Slow Stitching

Good day to you all! I have learned so much this past week. On Wednesday, I took my maiden voyage on a longarm quilting machine and quilted an entire quilt with really satisfying results. That was an extraordinary learning experience.

On Friday, when the Frankfort girls met at Jan's house, I learned a better way to attach hexagons so that the stitching is entirely hidden. I have Jan to thank for this little tip, and I will continue to make my hexies using this method.

I finished off this POTC block, and while it is nearly impossible to see any differences in stitching from a distance, there is quite a bit of difference when you see it close up.

This portion of the block is sewn my original way. Can you see the tiny stitches all around this neutral hexagon? I didn't like that they showed, but told myself to be assured that once the papers were removed and the fabric could move around more freely, the stitches would bury into the fabric. That may be the case, but with this new method that Jan uses, the stitches don't show even with the papers still in, so they surely won't show later when removed.

Doesn't that look neater? I am much happier with this look than my previous look. I will definitely continue to use this method.

What is the difference, you ask? Well, I will try to describe it. Maybe I should have taken pictures of this - we shall see if I can make it make sense.

Originally, I would take my hexies and lay them together facing each other (right sides together) and my needle would be perpendicular to the hexies as I stitched down the sides; then I would open them up all stitched together.

My new method: lay the pieces you are attaching side by side, flat up against each other and clip them together with binding clips. (Picture of clips in this post.) Instead of stitching with your needle perpendicular to the edge, your needle will be parallel to the back, with all the stitching done on the back.

Can you visualize what I mean? I may revisit this post with a couple of pictures of the two methods.

I have also glue-basted more hexies for the Lake Effect quilt. I am looking forward to getting started on the stitching, but I still need to make a lot more hexies first.

Hope you are having a pleasant day! Make this final week of August a great one, okay? I have linked up with Kathy's Quilts for her Slow Sunday Stitches link party.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Glorious Sunday

Morning coffee.

I am not about to forget to acknowledge this beautiful weather we are having! For late July, we could be sweltering in heat and humidity - and there has been a fair amount of that this month - but yesterday and today are utter perfection! Gentle breeze, temps in the mid-70s, clear, cloudless blue skies - absolutely ideal.

Midday lemonade.

My Saturday was sublime - for all intents and purposes, I had the house to myself all day, so I enjoyed several cups of coffee on our screened porch before deciding to head upstairs to shower and get to sewing. However, after the shower, I really just wanted to sit on the porch some more!! So I made some lemonade, grabbed a book and read - all day! I finished my book around 9pm, the evening had gotten chilly and my toes were cold; the timer lights had flicked on, but I truly did treat myself to a lazy porch day - talk about heaven!

Reading into the late afternoon and evening.

The book is one my book club read nearly a year ago, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Published in 2014, nearly all I've ever heard about it is how wonderful it is, so why I could never find time to read it is beyond me. I knew ahead of time that I would miss the meeting in which this book was discussed, therefore I just laid it aside. I have moved it dozens of times to different tables and even picked it up to read on a few occasions, but for whatever reason, I never got very far.

Maybe I was waiting for a pleasant Saturday in July to sit on the porch with it in my lap?

My Sunday has been just as satisfying, I got up super-early and drove down to Rocky Fork Lake, southeast of Hillsboro (my old stomping grounds) for an 8am church service. The First United Methodist Church of Hillsboro has held weekly church services for campers at the lake for over 40 years - I know this because I used to go when I was in high school. They have a beautiful sanctuary-like spot with rustic benches, an altar, a sound system and quite a few more improvements since I used to go in the 70s. It is called Chapel in the Woods, and gauging by today's crowd, it is quite well-attended. My sister and brother-in-law have been taking my mom each week, and I surprised Mom by showing up today. It opens each spring on Mother's Day and continues through Labor Day.

Now to sewing. I haven't yet shared with you the two little pincushions I made with scraps from the Wishes quilt. I have watched with utter fascination the blog by Amanda Jean - Crazy Mom Quilts - and have seen both her pincushions and Carrie Nelson's, too, on Instagram. OMG! They are works of art, I tell you! So, being the squirrel that I am, I saved those little bits of scraps and knew that as soon as I finished that quilt top, I would for sure be making pincushions. And here are two. I will likely make more.

