Check, check and recheck. Friday night I had some uninterrupted time to spend constructing the reunion quilt. I had finished all the blocks with the September shipment, and got the fabric for the borders and setting triangles earlier this month. I was steadily sewing along, the instructions are very detailed, with lots of pictures for each segment. The reason there are lots of pictures is that there are a lot of directional fabrics, and parts of blocks that need to match up. I had to unsew a block or two because of a mistake in directional-ity. This quilt top is a giant square in a square in a square, finished size is 107″ square. I got the center done, a nine patch when all is said and done, and pinned it to the design wall. I then went on and sewed the light shaded corner sections, I decided to attach them and finish up for the evening, I had spent about two hours and I wanted to leave some for the weekend. I sewed a corner on and got to the center of it and saw that the gold and white four patches were not matching up, in fact they were not even on the same side. UGH! I had turned the blocks 1/4 way too much, I had to un sew the center nine patch. I did and called it a night. Saturday night I started again, I re-sewed the center and added the four corners and pinned it up to the board again. Then I got the next set of corners done. Okay, I thought, tomorrow I’ll get the whole top together, just four long corner seams, and two borders. I sat for a moment gazing at the center. Something was amiss, wait, nooo! The mistake was in one of the blocks from month two, two HST’s in the wrong spot (third picture). I need to surgically remove them and switch them with ones that are in the correct spots. Maybe later today, I need a break from all this checking.

On the Long arm front, the quilting of the star wars quilts is finished. It went quickly, on the throw sized one the motifs are 7 inches, and on the queen I enlarged them to 8 inches, so each row took about ten minutes. Just need to bind them, I am thinking of black solid, I have a bolt of it around here somewhere. I put the next quilt backing on the frame, I am ready to get the “Street Fair” top started. I’ll probably do the ripping on the Reunion top while that stitches. Multitasking. I redid the errant hanging sleeve and finished the Halloween Figs quilt, it is hanging in the place of honor now. I may leave it up for a few more weeks, it is sort of autumnally themed. I feel good about this finish, the top was done last year about this time and it sat for another eleven months. I finished it before halloween though, a win!

I am also putting lots of stitches into my Longdog Sampler “The Pilgrim”. I started on my second aurifil spool, I can’t figure out how many yards are on the #12 thread size spool. The pattern calls for 115 meters of six ply thread, used singly. A lot of thread, a DMC skein is 8 meters, about 15 to do this project. I’d like to finish this in 2022, so the date is correct. I am going to start a new piece this week, called Turkey Bay, by Plum Street. To get in the mood for the upcoming holiday.

Hoping your October ends well too.

Be Kind.

This week I have been working on the two commission quilts with a Star Wars theme. I chose the pattern “Alyssa” by Pine Tree County Quilts for these two because it would use all the fabric types and colors and still come together nicely. In other words, it’s a great scrappy quilt pattern. The cutting and sewing is pretty simple, no triangles, just forty two 16 ½” blocks. I have got the smaller one together, and I hope to have the larger one done by today. There are two straight borders and lots of straight line sewing. I’ll be winding a few extra bobbins too.

This coming weekend I want to do the two BOM blocks from last month. I should like to have them finished before this months arrive <ahem>. I would like to get the Reunion quilt finished, and on the frame this month. There are two months left on the Ribbon Runs Through it BOM. Oh and the Message in a Bottle BOM for October will be here next week. I have just started on the first block, appliqué, the three “flowers”. The second block is hanging around here somewhere. I showed a bit of restraint this month that I feel I need to mention. I joined Sue Spargo’s newsletter recently because I enjoy her works and thought I might do one of her BOM’s as a diversion from my other ones. She does a lot with decorative stitching, threads and wools. I was smitten by her latest pattern called Flora, click the link, I dare you. I spent a few minutes clicking and reading and then I grabbed the calculator to figure out the price per month. She has a slightly complicated way of charging, some months are more than others, and there is a reservation fee. It’s all clearly written out and explained, sadly, too well. I talked myself out of doing it, mostly because I didn’t see the value. Yes, there is the original design, but I would like to use some of the yards of specialty threads that I have collected over the years. I really don’t need any more, and then there is wool fabrics, I have a small stash, and I want to keep it that way. So I won’t be signing up for this one. Really.

