A Ghastly Good Time - Lauren

As mentioned in a previous blog (which I’m assuming you all read and, if not, shame on you), I have recently started my own branch of Stix here in Portland. Well, not so much a stick as a twig. Yes, I’ve started a Portland Twig. Several of my friends told me that they would love to learn to quilt and requested sewing lessons. So far, two of the three girls have come over for multiple sewing days at Casa Lauren and we have had great success.

My friend Laysan bought a basic Brother sewing machine on Amazon with some book return money and after a couple lessons has made two baby quilts for friends. She’s doing well, but I’m still waiting for her to get into a quilting project so that I can teach her some real quilting magic. I’m sure we’ll get there soon.

But the true success story here is my friend Katie. She is amazing. Katie last used a sewing machine when she was a kid during a visit with her grandmother, whom she tells me was an avid sewer (although not of the quilt variety). Katie is an enthusiastic crafter already and is very skilled in the arts of knitting and cross stitch. With her second wedding anniversary coming up, which, according to tradition, requires a cotton gift, Katie wanted to do something special for her husband and thought of making him a quilt. We started talking about this back in February and with the knowledge that her anniversary was in mid-May, I suggested we get started ASAP.

Katie’s initial idea was to do a t-shirt quilt. I’m sure you all know about those quilts – quilts made of old t-shirts, cut up to display the picture as a block. I’ve never been a huge fan of these quilts, but I was not about to put a damper on Katie’s idea when I finally had a friend who wanted to quilt with me, so I dutifully did some research and actually found a couple books on Amazon with some beautiful t-shirt quilt designs and great instructions. In fact, I’m now not opposed to doing this myself – my “When Idaho Potatoes Go Bad” t-shirt (a bandit potato is holding up a couple other potatoes old west style – hilarious!) deserves to be immortalized forever.

Lesson #1 – After we got the best of the books, Katie came over for her first lesson. I always begin with an introduction to the materials (cutting mat, rotary cutter, rulers, scissors, picker, thread, etc.) and the machine (feed dogs, feet, threading the machine, bobbins, etc.), then move into proper ironing and cutting techniques, and sewing a nine-patch. I keep spare scrap fabric around just for this use. Katie picked up all these techniques with enviable ease and before long the machine was humming away. After making three nine-patches, lesson #1 was over and it was time to discuss her quilt. Well, it turned out that Katie didn’t have all the t-shirts she would need/want for the quilt yet and after discussing the patterns that would work best I suggested that she begin with a slightly easier quilt for her first project. Katie agreed and I immediately called the quilting guru – Mom. Mom had recently quilted a weekend quilt called “On the Edge” for Sally and suggested it for Katie (for more info on “On the Edge” see Mom’s most recent blog posts). I showed Katie the pattern and she agreed that it would be perfect.

 

Lesson #2 – Our second lesson was all about fabric. Katie and I met up after work one day and drove over to Craft Warehouse to pick out some fabric. First I showed Katie around the aisles, explaining the various fabrics (solids, batiks, cottons, designers, etc.) and some basic rules (don’t mix one Asian print fabric with a slew of non-Asian prints) and then headed over to the big draw of Craft Warehouse – the flat folds. Armed with our pattern, we were ready to go. Katie soon found two fabrics that she really liked and we began to build a quilt in tans, browns, greens, and a little yellow. The quilt developed a nature theme before our eyes (very appropriate as Katie and her husband are birders and very outdoorsy) and was soon (after an hour or so) complete. We choose to use one of the fabrics as the back as well and got it all cut in record time and headed to check out. It turned out that we went fabric shopping on a very good day as all flat folds were $4.99 rather than the usual $6.00 and some were down to $3.00! It was amazing! Katie ended up spending only $35 on her entire quilt including the back.

Lesson 3 – Next we were ready for a day of cutting. Katie returned to Casa Lauren on a Saturday and we began our cutting extravaganza. I showed her how to iron, then fold it (selvage to selvage), straighten the edge and then begin cutting your strips. She picked it up with ease and except for a bit of fussy cutting that I did for her, she cut the entire quilt out herself. So, I spent an easy lesson sitting, chatting, with Chloe in my lap.

Lessons 4-6 – Our last few lessons were all about sewing. Katie first made all her nine-patches, then her triangles for the outer edges, and before we knew it we had it all laid out and she was assembling the whole thing. It was incredible! Her workmanship was amazing and the quilt went together with ease. I wish that I could take all the credit for this, but, excepting a few questions here and there, I had very little to do. She’s a natural.

Before we knew it, the quilt was altogether and ready to send to my mom for quilting. Katie and I had rushed a bit to finish the quilt by the third week of April. Mom suggested we finish it quickly so that she could quilt it and then send it back to me with Maria after Maria’s trip to Volcano. We all know the story of the lost quilt in the mail and the less time a quilt is out of our hands, the better. After hearing the tale, Katie agreed and finished the quilt on a Monday night at my house and shipped it to Mom on Tuesday morning. Mom finished it in a jiffy and Maria was kind enough to carry it back to Portland for us.

Lesson 7 – Katie returned to Casa Lauren yesterday to get a lesson in binding. She flipped over Mom’s quilting – a beautiful creeping vine design – and immediately said, “This is the real artistry. Can I learn to do this??” I knew then that she was a true convert. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a quilter on our hands! Katie then got back to the machine and quickly attached her binding. I only had to show her how to do one corner and she did the rest herself. I can’t believe how quickly she picks all this up! Then, after a brief lesson on the blind stitch to finish it up, Katie was off. Now she has two weeks to finish the binding and her anniversary gift will be ready to go.

It’s so exciting to have Twig up and running. I enjoy sewing by myself each weekend, but it can get a bit lonely at times. Sewing is such a social activity and Chloe just doesn’t provide enough conversation (even when I do her part aloud). It’s so wonderful when Maria comes down for a weekend and we have a mini-retreat together, but those are, sadly, few and far between. But now I have a sewing friend in Portland! Katie already has several future projects in mind including a rag quilt, a couple of Asian style wall hangings, and her t-shirt quilt. Twig is throwing down the gauntlet, Stix. Your move. 

Did you think that was it? No. I know you’re all wondering: why did you call this “A Ghastly Good Time”? Well, while Katie was using my sewing machine for her project, I was not sitting idly by. Oh no. I was cutting out my wonderful Ghastly quilt. Alexander Henry designed the Ghastly fabric – sort of a modern Addams Family – and as soon as I saw it two years ago I was in love. I needed this fabric. But, being the good girl I am (and having Mom looking over my shoulder saying “don’t buy fabric unless you have a pattern for it”), I waited until I found the perfect pattern and then bought my fabric. After one of Katie’s lessons (Lesson #6, I believe), I stayed up late that Saturday night and worked early Sunday morning and finished my 5^th project of the new year, my

Ghastly quilt. It is amazing and I couldn’t love it more. Now, I just need to use the scraps to create a bag…