Goodbye, Florida

We are packing up and pulling out of our Moonrise Resort winter home for another season. T-minus +/-36 hours until we are on the road and headed back to Ohio.

The sewing room was the first room to be packed, as my sewing machine completely gave up the fight. It is a small, light weight machine, and I have used it like it was made for heavy duty. I am holding little hope that it will be able to be fixed. 

Since machine sewing has been out of the question for about a week, I have actually returned to Lake Effect and have begun addressing the border corners - back-basting applique is in progress!

Since this quilt has been a guessing game on how I connected most elements in this quilt, I will do my best to hide gaps in vine connections with leaves and berries. In reacquainting myself with back-basting applique, I did find that I picked up that skill rather easily; I actually look forward to the possibility that I might work on this in the car as we drive home.

Another winter in Florida - hard to believe it's over already. We sure have had some good times - biking, boating, shuffleboarding, thrifting, exploring, all the while making new friends and enjoying long evenings of playing games and dining out. 

I will try to come back with a post to finish March with a collage; I hope I can make one more post before month's end.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

A Long, Long Journey - Lake Effect

A mild celebration occurred late Wednesday night as I took the very last stitch on the piecing of Lake Effect. This near 10-year journey has had its ups and downs - 'ups' with my eagerness to start the quilt and with learning from some very seasoned stitchers how to back-baste applique; 'downs' with learning that I'd mis-measured the size of my hexies and that rather than attempting to 'figure it out,' I should have bought the pattern before making hundreds of hexies in the wrong size.

I did eventually buy the pattern, which helped a lot with the applique parts; I fudged a lot of putting the hexies together with the center and the border. This quilt is a strong representative of the notion "finished is better than perfect." I have quite a primitive-looking quilt in places.

You can see that all four corners of the inner border need to be tidied up. I have plenty of the vine fabric put aside for this purpose, as well as fabric for an extra leaf or two, should it be warranted. I really am flying by the seat of my pants at this point.

I took it on Thursday to Nobleton to trim excess from the back - shown above - and to remove papers. It has been a daunting journey, but I am so glad and relieved to be this close to the finish line, at last. 

The final part to be done on this was attaching the bottom section of hexies to the lower edge of the applique border. I had a bit of a conundrum which I stewed over before deciding how to proceed.

The stitching line for the white border did not come down to the wide part of the hexies, so I had to decide if it was worth it to insert all those little points. I didn't want to, but I eventually did it. It was the best way, honestly.

I cut the last of the full hexies in half and used them in the points. It seemed more tedious than it was, actually. I made the right decision.

Until I get back to Ohio, I am through with Lake Effect. At some point - soon, I promise! - I will finish off that vine and the leaves, then I will have completed Lake Effect to the flimsy stage. I have some ideas on how I will quilt it; I must marinate with that for awhile.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Slow Sunday Stitching

Most of my slow stitching this winter has occurred on Thursdays rather than Sundays. That's because I go with my Florida quilting friend Charlaine to the Nobleton Group who meet a few miles south of here. I finished the Grandmother's Flower Garden with them, and now I am attempting to finish lake Effect.

Yes, I will have you take a quick look at a familiar old friend - Lake Effect. Gosh, it feels like an anvil around my neck trying to get this thing finished. It's getting heavier and heavier (figuratively speaking). But, I said from the very beginning that it would be a 10-year-project. This is year 9; the end is in sight.

Bottom border; adjusting for proper sizing.

You'll find dozens of prior posts that will show more complete pictures of this quilt coming together. I will direct you to this one, my last post (all the way back to June '25!) about this quilt, and this post which details the major mistake I made (discovering after 2 years into construction). Do a search if you desire more info. 

It is my fervent hope that I will finish this quilt top this year. Gotta' keep my focus on that completion!

I am linking up (after several weeks away) with Kathy and her Slow Sunday Stitching party. I always see such gorgeous projects taking shape over there. These needle artists are such an inspiration.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Happy New Year!

I am going to have to do better in 2026! I've blogged so little this past year that I have inadvertently erased an entire post (the one that said Merry Christmas!) Frequency of posting means I remember what to do as well as what NOT to do!

Sorry about that. 

We have survived the 900+ mile trip to our Florida home and are ready to begin a brand new year! We left early New Year's Day and arrived around noon yesterday. Easy traveling when holiday observances keep folks at home rather than on the interstate highways. We made incredibly good time.

