Hand Quilting Celebrations!

This week I have sooo much to celebrate related to hand work!!!

If  you are seeing my hand written label then….

 It is finished… washed and dried and ready to hang!!!

 And here it is from an angle…

 And straight on… in the quilt holder my bestie Connie gifted us when we moved into this home 🙂

I am linking this finish to Julie’s UFO & WIP Challenge…. this WIP is in the books and out to be enjoyed now YAHOOOOOO !!! >> HERE  Come see the finishes others are sharing for the chance at a prize link your own too!

I am also linking this major finish to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching post … she is asking what we use for hand pain relief… I liberally use Bag Balm as shown here…

 And rub it in really good over 2 or 3 minutes massaging it in.. then I let it soak in another 5 minutes or so before doing anything with my hands as it is a bit sticky originally … but I have terrible arthritis and this helps IMMENSELY !!!  What do you like to use after a busy hand quilting day???

This morning with fresh hands I finally got to sit down to my quilting frame and the beautiful swoon quilt I have loaded there ….

I finished the first swoon this morning and am ready for the second and third later on today …

Linking all this hand quilty goodness to Kathy’s Quilts Sunday post HERE <<<  Now go see what everyone else is linking up 🙂

My Sewing Room got a new paint job this week…

Here is the cutting in section and filling ALL THE HOLES left from removing old screws left by previous owners…

 And here you can see the color difference… the left side is all painted with 2 coats of rolling and 3 coats of cutting in !!!  Wow … the brown in that existing paint was tough to cover!!!!

 We also emptied out most everything in the room to finish the painting… Once finished and reloaded NEATLY…  It looks fabulous I think!!!

 Here is a collage of sorts … the before… during and painted walls after…

 That is what I posted on facebook 🙂  Many said my room wasn’t messy to start with … BUT IT WAS Y’ALL!!!!  I found sooo many fun things in my sewing room and organized it so I can find it next time I need it!!!

Then I laid out these fabrics as my first project to start in my renewed sewing room…

 It will be a backpack purse for my daughter 🙂

So this week I will enjoy the autumn designs in the kitchen area I made for years to come to enjoy.  I will look forward to finishing the prep on the bag for my daughter and make it with Jannessa later this week… and focus on giving the Swoon quilt some attention 🙂  How about you… on Sunday I like to plan goals for the week… do you ever do that???

Have a wonderful week y’all!! Also, keep our country in your thoughts and prayers please!  The USA needs it!!!

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I’m so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers!

~ Happy Sunday and Welcome to my Blog ~

We certainly enjoyed this sunset getting captured this week!!!  I even made it my facebook backdrop 😀  My honey took this awesome photo overlooking our front yard and wowsers did he rock it!!!
 October is finally here and for the northern hemisphere this means cool and crisp nights and bright and shining days… we are even getting some much needed rain intermittently too!

Meanwhile I have been focused on a different project this week… the turkey couple wall hanging!!!

I am working on this project at my desk so Molly and my honey are close by!  I like this 🙂 

Here is a shot I took while using a cool old thimble I keep close to the desk for bindings…

And that thimble worked great for the center straight lines…

 But after machine stitching the inner border ditches for stability and the desired look I wanted… back to hand stitching I am … with my regular thimbles and hemostats to get that needle out of tight spots !!! lol

 Several have asked about the stencil I used and it is here on the right… I may have gotten it online for sure but whether it was Quilt Stencils International or The Stencil Company I am unsure but I love it!!!!

I am marked this quilt before layering and pin basting this quilt.  I used a Leonis water soluble pen that come 10 in a pack most economically on Amazon… spritzes away with water or when you wash it … just don’t press or iron it or leave it in a hot car .. that can set it! lol

This happy progress this week is being linked to my fave Sunday Stop to see what my “tribe” is up to… Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching group HERE <<<  Check out Kathy's new header on her blog post and visit the participants now that you have stopped here 🙂

Also linking to my HQAL friends >>>  Hand Quilt Along Links

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

If you have a couple more minutes now please keep on viewing my blog and reading along… I got a surprise this week!  YAY ME!!!!!

