Happy Sunday Y’all! And Happy Father’s Day to you that have a Father in the House too ❤
Here is sweet Molly, who just turned 1 year old!!!, modeling my new fave spot to be in when I am NOT hand quilting at my frame 🙂 We also found this fun fern when shopping for just $5!!! what a deal !!
In my view has been this most interesting flowering bush… it is a hydrangea in pink, blue and purple with a bit a white even all in one bush!!!!
How does that happen when the color of the flowers is due to the acid in the soil… or so I thought… maybe a hybrid?? But it didn’t come up last year …. hmmmm!
Then next to the front door we have this mammoth hosta plant that dies back each winter and comes back stronger and more brilliant the following year!!!
This year our neighbor (who harvested the strawberries from our garden space) says we will have some Muscadine Grapes to make jam with… he says he will teach me 😀
We have 3 or 4 peach trees all FULL of peaches…
And a GRAND old Willow that needs a good trim down low but has been here longer than we have been inhabiting this land I think… or so we are told that !
We celebrated Flag Day this past Friday here in the US… in keeping with that we had found this cool heart shaped flag theme wall hanging that found a home under a flag that adorns our wall….
I haven’t been spending too much time at the sewing machine this week but Thursday was …
And here is a photo I sent to my bestie … she works full time plus some… I have all day to stitch by hand or machine… she doesn’t…
So where have I been spending my time??? Well Ellie and her parents got her quilt… waiting patiently for a picture of her with her quilt and afghan…
These are both hand done… the quilt I designed just for little Elliana… it is machine applique for durability… but all hand quilted including the binding 😀
The afghan was a gift to little Ellie from my bestie Connie! See she included a label she had made too ❤
I enjoyed making that collage… but lets take a closer look at the quilt I spent so much time on in recent times…
I started working on this quilt March 15, 2019… I completed and mailed it on June 8, 2019… just shy of 3 months of work! 🙂 It finished at about 50″ x 60″. It is all cotton and soft and snuggly after washing and drying as seen in these photos 🙂
To the left you can see how I added the label and framed it in the corner of the quilt… right bottom is my fave spot for a label …
Here is the fabric marker I used for the label…
I got this in a 2 pack on Amazon.
Here you can see all the cool texture the hand quilting created on the back side.
It was loved upon receiving it and they called to gush over how happy they were with not just the quilt but also the afghan too… the afghan is about 36″ square and perfect for discreet breastfeeding or bundling up in the car seat too ❤
With that mailed off I spent a few days catching up on housework and doing a bit of piecing with Julius my new to me 301 vintage Singer. Soon this empty frame was calling me back though 🙂
Here is the backing fabric I pressed completely … it is a wideback fabric designed by Lori Holt and it divine for stitching.. not as heavy as some widebacks I have used !!! She got this at Fabric . com I think and it was definitely worth it… I will ponder my next quilt backing purchase better after feeling this AND quilting it too!!!
And after a nice overnight break from frustration during loading the top and batting… I remember what I had forgotten to do … and woke up and loaded it all by myself 🙂
I made this spammed photo for sharing on facebook 🙂 And to help me remember when I started this project.
The pattern is called “Swoon” and these are the original 24″ finished size… they now have other sizes available… my bestie pieces so perfectly it is such a pleasure to stitch on her piecing.
When she came early in the spring to drop off the quilt top and backing and batting… we premarked most of it using the blue water soluble markers we had on hand… but since that time I have found a different brand that I get quickly from Amazon… a link to Amazon USA site is HERE!
Then this much…
And finally made it to the sashing 😀
Today I am working on finishing the second swoon block quilting…
And here is a view from above for you all to enjoy 🙂
I am linking this hand quilting extravaganza post to:
Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday group HERE
and to Wendy’s Peacock Party HERE
But most excited for my latest group to join that only requires hand quilting progress to post every 3 weeks!
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
Kathy, Margaret, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Susan, Nanette, Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen and Kathi
I did a quiz on facebook this week and got this result… I found it fun and humorous 🙂
Here is a photo I took in my front yard of me… and a black and white of my darling daughter and her man…
I hope you enjoyed this long winded post and I hope you will visit all the links… and enjoy the hand done creativity each shares!!!
Have a blessed week ahead… it is just 2 more weekends before it is JULY !!!
CRAZY HOW TIME FLIES!!!! So don’t waste a MINUTE of it ….
The quilting on Swoon looks fantastic! Ellie's quilt is lovely and I personally think it didn't take you long to quilt at all. She's really going to love it, especially when she's older and realizes that grammy made it for her. I also like to use corner triangles for quilt labels. Have a great week and Happy Stitching!
LikeLike
Elliana's quilt is a dream. The pastel colours and patterns are so pretty. Love all those little critters and your hand quilting is amazing. The Swoon quilt is going to be a beauty too. Lucky you for having a Hydrangea bush that gifts you all the colours. What is your secret?? =)
LikeLike
Sweet Ellie’s quilt is beautiful!!! Is she a little redhead? The Swoon quilt is gorgeous and your hand quilting will make it truly sing! Your quilting frame is really cool…no basting?? Right? Your hydrangea bush is incredible….what a treat!
LikeLike
your quilting on both are great! you are very busy. My hydrangea started out just blue years and years ago and now it is blue, pink and lilac I do not do anything with it but it is in an area where it gets water run off from the area of the yard that has a lot of pine trees so I think it is the acid from that and maybe it is just the way the water settles in by the roots? Getting a quilt on the big quilt can be frustrating at times can't it! all the walking back and forth by the rods smoothing and rolling – get in some exercise for sure but sure beats basting any day!! I had not see the hand quilt along that you mention and will check it out
LikeLike
I couldn't get the hand quilt along link to work – could you email it to me?
LikeLike
Congratulations on the wonderful finish! What a fabulous quilt you created for a special new human! It was sad to see the frame empty, so I'm glad you could put the new project right in there! Enjoy the Swoon and thanks for linking up!
LikeLike
Love how soft and snuggly the quilting makes her baby quilt. Enjoy your stitching.
LikeLike
Ellie's quilt is an heirloom she will treasure throughout her life, beautiful work. I loved seeing how you will quilt your latest, marking is always a challenge for me, and seeing how others do it, is so helpful! Welcome to the HQAL!
LikeLike
Very newsy post! Earlier this week, I saw a hydrangea like that in my neighborhood – mine hasn't put out a single blossom yet! My son suggested that the soil content isn't necessarily the same where all the roots go, so maybe that accounts for the variety of colors. Your Swoon quilt is looking beautiful! Welcome to the HQAL group!
LikeLike
Welcome! The quilt is gorgeous,as is the quilting.so glad you joined the HQAL so I can enjoy your quilt while you are working on it!
LikeLike