Another lovely hot day, but a break in sight next Tuesday and Wednesday – Maybe it will snow!  LOL

I finished Apricot Lilly today –  I should have quilted her with darker thread.  Now if I had a computerized machine… I would not have to do the free motion and I mean this is FREE MOTION!  LOL!   I had to almost lay on top of the quilt to see what I was doing – talk about quilting in the blind!!!  But she is done.  Now I have 2 in the que to do bindings.  Tomorrow I will NOT be quilting on my Handi Quilter!  I need a break!  I have 2 small projects plus the bindings so that will be my projects for Friday.  My back will really thank me for that!

I did not have enough of the beige for the back so I used some Thimbleberries and added the little bit of the pink Azalea fabric on each side!

I can started out very precise with my circles, but then the thread kept disappearing and I decided I would just do what I could!  I am happy two quilts are quilted!

I do believe I need more practice, but think the body wants a rest!  Next quilt will have darker thread, or maybe my cataracts are ready to be GONE!

Have a great evening!

Nanette

Greetings – of course it is hot and yes it was horrible walking this morning, but I did it!   Today I made decisions, decisions, decisions!  First, I have so many beautiful patterns to make that I decided that I would pass on the “freebies” that I had talked about doing in one of my previous posts!  Second  was to get myself going and quilt my first Reproduction Quilt that I made (I believe) in 2014.  It was a BOM from Barbara Brackman!  It is quilted! I plan on putting the binding on by machine.  I may use the light beige or the dark brown crackle fabric for the border.  Either way it will be done by machine!  I have over 10 quilts to machine quilt and 6 that need to be hand quilted!  I would like to make a dent in the group that can be machine quilted before I can no longer do this with my back!  I have 5 that will be sent out for custom work later in the year.  There are a total of 24 quilts that need to be quilted!!!!!

I have a 2005 Handi Quilter that is NOT computerized!  I do free motion quilting and there are 3 different variations that I do with a meandering stitch.  I was going to use some rulers that I had purchased prior to 2014 and try to do some special type quilting, but I realize now that those days are past and that I am not interested in spending the time learning how to ‘mini-custom quilt-my quilts’!  I need to sell the rulers and the books on continuous quilting!!  This afternoon I quilted this quilt with my favorite meandering stitch and it feels so good to have completed it!  I realized that I would be putting myself under stress to worry about using rulers and how to quilt each block!  I just am not interested in spending that much time on a utility quilt and I do not need anymore stress!

This is my HQ16.  It is working better than ever now since Clay worked on the ‘ribbon connections’ (see them in the picture – looks like computer ribbons) for the stitch regulator.  They were not making good contacts and after Clay worked on them it is working like a dream!!  This quilt was very easy to quilt without one issue popping up! Here is a close up of my HQ16.

Tomorrow I will be quilting Apricot Lilly!  She will be an easy one to do – preparing the batting and backing and loading them will take longer than the quilting it!  But it will be done tomorrow, remember, I am on a roll!

This evening I will continue on my Sashiko as it is a nice break from embroidery or applique (well OK, I have not been appliqueing for awhile) but it is very relaxing!

So tonight I am HAPPY and back into my quilting!  Oh yes – the 3rd decision – we are going to take a trip to the Casino in August and stop in and visit our friends in Salesville, Texas.  We are so looking forward to a short getaway!  I guess our day out yesterday to the Hill Country did both of us good!

Have a great evening and keep on stitching!

Nanette 

Linking To:  My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Sew Can She; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Fiber Tuesday;    Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHOW; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts;  Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Show and Tell Monday with Bambi; Slow Stitching Sunday Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party Kevin

Good news. We had 1 1/2” of rain last night! Yea! Not so good this morning. Very hot and humid walk.

Today I am bored with quilting! I have to admit it! Not interested in starting a new project at all. No interest in long arm quilting!

Answer to boredom? SASHIKO!

I do believe I am suffering from Quilt burnout, a long hot summer, or tired of doing the same thing each day!!

So today is Sashiko and tomorrow is a trip to the Hill Country to visit a friend.

I am ready for a week away. Thinking of August! Some place COLD! A Casino or Alaska! LOL

Have a great day!

Happy Sunday to all!  It is, of course hot and humid and the walk was just so much fun!  Clay has been working the last two days (yup in the heat) trying to get the ripples out of the outdoor carpeting we have on our porch!  He is headed in for a nap, and I must admit, I will be right behind him after I finish this post!  At 75 he amazes me with the projects he continues to accomplish!  This was a difficult job mostly because of the heat!

