50% Complete is in Sight for the Swoon hand quilting project!!!

Welcome to my Celebratory Sunday post this weekend 💖

 I have been steadily hand quilting all week this week!!!  Monday I did visit with my friend Jannessa some though…

She brought her Singer Featherweight – Centennial Edition over and her new vintage darning foot and gave it a thorough work out fmq-ing the wall hanging I worked on all week!!!

 And here is a fuzzy photo of her wall hanging I made and she finished up with her special stitching style… I did hand quilt the outer edge swirls… and stitched down the binding around the hexi shaped wall hanging 😀

 More to come on this later on as it was actually a secret project I have worked on and Jannessa offered to help me with the fmq ending… then I surprised her with the gift of it to keep … she hung it on a wall in her kitchen where she sees it every day 💞

I have also been working just a bit on my squares for the crochet quilt to be…

The rest of the week I focused on remembering to use my thimbles and hand quilting my bestie Connie’s queen sized Swoon Quilt …

and THIS is the reason for the celebration!!!!!

I am linking this blog post therefore to my fave gathering of hand quilters:
Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE where she is sharing a mini hand stitching retreat she enjoyed!

And to hand quilting and stitching lovers down under in New Zealand:
Wendy’s Peacock Party HERE where she also chats about guilds and shares a few lovely quilts from her endeavors there 😉

Last but not Least… my newest Linky of hand quilting enthusiasts include all these bloggers in  Hand Quilt Along Links in purple… click on a name to open a new tab and see their latest blog post 🙂
         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 started the week here….

I had to open my camera app to see exactly how I had quilted the medallion on the upper right of the above photo! Haha

Soon I was on the middle Swoon block completion…

Then somehow by chipping away at it daily … esp in the early mornings in the quiet coolness of upcoming autumn season approaching… I was marking the last swoon 😀  YAHOO!!!!! 

Molly our poo-shih who is about to be 15 months old now… kept me company sitting on her “house” 🙂  She can see me stitch from that spot! lol

 Here is the last of this row quilted…

 I am using Aurifil 28 wt and 12 wt threads for this project  🙂

Here is a look from a few steps back before rolling the quilt in the frame….

 And after the roll and moving my chair and table back to the left side to start there after this break ❤

 Celebrations are for milestones in big hand quilting projects…

 When I finish my next path these marks … which denote the center of the whole quilt … will be spritzed away… so I am right at 50% complete now on this big Swoon quilt 😀  Sooner than expected Connie will be sleeping under it.  I started this into the second week of July <<<<

 Above is where I will start on the fun quilting in the sashing.  The quilting on this quilt changes with each pass so there is no boring parts really!!!  The swoon blocks are 24″ finished and each took 2 fat quarters plus background fabric to make… LOTS OF FABRIC FROM HER STASH WAS USED TOO ❤

I got a new book this week…

 It is a group of “divas” who gave their take on different vintage block patterns… all done in civil war prints… I am sew inspired by this book too… each block has multiple different finishes 🙂

I was so excited about my celebration time I updated the header on my facebook group.  It is a closed group but if you email me here I will be happy to send you a link to ask for admittance… 

This group is for avid quilters of any skill level from all over the world… and we celebrate in a closed group setting so our projects can’t be seen publicly .. in case they are show worthy or surprises for someone outside the group.  It is small group as I had planned it to be.

I saw this and the first photo I opened with on facebook this past week and saved them to share with you all… 

 be thankful for the life you have y’all!!!

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Zoom… zoom… zoom <<< Come and see!!!

After such a very hot last couple of months here in the southeast US… we are beaconing in September with cool morning breezes and enjoyable evening chats outside 🙂

Do you like surprises??  

Is September apt to surprise you in any way???

I have had a productive and positive week …  how about you?  What stands out in your week as memorable??

