Summertime finished!

This is another big finish for me.  I've been calling this quilt Summertime because of its bright happy colors.  It's a large quilt at 92 x 106 inches so it is difficult to get a picture of the whole thing.  Here you can see a little more than half of it hanging over our deck railing.  There is just a little bit of melting snow to the right of the quilt - it feels like spring :0)

 

 I finished this quilt a couple of weeks ago and we started using it right away. It was time to change out the duvet and this quilt was ready to go.

 I dithered about what to quilt in the wide border.  I had finished the center part last summer and then got stuck.  I finally decided to go with my usual - feathers.  Feathers quilt up so quickly with free motion quilting.  It needed a few straight lines as well to fill in.

 The binding was debated a bit.  A couple of quilty friends did not think this was a good choice. The blue was hard to match and the fabrics from the top long gone from the shops.  I found this bright pretty blue and I'm very happy with it.  Not much shows when the quilt is tucked in anyway. 

 I love waking up to all this feathered texture and the bright happy colors.  Started in June of 2015 - it is good to have it finished and in use.

I finished my second block from Barbara Brackman's applique sew-a-long.  I changed it a bit from the pattern given.  The big feather was a fun challenge to stitch in 2 fabrics.  I have just started Block #3  It's exciting to see the new block appear on the Civil War Quilts blog on the last Wednesday of the month. 

 I have also got back to making a few more of these tree blocks.  I had enough but I enjoy making them so much I thought a few more couldn't hurt :0)

So there won't likely be any more big finishes for awhile but that's ok.  I like having a good variety of projects to work on. 
Happy Quilting!

sticking at current projects

I haven't had much time to post but I have been sewing.  Nearly everyday progress is made on one or more projects. 

 These are all of my stars for my Star a Day quilt.  Kyle recently posted her finished star a day quilt on her blog Timeless Reflections  and I just love it.  I have to keep going on this if I want to make a quilt of any size.  So far I have 72 stars.

These 2 got stitched up last weekend.  

 

I finished block #7 for my Radical rose and Reel quilt. 

 

I made a few more tree blocks.  I will make 3 more and then figure out a setting for them. 

Yesterday I finished free motion quilting the blocks in this large quilt.  The straight lines in the sashing will go quickly I hope.  I have not figured out the quilting for the border yet.

More handquilted feathers happened too.  I'm almost all the way around.  I will be thrilled to get this quilt finished but the border background fill has to happen yet too. 
Progress is slow but finishes are on their way... eventually...  :0)

Happy Quilting!!

machine feathers



 It's about time I posted something.  I've been sewing - stitching away on current projects.  I have not started anything new although the temptation has been very great.
I had a week at home in early April.  Our furnace quit and we heated the house with the woodstove for a week until a part could be acquired.  I had to stay home and feed wood into the stove...  One day I made the best of it and basted this enormous quilt on the floor of my dining room.  I used all of my basting pins and still didn't have enough so I thread basted the border just to get it done.

It was my plan to free motion quilt this - hoping it would go fast like my son's quilt.  But as I considered it I decided to use my walking foot to anchor the blocks before I tried free motion quilting. Then I flipped through an excellent book "Visual guide to Free-motion Quilting Feathers" by Natalia Bonner and found this feathered design that fit into a square.  



My quilting is far from perfect but I am pleased with how this design fills the blocks without being too dense.  The design doesn't take over the block like it may appear in this picture.  If I turned the lights on as usual you would hardly see any quilting at all.  I still need a plan for the zigzag sashing.  Straight lines are all I've thought of so far.  Any suggestions??



The design works well for the half blocks too - here it is from the back.  By the last block I will be a pro - lol!

I'm also working on appliqueing my 7th block of Radical Rose and Reel.  I was so surprised to see that I had placed these two pieces in the same fabric side by side.  I didn't notice until it was sewn on.  I usually try so hard to not let this happen.  However, scrappy antique quilts often have blocks in the same fabric grouped together and yet I try so hard to scatter them evenly across the top?!  I love antique quilts!  So even though I know this will bug me  - I'm leaving it. 

Happy Quilting!!

Summertime top finished

I finally finished this large top.  I've been calling it Summertime.  I was happy that my plan to sew the zigzag sashing using partial seams worked well and I didn't have to set in any seams at all.   

 

 I was surprised to find myself including a cream zinger border - I was sure red was going to look better.  The cream frames the quilt yet doesn't detract from the blocks or the very pretty main border fabric. 

 So now it needs to be quilted.  I thought long and hard about sending this one out to be longarm quilted.  I've only once before machine quilted a quilt of this size and it wasn't very fun.  The bulk of the quilt was so hard to manage in the small opening my machine had.  Even long twin sized quilts are hard to manage with that small opening.  There were several other things that I was unhappy about sewing with my regular machine as well.  So, I decided to take the money I'd have paid the long arm quilter and put it towards a new machine. 

 I ordered it online,  sight unseen - based entirely on what other people said about it.  It's an industrial straight stitch machine with a much larger opening - a Juki TL 2010Q.  I've only had a it for a few days now but so far I LOVE it!  I haven't tried quilting with it yet but it's lovely to piece with.  My old machine can go in the closet and get pulled out for mending or sewing clothes.  I hope to try some free motion quilting with it later this week.

