Friday, November 30, 2018

November OMG Complete! Linky Party with Elm Street Quilts

I'm happy to say that I finished my One Main Goal (OMG!) for November, 2018.  I'm linking up to Elm Street Quilts here.  I finished this quilt on 11/16/18.  It's called Pumpkins & the Beanstalk.

 
This quilt measures 40" x 49".

 
The back is a simple dot fabric.  I quilted it with Circle Lord Swirls giant template board.

 
I signed the label by hand.   Check out the labels on Sarah Craig's blog, Confessions of a Fabric Addict today.  I need to think of ordering some of them from Dutch Label Shop.  They are very neat and professional and on sale this month!

I'm linking up with the 2018 FAL here.
 



Blue Embroidery Customer Quilt

This customer quilt finished beautifully!  Eight finishes in eight weeks!

 
I don't use the Circle Lord Square Dance giant template board as often as I thought I would.  Sometimes it leaves an extra stitch, a missed stitch, or an eyelash tension spot on the back in the corners.  I may try a small quilt and turning the stich regulator off next week.  We'll see.  I have a couple of my own crib quilts that need quilted.  I have also thought of skipping some of the squares and putting some other block in the middle of them like a heart or star... I'll come up with something.

 
It does have a nice effect on the quilt.  The customer thought this was definitely a quilt for a man even though it had delicate stitching.  The bright blue looked beautiful.
 
You can't see her beautiful blue backing fabric very well in this picture.  I couldn't risk taking it to the other clothesline and dropping it in the mud.  It's soggy and wet here in Ohio.  It was a nice 44 degrees today.  The sun came out to play a little.


I'm linking up with Myra at Busy Hands Quilts for the Finished or Not Friday Linky Party.
 
 
Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
 
Linking up with Summer Lee Quilts for TGIFF!
 
Linking up with Sarah Craig at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
 

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Cleaning Day!

Yesterday I had time to clean my quilting room.  We have two houses on the same property:  one we live in that used to be where my husband's grandparents lived, and one we have been building.  It is definitely a WIP.  My sewing machine and current projects are in the house we live in.  The longarm, miscellaneous sewing machines, tubs & tubs of scraps sorted by color, craft items and misc. are in the "new" house.  My husband's garage is in the "new" house as well.  We totally use both houses!


The above sign is from my mother-in-law.  She passes away a few years ago.  She wanted me to have all of her sewing things.  She was an AMAZING seamstress.  Yesterday I had time to get her sewing machine out and play with it.  Normally when a quilt needs a repair before it goes on the longarm or if I need to add to a quilt back that is not big enough, I take the project down to the other house and repair it.  Now I just have to walk 13 feet and fix it!  Convenient!  :)

 
This sewing machine is called "Dora" after my mother-in-law.  She sewed the after wedding and honeymoon dresses and outfits for our own Cleveland Indians Jim Thome's wife!  It was quite a fancy machine back in the day.  It also does machine embroidery and has all the attachments.  I have not tried that with it yet.  Someday...

 
When I added to the back of another quilt, I also reminisced about my own mother's "Dressmaker".  It is in the grey case next to the machine I am using.  My mother was also an excellent seamstress.  She was the 4H sewing leader back in the day.  Neither my mother or my mother-in-law had much patience (as they called it) for quilting.  Both of them wanted fast results.

 
The "Dressmaker" has been moved to the bottom shelf...  someday it will come out and play as well.  I tried it last summer.  Funny that my mom left a piece of my "riding" (horseshow) blazer that she made me under the presser foot.  What a sweet memory scrap to find.

 
Behind Dora is this sweet serger.  It was also Dora's.  My goal is to test it out this summer.

 
Here I am below... (bad bangs and all) and all my tubs of fun in the background (scraps organized by color.)  I LOVE being a scrappy quilter.  Other quilter friends that are not scrappy quilters surprise me with a bag wherever they see me or drop it off at my door at random.  Sweet!!!  See why I also love Accuquilt?  Press the little scraps, cut the shapes as many as I need, and keep on going...

