Pumpkin Patch and Treasure Chest Quilt Top

This block is named Pumpkin Patch.  It was designed by Debbie Field of Granola Girl Designs and was published in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol.3.  I've loved this block since I saw it and finally got around to putting it together.

The Tresure Chest quilt top is done.  Maybe I'm unusual, but yesterday it took me over 8 hours to make the flying geese borders, and most of that time was spent squaring up.  Very tedious and because I was running out of fabric I altered the sashing from 4.5 " to 3" so instead of 4 groups of 8 geese I have 4 groups of 7 geese on the long sides.

We are expecting an unwelcome visitor tomorrow in Hurricane Sandy.  Hopefully the dire scenarios won't occur and we'll all just get a little wet and windblown. 

God Bless You.



Work on Treasure Chest Quilt

I spent yesterday sewing together the blocks for the Treasure Chest Quilt.  I wanted to continue making the flying geese border but don't have white fabric so it is on hold for now.  However, I just love the purple sashing.  Has it really been a year since I began this quilt? 

 

I also completed part 4 of the Christmas SAL and will be cross stitching the Santa section next.

 

Today I cut out the Christening cape. 

 

Everything is on schedule. 

 

God Bless You.

Sewing for a Princess and Getting to Know My Sewing Machine

My sewing machine and I have been together for maybe eight or more years but it still holds surprises for me.  I was looking something up in the owner's manual when I spotted a topic that interested me; "How to sew square corners."  What I learned is that there are two notches on the plate that indicate when the fabric is reaching the 5/8 " mark, the usual apparel seam allowance.  By knowing this, you can turn the fabric in the same spot for every corner and your seam allowance is the same on both sides of the corner.   I never knew about those notches, even after all of the times I've replaced bobbins, etc.  And I love them.  I used them when I sewed the Christening dress back and they do work great. 

I've also been using feet I only use occasionally, namely the rolled hemmer and the buttonholer.  The dress now has a perfect rolled hem.  The buttonholes are not so perfect.  The piping bumps prevented the foot from sewing forward and so I have a little hand sewing to do on them, but not too much. 

The online store from whom I ordered the wool crepe let me know yesterday that they sold out of the fabric (after placing the charge on my card; bad business practise if you ask me), so today I bought white velvet for the cape.  Is there a princess in the house?

This is the dress so far:

 

 I've been auditioning placement of the lace appliques.

 

 

 I think the second version is what we're going with although I would like to see something at the waist. 

 

I'm happy about the progress I've made. 

Now on to some cross stitching.

 

God Bless You.



More Dress Progress

 

The plan to use lace at the neckline was abandoned and I added piping instead.  Because the fabric is cut on the diagonal, I am now dangerously close to have very little left to play with, so let's hope all goes well.  I cut the bonnet fabric so that should be all set.

 

I hand sewed in the sleeves today and will machine stitch them in later, but it's looking good.

 

 

I'm done for today.  Buttonholes next, then the skirt.  Life better not get in my way:)

 

I wanted to say Thank You again to Elizabeth of Sand and Sunshine  http://sandandsunshine.blogspot.co.uk/ for the having us over to her place yesterday for the Christmas QAL.  Elizabeth has informed me that I'm the lucky winner of the pincushion, so that makes my day.  I don't use just one pincushion because I sew all over the house so I can certainly use another.  Thanks, Elizabeth.

 

 I made so much progress on this project because we have this QAL so a big Thank You to Sue of Quilt Times  http://quilttimes.blogspot.com also for starting this up some 3 years ago.  Some day I'm going to go back and count up all of the things I've made during our second Saturdays just so I can amaze myself.  It's alot.  Thanks Sue.

 

God Bless You.



October Christmas QAL 2; Pretty Sleeves

I've got the sleeves put together.  They will have a ribbon around the top of the lace and a bow on the the outside.

 

 

I'm going to begin the bodice next but need to find lace for the neckline. 

 

My deadlines are creeping up on me.  The next part of the cross stitch SAL is due 10/20 and the FMQ Challenge and Treasure Chest QAL are due 10/31.  And yes, I will get them all done.  And I will do them all nicely.

 

 

 

October Christmas QAL 1

Today the Christmas QAL is hosted by Elizabeth of Sand and Sunshine    http://sandandsunshine.blogspot.co.uk/ and located in Florida.  If you want to see some really cute Halloween decorations then visit her blog today and if you wish you can enter her giveaway for a very cute pincushion.  Thanks, Elizabeth.

In a previous post I mentioned my very special project of using my sister's wedding gown which our mother made for her and sewing the Christening dress for her newest granddaughter.  I'm using the Simplicity 4766 pattern:

I'm making the version without the lace over skirt because my sister's gown was slipper satin and gorgeous, so the fabric is rich enough.  My mother sewed lace details on the gown and this gown will have that also.  But after cutting the dress last night this is all the fabric that's left:

There's just enough left for the bonnet. 