Surprise #1…

My Kaleidoscope center of the quilt in progress for the guest bedroom is in 1 piece and it measures the same across the center vertically as it does horizontally!!!  YAY 🙂

Below is a 1 1/2″ ish of fabric for a  floating border I will add to make the orange peel applique blocks surrounding this panel here… 

be based on a standard 5″ unfinished block… Here is a “map” of the plan for this quilt…

 The center circle swirl area is the designation of the kaleidoscope blocks 5 across by 5 down … current measurement is 43 1/2″ square 😀

The orange peels will be these kind of colors now…

This is an orange peel pattern… the “football” shape is appliqued in your fave method to a 5″ square centered diagonally… then all those 5″ blocks are made into 4 patches where the points meet in the center….

…And then those 4 patch blocks make rows that surround the center Kaleidoscope 🙂  Isn’t the above photo quilting fun!!!!

I will then add a outer border to 3 sides from a new (to me) book I got in the mail a couple weeks ago… I read about this book on Karen who blogs HERE post a few months back.  I bought a used version on Amazon and am not disappointed at all!

Linking this fun quilty progress to the Peacock Party with Wendy HERE <<<

Intermittently I have been working on a secret project…

Gathering Supplies…

 Piece by piece making confetti then placing that fabric on the sticky surface I cut out….

 Finally to the binding in my front yard on a glorious evening as I big August adieu!!!

This is a project I can share more on later… my friend Jannessa is getting the finished project when it is released by Lisa Capen Quilts of YouTube fame HERE & who’s pattern and instructions this brainstorm was for!!!

Last to share is the ongoing hand work I do that keeps me sane >> hand quilting on Connie’s Swoon Quilt… last week I shared THIS photo as I turned the quilt in the frame…

 And I was focused on this area right here on the left far borders…

 And then it was finally all stitched there….

 And I scootched over to the first swoon and the big stitching after completing the in the ditch stitching for support was my next focus…

Hoping this week bring me MUCH MORE time to hand quilt … I sew enjoy it !!! LOL

Linking this slow stitching and all that binding I have done in the last week too to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday HERE <<<<

I did finish the binding and washed and dried this quilt and finally took good photos of BOTH quilts for these brotheres…

Seems I have been hopping all over the place this week and now I see why.. I have… but I have also taken time for myself and my friendships… with my honey and all my Patchwork Friends and those I know through my blog even!!!  Do you have good friend(s) in your life???  Each one fills a different need within me … I am soooo blessed!

I sure hope you feel blessed too!  Please take time to leave me a comment and choose a question I asked along the way to answer or sound off with a comment 🙂  I appreciate your time in leaving one!!

Lots of Fun Ideas Bubbling Up!

First I want to open with a Happy Father’s Day to any Dad’s or Dad’s to be or Step Dad’s in the reading today!!!

I have lots of fun things to share in this post… first let me start with a great announcement!!!

I am 33% done with the quilting on my current hand quilting project… This will be linked over at Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday post too right HERE 😀

Here are a couple close up views showing all the different thread types I am using… 

 Yes, my thread stash is quite fun!!!

 And a view of my view and the quilt frame in full… I am working on the red row just up from the bottom of the frame presently …. ROW 5!!!

My progress slowed a bit this week as I watched vids and stitched learning how to make a divided caddy for my honey for his Father’s Day celebration 😀

He was a wonderful support for me in looking at things from a guy’s perspective as I raised my kids… and he is also the father of a son himself who is also grown… now that we are enjoying empty nesting though… I thought I should make him a bit of a Father’s Day something and this fabric yelled to be included….

 Train fabric… like the tracks we have running right beside our home… and like the trains he loves!!!

 The inside fabric I covered in vinyl to make it water resistant watching a video by Sara Lawson HERE…  I used Pellon MATTE vinyl I ordered via Walmart and picked up there for less 😀

 This divided caddy has ribbon I had in my stash for handles but otherwise the instructions came from a youtube video by SewSpire… HERE 😀

I will say that Sara’s vid is quite comprehensive and if you follow her channel you will be blessed to find out she has Sunday night and Tuesday evening live shows where she shares some of her bag making knowledge….

