The repetitive process of paper foundation piecing has once again occupied my time.  I am in the midst of putting the pieces together for a Judy Niedmeyer pattern called Christmas Celebration.  It’s a tree skirt or table topper, depending on if you cut a hole in the center.  I’m making the one pictured on the right, using fabrics from the Moda line “Morris Holiday”.  They are so pretty and there is a touch of gold metallic to add some sparkle.  I wonder if William Morris would approve?

I finished up the baby quilts and sent them to the parents.  The last one I had to take my Catwalk quilt off the frame to quilt it.  The Catwalk quilt is back on the frame and I found a beautiful Panto to use on it.  It’s called “Fantasia” by Wasatch Quilting , it is from the September 2018 Masters Club selections.  I was originally going to do something graphic with this quilt, rulers and angles etcetera.  Then I saw a finished quilt with a floral design quilted on it, it looked pretty, and was just enough to let the quilt design shine, while adding texture.

I also though it would be a quicker finish, not so.  Each row, 15 inches wide, takes about two hours, there are 8 rows on this quilt.  I am becoming a multitasking quilter, yesterday I did three loads of laundry, cleaned out my refrigerator, made some roasted tomatoes, and fruit leather.  All while the computer stitched the quilt, as many of you know, be it an embroidery machine, quilting machine or other ‘self’-guided appliance, as soon as you turn your back, it messes up.   When I was out of the room, putting the shelves back in the refrigerator, it ran out of bobbin thread.  I returned to find it merrily stitching along with no thread being applied.

In other news, my quilt “The Searchers” was accepted into PIQF.  Yay me!  I always have this period of doubt before I submit something I have made, or send a quilt to a customer, or gift a piece, that it’s not good enough.  Self doubt, I guess, was creeping about my studio this summer as I made this wall hanging.  I was looking at it everyday, working on it just about every day too.  I was tired of it, and when the last stitch was in, I was ready to submit it, with no feelings of regret, but no real hopes of getting in.  I was happy to get the acceptance letter though, now to sew a sleeve on and drop it off a couple of weeks.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday today.

Actually, I was only gone for five days, but it turned into two weeks in blog land.  I have been working on projects though.

I finished my Shawl Society III “Wick” shawl.  There was a lot of plane time knitting, and a bit while I was in hot and humid NY.  I gifted this shawl to a friend who recently lost her beloved Husky dog, Mocha.  I hope she’ll get to use it this coming winter.

The next shawl pattern comes out on the 30th.  The yarns to be used were released last week, and I found my ShiBui gift certificate and put it to good use.  This yarn “Cima” is a lace weight, and so soft.  The colors are Bordeaux, Fog, and Caffeine, I can’t wait to see the pattern.  I also got a few other skeins of “Birch” yarn from them.  More yarn stash enhancement was made with a sale at knit picks and for a shawl project that will be a Christmas present.  At least I didn’t buy any fabric last week 🙂

I doing the Fat Quarter Shop’s BOM called Christmas Figs, it started last month, the blocks are large, 16 1/2 inches square.  I was attracted to this quilt project by the variety of the blocks and the colors of the fabric line.  Plus the fact that two blocks a month is do-able for me.  Here are the  July and August blocks.

I am still trying to finish up my PIQF entry before 8/28/18.  I am quilting it, but just kinda lost the spark to finish it.  I don’t know if it is the vacation interruptions or just the fact of having a deadline.  I can’t seem to make myself work on it more than an hour at a time.  I still like my idea and how it is progressing, I just know that I should have finished it by now.  Procrastination is not something I normally do, well maybe with chores I don’t want to do in the first place.  Perhaps that is the trouble, this quilt has become a chore.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts For Design Wall Monday today.

All my projects that were waiting for parts and pieces were started or done this week.  Fabrics came in, quilts were quilted, yarn came to stay and patterns were downloaded.  The little bear was shipped out to his new home, far away in Africa.

I was able to piece these three quilts for up coming births and such.  I used my Accuquilt to cut all the 3 1/2 ” triangles and that quilt (center picture) went together really fast.  The other two are from a pattern called Tumbling Blocks by Its Sew Emma.  This pattern works up quickly, you only need six fat quarters and about two yards of background fabric.  I think the second one (the pink one) took me about five hours total, with ironing.  Two of these will get minky backings and one a cotton backing that has yet to be decided.  After the past two quilts I have done, I am ready for some simple edge to edge quilting.

