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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Happy Dancin’ Progress!

Hello my bloggy friends… today I have progress to show you on most all my current projects 🙂

I am linking this Happy Dancin’ post to Sarah’s Whoop it’s Friday Post HERE!

I have been slowly making progress on my fast stitching project… piecing “Singing The Blues” quilt…  Here are the 4 patches I shared in my most recent post… 128 all done 🙂

And today I can share that all the half square triangles (hst’s) are done!!!  128 of those 🙂

 that was a lot of sliver trimming too… but took care of the dog ears and uneven areas all at once by sliver trimming… so I managed making good progress by completely prossessing groups of 8 charms or 16 hst’s 🙂  Went by in just a couple days that way!

Above is my current work… making Tri-recs triangle blocks.. I am presently cutting the wing triangles as they are just like an odd shaped flying geese block…  this ruler set is on loan from Connie presently also… so nice to use her rulers in this quilt!!!

For a more clearer understand here is a snippet of my pattern with all my scribbles and figuring on it! lol!!

You can see above in this snippet that I have drawn out each of the 2 blocks that make up this quilt.  I will need to make 32 of each and have collected my blues according to how many are needed.. I need to count my darks but still waiting on friend donations for some of those!! I want this quilt to be full of fabric memories for me and my honey and our inner circle of friends that have fabric stashes too!!! lol

Also notice in my scribbling above that I have broken down each block into it’s basic parts.. these will just go together like a 9 patch would actually 🙂  Once I get all the blocks ready for their places!!!

I am collecting charm squares but the blocks consist of 4 1/2″ blocks.. well the charms work perfect for pieced blocks .. but I will be trimming them all for the plain blocks that have no piecing to a nice 4 1/2 “… I am VERY VERY VERY VERY glad I bought a Omnigrid 4 1/2” square ruler now just prior to starting this quilt… I am using it a LOT!!! lol

As I go from working inside during the heat of the day on this piecing… I pass right by this!!!

Gosh how I wish I had time to start quilting on this beauty!!!  This Spiral Log Cabin is going to be a wall hanging in our living room when finished on a focus wall as you walk into the house… I have the binding cut for it and Brandi’s quilt also…

But it is waiting to be turned into binding… at least it is cut though 🙂 lol!!!!

The black fabric is a solid like that thin inner border and will really set off the quilt I think… AND the zig zag is much more modern and will really add that final bit of pizzazz to Starlight.. Starbright for my daughter who is 18 almost! 🙂 

Which brings me to the main focus in my days lately…

I am in the middle of block 6 here … out of 9 big 28″ blocks total!!!

I am very happy that with all going on here otherwise I am making steady, even if slower than I like, progress on this project.  My daughter will be gone most of the summer so I will be really working to finish it before her return.

So that is why I am walking past my beautiful new quilting frame with the awesome wall hanging on it waiting for stitches to bring it to life… I must current focus on the quilting for my daughter’s! 🙂

Also going on….

We got and rehabbed and sold a Singer Featherweight this past week… it is in transit to it’s new home as I write this.  Here is a shot of my honey shining up the case a bit…

he works miracles with these machines and cases when we get them!

Also last week we got to see the Delta Rocket go up… we are about 50 miles (give or take) north of Cape Canaveral where they launch most of the rockets these days…

We watch it live via satellite feed online and once all is cleared and it launches we go into the back yard and watch it ascend!!!  That is a cool perk of living where we do I think!!!

My wallet was breaking down and I love having my phone and wallet combined with a wristlet strap… so I found this much nicer and all leather wallet to hold my iPhone… 

 But I had to purchase the wristlet strap separately off an Etsy store… lucky it was a very similar color they called indigo but I would have called navy…

I was able to pick the hardware on it so it matches my wallet in antique gold hardware so I am very happy now!!!

Notice there is just a pocket on the right side of this shot… the phone I took this shot with slides into that slot… so it is now WAY easier to access just the phone for photo ops etc… than it was before!  So happy I got this and spent the time finding the leather wrist strap too!

Before I close… thought I would share some highlights from June 6… CJ, my grandson, came over on his birth day and we all hung out… I got a very cool candid shot of him!

 I love this shirt his mom Kayla had for him… and check them out below crafting together!!!

 She painted his age in wood letters … a little tradition she enjoyed when he turned one so she wanted to do again for his two year old birthday.  Here is how they turned out…

 the wood letters are on the top… and the outline from painting them got filled in by CJ Papa.. my son DL!  So it was a family focused project that ended with the letters painted like this!!!

I forgot to put something there for reference on size when I snagged this shot… but they are about 5″ tall and more than 1/4″ thick for sure!  And soooo cute!!!