I got a cutting table… ok it is a buffet but it is ALL OAK and in excellent condition… we estimate it to be about from the 70’s from the workmanship but it is NICE!!!

 Here it is just slid into my room where I envisioned it when we harvested it from the thrift store in town…

 Here was my sewing room before…

 Here is a pic I clicked just to adore the space it was in… I quickly changed things around and put that black chevron crate in the cabinet door! lol…

 So now my sewing room kind of looks like this…

 It is waiting on a cleansing coat of paint and some organization before redecorating in a much more enjoyable manner with the help of my honey this time!!!  YAY!!!!

Molly didn’t escape the changes… she got a much needed bath! lol

 I love love love this saying this week… no more disappointments from expectations tossed for me!  I recently experienced this with someone near and dear and don’t wanna be there again…

 OH!  Sometime while hand stitching was going on I decided to use the fabric that came in for napkins… these are thick and absorbent … so after making this test piece into a bow I left the edges frayed on the fabric…

 And it really ads to the bowl Connie crocheted us that we keep our daily meds in.

I got 8 napkins all together out of that amount… 9″ x 18″ and the fold in forths so nicely 🙂

 Zig Zag with a 3 step zig zag stitch to keep them from fraying away from us…

 And Wah lah!  They are excellent to use… now if I could just get Rick to use his! lol

 I am doing a commissioned job for another banner… here is a little tidbit for that recipient… a 4″ square will be in her banner 🙂  Sew Excited to see it coming together !!!

 So as I spend time hand stitching today on this never ending border on my fall wall hanging…

 I pray!  For this world and my family and friends! 

Have a wonderful Sunday and thanks for stopping in no matter what day it is.. hope you have found solace and encouragement here!

Choosing JOY is AWESoME!!!

Happy Sunday Folks!

A facebook friend shared this photo this week… I wanted to open with this as JOY has been a hallmark of this week for me… how about you???

The week for me started with finishing up a bunch of quarter square triangles I had made as a leader ender project… into this 🙂

this is doll quilt sized and may get one more border with cornerstones or applique… pondering it’s completion presently but happy with tis part of it 😀

My honey and I have been working together on the kitchen too… he has been painting a shade by Valspar called “Malted Milk” on the walls with white on the woodwork.  Meanwhile I have been decorating and ironing the curtains we got for that room… it is looking nice!!!

Also in the kitchen my honey made us a built in cutting board from a big piece of butcher block…

He cut it to a customized fit of our sink then cut notches in the bottom of it to hold it in place when we are slicing and dicing fruits and veggies… currently we are conditioning it to get it ready to use !!! Excited to have it ❤

Then as I was scanning blogs and Pinterest between jobs around the house… I saw this!  A Sewing room Bunting on the Moda Bake Shop!!!

 I loved the “create” sign and the font they used so I went to the directions and printed off the necessary pages and read their directions but made it a bit my own… whilst shopping online I found this ampersand too… it will go on the wall as part of this too… read on to see how!!!

 Back to the bunting… I made all the flags and found our hamburger press was the perfect size for the circle and gave me nice circles….

 and soon I had this all ironed and ready to sew down all the edges … in case I ever want to wash it I wanted it not raw edged … so all is enclosed or zig zagged or topstitched or both! 😀

 I used Zena my 401a for all the zig zagging around the circles and letters… she did a GREAT job!!!

 Then I used some of my honey’s lawn mower pull cord to be my cording to hang it by!!!

 Now looking at the above shot … the ampersand “&” will go just to the left of the quilt sign and will be painting a dark red metallic paint we have just waiting on it to arrive this coming week….

Meanwhile I got a donation from my honey’s wood shop… these drawers!!!!