The quilting on my Halloween Figs quilt is finished, I like how it turned out. I used Superior Threads Microquilter in taupe on the top and black Bottom Line in the bobbin to add just a bit of texture and whimsy. The design sewed over the appliqué with out a problem, I used the cup attachment for the regular quilting foot. I am not too happy with the backing fabric. It was a 108 wide black with gray vines, I’m not sure of the manufacturer, the selvage isn’t printed. The problem is that the needle holes sometimes show as grey dots. The needle was deflecting the wrong side of the fabric to the good side. I first thought it was the top thread coming through, but when I attached the binding, the fabric did the same thing, gray dots. Very frustrating. Also, when I was sewing the binding on, I made a hanging sleeve. I think the quilt got turned or I thought since it was square, it didn’t have a top or bottom. Or maybe I just thought it was the top, it actually turned out to be the side that I attached the sleeve onto. Grr, damn my impatience, anyway, I had to unsew two sides and resew the sleeve and binding back on. Other than the hand sewing of the sleeve along the back, it is done. But, after all that I “won” at Thread chicken!

I am going to hang it up after halloween, as my Baltimore Halloween has the place of honor right now. Oh, and I finished the other halloween quilt, the Pumpkin a Day SAL, it was fun and now its done. I used a slightly different pumpkin patch panto for it, and variegated thread. Its for sale in my Etsy shop. These two and the Spider and the Fly quilt I made last year, pretty much used up most of my All Hallows Eve collection, I do have some of the white background prints left.

PIQF 2022 opened yesterday, I am still on the fence as to if I want to go. I haven’t been since 2019, but I would like to see the quilts and shop a little. But people, there will be lots of people there, hmmm.

Be Kind.

I’m on a roll this week getting lots done. Three quilts bound, one quilted and ready for binding, lots of four patches, and many cross stitches.

The quilt with all the four patches is from a pattern called Street Fair, by Clark quilts. It is written for a smaller size than I am making, so I am making more blocks, 49 in total. Also, just to make it more fun, the pattern calls for a 10″ square fabric pack, I’m using yardage. Thankfully, I will have enough of the white on white, but it is going to be tight.

After quilting the Pumpkin-a-Day quilt, I pulled out my finished Halloween Figs quilt top. I had a backing with it, so on the frame it went. I am going to do an all over panto on it. I wrestled with the thought of custom quilting it, but after finishing the Christmas figs quilt that way, I said no to custom. I spent about an hour yesterday looking for a specific pumpkin pantograph I had seem a few months ago. In fact I had thought of using it for the Pumpkin a Day QAL, but gave up and used one from Anne Bright Designs, called The Great Pumpkin. The Pumpkin Patch from Beany Girl was the one I was looking for, but I don’t think it will work for Halloween Figs, the scale isn’t right. While searching, I came across one from My creative Stitches called Autumn Splendor. Its a little more crips and swirly, I wanted to add texture and interest to the Halloween figs quilt and not take away from all the precision piecing and appliqué I did. I can now type the word PUMPKIN without looking at my keyboard.

Pilgrims Progress is slowly filling in, I am working on this particularly dense area on the left top, under the fox. I have resisted the siren call of starting a new piece, but it’s tough.

I other news, my fountain was installed last weekend. It took six guys to move it from the truck to my back yard, it reminded me of the ancient Egyptians making a pyramid, as piece by piece they brought it in.

Be Kind.

I have been steadily working on quilting and piecing the past two weeks. Although I haven’t gotten to the Reunion and Ribbon BOMs yet. I finished three tops, The Pumpkins (PumppleSALwith Ivory Spring), Effie Love and Snowy. I don’t think I blogged about Snowy, maybe that I bought the kit earlier this year. It is a quilt designed by Julie Paschkis, using the fabric line “Snowy” by In the Beginning Fabrics. Kits are still available, this is such a pretty quilt, I may keep it. I have to admit that I made a cutting error though, I was being my usual fabric frugal self while cutting all the pieces for the paper foundation blocks. I didn’t read through the instructions fully, and cut the right angled triangle pieces with the fabric WST. So I had only half facing the “correct” way. If you look at the top closely, you’ll notice that four of the pieced blocks are different from the other four. It works though, and I bet if I didn’t mention it, no one would notice right off.

