Slow Sunday Stitching

Binding a quilt by hand is a task that many a quilter considers to be one of the worst parts of the quilt-making process. Not I! This step, while I don't do it by hand every time, is one I enjoy doing by hand when the situation warrants it.

I took this Amy Butler quilt off the Tin Lizzie on Thursday (click here to see), and needed a hand project to take to Helen's on Friday. Just like that in a split second, I decided to finish this quilt the old-fashioned way. By hand.

I've probably told this little tale before, but indulge me while I recall it again. Grandma, maker of many dozens of quilts in her 98 years, admitted to me at some point that she really didn't enjoy binding. Naturally, she would never have done this task by machine; so all those many dozens were done by hand. In later years, I bound a few of her quilts for her, since I didn't mind binding by hand. She quilted so many quilts for me; it seemed a more-than-fair trade off.

So, on Friday morning with the Frankfort Girls at Helen's house, I did about half of this quilt. Today, in a few odd moments, I did a bit more. It won't take me long to finish it off.

I will join Kathy's party today as she celebrates Slow Stitching. Each week I find that more and more sewists are sharing embroidery and cross-stitch. Years ago, I did a fair amount of cross-stitch, and I have several embroidery UFOs buried around the quilting room. The projects in this week's linky party are quite inspiring.

Have a great week, dear readers. I will be off to a 4-day retreat today. Hopefully, lots of progress on some really fun projects are in my future.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Off the Tin Lizzie

I'm not posting too often, I know, but I am getting a few things accomplished. You know, these last few days have just been so doggone perfect here that I have spent a couple of days poolside at my sister's house. What luxury!

On Thursday, I took this quilt off the long arm machine, and have spent a few hours stitching binding. I still have about half to go, and I will finish that off today or tomorrow.

You say you don't remember having seen this quilt? Correct. I have not shown it before. It is one of the Kay quilts I am quilting for her. The fabrics are by Amy Butler/Westminster. 

Just like the last quilt I had on the long arm, this time, too, I had an eyelash problem on the backing side of the quilt. I was alert this time, though, and did not have too terribly much stitching to remove.

I'm getting pretty good at partially removing a quilt from the frame and un-stitching. This was relatively straight forward, and I connected it back to the header when I was finished with removing the eyelashes.

As I am doing with all the remaining Kay quilts, I am holding onto them until all are ready to be handed off. At that time, I will post full photographs of them finished and on a bed.

I am prepping for a 4-day quilting retreat. Cutting fabric for 70 stars is on my current agenda. Yes, pictures will be forthcoming. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

On Point - Pink 9-Patch

For anyone out there who might be thinking that making a quilt is just too hard, I beg to differ. The ease with which one can make a 9-patch quilt is simply perfect for even the most reluctant of beginners. I am so pleased with how this baby girl quilt turned out, and it was beginner-level basic.

This crib-size quilt measures 51" x 43" and I have enough of the lighter fabric remaining to serve as my backing. I am so pleased with the results. Using the darker pink as side and corner triangles provides a great border, and keeps the quilt simple and sweet - which is the look I desired.

I bought the fabric in April at the Nelsonville, OH, quilt shop, Mae-Lynne Makers. Creating a baby quilt for the grandbaby we are expecting in October has always been the goal, and now I am one step closer to having it completed. 

Taking this little lovely outside gives it an entirely different look as the colors read more true in the natural light.

The fabric is Hudson by Whistler Studios/Windham Fabrics. I knew the minute I saw them in the shop that I wanted to make a quilt with these two complimentary fabrics. The result is exactly to my liking.
 

DH and I have put the big, bad virus behind us, and we are back to good health. Maybe now I can begin to be a bit more productive for a change!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Basic Blocks - 9-Patches

My last two posts dealt with my August plans, yet as the saying goes about the best laid plans, sometimes we don't get to be in charge of our plans. This darn virus has put a serious crimp in my quilting, dangit!

When I last checked in, I was all eager to begin some basic 9-patch sewing on two different quilts. First, the pretty pink floral. There are no major decisions being made on this, except for when will I stop and know I have enough of the lighter pink for making all the setting blocks. 

Terribly lit picture, but it shows a basic idea of how I plan to put this quilt together. My current plan is to use the darker pink to make the side and corner triangles, thus giving it a built-in border. I ought to be able to get this made quickly.

Now this blue polka dot/floral print quilt has required a bit more effort - brain effort, that is. My original idea was to use only the blue dot with the print fabrics. In the photo below, the right half of the picture illustrates that look. I fear that continuing with this plan will result in the blue dot completely over-powering the florals - and I want those pretty fabrics to shine more than they appear to in this small mock-up.

I modified my plan by making a few 9-patches with white, which are on the left half of the photo. The florals do get to do more work, and I am not opposed to this option.

I went one step further, though, and made 4 HSTs of the blue dot and white. Maybe this will be the way I end up going?? I am in no shape to make a decision yet (covid brain), so I will marinate in this for awhile.

Never before have I ever thought I needed to invest in an expensive computer program for quilt designing. I enjoy this "figuring out" stuff, and I usually come out okay. With only X-amount of fabrics, though, maybe actually using a pattern would work for me here. 

Nah. I'm an old dog, and not interested in learning that new trick! Hah!

Catch ya' later, dear readers! Time for another nap. Covid has made me really good at napping.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

August Plans - Part 2

Yesterday I itemized a few quilts that I hope to quilt on the long arm machine this month. Today my plan is to do the same with new quilts I hope to start. 

New starts! The very best part!!

This set of fabrics has captivated me for awhile now, and I think I will use the large yardage of blue polka dot as the background fabric for 9-patches made with the prints. I hope it turns out as pretty as I envision. I have had great ideas before that didn't work out as beautifully as I'd hoped, so we shall see.

Another quilt I want to make is that pine tree quilt. I still have not determined exactly which type of tree I want - the traditional block with all the triangles, or the more easily constructed one with positive/negative trees. This one is the more traditional-style block.

This one is probably easier to make, and definitely has lots of appeal. So I do not yet know which one I will go with. Perhaps there is yet another option out there that I haven't yet found.

Oh, yes, I have more ideas. One of my goals for this year was to make Lil' Orphan Scrappy by Lynn Wilder. I have her pattern, and I have decided to use my stash of William Morris fabrics for this quilt. This might be what I take to work on at our mini-quilt retreat later this month. If I have all the cutting done, I can sew-sew-sew and - hopefully - make a lot of progress.   

 

Back in June while on our western vacation, I bought this set of fabrics and I would love to find a quilt  pattern for it. I sorta' envision a star of some sort. I've spent a lot of the afternoon looking at patterns. Some good ideas are taking shape, so stay tuned.

This green floral has been in my plans for awhile, and I think I will make a snowball/9-patch. I tried with a different green floral, and got my 9-patches reversed, so I lost the effect I'd hoped to achieve. See this post for that earlier quilt.

This two-fabric grouping of pink flowery gorgeousness is special - I plan to make something for that new granddaughter we are expecting in October! I might go the 9-patch route, or I might go the churn dash route, or I might do something completely different. We shall see.

Finally, at the quilt show last Friday, I bought a bundle of 3 1-yard fabrics ready to be used in the Easy Does It 3-yard quilts that seem to be all the rage right now. All the Frankfort Girls have different books  - thanks to Jan! - and so I will come up with some sweet and easy quilt to whip up fast as can be. Note, please, that pink is again represented! *smile*

So I do have some direction for the month ahead. First, though, I have to get over this dreaded bug - yes, THE dreaded bug. Not feeling too awful, but yucky enough that I don't feel much like doing anything. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

August Quilting Plans

Unlike summer 2021, DH and I haven't taken a ton of trips this summer. We sorta' made last summer special by planning a getaway - big or small - every month from May through September. This was to celebrate the fact that we were both - finally - fully retired. We'd both taken on part time gigs after retirement from our main jobs. No more! 

Here in summer 2022, besides that trip out to see our son and tour around the Pacific Northwest, we are not traveling much. I had a girls' vacation a couple of weeks ago, and later this month I will attend a 4-day quilt retreat. Minimal time away.

This lack of traveling should be a reliable indicator that I am able to do more sewing and quilting, right? I hope to prove that theory this month.

I said in yesterday's post that my August goals are twofold: long arm some quilts and make some new stuff. 

In order for long-arming to happen, I have GOT to figure out why I continue to have such a terrible "eyelash" problem on the backs of quilts. I know that I need to tighten the tension, and  do it incrementally to find the "sweet spot." Also, I know to clean the lint, change the needle, and oil the machine.

I have had many long arm successes.

Before going to Anna Maria Island a couple of weeks ago, I had a quilt needing eyelash removal - again. I did the one a month or so ago (read about it here and here). Daggone if I didn't have the exact thing happen with the next quilt I loaded!! Fortunately, I discovered the issue after just one pass of the machine, so removal wasn't horribly unpleasant.

Here you can see that I have removed a few stitches and some of the offending eyelashes are shown, too.

Look at all that wasted thread! Besides wasting my time by having to sew, unsew, and dink around with the tension, I hate wasting thread. 

The quilt shown here is one of my friend's quilts; I have done 4 of hers already, then there's this one and at least one more to do. I really would like to get them all done this month.

In addition to finishing these quilts, I have at least two baby quilts ready to be quilted, and a couple more random quilts I could add into the mix.

One baby quilt to quilt.

Another baby quilt to long arm.

I'd love to quilt this from 2017; a good quilt for fall.

My other priority for August is making new stuff! This is always exciting. I look at long-arming with trepidation; I look eagerly toward starting a few new quilts!

Since I'm getting a little long-winded here, I will be back tomorrow with details on those new quilts swimming around on my brainwaves!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hello August!

Recently I had the pleasure of reading The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath. Actually, it was audio-reading, but that's beside the point. (Why do I always feel obligated to clarify that listening is not reading?) This book struck such a chord in me that I listened twice.

This book validates my tendency to treat each new month as a mini-version of a new year and its accompanying resolutions. One section in The Power of Moments is devoted to explaining our need to start fresh and slough off the old with brand new plans for a brand new year - or month, in my case. I found so much good information in this book and have recommended it to several family members and friends. One good friend (actually she recommended it to me! Thanks, Pam!) has indicated that she plans to gift this book to newlyweds and graduates. Smart idea! It's just a really good examination of how we can make our lives richer and more full of memorable moments.

This new month is screaming out two things to me: 

1. start something new!

2. long arm some quilts!

Before getting too far into what I have on the August agenda, let me first do a wrap-up of July. I tell ya, I had a great month, but so very little of it was spent sewing and quilting! We were on the go, enjoying family and friends. 

Yesterday, we hosted 15 here for the 4th annual Honnold Bash. My DH's side of the family is so spread out, and our opportunities for get-togethers are few. We sorta' live in a centrally located spot for many of them to come here, so we began having this reunion in 2018. We had to skip the pandemic year, but have continued with our late-July bash since then. Above are our 2 daughters Erin and Emma, and Kevin's sister, Kellie. 

My July collage contains very few sewing highlights, and many more family fun highlights. Ahhh, the fun of summer!

Row 1: The finished re-fresh of the front room; we took out the 30-year-old carpet and put down wood flooring. My little patriotic vignette to salute the 4th of July, features a pillow I made in May. Niece Mary Jean came to sew with me and went home with a new stash of yarn and needles, since she prefers crocheting and knitting.

Row 2: Niece Anna Rose, twin of MJ, actually did sew at the sewing machine, and ended up getting her own machine. She had really taken to sewing and as an aspiring actress, hopes to sew costumes and accessories. The center pic is from Anna Maria Island, where I vacationed for a week with 4 girlfriends. Another niece, Abby, welcomed her first child, Boone, on July 20.

Row 3: My one flimsy finish was my Double Irish Chain. Technically, it is still waiting to have borders attached. I plan to do those tomorrow when Sharon is here to sew. The middle bottom pic is from yesterday's Honnold Bash - niece Julie and her DH C.C. enjoy visiting on the screened porch. My final pic is of Lake Effect, which I have been feeling a strong desire to lay out in full so I could see my progress. Gosh! I have more done on it than I realized! This gives me a very strong nudge to prioritize this quilt more than I have lately.

What will August bring? You know I have some plans. I will work on pulling some ideas together and share those with you tomorrow.

I hope your new month brings you happy, carefree days and lots of sunshine! Let's make some memorable moments!

Happy Quilting, Friends!