Quilting, Sewing, Gettin' My Hexy On...

Well, another month has passed. I decided another blog post is way overdue, so this is just basically a catch up post for what I have been doing since the last post.

 This one is still on the frame right now. This is the backing. I see this fabric all the time at Joann's and I finally decided I had to have it for this quilt. I am not showing the quilt top yet, as it was a pattern test for a bloggy friend, and I think she might do a blog hop, so I didn't want to spoil it.

 The pattern called for fat quarters and I had leftovers, so I made the binding scrappy.

The colors are very vibrant, and I did not wash them first so I hope the new dye catchers I bought do what they are supposed to do!

I finished a baby quilt for my office mate. He had his first. It's a boy! I didn't have this information when I made it :)

I quilted it with a loopy ruffly looking pattern.

 And, of course, I still been getting my Hexy on.... on the train commute in the mornings. There are about 50 flowers in that pile!

Last weekend I went to a thrift shop for which I had seen an ad in the paper saying fill a paper bag all you want for $5. When I showed up I found out I was a week early. I then proceded across the street to another thrift store and hit a gold mine for fabric! Boxes upon boxes of quilting fabric, most from the mid 1990s. There was Moda, Michael Miller, Timeless Treasures to name a few. Most were 2-3 yard cuts. They were all marked as $2 per yard!!! But.... that day was 50% off everything in the store! Thats' right! I paid $34 for what I bet is 40 to 50 yards of great fabric! Jealous???

Oh, and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert last Saturday. We were in the Sandbar! Jealous???

Hope all is well on the quilting front!

Until next time,

Mike.

To Steam or Not to Steam, That is the Question.

So, yesterday I was assembling the blocks on the quilt for my mother, and I realized that some of the bulky seams (which I had pressed open) were not very flat. So, I decided to steam those babies and you would not believe how flat they came out. I had been told previously by many others that steam is bad for the fabric. "Don't do it, it will [insert reason here] to your fabrics." Well, I wanted to know what others think?

I'm not talking about "pressing" versus "ironing." That is, pushing across the fabric versus just pushing down. I know that this can stretch the fabric and make your piecing "wonky" shaped and therefore more difficult to assemble. Does anyone have any insight into this?

Here are some pictures of the seams, one with steam, one without:

You can tell which is which, huh?

So, just curious. Comment on what you think. And if you do not follow me, please do. I am in need of followers :)

Another question: 

If you could buy a long arm quilting machine, which one would you buy? I went to a show in NJ last weekend and tried two (for the first time ever) and I want one. And, I will find a way. I love doing them on my home machine, but I'm an instant gratification type of person, and I loved it!!! The guy that showed me said "you've done this before, haven't you?" and I said, "Yes, on my home machine!!!" Send me your thoughts in the comments. 

I also wanted to mention that next to my design wall (on the left) near the computer where I type this are signed, framed photographs of Kenny Chesney and Ben Affleck. So, they are watching over me :)

Any my friend Sheela's band (love you sweetie)!

Until next time,

Mike.