Santa # 3 Finish

I can't believe it's Sunday again. This week really passed quickly.  Spring has arrived here in North Texas as the trees have just started to bud.  The Pear trees are blooming and the burmuda is starting to green up.  We have had a lot of rain this week.  So, I decided to just head to the sewing room and tackle my March goals.  I finished making my Cheddarback quilt blocks!

Then started on the five blocks I needed to make for my mystery quilt!

There was even time to make some great progress on my Linen and Threads SAL.  I should be able to finish March's stitches on it today!

I finished Santa # 3 early this week and I think he turned out quite well!

Next up Santa# 4!   I have decided it would be fun to tea/coffee stain some 18ct aida for the next three Santas.  It looks pretty easy to do, but time will tell.  If you have some experience with this I would love to hear your tips or experience on this subject!

March Cheddarback Quilt Blocks

I really didn't I would make such great progress on these blocks.  Just shows you what a rainy day spent in the sewing room can accomplish.  There are only two more months of blocks ( ten blocks) to complete to make this a completed top!

Here is a close-up of the five inch finished blocks for this month!

The next photo shows them set in the sashing and cornerstones with  the 12 inch finished block!  I also went ahead and made sure I had enough cornerstones and sashing cut for the next two months.  I  think it is going to be hard to wait for the last two months to release as we are getting so close to finishing this project!

Santa #3 progress

It was a busy week here. Tom and I finished our fence replacement project on Friday!  I am pleased with how it turned out and am so glad everything is complete including the painting.  But of course, all that time outdoor time didn't leave much time to do some stitching.  But Santa #3 is coming along.

I need to finish stitching the background of his coat and then add a pineapple and two more pieces of fruit to the bottom corners, and yes he needs his boots. Not sure I can get all of that completed  today, but I should make some good progress.  I decided to try stitching in hand without a hoop on the background of Santa's coat.  I felt really good in my hand, but I am not as pleased with my stitches so some frogging happened. 

I have a feeling I won't get all my projects finished for March.  However I did make the 12 inch block for Cheddarback and printed out the March patterns for the Linen and Threads SAL and the mystery quilt.  There is still plenty of days in March, but sometimes the nicer weather calls me outside and we have family visiting the last week in March.  But, it's not a race and I really don't have deadlines on these projects so it is what it is. But, it makes me happy to know there is plenty of slow stitching that needs to happen to finish these projects.

It's a Quilt

It's  been a very busy week.   I  still found some time to add a few stitches into my on going projects.  I finished binding My Trailing Vines quilt and the motifs on the outside pink strips were not making me smile.  Last night, I made the decision to go ahead and trapunto them so that they would be more defined.  I use a method that uses a darning needle and yarn.  It's not difficult, and I find it really isn't too time consuming.  The photos below show the results I was able to achieve.

The before photo

The after photo

I finished one strip Friday night and the other Saturday morning!  I am pleased with the results, and now I can say My Trailing Vines is completely finished.  

I wanted to take it outside to get some better photos and may do that later this week.  We were just too busy Saturday.  

February's stitches have been completed for The Linen and Threads SAL. I am loving this project more and more!

March patterns have been released for Cheddarback and the Linen and Threads SAL.  But I think this week I will continue on Santa #3 .  I am really enjoying getting back into crossstitch.   Below is my progress!

Binding, Bingeing and Finishes!

Well another Sunday has rolled around.  I spent quite a few hours in the sewing room this week.  I finished my Cheddarback quilt blocks for February,  they can be seen here.  I also cut and sewed the binding to My Trailing Vines quilt.  Yes, that is the official name, since I was inspired by Susan Mc Cords Trailing Vines but I did it my way as the song goes.  I combined the idea of an English Strippy Quilt and Trailing Vines by widening the sashing and quilting cables in those strips.  My original intention was to do a knife edge finish that is often done on Strip Quilts, however, as usual I was a bit over zealous in my hand quilting and quilted all the way to the edge of the quilt.  I remembered too late, to leave about an inch or two unquilted to turn under.  Well, there was no way I was going to undo those hand quilted stitches, so I came up with a solution.  I decided to match the binding to the  strips on the quilt so that it would have the illusion of a knife edge.

