What I've Been Working On...

A couple of weeks ago I began piecing this flower quilt.  The pattern is named "Cottage Blossoms" and is by Lella Boutique.

As you can see, the top is finished but I will put it away for the holidays.  In January, I will bring it out, sandwich it, and machine quilt it on my Juki TL2000Qi.  I don't know if I will piece a backing for it or buy wide backing fabric for it.  I have TONS of yardage that I purchased specifically to make pieced backings, so I'm leaning towards doing that to use up some of my stash.

While piecing the flower quilt, I made these 12 crumb blocks as my "leader/enders".  They are 6.5" square.  (Crumbs are the little pieces of leftover fabric that are too small to be cut into usable strips after you are done making a quilt.)

I have a whole bunch more that I made previously, so I'll add these to them.  I'm thinking of adding star points and making them into star blocks...these crumb blocks would be the center of the stars.

Here's a close-up of the blocks so you can see the variety of fabrics that went into them.  (If you have received a quilt from me, you may see some of the leftover fabrics in these blocks!)

Making those blocks really didn't make a dent in my "crumbs" stash.  (These are 2 of my 3 crumbs boxes.)

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to "big stitch" quilt on the "Pastel Baskets" quilt that is in my frame.

Andy & I have broached the subject of sectioning off a portion of the basement and turning it into a sewing room for me.  Two and a half years ago we moved my sewing room into the "master bedroom" and we took one of the two smaller bedrooms for our bedroom.  However, I really have "outgrown" the master bedroom.  One of the issues with my current sewing room is that there are 2 windows, a door, and a fireplace that take up room/wall space, thus biting into the "usable" space.  If we build a room in the basement there would only be the door into it to take a "bite" out of the usable room, so not only would the room be slightly bigger, it would have more usable space, thus making it more functional.   

We have just started discussing it and it would take some work to get it up and running, so don't everybody hold your breath right just yet.

Loretta

New Hand Quilting Project...

I usually have at least two projects going on at any one time...I try to have one quilt top that I am piecing (or getting ready for piecing) and I like to always have a quilt top in my hand quilting frame.  That way I get to choose which project I want to work on when I'm in my quilting room.  Sometimes I'm too tired to focus on piecing but hand quilting doesn't require thought...I just sit and "zen out" while hand quilting.

Yesterday I posted about the new project that I'm going to start piecing soon.  I need to pull the fabrics for that one from my stash and get them cut up...I'll probably do that this weekend.

As for the hand quilting project, I had finished the quilt that was in my frame last weekend so last night I loaded a new top into the frame.

Remember this one?  Cottage Rose baskets...

I put the first stitches in it today and am trying something new..."Big Stitch" quilting...

Big stitch quilting is done with thicker thread...usually perle cotton size 8...and a larger needle.  The idea is to have the stitches show and give "character" to the quilt instead of the very small stitches that can't be easily seen.  It is woefully difficult to find perle cotton thread in our area, so I decided to use crochet cotton in a size 10 (very slightly thinner than perle cotton 8).  I originally bought some embroidery thread and was going to use 2 strands, which would equal size 12 thread, but then decided to try this crochet thread instead.  If I had a thread chart to use to choose colors, I could have purchased the perle cotton online...but it is very difficult to match colors on a computer because they don't show "true" on a monitor.   Just look at the difference in colors between those three pics of the same quilt.  

I was hesitant to try the big stitch quilting but it is really fun, goes quickly, and gives the quilt a totally different "look"!  I definitely will be doing this technique again!

Loretta

Pastel Basket Blocks....

In my last post, I mentioned a quilt top that I was working on.  I had purchased the finished blocks at an estate auction of a quilter back in 2011.  Most of what I bought at that auction was fabric, but there was one tote that had these finished blocks in it along with extra fabric and the pattern...all part of a "kit".  (The original price tag of $180 was still on the plastic bag inside the tote!)

In an attempt to try to finish up some "UFO's", I pulled the blocks out a couple weeks ago and took a close look at them.  They were pretty, but they were NOT cut or sewn accurately, so they were not square.  To make them usable, I had to trim them down from the approximate 8.5" that they were to 8.25".  In doing so, I lost all the points on the baskets.  I hated to see these blocks go unused...so losing the points was the answer to making the blocks square.

I also didn't like the layout in the pattern, so I threw them up on my design wall and came up with this layout...adding the cream sashing between the blocks to cut down on the "busyness" of the scrappiness and to increase the size of the top to fit a queen-sized bed.  

Then I decided to make my first-ever "piano-key" border.  I finished attaching the last border tonight!!

It measures 84.5" x 102" so it is difficult to get a picture of the whole thing.  Instead, I folded it in half and laid it across my ironing board to take these pictures.

The colors are very "shabby chic"...soft and muted...what is referred to as "low volume".  It's not my usual type of quilt because:

1.  I like lots of contrast between the colors to show the definition of the pattern more; and
2.  I don't usually like "kit quilts".  I prefer "scrappy quilts" with my own choice of fabrics.

All-in-all, I'm very happy with what I was able to do with them and I think they make a very pretty quilt top...and I didn't have to do all the work of cutting and sewing the original blocks!  

For now it goes on the quilt rack with the other quilt tops that need quilted.  At first I thought I'd machine quilt this one, but I'm thinking I might put it into the frame after I finish Erin's wedding quilt.  I've never done the "big stitch" quilting using perl cotton thread, but I'm thinking this might be the quilt to try it on.

Loretta

Summer's Almost Over...Time For a Change!!!

Quotes for the Day:

"Our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." ~M. Scott Peck

"Go where you are celebrated—not tolerated.If they can't see the real value of you, it's time for a new start." ~Unknown

You're probably thinking I've fallen off the face of the earth...again...but really I've just been incredibly busy.  I can't believe that summer is over because I feel like I've not really had a summer yet this year.

My summer started out with deadlines for finishing three quilts...

Clark's 1st Birthday quilt...

Kate and Jon's wedding quilt...

...and Karen's comfort quilt...

In July, we took 14 days and went to Georgia to take care of our two grandsons so that their parents could get away to celebrate their 10th anniversary.  

Just a few short days after returning from that trip, I decided that I had to make a job change to maintain my own sanity, so near the end of July I started job-hunting.  It didn't take long before I had an interview...followed by a job offer...which I accepted last week!  I have put in my resignation at my current employer and this week will be my last work week there...followed by an already-scheduled vacation for our daughter's wedding. 

After my vacation, I will start my new job in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) at West Virginia University Hospital.  I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time!  Change is always difficult, but I'm so ready for this new phase in my life and career!  

In the midst of all of this job hunting/interview/preparing to leave my current job, etc., I've been seeking calm and peace in my quilting.  

I pulled out a project that I had purchased at an estate auction 4 years ago.  The blocks were already pieced but needed put together and quilted.  

 

I squared up the blocks, laid them out on my design wall in the layout above, then decided that they needed some cream-colored sashing between them to help break up the "busyness" and help make the top large enough to fit a queen bed.  They are now sewn together with the sashing and I am currently working on making a "piano-key" border with the leftover fabric.

I've also been hand-quilting on my daughter's wedding quilt.  (She gets married in 2 weeks!)  The quilt won't be done in time for the wedding, but just this weekend I reached the half-way point and am now working on the second half!!

Loretta