since i've been such a good little quilter and got so many UFOs finished up, i gave myself permission to start a new quilt. it's been rainy all week, so it's perfect weather outside to stay inside and piece.

after inventorying all my quilts, i realized that i didn't have a quilt that i can hang at the top of the steps for the month of july. i had to remedy that....

i bought two RWB jelly rolls from Keepsake Quilting and was gifted a freebie pattern using the strips. The pattern i used is called 'Basket Weave'.

i have all my blocks made and now i just need to sew the top together.

i plan on a one inch finished cream print for the inner border, then a RWB print for a 5 inch finished outer border. i haven't thought too much on how i'm going to quilt it....i'll cross that bridge when it's time.

tidal wave

i finished karen's blue batik log cabin quilt.

 the logs finished at one inch!!

i called it the tidal wave quilt. doesn't it look beachy?

she asked if i would 'feather it to death'

mission accomplished

new toy!

i piece on a vintage singer that my grandfather gave my grandmother for one single digit anniversary. it has served me well, but there are some parts that are wearing out and, very sadly, cannot be replaced.

i have been searching high and low (craigs list) for the last couple years hoping to come across the same model. my research showed that the machine i have, Model 15-91 was a top-of-the-line model with a low production run....

well, the other day i got bored and decided to surf craigs list to see if any were on the market. they are getting hard to find as today's quilters are realizing what a good machine the 15-91 is and getting one for themselves. (plastic machines just can't hold a candle to a good vintage singer.)

guess what!!?? i found one!!

it's a british 15K!!! it needs some elbow grease, spit, and polish and it'll be one hum-dinger of a machine!!

it has the fancy scroll etching on the face plate that the feather weights have!

it came with a stool full of goodies!!

it was like digging thru a sewing time capsule.

lots of seam tape

i have dreams of making something 4th of July-ish with that tiny red and blue rick rack. 

check it out- 2 1/2 yards of elastic for 15 cents (i just noticed that there's no cent symbol in the numbers anymore....)

couple of zippers, some needles, and elastic

look at the little pill box zipper package- cute!

two belt kits, and some rust proof buttons (guarenteed), and some covered button sets.

the big one will be something special!

electric scissors (don't know if they work tho), a pair of shears, and a pair of snips

some feet, the manual (score!) and some coupons for free classes from the store she bought it...

speaking of 'her'...

i found the paper work from her purchase!!

she paid $229.50 for it on January 16th, 1950!

i also found a receipt for a vacuum repair. check out how they show how much she owed...

but my favorite find in the stool???

a vintage band-aid tin that is full of pins, and a wooden needle case that still has the three needles in it (for 20cents!) i paid almost $4 for five the other day :)

now i have a 'new' machine to join the supporting cast in my studio. 

SAL 2012 Part 3

here's the latest and greatest installment in my Scrap Bash Stitch-A-Long....

happy stitching!

don't forget to add photos of your blocks to the Flickr group. i like to see what and how yall are doing these :)

pretty please :) with a cherry on top

tiptoe thru the tulips

i finished up kathy's tulip quilt and she picked it up, so i can share pictures!

i did the design i doodled from this post in the tulips, a simple meander with cream thread in the background. another signature design is my 'pearls' in skinny sashings/borders.

i quilted my favorite, feathers, in the purple setting triangles with a burgundy thread.

ribbon candy in the wide inner border with matching thread.

the outer border was extra wide and a busy print, so i quilted a dense loopy meander.

she sent me a picture of it on her bed...pretty, huh?

it's nice to get forever home shots of quilts.

(i did not quilt the flower quilt hanging on the quilt rack, but i did quilt the one on the chest at the foot of the bed)

today is Lucky's 13th birthday! that's close to 90 in dog years :)

we're past his warranty, so every extra day is a gift. he is slowing down. i've noticed he doesn't jump on the bed to sleep anymore....just stays on his beds on the floor. and there's the hip troubles....*sigh*


happy birthday big'un!

it's a quilt!

i have finished my swap quilt!

i put a 2inch finished white border around the blocks. they looked crowded up against the inner border without it. then a 2inch finished inner border with a  6inch finished outer border. my quilt measures 83 x 96 inches.

i really like the look of the freehand BF. it's not my original idea, and  i was going to link to the tutorial i had for them. i had pinned it, and apparently the owner had her stuff removed from Pinterest, so it's not there anymore and i don't remember who did it *shrug* her loss....

here's the backing. i chose a busy print cause i was doing a simple E2E. it's a Denyse Schmidt print from Joann's.

i had to add a strip between my backing panels, so i went ahead and pieced the label into the backing. i lucked out and had enough of my outer border to do this.

all that is left is to find fabric for the binding. *crap* i have to go to the LQS tomorrow ;)

in progress

i put my 30s repro swap quilt on the frame today!!

i've been practicing free hand baptist fans and this quilt was perfect for it!

