Two little words :)

I love hearing from receivers of my artwork after they have had time to make my artwork their own.. it may be quilting … it may be something else I made by hand… it is still nice to hear two little words don’t you think??

I received this beautiful and all hand written on the inside… card from my friend Rebekah…

Well it made my day… and it wasn’t a generic card but her memorable script inside for me to enjoy!

Which makes me ask… I have made quite a few quilted projects for a 3 year history of hand quilting… and this is my first thank you note.  She not only glowed about how much she loved and is using (even though it is summer) the quilt now.. she tells me too that her oldest has adopted the doll quilt I made from the leftovers and she sleeps with it every night!  Love that!!!

Here is my friend Rebekah… with her family

She was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have immediate double mastectomy surgery… this was about 9 weeks ago.  As you can surmise she is a young woman with a great family and is just a role model of a person I aspire to be more like… before all this that is… now I really aspire to be as strong as she has been through all she has now been through!

I blogged 14 times about Project RJq… here is the latest post if you missed it 🙂

Yet she took time to send me a note with those 2 special words on the front every artist loves to hear!  “Thank You”!

So I want to take time today to say thank you to EACH AND EVERY one of my regular readers…

is there something different I can chat about here to help you be a better quilter in some area (as long as it isn’t machine quilting or applique or paper piecing!) ha 🙂

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today.  Tell me about the last thank you card you received for your artwork… I would love to hear and other readers and receivers of handmade goods may get the hint that creative juice is worth something! lol

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Project RJq revealed! WHOOP!

One morning the end of May 2014 I saw a facebook post from a work friend from my past.  She found out she had breast cancer and was having surgery to remove it!  God spoke to me then and told me to offer to make her a quilt… I did.. she agreed.. I chatted briefly with her husband who told me she liked pink and brown and chevrons… off I went to create.. and God butted in frequently!  But what started as this…

Ended as this & this…

from THIS pattern

You see my friend Rebekah is in her mid 30’s and has 3 small children (6, 3 & 1) and a wonderfully supportive husband and family.. but no quilt!!!  God knew her need and had prepared me for the task… partially! lol

I have only machine quilted one 1 quilt.. and it was haphazardly done at best.  It was a tshirt quilt I couldn’t needle to hand quilt.. so I machined it and it is loved very much and used every day… but it is far from what I wanted Rebekah’s quilt to be like.. so I called out to my machine friends and watched a few videos… and as I had been putting Rebekah’s quilt together I had produced lots of hst’s.. so I joined them and wound up with a totally whimsical and fun play quilt for her kids…

It measures 20 long x 23 wide.. if the bras are right side up! lol

Look at the cool texture I caught in this shot… both quilts rock texture because I used cotton batting!

Backings are the same.. except Rebekah’s is pieced and has a proper label too!

Rebekah’s backing with her label in the middle…

Close up of her label

For Rebekah’s quilt I used a new product to me called Printed Treasures fabric for the inkjet printer I have..

they have treated this thin cotton to absorb and make permanent that water based ink.  Kind of like photo paper does once dry.  I found it at JoAnn’s in the quilting notions wall and used my coupon .. but I have seen it online at Amazon and other retailers too.

My review is mixed.. as it did smudge.. but it is ledgible still and after 3 washings by me it is permanently staying there in the current condition it is in.  I would use it again but I would not buy it new again.. I may just use muslin and a marker on a good day for my handwriting! lol  Plus I have the labels I made.. I just wanted this quilt leaving me to have a proper label.

And when I packed it up I rolled it up so that the front of the quilt is the last thing she can get to! lol

So here is a pic from outside… but it is actually hanging sideways in this pic & looked off kilter to me…

 Where we got this lovelier pic but still a strange camera angle.. since I have been so secretive about the overall look I wanted to have lots of pics for you today!  Hope I accomplished that! lol

Thanks for taking time to say a prayer for my friend Rebekah

As she continues to battle not only the disease but the emotional stuff that comes with something this tremendous diagnosis at her young age.

And she even posed the quilt for a fb pic to share it with all her friends!  She said she really needed it when it came.. so glad I made it!

Living up to my motto for the year… how about you?

 Linking this marvelous finish to Confessions of a Fabric Addict Whooping it up Friday linky party here
and to
Richard & Tanya Quilts ~ Link a finish Friday here 🙂

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!

Quilting on a machine & Get Ready to Link up next weekend!!!

