Reveal! Sharon’s Paris Flea Market Find

All manner of events have taken precedence over my blogging lately, but I figured it was high time to prioritize an update. 

In mid-June, Sharon loaded her PFMF quilt onto the long arm machine and the plan was for her to quilt it that day. As good-intentioned as that plan was, the machine had other ideas. As she got just one row across the quilt, threads were breaking or, in this case, running out, tension became touchy and timing went wonky. 

All the long arm problems! That day we experienced every single one of them, daggum it!

Below is her quilt spread out on the bed. Believe it or not, as much time as it spent on the long arm, I never stopped to take a picture of it all loaded up.

I believe I've share these three photos before, but who doesn't love having a second look at a beautiful quilt?

Back to the troubles...Early on, try as I might to fix things myself, I just couldn't do it. The timing was tripping me up. I obtained a phone number for a repair man who makes house calls - some of the Frankfort Girls have used him. I was so fit to be tied that would willingly absorb the cost of a house call if I could get things straightened out. 

Shane, the ever-so-blessed-repairman, walked me through a fix over the phone! Turns out, I had done everything properly, and just one small correction was all that I needed. I am so grateful for his willingness to assist me - free of charge! After all was said and done, I had a big  "well, duuuuhh" moment because I should have known what was wrong. Each little glitch ends up teaching me something.

So with the Tin Lizzie all set for action, troubles began on Sharon's side of things. First, she had a particularly bad migraine episode that put her out of commission for several days.

Next her mother fell and fractured a bone in her leg. Gracious! Hospitalization, additional complications - Sharon and her mom have had a plateful of worries. Needless to say, returning to finish her quilt wasn't a top priority. (Much like my blogging!) 

She was apologetic about tying up  my machine for so long, but truly, with all our bedroom remodel, I was not inconvenienced in the least. Not having the long arm available through those days forced me to attend to some of the less glamorous parts of the remodeling process like purging and cleaning. I got a lot done without the temptation to quilt!

Finally, this past Tuesday, our schedules meshed and Sharon came to finish her quilt. And oh, it was so worth the wait!

I snapped this picture without her knowledge. Once you get into a rhythm with free-motion quilting, you don't need to be interrupted. Sharon's large, sweeping circular designs really accentuate her quilt.

Ta-Da!! This quilt is SOOOOO Sharon! To those who know her, that gorgeous floral border and the bright red star points are clearly ‘trademark Sharon.’ She wrapped it up to take home for trimming and binding. No doubt very soon, it will be on her bed!

In an effort to be more timely with posting as we head into the final week of July, I have couple more posts almost ready to share; hopefully I will follow through.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Revealing Sharon’s Version

You all know that I’ve finished my PFMF (Paris Flea Market Find) and now Sharon is about to have hers finished, too. When she comes next week for our sewing day, we are going to load hers onto the long arm machine, and I will turn her loose with quilting it.

Do you notice much of a difference between hers and mine? (click here for my version) Sharon's choice of 3 Sisters fabric was Etchings. The reds in that particular line are much more vivid and the other colors have more intensity. The other major difference with Sharon's is her spectacular choice of border. Just look at that gorgeous floral. So lush with tremendous impact.

I like that the red star points show up so well on Sharon's version. I was not mindful of where I placed the red squares on my version, so if a 25-patch block has a red corner, then I've lost some of the impact of the stars. I wish I'd had the forethought to realize this when I was constructing, but alas, I did not. Oh well...

Sharon is already stitching together another Paris Flea Market Find! I guess if you love a pattern a whole bunch, then making multiples of it isn't a terrible thing, right? 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Reveal Day!

Finally, I can share my newly finished Paris Flea Market Find quilt! She is quite a beauty, wouldn’t you agree?

This quilt tells a story of how a well-established fabric stash can pay dividends. My good sewing sister and fellow fabric stash expert Sharon and I often talk about future quilts we want to make and wonder how we’ll ever use up all the fabric we have accumulated over the years. At some point way back last fall, Sharon suggested we make Paris Flea Market Find, a pattern by It’s Sew Emma that she had. Each of us would use our respective stashes, of course.  Happily, neither of us bought a single inch of new fabric for our quilts. That is very satisfying, I must say.

We cut our quilts out ahead of the retreat at Needles n Pines. We waited until the April retreat to begin sewing. I shared snippets of our beginnings: a sneak peak at mine is here; a sneak peak at Sharon's is here.

My stash for this quilt was a very nice collection of 3 Sisters fabrics: Paris Flea Market, Sanctuary, and Promenade. Sharon used another 3 Sisters collection called Etchings.

While at retreat, I finished all my blocks and all the sashing strips. I’d not prepared or cut any cornerstones or borders. You can bet I did that ASAP upon my return home and I had the quilt top (flimsy) stitched up straight away.

Having a finished quilt top used to be my goal when making a quilt. Now that I am using the long-arm machine more successfully, I occasionally quilt up these flimsies. A totally  completed quilt?!! Whoa!

I put PFMF on the long arm on May 29 and took it off on May 30. I then spent a bit of time considering binding options, and once again the stash provided precisely what I wanted! See this post for the binding story.

Last evening, I finally stitched down the last of the binding. A quilt begun on April 7 and finished on June 9 - wow, who’d ever thought this was possible? Especially a big, full-size quilt!? Sometimes baby quilts can be that fast, if not faster. This quilt measures out at roughly 78x85 inches. 

More pictures? Why, yes, I think that's appropriate! *grin*

As I took this final picture, I realized that the majority of fabric used in my pillow cases are 3 Sisters - Aviary and Sanctuary. I expect that a few random squares also show up in that front pillow. How wonderful!

Now I owe y'all a few pics of the more recent goings on over here, as well as a long-overdue May collage. Plus, I think a proper picture of Sharon's flimsy is also called for; after all making this quilt was her idea!

Soon, my friends, soon.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Finally - A Reveal!

It sounds pretty pathetic, but I'd like to introduce my first quilt top of 2024. It has taken me until beyond mid-April to finally produce a quilt top. I have never taken so long to share one with y’all! Those three months in Florida really stunted my early-year productivity.

I began working on Paris Flea Market Find (PFMF) at the retreat last week. I made all the 25-patch blocks and all the sashing strips. I hadn't brought the cornerstone fabric or the border fabrics, so the finishing up has been happening this week.

You know what? The long wait for a 2024 flimsy was totally worth it. This is one gorgeous quilt top, I tell you. The fabrics in the 25-patches is from a jelly roll I had called, coincidentally, Paris Flea Market by Moda/3 Sisters. The red star points fabric is from my stash - a 1-yard cut of Paris Flea Market. The light sashing fabric is a Laundry Basket Fabrics neutral which I'd found in a bin at Old Town Fabrics. The floral inner border is Sanctuary by Moda/3 Sisters. That was left over from a quilt I made in 2021. The cornerstones and outer border is Promenade by, you guessed it, Moda/3 Sisters. I just love that these designers keep similar colorways so that various lines can be combined.

As I said, Paris Flea Market, Sanctuary, and Laundry Basket were all fabrics in my stash. I must credit my dear friend and best sewing buddy, Sharon, for coming through with a most amazing Christmas gift - over a half a bolt of Promenade. Not only is this the cornerstone and outer border fabric, there is enough remaining to use as backing! And Sharon even came through with the pattern! Lucky me, right?

And here is Paris Flea Market Find, a completed quilt top - her coming out party. Ahh, I just love how delicate and soft it is. What a cozy quilt this is destined to become!

Hopefully, all my quilts this year will come together as effortlessly as PFMF has. I will be one satisfied quilter if they do.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne