Goodbye 2021

I took my last vacation day yesterday.  I made more progress on the Butterflies and Umbrella Ladies.  I have the medallion center almost complete and will be building out the rest tomorrow, I hope.  

I have to sew the seam at the top then I’ll be adding about a 5” wide strip on each side of the medallion.  At the top and bottom I’ll add an additional segment that will bring the piece to about 80” in length.  

I originally thought about adding just the floral peach at the top and bottom with no piecing.  Then I thought that was too blah so thought about adding a slice of the solid behind the butterflies in the middle of the floral.  Better but still….yawn.  I continued to play with ideas on the design wall in my mind.  I moved on to a strip of the floral between the solid…noooope.

Yesterday when visiting with my friends while sewing I arrived at the idea of the blue bordered by the peach floral bordered by the solid.  This is what I currently plan to insert in between the sea of peach floral.  I’ll be taking some measurements on the bed to see where to place the strip.

Almost done!!

Happy New Year to all.  I hope to be sewing away the day tomorrow to set the precedent for the year.

Design As You Go or Cobbling

With the main elements of my quilt complete I started designing the elements.  I decided on a window frame look and then placed the umbrella girls and small hankies.  I lay out a few strips to see where to go next.

Today I assembled more of the units.  I decided to frame the hankies to bring their size to match the umbrella ladies.  

I then joined all the side centers.  Before I left I auditioned the size of strip the will join the sides to the center.  My friend suggested a narrow border similar to what was used in the frame.  I felt it needed to be much larger and we agreed a 2” finished width would do the job.

I imagine giving the pieces a floating feel and I think the wider strip will achieve that.  There will be about a 5” slab border of the floral print.  I’d like to add 15” or so to the top and bottom.  I don’t want it to look like I just slapped it on after giving up!  No plans for heavy piecing.  We will see.  Stay tuned! 

Merry Christmas

May you enjoy the day with those close to you.

Merry Christmas!

December OMG Complete!

My goal this month was to finish adding embroidery details to my butterfly hankies.  I did that and am beginning final assembly.

It’s been awhile since I did embroidery and had to watch a video to remember how to do the stem stitch.  It came back pretty quickly.

I outlined the bodies of the butterflies to give more definition.

I moved on to begin assembly.  I started the frame and hope to have that portion complete this week.  It will be fiddle to assemble but not difficult.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all.

I’m linking with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for OMG completion..

December 2021 One Monthly Goal

I met with the ladies at church today.  I played with the layout of my quilt ladies after having made a few sketches last week.  I snapped pics as I went.

Original proposal except the background was to be a peachy solid.  I felt it was heading to the blah side so changed it to the floral fabric as the background.

New idea number 1.  This idea was sparked because I thought my client said she would hang it on the wall when I cautioned her about over washing.  I thought this was better but a little lopsided looking.  I did love the big hankies in the center.

New idea number 2.  I redistributed the ladies and hankies.  To me this was so much better.  My client really loved this one.  Definitely my favorite to this point.  I have visions of sashing the butterflies to make them look like a window.  I have a beautiful blue solid to do the trick.

New idea number 3.  I felt like I already had a winner but had sketched this idea so thought I’d give it a try. I wasn’t really liking where it was going so gave up.

My goal for December is to add the embroidery stitches to the butterfly hankies.  I’ll run a stem stitch along the upper edge of the wing, either side of the body and add antanae.  I may have to buy more black floss but that will be easy enough.

Linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts One Monthly goal linkup.

November OMG Complete

My goal was to finish appliqueing the six small hankies.  I finished that task today.

I’m playing with the final layout.  I had originally envisioned a lot of solid pink in the background but now I’m not so sure.  I think the appliqué  elements have enough background already and adding more won’t improve it.  I’ll do some more sketching and laying out before I decide.

I was shooting for a 60” x 80” size but then the person I’m making it for said she would hang it on the wall.  I’ll be reworking this size to be smaller to better bit a wall.  That size may work as we have 10’ ceilings in most rooms.

Linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for her OMG completion linkup.

