I love to share my Quilting projects with other Quilters. My goal is to share my progress on projects that I am working on. I would love for you to follow along with me during my endeavors. I hope you enjoy watching me tackle new techniques and projects. Hopefully you can learn from my "hiccups" and mistakes and make your journey easier.
Today I hope to be working on Boo’s and Bats Cross Stitch. I only have one more bat to complete and the work on the outer portion and border! I love the Cross Stitch – it makes all my problems go away! It is called ”the ability to FOCUS” on something FUN!
Clay fixed my magnetic board to where it will stand up. This was a very very inexpensive way to have the patterns to be upright as I need to use them for counting stitches!
He is my go to guy when I want something improved on!
Last but not least, I finished Block 4 of Moda Holiday Stitch-A-Long!
Tuesday we will have been married 26! What blessings we have in our lives even with all the complaining, I do I know that God love us!
Have a great Sunday and a great stitching week ahead!
Well, this has been the month that was and may it not come back! Still lovely 100-112 heat wave, but I have adjusted. I just do not go anywhere, stay in the A/C, and figure out what I can mess up next! LOL
Here is what I have completed or advanced on this month!
Boo’s and Bats Cross Stitch – One more Bat to go and then I will work on the outer part and the border. Maybe this will be an August finish!
Next is Block 4 of Moda Holiday Stitch-A-Long. On to Block 6 of 14!
I made 2 placemats for our TV Trays! I really enjoyed making them and have one more larger piece that I plan on making a cover for my D1!
Finished my 20 blocks for July for Chookyblue’s Churn Dash Sew Along!
Remember this ”wanta do”? Well, now you see it on the Design Wall!
And NOW you don’t! Here are the Stories behind this Squirrel that died! Number One and Number Two!
I am moving on to other goals and projects starting 1 August 2022! We are ending the month with all problems resolved, and that includes the new one that appeared uninvited about 24 hours ago – Septic Tank issues. But we were blessed with a company that came out this morning and pumped the little darling out and he will be doing some repairs for us starting tomorrow! Best to meet those issues on the first of the month!
AND I just cannot leave without thanking Biden for inviting us to the Recession and doubling the cost of repair work! Such a sweetie along with the other 81 million idiots!
Have a great Sunday and set those goals for August!
Well, here is what I accomplished on my Moda Stitch-A-Long embroidery project! Not my favorite block, but I finished it!
Block 4
I now have 5 of 14 blocks. Maybe Block 6 will be more fun! I purposely skipped over Block 4 and did Block 5 previously. I will hope to finish it before December.
Be sure to check out Kathy’s Blog for her Christmas projects. She really has excelled in this project!
When I select a pattern to make there are many thoughts that go into my process. I have learned (the hard way) to read the pattern closely to make sure that the Designer has provided clear and easily understood instructions, measurements for each segment of the blocks, and if blessed a great visual to follow along. I have been quilting for 20 years now and I learned 15 years ago how to look at a quilt and figure out the pattern.
I seem to have forgotten some of my rules for my quilting. Mostly the above process. I never have problems with color with my quilts, UNLESS – UNLESS, I step out of my little box and attempt to shut my eyes, throw scraps in a bag, reach in and just sew! My logical thought process stops me from doing that. I have tried and tried, but it seems that my success with any scrappy quilt means using small blocks, i.e., Reproduction Quilts such as Dear Jane, OMIGOSH, and Sitar’s 9 patch quilt (the blocks were 3 1/2”).
This year I reviewed the mountain of patterns that I have because I saw a quilt, loved it, and had to have the pattern! When I was entering my quilts in Shows, it was challenging to make the quilts as best as I could and I learned from a lot of mistakes. I learned how important it is to have fabric movement in the quilt to compete in Quilt Shows. Colors were extremely important. In the last 8 years scrappy quilts have become the most popular along with the Modern Quilt movement. I knew I was going to have issues with both of the movements that were taking hold in the Quilt World.
As you can see I am a fish out of water now and still in the Traditional Method of quilt making. This year I have tried 3 quilts and given up on them before completion. Sitar’s Alaska (problem with templates and pattern); The Medallion Quilt that I gifted Kathy all the fabric from that project (could not stand to have it around anymore); and now the Double Wedding Ring.