The top one measures just under 3" - but it isn't truly square. The bottom one is about 3" x 1" and is made like a tube. They are certainly fun, and it is so satisfying to get a little project finished so fast.

For my slow Sunday stitching, I think I will get back to that Lucy Boston block I worked on last week. I have cut quite a few "trial" hexies just to see how things work and I still feel like such a neophyte creating these blocks. I love the look, though, and will continue to hone my skills. Practice makes perfect, I believe I learned a long time ago. Plus, all these audition hexies will have to be used for something.

I'm linking up with that ongoing weekly party, Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts. She's celebrating five years of hosting this party each Sunday! Whoo-hoo!

Hope you are having a glorious day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Slow Stitching on a Sunday Evening

I always look forward to stitching on Sunday evening in part because there is such great programming on PBS. Tonight I can stitch while watching Grantchester. Over the past several years, DH and I have enjoyed quite a number of shows - Wolf Hall, Victoria, Mercy Street, and Poldark to name a few. We are looking forward to the return of Endeavour. If I prepare, I can stitch a few hexagon shapes while watching; otherwise I sit with the iPad in my hands and waste time.

For tonight, I have prepped enough hexies to make most (if not all) of a POTC block. I have it ready to take downstairs in a little box. First I will have to glue a bit, but I still should be able to stitch a good portion, as well.

I will be sure to share the progress in an upcoming post. I am linking to Slow Sunday Stitching; click on Kathy's Quilts to go have a look.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Slow Sunday Hexies

This past week has been one that was rather productive for me and now I reward myself with some slow, relaxing handwork. The EPP possibilities continue to fascinate me, so I am ready to work on some more.

For our Friday morning group - Frankfort Girls - I glue-basted this wonderful little stack of elongated hexies for that waterfall-type quilt I want to make. The two fabrics are those random ones I bought at Pohlars in Indiana a week ago. The waterdrop blue is a fabric I bought back in April for this quilt; that stack will be glue-basted after I cut the hexie points. Below is a picture of a few of the hexies put together in random fashion. It's hard to make this look like water with such a small sampling; I definitely need more blues.

Then, I have also been hankering to do another POTC block, so I have this center for a start.

I have a wonderful piece of Marcus fabric which lends itself to fussy cutting. I definitely need to work on perfecting my fussy cutting skills.

So besides stitching, I will also spend a good portion of the afternoon with my friend Cheryl poolside. Rest and relaxation, ahhh. 

I am linking up with Kathy and her Slow Sunday party.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sometimes, The Easiest Thing...

...is the thing that you naturally mess up. I was happily stitching along last evening, feet up on the footstool, ball game on the television, and about half-way to finishing my POTC block, THIS happened!!

What?!?! This is going to sound ridiculous, but I could not for the life of me figure out what I had done wrong! I was so certain that the piece standing at attention was sewn in exactly right. I must have made a cutting mistake, I was thinking.

This morning, as I've had a good night's sleep and a large cup of coffee, I can see very clearly that I did, indeed, sew that piece in sideways. DUH!

Now the job of picking it out - that will be a nuisance, since typically these stitches are super-tiny, and how much will have to be redone? I suppose it's a trivial matter, but still.

This is not the first time I've happily stitched along thinking everything was hunky-dory, only to discover that I had sewn myself into a big ol' mess. I even wrote about one such instance here. And I won't even begin to calculate the number of UFOs that became UFOs simply because of a silly, careless boo-boo on my part.

Well, as you can see, the troubles in my world are small-potatoes, aren't they? World calamities, they are not.

In a recovery update, DH took me on an outing yesterday - to the library, the grocery and the drug store! Whoo-hoo! It was exhausting.  However, I am feeling so much better, so this afternoon we are going to venture out again - this time to an Amish greenhouse about 30 minutes south of here. I hope to come home with some pretties!

