agilejack

I’ve tried at least six different mask patterns — pleated masks, fitted masks, drawstring masks. And I’ve landed on my favorite. It’s really easy and quick to make up, and it fits really well. It has a nice amount of space between your mouth and nose and the front of the mask, so it’s really comfortable and doesn’t get too hot and stifling. I’ve worn this mask several times in public and am really happy with how it works.

A friend of mine is a dog groomer in southern Washington, right across the Columbia River from Portland, and her county was getting ready to start opening back up. She needed a dozen masks to get her through a week of work.

I had made her a couple different style of masks, and neither one worked well for her. Then she got one from someone she knows and she said she loved it. She took a picture for me and I looked through mask patterns online and didn’t have any luck in finding it.

So she loaned me one of hers, and I traced it, added the seam allowance, and made up my first prototype. It was really close. After a few minor adjustments I ended up with a pattern that works really well. I’ve also created a larger version. Both patterns are available below.

Occasionally I have a friend ask me if I’m making masks, so it’s nice to have some on hand to give away. I’ve also made some for family and for people at work. I currently have 27 that I’m making production line style. All I have to do is finish the top stitching and add the ear elastics.

I’ve made all my masks out of batiks as they have a higher thread count and offer a little better protection. I also use a light weight non-woven fusible interfacing, which is getting harder and harder to obtain. It’s supposed to add another layer of protection. I’m expecting more in the mail at the end of this week. We’ll see if it shows up.

Here are two PDFs of the pattern:

Anne’s Mask Regular Size Pattern. This would fit most women.

Anne’s Mask Large  This would fit most men and women who want a little more room.

I would love to know whose pattern it is so I can give them credit.

It can be tedious cutting out pattern pieces, so I cut two of these patterns out of freezer paper and was then able to press the pattern right onto the fabric. The wax on the freezer paper makes it stick to the fabric, so cutting it out with a rotary cutter is really easy and accurate. And then the pattern peels off easily and leaves no wax behind. I’ve even had luck cutting four layers of fabric with these freezer paper patterns. You have to be careful as you rotate your fabric for cutting so it all stays lined up. You could easily put one pin in the center of the pattern to keep it all together.

I made two of the freezer paper patterns so I could fit them more efficiently on my fabric, and produce less waste.

The assembly is really easy. Simply sew the curved center seam of the mask front and lining, clip along that curved seam, and then do a little pressing. I actually don’t open and press the lining, because it will fit inside the mask as it is prior to pressing.

Then nest the outer mask part inside the lining, pin it all together, and sew around the edges with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, leaving an opening on one of the straight edges to turn it right side out.

One of the many mask tutorials I watched (can’t remember which one it was)  had a really great tip for making the opening easier to close. You simply sew a line from the end of the seam out across the seam allowance on each side of the opening. This makes it really slick to line up the fabrics along the opening and press them in preparation for top stitching. From now on I’m going to use this little trick every time I need to leave an opening in a lining.

Then clip the corners, turn it right side out, finger press all the edges in place, and then press with an iron. Then I run a line of top stitching all the way around the edges of the mask, making sure to catch both sides of fabric where you left the opening.

I’m using thin pony tail bands instead of elastic. The sides of the mask go back toward the ears far enough that these bands are really comfortable. Here’s the bands that I’ve found on Amazon. I have purchased enough to make over 100 masks. I anticipate that I’ll be making a lot of masks over the next number of months and am thinking that they will become hard to get.

To add the elastic, turn under about 3/8 of an inch on each end and press. Lay the elastic on the fold line and fold the fabric over. I use a zipper foot to sew the seam to secure this as my regular foot kept getting caught on the band and I made a couple of messes. I back tack at the beginning and end of this line of stitches to secure it.

If the elastic fails, it would be easy to pick out this line of stitches and sew in a new set.

I haven’t had much motivation for sewing the last few weeks. Work has calmed down but is still pretty crazy. I did take a couple days off two weekends ago and then got another long weekend last week. The days off were really wonderful!

May 23 was Forrest’s birthday. Can’t tell you how much I miss that dog. He’s been gone now for 2.5 years… so amazing that much time has passed. I will never love another dog the way I loved Forrest. All future dogs will be compared to him and none will measure up.

