I finished quilting my quilt along quilt! For my second attempt at machine quilting I feel pretty good about it, it's not perfect, but it works! Okay I just looked at the time and I stayed up way too late finishing it. I'm going to get the binding made so that I can finish it while I am sitting at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Can you see the cute vintage sheet backing peeking out at the bottom? I am in love with this quilt!
I feel like I have not blogged any crafty stuff in awhile. However, i still feel like i am getting some things done. I have a bunch of new projects in my head that i am dying to get out, but i felt that i should make a point of clearing off my sewing table first. This quilt was inspired by my Mitchie. He really loves rainbows....he gets so excited when he sees one and always points them out to us. This started taking shape way back in October when i picked all the fabrics out with my mom. It only needed some finishing but that is the part that always takes me the longest even though it is not the hardest. It has been on my sewing pile just waiting. Well, this past week i finally dove back in and machine quilted it. This is my first machine quilting undertaking. It was tricky but i think i made it work. I did not use a pattern of any kind, just made it up. I wanted to represent the rainbow but show it in a different way. Chris and the kids thought they would have a little fun with the picture taking this morning...see all the legs sticking out! I was going to hang it on Mitchies wall where he could have a rainbow over him but now i don't know....i am just enjoying having it done
Two posts in one day? My quilt sandwich is ready! Aren't the elephants the cutest? I think I am going to make a small test quilt sandwich first before I start on the real thing. So, I had to drive all over a few cities today to find the right darning foot for my machine. Finally I found one at Hancock Fabrics, who knew that a darning foot cost $25? Not me. I'm glad I found it though.
Of course I had to look at fabric, I mean I drove 20 minutes to get to the store :) When I saw this handerchief fabric, I snatched it off the shelf like someone was going to steal it away from me. I am completely smitten over this fabric, I absolutely love it. I bought two yards of it, and when I payed, happily it was on sale! In the picture it is folded in half, so you are seeing a yard, would'nt it make the cutest quilt? Actually it would make alot of cute things. I think I am sad I did'nt buy more, maybe I'll have to make another trip. Now I'm off to figure out this machine quilting thing!
After much procrastination yesterday I decided on some wavy line quilting on my string quilt but then I sat down at my machine and inspiration did indeed strike and I decided on this geometric decorative stitch on my machine. It takes a bit longer than a normal straight stitch and A LOT more thread so thank goodness I like it, a lot :-) I'm thinking it might take me over this coming long weekend to finish it.
I finished a quilt top! I finished a quilt top! Yesterday I was looking at my list of sewing projects to get ready for the show I'm doing this weekend, and I decided that I wasn't going to do any of them, ALL WEEK! I am tired of getting ready for shows and need a break, plus I have enough things. So, yesterday I started this quilt for my Brother and Sister-in-law that are expecting a baby girl. That in and of itself is a whole other story, basically they weren't supposed to be able to have kids, so this is a miracle baby, not that every baby isn't a miracle, but you know what I mean :) It was so fast, and today I'm am going to make the quilt sandwich and possibly start quilting it! I liked the idea of my first quilting project being a small baby quilt, I am very intimidated to machine quilt because I have never done it before. So wish me luck! Oh! I was going to mention that it is the mixtape pattern from Oh, Fransson! which is an awesome pattern!
Blogger Quilt Festival began today....hosted by Amy at Park City Girl. You have to go check it out. I can not believe the number of people that have already posted and added their name to the list and this is only day one. This goes on from the 9th to the 16th. I am hoping to find lots of inspiration. The quilt i chose for quilt festival is one of my older quilts...pretty close to being the first one that i made. I found this easy pattern on the internet many years ago and loved it for being simple and easy for a then beginner. Today was not the greatest day for pictures...it was rainy and dark pretty much all day. Even then i knew my limitations. I had a really simple basic sewing machine that would not machine quilt anything well...i found that out the hard way. So back then all i knew to do was hand quilting. I would draw out my pattern free hand with chalk or a wash away fabric marking pen, and then quilt away. For this I did a simple flower and some swirls to fill in any gaps.
I made this for Avery when she was little(way before blogging)...and it lived on her bed for a long time. But at some point in all the moving it got folded and stored away in the linen closet with all the other blankets. It is worn and soft and i still am in love with the colors and fabrics. This was the first set of fabrics that i chose because i fell in love...that was the beginning of a fabric obsession that does not quit!
