Phew. Marathon shopping, cleaning, cooking, clean up. We had a nine people to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Yes, it is Sunday p.m., and I still have some dishes that require attention.
At the end of the meal, I could barely straighten up. But everyone enjoyed themselves. All of the dishes turned out perfectly. My Black Friday, is sitting on my putookus and doing nothing...because I can't.
I'm a pretty accomplished home cook. On Wednesday a.m . I watched Chef Jean Pierre at 2 a.m. because I needed to make a crust for my Maple Pecan Chocolate Tart (my signature dessert found in Bon Appetite some decades ago). It requires 2 hours of refrigeration because it is a fussy, buttery thing. So of course, I was awake.
I found Chef Jean Pierre--most particularly, I found his video on making gravy.
Most TG gravy that I have either made or consumed has been crap. I watched this video, and I underwent a transformation.
I had made a lovely chicken stock for a side dish and for the gravy. I found this video, and it was transformational. Though he calls for 3 necks, I had but the one. But because I spatchcocked my turkey, I had a back. So I browned my turkey bits while I caramelized my onions (and then added shallots...another interesting lesson). I let that cook and cook. I then added the flour as JP does...and what a light bulb going off. Using a sieve (handheld), that you set slightly in you stock and to which you add flour and whisk, whisk whisk...you incorporate the flour in a way that that there are no lumps.
After adding the flour this way and gauging the thickness, (which I did perfectly with no further thickening agents needed), I let it cook on intermittent heat (gas stove) for several hours.
Never have I had or made better gravy. A f-💣game changer.
I'm pretty critical of the dishes that I make...all turned out perfectly.
And that sounds snobbish, though not meant to be. There are so many who are hungry in the world. If my mashed potatoes needed more salt, or if something needed to be cooked more or less....it is a shameful thing to worry about.
My gratitude for THIS holiday, that I had not more to worry about than such a trivial thing.
My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I believe that gratitude and compassion are the two most exalted elements of the human condition. The last few years have exposed several of the baser elements, and I hope the pendulum will swing back to a more balanced position.
I began cooking Thanksgiving dinner in 1986 or 1987. Both my mother and Mark's mom would fix Thanksgiving. And we went to both. And our bellies hurt. Though our travel was local, it was in opposite directions, one 30 minutes east, the other 30 minutes west. My MIL would find new ways to cook turkey, which involved cooking it the say before, and sometimes it would not be fully cooked. My mom would get up at 5 a.m. and start cooking the massive turkey for hours and hours and hours as was the custom back then.
Since we were the middle, I thought that it was time for us to be leverage our logistical advantage and give our respective mom's the day off. Hence Thanksgiving at our home for the last 35 years EXCEPT that in 2016, the year and month that my father died, I opted out of Thanksgiving. After a few months of helping my stepmom care for him, my night duties caught up with me. I needed to retreat. Either my daughter or sister in law had dinner, and my husband and son went.
With Covid, 2020, we just had a dinner for the three of us in our household. There were no vaccines, and I couldn't risk exposing my immune-compromised daughter or elderly father in law (last man standing of our combined parents) to the virus. It had already claimed lives of people that we knew.
So this year, feels like a fresh start from the tenuous, tentative gatherings. We are all vaccinated. I received my booster on Saturday. I think the one thing that I'm most grateful for is that there is a vaccine available. In my county, New Kent, VA, only 56% of the population is vaccinated. I wear a mask to the grocery store, indeed all places.
Our meal typically consists of the following:
Turkey (though I did forgo turkey one year and stuffed a pork loin)
Ham (typically country ham, but they are prohibitively expensive this year)
Sausage and Cornbread dressing
Homemade cranberry sauce
Scalloped oysters: I no longer make this as oysters are so expensive, and I don't need to spend 20 on a side dish.
Brussels Sprouts Hash with caramelized shallots.
Some potato dish
This year, I'm just doing sour cream mashed potatoes. In the past I have made a favorite, Turnip and Potato Gratin.
