After many hours of quilting I finally finished the star section of the Twinkling Stars Quilt. I am thrilled with the result so far.
I have a few other projects that I need to work on so I'll set this aside again. I still have that WIDE nine inch border to quilt. It will need a good bit of quilting in it to equalize the quilting in the middle, otherwise the border will end up wavy. So, now to think about what to do there.
I am open to quilting suggestions for the border. What would YOU do?Here's another picture because, well, I think it deserves another picture.
Playing with Applique
Today I needed a break from quilting on the Twinkling Stars so I started playing with some applique for Tia. She requested applique for her swap blocks this month.
She sent lots of lovely fabrics and I started right in with some freehand cutting and placing. Parts of it I liked right away; others I had to play with a bit. The flower needed a bit more zing and the leaf was just not right. I improved the flower with a bit of the red but was still not thrilled with the leaf.
I stitched some of the units together as I thought about the plan. The whole design looked washed out and flat with all of the vines in the light color so I added a different green for the main vines. I also finally came up with a leaf that I like.
This is pretty close to the final layout that is now ready for basting! It was a fun creative afternoon.I am thinking about putting a bird on my other block for Tia. I'll keep you posted.
The Right Design
I have been looking at this Twinkling Stars quilt for some time trying to decide on the "right" quiting design for it. Something curvy to go in around the stars. It has been sitting in the sewing room being a weight on my mind.
I finally realized that there is no one right design. Whatever I do will be right as long as I am happy with the result. The quilting process should be fun and not stressful.So I jumped in with a mini swirl pattern to fill in around the stars. I am leaving the stars unquilted so that they will "float" above the background a little. I like the result so far.
I'll try not to think about how big the quilt is and just concentrate on the part I am working on.This is going to take a LONG time.But that is OK. I enjoy the process.
I'll have plenty of time to think about how to quilt the wide border area.
Snow Day Activity
We enjoyed our snow day yesterday. The storm came through with a lot of wind and even had our windmill turning. It hasn't moved in more than ten years because it only has one blade left on it. That was a strong wind! We won't discuss the little snow drifts that accumulated on the entry rug and window sills. We have put that behind us and are soaking up the sun on another very cold day.We took advantage of the day off and did some crafting. I had in my mind that I would come up with a clever idea for Valentines that P and I could make for her class. She had her own idea and went right on with it.
She liked that I let her use ANY fabrics from my scrap bin and I let her use my special fabric marking pencil.
She traced, cut, glue basted, and sewed.
Stitching hearts is great practice for sewing curves!It is a good thing she started early.
Peaceful Process
I may have said this before but I love the PROCESS of creating. I (usually) enjoy the making more than the finished object.
I love hand stitching.Really.It is FUN for me. 
This is not a new project but I remember the peace it brought me when I made it. The boys were young and very active. A kit project like this was just what I needed; it was all ready to go without much planning on my part.
It makes me very happy to see P enjoy hand stitching too.
All The Trimmings
I was asked to submit a photo and blurb about myself to the local paper to help promote the All The Trimmings show that I will be a part of on December 4.I am usually the one taking the photos around here and there are very few pictures of me. M came home from high school exams early so I enlisted his help. There was a bit of silliness during the photo shoot but we did get a few good pictures. This is the one I sent to the paper.
I am off do do my grocery shopping for tommorow's family feast. There will just be the five of us here this year but we will still make our favorite feast dishes. For us it is doesn't seem like Thanksgiving without the Harris family dressing and the Carson family corn pudding.What are your favorite feast dishes?
I Can't Stop!
I can't stop making these bags.
The curvy clutch is my favorite Keyka Lou pattern; they are so fun to make! I am quilting the outer fabric to the batting before adding the lining. These bags close with two magnetic snaps.Rick rack!!
When piecing, I use the stitch and flip method and sew the outer fabrics right to the batting.Embroidery.
I'm still thinking on the quilting pattern for the twinkling stars.
On to Bigger Things
After finishing a few more smaller projects I am feeling a little more prepared for the craft show on December 4.
I feel like I can now calmly return to a larger project like finishing another quilt.
I put hundreds of pins in it last night. I will be quilting it on the machine but haven't decided about the design yet.
I don't want to put any quilting on the stars. I really want them to float above the background. Outlining each star would be very tedious but I kind of think it needs it. I would like a lot of quilting in the background but I don't want to do the old meandering thing either.What are your quilting thoughts?And isn't this backing fabric great? I had just enough for the back of this quilt!
Workshop Frenzy
I am busy in the sewing room these days. Starting new projects, progressing on others, and finishing some.I even have a new pair of soft, squishy, warm socks for winter made of Artyarns Supermerino! I followed this toe up pattern to use all of the yarn.
All the Trimmings
I will have a booth at the All the Trimmings show on December 4 and the Chelsea Fair Grounds and I'm starting to feel the stress. I have been making quilts like crazy and now I have several tops still to put together and quilt. I have a fear of having a booth piled high with quilts and not selling anything so, I have taken a break from those big projects to make some smaller non-quilt items for the show.I recently found Keyka Lou patterns. I really like the clean lines and straightforward assembly of these bags. The little clutches don't use much fabric and I put batting between the layers for a soft finish.
I am really pleased with how this wristlet camera bag turned out. If I still used a point and shoot I think I might keep this one for myself. It also has batting to cushion the camera inside.
My favorite pattern has got to be this shoulder bag. I love those pockets on the front. It also has a magnetic snap closure. I had never put one of those in before. I am an instant fan!
I have done well to use fabric on hand but I have used up all of my interfacing. So, I guess I will trek to the fabric shop. I shall have to put on blinders and go directly to the interfacing and only the interfacing.
Chartreuse!
P and B are visiting Grandma this week and I am hoping to get lots of things done while they are away. Yesterday went well and I finished a quilt top. Today was not as productive.
I decided on chartreuse for the setting fabric for the string pieced triangles.The quilt is twin/single size. I like the way that from a certain angle it looks like rows of banners or flags.
Now I need to decide on the quilting design.My UFO pile is growing again.
A Cold and Cloudy Day
It was a cold and cloudy day.
Mother earth has put on her brown coat for winter.
Handwork
I've been doing some hand work.It has been so long since I hand quilted that I had forgotten a few things. I should have basted this with a needle and thread so that my stitching thread would not catch on the pins as I stitch. I also should have marked the quilt before basting.Live and learn.My fingertips are now raw from thousands of needle pricks. It must be time to do some recovery time knitting. A crafter's work is never done.
Chartreuse is a Neutral
I've auditioned a lot fabric colors with the strip pieced triangles.I really like the chartreuse as a neutral.
I only have enough of the white (I just bought a bolt) so I will have to purchase whatever I will use.
A yellow background would have to be a clear buttery yellow. I was thinking of the Kona Ash, a light gray, but I don't have any of that to try. I like the Chartreuse a lot but think it might look "dated" in a few years. I'm not sure that bothers me though. The chartreuse layout really does give me a happy feeling every time I walk by it.I wish my local quilt shop carried a good selection of solids. It is too hard to make a choice from the small sample on the color card.It's time to start on another project or get another top ready for quilting while I struggle with the decision. I am ready to listen to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I need to be sewing!!!
165 Half Square Triangles
Yesterday I finished sewing 165 string pieced triangles for a twin size quilt. The sewing was easy and progressed quickly without much thought. There is a lot of sewing time in that stack of fabric. And I have the added bonus of a pretty big dent in the scrap pile. Woo hoo!Now comes the thinking part. What color or colors should I use for setting. I could use yellow...
or white...
actually, just about anything could be the "neutral" here. What about RED, or chartreuse, or a selection of aquas, or candy corn? The possibilities are endless.If it were YOUR quilt, what would you choose?
Half Square Triangles
My scrap bin exploded this weekend.
I have a lot of longish skinny scraps so am working on a string quilt.
I sew pieces together using my triangle ruler as a guide. As long as the chunk of fabric that I put together is larger than the triangle, I can trim it to size.
The current plan is to sew one piece of fabric to the diagonal of each of the triangles to make six inch squares. I don't know if I want to use the same fabric through out or several different solids.I progressed quite a bit with both these triangles and the Harry Potter audio books this weekend.
Fall
I'm slowing down to appreciate the warm sunny days of fall.
I even started hand quilting again this week.
It has been a long time. I need to build up some callouses on my tender fingertips.
The Beach Ball Blanket
Yesterday I was sewing with a red hot needle and flaming thread. I had started the quilting on this quilt Monday and finished the quilting yesterday.
I quickly cut strips for the binding and sewed them on. Seeing that I still had some time before I had to meet the bus I started stitching it down to the back.
I even put it through the washer and drier before my quilt meeting last night.
It measures 38 x 45.5 inches.Whew.I think it might be time to adjust to a slower rhythm for fall and work on some of my hand quilting projects. I could use a take along project that doesn't require a lot of thought.P is usually very tired after school but we have gotten in a little play ground time.
The fall food frenzy is also slowing down. We are still getting a fewraspberries for yogurt and cereal and I have a few more batches ofapplesauce to make too.
Twinkling Stars
I have been working feverishly the last few days to get this quilt top put together. I finished all the blocks on Saturday and sewed it together and added a ten inch wide border yesterday.I LOVE the way it turned out.I am considering hand quilting it and would love to put a big feathered vine in the border but am not excited about quilting the little star blocks. I'll think it over as I work on some other projects. My hand quilting UFO pile is growing.
A Star Filled Afternoon
I spent the afternoon making some more tiny stars. A couple more afternoons like this and I'll get all the stars for this quilt finished.I think I'm finally starting to get in the rhythm of the school day. I have been listening to Harry Potter on tape while I sew. Jim Dale does a superb job reading them. If you haven't listened to his recordings of the Harry Potter books, I highly recommend that you do.I am making a list of other books to listen to after I finish the Harry Potter series.What book would you recommend?
