Prime Number Quilt--- Complete!

I finished the prime number baby quilt last Friday evening. It's washed and wonderful. It took me a while to get some pictures of it to a computer (I had a virus over the weekend, up until last night). But now it's done and listed and I love it!


The green squares each represent a prime number. The tan squares are 1 and the composite number, from 1 to 120.


You can get more information about it from my Etsy listing.

The Progress of the Quilt II

Last weekend I spent a good amount of time working on my prime quilt. I was able to get it all pieces and then pinned the three layers together.


Last night I picked up some matching thread for the quilting and quilted away. Now the quilt is all quilted and the binding is almost done (unlike shown in the picture above, after I took the picture I decided to work on it some more). Tonight I plan to sew down the binding to the back side and then wash the quilt to make it look all snuggly.

This means I could have it listed in my shop by tomorrow! So be on the lookout for a new mathematical baby quilt.

The Progress of the Quilt

This weekend my husband and I enjoyed some time at home. This means I had time to work on crafty things. Aside from doing some household cleaning and general repair/finish of odd items, I worked a lot on the quilt I am making for my Etsy shop.

The quilt is inspired by prime numbers and babies. :) It's a crib sized quilt (about 40 by 48). Here is a picture of where it is as of Sunday evening.


Over the weekend I cut the pieces, pieced it all together, and pinned the front, batting, and back together. I need to go buy some matching quilting thread to quilt it. Then it just needs the edge, which is cut and ready to go.

After this quilt, I have 2 more on the list. But those won't be for sale. Those will be for my niece and my daughter.

Tips for Working with Fleece

I could also have titled this post "Why its important to use fresh needles." That is really my main point.

I bought some fleece in colors I liked with the goal to create a larger sized distribution pillow. Back in July I made a large version of the standard normal plushie. I basically wanted a version of that, but without the face. I find that a lot of my items are cute, which isn't a problem. It just really limits the gentlemen from desiring my items. How many males who are statistically inclined do you know that would purchase a cute little pale green plushie for themselves? Not many.

But even aside from that, I too would enjoy having a throw pillow on my couch that represented my love of statistics. So I'm creating this for everyone!

The point is, I started making this pillow on Monday evening. It was very frustrating. My top thread kept shredding and I couldn't stitch more than 1.5" without having to rethread the machine. Needless to say, I didn't get very far that night. I ended with a pile of scrap fabric with random stitches. My next step was to research on the world wide web and solve all my problems. I found a webpage with many suggestions, Sewing with Fleece Fabric. Feel free to browse on over and read up. My summary is below.

• Use new machine needles. I used Universal 80/12 and they worked great.
• Use 100% polyester thread. I only used it for the top thread, I kept my bobbin a cotton covered polyester and had no problems.

And that is it. I tried my serger, but that likely needs new needles too. Since fleece doesn't fray, I ended up not using the serger and just using my old Singer. She worked great (but only after I blamed the problem on her being old, dirty, and cheap).


You can check out my Nausicaa Distribution shop listing for the normal pillow here.

Another Fabulous Picture!

I love it!

This time a returning customer has sent me a wonderful photo with a thank you note after receiving her package. :) I smiled really hard for a good minute and then just smiled for the rest of the day. Thanks, Tuscaloosa Road! You should go check out her shop.

New Items

I've got quite a few ideas for new items for my Etsy shop.

I plan to make larger pillows, that can actually be used to lay one's head on. I've already bought materials to make them, it's just a matter of creating something I like enough to share with others. I'd like to have one up in my shop by this Friday. Wish me luck.

I also plan to make a baby quilt. I've already bought fabric and have a good mathy idea. It's just a matter of ironing, cutting, piecing, assembling, quilting, and finishing. Not too much work. :) The green and tan fabric will be used. But the three together are going to be used for a different quilt, one for my baby girl due in May!


And, my wonderful husband and fabulous mom are getting me an embroidery machine for Christmas! We've been researching and looking around and I will probalby have one by the SuperBowl. I am so excited!! That opens up so many opportunities for me to create new things! I plan to use it to make my current plushies and cozies quicker and neater and I have some ideas for new items as well.

I'm excited!

Awesome Picture from a Customer

It's been a busy, but awesome holiday season. My husband and I celebrated a couple of Christmas with various parts of the family and had a nice chilly New Years.

I did want to mention a customer appreciation photo I received around Christmas time. I sold four plushies to a wonderful customer. We chatted about what she wanted and I'm glad to announce that not only did we get things figured out, but she seems to enjoy the plushies as well. Wonderful for me!

She added the appreciation photo above to her review of my shop. That is super cool! It just makes me feel extra appreciated. So, to those of you who send those, keep it up. It makes other smile. And if you've thought about doing it, go for it!