Sweet Potato Casserole (a new addition but only because my daughter makes it; it is delicious)
Maple Pecan Chocolate Tart
Sweet Potato Pumpkin Pie
I also throw in some different things. This year, I'm going to make Haricots Verts (Green beans) with Goat Cheeese and Warm Bacon Dressing. I've not made this in about a decade or so, and did so for a dinner party. Also an apple and kale waldorf salad. It adds freshness to an otherwise heavy meal.
And cooking for others is a great way to show gratitude to those who are in our orbit and suffer through our exalted and baser moments in life.
Megan at Tiny Orchard Quilts is a delightful teacher. She posted a video which you can see above, and which you can find here on the Economy Block (EB). She also has created PDF free downloads which are also available other places on line.
My first foray into Foundation Paper Piecing a couple of years ago made my brain hurt. You are working from the front of the printed side of the block to the make something happen on the back. That my brain didn't click for a while was frustrating. And when I thought I "had it" often my pieces would not fit, or got turned about. To see the shape of a thing and where it needed to fit, particularly if angular was problematic. Lee Henrich has a great video on that here.
As I am accustomed to doing, after I undertake a process and beat my head against a wall, I like to codify my learnings. I like the Economy Block because it offers one of the better ways, in my view, to use scraps in an organized, fluent way. It's a neat square, in square, square block.Further, the interior block can be designed so that it is a 4 patch (or more!), hour glass, HST, pinwheel. Further still, the EB can serve as the middle block in large block configurations...an Ohio or Sawtooth star for example. They can even serve as cornerstones in sashing. This block is particularly conducive to showcasing cut fabrics that have been fussy cut for the middle square.
It's also a good way to use not so well loved material that might come in a strip set or a fat quarter.
Imagine this block at the back your quilt in a sashed/banded row (or two) using your scraps from the font of the quilt. The best way to keep the scrap pile from growing is to incorporate leftovers into the back of the quilt.a
I have a number of scraps from the fat quarters used on the Prairie Quilt that I completed. I thought 3" EB's to be the perfect way to use them. (I put a solid back on, so did not incorporate them). My plan is to make as many EB's as I can from the scraps.
I chose the 3" EB because the sizes that you need to complete the components works well.
Center Square 2"
Triangles-inside, 2" piece cut with a folded corner ruler to include the seam allowance.
Triangles-outside 2 1/2" piece cut with folded corner ruler to include the seam allowance.
I don't have an interest in working with anything smaller in such a block, but am happy to make a scrip scrap block from really odd bits.
After revisiting this charming, high-utility, versatile block, I want to present some of MY TIPS on taking some of the frustration out.
💡I'm a big believer in having the right tool for the job. At first I resisted buying an Add-a-Quarter ruler. My normal ruler just did not cut it. I had to spend more time aligning, and more pressure to steady the ruler. I bought the ruler, and I never regretted it. (I have all 3 sizes). Yes, you can use a regular ruler, but you have to apply more pressure to keep it steady. When you are making many of these that adds to hand fatigue in addition to additional time. An Add-A Quarter, nestles instantly, accurately. Specialty rulers that you will use again and again are investments: purchase once use for the rest of your quilting career.
The hurdle for purchasing a "stuff" for the quilting room is cleared by asking the following questions: Will it promote safety? Will it improve my accuracy and quilting outcomes? Will it make me more physically comfortable by relieving repetitive strain?
So here are my tips before getting started--they meet all the hurdles listed above:
Tip #1: Add a Quarter will make your life easier.
Tip #2: Dritz aluminum Easy Hemmer makes the perfect straight edge to fold back your patterns.
Tip #3: Newsprint works beautifully. I just bought some newsprint from Dick Blick in 8.5 x 11" reams of 500 sheets. Free shipping over $45..so I bought several reams and some Pima Pens which I use to mark fabric (does not bleed through when used on wrong side). (Deb Tucker suggested these, and they work better than other brands of permanent that may bleed).
Tip #4: Folded Corner Ruler: This ruler will allow you to cut your pieces from strips or small scraps in a size that you know fits. Saves time, and it does not waste fabric because it cuts with the seam allowance included. (More below).
