This and That

I planned some simple meals for the weekend so I could have more time in the sewing room. We did a grocery run on Friday and picked up a pan of Ham & Cheese Sliders from Sam’s Club. Add some store bought Cole Slaw and Potato Salad and we had a quickie dinner on Saturday.

Sometimes being in the Sewing Room does not actually involve sewing. The ironing board, the cutting table and even the washing machine require some of my attention.

Laundry

Yes, the Laundry Room is an extension of my Sewing Room. I washed one of the wide backing fabrics for my PT Quilt of Valor top. This will require ironing, but that may wait.

I don’t always prewash my fabric, but I did the fabric for my PT Quilt of Valor (QOV) because of the dark red & blue. Since the fabric used in the top was washed I wanted to wash the backing, too.

Temporary Design Wall

I also washed a flannel throw to use as a Design Wall. I don’t have a spare wall in my sewing room and I’ll be needing some design space for my next Fabric Cafe top. We set up a free-standing clothes rack to hold the throw.

Some Actual Sewing

I can’t share a lot about my current sewing project because I am testing a top for Fabric Cafe. Let me just say I will be doing a bunch of Half Square Triangles (HST).

Working on the first of two blocks I marked the diagonal line on the light fabric. Then stitched a scant quarter inch seam on either side. This will make 2 HSTs.

I have a special ruler to trim HSTs, but it only works on up to 6 inch blocks. These will be larger so I used a square ruler to trim these.

Tip: After cutting on the marked diagonal line I trimmed/squared the block. Using a square ruler I mark the size needed using painter’s tape. I lined up the tape along the stitched seam line and trimmed the two sides.

Once ironed open the two “dog ears” are trimmed off. I usually iron seams to the dark side but to reduce bulk I often will iron my seams open.

More HSTs are in my future for the week.

I took a break to read over the next steps and put my feet up. D² is happy to have all the toys!

Hope you are making progress on whatever you are stitching this week!

Happy Stitching!

Quilt Mouse