My New Favorite Quilting Tool

My DGD calls her daddy (my DS) a dream maker... she says if you can dream it up, her daddy can make it. Once again, her words proved true...

I wanted something that would allow me to press seams without ironing and re-ironing the fabric in the unit I am assembling. DS delivered to me about 15 pressing bars which I tested, tried to ruin, tested, and experimented.

** I pieced about 1/2 of a king size Block of the Month quilt with the pressing bar. I LOVE the ease and speed in which I can press the units and the crisp, flat seams it gives me.
** I tested the Pressing Bar during the construction of doll clothes.... I pressed pant seams open with no crease in the pant!!!
** I tested the Pressing Bar by leaving my SUPER DUPER HOT Black and Decker travel iron on it for 15 minutes... with no real damage.
** I experimented with different lengths of the Pressing Bar to find the perfect size for travel and ease of use.

Our testing resulted in something that works PERFECT.... an uncovered hardwood bar that allows only the seam and not the entire pieced unit to be pressed (promoting less stretch and distortion). The 13" length was perfect to handle, pack and still large enough to press the seams on a 12 1/2" block.

Click on the "Pressing Bar" tab for more info.

Strange bedfellows

At last weekend's show, a lady picked up 2 identical snap bags with bees on them and indicated that they may her think of her grandfather, who was a beekeeper in Ohio. I said that I had never met anyone even remotely related to a real life beekeeping. She left to pay for her purchases and on her way back by, I stopped her to introduce her to another vendor that has stopped to chat. Literally hours of chat later, after we discussed bees... and the Midwest... and families... and everything in between, we determined that life is an experience and each experience provides a lesson. The lesson depends on your attitude and the way you processed and handled the experience. Sometimes, it takes multiple experiences before we catch on to the lesson. We exchanged names and numbers and hope to see each other very soon....

Incidentally, she is very allergic to bee stings.

The circle of making "things"

I love to make things... plain and simple. And part of being a freak about efficiency is that I can't make just one... But you can have only so many "things" so I take my things to craft shows. I sell my things and with the funds made from selling, I buy more stuff to make more things. This weekend's show was graced by a most awesome day on Sunday: Perfect temperature, perfect amount of breeze, perfect tunes playing in the background, and my hubby was there to share it with me... and with whomever he chose to chat. Jerry has never met a stranger....

In between assisting shoppers, I snapped a few photos of random items waiting to find their new homes.

Cute little totes for small gifts, gift cards, or candy.

Bedding for baby dolls or American Girl type dolls

A framed section of an old quilt

And to make things even BETTER, I felt so good all day! Fibro gave me the gift of an almost pain free Sunday!!! It was a wonderful day!