I cannot stress this enough. Putting misshapen pieces adds unwarranted complexity. Take the time to get the measurements that you need for the size block and cut your triangles with the seam allowance. A little time spent here saves lots of time when you are setting your squares and triangles in your block
Tip # 5: Make registration marks on the front of your pattern that will BLEED THROUGH to the back so that you can set your first corner.
Tip #6: If you have a Sew Steady acrylic table, put a nightlight (mine is on a dedicated extension cord under it and have a light table.
Tip#7: Decobob 80wt thread (top and bottom) coupled with a Mircrotex needle work very well. The paper pulls away easily.
Tip # 8: Eagle Beak Precision Tweezers helps with pulling paper, threading machine, pulling thread from ripped stitches and any other precision need in your sewing room. Also work as a stiletto. I ordered a second pair as I need them at a couple of stations in my sewing room.
I want to expand on Tips #4 -# 5. When you are working with FPP it can eat up time. These tips are to help you be very productive.
Let's take a 3" Economy Block as an example. This block comes 4 to a page
Before you cut these apart, lay a ruler on the inside square and mark a small line 1/4" away from the inside square. You only need to do so in one corner on each block. Lay your ruler down once on the left, make two marks, one for each block, and then once on right, make two marks, one for each block. Then make the right angled marks in the opposite direction. You want to have lines that cross so that you can easily see the corner.
Why? When you turn your newsprint over, you have a beautiful registration mark to lay your first square. I used a fine line Sharpie as I had tested it and knew it would bleed.
And because we have followed Tip # 4, we have a 2" (min) cut square that will fit perfectly. Put a dab of glue on the center, align your fabric with the registration mark, you will know that you have full coverage for your seam lines. No muss, no fuss.
Update: I added a 1/4" line on the front to make these marks and then I used a sharpie to outline the corners. (preferred). You could also double side print, but the marks were enough off, that I abandoned. (I did this, and abandoned). Plus, if you do this, you need a pressing sheet as the iron and print do not work well together.
There are no further registration marks needed. Why? Because we know what size triangles to place. We simply center them on the block.
Now you have to attach triangles. For a 3" Economy Block your first set of triangles can be cut from a 2" (1.75" if you make your placements carefully) strip (piece, scrap). Use your folded corner ruler and line up square edge. The diagonal has the seam allowance so it works very well. I had leftover cuts from fat quarter after making the Prairie Quilt. You can see how effective the Folded Corner Tool is in making triangles for this project without any fabric waste. I had strips left over from my fat quarters, and I cut them to size (in multi-layers) to make the inside corners.
Glue basting is your friend here. With squares, we work with opposing sides. Put a small bead of glue on one of the sides (Sorry for shadows)
. . . and attach your precut triangle. You don't have to fuss with the light table, because you know that this will fit and you have perfectly aligned seam. Tap with a hot iron to set.
Do the second side. My triangle at the top looks weird as there is not clipped corner. The overhang will get trimmed off when you fold your papers over and neaten your 1/4" seam allowance.
I hope that you can see at this point, that you can create your own Henry Ford production run and make LOTS of these for the simple reason that you have glue basted and have no pins. Make them up, reserve the pairs for the opposing sides, and put both in a tray to sew and move on to other stages.
When you are ready to sew, just flip over and sew each side. You cannot really chain piece because you have to stop inside the block. If you have a machine that cuts thread (I do not), you'll really like this feature.
When you are done sewing, check and trim your seam allowance by folding back the paper (ensuring that both pieces are pointing toward the inside of the block). (This is where I use my easy hemmer metal edge and fold the paper over and put my add a quarter over and trim excess fabric.) You will be trimming corner overhang from your triangles and any excess seam allowance.
💡 Because you have pre-measured FROM YOUR SCRAPS, you are being economical
by not creating more scraps. Whatever you trim off here, you just
simply throw away (unless you are making stuffing with scraps).
When you are ready to move onto the next round of triangles, the other ones, press your block. Do not use steam as it will distort the paper. Many just finger press. Once you have attached all four triangles, your unit is ready for the final roun which is rinse and repeat. Glue baste again, opposite sides as before.
Set your triangles.
Flip and sew (when you are ready)
Brown Betty says bring it on.
