Happy Fourth, and a finish...

Happy Fourth of July to my American readers! I hope you have a fantastic day and enjoy some fireworks.

image found here:www.metrolic.com/4th-of-july-fashion-3092/

Now that my little guy is 3 months old, it's getting a little easier to get some sewing time in. He's happy hanging out with  a brother or sister for a bit. And he's finding it easier to nap in his crib, instead of on Me :)

Here is my Butterfly quilt.

I backed it with some soft fleece and had fun with the sewing. I didn't mark any lines, so they are a bit wavy and uneven... but that just adds some whimsy to the quilt, yes?? LOL

Can you see my big mistake??

I put that one piece on backwards, and didn't even realize it. It says I 'heart' Mommy, I 'heart' Daddy...but you need a mirror to read it ;)

Here are a close up of the quilting... I'm getting better.

If you missed it, my free tutorial for this quilt is listed on the left hand side of my blog, along with others I've done for the Sew We Quilt blog.

 I hope you are all enjoying some Summer sewing. And keeping cool, those of you in the hot States right now.

A little applique

For the past 3 or 4 years, I've been having a nerve issue with my right hand. And as I'm right handed, this made it so I wasn't able to do any hand quilting or hand work of any sort.

When I got pregnant, this condition got worse. But now that my son is here. I have discovered that I can do some hand work for 15 or 20 minutes at a time, without having any issues with my nerves! I am not sure why, buy I am not questioning it too closely ;) just enjoying it. lol

So I started this little table runner. I have a little bit of batting, not enough for any of my quilt tops, so I thought I needed to make something small to use it up :) lol.

I love purple and yellow together. And I love these Moda Marbles!

Can you see the flower on this print? That's what I designed my flowers after. Just some simple, needle turn applique. That's how I learn to do it, and I haven't had any desire to use glues or other newfangled ways of applique.

It feels SO good to do some hand work again.

What are you working on this Summer? Have you joined Ellison's Summer Sewing Contest?

I was going to. But my little hasn't given me enough time to finish my butterfly quilt.

I backed it with some soft flannel, no batting. You can see I still can't use my walking foot. I was misinformed when I bought it. I was told it would fit ALL low shank machines, including my treadle (I specifically asked). I have THREE low shank machines, all pre-1940's, and it fits NONE of them!!!

So what do I do? I use an open toe foot and put up with the little puckers. And then decide to quilt this one in a much closer quilting pattern than usual. LOL

So really, it's ok that I couldn't join the fun in the Sewing contest... I mean, how am I supposed to compete with the extreme talent of someone like Melissa of Happy Quilting??? And her beautiful dresden plate quilt! LOL

Good luck all who have entered.

Have a great day.

My tutorial...

Good morning all,

My tutorial for a sweet butterfly quilt is now posted over at Sew We Quilt!


Here's the quilt.

For the tutorial I did it in these colors.

A couple of finishes...

Yah! My two little quilts are done! I've worked on both these earlier last year. So it's nice to have a few UFO's now finishes.

My butterfly quilt. I made this for a Q&N challenge we did.

Measures around 36"x 29". Perfect for a newborn.

 

 I think it would be perfect on the wall above a little girls crib. Here's an upclose of the quilting and the cute polk a dot binding.

 And the backing. Just used this all over butterfly, with a bright spot for a label.

And here's my Sunshine walk in Central Park. I posted about this quilt when I did my DP16 patch tutorial on Sew We Quilt.

It measures at about 40" x 40".

I quilted it using diagonal lines on either side of the seams. Going thru the blank squares.

 

I love how it turned out!! Here's the back. I used the same butterfly fabric. With a color spot for my label.

Whew, 2 down....a billion to go ;)

Have a great day all.

a New Year Goal

Hello all,
I don't make resolutions. But this year I've decided I REALLY need to make a goal to get some of this quilted!

Look at this stack! It's only about HALF of what I have, that needs to be quilted. How did it get this bad??

Four years ago I joined the Quilt and needle forum. It had just started up, and I followed them from another site that we had all been on together. Jess is the owner of the Q&N. Before I started hanging out with these Gals, I would sew some things here and there. Hand quilt a quilt, and give it to one of my kids, or put it on the bed, or whatever it was for.

After the Q&N started up, I started testing patterns for Jess and her Mom, Connie. Jess and Connie taught me A LOT about quilting. I had been a self learner, getting books from the library and eventually reading things online. But testing for these two gals, showed me different ways and methods of doing things. And I got totally hooked on quilting. Much more so than in the previous 14yrs!!

For the past 4 yrs, I've tested all the mystery quilts Jess has made (that's 4 or 5 a year). I started setting the quilt tops aside, as my hands were starting to hurt me and I didn't know why. Just holding a needle and sewing was very painful though. Then I found out I have fibromyalgia.  I've taken meds for it, but the  numbness in my fingers persisted. The Dr said it's probably my ulna nerve, and I have to have a quick, easy op in order to fix it.

Well, that op hasn't happened yet....And a year or so ago, I started making my own quilt patterns, and piecing my own tops, runners, baby quilts, etc. So that also added to the pile of tops I was making testing patterns....it's easy to see how quickly my pile grew.

So, this is the year of quilting for me! A goal that I need to start doing. I am now teaching myself to machine quilt. And having a lot of fun!!! I know I need to get a walking foot, but I sew on an old treadle, and am not sure if I can find one that fits. I have to start researching. I don't think I will do much FM quilting, unless I get bored with the straight line quilting I am doing now. We shall see.

But I have started on that pile!

I am almost finished with my third baby quilt! Next I want to do a few of my wall hangings. Then maybe I'll be ready to move on to a bigger top. Here's what I've been sewing on lately.

This is my butterfly quilt, I made as a challenge on the Q&N forum. I think it would look soooo cute above a baby girl's crib, hanging on the wall.

And here is my Sunkissed Walk thru Central Park quilt!

 

It just needs a binding and it's all done. I love it!

Looking at these pictures, you can see why I need a walking foot. I know it will help with the bit of puckering here and there.

Wish me luck. lol. It will be nice to see some more of my quilts on the walls and beds by the end of the year.

Toodle-o for now.