A Whole New Thing!

It’s been a while since I’ve made a quilt and I’m pretty excited to finally have a sewing nook set up at the house. There’s a spare room I’ve had my eye on, but there’s been a leak in the ceiling and the drywall needs fixed. That isn’t our highest priority right now so I needed to find an alternative. I didn’t want to set up someplace where I would need to put things away at the end of the day or when company comes. Also, I didn’t want to make a lot of noise and interrupt my sweetheart when he’s watching a show he enjoys.

At first, I thought I would set up in front of the sliding glass door in the game room downstairs. But once I got to looking at it closely, it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. There weren’t any outlets nearby and I’ll need several. Also, I’d have to come up with something other than the folding plastic tables we have. Anyone who has used a sewing machine or a serger knows how they would bounce around like crazy on something other than a really sturdy table top.

I went out in the building looking for a suitable table and couldn’t find one. I was about to go to the local thrift shop when I walked past an old L-shaped desk Mr. FixIt used to use a gazillion years ago. It had one of those old computers on it with the floppy disks and a monitor that weighs a ton. The light bulb when off. I’ve been walking past that desk for five years now and it never occurred to me to reappropriate it to my needs.

I went up and asked my sweetheart if he would mind if I clear off that old desk and use it as my sewing/writing/craft nook and he was all too happy to let me have it. I needed an extra power strip and the only one we have is in the camper at the dealership. I ran to our little town and after three stops, I not only found a power strip, but also a desk lamp to give me more light on the cutting table I set up. That plastic folding table is perfect for spreading out fabric for cutting.

It took me a while to get everything cleared off the desk and get it clean enough to put light colored fabrics on without worrying. I cleaned out two desk drawers…one for notions and the other for fabrics I’ll be using later on in the project. I set up my $50 sewing/embroidery machine on the left “L” and the ironing board and iron on the right side. That way, I only have to swivel back and forth between the two and it made sewing a breeze.

While I was in town earlier, I went back to the quilt shop and asked Carolyn to help me find a pattern and figure out how many blocks I would need for a king sized quilt. She did the math and I will need eight rows down and eight rows across for a total of sixty-four blocks. We found a pattern I really liked. It’s called Disappearing Double Pinwheel Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Company. You can see the tutorial for it here.

I’m using a stack of pre-cut fabric called a Layer Cake. A package gives you forty-two 10” squares in a variety of fabrics. Different designers create Layer Cakes in their own fabric designs and color ways. I selected Purple Passion by Paula Barnes and a solid light linen color by Moda. The light solid sets off the pattern so you can really see it well.

I started with the first step of sewing a light solid and a color square with right sides together. You sew around all four sides, then take your rotary cutter and cut an “x” from point to point creating four triangles. However, when you open the one triangles, you get a square with containing two triangles…on light and one dark. It’s kinda magic.

Once you have your four squares, you arrange them in a pinwheel and sew them together. And, here’s where the crazy part comes in. I trimmed that pinwheel down into a 12” square, then divided it in three 4” sections and slice it up…in both directions. You fiddle around with the squares turning them this way and that till you get them aligned correctly then sew them all back together. And I have to make SIXTY-FOUR of these bad boys…plus the borders! Now you know why I’m starting this the end of August for a June wedding! You can see my finished square. My points aren’t “State Fair Perfect” but I’m not being judged…it’s a gift.