Third Quarter Finishes

Back on July 14 I joined Leanne's (SheCanQuilt) Finish-a-Long. I managed to complete three of the four I pledged to do. I was feeling sort of bad about not completing my pledge, but then found others didn't do all theirs either. It's comforting to be in good company. Here's my original 3Q Finish-a-Long list.

First to be completed was "Bloom." I ended up entering it in the Jacksonville (Florida) quilt show (QuiltFest) where it earned an honorable mention ribbon. Leanne links her finishes to a "Ta Da post," so here's my Ta Da post about Bloom.

Finish number two was "Happy Hexagons," a baby quilt for a great niece born in August. Ta Da post.

Third and last for this quarter was this big (85" X 98") finish: "Roll Roll Cotton Boll" that was given as a wedding gift a couple weeks ago. Ta Da Post.

I will say I did get a lot of free motion quilting done! Miles of thread used, I'm sure.

Here's where to go to see all the other finishes - hundreds of them! Linda

Third of Four 3Q Quilt Finishes

In December 2010, I rather rashly decided to participate in Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt - Roll Roll Cotton Boll. Initially I did so because I wanted to reduce my quantity of traditional fabrics. At that point in my quilting life, I was still sewing with traditional colors, while becoming more aware of modern fabrics. At the forefront of my thinking was to use up any dark-colored prints to make room for bright and cheery modern which I have grown to adore, exclusively!

Since this past February, Roll Roll Cotton Boll has been a pin-basted sandwich, waiting to be quilted.  Today, our niece is getting married in Kansas. Ahh. Talk about motivation - the need for a wedding present!

After many hours of quilting, it's finished, gift-wrapped, and ready to be opened by the bride and groom.

I did not mark any quilting designs, rather, they were all free-hand quilted. I quilted on my Pfaff Grand Quilter.

The backing fabric is a wide-back of sateen purchased from BackSideFabrics. It has a sheen that enhances quilting stitches and is nice to work with.

Or, the quilt may feel so nice because of the wonderful-to-work-with Quilter's Dream Poly batting.

I'll be using that batt again.

My outdoor shot wasn't as revealing nor dramatic as I'd hope. By himself, my son could manage to hold up only one-fourth of the quilt.

At 85" X 98", this is a good-sized cuddle-up quilt for newlyweds. The groom is 6' 7"!

So that's my third of four expected finishes for Leanne's (SheCanQuilt) Third Quarter Finish-A-Long ending October 7. My last Finish-A-Long finish will take longer to accomplish - the Bloggers' BOM quilt - since borders, quilting and binding on a 78" X 78" quilt are needed.

In news I received yesterday via a phone call... a woman from QuiltFest of Jacksonville (FL), told me that "Bloom" won honorable mention. I'm happy about the ribbon, as she also said that "competition was stiff." Though, I couldn't help but notice that if I'd even placed third, I would have won money! My quilt entry fees were $72. Ha! I'll have a $72 ribbon! Still, I am very pleased, and hopeful that Bloom will show well at the Machine Quilter's Expo in Portland, Oregon, October 9-12.

QuiltFest of Jacksonville is September 26-28. At noon on Saturday is a "Meet the Ribbon Winners" event. I will be there! 

Linda

My First FAL

Leanne who blogs at SheCanQuilt is hosting a 2013 Finish-A-Long (FAL).

I've never participated where I've been invited to commit to finishing particular quilts, but when a few randomly-chosen prizes are up for grabs, and I've got way more than a few projects for which I'm grateful for motivation to finish, I thought, "Why not?" I'm getting a late start for 2013, since they're on the third quarter already. Q3 starts July 15 and ends October 7.

So. I'm supposed to blog about the projects I plan to finish - I picked four - and then link to SheCanQuilt. Here we go:

1. Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll was a Bonnie Hunter (Quiltville.com) mystery pattern from 2010-2011. (It's no longer available for free.) Several months ago I began FMQing this 86" X 101" monstrosity but need to add more quilting around blocks, and to borders.

2. My Bloggers' BOM was begun in 2011. The 60" X 60" quilt center is put together, and as of the end of June, quilters in my Mid-Century Modern Bee have mailed me all the rectangles I need to add for a border. At 78" X 78" it will take lots of FMQing to finish.

3. Bloom, a pattern by a favorite designer, Emma Jansen (she designed Snowflake Medallion) is a must-finish by the end of August. It's in-progress, with lots of FMQing going on at the moment. In this picture you can see exactly where undulating feathers will go next - between the blooms and diamonds. The quilt's 78" X 78", so I think I'll need a couple more weeks for the quilting, and then there's washing, blocking and binding.

