2 Hand-y Projects at once :)

Thanks to all that have already linked up to my goal setting linky… if you are interested in knowing more… check out this post…

So did you catch my title??  I have two hand projects going at once!!! lol

One of my personal goals with my List, Tick, and Party idea is to start having more than just 1 project going.. not many more.. but more than 1 most of the time at least… keeps my mind more active and keeps me out of trouble too! lol

So in meeting an M4 goal I have 2 projects going at once.. both are on my list of projects to complete during this month too!

First up is Oh My Stars..

I am having a blast quilting this just intuitively…

This is a great shot of the texture too!

I am using Hobbs Tuscany Wool batting… my first experience.  I will do a review of it when this project is done but be prepared for the batting you have around your edges picking up every stray thread and scratching your arms as you rub against it… very very uncomfortable… but the loft is AMAZING!  The way my quilting shows in real life is stunning in itself.. so I think overall a good choice for a wall hanging… wouldn’t want to snuggle under it though I think… just not my preference… I think bed and snuggle quilts should be ALL COTTON! lol

My other hand project was actually inspired to get done because of need and Project RJq sparked my love for working with high quality batiks.  So back to batiks I went for this hand piecing project… a table topper for my kitchen table…  Here is a pic from the recipe before being bound

but I am using batiks in that color family instead of prints..

It is a Moda Bake Shop recipe they mark as “ambitious” but is really easy if you can cut and measure and hand piece already you can do this recipe for sure!

So I am calling this a Star Flower Table Topper to follow along on my blog if you like.  And here is my first star flower laid out…

Then put together!  Took me a couple days because although this batiks needles well by machine… it is very tightly woven as many batiks are and is more of a stab stitch motion to hand piece… bummer.. but fun overall.. just requires taping my finger for the tight weave to get this!

Next up is this earthy toned and textured star flower hexi…

Would love to hear about what your pallets look like… for me it is earthy or patriotic…

Share with me.. and check out the linky party at Kathy’s Quilts for more handy work… leave a comment on her blog for a chance to win 1 of 3 cute fat quarters 🙂  Turtle inspired print!! lol

Better yet.. after you finish checking out the loveliness there come on back and click the link above to read about MY LINKY PARTY !!!

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Check it out!

My honey built us a cabinet for the florida room out back (think screened in porch kind of) where I do most of my sewing and he does all his various things too!  We needed organization… so in about 5 hours he came up with this beautiful cabinet…

Yes.. it is made of plywood.. in fact we got this plywood free on Craigslist last year!  but boy is it sturdy and HEAVY too! lol 

He plans to “face” the sides with beadboard and add doors that are thick for inside storage there too.. and those also covered with beadboard and all painted white… super cool .. when all that happens! ha 🙂 

So here is my space today… after doing some reorganizing…

 I have my shelves that are for my fabric and quilting things .. and he has his shelves..

He got real estate dibs because he planned in on share space you see!  Wasn’t that sweet!

On the top shelf is my projects I am gathering or planning to do in the future all separated.. 2 big bags and a basket.

The next shelf down came with a divider I instantly saw my books and mags and recipes all there… so there they went.

The next 2 shelves are his sewing machine parts and things for fixing featherweights.. and I have more current  projects in the making on the next shelf down.. the very bottom shelf will be storage for featherweights and extra cases as we usually have those… 🙂

 Now looking more at my space you can see that I can actually NOT CROP a picture of my sewing space with computer and worktable 🙂

All that is left in the floor is the stash I own.. it isn’t much yet but my bestie Connie will help me tame what I have already and decide what to keep and what to toss..

My honey is gonna get a piece of luan plywood (very thin plywood) and cut me some boards to store fabrics on.

I am mongo excited when I found out I can get wood ones that last forever instead of the comic book boards that have a limited lifespan… especially in the Florida weather.. where my stash lives! lol

Fiona is not covered because she is about to go into the shop for maintenance.. lol!  Nice to know the repairman!!

Speaking of repairs.. look what came in squeaky but cleaned up sooo beautifully and now moves smoothly and quietly too!

This is a Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine from 1875 to 1902.  We found the serial number but can’t pinpoint the date on this one based on just that…

We haven’t thought of a fitting name yet… for now she is just Gorgeous! lol  I thought of Bluebell.. but it is kinda silly and she is elegant I think… she now sits on the secretary coming into my living room in climate controlled situation 🙂  Happy about that!  What a deal… $31.00 plus shipping 🙂

I am now all done with this echo line of quilting and working inside each remaining diamond shape to get it quilted evenly…

Then I think I will do the button stars.. but I may do the red.. I am doing wavy lines .. about 4 of them throughout the red.. in red Aurifil thread 28 wt.  I bought this bendy ruler for a project a couple years ago and didn’t use it… I think my waves turning out symmetrical without a template might just work!  I will try it anyway!

In closing… please don’t miss out on a chance.. WHEREVER you live.. to get these 2 delicious fat quarters in celebration of finishing a quilt with these fabrics in it.. both are quilt store quality fabrics and will come right to your home if you just List, Tick, & PARTY with me THIS weekend!

Share this with all your bloggy friends..

I want to encourage one and all to set goals and reach for them through out a month and see what happens different from not having a plan in place.  Amazing what happens! 

Just link a blog post about goal setting for yourself personally … where you have been.. where you wanna go .. what you wanna do.. what you wanna learn… whatever!  Just write down your personal goals and share them in my linky party this weekend..

One lucky linker will win the fabric lot plus a small bit of leftover 50 wt Aurifil in a nice pink I used when quilting this project myself!  Enough for a pillow I would imagine for sure!

Have a blessed Wednesday and Happy Stitching!

