Another Block on the Wall

This block is one we worked on earlier in the year. The circular attachment was the specialty "foot". Using it, you can sew in a perfect circle. The corner pieces are 4 rows of decorative stitches sewn in a circle and then cut into fourths. A fifth line of decorative stitches is then used to applique the corner piece down. Thankfully, I was able to figure out a way to do this without purchasing the attachment as I didn't think I'd use it again. My pencil lines are visible a bit but will come out in the wash. All in all, this came out much better than I expected.

Here is the finished block. I'm glad this one is done!

I worked on the other unfinished blocks too. It didn't go well. I broke a button for one of them. I didn't sew on the other 11 buttons in case I can't find a matching button. On another block, I'm just a wee bit short some fabric. I finally got the message and went on to organize my patterns and do some straightening in my sewing room. There is always something to clean up, isn't there?

It's turning out to be a very challenging week at work and I'm looking forward to the upcoming holiday weekend. We're off on Monday and the extra day is going to be fantastic!

Latest Stash Acquisition

I've managed to get my hands on some of this coveted fabric.

Yep, Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt.

I wasn't interested until I saw This. My friend Melody mentioned it to me.
It pushed me over the edge to Etsy.

One Day....

My friend Henri (who should have a blog she is SO talented) made this bookmark. Isn't it just the cutest? I'd love to learn to scrapbook and make cards one day and I could only hope to be half as talented and creative as Henri.

Unfortunately, the picture of the entire bookmark came out fuzzy. Here's a picture of the back:

Today my sampler guild is having their monthly gathering so I'll spend the afternoon with friends doing one of the things I love to do. Greg is out on a long bike ride with his group so he's having a good day. I hope you spend your Saturday doing exactly what you want to do too!

I've made a bit more progress on Quakers and Quilts. I finished up another page of the chart and now am working on the bottom half of the piece.

I'm thinking of pulling out another ornament so I'll have something small being stitched too.

Or maybe I'll start this....

I Want A Longarm!

Saturday at my LQS, 2 people brought a Quilt for Kids quilt they had completed for Show and Tell. BOTH had ordered their kits after I brought my pieced top to show. I felt determined to quilt mine and finish it off this week. And I did!

If you'd like to do some charity quilting order a kit from Quilts for Kids. The kit comes with all the fabric including backing. You supply the batting, the thread, and the labor. They even send a label. Hey, do you sew on your label before or after washing? This label is commercially made.

Lessons Learned:
I learned that my sewing table is too high. This can easily be fixed.

It would be easier if my sewing machine was inset at the height of the table top. Unfortunately, the table I have has metal supports in the area that would need to be cut.

My shoulders hurt after a few hours of straight line quilting with my walking foot.
Badly.

I no longer want to quilt twin or queens sized quilts on my Bernina 440QE.

I think I want a long arm!
Or a frame for my Pfaff Grand Quilter.

How Long Does It Take To Finish A Block?

A couple of posts back I wrote that I was buzzing from flower to flower not getting much of anything done. I figured out why. I've been trying to catch up on my Stitchers Garden BOMs and frankly, they are a LOT of work. I'm a progress person - I really enjoy it. But these blocks do tend to test my limits. I'm not finishing them before I start the next one. I've just now gotten to the point where I have 3 completely finished and 4 are almost finished. I'm not sure how many I'm behind.

Here's the lowdown on why these blocks are taking so long. Granted I'm slow but even allowing for that......

Background quilted
Applique
Decorative stitches used sometimes in place of the blanket stitch
See the yarn? That had to be sewn down (we used Bernina Foot #21)

Two frames around the block
My first Yo Yo (which I now notice is off center along with the applique UGH)

This one has additional decorative stitches within some pieces and see the decorative stitching off to the left?

That decorative stitching goes around the whole block. This background is pieced before it's quilted.

All of the blocks have many steps to them. While I am learning a lot it's been a challenge to actually completely finish a block before it's time to prep for the next one.

Next month the background is quilted with a double needle and we're using the cording foot #25 for a flower stem.

YoYos? I must say, I'm not a fan. Just not my thing. If you love them, it's fantastic. Me? Right now I'm just not getting it.

Already?

Seriously???

Official high yesterday - 102
This is why I love the winter!

Now What?

This is my first stitching finish!

Red House In Winter
Little House Needleworks
Bing Cherry + DMC

But what do I do with it now? I know it needs to be finished.
I know I want it to be an ornament. That's all.
I think I'm going to put it in a drawer until I figure it out.

Greg participated in his first triathlon yesterday. It's the small one-1/4 mile ocean swim, 13 mile bike and a 3 mile run. He knew the hard part for him would be the run and it was. During the swim he saw several small fins! I didn't get to go watch because I had a conflict but he's signed up for another one in July. Maybe I'll make that one. I'm really proud of him!

Happy Stitches!

Going from Flower to Flower!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and not a lot of any one thing going on here. The only thing I've managed to complete is this one block. This is the latest block in my LYS $5 quilt. I have never sewn a bowtie before and I must say that I enjoyed it! For some reason, I didn't think I would. It came out right sized too!!!

I hope you're buzzing from flower to flower just like me and enjoying every minute of it.

Happy Stitches!

Blog Formatting, Goodies, and How Do You Stop?

The whole world of formatting blogs is so foreign to me. In January I finally was able to set up 3 columns but I could not change my sidebar text due to the template I had installed on blogger. Today, I moved to the Minima Template (and had to reset the 3 columns) and can change my sidebar fonts, but apparently only to the ones Blogger wants me to. Regardless, this template seems to be a bit better because there seems to be more support online for it. So bear with me. I know the header photo is huge. I'm not technically savvy. One day I'll get to it! No promises as to when though!

A couple of weeks ago I received this wonderful fob from Mylene. Isn't this adorable?! Tulips are a very favorite flower of mine.

Not only is Mylene a wonderful stitcher, she does exquisite finishing.

Mylene lives in the Netherlands and her blog features her surroundings along with her stitching and family. Stop by and say hello to her!

Last month at Moda Maniacs, I won this designer pack of a new line from Moda called Happy. Isn't it cute?

Lots of bright colors. This should be fun to work with - one day! :)

I have been quilting but mainly prep work for another Stitchers Garden class and I'm trying to catch up with last months blocks. I have not yet finished those. I used Bernina foot #21 for the first time today on one of the blocks. It was easier to use than I expected.

Knitting wise, I'm still working on Traveling Woman - it really is a fun knit. About a half dozen or so of the knitters who case on for it at the Midnight Knit have finished it. Hopefully I will soon!

I have no idea why I'm buying charts, yarn, fabrics and patterns but I have been. It's all beautiful, inspiring, and looks fun but the reality is - I probably won't have time to do any of it this year or next. But I want to! How do you stop when it's all so pretty?

How do you mark you quilt for quilting? The other day, I was prepping my Stitchers Garden blocks. We have to mark the block and then quilt the background before adding the applique. I had previously used a marker and chalk (and had problems with both coming out). This time I decided to try a Hera Marker.

For this individual block, it worked great! But it is something I can use on something larger and/or darker? I really want to quilt my own quilts. I'm honest with myself though, an artist I'm not. I'm going to need some help and I think that might mean marking quilts for a while.

My Quilts for Kids top is waiting in the wings for me to finish it up. I really want to try and do something other than a meander or straight line quilting.

So if you quilt your quilts, how do you mark them?
I'm really interested in finding out what has worked best for you in your experience!