Sewing in the Round - Lapel Stick

Occasionally I will review  a product that has been supplied to me by the company that makes it.  Today I am going to tell you about a nice product that is named Lapel Stick. This product has been around for a while.  I have seen other blogs mention using it. It is designed to hold firmly yet wash away completely.

You may know that I don't do well with curved seams.  But, Monday while I was reading blog posts I saw a post by my friend Marjorie at Marjorie's Quilting Bee. She was doing a blog hop for AccuQuilt and the piece had curves. She thoughtfully had a video showing how she sewed it.  OOooh - she glued it first.  I decided that would be a great challenge for the Lapel Stick.   So I grabbed my Drunkard's Path die and cut some pieces.  I have always regretted buying this die because I never seem to sew it without frustration.  But when Lapel Stick came to the rescue I did it easily.

Another idea that I had was to use Lapel Stick for reverse applique.  I wanted to use the results in the quilt I am working on, so I cut a small circle out of a  couple of the charm squares.  I cut larger circles from batiks.   (I have some pictures from the first one, but my sewing skills (or lack of skills) caused it to end up in the bin.)

Yes I should have press these before I took the photo. 

Then I flipped over the charm square and applied the Lapel Stick glue around the edges of the circle.

The glue is pretty clear so you can't see it in this photo.
Then I put the circle on so that the front was face down and finger pressed it into place.  It held wonderfully.

This is the one I ruined when I tried a fancy stitch to outline it.  

You can see that it is holding nicely.

Then you can use the stitch of your choice to sew it down.

I used an orange thread to add a small bit of color.  Obviously I need a circle sewing attachment if I do many circles.

The Lapel Stick glue held wonderfully.  It is a great tool for piecing and applique.   There are lots of other uses also.  I can see using this to hold pieces in place when I am doing "in the hoop" embroidery projects.  It is great to temporarily tack up a hem when you are in a hurry and need to wear that one garment and the hem has let go.   Lapel Stick gets my "Great Tool" for sewing recommendation. Thanks for such a good product.

Now if you are a serious fashionista you may wish to buy the "tailor in a tube" made by the same company.  It is called Style Stick.  It is packaged in a fashionable, purse friendly black tube that looks like a high end lipstick. But don't use it on your lips! And if your guy needs it, Style Stick is discreet enough to be carried in a briefcase or backpack.

Now how about a giveaway?  I have a couple of extra tubes of Lapel Stick to give away to two  lucky people.  Due to postage costs I am limiting this to continental USA only.  To enter comment with your idea for how YOU would like to use Lapel Stick.

Edited to add: End Date for this will be Monday September 1st.  I will post the winners a day or two after that.

Edited to add:  The first commenter, Sophie, mentioned a technique that is so cool.  It was the first I had heard of it, so I googled it.  Here is a link with a video showing how to do it. http://www.hgtv.com/video/easy-circle-quilt-blocks-video/index.html
She mentions "so it doesn't gum up your needle" with the glue she is using.  Ha!  With Lapel Stick it will not gum up!

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Welcome Back! I have a few changes

Hi folks,
My blog break is over.  I hope to post more frequently.

I have made some changes.  You may have noticed the new header.  There are examples of quilts and weaving and painting in the header now. I have started doing a little yarn spinning as you may know.  Perhaps I should have added that too.  Ha ha.

I also changed the title of one of the pages. Where the tab said "Scarves" it now says "Weaving" since I am weaving things besides scarves.  For example, I added a picture of the Nana in a top that I made and gave to her.

Doesn't she look lovely in this red and gold creation?

So today I need to work on a quilt that I started a few weeks ago. I also need to work on a project for a review of a product. (and maybe have a giveaway too!)  I am wondering if I can combine the two.  Hmmm...... Okay, I need to get going.  Have a great day.  I hope you come back to soon to see what I am doing.


My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Free - and some info on a sale also!

HI just a quick post to remind you that Craftsy has some great free mini classes.