We've unpacked the car, cleared out the dust bunnies and are settling in our new 2026 selves. We have made long lists of activities we want to do and places we want to visit. Never fear! Quilt shops and all manner of related endeavors definitely have a high priority for me. I brought several projects, just to be sure I had some variety and also to be sure I wouldn't run out of things to do.

Highest on my list are two projects that have been goals for far too long. Lake Effect and Grandmother's Flower Garden. I will provide details on the individual projects later as I tackle them, but 2026 may be the year that these two very long-standing works in progress (WIPs) are at last finished! Hooray! I honestly think it could happen.

Here's an older picture of Lake Effect. I am filling in blank places in the hexagon parts as well as piecing together the corners on the applique parts. It really does just mean if I stay with this quilt, I can finally have the flimsy finished. It could be soon!

And an older picture of Grandmother's Flower Garden, too. I worked lots and lots on this while here in Florida last winter. I've evened out the sides and the corners; my next step on this quilt is to add a border. 

Typically, I do a round-up of the previous month's highlights, so that will be the topic of my next post. I also will share with you the projects I will work on while here in Florida, as well as the ever-present goals list for the new year. Much to to! I also need to review last year's goals to see how well I did at completing them.

Hope you're having a great day, and

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne
 

Welcome June!

Gosh! June is here already! I do love a reason - like the start of a brand new month - to make a list and begin attacking projects both old and new. So let's make the most of June!

Have you tried using any of the apps for AI? I dipped my toe into it a little bit in the last month, and this welcome June image is the result of one of my experiments. I could never create an image like that by myself, and I often "borrow" pretty ones from other sources. Well, finally, I can offer one that is legitimately mine along with help from ChatGPT. 

I got to spend the first day of this new month with two of my favorite little people! Cate and Reagan! This business of being a Grandma is really awesome; I rarely miss an opportunity to spend time with them. 

In quilting news, I continue working on Lake Effect. I am very near the point at which I will begin attaching the two final borders to the quilt.

In the poorly-lit early morning, I snapped these pics. Still quite wrinkly, this portion is all attached. I have been mostly working on the border for the left side, and it appears I need to add one more row of hexies.

 For the bottom border, it looks like 3 or 4 more vertical rows will close the gap. I will be so glad to reach this point! It feels as though I've stitched hexies for forever. 

As you examine these photos, I wonder if you can detect a problem? It isn't readily evident, but I know the issue and I surely must fix it.

The left border is 7 hexies wide; the right border is 8 hexies wide. Don't ask me how I made such a mistake. I will blame it on the many weeks of NOT working on this quilt. I forget what I'm doing during those weeks of inactivity. Yes, I will remove the outer-most column of hexies on the right. Maybe they will be needed in finishing these last two borders; I am getting rather low on my options at this point.

What new plans are in store for this month? I have a few ideas; let me share those in a future post. I will also need to do a round-up collage for May, so that will be coming soon, too.

I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts and her Slow Sunday Stitching party.  

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Back To Lake Effect

Now that I've proven to myself that I can do hard things (heh-heh), I have returned to the 10-year project Lake Effect. It has languished fall, winter and spring in a pile on the quilting room floor, and I've just decided that enough is enough. I've had a stern talk with myself.

Look at that wrinkly mess! I do not exaggerate when I say it has spent 6-8 month heaped in a corner on the floor. 

It appears that all I need to do is make a long border of hexies, then attach it to the quilt, then finish the corners where the applique vine was interrupted. It may or may not look like the pattern. At this point, I'm going for nothing more than a finish. It is fine with me if it is not an exact replica of the original. 

This bottom border is not yet attached, so add that to the to-do list. The top and right side borders are attached, thankfully. It was rather simple to accomplish, as I recall.

It is somewhat surprising that it is as big as it is. I had no idea I was making something big enough to cover a queen-size bed. I rather like that it does.

I refer to this as a 10-year project because I was new to both applique and EPP when I began this journey in 2017. I was allowing myself the time I figured it would take me to master all this hand stitching.