For today, I have a finish for Slow Sunday Stitching .  I give you French General Atelier De France embroidery:

Friday morning I decided that I wanted to finish the hand work for Apricot Lilly and she is DONE!  (It amazes me how the heat and bond stayed stable for so many years)

Next and my favorite, albeit a small lap quilt, I give  you Patriotic Log Cabins!  I do believe the piano keys border made this baby! It came out at 44 x 51!   I am glad that I made it, but it will probably be the last log cabin quilt I make!  Maybe I will have a Marti Michell ruler sale someday!  LOL

This is all I have for the week, but to have finished 3 projects the last 3 days is great!  Tomorrow I will start on preparing the 3 ESG’s (End of Summer Goals) quilt along’s.  See my previous post to read all about them.

Think Mr Fibro has come to visit me so I will give in this afternoon and take a nap and then work on either Stonefield’s or Jacobean Holiday applique!

Have a great week and do some stitching!  It is relaxing!

Nanette

Linking To:  My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Sew Can She; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Fiber Tuesday;    Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHOW; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts;  Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Show and Tell Monday with Bambi; Slow Stitching Sunday Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party Kevin

Greetings!  I am finally getting used to the lovely heat (that is only from 6:30 to 7:00 AM or so) when I walk!  Getting my exercise in early and then the rest of the day is MINE!  (Well, OK the majority of the days).  I woke up at 5 AM this morning and realized that I needed to finish Stars in Log Cabin quilt NOW, and then get FOCUSED!  So far I am doing that today and it is working!  The new house cleaners did a great job (with very few misses) so that problem is resolved and will give me more time to quilt!

I have been making Log Cabin blocks and thought I would really make a spectacular quilt with the Moda Marble Stars once I mastered the process (I know they are easy). What has happened is that I am B-O-R-E-D with them now that I have my process figured out!  I have 20 made which is enough for me – UNLESS – I finish up the strips I have cut out and end up with 25!  Next will be a 1″ border (either red or blue) and and another border (piano keys) of the tone on tone, red, and blue!  THEN IT WILL BE CALLED DONE!  Maybe this is why I have only made one Log Cabin quilt since 2008.  Two for now is fine!

This morning when I read Kathy’s Quilts post I thought, wow she is really having a spell of STARTITIS!   The more I read of the 4 projects she is going to participate in I realized that I needed to have a plan to finish out the summer doldrums and get with the program!  I am not interested in starting another highly taxing quilt like Infinity or OMIGOSH! at this time as I have 4 quilts in the que for showing next year and they need to be quilted! They will be sent out for custom quilting, but believe me, I have plenty that I can get quilted on my Handi Quilter!

I had already read about Bonnie Hunters Shoo Fly project and had just read about Fat Quarter Shop’s Merry Mini Quilt (only 4 blocks) this morning.  I have heard about Kevin the Quilter but had never visited his site.  I really thought the Log Cabin would keep me focused but it has not!  So I am going to join Kathy in 3 of her projects – Shoo Fly, Merry Mini Quilt, and Kevin’s project!  My friend Gretchen is going to do the Shoo Fly and she was smarter than I at the beginning of summer by deciding to work on small projects this summer, I am just a little late in doing so!

The Mini quilt is only 4 blocks and that is easy enough for this month.  Now Kevin’s project caught my eye because I have some Timeless Treasure       2 1/2″ Batik strips in the same color way that he is using and I need to use mine up!  What great timing Kevin.  The Shoo Fly project will be fun because they are small blocks and I can do them in my Reproduction fabrics!  YEA!

About a year ago, maybe more, I had started making 3″ Churn Dash and 3″ Stars blocks along with 4″ blocks  for  Carol Hopkins Alexander Bean Pot but put them aside.  I decided that I wanted to do more technically difficult quilts (and I did) and finish up all my UFO quilts.  So I kept making quilts and still not doing a lot of quilting on my Handi Quilter long arm!  (Shame on me!)

I am blaming this all on Kathy, but I now realize that I need to get FOCUSED and have establish my very own End of Summer Goal (ESG) goal list.  I am going to put more emphasis on long arm quilting and then work on the 4 projects mentioned above when I need a break from quilting.  This will give me a variety of small projects, yet not pushing to work on a more difficult quilt.  It is something that I need to do and try to focus again after all the downsizing of the house and the new carpeting.

Have a great rest of the week and I am now going to try to finish the Log Cabin quilt and set up my schedule for the small projects!  Don’t worry, I know I have tons of hand applique to do in the evening which will keep me very busy the next 8 weeks!  Stay Cool!

Nanette

Linking To:  My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Sew Can She; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Fiber Tuesday;    Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHOW; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts;  Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Show and Tell Monday with Bambi; Slow Stitching Sunday Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party Kevin

Happy Week-End!  Hope all had an enjoyable 4th.  It has been quiet here and I really am enjoying it.  My house cleaning service did not show up last Tuesday (I had a feeling), but was very lucky when I contacted Home Advisor and they gave me the number of a cleaning service in San Antonio.  I am hoping this company does decent work as their prices are reasonable.  They start this Monday – 2 ladies for 3 hours.  I am extremely impressed with the owner so let’s hope the workers are good.  If so, then I won’t have that problem anymore.

