Tracks in the Snow

January arrives and settles in like an old fashioned winter.  And, even though the garden appears to be deserted, tracks in the newly fallen snow tell a different story. 

We don't have any bears around here, but I thought it would be fun to piece together Bear's Paw Quilt from Kathleen Tracy's book Prairie Children and Their Quilts.  Made from flannels I had on hand, machine pieced and quilted.

I like this time of year, the quiet season.  A time to rest and enjoy a slower pace of life, more time for reading and needlework and time to get back to hand quilting.  I was so close to finishing my Red Delicious quilt when Spring arrived, but I am finished now, just the binding to go. 

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Friendship Star Finished

I was seeing stars as I hand quilted Friendship Star, with so many seams it was hard to keep the stitches nice and even.  But, it's done and still worthy of a place on the wall. 

Also finished

Sweet Nostalgia

March Winds Doth Blow

We have been enjoyed some really nice spring like days that melted away the snow and made it possible to open windows and take in a breath of fresh air.  A little spring in the air put a spring in my step and I made a dint in some much needed prep work.  I prepared April and May's Sweet Nostalgia blocks, five Dear Jane blocks and two Civil War Bride blocks.  Now, that should keep me busy this spring.

Something else I have been working on is a little crochet, but I will keep that a secret until it is done.  I'm going to try felting, so fingers crossed.

As always, when one googles a subject, in this case crochet, one thing leads to another and you spend way too much time surfing the net.  But, I did find some interesting websites, blogs and patterns.

Crochet Me

Ravelry

icrochet

Patons

Lion Brand Yarns

AllFreeCrochet

Attic 24

Hookin on Hump Day

Le Monde de Sucrette

Clever Cheshire Cats

The Flower Bed

Moogly

Felted Button

Crochet with Elizzza

Larksfoot Stitch

Anastasia Stitch

Crocodile Stitch

Rings of Love Stitch

A nice neat finish

Japanese Flower

Hawaiian Flower

Five Petal Flower

or

Five Petal Flower

Flowers in the Snow

Mille Fiore Flower

Puff Stitch Flower

Chunky Cable Slippers

Electronics Cozy

Fusion Blanket

Blackberry Salad Striped Afghan

Sea Pennies

Crochet Yo-Yo

Easter Eggs

Spring Basket

Easter Egg Treat Bags

Pumpkin Trick or Treat Bag

or

Trick or Treat Bag

Hearts

Picasso Potholder

Birdie Decoration

Tiny Owl

Until next time.....happy quilting and maybe a little crochet!

Karen

Flower Garden and More

There you have it; Karen's Flower Garden quilt top is complete.  I decided to remove the border and go borderless.  But, not to worry, the hexagons will not be wasted; I need them for edging the back of the quilt. 

See Finishing Your Hexagon Quilts

500 289 Klosjes

It had to be done if I was ever going to see a finished quilt.  So, I reduced the number of Klosjes and ended up with a lap size quilt, perfect for a chilly evening.  Once it's quilted that is!

And, the hand quilting is complete on my Tiny Thimble quilt.

Because it is hard to see the quilting, I will show you the templates.  I stitched a single wave in green thread across the thimbles and red thread was used for the border. 

So, what I am up to now? 

I'm down to the last couple of hours of hand quilting my Friendship Star quilt.  And, I have been testing out my double bladed X-Acto knife as I prepare a template to use on Red Delicious, which is next in line for hand quilting.  My teatime project is Love's Young Dream, the February Sweet Nostalgia BOM block.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

 

Garden Tour, A Finished Quilt and Something New

Freddie the Frog is a little concerned; we have been without rain since early April.  So what does that mean for the garden, Mother Nature will let us know come spring. 

In the meantime, I am spending many an evening watering for three to four hours at a time.  Normally when clay soil starts to dry out it will contract and create large cracks, but this year is different,  no cracks, it is almost powder like, that is how dry it is.

Much to my surprise, the garden is looking blooming beautiful, so as I head down the garden path I will share with you a few places along the way.