And check out what my honey found for us to give this sweet young man for his second birthday!!!!

Mega Blocks to aid in dexterity and problem solving all in a wagon he can use for whatever… I love it!  And I bet he will too… can’t wait for his next visit!!!

My honey got a hankering for one of those desserts you see pop up on facebook that look so yummy and easy you wanna try it out… do you know what I mean????

Well my honey found one he wanted to make so off to the store we went for “supplies” to make a Mocha Frappucino Pie.  It only has 3/4 cup cold coffee in the whole pie… so not a big caffeine boost but YUMMMY!!!!  Here is a slice… I couldn’t resist taking a bit before my hand could get to the camera! lol

Well … I am Happy Dancin’ a lot in this post… hope you have a pleasant Friday and a relaxing weekend doing things you enjoy with those you love the most…

Until Sunday when I have a hand quilting tip to share…

September is Speeding By!!!

Can it already be mid September?? Wowee !!!  We have been busy here.. how about you?

I am working on hand quilting this block in my memory quilt for a dear friend…

I have also updated my computer and speaker… to a Dell and a Bose respectively.. and am loving them both!  I even got a cute new mouse that coordinates with my new blue Dell!  🙂

I got new glasses and a new hair do as well…

It is a bit of a mess here but I love it … and so does my honey!!!  So that is nice 🙂

I also got my dd her Christmas present… a quilt top she fell in love with on eBay…

As many of you know.. piecing is not my favorite part of making a quilt… the hand quilting is… so I will enjoy hand quilting this next spring for her to enjoy but gifting the top with backing she chose from a host of wide backs I showed her… I am excited for her to receive this and know it will soon be quilted for her.. maybe she will want to help me even!!!!

Mostly we have stayed busy with featherweight and 301 sales… currently we have 2 on eBay…

and one of facebook… UPDATE>>> this one is sold!!!

We are very blessed our “business” is going well too!

Hope your September .. is it coming into autumn or spring where you are?? … is going well.. and hopefully not feeling as fast as my own is 🙂

Now that I have caught up with all of you I am now ready to…

Hope you are doing some of that too!!!

Back up and running with Windows 10 :)

Well… I guess I needed a bit of respite from all things internet!!! lol

Since my last post I have uploaded Windows 10 to a new computer I got for my dd… and then to my 4 year old computer that was running on Windows 7 too!!

All went well on the new computer… but geek help was definitely needed on my 4 year old computer to get it to be convinced this was a GOOD thing 🙂 lol

So what is important to share with you all about this conversion??  I LOVE the new Windows Edge platform except I have yet to figure out how to change the search engine from Bing… to Google again.. and MY BLOG would not post in Windows Edge… so I am using Google CHROME to post this 😉

In the meantime…during all this updating I have still been quilting!!!

This quilt… shown as a flimsy above… is such a joy to work on as each block or sashing is a new adventure!!!

I have finished the middle column… that is in my last post 🙂

So next I worked on the left side vertical pink sashing strip… adding Kaylie and Kimber’s favorite … butterflies to that area …

 

I used a blue wash away marker and all came out after these photos… but I am using white YLI 40/3 thread for the handquilting and try as I might… the pattern doesn’t show much on the loud prints until I wash it and get the texture popping!!!

Then I moved to the 4 blocks in the left hand column…

I finished this cute block with Piglet pajamas in it…

 And am now working on this little cotton dress!

And during all this computer changing over stuff… my honey has decided it is time to sell another featherweight he has serviced and sewn on..

This beautiful machine sews like a dream and is soooo quiet and yet so strong too!  If you are interested just PM me on facebook or check it out in one of our facebook sale ads.. we have 10 pictures of this beauty 🙂

Well, as good as it feels to blog again… and regain my bloggy voice… I am also mentally drained from figuring out how to do everything computer related again.. having a business from home that depends on the internet for sales and communication … and keeping up with other things going on behind the scenes here at Casa Del Loro is exhausting to say the least!

So for now I will wish you a great week and try to take my own advice now to…

Finding Inspiration…

So I had a super fun and busy weekend…

My honey has been selling the Singer Featherweights he has had ready to sell for a while.. but we wanted to give time for people to get over the holidays 🙂  Well I guess they are ready to buy.. we have sold 3 packages (yes that includes a sewing machine too!) on eBay and facebook this weekend!  It was MARVELOUS… here is one of the ads we make..

