Monday Making

Are you making little Christmas things this year?

I bet we ALL are making something.

It's part of the holiday tradition for me!

Can't let a Christmas go by without creating SOMETHING!

Right?

These little Santas are an old favorite of mine.

This year I made a few more and instead of adding fake greenery

I cut some rosemary from the garden.

I'm so happy with the look and the nice SCENT!!

I also made a super quick and easy little baby quilt!

Chinese coins in little boy colors.

Baby boys are a little bit tricky to sew for.

You want sweet....but it can't be TOO SWEET!

Haha.

I'm getting SO close to finishing my borders for

my hospital sketches quilt!

It's been my evening GO TO sewing when the chores are done!

What are YOU making this week??

Thanks for sharing.

Monday Making

It's been a BUSY week here!!

I visited my small quilt at the road to California

Quilt show.

:)

Added LOTS of half square triangles to my

Hospital sketches quilt!

After that....

I made plans for Graduation quilt SEWING DAY!

To be held next month.

Everyone who comes will make the 16 patch block.

If you SEW, then you know that not ALL the 16 patches will be EQUAL.

:)

Especially since many who come don't sew very often.

I thought by adding the corner triangles

I will be able to get them ALL uniform in size.

And no one will have to stress about making their's PERFECT!

It will be FUN way to get the quilts made as a group!

I also uploaded a new HOW TO on youtube.

Always challenging...and a bit scary....

but always FUN.

This week I hope to clean up the MESS all of that activity created.

LOL!!!

What are YOU making this week?

Monday Making

I just returned from a great trip to Switzerland.

:)

Right before leaving, I finally settled on WHAT

to take for HAND WORK.

The. most. important. item. to. pack!

I took along a few of these vintage dresden plates.

I have a whole stack!

After quickly machine basting twice through...

I had JUST what I needed to work on!

I am appliqueing around the outside of petals

and then I will add a center piece.

I also took wool yarn and knitting needles 

for my husband's new beanie.

I finished just in time

for a little alpine horn blowing!

What are YOU making this week???

Monday Making

Here's what I'm working on this week.

I'm ALMOST done with the appliqued squares!

Just one more!

Then....

I have to decide what to do in the alternate blocks..

IF anything.

Hoping to add a nice applique border.

THAT, my friends, will take a while!!!

You're next!

What are YOU making this week??

Basket quilt

I'm happy to say I finished another quilt top today!

This one has been in my

"Work on it once in a while" pile.

;)

This quilt began innocently enough.

It was a little basket block made with scraps.

"CUTE!" I thought.....

"I'll make some more".

When I'd made a few more I KNEW it needed to be a quilt.

Now it IS.

It's also QUEEN sized.

Hooray!

This is one I'll USE!

The applique in the border is very FREE form...

Needle turned...

and NOT

FUSSY in the LEAST.

JUST the way I like it.

Thought this black and white photo looked great.

Aren't smart phones FUN??

Wish I knew HALF of what they're capable of!!!

Happy QUILTING!!!

Slowin' down

I'm doing some slow sewing while the kids play this week.

I pull this little project out every once in a while and add a few leaves. This week was the perfect time to bring it out again.

Wonder how many leaves will appear this week???

I'm away from home.....

Away from my machine......

This is keeping me very happy. :)

This is what's keeping the little ones happy!

Easy Applique

I've been working a little bit on my

Auction quilt.

Trying to fit it in between

KID stuff, HOUSE stuff,

and EXTENDED family stuff.

You know...

ALL the things that keep us from doing

the FUN stuff....like quilting!

 ;)

There are only THREE of those Canadian leaves on this quilt.

I decided to applique the EASY way this time.

Hand applique is NOT hard....

and to be honest....

Getting my old sewing machine out

(the one with a zigzag stitch)

probably took the same amount of time

as it would have if I had just...

DONE it by HAND!!!

LOL!

 

I began with a pattern.

Hand drawn on paper with a sharpie.

I copied it onto my fusible web.

There are a few brands of this out there...

I'm using steam a seam lite.

The packaging for this is always changing.

I doubt it looks like my bag here anymore.

Everytime I look for it in the store...

IT's a NEW packaging system!

 

You can also get a fusible web at  joanns

ON the bolt and buy it by the yard.

 

I'm not recommending ANY certain brand.

They all work about the same IF you buy something light weight.

You don't want it too heavy/thick.

 

I WILL say that if it's OLD...

the glue doesn't work as well.

I always keep my fusible web wrapped up in an air-tight bag

to hopefully EXTEND it's life a little bit.

After drawing the pattern on the paper of the web....

I cut it out.

For this pattern....

It doesn't matter WHICH side you draw on.

IF you're cutting out LETTERS

or something that needs to go a certain direction...

It DOES matter!!!

 

The pattern needs to be copied BACKWARDS

on the glue side of the fusible paper.

After cutting out the leaf...

I HOLLOWED the leaf out!!!

 

This makes my applique piece LESS stiff.