Pink background

Blue Triangles

white background

I also finished quilting the Daydreams quilt and made the binding for it.  That will get sewn on today, I hope.  It’s pretty warm today, and the thought of quilt wrestling isn’t very appealing right now.

My Wick shawl from The Shawl Society lll is coming along, its simple garter stitch, but the yarn colors make it pretty.  I’m about 40 % done.  I think I’m going to take it with me on my trip next weekend, there will be lots of plane time.  The new sock pattern for the Sock society was released today, it’s called Honey Bee Dance.  I have to find a yarn to use, the pattern calls for a pretty caramel colored cashmere.  I don’t think I have anything like that in my stash, but you never know.

I did get my entry for PIQF on the frame and started quilting it today.  It’s moving along too.  I have about three more weeks to finish it, I think I’ll be done sooner.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday today.

I’m in a sort of creative output holding pattern right now.  I have many pokers in the fire but nothing is getting finished.  Well I did finish this little guy yesterday.

I got the “kit” for him last year at Stitches West.  The Mother Bear Project had a booth there and they were selling kits to make their seamless knitted bears.

They are a non-profit organization dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations by giving the gift of a hand knit or crocheted bear.  The website is http://www.motherbearproject.org.

I was looking for an interim knitting project while waiting for the next Shawl Society pattern to be released (7/26).  I wanted to start something, but not too big, I didn’t want to work on a knitting UFO, and I wanted to finish and have a bit of fun.  I did, and although the pattern for the new shawl “Wick” has been released, I still have to wait for the yarn I ordered for it, it should be here Tuesday. Sigh.

I have been working on my PIQF entry, at least that is moving along.  I have almost finished the main body of the piece, I have about 40-50 more pieces to add to it.  Then to get all the parts together and quilt it.  Before I can quilt it though, I need to get the log cabin quilt that is on the frame done.  That quilt is not sewing itself, but I have been busy with extra curricular activities.  Activities like choosing paint colors, moving furniture, dress shopping, gardening, and knitting :).  Plus my mom called to order a baby quilt for her cousins new granddaughter.  Luckily that one is a simple pattern, but I am waiting on the fabric I ordered for it.

Lastly, I have been watching videos on Bluprint about upholstering.  I want to get a chair done and possibly do a wing chair and ottoman that really need updating.  I have the fabric and foam.  I went out and bought a staple gun that is compatible with an air compressor that a friend has.  Now I just need the space and time to do it.  It’ll probably have to wait until the remodel is mostly done, as the only area large enough to use, is filled with furniture and boxes of stuff.  More waiting.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday today.

My daughter and I were discussing the word catsup yesterday.  She was reminiscing about a spelling test in which the word catsup was given.  Of course she wrote “Ketchup”, and didn’t receive credit, she is still miffed about it, lol.

I have been catching up for the last ten days or so.  We went on vacation to London and Edinburgh for the first part of July.  Saw great concerts, Art, and old friends, ate delicious food and drank appropriate amounts of beer, ale, and whisky.  We even saw the Rosetta Stone (checked that off my list) and sat on top of King Arthur’s Seat.

Back home I’ve been trying to get over the eight hour time difference, slowly adding hours to my sleep duration.  This left lots of time for knitting and contemplation.  I finished my “Ivy Over the Door” shawl Saturday.  This is the second in the series from Helen Stewart and The Shawl Society III.  This shawl has 545 rows of 112 stitches, so 61,040 stitches.  Upon blocking it I noticed a slight difference in the beginning of my knitting and the end.  I think in my excitement (hurry?) to get started I misread the pattern and instead of eight stitches in-between the columns of twisted stitches I knit 13.  Over all, I’m really happy with the way this turned out.  The colors remind me of wintry skies and gray clouds.  The next shawl is called “Wick”, I have to wait until Thursday to see it and then I’ll pick some colors.

On the quilting front, I quilted the Crayon Box quilt (a Jinny Beyer pattern) and my mini lightning quilt from the Jaybird Pattern.  While binding the Crayon Box, I used the end of a spool of purple thread, down to the last 12 inches.

