Slow Sunday Stitching

It's been awhile since I last checked in on the weekly slow stitching party. Since I've done a little bit of that sort of stitching recently, it seems as good a time as any to see what all the talented ladies have been working on. Kathy's Quilts hosts this party every week on her blog; I've enjoyed visiting with these seamstresses and seeing the oh-so-inspiring projects they create.

I've taken time to reacquaint myself with an embroidery project I unearthed recently while sorting and organizing in my quilting room. I was going great guns on this back a few years ago when I started. I bought the book and the fabric with every intention of diligently stitching it up in time to use for fall decorating.

The book, by Kathy Schmitz, is full of wonderful patterns both large and small, many of which I could definitely see myself making. I just lost steam on it for whatever reason, and now am trying to regain my enthusiasm and finish it. It will become a pillow when completed.

In the time I've worked on it this last week, I can tell you one reason I probably stopped stitching  - lighting! I have very poor lighting in the room I generally sit in the evening (TV room), and the effort it takes to both follow the pattern and thread the needle makes me very slow about things. 

I have several good lights that I could bring downstairs - one that wraps around my neck for focusing light toward my hands. I owe it to myself to make use of the tools at my disposal.

I hope you'll stop over at Kathy's for her little party. It will inspire you, for sure!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne  

Slow Stitching Hexie Flowers

Slow stitching, indeed. I have not been stitching very faithfully, but when I do take the time to sit with needle and thread, I am appliqueing hexie flowers to 6.5-inch neutral fabric. Eventually these will be used as setting blocks alongside 9-patches. The resulting quilt will be wall-hanging sized or perhaps, table topper. I am definitely not going for a full quilt. Small and sweet, just like these darling hexie flowers. 

Recall this mock up from awhile back. I've mostly left this on the design wall, and as I've pondered things while stitching, I do think something just a bit bigger will be nice. I have plenty of 9-patches already prepped. I've likely made more flowers than I'll use. It's the appliqueing part that will force me to keep it small. (Never have been a fan of applique; even though I've learned and can do it, I avoid when possible.)

And it's likely that very avoidance which explains my reluctance with finishing these hexie flowers. No matter how badly I want this little project finished, I seem to find a gazillion other things to do besides stitch. Inexplicable....

Here are some completed appliques. Several more are waiting in the basket. This little project is of the wildly impromptu variety, and it meets all the objectives of making darling, sweet little flowery quilts. The simplicity of it appeals in every way. All these hexies were made with Tilda scraps that remained after finishing my Wensleydale blocks. 

I'm linking up with Kathy and her weekly slow stitching meet-up. Take a peek at some of the awesome projects these stitchers are working on. These gals seem to have a lot more "stick-to-it" powers than I have. I'm gonna' glean some motivational inspiration from them.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Slow Sunday Stitching

I've not been doing all that much handwork lately - finishing off corners and edges on my Grandmother's Flower Garden, mostly, and also putzing around with random bits and no plan. However, a couple of my friends in the Frankfort Girls quilting group have been creating some gorgeous pieces and I've got a little project parade from them to share here. 

Inspiration at your fingertips.

My group of quilting friends has so much talent in all areas of needle arts. Sharon O. has stitched so many fantastic embroidery and cross-stitch creations. Here is a sampling of her recent work.

Another prolific seamstress in the group is Sheryll who specializes in wool crafts. I am happy to have been the recipient of a few of her wool gifts over the years. Here are some of her recent finishes.

 

As for my own work, the finishing and fussing over the edges and corners of my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt might at last be set. I've dithered over this stuff for long enough. I'm gonna go with the idea that finished is better than perfect.

 

 

This last picture shows the curvy sides and a straight side. I will applique a straight yellow border onto all four sides. I may or may not do a small inner border along with a wider border. 

From the very first hexie in the very first flower, this quilt has been a "let's see how this looks" project, so why would I do anything different with the borders?

For additional inspiration, click on over to Kathy's Quilts and check out her weekly Slow Sunday Stitching party. It never fails to inspire and delight.

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!

Garment Stitching

It takes a really special someone to give up quilt-making time in order to do garment sewing. Of course, granddaughters are the most special things in the world, so also of course, I have been happily been making a little outfit for Cate.

In the deep and (somewhat) thorough quilting room clean-out of last month, I came across a piece of fabric I couldn't rightly account for. Who gave it to me? I know I did not buy it. I am guessing it was in some of the stuff from my friend Kay's sewing room. Months before her memory got too sketchy, she gave me a box of remnants and I added to it as we cleaned out her sewing room several months later. This little piece of striped cotton had an old-fashioned tag attached to it - 1 yard for $1. Wow. 

It seemed perfect for a flouncy little dress.

I've made this pattern once before, if you recall, and dragged my feet for months putting button holes on. To prevent that on this dress, I tackled them straight away. They went in just fine. Now, I did two practice button holes before trying them on the real dress. And I'm glad I did. Practice is always a good move, in my opinion. 

This little dress had lots of hand stitching - AKA slow stitching - as finishing detail. All around the yoke facing, armhole facings, and hem. It didn't take long and was the perfect accompaniment to watching the Tour de France. Now I must make the matching bloomers.

I've been away for a few days as DH and I took a little overnight getaway to Akron. We combined two destinations - The Stan Hywet Hall in Akron and Sue Spargo's quilt shop in nearby Uniontown. In a later post, I will write more about both of these visits, but for now let me draw your attention to the adorable little outfit above. This top and pants outfit made with - of all things - Liberty fabrics! - and was a shop sample at Sue Spargo's store. Absolutely precious! I came home with the patterns, and have several years of garment sewing ahead of me, as they both contain several sizes. Consider me a happy gramma!