 So those black little drawers I have used until they are not very functional anymore as they were so full are now replaced and these are nice and roomy presently with threads like YLI colors, perle cotton in another drawer, marking pens and pencils in a drawer, just all sorts of sewing and hand quilting stuff I use regularly so it needs to be here 😀

Here is a view of my room… waiting on the ampersand and 1 more thing to make it a complete shot!!!

I am just SEW Happy with this room for me 😀  I never imagined I would have something this exciting to go to each day and work on things!

Speaking of working on things… this morning I finished up joining those apple cores…

Now they need a Best press soak and good steamy press then I will add borders and see where that takes me… since sewing it together it is kind of small for the purpose I made it for… so it is going into a time out for a bit… I wanna start on the quilt for our bed now… it is FINALLY time to do that!!!

Here is all my fabric to use for that project…

And below is the pattern I will be making….

Mine will look a bit different but all my fabrics are civil war repro colors… very country looking… I even have batting and backing… and if you recall last weeks post showed my frame is ready for this quilt!!!  I am MEGA excited to have something in the frame.

While I do have the wholecloth in my PVC frame… my mojo for this quilt has faltered presently… hopefully this week I will put in a few stitches and start working on getting callouses built back up on my fingers as it has been worked on very little since the move!!!

The BEST part of my week was a quick trip to visit my bestie who needed a boost of JOY in her life!

And we successfully got a smile back on her face 🙂  So it was worth the 4 1/2 hour drive each way 😀

I got to catch this photo as my honey fed the fish one day this week… Daisy at his side!  SWEET!!!!

 And look at this crawfish we found at the water inlet of the pond!!!!  It is HUGE and looks more like a lobster!!! lol

 My new rolling table for quilting got stained and wheels added to it this week… I am MEGA excited to have this table for my quilting stuff to sit on as I work on the quilt for our bed in just a few weeks!

 Hope you enjoy flowery shots too… here are some near our front door that were begging to be photoed 😀

Whew… that was one very busy week and I didn’t include ALL we did… just the highlights I caught on film! lol

Hope you have a week filled with JOY and …

Quilting ` Cheaper than therapy :)

A friend posted this by Fons and Porter on her facebook feed.. it rang true to me to share it with you and share what has been going on in my world…

so while I continue to work in Kimber’s Memory Quilt.. the blue tshirt block… I have been pondering my next projects.. then everything just came together for me to start on Kaydence’s quilt.  Kaydence is my 4 1/2 month old granddaughter who lives in Tennessee.. when she was about  2 weeks old the house she lived in with my son and his wife burned down… luckily no one was home  but they lost the quilt.. and I have been pondering a replacement.. after chatting with my dil Keashia at length a new quilt was born from my stash!!!

Here is a close up of the block I am doing… called Anita’s Arrowhead most properly… this quilt will be called for now Kaydence’s Baby Quilt ~ Take 2 🙂  I may just say Take 2 for short though ! lol

The instructions I had to make this block were not really complete in nature… so I won’t offer a link but if anyone is interested … I COULD DO A DEMO of how quick and easy this block is to make so you can make your own!! 🙂

Let me know if you are interested in this option !!!

Linking this post a day late but should be okay to Sarah’s WHOOPing Fun Friday Linky HERE

So in order to sew in my sewing room.. I needed to clean up a bit… here is what I walked into…

And here is how I rearranged things a bit… does take room away from my honey’s side of the room but I needed to grow a bit in my space to make several upcoming tops 🙂

Since I took this shot I have moved the queen anne stool in the corner that my honey just recovered to the cutting area… it can float between there and Zena my 401a…

So Gloria is the star of my show right now, my 301a… she is my piecing machine stuck next to my design wall.. and there is a shared ironing station between the machines… 🙂   I love this arrangement and I love sitting in the bankers chair while sewing on Gloria!!!

Recently my son posted a pic someone snapped of he and Kaydence… so I took some pics from a recent photo shoot with my son and his step son CJ and..

 Made this!!!

