Crib Quilt on the Frame

I loaded a friend's crib quilt onto the frame.  It was 25 degrees this morning.  Brrr.  My husband turned on the furnace so that my longarm room could warm up a bit.  I was cruising along and almost forgot to take a picture.  My longarm was quilting smoothly in the cold and not skipping--yet--knock on wood.

I am quilting it using my Circle Lord giant template board called Swirls.  

My husband did something (construction wise) with the insulation upstairs and tucked it in... I still don't get it why he does this and then untucks it in the warmer months.  It has something to do with the house not being finished and it not getting over 100 degrees up there and melting something with the roof or shingles...  Not my project.  I'll just keep quilting.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Today I want to show you a gift that I received from a dear friend for Christmas.  She made me this beautiful hat and finger-less glove set. It is made out of alpaca wool.  It is so soft and warm!  I do not have this kind of talent to or patience to knit or crochet right now.  (Although I did buy a book for crochet a while back LOL.)  It's very cold in the room where I longarm.  

It's very cold in the room where I longarm.  The room is only slightly heated.  Yesterday I started quilting wearing this set and my Carhart coat.  My husband changed the way the insulation was recently and we turned on the furnace.  I keep a half of a bottle of water in the room.  It was not frozen yesterday, but the bottle has frozen in the past.

I was hoping to show you the start of my new handwork project for 2021.  I hope to be stitching along with the Peppermint Purple SAL Group on Facebook.  Each week a small square or rectangle of blackwork is released as a free pattern.  I'm still in the process of laying out and counting where the first stitch starts.  I have not tried blackwork yet.  It should be a fun learning experience.

This is as far as my Peppermint Purple SAL has made it:

I've never used this type of embroidery hoop.  I found it while sorting things in my quilting room.  It was in a box of items I bought at a garage sale at least 10 years ago.  It will fit the area that needs stitched each week.  Time to experiment with it.

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

RSC21 -- Winter Blues in Pink

 I am enjoying playing with my pink scraps.  I went through my pink tote bins and pulled out the smallest of scaps.  No fat quarters were hurt in the making of this quilt.  LOL.  I save pieces that are at least 1.5" square (or at least 1" strips for strings.)  Large pieces are not sorted from the small pieces.  I press and then run them through the good ole Accuquilt.  The little squares multiple quickly.

Some of the scraps I only had a piece of fabric big enough for one 1.5" square.  Most of my scrap quilts I put together by the piece and not by strip sets.  Strip sets saves a lot of time, but putting it together by piece gives more variety for me.

I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy for the RSC21.

Go Four It Quilt Top Is Complete!

 I completed the quilt top for my Go Four It quilt over the weekend.  I have used the blocks as part of the RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) on Angela's blog, SoScrappy.  The Go Four It pattern can be found in the magazine AMERICAN PATCHWORK & QUILTING, April 2015.  I worked on this as a leader/ender project starting in 2017.

The pattern called for some scrappy neutrals.  I put 6" strips around it vs. the 4.5" strips.  I will trim it accordingly after it is quilted.  It's nice to have a little room to play with all those blocks on point.

I'm starting to really love little blocks on point!  I love the scrappy goodness of this quilt.  The next step is to make a neutral background/bigger print back for it.  I have pulled a bag of fabrics.  We shall see what lands on the back.  Ahh.  I'm making progress!

RSC21 -- Pink?

 I am guessing that the color for January is going to be pink.  It's just a guess based on Angela's clues of the cute tutorials she has been doing and blocks she has been building lately.  

I am a Bonnie Hunter fan and LOVE her patterns for using up scraps.  I am going to try to make a whole baby quilt top in pink.  I'm off to a great start!  Bonnie recently released the pattern, Winter Blues.

I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy for the RSC21.

2020 In Spools...

As a weird tradition, every year I throw all of my empty spools in a bag in a drawer in the desk that sits behind my sewing machine.  

65

65 spools of thread (mostly partial spools of thread)were used in 2020.

Many of the spools were from my mother-in-law's stash.  She was a perfectionist when it came to making sure the right color thread was used.  She made many, many beautiful gowns for weddings and formals.  She was a seamstress.  

I am a scrap quilter.  Almost anything goes when it comes to piecing blocks of various colors.  I can't remember the last time I bought thread for my sewing machine.  I am also working from my mom's and grandma's stash of threads!  I still get excited when I win thread.  You can never have enough thread!

Happy New Year! -- January OMG Goal

 Happy new year!  I'm excited I'm starting off this year with a big quilt top finish.  This is my Go Four It quilt.  I have used the blocks as part of the RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) on Angela's blog, SoScrappy.  The Go Four It pattern can be found in the magazine AMERICAN PATCHWORK & QUILTING, April 2015.  I worked on this as a leader/ender project

If you look closely in the top left of the quilt one of the blocks was turned sideways.  My husband wants me to leave it like that.  I have already ripped it apart and will correct it.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pattern.  

My next step is to add a border and then make a pieced back.  I have already gathered some big prints/neutrals that will be used for the back.

I am linking up at Elm Street quilts for the January goal setting party here.  Set a goal; join the fun!

I have used the blocks as part of the RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) on Angela's blog, SoScrappy.   I worked on this as a leader/ender project in June of 2017.  I made four patches at the end of each month using up the little 1.5" squares that were left over from other RSC projects.  

Many of the pieces were the ends of 1.5" strips from my Garden Party (design by Bonnie Hunter) quilt.  I was excited to finish Garden Party and gift it to my VERY dear friend for Christmas this year.  Here's a picture of it on her bed.  I know it is being loved and used and well appreciated.

I know some of you have seen this quilt last week on my blog, but I just have to show it off one more time.  It is really my all-time favorite quilt that i have made.  I had to set and re-set it as my OMG goal a few different times.  But atlas it is a finish!