Loaded, Labeled and Loved!

 Hi Quilty Friends!  I did it! She's on the frame and ready to be quilted.  After 11 yrs this gal is really going to be quilted. SQUEAL!  This quilt has been pulled out of storage so many times over the years.  I would do the quilt stare for days, searching my brain for just the right quilting plan. Then back in storage she would go.  What changed?  Well, it's simple.  I no longer feel the need to quilt a quilt to death.  Just getting it done is good enough.

I'm sure I've mentioned this a few times over the years...I do not like quilting a quilt.  Thirteen years ago, I bought a quilter thinking it would make the quilting process more enjoyable.  It does but I still would rather be doing anything other than quilting.  

If I won the lottery, all my quilts would be sent to a longarmer for custom quilting.  Well, I don't play the lottery so unless a bag of money falls out of the sky, I'm stuck with quilting my own quilts. 

 I'm letting go....every quilt doesn't need to be masterfully quilted.

Sure, from time to time I'm sure I'll take a little more time quilting a quilt when the mood strikes.  Quilting is my therapy.  If it's not making me happy, why do it?

I was thinking that very thing yesterday when making the quilt label.  The quilt top is happy and bright so why not take that theme over to the label.  I played around with ideas of adding borders to the label or piecing a cute block but the best(quickest) I could come up with was different thread colors that match the backing fabric.  It's simple and makes me smile.  

This is what quilting is meant to be.  Happiness!  Even the tiny little blanket stitch makes my little ole heart go pitter-pat.  Maybe the next time I'll get really wild and crazy by using one of those fancy stitches on my machine for sewing the label into place.  This letting go and enjoying the process feels so good!

My playful inner child couldn't be stopped.  She needed more color and whimsy.  Might as well let her play while she's in the mood.  She pulled out a few striped fabrics before deciding on the green stripe for the binding fabric.

She wasted no time getting the binding ready for the quilt.  I like the way this girl thinks.  She knows it's the right amount of inspiration to keep me motivated to finish this quilt as quickly as possible. 

 

Gotta run!  Time to quilt this cutie!

  

Pin It

Delightful Daisies Quilt

 Hey Quilty Friends!  Guess what time it is?  Springtime! The weather here in Podunk for the last few days has felt like Spring with a whopping 60 degrees yesterday.  Today and tomorrow are supposed be about the same.  Since spring is in the air, I thought it would be good time to quilt my Delightful Daisies quilt.  It's been hanging out waiting on me for 11 years!

Did you catch my piecing mistake?  To me the mistake is very noticeable but I've had people tell me they didn't see it until I told them.  The bottom petal of the yellow daisy is wrong.  I knew it before the blocks were assembled into a quilt 11 years ago.  To me it wasn't worth changing and added a little character or whimsy to the quilt.  So, I call it a happy mistake.

The quilting is going to be kept simple.  A 2 inch crosshatching for the background and a little free motion work in the petals, leaves and stems. 

For the backing fabric I've pieced together the leftover fabric from my last quilt and a piece of pretty floral Pioneer Woman fabric.  Today I'll make and attach the label to backing, then get this girl on the frame...Yipee!  It feels good to work on one of my oldest UFO's.

Pin It

Bow-Tie Quilt Finished!

 Hello Happy Quilters!  After days of not stitching or doing anything quilty related I'm back!  This quilt has been finished for over a week now.  This morning all housework and chores have been pushed aside in order to photograph the finish.

Measuring 90 x 90 makes it difficult to get a good picture.

So let's get up close and personal with this girl.

As you all know I'm no fabric snob.  It's fun to see quilt shop quality fabrics alongside the repurposed and cheap fabrics.

This quilt has moved to the top of my list of favorites.  Each fabric holds a memory from my 30+ years of quilting.  A few fabrics have extra special memories.  Like this pink fuzzy swiss dot.  This is a vintage fabric from my moms stash.   Used to make cloths for me when I was a baby and for my daughter when she was baby.

And another one from her stash.

Here's something interesting that I didn't even notice until I was editing the photo.  Check out the two prints below.  The "newer" fabric is a Lori Holt print.  The vintage fabric I bought in 2011 or 12 at an estate sale.  SAME PRINT different colors!  Now we know where Lori gets all her great ideas.

As you all know I'm not perfect and like to share the good, the bad and the ugly.  So here's the ugly scorched label.  This happened while glue basting it to the backing fabric.  I decided to use it anyway because making labels with the fonts on the sewing machine is so time consuming.  I'll do my best to remove the scorching with peroxide before washing.  If it doesn't come out...oh well.

Today I'll get her washed and on the bed...I can't wait!

Because this quilt is so hard to photograph, I made a video.  You can watch it here on the blog by clicking the image below.  Or  Here's a link to YT 

Pin It

Quilt Binding Buddy

 Happy Valentine's Day Quilty Friends!  Wishing you a day filled with love and laughter and of course lots of time doing whatever makes your little ole heart go pitter pat. 

For me that means finishing up the Bow-Ties quilt.  She was taken off the quilting frame on Wednesday.  Trimming the backing fabric away from this 90 x 90 quilt was a real chore.  In my younger years it would have been tossed on the floor for trimming.  These days my knees tell me it's a better to wrestle with her on the cutting table, and I agree!

