Long Term Projects Number 4

 Maybe blogging should be included in my long term projects.  Good grief, it's been almost 2 years since I've been in here and posted.  Instagram and Facebook make things so much quicker and easier, but when there is a good back story, blogging is the place for me to go.

 

This is a project from McCalls in 2005.  The binding was finished in 2006.  It was my first project that I was going to cross hatch on my longarm.  I always have practiced new things on my own tops before a customer top and wow, did I learn alot.  

First up.  NEVER use FrayCheck when machine quilting.  "Someone" told me to stitch up to the applique, go back and forth a few stitches, then put a drop of FrayCheck (aka glue) on that spot to keep the threads from coming undone.  This was so I didn't have to bury threads.  YES, this was in a class that I paid money for.

Needless to say, it sat in a pile, a corner, and bin and on the bottom of a shelf.  I loved the fabrics (Holidays in Paris by In the Beginning) and I loved the pattern so much I just couldn't stand looking at it or putting it out at Christmas.  Finally in about 2019 or '20, I started ripping out the machine quilting and with tweezers, was able to get the little threads that were all glued around the appliques.  I finished the hand quilting on it this week, gave it a bath and now it's with my Christmas things, just waiting to be put out this December. 

Here are two of a potential 5 full, 4 1/2 blocks and 4 1/4 blocks.  This finishes at around 12".  I've been hand piecing them and have used the stamping method to mark the diamonds for the stars.  The marking goes fast, the hand piecing, not so much.  But I do love them and once the pieces are prepped, it's a great 'grab and go' project.  

Hexi fever struck when I got a package of fat 8ths from Two Thimbles.  I knew the little collection needed to be used all together and the colors and prints were so sweet.  1" hexis and fussy cutting gave me some very cute blocks.  However, a few of the prints wouldn't give me 6 of the same motif, so I alternated.  I wasn't going to be that fussy.

Using PinDot in color Lighthouse for the backgrounds, I thought the little flowers really looked pretty.  There was a gorgeous stripe in the collection and I wanted that for the outside borders and I wanted the stripes all going in one direction.  I ordered a bigger piece and appliqued the finished hexis to the fabric and cut out behind.

It's been layered with silk batting, and a striking big pink plaid for a backing and the hand quilting has commenced.  I'm using a very light pink YLI  for the quilting, it's simple straight lines that ended up looking like a hanging diamond instead of cross hatching.  

And then there is this.  One of 4 blocks.  I've got three all pieced, and the 4th one is getting close.  Only one has the setting squares and corner blocks, and the outside diamonds.  It's a big of a twister as this is all the colored diamonds that I used, but it will be a square when I'm finished.  I'll save that for another blog post.

So keep on stitching, don't give up on the long term projects.  My last post was about my Sarah's Revival.  It's in the same state.  I need a full day and a clean table to move onto the next chapter of stitching and that's my goal for the summer.  I want to bring her to Arizona in the fall as I do a lot more hand piecing there than at home.

Sharon

New Book - Welsh Quilting Design

Welsh Quilting Design by Sandie Lush  will be an excellent addition to any quilters library.  I have to admit,  I keep saying that making a Welsh quilt will be my retirement project.   I purchase any books that look good and this one is FANTASTIC!

Sandie wrote this from the perspective of history, not so much as a "learn to hand quilt".  The designs and photos are simply incredible.   It starts out with basic motifs and takes the reader on a step by step process to create amazing designs.  She adds in grid layouts, borders, background fillers and so much more.

I am sharing a very small amount of this book.  It's packed with amazing designs, layouts, step by step samples of creating complete quilts. Your finished layout can be a basic motif repeated across the quilt top, or complex with a multitude of ideas and designs.

There are several full quilt designs.  I highly recommend this for any hand quilt enthusiast.  The ideas go on and on.  Every page brings something new and interesting.

I do hope you will go online and purchase this book.  Yes, online.  She has self published this book so she was able to maintain complete control over the content.  It's a must have for any quilter.

