I set out to make a table runner as a commission for a friend, the fabrics were a solid and a print. A simple quilted runner with some appliquéd trees on it. We decided that the trees would be on top of the quilting, so I was to stitch the flakes and then appliqué the trees on top. I attached the print to the frame, cut a piece of batting and sandwiched it with a piece of Bella snow on top. Time investment, about 30 minutes. Set up the q-matic to stitch out one row, 16″ x 103″ of a snowflake pantograph, about 15 minutes. Yup, quick and easy. I was using metallic thread, so I have to slow the stitching speed down a bit to prevent shredding. I got the bobbin and thread tensions working well, and started stitching, and stitching and stitching. It took 4 ½ hours to stitch the design out. It looks really pretty, but the size of flake and the size of the trees just wasn’t working for me. Back to the design wall, or digital pantograph market place. I found a smaller scale panto, and since I had loaded the runner length-wise, I had enough room on the 44 inch wide fabric to advance the rollers and quilt another runner parallel to the first one. A little time savings, and less hassle. The replacement panto took and hour and twenty minutes to stitch, much better there too. I have the trees cut out and ready to sew on, today is the day for that.

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Over the past few weeks I have gotten my act together to pursue a career in Long Arm Quilting for others. I joined the “LongArm League”, got a website together, and even an instagram page. Yep, it’s all happening. My DH likes to ask me when he can retire and have me support us with quilting. I highly doubt that will ever happen, but I like to think that this venture will support itself and be more than a tax write off. This past week I sold my 40th quilt on Etsy, it took three years, but I am proud of that milestone. I think I have about 30 more that I have sold to customers through craft shows and through word of mouth in this time also. Another milestone that is quickly approaching, is my 300th quilt. Phew, that’s a lot of stitching. So if your thinking about having someone quilt for you, or know someone who has a few UFO’s hanging about, tell them to check out my site Live Oak Quilt Studio.Com

Be Kind.

Last week I started working on a new quilt pattern from The Fat Quarter Shop called Nutcracker. It uses one of their Jolly Bars (10″x 5″ stacker) and about two yards of background. I combined most of the scraps from the Christmas Figs quilt and this Jolly bar to get enough pieces to make a top that is slightly larger (a row and a column) than the pattern. I omitted the plain sashing, to give it a little more cohesion. I found a piece of 108″wide coordinating backing, which with some careful measuring and math, made the borders and backing, possibly enough for the binding too. Leaving off the sashing, and adding the borders made the top measure in at 48″ X 62″. A quick panto and I could have this ready for sale in a week or two.

Another project that I have recently gotten is a table runner. It is relatively simple, the top is a gathering of isosceles triangle trees appliquéd onto a solid background. The tricky part is that the trees are to be sewn over the quilting. So I have to quilt it first and then put the trees on, Oh! I just got an idea! I can appliqué the trees with the long arm machine, while the runner is still on the frame. I feel smart today.

The quilting on the Reflected Harmony quilt was finished last night. So happy it is off the frame. It has been the sole quilting project since 9/28, way too long. I like how it turned out though, many roses and ribbons were added to the texture of this quilt. I should have kept track of the hours, because there were days I didn’t work on it. I used an older collection of rose themed designs from Wasatch quilting. I made them fit the borders and blocks by resizing them and combining them to fit the medallion pattern. I used a thicker bobbin thread for this quilt with Sew Fine on the top. The back side stitching shows a bit more than the front as a result. I really like this backing, a Strawberry Thief print I got from connecting threads.

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Cross stitching finishes/starts for November are this Gathering Berries small (yay!) from Misty Pursel and Gathering Blessings. Still working on the Newcastle Bouquet, with some progress on the border.

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Off to start my day.

Be Kind.

I finished piecing the top for Spider and the Fly quilt yesterday. It is from a pattern by Bonnie Hunter, a PDF download ($) from her site Quiltville . I took a series of photos along the way, it took me about 27 days to assemble it. It is in the to-be-quilted-pile now, and used up a majority of the scraps from the Halloween Figs quilt. I still have most of a jelly roll, a charm pack and about four yards total of uncut yardage. There is probably another quilts worth in the bin, but not a large one.

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I’m still working on the Reflected Harmony quilt. I’m about 20 percent finished, and I am hoping to do more this week, as it’s going to rain though Sunday. I have no reason to go out, all the shopping is done and the garden is doing it’s fall thing. Speaking of fall, look at the color of this Pastiche tree in my neighborhood.

The Newcastle Bouquet stitchery is progressing, I have most of the flowers in the left hand side border finished. I’d probably be further along, but counting errors have been frequent, there has been some ripping and mild swearing involved.

