Two fun Mystery Blocks

Happy Monday Sweet Quilting Friends!  Did you get in some quality sewing time this weekend?  I love it when I can spend an entire day in my Studio.  It recharges me for whatever lies ahead for a few days.  This weekend I made the July blocks for the Quilt Doodle Designs Mystery BOM 2017.  While I've enjoyed making all the blocks so far, these two are my favorite.(I think I say that every month)

 The theme for the Quilt Doodle BOM is Grandma's House.  So each block brings back so many good memories of both of my Grannies and the simple pleasures of years ago.  

A few changes were made to the pattern again.  The main reason for changing most of the patterns is.... the pattern calls for raw edge applique which is much easier to make.  Since I'm doing turned edge applique I sometimes need to alter the pattern to make the process of making the block a little easier on me.  Take for instance the fence.  The original pattern calls for a few more pickets and the fence also covered the front door, it was all one big applique piece.  My fence has fewer pickets and 10 small pieces.   

After  making all the tiny pickets I was searching for ways to simplify the rest of the block. The window applique template was cut and ready to use when an epiphany hit.   As you can see below the fancy stitches on my machine are finally being used.  A simple scallop stitch to dress up my double stitched windows.  And since the entire door is exposed a doorknob was added by using another sewing machine fancy stitch. 

 The next change was the smoke stack.  Both my grandparents heated their homes with wood, so adding a little puff of smoke seemed like a good way to make this block a little more personal, it also added a touch of whimsy, don't you think?

The Singer sewing machine block really opened up a flood gate of memories.  The Podunk Pretties Studio has many old machines.  Not just any old machines but machines that belong to my mom, both grannies, and a great aunt.  There's been several machines passed down to me over the years.  Not all could stay, some have been donated and re-gifted.  My aunts, cousins, and a best friends machines have also passed through my studio.  And allof them have been Singers.  So when I saw the Singer logo on the applique...adorable!  Again some modifications were made to suit my applique technique.  The original pattern has 6 applique pieces, mine has 3.

The Singer Logo was a challenge to do by machine.  It probably would have been quicker by hand or embroidery machine, but I was at the sewing machine so I went with it.  The little buttons are part of the original pattern.  My button color choices aren't sitting well with me.  Might need dig a little deeper in the button stash.

Can you believe it, I'm almost caught up on this mystery?  All that's left to do is stitch the dresdens to the background fabric.  The plan is to get that done today, but it's so sunny outside and there's blackberries to pick.  See that is why I get behind.  Oh well whatever happens...happens.  Are you doing the Quilt Doodle Mystery?  If not, it's not to late to join in the fun.  You can get all the information about these two blocks and the previous months by clicking right here.

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The Race is On

With so many things to do in Podunk it feels like I'm racing around trying to get it all done.  Sadly quilting takes a back seat to my other chores.  But yesterday I took the day off from chores so I could do a little sewing.

I'm pushing for a 4th of July finish.  It's almost a completed top.  Just need to put the finishing touch of invisible machine applique.  Can you see my stitches on the blue?  It's invisible!  MonoPoly Thread by Superior Threads is some amazing stuff. I can't boast about it enough.

Maybe in a couple more days I'll have a quilt top to share.  For now there's things to be done.  Next chore is to can 50 pounds of peaches!  We picked up these sweeties from The Peach Truck.  If you would like some fresh from the farm peaches you can look at their website to see if they will be visiting your area. Unfortunately they only visit a handful of states. 

~ Lea Anne ~

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Testing a new thread~ MicroQuilter

Good Monday Morning quilting friends!  Are you enjoying the beautiful spring weather?  I know here in Podunk spring is in full swing and we're very busy in our gardens.  Taking care of the veggie gardens and the flower gardens is pretty much a full time job.  It leaves little time for sewing but I'm squeezing in a few minutes here and there.  A couple of weeks ago I order the new Superior Threads 100 wt MicroQuilter thread.   I couldn't wait to try it out, so I dug through my quilt tops to find the perfect quilt for my new thread.  This thread is fabulous,  beautiful backtracking!  Just look at the bump back feather tops, you can't see any thread build up.

 That red border is also quilted with the white thread, it barely shows.  Melts in like butter.

No need to change thread color so I'll be quilting the entire quilt with the white.