Yesterday I began sewing the blocks together and I found that there was an issue with the seam allowance (at least that is where I think the problem is). Things were not coming together as they should. BUT, the biggest is the colors I chose. They are not my colors, I was attempting to do a scrappy in Batiks, and I should know better. To make this quilt it takes time, effort, and care! Each section must be perfect, or the quilt will not shine!
When I left the Studio yesterday, I was frustrated with it. I had all my normal indicators that I should have stopped this project early on and ignored them. Check out the Saga here. Additionally, I could see that rather than be excited about the project, I was finding any reason to stay far away from it. But I was determined to not give up!
After supper I told Clay that I was not going to continue on with the DWR and that I needed to go to the Studio and put it away in the never never basket. He convinced me to wait until this morning. He also told me that he could tell that the project was weighing heavy on me as I tried to push through it. I woke up about 4:00 AM and could not get back to sleep. We got up at 5:00! Long story short, DWR is now in the history books for me and gone to the never never again land!
I do believe that I now understand where UFO’s come from! We quilters see a quilt that we would love to have, jump into it 100% only to find out that we become bored, frustrated, and decide to put it away for another day! I believe this is happens because we do not want to give in or give up on something that we spent money and time in making a quilt that we “thought” we loved! There is nothing wrong with having UFOs, but I know my time is limited in this life so it is important for me that I stop this madness and sit down and go through patterns that I have always wanted to make BUT before I make a selection, I will have to read the pattern to ensure that the directions are clear, concise, and provide measurements of each segment. I need to go back and make practice blocks before I just jump into making the quilt.
So with that, I am now sitting at my table and reviewing the patterns that I have pre-selected and review them for the criteria that is important to me. I am totally enjoying the Churn Dash SAL. They are easy, fun to make, and I will be using up some of my 1930 fat quarters that have been around about 8 years, and some even longer.
I enjoyed making the placemats that I made – quick, easy, and finished in a day! I am enjoying my Cross Stitch and Embroidery projects. I want to start appliquéing again as that is really my first love and need to get back to it!!!
So without boring you anymore (this is more for me to remember how I got to this point) I will wish you a wonderful week-end and great sewing week! It appears that we might only have another month to have the temperatures so high. Yesterday we reached 112 about 5:00PM. I have adjusted to the heat, but now I need to find a quilt that I want to make and FINISH IT! I also would like to get back to quilting some tops because I do not understand why I am just not interested. I am still waiting on a long arm quilter to quilt 10 quilts…. I may have to search for another by September if there is no progress there.
Have you ever decided to make a special quilt, using different fabric colors that you would normally not use. I am so tired of the ’rainbow’ colors that finding something different led me back to my stash and a traditional pattern. The Double Wedding Ring by Shar Jorgenson! I made one years go and gifted it to a friend, so I knew someday I would make one.
I started out by selecting fabrics – the first and second selections really bombed, so I went forward with the old fashioned way of fabric selections. Find a fabric (called Focus Fabric) that had multiple colors and finding fabrics to blend would be easy! I did that and came up with the following:
On the Design Wall without the Connecting Corners!
I decided that a orange would make it pop, so I tested that selection. (Not sure what mood I was in but it must have been a weird one.)
I pondered if I was getting the message that this would not be a good project for me to make, but most of you know I hate to throw in the towel….. So I went forward!
Found some Green for the Connecting Corners! SUCCESS
Then I realized that I did not have enough of the Hoffman’s 1895 batik fabric from my stash and started looking for more! I ordered 4 yards of a green that I just knew was the same with Hancock’s of Paducah and ordered it. (They have a great price on Batiks – $10.94 a yard. The fabric arrived today and it is NOT the same color!!! They are a great company to deal with as they will take back the fabric! So on to pulling my light greens from my large 1895 Stash! And here is what I have come up with (the 2nd fabric audition). I will be using this no matter what, as I believe that Hoffman has discontinued the color I originally wanted that is in the picture above.
So here we are now and I am going to close my eyes, and start sewing on this quilt. I hope that it turns out and that I love it!
There is a slight difference in the color for the connecting pieces and I think the lighter batik with more lime is prettier. Funny how our moods change and how it impacts our selection of fabrics.
Have a great week-end. At least I do not have to sit and wait for more fabric, just return the shipment and going forward! Wish me luck!