Catch up and Don’t miss out!

Both Project RJq quilts made it in the washer yesterday afternoon.. now they are waiting to be packed 🙂

I plan to do a full post with better photos once Rebekah receives these 🙂

But before that will come M4 LINKY PARTY time!  Otherwise known as Motivation Mayhem Monthly Muster!  So muster up and play along for the chance to win 🙂

So take stock in what you have gotten done and what you need to get done.. put it in a blog post so you can’t say you forgot and LINK it right here on THIS WEEKEND June 27, 28 or 29, 2014…

Because I started this linky I have had a very productive month… can’t wait to share my progress on my post on Friday!!!!

Because I am so excited about my project you get the chance to win not 1 but 2 great fat quarters of top quality quilting fabric… check out what one lucky linker gets to win!

Please share this on Pinterest or Facebook please 🙂

Our cat Cotton…

(my daughter’s cat but a house cat too) found a new and hopefully long lasting home this past weekend with a very sweet lady in her 50’s with a dog and a want for a cat…

We put this ad on Craigslist and interviewed until we found a good match… we offered most of the accessories too! 🙂

The lady even called us that night to assure us all was well!  How nice! 🙂

Last week I got this beauty in the mail…

It is a bird made out of bottle caps that my long time friend Kristie makes and sells… I saw this cute one and fell in love.. only 5″ x 8″ base… but isn’t it a cute birdie!

I have it out here in the Florida room to enjoy until Kristie makes me something else… my daughter wanted this as soon as she saw it! lol  Her room is the color of the background of the board the bird is built on!

Hope to see you here this weekend to Link Up your progress. and where you hope to go in the month ahead!  My hope is that we see worldwide attendance to take the time to write a post of where they have been and where they hope to go in the upcoming month(s)… 

I am back to enjoying a hand quilting project and will have updated pics also on Friday!

Have a blessed week!

So nice to be back to slooow stitching!!!

This past week I have enjoyed a foray into machine quilting in order to get a quilt done for a friend very fast.  God blessed this project and that time and I am now BINDING!  Yippee!

 

And I LOVE the Wonder Clips… just put them in place and sew past them!  GREAT! 

Since this quilt and quilting has happened at warp speed for me let’s back up a bit to Friday… here was my set up for doing a big quilt on a regular sized sewing machine… my Fiona!

You can’t tell but Fiona sits on a long utility folding table that I leave up all the time… the quilt sat on the other part of the table what wasn’t being quilted.

It took a while to get the outer border as I wanted it because I did diagonal lines in different directions to accent my piecing.  I had to mark all those lines and ease in the measurements to make it work one border side at a time..

This meant I basically repinned my outer border because I wasn’t sure how I would quilt it when I pinned it initially.  But again, God blessed it and it turned out fabulous I think…

And I got that done right before bed Friday night… so Saturday I awoke early to get back to it and get back on schedule… I had hoped to have the binding on Friday night you see… but instead I was collecting the excess strings from the machine quilting process from both sides of the quilt!

Having cute tools for a silly job like de-threading a quilt makes it more fun for sure!

It was finally time to bind…

But now Fiona got a little cranky and acted up… so I coaxed and my honey coaxed and she finally got back up and finished this quilt with me… it was wonderful to close the last seam of the binding on both quilts!!!

Yep, if you don’t follow me I made a little quilt with the “leftover” pieces and parts from making the big quilt!  I will reveal both finishes and lots of full pics of the quilts on Friday when my LINKY PARTY starts!

Motivation Mayhem Monthly Muster is June 27 to the 29th this month!!

What do you do to play??  Write a blog post of goals in your life of quilting or otherwise and track your progress… it is 1 post a month that can help motivate you to stay focused on the goals you have…

One of my goals was to read some in a book this month for learning… I did that and it was fun… without having the linky I probably would have missed out on what ended up being the outer border on Rebekah’s Journey quilt!

So come on and link up… ALSO there will be a fun prize for a lucky linker!  Last month it was a charm pack and some wonder clips.  This month it is even more fun!

Follow me so you don’t miss out on anything fun and quilty!  And here is a Cheer for being back to slow stitching for a while! lol

Linking this happy post to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching here!  Come check her linky party out .. lots of great hand stitching going on there for sure!

Have a blessed Sunday!

Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day is so hard to celebrate for me anymore… since my husband passed away 6 years ago it has been hard to move forward on this day.. and I think I may have found what works for me!  Remembering fun time with my Papa.. my maternal grandfather!

You see when I was little we lived across a field from my grandparents… I would go to “Gaga and Papa”s house almost every day.  As I got older I visited often… and during my tumultuous teens my grandfather was always there to listen… give advice… but not force his advice… I learned so much through his walk in life.

My grandfather died when I was pregnant with my first child in January 1985.. my first son was named after him when he was born the next month… he says he passed Papa as he was going to heaven and he was coming down to be born! lol

So that is my Father’s Day celebration… what are your strongest paternal thoughts about today?

I did start my day with some slow stitching.. on Oh My Stars… this is such a fun wall hanging to work on I enjoy every break I can get to put a few stitches in 🙂

I also took a little time to read and in doing so met a goal I set last month AND found the way I will quilt the border of Oh My Stars 🙂

I got this book from Amazon a while back and just never took time to read this gem of a book… but this is how I plan to quilt that busy outer border in navy thread 🙂

I am also making progress on Project RJq today… I will save that for it’s own post..

Looking forward to List, Tick and Party time at my linky the last weekend of June… make some goals for July and link up for a chance to win a cool prize this month!

Linking this luscious hand quilting post up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching here 🙂

Have a blessed Sunday!