Andrea’s videa for the divided caddy was easy to watch  but harder to put into reality of sewing… I was happy to have boxy knowledge and sewing background to figure out some of the finer points she didn’t explain… I had watched A LOT of videos on different pouches and totes before I found this perfect one…. and as you see my honey ❤ loved it and put it to use right away in our bathroom holding his man stuff for shaving and whatnot!  SCORE!!!!

Still waiting to be done is his pillow top….

And layering that charity quilt and starting the machine quiting on it.  But my honey… who is still suffering with his sciatic nerve flare on the right side…  (thanks for those of you who have been inquiring and sending up happy thoughts and prayers for healing)… decided to do a bit of painting yesterday to finish the kitchen… he got most of it done but still has some cutting in to do before he had to quit for the day and rest his body.  So the counter I would layer on is full of painting and household stuff he took off the walls… lol!  So…. I have an excuse not to iron all that stuff and layer it up today anyway!!!

Have you heard of Jacquelynne Steves ???  She is a home decor and quilting super star and she is starting a 4 block BOM in August but you must sign up soon …

It will finish like this… however I plan to make the 4 blocks in the center (Only 1 block made per month with her FREE pattern if you join the BOM group) 

And instead of finishing her way … I will do the applique and embroidery and piecing with her guidelines… and finish with one of these kind of ideas maybe…
These ideas are for finishing a panel creatively… but this should be about the same size… we will see… I just don’t need a large wall hanging but a medium one 🙂

So wanna give it a go??? Come ask to join my closed group facebook group where we share all things quilty … hand or machine quilting / piecing / home decore… and general chat like this! 

Patchwork Friends 

We have the links there too to sign up for Jacquelynne’s QAL and will be sharing our progress there as well as there is a facebook group Jacquelynn runs and she shares her link when you sign up for the QAL 😀

Here is Shakespeare in the Park by Judy Martin … I have a book this is in and am planning this as the second quilt for our bed… I plan to do something more like the quilt on the left but the directions are for the quilt on the right… hmmm… will take a bit of mind bending to cut it out right !lol  We shall see how it turns out once I start with the leftover of my current quilting project 😉

And here is a swoon block renovation I LOVE <3!!!  I think this would be fun in our kitchen supersized a bit … and in cream and reds… lol with the blue sky still… I have some fun fabric for that!

I got my official hard copy of my Drivers License for North Carolina this week too… goood until 2026 😀  Yipee!!!!

 So until my next post … make time to Live a Life you Love!!!

And if you aren’t already a member… I hope to see your invitation come through Patchwork Friends facebook group by clicking that name above ❤

Making good progress here on my Colorful Whole Cloth Quilt and MORE!

Happy Slow Stitching Sunday to you all!!!  I am happy to be linking up magnanimous progress today at Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday Celebration day… check out all the linkers HERE 😀

Before I share my AWESOME progress this week I wanted to share this Needle Nanny  / Needle Minder / Needle Keeper Notion that so many of you asked about last week.  This one was gifted to me by a great friend…. but I have made them as well since receiving this one!

Here is how it works with craft magnets on either side of the quilt and attached to a flat backed bauble of your choosing.  I have even added a craft magnet to a magnet… just make sure you put happy sides together before adding hot glue ! lol

Glue the magnet to your object of beauty then put a magnet happy sides together on the other side of your quilt … they will hold on to each other THROUGH your quilt sandwich!!!!  Tah Dah 😀  Hope this helps you make or to at least understand how they work!  I also use mine to hold my thimble onto my tilted frame… keeps it from rolling off this way because it has the lip avoid the rolling! 🙂

This week I think I hadn’t made much progress until I looked at last weeks blog post and WoW!!!!

Here is where I am this week!

I started here just moving the quilt in my PVC frame….

 I did take a peek at how much was left and it was one more move in the frame to get to the cool border!!!!

