Hand Quilting

It's been a busy couple of weeks here.  Fall weather always is welcomed here in North Texas.  It is so nice to open up the house and enjoy the fresh air.  However, when it's in the low 80s or high 70's it can be too warm to get under a wool quilt and quilt very long.  But that is ok, there will be plenty of cooler days as we progress in the winter season.  I started quilting in the center of the quilt and have been following two panels to the edge.  I haven't quite reached the edge yet but I am almost there. Here is the progress on the front of the quilt.

 I was surprised to find that stitching around all those leaves is really more enjoyable than the cable panel.  But, I am very pleased with the results and balance of stitching between the two different panels.

I remembered this morning to flip the quilt over and give you a look at the back.   So much fun to take it out of the hoop and get a glimpse of what the finished quilt may look like.   Still so many stitches to make but each one brings me closer to a finish and I am afraid I will be a bit sad when it's done and it's no longer in the hoop.   But, it seems there is always another quilt top waiting in the sidelines and the list of quilts you want to make is endlesss.

The hand quilting!

The hand quilting has begun!  It always seems like it takes forever to get a quilt to this point.  However, for me, it's about making a quilt that makes me happy and that does take some time.  I have come to enjoy the whole process, but the hand quilting is still the part that brings me a lot of joy. 

leaf panel

Well, it's a good thing, as this quilt needs a lot of stitches to make me feel it is complete.  I debated where to start quilting it as it is a strippy quilt. But decided why not finish the center and work out like I normally do, that way it gets easier to work on in my hoop as I go.  I marked all the pink panels with a cable design but, I hadn't fully decided on the leaf panels.  I will mark them as I go.  First I am stitching around all the applique, no marking needed for that and then I am adding a diagonal 45 degree line every inch across that panel. I think, each panel will lean a different direction, but that could change, time will tell.  But, I do know it's very nice knowing that this quilt is in the hoop.   That means I can sneak in a few minutes here and there and add some hand quilting stitches.  It doesn't get better than that!

Pink panel

October's Cheddarback Quilt blocks!

Only two 12 inch finished blocks for Cheddarback for the month of October.  The first one was an appliqued Carolina lily that was aided along by some machine piecing before it was appliqued to the background.  The original block was done in red vase, flower and stems, but it just didn't appeal to me so I chose blue and green.  

The second pieced block was one I have never made before.  It was fun to piece! I did sew two pieces of fabric together to make it large enough to cut the center piece.  This makes it a "make do" block, which I think will add to the charm of this quilt.  Picked up my new glasses on Wednesday and my prescription changed enough that it took a bit to adjust to them. But by the end of the day all was well.  It is wonderful to see again.  The reading portion of my prescription changed quite a bit, no wonder I was struggling with threading my needles. So the rest of the month will be enjoyed by hand quilting on my trailing vines.  I did start but really don't have enough done to take a picture yet!

Goals accomplished!

It always feels so good when I come accomplish my quilting goals or at least see a good effort made.  Sometimes that is hard to do with the everyday things that life presents us. Now that Tom has retired and he helps empty the dishwasher, he realizes that my request for some pull out drawers on my island might really be a great idea.  So this week he installed these beauties. 

Oh they make life so much easier!  But, I ended up rearranging the kitchen cupboards a bit so it was more time consuming than I first thought.  But, I have found that dedicating a little time each day to my craft really makes things progress quite nicely.  I was able to get my trailing vines quilt basted and now it is in the hoop.  No stitches have been made yet, but I am sure they will start soon.  We have had a very toasty September here in North Texas.  Our temps have hovered right around 95 the whole month.  However, come Monday, the expected high will be 75.  I know that crisp morning air will make me want to sit down and start the hand quilting.

I also was able to start one of October's two twelve inch blocks for Cheddarback Quilt.  It's an appliqued Carolina Lily that I decided to do in blue and green.  I hope to finish the stitching of the appliqued pieces this afternoon while watching the Cowboys and Packers battle it out.   Who knows some stitching might even happen on my trailing vines!