Keep stitching,
Sharon

Appliques from the Bed Turning

Here are the appliqued pieces I enjoyed on Sunday at the PNW Quilt and Textile Museum in LaConner, WA
Up first is a wool piece that has some kind of funky yarn flowers. It was noted that the flowers were made by wrapping over a tin template and then stitched down onto wool patchwork. (I think)
The values of the patchwork would make this striking if it had been hanging on a wall.

It has been tied with a yarn.  I have never seen a piece like this one.

Here we go. I could have rolled myself up in this piece.  If I could have taken one home, this would have been it.  What's to not love about it.  Big graphic appliques... Seriously, look at that center block.

Fabulous swags surround the center. **added**  I found a very similar quilt in the Kentucky Quilts 1700 - 1800 yesterday.  That one had a busier center, but VERY close to the same pattern and layout.

I loved this variation of a feathered wreath.  The quilter did a spiral and then a single line to fill in the open space. Double spined feather.

Such lovely quilting, the cross hatch was (i think) 1/2" grid work.

Although this is pieced in the center, the poison green swags with pink blooms just made me smile.

Look at the little 1/2 sq triangles marching across the bottom of this piece. 

This summer spread was pretty special.  No backing and no quilting, however, all the applique has been stuffed.

My pictures are dark, but this one was very vibrant.

Most applique was done using solid fabrics, but one block with strawberry motifs showed a printed red.

She was proud of her work and she signed it.  Yeah for her.

If you click on this picture, you can see a small repair patch on the bottom right.  She rounded the corners of her patch and made it as good as she could.

I especially loved the flower design in this block.

I hope you have been enjoying some of these quilts that are part of the permanent collection at our only textile museum here in the PNW.  Through October, the on going exhibit is other quilts from their permanent collection.  I only had a few minutes to take a very quick walk through, but I saw enough to know I need to go back for an afternoon.

I'll post one more segment, star quilts.  I hope the eclipse was all that you expected and that everyone stayed safe out there.

Keep stitching,
Sharon

The Best Big Stitch Needles

I got a bit jazzed on the Perle #8 threads a few years ago. I bought a lot of it, in lots of colors. Plus I have boxes of DMC threads, so it wasn't that I needed any colors. But these little balls of thread looked SO cute.

Years ago, in another life time when I used to sift and search eBay for no reason,  I bought this vintage top. It was so sweet, and yet so not worthy of a ton of time. I had found the perfect project to use some of these bright threads. Now to find the right needles.

I purchased a multi pack of big eye needles, branded for big stitch quilting.  It was tough for me to pull the eye through the fabric. Then I was bending the needle at the base of the eye.  And breaking the eye off.

Needless to say, this trouble send me packing, as in packing up the project and putting it away. Until I found these.  I've used Tulip needles for other types of sewing, and while we were at the quilt show in Monroe, WA we went into Quilting Mayhem  They had a very good selection of needles and I thought I'd give these a try. I used the #4, (there are 4 sizes in the package)

Although this isn't a very big top, approx 32" x 40", I got it finished in two weeks.  As soon as I took the first stitches, I was in heaven.  They went through like a hot knife through butter.

Since it was so pleasurable, I kept at it during the evenings, and in no time, I had resurrected not only an old top, but an abandoned project.

This sweet little piece just needs binding.  I have a soft yellow solid that is perfect, it's all cut and ready to add, and then it's ready to be washed and loved.

Tools of the trade are very subjective, what one quilter loves another one abandons. Just like methods to making blocks, there are many ways to achieve the same outcome, it's a matter of personal preference. I'm thrilled with this product so my $8.50 was well spent!

Keep stitching
Sharon

La Conner Quilt Museum Exhibit

2017 has started off with a bang for me and my quilting.  I have been so thrilled to have a collection of my work hanging at the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum, now known as The Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum. 

This is one quilt I would grab if my house was on fire.  It was started on Lopez Island in a 4 day Gwen Marston workshop, but it took quite some time to complete.  I'll be doing another post with the details, but for now, this is a Show and Tell.  I've had this piece under wraps for over a year, and to have it be shown at La Conner for the first time, well, that made it worth it for me. Hand quilted.

