A Big Event Today!

I probably should have been hyping this previously, but today a famous quilter will be in Chillicothe at Old Town Quilt Shop on Water Street. I signed up for it about 6 weeks ago, and have been eagerly anticipating it ever since.

The guest is Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts. She's a new-generation quilter, young and vivacious, hip and cool, (my impressions of all these millennials who are joining and trendsetting in the quilting world!); her workshop today is on big-stitch hand quilting.

Now, if you've followed this blog for very long, then you know I am no stranger to this technique, as I spent 3 months doing that ginormous quilt for Erin last October-November-December. I won't link to anything because there are so many, but if you hit up that archive tool over in the side bar, you will be able to find them.

So why am I attending this? Well, one can always learn a few new tricks, you know, and I wonder if I did things the way she will be instructing. One thing I am curious about is burying the knots. I never did feel as though I had a good method of doing that. I also used a different type of thread than she suggests, so I would like to get her take on that.

I will be sure to take a few pics, and soak up as much information as I can, and then I will report back here next week!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Celebrating

Yours truly has reached a landmark - I have entered a new decade. Today I am 60 years old. I am doing better than I would have thought with this new set of numbers to deal with. Perhaps it is because I have had several celebrations in recent days. Here are some snapshots of the frivolity.

On Tuesday evening the Frienzies met at Lyn's for dinner. We had Italian potluck, so you see on the left some Zuppa Toscana and meatless lasagna. We also had some yummy appetizers, Italian sodas, 7-layer salad, bread and wine. All fantastic! On the right is my request for birthday cake - Boston Cream Pie. It was always my request growing up, and it'd been years since I'd had it. Still yummy!

On Friday night my kids arranged for us all to go out for dinner in Columbus. They made plans for us to go to a bar/cafe that Kevin and I used to go to as newlyweds - Planks Cafe on Parsons Avenue. Talk about a trip down memory lane. We had some great pizza there; the best part was having all the kids together with us.

Today we've been to Wilmington (Damon's for lunch) where we met all of my siblings (I am the oldest of 5) and our Mom. Spouses and a couple of children also attended. What a nice time; it was not crowded which allowed for us to linger and visit. Totally enjoyed it. My sister Sandy has a birthday on Tuesday, so we were both celebrating.

 

For me, the celebrating will end with my friends in the card group taking me out for Oriental food on Thursday evening. Whew! Lots of food means I'd better be getting my walking in! The weather is supposed to be warmer this week, so perhaps I will.

For sewing news, I delivered Erin's Diamonds on Friday when we went to Columbus. It looks fantastic on their king-size bed.

And I have finished all the stars necessary for Elizabeth. It has been a fun quilt to work on so far; next up is making 144 little HSTs for the Delectable Mountain blocks; we shall see if I'm still having fun after those are made! I have also been sharing pictures of Elizabeth on Instagram; several have asked about the fabrics I am using so I will do a post in the coming week that provides all the details about fabrics and such. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Erin's Diamonds - Once More

Please indulge me while I post once more about my big finale of 2016. I'd been asked by my sister to share a picture of the back of Erin's Diamonds, and that gave me an opportunity to take a few more pictures - which I just knew you all would want to see. *wink-wink*

The quilt is so big I knew I wouldn't have a single piece of fabric for backing, so I dug out 3 florals which seemed to go well enough together. It certainly is a busy back, isn't it? But then so is the front, so it's all good, in my humble opinion. I like how the quilting stitches show up on the back fabrics. That is quite a satisfying sight to see actually.

Here are a few additional pictures of Erin's Diamonds. I may or may not be finished posting pictures of this quilt. It will go to Erin next weekend, and then she will have a chance to put it on her king-size bed. It may be necessary for her to send pictures, and then that will make it equally necessary to share them here, so you see I can't close the book on this quilt entirely. Not yet, anyway. *grin*

When I was folding it, I noticed how nice both ends looks folded in on top of the back, and I also like how the binding contrasts so well with the gold colored half-diamonds. Such a splash of happy colors!!!!

And then, after I'd folded it, I threw it on top of the quilt rack. This is quite a strong visual of the giant world of quilting - 30's prints, scrappy calicoes and vivid Kaffe Fassett florals. Traditional patterns and more modern ones. Hand piecing and machine piecing. Traditional hand quilting and big-stitch hand quilting.That's quite a microcosm of the quilting realm in just one picture.