Look at how magnificent he was!

This picture was taken by my friend Heather Christenson on a cold rainy May hike three years ago. I wasn’t going to take Forrest with me because he was old and it was cold and rainy. He absolutely refused to let me leave the house without him, so I grabbed his little blue coat with the dog bones on it, and brought him along… knowing that I would have to carry him for a good portion of the hike. I am so glad I took him along. He had such a wonderful time with all those border collies!

Heather is an amazing photographer. You can see her photos here photos on Flickr.

So funny that I never realized that Rico’s ear hadn’t gone up full time yet when this photo was taken. He would have been about 7 months old here.

 

Social media is an amazing thing. I’m connected to people all over the world who make really amazingly beautiful things. And they really appreciate the things other people half way around the world make too.

Last week, after I commented on her post, someone I follow on Instagram asked if I wanted to trade something she made for something I made. Well, of course, my answer  was an immediate YES! And other than telling her what colors I like, she’s got free rein. And I asked her to look at my posts and let me know what she liked and I’d get sewing.

She loves KFC fabrics, and loves scrappy. She selected a very bright, vibrant and colorful zipper pouch. I had some fresh scraps from my scrappy hexagon quilt that would work really well. So this weekend I got cracking on it.

I just love making these scrappy crumb blocks. And I decided to combine the pieces with this pond spot, which is wildly fantastic! I also used it to line the pouch and the zipper pocket. it’s just pops off of the blue spots!!!

I’m not typically a lover of blue, but there’s something really fantastic about Kaffe’s blue spots!

The color in this photo is terrible, but at least it shows the quilting. I did a sort of tight meander, just on the crumb panel. I like to quilt these panels in pouches because I always worry a little about all those seams once the piece is washed. I feel like the quilting will keep everything in place better. Plus, it’s a really nice touch and I like things to be well made!

It’s all ready to go in the mail later this week. And that’s all the sewing I did this weekend.

I was talking to a friend last weekend who was making carnitas in her slow cooker, and that got us talking about her need for pickled onions to make a truly great taco. She went online and found a really quick and easy recipe and I whipped up a batch from it yesterday.

Here’s the recipe I used. It’s really simple and quick. You can choose your own seasonings from a handful of options. I used garlic, pepper corns and dried dill.

In one day it all turned the most beautiful shade of pink! I had some on my salad last night and again tonight and it adds a really nice acidic flavor. I also put some on my turkey sandwich for lunch today and it was just the pop of flavor that it needed!

I had to use every bit of vinegar I had in several different bottles, so I’ve already ordered more vinegar… and more onions because I see myself eating a lot of this in the future!

I was a walking fool over the weekend. I walked 7.5 miles on Friday in two different walks, and did another 5.5 miles on Saturday. Sunday was a rainy day so I squeezed in a morning walk and an evening walk, for a total of 6.5 miles.

I managed to get a two mile walk mid day today, and that makes my work day much better! So we took a relatively short walk of 3.5 miles before dinner tonight for a total to day of 5.5 miles.

Took a picture of Jack’s Tree this afternoon. This is a sequoia in my neighborhood that a friend of mine in Massachusetts just loves. I named it Jack’s Tree because I always think of him when I see it.

It was a gorgeous spring day today.

This was the first weekend since we’ve been in isolation where I felt like it went by too fast. And I even managed to be a little productive. I had a much needed sleep in on Saturday, then started sewing hexagons together after breakfast and a really good cup of coffee.

I made some good progress.

I really wish I could get a better photo of this. It looks darker and harsher than it does in person.

Once I started putting blocks up on the design wall I realized that I wasn’t going to have enough blocks to make a nice throw size quilt. Who knows what I was thinking when I put this project away. I was sure that all I had to do was sew it together. I had even divided all the pieces into sets for blocks.

So I dug into my Kaffe Fassett Collective scraps and found some 2.5 inch strips, sewed them into strip sets and cut more triangles. I needed 8 additional blocks to make a throw size. I like to make a throw quilt long enough to be over both my shoulders and my feet. I don’t want to have to choose one or the other.