Loaded with daylilies, I love them so, and this is the month they put on a show!  Also blooming away is a big beautiful Shasta daisy and some highly fragrant trumpet lilies.  I also see tiger lilies,  astilbe blooms and purple coneflowers.

A birdbath can be found at every turn,

As birds, bees and butterflies are always welcome.

Fragrant trumpet lily.

And, to end the mini garden tour,

One of my favourite daylilies, Bertie Ferris.

Now on to a little quilting!

Simple Pleasures

16.5" x 16.5"

Machine pieced, hand quilted

I kept it simple to show off the stitchery blocks.

Cat Quilt BOS puts a smile on my face, simply done with a big splash of colour.  The green fabric to the left will be used for binding and I plan on hand quilting something seasonal around each block.  Finished quilt will measure 22" x 22."

Also, I finally added the border to my Kansas Dug-Out and is now basted and ready for hand quilting.  Then, I tackled a big job and prepared the remaining 468 pieces needed to finish my Shades of Autumn POTC quilt, which I will get back to this fall.

Found another interesting book to add to my library, Quilted Symphony by Gloria Loughman.  It is all about abstract design and will be a nice addition to my collection of art quilt books.  I also ordered 37 Sketches by Gwen Marston, small studies of abstract compositions, worked primarily in solids.

And, what is keeping my fingers busy right now is a sweet little quilt called, Bloom by Renee Plains.  Finished size is 22" x 26" with about 103 pieces to be  appliqued, a nice take-along project for the summer.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Love and Chocolate

From Kathleen Tracy's book, American Doll Quilts a sweet and simple pattern called Prairie Quilt.  And, because February is the month of love, it only seemed fitting to make it in red.  Most of the fabric is Sturbridge Village Scarlet.  Hand pieced and quilted with a finished size of 15 inches by 16.5 inches.

Wishing you a Sweet Valentines!

A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn’t put there to stay -
Love isn’t love
'Til you give it away.

~Oscar Hammerstein, Sound of Music, "You Are Sixteen (Reprise)"

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

The Perfect Summer Day

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent

Even though the dry spell continues, the lawn has gone dormant and I have been working overtime to keep the garden hydrated, I still can say I have seen a perfect summer day or two.  When the daylilies start to bloom not even record high temperatures can spoil the moment.  I love daylilies and thanks to this year's abundant spring rain, my garden is exploding with colour.

On the sewing front, I am happy to say my Tiny Thimble doll quilt top is now finished, made from 240 tiny thimbles, hand pieced and measuring 19 x 24 inches.  It was fun working with the Charisma fabric and I still have plenty more for another project or two.

Click on photo for clearer image.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to update my Tea and a Good Book page.  Instead of reviewing my books as I go through them, because I am so slow, I decided to just list all the quilting books I have in my personal library.  It was fun to do and no, I didn't count how many, but back in January 2010, I was up to 156 quilting books.

Okay, don't laugh.  Yes, that is a headlamp!  Sometimes, for a change, it is nice to sit in other places where the lighting isn't as good, as at my favourite chair and this little gadget works perfectly.  And, the cats love it too.  They chase the light across the floor and up the walls.  It has a zoom on it so you can focus the light directly on your project and low/high light settings.  You are laughing aren't you?

Until next time....happy quilting!

Karen

CWB Block 20

Well, I think I just appliqued my tiniest piece ever, the bird beak.  Can you see it?  You may have to enlarging the photo.  And, I also appliqued my second pair of tiny feet.   Block 20 of the Civil War Bride quilt was a nice one to stitch and unlike the previous blocks, there was room to spare without crowding the seam line.

Last week, I hand appliqued Block 20, but really should have had it done months ago.  Everything was ready to go; I just needed to make some bias stems.  Now, I don't know what it is about me and bias stems, but I always seem to put off making them.  I'm not sure why, as it is not difficult to do.  Anyway, when I finally got to making them, I made lots of stems, so I should be good for many more blocks.

228 of 500 Klosjes Completed

I have really fallen behind on my Klosjes, only six made in a little over two months and what a depressing bunch they are!  Of all the bright and happy Kaffe Fassett fabrics, I managed to bring home some dull ones.  

