Being old enough to remember the Bicentennial means that I’ve celebrated at least fifty Fourth of July days. There have been some with big parties and some with neighbors and friends, but the last few years I have been by myself. This is by choice, my Dh likes to go back east and celebrate, I would rather not leave the house this week. I have a strong dislike of crowds and traffic, two things that are very much prevalent on days like today. Not to mention dodging a major heat wave that 2/3rds of the nation is facing. I am getting lots of sewing time in, a little of this and that in the garden and playing with the puppies.

I have two tops from kits (Pretty Scary and Pawsitivley) ready for quilting, as soon as the TBQ pile is lowered. I finished the Winnie the Pooh and Postcards from Sweden ones yesterday, those need bindings. I was starting to put Happy’s Place (top finish 10/25) on the frame when I realized I hadn’t sew the appliqué edges down. That became my morning project, and after a few hours it was on the frame and being quilted. This quilt is from a free pattern, I used left over backing (pieced) and a franken batting, I may make a profit on the materials when I sell it. I seldom make a profit on labor sadly, but my machines are paid off and I still have money in my business account.

I have been cutting the gazillion pieces for the dragonfly quilt. I have all the parts for the flowers cut, just need to settle in for some chain piecing. There are fourteen flowers and six dragon flies, lots of flip and clip corners. I may do another section of the Enchanting stars first, as they are cut and ready to go. I also have to make two more bucket hats and a fabric shopping bag (for myself) this weekend.

Yesterday in a fit of self sufficiency I decided to download the files and update my 790+. Simple, down load to a USB and then plug it into the machine. This update came out in April, and I have been putting it off doing it for a few months. Most of my reluctance is that I always have issues downloading Windows files to my MacBook and then transferring them to my machine. This time was no exception, I really tried to get it right the first time. I downloaded the files to my Longarm computer (windows) machine and unzipped them and put them on the small USB stick I have for this. I have to use a small 1GB one, as the 790 doesn’t like newer ones with lots of GBs. I plugged it into the 790 and it got hung up trying to find the files. I turned it off and then back on, and it still had the looking for files screen. UGH, now what had I done? On a holiday weekend I was not going to be able to use my machine because I couldn’t get it out of the updating mode. Bad words were stated. I left it for a few hours, rechecked and it was still the same. I turned it off and left it again. I redownloaded the files to a different stick, this time reformatting it and making sure it was fat32. Plugged it into the machine and it worked like it should. Thankfully. I am writing this down here so next time I remember how to do it the first time.

I managed a little cross stitching time with the mermaid last night. Got her left arm done, so now I can move on to her hair and face. The Berries are almost done now, maybe by the end of the weekend. I am thinking of starting a knitting project, something simple that I can do before falling asleep. I saw a cute top down short sleeve cotton sweater pattern the other day. Now if I can only remember where…got it – Icemaker by Elizabeth Smith

Be Kind.

July third is the official start of the Dog Days of Summer. I’m ready for some warm days, our summer has been quite cool for the past few weeks. Some have been calling it Junuary, it was actually rainy yesterday morning. I have been working on getting the first of the multiple kits I recently bought together. This one is called Made with Love- Pawsitively Chic, it’s by Yvette st. Amant. The fabric print does all the work here.

I stalled a bit on the Enchanting stars top. I didn’t have room to layout the background fabric to cut the weirdly shaped pieces that go around the multi colored ones. I did get all the pieces cut for section B, close to eighty squares and rectangles.

The rulers I ordered for the Morris fabric quilt are coming on Tuesday, so if I am finished with the dogs, I want to get started on the Thameside Ramble. All the fabrics have arrived, and are so enticing. I also purchased a quilt kit that uses a slightly different color way of the Original Morris (Lodden & The Trellis Palette prints) called Celebration, by Marilyn Foreman. It is a little easier of a pattern than Thameside, regular angles and no appliqué.

