I've been on a sewing break

I've taken the last week or more to just not sew or quilt....but I have done a bit of hand applique and embroidery.  I am more worn out than I thought from Christmas and the various family happenings, so I've taken a bit of time out from the sewing room.  When I do this, I usually spend some time browsing through my saved quilting files, my EQ projects, and of course lots of quilty web sites!

I think I really need a change.  I want to break from my usual style of reproduction and country style fabrics....I still have plenty to use up but every time I see a pattern that might work, I think, meh!  (that's my daughter's word for so who cares!).  I also know that I have way too many full sized quilts, lol, both as tops and as almost finished tops.  I want to make smaller wallhangings and minis, and use some of those designs I have in EQ.  I need some fresh fabrics to get me started!

In the meantime, I've stepped back into the sewing room and the Easy Street pieces are all over the place!  So I'll spend today and tomorrow sewing up some more units that will make up the blocks, which will reduce the piles, and then I can put it away for a rainy day to finish.

I also started, just barely started, quilting a top that has no name....Farmer's Wife blocks set into a pattern by Lori Smith.  Once I get the stitch in the ditch done, I think I'll have fun with the rest!



 

Snow Day!

Crabapple Hill Studios has a great winter quilt pattern called Snow Days.    While I like their colour scheme for the quilt, I do find it a bit dark...so I decided to make my version as a Snow Day.  The kind of Snow Day that we had as kids, where its the first big snow of the winter, when we've woken up with inches of freshly fallen snow, the sun is shining, and its time to play outside...no school!!  With that in mind, I've chosen a light tan, pink, blue and steel blue, dark red, to brighten up the quilt and reflect the fun and spirit of a Snow Day!

 

[caption id="attachment_1292" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Snow Day, block one[/caption]

 

I chose the Wimsicals line of fabric called Simply Imagine, and spent a lot of time choosing the embroidery background fabric.  Do you know many different shades of white and cream there are!! lol.  I finally chose Pearl by Free Spirit (Pink Chalk fabrics has the best selection of solids from all kinds of lines!).

The piecing and embroidery in this quilt isn't difficult, but there's a lot of it!!  Many of the embroidery blocks are joined to pieced blocks then the embroidery runs from the plain block over on to the pieced block. I really did want to complete each block's embroidery as I went along, rather than leaving all the joining and embroidery finishing to the end.  The disadvantage to this is I can't lay out the quilt before assembly to possibly re-arrange placement.

I  roughly drew the quilt plan on EQ7 and coloured thefull blocks.  There are a number of full blocks, and lots of  small filler blocks.  Knowing I had to make the main fabrics last as far as possible, I prepared rough pre-cuts of all the main blocks on the border and centre, to try to arrange the colours as best as I could.  Now I have the scraps to make the filler blocks,   and I'm ready to sew each  block section as I complete the embroidery.  This quilt will likely take the year to sew and if I'm very lucky I'll have it ready for next Christmas!

 

No quilting, just piecing

My Janome Horizon is still not fixed properly...I don't know why a sewing machine tech can't determine the problem and repair a machine!  When the machine came back from the tech shop a few weeks ago, I encountered the same problems as it had when it went in, the top thread shredding and breaking during free motion.  I'm doing nothing different than I did when I had the best quilting ever with this machine, and these problems are really frustrating.  After a few weeks of putting up with constant thread breaks, but still getting some necessary quilting done, I sent it back to the tech shop complete with video of what is happening.  The machine came back "fixed", but not...so back it will go again on Monday.  The gift quilt and table runner is ready to be washed and wrapped, I'll post pics soon.

So, I'm piecing.  I put together a top which is a variation of Summer Reigns by Kathy Schmitz.

[caption id="attachment_1285" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Summer Reigns, variation[/caption]

 

Piecing the Past is a scrap quilt presented in a Craftsy Class....I had  completed the main blocks and it was time to dig through the repro scrap drawer to sew  a number of setting blocks  to make the quilt as presented by Kaye England.  Now that these are sewn, I've put them away with the main blocks and I'll put the quilt together at another time...still thinking about the borders!