 So once I determined how much was left I decided to make this quilt even more my own and not leave what I call the “honeycomb” sections open to be puffy once washed but to fill them in like this…

 Doesn’t that look sooo cool??!!!!

I did that using these items…

 I used my honey’s medication for his inhaler that has a convex top side to leave an indention on the quilt once rubbed in well…

 Like this … can you see!!??

 Then using colored chalk lead in my mechanical pencil I marked that indention… then quilted it …

Here is a section that is now completely done….

Here is the whole edge with the wavy outer border…

 And here is either side to see better is you like… I think you can click on the pics to get a big view if you are on a computer 😀

Here is where I am this morning though…

I hope you can see the circles I will be working on today… I have 2 more sections this size to do then I can move to a different side of the quilt!  Oh my!!!! Very exciting!!!

Many people have asked about the blue lines that come premarked on this whole cloth quilt as well… do they really come out after all that work… well go back and look at some of my shots but I am spritzing and erasing as I go so YES they do come out… but best to soak in the washer for a bit I think.. and that is what I have heard as well from other hand quilters who have done this sort of whole cloth quilt.

Here is a fun pic I made for a hand quilting group… maybe you will like it too!

So whatever kind of project you are investing your time in… use your own creativity to make it your own I say!!!

Here is a cute Solar Dinosaur we found at Dollar Tree this week!  It keeps me smiling as we make our way around our town…

And here are some blocks I have also been working on this week when I am not slow stitching on this quilt….

These blocks (40 of them ) represent about 1/3 of the quilt to be for us to use… it is going to be a cool quilt I think when finished but kind of a Bonnie Hunter style scrapiness to it 😀  Speaking of Bonnie… did you catch her Quilt Cam yesterday afternoon?  Check that out HERE on her blog post this morning if you are interested!!!  She is actually lining up to be near me tomorrow but the class is full and my wallet doesn’t have $$ budgeted for her this time… but hopefully once we are relocated closer to her neck of the woods I can catch a class of hers in real time!!!  Have you ever seen someone you adore in real life?  What was it like??  I saw Jenny Doan of MSQC a few years back… she is as adorable in person as she is on youtube if not moreso… I saw her trunk show and HIGHLY recommend you seeing her trunk show too if you ever get the chance!!!

As for facebook groups… I do have one…

We chat about hand and machine quilting and piecing there… It is a closed group so you are safe to share your hidden objects and ask questions or share advice and progress as you make it.  It is a small group under 100 people and I plan to keep it small.  If you are interested in being part of this style group then click HERE to ask for entry.  Right now I am asking what everyone plans to focus on for February 😀

I hope you have a blessed end of January and welcome February with open arms!  Make sure you …

along the way too!  Until my next posting… Happy Quilting!

Weekend Hodge Podge ~ April 2014

Welcome to my corner of blogland… today I have lots to share! 

So I am calling it a Hodge Podge… I have a bloggy friend who follows someone that does this on Wednesdays… answers misc. questions for fun and to share more of herself with her bloggy friends… so I am gonna do my version this weekend!

What are you passionate about?

Currently I am hand quilting ~ my major passion IS hand quilting right now! I am making my honey a quilt that will be a queen throw size… very large! lol

You can see a snippet of what I am currently working on by viewing my blog on it’s own page instead of in a reader!  My blog header changes every month or so with a pic of what I am working on featured somewhere on it 🙂

Here is block #10 on my count down…

I am now about 3/4 done with this block!  WhOOP!!!

I am also passionate about vintage sewing machines and own 3…

not one Singer in the bunch either 🙂  You can see 2 of my vintage machines in my header… sweet Fiona and reliable Francis… I recently added a zig zagger Japanese class 15 clone I named Nelly to my little group of machines… I only sew to repair things or to piece/bind quilts.. so these machines do all I need!  Check out my post on how easy vintage is to care for by yourself HERE!

Prefer a modern machine??? Check out the Janome I am selling on Ebay here…

gently used and ready to go!

