I aim to make 64 of these blocks, add sashings and cornerstones, and make a king sized bed quilt. So far, I have pieced 46 blocks.

The blocks look really nice after they have been pressed.

Here is a closeup of the way I “swirl” the seams to get them to lie as flat as possible.

The secret to productive hand sewing is to have your project ready to grab as you run out the door. I like to use boxes, rather than a tote bag, because sharp things like scissors can’t stab, and the lid gives me a small platform on which to work.

EPP, which uses a whip stitch, takes about three times longer than regular hand piecing, which uses a running stitch. This little project has kept me entertained for a long time, but it was all done during meetings, in waiting rooms, etc. when I would otherwise be trying (and failing) to concentrate on a book. The good thing about hand sewing is that I can converse or concentrate on other people while I stitch, although I really can’t follow complicated TV or movie plots very well, I admit. That requires too much looking up from my sewing.

Because this is a puzzle ball, I could not just use a ladder stitch to join the polygons. I have to use tiny whip stitches, because the puzzle ball must be stuffed until it is very stiff in order to fill out the shape completely.

Just a few more pieces to add, then I can start to stuff.

Don’t just sit there, go sew something!

Yes, clothing repairs are not exactly fun & sexy, but they are a way to earn major wife lady points with the hubby! I’m going to list this as a tip rather than a tutorial, because I ought to have taken photos as I was doing these repairs, not after they were all done.

Here is my advice for repairing jeans:

• Like they say, a stitch in time saves nine. Is it a fresh, clean rip, or a wide, gaping hole that has been laundered and worn numerous times? Try to do the repair before washing or wearing the item again.
• Use polyester thread. It is stronger.
• I make patches from denim. I don’t turn under raw edges, to reduce bulk. I cut out the patch with pinking shears. This reduces fraying.
• When sewing small patches on rips, I zigzag back and forth over the rip, catching the raw edges of the patch on the wrong side.
• When sewing on large patches, I put the patch on the right side. I use two lines of stitching: the outer one stabilizes the raw edges, the inner one holds it secure. More on that later.

Here is how I repair a straight, relatively clean rip:

1. If possible, leave the fraying threads in place. They will become incorporated into your repair.

2. Use pinking shears to cut out the patch. Fraying will be minimal.

3. When you cut patches, round off the shapes. Corners tend to lift.

4. Use glue to baste the denim patch in place before you even start to sew. I use Aleene’s Fabric Fusion. I wait 24 hours before I sew. You can use the glue to hold the fraying threads down, too.

5. Drop your feed dogs and practice your free-motion quilting. As you can see in the photo, I zigzagged over the rip, capturing the raw edges of the patch in the stitching. I did the sewing with the garment right side out, so I guessed where the patch was. Actually, you can feel it through the top layer of fabric as you sew.

OK, so that’s a fresh rip. How about holes that you should have repaired a lot sooner? How about large areas that have been abraded by hard work? (See photo at top again.)

These are hubby’s tractor jeans. He does not care a lick what they look like. He wears these for doing yard work, car repairs, painting, etc. I keep the tractor jeans in somewhat good repair so that he won’t wear his nice jeans and get them yucky.

When repairing holes, keep in mind:

1. You might have to make your patches quite large. The entire front of the jeans might be worn out.

2. Before doing any glue basting, take a good look at the problem. Then lay the garment down and smooth it out carefully in a spot where it can stay for 24 hours while it dries.

3. Trim away the ragged edges of the holes.

4. Use fabric glue to baste patches to the right side of the garment (using pinking shears, making rounded patches.) I draw a thin bead of glue around the hole(s) and at the edge of the patch. Then I press down on the patch to be sure that it will adhere well to the garment.

5. Wait 24 hours for the glue to dry.

6. Pin pockets out of the way with safety pins.

7. Drop your feed dogs. Attach the patch. A lot of stitching is going to cause the fabric to shrink up. That will make it tighter for the wearer. In order to minimize shrinkage, I use two lines of stitching. The outer line keeps the pinked edge from fraying, the inner line is what actually attaches the patch to the jeans.

8. Your sewing machine must have a free arm to reach the knees of jeans. It is not going to be easy, especially if the legs of the jeans are skinny. Be patient. You’ll have to smash the garment into the corner of the sewing arm. Put the waist of the jeans toward the right. Make two big circles around each patch. Take a break now and then. As soon as you have made two complete passes all the way around the patch, you are done. I hope you think it was worth all the trouble.

Here’s the technique in more detail:

1) Use freezer paper. You’ll find it in the grocery store, near the plastic wrap. It has a shiny side, and a dull side.

2) Draw the shape you want directly on the dull side of the freezer paper. It is easy to see through the freezer paper, in order to trace from a book or pattern.

3) Roughly cut out your shape, removing most of the excess paper around your drawn lines.

4) Use a hot, dry iron to press the shiny side of the freezer paper to the felt. Don’t press hard — only until the paper just sticks lightly.