I’d really like to make two more hats and a dress this week, before my DH leaves on Wednesday. He can take them to the recipients. I mailed a bunch of things yesterday, I just can’t believe how much postage has gone up, how much is due to the rising cost of fuel? I wonder if the increased demand is causing the rising costs, although Amazon has their own delivery system/vans now. I am guilty of having things delivered to save time and driving, CVS is very happy to deliver my TP monthly.

Today I am going to finish the quilting on the WtP and Postcards quilts. I want to get the Starry Night quilt top on the frame, my TBQ pile isn’t going down as fast as I’d like.

Be Kind.

Winner, winner chicken dinner! I won at bobbin chicken, I was quilting two baby quilts that were next to each other on the frame. Five rows of panto stitched across the width. The last stitches tied off and I went to check the bobbin, as I knew it was low, and there was two inches of thread left. Sometimes it’s the little things in life. I am happy to be done with those two quilts, as they are the last two of six that I took on for quilting last month. I loaded up two tops that I finished this spring, a Winnie the Pooh panel and Postcards from Sweden. My TBQ pile is slowly shrinking, I must keep the long arm long-arming.

I have started working on the Enchanting Stars quilt top. The method that Jacqueline de Jonge uses is similar to that of Judy Niemeyer in lots of precutting of sizes and charts to help keep everything in order. The Quiltworx patterns use templates for the pieces, while the Be Colorful ones use squares and rectangles. Paper foundation piecing is the same, although I think the Be Colorful templates have a numbered order for piecing, where as the Quiltworx may not (it’s been a while). I have been making my way through section A using the 24 colors to their full advantage. Mistakes have been made, re-done, and I am getting into the rhythm of the pattern.

I finished quilting and binding the Dresden plate quilt. I am bringing it back to the customer tomorrow, I think she’ll like it. Although she texted that she was “anxious to see it” – like maybe she was afraid to see what I had done to it? I did send her a picture (below) of part of it showing the quilting and binding. I thought it turned out nicely, just an odd choice of words. When I was making the binding, I somehow cut way more than I needed to, now I have a few hundred inches of pink binding in my stash.

I have gotten most of the fabrics I ordered for the Thameside ramble quilt. The main ones that came from Australia came yesterday. I am a little amazed by that, it only took a week for them to get here, 7500 miles – give or take. I guess they flew here rather than boated. The rulers and booklet I need to learn this new to me technique should be here next week. I ordered an other kit, called Celebration, which uses the Original Morris line of fabrics too. I think I may have a problem though, I ordered six other kits last week. I my defense they were on sale, and one or two that I have had my eye on. A few Halloween and a Christmas one, plus a cute dog themed one. There just isn’t enough time in my days.

Cross stitching is still happening, yesterday I made a few stitches in the Mermaid. I am beginning to think it’s all the confetti stitching that is a big turn off. I started on the arms and head. Maybe I’ll stitch a thread or two in the tail too. The Berries piece is almost done, I have one more berry and a flourish to sew. I want to make this a pillow, but then I think it would be cute as a framed piece.

Be Kind.

It started out innocently enough, an email from a local quilt shop advertising about an upcoming BOM. I liked the pattern but wasn’t crazy about the colors they had chosen. On further looks, I figured out that the original fabric line on the pattern was much more in “my” colors. On further further looks I figured out it was a fabric line from four years ago. I spent three days looking for a finding enough of it to make this quilt. The majority of the fabric came from Melbourne Australia, an Etsy shop called CraftopiaOz. What they didn’t have I found in four other online shops, one in Mississippi. Once that was done, I downloaded the pattern and found the special ruler and videos on how to. The technique looks easy and the results are precise. The designer is Ruth Robin https://www.robinruthdesign.com I have looked through her other patterns and found a few more I’d like to make. Since I’ll have the rulers it’ll be easier. I have always like William Morris prints and styles, the whole craftsman era intrigues me. Minimal and functional yet opulent in color and texture. Another rabbit hole found and happily entered.