 
Happy Thursday!
 

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

WIP Wednesday

It was yet another super-productive week.  Customers are happy and I'm getting closer to completing some of my own projects.

I finished this customer quilt.  She LOVED the romantic flowers (Cosmos) quilted on it.



This quilt was loaded on the frame and I got to play with my rarely-used Square Dance board.



I did start a new project this year.  It was part of my plan.  It's the Bonnie Hunter Good Fortune Quiltville Mystery.  It started Thanksgiving weekend, 2018.  I am trying to do each step using my Accuquilt dies.  I'll show each step of progress made on Monday's for her linky parties.

This year I took Bonnie's advice and sub-cut my strips after I sewed the strips together.  Here's some perfect little red and neutral "twosie" units that will be sewn into 4-patches.

I used my mother-in-law's fabric sharpie to put vertical lines on my die.  She passed away a few years ago.  It was nice to "visit" with some of her sewing memories as part of this process.  She was an amazing seamstress and did it professionally.  She left her sewing things to me.  I am honored!


Before I knew it I had a nice bag of "twosies".  The thing about this process is that I didn't know how to calculate how many I had in the bag.  Stay tuned as I sew them together into 4-patches to count them.  You can never have too many 4-patches!  It's a win - win situation.



At bowling I worked on this cute little project that is a Christmas present.  Stay tuned for the saying...



I'm enjoying the new little sew-to-go box that I got at a Goodwill Outlet.  I keep it in my truck.




I did start a new projects this week -- Bonnie Hunter's annual Quiltville Mystery called Good Fortune.  This holdss my WIP list to 67 projects.  I've had list in the upper 90's in the past. 

Pieces Still Need to be Cut & Sewn
1.  Cheddar Jack cat pattern from Mama Spark's World 
2.  Digging up Bones (Owen's dinosaur quilt)
3.  Rock Island Campfire Quilt
4.  Picadilly Circle
5.  ...And Sew On BOM at Quiet Play (one block to go)
6.  Go Four It! -- Scrappy 4-patches started as leader/ender June 2017
7.  Patriotic Folk Animals (from Americana Quilts Book) -- hand work for school
8.   Soul Searching -- need 2 more blocks for Julianne swap
9.   Leah Day Building Blocks QA

10.  Love Laugh Quilt Christmas Improv QA
11.  Classic Meets Modern BOM
12.  Mod Mod QA (turning this one into a baby quilt) (from block Lotto, mostly circles w/lines)
13.  Slow Sunday Stitching wool candle mat from Sue project
14.  Bonnie Hunter Garden Party (started 3.18.17.)
15,  Cross Stitch bathroom saying for Aunt Jo
16.  Kite Girl (RSC14)
17.  Amish Country BOM (from Lynn, Johnna's mom)
18.  Cabins at the Lake (from Fons & Porter Magazine) (only one house block complete.)
19.   2.5" Scraps from Dani making "cracker" blocks
20.  EPP mini table topper (grey, maroon, blue, cream...)
21.  Little Houses (3.5" blocks)
22.  Split Stars (Block Lotto win)
23.  Spools (Leader & Ender project with Bonnie Hunter)
24.  Scrappy Hourglass Quilt 
25.  Slabs with White Rectangle (RSC14 started -- need blocks each month)
26.  Bonnie Hunter Box Kite class from March, 2017 (Will make baby quilt.)
27.  Super Mario QA
28.  2015 Orange, pink, grey kite blocks (from Accuquilt die, RSC17)
29.  Maroon Sampler Quilt
30.  Gypsy Wife QA (started again with Angie at Gnome Angel, August 2017)
31.  Crown of Thorns in blues
32.  2016 Plus Blocks (from left over pieces of Soul Searching blocks)
33.  RSC16 Folk Art Birds
34.  Kevin the Quilter's Sapphire Stars Mystery (started Summer 2017) 
35.  Secret O - H - I - O quilt.  Shhhh.  Can't show this one--but it's cool!
36.  Dot Dot Dash bag -- (new to the list April, 2018)
37.  Cross Stitch "A Friend is Someone..." WIP found in April, 2018, from 1980's!
38.  Good Fortune -- A Bonnie Hunter Quiltville Mystery started Thanksgiving weekend, 2018.
  
