I have finished quilting my first quilt on the Grace frame.  It isn’t as perfect as I would have liked, but it is o.k.  Now, I have to slow down and put muscle memory to work.  I have a great older book by Sally Terry that shows the five different parts of quilting patterns.  She says that if you learn to quilt all five parts individually, you can combine them to make any pattern with ease.  I hope that she is right.  That, combined with the plastic template, and a lot of the three Ps, should help my quilting. I have a plan and will start my lessons soon.

We have a bookcase at the community center where anyone can leave objects that they no longer want for someone else.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  One of my friends left a tapestry wall hanging.  I could see a tote bag.  I cut the tapestry in half so that both sides would be right side up. Then I added quilted bands and handles.  Also a large coat zipper in the top.  The middle has six pockets, one that has a zipper closing.  I didn’t use a pattern, but just kept adding pieces.  It looks like a brief case, not a tote bag and is perfect for carrying quilting supplies to sit and sews.  Now, I’m on the lookout for items that can be converted to something else.

The top for the Ten Commandments bed runner is finished.  Miss Molly has inspected it and it  is ready to have a backing and batting added.  It won’t take long to quilt.   There is enough left over lavender fabric to use on pillows, etc.  I’ll think about them after the bed runner is quilted.

 

 

 

I‘ve finished piecing six blocks for the Bonnie Hunter Frolic Mystery quilt.  They are coming out well.  Bonnie was right about keeping everything organized.  If I make a few blocks a day, this quilt will eventually be finished.  In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the journey.

My two baby quilt tops are pieced.  One is on the frame and I am tying it.  Both should be finished by next week.  The babies are due in a month so the quilts will be finished just in time.  Not knowing the gender of the babies, I made bright colored quilts.  They are neither boy or girl quilts.  The best part is that I used up all the bright cat fabric.  The middle stripes are different colored fabrics and the borders and backs are different colors.   I’m not sure if I will sew a regular binding and tack the back by hand or make a flange binding and sew both sides by machine.  I’ll decide that when the quilt is tied.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

It’s well into February and so far I haven’t been able to sew or quilt as much as I would like to.  Maybe, I can do more during the rest of the month.

I have finished quilting the first quilt on the Grace frame.  It has been a learning experience.  I’ve learned a lot. It will be much faster to load the next quilt on the frame.  I know that I can’t just jump in and expect quality work.  I have to take baby steps and practice, practice and more practice.  I originally thought that the little quilt was doomed, but off the frame, it’s not bad.  It needs a few tweaks and it will be fine for a baby quilt.  I hope that it will be well used and loved.

I have the center of the Ten commandments bed runner finished.  It needs two borders and then it can be quilted.  I had planned to complete it last weekend, but it is still sitting, waiting for completion.

The Frolic Mystery quilt is still in pieces.  All the pieces have  been pressed and organized.  There are 41 blocks with some other pieces in this quilt.  We are supposed to have a snow storm tomorrow.  Maybe, I can work on these two projects and finish piecing  one of them.

 

 

I have changed the wall hanging that is over the sofa.  In January, I had a gray and yellow piece.

It was drab and gloomy.  I was so glad to take it down and replace it with a red and white embroidered piece.

The little monthly piece has been changed also.  It’s a pretty little valentine

The Blockhead quilt has come back from the long arm quilter.  I didn’t like the quilt when it was finished, but the long arm quilter made it come alive with her quilting.  It is very nice now.  The quilt is queen size so it will take a long time to bind, unless I make a flange binding.  That is a good possibility.   I might even put it on my bed for a while.

The new Blockhead for this year has come out.  It is into week three already.  I’m going to save the instructions to a file for a while.  I shouldn’t start anything new until I finish some of the quilts that I’ve started. The new Blockhead instructions have three different sizes.  I will decide which one to make when I decide to start.

My first set of blocks for the Round Robin exchange are finished.  My secret Valentine project is finished and off to my secret Valentine.  The Maine challenge is almost finished.  It just needs borders.  It is so good to use the word “finished”.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve worked on a lot of little and some large projects this past week.  Frolic is still not up to date.  The reveal has been made and I can see where the pieces go.  I will keep sewing on this project for a few minutes each day until it is finished.

In the meantime, I have corrected the 8th commandment

 

 

and pieced the 9th commandment.  One more commandment block to sew and then the instructions to put all the blocks together should arrive.  One block a week is so much easier to finish than the multiple blocks in the Frolic mystery quilt. There will be enough lavender fabric left to make a lot of accents for the bedroom.

