Veterans' Day Sewing

Sherrie's 14th annual sewing get-together on Veteran's Day was this past Friday, and even though our numbers were small, we who attended accomplished much. Let's get right into it and have a look-see.

Interestingly, two of our group were sewing garments, not quilts! I don't know what to make of it. Strangely coincidental, I guess.

Sherrie, our hostess, was making a doublet for her husband, who is a new member of a local Renaissance Music group. He needed a costume for the upcoming Christmas season. A doublet is a coat, so the picture on the right of the pattern is what she worked on.

There was lots of fussy stuff to be done. Can you say tedious?!?!

It is going to look mighty nice when finished, as Sherrie always does such impeccable work. I asked her to take a picture of Dave wearing his doublet. We need to see the fabulous finish, right?!

Kay, too, was garment sewing. She found a gorgeous piece of Kaffe fabric and decided it needed to be a tunic that she could wear over leggings.

Scrumptious fabric.

Simple (?) pattern.

Finished tunic, with many, many shortcuts.

Close-up of neckline.

Close-up of sleeve.

I put a question mark after simple (above), as the pattern appeared to be anything but simple! Kay had Susan (a Frienzie with no project, but was willing to be a helper) to assist her; the two of them went round and round about how to cut, to size, to alter, and so on. The pattern was more complicated than it needed to be - this was due largely to the many style options that the maker could choose. Together, they persevered, and I think Kay's new tunic looks fantastic.

The rest of us did have quilt projects to work on. First, Linda had a star quilt that needed borders attached. She'd made the center of this quilt earlier, and planned to finish it off while we were together.

The border absolutely brings this quilt to life, doesn't it? I mean, it was a good-looking quilt before, but the border does an excellent job of framing. I absolutely love it, and hope to get her pattern soon. She assures me she won't be making it again!

In addition to this border, Linda worked on a disappearing 9-patch quilt using a Layer Cake she'd purchased that featured a musical theme in black, white, gold and cream. It is a very classy-looking combination.

And just for the fun of it, Linda brought along a recently finished quilt top to show us. Oh, my gosh, it is gorgeous!!

Stunning, isn't it? Hey, Linda, I might need to borrow this pattern, too!!

Sharon P. brought her Shuttles to continue working on. Since we did not sew together earlier in the week, she had this chance to make up for lost time.

A pile o' Shuttles.

Stitching rows together.

The beginnings of a quilt top!

And finally, the project I worked on was a baby quilt for a little Buckeye boy to be born in January. I know for a fact that this young lad's father is a faithful OSU alum, and so I think the entire family will like this quilt.

I plan to quilt this one myself on the sewing machine, in a similar way that I did on Elisa's quilt this summer - straight vertical rows. I think it should go pretty fast.

And there you have it. Our day was fun and rewarding - not just in the work that we accomplished, but more so in the company we enjoyed.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Up Next: Rows 13 Through 16

On Monday afternoon, I finally rolled the quilt to a new section. I am now attacking new rows, and am on my way toward the end. Have a look-see:

The polka-dot row is 11. That is my easiest reference point; since all the rest are floral, this one is the easiest to distinguish. So, rows 11 and 12 are quilted, and half of 13 is quilted. In this section, I will finish 13 and move through rows 14, 15, and most of 16. The next time I roll the quilt should have me at the border! Yee-haw!

As I said in the previous post about Erin's Diamonds - Sunday, I believe - I have a busy week this week, but I did get a little bit quilted Monday due to a late cancellation. Tuesday, nope. Today, probably not, or maybe late tonight, if then. For some reason, the Freshman Comp essays aren't grading themselves, so I really ought to work on those as opposed to the quilt. But you know which I'd prefer, right???

Tomorrow, I hope to bring you the report of the sewing we did on Veterans' Day. Stay tuned, won't you, for that!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

English Elegance

Today's post comes about as a follow-up to something I posted last week. When I shared the pictures of multiple generations of women quilting at the old quilting frame, a commenter asked about the quilt Grandma was working on in the picture from about 15 years ago.

The quilt is called English Elegance, and it was featured on the cover of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine in February 1999. I saw it on the rack at a local grocery store, fell in love with it, and actually made it a few years later. (I could probably find the exact year, but I know I didn't make it immediately.)

This cover photo just called out to me, I suppose. I can't say that there's any one thing that appealed - I love the cottage-y look, I love the soft florals, I love the traditional flying geese block. So a combination of things struck me that particular day, and I ended up bringing that magazine home with me.

I recall that I started working on this quilt when I needed a hand-piecing project for a road-trip to my in-laws'. I cut a few blocks for the pieced flying geese unit, and found that I had everything I needed in my stash to make the entire quilt.