LA-HOVE!

it'll be done tomorrow....then i need to find a fabric for binding.

this will be a design i offer my customers!

evolution of a design

i have a long arm and i'm not afraid to use it. sometimes, i get a quilt that makes me step back and go, hmmmm?

kathy brought me her quilt to quilt and it has this log cabin type flower block. not exactly screaming at me at how to quilt it.  i'm going to share a short peek inside my head while i design the quilting motif for this block and the why.

first i grab my mylar plastic that i use to 'sketch' my ideas onto with a dry erase marker. the marker wipes off easily with a piece of scrap batting. this is also handy because i can draw the design the exact size i'll be stitching, so i can get the muscle memory practice.

i know i'll need 'travel' points (where i transition from one section to another) my style is to use intersecting piecing points. so i chalk the straight line through the points of the log cabin pieces (you can see the faint line. i don't need to be able to see it from across the room- just enuf to see it as i quilt. plus by making it faint makes it easy to remove when i'm done. i use Miracle Chalk. it removes by steam, water, and dusting with a lint brush)

it is a flower block, so i start playing with ideas that would look like a flower. i doodled the petal shapes and i like them and decide that this will be part of the design.

the only problem is that it doesn't bring me back to my chalked travel points.....okay now what???

i could just use a ruler and SID back, but i'm not a SID fan...plus i'm using a purple thread and it could show and be unattractive. plus ruler work would push the cost of the quilting up, and it's not included in the proposed estimated budget.

i am putting feathers on another part of the quilt, so what if i echo the petal shapes back to my travel point???

perfect, and a simple CC type line will get me to my next area! throw in a little 'toot' at the top and i have my design.

that's exactly what i did and here's the finished quilted block. i quilted up the left side, and came down the right side- starting and stopping at the same spot.

so there you have it, a peek inside my head as i doodle on a quilt.

quilt smarter, not harder :)

blocks swapped

and mischief managed :)

i swapped all the blocks from the block swap thursday. lisa offered to help and i jumped at the offer.

40 swappers at (30) blocks each = 1200 loose blocks! that is three 6ft tables and her dining room table. barney supervised.

i'd like to thank everyone who participated!! i'm extremely happy with my blocks, and i feel y'all will be too.

being the over achiever that i am, i have my blocks already sewn together including the backing. i ordered batting and that's all i'm waiting on. i was really excited about these blocks and the potential quilt...i plan on quilting a freehand smaller scale baptist fan design.

i'll be releasing the squishies back into the wild during the next week....

celtic wave

sandra made Judy Neimeyer's Celtic Wave quilt and let me have a go at the quilting.

Full free motion custom.

 enjoy the show!

ready or not

look what i got!!!!!

watch out world, here i come!!!

sunday stitches

i had the right mind to play a naughty april fools prank, but i decided not to. i had horrible images of it gone awry.

so instead i'll share what i spent the afternoon working on.

i put the borders on my quilt i finished the other day at Lisa's...i'm going to call it 'ice crystals'

i'm glad i bought extra yardage of the background. i needed a small border of it before the formal borders, the blocks looked crowded without it.

i also got these blocks sewn together at lisa's too.

it is a pattern from Cozy Quilt Shop called Cake Mix. it's made from a jelly roll and one layer cake from the same fabric collection plus borders.

it was meant to be given to my granny, but i didn't get it done in time.

after getting the borders on crystals, i sewed borders onto it. 

and with my goal of finishing up my UFOs, i discovered that i only have 4 or 5 more and i'll have them all to the flimsy stage!!! :) i have all this space on my shelves, so now i get to start some new projects- guilt free....i know, such a horrible problem to have....