He does the posing of the products and takes the pictures.. I then edit them and add any extras to the photo…

We enjoy doing this together 🙂

So after selling 3 of these packages .. and doing a bit of cross stitch… I am looking now for inspiration to start my next project…

Kaydence’s Owl Quilt is my next project… it isn’t a bit quilt.. about 48″ square flimsy by estimation… but it is important that I do excellent work on this piece… It is to be for my first grandchild!  A grand daughter too 🙂

So initially there was gonna be no theme and just whatever I wanted to make her was fine… well as Kaydence is growing so much.. she is 24 weeks right now… mom now loves the idea of owls for Kaydence’s room and a real theme has emerged for she and my son.  So I switched gears to a layer cake of owl themed fabric by Benartex called “Owlivia”…

And I am PATIENTLY waiting for today’s mail to run and I should get these more solid reading batiks I found online on sale 🙂  Love supporting quilt shops online !!

So first my friend Wendy for this on Pinterest… and I loved the simplicity of it.. 

But I felt it was a bit too scrappy without a real theme once I knew they had a theme… What I mean is.. I couldn’t picture the fabrics I chose showing off the owls in any way with that exact layout… so I did my own online search early one morning and found this quilt…

 I love more negative space for sure but I want mine using 5″ charm squares.  You see my layer cake measures 10″ square (important to put a ruler to your own to make sure they measure up or don’t measure too big either!) … So I will fussy cut some of the owl prints and just cut the rest in half twice to make over 86 charms from the layer cake 🙂

Here is my idea…

This will make a 48″ square flimsy!  I love the idea of a bit larger quilt.. and i have some really cute butterfly fabric I will use in this quilt as well… Plus I am going to piece the backing to make it wide enough for this project so I will put an owl 10″ square on the pieced backing !  Yahoo.. owls on BOTH sides !!!!

So I am really excited for the mail person to show up and deliver today’s mail.  But remain stoked over our excellent job on earning money for a large bill we owe soon 🙂  Yippee for getting that paid too!

Have a blessed week whatever you have planned…

I am hoping as I delve into Kaydence’s quilt that it will look in real life as cool as it looks in my head 🙂

Until I resurface…

Setting a Weekend Goal :)

I am really pushing to get the Byrum Family Quilt to the outer border stage… I have the middle all done as well as the sides and am now working on the top and bottom… recently I finished this cute School House Block…

There are still marking lines on the scallops but I will remove those with a water bottle 😉  Just wanted to share a dry block with you all first! lol

I also like the heart I added over the doorway.  This was a challenging block to piece and it has been a joy to quilt!  So happy I could just Whoop over that!!!  I am linking this happy post to Sarah  at Confessions of a Fabric Addict Whoop Whoop Friday LINKY PARTY!

I also managed to get those flying geese quilted though though most of it won’t show till washed 🙂

So I am setting a weekend goal for quilting…

To finish this section of the top left that measures 12″ x 18″ …

These are Jacobs Ladder blocks but when put together I think they look like the Christian fish symbol… and as wholesome as this quilt it I hope my plan for quilting this block set as a whole will make it really accentuate that!

You can see the whole quilt here…

This pic was during pinning… so imagine about 60% of this is quilted now… I am on the final thrust of quilting until I am to the outer border!  That is definitely Whoopable!!!! lol

My honey FINALLY got this gorgeous machine put up for sale on eBay!  Whoop Whoop!

We are hoping it will make someone’s Christmas very special!

So that is our weekend… what are you planning for the weekend??

My honey’s latest featherweight adventure :)

For all that follow me you know my honey services and sells Singer Featherweight sewing machines.  He really enjoys the entire process of servicing a machine and listening to it hum as only a Featherweight can!  I love watching him work on them.. and occasionally I share a little pic or two but today I want to let you in on a wonderful deal! 

Are you in the market for a new-to-you vintage machine in great shape??  You can check out our auction for this great quilters lot on eBay if you are interested by clicking here!

The Singer Featherweight machine with case and all these attachments only weighs 22 pounds!  It is a straight stitch machine that does forward and reverse… and with the attachments can even do zigzag and buttonholes… check out my honey’s sewing!  And he is not a sewist either! lol

So if he can do this … imagine all you could do with this machine and all the attachments…

So as I share this with you I am still working on some blocks of my the Byrum Family Quilt… not quilt ready for a reveal just yet but almost halfway done with this block type… so that is good.

Mainly I am enjoying the process of learning to piece all these parts precisely!  Huge improvement in my joy because I can now decide what stays in the quilt and what gets fixed!  Ha 🙂

The auction on eBay I shared above ends on Sunday… so check it out!  Hope you have a happy hump day.

