Diamonds

I've been playing with a collection of HST that I made using scraps of my batiks fabrics.

This mini is 9 1/2" square.  I did a whole series of straight lines using my walking foot, the distance between them varies but might be described as matchstick quilting.

The finished pieces has such great texture and stability.  I just used a normal piece of batting so it is surprising how much stability it has.

I sewed around the edge of the piece before I started to stabilize and to avoid distortion that tight quilting can bring.

Haven't decided if this is for me or a gift!

I'd be happy to write this one up as a quick tutorial - please let me know if you are interested.

Happy Stitching!

Welcome!

I found a stitching pattern here on Fort Worth Studio's blog.   (Do check it out - there are lots of cute little patterns and projects.)  

I really like the texture and stability that all my straight line quilting gave to the piece.   For the binding, I cut it at a very small 1 1/2" and then sewed it on at something less than 1/4".

This finished mini is 9" by 6 1/2".

I made another one without all the quilting.

For this one, I also skipped the binding by sewing front and back right sides together almost all the way around and then turning it inside out.  I am not happy with the lack of stability and texture so will likely undo my binding-less treatment and add some straight line quilting.

This was quick and fun and I've got more of them in my future!

Which one do you like better?

Happy Stitching!

Smile!

Smile!

What a fun colorful camera!   This is supposed to go on the back of my Snapshots quilt but I like it so much, it might just sneak onto the front!

With 7 blocks done and the finishing instructions published, I decided to make progress towards the assembly step for my Snapshots quilt.  The first step was to frame all the blocks in more background and then in red.  I've not yet gotten my main fabric yet for the front so I couldn't assemble the rows.

The picture below is what the top half will look like.

I am going to do a black outline stitch around the sewing machine and the dog before quilting.  I don't think there is enough contrast as it currently stands.

These are just so much fun!  The bicycle is the block for August which should be fun.

You can find more information on the Fat Quarter Shop page.  Besides the fun of building the quilt, this is all about donating to St Jude.

I'm using a fat 8th bundle of Moda Miss Kate for the blocks.


Happy Stitching!

Farmer's Wife is done!

In July of last year, I started my Farmer's Wife quilt, making 3 paper pieced blocks most weeks.  The quilt went off the the spa in late May and I finally finished the binding last weekend.

This photo is just a teaser.

I want to do a real photo op with this one during a time when my quilt holder has more time (and patience) for the job.

I went with a red solid for the binding and really like the way it came out.

Hopefully a photo shoot this weekend and then I'll do a blog post with heavy pictures!

Until then, have a good weekend!

Happy Stitching!

Pickles

Sourced from here.

Does this resemble your world?


Happy Stitching!

Snapshots - Up, up and away!

Have you ever had the chance to ride in a hot air balloon?

I did!

When my husband and I were first married, we went to visit friends in San Francisco and they treated us to a ride in the balloon as a wedding gift.

It was amazing.  So silently we floated along.  (This was a long time ago so I don't have any digital photos.....)

Up, up and away is block 7 in Fat Quarter Shop's Snapshots block of the month.  They just published the finishing instructions so I am going to start to assemble the blocks a bit and watch carefully for color balance as I go through the last 5 blocks.

The apron is my favorite block so far, followed by the tea pot.

You can find the pattern for this month's block  here and more information on the Fat Quarter Shop page.  Besides the fun of building the quilt, this is all about donating to St Jude.

I'm using a fat 8th bundle of Moda Miss Kate for the blocks.

Are you doing this one too?


Happy Stitching!

In Between

In between big projects, I always like doing a few little things.

I made this cute little charm square tray this weekend - found instructions here from Spoonful of Sugar.  I thought I'd keep it on my desk - I sometimes take my bracelet off and this keeps it safe.

Sheri from A Quilting Life is doing a mini summer block sampler.  I made the first 3 blocks using various blues from my American Made Solids collection.

Hope you have fun plans for the weekend.

Happy Stitching!