What is your favorite form of social media?

I like facebook best.  You can find me on Patchwork Friends (my own fb quilty friends group) here to request entry as it is closed to quilty folks only… both machine and hand quilting happens there and no advertising or sharing sales stuff… currently doing a QAL:

for which I have these 6 spool blocks done…

I am also a member of other quilt groups on facebook and have chosen to make my facebook page a quilty place to be… so many of my previous fb friends have slowly gone away to make room for current and more appropriate friends to fit the no political stuff policy I am adopting for facebook 🙂

My fave place is a place just for hand quilters called Celebrate Hand Quilting group.  You can request entry here… and Caron or Janet will grant you access if you are a quilty person and this sounds like something you would like go for it because the eye candy and knowledge shared there for hand quilting techniques is nothing short of AMAZING!

I Pinterest for remembering ideas and keep a running page each year of ideas…. here is 2014’s page 🙂

I don’t tweet, or instagram or anything else… I am almost 50 so I feel pretty hip as I am 🙂 HA!

So that was only 2 questions… but I hope this gives you a better feel of who I am… would love to hear any questions you have for me!  I can answer them in next weekends Hodge Podge… and I haven’t even shown you the back yard yet!!!!  So subscribe if you haven’t and come back to visit!

I blog about twice a week usually and cover all aspects of quilting, home reno, beautiful outdoor shots I take from my own back yard, funny moments in our lives, and whatever I need written down to remember… my blog is an ongoing scrapbook of sorts for me!  Hope you enjoy the ride with me!

In closing I have an icon I made below with my motto for 2014!  Read more about what it means here.

Linking this post to Confessions of a Fabric Addict Whoop! Here 🙂
Wish Adam a Happy Birthday by going to where I linked at SEWjo Saturday with Kim Here!
Check out Kathy’s quilt ready for binding at Slow Sunday Stitching!  Here 🙂

Slow and Steady Wins the Race :)

Happy Wednesday!

As I slow stitch… I think about so much stuff… upcoming projects… prayers for those around me and in my world virtually too!  So much going on in the world as well to think and pray on…

Here is my 16th block… when I finish this block I will be 2/3 done with the quilting on this beauty!

 

Currently I am about 1/4 done with this block 🙂  Slow and steady wins the race though! lol

As I slow stitch my honey is working on the cabinet to the 1928 White Rotary electric machine I shared with you on my last post.  He is refinishing the original and more recently varnished finishes from this beautiful red mahogany wood cabinet (we think that is the kind of wood it is! )

Here is my honey putting on CitriStrip…

The legs in the foreground are stripped now and the background legs are in stages of stripping…

gooey old stuff coming OFF!  Yay 🙂

A pic I found of what this cabinet should look like when we are done with it :)… sorta! lol

 So our goal was to strip and return it to it’s original beauty … like the stock photo I found above of this cabinet called a “Martha Washington” and it even has a brass plate I will show you later on the right side door that says “Martha Washington” on it!  Very cool piece…

Here is my honey’s stripper he LOVES and I will attest no bad smell or bad fumes from the stuff like I have experienced when rehabbing furniture myself in the past…

It does not work as fast as chemical stripper but it does a great job as you can see in the pics… must be patient and do multiple applications to get the results we got… and then a good sanding is in order so we did purchase some sandpaper too… so far we have the varnish and stain… so we are out $12.00 for the stripper and about $5.00 for various grades of sandpaper!  SCORE!!!

Here is a cool brass oil can we found in the cabinet!  Isn’t is cool 🙂  I love finding treasures like this oil can that even has a place to be in the cabinet… again pics of that later 🙂

Here is a pic my kids LET ME TAKE that is awesome I think… I love a good pic with good lighting… and love to show off my kids too… these are my 2 youngest… 19 and 15 🙂

 This is a plan I have for a quilt along we are doing over at Patchwork Friends fb page here

We are a small group of quilty friends… you are welcome to request entry as it is a closed group… but I am the admin who allows entry 🙂  Send me a PM there with a request to enter and Whallah… come Quilt Along with us as we make our own variations on this pattern!

by Wendy Gilbert & Quilt in a day this little wall hanging will be my first time to try applique… but it starts with the spools… I am thinking how Edyta Sitar did hers above in a now out of print recipe is the best inspiration for my spools…

So that is what is going on in my slow and steady week… what is going on in yours???  Would love to hear from you!

