Design Wall Monday

Winston Ways, from Adventures with Leaders and Enders, is on my design wall today.  I have all the rows assembled, and now I just need to sew them together.  I've been piecing on my new (to me) Singer 301.  This was my retirement present to myself, and man does this baby go!  I love the sound she makes as she zooms effortlessly through seams.  Originally a quilting friend who also is retiring from teaching soon and I thought we would buy NEW machines, but once I tried this machine I knew I didn't need to drop thousands of $$$ on a new machine. 

 

Enjoy your Monday.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Today I will be joining my friend Nancy and her mother for slow stitching.  We all love to hand quilt..In fact, Vivian (Nancy's mom) has never ever had one of her quilts quilted by a machine of any type.  She hand quilts every single one of them!  Unlike most of us, she doesn't have a backlog of tops that need quilting.  Nancy keeps hoping her mom will run out and quilt some of her tops for her, but Viv just tells her she can do them herself.  Viv is 93 years old and still quilts several hours every day.  I once asked her why she didn't machine quilt and she looked at me like I was crazy.  "I like to hand quilt.  It's my favorite part of the process." she replied.

I'm going to be working on one of two things.  The blue and cheddar quilt is basted and ready for quilting.  I just need to decide on a thread color.

  If it is too hot to have a quilt on my lap then I will applique the leaves and stems on the "Where Poppies Grow" BOM.  I'm falling behind on this BOM.  This is block 4 for me, and block 8 was just released last week.  The piecing and applique is time consuming, so I have to be fully alert and in the mood to start a block.

Enjoy your Sunday!

S'Mores Complete

I love, love, love this quilt!!  It is a Jo Morton design that was published in the February 2013 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.  According to my records, I started it in December of 2012.  After piecing the top, I couldn't decide whether to hand or machine quilt it.  I decided that hand quilting wouldn't show up, so I would machine quilt straight lines with a walking foot.  After quilting about 12 lines across the top, I HATED it.

  So... I took out all those wobbly machine stitches and decided to hand quilt.  It actually quilted up nicely, but I was right - the quilting isn't very noticeable.  That's ok because I love all the different fabrics and the pattern so it takes center stage.  Don't you just love how the fabric crinkles up once it is quilted and washed?

Now I can get going on the next quilt - it is already basted and ready to go. 

I'm a Hand Quilter Because. . . .

I'm a hand quilter.  I find it relaxing and I just love the little indentations made by the stitches.  I am, however, a realist and I know that if I'm going to finish tops, some are going to have to be machine quilted.  I send the large ones out to long arm quilters and am very happy with the results, but I decided to try and quilt the small ones.  As I mentioned last post, I took a Craftsy class on machine quilting and learned a lot. I was so proud of myself.  The matchstick quilting was moving along and providing a nice texture. 

Here is the work in progress (so far so good)

Here is the finished quilt.  OH NO!  Its a parallelogram not a rectangle!  I tried blocking it, but it didn't work.  I guess the diagonal quilting stretched the top out of shape.  Oh well, I'll consider it a learning experience and I now have a cute picnic quilt for lunch with the grandkids.

The binding was my Slow Sunday Stitching.  I'm going to try to link up with Kathy.

June Update

Six months is a long time between blog posts.  I thought I might be able to blog and work, but that didn't work out.  Now that I'm retired, I should be able to devote time to this blog on a more regular basis.  The good thing is, no one reads it yet so I wasn't missed! 

I guess I'll start with a quilt I finished in February.  I was inspired by an antique quilt that Tim Latimer showed on his blog a few years ago.  I love the way this new quilt looks old and loved.  This is my favorite style of quilt to make - lots of scrappy vintage fabric. 

I am trying to finish up some UFOs before beginning a new quilt.  I keep flitting about from project to project.  Currently I am trying to machine quilt a small modern quilt I made several years ago.  I am primarily a hand quilter, but I've just got to get some tops quilted more quickly.  I took a Craftsy class called "Creative Quilting with Your Walking Foot" by Jacquie Gering, and it has helped me a lot.  I still find machine quilting tedious, but I'm determined to keep at it until I get good enough that I don't hate everything I machine quilt.  So far it looks pretty good fine. 

The last time I posted it was December, and the yard looked okay, but June is a great time for garden pics.  Here is the tree I posted about last fall.  I love the pink and green foliage. 

Clue 1

Part 1 is now complete. Three days of cutting, sewing, and trimming and now I'm ready for next Friday's post.  This is so much fun!

 

 I'm going to try and hook up to Bonnie's link.  Wish me luck.

Bear Foot in a Rose Garden Top Complete

When Minnick & Simpson's Midwinter Reds came out, I immediately bought a stack of fat quarters.  At first I wanted to make Nantucket, but then I remembered a pattern called Bare Foot in a Rose Garden.  This pattern was designed by Elaine Skierka, one of the owners of Quilter's Corner in Sacramento, California.  I finished the top today.  It was a really fun project to make because there were a variety of blocks to make.  It went together easily.  I'm not sure yet if I will hand quilt it or have it quilted.  It is about 72" by 72", so it isn't too big to hand quilt.  I can't imagine an allover design, so if I have it machine quilted, I will have to have it custom quilted.  I sure wish my sister, who just got a long arm, would hurry and get awesomely proficient!

 
This isn't a great picture as the shades of red and cream just blend together.  I also think it will look much better when it's quilted because right now those large solid blocks are bothering me.