Blocks Still Need to be Made
1.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt
2.  Scrap Crystals (working on blue pieces for RSC15)
3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler
4.  Amanda Murphy Designs (ugly fabric quilt)
5. Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt (my seams don't match Julianne's seams...)
6.  Drunkard's Path Variation baby quilt
7.  Kim Diehl's Table Topper from her book Simple Charm (Started August, 2017 for to-go bag.)
8.  Catchin' Some Rays needle turn applique crib quilt started March, 2018 (adding EPP hexies!)
        
Blocks are made but need to be sewn together (and/or some sashing)
1.  Block Swap Adventure Orange/Yellow Sampler (2011-2012)
2.  Cruise blocks won from Libby
3.  Orange/Blue Fish Blocks (that I won)
4.  Split Stars (blocks won from Block Lotto; October, 2012)
5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired)
6.  Tall Fly 
7.  Fortune Teller (RSC14 started)
8.  Sonja's Windows string quilt 
9.  Block Swap Adventure (2013) Churn Dash Blocks 
10.  Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks (New QA starting 5/7/17 Gnome Angel)
11.  Flower Baskets (blue and white with some applique) Block Lotto win 10/1/18
12.  Pre-printed cross stitch pillow sham (May, 2018 sew-to-go bag)
 
Quilts back needs to be made (tops are done)
1.  Pat Sloan's, I Love to Make Quilts Sampler Solstice Challenge (Red & White finished top 2017)
2. Card Trick (pink and blue) HUGE charity quilt for local quilt guild
3.  Hunter green large (bubbly -- will be a challenge to longarm) charity quilt for the local guild
4. Bubble Gum pink and navy charity quilt for local quilt guild 
Ready to longarm
1.  Little Letters QA Quilt (A RSC14 project)
2.  Royal Blue embroidered customer quilt (SB) Sewed back 11/20/18
3.  Embroidery Bear crib quilt
4.  Embroidery Bear with balloons and hearts crib quilt.
5.  Customer quilt with special block in the center (CM)
 
 
I'm linking up with Lorna for Let's Bee Social.  Check it out today at Let's Bee Social!
          

Monday, November 26, 2018

Red Scraps -- Good Fortune, Clue 1 -- The Accuquilt Way

Here they all are on my keyboard in no OCD order.  LOL...

 
I have too many... or do I?  The extras will work perfectly in my GO Four It Quilt that I started as a leader/ender project.
 
 
With the Accuquilt way, it starts with some scraps that are cranked into neat strips.

 
 
I already had a lot of neutrals in my bins for my scrap saver's system.
 
 
I pulled them out and sewed them together.  Gotta love Accuquilt products!  I took Bonnie's advice and subcut the sections.  I drew lines with one of my mother-in-law's sharpies from her drawer.  (She passed away a couple of years ago and left me all of her sewing things.  She was an amazing seamstress.)  It was nice to remember her and "visit with her memories" as part of the quilting process.  I lined up my strips and cranked them through...
 
 
 
And just like that, there was a big bag of lovely sets of  red and neutral "twosies".  The thing about this is that I don't know if I have enough or too many...  I didn't count them.  Tune in to my blog to find out.  I know with red/neutral four patches that I can't go wrong.  If there are too many, I'll simply use them in another quilt.
 