Slow Stitching Sunday

I should say slow stitching weekend.  Starting Friday night I joined Chookyblue’s zoom.  I really enjoy these ladies company and it has encouraged me to work on my handwork.  My goal this month was to appliqué six hankies onto a fabric square.  

i had two sides of one hankie done when I joined the zoom.  When I left the chat I had two completed blocks.  Saturday I joined my friends to sew at church.  There I completed two more and prepped the sixth block.  The fifth is ready to appliqué and will be the fussiest of them all with an intricate lace corner.

Pardon the wrinkles.  They are thrown on the bed for a photo op.

I will join Kathy for Slow Stitching Sunday today to finish up the last two blocks.

Here are some photos of a pooped puppy.  My friends love to tease him that they are chasing him.  He runs like crazy and by the end of the day is ready for a good snooze.

Happy Thanksgiving to my US friends!

November 2021 OMG

It seems I need a little motivation on a project and setting this goal seems to motivate me.  I am cobbling together a quilt from some treasures that my client and her bff bought and wanted to make a quilt from.  Sadly the BFF died unexpectedly and my client realized she didn’t really know where to begin.

I sketched up several ideas and decided to applique the hankies she wanted in the quilt.  The problem is that I’m not much of a handwork person.  I can do it I just haven’t done a lot.  I’ve found that I do enjoy it.

Here are the first four I’ve done that I need to add embroidery details to.

Now I have to applique six more.  They are small and will be set on point.  The starting seems to be the issue.

One is not pictured as I need to cut another background piece.  I have the threads pulled.  Now to start!

Linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal linkup.

October 2021 OMG Complete

I didn’t mean to skip blogging the entire month.  I seems handwork keeps me off my devices for the most part.  I will admit that I found a game that is stealing my free time.  I need to set limits on that.

I put the last stitches in the quilt repair I targeted for this months goal.  I found places where it appears there was a previous fix but they didn’t add quilting stitches so I finished that part as well.

All these triangles were whipstitched together.  In order for the stitches to not show I made lots of tiny stitches.

My repairs are the purple and plaid.  These two photos show them as I was adding them in.  You can see the quilting stitches.

At this distance it seems to stick out like a sore thumb.

A full shot shows it blends with all the other solids and plaids.  There were lots of loose seams that had to be stitched in addition to the replaced blocks.  I told the owner to fix it or have it fixed as she finds a loose spot and not let them build up again.  I return it today and hope she’ll be pleased.

Linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for her OMG linkup.

October 2021 OMG

I’ve chosen my goal for the month!  I am going to finish restoring this quilt.

There are two complete blocks that will be replaced and then one or two single triangles that will be replaced.

Shown below is a complete block.

I received some vintage fabrics from a friend and have cut the replacement pieces.  I have pressed a quarter inch seam all around each piece and am ready to start hand stitching.

I used the Clover Hot Hemmer shown to measure the pressed over seam allowance.  Even seams and no burnt fingers!  It’s a very thin piece of cardboard with registration marks.  

I’m linkup with Elm Street Quilts OMG linkup party.

Are you joining the fun?

September OMG Complete

I finished sewing all 7 columns together on my Lakeview Terrace quilt.  I found the tutorial of Missouri Star Quilt Co.

We have been trying for two months to pulling our camper into the driveway in order to protect the equipment from thieves.  We tried a few different tuggers.  These are motorized dollies you can attach to the trailer and manually pull it.  There is an incline on the driveway and we just could not get them to work.

Ray bought a winch and installed a stake in the ground and welded the winch to it.  He’s had one trial run and gotten everything to work the way he hoped.  Tomorrow we are going to test it out again to make sure we have a handle on.  The winch was covered by the metal box that normally goes on the generator.  We had a vinyl tarp in the garage.  We took a few measurements, cut the vinyl to the measurements and I boxed the corners on my 301.  I was happy it sewed through everything.

There will be a box over the tarp to prevent a trip hazard.  I texted Patty and sent her pictures.  I told her I was channeling my inner patty!  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Im almost done with my next cross stitch project.  I just lack the tutu.  I’ll add that once I decide how to finish it.  I may finish it and keep it in a ziploc to protect the 3D aspect of it.