 The wild crocuses are blooming now.  I love to go see them on the hills. 

Soft, furry and purple coming out of such dead looking grass - spring is really here :0)

Happy Quilting!!

4 blocks appliqued

Life sure doesn't slow down around here.  I always think there will be more time "next week" to sew and maybe post on my blog.  Oh well - squeezed in between making supper to put in the crockpot and driving kids places there's time today  :0)

 On Sunday I finished appliqueing the fourth block for my Radical Rose and Reel quilt.  (Pattern from Collector with a Needle)

 I wanted to lay out all 4 to get a picture and get a better idea how they would look together but toys are occupying my design floor space...  I found this other spot but the lighting is poor.  Those toys...  I know one day they won't be a problem anymore so in the meantime I gotta love those toys and the kids still playing with them. 

I've also been working on this long forgotten project.  I think I'd been calling it Summertime.  I had all the blocks made over a year ago.  Recently I pieced the half blocks and started cutting sashing.  I wanted the zigzag effect but liked the blocks closer together than setting with triangles so I'm attempting rectangular sashing pieces and I'm hoping to put them together using partial seams but may have to result to set in seams - I'll keep you posted  :0)

Happy Quilting!!

Happy 2016

It's been a busy year so far.  I haven't had time to show you the little toy that was under the tree for me this year.  I think it's adorable :0)  Its a Singer Model 20 toy sewing machine.  It is small and very lightweight in spite of being all metal.  It is a chainstitching machine so there is only thread on the top - no bobbin.  It is also a handcrank so I can now bring it with me and sew anytime and anywhere :0)  

 

I took it with me to my inlaw's over Christmas and worked on the little pieced border for this bird applique.  I didn't quite get it finished though.  After I came home I got busy with other things.  I need to get back to it.

 I've been working away on these Wheel of Fortune blocks.  I need one more I think for the layout I want to do.  I have not decided yet if I will make half blocks for the top and bottom.

 45 blocks makes a pretty good pile.

I'm really ready for a scrappier machine piecing project though! 

 

I think I'm getting a little better at making these Star-a-Day blocks.  While I don't love it yet I think I dislike it less :0)

They sure are cute.  I have a bunch more cut out now - they are a very good, portable project.  They could become a doll quilt - no one said I had to make 365 of them.   I certainly do not get one made per day - lol!

 

Happy Quilting!!

wheels of fortune

I am disappointed that I only managed to post once in October.  My goal is to post once a week.  I hope I will do better in November!

I have been slowly building my pile of Wheel of Fortune blocks and today I decided it was time to lay them out and see how many more to make.   

 I have a lot of the blue background fabric.  I think I want to try a zigzag setting.  I am feeling a bit clueless as to how to measure this.  I decided I will make another dozen blocks and then figure it out measurements etc...

I have at least 12 more fabrics picked out anyway and I really enjoy making these bright, happy blocks :0) 

I'm getting close to having all 16 blocks made for my Circle Game quilt. There was one block in the pattern that my friend and I didn't like so for the last block we are making one that she drafted. This is the second last block - a pretty one I think.

I have decisions to make about this quilt too.  The pattern makes a 73 inch square quilt... not a very usable size (wide for a throw but too short to tuck in on a bed) so I am thinking about 4 more blocks to make the quilt rectangular. I'll have a picture of all my blocks laid out together later this week.

As for other sewing.  I made a Halloween costume for my 11 year old son last week.  Here are all the components.  Any guesses as to what he dressed up as??  There will be some sort of quilty prize for the closest guess  :0)

This week I am happy to be back to my regular sewing projects. 
Happy Quilting!!

summertime progress



Wow, has the summer ever flown by!  Regular routine should resume next week when the kids go back to school and I think everyone is ready.

I made another block for this quilt today and I looked back at a previous post to see what I had called this project - Summertime.  I like it.  30 or so more blocks to make and many more fabrics to pull out and use :0)

 Earlier in the week I traced and pieced the final batch of leaves for the last branch on the 13th panel for my Trailing Vines quilt.  I kind of felt sad about it.  I have loved working on this project so very much. 

I'm about halfway up the branch now - I aim to have the top completely finished sometime next week. 
Happy Stitching!!

lots of variety



I've been loving variety lately.  Some days, like yesterday I worked on 5 different projects.  I finished handpiecing this sunflower and I appliqued the centre onto it.  It's not perfect but I did enjoy the process by the time I got to the end.  I have more handpiecing planned :0)  This block will become part of a small wallhanging once I figure the rest out.

 I pieced the last star into my Patis star project. The top isn't finished as I want to put half hexagons in along the sides and add a border all around.  The portable part of this project is now complete so I will be starting a new project with the quilt patis later this week.  I simply must have some good handwork for the beach!

 This is another new project.  I bought a big piece of the blue floral a few years ago and it's been bothering me that its still sitting in a bin.  The blocks are from the book "History Repeated". Right now I think I will use the blue floral for a zigzag setting but this may change:0)  I need a lot of these blocks so there will be lots of time to think about it. 

I was in the mood for these bright happy colors.  It's summer - Yahoo!

Happy Quilting!!