 

I did put together the Just Takes 2 quilt...wow!  There is a lot of pressing to do on the finished top, the picture will have to wait until I can manage that...and find a place to lay out the top in all its glory!

So, all this piecing is just adding to my collection of tops!!  I want to be quilting!  I've stocked up on batting and backings and have several quilts that I'm looking forward to finishing.  Since my machine has been out of commission, I've managed to finish one top, have two ready to put together, a pieced one started and kitted, and Bonnie Hunter's  Easy Street on its way! Oh - and Snow Days!..that will be another posting.

 

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!

Works in Progress

In the last week or so, I've been quilting my version of Pat Sloan's Meadow Breeze.



Unfortunately, I really do need to take my Janome in for service.  It seems to be really happy for a while, then that darn top thread breaking starts happening again.  I need to make sure there's really nothing wrong with it  before I continue pulling my hair out trying to find what I'm doing wrong!

I've completed the last block in the Piecing the Past Series.Included in this Craftsy course is setting instructions, using various small setting blocks to create an interesting layout.



And, I've been keeping up with Summer Reigns by Kathy Schmitz.



Yesterday I took a good look at my Grandmother's Choice blocks that I've sewn to date...and I think I've decided that I don't like the purple colour theme.  I'm cutting up fabric to re-make these blocks a different way!  Pics soon!

Stitch good thoughts!

 

 

 

 

Summer stitching

Lots of hand sttching was done this summer, especially in July when it was so hot!  I got two rws of clamshells done for the borders on Antique Sampler.  The instructions for this part of the quilt were disappointing, kind of like...prepare 20 clamshells for each border.  I'll post more tomorrow on just how I went about making and appliqueing them.

I worked on some of the blocks for Summer Reigns, a pattern by Kathy Schmitz.

Thanks to Gayle at Sentimental Stitches, I really got going on backbasting for preparing applique.  I had used this method off and on, but was never entirely happy with how it worked.  

I discovered that for me to be really able to see the holes left by the basting thread, I use a size 7 sharp needle - this needle is consistently thick all the way from tip to eye - and glazed hand quilting thread.  These holes also tend to give you a turn line even when you can't see the holes!!

I got started on Jacqueline's Album quilt...one I've wanted to do for a long time, but never could seem to choose the right fabrics...so I'm making it as a block of the month from the Quilted Crow, it may not be yellows like I wanted in memory of my Aunt Jacqueline, but I'll be sure to think of her everytime I sew it!

a block for Just Takes 2 - I don't think I could have laid out this block so precisely
without backbasting prep!

a block from Jacqueline's Album, showing basting stitches

Stitch good thoughts!

Thimbleberies Village

Today I finished the third block in this quilt pattern, for my son’s wedding in November.

Thimbleberries patterns are always interesting to sew. For the  most part, I don’t need instructions when sewing most quilt blocks, but with thimbleberries methods you’re never sure where or how the individual pieces go together.  There’s a lot of layering, diagonal sewing, and folding of corners.  The instructions are very good, and I enjoy looking at the block after its done to think how I would have sewn it without the thimblerries methods.

Tiger Lily applique

I’ve completd a Tiger Lily block, pattern by Ruth Ohol (Quilters Newsletter April/04) . The sashing and centre block look a little odd as I haven't pieced it yet, and am still thinking about those fabrics.

I had originally planned to do a lap or full sized quilt, but realize
now that I think this block would be a great spring wallhanging. I'll
do the floral middle border as in the pattern, and larger pieced
triangles as inner and outer borders.

Hexagons - Piecing and Applique In Progress

I'm a restless person - always thinking of one thing while doing another - starting something, then starting another. Cooking while talking on the phone, watching TV while reading the paper, browsing the web while my mind works out design ideas. I don't think this makes me a genius of multi-tasking - rather it takes my weakness of lack of concentration and gives me a kind of superpower of productivity - as long as I'm doing something, I'm happy!