Time in the Pink Garden is where most of my free time has been spent over the past couple of weeks and I sure can't complain about that.  We seem to have come into a dry spell, so many evenings are spent watering the gardens.  On July 1st, as I watered away, fireworks filled the sky for Canada Day.

Right now, my focus is on my Tiny Thimbles, but I also have the urge to do a little stitchery too, so I have prepared the next Sweet Nostalgia block,  it is called The Witching Hour.  The question is will I get it done before the real Witching Hour?

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen



Friendship Star Quilt

Friendship Star is my first doll quilt from Kathleen Tracy's book, Prairie Children and Their Quilts.  Measuring 20.5 inches by 25 inches and pieced by hand.  Kathleen went with a contrasting colour for the binding, but I was thinking of using the same fabric as the border.  All fabrics are reproduction and I plan on hand quilting.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

 

Constant use will not wear ragged the fabric of friendship. 

~Dorothy Parker

Tiny Thimbles

A fabulous quilt called, Rocky Mountain Thimbles can be found in a wonderful book called, Small Blocks, Stunning Quilts by Mary Elizabeth Kinch and Biz Storm.  From 14 yards of fabric Biz pieced together 6,536 tiny thimbles.  I'm going to piece together about 260 tiny thimbles to make a doll quilt from Charisma fabric.  And, yes, I did follow my Expires in 30 Days rule!

As I started piecing the tiny thimbles together, I realized that I have a thing for one patch quilts.  Clamshells, apple cores, hexagon flowers and POTC blocks are a few projects that come to mind.  Also, in my Rainy Day Cupboard is a box full of 1 inch squares, 2 inch squares and tumblers.  And, sitting on my work table is fabric and a template for a very interesting one patch, which I found on the internet last year, but more about that later.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

A Quilt for Raggs

Confetti

205 Pieces, 20" by 20"

Hand Pieced and Quilted

My first doll quilt completed and Raggs is very pleased.  Quilting was fun as I stitched on an angle, one way through the squares, forming a zig zag pattern, then I stitched around the inside edge of the border, followed by double rows of soft waves in the border.

My second doll quilt, Friendship Star is well under way and I am about to start joining the stars together.  Maybe a nice cup of tea and a little star stitching would be a perfect way to end the day.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

A Needle and Thread Kind of Week

Spring is in the air and with it came lots of snow.  The poor flowers appeared and then disappeared under a heavy white blanket, but without a doubt they will reappear.  In the meantime, all warm and cosy inside, I have been busy working on a variety of projects.

Hand quilting is almost completed on my Confetti doll quilt and the binding is ready and waiting to finish it off.

Well hand quilting I tested out the Clover Protect and Grip Thimble which is made from flexible rubber, but I soon set it aside.   It was so flexible as you press down on the needle the metal tip wobbles all over the place.  I think it was designed for the tipsy quilter!  I find the rubber is just not firm enough to support the metal tip.

I also finished cutting out the stars for my Friendship Star doll quilt and began hand piecing them on the weekend.  Just three more to go!   I also made freezer paper templates, selected fabric and began cutting out the applique pieces for my next Civil War Bride block.  And, a little more hand piecing of Klosjes and the borders around my Shades of Autumn POTC blocks.

198 Klosjes Completed

18 made last week

So, all in all, last week was pretty good quilting wise and the way the sun is shining today, the snow should be gone in no time.  Thursday I will be back with my March Clamshell Report, progress has been very good, and now my fingers are crossed for another productive week.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen



Sew Saturday, Sew New!

Sew Saturday had a theme this week, it was all about new.  New to you, that is.  Trying something new, learn something new and starting something new.  First up was a new gadget, so I decided to give the Twin Pointed Stab Stitch Quilting Needle a try, a gift from my sister a couple of years ago. 

When I first started hand quilting I tried the stab method with a regular quilting needle and a handheld hoop, but had a hard time keeping my stitches uniform.  The stab method is intended for tabletop or floor frame quilting, which I rarely do.  I prefer the handheld hoop. 