Once I got some blocks up on the design wall I cut a pile of the blue spots background triangles and put them in place. And I absolutely love how it’s looking. It’s bold and colorful and blue. I’m not a huge fan of blue, but I really like this quilt. The bright colors really pop off of that blue background.

These blocks just make me so happy. As I look at each one I can remember how they made me feel when I first put the fabric combos together for my first hexagon quilt. These fabrics are so amazing!

Other than sewing, the dogs and I walked this weekend. We did nearly six miles on Saturday. It was warm, sunny and muggy. I had to stop a couple of times and let the boys rest in the cool grass. Their tongues were hanging out!

On Sunday, we walked in the evening so it was a little cooler. It’s just gorgeous here this time of year. So many things in bloom so our walks include a lot of stopping and looking at flowers and taking pictures of the boys.

One day last week I started taking photos of the blooms I saw on our walk, and it completely changed how I saw my neighborhood! I saw beautiful things that I’d never noticed before. Here’s a bunch of blooms from just one walk. Click on each image for a bigger view.

Here’s what these are, left to right:

Row 1: Pretty sure the first one may be a gardenia, apple blossoms, Stinky Bob, and I don’t know what this yellow flower is.

Row 2: tulips, some kind of iris, and a yellow bloom that is not forsythia.

Row 3: Tulips and rhododendron.

Row 4: Azaleas

Row 5: Azalea and dogwood

Row 6: Rhododendron, Azaleas and tulips with candytuft

On our four mile walk this evening we ventured into a new neighborhood. I’m really having a great time getting out and seeing the details of the neighborhoods around my house. I’m using an app that tracks how far I walk, and also saves our route on a map. It’s really fun to see how far we venture. This one is from our hot walk on Saturday.

My friends bought me some tomato plants and potting soil on their visit to a garden center today. I like to have my tomatoes in pots by mothers day. I have to keep this guy away from them or he’ll dig them out of the pots!

Getting these into big pots will be on the agenda for this coming weekend.

I’ve been working from home now for six weeks. When we first started working from home they told us it would be a couple of weeks. We were told this week that it will likely be at least through the month of May. I think that may be enthusiastic. I have a hard time seeing how we’d be back in the office by then.

I consider myself really fortunate that I’m still working. I have friends who run their own businesses and they can’t work. Not only do they not have income, but they have a lot of time to fill every day.

I’ve been frustrated that I’ve done virtually no sewing in these six weeks of isolation, with the exception of finishing up my Aboriginal quilt top. So the other night I sat down and made a list of all my unfinished quilts that I want to complete during isolation.

I have four tops done that need backings pieced. And I have five quilt tops that are in motion, but are not finished.

Here are the four quilt tops that need backs. I have the backing fabric for all of them. I just need to take some time and put them together and get them ready for my long armer.

This Aboriginal quilt is for my brother and his wife.

This quilt will go to my other brother and his wife. She has had a lifelong love for rainbows so all this color is perfect.

No plans for who will receive this blue Algorithm quilt.

No plans for who will receive this red one either. I just love these fabrics. I would love to keep it, but how many quilts do I need?

Here are the five quilts that are in progress:

I had almost enough of the Aboriginal blocks left over to make another quilt, so I decided to make one of these for my godson. I had to order some more of the sashing fabric and it came in the mail yesterday. I picked out a few fabrics from my stash to cut for the additional blocks I needed a couple evenings ago. I bought the backing (at the bottom of the photo) in an online sale a few weeks ago. The blocks all have the sashing on one side. Now I need to add the sashing and cornerstone to the second side. This one will go together quickly. Here’s my blog post about how I do the sashing on these blocks. And this post about how I assembled the sashed blocks.

This blue quilt is being made from fabrics left over from my Kaffe hexagon quilt. Here’s a link to my blog post on that finished quilt. The blue spots will be the background for the front, and the shields fabric is the backing. This will be a really fun and vibrant quilt. Blue is out of the ordinary for me. This is the quilt I plan to finish first, but I’m working on this and the Aboriginal above at the same time. Once the blocks are done I’ll have to make a decision as to which one goes on the design wall. they will both go together quickly. Here’s my blog post about the first moments of this quilt coming together. And another post about selecting the blue spots for the background.   I don’t yet know who will get this quilt.