It really wasn't hard to do, I just had to mark a quarter inch seam each time there was a fabric change and then had to sew on the other fabric and stitch!  However, I felt like it was going to take forever!  I had to walk away after doing a few questioning why I torment myself this way.  But I came back to it later, always remembering you get out what you put into a project.  Yes, it's a small detail, but it's those small details that make it or break it for me.  So what do you think was it worth it?  My answer is always yes, it makes it, and I guess that is all that matters.  So today, I will binge on the new Season of Outlander and stitch my binding down, now it doesn't get better than that!

I finished Santa # 2 this week, but haven't started on #3.  I want to thank all of you that gave me the obvious solution of outlining the ribbon on the wreath.  Well, it was obvious to all of you, not to me!   So I am grateful for your comments.

I also completed the January stitches on the Threads and Linens 2020 Crosstitch Mystery.  On to February stitches  where I have just about completed the flower in a vase.

 I hope you find joy in some hand work and add  a bit of detail that makes that next project special for you too. I will be linking up with Kathy's Quilt's to see what others are hand stitching and the joy it brings them!

February's Cheddarback blocks

I am pleased that I completed another month of Cheddarback blocks!  The twelve inch block this month was a real challenge.  Gay opted to use a different block but several of the quilters in the facebook group were so kind to share how they went about making the block that was in the original quilt.  The rest of the five inch blocks were not as challenging.  I used hst paper to sew the little triangles for the basket block and that really worked out well.  When the hst's are that small trimming after sewing can be more difficult. With the paper they came out the exact size.

 

I ordered the binding fabric on line for my trailing vines!  I just couldn't find the right shade of pink locally.  I know some quilters have difficulty ordering on line and getting the right color but I have always had pretty good luck.  So getting the binding made and sewn on my machine is my goal for today.

Santa #2

It's been another busy week here at my house.  But, I did enjoy some slow stitching in the evenings!  I finished the hand quilting on my trailing vines quilt.  However, the fabric I ordered for the binding has not arrived so it is on hold until that happens.  I guess I should work on the label this week so I can stitch it in place when I stitch the binding on.

I also started Santa #2 and made some great progress.  He is still in need of his trousers.  I am a little disappointed that I didn't stitch him on a darker fabric as the bow on the wreath doesn't really show.  So I think I will be playing with coffee/tea dying some aida in the future.

Since I am no longer hand quilting I thought I would start another project to enjoy in the evenings.  I joined a SAL that is offered at Linen and Threads.  It's a Quaker inspired piece that really caught my eye.  It started in January so I have some catching up to do.   I don't think that will be a problem since it really is a fun piece.  It incorporates initials in the stitching but I am going to wait till the rest is stitched to decide what initials I want to use, or if I want to do something different.  Choosing a color for a project can be difficult for me, so I chose brown one of my favorite colors. I got a good start on January's chart and am so glad I started this one!

Slow Stitching Progress!

Well, after a trip to town, I was able to finish up Santa # 1.  He really makes me smile and I am so glad to have started this journey!  Santa # 1 was released in 1984.

Santa #2 got started this week!  He was released in 1989.  I have finished the border and started stitching on Santa!  He's a bit more complicated and there are more stitches so he may take a bit longer.

Hand quilting is still happening on my trailing vines.  I am adding some extra stitches in the final strip.  After I stitched what I had originally marked there were some places that were just to large to be left unquilted so more straight lines were added and I am adding those stitches!  I still need to go out and look for binding fabric and make a label,  just haven't had the time.

 Tom has been tearing out our old  fence and rebuilding a new fence and he seems to alway need my help.  We work well together, however after a few days I begin to miss my relaxing sewing.  I have been crossstitching in our front room and we recently purchased an Improved Meyer Lemon tree.  It is living there till there till the chance of a frost it over.   It just started to bloom and gives out a very light scent that is just heavenly!  The blooms are small, but so pretty and I have always wanted to grow one! No wonder I just want to stitch!