I have finished Block 4, and it was not my favorite! I dislike circles of any type, but I pushed on and finished the block! This is a Moda Holiday Stitch-A-Long project that Jocelyn made in 2020 or 2021. The pattern is still available on Moda site.
This last week I worked on cleaning out 4 drawers and sent a surprise package to Jaydee. I hope she likes some of the ”surprises” I sent. She is great at making quilts that are scrappy!
I am trying to start sewing on my Double Wedding Ring but now have run into a possible shortage of the green fabric. I have gone through my stash 3 times and ordered some from Hancock’s of Paducah, but when it arrived today, it is not the right color! Drat!
So I will use what I have and if I am short, the quilt will be smaller! UNLESS I can find another piece in my stash that will give a similar look! Wish me luck!
Have a wonderful week-end. I am done with problems with Caremark and the stupid Credit Union that thinks that they need to continually change the software that they use! Grrrrr! Will they ever quit messing up what works?
I have decided that I now live in Fairy Land USA. This is not the Country I was born in and so I will just stay up with some of the news, and then move on to Gunsmoke and pretend that I am in the Fairy Land and La La Land like Alice in Wonderland that the 81 million who voted to bankrupt and ruin the standing of the USA in the world are suffering more than the Middle Class in this country! Maybe they will drown in their Swamp Land, Washington DC!
What can I say? Is it hot – YUP – going into August with about 90 days of 100+ behind us and more of the same ahead of us. I have been busy fighting with Caremark Mail Order Prescription idiots! But after 3 weeks problems fixed and now I have a permanent Advocate that will handle our prescriptions! Pays to know the person who oversees the Government Contract with Caremark! I take just so much and the I contact her and she gets them on their toes!
I have been working on the Double Wedding Ring quilt – s-l-o-w-l-y! The story behind this quilt (all quilts have a story don’t they?) is interesting. I started with a total 3, yes 3 fabric selections to use in this quilt. The first 2 bombed! The final selection made it, although I have gone through a few days when I doubted that I wanted to really finish this project. I have decided to make 16 blocks for this quilt and have finished all the pieces to begin sewing the blocks together. BUT then I had a problem again! What fabric color would blend into the quilt for the connecting pieces. It certainly was not going to be this!
I realized I needed to obtain a few different opinions on color after selecting the yellow/gold (above) for those connecting pieces. I talked with Wanda and Jaydee regarding their suggestions for the connecting corners. We discussed using the print and the yellow, but while talking with Jaydee I picked up a piece of the green fabric that is in the rings, and the quilt popped! I loved it! It made me want to finish the quilt rather than put it away (after a lot of hand cutting and machine sewing)! Thank you Wanda and Jaydee for your help,
I quickly put 4 blocks on the Design Wall and quickly cutting out the green connecting pieces! The green absolutely makes this quilt unique in the fact that it is not a traditional Double Wedding Ring which is something different for me. This is as scrappy as I will ever be as I am just a 2 or 3 color quilt maker! I have spent more time selecting fabric than the time spent in sewing, but I feel it will be a beauty when finished! I will be sewing it together this week.
On the Design Wall for now!
Next on my list of on going projects is Boos and Bats Cross Stitch project.
One More Bat to finish!
I purchased a very inexpensive magnetic board to hold my cross stitch patterns and Clay fixed some great magnets to hold the pattern. Then I realized it would be nice to have it stand up while I worked on my projects, and here is the result of him doing that for me!
My Baby is such the Genius!
A little Squirrel jumped in the other day – we needed new placemats for our TV Trays. We love the Southwest and years ago I purchased a lot of Southwest fabric. I made the mats out of some panel fabric. I machine quilted diagonal lines as I felt it went with the clouds. I used a black batik for the binding. I hand stitched the binding down in the back.
Goals for next week will be working on Double Wedding Ring Quilt, Churn Dash’s will start on Monday, and I have another easy quilt that I want to start working on. I am also going to take a 10 minute walk early early in the AM and 20 minutes on the bike. I do miss the time outside and need to walk.
As far as Cabin Fever goes, I believe that I have conquered it by continuing my exercise program each day and sitting in the early morning sun for 10 to 15 minutes. (OK I have been known to sit in the hot sun about 11:00 am for 10 minutes). Vitamin D is so important to our moods!