This week when i pulled it of the shelf i looked it over i could see all the things i have learned to do a little better...most especially the corners. Yikes!! These were bad. It was the first time that i had to do real big repairs on a quilt. I took all the corners apart, machined them and re-stitched the binding back down by hand.
You can see a little of the back here. I pieced it together with what i had before i knew that pieced backs were cool!!Oh, the panic when i thought i had run out. I still remember it well. Another really close up of the corner repair i did...i am so excited to go and see what everyone else is sharing. I am going to have to pace myself over the next few days so that i can really take it all in. Go check it out here...and share something you have made!!!
When i got home from my sisters this week i was feeling especially motivated to get some sewing done. Perhaps the old adage, "absence makes the heart grow fonder", applies to my sewing machine too! I went right to work finishing this baby blanket i had started with a honey bun of Hello Betty fabric.
i considered all sorts of ideas for how i would quilt it but in the end i just went with my old standby... straight line quilting. It is fast and rather uncomplicated. Every row of stitching is about 2 inches apart. I got the binding on and sewn last night and this morning, my favorite part. It is a baby gift for a neighbor, so i hope she will like it.
I did not want to buy more fabric to back it and bind it so i went to the trusty stash closet to see what i could find, and that closet sure did not let me down. I, at some point or another, had bought a baby curtain on clearance in the hope that someday i would be able to use it for backing since it was so big. And that is precisely what i did. These elephants were just too cute to resist and i love them with the fabric of the quilt.
Now this last shot is just to show that i am already working on other things...trying to be real with myself about the projects i have started and seeing if i can just go ahead and finish them from where they are. Sometimes i think i am too ambitious with what i want to do....so i start a lot of things but don't really get many them finished. Craft ADD anyone?
**It is time for me to get back on the sew and tell wagon. So i am going to go ahead and link this up to amylouwho's to share with the ladies there. take a minute and go check out what everyone else has made this week. I don't know about anyone else but i feel productive, finally.**
So i had to take a minute to think about this one...usually it takes me ages to get from start to finish on a quilt. I have about 10 pieced tops in my fabric closet to prove it. however, this one took me under one week. What?!?
i think the reason was it was an experiment...not designated for anyone or anything. Usually they, my quilts, have a purpose and i want to be sure they turn out great. Not so this time. I saw the pattern, thought it looked like fun and ran with it. I refused to let analysis paralysis get in my way when it cam time to quilt. I just threw it on the machine under the walking foot and got to quilting.
And those other projects on my quilt table...well they are still crying out for attention. poor things. Anyone else do this with projects?
I had the sick for most of this week. One afternoon while i was laying on the couch, Avery our little mommy decided to make a project with Mitchell. She sat him down and got him set up with markers and paper and then started having a funny, very Avery conversation with him. I just listened and waited. I hear her ask him if he knew why it was Easter and why that was important, and proceeded to explain it to him as only a 5 year old can do. Well, she told him that she thought that he should draw a picture of Jesus. Well, this is Jesus. Mine is on the gray felt and his is on paper. Complete with long hair. I loved it, and it made me laugh. finally his drawings are starting to look like something. I wanted to keep it forever. It has been sitting on my sewing table for a few days now and i have wanted to do something but did not know what. I took out my free quilting foot for my machine and then "freehanded" his drawing on fabric with thread. It was not too hard, fortunately he is not a complicated artist. I think it turned out better than i thought it would. I think i will try this more with some of their other drawings. It works great for these kind of stick figures. Now am i going to frame it or make it part of a quilt or pillow for him....hmmm?
Today it was like the battle of the sewing machines!!! My QF(quilting friend) brought along her machine(Bette) so that we could sew at the same time to work on our project. With the girls, aka the sewing machines, running full tilt we managed to get all our blocks pieced. I am really liking how different the tops are working up to be.
Here are some of her blocks!!! Aren't they pretty. The Neptune is amazing. Everything was going along just great until we reached the end and laid out the quilts. Do you see it? That gap on the right?