I may print these out and send in Christmas cards this year.. if I send any! lol

For now I am going to make some more arrowhead blocks and work on the blue tshirt block hand quilting.. until I can post again..

Happy February :)

Well February is coming in a bit cool and quite windy here on Florida’s east coast….

I have a wonderful drawing my daughter did over the weekend I wanted to share with you…

The actual art is made with little dots of ink with an uber fine tipped pen… then a touch of color can be added in the same way… I just love this.. it measures about 5 x 7 maybe a bit larger and is a project she did for her French class 🙂

Also I have completely left sewing out here…

For sewing in my new Sewing Room!

I do all my hand quilting outside still though.. that won’t change I doubt as I love being outside in Florida most all year long!

I was very happy with my valance finish last month… so I decided to start early this month and have a finish myself!!!

This silly wall hanging started early in October 2014 with a pile of vintage fabrics I had collected through an eBay adventure (I bought a estate sale bundle of 1980’s cottons… great stash builder )….. and some vintage white cotton and bought that great vintage machine fabric to encircle it all …

My honey made the templates the pattern called for out of this wood and they rotary cut excellently!

Well this was started to let me rest my hands during a long process so the need to hand quilt again was strong and after a few “stars” were made I set it aside to quilt more on the project with a deadline…

Finally I have a finish though… and although it is February 2 and Punxsutawny Phil saw his shadow… so the forecast (if you buy into that) is more cool weather! 

Here are a few more shots of the wall hanging in place…

And the stencils I used to get all the cool designs on this wall hanging…

It has been a fun journey but one I was definitely ready to finish up!!

 I added my label and dated it with a Pigma pen… I used 100% wool Hobbs Tuscany batting and love the texture it leaves behind with all the quilting I did on this piece…

So here it is now at a bit of a distance…

Hope whatever you have plan for February comes true!

Weekend Catch Up :)

It has been a very busy week here at Casa Del Loro… I successfully machine quilted the middle of the Sunny Side Up Charmer valance that I introduced HERE!  WHOOP!!!!

Didn’t take a pic of the machine quilting parts… I just wanted it done! lol  But I am now finishing the busier top and bottom portions by hand.  Here is my design up close on the bottom…

And here is a wider shot once I got the bottom finished and laid it out a bit…

I am NOT using a hoop for this as it is the border and this is how I am used to stitching as well 🙂  I am watching my tension and feeling for any wrinkles on the back side and pinning very well before quilting it 🙂  All came out good here ..

QUESTION… I plan to bind this along the outer quilting line in a zig zig… would you use bias or straight cut binding for this type of application?

I machine sew my binding to the front then hand sew to the back.. I have an upcoming quilt with this type of zig zig pattern on the sides.. my Batik Hollyhock Garden quilt.. so I thought this would be a good place to learn the best technique 🙂

Here is a view of the top border…

And a close up of the date I added to the blank spot on the left far end…

I will put my initials in the far right side… these shouldn’t really be seen… I thought this was a good place to put the date and my initials 🙂  Do you ever put a date on your quilted items?

This week we also did a bit of thrifting at our local thrift shops…
My honey found this cool cup that now hold screwdrivers on his desk…

It has his name engraved on one side of it!  Funny to find your own name on a cool looking item… we had to get it! lol  It is pewter with a glass bottom in it.  But it holds his tools perfect and is heavy with a wide base so it won’t tip over 🙂

Then I found this frame…

I didn’t get a pic before this… but here is the frame with my beloved QUILT sign inside it… You see my honey made me the quilt sign in his wood shop about 2 years ago & it found a home adorning the top of my design wall … now that we are inside in the new sewing room it had not found a cool new home yet… so here it is mounted inside the frame I found thifting!  The frame is made of some kind of oak and is very old and handmade… we paid $16 for the frame… and just over $2 for the cool cup… That was a score!

