Finishing little and big

 I have been finishing things: old and new.

1)  So happy to finally get the binding on my navy Chandelier Quilt.  I really love the  colors and design as it sets all of those leftover quarter square triangles. The patchwork is in reproduction fabrics and it is twin sized. 

I sent it to my quilting with a no rush request and she held it for a while.  No big deal.  and then when I got it back, I put it on a back burner especially since I went on retreat and visited the grandkids. 

She elected to quilt with an interesting lightning bolt all over stipple. So appropriate!

2) I finished my cross stitch for fall which I have been doing for the past 6 weeks.  It is a Lori Holt design, but I used her colors from another pattern and kit I have of hers.  My first work on evenweave.  I like the results, and it was a challenge to count. but I am so happy with the result. 

3) I worked on quilting some small projects.  I did a rough straight line quilt around the blocks for a July 4th piece.  In the middle, I knocked off the thread stand and spent an hour searching for it.   So I ended up organizing some projects. And that was an accomplishment.  And then I found the thread stand.  YEAH.

So I then attached a 30 inch square of exchange blocks I whipped together at retreat.  Not a great quilt design, but I just wanted to get it off my pile.  So donation quilt it is.  My muscle memory was pretty good for the large free motion stipple.  My foot however, was inconsistent on speeds changing stitch length as I sewed.   It was good to practice again.

The back was an old Deb Strain flannel, perfectfor the colors AND I had a spool of a light orange. A perfect thread for the quilting. the edge of the binding fabric is sticking out. Good enough.

These were churn dash blocks cut into fourths, which I then reassembled. 

Retreat time!

 Delighted to get away and have some time just to sew and chat with friends.  Our group went to a former church camp location.  We had fewer quilters than usual, but maybe that is good not to have too much noise and such.  I, myself, get a little overwhelmed after a while and need some good old quiet time. 

But all in all, it was great to have someone else cook and clean.  And the best part was sharing ideas and shout outs to things I forgot to pack.  I was so rushed this time. 

So what was I able to accomplish:

First: lots of acorn mug rugs/ candle mats/ door decoration or whatever you want to call it.  I was only able to finish about 16 of them due to lack of planning. I ran out of backing and batting. This group is going to Indiana in gift baskets for my Mom's caregivers. 

Second, I was able to get my Fig Tree pumpkin top together.   It took a while to strip piece in seminole style for the borders in between the rows.  I am glad to have this accomplished. 

Third, I made a donation block for an exchange.  All we had to do was use teal, black and gray.

My friend was the receiver of the drawing.  

And lastly once I got home, I completed my row for the next part of the round robin.  I just made all the quarter square units.  Interesting, the fabric is from an old Wisconsin fabric line from several years ago.

My sewing machine is getting a good work out and has needed to be cleaned twice lately. 

November is here!

 I don't know about your area, but we have had the most beautiful fall colors  this year.  Oh my, especially the oak trees which are normally just boring brown.  It took a long time for the colors to turn as we are in a drought and have not had much rain which is needed to turn them. And the wind we had yesterday whisked all the remaining leaves somewhere else.

Anyway, I have had time to sew as well as to organize a little of my sewing area. (Cleaning creates chaos first, at least for me.) 

I am the queen for Stash Bee this month and so I needed to make directions and samples for my 1/4 log cabin. Photo contains 3 sample blocks each with different sized logs, but all in red, white, and blue.

I had another delightful visit with my Mom and Sister in Indianapolis. 

She is doing so well for being almost 93 and in an a memory care unit for 5 years.

Here is my dear husband leading a drum circle for the unit she lives on: 

I can never get him to be still so photos are interesting.

       

Sewing again!

 I have completed 30  blocks of 16 patches.  The fall colors look great.  I am on a stand still waiting for my mojo to resize the acorn pattern.  The printer would not cooperate. 

The goal was to have all 16 squares be different fabrics.  And of course, my photo shows one with a duplicate.  

Additionally, I have been working on a version of a log cabin having just 1/4 of it  at a 14 inch size to share the pattern with friends.  I am working with red, white and blue colors for a summer picnic quilt. 

The free pattern is Ventanas by Timeless Treasures,  but I started playing around with the numbers. 

Good news, though, I found a bag of red, white and blue reproduction fat quarters. Woo Hoo!

And while watching my television, I have been stitching away at my cross stitch.  It is coming along nicely.  Although yesterday, I had to tear our rows and made many mistakes.  I guess it was just not my day. 