Since I made Grandmother's Flower Garden mostly January through May, I have proven to myself that I can do this faster than I realize. So on with the needle and thread! Queue up a good audio book (or two or three) and let's get to stitching!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Slow Sunday Stitching

The current timeline on my 10-year-project, Lake Effect, finds me nearing the end of year seven. Begun in the spring of 2017, I could conceivably finish early. Of course, if I don't work on it, nothing gets done. And I have spent way too much time NOT working on it.

Trying to force myself to remain diligent, I made a goal for this year to have all the outer borders attached. I have been doing exactly that stitching in the last month or so. The very bottom 10 inches of that right border need to be stitched, then I will be halfway done with that goal. 

The stitching goes rather quickly, actually. I dilly-dally too much fiddling with removing paper templates, but when I stay really focused, I whip right down that seam.

After the outer borders are attached, I will have the job of fine-tuning the corners of the appliqued borders. I really am such a newbie with applique, I know I am going to end up being rather, shall we say "creative," with finishing them. It has come to the point that the way my quilt looks in comparison to the pattern is all rather a "suggestion" of similarity.

Interestingly, I still like this quilt. I have not found myself growing weary of it, nor have I regretted starting it. I will be very pleased to have it finished. All good things, in my book. 

A few days ago, I shared that I dropped everything to make a Grandmother's Flower Garden flower, and pondered the possibilities of how I will sew my little flowers together. I don't dare even think about making any huge commitments to that quilt until this quilt is finished. I am notorious for allowing projects to overlap, but having two huge EPP projects overlap would be absolutely insane. I will not go there!

I've not linked up with Kathy's Quilts in awhile for her Slow Sunday Stitching, so let's hop on over there to see what all the gals are working on. I see one Grandmother's Flower Garden represented. I will definitely be checking that out. And that cross stitch project that says "Just Fudge It And Carry On" sure sounds like what I've been doing with Lake Effect! *ha!*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Slow Hexie Stitching!

Let me re-introduce everyone - including myself - to Lake Effect. Yes, I have taken this little gem out of storage and have been making some progress on it this past weekend.

A few days ago I checked my 2024 goals and one was to have this quilt finished to the flimsy stage. Yikes! I need to get in gear!

From the very beginning, I knew this quilt would take me a long time to make, thus I frequently refer to it as 'my 10-year project.' Lake Effect is a Minick and Simpson pattern which I saw way back in 2017. I immediately began collecting suitable fabrics for making it. Thinking I could just "figure it out" (like I often do), I soon gave up that idea and bought the pattern. That is when I discovered that I'd prepared about 500 elongated hexies in the wrong size. *good grief*

Since then, it has spent more time in storage than being worked on. Compound the fact that it is all hand-stitched and it contained applique, with the newly discovered sizing error I made, I lost my verve for it.

So, back to what I've been doing to address my goal of completing this quilt top. First, I spread it out to see what still needed to be done. Last I recall is my dithering over how to turn the corners on the applique border. I will continue to think on this while I get down to the business of completing the hexie border.

My verve has returned. Thankfully! I spent several hours over the weekend finishing the right-side border. Overall, I am rather surprised to see how much more I need to add. I had estimated that the borders were closer to completion than they are. You can see below in my little box that I have plenty prepared for completing the border.

 

My next step is to give it all a good pressing and remove cardboard templates along the top and right. I will then lightly mark a stitching line and get down to the business of attaching the hexie section to the applique section. 

 

Once the top and right are finished, I'll move on to completing the bottom and left. By then, perhaps I will have had a brainstorm about handling the appliqued corners. (I'm thinking several artfully-placed leaves might just be the simplest approach. Or perhaps add another bird.)

I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts and her weekly Slow Sunday Stitching party. She's been actively stitching while watching Olympic coverage. According to her awards system, I believe I have earned a Silver medal for working on two projects. You'll hear about the second project in an upcoming post.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Slow Stitching- Lake Effect, Again

A right, fair mess exists in the Lake Effect tub. I doubt that any one place in my quilting room is in as great a tangle as this project bin.

Yes, I've taken up working on Lake Effect again. Perhaps in the coming days I will make some real and readily apparent progress?!

Way back in May, I laid all these parts out to assess my next step: attaching the appliqued border onto the hexie section. I fiddled and scooted and rearranged the panels to get the best result. I know my efforts have strayed drastically from the original pattern, but it still looks pretty good to me, so I am moving ahead with this.

