I Am Beginning to See the Light…

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Sewfrench

Cleaning up, a quilt before it is completely finished, is probably my less favorite part. After the quilting is finished, and the binding is on but before it heads to the washer, I probably spend 20 minutes inspecting and carefully trimming stray threads. I need to clog my washing machine filter just about as much as I need to clip a hole in a new quilt.

A Sewfrench original

While clipping all the ravelly ones, that I didn’t trim as I put the top together….., I sometimes come across spots where I completely missed hand-quilting. These I mark with double safety pins. They dangle, and are very noticeable, if I don’t get back to finishing the missing quilting, right away.

A Sewfrench original

Then off to the washer before I do some embroider, on this one. The colors are so bold that I want to wash it before I do the embroidery for fear of dye leakage. I don’t want it to bleed on my lighter colored embroidery thread. I will then probably spend an equal amount of time, cleaning the ravels again, when I pull it out of the wash…

This one has been a long time in the making. Looking back though, it actually hasn’t been as long as it seems, since I started it. It was just under a year ago when the idea was still evolving. I used big-stitch quilting on it because there are SO many seams to cross. Most pieces are under 2″ square, the majority being even smaller. If you are a hand quilter you totally understand the difficulty of quilting through seam allowances. I am still not sure I like this style of quilting. I feel like it is okay on this one because the design itself will deflect from however I quilted it. And because I despise embroidering so much, it will be a while before you see this one in all it’s glory!! I’ll share when it is finished.

What are you working on? Any hanger-on projects you are working hard, to finish up, before you start new ones???

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Posted in Design, Fabric Tuesday, hand quilting, Quilting, Sewing, WIP | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

This is why I love my library. It is free.

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Sewfrench

Gray MountainGray Mountain by John Grisham

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

It’s been a long time since I wanted to give up and quit reading a book. Also, a long time since I’ve talked back to a book so much. I generally really enjoy John Grisham’s books, and was really looking forward to this one, so I was surprised at how much this novel disappointed.The major theme of the book is strip mining for coal. While I appreciate learning something new, while being entertained, I don’t know anyone who enjoys heavy-handed didactic sanctimonious rhetoric. If you found that last phrase painfully redundant, then you’re going to detest the strip mining information in this book, which is dry, repetitive and far too lengthy for the purpose of advancing the story.

Lots of facts about black lung disease and how the coal mining companies are cheating their workers out of benefits but very little story. A political statement disguised as a work of fiction.

Too many clichés. Really, Mr. Grisham? Was this your first book and you are just now publishing it?

And the book could have been half as long if the author had not told the same story, using the same lines, multiple times. Seriously, you already said that using the exact words!

Proof that the John Grisham who wrote this book is “not” the John Grisham I have read in the past.

Really, I think Janet Evanovich has a new pen name…

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Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Sewfrench

Freestyle Birch Trees by SewfrenchThis is the first quilt I have ever made for my husband’s brother, my brother-in-law. I’ve been in the family for almost 28 years and I’m not sure why it took me so long! I didn’t know it,  but apparently this is his first handmade quilt, ever. I know lots of people don’t have hand-made quilts, I realize that. Don’t get me wrong, but my mother-in-law was one of the most beautiful quilters ever. She had an eye for color and the consistency of her stitches was impeccable. I was just surprised she had never made him one before her back gave out. But it could be that she took to making kiddie quilts. I know our house ended with quite a few of those!

Freestyle Birch Trees by Sewfrench

For this one I used low-volume scraps for the trees (working through my scrap baskets!) and Pepper Cory’s shot cotton, in charcoal, for the background and in Carbon, for the binding. I adore quilting with these Peppered Cottons. They have an understated shimmer because the warp (lengthwise threads) are one color and the weft (side-to-side threads) are another. They are sturdier than some shot cottons I’ve dealt with making them a breeze to work with. They feel like a lovely chambray. I handled this project a lot and I still love the fabrics I chose. It is quilted freehand, no markings, no hoop, just lap-quilted in echoing rows roughly 1/4″ apart. The trees themselves, I quilted 1/4″ away from each seam. I think the dense background quilting caused the trees to pop exactly how I wanted. The horizontal tree quilting reminds me of growth lines and tames the trees just right.

Freestyle Birch Trees by SewfrenchI briefly talked about this quilt having a voile back when I started the quilting. I’ll have to gather the progress pictures and show you the craziness that went into this one! I have learned something from every quilt I have made and it is funny how so many of those lessons came together into this one. Or were repeated in it, at least.

Freestyle Birch Trees by Sewfrench

I love how the all the hand-quilting shows on the back. I can’t decide which side I prefer!

Freestyle Birch Trees by Sewfrench And with the sun shining through it, it looks like stained glass. I used Robert Kaufman’s Veronica Voile, in Stone for the back and Quilter’s Dream for the batting, making it a very light and snuggly quilt.

Freestyle Birch Trees by Sewfrench

“Freestyle Birch Trees”
A Sewfrench Original
Peppered Cottons with Low Volume scraps
Heavily hand quilted
48″ x 60″

“I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree~
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”
― Robert Frost

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Posted in 2014 completes, Christmas, Design, fabric, Gifts, Nature, Quilting, Sewing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

My Favorite Books of 2014

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Sewfrench


My Favorite Books of 2014
Someone once asked me how many books I read per year. I had no idea, I know it seems like a lot. It got me thinking. A book a week? Two books a week? Sometimes it takes me a month to read one book. I had no idea. So a year ago I decided to track them. I linked up with Goodreads and joined the 2014 Reading Challenge. You choose how many books you want to read and you track them through their website. (You can even link every book you ever bought through your Amazon account to make it easy to get started!) The challenge, itself, does the math and tells you how far behind, or ahead, of schedule you are as the year progresses. I decided I would try to read 52 books. I ended up reading 69. I am glad I joined. Have you ever joined a reading challenge? There are a lot of different ones out there! Now, I wonder if 69 is my average or a fluke……. How many will I read in 2015?

As you can see, from this year’s favorites list, I read a variety of books, both old and new. From looking at my master list, of all the books I read in 2014, it does appear I choose non-fiction and historical fiction most often. Funny how that has evolved. I used to read Koontz, Patterson, Evanovitch…. primarily fiction, and now they are a rarity.

The books that stuck with me, this year, in no particular order are:|

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
James Madison by Lynne Chenney
Night by Elie Wiesel
Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel
The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pepin
My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Winter of the World by Ken Follett
Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What about you? Did you read anything great this year??? Discover any new favorites? Do you use Goodreads? I’m always looking to friend other readers, with similar tastes, for recommendations.

Cheers to another great year of reading, exploring and finding new favorites!

P.S. Sometimes my links, for products on Amazon, are linked back to me. If you add the item to your Amazon cart and then purchase it I get a “little” Amazon store credit, as in pennies. I didn’t used to do this, but I started to recently because I was linking to Amazon anyway (hello, we all shop there) and I figured you wouldn’t mind if Amazon has to give me a free book now and again. Just letting you know, to keep things legit around here.

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How to Shorten a Metal Zipper

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Sewfrench

I found myself with a couple of spare minutes and am playing around with some of these Moda fabrics I have heard so many others blog about. Mochi Dot and Cotton and Steel are both a 70/30 cotton and linen blend. They are still fluid, like you think of linen, but in a firmer way. It is heavier that quilting cotton but not as heavy as a canvas. Somewhere in the middle, just a really nice-bodied fabric. Perfect for almost anything I can dream up. I am so happy to have a local fabric store that stocks all these cool fabrics! Mochi Dots and Cotton and Steel at Sewfrench And because I have Soooo much spare time on my hands, HA, I decided I needed another little project. And to do it, I needed to shorten a metal zipper which I already owned. It seems as if you can never get interesting zippers in the exact size you need…. I had always heard you could shorten them, but I would just barrel through, break a few needles, and I was good to go. Yeah, yeah, yeah…. You can’t sew through metal and sometimes your broken needle falls down into the bobbin area of the machine and has to be removed with pliers…. Sometimes it throws your timing off and it has to be taken into the shop…. Not recommended. Ever. And besides you could put your eye out with a flying broken needle. This was so easy, I didn’t even photograph it. I will never try to sew “between” the teeth of a metal zipper, again! How to shorten a metal zipper at SewfrenchI measured my zipper from the bottom (the end of the metal part of the zipper) up to the length I wanted. I then marked it with a water erasable blue pen. Now I used my wire cutters and clipped the zipper teeth off above my marks. Once you get one, or two, off you can cut multiples in one cut. The teeth on this zipper are aluminum, not too tough to cut. The wire cutters don’t easily cut the zipper tape, so that isn’t a big concern, be careful nonetheless. Once you have removed the standard amount at the top of a zipper (maybe 5/8″) you can move on to removing the zipper stops at the top. Using the tip of a small pair of wire cutters you just lift them off. They are just bent over the tape, above the top teeth. They are easy enough to pry off. Once you get the first one off you will realize it is not that difficult. Now you just put the zipper tops back on above what is now the new top teeth and pinch them on with a pair of pliers. It really is just that easy! Now cut the zipper off and dispose of the top part of the old length and you have your perfect length metal zipper! Let me know if you try it or have any questions!! …now back to Christmas wrapping. The next time I find a few minutes I’ll finish up the project I am going to use this newly shortened zipper on! Linking up with: Crazy Mom Quilts Can I Get a Whoop Whoop LAFF