I was able to place a small quilt on the Grace frame this week.  Leah Day has excellent You tube videos that tell how to do this.  I’ve learned a lot, but there is so much more to learn.  The quilt is half quilted.  I find that trying to learn new things is not as easy as it seems.  It is sometimes very frustrating.  I am learning how to prevent my mistakes when I quilt the next quilt.  I know that I have to practice a lot, but I do get impatient when it doesn’t look as good as I would like it to be.  In the meantime, Miss Molly will get a new quilt.  Maybe, more than one.  My work should improve with practice.

   

Several more Dear Jane blocks are finished.  I try to have enough finished blocks on hand to quilt or tack the binding when I go to a sit and sew.  This project will keep me busy for a long time.  The next block to make has three circles appliqued on it.  My circles usually come out crooked. I have thought of a way to make a perfect circle.  If it works, I’ll tell about it in a future post.

I decided to finish the bird thread painting.  It will be ready to go to it’s new home as soon as I make a label.  I have another bird thread painting started in my stash of bits and pieces.  I may finish that one in the future and keep it.  The other bird blocks that I brought out to choose from are back in the stash of bits and pieces.

The bird block was made by color copying the picture of the bird onto fabric.  Then I lightly thread painted over the picture.  It’s very relaxing and like coloring inside the lines.

The tub of little fabric pieces is filling up.  Someday soon, I’ll have to take time to cut the fabric into small squares so that I can sew some little blocks as beginners and enders.

There are no meetings or appointments for the next two days.  Hopefully, I can concentrate on one of my projects and finish it.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I am caught up on the Ten Commandments bed runner.  Two more Commandments to go.  Each block is so pretty.  There will be enough fabric left over from the bolt that I bought to change the look of my bedroom.  I’m thinking valances, pillow covers, etc.  I do have a beautiful purple silk pillow cover that one of my daughters gave me for Christmas.  It will be a very nice accent to the room.

Commandment #7

Commandment # 8  This was finished, but when I looked at the picture, two of the pieces were set in wrong.  I’ll correct that and show the picture on the next blog.

When the bed runner is finished, I will quilt it on the Grace frame.  A friend from the Guild and her husband came on Monday morning and finished setting it up.  It’s all ready to go.  I will put a quilt package on it this week and start to practice, practice and more practice.  Hopefully, I can quickly finish a lot of my ufos.

The mystery quilt, Frolic, by Bonnie Hunter needs a lot of work.  I’m several weeks behind on this project.  I have downloaded the directions, printed them and saved them to a file.  The completed quilt has been revealed.  I can work on it between doing other things.

    This is all the little pieces that need to be sewn together to make a queen size quilt.

There are a lot of small pieces of fabric that were left over when cutting Frolic.  My intention was to cut them in 1 1/2″ strips and squares. Then I could sew them as beginners and enders and make 3 1/2″ blocks.  It’s amazing how fast the bucket is filling up with scraps.  All my meetings and appointments are finished for this week, so I have two full days of sewing ahead of me.  I may cut some of fabric and get started.

I made a folded fabric hexi.  It was fun.  The first one took an hour.  The second one took ten minutes.  They are really easy to make after the first one.  There is a pin clasp on the back so it can be worn as a pin.

 

I have a project that calls for a bird block.  I enjoy machine embroidery in the hoop and hadn’t done that for a while.  I found a pattern and machine quilted for many hours.  The pattern had a lot of stitches and color changes.  When it was finished, I found that it was a defective embroidery.  The body of the bird was missing and some of the leaves were not there.  It is in the round file. It was a wasted day.

Today, I embroidered a bird that I bought from Embroidery Library.  Their embroideries always sew out beautifully.  It did, but I think that there isn’t enough color  contrast between the bird and the foliage.  I will save it for another project.

 

I have a bin of quilt pieces in the back of a closet.  There are partially made quilts, leftover blocks and lots of things to choose from when I’m looking for something special. I found several bird blocks.

These two blocks are hand embroidered.  I think that my mother made them.

These two cardinals are redwork on the embroidery machine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bird block is partially thread painted.  I printed the picture of a bird on fabric and was in the process of thread painting when I put it away.  I need to have turquoise in the border so will thread paint some turquoise thread on the wing.  Thread painting is very relaxing and is something that I like to do.

The blocks are sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting for me to make a decision.  I’ll have to decide by tomorrow which one to use in the project .

