It was -14° F at my house this morning, so naturally I went out on the porch to blow bubbles. Bubbles don’t pop when it’s that cold, they either land and deflate or shatter in the air.
Oddly enough, I also finished my “On the Bubble” quilt. (Tutorial can be found here.)
Stay warm, my friends!
Making an On the Bubble quilt is a lot of fun because you get to combine solids and scrappiness all in one visually interesting quilt. I named it “On the Bubble” because of the appliqued circles, but also because the placement of the color values of the squares builds an illusion of a curve where none exists. I made mine with shades of gray, but you could easily convert this to an ombre selection of fabrics, or for a different look you could switch the solids and prints to have a layer of solid bubbles floating over colorful scrappy squares. This will make a lap sized quilt about 67.5″ square.
I purchased a yard each of Robert Kaufman’s Kona cotton solids as listed below. Beside them I’ll list the number of five inch squares you’ll need of each:
You’ll also need 225 circles cut from various scraps.
I used a 2.75″ diameter circle template. I’ve made a circle template and a placement template that you can download and print on cardstock: On The Bubble Templates from CoopCrafts_20150206_0001. I traced 225 circles onto the paper side of Heat n Bond Light. (Numbering the circles as you trace will help you keep track.) Then roughly cut them out, leaving a little space around the edge of each circle. Follow package directions to attach the circles to the back side of your fabric scraps, then trim carefully around each circle. You can use the placement template provided (cut out the center square) to help you center the circles, or if you have one, you can add washi tape to your five inch square ruler as I did below. Then, following package directions, attach the circles to your squares.
The next step is to stitch around your circles. If you want to keep your edges neat and free from fraying, use a zigzag stitch that encloses the edge of the circle. For my quilt, I’ve used a vintage hand crank machine that only makes straight stitches (and doesn’t stitch in reverse), so the edges of my circles will lift over time to give ruffly, textural interest. For whichever method you choose, I recommend this trick to keep your applique from unraveling. If using straight stitches, complete about three rounds, as seen below. Try not to stitch over the edges if you’re going to let them ravel, but let the circles “drift” a bit as you sew, kind of like the first few rounds of a Spirograph drawing.
The backs will look like this, with the thread ends neatly tied:
Once all your circles have been appliqued, it’s time to lay out your squares. Here’s the fancy grid I used, direct from my sketchbook, with the color numbers from above to help with placement.
It may help to start in one corner. Once you approach the middle, it’ll be easier to see and follow the pattern.
Mine looked like this, with a couple squares needing to be remade because my hand crank machine gets grouchy as her bobbin runs low.
Begin stitching your rows together, taking time to admire your favorite fabrics as you go. This was a gift from a friend and I love it!
And although it’s not even quilted yet, I’m sharing the tutorial because several Instagram friends are eager to start bubble quilts of their own.
If you make one, I’d love to see it!
Looking forward to a creative and productive 2015!
This weekend I visited my sister in law in South Carolina and helped her paint her Ikea coffee table. Visiting was even more fun with a project to work on together! Unfortunately, I forgot to get a true “Before” picture, so here’s her table after we finished the first coat of paint:
Since it’s a a laminate table, we used my leftover Rustoleum Cabinet Tranformations paint. Most paints will peel off laminate after drying, but you can use a primer like Zinsser or a specialty countertop paint. After two coats of paint, we used a design we created and resized/printed using Block Posters with white carbon paper to trace the design on the table.
Then we painted along the lines with some leftover tester pot paint. (You don’t need special laminate paint once you’ve painted the table, since regular paint will stick to the painted surface.) You can see more of this painting method here.
After letting the design dry, we painted on a dark glaze, then wiped away the excess. This darkened the design and left an impression of wood grain, and also cleared away the little smudges left by the white carbon paper. With the glaze applied, it almost looked like the design was carved into a wood table rather than painted onto laminate. The final step was a sealer.
This picture was taken from the side to avoid glare, and then we were on our way home so I didn’t get more photos. The coastline was so much fun to paint that I wish I needed a coffee table topped with Norway’s fjords. I’ll save that idea for another day.
This beginner level sewing project is quick, easy and low cost and would be great for craft sales or little gifts.
Cherry pits are wonderful to use in hand warmers or heat packs because they naturally retain heat and release it slowly. Their small, round shape helps them to comfortably conform to the shape of your body, and they have a very pleasant light cherry scent. They can be purchased in bulk, cleaned, dried and ready to use from many sources online. (I found mine at The Next Door Down on Etsy.)
To make hand warmers:
Mix and match all kinds of fabrics, or make matching sets and tie them up with a little ribbon. To use, pop them in a microwave for 20-30 seconds. (Don’t overdo it, scorched cherry pits don’t smell nice.)
The packs are small enough so that they can stay in coat pockets all day without being much in the way, so kids are likely to bring them back home to heat up again before the bus stop wait tomorrow. If your kids are fidgety like mine (and me!) they’ll probably enjoy the soothing feel of the warm cherry pits rolling around inside the warmers.
Make larger packs with the same method to use as a heating pad, or chill in the freezer to use as an ice pack.
CoopCrafts 