One final detail I finished off yesterday while the Frankfort girls were here: I had about a dozen little spots on Erin's Diamonds that hadn't ever gotten quilted. Mostly these were places where it was hard to reach in the big quilting frame, or I ran out of thread before getting to the edge of the quilt. I'd marked these with little safety pins as shown in these two photos. (I added arrows to make them easy to see.) I searched all these safety pins out yesterday, and one by one finished off each bit; it now is officially completed.

Complete except for delivery. That is set to happen on Friday. Yay!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Final Finish for 2016

Mid-afternoon yesterday, I finished binding Erin's Diamonds. Whoo-hoo! I thought I'd be all celebratory and cheering and dancing and carrying on. But, I actually felt sort of lost! It was the way I feel when I finish a really amazing book, and then wonder what in the world I will do now that it's over.

Weird.

Let's look at some pics. I took lots. *smile*

The quilt is from the Kaffe Fassett book called Kaleidoscope of Quilts (2006). Erin picked it out in February of 2013, and I made the quilt top that year. Then for all of 2014 and 2015, it hung in my closet. Did you know that quilts never get finished if you never work on them? It's true! So the hand-quilting began in October. To quilt this 108x93-inch quilt in 3 months is speedy for me. Once upon a time, this would have been incomprehensible.

I have written about this quilt frequently and have always referred to it as Erin's Diamonds, even though the original quilt is called Hot Diamonds.
Click here to see my first post, when Erin selected the fabrics from the stash.
Click here to see me trying to figure out his very brief directions.
Click here to see a post about sewing the quilt top.
Click here to see it on the antique quilting frame.
For more posts, just enter Erin's Diamonds into the search box located in the sidebar.

And this concludes my posting for 2016. Number 250 for the year. We will be hosting our friends the Schmidts and Everharts tonight. Reveling is set to begin at 8 or so. We have a big football game to watch, too - GO BUCKEYES!! BEAT CLEMSON!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Diamonds Update

Was Christmas wonderful at your house? It sure was at ours. We had to share our daughters with their significant others, but we made up for their absence by being with the great horde that is my side of the family. My brother and his wife hosted us, and below are the ones who attended.

My mother is seated in the center of the sofa. I am directly behind her with a sister on each side of me. My brothers are sitting on either side of Mom. Surrounding this core group are all the in-laws, grandkids and great-grandkids. We were missing a few, sadly, but we had a good time and we always do.

My stitching has become more relaxed now that the commissions are finished. I am back to enjoying the hand quilting on Erin's Diamonds. I have very nearly finished it, and will have to return to the shop today to find just one more skein of pearl cotton for the remaining bits. It is fully expected that I will have this finished by the end of '16. Whoo-hooo!

Seeing that bottom row of half-diamonds was surely a welcome sight! At the top of the picture you can see the tails of the threads yet to be quilted in. I like that I did this, and will remember to do it again on the next quilt. It does make the job seem more efficient.

Taking it off the hoop gives me a moment to study the look that the quilting gives it. I love the gradation of colors - and the quilting - and the boldness. Frankly, I can't think of anything I don't like about this quilt!!

Why, even the backing looks fantastic. I will be sure to turn it to the back when it is entirely finished so you can see all three prints I used.

No more hoop. What remains will be done without it. The bottom left corner is the area I still must tend to. I have partial quilt lines and some diamonds that are completely stitch-less. It should take me no time at all to finish off these bits. (Note that new carpet under there?? This quilt fills the family room; it's a large queen/small king - in other words, monstrous!)

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Plugging Away on Those Diamonds

Yes, in the odd moments here and there, I am still quilting on Erin's Diamonds. It pleases me immensely to be so near the finish, but sometimes it feels as if I will never get there! Here are pictures of a section I finished off this week. When I grow impatient to be finished with this, I try to remind myself that I enjoy the process of hand quilting, and this new experience with using Perle Cotton has been delightful.

Lately as I've stitched, I've been listening to a book on Playaway from the library. Do you know what that is? Instead of a book on CD, this little device is about the size of a deck of cards; you plug your own headphones into it and with a AA battery, you can listen to a book. Right now, I am listening to The Magician's Lie by Greer MacAllister. It's been okay; I was near to quitting it early on as one of the characters was so dispicable that I just couldn't stomach it; but as it was in a flashback, I held off thinking that his part in the story would be brief. Well, he's come back, and now I'm so far into the book, I really want to finish it off. What a dilemma, right?