Have a wonderful week, happy stitching, and if you are in drought land like we are – pray for RAIN!
Kathy has thrown us a nice Christmas Challenge – work on projects that will need to be finished by Christmas. Check it out at Kathy’s Blog. She has set up a Linky Party for those who wish to participate.
I am working on a Christmas embroidery project that I started in December 2021. There are 16 blocks for this project. I am on Block 5 and would like to have it finished before Christmas. I blame Laura on this one!
5 Blocks of 16!Block 5
I will add this to my hand work and hopefully I will be able to finish a block a week in time to post on Kathy’s site.
Here is a better picture of our beautiful Bunting Bird! The screen dulls the colors but it is very difficult to get a close up without it.
Well, when you are living in the desert it is easier to get more accomplished these days. Below are 2 pictues showing how lovely it here in South Texas in the afternoon. No complaints, I am just betting that one day it will show 120! A real record. Today it was 100 at 10:30. We are now into BRUTAL! I am yielding to Mother Nature this summer and doing my exercise on the Indoor Bike! At least I made it to mid-July before I moved inside due to the love temps early in the AM 80+ with high humidity.
Yesterday was a busy day! I went to HEB at 11:30 I wanted to see how much fun it would be to grocery shop at the busiest time of the day. I must say I need to find other ways to have fun!!! By the time I finished my monthly shopping it was 102 outside and about 98 in the store! The least they could do when we are paying so much for food is to keep us cool! (Boy I sound like a grump don’t I) The biggest shock was the fact that one of my main staples (Yukon Potatoes) are now selling at $5.68 for 5 pounds!!! That is just about $1.13 a pound! UNBELIEVABLE.
So I visited Prime Days on Amazon to spend money on fun things instead of food and found that their Kindles are on for sale at 1/2 price for you book lovers. I had ordered one a couple of weeks ago and paid $200.00. Then yesterday they were on sale for $99.00! Yup I returned the original one and ordered 2 for the price of one – one for the Den and one for the Studio. I purchased the Kindle Fire 10” (2021 version). Love it and hoping to incorporate some reading into my life again! Not a lot of sewing done on Tuesday and tried to do my post, but no success on that one either.
Now on the quilting scene, I have finished by 20 Churn Dash blocks for the month! They are so much fun to make and very fast and easy! I have 40 more to make, but it is nice to spread it out over the next 2 months.
No progress to report on my Bats and Boo’s, maybe next week. I may work on it tonight.
I am making good progress on the Wedding Ring Quilt. I have enough rings sewn to make 16 blocks. If I make a twin it will take 48 blocks, or if I make a queen it takes 72 blocks. What is the difference in making the additional 24 blocks, other than boredom? LOL That decision will come later. Here is a sample of how the blocks will look. The blank spots indicate where I will put the connecting pieces. I have not decided which color I will go with! I am beginning to realize that there is a lot more to do with this project.
Finished Rings and 53 sets ready to piece
I found a couple of Squirrels that I just might jump into. The first one is one from Snuggles Quilts Block of the Week. I believe there will be 9 each 6 1/2” blocks. It is for a wall hanging, but one can make as many as they like. I have some blue and white fabric that I would like to start using up. Maybe this will be a good project to do that!
The next two quilts from Bonnie Hunter’s Fish School and Triple Treat. I have to blame Julie for the Bonnie Hunter Squirrels! Check out her post!
For those who would like to be enticed to work on a project that you are preparing for Christmas, hop over to Kathy’s Christmas in July Challenge. She has set up a Linky Party starting on Week 2. Great way to finish those Christmas projects early!
OK – that is all I have for this past week. I will be working on all my projects – when the mood hits me. Have a wonderful week!
Greetings from the Desert! I finally will have to quit walking in the early mornings and switch to the Exercise Bike inside. It is just too hot and getting hotter. It was 109 on Wednesday afternoon at 4:13 PM and I have to remember that July and August are our hottest months. Maybe a hurricane will come our way and break this horrible heat wave. I started this morning (Thursday) and really am in better shape than last year. I think I will begin to enjoy exercising now with the A/C blowing on me.
On the positive note – I am finished with the Dentist (one more trip in early August) and I can call it done. The rest of July is open with not one appointment! Yippee!!!