This is a Japanese X and + quilt that I’m making for my guest bedroom. This has been in the works for a couple of years. I only have about ten more blocks to make and then I can start putting it all together. I keep going back and forth on whether to use sashing or not. I’m a little worried that in squaring up these blocks I’m going to make it impossible to match all those seams. I’m a bit indecisive on this one. I just need to make a decision and get moving! This one will have a big border in the brown dream and the darker Lotus leaf. The lotus leaf will also be the backing.  I just love this quilt pattern and I think my fabric choices are different and exciting. I can remember when I decided on the Pond spots for the background. It sort of makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!

Here’s a picture with the sashing. I think I’m leaning toward not using the sashing because then I get the effect of the pluses and Xs. These blocks are big, so once they’re all done, it will go together quickly.

This is my recent Kaffe crumb quilt blocks. I have all the blocks done, and have ordered and received all the spots I need for the block borders. I just need to start cutting strips and sewing it all together. I ordered the backing fabric for this a couple of months ago, so this is all ready to get done. I don’t have plans for who will receive this one. I might have to keep it for myself, I love it so much. Here’s a blog post about making these blocks.

This is the Jewel Frames  quilt I’m making for my bedroom. I have all the blocks done and sashed. These blocks were just tossed onto the design wall as I finished sewing on the sashing. So, the blocks are done and I have the fabric I need for the border and backing. What’s holding me back on this one is that I want to get a queen size bed and then make this quilt to specifically fit that mattress and bed frame. So this is on the back burner.  Here’s a blog post about putting these blocks together.

And then I have this wall hanging that will go in my office. the top is all done and I have the backing fabric. I just need to quilt it. I decided I want to do the free motion quilting on this myself on my domestic machine. But I find it a little intimidating. I just need to dig in and do it!!! Here’s a blog post about making this.

I’d better get cracking!!!

This might actually be the quickest quilt top I’ve ever made. And it’s one of my favorites.

I had planned to finish up this quilt top last weekend since I only had a few horizontal seams left to sew. And those seams are really quick because the blocks are so big — there aren’t a lot of seams to line up. I am a died-in-the-wool pinner when it comes to sewing rows of blocks together. So the fewer intersections I have to manage, the happier I am!

I typically sew rows together in sets of two, then I sew those sets together. And then sew the resulting pieces together. This makes it a little easier to manage all the bulk. I really don’t love maneuvering all that bulk through a sewing machine.

I like to accordion-fold my pinned rows to make a more compact strip that I have to move under my needle.

I had so much fun making this quilt top because the fabrics are just amazing and it went together really quickly! The colors are so vibrant and the large prints are so dynamic. I love that the blocks are irregular — the fabric designs are not carefully organized within each block. I love that it’s very organic and not overly manipulated. I think that’s part of what makes it work.

I’m in the middle of my third week of working from home. It’s been really busy and stressful. My internet the first week worked really well, and the last week it all went to hell. I couldn’t do much of anything that required the internet… which is pretty much everything these days! It took me several days to just reach a person at Centurylink. And finally, I had new internet installed yesterday. I really didn’t like the idea of having to bring someone into my home when I’ve been so careful about staying isolated. But I really didn’t have much of a choice… I have to be able to work.

And my new internet is screaming fast! It’s going to take some time for me to stop being startled by it!

I spent a little bit of time making a few face masks last weekend. I made six masks out of my substantial stack of batik scraps and still don’t have the pattern adjusted to where I like it. I got another pattern from a friend that I’m going to try this weekend. It’s really fitted and has less bulk. The pattern is pretty simple.

When I first told my dogs that I’d be working from home, they thought it would be a lot more fun. Not sure who is having more fun here!

Rico (with that big old ear) is a pretty chill guy. He slept on the bed next to me for a good portion of the day today. Bender, on the other hand, spends a good portion of the day gated out of my makeshift office. He just won’t leave me alone and I can’t concentrate on work with him shoving toys at me and climbing on me. He occasionally gets to make an appearance during a video meeting.

And once in awhile, he’ll take a nice nap.

Sometimes, this is my view as I work….

 

 

I did my final messing around with these Australian Aboriginal fabrics on the design wall and confirmed with my sister in law that she wants a throw size quilt, so today I started assembling the rows of blocks.