Thinking of doing a giveaway soon… any ideas on a fun gift to GET???  Or share your fave winning from a blog or other online hosted giveaway!  I have a great book I got for card making I am thinking of offering  HUGE resource book any papercrafter would love to have on their shelf… or a half yard of Halloweeny fabric… but is it too early for some Halloweeny fabric??? lol  Great LQS fabric I got in Murfreesboro TN and didn’t use!

So if you haven’t figured it out I want to hear from YOU my lovely readers… tell me what you want.. what you are up to.. and what you love about my blog the most!  I blog for me .. but I blog to entertain you too!  And inspire you I hope 🙂

Much bloggy Love!

Linking to Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving my Bloggy Family ~

Today on facebook I posted this as my holiday greeting to my close friends/family…
 

 I am mainly on facebook to interact with the Celebrate Hand Quilting page here and another page I will talk more about later.  I do also play wwf but most of my “friends” are fam and friends back in TN…

But the ones I share my faves and highs and lows is you!  You see I also use this as a journal as I have memory issues… so you get to find more out about me that other blogs so I can keep up with what happened and when just by reviewing posts… lol!  Love you all btw 🙂

So I continue to hand quilt on the second table topper…

Can you see that there are 2 diamonds in the center?

and an over view

And I have gotten it bound… machined to one side and hand sewn to the back… my daughter helped with this!  Very fun 🙂

Then we went on a Craigslist adventure and came home with this!

 It is a beautiful Morse 600 machine made in the 1940’s to 1960’s (still researching it.. may take a while)… got her on a local craigslist for $15!!!  She is HEAVY and all metal and very shiny and sews like a dream… straight stitch only.

This brings me to my latest facebook group called Vintage Sewing Machines… links to all of these will be at the end to make it easier for us both 🙂

I do like to play WWF on facebook… so if you play that and feel competitive look me up!  I keep that leaderboard busy but always looking for new competition 🙂

If you want to see me in my home environment the place I enjoy most on fb is Patchwork Friends… just close quilty friends… some I know.. some I am related to.. and some I have never met .. yet! lol  It is small and quaint and we chat ALL things quilty there.

So to make this easy… here are links to the 3 closed groups I belong to that I would love to see you in sometime if quilting and sewing is your thing..

Celebrate Hand Quilting ~ 1500+ members ~ very active group HERE by Caron Mosey
Vintage Sewing Machines ~ 2000+ members ~ very active group HERE by Starlee Simmons

Patchwork Friends ~ less than 100 members ~ moderate active group but where I feel most at home… HERE by me 🙂

Hope to see you if you don’t already belong to one of these if they fit your lifestyle 🙂  If not check out what boards suite your interests… tell me what you found.. and take a minute to be thankful…

For your Life!  

Have a very blessed day today and forever… be good to you!

Border dance time ~ Updated!

Not only have I finished all 30 butterflies with outlines… but I have designed and started on the border of Pam’s quilt!  Yahoo!  Whoop Whoop!  (As my friend Sarah says :))

So here has been my process…
Pray over the quilt to decide the design that should be there… look at the existing quilting and see what will complement it… consult other quilters that are focused on that style of quilting for advice…

So I prayed over it…
Drew on it with erasable pen until I decided on a design then marked the winning design that started like this…

to the fabric using tape as my 1″ measure between lines like this…

can you see the light grey lines???

Using plain old painters tape over and over until it lost its sticky to stabilize the fabric AND mark 1″ measurements… like this 🙂

Then sew on my drawn lines for the grounding effect this flying away pinwheel quilt needed!

