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Saturday, July 26, 2014

On the Frame

The Lori Holt Row Along Quilt is on the frame.
I have once again put the quilt oriented with the top of the quilt on my right, and the bottom of the quilt on my left. I had to piece the backing, so I didn't want the seam to roll on itself on the backing bar. That is why I turned it.
Here is an example of how poor my color memory is. Do you see the backing on the far bar? That is the fabric I bought at the Quilt Box in June. I wrote about it here. I thought this would be the perfect match for the turquoise fabrics I used on the front. Take a look. Far from it. The backing has a creamy background and is a soft turquoise. The turquoise on the quilt front is very bright and the background is quite white. I should never buy fabric unless I have samples in hand. Oh well. It is just the back. I can live with it.

Thanks for stopping by,


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

I'm a Winner!

I actually won this before I went on vacation in May. I just haven't blogged about it until now. I won a $25 gift certificate courtesy of Canton Village Quilt Works from Sharon McConnell's blog at Color Girl Quilts.

So how did I spend my money? I bought the Polka Dot Bikini kit from CVQW. Here it is. All ready to be cut up and sewn.


You say you haven't heard of the Polka Dot Bikini quilt? How could that be? Take a look at this and this to see what I am talking about. The pattern was designed by Sharon McConnell and it was quilted by Jenny Pedigo from Sew Kind of Wonderful.

I fell in love with this quilt when I saw this. In my dreams, I will quilt it like that.

So many things to sew...so little time.

Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, July 21, 2014

2014 Designer Mystery BOM

I have completed block #2 in the 2014 Designer Mystery BOM series.
I love Edyta's fabric line. I didn't take a picture of it along with block #1. You can see it here.

I am linking up with What a Hoot BOM's Away (link here).

Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Uncle Sam is Finished!

Another finish for 2014. Here he is.

I chose this wall hanging specifically because of its size (in addition to the fact that I really love it). I have an ugly spot that I needed to hide. Oh, the shame. Here it is:
When we finished our basement, I wanted to have a cover of some kind over the fuse box. The builder's quick solution was to paint it the same as the wall color. I suppose it was a reasonable solution, but it has always bothered me. Then along came the Uncle Sam wall hanging. It fits the space perfectly.
This is much better. The next project up on my to do list is another wall hanging for that same spot that isn't holiday specific.

I am linking up to Anything Goes Monday (link on right).

Thanks for stopping by.




Saturday, July 19, 2014

Farmer's Wife Finish!

Farmer's Wife quilt is now finished.
The picture looks a bit strange because it is a queen-size quilt draped across a king-size bed. The binding is red with white polka dots. I am really happy with the finish.
Above is a requisite photo of the back. I am a little disappointed in the backing fabric. It is a white on white wide backing fabric. It has a bit of a 'plastic-y' feel to it. I haven't washed the quilt yet, so maybe it will soften after washing.

Photo-heavy post warning: following are a whole bunch of close-ups.











Vital Statistics:
Finished size: 83" x 103"; 111 6" (finished) blocks
Began piecing: June 13, 2012
Assembled into a flimsy: August 18, 2013 (see post here)
Completed quilting, binding, labeling: July 18, 2014

I am linking this post to Sewjo Saturday (here)

Monday, July 14, 2014

On the Frame

Uncle Sam is on the frame:
I have a good start on this. SID and all squared up. I won't be able to get back to this for several days. Meetings all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. What ever happened to my 9-month contract? Oh well.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Gen X BOM Blocks for July

Here are the Gen X BOM blocks for July. I have had them for several days, but just had time to work on them today.
I changed up the arrangement of the Flying Geese sets from the pattern. The colors in these pictures are a bit brighter than they really appear.
Here are all 14 blocks that I have completed so far.
What caused the delay in completing the July BOM? I completed the quilting on my Farmer's Wife quilt.
Here are a few photos.





I have ordered fabric for my binding. Wouldn't you think I would have thought ahead far enough to have that on hand already? Duh. I think one step at a time. Can't wait to have it completely finished.

Linking up with Free Motion by the River (link on right) and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story (link on right).

Thanks for stopping by.



Monday, July 7, 2014

Farmer's Wife Update

Farmer's Wife is still on the frame. Poor Uncle Sam is still waiting. Missed 4th of July on that one. It will be ready for next year.

An email to my dealer, Angela Huffman (here) has solved my tension problem. Her email instructions as well as the link she sent to this Jamie Wallen YouTube video did the trick. What a difference it makes when I can spend hours quilting rather than a couple minutes at a time.

Here are a couple pictures:


It is a challenge coming up with a quilting design for each 6 inch block. I feel like I am repeating a lot of things. In some blocks, I am just outlining the pieces. I am also trying to give some contrast to the swirls I am putting in the sashing and setting triangles.

I am linking up today with Anything Goes Monday (link at right); Free Motion by the River (link at right). I am also linking to Quilt Story: Fabric Tuesday (link at right), I have to say here and Freshly Pieced here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Farmer's Wife on the Frame

Rabbit, Rabbit. The first of another month. Yeah! We have made it (better than the alternative).

I have loaded my Farmer's Wife quilt on the Lucey. Poor Uncle Sam (here) won't get quilted before July 4th unless I really have a great spurt of quilting completed on FW.

This is a honking big quilt. It is 103.5" long (top to bottom). I loaded it so I would have to advance it the fewest times, so the top is at my right, and the bottom is at my left.  I got wide backing fabric so I didn't have to piece it (phew).

I still have to play with the tension between upper and bottom thread. Will it never end?  If I can't get a handle on this, I may as well give up. I ran out of my pre-wound bobbins, so I had to use the Sidewinder to wind my bobbins. I am not convinced that these are as good as pre-wounds, but that is what I have to work with. I am using Glide on the top and bottom.

I have 111 different 6" finished blocks. This is actually a good way for me to get my feet wet with 'custom' quilting. I have completed several panto quilts, but this is the first that is totally on my own.


 The quilting isn't really showing very well. I am using rulers when I think they are helpful. SID is harder than you might think. I try not to have to retrace my tracks, but it is hard not to. I have to balance that with not having too many stops and starts.

 I have no idea what to do in the (relatively) large areas in this block. Instead of stopping my progress totally, I did SID where it made sense and moved on. I will have to come back to this one.
 Another view of the overall design.

I tore this one out, not once, but twice. See those curves? They looked totally stupid when I got them done. When I re-sewed, I used my straight ruler to make quarter inch lines. Still not totally happy with it, and I still might decide to rip it out again.

I am teaching an online class right now, so I have to balance my quilting time with my real-life job.

I am linking this post to Freshly Pieced.

Thanks for stopping by.