The punch needle piece is on the side lines for a bit. I pick it up now & then, and add a few strands. I wish that there was less needle threading and more actual stitching. It seems to me that I spend more time separating the floss strands and threading the needle. It’s a process I guess.

I am trying to decide what to start now. The first installment of the Reunion BOM arrived last week. I haven’t even opened it up yet, before I know it another block will be here. Then it will be January, and the first block of “A Ribbon Runs Through it” will be here. What possessed me to sign up for two large BOM’s for 2022? Could it be that I signed up for one, forgot about it, and signed up for the second?

I recently picked up some precut batting for microwave bowl holders. I think they will make good Christmas gifts, simple sewing, quick finish, practical. Almost as good as underwear, which is sort of a joke around here, as everyone gets underwear for Christmas from Santa.

Off to sew.

Be Kind.

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Last week I ordered a frame and backing board for the Changed World cross stitch piece. I have ordered from Custom Frame Solutions before, and I am happy with their service and products. When the UPS dropped off my new frame I noticed that it was in a long thin box, not the 11″ x 14″ box I was expecting. Its okay though, as the frame came with nifty fasteners and it is simple enough to knock them in with a rubber mallet. The backing board isn’t here yet, so I am no further on this finish.

I finished all the parts for the S&F (spider and the fly) quilt and got all of the block Bs together. I used the webbing method, doing five blocks at a time. I am going to get to the A blocks today. I just realized how appropriate it is that I am doing webbing with these blocks.

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I started the punch needle piece. It took me about an hour to figure it out, no YouTube videos were watched either. I figured that it was easy enough, as I had an idea of how it was done. I started out with three strands of floss, too much, and bumped it down to two. Threading the needle gave me a bit of a pause, and how long to make the needle. The length of the needle determines how big of a loop you get. The loop thing, ha, I feel a little foolish about that. I couldn’t figure out how to get the loops to form on the top side of the design. An “aha” moment: you stitch on the back side where the printed lines are, the loops are on the front/other side. Once I got going I was punching away. I am using 1 yard long pieces of floss, and they get used up pretty fast. The light green leaf has three yards of floss in it. I may re-do one of the white flowers, as it looks more like a dandelion.

Assembling away.

Be Kind.

When I see the word “smalls”, I think of the 1993 movie ‘The Sandlot’. There’s a line “You’re killing me Smalls”, Smalls being a character in the movie, not a small cross stitch project. Here’s the Google explanation:

Where does the phrase you’re killing me Smalls come from?

You’re killing me, Smalls originates in the 1993 baseball movie The Sandlot. The movie revolves around a boy named Scotty Smalls who moves into new neighborhood and is taken under the wing of the local boys and taught to play baseball.

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I have been seeing a lot of them in YouTube videos, smalls in dough bowls, baskets, just hanging out on a sideboard, mounted on wooden shapes, or in little frames. In my cross stitch stitching resurgence (started in July 2020) I have been mostly working on large pieces. I started with finishing the cat head, the floral circle and then it was on to Pet all the Dogs, Strawberry fields, Newcastle Bouquet, and Changed World. Fifteen months of stitching little X’s and a bit of stash enhancement, I haven’t really stitched anything small. Sort of like making lots of bed quilts and no baby quilts. Like I said, I’m beginning to think about a dough bowl smalls collection of my own. It would be satisfying to me in that I would be able to start and finish a cross stitch project in a few weeks, and have the thrill of a new start and finish in a short period of time. Right now, there are so many cute Halloween smalls available. Changing the “smalls bowl” out seasonally would be fun for me. The only hard part, besides choosing which one to make, would be explaining the concept to my DH, he doesn’t really get decorative art displays.

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I have been slowly quilting on the Reflected Harmony quilt. I finished the Hungry Animals book quilt with a blue checkered binding. Today’s goal is to finish the block pieces for the Spider and the fly quilt. I need 38 more three stripe parts made, and then I can sew the 49 blocks together. This quilt is putting a dent in my Halloween Figs scrap pile. I ordered a few more yards each of the orange, black and white prints to do the borders of this quilt. The fabric line, All Hallows Eve, is getting harder to find. I started out with the BOM quilt scraps, and I have made a dent in that pile, but there are three solid borders on the S&F quilt, and I needed a bit of yardage. I was supposed to get the Halloween Figs quilt done/quilted this year, but I looks like it’ll be for October 2022. I did hang up my Baltimore Halloween quilt yesterday.

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I had a surprise package delivered last week. The first part of the BOM, Reunion, arrived. I actually had to look up the finished quilt, because I had forgotten all about it. I remember that I signed up for the BOM, A Ribbon Runs Through it, but that one starts in January ~ October 2022. It’ll probably be a surprise when it starts /arrives too.

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Time to sew.

Be Kind.