I press these, and then trim. These are 3.5" blocks, and a square up trimmer for works very well. I'm using my Tucker Trimmer and trimming on the 3.5" block. Align on the outside edge of your foundation. Trim right and top, rotate 180 degrees and trim right and top. Then peel off the backing. You will have perfect little blocks ready to be conscripted into service.
Adopting these tips will make your FPP life easier. You will be. . .
taking the guess work as to where the first piece needs to go and eliminating the need for a light table for this block (other blocks will need a light "table") by making registration marks that will bleed to the opposite side of the newsprint/paper for the first piece that will allow you an accurate, frustration-free start;
efficiently auditioning/cutting fabric for squares and triangles that you know will fit without further trimming;
using glue basting to secure your pieces without slippage as you stage your work;
trimming wee bits off rather than chunks that have no further good use;
working with correct grain of fabric;
staging your work in discrete stages (cutting known sizes from your scraps for center squares, triangles) allowing you to manage your time effectively.
with your triangles attached onto several blocks, you can sew for a few minutes at a time and make headway. Just move your blocks into another tray for the next stage.
Thought 1: Basting and Topside Quilting: QuiltMavenDave was discussing quilt basting using homemade basting spray. Californiaquilts.com was where I first found the recipe and wrote a post about it which you can find here. The interesting information that he presented was this:
💡 Basting your quilt top to your backing, and then quilting PRIOR to basting the back.
To be fair, Dave was talking about doing this to a table runner. I thought, that I would give it a try on my most recent quilt. I had a number of Lemonyne stars that I wanted to do outline quilting only. The balance of the quilt was perfect for straight line. So I assembled my quilt in fourstages.
Stage 1: I utilized my design wall for basting (and I will never go back). I put the quilt batting up. I sprayed with basting spray. I also used some fusible web just because. I smoothed my quilt top over.
Stage 2: I outline quilted my stars on the top. It is nice, because you don't have to worry about the back at all. I had no problem with the scrim side of the batting getting caught on feed dogs etc. The lessening of bulk was noticeable and meant something when I only have 7.5" of throat space.
Stage 3: I put the quiltop up on the wall and smoothed with my garment steamer. I then flipped it over. Sprayed the batting (left half then right half) and effortlessly smoothed everything thing out.
Stage 4: Put the walking foot on and walked that baby through the ditches.
Thank you Dave.
Thought 2: Finding a way to better get the quilt weight supported. I've seen several quilt suspension systems. One is an arm that costs $200 per arm that clamps on your table. It looks particularly like the dog grooming arms that you can get for less than $30 each.
The key thing is the attachment. I was looking at spring clips. Nope. The traditional spring clamps require gorilla fingers to open. Having snapped a tendon in my finger, I don't want to risk exerting more pressure. Instead, I found these at Lowes.
Pony 2-in 3200 SERIES Spring Clamp
It clamps clean, is lightweight and that metal trigger releases it easily.
There are a number of different ways to create a suspension system. As we are DIYers (we physically built our home), we are comfortable with engineering a system that works for my space.
My sewing area is in the bonus room over the garage. I don't have aesthetic considerations because no one sees that room but our family. (Though if you looked at any other room in my house, you would see same lack of consideration). But it is a very nice room. All of my sewing furniture is cobbled together from furniture that I already had. My sewing machine sits on a Pennsylvania house solid cherry dining table with two extensions. I had to support the middle of the table because it started to sag. Dinner plates weigh far less than sewing machines (I had a serger and coverstitch on it as well).
So I have PLENTY of surface which is a luxury that many don't have. Our idea is to do an L-shaped bend of conduit (suspended from ceiling). It will be a bar that goes to the left of my sewing surface, front to back, and then will bend and go from left to right toward the midway of my sewing surface.
To the conduit, I will put 2" welded rings which will smoothly slide over the conduit. For the attachment of the clamps, I will do a combo of adjustable strap to which on one end it will hook to the conduit rings I will likely make an adjustable strap (I have webbing strapping and hardware) to which I will put a D ring. (You could do this with any material or paracord, but I like the adjustable element. I will then simply use paracord to attach the ratchet clamp to the strap. The adjustment mechanism on strap will allow me to easily change the height without re cutting/tying the clamp hanging material.