These blocks go together really quickly, but there are a few tricks to make it all work right and easily.

As I wrote in my blog post about this quilt a couple of weeks ago, I add the sashing to each individual block, rather than sewing on long strings of sashing and cornerstones. Here’s what each block looks like when done.

I like assembling the quilt better this way. I just don’t like managing all those long strings of sashing.

To get the assembly going, I start with the lowest row on the quilt, and the first block on the left. Because of the way I’ve made each block, the bottom row of the blocks needs sashing and cornerstones on the bottom of the blocks, and the first block on the left needs sashing and a cornerstone all the way around the block.

Here’s the block for the lower left hand corner of the quilt:

And then each remaining block in the bottom row needs to have the sashing and cornerstone added to the bottom of the block. Then those blocks are added one by one to the block above, moving from left to right.

Here’s what the bottom row looks like:

After this bottom row, the rest of the rows go together more simply and quickly.

For each following row, all you have to do is add a piece of sashing with cornerstone to the left side of the first block so it looks like this:

And then you just add each block to the right hand side of the previous block, one by one, until the row is done.

It’s not a bad idea to give a little thought to what direction you press your seam allowances so that they will nest when you sew the blocks and rows together. It’s not unusual for me to re-press seam allowances so that my seams will nest.

Once this row is done and pressed, sew it to the top of the bottom row and then press.

I have two rows completed. This should all go together really quickly.

I was going to try to get more of it done this weekend, but I ended up going on a hike with two friends yesterday. It was our last hurrah as we’re anticipating that our governor will order us all to stay home in the next day or two. I don’t know what she’s waiting for.

This photo was taken by my friend Carol. It’s the eight dogs who were on the hike with us. The dogs all get along really well and they absolutely love it! My Bender and Rico are on the far left.

We’ve been having such incredible weather… really not typical for Portland in March. But the rains are coming back tomorrow… rain as far as you can see in the forecast. So I’m glad I got some outside time this weekend.

Here’s my favorite photo that I took during the hike. We came around the corner and this is what I saw. It was so magical. I’m so glad we had the chance to get out one more time.

 

 

After working from home on Friday to take part in a test of our technical capabilities to have the majority of staff telecommute, today was the first official day of working from home for most of the staff. There’s no way to know for sure, but I’m betting it will be for at least a couple of months.

I set up an office in my guest bedroom, complete with a dog-proof comforter on the bed for the dogs.

So far, it’s going well. All the technology is working so we’re able to have one-on-one conversations and larger meetings. It’s interesting to see everyone electronically rather than in person. It’s been a crazy couple of days as we deal with the logistics of working from home, but also reacting to the issues that COVID-19 is causing. I’m so lucky to have  the privilege to lead such an amazing team of people. I’m so proud of how well they’ve adapted and how hard they’ve worked together to make sure we can continue our work.

It’s going to be a difficult and interesting few months. We’re definitely entering a different time that is so unknown at the moment. I feel very fortunate to have a job that won’t be threatened by the economic effects of the virus… they’re going to need my skills and experience as a fundraiser now more than ever. I know that we’ll be seeing our share of challenges on the road ahead.

I have friends who are self employed and I’m worried about them. The nature of their work does not allow them to work from home. I’m hoping that they’ll be able to find a way to stay at home and stay safe.

The dogs seem to be enjoying having me home. I’m planning on taking them for a short walk each day after lunch. It’s good for them, and I need to get away from my desk. And this is such a gorgeous time of year in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Then we’re taking a longer walk at night. We walked 1.4 miles for lunch today and about 3.5 after work. The weather has been beautiful the last few days so it’s really wonderful to get outside.

I think having me home is going to keep the dogs on their toes for awhile. Bender was absolutely exhausted this afternoon and had a lovely little nap at my side.

Bender did have plenty of moments of activity today. I had to put up a gate to keep him out of the room during a video conference call this morning. Then he took about five minutes to pile up all these toys under my feet, hoping dearly that I would play with him.