It’s the second week in January.  I still haven’t changed the wall hanging on the wall over the sofa.  I do have it out and ready to go.  Maybe, tomorrow. The little January wall hanging is up on the wall.

I’ve been following several blogs.  The latest item for conversation is to make the same small block every day.  After a few months there will be enough blocks to make a quilt. It would be a simple, yet scrappy quilt.  Several blocks have been running through my mind.  I have decided on a small churn dash.  Now, I have to decide what theme to use.  Will it be batiques, one color, traditional, or will I use a large package of 5″ squares that I bought last summer. I’ve also decided to make five blocks a week and use the other two days to border each block.  When I start, there will be pictures of my progress.  Nothing says that I have to start on January 1st.  I can start any day when I get organized.

The Ten Commandments bed runner is up to date.

Fifth Commandment

 

 

 

Sixth commandment

 

 

I brought out the flower applique and have been working on that wall hanging in the evening.  The oldest UFO has been retired again for a while.  The more I quilt on that piece, the more I find to quilt.  The quilting has to be equal on the whole quilt and I started with a lot of quilting.  Hand quilting takes a long time, but it is worth it. Miss Molly likes it when I hand quilt.  She checks out the part that is on the floor while I’m quilting.  I have to remember to pull most of it up so that I can move it as I quilt.

I am very far behind on the Frolic Mystery quilt from Bonnie Hunter.  I have a lot of scraps in the right colors, but they are small scraps.  I need larger scraps to make sets of four in the same colors. One clue states that the turquois should be lighter than the blues.  Most of my turquois is medium to dark.  I checked the local fabric store but didn’t find what I wanted.  Then I went on line to several sites.  My order was received more than a week ago, but hasn’t been processed or mailed.  Hopefully, it will come soon and I can catch up.  In the meantime, I have other projects to work on.

I did sew a few of the Dear Jane blocks.  I was out of hand work on those blocks.  I like to work on them when I go to the  Community Center.  I’ll be all set for a while.

Most of the samples are made for the Guild demonstration.  I have one more to make.  That shouldn’t take long.  It’s just a matter of getting to it.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

 

Happy new year.  It has been a very busy two weeks with Christmas parties and family get togethers.  It is wonderful to connect with family no matter what time of year.  Miss Molly’s good friend Rufus came for a visit also.  She enjoys visiting with him and discussing their very important jobs.

I did squeeze in  a little time for sewing.  The green and white quilt top is finished. My goal is to have it finished so that it can go on the wall over the sofa in March.  I had made several four patches before I looked for a pattern.  The four patch pieces were cut at 1 1/4″ square.  Four units were sewn together to make the block.  While checking for inspiration for my demo in January, I came across a pattern from a class that I had with Sue Rabin and Ann Gallo.  It was perfect.  After the wall hanging was pieced, I realized that it was too small for the space.  Using the leftover green fabric, I added more borders and cut them at an angle on the two bottom corners.   The size is correct now.  I had made more four patches than I needed so decided to piece the backing with them.  By the time it is finished, I may, possibly, have my quilt frame ready to use.  It is one of my priorities this year.

I’m behind on Bonnie Hunter’s Frolic quilt.  At this point, I’ve skipped part four.  It calls for turquois fabric that is lighter than the blue that goes with it.  It calls for sets of four pair of half square triangles and four pairs of quarter square triangles cut from the same fabrics.  Since I have small scraps in that color, there is not enough yardage to cut what I need.  I’ve ordered some new fabric and will make part  4 when it comes.  So much for  using up the scraps that I have.

Part five is finished.  It called for lots of half square triangles that are sewn the same as part three.  The color is raspberry and neutrals.  This time,  I decided to make the half square triangles in the accordion method.  They worked up quickly and are trimmed and ready for the next step.

Step six will be here tomorrow or the next day.  Maybe, I will have much more time to sew and can catch up.

The fourth commandment block is finished.  I’m pleased with the colors on these blocks.  It will make a very nice bed runner.  The Fifth Commandment block pattern came last week.  It calls for two duplicate 10″ blocks. The pattern says that these blocks are more difficult to size correctly.  The 10″ block is divided by 6 units, so the cutting is tricky.  The sewing has to be very accurate in order for it to come out the correct size.  Fortunately, I do know how to divide a block by unusual amounts of pieces.  I will do this on copy paper and paper piece each section.   Then the block will be accurate when finished.

