on the play Bang, Bang You're Dead and wanted to keep up the anti-bullying sentiment by spurring other acts of kindness.)

A small-ish blanket is slashed along one side, so it can be worn around the shoulders like a wrap.  I have one in my classroom, a classroom blankie, that is available for students who are cold.  One of the high school teachers has borrowed it on occasion when she has been particularly cold.  Aha!  An idea was born...

Materials needed:

• 1 1/3 yards of polar-type fleece (58-60" wide)
• coordinating thread
• 3" of grosgrain or other woven, sturdy ribbon/trim (for a hang-up hook)

Cutting directions:

Cut off the selvage edges of the fleece (leaving it at least 55" wide), and straighten it up to 48" in length.
Fold the fabric in half and slice 24" (halfway) along the width.

 Use a round lid, bowl, or plate (I used a salad plate) to round off the corners; there are the four corners of the original rectangle, and the new corners along the front opening.

Sew-a-little:
For reinforcement, I sew a narrow zig-zag stitch along the opening where the blanket will go around the neck.

I also have sewn a short section of cotton grosgrain-type ribbon along the back neck area, so the blankie can be hung on a hook in my classroom (this step is optional).

I have been waiting to add a picture of the recipients wearing their blankies, but a week has gone by and I haven't gotten to it.  Better to post now than keep waiting on my ability to get two teachers, two blanket-wraps and a camera together in the same room.

Buck-a-block January

At quilt retreat, I completed this month's Buck-a-block.  I think it's my favorite so far!

I used triangle paper for the twelve half-square triangle blocks of background.  (Love that stuff...)  Even though I complained when I received the original fabrics about a lack of contrast, I really like my choice of low-contrast in the background.  It makes the central pinwheel and tulip-shapes stand out.

I like how completing a single block each month makes me feel like I am actually accomplishing something.  Done (for this month).

Quilt Retreat report

A fabulous weekend away of sewing, supping, sitting, and not-much-sleeping has come and gone.  I feel refreshed and satisfied with what I accomplished. 

The To-Do list of potential projects was long (quite aspirational, as usual), but I knew I wouldn't get everything "done".  Here's what I did do:

** Made two 12-inch blocks for this year's challenge (Civil War fabrics)

Flying geese with stripes.

My own coffee-cup pattern, cute-i-fied with framing.

** Completed this month's Buck-a-block BOTM (I'll post more fully on that elsewhere).

** Finished the last three blocks for the 1930's reproduction quilt; I won 21 blocks in last year's challenge, but ended up needing 24 blocks to complete the design I had worked out.  One of the blocks I designed and patterned myself.  A paper-pieced design, rather complex in nature.  (And should I mention I have never done paper piecing before?  Yeah, I'm a crazy over-achiever like that.) 

After much color and placement consultation (the advantage of being at retreat is there is endless help making complicated design decisions), I was able to get the sashing done for the blocks.  I still have borders to add, and I'm leaning heavily toward a scrappy piano-key border, so that will take some time.  But I have something to show for my weekend away.  I think it is stunning--and I am very grateful for all the talented seamstresses who contributed the blocks that I won.

I learned some nifty things at retreat.  Hope to share them soon!  Stay tuned.

Quilt Retreat starts today!

I leave tonight for the annual Something To Crow About winter retreat.  Fondly known as Quilt Camp.  Three days of cutting, pinning, ironing, sewing; eating, talking, napping, getting inspiration.  If you're a quilter, you owe it to yourself to go to a retreat at least one time.

I go nearly every year.  It's my Christmas (and birthday).

Here's the list of projects I'm bringing.

There are 3 quilt-y things, one single block, and 3 back-up sewing projects.  Too much?  When I asked oldest daughter about it, she said, "Of course it's too much."  Without even hearing what was on my list.  She knows me so well.

I know, from prior experience, that I bring too much stuff to retreat.  But I also know that I crave variety.  Sometime on Saturday afternoon--after sewing for a day and a half--I will want a complete change of pace.  One year I even brought a knitting project to fill that "change of pace" piece.  I also need a sure-to-be-finished project (like the buck-a-block) so that I have something tangible to show that I *completed*. 

Excited to get there and get sewing!  Not worried right this minute about how much I can get done from this list...  I'll report progress when I get back.