I got a nice long list of book recommendations from a fellow quilt blogger, Nicole. Sister's Choice Quilts is one blog that I have followed rather faithfully for a long time. Awhile back she reviewed a long list of titles she'd read from the summer and fall, many of which appealed to me. Here is the link to her Summer Reading finds. You can search her blog for additional book-related posts.

So, I listen and stitch. What a great way to pass a late afternoon or evening. I hope to be able to do a bit of that at some point today, although we have a date this afternoon. We will be going in to Greenfield for the Pipes of Christmas - a pipe organ concert spread out over three locations. For a town our size to have 3 pipe organs is quite remarkable, apparently, and this concert will feature them in Christmas-y fashion. All the organists are native to Greenfield, some coming back home just for this event. I will be sure to tell you all about it.

The needle awaits! It's Sunday, so I will be linking up with Kathy at Slow Sunday Stitching. Go take a peek!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Minimal Quilting Time

This past week has been hectic, to put it mildly. Consequently, I have had precious little time to work on Erin's Diamonds.

If you recall, I'd moved it from the big frame and into a hoop to finish the last 5 or 6 rows. I prepped that at least a week ago. But the only stitching I've managed was done on Friday morning when the Frankfort girls met at Sheryll's house.

For the couple of hours that we stitched, I managed to get all the quilting in one frame-space done and then move the frame to a new section. That is what is shown above. I sure hope I can carve out some time later today to sit with in in my lap and quilt for awhile.

To get it to Sheryll's without getting it dirty, I smooshed it all up in this white trash bag. Those are just the perfect size for larger quilt projects that need to be transported. I have used them for years. I suppose a pillow case would work, too; they would be about the same size, minus the straps for carrying.

This final picture is a bit closer view of what I hope to finish off today. The tails of threads are what I will load back onto my needle to continue down the line from the previous section I quilted when it was still on the big frame. I had hoped this would be a time-saver, and yes, it is!

So what was my week filled with instead of quilting? Four groups that I participate in all had functions this week. Thursday morning - book club; Thursday evening - card club; Friday morning - Frankfort Girls; Saturday morning - Frienzies. To prepare for Frienzies I had to bake 7 items that I gave as gifts in our gift exchange. To prepare for book club, I had to finish a book.

And those weren't the only things that were pulling at my time. In between book club and card club, DH and I hurried to Chillicothe to order carpet for our family room. That took about an hour longer than necessary because no one seemed to be in charge of flooring at Lowe's.

The other big time-grabber is grading for the end of the semester. Rough drafts! Works Cited pages! Late submissions! All these issues regularly accompany the end of a semester, but it's still a bit of a stress because everyone has a burning question, and needs my answer right now.  Finally, I am seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, so what is left - finals and grade submission - should not be quite so taxing.

Since it is Slow Sunday Stitching day, I hope to erase some of that stress with a needle and thread in my hands later today. Doesn't that sound nice? I am linking to Kathy's Quilts again today. I enjoy seeing all the variety that the other link-ups share; there are some pretty Christmas gifts out there, don't you know!

I keep saying that I will stitch later today. The reason it will be later is that this afternoon is the Greenfield Historical Society's annual Holiday Home Tour, and I am serving as hostess at one of the homes on the tour. After my stint is over, DH and I will make a quick tour of the other homes. It's always a wonderful day; we get to see lots of people we know, and it helps get us in the mood for Christmas decorating.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Erin's Diamonds - The Beginning of the End

As planned, albeit somewhat sooner than expected, I removed Erin's Diamond from the frame and unrolled it from the roller bar. Seeing the back makes me very happy - have a look:

The backing is pieced with three large sections of KF florals, two of which can be seen in these photographs. I am absolutely thrilled with how the diamond shapes show up on these backings. Successes are wonderful, aren't they?!?

Here is one tiny section fixed up in the hoop and ready for final quilting. I question how speedy I can be with such a small space; it will mean moving the hoop fairly often, I imagine.

Well, that's a trifling issue to fuss about, isn't it?