I like using the even weave cross stitch fabric.  But my old eyes have a hard time counting sometimes. Or, I end up crossing the stitches the wrong way. Mistakes happen, as in life  Ugh.  

Off to see Mom this weekend. Our drive will be pretty. 

Back home again

 My spouse and I took a trip back to Louisiana to see the grandkids and their parents.  The weather, of course, was 20 degrees warmer than we are used to in Wisconsin being in the 80s. 

We love their fall weather enjoying the falling leaves and decorations while being so wonderfully warm. Now I get why businesses sell short sleeved shirts for fall; up here we add sweaters and flannels for layers. 

It was great to share time with the kids as well as their dad, whom we miss so much.  Boys are not ones who like to chat. Even the littles are not great on the phone and will just frankly say they are done.  (aka  I am not as interesting as their computer games.) 

We had a great time.  My son is a goood cook and has a great grill. We spent wonderful time outdoors. Kayaking was the highlight for the old guys, my husband and son.  Hiking was the highlight for the little boys.  The oldest just absolutely loves observing all the plants and finding them along the way. 

This is at the Cane River in Natchitoches.

This is at Kisatchie National Forest.

The boys and I

And it was so warm, they played with the sprinkler and water balloons. 

Family is everything. 

The only stitching I did was cross stitch on the plane. 

But after I got home I started some new projects.

I am making patchwork acorns for a basket for each care giver for my Mom. 

26 blocks 16 patches 1 and 1/2 inches each.

This is pattern a friend and I are going to complete together. I even purchased some backgrounds I was going for some wovens but in tans which suits my house. 

             

All for now.  This month I still have more traveling to go.

Quilt for Daughter in Law

 I am glad to share a finish with you!  I had purchased the kit and pattern after seeing it in a store in Missouri.  I had shown  the photo to my daughter in law knowing she would probably like it.  This is Hello Boo fabric line by Lella Boutique. The pattern had a dark and light version.  I chose the black which has spider webs in the design.  I think the borders are what make it, especially the black and white stripe. I have made that my binding as well.  It was easy to assemble and I liked the colors together as I worked on them, not usual combinations for my taste.

Close ups of a couple of the panel blocks

The back is a minky kind of fabric and the quilting is a swirly design with spider webs and spiders hanging periodically. My long armer helped asI needed it to be done, so that I can take it down south when I visit my grandkids. 

So I am working on hand stitching the binding down. 

Cross stitch and Pumpkins

 In the evenings, I enjoy handwork like bindings or applique. And lately, I have found some small designs to cross stitch.

I have pushed myself to finish up these little ones last week: 

Both of these are from Pinker n Punkin. She has such cute seasonal designs. But these befuddled me. I worked on evenweave with 2 strands on 2 squares.  But I really NEED a higher power of readers although I already use 3. 5s and a bright light beside me. 

And this last one, I experimented with painting the canvas with acrylic paints added with Textile Medium, 2 to 1 ratio is suggested online. To highlight and brighten it and give it a mottled look, I added additional yellow paint to give a mottled look. I like how it turned out. 

It was easier to stitch and I used 2 strands over 2 squares. It went fast. 

I don't remember where I located this pattern. 

Lastly, I have been quilting: I have a Fig Tree pattern that has both an orange and white pumpkin version. I chose the grayish brown background I already had and a layer cake of Fig Tree's fabric from last year. I am altering it to make it fit a space on my wall. 

This is the lay out.  All that is needed is sashing and pieced horizontal borders between the rows.

Over the weekend I took a trip to Indianapolis to visit my sister and Mom. 

Diane had found my mother's wedding album from 1952. We looked at the black and white photos with her. Mom's memory of the event wasn't very clear. We were fortunate to have a newspaper article detailing the people including attendants and grandmothers as well as details of the apparel and flowers. 

Not bad for a 92 year old lady with Alzheimer's

Busy..busy..busy

 Busy, busy busy. 

August ended with a trip to Door County, the thumb of Wisconsin sticking out in Lake Michigan. It is our yearly trip and we so enjoy being away from home to spend some quality time together. And at the same time, we can't get enough of walking along the water's edge at various locations at the marinas or on  the shores. One day I even walked 14,000 steps, a record for me. 

The highlight was a sailboat trip where we had a brisk wind and the boat keeled (leaned) as it rode the waves up and down. I was encouraged to sit along the side, dangle my feet. I was wet up to my bum and laughed and enjoyed it so much. What a memory!