I’m in search of my next cross stitch.  I may just generalize it to hand work or small project as I have lots of little things I just don’t get to but would like to.  I won a cute little wool project from Carole at  Quilting Adventures.  That seems to be the forerunner in my mind right now.

Linking up with Patti at Elm Street Quilts for the finish linkup for September OMG.

Stitching and Stitching

I finished the stitching of my cute little dragonfly.  I did a little research on finishing it into a (pin) pillow and have to choose fabric to get that done.  This was a good starter piece because it helped remind me about chart reading and “special” stitches.

As soon as I completed that I sought out my next project and jumped right in.  I had been in a thrift store and the little kit was only  $1.99.  It has specialty threads in it that I wanted to learn to use.  I bought it at the time when my vision was at a bad place.  I wondered if I’d be able to stitch at the time and was unable to do so.  I put it away.

I picked it up a week ago and have made great progress.  I remember the frustration I felt when I first worked on it.  I have run into a tough part where I’m stitching white in single strand thread.  In addition to my lighting I may have to only stitch in the daytime as well in order to see it.  I decided to skip to the last of the color parts and then I’ll have to fill in with the white which may make it easier to see where I’m going.

This activity has greatly reduced my screen time too.  I have to start thinking about what’s next.

So lest you think I’m not quilting I have some progress there too.  There is now a double wide design board.  It’s amazing.  I lay out my Lakeview Terrace to get the color placement arranged.  I was surprised that I could see with my naked eye a spot that appeared washed out.  I moved that block to the edge where it wasn’t as noticeable.  When I took a picture I spotted another area and moved that to the edge as well.

Here is the final layout.  I just need to sew the columns together after I press them first to get finger pressed seams more firmly in place.

Hope you’re having a productive week in whatever you do.

Cross Stitching

I cross stitched starting way back in 1985 when I first moved to Texas.  I took on big projects because I didn’t know better.  I enjoyed it and bonded with my mother-in-law over the activity.  The supplies for different projects became her favorite gift to me on different occasions.  She passed suddenly in 1989.  I took over all of her unfinished projects and finished them.  Some of them led to me making accompanying pieces.  

I took solace in the work while I was bed ridden for the first trimester of my first pregnancy.  I had many completed pieces by the time I delivered my son.  Now with a child I did most of my stitching at lunchtime with coworkers. 

I had quite the collection of projects by now.  I had also found quilting.  I know I continued to stitch after my kids were born but it was less and less.  It’s not that I didn’t love it, it was just expensive with my family additions to worry about and a quilt, to me, was cheaper and easier to finish.

Fast forward to maybe 2014 and I see Jill at Darling Jill Quilts is cross stitching.  By now I have done a poor job of managing my diabetes and developed retinopathy.  As a result I had lots of laser surgery and was developing cataracts.  I was receiving other treatments but my eyesight was terrible.  In 2017 I had the cataracts removed.  I saw a cute little cross stitch kit at the thrift store and bought it.  I tried working on it but ended up with a knotted mess and set it aside.

When I had the cataract removal I moved to a new retinalogist.  He  gave me the same treatments as the previous doctor and got things better but then switched treatments.  About a year ago I started using a Dexcom glucose monitor.  My sugars have been the best ever since being diagnosed.  My eyesight is the best it’s ever been.

This year I saw Patty at Patty the Quilt Lady cross stitching and Judy at Patchworktimes cross stitching.  I bought another little kit in anticipation of trying my hand at cross stitching again.  Judy mentioned a light she tried and I ordered one.  It has 5 different strength lenses in it.  I’m using the 2.0 and have been able to accomplish a lot.  I’m still struggling with the best distance to hold my work but that’s trial and error.  I can only stitch an hour or so then have to take a break.

All the x’s were completed tonight.  Now I have to do the back stitching.  Dragonflies hold a special place for me so I’ll finish it in a way that I can keep it close at hand.  I need to find that other kit and go to work on it next!

Remember that an investment in your physical health is just as important as investing in your financial health.  It’s easier to keep your health than regain it!  Please take care of yourselves.