Ask Jo: A Little Bit of Everything

Hello, and welcome to another edition of “Ask Jo”.  I get many comments and questions from all sorts of places, the comment section here, Youtube, email, and from our Facebook group.  Sometimes I think others of you might want to know the answers as well so I answer them here on the blog.   Today I’m tackling questions from the comment section that came in over the last week.

Ann asked:
“Is the pattern of the large tractor on the pinwheels quilt available free or is it a purchase one? Would love to make it for the center of a different child-friendly quilt!”

Ann is referring to this quilt.

The pattern came from this book, Farm Girl Vintage by Lori Holt.  You can find it HERE.

This one made me laugh!!!

Linda in the UK said:
“What an amazing amount of sewing you accomplished this week! So many finished and several projects in the pipeline which I know you will be moving along in your usual organized fashion.”

I know many of you think I’m organized and to a certain extent I am.  I never quite feel that way though.  I always feel a little scattered and rightly sew as I never work on one project at a time.

I am pretty methodical about wanting to see progress when I’m sewing.  I really do enjoy having several projects on the go so I can make the best use of my time.

Right now I have this sitting on the quilting frame needing to be loaded.

It’s only a little progress on this but Monday at naptime I cut the binding strips.  Tuesday morning I sewed them together and ironed them before childcare.  I also did some other sewing so I would have something to do during naptime.

For those of you who don’t know, by day, I am an in-home childcare provider.

I ended up sewing some strips together after I sewed the binding pieces.  Then at naptime, I cut the strips into segments for my Bitcoin quilt.

The previous day I had sewn and cut segments for my Show Off quilt.  After I cut them I realized I needed a few more so Tuesday morning I also sewed strips together to make more of these units.  Then at naptime, I cut them too.

I had sewn these together on Sunday.  These are the sashing pieces for the Show Off quilt.  I sewed them on Sunday but I didn’t iron them.  I saved the ironing for naptime later in the week.

Being I know I will always have naptime to work at the kitchen island three or so days a week, I purposely plan things to do during that time.  Simple things like cutting segments or ironing are the perfect things to do.  I have about half an hour if it’s a good day.  The kids are sleeping or the older kids are watching a movie resting, and I need to do something quietly while they do.

I pull several projects and work on them as a group.  If I were to only sew individual projects wouldn’t always have something I can do over that half hour during naptime.  But if I have three projects going, it’s pretty much guaranteed if I plan, at least one of the projects will have something I can do over naptime.

I love working this way.  I rarely get bored when I do!

I know it looks organized and I thank you Linda for saying so but it does feel a little chaotic.  I wouldn’t do it any other way though.

Colleen said:
“You put me to shame! Please gives us an update on how Karl is doing. And what pattern is Kelli’s quilt? It’s absolutely beautiful!”

Karl is doing really well.  He still wouldn’t turn down a nap if offered and has been going to bed a half-hour earlier than he previously did but other than that, he’s really getting back to normal.  He still can have a ticklish cough sneak up on him.  He’s pleased with his progress as last week at this time he was still sleeping 16 or more hours a day.

Kelli’s quilt…  It is Carolina Chain.
It is a Bonnie Hunter quilt and can be found in her Addicted to Scraps book.  Find the book HERE.

I have the quilt bound.  Now I need to get some pictures taken and a blog post written.  The quilt turned out great.

The Joyful Quilter said:
“You quilted FOUR quilts in ONE week?!?! Jo, that’s enough to send anyone’s shoulder into a fit. I can see why your (already compromised) shoulder is giving you trouble, again.”

Yes…after my marathon of quilting five quilts in four days my shoulder was in tough shape.  I pushed too hard.  I should have known better but I have good news.  Kelli was here on the Saturday after I had worked on all of the quilts and suggested I use her Tens Unit.

Kelli uses this for breasts when nursing.  She ends up with some mastitis issues from time to time and if she uses this in the area that is problematic, she gets some relief.  She also has used it on her wrist when carpal tunnel issues flare.

She ended up putting it on my shoulder and WOW.  What a difference!  My shoulder felt much better.  I ended up ordering one.  It’s the one seen above as the one Kelli has was no longer available.  You can find the one I ordered HERE.

After using it for 20 minutes, my whole should felt like it had a deep massage.  I can’t wait to get mine in the mail so I can use it daily while my shoulder is acting up.  I recommend one if you are dealing with muscle type pain.

I was complaining a bit about my Garlic Knots quilt.  I was saying that I almost need a design wall to do the sashing.

Sharon suggested:
“How about a plain inner border on the Garlic Knots quilt? I changed one of the borders on Bonnie’s Rectangle Wrangle pattern and I was happy I did.”

I debated about this and I’m not afraid to change a pattern.  The problem for me is I love it just as Bonnie designed it.  I don’t want to change it.  So time to pull up my big girl pants and do it.

Beth suggested:
“Make yourself a design wall like a window blind. You can buy the parts online and get the PVC pipe at the lumber company. Mount it to the ceiling and pull it down when you need it. Then it is out of the way.”

I don’t mind this idea but Kramer, my husband who passed away, isn’t here to help with that.  He was the doer of these kinds of projects.  I was the watcher.  I am not talented enough to just do it and for the sake of one quilt, I won’t bother my sons or sons-in-law.  Great idea though.

Susan B said:
“Hi Jo…. Do you have room in your sewing room to temporarily hang a flannel-backed plastic table cloth to use the flannel side for a design wall? It holds the quilt blocks well, for me.”

I do not have space for that.  Two of my walls are not full ceiling height so they don’t work and the others are filled with doors and stuff.  I have been contemplating putting one up in the hallway that is adjacent to my sewing room.  That could work.

I’m going to see how it goes and if I end up with trouble, I’ll put the flannel table cloth up in the hallway.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Susan B also said:
“Hi Jo…So many beautiful quilts! Love the backing on the red one. Do you free-motion all of your quilts?”

I do free-motion all of my quilts.  I occasionally do some custom work but it’s typically edge-to-edge free motion.

Thanks so much for all of your questions and comments.  I love reading the comments so much.  You all have great ideas!!  If I missed your comment, please ask again.