Pull OFF the paper on back of fusible...

LEAVING the glue side.

DISCARD this paper.

PRESS the leaf onto the BACK of the fabric you're using.

CUT around the leaf RIGHT on the EDGE.

In fact, I trim a teeny tiny piece OFF as I go

so that I KNOW the fusible will be ALL THE WAY

out to the edge of my leaf.

Pull paper OFF the fusible.

IT should be ON YOUR fabric now!

 

;)

Press the leaf ONTO your quilt.

(Sorry this leaf is not the same).

Decided to make this tutorial AFTER the leaves were all on!!!

 

Last thing to do is stitch around the leaf

with a VERY SMALL zigzag stitch.

OR...

IF your machine has a buttonhole stitch (mine doesn't)

that looks nice too.

I'm really looking forward to getting this quilt DONE.

That'll be a happy day!

 

 

Wednesday Work

Didn't know I'd be

adding a Big ol' name to this quilt today!
I didn't have quite enough of that lovely print for the BACK of my quilt!

;/

I added a blue CHUNK

and it looked so LONELY.

I had to do something!

:)

 

 

After ZIGZAGGING around all the letters....

I sandwiched it up

and I'm ready to QUILT!!!!

 

Had to pull out my old machine.

The ONLY machine around here that has zigzag!

I'm sure MS. Pfaff was happy to spin her wheels a bit!

 

Sometimes a problem turns into

a WONDERFUL opportunity!

I would NEVER have thought to put

that name in

if it hadn't been for the lack of FABRIC!!!

I love the FUN it adds to my quilt.

 

Did you hear me say LACK of fabric???

Oops..

There's no LACK here.

 

Oh no sirree!

There might not be the RIGHT fabric...

but there's LOTS of FABRIC all right!!!

;)

The END is in sight!

My Thursday mornings are paying off!!!

I've spent the last few Thursday mornings working on this

LONG, SLOW project!

It helps to have friends sitting around the table

working on their OWN things

as I stitch!

 

This one is for my daughter and son-in-law.

A wedding gift.

;)

The wedding is only a memory now.

 

SEVEN more petals to GO!!!

 

Maybe I'll even get it DONE

before NEXT Thursday morning!!!

THAT would be SOMETHING!

 

I can see the end of THIS applique project!

 

Then....

it needs to be quilted.

:/

Hope THAT doesn't take me 2 years!!!!

Packing light

I'll be traveling this week.

I HAVE to have something to keep my hands BUSY!

But....

I need to pack light.

 

Leaves pre-cut.

Check!

Vines basted.

Check!!!

(I used 1" strips and basted them in thirds.)

 

A little bit of cotton yarn to mix things up!

Check!!!

 

And....

Some embroidery squares - pre-printed.

Check!!!

 

 

I bought these YEARS and years ago

to use in making a quilt.

There are 5 generous 17" squares

READY to be stitched!

 

NOTICE how much I've done in the last 10 years!!

:)

 

It IS a light weight project

that will keep me busy

in case I want something different to work on!!

OR

JUST in case I RUN OUT of projects!

 

I'll miss zooming along with ms. juki.

 

See my new little pin cushion there

tied onto the machine?

Thanks to a dear friend

for this little sewing gift!!!

Cute. cute.

 

See you when I get back!

 

 

 

 

Slow going

I am a pretty QUICK quilter...

but some things Just take TIME!!!

 

This quilt is ONE of them!!!

It's teaching me patience.

 

I surely need more of that!

;)

These are my tools.

My Mission:

Get this one done for my daughter

before she gets married on

MAY 5!!!

Eeeek!

 

I've committed my Thursday mornings to the task.

No MATTER WHAT I feel like doing!!!

:/

 

Will it get done??
Inquiring minds would like to know...

SO....my friends....

would I!!!!

 

I began this quilt way back HERE!!!

I am appliqueing each finished circle

onto a BIG (bed sized) piece of muslin.

I baste them on...

then I applique them on.

I am NOT following the directions.

:/

Do I EVER????

Nah!

That would be too EASY!

LOL!

Purple Pinwheels

Here's my very first finish for 2013!

A quilt that began ONLY because

someone gave me her leftover triangles

from a quilt she had made!

I began by sewing them into pinwheels...

and kept going!!!

I RARELY know where a quilt is going to take me!

It's always an ADVENTURE!!!

 

I DID learn while making this quilt...

that pinwheels LIKE to go the same way!

Hopefully I'll put my thinking cap on

the next time I attempt pinwheels.

:/

You'll notice MINE don't GO the same way!

Ah well.....

I marched on and finished it!

I doubt the new owner will have

ANY idea the mistake I made!!!

LOL!!!

 

Pretty vines!

Loop-de-loop lines in the quilting!

and.....

Almost READY to give away!!!

 

I'll be stitching the binding down this week!

 

We're getting away as a family

RIGHT before

school, work and schedules!!!

 

Have a great weekend!