Hope you have a fantastic Tuesday!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Major Development

Today I am thrilled to report some major developments on my quilting of Erin's Diamonds.

After quilting all day Friday - and I do mean, I practically DID quilt all day and have the sore fingers to show it - I rolled the quilt to the final section yesterday. And when I did, I discovered that I had way too much backing gapped away from the batting and top. When I put this quilt in the frame (many weeks ago) I was certain I had everything as taut as possible, but apparently the layers shifted a good bit. I couldn't quilt it that way; it would look terrible. It left me puzzled for most of Saturday. Finally last evening, I decided to remove the quilt from the frame and finish the last of the quilting in a lap hoop. The frame needed to be moved out of the way of the painting, so this seemed as good a time as any. (Click back through posts from the past month and follow the great painting saga at our house.)

The unrolled quilt looks pretty darn good, doesn't it?! I am so happy with the results. It gives me the encouragement I need to stay with it and get it finished.

This closer view shows off the diamonds so well. It's a sight to behold! And most of it's DONE!

Today's job will be to get a hoop out and load this in. Right now, the entire quilt is rolled onto one of the frame's roller bars and is laying across the kitchen table. I will get it all in order today, and maybe even take a few stitches.

In this last section that I quilted, I did something different. I left all the tails of the quilting threads loose to pick up and continue with after I had moved to the next section. Below is what the edge looked like before I took down the frame. Sorta' looks like a scraggly, bearded mess. I see that I have a couple of threaded needles there, too, waiting to be stitched. I have been a regular assembly line of productivity with this project, let me tell you!

I left these tails in the hope that I would be optimizing my time. I certainly quilted the last section more quickly by not having to bury the ends every time I reached the edge. For this final section, my threads are ready and just need to be quilted in.

Are you all are having a relaxing end to your Thanksgiving weekend? After our big Ohio State win over Michigan yesterday, today will be much calmer and quieter. Double overtime nearly did me in! I can only imagine the pandemonium in the 'Shoe. I am sure Columbus was celebrating all night!

Moving on, I promised to share pics of our Barnsgiving - which I will do tomorrow. I took a couple of days off from blogging, so my wrap-up of our Thanksgiving feast in the barn will be next.

I am linking to Slow Sunday Stitching. Kathy's post today is about some very old sewing notions that a friend of hers recently purchased in an online auction. It makes me think about all the old stuff in Grandma's sewing kit. I wrote about some of her treasures several years ago.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Many Updates

It seems as though I have many topics that have been needing updates, so I will combine them all into one conglomeration of updates today.

First, our downstairs remodel is moving right along. DH has finished the hardest areas - the spaces with both crown molding and chair rails. Those detail-laden aspects of the dining room, front room and entry hall really took a lot of time. Here are a couple of pics of our front room slowly being put back together.

The wall that the sofa will sit on has yet to have its wall decorations put up, but it does give a good view of the Agreeable Gray wall color along with the Pure White trim.

A corner of the opposite wall has our antique secretary and a leather chair put in place. A few accessories have been added, too.

Now the work has moved into the family room area, and we are really feeling the pinch, as this is where we live. Traffic through this space is heavy, and we are tripping over ourselves and each other as we navigate the painting. It doesn't help that I still have the quilting frame up, which takes up a huge amount of space.

Speaking of the quilt frame, this I can also update. I am working my way down the rows you see above; I suppose I am about 1/3 across this section. I find that I am going to be running out of my thread, and my local quilt shop has discontinued it. I need Sullivan 5 pearl cotton in Lt. Christmas Red (#35398), if anyone in the central Ohio area has any leads for me.

At quilting on Friday with the Frankfort girls, I continued to quilt the throw that I began October 1st at History Day. It is nearing completion. Since History Day, the only time I've worked on this is at our bi-weekly get togethers.

And finally, I have finished the last of the commissions and have delivered it to Terry for quilting. After quilting, I will have just the binding to finish off and then delivery. In this new-found sewing freedom, I have rewarded myself by working on binding a quilt Terry finished for me months ago. As a reward for finishing the commissions, I held this back. I can't wait to show you the finished quilt.

Hope you all are having a great weekend! I am linking this post to Kathy's Quilts and her Slow Sunday Stitching linky party. Go on over and have a look!

Happy Quilting, Friends!