I am now hand stitching the border to the central section. It is not taking long at all, and I find myself wondering why I don't just stick with this thing and get it finished.Why, indeed?

Most of the hexies still have the cardboard templates in place, but sewing has not been hindered by that. My thinking was that the shape would remain truer with the papers in. After I finish connecting the borders, I will go to the back and remove the papers.

Some problem solving will be required when I get to the corners of each panel. The instructions were very clear about leaving the outer ends of each panel 'unsewn' yet I see that I am going to have to rework all the corners. Theoretically, those vines swoop in an effortless meander around the corners, gracefully sprouting out leaves and berries along the way. The jury is out my creating this same look.

For now, I am content to stitch to within a few inches of each corner, then move on to making whatever applique corrections necessary. I might even have to remove a few elements, and I do have the fabrics for replacement parts if it comes to that.

My 2023 goal for this quilt, Lake Effect, is to have the entire quilt top connected into one piece. It still seems like an attainable goal, so with several audio books queued up, I plan to do a whole lotta' hand stitching in the coming days.

I will link up with Kathy and her Slow Stitching party today. I love seeing the variety of projects these folks are creating.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Lake Effect - Making Progress

Perhaps all quilters do this: the avoidance method of problem solving. After 45+/- years of quilting, I have perfected this method.

When I run into a quilting dilemma, I just STOP working on the quilt. I have had ages-old UFOs merely because of some glitch I wasn't prepared to encounter. After a modest amount of time spent stewing over it, I pop in into a tub or bin and whisk it out of sight. 

Eventually, the problematic quilt no longer seems quite as daunting a situation as I'd thought, so I revisit, and - hopefully! - finish the quilt.

This accounts for the lengthy time-out I've taken on Lake Effect. That snafu with the incorrect hexies really twisted me in knots, so I avoided altogether.

I finished adding rows around the center medallion and decided it needed to be laid out on the floor for a complete, full-on assessment of progress. 

It looks as though I am going to need further hexies, wouldn't you say? 

Or, I suppose an alternate option is use narrower borders. Then, rather than make more hexies, I would remove hexies from one area and reattach where needed. 

And the hexie situation is just one dilemma I am working out. The other dilemma - and it seems like a biggie, but maybe it isn't - is getting that outer applique border lined up so that the vines meet on all the corners.

Fortunately, I am not feeling the need to put this in hiding again. I will continue to address this quilt's issues and make attempts at systematically working through them. 

My plan at present: work from the center out. The next step is to trim and press seam allowances on the applique borders and begin stitching them to the inner section. When I come to corners, I will fiddle around with matching vines, leaves and berries as best I can. Then when the outer borders are completed to my satisfaction, I will move on to dealing with the outer hexies.

The quilt pattern calls for this quilt to finish at 66.5" x 73.5" - I don't have to follow that, though, right?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hello, Old Friend

After many, many months of inactivity, Lake Effect has once again come out of storage!

I bought the pattern and fabric for Lake Effect way back in 2017. It was then that I also began glue-basting the hexies. In about October 2017, I dubbed this quilt a '10-year project.' 

And as things stand today in 2023, I would say I'm gonna' need every one of those 10 years!

This current surge of attention has been devoted to adding rows around the center panel. When I was over 2-years into making this quilt, I realized a HUGE mistake I'd made. I was using smaller hexies than the pattern called for. Golly, that amounts to needing a lot more hexies. 

The timing of all this works out well; because I've so recently been working on Grandmother's Flower Garden hexies, I am a lot faster at attaching these than I used to be. Adding entire rows is not nearly the daunting task I'd been fearing. Hah! A silver lining!

This quilt will have lived a whole life just in the making at the rate I'm going! But you know what!? I am still going on it, and an occasional break from it seems to rejuvenate me into big spurts of energy. Ten years. Yessireee, I believe I can do it.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Slow Sunday Stitching

The title of today's post is a bit of a misnomer in that I have done exactly zero slow stitching on this beautiful Sunday. However, in recent weeks I have been somewhat attentive to Lake Effect, and I thought I'd share an update.

The slow-me-down parts are nearly finished. Even though I feel I am becoming more accomplished with the back-basting method of applique, I find it hard to make myself work steadily at it. These four panels are mostly done, with the remaining work needing to wait to go on when the corners are joined. I am feeling pretty good about how they look, even with some very wonky berries.

