Pillows

 Finishing up projects/ pillows this week. The first set goes with my newly decorated bedroom. These pillows are made from leftover Thimbleberries squares I had. They are completed at 20 inches. 

Here is the pair of pillows on my back porch with leaves falling after our rain storm. 

The quilting is a combination stitch in the ditch and templates for the circles as well as Golden Threads paper for inside the square in a square. 

And here are the backs. I just lined them and overlapped the 2 sides. 

The second set is to match the quilt I had made from Meadow Mist designs a few years ago as a mystery quilt. I used the same design and basic fabrics as the quilt. 

Here is the pair of them at 18 inches; they are 2 different oranges which is her favorite color.

No quilting on these. 

And the back has the required Minky dots for the cat to sit on. She likes them. 

Jensen and his 4K quilt

 My cute grandson is so excited. He finally gets to go to school like his big brother.  Yeah for 4 year old kindergarten! He is so much fun; and is Grandpa's little buddy. We get a kick out of him looking so much like his daddy. 

 

So a week ago, my daughter in law mentioned she hadn't purchased a nap blanket for this guy.  I had made one for the older brother 2 years ago. And all I needed was this comment to immediately volunteer to make one. But he needs it for September 1. 

So to the fabric stash I went.  I found a great construction vehicle print. And then searched Pinterest for boy quilts. I have always wanted to make this one. 

   But I found an easy peasy one that would work better. 

I had a selection of solids and added a couple from my favorite local quilt shop. And worked a plan out. After a day of math mistakes, I made the correction without re-cutting all the blocks. 

I appliqued five of the vehicles to the road and then added the borders. Quilting was just done to outline the roads and the vertical seams with a walking foot. The back is a might crooked.  Oh well!

And last is his name.   Love this guy to bits. This is only his 3rd quilt I have made for him. 

Binding is the same fabric. 

Slow stitching finishes

 Each night I find myself doing some kind of needlework:     And now I have a couple finishes to brag tell you about, 

First of all I have finished the cross stitch I started in June It is an old pattern ( Purchase price 1 dollar) from Homespun collectibles.  It is completed on punch paper.  I am not quite sure how I am going to display it yet.  But I liked the pattern so much , I ordered a few more online. 

Secondly,  I have finished a quilt! YEAH!  

This is a hearty quilt !  Ha Ha!  But it has been created to donate to an organization that works with kids who have parents who are deceased or incarcerated.  They meet once a week for dinner and a program or a fall and spring session of 13 weeks each.  

These are some of the blocks up close. Each one was made of a variegated fabric 

Here is the hearty quilting done by a member of my quilt guild. 

Also here shows the colorful backing.  I do NOT like to piece backs.  So I buy extra wides and this one is from Connecting Threads and comes in white and black.  I love the silky feel of the fabric and used it also as the binding and the cornerstones. 

Full frontal!  Each block is 10 by 12. 

Yeah!  So pretty and colorful and a lap size.   No outside photos; it is raining cats and dogs not hearts. 

Coloring on fabric

Let me start by showing some needlework done in the evenings in front of the TV.The first is an applique I started last year January.  These are traced from Lori Holt templates onto iron on interfacing. ( It was the closest I had to what she uses. ) Then you sew on the lines, make a slit  in the interfacing and inside it out. I then hand sewed all the pieces on. While I like the process.  I did not like the result.  I need to find a better interfacing This was too bulky. I much prefer Kim Diehl's method. This is a 12 inch block. 

Next I finished te 3rd 4th of July stitchery.  This is about 4 and 1/2 inches square

Next I am working with my co president of my quilt guild.  We have a cancellation for Covid for this month's speaker.  And although we are trying zoom, romote was not a possibility.  Knowing that this may be a problem I am making a demonstration in case we have another last minute cancellation.The topic I am working on is coloring with crayons on fabric.  There are many Youtube videos including Meg Hawkey of Crabapple Hill out there. So I thought I would show my process. I chose sunflowers as it is August.Here is my inspiration from Pinterest with a lousey print job on paper. 

Next I traced the design on a basic beige fabric using a mechanical pencil.I colored a basic light yellow for the flower and light brown for the center all over. Meg Hawkey likes to use white . These are Crayola crayons. I also ironed freezer paper to the back to stabilize the fabric. 

I then added more layers of color in varying shades, some golds, yellow oranges, and different shades of brown. After I had it colored the way I wanted, I went to the ironing board put it face down on a paper towel and pressed with a hot iron ( no steam). You can see and smell the wax melting and the color soaks into the fabric. 

The best part is that if you do not like your colors, go back and redo your coloring in spots with a new shade or even white to lighten it. Then iron again. It is SOOO forgiving The last I did was add some white highlights. 

Here is the final with some machine quilting to accent it. I need to purchase some yellows for finishing.

This is a good 6 by 8 inch size for the design. 

My other sample is much smaller at about 5 inches.   This I am doing embroidery work for the outlining.  I little more to go. The french knots took a while.