Perkins Dry Goods

Rosie, my assistant happily tests quilts.

Tracy from Plumcute tagged me yesterday.  This was after a long conversation about how much time we waste wandering around the internet looking for things like glue bottle tips or that perfect font…. 

I’m happy to perpetuate efficient use of time, so here are the rules:

1. When tagged, place the name of the person and URL on your blog.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write 7 things about yourself .

4. Name 7 of your favorite weblogs .

5. Send an e-mail letting those bloggers know they have been tagged .

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1.  My favorite color is pink.  My husband knows that no matter what he gives me for my birthday or Christmas, that I will love it if it is pink (most of the time).  Didn’t care too much for the coral choker he gave me in 1985, but just about everything else has been a winner.2. I don’t know what my true hair color is.  It used to be dark blonde.  That’s the fantasy I pay my hair stylist to keep alive for me.

3. I was never a cheerleader.  Not for lack of trying.  If anyone has ever seen me in a jazzersize class, they know immediately why I never made the squad.

4. I love to drive.  I get great pleasure out of the fact that I can park my minivan just about anywhere.  I have only backed into the trash cans once in 33 years. 

5.  I have always wished I was a drummer in a rock and roll band.  Not one ounce of musical talent in this kid.

6.  I can catch a mouse with a dixie cup.  Yes folks, when the kittiots bring the mice up from the basement to play with, I capture them under a dixie cup.  We only have mice in the fall when it starts to get cold outside. 

7.  My first computer was a MacPlus.  It cost more than my first car and had a whopping 20MB hard drive.

I have lots of favorite blogs, but don’t know the bloggers well enough to tag them.  But I’ll list them anyway!

I’ll tag back Tracy at Plumcute -but she doesn’t have to do the game again.  Here’s to Pam at PamKittyMorning.  She’s been tagged a few times now.  Gudrun, another Minnesoooota designer.  Kathy at Pink Chalk Studio.  Pat Sloan’s Corner.  Tammy  Tadd,  Roseann at Rosebud’s Cottage and Annie Smith at Simple Arts (she’s having blog issues at the moment).

So there you have it!

Sorry for the pun but I couldn’t resist.  This Bambi has been walking through our backyard for the past two weeks.  She ususally comes with 4 or 5 of her best friends.  They bed down in the woods behind the shed at night.  Granted, we live near from a nature preserve, but it still amazes me that these guys are here in the middle of a major metropolitan area.

Now onto the bigger news.  We celebrated my son’s 18th birthday this month!  Boy did he grow up fast!  Here’s his sister trying to steal his thunder - as usual.  She wasn’t quick enough.  This has been a busy winter with college searches, auditions and concerts.

I have known how to knit for a very long time. I learned when I was about 8 years old (yup, in the 60’s).  My mom took me to Donalson’s Department store - the one in Highland Park (St. Paul, MN).  They sold yarn and fabric there in those days.  One of the clerks taught me to knit.  But that’s all I learned.  I never really got the hang of reading the instructions to make anything.  Well, that has all changed.  I signed up for a class with my quilter friend Jenni.  But I wanted some practice BEFORE we got to class, so I made a pair of regular mittens!

Jenni was very helpful, she knits a lot.  She walked me through several knitting emergencies and I think I only started over three or four times.  I think the mittens look lovely.  The thumbs are a bit short and one mitten is bigger than the other.  But, they are finished and they are warm!

This must be binding week.  Right after I posted about the fusible thread, I crossed paths with a link to some free videos by Sharon Schamber an award winning quilter and author.  One of the videos was her technique for binding application using glue.  Sharon likes to use Elmer’s School glue and has these cool tips that keep the glue under control.

 They look kind of like this. 

Then I read Pam’s comment on the fusible thread and she mentioned using Roxanne’s glue for binding.  Have I had my head in the sand all these years?  I had to give it a try.  I even did it on curved binding.  A little messy, but not too bad.  Both techniques have their drawbacks, but I sure like having choices.

Here is a tip that has saved me a ton of time plus reduced my stress level when getting ready to go to market.  I love nothing better than sitting with my family and hand stitching the binding on a quilt.  There is something about it that is relaxing and very satisfying.  BUT  then there are the times when you have a deadline and need that quilt DONE!  That’s when I dig out the fusible thread.  I also do the fusible technique as prep to hand sew.  It is soooo nice to have the binding wrapped in place, ready to stitch…..no pins, no pokes! 

I like the YLI Fusible Thread, it runs about $4.99 for a 150 yd spool.

• Sew the binding on the quilt as you would if you were going to hand sew it.  Use regular thread.
•  Wind a bobbin with the fusible thread.  Don’t wind it full, just about 80%.  If you wind it too full, the thread falls off and makes a mess.
• Stitch:  Set your machine to a zig-zag stitch that is a hair narrower than the binding seam allowance and not too short.  I set mine at 4.1 wide and 2.6 long.
• Tension:  Loosen the upper tension.  I set mine between 1 and 2.
  

1. Put the bobbin in the machine.  Now, I have a drop in bobbin on my Janome 6600 and it does not like it when I put the thread in the tension clip thing.  I put the bobbin in so that it unwinds counter clockwise.
2. Sew a zig-zag stitch in the seam allowance so that the fusible thread is on the back side of the quilt.  You will wrap your binding to the back and fuse it.
3. The first fold goes like this; lay the quilt on the ironing board back side up and fold the left side over.  Press.
   
4. Fold the top down, making sure that you have a nice miter at the corner.  Press binding to fuse all the way across.
   
5. Turn the quilt when you get to the next corner and repeat.  When you are finished, the binding looks totally finished.
6. You will eventually need to stitch it to the back, I don’t think this would hold if it went through the wash!