Fitting in a few stitches today!

Wow the year is really coming to it's end quickly!  Tom and I drove to Dallas/Fort Worth area to visit with our son and his family right before Christmas.  It was good to see everyone and visit.  We headed back home on Tuesday and my sister and her husband stopped by our place on Friday and left this morning as they headed to Texas.
So today, it will be nice to sit and stitch a bit 

Simple But Not is coming along nicely.  As I look at the one block that is completely quilted, I feel the feathers are not quite as plump as I would like them to be. So once the quilt is completely quilted I will have to add some trapunto. 

I really like the way it enhanced my string star quilt.  It is a bit labor intensive, but I think the extra time will really make all the difference to how happy I will be with the finished quilt. 

Now back to the hoop!

 

Merry Christmas!

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Joyous and Healthy New Year!  Although I didn't finish my list of things I wanted to complete, as they say there is always next year. May the New Year bring you lots of inspiration and time to stitch!

 

Slow Stitching Sunday

It has been so nice to start my mornings this week by putting in a few slow stitches into Simple but Not!   I have put all the other projects away and am allowing myself to zone out and enjoy the slow stitching. 

I often think about why this is my favorite part of making a quilt. There is something calming about listening to the sound of the thread being pulled thru the fabric. The repetition of making one stitch after another.  When I piece or applique I seem to always measure my progress by how soon my project will get completed.  But when I hand quilt, it isn't about finishing but enjoying each stitch. The transformation of fabric thread and batting into a quilt is magical.  I will be linking with Slow Stitching Sunday to see what other magic is happening. Hope you can find some time in this busy season to enjoy some magic too!

Hand Piecing

Today I hope to add at least part of round 10 on my Trip Around the World.   I started this right before Thanksgivng and have had fun learning to hand piece.  I am just using some strips of fabric that I found in my scrap box. Kind of wild and crazy but I love how it changes with each round that  I add.  I am aiming for 20-22 rows that should make a nice size baby quilt. 

My little start right before Thanksgiving

 

Nine rows completed!

 

I finished up my pickle dish and wonky star tops from the RSC 2014. So they will get hung in the closet. They will have to wait their turn to get quilted.

 

 

 This morning I will continue to work on "Simple but Not". I have the center completely done.  The quilt is comprised of four large blocks, so I think the best plan is to pick one block and complete it before moving to the next. 

I hope you find some time to enjoy some slow stitches too!

RSC2014 Layouts

Well, I need to decide what I need to complete my 36 block Pickle dish quilt. I know that I precut the black and white pieces I need for my last three blocks. Now to decide what color or colors I want to use.  So I think I will lay out my blocks and see what I might need.

 I am so glad that Angela gave us this wiggle room.  Hmmmmm decisions decisions?????  I decided a couple of purple and  deep blue would do the trick. Here are all the parts ready to go.

 

Friday morning, I woke up early and assembled the last three blocks.  My husband is on call this weekend so he has to go in to work for  a couple of hours to make his rounds, so  it is a great morning to assemble some of the those pickle dish blocks into rows.  There are only 36 blocks so it shouldn't take too long.

blocks ready to be sewn

 I am adding a 1 inch border made out of the same fabric as the background of the pickle dish blocks. Just a place for the eye to rest so the polka dot binding won't take away from the graphic pickles.  The backing is being planned in my head.  I want to use the bright scraps I have left to piece some blocks to add width to my backing, since it isn't quite wide enough.  I thought it would be a great time to play with my easy angle and companion ruler that I have had for ages but just never used.

five more rows to go

Last week I went ahead and made another orange/rust block for my wonky star quilt.  It was what I needed to complete my layout.  I love the way it turned out and never thought I would end up with this layout.  So this is how the top looks completed!  I think the same binding will work for both quilts, so polka dots it is! Hopefully, by next week both tops will be done! 

 

No self Control!

When I got back from my trip up north for Thanksgiving it was like traveling back in time. We had a enjoyed a little snow storm while staying at my sister's house over Thanksgiving.  When we arrived home, the leaves had finally started to fall so when I look outside it looks like fall is in full swing. 

So with the cooler temps today, it feels good to get under my current hand quilting project and put in some stitches.  I was suppose to be tracing my templates for my last border of Baltimore Garden. But, as you can see from this post I have absolutely no self control.   But I firmly believe you should follow your desires.  Each quilt will get finished when the time is right!

I started out the year saying no new projects until I finish some of my wip's. I think I have done pretty good and than I said well...................... it's December, if I only use fabric from my stash, it's only a small project 30 rows, it's one of those portable projects you can take anywhere.  Do you ever convince yourself that you just have to start something new? Well, a fellow blogger Suzanne over at Minou's Minute inspired me to try a hand pieced project.   Brigitte Giblin  started a group on facebook that is hand piecing a Trip Around the World.  Something I have always wanted to do and another way to use up some old fabrics in the stash.  I am really enjoying it!  I really love this project as I can just keep adding squares and it reminds me of how quilter's of long ago were so frugal.  Oh my,  aren't my excuses so lame, I just need to admit I am addicted to stitching and have no self control.