Alicia's Attic

The last month has been interesting to say the least. I started out by traveling to the Mexican Riviera with a wonderful group of quilters from Lori's Country Cottage near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. My husband and I took time to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary while on the cruise. On the days at sea, our group gathered for a lecture, a demonstration-filled afternoon and two full-day workshops. The students did a great job to keep focused when the boat was swaying. They put together some striking 3D designs and log cabin designs.

Unfortunately, on the second to last day, I came down with a sore throat and laryngitis. I've been waiting all month for my voice to come back so I could finish a video I had started before Christmas. Finally, the stars aligned and the project has been completed. I so enjoy putting together solutions for quilters. This one is on how to miter binding for angles other than 90 degrees. Tablerunners so often have pointed ends which create other odd angles. The method I show can be used for any angle, and you don't have to know the number. My hope is that you find freedom in your creativity to try something new with a different angle...in this brand new year. Oh my, is it already February?! More to do, more quilts to make, more solutions to find, more designs to write... Let me know if you have a question/problem you would like solved. We'll see what we can do to get it in the schedule. Enjoy your quilting!

While visting Make It Sew in Broomfield, I discussed with Bob how best to work with older machines or the new machines that really aren't up to the standards of the past. (He really knows machines having worked on all brands for 20 plus years.) We talked about some of the most frustrating parts of working with the sewing machine. He mentioned that not knowing how to thread the machine properly was a significant step. This reminded me that while in 7th and 8th grade, I sewed my clothes not knowing how to thread my great aunt's Kenmore which we had inherited. The bobbin thread always ran straight compared to the top thread. I didn't have a problem ripping out seams as needed, but I'm amazed that my clothes stayed together.

Another issue we discussed is the machine sucking the thread down into the bobbin case area at the beginning. If I forget to grab the threads, I can have a major mess, sometimes. While learning to sew and quilt in the 70's and 80's, many times when I was pushing to finish a project, I would often have the machine lock up right near the end. I think the reason was because I would be in a hurry and not grab the threads (because I knew that I didn't always have to hold them) then I would push on the pedal too fast and the threads would be pulled in, creating a birds nest of thread and quite often an end to my progress. I remember  my mom really didn't like me using her machine because each time I got threads caught she would have to have it serviced.

Since then, I have learned to use Startie-Stoppies and come to realize what a life-saver and time-saver they are. (These are scraps of fabric that I use in between my sewing so that everything is chain-pieced. For them to work effectively, I start with one and end with one, which then becomes my startie, because I cut the work off the back.) I proposed to Bob that maybe by teaching people to sew with these from the very beginning, they wouldn't get as frustrated with their machine and would stick with sewing longer. He agreed that holding those threads is important especially on lesser quality machines...and this might make a difference in how people relate to sewing and their machine. I figure that this simple concept lets the machine do what it does best - sewing - and lets us do what we enjoy doing most - guiding the fabric in... to create something beautiful and special.

If you haven't tried Startie-Stoppies or are not familiar with the concept, let me know you are interested and I'll put together a video giving the 10 reasons why Startie-Stoppies are the best, no matter what type of machine you have. Bob pointed out the latest which is that by having fabric feeding in after sewing, the presser foot never comes in contact with the feeddogs. Therefore these metal parts don't wear down and the small bits of metal aren't down in the bobbin mechanism.

My youngest son, Marcus is heading off to college next year, following his brother, Kevin, to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. As we were looking for colleges, I was reminded of my time at Texas A&M and University of Texas at Dallas working on my bachelor's and master's in applied mathematics. If you had told me then that I would be applying my math to quilting I would have been completely surprised. However, I have found myself analyzing and refining all kinds of processes in quilting and sewing. Being able to mix both of my favorite subjects along with teaching has been a wonderful opportunity. One of my first ideas was to develop Qtools Cutting Edge. Many times I have met quilters who have commented that they didn't need this because they already had tape that they used, or they could line up their ruler just fine without it, or they didn't need something to show them the mark. When I hear this I ask them if they had put it on the underside of their ruler. And more often times than not, they had only tried it on the top of the ruler.When I mention this they start questioning the difference. The orange strip has a thickness that makes a stop for the ruler against the fabric!

Obviously, I haven't been getting the word out very well. If you need a refresher, view the short video that demonstrates how this simple product can reduce the amount of time you spend cutting strips. Not that you have to rush through your cutting, but it makes cutting frustration-free without accidently cutting the wrong size (as long as you double check where you place the orange strips), less likely to have the ruler slide, and keeps the cuts consistent.

If you like using Qtools Cutting Edge, let your quilting friends know about it, or better yet give them some for their birthday or at a retreat or as a Secret Sister. Recommend it to your favorite quilt shop...they should have it on their rulers because that is the best place to store the strips. Ready to use all of the time. Karen at Make It Sew in Broomfield, CO thought this was a great idea to let customers know about this great yet simple idea.

This afternoon Anita and I loaded up the car with Qtools Sewing Edge product and packaging material and headed to Poudre High School here in Fort Collins. The Alpine Robotics team agreed to package our purple strips as a fund raiser for their FIRST Robotics Team Competition. Both of my sons  have been involved with this group and I am amazed at the opportunities this program offers young people interested in something other than athletics. Through FIRST Robotics, the students experience working as a team to build a robot in 6 weeks and then have the robot compete against and with other teams in their region and finally in Atlanta where the world championship is held.

Professional engineers mentor the teams during the build season to help them with the design and manufacturing of the robot. This provides an opportunity for the engineers to learn more about themselves and to inspire young people to pursue the technical fields.The students learn electronics, mechanics, software engineering, animation, marketing, fundraising, and more. One of the ideas they teach is to compete with gracious professionalism. Everyone is there to help each other, and enjoy some fun competition. After six weeks, some teams don't have their robot working completely, other teams have the robot but the mechanics are not very effective, while other teams dominate the competition. You'll find teams helping those in need even when they are competing later in the day.

You may be wondering how a group of high school students can make a robot in that short amount of time. It is definitely a challenge and they pour their hearts and souls into those six weeks. When it all comes together and the competitions happen, I am reminded that this isn't about the robot. The robot provides an opportunity for these young people, our future engineers, to find themselves and know that they can make a difference with their ideas. They learn how to work together with gracious professionalism.

Watching the 20 plus team members learn about assembly line production through the packaging of sewing edge, was cool. They stayed to task, learned modifications that would help the process, kept their eyes open for quality issues, and when the two hours were over, I heard them talking about how fun the afternoon was. We are going back next week to let them finish up the batch and to present them with a check for a job well done. So quilting and robots can go together...share the info about Sewing Edge with your quilting friends and we'll keep providing an opportunity for Alpine Robotics 159.

To find out more about the robotics visit the FIRST website where they have information about programs for elementary schools through high school.

To see some assembly line methods in action with sewing and quilting, watch our videos on the Clearview Method of Half-Square Triangles and Faster and Easier Seams.

Sunday, Oct 18, 2009: This weekend I was sewing on a quilt for my mom for her 86th birthday. The design is from a quilt that either her grandmother or great-grandmother made. She found the well-worn quilt only after her mom passed away. The original quilt was hand-pieced and hand-quilted with inset seams. I revised the design to use half-square triangles. When I was working on the video tape showing how to use Qtools Sewing Edge, I realized how I could use pressing the line rather than marking the line for a better way to make these units. Before I video taped, I figured I had better test my theory. So I used my Mom's quilt as a testing ground. I was able to make the 200 plus half-square triangles in about 3 hours. There were only a few that weren't "good enough" for the quilt. So, all in all, the technique works great.

If you are interested in another method for making half-square triangles without cutting extra large squares, without ripping paper, and without drawing the line on the square, watch the video. One caution, if you are not comfortable with your iron and pressing surface, this may not be the solution best for you. I would enjoy hearing your feedback on this method if you try it...I think it is great, but before I spread the word, your comments will let me know how it works for others. When I get the quilt finished, I'll take photos of both the original and the new quilt before I give it to her. I'll post the photos here.