I quilted the Botanica Park quilt, in order to get it done enough to take it off and switch in a baby quilt that needed quilting. It was going along quickly, I was in a rhythm, getting the motifs aligned and stitching them out. Then I got to the last row and discovered that my backing was too short, by about three inches. I almost wept. The finished size of this top is supposed to be 107″ square, I measured mine to be a bit less, I was thinking 104″ (?). Anyway, I used 108″ wide backing and it shrunk up a bit. Damn. I took it off the frame and after I get the errant HST repaired I will add a strip to the backing, I think I can hide it by making that the top side and adding a hanging sleeve there. Not that many people have that much wall space for a quilt this large.

I got the baby quilt on with the minky backing and quilted it with no problems. Had it squared, bound, packaged and in the post the next day. I loaded up Effie Love and proceeded to quilt that on to a 108″ wide backing. I was careful with the top placement, and was able to add another small baby quilt on the same backing. I am hoping to get it finished today and get the peacock quilt on the frame. I haven’t picked out a panto for it yet, I know I want to do something with feathers, and I don’t want to buy one. I looked through my library and found a few that I didn’t know I had already. I wish someone would organize my library of digital pantos for me. I am so hopelessly disorganized in that respect.

I have an order for four more quilts, possibly five depending on fabric usage, that needs to be done before December. I am hoping that I can get at least one done per week, as they are relatively simple designs/patterns and mostly scrappy.

I have also been working on the LongDog Sampler, Pilgrims Progress again. I did wash and press the Cardinals, but have not framed it yet. I am itching to start a new piece too, I was looking through all the new and upcoming designs at 123 Stitch earlier. I must show restraint though and work on the kits I have here. I may have to start the one I made up earlier this year, Huckleberry Farm. Or there is also the Heaven and Nature Sing one.

Off to stitch.

Be Kind.

This is Labor Day weekend, which is a reminder that Summer is almost over and that it is time to put away the white pants and shoes. Does anyone still do that, or is it from “the way back”? My holiday started on Wednesday, as my DH left for a short 6 day vacation. I have been sewing up quite a few things in my time alone. It’s not that I can’t while he is here, it’s that there are less interruptions and must-do things.

The Pumpkin a Day quilt is coming along, I have completed the twenty blocks, I want to work on finishing it today and tomorrow. The stitch-a-long is with Ivory Spring, follow along on Instagram #pumppleSAL. I would really like to get it sold this year, and Halloween is rapidly approaching.

In the mean time though, I have an order for a baby quilt that needs to be quilted, and in order to do that, I want to finish the Botanica Park quilting. This quilt is large, and the way the border and center blocks stitch out, requires Turning the quilt 90 degrees at about the half way point. I’d like to get the first orientation done, so I’ll only have to switch/turn it once, and do the baby quilt in-between the turns. While quilting it yesterday, this errant HST caught my eye, Damn. Well, I can fix it when I take it off to turn it.

The finishing kit for A Ribbon Runs Through will be here this week. Last week I worked on finishing the 16 more sashing blocks I needed. I used a HST method which makes eight at a time, and I was able to get them done in a few days. These sashings are a bit of a pain, 20 pieces, but they are the “ribbon” in this quilt design, so I can’t really skip them. Looks like I will be crafting half log cabins for the setting blocks.

Finally, I finished the stitching on the “Love” cross stitch piece I was working on. I wanted to finish it in the beginning of August, but it proved to be too much. The Hellebore flowers were dense, and I thought they would go as quickly as the cardinals did. I have the frame and will get to it soon.

Off to stitch a bit on the Pilgrim now, I have missed it. Although, I am itching to start something new, maybe a small for Halloween or Christmas.

Be Kind.