A Free Motion Quilting Tutorial - Holly and Ivy

Got a Christmas quilt that needs to be finished up.  Consider quilting some Holly and Ivy on it.  Enjoy this video tutorial going over the basics of creating a Holly and Ivy with connecting loops free motion quilting pattern :)  And remember, like all things free motion . . . Practice makes perfect :)  Happy Quilting!!

Here is an example of the quilting design :)

And here is the Video :)

Don't Mess with Success

My husband and I use this motto quite often.  However, yesterday, I didn't follow it.  And now I find myself Flickr-less.  Agghh!!!  Just what I needed in the middle of a quilt-a-long.

So here's the story . . .

I was helping my MIL upload her Tetris block into Flickr yesterday.  When we went to log in we found that she wasn't sure of her loggin info.  We played around a bit and got it all fixed up.  She wrote down her log in info and we were good to go.

Fast Forward 30 minutes.  I get home and realize, I haven't logged out of flickr in over 3 years.  I have no idea what my log-in is. I have realized this in the past as I can't log-in anywhere but my own computer. So I figure it is time to probally do something about it.

I open up flickr and go to click on Help at the top of the screen.  And in Movie Like fashion, my daughter jostles my arm for attention right as I am clicking which drags the mouse on to LOG OUT, instead of help.

Agghh!!!  I start frantically try to fix the problem.  I go through all my old files and find that I did write down my Yahoo ID forever ago.  So I use the same info to log in and Wha, Wha, Wha . . . . It is not my current flickr account.  I guess when I changed my view name it changed something about the log in.  So I am currently logged into an account with no photo stream and no groups.

I shoot off a few emails to flickr begging them to help me . . . And that is where I am at this point.  Just waiting for an email from Flickr that will hopefully say something to the effect of here is your ID, and your password, Moron!!!

So ya, it has been a week of stress related to the good old Quilting On-Line Community.  No Camera and now No Flickr.

So if I don't respond to your wonderful Tetris Quilt-A-Long pictures, please know it isn't because I don't care.  I just can't at the moment.  I will continue to try and get the problem fixed asap so I can get back on track with responding to all of your amazing photo's!!

And since every post needs a picture . . . Yes, I feel a little like this

TNT with Oliso

A little while back I did a post about "A Tale of 3 Irons", which shared my dramatized version of my irons breaking down.  At the end of the post I wrote the following: 

But we will have to wait and see, Irons and me seem to have very fickle friendships :)  If #3 and I don't get along very well I might have to consider looking for a replacement in the Royal Family of Irons.  I hear Oliso is quite the Family name of Pressing!

We'll the story picks back up today.  Iron #3 was rather disappointing.  (Shocker, I know.)  And it was time to try out  Oliso.   I learned more about their quilter's iron (the TG1600) and it sounded amazing!!.  So I decided to give it a whirl!!!!  And may I say . . . I LOVE IT!!!  (Sorry to shout, but I really love it that much!)

So, let me tell you a little about my experience with the Oliso TG1600

The full name of this particular is the Oliso Pro Smart Iron with iTouch Technology TG1600.  Now, if you were like me, you are wondering what iTouch Technology is on an iron.  Well let me show you!!

The iron has 2 scorchguards. (I like to think of them as feet.) You can rest the iron on them like so.  It's not touching the fabric so you don't have to worry about it leaving marks.  

Now, when you are ready to iron, simply hold the handle and the schorchguards lift allowing you to press.

As soon as you are done, simply let go of the handle and the schorchguards lower automatically lifting the iron and preventing burning or scorching of your fabric.

Yup, you never have to lift your iron up.  I can't tell you what a relief this is to my wrist!!!!  And, it saves so much time!!  I didn't think lifting your iron up and down would use up any measurable amount of time but I really noticed the difference, especially when doing a large pile of pressing.  And every bit of time saved pressing is more time for piecing!!!

Another great feature of the Oliso TG1600 is the power (heat and steam) behind this iron.  In the past, pressing meant running the iron over the piece several times or standing there with the iron for several seconds.  With the Oliso TG1600 it is just a quick zip over the fabric.  The heat and auto steam set the seam instantly and with one pass!!  Yes, it truly is One Pass Pressing!!  (Oh yes, more sewing time there, also)

And, I don't have to iron the right side.  This really blew me away.  I always flip over my piecing to press the opposite side just to really get a nice crisp seam.  But every time I turned over a piece to press the front I found the seam already perfectly crisp.   Another huge time saver!!!!

Another  favorite thing about the Oliso TG1600 is the detailer tip.  Now I am sure this would be great for clothing, but let's get real, when was the last time I ever ironed clothing.  And this is a quilter's iron, and I tell you it is fabulous for pressing seams open!!!  I get so frustrated pressing seams open when I have to practically finger press the entire seam in order to get it to stay open long enough to get my iron in it.  The detailer tip combined with the heat and steam from the TG1600 make finger pressing a thing of the past.  Just start at the end of your seam and let the iron do the work.  No fingers necessary.  Ahhh!!!  Love it!!!

The tank on the Oliso TG1600 is a side filling tank.  I loved not having to fill  my iron at the sink.  I could just refil it at the ironing board and continue on. No time wasted.

The Oliso TG1600 also has an anti-drip system that prevents spitting and leaking while the iron is hot.  Love it!!  Seriously, this is what my old irons have done to my 1 year old ironing board cover.  So sad.  Now that I know I won't be having any leaking issues I think I best be making a new Ironing Board Cover.

