CASE OF THE SECRET GARDEN

I put my Case of the Secret Garden pieces and supplies in an Art Bin with dividers for taking along while I travel.  It's very handy!

CASE OF THE SECRET GARDEN CLUE 3

 

These are the two 'blocks' I'm stitching by hand for clue 3.

And here's my set up for stitching.  Very handy!

CASE OF THE SECRET GARDEN

 

This week has been filled with doctor appointments, but I have managed to get all the cutting done for the little shapes of the Inklingo mystery.

 

With Inklingo you print the shapes on the wrong side of your fabric (using an ordinary ink jet printer), so you don't need templates.  Then you cut on the cutting lines.  The cut out shapes still have the seam line showing, as well as cross-hairs at the corners, and match points along the way.

Now on to the sewing part of Clue 3. 

You can find a link to Inklingo and also The Case of the Secret Garden (COTSG) mystery in previous posts as well as on my side bar.

Case of the Secret Garden

Step 2 for any Inklingo project:  test the colors on your fabric.  You can see this really well on my white, but it's printed the same on all of these little 5 x 5 swatches.  You select the color you'll print on the back of the fabric, cutting lines and stitching lines with hatch marks at corners and match points.  You want the lightest color that you can see. 

This is a little tricky on the prints, because what you can see on the lighter parts doesn't necessarily show up on the dark.  These tests are on the back of the fabric because that's where the marks get printed.

So what was Step 1, you ask.  Select your fabrics of course.  Here's what I'm using in the COTSG, right side out.

The quarter is for the size of the print which was important here, because the pieces are small.  Now on to printing the shapes on my fabrics.

CASE OF THE SECRET GARDEN

 

Linda and Monkey are up to mischief!  They have created an Inklingo mystery, The Case of the Secret Garden, and it's for gals just like me.

Me?  Why me?  Because I love how Inklingo prints cutting and piecing lines right on your fabric.  Because it's so easy to stitch that way.  Because you don't need to make templates for tough pieces.  Well, that sounds like it would be for anyone.  Why me?

Because I have sewn Inklingo blocks (hexies) that someone else sent me, loved it, ordered it (hey, some of the shapes are free), and shelved it.  Printing on fabric seemed confusing.  It must be hard.  Well, probably not hard, as everyone else seems to do it.  There's even a Yahoo group for Inlingo users, and they are nice -- no dumb questions except the ones you don't ask.  Linda is nice, and answers questions, and she has Monkey to boot.  So why don't I use it?

I don't know.  But, The Case Of The Secret Garden promises to get folks like me going.  All the mystery will be taken out.  It's a small project, no big commitment.  It only takes four fabrics (from stash in my case).  New clues will be posted, and there will be support from others making the same thing at the same time.  Baby steps.

So with encouragement from my online friend Cyn (we must meet one day!), I'm in.  By the way, it is not just for beginner users of Inklingo.  It's for everyone.  This is a new shape in the every-growing collection.

I ordered the one set I needed and didn't have last night.  Sure enough, easy peasey, downloaded on my computer.  It even came with free stuff too!  Why not?  I downloaded the first clue.  Easy.  I'm ready for more.  Bring it on, Monkey!

 

If you are confused as to what Inklingo is, what the mystery is about, or any of this post, just click on the links in the post.  I'll have a link to the mystery on my sidebar too.

 

CASE OF THE SECRET GARDEN

 

These are the 'blocks' I'm hand-stitching for Clue 3.

 

And here's my convenient set up.