The following weekend was the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show in Madison, the capitol. So much to take in. So many vendors and quilts and creativity. And I had the pleasure of meeting Nann for With Strings Attached there. She was delightful and it was such fun as we knew so much about each other from our blogs. Kindred spirits with shared interests. 

Next year I think I will stay an extra day to take a class and have more time to perusing  all the vendors. 

A couple quilts from the show:    Best of show  Oh, my gosh, the quilting!!!

Beautiful with 3 D wool leaves. I love a good fall quilt.

I liked the variation of the pickle dish with the applique in the center. 

And Bucky Badger and the University of Wisconsin Band made an appearance since it was the 10th anniversary of the show. 

And since then, new fall events occur, school started,  and my schedule is fuller. But the glorious thing is the weather, warm enough to keep wearing summer schools, but not too hot. And sunny with beautiful sunsets. Love it!  

I have finished a Halloween quilt top. 

And I keep working on other blocks for New York Beauty: I am up to 26 out of 36. 

And I started another fall wall hanging I purchased fabric for LAST year. 

Fall push

 I am in the mood!   That is: I want to QUILT again. It is almost fall and I have Halloween quilt that needs to be done the first week of October. I need to do my round robin in the next 2 weeks. I have a couple apple boxes/ Riley Blake kits to do for September. And I want to make progress on my New York Beauty and Dear Jane blocks. The energy is brewing to get things done. 

Labor Day is usually the time for many of my book clubs/ organizations to begin again after a summer hiatus.  Plus, school is starting/has started depending on where you live. As a retired teacher, it is still in my blood, getting new clothes and supplies now for the grandkids.   And it makes me excited for apples and colorful leaves on the trees and new yummy warm colors. And being retired, it is nice to not have to worry about setting up a class or lessons or getting up before 6:00 A.M.

So I am beginning a few new things. It is exciting to create and use new colors. I am making the Hello Boo quilt in the dark version by Lella Boutique black spider web fabric with white silken threads.  Very interesting colors for Halloween with peaches, pinks, fuchsia, and a grayish pea green. But the more I work on it, the more I like it.  Well, at least to give away to my daughter in law.  I would not like it for my house. 

Here are the alternate blocks using the panel with the collection. Love the cute sayings for Halloween. Now to make the pumpkin blocks in between. 

I also made the Pumpkin BOM for our next guild meeting; it is a 12 inch block. 

And as I am thinking about the Dear Daughter, I made her a mug rug with scraps.

And then I made one for the dear daughter in law, too.

Plus I have 3 wall hanging quilt tops that NEED to get done.  

Moving the daughter

 It has been a busy few days. I can't say that I sewed much; however I did straighten up the sewing area. It was much needed.

My dearest daughter found a sweetheart that lives in the Detroit area and has been dating him for almost a year.  They have been going back and forth for visits and a few vacations together. They are in their late 30s.

So they made the decision to have her move there as she works from home anyway. We are so happy for her to have found someone. And he has a small home there. 

So we ( Hubby and I) packed her up with the assistance of a few friends, drove a Uhaul there and then unpacked her while setting up as much as we could .  Finally we returned back home only a couple days later. Michigan is fairly flat....BUT it has a boatload of construction sites on the highways.   And that doesn't count the ones around Chicago. 

We are tired and glad to be home before the heat is to arrive. 

I am sad.....and happy.....and we did so much together, so I miss her. 

Progress and finish

Blessings for fall on the farm is a small lap quilt.

This was a fabric line by Primitive Gatherings a few years ago.  Lisa Bongean also designed the quilt to go with the pattern: 2 colorways with dark outlines or light.  I had leftover flannels from Bonnie Sullivan from a previous quilt and used them for the borders and some of the half square blocks. 

The quilting is sunflowers and fall leaves: so appropriate and fun. 

The backing ended up being pieced as my pumpkin fabric was only 40 inches wide not the wide backs I usually get. So I got the opportunity to use leftover layer cake as mentioned before. Easy and fun fix. 

Other quilting finishes: 

Red and blue runner: these are the leftover blocks which made a nice square table topper to donate.

easy stitch in the ditch and diagonal rows.  Marking  the criss cross lines with a hera marker; my new favorite tool. 

This is not my mini quilt, although it was my pattern which I made eons ago.  I had even given her many of my homespuns. My friend was lamenting how she was wanting to get projects completed.  I found this little mini in a plastic bag and "stole" it from her to quilt and bind it quickly.  

And I also finished the sashiko: