Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street mystery, part one, done!  One hundred and ninety-two four patch, plus a few more for good measure.



 

 

Just Takes 2 piecing and applique, done!  Just need to decided what I'm going to do on the signature block.



 

And, mother-in-law's top done for Christmas, almost done!  Just a bit more stitching to go on the applique.  The pattern is Penny-Wise by Kim Diehl (that seriously needs a name change before giving it to my m-i-l, lol!).



 

What was I thinking?! and Easy Street fabrics

I've been working away at quilting my son's T Shirt quilt, to have it mostly done before Christmas creeps up on me, so I set myself a goal of having it all quilted but the binding by November 23....why that date?  Because  a Bonnie Hunter mystery starts that day!!  I'm not very good at doing a lot of sewing at one time, so I'm not sure how much time this quilt might take up...and Bonnie's quilts always have lots of sewing!!

So, back to the T Shirt quilt.  When I began to do the quilting, I looked at the cornerstone blocks, and thought what?!!!  Why on earth did I do that ?!!!  Look....the block, I guess you could call it a kind of uneven nine patch, is uneven in the opposite way to the sashing..what was I thinking?



 

It looks okay, but really, did I plan it like that?  My EQ drawing shows it like that, did I just not notice that it was "opposite" to the sashing, or did I do it in purpose?  I sure wish I knew, lol.

 

When Bonnie Hunter announced her latest mystery quilt, I told myself that I would only do it if I could come up with fabrics from my stash...and I did.  Pink, blue, green, white/ivory background, and black "constant".  Hope this works!!



 

Jacqueline's Album and applique methods

I've completed the first two rows of Jacqueline's Album (pattern by Lori Smith) quilt.  There is supposed to be an American eagle type design in the second block, second row.  I substituted that with a different Lori Smith block, one that I thought my Aunt Jacqueline my like.

 



 

I'm using the back basting method of applique...here's the back of one of the blocks....it really amazes me how accurate the placement and shape of applique is achieved with this method!  There are plenty of tutorials around the web on how to back baste...Gayle at Sentimental Stitches is a good place to start.



 

There are many methods of hand applique preparation, and I think I've tried them all.  Backbasting did take some practice and trial and error finding the right needle and thread for the backbasting sewing.  I'm now using Star hand quilting thread and a size 7 sharp needle.  The hand quilting thread is quite stiff and thick, the sharp needle has a thick diameter from tip to end, these two in combination leave a good enough hole in the fabrics to follow when sewing the applique piece.  I also find that doing the backbasting several hours before the applique seems to set the holes to follow.

The great thing about backbasting for me was the accurate placement, especially for those symmetrical designs.

And then I recently received a copy of Jeanna Kimball's Red and Green, An Applique Tradition.  Jeanna provides many terrific stories and information about the history of applique and how various patterns may have been developed.

What I really took from this book was that Jeanna encourages the applique maker to develop her own designs, taking the templates and layouts provided and arranging them in a way that appeals to you...not necessarily following a traditional layout for a block.



 

 

This puts a whole different spin on my efforts to duplicate exactly  the Jacqueline's Album design.  I'll continue along as I have been on this quilt...but I can see an applique quilt in my future where I'm not going to think too much about exact mirror image symmetry!

 

 

Quilt Tops and More Quilt Tops!

This past summer I worked away at finishing tops that were at the "almost done" stage....this included Dear Jane, Garden Fence, Antique Sampler, Moonglow, a variation of the Farmer's Wife . My flimsy count now stands at eleven tops, not including Twelve of Eleven and my older son's T shirt quilt.  Some tops have been in my closet for a few years and may never get finished until I know of a recipient.  Others I'm anxious to get to the quilting so they are finished and can be used/displayed and enjoyed!

So after all that sewing this summer, I thought okay, that's it, no more big tops.  I stocked up on batting and backings and thought I'd spend the winter doing nothing but quilting.  Ha!

It doesn't seem to have worked out that way!  Just Takes 2 will be done in a month or so, Piecing the Past just needs setting bits and pieces, Stars and Sprigs is very close to finishing, and I want to do Bonnie Hunter's new mystery that starts soon (providing all the fabric I found in my stash really will work in her quilt design).  I've planned out Snow Days by Crabapple Hill, but that will be at least a year from now before that could be done.  And I've fallen in love with this....solids and log cabin are two quilting elements that have always been on my list! (although I think I'd turn the blocks in the centre to form a square rather than a star)

And then I found these strips that I cut at some time...



The problem is, as much as I enjoy quilting the quilt, I enjoy piecing at least as much or more!  So, I keep sewing and making tops...and quilting the tops....but I think the tops will always end up ahead of the quilted quilts!

Just Takes 2 November 1 blocks

These were I think the most challenging blocks in this series (but I think I might have said that before!).  Making these two blocks was irritating, frustrating, and just not enjoyable.  I struggled through every stitch.  Mostly because I really dislike paper piecing and I really dislike repetitive sewing....and these two blocks had both problems.  Knowing that we`re so close to finishing this quilt, I struggled through.  This weekend I stitched the wonderful redwork  that Gayle offered and givess me something to focus on rather than my rather shabby piecing.

Don`t look too close!  I`m the only person in the world who can lose points on a block with paper piecing method!!

 



 

Quilting with confidence!

My Janome came back from the repair tech and of course he found nothing wrong!  He did give it a cleaning and a check up, and so far its behaving better.  At least I know that any problems I'm having are my "fault", meaning time to check the needle, threading, tension, etc.

A while back I enrolled in Cindy Needham's class at Craftsy...Design It Quilt It!.  I think I came away with a lot of good ideas, and lots more confidence in my quilting skills.

I finished this wallhanging, a variation of Pat Sloan's Meadow Breeze, using wool applique.  I used many  ideas from Anne's class, not so much as designs as much as how to fill the quilt with quilting!   Previous to Cindy's class, my go to sources for free motion quilting were my videos from Patsy Thompson and the book Quilt Savvy, Machine Quilting Guidebook by Diane Gaudynski.  I sort of combined ideas and confidence from Anne, with what I had learned previously.



I quilted what I think Diane Gaudynski called `headbands`in the centre, echo quilted in the applique border, free motion lines in the first and last pieced borders, feathers in the border following the applique border, and leaves in the wide border.  Whee!  I had fun!

Then I started on `Twelve of Eleven``.  Stitched in the ditch around the blocks and border triangles. then stared at that open space between the block column.  I`ve always been scared of quilting open spaces, and scared of feathers in those open spaces, even though its something I`ve very much wanted to do.  I took a deep breath, and lookee what I did!  Am I ever happy with this!!  I don`t think I could have done it without the confidence I took from Cindy`s class.



If you look closely, you`ll see some not so nice spots and a few not so nicely formed feathers.  But I`m still so very happy that I got over this hurdle!  I`ve ordered some stencils to use on the pieced blocks, and maybe the plain squares....and I`m not sure  yet what I`m doing with the outer area of the quilt, so I`m putting this on hold for now while I tackle my son`s T shirt quilt.