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Wrapping Odd Shaped Gifts part II

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Sewfrench

Pillowcases. That’s what I’m talking about.

Who can’t use an extra one? This year, instead of using up a roll of disposable wrapping paper and then having to deal with the trash, I am making pillowcases for some of my bulkier gifts. I wish I had time to make reusable wrappings for all my gifts, but not this year. I’ll just settle for wrapping the odd-shaped ones in fabric.

Pillowcase at Sewfrench

I use one yard of fabric per pillowcase. If I am using a different fabric for the cuff, 3/4 of a yard is all you need. Square up the end, cut a strip 8 1/2″ for the cuff. I cut/use a 1 1/2″ strip for the trim, this is from a different fabric. You could use ribbon or rickrack, or not use it at all but I think it adds interest. The rest of the fabric is used as the case, no waste. If I have less than a yard, I make the cuff out of a coordinating fabric. Because I don’t have time to write and tutorial, (busying wrapping gifts) I won’t reinvent the wheel. You can check here, here and here for directions. I do always use the french-seam, magic pillowcase way of creating them.

Pillowcase as gift wrap at Sewfrench

Are you wrapping any gifts in reusable materials this year??? Any great new ideas, patterns or tutorials out there to share???

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Wrapping Odd Shaped Gifts

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Sewfrench

I feel like I’ve gotten in over my head with ideas, projects started and now Christmas will be here in a blink of an eye. I did start shopping this week. And unfortunately, that leads to wrapping… Sometimes when you end up with odd sized, or bulky items, paper wrapping just doesn’t cut it.

When Deb at A Quilter’s Table posted a tutorial for these adorable Trim-Tied Gift Bags I decided I needed to stop everything and see if I could adjust it to fit some odd-shaped gifts I had been given to wrap. (Because apparently I can’t do anything just as written.) I have to say she did a great job. Her tutorial is beautifully written and easy to follow. She even developed a second size with instructions on using directional fabric that works well with piecing your fabric, too.

Digging into the depths of my stash I came up with some Christmas fabric from 30+ years ago and gave it a go.


Trim-Tied Gift Bag @ SewfrenchI altered everything about Deb’s beautiful bag. I butchered her perfect tutorial. I made it in reverse order, lining it after it was put together, even sewing on the ribbon ties after I completed the bag, didn’t want to waste the ribbon if the altered size wouldn’t work. That trick is accomplished by turning the bag inside out and working from inside the bag. It is just the same as when sewing knees patches on little boys’  pants.

As you can see, even with huge changes and an awkward shaped gift inside, it still worked!

And while I did line this soft, old, quilting fabric, it is still a little limper than I would like. I think I’ll head out later this week and see if I can find something a little sturdier like the 70% cotton/30% linen recommended. I plan on making the next version a bit taller, too.

If you decide to give this a try, be sure and add it to Deb’s A Quilter’s Table flicker page!

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Best Book of 2014

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Sewfrench

Everything I Never Told You

 

“Everything I Never Told You,” the début novel by author Celeste Ng, tells of the tragedy that strikes the Lee family when their 16-year-old daughter Lydia goes missing one morning. The author effortlessly weaves in the back story of the parents, a cross-cultural couple that encounters prejudice both within their family and at Harvard, where the couple met. Things are no better in small-town Ohio, where they move in the late 1950s.

This book was recently chosen as Amazon’s best book of 2014. It topped the list of 100 Good Reads, which included fiction and non-fiction works, selected by editors at the online retailer.

The writing in this is beautiful. There are no shocking or huge revelations as usual ‘family dramas’ do have, but the author is still able to enthrall the reader throughout the story. Each family member’s story is deep and detailed, allowing us to see why each one behaves the way they do. Truly heartbreaking.