Quilters almost always have a list of projects that they're currently working on, a list of projects they'd like to start, some they've started and given up on, and more patterns, ideas, and inspirations to start even more. There's never a day where a quilter can't find something to suit her mood, time available, or abilities.

Paper Pieced Hexagons

My husband and I love to attend estate auctions. I was fortunate enough to buy a box of vintage quilt pieces - my guess is they are from the late 30's-early 40's. There were eight completed six pointed star blocks, and several blocks not yet appliqued on to the muslin. While the applique stitching was good, something had happened to make the fabric puff out from the base muslin - either the muslin shrinking or the applique not pinned well to the base square.

I also discovered the hand piecing done to make the stars was quite loose - basting, really. So I've begun to take them all apart, and make a hexagon quilt from the fabric pieces. It will likely be a charm quilt with random placement of the pieces, but I'll wait and have fun playing with patterns as the pieces are made.


I'm using hexagons from Paper Pieces. These are made from stiff cardboard and are cut much more accurately than I could cut my own. I did some paper hexagon piecing a few years ago, using freezer paper and regular paper - I find the cardboard Paper Pieces much easier as the stiffness of the carboard means I really do just have to baste the fabric over the edges. The pieces can be removed after sewing all sides of the hexagon to other hexagons, or after applique. And, I can lay it down on the ironing board, spray starch (well, not really - see below) all over, give it a good press and its ready for other applications - maybe even machine applique?



Mary Ellen's Best Press is the best "starch" I've ever come across. I've never liked using starch - I find it can leave flakes and bits on my iron and ironing board, and I don't like the stories I've heard of bugs and long term storage. I've been using Spray Sizing, but its hard to come across these days - not many people iron their shirts anymore! The Best Press is easy to use, smells nice (it actually comes in three scents), and it will apply lightly or heavily for the results I need, without any flaking or mess.

Folk Art Finery...and school's out for the summer - almost!

Here are the applique blocks for Folk Art Finery, a pattern by Lydia of the Rabbit Factory. This was the first time I've used Beth Ferrier's method of freezer paper templates and glue stick for "invisible machine applique". However, I decided to use a blanket stitch around each piece as I felt it fit the style and fabrics I was using, and I'd tell anyone to not use the blanket stitch when doing the freezer paper machine applique method. It is very hard to remove the freezer paper! The blanket stitch just does not make enough perforations to remove the paper easily - it does require a bit of scary tugging and pulling. Eek. But they've pressed out nicely and I'm now working on the foundation pieced sashings - next will come the scalloped border - which makes me think of all the options open to us for applique - fusible, freezer paper, cut away or upside down, hand applique....hmmm, decisions decisions.

My youngest son is about to graduate from elementary school - Grade 8 - and this marks a huge landmark for me. All three of my kids have attended this school, meaning that I've been a parent at Crosby Heights since 1995!!! This is amazing for me, who moved frequently as a child, teenager and young adult. I finally settled down with my family, in 1995, and have stayed in one place all these years. I still get itchy feet, still look at the real estate ads, but finally I truly feel at home. My husband and I often talked about moving as soon as the kids were able to get out on their own - a two storey home really doesn't suit someone like me with my physical abilities - and we really should be in a bungalow - but even now I'm starting to think about installing an elevator instead of moving. This really is a laugh, as our little house is just over 1000 square feet, a two storey semi with finished basement, that is a little older than me.


Here's a picture of when my kids in 2001 - I think - my oh my, they're all taller than me now, but that grin on younger son's face is still there, especially when he's telling some ridiculous story based loosely on a truth; my daughter's smile doesn't appear quite so often for me right now, and her ears are much decorated with hoop and stud earrings; and oldest son is living with his girlfriend - my likely soon to be daughter in law.

Day one of teenage daughter's summer holidays - so we'll see how we get along today - hopefully we'll start out positive to mark the beginning of a great summer to come.