I've linked up with Kelly for her Needle and Thread Thursday linky party. Ironically, the title for today's post alludes to her own brand of quilting mistake. Her solution was perfect, too. Go have a look!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

POTC - Using the Last of the Scraps

The remaining bits of fabric left from the 9-Patch Strippy finish have now all been used and/or dealt with.

From the large pieces, I cut the designs you see in the photo above for a very quick Patchwork of the Crosses block. I will put this aside to stitch later. For now the parts are all taped down the way I want them.

After cutting those parts, all that remained was bits. I used the 1" hexie to cut a whole bunch of the little calico print to be used in some yet-to-be-planned flowers. Then I cut a little stack of 2.5" squares to add to my basket of to-go stitching. They will be a pleasant reminder of my wonderful 9-Patch Strippy quilt.

Short and sweet today, Peeps! Sharon is here to sew; later I am meeting the Frienzies for dinner; and I might have to fill in for DH on his Mennonite bus route. Lots to do today!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Bit of Hexie Prepping

Happy National Quilting Day!!

I will very likely celebrate with a bit of sewing today. I hope it is of the machine variety, but it could end up being hand stitching or even hand quilting. Any way I go, the day will definitely include quilting of some sort.

In my previous post, I promised to share the hexie blocks which I prepped night before last. I've been using a lot of red lately, and the idea came to me to use some of these prints in hexies and POTC blocks. Also, I am anticipating wanting to fill time when we go to Canter's Cave. Those days get long, and at some point it feels necessary to switch gears, moving from the machine to the easy chair. These will keep me productive.

Two-sided tape helps keep these parts in place; 4x6-inch note cards provide some sturdiness for mounting. These will travel nicely to Canter's Cave. Nice little bit of variety, isn't it? I do not have any plan in mind for these, so I will make them and await an ah-ha moment. Surely, one will come...

After finished the 5 hexies, I had the idea to put a POTC block together using only these reds. Actually, the fabric pack I had included a border print; this entire block came from that one piece. I think it looks pretty good. I still feel like such a rookie when planning these blocks; I figure the only way I will improve is to continue to practice. Again, I have no plan for how I will use this once it's sewn together.

Hope you can celebrate National Quilting Day with a bit of creating! Go for it!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Frankfort Girls Come to Visit

I served as hostess on Friday morning to the Frankfort girls. We were missing Jan who had rotator cuff surgery on Tuesday. JoAnn was back with us after 2 months in Florida. Our conversations were exceedingly varied, but strangely, our projects were not.

Applique and POTC were the only things we were working on. First, let's look at the appliques.

Sharon O. is making this pretty creation. I am sorry that I did not get a look at her pattern, so I guess we will all be surprised at how the finish will look.

Sheryll is continuing another panel of a project. This one is long and narrow with a variety of flowers.

Terry is working on this panel of the same project that Sheryll's applique is for. Terry has opted for a light background. Two versions of one pattern. I am eager to see them entirely finished, as I suppose they are, as well.

JoAnn and I worked on Patchwork of the Cross - POTC - stitching. Here are 3 pics of JoAnn's work.

These blocks are just gorgeous. Don't you love how cool designs can become when fussy cut just so?

Here is my POTC block made of Christmas fabrics. I have no idea what I will do with it, but at least all the parts are attached and won't be lost.

That's about all for today, folks. I have been on spring break from OUC this week, and will head back to class tomorrow. I need to do some prepping for class, but I would also like to get a bit of stitching in before the day is out. We shall see how productive I am.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Christmas On My Mind??

We have a week of October remaining, yet I find that I am doing a post today about Christmas. The stores begin their Christmas marketing as soon as the back-to-school items have been cleared away, so I guess we quilters can plan ahead a bit, as well.

When we quilted Friday morning at Terry's, three of the group were binding things. The only one I took a picture of was Jan's. It is a Christmas quilt which she told us originated as a kit.

I share three pictures not because of the extreme beauty of Jan's quilt - although it it quite stunning. I share because of the antics of Terry's dogs, Millie, the darker one, and her pup Cooper. They couldn't get enough! I seriously believe they were of the opinion - if dogs have opinions - that this was their new play mat or something.

