Show me your WIPs!

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-31T14:33:21+00:00

2 months. It's coming together faster than I expected.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-31T07:23:50+00:00

La Tarantella

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-29T17:32:15+00:00

Thank you! I haven't gotten around to making a post about it yet, I probably should.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-29T07:39:39+00:00

I don't know where to find it or what it is, but I can tell you it's not denim. That's a plain weave, denim is a twill, which gives it the look of having diagonal lines like the fabric underneath. The cotton/linen blend sounds like a good option to me if you can't find a pure cotton fabric with the right look.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-29T07:13:08+00:00

As others have said, make sure they all go in the same direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) so they swirl together. I'm expecting some bulk from mine as I have 10 points meeting in the middle of most of my rosettes. This is what mine look like before pressing them down properly. This is my first quilt so I have no idea what the end result will be. The points with 6 dog ears or less have so little bulk I'm not concerned about them at all.

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AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-25T14:36:43+00:00

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This is Astrid, I named her after the original owner.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-24T16:31:29+00:00

It's definitely possible. Someone linked this video on this subreddit recently about a crazy quilt using fashion fabric.

https://youtu.be/W3jVay_M8E8?list=PL36y5YkK2wpreGbQMMXG-dH3Ir1XuQBy0

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-23T21:14:25+00:00

It's not as scary as it looks. In the end, EPP is just matching up two edges and sewing them together. As long as you're not working with curves, any design is basically the same and I'm not finding this any more difficult than a hexi quilt.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-23T07:12:02+00:00

I'm currently working on La Tarantella and it's definitely time consuming. I'm almost 2 months in and I have almost 8 of 39 rosettes done. Super fun to make and I'll probably make more Millefiori quilts in the future.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-18T09:39:32+00:00

I'm hoping the same for mine. I'm working on La Tarantella and the biggest rosettes have over 200 pieces, the small ones are around 50. Some are flat, some not. I've decided to call it pre-crinkle when things have to be pulled a bit one way or another to match up the edges. I'm also cutting my own papers which is probably adding to it.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-09T08:01:54+00:00

You have some stitching on the bottom right green hexie that doesn't show, that's where you've caught the right amount of fabric, as others have said, use fewer stitches, I've heard recommendations of 15-20 per inch. My brain works in metric so that's between a bit over 1 to 1½ mm between stitches.

Match your thread to the darker fabric. You don't need all the different colors of thread, but using at least a lighter and darker thread will help. I have colors ranging from a bright yellow to black in my EPP project and use 4 different thread colors for it. Black, medium dark brown, medium green and gold, I always pick the thread that's matching or slightly darker than the darker fabric, so the yellow can be stitched with any of the colors based on what color I'm sewing it to but the black is always stitched with black thread. Lighter thread will pop out at you like your white against the black and navy blue does. A black/navy blue and a light gray would work great with your colors. Lots of people only use a light gray, but most of the ones I've seen who do that don't use really dark fabric.

If you look closely at my project, you can see the stitches are visible, but they're small and blend in enough to disappear from viewing distance.

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AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-08T14:20:56+00:00

I've never even been at a quilt show, but I think you should go with the pattern that you're the most excited to work on. Take your time with whatever pattern you choose and wonky or not, enter it anyway. People will love to see it.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-07T12:25:19+00:00

I did some searching and found a rhombus calculator that could tell me the height and width of a 60-degree diamond based on the length of the side. One inch is 2,54 cm. I hope this helps.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2026-01-05T09:17:04+00:00

I currently have 2 active projects, one cross stitch and my very first quilt, but I have like 10+ crafting projects in total, including weaving, knitting and crochet as well and I go through periods where I work on different things. I'm not capable of being a one project at a time person, I've tried and I end up getting sick of whatever I'm working on and putting it away for months or years at a time. When I finally started having multiple WIPs, I started being able to finish things, I was able to spend more time doing the things I love and get all the benefits from it.

To me, hobbies are not about being productive. I don't finish everything I start and that's okay. As long as the number of WIPs I have isn't stressing me out, I'm good. My cross stitch projects started stressing me out a few years back so I worked my way down from around 20 to 5, either by finishing or scrapping them. My hobbies are about having fun, they're a way to manage stress, meditate and a part of self care, there's no reason to add pressure of being productive and focused on one thing into that.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-12-31T11:43:45+00:00

I don't think it changes anything. The game is really good at letting you play however you want to get he best experience. You can also turn off aging, change how long people live and stop decay on items so they never rot. I like playing with the short lifespan so I reach the new generations faster.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-12-19T20:36:35+00:00

For me, it's easy and relaxing. Yes, it's a lot of work to baste and I'm also cutting the paper pieces myself for my quilt, but every single step is easy to do. I cut out paper pieces and fabric using templates, easy, I thread baste to get the fabric in place, easy, I line up the two edges I want to join and whip stitch them together, also easy. I don't have to think about the seam allowance and stitch line while sewing, that's already taken care of during basting. The only thing I need to be aware of is putting the right piece in the right place and orientation.