Don’t worry.. I am not about to forsake hand quilting… but God is really making this quilt a fun experience for me! lol

I started quilting this on Wednesday and got 1/2 the pink chevrons quilted the first day…

And decided to criss cross the quilting lines on the vertical stripes in the center of the quilt… Turned out cute so far!

I finished the center and added stitching to the inner border on Thursday…

Now to work on the diagonal lines for the outer border today and get the binding sewn into place on BOTH quilt tops 🙂

You see I made a small quilt that measures 20″ x 23″ for her kids to play with… maybe like a doll quilt… or a comfort quilt of sorts??  Anyway it will all go mailed… and hopefully on Monday!  Yippee!

In other news… my dd is leaving today for a month long vacation back to her friends and family in TN.  Please pray for safe travels for her… she is staying at several hosted homes and will have a fun adventure… I just hope she doesn’t come home too different!

Here is my dd with her oldest bro about a year ago now..

And here is my dd today getting ready to leave for Tennessee

 She hopes to get contact lenses this year before school starts… so here is both looks she wanted to capture for me to look at while she is gone.

In case you don’t follow me my dd was diagnosed with a brain tumor that retarded her growth and weight… now she looks and acts more teenagerish thanks to medicine to shrink the tumor and growth hormones tightly regulated over the past year as well 🙂

I sure will miss her effervescent personality for a month!

But the LINKY PARTY here next weekend should keep me busy… haven’t had time to show what is this months prize to the lucky linker but linking is easy…

1. Write a blog post full of goals you have met and goal you want to meet in the upcoming month(s)
2. In your post make a list or take some pics of your projects… those behind and those ahead
3. Link and Party with us for your accomplishments of this month and accomplishment to come
4. One lucky linker will win a prize just for taking time to list where they have been in goal setting and where they are going!  

This is not meant in any way to compete with other linkys… this is a place to help you goal set and goal meet only!

So here is my Whoop for this week!  Please share your whoops at Sarah’s Confessions of a Fabric Addict HERE!

RJq & Using my Design Wall… FINALLY!

Whooping accomplishments today on my goal setting trend I am on.. and one of those spiderweb dreams in the back of my consciousness that would pop out from time to time is the ability to actually make a quilt I used my design wall for… well God met that goal with Project RJq (Rebekah’s Journey quilt)!

My Florida Room Sewing Studio 🙂

You see it all happened like this…
I got all the fabric for this project on Monday the 9th..

I used about 1/2 of a batik jellyroll with no 2 the same consistently called Bali Pops by Hoffman Fabric in Sherbert (how it was spelled on the packaging).  I found a deal on Etsy when this quilt need popped up and got it right away… I then purchased the remaining yardages for this quilt over the next few days for all DEALS!  God was sooo in control with that shopping as we didn’t have money to spare but we made it happen!  Whoop!

By Tuesday night I had processed all that fabric into usable bits for my pattern.. more on the pattern I used in it’s own post… this post is Whooping and about Rebekah! lol   I even used my pink sticky notes to label each stack! ha 🙂

If you don’t read me regularly here is Rebekah with her lovely family…

She is a mid 30’s mom of 3 and wife of 1 and a wonderful nurse and friend of mine who lived in Washington state.  Recently she found she had breast cancer and is now currently healing from the necessary surgery.  In 2 weeks time she will be going to the oncologist for her planning of chemo and radiation… my goal is to get this to her in that time frame!  Wow… Can I do it???
Wednesday… totally trusting the recipe and the design wall I made this…

Yesterday I put this one together… again totally needing a design board for this otherwise fun and easy pattern!

When I completed the 1st panel yesterday (the recipe said jellyroll friendly and most jellyrolls come with enough duplicates for a quilt of this style.. I didn’t have that with batiks… so I had to draft a new pattern instead of just trying to make it up as I went)! lol

On the left I had 4 sections going opposite ways but the reality is this is a chemo quilt and needs to be portable size wise for taking to treatments and snuggling with her family in bed on bad days and such… so smaller it should be… my friend Wendy helped me discover the design on the right!  Whoop!!!