I think that this simple, but effective, quilt suspension system will allow me to more fully enjoy the quilting process. I will have to fight less, and quilt more, and be less sore.
My goal is NEVER to do a King/Queen sized quilt. I'm perfectly happy doing throw sized quilts and baby quilts. So for the throw sized quilts, this suspension system would be helpful.
Over the weekend I finished my LeMoyne Star Breast Cancer quilt. The genesis of the quilt was that I had received a yard of breast cancer fabric.
I didn't know what to do with it, so I decided I would make LeMoyne Stars the traditional way. I was determined to make this beautiful block and master y seams. I ended up with many blocks in 2 sizes, so I set them on point and framed them. I was very happy with the result. Below is a picture of the quilt top.
Since beginning the quilt, we have (regrettably) discovered a person in our orbit that would benefit from receiving the "strong", "courageous", Life" messages in the fabric. I bound it in a red dotted batik.
The pieced backing contains the same floral background and other stars. So a star studded quilt that I hope will bring comfort and a measure of joy to the recipient.
Mihály CsÃkszentmihályi wrote Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience in 1996. I have that book somewhere in my Deep Stack of books. If you are unfamiliar with his concept of Flow it is this (his own words)
"being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego
falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows
inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is
involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."
I believe that quilting, well really anything that we enjoy doing, gets us into a Flow state. It is one of the reasons it is so pleasurable. Where am I going with this?
I find most aspects of quilting Flow-inducing. I like to plan the quilt, pick the fabric, do my engineering to optimize production methods, cut, piece iron. Voila! A quilt top produce.
Anti-Flow is @#^#$%&^ basting a quilt.
For the last 2+ years my preferred way of basting (because I thought the commercial spray basting stuff too expensive) was homemade basting spray. I then moved to using fusible web (in spaced strips). However, both methods require ironing.
My ironing surface is 24 x 48. Plenty fine for a baby quilt, not so much for something larger. My throw quilt that I made for myself tested my limits on my ironing board. I thought I had everything line up well. Ironed and fused. Ironed and fused. Ironed and cried!
Somehow I had managed to get the backing askew, and I ended up with a long thin wedge of batting that was not covered by backing. I fixed it. And frankly, none could look at the back and know that such a mishap had taken place. But what a pain to fix.
I decided that there must be an easier way to do this on my design wall. YouTube is my go-to for all quilty problem solving. There were only a handful and a half of videos on this method.
I broke down and bought June Tailor Spray Basting. It was at Walmart, and it had the lowest price point and good reviews. It does require that your substrates be all cotton to wash out (v. dry clean!). I tested on my batting because I could not remember if my batting was 80:20 cotton/polyester. It was fine.
Here is my method. I'll take pictures and update this post or write another on my next quilt.
This method is a GAME CHANGER. It will allow me to do my Swedish Death Quilting very efficaciously!
protective coverings for your design wall/floor (newspaper, old sheets, etc)
Ventilation (or a complete disregard for your safety). I just opened a window, and I did not find it noxious.
Step stool to reach higher regions of your board. I had an aluminum painter's bench that was just groovy.
if you are out of shape, you might be sore after doing this stepping. Know that it is good for you. But mind your safety and if you have a physical impairment or balance issues, this may not be a method for you. But you can certainly direct an able bodied soul in your orbit...so don't give up.
Note: several show spraying the fabric and then applying to batting. The JT sprays calls for spraying batting which I think is preferable, and what I believe works just fine for other sprays as well).
Method: (You will need to perform these steps to both sides)
Put your wall and floor protections in place and increase ventilation to area that you are working in. If your machines are close to your wall, cover them.
I had some upholstery fabric--bought at a roll discount 20 years ago!) that I will NEVER use. I used this fully cover my design board.
Put your batting square up on the wall using pins.
Ensure that you know which is the front and which is the back and match accordingly to your backing/quilt top.
remove any creases. I used my garment steamer. (I haven't used it in 10 years or so!) You could use your iron against the wall, but that is not a gravity fight you will win.
