In Alabama, there are TWO seasons–baseball and football. As we are right on the verge of football season, I designed a great portable lap quilt to carry to the stadium (or to the easy chair). It comes in a petite (36″) made of 8 simple pinwheel blocks or a roomy medium/large (48″) for maximum cover, yet it’s CURVED so it won’t drag. It’s a easy solution and easy to make with lots of diagrams to guide you along.
What a great gift for the fans, especially since it’s made in TWO COLORS, perfect for ANY team colors. I, of course, had to do an Auburn one and one for University of Alabama, just to be PC. Mine are being donated to the Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce for the Draw Down auction this week. Since I’m celebrating the over 50 patterns posted, I put it on sale with the others for 50% off until the end of September (just $2.5o). CLICK HERE to see more.
by LJ Christensen
NO FOOTBALL or pinwheel pics in my stash of photos, so I’ll pass along a couple tips instead. As I was cleaning up these two lap quilts, I was thinking about what I needed (final clean-up, not finishing the sewing):
- Tiny scissors for clipping the stray threads. (I have several pairs of embroidery scissors that work well, but my favorites are still my Ginghers.)
- Fine-tipped tweezers (I got great Martelli ones from Nancy’s Notions.com, and Tula Pink seems to have some similar ones that are colorful like her creations.) Use tweezers to pull the loose threads, especially ones stuck in a seam.
- Scotch tape. I keep it near my sewing because it’s great for picking up fluffs and tiny threads. I prefer the HEAVY dispenser because I can pull tape off with one hand. I imagine a sticky lint picker-upper would also be good, and masking tape or packing tape would work.
- Magnifying glass? No, I’m not there yet, though it might be a good idea. It’s not too practical to hold, though–not enough hands unless you have a mounted one. If you do, GO for it!
- GREAT lamp. I don’t think I could sew without my big gooseneck Ottlite, especially at night (and I do regularly sew at night). It’s hard enough to see those stray threads, but forget it without good light.
- Washer/dryer? I don’t wash my wall hangings, and I don’t wash every quilt, but I DID do these lap quilts. I used Warm’n’Natural cotton batting, which crinkles up a little and gets softer every time it’s washed. So THIS time it was part of my “cleaning up” process.
- Then there’s the room/sewing space to clean up–UGH. Different story and I’m definitely not one to advise on THAT!!
Of course, you’ve got to finish sewing before cleaning up the quilt. So I’m off to NEXT project. Will it be the lavender castle? Maybe the hydrangea blocks? Possibly even “Wedgewood Plates”? Today, though, instead of finishing one, I started working on an idea for “Whirlygigs on a Slide.” So much easier to dream up than to finish up!