Kingfisher Quilt

So, finally, my Kingfisher quilt is finished. Totally finished, washed, dried and spread out on my bed where I can just stare at it.

 Yesterday I finished the quilting of it. I quilted it on my Bernina 440 QE. I used my walking foot and quilted along either side of the seams between the diamonds, and then I quilted 3 lines in each angled direction through the center of each hexagon. I messed up in the second row I was doing and spaced the lines too far apart. Rather than pick out all the stitches, I incorporated that into the design and did wider lines in every other row.

And then I bound it. I used the umbrella print from the Charleston line that I had used for the borders. I wanted a dark blue, and then I remembered I had this print and plenty of it for a change. So that's what I used and I am pretty happy with it.

 Here it is, all crinkly from the dryer. I love the amount of crinkle it got. Not too much in the center, but plenty around the border.

 I set my machine to do a wavy zigzag line for the borders. Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts showed this on one of her quilts one time, and I loved it. I have used it a couple of times. This is the first time I've used it like this, but I love the look of the border.

 Not all the stitching is perfectly centered, because when I appliqued the hexie flowers onto the diamonds, I just eyeballed it. Probably should have measured it to make sure, but, oh well.

 I had two chunks of red fabric in my backing pile. Both were two yards, so I chose the stripes for the biggest part and used half of the width of the circles for the rest. I think it worked out great.

And there we have it, all done and labeled. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Talk to you soon.

Last Week of August

So here it is, the last week of August. Summer sure flew by. I have gotten more sewing time than I thought I would, but haven't documented so much of it here. I participated in two SALs this summer, the Kingfisher Quilt SAL and the 100 Blocks 100 Days 2018 on instagram. That one is still going on as a matter of fact.

                    My Kingfisher went from this...

To this...

            And yesterday finally, to this...and I am so happy to be finally quilting it. I cannot wait until it is done and ready to use. I figured out a straight line quilting arrangement that I think will work nicely.

And I now have seven of the Firefly blocks done for this quilt. The deep colors of the fabrics are so different for me to work with. I am amazed every time I look at it.

 And finally there are these little bits of color. I had several mini charm packs lying about with nowhere to go. I didn't want to just toss them into the bin with my 2.5 inch scraps, so I finally came up with an arrangement for them.

 I hand quilted each of them. They were not all made at the same time, in fact, this one was the first one and done a couple of years ago. I embroidered a tiny heart in the one block. Then, when I found the other charm packs, I decided to make more of these.

I hang them, in turns, on my bedroom door for a little pop of color. I have one more charm pack left and it is a Christmas line by Kate Spain, I think. That one is up soon, to be ready to hang up after Thanksgiving. What do you do with your mini charm packs?

Happy Tuesday. Talk to you soon.

Still a Busy Summer

I really have been sewing since my last post, but not as much. We have had two weeks of guests here and that means the sewing room is now the guest room. An airport run will happen this afternoon and then more guests this coming week, so I have moved my sewing machine out to the dining room and have been able to do a little sewing.

First, I was able to finish all the overnight duffel bags for the kids. This was the free pattern that had a few issues.

 All different colors so the kids can have their favorites and can easily tell them apart.

 And Trouble the cat was very interested and she fits!

I think these will be great for the kids. I can't wait until they see them.

And I finally finished this. This is the Kingfisher Quilt Along quilt that I did for June and July with Rachel at Stitched In Color and Jodi at Tales of Cloth. I almost left off the red triangles. Many people did, but I am so happy I pushed through on those. I love the way they make the quilt look. They are the same fabric as the small red border.

These are the first 29 blocks in the 100 Days 100 Blocks 2018 on Instagram. Some I love, some I'm just meh about. I don't dislike any of them, so that's good. I am working on arrangements so when the time comes I can sew them all together.

So I have been busy, I just haven't been here much. I hope your summer is going great. I will talk to you again soon, I hope.