Mark the center of your batting. (I notched top and bottom)
Don't spray yet
Line up your fabric so that it sits square on your batting (straight on sides and top is level)--and that the center of the quilt aligns with the center of the batting.
Pin top as necessary.
If you are using a steamer, you can steam all wrinkles out of fabric and ensure you are aligning things well before you adhere. You can also use your iron.
Treat the center of your backing/quilt top as a hinge.
Working with 1/2 of the width fabric at a time, fold the fabric onto itself at two corners, right sides together.
the center fold should align with the center of your backing.
Spray the batting per mftr's instructions top to bottom on the exposed 1/2 of the batting.
Unpin the corner and open your door, placing the corner of your fabric on the opposite corner. Your fabric should be opened fully and your top straight.
Don't smooth anything down yet.
Using a straight edge (or your hands, but I found a straight edge preferable), work from the center of your top (where the "hinge" was) to the outside edge.
ensure that your horizontal and vertical seams stay straight.
Using our straight edge, work from the top down.
Once you are satisfied that all is right in the world with that side, rinse and repeat on the other.
Work from the center out.
Ensure that all vertical and horizontal seam lines are straight.
A Youtuber posted a video on problems he was having on HST construction. He was looking for help. He was perplexed because the HST's were die cut (Accuquilt), yet when he was assembling them, the block was not coming out as planned. That my very first quilt was nothing sort of disasterous was a GOOD thing. Why? Because it sent me down the proper road of determining what I was doing wrong. As it turns out, everything.
If one's block is not assembling as expected, it is going to be due to the following:
Incorrect cutting
Inaccurate piecing
Inconsistent seam line
not straight
not scant enough
too scant
too wide
Stretching from bias
in handling
in piecing
in pressing
Incorrect Pressing
stretching bias
leaving a fold in the fabric
For this YouTuber, I carefully viewed his video panning of his project frame by frame. It satisfied my OCD tendencies to figuring out problems. I shared these observations with the Youtuber.
Here's what I found.
Issue 1: Incorrect alignment and sewing. Look at the picture below. These are two halves of die cut HST's. I put arrows at problem points.
The HST has the obvious issue that it is not lined up correctly. The left hand side does not match (so there is a left to right shift, and the top right corner is shifted down. None of the bottom fabric should have been visible on a die cut piece. And anything on an diagonal is going to compound. Further, the seam line should have gone directly through the point of the white fabric (which it does not because that point rests below the blue fabric.
💡 Worth noting that if these blocks had been cut slightly oversized (e.g. size of finished block + 1"), then trimming down (using the closed method!) would have fixed this issue. I presume that Accuquilt die cut HST's aren't trim friendly as they are die cut)
Issue 2: Imbalance between fabrics in diagonal. This issue is a continuation of the problem from above.
Notice that the corner of the HST is not evenly split. When you are joining two fabrics that must meet in a diagonal: the corner must be evenly split between both fabrics. There is no balance. As these are die cut HSTs the issue is simply the issue that is expressed in the first image: The seam line should be going through the point of the white fabric...it is going through the point on the blue, but night the white. Again, poor alignment is the blame.
Issue 3: More incorrect alignment:
There's 2 issues here. First issue is of course all that blue peeking out from beind the white. But also, I can see that the selvage is included and is askew. It's the askew that means that the block will be off grain.
I pointed out these observations to the Youtuber, and I hope that they offered some help. (However, I will not visit this site again as I didn't even get a thank you for my effort). In his case, he was stating that he was getting unexpected results (e.g. blocks not aligning as expect) in fact, he got exactly the type of results that any of us get when the issues noted above happen in our work--(and had the hubris to think that he should contact Accuquilt to let them know something was wrong with the die cut). Yes I get pi$$y!
And in my first quilt, I had all of those issues and more. So much so, I was so far out of alginment on my on points blocks that I had to put a pocket on the quilt to cover it up.
(Countup timer above courtesy of http://www.javascriptkit.com/)
Leisa-land is not meant to sound nor be presumptuous. Rather it is my online space where I describe and reflect upon my offline world. The topography of that world is contoured by the circumstances of my life which I share in this space. Thanks for visiting.
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