So, yes, I have been slow stitching and traveling. Stan Hywet Hall is the home of Akron industrialist F. A. Seiberling, one of the brothers who created Goodyear Tire and Rubber. It's a grand home with gorgeous gardens. We've intended to visit this Akron landmark for years, and had just never gotten around to it. When we learned that Sue Spargo's shop was nearby, we decided to make it happen.

I will share more details of our day in Akron later this week. Now I will join the the gang over at Kathy's weekly slow stitching party. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Some Slow Stitching

Since midweek, just about the only sewing I have done has been of the slow-stitching variety. As the week began, I was finishing up the snowball flimsy, then I moved on to prepping a quilt backing, and cleaning up some of the clutter left in the wake of the William Morris quilt.

Late week, the schedule got busy and I have only taken smidgens of time here and there for handwork.

Said handwork has been one or the other of the projects shown in these photos. I carry that hexie kit with me to all the places - this week it went to the regular gathering of the Frankfort Girls. I stitched a few card stock templates into place, and then formed the beginning of a flower.

I thought I was going to stop making these, but apparently I changed my mind somewhere along the line. Probably when I realized I had just cut a bazillion templates a few weeks ago. If I have the templates, then I needn't be stopping. (Giving myself a stern talking-to!)

And I try to sit at the quilting frame for an hour or so each evening whilst we watch television. Baseball season ended for our Guardians, so now it's time for catching up on old shows and movies we've missed.

And that's my slow stitching update for this week. Love that I am making progress on both these projects. Check out all the slow stitchers over at the link-up at Kathy's Quilts.

Have a blessed week! I expect we will be extra-blessed this week, as - at last! - we are counting down to the end of our daughter's pregnancy. Baby girl Dillon due any day now!

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!

Helen's Treasures

On Friday, the Frankfort Girls met for some stitching and visiting. Helen had the premier show and tell of the day - quilts from an estate sale! Vintage beauties! Have a look at some fine, hand-stitched quilting from generations gone by.

The first one she shared is this crazy quilt. I sure wish I'd taken more pictures of this one. The colors are so vibrant and the condition is near perfect.We could only see one place where the fabric looked worn and even that we weren't sure of. The detailed stitching is fantastic, and this is what I should have photographed. Quilters would appreciate the stitching that made a squirrel's tail look fluffy, just to mention one intricate feature. There were many more. If you click or tap the picture, you will be able to get a closer look at details.

The next quilt was a pieced quilt - some version of a Star of Bethlehem, we think. It is hand pieced and hand quilted.

I did regain my wits and took close-up pictures for this one, although they are rough, at best. Even so, that you can adequately see the detailed quilting stitches on this beauty. What a labor of love. The maker surely had a task on her hands with all those bias edges, and then all that hand quilting. Hours and hours of painstaking work, right?

When we happen upon lovely quilts at tag sales or auctions, we puzzle over so many questions. Who made these quilts? Did the same seamstress make both quilts? Were many hands involved? Many generations? How would this quilter feel at having her beautiful creations picked over at an estate sale and sold for $20 each. Fortunately, a quilter found them, and Helen does appreciate their beauty. She will care for these quilts as the fragile gems that they are. 

Sweet, fun-loving Helen is all giggles over a funny comment made as we were folding her quilts. Just being silly. She says she plans to investigate correct cleaning and caring instructions for these lovelies. They definitely will not suffer under her care.

I imagine that many of us who make quilts, occasionally consider how long into the future our quilts will last, and what journeys they will take. We work so hard and so carefully, and often with considerable expense, to create a thing of beauty; we entrust them to loved ones. At some point will they be lost to a random auction? 

We can never know. What we can know is the love we have for making them - what it does for our souls. I am satisfied with that.

Since both these quilts involve a significant amount of hand stitching, I am going to join in on the Slow Sunday Stitching fun over at Kathy's Quilts. I hope the stitchers visiting there will enjoy these antique beauties.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Back Basting More Leaves

In amongst all the fun summer activities, I have actually found some stolen moments for hand stitching. The project is still Lake Effect, of course, and bit by bit I am attaching all the leaves on my viney panel.

Discovering the back-basting technique has been a true game-changer for me. I no longer dread the prospect of stitching these panels, and I am actually seeing improvement on some of my more recently finished sections when compared to those first bits I did last summer.

Getting the panel ready for stitching takes some doing, however. Above, the loosely-cut leaf shapes are attached to the panel with thick, dark thread. I have basted right on the traced lines which are on the back of the panel. The reason for using thick thread is important. When stitching, those basting threads are removed a few stitches at a time. I use the tell-tale line of the basting stitches as my guide for where to turn under my raw edge. Of course, the reason for using dark thread is simply to see it better. *wink*

 

But before any of the actual stitching can begin, those loosely-shaped leaves need to be trimmed down close to the basting stitches. Also, corners and curves must be clipped and notched. By taking a close look at the photo above you'll see that two of the leaves have been trimmed, notched, and clipped. Those are ready to be stitched.
 

These final two photos show my little pile of cut-away trimmings. This technique requires precision cutting with sharp, pointed scissors. 

As I often do, I am linking up with Kathy and her Slow Sunday Stitching bash. Go have a look to see what everyone is working on.

Happy Quilting, Friends!