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June 26, 2021
FLOURISH QAL: Fabrics from Nestlings By Robin

 The first exciting step in starting a new
project....FABRICS!! 
YAY! YIPPEE! YAHOO!

I had a lovely floral print, 
"First Impressions" designed by
Mary Anne Henderson 
from Red Hen Fabrics 
for Northcott 
that started it for me.
The color is true in the pic above.
I used the colors in the print
to pull my applique' and other
piecing fabrics.

 I placed a ruler over the 
fabric so you can get 
an idea of the print scale.
This print worked perfectly 
with the size of the templates.
You want a small to medium
print so that the fun details show ...

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June 22, 2021
moving on with sea swept from Making A Lather

I have all the snails trail blocks finished for sea swept. And it was time to figure out how I was going to make the sashings without a pattern. The actual pattern is for paper piecing, and my blocks are machine pieced and larger than the pattern makes.

Linda's 3 and mine

I remembered a template I have from studio 180 and I could even find it... hooray. But, I wasn't sure how to make it a double square in a square. You tube told me,   I needed the technique sheet with a chart. While I was purchasing ...

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June 14, 2021
sea swept progress from Making A Lather

At retreat this weekend, I sewed the last 4 blocks I need for sea swept. I ordered studio 180 template for the sashing. I think it will save me the headache of math "to fit" what I have already made. I have the squared squared template. I ordered diamond rects. hooray.  I still have many cut pieces - I may make it larger.


There is always something scrappy going on at the sewing machine. This is a Bonnie Hunter pattern from her book addicted to scraps called Carolina Chain. I had the blocks done in April.  I use them as a ...

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September 20, 2020
Turning Lines Into Circles for Curved English Paper Piecing from Gefilte Quilt

What do these English Paper Pieced blocks from my new book, "Hexagon Star Quilts," have in common? 
Answer: They're all straight lines. I've always been curve-averse, and although I've done plenty of English Paper Piecing in recent years, almost everything I've made with the technique has had straight lines only.

But quarantine is an opportunity to try new things (assuming you don't have an essential job, young children, and/or a sourdough fixation). So a couple of weeks ago, I plunged into curved EPP in a big way. It turned out to be mostly easier ...

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September 14, 2020
Florid Bloom from Becca's Crazy Projects

I just want to say upfront that I really, really, really dislike the new Blogger interface. They made it easier for mobile users, which I support, but the changes pretty much make working with the tool on a desktop a complete pain in the ass. I'm not sure why they didn't stick with what works for desktop users and let the new stuff be used by mobile users. It's like they assumed everyone was using mobile for blogging and they could ignore the world of desktop users. I'm not averse to change, just change that seems ...

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September 2, 2020
Florid Bloom from Becca's Crazy Projects

Part 1

I wanted to try out the Florid Bloom template set and Double Wedding Ring Quilts book from Victoria Findlay Wolfe. I pulled out my stack of 1930s reproduction prints and cut out some pieces.
This is where the Fiskars Rotating Cutting Mat came in handy. I don't use it often but sometimes I find the project that really needs a rotating cutting mat.
See how nice and neat!
I had a pretty good collection of prints but this project will likely get me to end of the 1930s prints.
Here is the first layout I did once ...

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August 30, 2020
Looking for a deal? from Lisa H Calle's Blog

Well, it has taken 6 months…. and I have been down and out for the past week with fever, headache, stomachache and nausea. I am feeling better , not 100%, but better is good. I am currently awaiting the results of my Covid test and praying that it is negative. So for those of you that pray…. say a prayer. Meanwhile… business needs to go on even though it was halted this week. Those that placed orders this week… bear with me… I’m hoping to get them out this week.

So… in trying to keep things light…. I thought I ...

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August 17, 2020
bloc loc template from Making A Lather

Straightening my sewing table, I found this little pile of pieces for my peaks and valley blocks or triangles in a square. I realized that I haven't sewn with these for awhile, and, I wanted to visit with them again. It looks like I was trying to make matches, and left them before I was finished.


 I am using a bloc loc template set that I bought awhile ago. more about the template here. I like using it, and the results are very accurate. The finished piece is 2 1/12 inches.


I sewed through a few of my ...

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Odds and Ends from Becca's Crazy Projects

I finished these fun socks made with a couple leftovers from other socks. These were made of leftover semi-solid black from the middle of a ball of Knit Picks Duos, colorway Rocket Ship. I didn't know if I had enough for the sock but it worked out great with two row stripes of each color. The other is a speckle leftover from an Into the Whirled, colorway Captain Tight Pants. These came out so much better than I could have hoped and I love them.
I worked on my Ard-ri shawl some more. The fabric for this one is ...

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July 11, 2020
Private Quilt Coaching! from Lisa H Calle's Blog

I am so excited that I can barely contain my excitement! The past few months have been challenging to say the least. We are all in a similar boat… our quilt shows have been cancelled which means that all of those classes that we all signed up for just went POOF! So what’s a quilter to do… we turn to our online options. Sometimes these are good and other times not so good. I have the perfect solution!

Private quilt coaching… you are in your studio, I am in mine and we come up with a game plan specific ...

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June 2, 2020
pink dresden to do from Making A Lather

My oldest ufo is from 1987. My only daughter was born after 2 boys ( and there would be 2 more boys) And I was ready to celebrate pink.  I saw a picture in a magazine ( I wonder where it is hiding), and, I cut pieces with a cardboard template. It was so pretty and feminine looking. But, a third baby leaves you one hand too few. And, it has barely seen the light of day.  I can't find when, but I found a dresden template awhile ago. I cut several, enough to fill a gallon zip lock bag.


I ...

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May 21, 2020
bloc loc template from Making A Lather

I have a drawer cart near my machine, and I sometimes just look down the labels of the drawers and, this time, I wanted to just make a couple of these star blocks using the bloc loc template set. It had been awhile. I don't work on these consistently. I think these are a fun diversion while I overcome what ever speed bump I have hit on my regular projects. It looks like I need to cut more of the light centers.



I started this block using a new bloc loc ruler. At the start, I cut, and cut ...

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March 17, 2020
Current Goings on…… from Lisa H Calle's Blog

Hi all, I hope you are all well and surviving our nationwide quarantine!  We are social creatures and this surely is gonna test us… what’s the saying… what doesn’t kill us will make us stronger.  Please follow all the directives so this can be over sooner rather than later.  While I realize that this is serious,  I need to try and maintain my sense of humor (hence the picture above) or I will go absolutely crazy.

First things first…. my online classes (not iQuilt) are on sale 25% off!  Use code 25OFF   The kits associated with both the ...

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February 14, 2020
Rulers for Rookies 2: The Next Step!!!!! 15% off this weekend from Lisa H Calle's Blog

So I realize that it’s been a while!  I apologize.  I have started to accept customer quilts again, it’s difficult  to try and get it all done but I’m trying!

I have had this new Rulers for Rookies 2 Kit in the works for quite a while now.  I can say as of today…. it is done!   I had so much fun designing this panel!  It comes with 5 different rulers.  ProCircle 7, ProEcho 12, ProPebble 3/4 – 1.75, Pro and my favorite…. the ProLine 8!

There is also a class to go along with this ...

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February 7, 2020
Hand Piecing 102 video - making your own templates from Wendy's Quilts and More

Well, I never expected that my video on hand piecing would be so popular!  Thank you for all the positive feedback on my last post and my Hand Piecing 101 video.

I thought that most hand piecers purchased acrylic templates, but there clearly are a lot of people who make their own templates, and many of you wanted tips on how to make accurate templates.

So, my next video, Hand Piecing 102, is all about how to make your own hand piecing templates from template plastic.

You can watch it here:



Hand Piecing 102 explains how to get straight edges ...

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December 24, 2019
spikey template from Making A Lather

Surprise, it is almost Christmas. We had the grandest time last night watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas specials on you tube. My favorite was - all is well with my soul - with Hugh Bonneville. It was deeply touching. I am so grateful for the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.

I thought I would try an actual list for to do tuesday. It might be too organized for me.

To do Tuesday
1. cut new spikey pieces to go with what I have already cut. I have been sewing these as leaders and enders for sand castles quilt. I cut ...

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December 3, 2019
NYC or Bust!! from Lisa H Calle's Blog

Hey everyone,

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  I had some new additions to my house… it definitely  kept things interesting .

I am heading to NYC next week (Dec 13th) to Gotham Quilts and there are still some spots left.   Rulers for Rookies is on tap for Friday afternoon and Friday evening!  Come spend some time in the city…. check out the tree and enjoy the atmosphere!  It is sure to be a great time and if you haven’t been to the shop… its worth the trip.

Rulers for Rookies a great introduction to using rulers on ...

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November 27, 2019
pineapple blocks from Making A Lather

It was time to start a few more pineapple blocks. The ones I had been working on had reached the size I wanted. I try to keep a few going so that I will remember how to make them. I don't like that I have to reacquaint  myself if I wait too long to work on them. These blocks started as a gifted bag of scraps more here.


The second row is easy to trim. I can cut both sides before I move the template.


I am ready for the neutral row.


           
I am linking to:
to do tuesday ...

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October 29, 2019
pineapple from Making A Lather

I had the pineapple template and project out last week, and I wanted to try another round before I lose interest again.




It would be helpful at this time, to decide the size I am making. haha

you tube video

I started it here and here.

I am linking to:
to do tuesday


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October 25, 2019
Houston or bust!! from Lisa H Calle's Blog

It’s that time of year again!  We all madly prepare for Houston market and Festival! Those late nights of prepping the boxes for shipping.  We have to send those weeks ahead of time.  I always forget what I put in the boxes so this year… I wrote down what was in the boxes so hopefully I won’t forget something crucial!  Which I ALWAYS DO!!!

I will be arriving on Sunday to set up my classroom for Monday and Tuesday classes…. unfortunately this year…. I will not be having a booth at Festival!  I know…..booooo!  I just couldn ...

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