The deadline is fast approaching to have my demo instructions completed.  I have decided what I’m going to talk about.  It will be called Tricks of the Trade and will consist of four subjects.  Now, I have to make demo pieces and write the instructions.  One of the subjects will be how to make six equal sections in a 10″ block.  When I have finished writing the instructions, I’ll post it to the blog.

There is so much that I want to complete in 2020.  January will be my organization month.  Then, I can just have fun.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I have had very little time this week to sew on my quilts, but I am up to date on the two projects that I’ve chosen to work on this winter.

The third clue in Frolic came last Friday.  It allowed us to choose how we made half square triangles.  At first, I thought that I would make mine with the accordion method.  That would make each block with different fabrics.  They have to be trimmed a little after sewing.  Then, I thought that I would make mine oversize and trim them with the Tucker Trimmer.  There would be two blocks with the same colors.  I decided to use the Tucker Trimmer method.  Two similar blocks would not be noticed in this quilt.  The fourth clue will come tomorrow.  This will be a beautiful quilt.

I have sewn three of the Ten Commandments Pattern Series.  This free pattern can be found at info@quiltnbee.biz.  It also can be bought at http://www.stitchintree.com.  This pattern consists of ten 10″ blocks and one center 22″ block.  The fabric requirements for a bed runner (43″ x 96″) and a twin bed size (67″ x 85″), along with the pictures, are given in the first e mail.

I chose different color fabrics so pasted small swatches on the first page.  This can be made with scraps.

 

The first Commandment is the center 22″ block.  Each sections gives the fabric needed for the blocks and sashing and cutting instructions.  It also gives the pressing instructions.  Making this bed runner has made me slow down, read and follow all the instructions.  With accurate cutting and sewing with an accurate 1/4″ seam, the blocks go together very nicely.

The second and third commandments are on the right side of the bed runner.  I have saved the teal fabric that I used in those blocks  to use in the two blocks on the left side.  I will find another teal fabric to use in the blocks that are closer to the center.

I’m taking a break from hand quilting  my oldest UFO in the evening while I watch TV.  The quilting is going well, but my under hand needs a little repair.  It should be healed in a few days and I can go back to quilting.  In the meantime, I’ll check out several years of machine embroidery magazines that were stored in the attic.  I’m trying to downsize and clear out the attic.  That should take most of the winter.  Hopefully, I’ll find someone who will want the magazines.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

I’ve decided to make a mystery quilt.  I’ve admired Bonnie Hunter’s quilts for a long time, but have never made one from her patterns.  This year, she has a mystery quilt called Frolic.  The quilt finishes at 82″ x 82″. I really like the colors that she chose for this quilt.  When she designed the quilt, she used paint chips to decide on the colors.  The colors are light and dark blue, teal, pale green , raspberry and a neutral.  Of course, if you make this quilt, you can use other colors.

There is still time to join in the fun.  The clues are at Quiltville.blogspot.com under the Frolic Mystery tab.  The clues are free at this time. After it is over, there will be a charge.

Along with the clues are tips, tricks, helps and hints for each unit.  It is worth looking at the  program for all the great tips even if you don’t make the quilt.  Bonnie uses small pieces of fabric so this is great for a stash buster.

I pulled all the scraps that I had in those colors.  They are in a bin waiting to be called when Bonnie gives a clue that uses them.  I don’t know if I have enough of all the colors, but will use what I have until they are gone.  Then I can buy fat quarters to fill in the rest.

The first week used the two blues and raspberry.  They made lovely blocks.  Bonnie’s tips on perfect piecing made the blocks come out the perfect size.  I followed her tip on how to sew and found every four patch came out perfect.  I had made extra in case the centers weren’t perfect.  I now have the beginnings of another quilt.

 

 

The second week used raspberry and neutral fabrics.  I had a lot of 5″ neutral squares and used some of them in this step.  This will make a very scrappy quilt.

The third clue will show up in my e-mail tomorrow.  This is exciting.  I love a mystery. A member of the Guild is also making this mystery quilt.  When they are finished, we’ll have to take them to Show and Tell together.

 

There was no sewing today.  I decided to finish putting my Grace Q frame together.  I am almost finished.  The instructions are not clear at all. The pictures are so small that they don’t help.  It seems so easy on the You Tube videos.  I have two more parts to put on the frame. I’ll try to finish it tomorrow.  It may seem hard to put it together, but it will probably be harder learning to use it.  I will have to practice, practice and practice.  It’s a good thing that I have a lot of small UFOs to practice on.