The quilt is one that I made while taking care of momma last year.  

These nine patches originally were going to be a totally different quilt.  You can see it here.

Then I had an epiphany and made the quilt below using some of the nine patches.  That's when the idea for the rest of leftovers came to be.  You can see it here.

~ Lea Anne ~

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Inspired Christmas trees and trucks

 Hi-diddly-o quilty friends!  I'm so glad you stopped by today.  I've missed hanging out in blogland.  Occasionally I get a chance to pop in and see what you've been stitching up on your blogs and instagram.  However there's not been much time for sewing here in Podunk.  I've managed to sneak in a few hours here and there.  Most of my time is spent away from home and my studio. By taking my laptop along I get my quilty fix designing quilts in EQ7.  This quilt was inspired by the Vintage Christmas quilt pattern I made earlier in the month.

The pieced part of the 24 inch blocks are made using a cream jelly roll, the blocks go together super fast.  The jelly roll used was custom cut for me by Claranna @ Coffee Cup Quilting, a local quilt shop near Podunk.  The red and green fabric also came from the same shop.  They're leftovers from the fat quarters used in my last quilt top, Vintage Christmas by Erica Arndt.    Hopefully I can get some pictures later today.  You can read more about it here.

Of course you all know I love applique but don't like to do handwork so my applique is done by machine using Superior Threads Monopoly thread and a tiny  blanket stitch.  Once it's washed you need to be super close to see that its not hand stitched.

The original plan for this quilt was 6 truck blocks.  That was far too much applique for my limited time.  The trees are much easier to make and stitch into place.

The background for the trees were also from the same jelly roll. 

Here's a shot of my Studio floor....

...and here's what it should look like....eventually.  If you have any suggestions for the name of this quilt I'd love to hear them.  

~ Lea Anne ~

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Sugar and Spice is Oh so Nice

 Whats not to love?  It has everything in a quilt that I love.  Pretty fabrics, flowers, applique and that level of cuteness that makes me smile everytime I look at the adorable blocks.  

You might remember in a earlier blog post my frustrations with this pattern/kit.  Well I found another issue.  It's not an error,  more of  a personal preference.  Let me explain.  In the block below you see the Dresden as it finishes before the yo-yo's are attached.  The pattern calls for a large circle to be placed over the hole.  The large circle is just big enough for the 16 yo-yo's to cover the edge.   After attaching the large center circle and yo-yo's I'm supposed to applique the Dresden to the background fabric that is the same print as the large center circle....what?  

So here was my pattern alteration(because I can never follow a pattern to a "T").  I sewed my yo-yo's together, then centered them on the Dresden and glue basted them in place.  Next was to do some seam ripping from the bottom of  the dresden wedge seam.  The extra fabric on the blades will be cut away before attaching the Dresden to the background fabric.  Wish I had made a test block before cutting and sewing all the Dresden wedges.  I learn something new with each quilt.  LESSON LEARNED: Always make a test block.  The little cut offs would have added up to some nice sized  scraps.

Here's another lesson learned quite by accident.  A few years ago started using Roxanne's glue-baste.(on the right) to hold applique in place instead of pins.    Well I read somewhere on the vast internet...."Roxanne's glue baste is nothing more than washable school glue."   So when my large bottle (on the left with the big brown glob) was empty I refilled with the school glue you see laying to the side.   The big brown glob is school glue.  Why is it brown?  I've no clue why it turned brown, but if it'll turn brown on the bottle when it sets for awhile, what's it going to do in my quilts!?   Now I know what your thinking....It's washable school glue, just wash it when you finish the quilt.  True..but what if the one quilt I use it in becomes a UFO, lays around for weeks,months or years?  LESSON LEARNED: Some internet quilt tips are actually bad advice, do your research.

 So back to those cute yo-yo's.  Remember I told you I stitched them together before attaching them with glue baste.  Well hold on to your hats....it's machine stitching holding those yo-yo's together.   A tiny little zigzag.  Can you see it?

Here lets zoom in and take a closer look, can you see the stitches?

Invisible!  This was so much quicker than  handwork.  Making the yo-yo's by hand has been a real chore(bore).  So anything to speed up this quilt is worth a try.

