What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Yesterday I completed the 2019 Fall Cotton Cuts Puzzle Mystery top. AKA Cosmos. I love the fabric in this top so much. It’s from Tula Pink’s Pinkerville line. I think I see a mistake that I may have to fix. … Continue reading →

If you are one of the thousands of quilters giving time and fabric to make lifesaving masks, thank you. For me, making masks is not only a good deed, but a powerful way to reduce anxiety in a tragic  time. 

The other day my husband and I had a socially distanced, mask-wearing get-together with friends. Okay, so we didn’t keep our masks on once we were seated the acceptable, government authorized 6 feet apart from one another, but we behaved responsibly. Why am I feeling that I need to add something like – “no really,… Continue reading NYC, Designing & “Good” Ideas

Yes, you can sew a mask with no iron, no pins, and no sewing machine. Just a needle and thread, scissors, mask kit, and a lot of time. My trial run (photographed below) took a couple hours, giving me plenty of time to catch up on podcasts. I could probably learn to do it faster, but one was enough for me.

To hand sew, more or less follow the instructions here, but knot your thread every time, and avoid any extra stitching. Remember that screen printing stretches and distorts the fabric a little, so the pieces won’t line up ...

I have my work cut out for me, literally. I've done research on the history of that phrase and have found the most prevalent explanation as one that comes from the sixteenth century: "This phrase is supposedly a metaphorical allusion to the preparation of fabric to be worked on: once the shapes have been cut out, the tailor still has a lot of sewing to do, by hand in the past, before the cloth

I have my work cut out for me, literally. I've done research on the history of that phrase and have found the most prevalent explanation as one that comes from the sixteenth century: "This phrase is supposedly a metaphorical allusion to the preparation of fabric to be worked on: once the shapes have been cut out, the tailor still has a lot of sewing to do, by hand in the past, before the cloth

Angel O’ Death masks (screen prints as complete masks and kits) and hand-printed Angel O’ Death and Eyes of the Goddess masks are now available at http://www.palegraylabs.com/seder-masochism . Eyes of the Goddess screen print masks will be available later, once I get a batch screenprinted. Please be patient as these aren’t all sewn and packaged yet. But the materials are all ready, and the production has been proven!

Next step is to heat-set them with the iron, and sew them into a test mask.

UPDATE: Masks!
My face is a little red because I rode my bike 67 miles today, including 10 miles in rain so heavy I couldn’t see and had to stop every few yards to wipe my eyes because OW rainwater stings, but I was sufficiently excited to come home to these masks to take these ...

I think I greatly underestimated my own well-being after being so focused on DH after his stroke.  We both had to adjust to staying at home, away from family and friends.  

During out 14 day isolation, we were both dealing with unpacking, finalizing health insurance stuff, doctor stuff,  etc.  I found it almost impossible to focus on sewing, as I couldn't even focus on getting my studio space back to normal.

As DH starting feeling more like his normal self, he became restless, and wanted to get out more.  I realized that our lives had been so different in ...

A free printable PDF version of this tutorial is available from Dropbox, HERE. (Version 2a, 5/1/20). If you can't download it email me at cathy.perlmutter@gmail.com, and I will send it to you. 

If you want to make a snug, well fitting, fast mask, consider this one. Like a quilt, it's all rectangles and squares - no pattern to trace. It's built a lot like a quilt, with three layers (but none are batting), and (two modified) bindings on the sides.

My first tutorial for this mask went on my blog in early March ...

State parks were opened May 1 -- but our favorite part of the lakefront was closed this weekend due to flooding. (3.37" of rain fell on Wednesday.) We went to the marina and I hiked from that end as far as I could before encountering a 2" deep puddle that went across the trail. 

(Photo on right is not the puddle. It's a stream flowing with the lake in the background.)

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The 1/4" elastic I ordered from an eBay seller came Saturday. I wasn't careful when I shopped so I paid WAY too much -- $38 for 40 ...

Passover is April 8. With the world in the throes of the COVID epidemic, public health authorities and rabbis agree that people should stay home, and connect with farflung loved ones at the seder via Zoom, Skype, or whatever. 

I don't have any matzoh in my house yet - but of course, I always have plenty of matzoh fabric. So this morning, I broke away from making (somewhat) normal masks for friends and family; and I made these, just to make myself laugh.  First....

(I buy matzoh fabric here.)

The next mask covers two plagues: Frogs and hail. 

We attended church via YouTube yesterday. They've been recording the service for a couple of weeks but this was the first time we've tuned in. We sang along with the hymns.

It was sunny and warm for my afternoon walk. I saw a radio-tagged Blanding's turtle. (Here is information about the recovery program.)

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I'm up to 49 Shelter in Place house blocks -- one per day of the stay-at-home order, so this takes me to May 2.

Like many of you, some of my sewing time in April has gone to making masks.  There are many large and important charitable projects going on, but for me, for now, I am making them for friends and family.  I want to serve right where I am.

This batch is for Second Son, his wife and their four children.

So far, 55 masks have been make and delivered.  I package them in a sandwich baggie along with three disposable filters (paper towels cut to size).

And they are getting worn. (Husband of one of my fellow teachers)

It feels right ...