I'm taking this one step at a time so progress may be slow. 

I ordered wool crepe for the cape.  Not sure yet what I'll get to line the cape. 

 

God Bless.

Pretty Bows

 

My pictures don't do justice to Carole's design.  It's just gorgeous. Part 3 is done.

http://novalee02.over-blog.com/

 

God Bless You.



Empire Star Block and Part 2 of Christmas SAL

The fourth block of the Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt is the Empire Star block.  http://erikhomemade.typepad.com/erik_homemade/benjamin-franklin-mystery-quilt/

It is a good looking block and I'm happy to be up to date on this qal. 

The third block is the Fly Foot block which I posted about here http://needlethreadhappiness.blogspot.com/2012/08/fly-foot-block.html

That block was bothering me because of its brutal associations so today I took it apart and rearranged it so it looks like this now:

I love the other blocks and the fabric I'm using in this quilt and knew I couldn't let it go.  I know, I'm too sensitive.   

 

I also completed the second part of the Christmas SAL with Carole of Point de Croix Novalee 02  http://novalee02.over-blog.com/

Love this project, too.

 

Hope you are all well.

God Bless You.

 

 

The Last Block

This is the Rose Dream block and it is the last block in the Treasure Chest Quilt. 

 

Here are my blocks in the layout Quilt in a Day used.

 

There is sashing and flying geese in the border, so there's more to do.

 

I'm happy the blocks are done.  I'm ready to start playing with my Christmas fabric.

 

And I have accepted a wonderful project. 

 

My mother made my sister's wedding gown some 43 or so years ago.  Yesterday my sister invited me to use her gown to make her new granddaughter a Baptismal dress.  How nice is that! 

I'll keep you posted on that project.

 

God Bless You. 



September Christmas QAL Post 3

I'm done for now.  In between stitches I roasted tomatoes and ate some on good rye bread - a delicious oily concoction.  I do like Hazel's Greek cookie recipe so that's a treat I will make in the near future.

I mentioned my mistake to some of you and just want to say it is still there but I over stitched the yellow error with white thread so it won't be so visible.  I guess I unconsciously put the Joanna stamp on this design.  I checked Carole's blog and she has posted pictures of this section done by 54 other participants, so I feel like the turtle in this race. 

 

Thank you to Hazel for being such a fun host this month.  She gets extra credit for all of the fancy dress outfits she came up with and shared with us.  I know for a fact you won't be seeing me in a sarong any time soon.

 

Hope the rest of your weekend is lovely.

 

God Bless You.

September Christmas QAL Post 2

Other than take a short walk and doing some laundry I've been stitching, but this is all I have to show.

This section needs to be completed and the photo submitted by September 15th in order for me to receive the next section, but I can only stitch for so long before I need to move around a bit. 

I have the last block to make for the Treasure Chest QAL, or more hand quilting or the FMQ Challenge for September.  Too many choices I think.  Think I'll visit the QAL gang and have a cup of tea.

September Christmas QAL Post 1

Hazel http://www.hazelsquilts.blogspot.com is our very cheery host this month.  So take a short trip to England and get happy just reading her post.  She's got me thinking this is going to be a great day for stitching.

And speaking of stitches, that is what is on my agenda today.  I have joined in a SAL for a Christmas cross stitch pattern with Carole of Novalee 02 http://novalee02.over-blog.com/ .  This is what my goal for today is:

And this is how much I have done so far:

As you can see, I have much to do.  Might as well get to it.

Blatant Request for Votes

 Okay, I have not done this before but I am asking for you to vote for my block,Ozark Trail, here  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151059875683165&set=a.10151059872233165.438144.179582883164&type=3&theater#!/photo.php?fbid=10151059875683165&set=a.10151059872233165.438144.179582883164&type=3&theater  For me it means a gift certificate to Quilt in a Day, how nice is that.  For you, well, nothing.  But, I will be very grateful.  Here is my block:

It really is one of my best in this project. 

 

Hey, how is this?  I will pray for all of my followers each day in September for whatever they need, whether or not you voted.  You win even if you don't do anything but read this post.   

 

Thank you.

 

God Bless You.

 

Love,

Joanna

Fly Foot Block

The third block in the Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt http://erikhomemade.typepad.com/erik_homemade/  is the Fly Foot. 

 

Other than this block I've been hand quilting the QOV which at this point looks like it will never be finished.

 

Please read SewCalGal's post about prayer flags.  http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2012/08/call-for-quilts-prayer-flags.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InsightsFromSewcalgal+%28Insights+From+SewCalGal%29

  That's something I meant to make when I first saw them on Nina Lise's blog last year I think, but I never got to make one.  It's a nice idea and some of the quilts are quite lovely.

 

God Bless.

 

Super Giveaway Wins And Not Much Else

Henry Glass Fabrics http://henryglassfabrics.blogspot.com/  recently had a blog hop of their designers and  I was lucky on two counts.  One of their designers is Little Quilts and from them I received this beautiful fabric and patterns group from their new collection, Little Darlings.