Here is the idea we are trying on the frame now…

The black fabric is from my stash… and will be used on a wall hanging that will be near this frame once finished…  The scissors were a thrift shop find too… a while back and they also never had found a home…

I am thinking of digging around in my antique buttons and thread collection to add to it… what do you think?  Like it as is or would you embellish a bit more???

I have also begun to watch… intermittently as she has lots of MEAT to offer… Jinny Beyer’s 2015 BOM on Craftsy.. it is a FREE class with one on one time with Jinny!  I am loving it… but I already enjoy the Craftsy platform for learning… Just look at the New Classes in Quilting… or search their  site for classes taught by “Jinny Beyer” 🙂

It is like getting a mini of her Color Theory class right in your own space!  LOVING IT!

Don’t think I have forgotten and occasionally grab my hoop though… I am still making progress on the Wish Upon a Vintage Star wall hanging as well…

I have rounded the bottom left corner and am heading up the left side now!  Yippee 🙂  I am loving the texture this design creates too… that is accentuated with the wool batting I used in this project.  Yet to get you a good pic of the texture here as it is black fabric and black thread… makes for a tough combo… but stay tuned.. I will keep trying! lol

Well I am linking this Catch Up post to Sarah’s Whoop it up Friday blog party HERE
I am also linnking this hand quilting heavy post to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE

Until next time…

Enjoying January!

I heard recently somewhere that what you spend January 1 doing will set the pace for your year…

Well I spent it slow stitching and LOVING IT!

Have you ever marked with a stencil on your border and had to figure where the pattern meets in the center?  Usually I can make it happen… and I did chose this stencil knowing that could be problematic…

But I think my side join brings out the wave in the pattern… do you see the join spot to the right in the picture above??

And in this picture you can see the way I joined the bottom border and I will do the same when I get to the top border…

See that single “wave” right in the center of the picture above?  I am not looking at the wall hanging as a whole yet… I know I will love it though and I don’t think these joins will be noticeable as I did them 🙂

I also took my dd shopping for new shoes… tennies for walking!  She wound up with some RED Michael Jordan basketball tennies that she loves 🙂  Hope that doesn’t mean lots of shopping in this year as shopping has never been high on my to do list! ha 🙂

I didn’t go into my new sewing room though yesterday… I have been working on my hexi stars that are the beginnings of stars that will come together to make a quilt for the living room…

I have done more hexi flowers than show on the board in this shot… but I have now organized them off the board because today I SHOULD BE getting some new fabrics to make a quilted valance for this room!!!  I am soooo excited about this little project.. it should go fairly fast and look uber cute!

Here is the rough sketch I did this morning in preparation for the fabric coming… I will link a tutorial I found showing the basics.. I am changing mine quite a bit from the table runner they show… but it is a great tutorial… so will share that during the reveal!  Hopefully that will be soon too!

Finally, I want to share something VERY special my daughter did for me as a late Christmas present…

 She made this puzzle for me… well her and several of her friends came at different times to help but the puzzle got finished AND is now glued together… I will have her document all that worked on it but it is sooo amazing in person.

It is 19 x 30 in size and was 1000 pieces… Take a look at the little details she had to put together….

 There are butterflies and hummingbirds in there… So cool!

Well … that is what is going on around here for the new year!

Since I am so excited about the intro of my valance and the imminent arrival of the fabric for that project… I am linking up with Sarah and Whooping it up there 🙂  Come on over and see what everyone else is whooping about too!

Until next time…

As 2014 comes to a close…

I have taken time to review my “be kind” motto for the year 🙂
And I do believe I have learned a lot about kindness and how many people are in need of it… take time to share a smile with a stranger… you never know when it could change a life!

If you notice my closing will change with the new year so stay tuned to my focus in 2015!!  I am really liking having an aspect of my personality I focus on to improve.

Let me say… I do think I was already Kind… I just think I needed more kindness overall in my home last year and that was achieved!  Yippee 🙂

My sewing room is coming along and I am working away at my hexi flowers…

I have done a bit more decorating and “moving in”… and got me a different chair that I LOVE!!!!