The block for the Maine Guild block drawing is finished.  It is on the way to Maine now.

 

 

I’ve gathered fabric for a bed runner.  The pattern has ten blocks.  I receive one block pattern each week. I should be able to find time to make one block a week for this bed runner.  Years ago, I bought a bolt of lavender/blue fabric and intended to use it in the bedroom. It’s been hanging on a hanger waiting for the right inspiration.  Now, when the bed runner is finished, I can use some of the leftover fabric for pillows, valances, etc. and have a coordinated bedroom.  I was fortunate to have enough of the right colored fabric to add to the bolt of fabric.  They’re not the same colors that the designer used, but they work for me.  I’m looking forward to making the bed runner.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

It’s December and I have changed the wall hangings.  The little Christmas wall hanging is the 12th one to go in that spot on the wall this year.  I will start all over again in January.

 

 

 

The wall hanging on the wall behind the sofa is in it’s second year.  When I take it down in January,  I will either put up one that I’ve already made or make a new one.  I’ve been checking my fabric drawers and have found several panels that will be very nice for the winter months.

I need to make two baby quilts before March and have found several pieces of fabric in my stash to choose from.  Now,  I have to find a pattern and decide which fabrics will be the ones to use.  Baby quilts are meant to be used, washed and abused.  I want a pattern that is simple and yet elegant.  I have a block in mind.  It would be great for the center of a medallion quilt.  The baby quilts could be “what if” quilts.  After I made the center block, I could decide what to do with the borders one at a time.  I should start sewing soon in order to be finished on time.

Annie Louise hasn’t had a new dress for quite a while, but she has three new quilts.  I finished quilting one that was on the blog a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

The best part of making small quilts is that they can be finished.  One of her quilts is very small.  The other uses leftover strips.

Maybe I can make another dress for Annie Louise after Christmas.  Or, I could make some night gowns.  She doesn’t have any.

 

 

I’ve put Dear Jane away for a while.  I’ve been doing hand work during the evenings on the blocks. Every once in a while, I bring out my oldest UFO, The Amish Thistle.  I started this quilt over 30 years ago.  It may be closer to 35 years.  It’s queen size and I’m heavily hand quilting it.  It has had a lot of shelf life. It’s hard to quilt with black thread on black fabric.  Maybe, this time I will keep it out of the closet until it’s finished.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

The Christmas cactus has outdone itself.  It is full of blossoms.  Maybe it is a Thanksgiving cactus.  qui

 

 

Making Dear Jane blocks is addictive.  Some are very easy to piece.  Some are very hard.  I’ve found that the hard ones are best if pieced by hand or paper pieced.  The easy blocks can be paper pieced also.  Sometimes it’s easier to paper piece than to figure out the measurements.

The blocks are 4 1/2″ square.  It would seem as if they wouldn’t take as much time as a larger block, but sometimes they  take just as long to make.  The applique pieces even though they are very small, take time to position and sew down.   The hand quilting time is much shorter and the binding doesn’t take too long to sew down.

I’ve been making the blocks in the potholder method.  Every block is hand quilted and bound.  Then they are sewed together.  The binding makes a nice sashing.

The Dear Jane blocks are the perfect size to take to a sit and sew.  I try to keep a few ready to take when I go out.  I have several blocks in different stages of construction in a basket.  Some are pieced and ready to quilt.  Some are quilted and have the binding sewn on and are ready for it to be tacked down.   Some have the applique ready to sew.  I like to applique at home and do not take these until they are ready to quilt and bind.  Every block is in it’s own baggie with a picture of the block and it’s position on the quilt.

I’ve been making them this way and found that I have more finished than I thought.  Row A is finished.

The instructions for row B are in baggies with the fabric that I will use for those blocks.  I’ve started piecing the Row B blocks. When they are finished, I’ll do the same with Row C.  Row D is completed and is sewn onto the body of the quilt. Row D is the top row.  There are four more blocks sewn on that are outside the picture.

I originally planned to start in the center of the quilt and work  the rows around the center.  The center block is the green circle that is four down and seven over from the left.  Somehow, that plan fell away and I was making a lot of blocks out of order.  Eventually, they will all be sewn into the quilt.

Jane will take a rest for a while.  I have several other projects that need finishing. I’ll bring her out again when I run out of blocks to take to a sit and sew.

 

 

Have a great day and happy quilting.