5) Cut on the line with scissors. Peel off the paper. Done!

(I also use freezer paper for hand applique. I’ll have to tell you about that some other day, because that technique is slightly different.)

Make a simple pin keeper from a piece of felt. Carefully trace a nice, round circle onto your freezer paper. Press it to the felt, cut it out, and you’re done!

This pin keeper works well if you carry your sewing supplies in a hard box. Don’t toss this into a tote bag!

Get one of those clear plastic switchplates from the home fix-it store. You’re supposed to fill it with wallpaper, so it blends in — BORING!

Why use wallpaper, when you have so much fabulous fabric? Choose something fun and colorful that really stands out.

You might want to decorate every room in the house with these.  :-)

Here’s what I did.

I started with a cardboard tube. This one was left over from batting, so it’s almost four feet long. I wrapped batting around the tube–just enough to wrap around once and overlap by about an inch. I trimmed it with scissors. Then I whip stitched by hand along the entire length of the batting.

I wrapped the ribbons around the batting tube, securing each with a straight pin. Now I can see at a glance what I have, and they don’t tangle. My organizer leans against a corner in my sewing room.

Am I weird? In my defense I can say that I’m starting to use more ribbon in my projects now that it isn’t hidden away in a box.

This UFO (UnFinished Object) has been hanging around a long time. Like most UFOs, there is a reason it is unfinished. (Read: excuse!)

I made the top in order to teach the Yellow Brick Road pattern. Then I never got around to quilting it myself. In the meantime, it hung for YEARS on the mezzanine railing. One day, I was horrified to realize that the sun had BLEACHED the fabrics. Horror! (Cue scream.)

But wait. It was only the portion that was facing the sun. And it was only three of the fabrics. And it was only the black lines in those three fabrics.

Within a minute or so, I had already figured out the solution. I was going to have to draw in all the faded lines with a fabric marker. I already had all different widths of black fabric markers. That problem was all but fixed.

I finished piecing the scrappy back and whisked the top off to the long armer (Rhonda Loy) for an allover pattern called “swirly buns.” I love the spirals.

Then the project sat. Has it really been more than a year since it was quilted? I keep getting “too busy.” I truly AM too busy, with all my non-quilting projects. But my husband loves the quilt already, and it would be so nice to snuggle together in front of a movie…

So one night, while we watched the extra features of The Da Vinci Code I drew in the missing lines. I’m almost done!

Glue gives you a third hand. It anchors fabric until it can be secured with stitching. The right type of glue makes it easier to do hand applique, attach bindings, baste for paper piecing, etc. These are the glue sticks I personally recommend for use on fabric:

Glue Stick Lineup

I received the Avery Glue Pen as part of some office supply promotion. It sat in a drawer until 2005, when I decided to teach myself hand applique. By the time I realized that the pen was handy for turning under the raw edges of fabric during the applique process, I could no longer find it in stores. Darn! I carefully rationed the one I had.

When I realized that I was not going to be able to buy more Avery Glue Pens, I started to experiment with glue sticks from office supply stores. Some just made a big mess. The fabric frayed and I got threads stuck all over my fingertips. The “purple disappearing” sticks seemed to hold the most promise. Not all purple disappearing glue sticks have exactly the right consistency to play well with textiles. I eventually discovered the Elmer’s School Glue Stick. I have been completely satisfied with this brand for many years.

Elmer’s School Glue Stick is acid free. It glides on easily and is not too sticky. It washes out easily with plain water. The glue is purple until it dries, which makes it easy to see where it has been applied. Best of all, it is easily available.

One day, I was headed to a sit and stitch group. I had everything I needed to sew happily for hours EXCEPT my precious glue stick. (Gasp!) I stopped at the local pharmacy and found my trusty Elmer’s in the office supply section.

The Elmer’s stick was fine for me, but what about my students? Wouldn’t they find the narrow profile of the Avery glue pen much easier to use? I was almost at the point of contacting someone at a quilt-related company to beg them to take up the task of producing a glue pen especially for quilters when I spied the Fons & Porter Glue Pen in a catalog. Great! Someone else had noticed how wonderfully the glue held the fabric and that the skinny shape made it easy to apply to tiny areas. Do you notice that the Fons & Porter version is exactly the same size and shape as the original from Avery? I think they must have bought the factory.

You can get refills for the Fons & Porter Glue Pen.

I received a free sample Lapel Stick directly from the manufacturer. They wanted me to give it a try, and recommend it to others based on my experience. The consistency is just right for working with fabric. It is no better or worse than the Elmer’s. It does cost a little more. It will not be available at an office supply store. You’ll have to get it from a quilt shop, or online. I checked with the manufacturer and yes indeed, it is acid free. So it is safe to use on sewing projects that will not be washed.

Feel free to experiment with other glue sticks. Buy only ONE until you’re sure it’s a winner. Then stock up!