So I proceeded to hand piece all these units, and then when I had them done, I just went ahead with the rest of the construction. I typically let things linger, but on this one I continued working steadily.

When I had the top completed, I asked my grandmother if she would quilt it for me, and of course, she said she would. And that is how I happen to have a picture of her with this quilt in the frame. The photos above show the quilting - which shows up so much better on the back than on the front.

And that concludes this trip down memory lane. Thank you for indulging me!

I think I need to bring English Elegance out for a time and display it on the quilt rack.

 Happy Quilting, Friends!

Approaching the Home Stretch

The hand quilting on Erin's Diamonds continues and I have the sore, calloused fingertips to show it. Ouch! The left thumb is especially wounded. (As I am still working on the same section as a couple of days ago, several pictures in today's post are re-runs.)

I tried calculating how much is finished knowing that anytime I attempt mathematical information, my brain goes into immediate discombobulation. Given that, I do believe I have some reliable numbers.

 First, there are 20 rows of diamonds, plus partial diamonds (triangles) on each border. The photo above shows the diamonds in the order I sewed them together. The quilt is loaded into the frame in such a way that I have been quilting those diamonds from right to left. I have completely quilted 12 rows along with parts of the 13th row.That means everything to the right of the polka dot fabric is done, as is the row of dots and the one row to the left of the dots. The partially quilted row is second to the left of the dots. (Geesh. Can you follow all that??) The pictures below illustrate what I'm trying to explain.

The dot row is done, as is the one just under it (to the left). The partially quilted row is the next one to the left. Easily, I am beyond halfway and am moving along to being  more than 60% complete. Hooray!

I had hope that by day's end yesterday, I would be ready to roll the quilt to a new section, but I'm not quite there yet. Maybe I can make that happen today.

DH is still painting, and putting the finishing touches on the front room, the entry hall and stairway. That stairway was not in our original plan, but it flowed so into the entry that it just made sense. This has given me some extra time to quilt. Very soon - end of the week, maybe? - he will be entering the area that I need to be vacating. Oh, the pressure!

Hope you all have a productive week ahead. My week is quite full; some of the highlights are to get a couple of books read, grade some essays, a dental appointment, get my hair cut, and QUILT!! There are also some meetings in there, too.

I will be linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching, so be sure to take some time to see what other crafters are working on.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Honoring Veterans

Are you taking a moment today to recognize or remember a Veteran? Distant members of my family, both present and past, have served or are serving, and many, many former students, friends and acquaintances, too.  For them and their service and sacrifice, I give thanks.

I will be heading out to Frienzie Sherrie's for our annual sewing on this day. She has moved since last November, and we will be in a community room this year. I have my project ready to go, and hope to get an entire quilt top made. No pics! It will be a gift! *wink*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Generational Endeavor

You all know I have been quilting Erin's Diamonds, a Kaffe Fassett quilt for my older daughter. I am doing this quilting on my maternal grandmother's antique quilt frame. It occurred to me as I was setting up the frame and loading in the quilt that getting all the generations of descent involved on this would be a pretty cool thing to accomplish.

Finally on Sunday, I was able to follow through with my plan.  Mom was here briefly as we ended our big family weekend (Buckeyes vs. Nebraska in Columbus plus a nephew's wedding in Cincinnati). In the short turn-around time that she was dropping me off before heading on home, she sat down and took a few stitches.

Later in the day, Erin stopped in to get her cat (we'd been cat-sitting again). I grabbed her for some stitching, too. While she was at it, she noted that both she and her Granny had taken stitches in the same general area of the quilt - probably adjoining diamonds.

Their stitches were symbolic; neither did enough to make any sort of dent in how much I have remaining to quilt on this. And that's okay. You'd think with all this effort to get the 4 generations pictured at the frame, I would have a picture of myself actually quilting at it. I do not. The best I can do is below: I am with Grandma in this picture taken about 15 years ago. I did quilt with her at this frame. We didn't do it too often, but there was a time or two when we stitched together.

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Continuing to Quilt Diamonds

Today has been a rather quiet one here. Watching some of the Presidential election coverage and DH painting in the other room, I have taken this opportunity to get several hours of quilting in on Erin's Diamonds. The media pundits are beside themselves with trying to explain this new President-elect Trump.

I am still working on the midsection of the quilt. That polka-dot row is a good reference point for me; I consider that row to be the near-center of the quilt, and when it is completed I know I will have over halfway finished with the quilting.

Today's stitching has been enjoyable, as though the work is quite effortless. The thicker pearl cotton thread and big stitches make for quick work, quicker than if I were quilting in the more traditional fashion.

Low-key days are pretty darn nice, you know? Sometimes the hustle-bustle of running around, the appointments that must be kept, the duties that won't wait - the occasional slow day is welcome indeed.

Happy Quilting, Friends!