And the last 2 things show how much they had quilters in mind during the design phase.  First, A 12" cord with 360 degrees pivot.  And if you spin around your ironing board as much as I do you will totally appreciate that.  And second, a 30 minute auto off timer!!!  Finally!!!!!  Doesn't it just drive you nuts when you have been sewing 3 seams and you go back to your iron to find it has shut off!!!   No such thing with the TG1600.  It waits for you to be ready.  (But, it still has auto shut off if it is knocked over, good safety feature!)  

I gave it a major first test run pressing this entire pile of piecing.

Into this pile in under 2 hours!!!   

So, to sum it up   . . . I really, really, really love my Oliso TG1600 and I will never be pressing with anything else!!  

So that is what I have been up to this week??  How about you!!  Link on up :)

   

  <a border="0" href="http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERmOwnuoN_yJzxwDc-0EeiilcFD1-q0nwIYFJi8QgWQomMNyUe-mWSSLzpB1MHklEHvw7R3SgK4qNy-XzyNo0-QVoY6bWsu3_ACS-uXIDSqii5EEEEgawSE6dBGJI0DWhpWddnS0yvLs/s1600/TNT-thursdays-blog-button.jpg"/></a>

July Is Crazy!!!

Okay,  So there has not been a lot of time to sew so far this month.  I have had 2 family reunions already and another one on it's way.  I love spending time with all of my family, but I have to admit, when I haven't sewn for almost 2 weeks straight I get a little crazy.  (And I can't show you any pictures of our fun family time as my camera is still missing, thanks to my MIL for letting me use hers :)

However, this week is clear and I found a bit of time on Monday night (as in midnight) to sew my first Tetris Quilt-a-Long block together.  These go together so fast so if you are on the fence about whether you have time to join, totally jump in!!!   The prizes are awesome and the blocks are so fast and so fun!!!

Then yesterday I had all of nap time so I whipped up my bee blocks for the month.

Laura asked us to do a bright scrappy log cabin block.  I used a lot of the same prints I used for my Double Dresden Delight quilt and then just added some complimenting fabrics so I had enough prints.

Sue sent us some super scrappy fabrics to make 2 little adorable scrappy Japanese X and + blocks.   This was my first time making these blocks and I can totally see how people get addicted to them!!

And even basted the quilt that has been on my floor for 3 weeks.  (Tutorial next Monday for the Christmas in July Hop, yes I am procrastinating to the last minute :)

And even though I haven't had time to sew, I have still had my computer near by.   So when I saw another  Fat Quarter Idol at Sew Mama Sew  contest I couldn't resist.  (Especially as it took me days last month to get my pinterest account all sorted out, thank you 3 year old for playing on the computer and managing to freeze my account :)  And I was super excited yesterday to find that I was a finalist :)  I choose a soft, calming, beach pallet :)  I just love it :)    So if you haven't already, pop on over and check out the finalist and vote for your favorites.  There are some beautiful color combos to choose from :)

And  I don't have a lot to report, but lets finish up with the Wednesday Rundown :)  (I haven't done one of these since the end of June, that shows how crazy it has been around here :) 

Designing Stage

• Circle Meets Square Quilt
• Ashlyn's Quilt
• WIC with MSS Quilt
• Turnovers Quilt
• Modern Squares Quilt

Piecing Stage

• Jessi and Me Quilt 
• Tetris Quilt-A-Long
• King Size Serenity Quilt
• Sew Bee Create Quilt (waiting on 2 blocks)
• Braided Irish Chain - Queen and King (a tiny bit of progress)

Quilting Stage

• Solids Quilt for Free Motion
• Snip and Clip Quilt 

Completed Stage

• July Bee Block

Tetris Quilt-A-Long - Week 1

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Tetris Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win one of the grand prizes sponsored by The Intrepid Thread ) you can find a list of the post links here :)


Need detailed instructions on "how to play"??  See this post :)


It's Week 1 of the Tetris Quilt-A-Long!!!!  I know lots of you are excited to play so let's get right to it :)

First, Print off your grid!!

Now, color in your Tetris Pieces

 

 

 

 

Nothing fancy needed, just fill it in as if you were playing.  Here's my grid for this week.

Now lay your fabric out to match your grid.  (Yes, 2 of my yellows are right side down, but no worries, I fixed it before I pieced it :)

And now just sew your squares into rows and then your rows into your Week 1 Block!!! (For detailed instructions on sewing a grid/patch block together see this post :)  

Yippee Skippee!!!  Your first week block is complete!!!  And now you can enter to win the weekly prize :)

The Weekly Prizes are sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop and a huge thanks goes to them for their support of the Tetris Quilt-A-Long.

This weeks  prize is a The Birds and the Bees Design Roll by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics

So what do you have to do for a chance to win this beautiful Design Roll??  Simple . . . Just link up your Week 1 block at the end of this post :)  You can link to a blog post or a flickr picture, or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by next Tuesday morning as I will be announcing a winner at the beginning of next weeks post :)

If you don't get your block done by next week you can still link it up :) (just not in time for the prize :)    The linky will remain open until the end of the Quilt-A-Long.  So if your out of town, or just had a busy week, no worries!!!  Just link up when you can :)

And Don't forget to add your Week 1 Block to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group!!!  (There will be some giveaways there too, I'm just saying :)   I am so excited to see everyone's Week 1 block!!!

So what are you waiting for . . . Get your Tetris sewing on!!!