The old part of this post is about the Dresden plate quilt I am doing as a custom quilting. It is so well done, and the fabrics are in such good shape. There are scraps of fabric prints that I know I have seen in current fabric lines, and others that are classic house dress prints. I have it mounted on the frame, and I am hoping to get it quilted this weekend. The panto is called 1930’s Posies, I may have to scale it a bit, and it is going to be stitched in a very light pink. The backing is boring solid white, I may have to wind some bobbins, but I may have one or two pre wounds.

My trip to Canada was really fun and it is such a welcoming and beautiful place, I will go back again. I did see a few quilts and the small island I was on had a guild. I have a dream of moving there when I am an old widow. My DH wouldn’t last a week there, it is an artist community with all kinds of groups and activities for crafters and artists. There is a general store and a coffee/ice cream shop, plus a little museum and a sculpture walk. Stunning views and lush forests, organic farms and flowers everywhere.

Once I got home I got to work on longarm quilting the two baby quilts, I was able to make one backing for them by sewing a waste strip between them. Quilting them up was then a simple task. Once I finish the Dresden, I have two more baby quilts (Winnie the Pooh) as a commission. Then maybe I can get to more quilts for the shop. Last weekend I put together the other WTP quilt top I had the fabric for. I had ordered the original kit and an extra panel, a 5″ stack and a few yards to make two. Of course I have enough scraps to make another small quilt, I may just do a disappearing 9 patch to be done with it. Other quilts I want to quilt this summer are the Constellations, the Blooming Beauty BOM, Peter Rabbit, Postcards from Sweden, and the Halloween Batik one.

Cross stitching has been slowly getting done, I haven’t worked on the Mermaid in a while. Just working on the Berries one, by the time I get the puppies in their crates for sleepy time, I am ready to fall into bed myself.

Be Kind.

In between active play times there are naps and early bedtimes. I have been able to accomplish a few things this week. Life with two puppies continues, it’s a good thing they are cute. I finished quilting the first custom, it’s called Hometown Holiday sampler. I think it was a BOM from Fat Quarter shop a few years ago. It’s still available as a kit. It’s a big quilt with lots of piecing, this quilter did a terrific job of piecing and keeping all the seams flat. It was a pleasure to quilt this top, I am really happy this turned out nice. This is the makers first time hiring out for a finish, so I think she was a little nervous about it. When I first saw the quilt online I thought it was Christmas themed. The fabric is more of a 4th of July, red white and blues, theme though. But there are pine trees and holly and lots of stars. It is set up like a sampler with letters and a house at the bottom. I used a panto with holly leaves, stars and swirls. I can’t help but worry that it’s slightly weird to have holly leaves on a 4th of July themed quilt. It did come out nicely though, sorry no pictures of it other than the FQS one.

This month I have received three separate custom LA quilting orders. The next are two small baby quilts, I am hoping to get them on the frame before I leave on Thursday. The last one is a vintage top, Dresden plate, from the late 1950’s. It’s really well done, lots of scraps and it is in terrific shape, as it was finished and folded up and stored for 50+ years. All of the pieces are intact and the colors are vibrant. I feel like it’s an honor to finish it.

Yesterday I cranked out the two cushion covers. I didn’t feel like setting up my Sailrite machine, so I used my 790. It sewed through the 4 layers of velvet like butter, but it got a little cranky at 8 layers. I would like to make a pillow cover with the rest of the fabric, maybe tonight.

I haven’t made much progress in cross stitch land. I worked on the mermaid last night, I did a small amount of the tail, filling in with a few colors. My plan is to get all the stitching done and then add the beads. I made a cheat sheet for myself of the symbols for the beads, I kept looking at the flosses for the symbols, and not seeing them on the holders. The bird on the Berries sampler has a head, but not much work to show on that one.

I caved to a Memorial Day sale at Keepsake Quilting. There was a kit that I had been looking at, called Dragon Fly Dance, it was on sale and if you spent a certain amount you would get more off your total. I bought a few other things and my total came to a little over 120.00 with free shipping. I thought wow! that is a really good sale, then I got the notice that there was a glitch on the website that gave me too much of a discount. My order was canceled, so I had to go back and re-order it. It was still a good deal, but not quite as good as it was. Another kit in the lineup.

Be Kind.