I am now at the point where I am thinking it is time to attach these panels to the center portion. It appears I will need to attach more hexies to make it all fit.

I don't know if anyone will recall that I began making this (in 2017!) with a misconception of what a 3" hexie was. I had one measuring 3" from tip to tip and made all gazillion of mine with that template.

Many months later, I learned that, in fact, the 3" is the body of the hexie. Hmmm. That presented me with a problem.  I would need to improvise or start over. 

Undaunted, I knew my project could be salvaged, and it would result in "making it my own." I kinda' like that idea, so on we go.

I worked on this minimally while on our vacation. Too hard to applique in the car, and hotel lighting mostly didn't suit me. No worries. Way back in '17, I gave myself 10 years to finish this quilt. Five years in, and I feel as if I am mostly on course. 

I will link to Kathy's weekly slow stitching party. Many of those gals regularly check in to see how I am doing, and I like to do likewise with them. Hope you'll have a look, too. 

Kathy asks what we are doing today, and I have to laugh at how our day has been. 

We have a raccoon problem in our backyard. They eat the birdseed, damage the feeders, rip the hummingbird feeder off the branch, and now they've even pushed through the screen on our porch and sniff around. So we have been trapping them. They are easy to trap with the right kind of trap, but then we have to "dispose" of them. We can't bear to kill them so we "rehome" them. Just after midnight last night, we took one away, and first thing this morning, we took another. We take them far enough away so that we hope they don't return. People are always telling us that they are smart enough to return, especially if there are babies back home. 

I will report further developments.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Slow Sunday Update

I deemed my efforts on Lake Effect to be a 10-year project when I first began working on it in May 2017. Five years into the project, I wonder if I am ahead of projections or behind? Let's have a look at what I've done. The past many, many months have been solely devoted to applique. 

Such long narrow strips are difficult to photograph, especially for an amateur like myself. Oh well, you are here to see the sewing not the photography, right? These four panels will form an inner border on Lake Effect. Elongated hexies will surround that border. All I have left to do on these panels is to add berries, and one more bird. I expect I may have some "fiddling" when the corners come together - both unsewing and resewing will likely be required.

I should have enough hexies prepared for finishing this quilt, so once this applique border section is completed, the rest should be rather straightforward. I know, that's being optimistic, but that's my nature. I will deal with complications as they arise.

And, I think I am ahead of schedule on my 10-year plan. *wink*

Are you having the rainy weather we've been having lately? I have emptied the rain gauge 3 times in the last week: 1 inch; 2.5 inches; 1.5 inches. Five inches total! We cannot keep up with the mowing. I wonder how the farmers are ever keeping up with the planting!?

Linking up with Kathy for her Slow Sunday Stitching.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

My Projects for Florida

As you know if you follow regularly, DH and I are spending the month in Florida. I could just not bear the thought of facing a month without sewing, so I put together a collection of hand projects that would be doable for me while on the road - from the passenger seat while in the car, from hotel rooms, and from the comfort of homes in which we'll be staying.

Hey, a quilter's gotta' do what a quilter's gotta' do, ya' know!?

I forced myself to limit the projects to what would fit in this collapsible tote. Of course, items that stuck out the top didn't count, so this mess is what made the cut.

It looks somewhat neater turned the other direction.

I've shared previously the cross stitch baby quilt I am working on for my niece's upcoming new addition. I worked on this just a bit on the drive down. That's why this is sorta' stuffed into the top of the tote.

My Lake Effect Quilt came along for the trip. This post is from about a year ago, so my progress moves at a snail's pace. All that applique still needs some finishing touches, and then, should I get that done, I can continue working to attach all the panels to the hexies. Those are folded into that see-through Missouri Star bag underneath.

And, if those two projects bore me, I have fabric and supplies for making EPP flowers. I even thought to bring a small iron and hot pad for pressing fabric.

So, I am set for a variety of hand work - cross stitch, applique or EPP. If I discipline myself (i.e. put the phone down), I can work on any of these while visiting with our hosts, sitting quietly in the evenings, or soaking up some Florida sunshine.

We arrived at my brother- and sister-in-law's last evening after dark, so we've spent today visiting with them and acquainting ourselves with the surroundings. We will be here about 10 days, then move on to see more of the state.

Happy Quilting, Friends!