So, if you can look away from the dogs and check out the quilt, you will notice that a Christmas plaid is used in those Jacob's Ladder blocks. All of us thought this plaid was a great option for the quilt, and one that we would not have considered. It truly is a beauty.

I worked on this POTC block. It, too, is made with Christmas fabrics, and heaven only knows what I will do with it, but it's nearly finished. I have amassed about 6 of these completed POTC blocks now - none of the others are Christmas. What will I ever do with them?

Joining in on the Quilt Festival (mentioned in yesterday's post) has introduced me to so many nice quilters from all over the place. The network grows! I had fun yesterday answering emails and finding new blogs - which means access to more inspiration.  *wink*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Finishing Some Handwork

Before leaving for Lake Erie, I prepped some hexies for stitching. I didn't do anything with them while we were away. But, I was prepared!

Since being home, I have finished off all that I'd prepped. Here are some of them.

 

 

The finished POTC block looks like I've put different colors on the outermost corners, but that's just a trick of shadows or camera operator. They are all the same, trust me.

Those two centers above, are mostly my experiments at getting accurate with fussy cutting. I think this is something that will require a good amount of practice. I think I will enjoy that process. 

I did finish the remainder of what I'd prepped, but I failed to take pictures; I will make sure I do that and show you soon.

Today, I have 3 beginning seamstresses coming for that 16-inch pillow class. Same class as the last one, but different students - mostly those who said they wanted to do it, but were unable to make the first go-around. I promise to get pictures of all the creations.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Hexie Prep Work

We had our big fraternity bash over the weekend and have been recovering ever since. Thus the absence from posting here. Besides the fact that we have been extremely busy with  reunion festivities, I haven't had any time for significant sewing, let alone time to blog. But things look to settle down here in the coming week, so maybe I can get my quilty creativity going again.

To fully wind down after the big reunion, DH and I are leaving for a short drive to northern Ohio where we hope to take in sights and attractions at Lake Erie, Put-In-Bay, and Kelly's Island. To keep my hands occupied, I prepped these sweet little hexies yesterday.

I took a page right out of my friend Jan's playbook - run copies of paper with the outline of the hexie drawn on, then put down double-sided tape and attach the parts in the desired design. Now they are portable and accessible.

That POTC block I did a week or so ago still needed to have an outer row, so I made 8 light neutral hexies to attach to it. I am going to try to get those done, too.

I must be off! Still a bit to do here before we hit the road!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Contagion and Addiction

Those are terribly alarming words to use for a quilting post title, but allowing myself to experiment with English Paper Piecing is nothing short of an addiction or being exposed to a contagious germ. The possibilities for beautiful blocks and infinite variety abounds. I fear I will, indeed, succumb to the allure of them. Even the packaging comes with a warning.

The block I have just finished is called a Lucy Boston block or Patchwork of the Crosses - better known as POTC by those firmly established in English Paper Piecing circles.

Placed this way, on point, the cross is clearly evident. I assume as I do more of these, I will get faster. Finishing this first one was quite a bit more time-consuming than I hope future ones will take. In other words, I hope there's a learning curve as I practice.

Placing the block square on a quilt offers an equally lovely look, but the cross is not quite so evident. I think depending on the design one makes with the fussy-cut fabrics, one or the other placement would be preferable; and the quilter will just know when she sees it, I suppose.

I find that I am in that all-too-familiar place where I have so many projects vying for my attention that I am not dealing with any of them. When this occurs, I make a list. In no particular order, I have the following projects to work on.

1, 2, and 3. The Work Shirt Quilts (yes, a third has been added)
4. July UFO - 16-patch blocks
5. June UFO - Heart Wall Hanging
6. May UFO - 9-patch Strippy
7. Borders on the Blue Churn Dash
8. Begin red & white quilt project with Sharon
9. Finish Snowbird Triangles
10. Sewing Supplies Carry-All
11. Reupholster Kitchen Chair
12. More POTC blocks

There's just never enough to do.

Happy Quilting, Friends!