I love it!!! In real life this flimsy may be smaller than my draft projects as that is my chosen measuring method… but I have never had a quilt yet come out bigger using my method! lol

So this is the final draft and the quilt may be 75 x 80 on paper but I am betting it turns out smaller than that… which should be perfect!  Four sections looked weightier in the middle too.. this way all the fabrics for the top will be showcased with this quilt top… and I have fabric left over for a way to bring my regular width random design backing together with no seam except the expected on from the pieced back!! 🙂

During my time working on Project RJq I will be frequenting this on my blog…

take time to consider what self exams and yearly physicals do to avoid the need to fight or at least increase your chances of surviving!!

Rebekah says her cancer was encapsulated and did not spread to her lymph nodes so that is GREAT!  Soon she will be feeling back to her old self on the outside… but the inside of her is forever changed from this battle.

I am linking this post dedicated to my friend Rebekah and my Project RJq “Whoops” to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict Friday Linky Party… head over there and see what other are “whooping” about in their links!

A handquilter trying to learn how to machine quilt!

This post is for all of you who hand quilt or know the basics of quilting in general but could use a touch up for machine quilting.  I am learning that skill presently and wanted to share my first adventure with a sewing machine and a walking foot!  Yippee!  I think! 😉

You see I had some leftover bits from my current project that were yelling at me as I sewed to put THEM together… this is what I laid out just playing around…

I had enough for 2 of these pinwheel blocks… and LOTS of other hst’s sewn together … as well as some blocks I had sewn together 4 patch style into a long chain…  Well soon I had this!

>>>>>>>>>
and this was found in the leftovers too!
>>>>>>>>>

So I straightened up my wonky top.. added the outer border… decided to add some cornerstones too and got this cute flimsy…

Now can you see the 2 blocks in the center of this flimsy?  They are both in the center of the top 🙂

Here is that block now quilted… you can see my old blue sewing line on here where I had initially sewn this square in a square in a square style but it got all kinds of messed up… so I pulled that out and by last evening I had a finished quilt top waiting to be bound 🙂

This quilt top currently measures 20 x 23″ approx. and will be sent with Rebekah’s quilt as a surprise for her kids to use and enjoy.. They are 5, 3, and 1 currently 🙂

So now that you have seen my work… how did I achieve these goals???

Here is my list of things you should know before you start…

• Use a sewing machine with a big throat if you have a choice… this will make moving a larger quilt around easier… BUT I found having a machine I am used to meant more to me… so try both and decide which you could hang with for a while…
  
• Use a walking foot made for YOUR machine.  I tried it without one on an industrial old machine and it still was just not right.. the walking foot is under $20 and works great when used as directed.. check out youtube vids if you don’t know what a walking foot is … then research if you have a low shank, slant shank, etc machine and get that attachment!
  
• How to pull up the bobbin thread through the quilt sandwich… you do this when you start a new thread and it is very helpful.  Not sure if you wanna do it?  Keeps the thread from bunching on the back side and causing undue puddles of thread
• Back stitch at the beginning and end of each row just a bit…  like using a knot in hand quilting
• Use quilting needles in your machine.. typically 100/16 I have read and it is working nicely for me 🙂
• You can NOT easily view the back of your quilt sandwich so beware of folds occurring under your quilt… especially as you near the edges
• Take time to enjoy your accomplishment!!  Yahoo!  Here is my back side… I cropped a fold that got sewn into the back! ha 🙂

Here is the back of this quilt too!  Just like mom’s 🙂  So glad I took the time and energy to do a “leader/ender” style project and got 2 quilts in the time of 1!

Now one is quilted and waiting on binding…

And Project RJq is officially starting on being quilted today!  Please keep my abilities, knowledge, and physical stamina in your prayers The rest of this week.  I want this to turn out nice for her to snuggle 🙂

Rebekah’s latest medical update is all good news… she still has 1 drain left to be removed and will visit the oncologist next week I think.  Not sure the exact date of the oncologist but that is the date I am hoping to have these quilts to her 🙂  Just gotta have faith! lol

And that is why I am machine quilting this… sometimes you need to rush on a quilt… hand quilting .. there just aren’t enough hours in a day for me to handquilt this sufficiently to my preference in 1 week.  So I will machine quilt this.. also most charities and donated quilts they want machine done.. so I need this skill.. it just won’t be used as much as my hand quilting skill! ha 🙂

Here is hoping you  have a great rest of your week… hoping to whoop something on Friday 🙂

Project RJq ~ A Flimsy (or 2) is Born!