4. What you haven't seen has been on my design wall for a week. Wishful thinking that I'd squeeze in time to start piecing this baby girl quilt! It's 4" hexagons - cut using the Hex 'n More ruler from Jaybird Quilts. That solid pink in the upper left-hand corner is what I'd planned for background triangles, but I'm thinking to switch to white. Or do you have another suggestion?

So, except for machine piecing hexies, it looks like this entire third quarter is pretty much all about FMQing. Now "let's finish quilts!" Linda

I am Blessed!

Words cannot express how grateful I am for the dozens and dozens of comments on my previous post. Goodness! So many. Nor could I count all the private emails I received. Though I've spent hours on the computer, trying to compose thoughtful responses to each of you (except for the six or so of you who are "no reply commenter"), my replies were not done begrudgingly. It was therapeutic for me to consider what you said and then examine my feelings - emotionally and spiritually - about this diagnosis. You all make me certain I am not experiencing this alone - in fact, many of you have been through something similar, and even worse. With God's love, and many prayers, I am being helped. I am earnestly and sincerely thanking God for surrounding me with "such a great cloud of witnesses." You bless me.

Thank you, Gloria, for directing me to this Bible verse;

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear. I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

Cards have been coming in too, with "concern for you" cards running neck-and-neck with birthday cards. In the picture I'm featuring my favorite card that came from my line dancing buddy, Sheila. It says, "Sixty Schmixty." Hrumph! That's what I think too!

Friends also blessed me with some thoughtful and lovely birthday gifts. 

Thanks Susan M. for the chocolate bar. Seems it was invisible because it disappeared before I could take a picture... a decadent, 72 percent dark cocoa with raspberry bar. Delicious!

Not one, but two fabric shop gift certificates came from Team Di, and Deb. What's not to love? 

Sweet Ms. Lolly surprised me with beautiful work from her flourishing palms. It's a 9" X 13" casserole/cake carrier!

Aren't the fabrics pretty? And that orange binding and drawstring are just the right finishing touch.

She even made a pot holder to go with it. It sounds crinkly inside, so I'm sure it was made with Insul-bright. So practical, and just plain charming!

I will use it as soon as I can get hubby to make a casserole for me to take someplace!

Sewing-wise, I seem unable to remain focused on one project at a time, but that's not too unusual. Three are in the works. That seems about right, doesn't it?

I started FPP palm leaf blocks to make a wall hanging for a long, narrow space in the living room. Yep, we're still adding the last finishing touches to this house.

I really like these blocks. Fourteen more to go.

At the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo in Lakeland (FL) last Friday, I picked up the pattern for "Lunch Time," by Flamingo Island Designs. It's available as a kit, but I'm not and never will be a kit person. It's too much fun sorting through and picking out fabrics that make my project different from everyone else's. I'm not much for machine appliqué or this fussy kind of sewing, but the design is too perfect for filling the bare wall in our front entry. Our family has this thing for pelicans - childhood remembrances of beach vacations on Sanibel Island (FL). In front of our house, our lamp post name sign has a pelican on it. I'm on the hunt for a pelican statue/figurine too.

It's been enjoyable to pick and poke through fabrics to see what works for all the bits of wings, bills, and legs for the pelican, and nine sandpipers. This is as far as it's gotten.

I'm still FMQing this 86" X 101" monstrosity - Roll, Roll Cotton Boll - trying to take a bite of it every day. The blocks are quilted now, and I'm starting to quilt the outside setting triangles.

I'm sure glad I listened to Carla's recommendation to try sateen for the backing. From an online store, I bought a wide back sateen that enhances the texture of the quilting, though it could also be looking nice because I'm using Quilter's Dream polyester batting - another recommendation. In any case, it's been wonderful to quilt, without skipped stitches or problems of any kind.

Now if all of life could be as easy as free-motion quilting! Surgery is next Tuesday and radiation begins about a week later. Thanks for hangin' in there with me, friends. I am blessed by each of you. Linda

Slow-go UFOs

No new UFO finishes, but progress is a good thing.

Though I've stopped doing hand appliqué because it's such a slow process (for me), I've vowed to finish the hand appliqué UFOs I've started. This 20" x 20" Hawaiian appliquéd palm fronds piece was begun in 2008. Finished as either a wall hanging or pillow, it will find a place in our Florida palm tree-themed home.

20" X 20"

However, it will remain a UFO for a while because I've run out of the exactly-the-right color (894) Mettler #60 thread, and can't buy it locally. (sigh) I'm so weary of having to mail-order everything.

My UFO Bonnie Hunter "Roll, Roll Cotton Boll" (RRCB) mystery quilt was offered in December 2010-January 2011. I haven't touched mine since then, though I had even pieced the last border's parallelograms before putting it away! Happily, it didn't take long to complete the top that measures a whopping 86" x 101".

The weekend was spent rearranging my sewing room so I could pin-baste.