String Theory has certainly gotten some legs.  It's the cover quilt for April APQ and it's also the quilt being used for their 2017 Quilt Along.  Have you seen their posts yet?  If not, they are doing video posts every week.  Court House Steps is the block and they have sketch sheets you can download and try out color options with your pencil crayons. Hand quilted

This one was finished at the Gwen workshop on Lopez Island back in 2013.  It was made from string patches for the star center, points, and the outside triangles.

The diamond round was created using left over 1/2 square triangles from a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt called Carolina Christmas.  I got that top all together January 2017.  I hand quilted this with straight lines in the string sections and in the red I quilted feathered motifs that I drew to fit each space.  Double half wreaths were done in the corner triangles and the section between the star points have a curling feather filling the section.

Again another piece that came out of a Gwen workshop.  This one took several years to complete.  I hand quilted a different motif in each solid column and stitched a 1/4" in from the seam allowances in the triangle shapes.

Tonya Ricucci was the reason this piece was created.  She threw out a challenge and I call this my recovery quilt.  I never liked the word 'survivor' when talking about people with breast cancer and for me, the word 'thrive' seemed so much more appropriate.  Hand quilted with feathers in the black columns.

 

Who says Civil War prints are drab?  Using a variety of  black solids, and being selective on which string went next, I achieved a bright Lightning zigzag piece.  This one finished at approx.. 42 x 48 but I think this would have made a fabulous bed sized quilt.   Machine quilted.

Main entrance of museum.

Wall view

Another view. 

I hope some of you have had the opportunity to visit and support this NW Textile Museum. Gwen Marston's exhibit runs until the end of March, and my body of work comes down Feb 27. The museum is closed Mon and Tues, so check their website for hours if you are planning a visit.

To be cont......
Keep stitching
Sharon

Hand Quilting BTCT

The past few months of hand quilting have been on projects that I 'had' to get done, and now it's time to pull out my Beyond The Cherry Tree (BTCT).  I saw Lori over at Humble Quilts got another block finished on hers, so this was the nudge I needed to keep mine moving towards finished.

This is all I need to work on this quilt, well, this and time; the elusive element for so many of us.  I use a Roxanne Thimble, the little blue rubber thimble for my pointer finger to help eliminate the stress on my wrist when pulling the needle through, some scissors and the lint brush.  There is always fluff or cat hair or threads that need to be removed.

 I like to load up my spool of thread with a group of needles.  I do this for a few reasons.  The biggest reason it that I can keep track of my needles.  I would hate to loose one on the carpet and then find it with my foot.  The other reason is that it helps me keep my rhythm when stitching. Finish one thread, and just pull off another one.  No need to stop and thread a needle.  I always make sure I end my sessions with the spool loaded up, makes for a fast start the next time I sit down to stitch and I count my needles.

Speaking of spools, my 'go to' hand quilting thread is YLI. It comes on wooden spools and the manufacturer still hasn't realized we need a place to dock or lock our thread.  No worries, a Sharpie and a sharp pocket knife will do the trick.  I just put a little notch in the edge of the spool, and mark it with a dot of Sharpie.  This makes it easy to find the notch when locking the thread.

Here's a picture of my quilt.  Clearly, I have not stayed on task with the quilting as the top was finished in 2012.  My original goal was June of 2015, then it moved to end of 2015 and now I'm thinking end of 2016 is a possibility.  All the blocks have been outlined, and about 2/3 of the border has been outlined.

The 9 center blocks have all the cross hatching completed, but the quilting in the appliqued pieces will wait to the end.  Changing colors will be the last part of the quilting. 

 However, most of the outside round of blocks, 18 in total,  look like this.  Random lines of cross hatching have been stitched, but most blocks are a few hours away from each being finished.  I got a bit done on the weekend.  It's the perfect break from my longarm machine.  Just getting this quilt out and back on the couch is enough to keep me motivated. 

This is definitely my 'best quilt' to date, and I hope I can keep focused on it in 2016 and find those few minutes here and there to keep rocking the needle on this treasure. 

Keep stitching,
Sharon