This chair was a craigslist find for $45 and it needed work and a new seat cushion and cover when I paid for it! lol  My honey thought I was crazy then … but after a lot of elbow great and a new cushion (we found at a thrift store for $6.00 … 3″ green foam nice n dense too)…. and some final adjustments…

This Shaw Walker vintage industrial office chair is from the 1930’s and in mint condition would now be worth quite a bit but I could easily get $200 I think… not that it is for sale! lol  But nice to know all that work made it worth more 🙂

Mail call brought something I won on a blog!

I am so excited to share that I won a handmade 6″ x 6″ wall hanging for my dd!

I had told her something snow globe related was coming for her that I had won on a blog… well LeeAnna… the sweet quilter who designed this and made it special for my daughter and who blogs HERE… sent this and we got it yesterday 🙂
But here is the best pic …

With my darling daughter in her room in front of her custom cabinet holder her snowglobe collection !!!  How cool is that for a snowglobe gift for my daughter… from one quilter to another!  LOVE THAT!

So stop by and visit LeeAnna and see what she is up to… the link above is for the blog post that talks about these adorable things 🙂  Thanks LeeAnna!

Meanwhile, my dd is now spread out in the hall for “best lighting” to work on a puzzle with a couple friends who came to help…it is my Christmas present delivered by New Years she says! lol

And  Daisy has found an “inside spot” in the sewing room 😉

My honey is working on his side of the sewing room… but pics of that side will be slow as I must dress the window before pics! lol

Here is his work desk though 🙂

We bought a treadle sewing machine we thought was salvagable but on closer inspection was not… so my honey will repurpose the top and get the treadle head working… but the base he pressure washed and painted black.  He will be repairing and reconditioning Singer Featherweights that we sell… Perfect!

Do you have a motto, try to do something new and different, eat a certain food, or have other New Years traditions?  I would love for you to share with me 🙂

Until my next post…

Ending the year in a quilty way :)

How are you ending your year?  What are your plans??

Mine include getting settled into my new sewing room I got for Christmas (thanks to my grown son’s moving out mid December)!! 

Love that fresh buttercream paint in the room 🙂

And some slow stitching…

and some piecing too!

First up is my slow stitching project that I have been working on more focused since I finished the Byrum Family Quilt.  Here it is in my hoop…

I have 3 of the 6 stars quilted using DMC Perle 12 cotton.. and I am loving the DMC brand a LOT!

Here is a full shot of Wish Upon a Vintage Star Wall Hanging so far…

I have only quilted the cream background and the top 3 stars so far.  Here is a close up shot of those 3 stars…

Forgive my hoop marks and enjoy the quilting please 🙂

During the day at some point I find my way to my new sewing room and make “hexi stars” as the first part of a quilt top… here is a pic of the finished pattern

I love the zig zag edges on the sides and plan to finish mine similarly….

Here is my sewing space in my sewing room how I generally like my set up…

I got to choose where I wanted to be… initally I would take up the whole room… but once I decided on what worked best for my quilting then I decided to split the room with my honey… so this is my side 🙂

I have everything in a semicircle kind of so I can swivel and scoot a bit and be right in front of my ironing table, or my cutting board, or my sewing machine, or my design wall ( which will be stained dark soon to match the sewing machine cabinet 🙂

I love using my vintage iron and my new cutting mat and of course my 301 A Gloria is GRAND! lol

The remote is on the table to control Pandora … I love listening to music when I piece a quilt… it keeps me calm 🙂

So for now I am hand quilting outside and machine piecing inside.. I like the separation of spaces and projects.. plus I have several projects coming up that will interrupt my progress…

Do you follow me?  2015 is gonna be a stellar year for me in quilting.  I would love to have you as a regular reader if you aren’t already 🙂

Have a happy Slow Sunday Stitching with Kathy & her linky party HERE!

Until my next post!