I know my loyal followers are tired of hearing about Superior Threads MonoPoly  thread but it really can't be beat when it comes to invisible thread.  It doesn't show on a quilt, it doesn't melt under a medium heat iron, and it won't melt in the dryer.  I've put this thread through several test and it holds up very well.  It can take more heat than suggested by the manufacturer.  It can also be used for the actual quilting.  If your making a quilt with darker fabrics it also comes in a Smoke color.    At about $10 a spool it won't cut into the quilt budget to bad.   I've made several quilts with this one spool and will probably be able to make one or two quilts with the same spool.   Let me also say my blog doesn't make money for suggesting a product.  My blog makes no money ever.  It's just me doing what I do...quilting.  

~ Lea Anne ~

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Unfinished business in 2015

Good Monday Morning sweet quilty friends!  While most of you are planning for the the new year ahead I'm still stuck in 2015.  This isn't a complaint, just stating a fact.   The past week I've been focusing on cleaning up the studio and completing my Strawberry Lemonade quilt.  Well the quilt top is complete, I'll share it with you later in the week when the lighting is better for full quilt top photo's.  And the studio....umm...not quite ready to keep it real by baring it all.  So let's just change the subject and talk about what was found while sorting though the pile of  "Needs to be Quilted".  Not only does this lovely little gal need to be quilted but it also needs the applique sewn down....How did that happen?

It shouldn't take long to get the raw edge petals sewn into place using invisible thread.  One of the tricks to quick machine applique is pre planning your stitching route.  What does that mean?  Well you want  continuous sewing without cutting the thread.  On more complex blocks you might have more than one start and stop.  Here's my plan for each block.  Starting at the red dot, stitch down the side of two petals until I reach the center of the block, then pivot and go up the next set of petals.  Just keep following the arrows until I come back to my red dot.

One row is complete.  Hopefully this can done in a day or two.  New projects and patterns are already in the works for this year, lots of exciting fun stuff planned for the year ahead, whenever I finish playing around in 2015.   Staying focused is so hard!  

Well here's the entire nameless quilt.  Hopefully by the time the applique is finished there will be a name, any suggestions?

Linking up with these wonderful bloggers, hop on over and join the fun!

Judy@PatchworkTimes for Design wall Monday

and

Beth@CookingUpQuilts for Main Crush Monday

and

Em@Em'sScrapBag for Moving it Forward Monday

and 

Connie@FreeMotionBytheRiver for Linky Tuesday

and

Heather@QuiltStory for Fabric Tuesday

and

Alyce@BlossomHeartQuilts for Sew Cute Tuesday

and

Lorna@SewFreshQuilt for Let's Be Social

and

Nudge@AQuiltingReadersGarden

~  Lea Anne ~

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They've bloomed!

It didn't take long to stitch up these simple blocks.  One charm pack and a little yardage and a whole lot of cuteness.   The simple things in life just make this ole country girl happy.  I've been picking wild berries on the property, cooking a weeks worth of meals for when I'm gone later in the week and still had plenty of time to stitch all of my Boonie Blooms.  How?  They are so easy!

25 blocks complete

Not much waste or leftovers.  It's nice to have a little extra just in case there's an UH-OH when making the applique pieces.   I'll be using my homemade 1.5" template to save what I can of the centers.

I also wanted to take time today to talk about the applique on this quilt.  

Over the years I've tried many different invisible threads for quilting and invisible applique.   Most of them didn't meet up to my low standards.  Yes I said low.  All I ask of an invisible thread is.... to be able to handle a little heat from my iron.  It can be shiny or matte, thick or thin JUST DON'T MELT!  Superior Threads Mono Poly has never let me down.  I did a little test today to see if it could handle 5 seconds on a cotton heat setting....Yes she can!  The instructions suggest a lower temperature but it's nice to know that I don't need to worry about things getting to hot.

The pictures below shows the tiny stitch I used on this applique.  The arrows are pointing to the very hard to find thread.  It's super fine and very strong. 

Of course with any product there's downsides, but the positive out weighs the negative, so it's no big deal that ...

1.  it will not work with my auto needle threader

2. It also hates my auto cutter.  Oh it cuts but the thread pops out of the needle and the bobbin thingy that catches and holds the thread can't catch and hold this fine thread.

I sewed for over 20 years without auto threaders and cutters so it's no big deal.  

~ Lea Anne ~

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