Sew Much Hand Quilting Fun ~ Ellie’s Quilt Reveal and Connie’s Swoon too!

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!!!

Soon I had my Hinterberg quilt frame loaded with the backing in the front 2 rollers…

 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!

They are quite affordable at $15 for 10 markers and each one lasts a good amount of time… even if they are small in size they hold a good bit of very water soluble ink!

Soon… after several on phone consultations and several photos exchanged … I had this photo that we both liked…

 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 🙂

I am complex, quirky, imaginative and experimental… all very true about me 🙂

 Here is a photo I took in my front yard of me… and a black and white of my darling daughter and her man…

Here is a cool old Singer we sold this week too…

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 ….

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Welcoming June 2019 Y’all!

These beautiful flowers were given to us as a parting gift from a visiting neighbor when she left to return to Florida 🙂

We have windows open for the first time since early in May and it is soooo invigorating to feel the fresh air moving through the house AND the birds singing their late spring songs 😀

Another neighbor is brave about snakes that live in this region and braved the garden to harvest our returning strawberries and then was kind enough to share a bit of his bounty… so I have been enjoying early morning strawberries with a bit of whipped cream on them too… no sugar needed they are naturally sweet!

You can see roses from the never ending giving bush of roses outside our bedroom window my honey harvested for me when he trimmed off the dead blooms to get fresh ones a place to sprout out… and I finished and washed and we are actively using the table runner as a table runner and a place mat built for 2!!!  We love it 😀

My favorite Bonnie-ism lately…

Remember this on the tough days friends 😀  Life is short… savor every moment and the best is yet to come >>> STAY EXCITED!!!

I made this collage this Friday 🙂

I have this completed now…

And have just this little bit to go before I am ready to add the label and the binding to this quilt …

YAAAAY!

Linking this most awesome progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<<  Kathy celebrates 7 years of linky party happiness this month 😀  Congrats to her!

Also linking to Wendy’s Peacock Party HERE <<< She has a chocked full post and a great tutorial shown on the following day's post too… talking about on point layout and design!

I will not show Elliana’s quilt again until it has been gifted for several reasons so just enjoy these photos and be ready for a fun reveal in a couple weeks!

I mentioned labeling her quilt…  HERE are some fun label ideas too! 

I will be using THIS pen…

 And making a label like this…

the pen I am using writes heavier and stays better wash after wash and dry after dry than the pen used in the photo above… I am very pleased with it… you may can find it local but you can also find it via Amazon 🙂

I will border with a bit of ribbon for a bit of whimsy across that diagonal top edge to avoid showing stitches… although with the ladder stitch it doesn’t show but this will be more durable I think too!

Next up I will be making a bag for my daughter…

 And a PAIR of these pillow shams I am designing this week …

once the quilt is in the binding / labeling / completing for gifting process 😀

The pillow shams will coordinate with this quilt I hand quilted for my daughter’s high school graduation a few years ago… but she left high school to experience life.

So I finished Star Light ~ Star Bright quilt before we left Florida.  I washed it and have used it on the guest bed as a “carrot” for her … she would get it when she completed her high school education or got her GED.

Well folks!!!!  SHE GOT HER GED >>>>> FRIDAY!!!!! YAY !!!!

She doesn’t want it mailed… she is coming for a visit soon… so she will get it then… I am giddy for her to receive it and the pillow shams are for all her hard work and perseverance in the “growing up” department… she is really getting the hand of adulting now 😀 lol!

Inspiration for the pillow sham design came for the left antique quilt … and the right similar basket design as well since it has a video to show how to put it together on point… however none are the size I need them to be… so I will use graph paper and Math Skills and make my own design for her and her boyfriend (who loves my handmade things)… we also have pillows for the pillow shams so they will be set!!!

Molly likes to lay on her “house” which is a crate where she stays when we leave and at night when we all sleep… we cover it with that quilt I made many moons ago with learning piecing skills and stitching skills… and as of late she has learned this is a comfy spot to chill and watch me quilt!

 She loves it and doesn’t hurt it so all is good 😀  Isn’t she cute up there watching me quilt !

So for now I will let you go check out the links I left you in this post… but please take a moment to appreciate your life… it is worth your time !