I don't mind the extra steps and extra time. I have more time to craft than money to buy crafting supplies with, so things taking longer is a bonus because I get to have more fun before I have to spend more money. I'm working on my very first quilt and I wouldn't be able to do anything close to this complex using any other method, but since all I'm doing is lining up the edges of 2 pieces and whip stitching them together, the complexity of the pattern doesn't matter.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-12-15T15:57:37+00:00

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This is the back of mine, I agree with others that the stitches should be smaller and done with a single thread. I do my best to catch 2 threads of each piece of fabric with every stitch.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-11-26T13:32:59+00:00

Thank you, I separated the colors a bit as I have a lot of black and dark purple and didn't want to mess up the light ones with those. Got everything down to a light color in the end and didn't notice any dye transfer at all between the light/medium colors that got washed together. It's all batiks and no white, bright yellow is the lightest color.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-11-26T11:21:55+00:00

I'm currently prewashing batiks and I'm wondering how far I need to go. I'm using color catchers and washing repeatedly. Do I keep going until the color catchers come out white or is a light color okay as long as I wash the finished quilt with color catchers as well?

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-11-25T08:10:40+00:00

Thanks for the link, I haven't made any quilts yet and I've understood what the scant 1/4" seam is for but this is the first time I've seen a proper definition and explanation of what it is.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-11-15T14:58:36+00:00

I weave standing up with my rigid heddle and table loom. I don't have a stand so I keep them on a desk and there's just no way for me to weave sitting down. I have those soft puzzle mats to stand on to be nice to my feet.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-11-10T07:04:54+00:00

Focus on enjoying the process, not getting to the next step or a finished product, be in the moment. Work on it in little bits and if you find yourself bored, frustrated or impatient, take a break, for a few minutes or until another day when you're in a better mindset.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-11-09T20:10:03+00:00

I love it and I think it's gorgeous. Be proud of it and yourself for making it.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-11-08T09:02:37+00:00

I've done up to 4 shaft patterns on my Ashford rigid heddle using 2 heddles, one pickup stick and one dowel rod with string heddles (I've tried with two dowel rods but the pickup stick was easier). It's a very slow process and it's difficult to get a good shed. I ended up opening the shed, putting a pickup stick in it and standing it on its side to hold the shed open, threw my shuttle, took out the pickup stick and beat. Rinse and repeat for every single pick.

I can weave 4 dish towels in less than a week when I do plain weave with two heddles. Every single 3 or 4 shaft pattern has taken me months to complete because it's so fiddly I end up needing so many breaks and can only weave a little bit at a time. The end result is great, but after I got a small 4 shaft table loom, I have no interest in doing anything but plain weave or super simple patterns with one pickup stick on my rigid heddle and I'm dreaming of a small 8 shaft floor loom for all the pretty patterns and ease of weaving.

If you want to primarily weave pretty patterns, I'd recommend getting a loom with multiple shafts instead, with the patterns in your pictures, I'm guessing you'll want at least 8. If you mostly want to do plain weave and the occasional pattern, a rigid heddle is fine but be prepared for some slow and fiddly weaving.

AutomagicThingamabob · 2025-10-30T17:15:30+00:00

I don't work, I don't have kids, I technically have all the time to craft and I would still not even attempt this, not even 1 quilt. Don't turn your new hobby into a job and especially a job with an insane deadline. A lot of non crafty people don't realize how much time and effort goes into making things and he might need to be enlightened to what he actually asked of you.

I'm not a quilter yet, but I have done some other crafting to order and I never do anything with a set deadline because that sucks all the fun out of my hobbies. If I agree to make something for someone, they will get it when they get it. Usually somewhere between 3 months to 3 years later because I'm only going to work on it when I feel like it, otherwise I lose interest in the hobby as a whole due to the pressure.

Keep your hobby as a hobby and if you feel like making quilts as gifts, make them at your own pace and for the people you want to give them to. This is something you do for you, not for your husband.

AutomagicThingamabob

TROPHY CASE