Busy As A Bee

It's hot. And no A/C, just fans. But most days I still feel compelled to sew for at least some of the day. I have many projects in the works.

 First up is the #100days100blocks2018 challenge on Instagram. I bought the book the year it came out but I never could make myself dive into it. This challenge, and several successful sew alongs behind me, spurred me on. I find that I am enjoying it and to make it doable for myself, each group of 10 blocks has a specific color theme. This makes choosing fabrics less overwhelming.

This is one of the block diagrams to show how to assemble. None of the blocks are difficult, but at least one has 30 pieces and these blocks finish at 6 1/2 inches, so, small pieces.

And an upside is that I am using some of my stash for this. Look at the year on this piece. I have used some in various projects over the years. Man...and I don't think it is the oldest piece I have either.

At a request from my oldest, the children need an overnight bag. So I found this free pattern and I have to say I do like it. The comments on the site are not very kind for the most part. It is not the best written pattern I have ever used, but it is 5 years old and I like to think the designer has improved her skills. If you are an accomplished sewist, you can do this. It requires a bit more thought than just following the directions.

This one was the first I made, for my daughter to test the bag out. I have made a few adjustments to the sewing of the pattern that I will use for the others. Bottom line, it is a nice duffel bag. I chose to add batting to the sides and bottom instead of just an iron on interfacing. The interior of the bag is the fabric with the months on it, so I chose to put the month of her birthday on the outside as well.

These are the end pieces for the bags for the three children. Instead of doing the cording along the top of the pockets, I chose to fold a bit down and stitch it into place. I did the cording on my daughter's and while it is a nice touch, I think it's not necessary here.

 The next project I have, waiting in the wings (ha!) is this Firefly quilt. I don't usually fall for these, but for some reason this one really spoke to me. I didn't want to join the sew along, but they offered just the pattern, so I bought that. I have never made a totally solids quilt, so another first for me.

And here is the fabric, just waiting patiently to be pressed and cut for this little lovely. It's been nice to have a bunch of different things to work on this summer.

I still have 3 triangles to applique on my Kingfisher quilt and then it is done and ready for quilting. And I am still sewing hexies for a future project that I haven't fully thought out yet. I just enjoy having hand work to do,
I hope you are staying cool. Talk to you soon.

Pushing Myself, Creatively Speaking

How do you push yourself to continue being creative? I love sewing, it's a really big part of who I am. But sometimes I feel like I am just churning things out and not being terribly creative. Or it begins to feel same ol' same ol' to me. So I started thinking about this yesterday. And in the last year or so, there are a couple of things I started doing to keep things fresh and new for myself.

Now, I have never been a big joiner when it comes to quilting. No quilt guilds, and only a few classes back in the early days. I love working on projects, but I hate packing everything up to go work on projects. I am a bit of a solitary maker. And then I love to show it off when it's done. I stayed away from many techniques that seemed too hard. And then I realized that that is what was holding me back and making me stale. I had to get over it and do something.

One of the first things I did was to make this set of tiny blocks to work on my precision piecing. These all finished at 2 inches square. I found that while they weren't tooeasy, they weren't too hard. Slow it down and do it right.

The next thing I did was to take the Penny Sampler quilt class on line from Rachel. I love her classes for their content, but I was also able to work on this at a pace that worked for me. The other thing about it was that there were some techniques in this class that I needed to learn and master. Like paper piecing. I came away knowing how to paper piece. It's still not my favorite technique, but when it's called for, I can do it. Also, this was a 12 month class. I have NEVER taken that long and slow to make a quilt and I found I really liked that slower pace, with time for other projects as well.

The next thing I did was to make this quilt for my niece. I used only fabric from my stash, except the background fabric. I have never done that, and only blues, which is also the first time I have made a quilt using only two colors. It wasn't that it was hard, just different and helped me to stretch myself a bit creatively.

I am currently working on an English paper piecing and applique piece, also hosted by Rachel of Stitched in Color and Jodi at Tales of Cloth. I never had any interest in EPP when it was all the rage a few years back, but now I cannot seem to get enough of the slow hand stitched pace of the hexies.

And now I have joined in on the 100 blocks in 100 days 2018 on Instagram. I bought the book for inspiration, the year it came out and then it sat on the shelf. This 100 day project is really pushing me creatively. I am doing every 10 blocks in one color, like a rainbow of sorts. I added pink, teal, dark pink and split the violet into red violet and blue violet to have enough for ten sets. It is all coming from my stash and scraps and choosing the colors is tough, but oh, so satisfying. I do a happy dance for each one I pull.

So that's what I am doing to keep moving forward as a sewist, quilter and maker. Tell me, what to you do to keep it fresh for yourself?
Talk to you soon.

So Many Irons in the Fire

Do you limit the number of projects you have going at any one time? Or do you let yourself go and flutter from project to project as the spirit moves you? I like to flutter. Sometimes I feel like hand work, sometimes I feel like machine work. For me it keeps it interesting to have many projects to choose from. Usually when I complete several and am down to one, I start adding more into the mix again. Here's some of what I have going on right now:

 These are my balls of cloth "yarn" to crochet into a small oval rug. I made one for my side of the bed in reds and pinks and now I am going to make one for my hubby for his side of the bed. They are quick and easy and a great way to use up string scraps. Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts has the tutorial for how to crochet or knit these up.

 I just finished another mini quilt using a pack of mini charms and all I have to do is stitch down the binding. This little sweetie is 12" x 14".

 On the larger project size, there is my Kingfisher Stitch Along quilt made with lots of EPP hexies and appliqued onto diamonds. I still have to make My three borders, one of which includes some EPP triangles, which I am almost half way through making.

And because I love a challenge, and I have had this book for a few years now, I am joining in the 100 Blocks, 100 Days 2018 challenge. I have a plan and I hope to keep up and put this beautiful book to good use.

I also have some fabric that is destined to become clothes for Miss N. I haven't started on that yet. Soon. Have a lovely week. Talk to you soon.

New Makes

I do sometimes make other stuff, besides quilts. I like to share them too. I have now made enough different kinds of bags and pouches that I feel like I have the basics down. That said, I decided when I needed a specific bag for a specific use, I decided to make it up on my own, using the knowledge I gained from using patterns others had written. I noticed a big improvement from the last time I tried this.

And this bag was the result of all that. I knew how to make the base of the bag, and quilt it. I knew how to make the lining and insert it. I knew that I had to attach the handles before adding the lining and sewing the two sides together. I struggled a little with putting the flap on, but only because of the bulk of the whole thing. That is the one thing that keeps me from making too many bags. The bulk is so hard to sew. But I am very pleased with how this one turned out.

In an effort to tame all my 1" strings finally, I made the balls of cloth "yarn" and crocheted this little baby. It's a little misshapen. I was going for oval, but still I love it. I got the directions at Crazy Mom Quilts. Amanda Jean knits and crochets these great rag rugs. I have done two previous rugs, which are holding up quite well. Those were rectangles. This was my first attempt at an oval. I just needed a small one on my side of the bed. I started with red, then low volume, mostly white and cream, then all the pink I had. I have decided I like separating the colors like that, instead of doing a mish mash of colors. Blues and greys and black and white will be my next one for my husband's side of the bed. That should use up almost all my strips! Yay!

The last thing I am working on is the Kingfisher Stitch Along quilt. I have the hexie flowers done and they are appliqued onto the diamonds. The next step will be to attach the rows to one another and then the borders. I have gone quite quickly so far, but the process will be slowing down now. I am letting the quilt talk to me about what it needs for border fabric.

One of the borders has EPP triangles on it. I still need to make those, but until the border is figured out, I don't know what fabric or fabrics to use for them. As I said, I am letting the quilt lead me at this point. This has been a very enjoyable process so far, since I never thought I would ever want to learn EPP.
Talk to you soon.