I won the wrestling match and promptly started auditioning binding fabrics.  That meant pulling my favorite ginghams and striped fabrics.  Surely one of them will tickle my fancy.

A few striped fabrics also made into the auditioning line up.  

While all of them were beautiful, they didn't make the cut.  Instead, I opted to go with plain ole white.  The blocks of this quilt are the stars of the show and they want to be ogled.  A colorful whimsy binding would draw the eye to the edge of the quilt and steal the show.  I wanted the binding to be a bodyguard not a part of the dance.  

The idea of a true quarter inch binding was also scrapped, simply because I didn't feel like a wrestling match with the bodyguard.  A compromise was made.  Two inches wide will give the look I want and avoid the hours of wrestling it into place.

Yesterday was a relaxing day cuddled up on the couch with all my favorite things...quilts, coffee and my sidekick Khaleesi.  Binding a quilt has always been my favorite part of quilting.  I think it's Khaleesi's favorite part as well. 🩷 It's nice having a binding buddy to remind me to get up and move (play with her).  We had a fun day and will get to do it again today.  I can't think of any other way I would want to spend my Valentine's Day.

Pin It

WIP's Wednesday

 Hi Friends!  Yesterday while using my sewing machine to fill the bobbins for my quilter, I realized I had not shared the progress of my Old Town Mystery quilt blocks.

The plan is to finish piecing this quilt top as soon as the Bow-Tie quilt is finished.  

Piecing these blocks a slow process due to the petting and admiring each block and the many different background fabrics.

As you all know I like scrappy quilts, but most of the time I use a consistent background fabric...white.

The low volume adds so much interest to the quilt but doesn't take away from the beauty of the block.

Every time I make a super scrappy quilt like this one, I tell myself I should make every quilt with a scrappy low volume background.

When it comes time to cut for the next quilt reality kicks in...sigh...it takes much longer to cut a gazillion different prints.  Laziness?  I prefer more positive words like...eager to sew or too excited for slow progress.   

Anyway...I shared each block individually because I'm pretty sure many of you are like me and it will make you smile to see the many different fabrics.

  

Believe it or not and I know you do believe it because I do this all the time.  I set an easy goal and fail to achieve it.  I'm beginning to think it's my superpower.  My Monday plan was to have the quilt off the frame by Monday night.

The Bow-Tie quilt is still on the frame.  

Today's plan... I'm staying in my jammies. No cooking, no cleaning.  And due to the weather, no dog walking.  This quilt will be off the quilt frame today, no if's and's or buts!  

Well for now, I'm pretty sure...HAHA!

Only two more rows of Bow-Ties to quilt.   The edge of my quilt has been marked with blue lines to remind me not to quilt in the binding area.  Some longarm quilters will add binding to the quilt before taking it off the quilt frame.  I prefer to do it by sewing machine.  The less time I spend at the quilt frame the better.

I'll be doing a true quarter inch binding which means a quarter inch on the front and on the back. Instead of cutting the binding strips 2.25" or 2.50" wide, they will be cut 1.5" or 1.75".  Scraps of fabric will be used to test which width works best for this quilt's thickness.  Try saying that three times fast...which width works... HAHA!

On Monday's blogpost I was asked what fabric will be used to bind this quilt.  Good question, but I don't have a good answer because I haven't decided.  It's going to be a surprise for both you and me.  After the quilt is off the frame, I'll start pulling different fabrics, lay them next to the quilt to see which one I like best.

Pin It

Back In My Happy Space

 Hello Happy Quilty Friends!  I'm so excited to share some exciting news...I finally found time to sew on Friday night after days of not one stitch!  YAH!  

On Saturday as I was quilting the Bow-Tie quilt, this happened.  The middle of the quilt backing!!! YeeHaw!!

Seeing the UFO Vortex quilt I put in the middle of the backing washed away a week of not so fun days.  It also recharged my quilty mojo and I'm rip roaring and ready to get this cutie finished and on my bed.  The quilting continued until I saw the end of the quilt emerge on the bottom bar of the quilt frame. It was time to call it a day.

Before shutting down the studio I noticed my batting was too short.  No worries.  I knew this might happen.  When closer to the end, a scrap piece of batting will be added to the bottom with quilt spray basting glue.  After it's washed the dense quilting will hold it in place.

Today's plan: Finish quilting this quilt and get her off the frame. 

Pin It

Nothing New In Podunk

These past few days have been spent quilting and cooking, but I have nothing new to share.  So, I thought this would be a good time to give a shout out to a couple new to me YouTube Channels I think are worth watching.

The first one is Blue Rooster Farm.  Karen's channel is more than quilting she also cooks and does small sewing and craft projects.

Her recent projects caught my eye, it took all I had not to run to the fabric cabinets and start a new project.  Click on the images below to go to the videos on YouTube and to find the free printable pattern for them.

The next channel is From Small Things.  Sue is a very talented scrap quilter from the Pennsylvania Dutch area.  I love her simple style. She shares tips for saving and using scraps. My favorite thing about Sue is her orphan block quilts and the explanation of her process for making them, an area where I have issues.  

Her YouTube Channel is fairly new but it's growing fast. The video I'm sharing today is one of her first videos from 4 months ago.  It's about thrifty fabric purchasing. She also shares one of her orphan block quilts up close and explains some the hows and whys of the designing. Click on the image to go to the video on YouTube. 

Pin It