Besides RRCB, I basted this 55" X 70" UFO (no name yet) from 2011 when I was in the One Block Over bee. Would you believe... all my safety pins are now in quilts!

Because I had an I'm-tired-of-moving-around-this-pattern-and-fabric moment, I sewed this skirt one afternoon last week. The pattern was a bargain purchase (like $1) from Fabric Recycles, a Kansas City business that operates on the concept of buying, and then reselling, perfectly good sewing and quilting fabrics, notions and supplies. The store was the recipient of 70 quilting and craft books I divested myself of before moving last year.

My skirt was made from one yard of home dec fabric. Like it!

Now back to those UFOs and re-rearranging my sewing room for some time-consuming FMQing. Linda

RRCB Progress

Taking advantage of one of our first nice, but cool, spring days, I took some outdoor pictures. Actually, it's the first time I've been able to hang laundry outdoors since last fall!

As it turns out, my umbrella clothes line isn't tall enough for my "Roll Roll Cotton Boll" quilt center. Yep! This isn't the whole quilt! It's just the center, without borders. And it already measures 75" X 90"!

In spite of it's size, it didn't make much of a dent in my scrap bin. 

I really like it's cherry yumminess with lots of white chocolate and a bit of milk chocolate.

It's satisfying to see that even the bright "neutrals" fit into the string pieced blocks.

Making those string pieced blocks was my favorite part. I'd sewn blocks using telephone book pages before (see one of those quilts here, and my tutorial here), so I was again pleased to see great results.

Next, this small bin of pieces will become the outside border. Gee, only 172 parallelograms are needed.

A couple other bloggers have been chatting about the new "DS (Denyse Schmidt) Collection" of fabrics available at Joann's. Since my nearest Joann's store isn't very big (though it's the largest Joann's in the state of Iowa), I was surprised to see they are carrying this collection. This is my purchase. Isn't it a fresh color combination? I'm picturing a pretty, modern quilt with Kona Ash, and/or Kona White. It's on my list! 

Would you believe?... I'm the only person I know who, when the weather's nice, still hangs laundry outdoors to dry. Nothing beats the smell of springtime fresh-dried clothes, towels, sheets and brand new fabric! Especially new fabric. Bliss. Linda

Finished with Unfinishing

I'd hope to share a picture of my Supernova quilt, pinned to my umbrella clothesline... gently waving in the wind. Ha! Iowa hasn't yet heard that spring is supposed to be here. We've had endless days of dreariness, strong winds, rain, cold (36F/2C this morning) and no sunshine. It's downright depressing.

Dare I be honest and tell you how many times I re-made blocks for the Supernova quilt? No. You don't want to know that a quilter with 35 years of experience re-made blocks that many times! The latest iteration is the last. I swear it.

I completely removed a dark green block that didn't suit and made a yellow block (upper right) to replace it. Then, I changed fabrics on two blocks, completely removing brown prints. Even now, as I study this, I don't like the green center block that makes my eye stop with its abrupt change from dark green outer patches to different colors in adjacent blocks.

62" X 62" Supernova quilt top

The rejected dark green block has been sewn into the backing.

Supernova backing

This backing fabric was 25 percent off at my LQS. That isn't much of a discount when I can remember $6 to $7 a yard quilting cotton that could be bought half price. I heard recently that cotton prices are stabilizing and I hope that's true.

Though the Supernova quilt is ready to sandwich and pin-baste, I can't baste it just yet. Believe it or not, almost all my safety pins are in this 80" X 80" "Snowflake Medallion" quilt.... and they've been in the quilt since last June! How sad is that?

 

Pretty darned sad, I'd say. It's not that I don't want to quilt it. It's that I don't know what to quilt! It's my same old problem. And I've surely set myself up for failure too because I want the quilting in this one to be knock-your-socks-off awesome. Though I've been looking for, studying, and drawing quilting designs seen on blogs, I'm just not confident in my ability to choose the "right design." There must be a trick to it. Advice eagerly accepted, please!

I find it much easier to sew and piece. Even resewing 120 HST for the "Roll Roll Cotton Boll" quilt wasn't too bad. How nice to have the blocks sewn together now. 

"Roll Roll Cotton Boll" 11" X 11" unfinished block

These 30 blocks are ready to be joined to string-pieced blocks to make the quilt center. Yay!

30 "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" blocks

I've made a little quilting progress on "Glinda." Oh how I adore those ruby slippers. I found an interesting picture of the real ones here.

Now, what shall I quilt in the next triangular shaped sections? Lola (whose "Glinda" quilt it is) and I are thinking yellow brick road, kinda like this. One of Glinda the Good Witch's lines in the Wizard of Oz movie is, "Just follow the yellow brick road." Maybe bricks quilted with yellow silk thread? 

"Inspiration. Do come for a nice long visit," says Linda.

Have a blessed Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.