Project RJq is a quilt I am making for my friend Rebekah who is a young mother and wife recently diagnosed and underwent surgery for breast cancer.  I am supporting her by making this quilt 🙂

So this weekend I worked hard to get her flimsy a flimsy 🙂  Along the way God showed me he wanted even more!  Read on friends…

I got the fabric I was waiting on the trim down the panels and cut one in half longways to split it then rejoin them all together with sashing.  Here is that step almost complete as I laid it out to decide the final layout of the quilt center..

Just 1 piece of sashing plus top & bottom sashings and it is a center complete!

 Once satisfied with my layout I finished adding all the sashings… by then the quilt center measured 51 x 65″.  Too big for the bordering I had planned!  Time to switch gears and rethink again! lol

Then I decided the bra fabric that borders the quilt (a breast cancer fabric by Riley Blake called “Think Pink”) should face in with mitered corners so there is not top or bottom!  Fine idea but how do you join a busy print professionally ??

Not like this >>>

Better to choose a path with less prints to match in the first place I figured out.. and keep your selvages on until your sewing is done … then trim all to 1/4″ 🙂  Within 1″ of each selvage edge should be a repeat for your fabric I also heard… not sure if that works all the time for all quilting fabrics but it worked with this… check out this border now..

I found a repeat where only the middle of the bras cross… it does mess up the cute coat hanger a bit but I think overall it rocks joining fabrics like this!

I had to do this to get the layout I wanted for the quilt.

I have a pieced back as well that I have not pictured yet but it is waiting for the pinning session that will be going on today!

So wanna see the finished flimsy???

flimsy measures 62 x 76″ = PERFECT!

 I will bind it in the grey /pink batik I used for the sashing of the quilt to enclose it all in a snuggly and durable fabric 🙂

But my title said there were 2 flimsies.. what is up with that???

God laid it on my heart as I was focused on praying for Rebekah and not having to rip out much that the “crumbs” accumulating from her quilt were all usable pieces…

I put them all together and now have a doll quilt to send her kids to play with from the scraps!

I had played around with  some of the bits and got a couple quilt squares in the middle of it if you can make them out now… there is a lot of bubble gum pink in this quilt top in the making! lol

This is the block I laid together from the scraps that sparked this whole doll quilt idea… with God’s guidance too of course! 🙂

The funny thing is… it still isn’t finished… it needs something else.. did you say that when you saw it too???

So I pulled this from the unused part of the jelly roll ..

2 coordinating blue strips .. perfect for an outer border! 

Should I miter these corners too?  I think I may… but would like your feedback for sure!

So goals for the day include some necessary errands and household tasks for the huge quilting marathon I have been on lately… time to give the home some attention… then pinning I will be!

I plan to quilt the doll quilt first to get my legs about me for machine quilting.. I will be using a walking foot and doing straight lines 1/4″ away from my sewn lines on Rebekah’s quilt… I think I will do a cross hatch for the doll quilt.

Suggestion anyone???  I can really use it right now!

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! 

New Blog Header :)

If you read my blog in your reader take a look at my blog online today.. I put a new header up.. kinda busy but I am kinda busy this month… lol!

Still waiting for the mail lady Eleanor to arrive with the fabric to start on Project RJq… so I have been quilting on “Oh My Stars” 🙂

And I got all the in the ditch quilting done on the flag and inner white border… now on to the stripes!

I have also figured a design for that white inner border with my friend Wendy’s help… you see I got this book by the same author as a book she has for super cheap a while back on Amazon…

 Wendy suggested 744c design…

I braved my fears and figured out how to enlarge and enlarge a little more to get the perfect sized shape for this design on my white inner border!  It took longer to get the sizing right than it did to find a piece of cardboard to cut this template after printing off the shape in size on plain printer paper!

That is set aside for now as I work first on the stripes and other flag designs… like a template for the star placement in the blue area 🙂

I am very excited to have this fun and easy project on the side while I will be working away on Project RJq. 

I would like to incorporate this somehow in the quilt… maybe print a label?  I don’t know.. would like your feedback.. she is all into the breast cancer awareness ribbon and loves this fuscia pink the best of all pinks…

Ideas anyone or have I not shared enough of this project yet? lol

Have a blessed week.  Would love to hear what you are up to this week.

Take pics of your accomplishments to share in our end of the month linky party.. coming up June 27 to the 29th this month.. Prizes will be offered only for those that link and link back in their post to our party!  It is easy if you List, Tick, & Party!