This book snuck up on me; I wasn’t convinced it would rise above the predictable but I think it really does. The portraits of each character are totally convincing and their efforts to communicate are moving, sad and believable. A surprisingly original variation on a family tragedy.

I have to agree with Amazon, this is one of the best books I have read all year.

Celeste Ng is a winner of the Hopwood Award and a recipient of the Pushcart prize. Her work has been featured in One Story, TriQuarterly, Bellevue Literary Review, the Kenyon Review Online, and other publications.

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The Cay

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Sewfrench

The Cay (The Cay, #1)The Cay by Theodore Taylor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Cay is an adventurous work of fiction that shows a beautiful relationship between Phillip and Timothy, the story of a blind white boy and an elderly black man stranded together on a Caribbean island during World War II. The text has themes of survival and trust. It shows Phillip overcoming his racism and being thankful that Timothy is with him. The line “Are you still black?” has to be the key turning point in the story.

I melted into this tale as Phillip and Timothy struggled to survive while awaiting rescue.  Excellent lessons on ethnicity. This would be a milder approach to Mark Twain’s similar lessons in the Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn stories.

A wonderful adventure story to add to your Christmas gift list for the tweens in your life. I think buying books for young boys is especially difficult and this one is perfect for both the boys and girls. This book makes a great read-a-loud, also. It is not too long and gives the opportunity for lots of great discussions. Hooray all around!

Another thought that occurred to me as I was reading was how many blind child hero books are there out there? Outside of the Helen Keller books, not many from what I’ve read and how cool is that?!!

This is another book that was made into a movie called The Cay. I had no idea. Looks as if it was a pretty well received movie, back in 1974, when they were still making movies for television. I have to find this one because James Earl Jones, starring as Timothy, has to be worth the search!

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Pecan Pie Muffins

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Sewfrench

I may just make these every Thanksgiving from now on. They are a perfect fall feeling snack. A perfect little snack for your fall brunch. They feel like a special treat over your plain ole muffins. Born and raised in the South, I love all things pecan.

I have read and studied so many different variations, of these muffins, that my head was spinning. I then decided to just dive right in and figure out what I wanted to serve at my house and take notes as I went.

Pecan Pie Muffins @ Sewfrench

Pecan Pie Muffins V1
printer friendly version

1 c pecans, chopped
1 c light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c flour
2 eggs
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Fill a muffin tin with muffin liners.
In a large bowl beat the eggs until foamy. Add the softened butter and mix.
Mix in the sugar and vanilla, lastly the flour and pecans and stir only until moistened.
Spoon the batter into 9 regular size muffin tins, filling each cup 2/3 full.
Bake for 18-23 minutes, 20 minutes in my oven. Don’t over bake.
Remove muffins from pans immediately.

If you can stand the wait these are a bit easier to remove from the paper liners if you let them cool completely.

Pecan Pie Muffins @ Sewfrench

Mini Pecan Pie Muffins V2
printer friendly version

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c butter (1 stick), softened
1 c light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c pecans, chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°.

Grease and flour 24 mini muffin cups. Baker’s Joy would be the easy way out, it combines flour in the nonstick spray. Don’t think about only using Pam, because of the sugar content in these muffins, you will have a mess trying to get them out.

I did more than chop my pecan pieces, in this version. I put them in a mini food processor and chopped them fairly fine, not as much as ground, but because I am making mini muffins, I didn’t want huge inclusions in them. This worked perfectly well.

Now stir together your dry ingredients, brown sugar, flour and pecans.

In a separate bowl beat the butter, eggs, vanilla together until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients until just combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Cups should be about 2/3 full, mine seemed a bit fuller.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes on until done, check them early, in case your oven runs hotter than mine. Pop them out of the the pans as soon as possible to prevent sticking. I had to run a knife abound the edges to “help” them out. Cool on a wire rack.

I have read you can grease your tins with butter, then sprinkle them heavily with sugar, as opposed to flour, and they will pop out even easier. Not sure if that is true or not, but it may lead me to try a third version! I’m betting they would have an even crunchier, caramelized crust that would be delicious, too!

Between the two versions, we settled on liking the mini ones best. You get a crisper crust, not using cupcake liners, which is delicious. The best part though could be that you get to eat two instead of just one. 🙂

I have not tested these using gluten-free flours, but because of the small amount of flour in them, I suspect they will work out well using one of the commercially available blends.

I suspect these will be found at my house over the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe yours, too?

Speaking of Thanksgiving, can you believe it is in less than a week?? Where has the time gone?! Yikes!

Enjoy!!

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