Anyway, out came my little floor frame and after poking my finger about six or seven times, I got the hang of the twin pointed needle and was pleased with my nice straight stitches and how small I was able to make them, but it did take more time than the rocking method.  Maybe with more practice it would be just as fast.

Next up was learning something new, so I decided to try Sashiko.  There again, I have had all the fixings to try it for a couple of years now.  Basically, if you can do the running stitch, you can do Sashiko. 

The thimble is interesting, as you place it on your middle finger (with flap pointing down) to protect the palm of your hand when you push the needle through.  It comes with a traditional needle (2 inches long) and a modern needle which is shorter and has a larger eye.  I didn't get very far, but sure did enjoy it. 

Then, on to a new quilting project, which I had a few things in mind, but decided to prep my next doll quilt.  From Kathleen Tracy's book, Prairie Children and Their Quilts, I selected, Friendship Star.  The book is designed for machine quilting, so I first had to change the measurements to adapt to templates and hand piecing.  I still have lots of prep work to do, but couldn't help myself and stopped to stitch a star.

Other things I worked on this week, Clamshells, Quilters' Compost and my Civil War Bride block and did the prep work for my Block Book.

Before Christmas Ellen sent me a copy of her Block Book pattern, which you can purchase at her web shop, along with many other wonderful patterns.  If you like to hand piece, then you are going to love this book, perfect for my Dear Jane blocks.  It is a great way to layout and store your prepared block pieces. 

Ellen has posted about the Block Book on her blog, so be sure to have a look at the pretty cover and the inside of the book.  I will show you my cover when I get it all stitched together, and then I will turn it into a wonderful book.

Until next time.....happy quilting!  

Karen

Vintage Charm

The center of my Confetti doll quilt is now finished.  Being such a fun pattern to stitch, it was hard to stop.  With no repeats in fabric, you would say my quilt is charmed.

Instead of squaring up the edges with ruler and cutter, I have made up some templates.  This way I will not have to cut into the diamonds and squares.  Now, I have to decide if this round will be an inner border, or part of the border.

 

The month of January came and went and I am happy to report that it was a fabric free purchase month,  but I did go a little crazy with books.  I just couldn't resist Link to the 30's by Kay Connors and Karen Earlywine. 

Last posting, I mentioned the three books by Kathleen Tracy and I also ordered Small Blocks, Stunning Quilts by Mary Elizabeth Kinch and Biz Storms.  Plus, Quilting Line & Color, by Yoshiko Jinzenji, which is techniques and designs for abstract quilts and a book by Jean Wells, Intuitive Color  & Design, about the adventures in Art Quilting.  It's just like going back to school!

180 Klosjes Completed

10 made this week

It looks like I have been enjoying a little vintage charm!

The other day, I final got around to testing out my grandmother's Singer 301 and it seems to be running just fine.  So, on Friday, I purchased some sewing machine oil and needles, and soon she will be ready for her first assignment.   The original darning foot (for free motion) is missing, but I can easily order one and I also have my eye on a 1/4 inch foot with a quilting guide bar attached.

As for my Brother PC 3000, it has been three months and the keypad has yet to come in.  What I didn't know was because the repair shop is not a Brother dealer they cannot order Brother parts, they order from a distributor which sells parts that will work in a Brother machine.  I didn't like the sounds of that and told her to cancel the order. 

After thinking long and hard about it I have decided not to get it repaired.  I am not willing to travel as far as the nearest Brother dealer is located and the keypad and installing of it will cost almost half of what I paid for the machine.  Not worth it for a machine I rarely use.  If I was ever to buy a new sewing machine, I would be sure to leave all the bells and whistles at the store.

Now, I can still use the machine, but the needle is locked in the left hand position.  Why one would sew with the needle to the left is beyond me, but I tested it out and am still able to attach my walking foot for quilting, but not my 1/4 inch foot, as this requires the needle to be in the center position, but I did find another foot in my bag of goodies, that works like a 1/4 inch foot, so piecing and binding is still possible.  And, because the free motion foot has a wide opening, it should work with the needle in the left position.

So, all is not lost, just the parts of the machine I never really used.  Sure wish I thought of this three months ago!

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen