Kaye's College-Day 2 & 3

What a whirlwind of activity here in somewhat sunny Florida!  We have had guest lecturers, new patterns, old favorite, new friends, good stories, some tears, more laughs and still more to come!  We have seen some beautiful new ideas for Kaye's Bread & Butter fabrics, and are so excited to come back and share some of our creations with you.  What Jill and I have found is that the entire line works so well together that you can mix about any two or three or four or twelve colors together, and the combination always looks great!


We were given step two of the mystery quilt, and I have been working on the next progression of blocks.  However, I don't know if I want to show the final product when I am finished, as I think we may need to do this mystery for ourselves at Pine Needles, and I would so hate to ruin the surprise for you. 

Here is some guesses that I have for the blocks, it's not looking very hopeful for me, I don't think any of these options would work.

30 & 60 Degree Rulers

I saw a great quilt made with the new 30 and 60 degree triangles, made by my friend Rosemary, and I think I may start a bit of a smaller version of this myself.  I don't know that I will do something quite as elaborate as what Rosemary did, but I will let you know the end result.

Trio Top, T-shirt & Pant Pattern

Our friend Linda Lee also came for a visit, and as usual, inspired me to try some different ideas with some of her patterns.  Here Linda is showing her Trio Top from her Trio Top, T-shirt and Pant pattern.

Bells & Whistles Top

My favorite was her mixing fabrics on the Bells & Whistles top.  I have made this pattern before, and now I will definitely be going home and making a new style, I am already thinking of some fabrics for this new creation.

Ikina Jacket

My other favorite style was the Ikina jacket.  This is one that I would never have picked up for the cover of the pattern, and when she showed this, she showed how she removed the vents from the sides, and gave a funky side slit.  This is also a definite one to make.

The other day, the weather started off really nice, and ended beautifully, but it rained all day in between.  I got some beautiful sunset pictures with the remnants of storm clouds.

Kaye's College-Day 1

Ahhh, Florida.  Although only 52 when we arrived Thursday, by Friday it is in the 70s with beautiful sun, and a nice warm breeze.  This morning we were able to watch the dolphins playing just past the beach in the Gulf of Mexico.  It's hard to catch them on camera though, those little buggers are fast!

First night, all of the students of Kaye's College got together to each dinner by the pool, catch up with old friends, and meet some new ones.  Then it was off to the sewing room for our first Pep Rally by Kaye.  Already, we have our first project that we can do.  Kaye gives us lots of ideas of projects that we could work on, and we can choose to do all or none of them.  This year Jill and I packed our bags VERY differently.  We were determined to only take one suitcase each, and in this suitcase we had to fit all of our clothes for 8 days, as well as sewing supplies.  Our machines were shipped to Florida, but everything else had to fit in 50 pounds or less.  What a task.
So, I was quite frugal on what I brought.  Small cutting mat, rotary cutter, rulers, thread and needles.  And only 2 different fabric group options!  I have Kaye's Bread & Butter collection and a small collection of funky scraps that I may have an idea for, but that might change when I see some of the projects that Kaye has.



First task, find a project.
Task completed.  Kaye handed out the first of a three-part Mystery Quilt.  This is just basic cutting, and block construction, we will have a few days to work on this on and off, and then will be given the next step of instructions. 






Second task, pick a fabric collection.
Task completed.  This was pretty easy, either funky, weird leftover pieces that I brought from home, or my Fat Quarter tower of Kaye's beautiful Bread & Butter Collection.  We found an obvious winner for this.








Third task, pick fabrics for mystery project.
Task completed.  I wanted to finished project to be a bit different than any of the other 47 college students that may also be working on this project.






Fourth task, iron all the fat quarters that I will be cutting up in the morning.
Task completed.  I want to be ready to go on Saturday morning when we start at 7am.  Lots to do, lots to see, and lots to learn.
Fifth and final task for the evening.  Relax and get some rest.
We have already enjoyed so much during this trip.  This is my fourth time being at this resort and it is always such a wonderful experience.  It is quiet, and relaxing with fabulous views, and always something to see or do.

Why don't you create a little retreat for yourself?  Go get some sand out of the sandbox, or off the snow pile in the road, and sprinkle it on the floor in your sewing room.  Crank your furnace up to 85, turn on some ukulele music, throw a little salt on your face, and sit with the sun floor lamp shining on your face.  I am sure by now you can already hear then coming with your margarita...

Society Meeting Month #1

Ok, it's official.  We had our first Society meeting, complete with sewing lessons and baked goodies.  Mmmm Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.  Really, how can you go wrong with that combination?

So, here is a re-cap of some of the most important precision cutting tips.

#1 Check your sewing equipment-When was the last time you changed your rotary blade?  If you don't remember, it is time.

Use a Square Ruler for cutting squares, a rectangle ruler for cutting rectangles etc.

#2 Use the right ruler for the job.  Don't do overkill by cutting 2 inch squares with your 14 inch ruler.  It is just too hard to navigate.  Let's not try to make this harder on yourself.

1st Cut - Over cut.  (We are cutting a 3 1/2in strip here)

 





#3 Over-cut the first cut, then go back for your precision cut.  This is a much easier way to square up your fabric then trying to cut off just a sliver to square your fabric up.

2nd Cut - Precision cut (3 1/2in strip)

Cutting 3 1/2in strip into (2) 1 3/4in strips

This helps keep your fabric straight.  Rather than cutting 2 individual strips

#4 Use your Sight Lines!  Do you know where they are?  Is your fabric going through the centers of each of the circles?  This is what your Sight Lines are for.  Use them!

#5 On the Jelly Stars pattern, pay attention to the Asterisks'.  Pattern is written for traditional piecing, however the asterisks tell you how to cut for Smart Piecing.  Sooo much better.

#6 When cutting your half square triangles either - A. Cut two layers together (right sides together OR wrong sides together) or B. Cut one set of half square triangles right side up, and the next one wrong side up.  This will give you two triangles with opposite ends.

#7 When I sew Flying Geese units, I start on the blunt end on the right side and sew down to the point.  When attaching the left side, I start on the pointed end and sew up to the blunt end.

Line up the pointed ends and the blunt ends

See that little triangle hanging over the edge?  Your needle should pierce that very first.

Where the seams intersect, should be 1/4in in from edge

#8 Become a Smart Piecing genius.  Check out Kaye England's More Smart Piecing DVD.  This covers cutting with all of the rulers in the Smart Piecing collection, as well as piecing tips, and lots of Kaye fun!

#9 Sign up for some Smart Piecing classes.  Download our calendar at www.PineNeedles.net and sign up today!

#10 Have fun with your first two projects, and don't stress.  This Society should not equal stress.  Call us, e-mail us, or stop in with questions.  We love to help  Enjoy!