That is where the block, not in the instructions, goes. The pattern is so fun and has been easy to follow, but we were regularly reminded to cut carefully so that we would waste nothing because it was going to be close. And because of that...we are short a block, with nothing big enough to spare. The pattern asked us to cut 30 pieces but it should have been 36 meaning the pattern numbers and picture don't jive. UGH!!!! It was not frustrating until now. I happened to have some variety of neptune yardage that i gave to QF to use so she was saved, but i am really hesitant to cut into the second jelly roll i have of this fabric. I don't want to use some fabric that i might need for another pattern. What would you do?
A friend of mine just had a baby...and what better gift is there than a quilt for said sweet baby!
I pulled out some reproduction fabric that i had...it all came in a cute little bundle from Joanns. It took me some time to settle on a layout because i did not have quite enough to make the around the world pattern totally square. So i opted to lengthen it a little and add some aunt grace to the sides to make it a little wider.
It came together quickly, and so far i have been able to keep my new years goal of doing a quilt from start to finish, no more tops lying around in WIP piles. Now of course that does not apply to the ones i have started in the past, just the ones i have started since the new year began.
Simple straight line quilting, slightly random, not really a pattern...just enough to be sure that it is securely quilted. It was such a pain to quilt...more than usual. Why? Because i now officially HATE spray baste. This one was so unusually painful and the spray baste was giving me so many problems....and because it was a small quilt the stiffness of the 505 spray made it so unruly and hard to get through the machine. 505, we are over...officially we are broken up. Pins...it is you and me from now on!!!
this will be over on Amylouwho's...have a look at all the pretty things everyone else has made this week and tell them how much you love them...comments mean a lot!!
Today it was like the battle of the sewing machines!!! My QF(quilting friend) brought along her machine(Bette) so that we could sew at the same time to work on our project. With the girls, aka the sewing machines, running full tilt we managed to get all our blocks pieced. I am really liking how different the tops are working up to be.
Here are some of her blocks!!! Aren't they pretty. The Neptune is amazing. Everything was going along just great until we reached the end and laid out the quilts. Do you see it? That gap on the right?
That is where the block, not in the instructions, goes. The pattern is so fun and has been easy to follow, but we were regularly reminded to cut carefully so that we would waste nothing because it was going to be close. And because of that...we are short a block, with nothing big enough to spare. The pattern asked us to cut 30 pieces but it should have been 36 meaning the pattern numbers and picture don't jive. UGH!!!! It was not frustrating until now. I happened to have some variety of neptune yardage that i gave to QF to use so she was saved, but i am really hesitant to cut into the second jelly roll i have of this fabric. I don't want to use some fabric that i might need for another pattern. What would you do?
My very nice Mom(and Dad) sent me a gift card for my birthday so i could go and get more fabric! Thanks mom. I finally got a chance to go yesterday and left with these beauties. Not sure what i am going to use them for or make with them but i love, love, loved the colors. That is what sold me. I also got a new quilting toy to make cutting triangles and little squares easier. So thanks. Maybe i will use the new triangle cutter and this fabric and make a quilt someday. When i can have my machine and stuff out again. I miss it.
This is what i have been working on, my Farm Field Quilt. Inspired by this picture of a field at the CSA farm that we belong to. As soon as i saw this picture i knew it had to be a quilt. Chris convinced me to take my sewing machine and table out of temporary retirement so that i could work on it because i could not stop talking about it. I raided my fabric closet/stash to see what i had that i could use. I grabbed a pile of browns and tans, greens and a special blue green for the broccoli field. I did not want to have to buy any new fabric for it. I was really excited and got it cut and pieced within days of taking this picture. Now I am at the critical point, where i try to decide how to quilt it and if i can do it myself without ruining it. This is also the point that tends to stall my quilting progress...analysis paralysis. I made a little one, doll sized, similar to it. That one i am probably going to hand quilt just to have some handwork to do. I have to admit that i really love it. This is, hands down, one of my favorite quilts that i have worked on. I laid out on my dining room floor for a few days and i just got excited about it every time i went by.