 
 
While I was playing in my quilt room.  My husband was playing bow and arrow with our son.  Our son started to get quite good at it!  :)





 
It was also nice and sunny today, but brisk in the 40's.  It was a good day to put straw in the dog and cat boxes and clean the barn and chicken areas.

 
It's always nice to have a helper!

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Slow Sunday Stitching at the Bowling Alley

Slow stitching at the bowling alley on Saturday morning this week...  Owen's up in the lane in front of my hoop.  Perfect way to watch him bowl!  It was a nice, low drama, day.

 
The A isn't as wide as it should be.  I haven't done this kind of hand work for about 35 years or so (when I was in my teens).  I'm making something fun for my sister-in-law for Christmas.  Stay tuned to see what it says...


Below is my new sew-to-go box.  It fits nicely in the back seat of my truck.  I'm starting to love hand stitching enough to expand on my fun stuff.  When people at places that know I sew regularly see me carry it in to the bowling alley or speech, they should know what to expect.  It has a cute little picnic-basket handle that is down in the back.  I need to put a fastener (or Velcro) under the little tab in the front so that it doesn't come open all time in the truck (by accident).  I'll think of something that doesn't take away from the cuteness of it.

I bought it at our local Goodwill Outlet.  Do you have one in your area?  Our Goodwill Outlet is a place where Goodwill items go for their "last chance".  Most things (such as this sewing box) are sewn at $1.19 per POUND!  Yes, clothes and things by the pound!  Items larger than 15 pounds have a different price.  Bags (purses) and books are 50 cents each.  It's a fun place to "root" for things in big bins...not on hangers... not on shelves... just good old roll-out bins.


Oh, and the little DQ gift card?  Owen won the mini bowling tournament last week. :)

I'm linking up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.
 
Slow Sunday Stitching

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Blue Embroidery Customer Quilt on the Frame

Due to the Thanksgiving break, I had today off work.  I threw this beautifully embroidered customer quilt on the longarm frame. 


I quilted and quilted.  It's half done already!  The squares around the flowers were speaking to me that I needed to use my Circle Lord giant template board called Square Dance.  It's lookin' good!

Friday, November 23, 2018

A Customer Quilt Friday Finish

Here's another Friday Finish to add to my happy run.  I'm still playing on where to place the clothesline so that I can get a nice outdoor shot of quilts and quilt tops.  With all these finishes I feel I can allow myself to start the Bonnie Hunter mystery, Good Fortune, today!

 
I quilted it with my Circle Lord giant template board called Cosmos.  Love the texture of this pattern.  It gives a romantic floral feel.  I like how it matches the flowers on the quilt back.

 
I haven't been able to find a spot to hang my clothesline high enough to get the whole quilt in view.

 
Here's a good pic of the border that you can see the Cosmos design.
This is my most time-consuming giant template board.



My sister-in-law cuts my hair for me.  She is awesome!  Sometimes I give her challenges.  When I'm walking around the longarm frame I have an old antique mirror.  Sometimes my bangs fall into my eyes.  I told her it's a "trigger" point for me.  Luckily I have my super sharp sewing scissors to take care of that.  This time I snipped different lengths off of a few locks.  Then I snipped a few more.  I'm not a high-fashion, things gotta be perfect person.  It will all work out in the end.  :)

 
Often times this customer gives me diagrams of the quilt front and back and any little notes.  I LOVE this about the customer.  She's an awesome quilter.  It also helps that me because I don't quilt her quilts right away.  Sometimes they sit in "que" for months.  It helps us both remember what needs done and which way the quilt goes and if she has any specific requests.


 
I'm excited that this is my eighth finish in eight weeks!  Woohoo!!!
 
I'm linking up with Myra at Busy Hands Quilts for the Finished or Not Friday linky party.
 
Check out Myra's patterns that are 50% off for Black Friday!
 
Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
 
I'm linking up at Alycia Quilts for TGIF Friday!!!!
 
 
Linking up with Sarah Craig at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?