Cheddarback Quilt Progress

I finally have finished all the published blocks for Cheddarback quilt. Although tomorrow is October 1st and another set will be released!  So, in between marking My Trailing Vines quilt I decided to cut the sashing and cornerstone blocks.  Well of course, than I had to put the first months blocks together.  You guessed it, I have now finished sewing 5 months worth of blocks.  I think I will still wait to sew each monthly section together because it will  be easier to store these without wrinkling them up if the are smaller units.  Hopefully tomorrow I can stitch the last two months together.  I told myself once they are completed I really need to focus on getting My Trailing Vines basted.  I really really want to start hand quilting it this weekend.

I am so loving the simplicity and scrappiness of this quilt.  It has a real farmhouse look don't you think?    Looking forward to downloading the next blocks and getting My Trailing Vines basted!  Funny how when fall arrives, I always get into a quilting mood!

Dish Towel finish

My two dish towels are now completed.  What fun I had stitching out these little designs.  I also love that they brighten up a useful item.  There are a dozen designs in this packet of transfers so I can see myself getting some more dish towels to embroider.

But, I really need to finish preparing my trailing vines for quilting.  I have finalized the design I will use on the final two pink strips.  I have one marked and hope to get the other marked today!  Then it will be on to basting the quilt.  I find that it goes pretty quickly so hopefully by next week, I can start stitching on this quilt.  I hope that the designs come out as good as I envisioned in my head.  I am going to also take some practice stitches.  This is something I used to never do, but each time I start to quilt a quilt, I always think it would have been good to get a few practice stitches under my belt.  Do you take practice stitches or do you like to dive right in?  

This is a sneak peak at how I will mark the outer two strips

Slow, but still progress

It was a very busy week at my house, it that time of year that we try to get everything back in order after some neglect from the fun loving summer months.  But, I still found some time to put in some embroidery stitches.  I love ending the day with a few calming stitches.  I finished the dish cloth I started last weekend and even put a few stitches into the next one.

Dish towel 1

I will be brave and show you the back of my work. Definitely not perfect, but at least you could tell an effort was made to keep it tidy!

One of my goals for the week didn't get completed but I am making good progress.  I have three out of the four center strips of my trailing vines marked.  The marking isn't really that hard, it's just a bit boring and I can always think of hundreds of things I would be rather doing. But, it doesn't get done that way, so I work in short intervals as not to get too frustrated.

The two outer strips of pink are wider and I want to do something a little different on them.  I haven't come to a final decision but I do have some ideas whirling around in my head.

And finally I have to include a pic of my granddog Zoe.  She is so sweet and fills a void in our lives since Mr Max passed in November.  We are not ready to get a new dog, but visiting with Zoe really helps.  She is a labradoodle and has the same poodle eyes that Max had.  What's not to love!

A Change of Pace!

Sometimes we just need a change of pace.  For the last year, I found myself wanting to do some embroidery. I had a packet of iron on transfers of pots of herbs that I have had a long time. So this week I picked up a couple of flour sack dish towels and proceeded to prepare to towels for stitching.  I was a bit worried that the old transfers may not have worked anymore but they really worked well.  It got me thinking of when I was quite young 6-7 and my mom would stamp dish cloths  and have my sister and I embroider them.  I remember struggling at first, but we were taught to always finish our project.  I guess it was a good lesson to learn as I do finish my projects.   It will be fun to have this project to pick up in the evenings and enjoy!

I started a bit of stitching on Saturday.  I feel a bit rusty but it's coming back to me.  I am using a running stitch just like I did as a child. I like the look of it more than the backstitch you often see used.  I also decided since the back of this will be seen, I would try and keep the back of it looking fairly decent.  I am using a waste knot instead of the dreaded knot left on the back, I think my mom would be proud of me! I am so thankful that she took time to teach me some simple embroidery stitches and how to knit and crochet.

I also  want  to start marking my trailing vines, today.  It has been hanging in the closet for quite some time.  I want to quilt a cable down the pink strips and either echo quilt or do a grid on the leaf strips.  So marking shouldn't take forever!  I made some templates up this week to hopefully make the process easier.

It is still pretty warm here in North Texas.  It's hard to believe that fall is just about here.  We did enjoy watching the Cowboys play their first game of the season last week.  Getting trailing vines marked and sandwiched should help i feel like fall too!  I think the weatherman said we may see some days with 80 degree temps by the end of next week.................................well you know how that goes.  I think I will just wait and see.

Here's an old quilt I saw at an antique store on Saturday!  It really caught my eye and the kind of quilt you don't see very often. Enjoy!