I loaded up the next quilt on the frame, Daydreams (pattern by Kate Colleran) it’s a log cabin block set in a barn raising square on point.  I’m doing feathers and waving lines, haven’t decided on the borders yet.  This photo is from Craftsy, the kit is on sale if you’re interested 😉

I also have been working on my PIQF entry.  I have about 5 1/2 more weeks to finish it before the entry deadline.  I am hoping to have the fusing done this week and start to  quilt and then embellish it.  No pictures yet, sorry.

Lastly, my remodel is progressing, sheet rock, windows and fire place are installed.  Tiling next week, yeah!

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday.

Thanks for reading.

I finished quilting the Storm at Sea quilt yesterday.  I still don’t know why it took so long, I put it on the frame May 31st and then 28 days passed.  I really didn’t like quilting this quilt.  I used waves and circles to follow the movement created by the pattern.  A lot of stops and starts that could quell anyones enthusiasm.  Last week I came up with the idea to add some bubbles to the waves, I think it helped create some interest and texture.  That being said, this quilt has a lot going on.  I’m going to bind it today.

I loaded up the pillow tops I made to go with this quilt.  They are a Bargello pattern using the batik fabrics left over from the first S@S quilt.  I used a panto called Seashells and Pearls, it took about four hours to stitch out the two 22″ x 24″ tops.  Computerized pantograph quilting looks great, but it can take a long time.

I was productive while the machine was stitching though.  I started the next shawl of The Shawl Society III, it’s called Over the Ivy Door.  The pattern calls for brown and green and is very pretty as that.  I had enough green in my stash, but no brown that would work.  I did have four skeins of Knit Picks Hawthorne that were part of a kit.  I’m going to knit the gray for the brown, fade into the gray-blue and then into the turquoise- gray-purple.  The finished size is about 21 x 85 a nice size rectangle to wrap up in.

Also finished this week was the paper boat quilt top.  I’m planning on simple horizontal waves to quilt this one.

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for “Can I get a Whoop Whoop?” today.

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This week I have been paper foundation piecing boats.  They are from a free PDF pattern on the RJR website by Cotton and Steel.  I found the background fabric on sale a few months ago and came across it recently while looking for something else.  It promptly went to the top of the “To-Do” pile.  Each boat is made from two mirror image parts.  Simple paper foundation piecing, with large pieces and simple straight lines.

When I first started paper foundation piecing, I took a class with Judy Mathieson on mariners compass piecing.  The method she taught was a bit different than the traditional way.  Instead of using plain paper she used freezer paper, and instead of sewing through the paper she had us fold the pattern on the sewing lines and then sew the two pieces of fabric together next to the fold.  The first piece of fabric was held to to the freezer paper by a quick press of a hot iron.  Then after each fabric was sewn on it was cut with 1/4 added and pressed to “glue” it steady to the foundation.  Once all the piecing is done, all you do is peel off the freezer paper.  The tedious picking and tearing of the paper foundation is gone, and you can reuse your foundation many times.

My last two quilts have been paper pieced through the paper, Storm at Sea tops.  I don’t think the fold and sew method would have worked for them, as there were just too many pieces and blocks.  This Paper Boat pattern lends itself nicely to this technique.  Instead of freezer paper, I used plain printer paper and a bit of washable school glue stick.

I took some phone pictures while sewing yesterday, kind of a tutorial, hope you can see and understand the methodology better.

Pre-fold paper on all sew lines

Glue first piece on wrong side

Trim with 1/4″ ruler

Place next piece right sides together

Fold back paper to expose first pieces and seam line

Sew with needle just touching the folded paper

Trim new piece

Trim

Fold out and trim

Place next piece

fold, sew and trim

All piecing done

Peel off paper

Join two halves and press

I have also been working on my PIQF entry and I have almost finished the Maytham shawl from Shawl society III.  Sadly, or rather happily, I don’t have a design wall up as my house is in a minor state of chaos while we are remodeling.  My sewing room is intact, however I have to run my machine and iron with an extension cord to the next room.  I’m just happy not to have to move my thing from that room again.  It’s been a little more than two years since the last time I did that, post from May 2016 Still here  .

Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts today for Design Wall Monday

For those that don’t know, tinking is un-knitting.  I am seriously thinking of tinking my hemp sweater. I don’t like how it is finishing up, I thought if I just kept knitting it would evolve into a sweater I would wear.  The pattern isn’t well written, which might be part of the problem.  It’s vague in many places, and I don’t have enough sweater construction experience to figure it through.  The pattern has you make three tubes, a body and two sleeves, then somehow they are knit together and the yoke is formed.  I am having trouble with the pattern interfering with the diagonal decreases.  I think it is in part due to the centering of the pattern on the sleeves.  In short, it’s a hot mess.

Happily, Curious Handmade  has released the first shawl pattern of the Shawl Society lll.  It’s called Maytham, part of the Secret Garden theme this year.

From the pattern notes:

THE MAGIC OF The Secret Garden takes place high in the Yorkshire Moors, in the grand and gloomy Misselthwaite Manor and its rambling estate. Frances Hodgson Burnett found the inspiration for her story almost 20 years before she penned its first lines, when she moved to a noble but slightly shabby country house, Great Maytham Hall. The sprawling, overgrown walled gardens which surrounded the house sparked a passion in the author, who immediately set to work bringing them back to life, ripping out the wild brambles, digging out old hedges, and planting masses of roses. 

I am using three skeins of Malabrigo yarn in plums and eggplant.

In quilting news, I got the Storm at Sea on the frame yesterday.  I decided to try 80/20 batting with this quilt.  It’s a little lighter weight and a bit puffier than Warm and Natural 100% cotton.  I’m quilting simple wavy lines to accent the illusion curves of the pattern.  These lines will run diagonally, so there will either be lots of scrolling or stopping and starting.  Decisions, decisions.

I am also working on my That’ll be the Day.  PIQF quilt.  I have a basic pattern drawn to size, but I need to color/shade it in with colored pencils to figure out fabric placement.  Then I think I can trace it on to vellum and cut out a bazillion pattern pieces.  I need to figure out if I am going to use wonder-under or glue.  I was recently on Susan Carlsons website, she makes and teaches fabric collages.  There is a tutorial there called Why Glue?  which is intriguing to me.  I would like to try it on this project, as it is a show quilt and not a “to be used” quilt.  More decisions to be made.

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for “Can I get a Whoop Whoop?” Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday, and Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday.

It’s Saturday, and it’s quiet here.  Last Monday the demolition of half of my living space started.  They get here at 8am and pack up at 4pm.  They took down the fireplace, all the walls and windows and the flooring, we are left with an empty shell.  They’ll be back Tuesday.  Unfortunately they have turned off the power to my sewing room, I could run an extension cord, but this will force me to finish the quilt currently on my frame.

I did finish the center of the Storm at Sea, here it is all de-papered and pressed.

I received the fabric I ordered for my PIQF entry.  I ordered a bolt of Wonder-Under, which is on its way, and 48″ wide paper to draw my full size pattern on.  I’d like to get the pattern drawn this week, and figure out my fabric layout/usage.  Simple enough, right?

I joined the Shawl Society lll KAL, it starts 5/31/18, six shawls in six months.  I picked up a few skeins of yarn while I was in Half Moon Bay this week.  There is a nice yarn shop there called Fengari, I found two color ways that I liked together, there were so many options.  This first shawl is a large one, 1200 yards, I may use a “life line” for this one, as mistakes are sure to ensue and ripping back rows of 400+ stitches isn’t fun.

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for “Can I get a Whoop Whoop?” a day late today.

I am diligently working on the Storm at Sea quilt.  I finished all the components (441) for the blocks this week and started to piece the blocks (49) together.  I have found the tearing the paper off at the four way intersections is helpful in lining up the seams.  I am also thinking that it will make removing all the paper easier, as there won’t be any that is caught in those intersections.  I did accidentally discover that having wet fingers help to remove those papers.  I am thinking that when to time comes, I’ll rig up a sponge in a saucer of water to use while ripping all those foundations off.

I am thinking of entering a quilt in this years PIQF show.  The theme is “That’ll be the day…” they also have a Mid Century Mod section again.  I entered my MCM quilt last year,  there were about 20 quilts in the category.  I thought that most of them ignored the mid century and just went with modern design.  Lots of negative space, solid colors, and lots of quilting.  Here are a few that I liked, but didn’t think were especially indicative of MCM.

The entries are due 8/29, I might be able to come up with something.  The Buddy Holly song keeps running through my head.

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die…

Sorry for the ear worm 🙂

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for “Can I get a Whoop Whoop?” today.