Surprise!  I have completed French General!  I have it on the Design Wall and will decide what to do with it.  Either a border, or just put it in a frame.  If I do a border I will have to look for a few fat quarters in the FG fabric line.

I am now working on the stems for Apricot Lilly.  I need to get it finished because I am ready for some needle turn applique on Stonefields and Jacobean Christmas.  Lilly is a buttonhole stitch as the flowers are fused.  There are only 4 blocks so if I would do the ‘big push’ it could be done by Sunday!

My Log Cabin project is coming along and I am now enjoying it!  So far I only have 3 that have not made the cut!  When I was cutting the logs I cut 4 layers of fabric.  This fabric sucks  is not the best that Moda has ever sold and the cutting is not precise when using more than 2 layers.  I hate the grey that they use – it is stretchy (?) and difficult to deal with even though I cut all strips lengthwise.  I am now spraying with the heavier sizing that comes in the green can and it may solve the issue.  I would like to make a 60 x 60 (or close to it) quilt and then be done with Logs.  I will be making other types of quilts with the remaining overbuy of this Moda Marbles Stars fabric.  Maybe I just need to sell it and be done!

Julie made Monterrey Medallions by Atkinson Designs and it is so pretty!  Check it out at Check out Julie’s version I purchased the pattern sometime back when I saw her quilt in blues.

Have a wonderful week end and enjoy stitching and check out the HQAL hand stitchers!  They do some beautiful work!

Nanette

Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen and Kathi

Linking To:  My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Sew Can She; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Fiber Tuesday;    Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHOW; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts;  Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Show and Tell Monday with Bambi; Slow Stitching Sunday Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party

Good morning and for those who are still in the work world I hope you are enjoying a long weekend holiday!

It was a nice walk this morning as I am getting used to all the heat and mostly the humidity!  We have been blessed with a lot of rain the last 2 weeks – about 5 inches and to have all the pretty green grass going into July is wonderful.  Now we will warm up again into the 90’s and 100’s but maybe we will have another break with rain.  I do not mind a summer like this.

I have been recouperating from all the carpet laying and downsizing and getting back into the swing of things so I decided to play with a Log Cabin quilt.  I made one made from Moda fabric that was designed by a Choctaw Indian designer back in 2008 and it turned out OK, but I never made another one.  Lately I have been viewing all the beautiful Log Cabin quilts on different blogs, thought it was time for me to partake.  I have made such highly technical quilts and one would think that a Log Cabin block would be so easy.   It is just strips sew together in the round.  I knew that I would need to really study this technique so it could be mindless sewing (that has not happened yet).

I had taken a class with Marti Michell from Craftsy so I decided I would watch it again and see if I could get a handle on making this block without a lot of mistakes.  I use Marti’s Log Cabin Rulers for cutting the different lengths!  I also have her Log Cabin Book. One thing I do not do is cut 8 pieces of fabric at one time as she does.  To me this can cause problems for precision cutting.  After watching the majority of her lessons I realized that for me I needed an organized method that would speed up the process and cause me less heartache (of which I can certainly bring on myself).  So with that, here goes the pictures.

This one was the first and a big BOO BOO!

Another problem! This is due to not pressing each round especially with this fabric – Moda Marbles Stars.  Center off and I tried to fix it but did not work!

Next I worked on how I would place the strips in some method of order to prevent me from going the wrong way.  I go Clockwise around the block. I came up with this elementary method.

Then I took a picture of a sample from Marti’s book!

Then I labeled each piece to make sure I was going to do it correctly!

And Bingo!  A correct Log Cabin Block!

Four  8″ finished Blocks made!

The other day I loaded a quilt on the Long Arm and dug out my rulers.  I am going to enjoy playing with them while I quilt a Barbara Brackman BOM reproduction quilt that I made in 2014 timeframe.  It was the first time I had used reproduction fabrics in a quilt.

Eleanor Burns  sells the neatest storage bags.  I have never seen them before she sent out an email with them on sell.  3 for $10.00 and I bought 6 to hold some bolts that I keep in the Studio and they can quickly gather a lot of dust.  I love them.

I keep them behind my Elfa units and ironing table and now it is so neat and organized!

Well, I do hope that everyone can enjoy the celebrations of this great day celebrating our Freedoms and our beautiful Flag.  Stay safe and enjoy.  More to come later.

Nanette

Linking To:  My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Sew Can She; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Fiber Tuesday;    Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHOW; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts;  Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Show and Tell Monday with Bambi; Slow Stitching Sunday Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party