An Unplanned Finish

Yesterday, I went to work preparing to complete my number one goal for the week. I want to finish the T-shirt quilt and let my customer know that it is ready to be picked up. The quilt top has been finished since the end of February, so all that remains is to get it onto the long arm and quilt it.

Long arming is becoming somewhat less intimidating with each quilt I quilt on the machine. It seems as though practice really does help, as I knew it would. Having less time lapse between quilts is also good, for it keeps the skills fresh.

The last quilt to be completed on the long arm was Meadow Lily, the wedding gift I made for our neighbors' daughter. I knew when I took that quilt off of the frame, the entire machine needed a thorough cleaning of lint and dust, a needle change, and oiling. These things HAD to be addressed before doing a quilt for a paying customer.

As I completed these maintenance tasks, I had the idea that instead of loading the commission quilt, I ought to do some little quilt of my own first. Working out the kinks on my own quilt is preferable to doing that on a customer's quilt. Turns out, this was a good idea; I need to deal with some tension issues that make stitches that look like eyelashes on the quilt. 

This looks pretty bad, but it only began getting this bad toward the end of the quilt. At the beginning, it was pretty decent, as you can see in the next picture.

I will get my manual out, make whatever adjustments it recommends, then I might just do one more little trial quilt of my own before going ahead with the commission. 

Now, the happy news is that these 'eyelash' stitches don't bother me in the least on my own little quilt. Made from leftover fabrics, this little quilt has been awaiting quilting for years; I can live with little imperfections on my own quilt. All good - and it get one more thing finished and removed from the sewing room.

Another bonus from the entire effort is that I got to practice my freehand stippling. I tend to always do a loopy freehand design and I wanted to stretch my repertoire. I am rather pleased with the results. There are a couple of rough spots, but overall it looks okay.

While I was at it, I went ahead and put the binding on, finishing it completely. It only measures 22.5x26.5 inches; done in no time.

The backing is quite pretty. I wish I could identify the fabrics used in this, but it has been too long ago. Perhaps I will peruse the blog to see if it is recorded anywhere; if it is, I will add the info.

That's all I've got for now, Peeps! Wish me luck in completing the T-shirt quilt!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Modern Stars

The hubs and I have spent a week feeling rather under the weather, I'm afraid, and that has resulted in very little productivity out of my sewing room for sure. DH has had it since Sunday; my symptoms began to take hold late Tuesday. We've been achy, listless, congested. Ugh.

So I did find the energy to put the 4 modern star blocks together and added borders. That was my big accomplishment all of yesterday. I have the idea that I might hand quilt this using the big-stitch method. I am really drawn to the Baptist Fan design, so I expect I will go with it. Color? Undecided, at this point.

The stars for this wall quilt come from a book by Carrie Nelson called Farmhouse Favorites. The cover quilt, Birdseye, has these stars which really appeal to me, so I figured, let's just see what they look like in this little collection I recently bought. Nice little experiment, yes?

I just now told DH that I intend to wake up in the morning and be perky! I am sick of being sick! I shouldn't complain, because I am generally a very healthy person, and I know some folks are truly sick, but I am just not used to this inability to concentrate and get stuff done.

Wah-wah. I will take some cheese with my whine. *wink*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Emma's Wall Hanging

Just a quick post today, Peeps, to let you know that I've been doing a little sketching for the wall hanging DD Emma has asked for.

A week or so ago, I had the sketch on the left. I sent a picture of it to her with the response that maybe it needed more black. The sketch on the right  has more black. Not a lot more, but more. It got the thumbs up from Emma.

I have done the math (several times!) and I will need 57 black squares; 123 white squares, 82 black & white HSTs; and 8 green & white HSTs. I am debating on what the size my blocks will be; it will mostly depend on the wall space she has for it, but it will likely be either 2" finished squares or 2.5" finished squares. I hope that this is something I can get started on soon.

I seem to have quite a few irons in the fire right now. Starting lots of things often doesn't necessarily mean finishing lots of things! Hmmm...

Happy Quilting, Friends!

The Gifts Have All Been Given

Much of what I've worked on lately has been intended for gift-giving, so I was limited in what I could share here on the blog. With all of my gift-giving behind me, I will at last be able to show you some things I'd previously been hiding. Sprinkled in, there will be a couple of things you may have already seen; some gifts were made prior to deciding that they would become gifts.

Back when I was sewing for the bazaar through the month of October, I came across 4 log cabin blocks. It occurred to me that if I were to sew them together, I could have a right nice looking little wall hanging or table topper. So that is what I did. I also knew that Mom liked her little wall hanging from last Christmas, so I sewed these together and did a simple hand quilting on it.

The squares were left over from a quilt top I made several years ago - the Dressmaker's Quilt. Do you remember it? It's from February of 2011, according to my records.

I can see this new wall hanging going up on the wall beside her first wall hanging. Here is a rerun of this, and I think you will agree that they will complement each other nicely.

Emma, DD2, got a Mondo Bag. I did share this a month or so ago when I made it when Claudia was here making her own Mondo.

Emma also got a little clutch bag.

Mom did, too.

I have a couple of other things which became Christmas gifts. If I can locate pictures, I will share those soon.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Another Finish!

It's just a little quilt, but it's still a finish, and I am happy about that. Yesterday at Terry's, I sandwiched the layers for Mom's wall hanging that I've been working on, and then I quilted it and bound it. And it feels good to have a finish.

Next up is to quilt the baby quilt I made last month, as the due date is approaching. I would have begun it at Terry's but I inadvertently brought the wrong batting. Foiled my plans, daggum'it!  I am continuing to quilt on Long Road Home. And sometime this week, I will be cutting out Snowbird Stars for the March project I have planned with Sharon P.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Border Attached

The choice for the border on Mom's wall hanging was blue. Everyone who chimed in with an opinion agreed. Unanimous!

This little quilt measures 21.34" x 27.25". Mom will likely use it as a wall hanging, but it would also make a pretty table topper or doll quilt.

That's all for today, Peeps! I will be sewing for the day over at Terry's. Perhaps I will have some pretty stuff to show you - if we have a productive day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Auditioning

I am at the point where decisions need to be made for the outer border on Mom's wall hanging.

Option #1: Brown Thimbleberries

Option #2: Darker Brown

Option #3: Navy Kansas Troubles

The navy option looks brighter than it really is. I don't know why colors don't stay true in pictures.

I sent the options to Mom, and it looks like navy is the winner. If I were making this for myself, that is what I would have chosen, too.

Come on back tomorrow and see the finish!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Who Is This Woman?

I don't know what's gotten into me! Honestly, I have for years been the poster child for procrastination. So I really cannot explain the sudden burst of productivity. Oh, well, I am so not going to complain about it and try to keep it going!! I love it!

Here is what I made this morning. It was totally spontaneous.

From this weekend's charm packs, I had several 5" squares of a variety of beiges. Plus, I had a third charm pack as yet untouched. While putting the Schnibbles together yesterday, I noticed that I really liked the combination of these beiges with the dusty, pale peachy-rosy-pink. Well, who says you have to do more than just sew a bunch of squares together?? I pulled out all that the extra charm pack had, added a few choice pieces from my stash, and voila! A nifty little wall hanging. I put a skinny brown border on it, and I am planning to add another wider border of a reddish hue - something close to most red block in the quilt.

This wall hanging currently measures about 24"x29".