Sewing Odyssey, Part 2

Strawberry Fields Forever Quilt, WIP

 Over the weekend I got the front part of my very first quilt put together, and today I started quilting.

It's hard.
 
I basted (when you pin your 'quilt sandwich' together with safety pins) this afternoon, and tried to decide what kind of stitching would look best with the quilt pattern and fabric.  It took me a couple tries to figure out what would look best.  I had a nice pile of ripped out thread building up, and then I settled on loops.

It's... uh, I'm not really sure how well it's going.  I have a feeling that I'll be a pro at these loop de loops by the end, and then I'll have to rip out what I've done so far, because you'll really be able to tell the difference.  Sometimes my stitches are too long and they pull funny on themselves.  Sometimes my loops overlap A LOT and it's unattractive.  And sometimes I freak out and my sewing machine wants to go one way, and my hands want to go another, and my brain thinks I should loop THIS way, and it's a horrible mess.  It's harder to tell on the front side, but on the back...  Woah.  Hot damn mess.

But whatever.  I'm learning.  (I probably shouldn't have used such pretty fabric to learn on...)

The fabric I'm using is called Hullabaloo by Urban Chicks for Moda.  I still haven't quite figured out how this fabric thing works yet, but I don't think Moda is making Hullabaloo anymore.  I think they only make so much, and then it's all gone.  I bought mine from a seller on Etsy.

("But wait!" you say, "What about that Tula Pink stuff?  What about that, Rachel?"  Well.  I still haven't found a quilt pattern that I think works with the fabric.  I really want something that showcases the designs, and I haven't found one yet.)

The pattern I used can be found here: Strawberry Fields Forever by Jera.  Jera's quilting blog also has lots of great quilting tutorials for beginners like myself.

Recipe: Sushi Rolls

Sushi Rolls

This morning I made sushi for the very first time.  It was amazing.  It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, and look at how pretty they turned out!  Here's what I did:

1.) Lots of internet research.  Google 'sushi roll recipe' and you'll find all kinds of helpful tips.
2.) Went to the grocery store with the vague hope they'd have all the ingredients I needed.  I didn't think they'd have the nori - dried seaweed sheets - but they had everything!  Color me shocked.
3.) Cooked stuff.

The sewing odyssey continues...

Tula Pink's Prince Charming fabric in olive

Last year I bought a sewing machine.  It was a tiny thing, with pink knobs and probably small enough to fit into a backpack.  I made two purses on it - each hideous with messy seams and showcasing my inability to sew a straight line.  The foot pedal quit working halfway through the second bag, and I went on to attempt a third using the on/off switch.  During bag #3 I realized that my tiny, adorable, pink sewing machine wasn't going to be able to keep up with me.  I was going to have to get a better machine.  I considered giving up sewing entirely.  But in the end, after researching grown up sewing machines, I bought another.  This one is larger, has all kinds of settings, can sew through heavy fabrics, and has green knobs. 

I've made more purses on my Green Machine, and I'm getting better at sewing.  One of the purses I even liked enough to take out in public!  (Pictures and instructions to come.)  But I've decided to move on.  I like making bags, but I want to try something new.

I've decided to make a quilt.  I've attempted this once before (on the pink machine), but it was a shocking failure.  Turns out one needs more than a sewing machine and some fabric to make a quilt.  One also needs an iron, and to make precise measurements before uses scissors.  I've purchased an iron, and a rotary cutting set made especially for quilting (it was cheaper than buying it all separately), and some different presser feet for the Green Machine (I only hope they work, because the Singer website is obnoxiously vague, and needs to standardize the way they number their parts). 

Then I got to buy pretty fabric, which was an adventure.  Many of the websites that sell the pretty designer fabrics either didn't have what I was looking for, or they looked like the sites were designed in 1992, and too shady to give my credit card information to.  So I gave up on these places and went to Etsy, where I found the fabric I wanted at a price that I felt was fair.  (The customer service was great, and I got my fabric really quickly.)  Plus, I got my fabric all from the same seller as a set.  I got a half yard of each fabric in Tula Pink's Prince Charming line.  I'm so excited to make a quilt from it!  It's lovely fabric, and so much nicer than the quilting fabrics I've bought in the past.

I'm hoping that the presser feet I ordered get here quicker than the USPS website thinks they will so I can get started.  As it stands now, I may be waiting a whole week.  I will keep you all informed as to my progress.  I have a feeling there's a lot of cursing at the Green Machine in my future.