After setting up my home office on Sunday I spent a little bit of time working on my new Aboriginal fabrics quilt.  I have enough blocks on the design wall to make a generous throw size quilt, but I’m thinking I might go ahead and extend it to a queen size quilt. But either way, I just love how this is turning out! These fabrics are so amazing, and the large blocks really show how dynamic and colorful each print is.

I’m going to call my sister in law and see if I can get her to actually tell me which size she wants. So far, she wants whatever size I want!

Thanks to everyone who is checking out my blog. Would love to hear from you at any time. I try to respond to every comment.

 

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Welcome to everyone who finds me this way!

I’ve been collecting Australian Aboriginal fabrics for a couple years now and have never made anything from them. That ended today! I’m making this quilt for my brother and his wife.

These fabrics are so amazing that I wanted to let them sing. So I cut the blocks to 9 inches square and have added a 2 inch sashing with darker cornerstones. I just love the way the larger blocks really let the fabrics sing. And the sashing adds color and pattern variation that is just wonderful. I just love the simplicity of this quilt.

I used 20 different 1/3 yard pieces of fabric. I got four nine inch blocks out of each piece, plus a full 2.5 inch strip that I’ll save for later. I haven’t really decided yet how big I’m going to make this quilt. I have enough blocks cut to make it a bigger quilt, but I’m thinking a throw is more practical. I need to give it some thought and make a decision.

My brother and his wife were at my place a few weeks ago so I took my sister in law into my sewing room and we picked out fabrics for this quilt. She tends to be a little less daring  with color so I pushed her on some of the fabrics. She loved what we pulled once we had it all together. I was very proud that she stepped out of her comfort zone.

These fabrics are so amazing. Just look at these blocks:

I got all of this accomplished in one day. It’s not done yet, but it’s well on its way.

When I make something like this I love to do chain piecing and i love to make it all as efficient as possible.

Once I had all the nine inch blocks cut, I cut the pieces for the sashing. I cut nine inch strips across the width of the fabric, stacked up three pieces, and cut them into 2 inch pieces. Then I sat down at the machine and sewed the sashing pieces onto all the 60 blocks I decided to start with.

Once this was done I started making the sashing pieces with the cornerstones attached.

I cut more nine inch strips across the width of the sashing fabric, then cut a 2 inch strip across the width of the cornerstone fabric. Then I sewed the 2 inch strip to the 9 inch strip. I pressed them open, stacked them up carefully and cut them into 2 inch pieces.

Once these sashing pieces with cornerstones were assembled and pressed, I sat down and pinned the pieces onto blocks until I ran out of pins, sewed all those blocks and pressed them open, then pinned and sewed again, and then again. I got almost 40 blocks completed this evening before I got too tired to keep going.

I really hate sewing long strips of sashing to blocks, so I assemble the blocks with sashing and cornerstones on two sides of the block. Then when these blocks are arranged for the quilt, you get a completed look and you don’t have to line up all those seams along the long strip. Each block looks like this.

Once I have my blocks all arranged on my design wall I’ll have to sew sashing with cornerstones to the outside edges of all the blocks on the ends and sides of the quilt.

I often will sew the completed blocks together into four block sets and then assemble those blocks. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll do this or do it in long strips.

Can’t believe how much of this I got done today.

Most of the employees at my place of work will begin working from home on Monday until at least April 1. I’m looking forward to saving my commute time for dogs and sewing. It’s going to be hard to stay out of my sewing room during working hours.

I’m a raging introvert, so the idea of being at home all alone for a few weeks is kind of wonderful.

 

 

I was poking around on Facebook yesterday and went to check out what was new with the Kaffe Fassett Collective group, and I saw this…

My brain sort of did a double take when I saw it — It’s my knitting project bag pattern made from my tutorial. But I’d never made it in these fabrics.

Then it hit me. Someone made a bag from my tutorial! It was such a surprise to see. Her bags look just like mine.

I asked her if it was ok for me to post her photo on my blog and use her name, and she said yes. He’s what she said about her bags:

Someone even commented that these bags were the nicest ones yet. I’m guessing they assumed the same person had made all the bags.

I think it’s so cool that she adjusted my pattern to make a bigger version. That’s the kind of thing I would do! I just love problem solving in my sewing room. I’m so glad she shared the photo. It’s really fun to see that someone found my tutorial useful.