I feel like I have not blogged any crafty stuff in awhile. However, i still feel like i am getting some things done. I have a bunch of new projects in my head that i am dying to get out, but i felt that i should make a point of clearing off my sewing table first. This quilt was inspired by my Mitchie. He really loves rainbows....he gets so excited when he sees one and always points them out to us. This started taking shape way back in October when i picked all the fabrics out with my mom. It only needed some finishing but that is the part that always takes me the longest even though it is not the hardest. It has been on my sewing pile just waiting. Well, this past week i finally dove back in and machine quilted it. This is my first machine quilting undertaking. It was tricky but i think i made it work. I did not use a pattern of any kind, just made it up. I wanted to represent the rainbow but show it in a different way. Chris and the kids thought they would have a little fun with the picture taking this morning...see all the legs sticking out! I was going to hang it on Mitchies wall where he could have a rainbow over him but now i don't know....i am just enjoying having it done
After much procrastination yesterday I decided on some wavy line quilting on my string quilt but then I sat down at my machine and inspiration did indeed strike and I decided on this geometric decorative stitch on my machine. It takes a bit longer than a normal straight stitch and A LOT more thread so thank goodness I like it, a lot :-) I'm thinking it might take me over this coming long weekend to finish it.
The quilt i chose for quilt festival is one of my older quilts...pretty close to being the first one that i made. I found this easy pattern on the internet many years ago and loved it for being simple and easy for a then beginner. Today was not the greatest day for pictures...it was rainy and dark pretty much all day.
Even then i knew my limitations. I had a really simple basic sewing machine that would not machine quilt anything well...i found that out the hard way. So back then all i knew to do was hand quilting. I would draw out my pattern free hand with chalk or a wash away fabric marking pen, and then quilt away. For this I did a simple flower and some swirls to fill in any gaps.
You can see a little of the back here. I pieced it together with what i had before i knew that pieced backs were cool!!Oh, the panic when i thought i had run out. I still remember it well.
When i got home from my sisters this week i was feeling especially motivated to get some sewing done. Perhaps the old adage, "absence makes the heart grow fonder", applies to my sewing machine too! I went right to work finishing this baby blanket i had started with a honey bun of Hello Betty fabric.i considered all sorts of ideas for how i would quilt it but in the end i just went with my old standby... straight line quilting. It is fast and rather uncomplicated. Every row of stitching is about 2 inches apart. I got the binding on and sewn last night and this morning, my favorite part. It is a baby gift for a neighbor, so i hope she will like it.
So i had to take a minute to think about this one...usually it takes me ages to get from start to finish on a quilt. I have about 10 pieced tops in my fabric closet to prove it. however, this one took me under one week. What?!?
And those other projects on my quilt table...well they are still crying out for attention. poor things. Anyone else do this with projects?
Today it was like the battle of the sewing machines!!! My QF(quilting friend) brought along her machine(Bette) so that we could sew at the same time to work on our project. With the girls, aka the sewing machines, running full tilt we managed to get all our blocks pieced. I am really liking how different the tops are working up to be.
That is where the block, not in the instructions, goes. The pattern is so fun and has been easy to follow, but we were regularly reminded to cut carefully so that we would waste nothing because it was going to be close. And because of that...we are short a block, with nothing big enough to spare. The pattern asked us to cut 30 pieces but it should have been 36 meaning the pattern numbers and picture don't jive. UGH!!!! It was not frustrating until now. I happened to have some variety of neptune yardage that i gave to QF to use so she was saved, but i am really hesitant to cut into the second jelly roll i have of this fabric. I don't want to use some fabric that i might need for another pattern. What would you do?
A friend of mine just had a baby...and what better gift is there than a quilt for said sweet baby!
It came together quickly, and so far i have been able to keep my new years goal of doing a quilt from start to finish, no more tops lying around in WIP piles. Now of course that does not apply to the ones i have started in the past, just the ones i have started since the new year began.
Simple straight line quilting, slightly random, not really a pattern...just enough to be sure that it is securely quilted. It was such a pain to quilt...more than usual. Why? Because i now officially HATE spray baste. This one was so unusually painful and the spray baste was giving me so many problems....and because it was a small quilt the stiffness of the 505 spray made it so unruly and hard to get through the machine. 505, we are over...officially we are broken up. Pins...it is you and me from now on!!!
Now I am at the critical point, where i try to decide how to quilt it and if i can do it myself without ruining it. This is also the point that tends to stall my quilting progress...analysis paralysis. I made a little one, doll sized, similar to it. That one i am probably going to hand quilt just to have some handwork to do. I have to admit that i really love it. This is, hands down, one of my favorite quilts that i have worked on. I laid out on my dining room floor for a few days and i just got excited about it every time i went by.
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