Or maybe you would like a free cake decorating class so you can make some fabulous cakes for the fall and for (gasp) Christmas.

Maybe you want to make an amazing pizza or learn some other cooking skills
Free Pizza Making Class

Here's the full list of Craftsy free mini classes. Why not try one?
Craftsy also sells supplies. Right now for a limited time, they are having a whale of a sale.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Blog Break

Just so you know, I am taking a little blog break. Everything is fine, just some personal things that must be attended. See you back in a week or so.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

My little quilt start - and more

My charm pack and some fun batiks are coming along into a quilt very nicely.  I sewed a few blocks and put it on my mini-design wall.
I am doing a variation on the Yellow Brick Road pattern. I changed it up to make 6 1/2" blocks so the charm squares would work like I wanted them to work. The picture came out pretty wonky but I didn't want to re-take it - so deal with it. Ha ha.

Those Modern Neutrals play really nicely with the batiks I chose to use. They are Hoffman Batiks AND Island Batiks - I never met a batik I didn't like!
Here are the pieces I cut.

My math was not good.  (I really didn't think it through.) So I have lots of scrappy bits  But that is just fine.  I will use these as insertions - or as we call them in Saori, TREASURES.

In other news, I have started learning to spin wool and other fibers into yarn.   I have one drop spindle but it is a heavy one. So I decided to try making my own with polymer clay (sculpey, fimo - etc.)
Here are two and you can see that they work by the yarn on the dowel,

The dark yarn is a merino wool. The white/orange is bamboo which is really soft and shiny.  Both of these spindles wobble, but they still spin nicely.


My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Winnings and a Plan

Just the other day, I was delighted to get an email telling me that I had won a charm pack of Amy Ellis' Modern Neutrals from Quilt Taffy.  That link will take you to the blog, but there is also a wonderful Etsy store for Quilt Taffy where you can get your own sweet treats!  So if you are wanting your own Modern Neutrals charm pack you can go there and get it - along with a lot of other wonderful stuff.  If you get more than one item use the "convo" feature and Corrie will set up a special listing for you and combine shipping (saving you $)

So here is the charm pack:

and here it is spread out with the batiks I want to use it with:

See how those teal/aqua bits go so well with my batiks.  I think I have some warm batiks I can add to go with the other colors.  But seriously the green batiks make those reds and the grays pop.

One of the designs is so simple -and it would make a great background fabric for a quilt.  It is available in every colorway in the the set.  Here it is up close.

There is also a teal/aqua one and a tan one, but I didn't think to pull them to the top.

Now - what type of pattern or quilt design will I use????  I guess you will have to wait and see.  I plan on starting this TODAY!   hooray, back to sewing for now.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Kai

Saturday I went to a "kai" which is a weaving group of sorts.  We did weaving, talking, sharing and just had a great time.
I wove this section of fabric on my loom.  (it is wonderful to have a portable loom)

And the bit at the top is something called 'sakiori' - a technique using thinly cut strips of fabric as weaving yarn. I used a batik and a floral. Here is a close up

The floral is one from a trip to Mexico; it wasn't quite sturdy enough for quilting - so this adds it to my cloth for garment making.  I will probably combine this cloth with some of the cloth from my previous post. I am thinking "shirt" at this moment.

I promise that I have not abandoned quilting.  Oh far from it.  I have plans and ideas brewing.  So stay tuned.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Slug

As far as quilting goes,  I have been a slug.  You know, slow and seemingly useless.


I have done some weaving though. I wove 125 inches of 18 inch wide fabric.  I am waiting for it to tell me what it will become. In Saori weaving, we have a theory of "weave your heart."  This means weave without intention for what it will become. Just weave for self expression.   There is no right or wrong.  Change colors at your own whim. Change techniques when you want to.  Just weave.  This makes the process very meditative and very freeing.

This fabric is off the loom and a new bit is started. The new is mostly warm colors.

Saturday is the day for the Kai.  A Kai is a weaving party basically.  We will weave and learn from each other.  
My quilt projects are waiting, but I hear them calling my name.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.