One of the patterns has embroidered blocks so I look forward to working on them.  One of the first quilt books I bought and still refer to often is "Little Quilts All Through The House."  It was written by the same three quilters who designed this collection and have a quilt shop in Georgia.  http://www.littlequilts.com 

From the Henry Glass site, I won this flannel fabric bundle of baby prints.  It's just too cute and soft.

Thank you, Henry Glass & Co., Inc.  It was nice to meet your designers. 

I'm not sure about you, but I do develop a loyalty to companies from whom I've won something.  If they can bother, then I can bother. 

I've worked on the FMQ Challenge for August and I don't seem to be able to duplicate the exercise.  We are supposed to be imitating a jester's cap and it's a really cute design, but I just don't seem able to get it. 

I was going to show what I've done so far but it's pretty bad.  I'll just do some more practising and see if I can't get it up to a decent level.

I've been hand-quilting my brother's QOV and now have three blocks done.  Right now my plan is to hand-quilt the five main blocks and machine stitch the rest, but that could change.  I like the way the outlines look when hand-quilted, so I may just continue.  Yep, really losing my marbles.

By the way, last week I asked for resources for quilt histories, and Barbara Brackman's name was mentioned by Sharon and Cathi.  I am reading Barbara's book, "Quilts From The Civil War" and am enthralled.  It's not a political treatise, but a chronicle of the war as it affected women, quiltmaking and the quilts themselves, textiles and such.  I think Barbara Brackman has done  a service to American history by writing this book.  Maybe I'm too serious about this, but I'm seeing the war from a different point of view.

God Bless You.







Christmas QAL August - Post 3

I began the quilting on the Quilt of Valor.  I love the way the stars look when I do the edge quilting around them.

At least I made a start on this.



Christmas QAL August - Post 2

It has taken this much time to sew on the prairie points and patch together the backing. 

The points are easy enough, but I think I should have used the walking foot to sew them on because of the bumps.  I need to fix a few but otherwise that part is done.

It took longer to make the backing.  I didn't have enough of the printed fabric and I wanted to save some of it to use for more napkins or placemats.  I had lots of medium to small pieces of white so I ended up sewing it all together with two strips of the lights print.

So now it's just to put it all together and quilt it. 

See you later.



Christmas QAL August - Post 1

Cathi of Shakerwood Quilts http://shakerwoodquilts.blogspot.com/ is our host today for the Christmas QAL.  She's just posted a picture of some yummy cookies which are making me hungry since I haven't had breadfast yet.  Time to get going.

I'm almost ready.  This is a pic of the dining room table on which sit two quilts; Festive Mystery is on top with the prairie points laid out around it and the Quilt of Valor is beneath it sandwiched but not basted. 

I'm hoping for real progress of either of these quilts today.

I completed the eleventh block in the Treasure Chest QAL and it is called Ozark Trail.

I am getting very interested in the history of quilting, partly because of a conversation I had this week with a history buff and partly due to an excellent article I read this morning in AQS's American Quilter magazine which was about the quilts that were made and the women's role during the Civil War.  So when I make a quilt block called Ozark Trail I get very intrigued and want to know more about it.  Anyone have any good sources I can refer to to learn more? 

God Bless.



Boy's Nonsense Block

The second block in the Ben Franklin Mystery Quilt is Boy's Nonsense.  What a cute name.  http://erikhomemade.typepad.com/erik_homemade/2012/07/free-boys-nonsense-quilt-block-pattern.html

My two blocks so far. Very different looks although most of the fabric is from the same Robert Kaufman fq bundle.  I love it.

I got half way through making the next Treasure Chest block, Ozark Trail, when I ran into trouble and quit that project for today.  I folded and pressed my prairie points for the Festive Mystery Quilt instead.  So, I 'm trying to keep up with everything. 

God Bless.

Pets on Quilts Post

Do I have a pet?  Yes.  Do I quilt?  Yes.  Can they be combined?  Um, maybe. 

Moxie's my black cat, and I have made a table runner with black cat silhouette blocks.  I used Kay Mackensie's applique templates from her book Easy Applique Blocks and just made my own design.  The background fabric is the cutest fabric with cats galore literally hanging around a sewing room.  I just love it.  It must be fun to have a menagerie of cats and dogs, although my one cat tends to rule here.

The critic.

The tough critic.

Is that a bad review or do you like it so much you are making it yours?

I also want to share the Lollipop Playground wall hanging I just completed, also a Kay Mackenzie design from her book Scrap-Applique Playground. I added the AccuQuilt Go! dog and that makes it appropriate for the Pets on Quilts show.

Enjoy the Pets on Quilts show.  Thank you to Snoodles of Lily Pad Quilting for hosting and working so hard to make this show happen.
 http://lilypadquilting.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-2012-pets-on-quilts-show-is-here.html?showComment=1343912019263#c2519823439258730886

God Bless!