So now I am off to sew more straight lines that meet in the middle!

<<>>
Hand quilting straight lines is going fast… and look how cute the middle turned out!

And the corner with the butterfly in it…. looks so cool!

At this writing I am 1/4 of the way done with the border… hope to finish by Monday!  June 24 🙂  Then just to bind!  And that will be the Whoop Whoop I hope to share next week!

Hope you are having a productive week too!

Kathi

P>S>  Linking to Confessions of a Fabric Addict here.  Check her out and what others have posted too… link any progress or plans for progress!

If you are a quilter looking for some quilty friends check out my facebook page Patchwork Friends here.  It is a private group of quilty goodness to keep our posts off public pages 🙂

Patchwork Friends is a GO!

Come join me as we quilt a project.. you pick your project and join “Patchwork Friends” to share your progress as we move along… it will be step by step for those that need it and independent and show off your work for those that already quilt!

Go here for the facebook group Patchwork Friends and request to join!

We will be starting officially around June 1 but you can start anytime you are ready… just share your design in the comment of this blog post for now… letting us know you are ready to quilt!  Also are you hand or machine piecing… what colors are you looking at…  you can describe it all!  This will be so fun!!!

So here is an example…
I go by Kathi and I am making a quilt for my bff… it is bright sunshiny colors on white background with a batik backing fabric when I get to that point.  The design will be pinwheels and a small border to make it about 68″ x 72″ when finished.  So far I have all the supplies I need for this project and am anxious to start designing the squares and the quilt top itself. 

See!  Easy… so take some time and plan it out… this will remain at the top of my blog until you join my “Patchwork Friends” facebook group!

Thanks for reading… hope you decide to participate!  Kathi

A quilting I will go!

The quilt top and back were waiting to be sandwiched….

And I was giddy with all that I accomplished in such a short period of time 🙂
I just started cutting this quilt out May 16!!!  So 10 days to go from this…

to this…

This is my 5th quilted project… first I made a pillow top.  But this is the first one I pieced on my own when points needed to match and such so it really mattered more… and no… all my points don’t match but it is a wonderful quilt top 🙂

Isn’t the clothes line delightful for displaying the quilt top!  I want my honey to install one on our fence 🙂  It makes it look like stained glass like this though 🙂

So I figured with all the time and zeal for this quilting thing I have why not open a fb page for those interested but intimidated by quilting and a place experienced quilters could go to share ideas and Yahoo moments … or find a shoulder to cry on like I did the other day when I sewed a seam wrong… for a long way!!! lol  I can laugh now but I was crying then!  So come visit me at Patchwork Friends here!

Patchwork Friends was created as an invite or request only so it is closed and not everyone will want our quilt chatter on their newsfeed… not to have anything rude or risque involved… just quilty friends looking for others to chat with in a safe environment.

I had my quilting friend Denise embroider my name and the year on this quilt… it is for my very best friend of over 20 years 🙂  Pamela actually chose the design and the fabrics with my guidance… but she is artsy so not much really 🙂

Denise is embroidering my signature on the quilt top 🙂

Didn’t that turn out nice???

I weeded all the strings and stabilizer off… I had already practiced on other things first… tip here is not to use the point of your scissors… you can easily cut your quilt top removing the stabilizer too close on the back.

So I sandwiched next… the backing I sewed with a center seam instead of 2 side seams because it was such a busy batik fabric.  AND…. I was ready to get to the quilting! lol

I officially took my first stitch in a hoop that a great person sent to me in another facebook group I am a part of… so sweet of her… but for this part of the quilt I need to quilt hoopless it seems… so I am .. and it is soooo wonderful to have the needle in the fabric again… with yet a new design!

So if you have made it though this quilt story how about a pic of the aloe vera bloom 😀

Have a blessed Memorial Day.. my honey is a veteran and I plan to spoil him like crazy … like I do every day! 🙂

Kathi