This last week I have been working on the Wedding Ring Quilt and my Churn Dash blocks. I have enough of the rings for 6 blocks finished. And enough ready for sewing to make 4 more. I have not counted exactly how many more I need, or how many blocks I will be making I guess it depends on how bored I become with this project. All in all, things are coming along nicely in the Studio! Slow and Steady.
I have completed 8 of the 20 Churn Dash blocks for July. I really love making them.
Here is what I will be working on through next Tuesday!
Churn Dash and Rings Ready for Sewing!
Here is where I am on Boo’s and Bats:
Additionally I finished another block for Moda Holiday Stitch-A-Long:
I cannot leave this post without providing you with my thoughts on the Highland Park Domestic Terrorist killings that are happening in America. Here they are:
Highland Park along with Uvalde which is about 100 miles West of us, was caused by human failure. Sutherland Springs massacre is 6 miles from us on the East side it was caused by the Air Force error of not reporting the killer. This killer has mental problems and the Highland Park police were aware of him. The police turned over the information to the State Troopers about the 2019 knife incident when he was threatening to kill his family, but the family did not want to charge him. There were a lot of family problems that the police were aware of. But no charges by the family?
I did a deep dive into the family. The grandfather passed in 2018, the father ran for Mayor and lost in 2019, yet after the knife incident the Father signed for the killer to purchase 3 rifles and 2 guns. I read where the Mother is a nut and that the parents fought all the time and they would leave the kids to play ball and not pick them up.
This is a failure of parenting, along with people not “saying something”, and remember Illinois has the strictest gun laws in the Country, AND they have a Red Flag Law which went into effect on 1 January 2019. The Killer’s knife incident (16 knives confiscated) was in September 2019!
It takes a human to shoot a gun, so if we continue to allow these people to tattoo up, put crap on the internet, threaten to kill their own family and do nothing, then the killings will go on. Unfunding the police is not the way. I will say that the Highland Park police department ran toward the gun fire – not away from it like the ones in Uvalde who did nothing!
NOW we have 19 children dead and 2 teachers in Uvalde, and the 8 that were killed and 37 injured in Highland Park. All attributed to bad parenting, human error, chicken police (Uvalde), failure of the AF to report the killer in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Add all this up and you get Domestic Terrorism. Remember a knife laying on the table and a gun laying on the table will not kill! It takes a human to pick one of them up and kill with them.
With all the tight gun laws in Illinois this did not stop this killer.
I pray for the lost souls and all the family, friends, and loved ones that are left with the heartache. There is a 2 year old boy who now has no parents. I think that the town should sue the parents and put them in jail along with their killer son!
Just keep praying to God for peace and tranquility in the time that our Country is sinking into the abyss!
We are not going on any trips soon and will not go to big events – too many illegals down here in South Texas bringing in their killer drugs. Wonder why our Country has changed so drastically in the last 18 months? And I carry!
It is now 4 July 2022. I have been working on my Wedding Quilt and my Churn Dash SAL projects, along with my Bat’s and Boo’s cross stitch. I have finished the pumpkins and starting on the Bats!
This is the pattern from Cross Stitch
Here is where I am on this reporting time. Now that I have started on the bats, the others will go faster! Getting the hang of it now!
I have now decided that I really need to start on some hand quilting so I can prove I can hand quilt – LOL! I have a wall hanging that I think I will start on. All the HQAL ladies are really making me miss my hand quilting time. (Maybe I can set the alarm for 2AM and quilt an hour and go back to sleep – now that is really a JOKE! ) See I think I was going to hand quilt it last year – already basted and ready for me!!!! Yea
Oh yes – weather report! Hot, Dry, and Hotter. I gave up on walking today – it is 4th of July so I will celebrate our freedoms by not walk! We are heading into another brutal weather week – my prediction is that we will go over the 114 high for June! The good news is that we are now going into the hottest 2 months of the year (good news??? Really). Cabin Fever feeling gone, so I have more energy for my hobbies! I am back to me and it feels good the only thing lacking is finding a quilting who lives close and loves to quilt! (Won’t happen here in LV)
Have a great week!
Hugs, Nanette
This 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.
Chopin - A Passionate Quilter From Texas 