Double timing it :)

Happy Slow Sunday Stitching to you my bloggy friends… if you follow me you know I look forward to this post all week… what can I get accomplished before it is time to post at Kathy’s Quilts! lol

Since last weekend when I bound THE MAN quilt… now I am back to doing the finishing necessary kind of stitching (some in the ditch stitching to make all my swirlies pop! lol)

then do the chain of the outer border then the label and then wash and gift!  Yahoo… my list of things to do before completion is getting MUCH smaller!

Meanwhile this week we have been doing lots of reorganization, cleaning, straightening, and selling on eBay… which means lots of shipping has been done too!  I am very happy overall in how the house and the yard are looking this year… my honey really does a bang up job with all of it.

We currently have a cute little Centennial Edition of a Singer Featherweight 221-1 from October 31, 1951 that my honey is getting ready to list… it is fun seeing all he does for his photo shoots 🙂

So the big thing going on this week is a new project is now in the wings.. a good friend of mine who is in her 30’s with 3 small children and a wonderful husband living a wonderful life just found out she has cancer… so I offered to make her a quilt for this journey ahead of her… so I am double timing THE MAN quilt finish now to get ready to piece and quilt that one!!!!

I will call this quilt Project RJq for Rebekah’s Journey quilt.  I spoke with her husband and he shared that she loves pink and chocolate together and loves chevrons.. I took to the internet for my fabric selections and what did I find on sale but some Bali Pops (like a jelly roll) in a collection called Sherbet!  Check out the online pic…

I also found this “Think Pink” breast cancer awareness cutesy fabric I will use a bit in the quilt and the rest on the borders.

I have some peachy pink thread from an Aurifil haul I recently acquired in 28/2… my fave weight of Aurifil for hand quilting.

With the chevron idea in mind and a jelly roll already on the way … I needed a pattern.  My friend Wendy came to the rescue again with this cool blog tutorial on using strips to make a chevron quilt!

PERFECT!  And I can understand it (a bad problem I have is difficult understanding quilt patterns) and it has pics for reference too!  So no HST’s on this quilt at this point anyway 🙂

In the mean time look forward to working on my “Oh my Stars” wall hanging… and there is that long last QAL for the spool blocks I made last month.

So as I close… I am currently on the 5th double sewn strip with 4 left to go… here’s to making some progress as I double time the slow stitching!!!

Please keep my friend Rebekah and her sweet family in your prayers…

And that my hands can create a quilt that truly can see her through this journey she is now on!

Linking this better late than never post to Kathy’s Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching as I am doing everything by hand today 🙂

What’s Up Wednesday!

Hello my bloggy friends…

I just guest posted my quilty endeavors HERE at Celebrate Hand Quilting blog.. please leave me a comment so I know you visited 🙂

Comments there I check for daily as they don’t come to me… but to the main admin of the blog.

At the moment you can search the blogs recent entries and see how to hand quilt basic supply lists and things to consider when starting hand quilting … check it out!!!  I really enjoy guest posting there!

We have really been learning how to live on a specific budget and not beyond it as we had been.  It is enlightening how many things are really WANTS and we just see them as needs.  Do you feel that way too?

My honey recently got a FREE recliner I shared with you here from our local Craigslist.  It had an arm that needed repair but was very comfy and in great shape otherwise… he used it and fixed it and loves it now… so I wanted to sit with him but if I recline… I fall asleep… so I wanted a comfy chair!  Look what I finally found on Craigslist!

It is vintage 1940’s we think made by Shaw Walker and once completely rehabbed should be worth about $350!!  It is aluminum and hardwood of some sort… I am sure now that the broken part is fixed the rest of the chair will come along … usable now but you will see more transformation in the future on this cute baby!

Now check out what was a junked up and messy craft studio is now a shared space for tv viewing and relaxing in our master suite 🙂

 Speaking of deals too… I must share out latest sale on eBay… a PRISTINE Singer Featherweight!  It was born January 23, 1950 and comes with an equally PRISTINE case plus accessories including buttonholer!!!  If you are in the market for a vintage machine for your collection or to sew on you don’t wanna miss this one… check it out HERE!

Today I think we may be listing some local things on Craigslist to make room in our out building… not sure … but stitching on THE MAN quilt will be my down time activity today for sure!

Don’t forget to check back on this Friday for our LINKY party… a World Wide linky party in conjunction with Wehagodesigns.blogspot.com! 
I am MONGO excited to see the goals you have met and MORE IMPORTANTLY the ones you set this month and see the results in next months linky!   Get your Lists ready and grab a button if you like in the sidebar!

It will be truly a Motivation Mayhem Monthly Muster blog PARTY!  I call it M4 for short 🙂

See ya Friday… till then may all your stitches by happy!