What can you do with a Sandcastle?

You can make it into a big quilt!

The first time I made my sandcastle was actually in 2011. (This is the original post and this is the finish post. )

The quilting was done in an edge to edge design called Waterworld.

The design for the border was adapted from a book called Scrap Basket Surprises.  (link to Amazon).  I used strips of batik and put together quilt the puzzle.

This pattern for the small quilt is now available in my Elm Street Quilts pattern store on Craftsy.  It is my 6th pattern and could be my favorite one!

Are you going to make your own Sandcastle?

I'll also be linking up here.

Happy Stitching!

Mr Brown is in town!

Charlie Brown that is!

(I noticed after I took all these photos that Charlie's shirt was 'square' in the upper right side.  He is a cool dude so I did some surgery with my seam ripper and carefully replaced the piece of yellow with a piece of blue.)

Charlie gathers his friends Linus, Schroeder, Marcie (who needs her glasses) and Marcie's best friend Peppermint Patty along with his sister Sally.  

The Brown family posed for a group photo.

I think Charlie Brown is happy with his friend Linus!  (Linus doesn't care that Charlie's shirt is unusually square.)

Join the fun on this one here - the pattern is from Tweety Loves Quilting..  

Happy Stitching!

Sandcastles on the beach

My family and I are fortunate enough to vacation for a week each year at the North Carolina beach.  The Outer Banks are just beautiful.  I bring my machine along each year to sew during the times we are not down on the beach.

This year, I created Sandcastle!

I waited until the last day to capture a photo on the beach which meant I had to deal with lots of wind.

The photo op was still fun .... until I had to chase it down the beach after a big wind gust!

This pattern is now available in my Elm Street Quilts pattern store on Craftsy.  It is my 6th pattern and could be my favorite one!

You need 2 fat quarters for the castle and then scraps for the flags, windows and doors.

My kids are teenagers and have lost interest in building actual sandcastles.  My quilty one will just have to do!!

Happy Stitching!

Applique anyone?

My daughter is about to be a high school senior which means this time next year.... I'd better have that quilt ready for her dorm room!

When my son went off to school in 2011, I made him a quilt with a fractal in the center.  

I modeled it off a quilt I saw a photo of and created my own templates.   It was a lot of work but a lot of fun to assemble.   (Here is my post on the quilt.)

I asked my daughter what she might like for her dorm room  - this was after I was grilling her    discussing with her possible college visits this summer.

She wants a quilt with the Harry Potter crest.





Gulp.

Looks like a very, very large applique project to me.  I've never done anything large.

The first challenge is to increase the image a gazillion times so that it gets to actual size.

Any ideas for me on this?   

Happy Stitching!

Superhero

I've got two teenage year old girls (and a son in his early 20s.)

I just love this message.   

I did some wavy lines to quilt this.  The background fabric was a number text print from Sweetwater.  The stitch pattern was found here on Mrs Moen's blog.

Is there a superhero in your life?  Go ahead and stitch one up for her!

Happy Stitching!

the beach!

My family is wrapping up our annual trip to the beach.  We rented a home in the NC Outer Banks in Corolla.

Have you ever heard of the wild horses in NC?  They roam free just north of the fence in the photo above.  Every morning, I walk up and climb through the fence hoping for a peek at the horses.  Saw one on top of a dune but he moved before I got a photo.

I've spent hours looking for sea glass and found a couple of pieces so far, including 2 brown ones and 1 green piece - first time I found something that wasn't just clear glass.   Walking slowly through scattered shells and shell fragments, hoping for a treasure!

We've seen dolphins swim by most days.  (And thankfully, no sharks.)

There are a variety of birds that keep you entertained as they dive into the ocean for their meal.

The guy on the front post is busy drying off his wings... or perhaps showing off his beach physique!

My son was able to join us which has been really nice.

I brought my sewing machine along but didn't get as much done as I usually do.

Hope your week has gone well.



Happy Stitching!